Card Camp Week 3

This is another card for this week's Make It Monday, where Dawn inspired us to create pockets as focal points for our cards.  You can see the video and sample cards by clicking here.

I'm in my 3rd week of the Summer Card Camp classes with Kristina Werner and Jennifer McGuire.  The videos, tutorials, samples are colors are very inspiring.   I love this week's color combo! 

Red with cream and brown is a favorite combo for me, but three shades of brown was a bit difficult. I think I was able to pull it off with the use of some real wood birch paper.

Here's my card:

The idea behind the Make It Monday challenge is to use the edger dies from Papertrey Ink to create the borders.  I don't have any edger dies and turn my head quickly from my monitor anytime I see one used - and chant in my head, "I do not need that.  I do not need that."  I tried that with the impression plates too, but now I own a half-dozen of those.  Maybe I'll be stronger about the edgers.

So, I used a punch - and one of my favorites.  I know I've told you how much I love the grass punch from Fiskars I used on my other Make It Monday card, but I also love this bracket border punch from EK Success.  It punches and embosses. 

It's also the same shape as the side of Mat Stack 4 - a happy coincidence.  So that is what I used as my tag that fits in my pocket.

I'm hoping to get another card done for the Card Camp before Sunday night!  We'll see if time is on my side!

Tomorrow I'll be back with a summery card for Jenny's Wee Memories Challenge!  Should be fun!

Thanks for visiting My Happy Place!

Card Camp - Week 2

Last week was the first week of Summer Card Camp, and I was sorry to miss the beginning, but I'm back now and have 3 cards to submit for this week.  How's that for make-up work?!

Here's the first one:

I CASE'd a card I created a few weeks ago.  (Is it OK to CASE yourself?)  I loved the technique I had learned, and loved the card when I made it.  I gave it away to a friend for her birthday the day after, so I wanted to create another one, this time with this week's color combo. 

After Kristina's video today, I'm digging through all of my patterned paper to make a 4th card.  We'll see if that happens!  Off to finish the third one before I get to the patterned paper!

Thanks for visiting My Happy Place!

P.S.  Thanks to Tami Hartley for drawing my name from her comments for the Summer Camp giveaway!

P.P.S.  I received an email from Paper Crafts Magazine today letting me know they chose one of my cards to be published in their January/February issue!  My first publication - so excited!

MIM-Sympathy

This week's Make It Monday challenge is brought to us by Dawn, who encourages us not to always use neutral colors when creating a sympathy card.  Beautiful colors can be healing and meaningful.  You can see Dawn's beautiful card, wonderful video and inspiring cards submitted already by clicking here.  Having been on the receiving end of many PTI forum member's beautiful sympathy cards, I know the submissions this week will be amazing. 

Here's mine:

I wanted to keep the background simple, so I stamped it several times with one of my favorite branches from Turning a New Leaf.  The quote is special to me as it is on my parents' headstone.  My mother was an artist and mostly painted flowers, birds and butterflies.  Her love of butterflies (and tulips!) was passed on to me.  When my father suggested this quote after my mother passed, my sisters and I thought it was perfect.  I think it goes along perfectly with PTI's Butterfly Dreams set.  I ran the butterfly through my Xyron and sprinkled some prisma glitter on it for sparkle.  The body was created using black rhinestones. 

Here's the inside:

Honestly, I hope I don't need this anytime soon.   We've had a rough year at my school with many of us losing fathers, sisters, mothers, and husbands.  We need a break.  So, I'll file this one away to use much, much later.

Thanks for visiting My Happy Place!

Make It Monday #13 and Play Date Cafe

This week's Make It Monday, brought to you by Erin Lincoln, is FUN - with a capital F!  When Papertrey Ink began to sell Impression Plates, I turned my head and pretended I didn't see or hear anything - "La La La - I can't hear you!"

That didn't last long.  I have a few, but not as many as I want. 

