Get Well

Hey all! I have a super quick card to share today. A friend of mine commissioned a masculine get well card and this is what I came up with. I know that I struggle with making cards for men. I like to use ribbon and softer colors, and I don’t think that translates well for a masculine card!

I recently ordered the Pink Paislee Nantucket Collection. I’ve seen it used so many places that I just couldn’t resist it any longer. Now, because the colors of the papers in the collection were feminine, I couldn’t use them here, but I did get the boat from the ephemera pack. It’s loaded with so many die cuts that I cannot wait to use.

My paper came from the My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found Portobello Road pad. It’s an oldie, but definitely a goodie! I die cut a Label 4 from the patterned paper and a piece of Kraft to use as a backdrop for my boat. I inked around the edges of the larger label with my Slate Fresh Ink. It’s my new go to gray ink. Before I adhered my label, I did glue down a piece of burlap that I received from Liz’s Paperloft Boutique.

I stamped my sentiment from the WPlus9 Hope Seed Co. stamp set. I used another of my new inks, Blue Sage, also a Fresh Ink, to stamp it. I then trimmed it with my scissors.

Super quick card. I didn’t even have to change the thread in my sewing machine!!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day!

Thinking of You

Hello crafty friends! Today I am guest designing for my wonderful design team sister, Liz. I have a super simple card to show you all using the latest My Creative Time Release and patterned paper from Crate Paper.

I was helping a friend of mine make some invitations for a dinner that we’re attending and she was kind enough to give me some of the patterned paper that she bought to make them. The beautiful floral paper is from the Crate Paper Restoration Collection. The labels are Spellbinders Label Three – one of my absolute faves. My sentiment is from the new Floral Sentiments (Backordered, but will be back in stock on April 27th!) set from My Creative Time. I used Versamark to stamp it and I embossed it with white Zing embossing powder from American Crafts.

I am not a big embellisher – I don’t own a much to be honest, but I used some mulberry roses in coordinating colors and added a little bit of Stickles to help them stand apart from the patterned paper. I used some cream twill from Michael’s to tie a simple bow and I added a button and some blue twine from The Twinery as well. To finish it off, I took some white and pink Studio G pigment ink and swiped it around some of the various card elements. Easy peasy! That’s it for me, but . . .

Liz has some exciting news to share with you, but not quite yet. However, in the meantime, while she's recovering, she is reading every comment! Not only is she reading them, she's counting them, because at the end of all this, she will have two announcements! The first will be a winner of some exciting BLOG CANDY! The second, it's a big one...and no, she's not coming out with stamps...you just have to wait and see!

I know I want to know what she has in store! Again, thanks for coming by, and always, I wish you a very blessed day!

MCT February Release Blog Hop

Hello everyone! If you came from Tracy’s blog, then you’re in the right place. If not, start at Emma’s blog, My Creative Time. I’m going to go on record and say that I think this is a one of those month’s that I would recommend getting the entire release. All three of the sets that Emma designed this month coordinate very well together.

For my card today, I tried to keep it soft with a vintage feel.

My card base is Sweet Blush and is a standard A2. I used patterned paper from the My Mind’s Eye Follow Your Heart “Be Happy” 6” x 6” pad. I stitched it to a 4” x 5” piece of white cardstock. I then took a doily, trimmed it in half, and stamped them with the Chicken Wire background stamp in Pool Party ink. I then adhered them to the mat on each end.

Next, I took my Spellbinders Label Four dies and diecut a label out of Aqua Mist. I decided that my card needed another pattern, and I gravitated to the weathered woodgrain pattern from the My Mind’s Eye On the Bright Side Two pad. I stamped the Aqua Mist label with the Floral Background and adhered the patterned label with dimensional adhesive. I cut two butterflies from Storybook out of some yellow cardstock. It’s from Hobby Lobby so I don’t have a color name. I stamped on the butterflies with the swirled egg from Hello Spring with So Saffron ink. I adhered the two butterflies together with liquid adhesive.

To pull everything together, I stamped my sentiment with Memento London Fog ink. I tied a bow with Lemon Tart saddle stitched ribbon and adhered the mat directly to the card base. I used dimensional adhesive to adhere the label mat to the card, and a small strip to adhere the butterfly.

***HUGE GIVEWAY ALERT***

For our giveaway today, we are  giving ONE LUCKY winner a $100 Gift Certificate to "My Creative Time's" new online store!  All you have to do is leave a comment here along w/the rest of the design team's blogs AND also leave a way for me to contact you! Each designer will be picking a winner, then Emma will use random.org to pick the lucky winner out of those 18 names! So remember you  have "18" chances to win! All you have to do is leave a comment on all blogs in this hop for more chances to win! The deadline is Sunday, Feb 19th at midnight! EASY PEASY!!! GOOD LUCK!:)

Blog Hop Line-up

Emma

Amy

Cassandra

Cathryn

Cindy

Glora

Jeanne

Katie

Kim

Leanne

Liz

Nancy

Nikki

Rosy

Shar

Tracy

Trell – You are Here

Veronica

Kim Score

As usual, I thank you for stopping by and I wish you a very blessed day!

