What I Do Instead of Laundry

This challenge, hosted by Leah , consists of making a one-layer card.  As if that would be easy or something...I don't know why it's so hard to do that sometimes--I suppose that little 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 canvas seems too blank.  Here are two of mine: The first one is just a simple wedding card--Everyday Classics flourish used twice, then heat embossed in silver.  Sentiment is from Piece of Cake, done in black after the ampersand was embossed.  Corners rounded. This next card was a little more time-consuming.  All the white is heat embossed, but I used a mask to make it look like the flowers and leaf are layered.  (If you aren't familiar with masking, it's when you stamp your image onto a post-it note and cut it out.  After stamping the image on your card, you place the post-it mask over it, then stamp the other image, so it overlaps without ruining your first image.  Remove the post-it, and voila!  Depth!  Dimension!  Make sense?)  Okay, after all that, I colored the flowers...

This month we were challenged to use yellow.  It doesn't seem like it would be that hard, but for some reason, it can be.  I do love the combination of Berry Sorbet and Lemon Tart, so I stamped the big flower from PTI's Everyday Classics  in Berry Sorbet on white, then cut it out.  The small flowers are stamped in SU Ruby Red and popped up on dimensionals.  For the leaves, I used the wings from the birds in that set.  Enjoy! Paper: PTI White, Bitty Dot Lemon Tart Ink: PTI Berry Sorbet, SU Certainly Celery, Ruby Red Stamps: PTI Everyday Classics, Friends 'Til the End Other: Dimensional tape, corner rounder

Interesting challenge this time...I usually pair raspberry or magenta with more lime greenish colors, but this worked out okay.  Here's my favorite big flower and its leaves--heat embossed in white on PTI Raspberry Fizz paper, then cut out.  Leaves are embossed on PTI Ripe Avocado and cut out.  The center of the flower is actually colored with a SU Always Artichoke marker. Paper: PTI White, Raspberry Fizz, Ripe Avocado, Bitty Dots Spring Moss Ink: Versamark, SU Old Olive Stamps: PTI Friends 'Til the End, Birthday Basics Other: SU Always Artichoke marker

This challenge surprised me, because I ended up really liking this color combination.  At first, I thought it screamed '80's, but I suppose it all depends on the proportions of color.  I had a lot of fun, and I made 2 cards.  I think I might even make more... For the first card I used all kinds of circles and dots from various sets.  I've been waiting to use those concentric ones from PTI's Father Knows Best for a really long time.  I like how it turned out.  I also traced a Maya Road flower onto Aqua Mist cardstock and cut it out. I spent a lot of time on this one, trying to get it right.  What I had in my head didn't translate exactly, but I still like it.  Those are Maya Road flowers, and I just tied a knot in the ribbon, then pushed it through the center hole. Card #1: Paper: PTI White, Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist Ink: PTI Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist, Fresh Snow, SU Chocolate Chip Stamps: PTI Father Knows Best, Women of Life, Polka Dot Basics, Everyday Classics Other...

I wanted to wait to post this until she actually opened it, so this is the gift set of cards I made my mom for her birthday.  The card may look a little familiar...instead this time I used the flourish from With Sympathy in white on vellum.  I wanted her to have the flexibility of using customized labels, so I included those as well.  The box is Lauren Meader's "Captured Card Case" Timeless Template .  My first one--I'm so proud...Oh, my parents have pomegranate trees in their backyard (oh, how I miss them), so I thought Purely Pomegranate paper would be appropriate :). Here's the selection of sentiments. The card case and the example card... Paper: PTI White, vellum,  SU Purely Pomegranate Ink: PTI Fresh Snow, Versafine Onyx Stamps: PTI With Sympathy, Men of Life, Women of Life, SU Warmest Regards Other: Labels-Office Max, PTI true black satin ribbon, SU scallop punch

Today is my mom's 75th birthday.  She is just amazing, and I am so proud to be her daughter.  She is the smartest woman on the planet, and the most generous and kind-hearted.  She is a very faithful and strong woman who has borne hard times with resolute determination and hard work.  I hope I am living my life in a way that will make her proud of me. Isn't she beautiful? Here she is in 1934 with her mother and grandmother in Boulder City, Nevada.  Her dad was helping to build Hoover (Boulder) Dam. Here are my parents as newlyweds in 1952.  So cute. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Are you tired of Friends 'Til the End yet?  I'm certainly not...I was playing with vellum the other day and really liked how the lines of these flowers looked on it.  Vellum is tricky, because things smear, and it is difficult to adhere.  I do like it, but I'm a little scared of it. I masked the flower to stamp the leaves behind.  Yes, I cut that blasted flower out again!  I also used a silver Sakura Stardust pen for the centers.  Click to enlarge for full sparkle effect.   Paper: PTI White, vellum,  SU Purely Pomegranate  Ink: PTI Fresh Snow Stamps: PTI Friends 'Til the End, Everyday Classics (Hooray, it finally came!) Other: ribbon from Michael's/Offray, SU black eyelets, Sakura Stardust pen-silver, dimensional tape, SU scallop punch