This week's challenge is to use a die on top of the impression plate, creating a space for a sentiment or any other focal point.  Here's what I came up with:

I inked up the Woodgrain Impression Plate before using it.  It gives it a bit of a gray look, which is what I was going for.  The sentiment panel is the Fillable Frame #9, and I chose a sentiment from Star Prints.  I used the Turning a New Leaf die and stamp set for the leaves and embossed them with Holographic powder to give them some shine.  After cutting the flowers from felt, and threading the button with Martha Stewart twine, I secured everything on top of the leaves.  A couple of mats later, and I was finished!

Here's a close-up:

Now, another fun part of this challenge was the color combo.  I said earlier that I was going for a gray look to the woodgrain.  That's because the challenge this week at Play Date Cafe is AWESOME!  You can play along by clicking here.  I have another card for the challenge already.  Stay tuned! 

Here's the inspiration from Play Date Cafe:

Who knew Monday could be so fun!  Thanks for visiting My Happy Place!

Card Aisle Challenge

Laurie Beth, over at Soap Box Creations, challenged her blog readers to roam the card aisle to find inspiration. Then we were to go home and use the inspiration card to create one of our own.  Of course, it turns out that the cards in the aisle are way overpriced, and this just makes you feel better about all the money you spend on crafting supplies.  Well, it makes ME feel better.   You can find all the information about Laurie Beth's challenge  here and play along!  You have until Sunday. 

I didn't technically go to the card aisle to find a card.  I have received a lot of cards recently, and this one just today.

It's beautiful, I think.  I love the Ocean Tides color, the embossing look and the little bit of bling in the center of the flowers.  I would have never put this color combination together either.  It's so pretty.  I love this card.

Here's my take on it:

I heat embossed some leaves from Turning a New Leaf on the Ocean Tides cardstock, die-cut a couple of strips from the Eyelet Lace border die, and added some bling in the centers.  After stamping the sentiment on a Spellbinders die and adding some twine, I was finished.  Easy peasy.  It's not quite as fancy as the store bought card, but I love this one too. 

This was a great challenge, Laurie Beth!  Thanks for the wonderful inspiration!

And thank you for visiting My Happy Place!

Papertrey Paper Dolls Blog Hop

Hi there!  Are you having fun hopping along with the Dolls?  We are happy to have this hop so that we can get to know each other better, learn about favorite styles, colors, techniques and to share a little something that we made in honor of what brought us together last year - Papertrey Ink - PTI.

Our theme for the Blog Hop is PTI.  In each project you see, we have used something that starts with a P, something that starts with a T and something that starts with an I.

I was able to get two of my ideas completed and ready for our hop.  Here's my first one:

 

How does this fit into the theme?

P = Patterned Paper (Turning a New Leaf from PTI)

T = Turning a New Leaf stamp set, Twine, Tea Dye Duo

I = Inside and Out: Thank You stamp set and Impression Plate (Woodgrain)

My second card is a little more Spring-y:
 

How does this fit into the theme?

P = Plum Pudding cardstock, ribbon and ink

T = Tags for Spring

I = Impression Plate (Linen)

Here's a little bit more about me:
-My PTI forum name is - Lee Anne (I got lucky!)

-Where am I - I live in Texas.

-My day job - I'm a middle school science teacher.  (There are several teachers in our group!)

-My family - I just celebrated my 10-year anniversary with my wonderful husband, and we have a 5-year old son who keeps us running around. I grew up the youngest of 3 girls.  My older sisters still try to boss me around, even though I'm 40 years old now.

-When I discovered PTI - I discovered PTI between the February and March releases in 2009 and made my first purchase in March.  I purchased Wishing You and Flower Garden in my first purchase and they are still some of my favorite sets. In fact, last summer I did a tribute to both sets.  I want everyone to love both of these sets!

- How long I've been a Doll - Last year, about this time, the forum was really busy and several blog groups were forming.  I decided to join with this one, and I filled the last spot available.  Again, I got lucky! It's a great group.

