What I Do Instead of Laundry

Now this one was fun! Becky Oehlers has another challenge using polka dots, red, white and aqua. The measurements are specific, and we were to also use a button. These colors are so fun together, and I feel like I need to wear a poodle skirt or something. My friend has borrowed my Polka Dot Basics stamp set, so I thought I couldn't do this particular challenge. Then I had a stroke of genius...the polka dots don't all need to be the same size--duh. I used all kinds of circle punches to create my 3-D polka dots. I really like how it turned out (after about 42 small white sentiment strips later...). Paper: PTI White, Pure Poppy, Aqua Mist Ink: Versafine Onyx Stamps: PTI Piece of Cake Other: PTI button, 1 3/8", 1", 5/8", 1/4" and double circle punches, PTI Aqua Mist twill ribbon, dimensional tape, patience

I'm killing two birds with one stone today...I made this card for the Papertrey Princesses challenge #4 and low and behold, it fills the requirements for Lisa Johnson's new set of "Poppy Seed Challenges". Michele challenged our blog group to color, and this new violets set is perfect. My coloring supplies and skills, however, are not. I finally caved and bought some Copic markers, but they are not here yet. So after using pastels, markers and finally Prisma pencils, on three different cards, this is my final answer. Prisma colors. I forgot how much I love to color. Why didn't I start this sooner? Lisa's first challenge has three "seeds", and the rules aren't strict, but I managed to follow all of them. Flowers, crystals and light yellow. Go me! (Crystals are in the center of the purple flower.) I actually really surprised myself, and I love how this card turned out. I love those outlines stamped in Smokey Shadow--they look like penc...

For this month's Hop, we are to pay homage to a member of PTI's Design Team. They are all so very talented! I chose a recent project by the amazing Debbie Olson . I loved her simple design with white embossed violets on Raspberry Fizz, with a few little details sprinkled in--sparkly centers, a scored edge and rounded corners. Just beautiful! I actually copied this card exactly, because it was so easy, but then I decided to change it up a bit. Here is my version in Enchanted Evening, with the smaller flowers. I didn't have the right color buttons, so I made a little fancy ribbon edge. The sparkles are flat rhinestone stickers. Best $1.99 I've spent in a while! Thanks for the inspiration, Debbie! Paper: PTI White, Enchanted Evening Ink: PTI Enchanted Evening, Versamark Stamps: PTI Year of Flowers: Violets Other: Filigree White Embossing Powder, PTI EE twill ribbon, flat rhinestone stickers, corner rounder

Becky, thank you. This was much easier. :) Becky Oehlers has really amazing Compose a Card challenges. And they are challenges, but that's what makes it fun. Here is this week's: I really like the combination of green, black and white. I do have a '70's flashback aversion to the particular shade of avocado, but it does look pretty in this scenario. Just not next to orange and yellow in wallpaper or kitchen appliances, and I think we're fine. Anywho...This is my take on it: Paper: PTI True Black, White, Ripe Avocado Ink: Versafine Onyx, SU Old Olive (and marker) Stamps: PTI Sweet Love, Simple Little Things Other: Offray organdy and narrow satin ribbon, PTI Black satin, Avocado button, oval scallop punch

Happy Valentine's Day! Here are two valentines that I made for Grandma and Grandpa. I like how this first one turned out--very graphic and precise. After I punched out the square, I stamped the stripes from Background Basics-Retro three times. The hearts are punched, too. My 5-YO looked at the kraft cardstock and said, "Mom, this paper is hairy." Here's another version of the CPS challenge card I made a few days ago. I heat embossed the flowers in white on Raspberry Fizz cardstock, then colored in the centers with a clear stardust pen. Card #1 Paper: PTI Kraft, White, Pure Poppy Ink: SU Real Red Stamps: PTI Men of Life, Background Basics-Retro Other: square punch, heart punches Card #2 Paper: PTI White, Raspberry Fizz, Pure Poppy, SU Pixie Pnk Ink: Versamark, SU Pink Passion (& marker) Stamps: PTI Background Basics-Petal Power, Heart Prints Other: Sakura Stardust pen-clear, Heart punches, white embossing powder

