Thank you, Nichole!

I was purely a scrapbooker until February 2009.  I kept seeing this little company pop up on a couple of blogs I followed...Papertrey Ink.  (Who???  What??) I found their website and couldn't find the stamps that were being showcased at the time.  Little did I know, PTI was in the middle of a release at the time and hadn't fully revealed all the February 2009 glory yet.  I began to follow Nichole Heady's blog only to discover that there is another whole world of paper-crafting out there that had nothing to do with scrapbooks - cardmaking.  I was hooked.

Thanks to some friendly PTI forum members, I've even been encouraged to use my favorite PTI products on my scrapbook layouts - which I'm thrilled about - more bang for the buck!  This makes me giddy! 

The community that PTI has built is like no other.  The forum is a friendly, inspiring place.  Several blog groups have been formed to support and challenge each other. Even the owners, design team and customer service representatives are available most of the time on the forum to answer questions. I love PTI and all that it has to offer - from products to people.  So, thank you, Nichole, Jennifer, Julie, and everyone behind the scenes for giving so many people so much joy!

I made you this card to show my thanks!  It's not easy to please all the people all the time, but I know you all have the commitment to try!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Everyday Button Bits

Cardstock: Harvest Gold, Hawaiian Shores, Stampers Select

Ink:  Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse

Buttons: Hawaiian Shores, Harvest Gold, Simply Chartreuse

Other:  Doodlebug patterned paper,  Spellbinders Label 8 dies

P.S.  This also fits the challenge for the Papertrey Paper Dolls Challenge! Michelle challenged us to use a stamp that has not seen ink and a product we haven't used yet.  The stamp was the balloon strings and the product was Harvest Gold cardstock - yum!

August Papertrey Pages Challenge

Sorry for my second hiatus in 6-weeks from my blog!  My students arrived on Monday - ALL of them, and they wore me out!  I've had this layout for Beth's Pages Challenge finished for awhile, but I wasn't able to get the facing page finished in time.  She challenged us to use flowers and felt on a layout.  Here it is!

A lot of PTI goodness is here - including the BACK cover of some patterned paper.  I love the Pure Poppy Bitty Dots paper and have run out of it, so I used the back of another package!  Thanks for visiting me today! I can't wait to see what everyone did with Beth's challenge.  What will she come up next?  I bet she'll tell us on the forum on Wednesday! 

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Holiday Button Bits

Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Stampers Select

Dies:  Beautiful Blooms 2 - #3, Eyelet Lace

Vintage Cream felt

Other:  patterned paper, green cardstock, yellow & red gemstones, Versamark, white embossing powder

It may be a bit...

I teach.  We went back for teacher inservice yesterday, so my blog will be a bit neglected for the next week or so, until I can get out of meetings and back in a routine.  Also, I hope to be able to get to some of your blogs and comment soon.  Sorry for my absence there!

I'm so tired right now, I can barely keep my eyes opened.  Seriously - 2 straight days of all-day meetings.  I just wanted to get in my room and start getting ready!

Here is a card I made waaaaayyyy back in February for PTI's last GSS.  Keep in mind - it was February.  :)

Side:

 

 Inside:

 Lots of masking and cutting and lining up the stamps had to occur for this one, but I still love it!

Thanks for dropping by and I'll "see" you soon...hopefully!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps:TextStyle 1

Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Stampers Select

Ink: Fresh Snow, Pure Poppy

Other:  white ribbon, white pearls, corner punch, craft knife

Dolls Challenge #15

Last week, Bonnie Rose challenged us to create something using an inspiration photo.  You can see all the details and play along with us by clicking here.  Here's the photo she chose:

Isn't it a beautiful scarf?  I would love to have it!  Here's the card I made for this challenge:

Why don't you all come along and play with us on this challenge?

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps:Big & Bold Wishes

Cardstock: Hawaiian Shores, Stampers Select

Ink: Hawaiian Shores

Other:  Prima Flowers, Rhinestones

Paper Dolls Challenge #13

I am a bit behind on some of the Dolls' challenges.  My apologies to Leish - who gave us a great challenge to find a piece of fabric in our closets as inspiration.  You can see the details of the challenge and other participant's cards here.  It occurred to me the other day, as I was wearing the shirt pictured below, that it was "Hawaiian Shores" in color and had bits of twine sewn through the flower.  I thought it would be a great card to create. 
Here's my shirt:

 And my card.  You knew I'd have to use Flower Garden, right?

Thanks for looking.  Come play along with our other Paper Dolls challenges.  You can find us here.

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps:Flower Garden, Inside and Out: Thank You

Cardstock: Hawaiian Shores, Stampers Select

Ink: Fresh Snow, Hawaiian Shores, Spring Moss

Vintage Buttons: Hawaiian Shores
Ribbon: Rustic Jute Twin
Other:  Kraft (my PTI kraft is on its way to my house right now), Spellbinders die

More Back to School

Here's my 3rd Back-to-School card for the August theme on the Hero Arts Blog. A lot of cutting occurred to make this one complete!  It was a lot of fun, but not one that would be easy to mass-produce like the other two I've posted.