-Favorite PTI products (besides stamps) - I'm loving the dies that PTI comes out with, and the cardstock is like no other!

-Favorite PTI stamp sets - That's tough!  I love Every Day Button bits for it's whimsical nature, Flower Garden for its versatility, Turning a New Leaf for its background building ability, and Tiny Treats Valentines because it can be used for almost anything!

-Favorite PTI color - Pure Poppy

-Favorite PTI color combo - Hibiscus Burst and Spring Moss

That's all from me today!  Make sure you leave a comment here before you leave so that you can be in the drawing for the stamp set we are giving away.  You are on your way to Laurie Beth now.  What a treat!

If a link doesn't work or you get lost along the way, click HERE to retun to the Dolls Blog!

Are you going to play along and link up a project with our PTI theme?  We'd love to see what you do. Link up on the Dolls blog for a chance to win a gift certificate.   

Thanks for visiting My Happy Place!  Come back soon!

PTI Anniversary - Day 2 - Card 2

Today is the second day of Papertrey Ink's 4th Anniversary!  Nichole has an awesome free download of nine designer tags and an incredible - mouth-dropping - prize up for grabs.  You can get all the details here. 

Here's the free download:

Here's one of two cards I managed to create.  I used Dawn's tag on this one.

When I first saw Dawn's image this morning, I immediately thought of a flower center.  It took me way too long to make this card.  Again, I used Turning a New Leaf, but stamped it in VersaMark and embossed it with some Zing powder.  I found the perfect color to match PTI's Simply Chartreuse.  Prepare to see more and more of that!


Thanks for dropping by! 

(Go Packers!)

PTI Anniversary - Day 2 - Card 1

Today is the second day of Papertrey Ink's 4th Anniversary!  Nichole has an awesome free download of nine designer tags and an incredible - mouth-dropping - prize up for grabs.  You can get all the details here. 

Here's the free download:

I know.  Cool!  My problem with this challenge is the pressure.  Once I printed them and got into my office to create, I couldn't do anything.  Too much going on I guess!  I finally came up with a couple of cards, and many of the tags you see above are still on my desk, half-colored, half-mounted, just still sitting there.

Here's one of two cards I managed to create.  I used Heather's tag on this one.

I loved the hint of Ripe Avocado on the tag and used the same color to stamp Turning a New Leaf, cut it out and mounted it behind the focal point.  Thanks, Heather and Nichole for a GREAT image!  Love it! 

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

Make Me Smile

This is for this week's Paper Dolls Challenge given to us by Cecila.  She challenged us to use a color we hardly ever use and a technique we haven't used in a while.  I used one of the Paper Crafts Connection's Go-To Sketches by Betsey Veldman for this card.  I love using sketches - it's one of my favorite starting points when making a card or a layout.  I hardly ever use the Raspberry Fizz color, and I don't really know why. It's bright and beautiful!  I need to look into it more.  Two techniques I haven't used in awhile are on here - first, cutting a circle card and second, using scor-tape and glitter.  (Hope those count as 'techniques.')

The butterfly is from my drawer of embellishments, and I think my friend, Tanna, gave it to me.  The final size of the circle is 5" and I figure I can write a note on the back of this!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:

Stamps: Turning a New Leaf,  Handwritten Notes

Cardstock:  Raspberry Fizz

Patterned Paper: 2008 Bitty Dot Basics (Lemon Tart)

Ink: Hibiscus Burst 

Buttons: Spring Rain, New Leaf, Whate

Ribbon: Rustic Cream Button Twine

Tools: 1/4-inch scor tape

Other:  Butterfly, Versamark, glitter

Heather's Sketch

During the latest countdown for PTI, Heather gave us a sketch to use.  You can see her awesome example and the sketch she drew here.  Again, I have been scrapping each month of my son's life since he was born.  This is the past Thanksgiving.  A lot happened in November, so there will be 2 other layouts for that month - going to see "Walking With Dinosaurs" and a trip to the zoo.  I've just started using these page dividers to make life a little easier.  That is the layout on the left; it's just out of the dividers.  The right side is following Heather's sketch.  She also wanted us to use some PTI dies in our layouts.  This die is Fillable Frames #1. After seeing Heather's example again, I wish I would have looked at it again before I started my own.  I like how she used more patterned paper.  That is always a challenge to me. 