After doing Becky's challenge, I had a few white-embossed-on-Pink-Passion-with-rhinestones-thrown-in flowers, including this one, so I put it to good use. I had sponged the flower with Fresh Snow ink, so it looks softer than normal. I thought it would look nice with Smokey Shadow paper. Lucky me, I already had those leaves cut out from another discarded project. Voila! a super-fast card. And I need many, many more sentiments in this font. Please, Alli Miles! Paper: PTI White, Smokey Shadow, Raspberry Fizz, SU Gable Green Ink: Versamark, PTI Fresh Snow Stamps: PTI Friends 'Til the End, Communique Curves Sentiments Other: White Embossing Powder, Flat rhinestone stickers, cramped hands from all the cutting

So I missed PTI's Emboss Resist challenge by several hours. Whoops. But I made one anyway, and I really like how it turned out. I used white shimmer cardstock, and in real life, it still shimmers under the leaves. Pretty. There are also flat rhinestone stickers in the flower middles. Did I say how much I love those? I flipped some polka dot ribbon over (I liked the width) and heat embossed the sentiment. And believe it or not, this is my first card to use buttons! Paper: PTI White, white shimmer Ink: SU Gable Green, Pink Passion, Versamark Stamps: PTI Background Basics-Petal Power, Turning a New Leaf, Friends 'Til the End Other: PTI Raspberry Fizz polka dot ribbon, buttons, slivers of Offray ribbon, white embossing powder, flat rhinestone stickers

Becky Oehlers , you're killing me. How do you make it look so effortless to combine these colors? I thought I'd give your challenge a try this time, and I thought I had it all figured out at 7:30 this morning. Here it is 3:00 pm, and I'm finally finished. You have stretched me to my limits, but I'm happy to say, I enjoyed the process. Thank you for the challenge after all. This challenge specified a 5x7 card with a Spring Rain mat of 3x4.5, a scallop border, white embossed flower on Raspberry Fizz, and a flourish on Terra Cotta Tile. Oh, and throw in some rhinestones, too. Well, I don't have Terra Cotta Tile, so I used the emboss resist technique and sponged SU Real Rust and Ruby Red over the flourishes. I like the mottled background it gives, so I softened the Spring Rain and scalloped border with some white ink. Several hundred flowers later, and I finally decided on a few from Petal Power with flat rhinestone stickers in the centers. I cut out the flourish and a...

Today's PTI Anniversary challenge is to use a particular color palette and cutting recipe to make a card, in honor of the new line of acrylic paints. I have to say I'm intrigued, since my painting and card making worlds have never collided in such a way before. Anyway, here is the palette I used--I have to say, I would never in a million years put these five colors together voluntarily, and I am secretly jealous of anyone whose first initial is between N and Z . I was pleasantly surprised with the result, though. Who knew? Okay, Nichole Heady did, of course. These colors seemed pretty masculine to me, so I went with it. Did I mention how much I love Turning a New Leaf? Well, I do. I decided to tear the paper, rather than use scallops, and I made the Lemon Tart strip narrower, tucking it underneath. Paper: PTI Vintage Cream, Ocean Tides, Spring Moss, Lemon Tart, Kraft Ink: Versamark, Ocean Tides Stamps: PTI Turning a New Leaf, Birthday Basics

Papertrey is sponsoring this week's sketch at CPS-Card Sketches , and there is a fabulous prize involved. Here is sketch #153, and my take on it--a valentine for Grandma... I used a marker to color the outline heart on the multi-lined image in Heart Prints. I also thought the centers of the flowers could use a little sparkle, so I filled them in with another Sakura Stardust pen. Paper: PTI White, Raspberry Fizz, Pure Poppy, SU Pixie Pink Ink: SU Pink Passion Stamps: PTI Heart Prints, Background Basics-Petal Power Other: Heart punches, Sakura Stardust pink pen