XOXO Smitten–Papertrey Blog Hop

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is having a great week. I have a card to share with everyone that kind of grew from my rosette making spree on Monday night. I made some in various colors and patterns and I didn’t have a definitive plan of what I was going to do with them.

I was in the mood to make something Tuesday night and after a little brainstorming, I came up with a plan with the help of Sara and the challenge at Papertrey Ink for this month’s blog hop. Nichole is challenging everyone to pick their favorite card from 2011 and improve upon it.

I made this card in December, and I liked it so much I decided to make it a second time in a more traditional color palette for Christmas. You can read all about it, here. It would been really easy for me to case the card and change a few things, instead, I decided to take elements from the card and make it as new as I could. Here is the result:

My card is made from Aqua Mist cardstock and is a standard A2. I am so in love with this color right now. I found some light grey cardstock in my file cabinet. I honestly didn’t know I had it and I’m so blind I couldn’t make it out from white. Anyway, I used the brown polka dot patterned paper and the grey to make a background mat. I stitched around it with some dark brown Coats & Clark thread.

Next, I cut 1/4” strips of the grey and 1/2” strips of the pink and adhered them to a 3” x 4.5” piece of cardstock. I toyed with the idea of embossing the pink, but in the end I decided against it. I used the largest die in the Spellbinders Label Four set to give the striped mat a decorative edge.

Now, here’s where the big changes from the original came into play. Even though I am certainly happy with the original card, I felt like there was a bit of a balance issue. So, I decided to make sure the eye honed in on one spot – the rosette. However, I wanted to bring in the felt. I happened to have a white diecut from the Spellbinders Classics Scalloped Hearts Nestabilities set on my table. Well, the white wasn’t working. I felt the card could use a bit more brown so I cut another scalloped heart and stitched them together (right down the center). I adhered the felt hearts to the card with some 3-in-1 adhesive from Beacon and then I adhered the rosette on top and offset it a bit.

I used some Aqua Mist Saddle Stitch ribbon to tie a simple knot, and I then adhered the entire piece to my card base with dimensional adhesive. Originally, I planned to only use the XOXO stamp. But I decided to see how the Smitten stamp would look layered on top and I really liked the result. I adhered it to the rosette with hot glue and a dimensional circle in the center. And, to give the card a touch of embellishment, I took some heart gems and adhered them to the felt hearts. I would have preferred buttons, but I didn’t have any that coordinated.

That’s about about it! I don’t think I left anything out, but if there are questions, feel free to email me or leave a comment. I thank you for coming by and I wish you a blessed day!

MCT 12 Days of Christmas ~ Day #5

Hey there! If you arrived here from Tracy’s amazing blog, you’re on the right track. If not, start at Emma’s blog here: My Creative Time.

For my project today, I decided to do a tag. Something very new to me, but I’m very pleased with the result.

My tag was cut from Plantin Schoolbook and I sized it to 6” with my Gypsy. I used my Gypsy to hide the hole that cuts out because it would have been too large. The base of my tag is Paper Studio Ivory cardstock. I LOVE their ivory, but I wish it were thicker. I used my Background Basics:Houndstooth stamp from Papertrey Ink and Real Red ink from Stampin’ Up to stamp the background. And then I distressed the edges with Jenni Bowlin Malted Milk, AND Vintage Photo Distress ink.

The poinsettia was cut with the Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia die set. So, so in love with this. I’m pretty sure that it will be seen again. It’s kind of hard to find, but It was well worth it. Poinsettias are the quintessential Christmas flower, so you could use it every year.

I used my Curly Label Die and the sentiment, “Jingle Bell Rock!”, from Mixed Holiday Sentiments. I love this set. I think it’s a must have. I haven’t even used all of the Christmas/winter sentiments yet. I try my best to not repeat sentiments. But that may just be me. I inked my stamp with VersaMark Dazzle and use gold Zing embossing powder from American Crafts. Added some cheap, and I mean CHEAP, green rhinestones to finish it off. I wanted to, “frame,” the sentiment, so I took some dark green grosgrain and pleated it. And I used my sewing machine with brown thread to finish it off. Totally not necessarily, but I’m just trying new things!

***12 Days of Christmas Give Away Alert***

To qualify for ALL the AMAZING giveaways for the next 12 days, you must comment on every blog in this hop! You will have until Tues, Dec 13th @ midnight to have all of your comments in! VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE LEAVE A WAY FOR US TO CONTACT YOU IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE WINNER'S!

There are some AMAZING giveaways for this special 12 day event & some SURPRISES to help celebrate "My Creative Time's" One Year Anniversary! Yep, Emma released her 1st set of stamps one year ago! So make sure you are tuned in because this is ONE hop you do NOT want to miss!;)

Blog Hop Line-up:

Emma

Cassandra

Cathryn

Cindy

Jeanne

Katie

Leanne

Linsey

Liz

Nancy

Nikki

Ruthie

Shar

Tracy

Trell (you’re here)

Veronica (Next stop, and she is AWESOME!)

I have a very sweet post planned for tomorrow! Thanks for coming by. Have an amazing and blessed day!