Jingle Belles Text Me Challenge Take 3

 I know! not only is it almost the end of February but now I've gone and done a third card for this challenge. (Actually I had 4 potential takes on this one card but selected the one below as my favorite and the only one I turned into a card but I digress...)

Lauren made her 2nd card and it brought to mind a stamp I own that hasn't seen ink in years. It's a very old one from Stampin Up! that I'd always liked very much but hadn't been too successful using. I decided to give it another try. 

I embossed the image using versamark and a Hero Arts Gold embossing powder. Then pulled out a few  different sets of watercolors - Gansai Tambi regular as well as Starry Colors and a set of Prima Metallic Accents. I wanted alll the sparkle. I did try a few different color combinations - and the one you see here was the most successful. I'm glad I finally got a card out of this stamp! Anyone else have some stamps in their collections you haven't been able to make work for you? Thanks for stopping by!

Hello Sunshine

Hello Friends! Hope you all enjoyed the holiday weekend. It was quiet around here - good for getting some things accomplished. I told you I've been purging and reorganizing The never ending project it seems. I'm trying to think of it more as steady progress toward a final solution to this room! Anyhow my husband and I took a little drive to Ikea and purchased a shelving unit. He put it together and my daughter helped me move it into my room yesterday. I'm kind of thrilled with it. It's close to waist-high and perfectly fits my printer and big shot  (and some baskets of dies) on top and can house my Silhouette portrait, more dies, Xyron, AG Minc,  label maker, embossing folders, Project Life stuff and a little bit more. I'm still rearranging things or I'd throw in a picture. Maybe soon.

Where's the card Tracy? You knew there was one right? I had started making some cards using Papertrey Ink's Bowl of Sunshine last week when I got together with my friends June and Amy (hi girls!). I'd intended to make these my "June Dear Ones" cards - and I may still. But I wanted  to send a card to an old friend  (we'd met last week for lunch when she was passing through the 'burg.) So I decided to use one of the cards in progress. I'd already embossed the front of the card with a StampinUp! embossing folder (using a Tim HOltz diffuser plate to create that main section that's plain). I just needed to add the image that I already die cut and stamped as well as stamp the sentiment. The sentiment is from the Hello Sunshine set - also PTI). Pretty quick and easy and I like the color combo a lot. 

Okay that's all from me today - thanks so much for stopping by!

Year of Thinking of You - September

Well - this edition of my "Year of Thinking of You" cards should probably be August - but I got a little mixed up when I was posting all these cards. No matter - my sister-in-law will send the card she wants to send at the appropriate time right?
We're a big beach family - we've got a family home at the beach in Delaware. This sister-in-law (the one who is sending these cards) is especially fond of the beach and the friend she's sending the cards to has been a visitor to the house on many occasions. I knew my s-i-l would like to include a beach-y card to her friend.
I found the sentiment in the Silhouette design store a few years ago. I actually made t-shirts for us all with that cutfile :-) So I decided to put it to use again this time by making it a print & cut file. I printed it off and distressed the edges a little then mounted it on a piece of cardstock I ran through my cuttlebug with the Woodgrain Impression plate from PTI. I distressed that woodgrain piece after adding some Fresh Snow ink. The stamped the background cardstock with some stamps from StampinUp (long since retired - Stipple Shells) with Versamark. Finally I tied on some Rustic Cream twine. Ooops - almost forgot - I diecut that starfish using an old die from Quickutz. Thanks for stopping by!

The 11th Annual Valentine Rakarama

Good Morning Friends. Yes it is that time of year - time for my 11th Annual Valentine Rakarama. What is that you say? Well it's when I send Valentines to my crafty friends (and a few non-crafty ones). I heard the term "Gal-en-tines" recently and that sums it up nicely. Valentines for girlfriends. Honestly I need very little excuse to send a card - but Valentine's Day is probably my favorite. I've got most of my previous Rakarama's tagged in the column to your right if you're interested in years previous. In past years, I have challenged myself to make each Valentine different. Last year I made them all the same and this is what I chose to do gain this year. I made 25 of these. Yes, I think I need my head examined some days. The initial idea came to me when Papertrey Ink introduced a stamp set in December. It's called Love You To Pieces. While that main set is quite nice, it was the Additions version that caught my eye. It had that sentiment - love you to pieces - in it. And I thought of pieces as puzzle pieces. I have some Quickutz puzzle piece dies I thought I would use for the cards. Fast forward to middle/end of January and I decided I really wanted entire puzzles to be included in the card. (this is how these simple ideas evolve into a little bit of crazy).

Life got busy and I wasn't able to begin my valentines until Monday... yes.. this week. I worked on them on Monday and Tuesday and had them all in the mail on Wednesday. I created the puzzles on my Silhouette Portrait. I used the print & cut feature - printing out hearts that I filled with a pattern. I stamped them all with an old sentiment stamp from StampinUp that I love. Then I returned the whole thing to my Silhouette to cut out the puzzles. (The pic I've included here shows the first go around when I stamped after I cut the puzzles.) It worked like a charm. I'd never used the print & cut feature before but it couldn't have been easier.