Another color challenge ...I thought this would be easy, but I found myself staring and rearranging for an hour and a half.  Silly.  I think I get stuck in a layout rut sometimes, and my brain has a hard time digging itself out.  I am happy with this final product, though.  I do not have any Smoky Shadow ink or paper from PTI yet, so I sponged some black cardstock with white ink.  I also used Versafine Onyx ink for the handle, but I stamped it off once.  Clever me. In a brief a-ha moment, I decided to loop the ribbon differently, and I like how it turned out.  I just put a little adhesive in between the loopy things and stuck them down.  (Mono runner--it holds the ribbon better than Mono Multi glue).  I haven't ever tried sewing on cards like many of you have, so this is my version. Paper: PTI White, SU Pixie Pink, unknown cheapy black Ink: PTI Fresh Snow, SU Pixie Pink, Versafine Onyx Stamps: PTI Polka Dot Basics, Scattered Showers Other: PTI Raspberry Fizz satin ribbon

For this challenge, hosted by Michele , we are supposed to use a set that we have neglected.  Don't we all have those?  I bought Men of Life right when it came out, because I just loved everything about it.  Unfortunately, it has sat, so forlorn, on the shelf--and I really don't know why.  It's a great set.  For this card, I used one of the stems from Green Thumb to make the mast.  The one included in the set is too little for some reason.  I also matted the image on vellum, because I didn't want to introduce too much brown. Here is another set which I actually love, but I haven't used for a long time--Piece of Cake.  The card is monochromatic, just for you, Michele :).  I didn't include any sentiment on the front, but this could be used for a birthday or wedding card.  I need to remember to leave sentiments off the fronts more often.  I stamped the background in Versamark, then I went back over the big flowers with my Essential Glue Pad and some superfine-love...

I made a set of 10 cards for a friend's bridal shower the other day. I just embossed in white the scrolly image from PTI's With Sympathy onto Blue Bayou cardstock. The monogram is also embossed and raised up on dimensional tape. The ribbon really is Dark Chocolate, I promise. I had the most difficult time photographing it this time--don't know why. Paper: PTI White, SU Bayou Blue Ink: Versamark Stamps: PTI With Sympathy, B&C Mono Edition, Ambassador Monogram alpha Other: White Filigree embossing powder, PTI Dark Chocolate satin ribbon, dimensional tape

Here is my first challenge card for the blog group I've joined, called Papertrey Princesses (see sidebar). The challenge was to use paper piecing, which means I stamp an outline stamp onto patterned or colored paper, then carefully cut it out and place it where I want on the card. Often I will also stamp the outline stamp on the background paper as well, so little details won't get lost, like those little points on the umbrella. This has been a really fun technique, and I'm seeing more possibilities with time and practice. I love the beach, and I just needed a beach umbrella somehow, and this is the result. It makes me happy. On this card I mimicked clouds by using the scrap I had torn off from the "sand" as a mask. I then sponged white ink around the scrap. The line for the umbrella handle comes from PTI's Green Thumb, and the little birds are from the "handstamped by" stamp from Birds of a Feather. Paper: PTI Spring Rain, Bitty Dot patterns,...

Another Raspberry Suite challenge from Dawn McVey ...This time these colors are so easy to use together--in fact, this is one of my most favorite color combinations ever!  I have posted several cards using these colors:   here , here , here , and here .  Great combo!  This first one uses a retired SU set that is still one of my favorites, called "I'm Here".  I just love the foot and handprints.  "Blessings" is from the original PTI Out On a Limb, when the sentiments were 50% smaller than they are now.  Ribbon is PTI Aqua Mist satin polka dot.  Yum. This card uses SU's "Seeing Spots"--also another fave.   Card #1:  Paper: PTI White, SU Chocolate Chip Ink: Versamark Stamps: SU I'm Here, PTI Out On a Limb Other: PTI Aqua Mist Satin Dot ribbon, white embossing powder, corner rounder Card #2: Paper: PTI White, SU Soft Sky Ink: SU Chocolate Chip Stamps: SU Seeing Spots, PTI B&C Mono. Edition, Mixed Messages Other: Offray ribbon, dimensional tap...