I was excited to find some self-adhesive borders on my trip to Hobby Lobby the other day.  A big variety, from bubbles to letters to waves, was tucked inside.  Above is a strip of the grass that was also inside.  Very excited about this purchase!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Hero Arts Stamps:  Playful Animals, Cute Letters
Border: K&Company Actopus to Zelephant
Cardstock: Summer Sunrise, Spring Rain, True Black, Stampers Select (all PTI) & gray from my stash
Ink: True Black, Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate, Tea Dye Duo (all PTI)
Buttons: True Black (PTI)
Other: Black twine, Prisma Glitter, Googley Eyes (from my son's stash-Shhhh!!)

More Back to School

Here's another card I made for Back-to-School.  It's this month's theme over on the Hero Arts Blog. This one could be easily recreated many times to make several in one sitting.  I can also see this as a mini-card! Quick and easy.

I have a lot of patterned paper that truly brings me joy as I just sit and look at it.  The thought of cutting into some of my collection makes me a bit nervous.  I'm slowly getting over it as I see so many others using patterned paper in beautiful way.  So, I thought I'd give it a try here.

Thanks for looking!  Have you seen the contest for this month at Hero Arts?  Here's some information!

Supplies:
Hero Arts Stamps: Cute Letters, Mixed Design Borders
Cardstock: Kraft, PTI - Ripe Avocado and Vintage Cream
Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety
Ribbon: Ripe Avocado PTI

Back to School

I go back to school next Thursday.  I know, I know...I've been off since the beginning of June, but teachers truly need this time to recharge.  It's takes a lot of energy to answer the same questions 100 times a day - and with enthusiasm!  :)

So, I'm trying to mentally prepare myself, and what better way than to make cards?  I'm hoping to get plenty made so that I can sneak them in some colleagues' boxes when we return!

Here's one to start:

Do you see that measuring tape ribbon?  That's an old, old measuring tape my grandmother used for sewing.  It's actually material and not the plastic stuff they use now.  I found it in a box of her old sewing supplies, and I'm so glad I did!

Have you seen the contest for this month at Hero Arts?  Here's some information!

Supplies:
Hero Arts Stamps: Cute Letters, Small Variety Alphabet, Fill Your Heart
Cardstock: green, Kraft
Patterned Paper: Karen Foster - Notebook Paper
Ribbon: Mema's old measuring tape :)
Embellie: EK Success
Punch: EK Success
Zing Embossing Powder

Paper Dolls Challenge

I can't believe this is our 16th challenge on our blog! Can you?  This is my second time to host a challenge and I borrowed a sketch from the Go-To Sketches challenge for this one.  Here's the sketch:

It's a sketch that Betsy Veldman designed for the special issue.  I thought it was a challenge because of the circle.  I hardly ever create shaped cards, so this put me out of my comfort zone.  I'm sure I could have used this as the focal point on a standard card (as can YOU), but I stayed true to the challenge.  Here's my card:

and the inside:

I entered it into the Go-To Sketch Challenge that Paper Crafts Connection challenge that was due on August 2nd.

Come play along with the sketch and post your creation at the Paper Dolls Blog!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Up, Up and Away

Paper: Aqua Mist, Stampers Select, Summer Sunrise, 2008 Bitty Dot Basics

Ink: Summer Sunrise, Smokey Gray

Tools: Rick Rack Die, Cloud dies
Other:  brads, aquacolors, sakura stardust pen, chipboard letter, gemstones

Chipboard & Color Challenge

This card is for two fantastic challenges -

1. wee Memories Challenge #16 - to use chipboard and

2. Off The Wall Craftiness challenge #18 to use yellow, blue and white/cream

Here's the color inspiration photo:

Click on the links to play along!  Here's my card:

The focal point is a chipboard flower that I painted and added glitter.  I set it aside to dry as I stamped the background and sentiment.  The center of the flower was created by tying the ribbon through the wide button holes.  This will soon go into the mail!

Thanks for looking!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps:Turning a New Leaf, Giga Guidelines

Cardstock: Stampers Select, Enchanted Evening

Ink: Enchanted Evening

Vintage Buttons: Enchanted Evening
Ribbon: Enchanted Evening Twill Tape
Other:  Chipboard flower, Making Memories Paint, yellow glitter, glittered rhinestones

Signs of Peace

This card is mainly for the Moxie Fab World Challenge: Signs of Peace.  You can click here to see details and deadlines.  It's a fun one. 

I thought I'd use Sketch #49 from the Get Sketchy Card Challenges for this one, and combine it with the challenge on Everything but the Kitchen Sink to use buttons. 


That's 3 challenges in one card - which is a challenge in itself!  Here's my card:

The biggest challenge here was to find the correct sized buttons to fit into the outer circle! The sentiment is from PTI's Holiday Button Bits.  I thought it fit nicely with the peace sign!

Thanks for looking!  Peace Out!  (couldn't resist!)

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Holiday Button Bits

Cardstock:  stampers select, true black, pure poppy, summer sunrise, lemon tart, new leaf, enchanted evening, plum pudding

Ink: True Black

Vintage Buttons: all from PTI