I put the puzzle pieces in glassine envelopes I'd gotten from PTI. I sealed those envelopes with stickers I also made on my Silhouette. I used PTI Sticker Paper and did that print & cut again - just created small hearts with the words "open here" - printed and cut them out. I did stamp the wee chevron patterns on each one using PTI's Bitty Blocks II. I tied on some PTI Rustic Cream twine (that took longer than anything I did on ese cards!).The rest of the card was a bit simpler. I stamped and embossed (PTI White Filigree EP) the tiny hearts onto vellum using PTI's Background Basics: Hearts. Attached that to the background cardstock and topped it with a heart doily I bought at Michaels. The bag o'puzzle pieces was attached then and finally I added the heart (also cut on the Silhouette) which I stamped with that cute sentiment (love you to pieces) which started this whole thing!

I'm really pleaseD with how they came out if I do say so myself. It's very "Valentine" and that's what I was shooting for. 

I'll share some other valentine's I made in the next day or so. Until then, have a lovely Valentine's Day with the ones you love. Thanks for stopping by.

Year of Cards: February

I've been working away at my "year of cards" gifts for the family. I've been working on June in the past week and realized I'd forgotten to post February's edition. I used Papertrey Ink's Birthday Classics: February stamp set and Scarlet Jewel patterned paper. I also used a couple of Papertrey dies: the heart border as well as the Monthly Moments: Spiral Notebook die. I was feelin it needed something else so I hunted through my stamps and found an older set from StampinUp! - a Sell-A-Bration set called Fresh Vintage. Not sure if you can see it in the photo but it just adds a little something to break up that space. And on this particular card (there are 8 of these cards) I used a distressing tool to rough up the edges. I made half of the cards using the Fine Linen cardstock you see here. The other half I used Soft Stone. Both colors looked so pretty with the Scarlett Jewel and I just couldn't decide LOL!
I'll post June probably tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

The 10th Annual Valentine Rakarama!

I cannot believe it's been 10 years since I started my little tradition of sending Valentines to my crafty girlfriends. I really look forward to it every year. Valentine's are probably my favorite card to make. I don't know why, but there is something about making Valentines. Even just sending Valentines. Love it.
I clearly remember - going back to elementary school - going to the Pharmacy in my little town in northern New Jersey (we moved there when I was 8 from New York) and buying my very own Valentines. They were Peanuts :-) You know, Charlie Brown, Snoopy... Yes, we normally made our Valentines.... using doilies naturellement! but I was in love with Snoopy at the time. And they were such pretty Valentines. I even had a red Flair marker (for those of us who are a certain age.... Flairs were big back then. It was the beginning of my life long obsession with pens. But I digress... you knew I would....) I wrote each Valentine with my best handwriting with that red pen and I was the happiest little girl. Ahhhh.

So fast forward (we shall skip the number of years ... suffice it to say The Beatles had played Ed Sullivan a few years before LOL) and I'm still doing my Valentine thing. With the hope that the recipients will know I'm thinking about them - sending lots of XOXO

For those of you who are familiar with my Rakarama (i've got some previous years linked up in the sidebar - just haven't gotten around to linking them all) in the past I've taken to challenging myself to making each Valentine different - sort of the "snowflake" of valentines... no one valentine exactly the same. Well, this year that wasn't happening. I've got some stuff preoccupying my life right now so I had to go a more simple route. Well... nothing with me is quite simple. I got started and kept adding things and well... it took a while to assemble them all. I'm up to about 30 Valentines this year.

I started thinking of these valentines back in December - knowing I wanted to use a tag and a wee paper bag (some of you know I love paper bags.... and kraft cardstock). January 1st rolled around and I started getting serious. I thought I had some little paper bags in my stash but they were no where to be found so I grabbed some at Michaels. I had been looking around online and found a very pretty patterned paper I just couldn't forget - and with me - that's the sign I must purchase LOL. So I bought a bunch of this patterned paper - from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Record It!
The stamp set is from Wplus9 - Valentine Wishes - can I say how much I am in love with this set? I am in love with this set! The calligraphy, the banners, the fleurs. Too fabulous for words. I stamped the sentiment with StampinUp Purely Pomegranate (not even sure if they make that anymore?) - it was just the perfect red to go along with the patterned paper and the beautiful Bazzill cardstock (Juneberry).
I'm going to discuss the banner area in a minute.
A few more notes - the tag was cut from kraft cardstock using PTI's Tag Sale #7 die. The little heart tag tied on at the top was cut using Tiny Tags from PTI.
The pink cardstock - which is just the perfect shade of pink - is from Wplus9 - called Ballet Slippers - the most aptly named cardstock if there ever was one.
I used a scallop border die from PTI as well.
The heart doily - is just that - a heart doily - got a whole pack of those a while ago and put them away for a rainy day - or Valentines ;-)
Almost forgot - the Happy Valentines Day sentiment on the tag is from the Happy Day set from PTI. Also the pink heart was cut from the PTI Limitless Layers: Hearts dies