Thanks for looking!

Papertrey Ink Supplies:
Turning a New Leaf Stamp set
Fillable Frame #1 die
Summer Sunrise, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate, Tea Dye Duo inks
Rustic Jute Twine and Rustic Buttons

Other Supplies
Hero Arts "Happy Thanksgiving" set (CL119)
unknown patterned paper
Probably Archivers green and gold cardstocks

Papertrey Pages, May Challenge

Beth posted a challenge for the PTI scrapbookers to motivate us to use our stamps more in scrapbooking.  This month's challenge is to use watercoloring on a layout.

Since my son was born, I have made a scrapbook each year that highlights month by month.  This is the October page from this past October.  A friend of mine dragged me kicking and screaming into the pre-divided page protectors, so that is the page that is on the left.  I just took it out of the protector to prevent the glare.  The reason I have gone in this direction of scrapbooking is because I'm behind on my self-imposed deadline because some certain company has entwined me into cardmaking.  Hmmm. Wonder which company that is!

Here is my layout.  I blacked out the faces of other kids.  My husband asked me why I did that and the only answer I had was that it just felt like the right thing to do, so please excuse the blotches.  They are precious children, just not mine.

I stamped the pumpkin on Vintage Cream and colored them in with Aquacolor pencils using orange and brown. Then I used my Dove Blender pen to blend in the colors.  I tried to make the pumpkin darker on the left side.  The change is not as dramatic as it looks in the picture.  It's actually blended pretty evenly.

Supplies:
-Stamps:  Hero Arts Happy Thanksgiving (pumpkin), PTI's Turning a New Leaf
-Paper: random Kraft 12x12, PTI's Vintage Cream
-Ink: PTI's Dark Chocolate and Orange Zest
-Aquacolor Pencils and a Dove Blending Pen
-American Crafts Thickers

Life is better...

Here's my card for today!

Papertrey Ink supplies:
-Turning a New Leaf stamp set
-Life stampset
-Dark Chocolate ink
-Ripe Avocado ink
-Tea Dye Duo
-Vintage Cream cardstock
-Ripe Avocado twill ribbon

Other:
-brown cardstock
-pearls colored with dark chocolate ink

Friends for Life

When I first discovered PTI, I asked people on the forum which green I should order, New Leaf or Ripe Avocado.  Most votes went to Ripe Avocado and I can understand why.  It's a beautiful green and combines nicely with so many other colors.  I loved the Turning a New Leaf stamp set when it was first introduced.  It's a keeper!

Supplies: (all Papertrey Ink unless noted otherwise)

Stamps:  Turning a New Leaf, Life

Cardstock:  Vintage Cream, random kraft

Ink:  Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, Tea Dye Duo

Other:  Rustic Twine, New Leaf button, EK Success border punch, random pearls colored with Dark Chocolate ink

Butterfly Happy Birthday

I knew the moment I saw the sneak peek for Butterfly Dreams that I had to have it.  I love butterflies, and the designs that Niki Estes created are fabulous!

I tried the emboss resist technique with not much success, but I still like how the card turned out.  Is there a better color than Spring Moss?  Maybe Spring Rain, or Summer Sunrise, or Ripe Avocado, or OH - Enchanted Evening?  You get the picture!

I need a photography lesson too!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: (all Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Paper: Vintage Cream and random kraft

Ink:  Tea Dye Duo, Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss

Stamps: Turning a New Leaf, Background Basics: Tin Type, Butterfly Dreams

Ribbon: Spring Moss Twill Tape

Other: Aquacolor pencils, dove blender pen, embossing powder, corner rounder, PTI's Fillable Frames #1 Diecut