Okay now that banner. I stamped the banner on the wee little bag. Then I took the sentiment that goes inside it - bent it in the opposite direction - and placed it on my acrylic block. Sometimes you just need to work with what you have to make it work (I guess the banner was designed to work one way - but I wanted to use it another way)
Once that banner with sentiment was on that bag-  I wanted it to stand out - pop it up a little from the background (and I didn't want to do anymore diecutting). So I took a Copic Marker W1 - and colored all around the bottom section of the bag to get the effect I wanted. I think you can see in the picture that the banner looks much lighter than the surrounding bag.
Finally I used a lot of bakery twine (i have a huge roll - like the kind they use in the bakery). Tied the little heart tag to the larger kraft tag and put that large tag in the bag and I was done.
So that wraps up the Rakarama this year. As much as I loved every minute this may be the last. (well maybe til December of next year when I start to get vision of Valentines dancing in my head instead of sugarplums). Thanks for stopping by...and Happy Valentine's Day!
ETA: when I went to link up my card earlier today to the Step it Up Challenge at Wplus9 I wasn't able to - I was so disappointed. Now I just found out the deadline has been extended! YAY!

Happy Birthday with Ruby Reprise

Doubtful the recipient has received her card yet (dreaded snowstorm may've delayed the mailman)  but I'm going to post this regardless. Happy Birthday Michele! 
I sat down to make this card and had some lovely inspiration in mind when I did - check out this card by Betsy Veldman. I just loved how she used that tiny little flower stamp from Ruby Reprise (a wonderful little freebie stamp set from Papertrey Ink.)That little flower just dancing across the card. Kinda makes me think of twinkling lights. Anyhow...
 I stamped the flower all over my card in two colors (PTI Fresh Snow and SU! Lovely Lilac - which i think is retired? i have my reinker thank goodness!)  The sentiment is from PTI's Stylish Sentiments: Birthday and you'll note I continued stamping the little flower in the sentiment banner area only this time I used PTI's Fine Linen. The cardstock used is PTI Fine Linen, Winter Wisteria and Royal Velvet. I topped the whole thing off with a little grosgrain ribbon at the top and a button tied with some embroidery thread.
Okay that's it for today. I do have another card I'll be posting soon. I know... two cards in a week - I think... I think I'm back :-)

Sympathy Cards

Always a hard thing to make aren't they?

One of the first sets I think I bought from Papertrey Ink was With Sympathy. I've unfortunately used that set a lot. It's a wonderful stamp set that has such perfect sentiments. It also has a companion set - With Sympathy:Loss of a Pet. I bought that set right away - it's a $5 set - PTI has so many great little $5 sets. And I thought I might have a use for it on occasion. When I bought it I'd asked my sister, who is a veterinarian, if she sent out sympathy cards to her patient owners? (When we'd lost two different cats to illnesses our veterinarians here sent so many cards and it was very touching and appreciated). She told me that she did. At the time I'd said I'd make her some using this set - she's very crafty but I knew she'd never get a chance - she's a busy girl - 3 little ones as well as being a vet - she rarely has time to craft. Well, as it happens I never got a chance either. Till now. I made a whole set of cards for her. I know she'll appreciate it - although I hope she never gets the chance to use them really. She takes the loss of her patients pretty hard. But if the need arises she'll have a card to send handy. I used some Fine Linen pattern pack papers, the Card Base-ics #2 die and the Buttoned Up #1 die - all from PTI. I altered the Card Base-ics die cut a little - trimmed it down about 1/4 inch on all sides to create the look I wanted - but i still wanted those notched corners. I have a punch from StampinUp which put those corners back. I also used some black embroidery floss for the die cut buttons and I clear embossed the paw prints. Here's a few more pics

Okay that's all for today - hope you have a good one!                                                                                         

84th Birthday

My father-in-law will be celebrating his 84th birthday this week and I needed to get a card made so I could put it in the mail tomorrow. Fortunately it came together pretty quickly and I think he'll like it :-) That's all for today! Have a good one~

Cardstock: PTI Kraft & Aqua Mist
Stamps: Background Basics: Woodgrain, Movers & Shakers Sentiments; StampinUp! Stippled Shells (retired)
Ink: PTI Kraft and Aqua Mist; Stampin Up! Craft White
Die: PTI Mat Stack 1
Ribbon - from my stash

Graduation Cards

It's that time of year - Graduations going on everywhere. I made a few cards from a retired StampinUp! set.
I like the red/black combo and they're the colors for one of our local high schools
I even cracked out the Stampamajig for this one - that background text stamp is maybe 2x2.

For the second card I also used Papertrey Ink's By the Numbers dies.








I'll definitely be making a few more graduation cards in the next few weeks - and I'll be trying out a new Papertrey Ink graduation set I just received - it's nice to have a little creative variety right?
okay I'm off to see what I can make! Have a good afternoon ~