MIM :2014 A la Carte

 The MIM  end of year challenge at PTI is to revisit one of the 50 challenges presented this year and use a technique you hadn't had the opportunity to try. I chose challenge #164:  Cluster Stamped Sentiment. You can click here to view the original video.
Believe it or not, I am still in Christmas mode, so I decided to make another Christmas card for 2015.

 I did selective inking on the sentiment from Think Big Favorites # 20. The leaf image is from Peaceful Pine Cones stamped in Spring Moss, New Leaf, Simply Chartreuse, Ripe Avocado and Limeade Ice.  I added a touch of Pure Poppy from the berry image in Wreath for all Seasons.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

MIM: Stamped Borders

Quick post today showcasing the card I made for this week's challenge at PTI's Make It Monday which is to create a card using partial images to stamp a border.  My card sends warm winter wishes for a speedy recovery to a sick friend.

I just love the way Melissa did the bow on her card so I tried it on mine. I really like this technique and need to remember it since it doesn't add a bump like other ribbons do.  This will be great for mailing.  Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

PTI December Blog Hop: Silver and Gold

   Even though I wasn't fond of the theme for this month's blog hop at PTI, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to participate, especially when I had time to make a card. The challenge is to create a project using BOTH silver and gold.
  I decided I would make another Christmas card. However, this one will be sent in 2015. So I already have one done and only have 54 to go.

 This was not my original design. Initially, I stamped the leaves in silver and embossed it. Then I stamped the pine cones in dark Chocolate with the intention of embossing parts of the pine cone in silver. However, it did not turn out as desired so I flipped the kraft card stock over and decided to emboss the entire image in gold adding the silver ribbon as a border.
Stamping the inside as I made the card was a first for me. Usually I just do the outside and then stamp the insides of all my Christmas cards at the same time. (Sorry for the blurriness)

I just had to create a 2nd card using a white card base as I was sure the gold embossing of the pine cones would really pop.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the Blog Hop now that the holidays are slowing down and a return to routine is just days away. Happy New Year too!

MIM: Camouflaging Die Cuts

  My great niece has a birthday the first week of January. I usually seem to forget it and end up mailing her a belated birthday card.  When I saw the video for this week's challenge for PTI's MIM, I thought this would be perfect for creating a card for her.

Yellow is her favorite color. I sponged the background with Harvest Gold, Summer Sunrise and a smidgen of Berry Sorbet.  I love this technique of camouflaging the die cut. It looks sooo neat.  I am not too happy with the way I added the balloon strings. I should have stamped them. 

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

MIM: Tab Closure Tri-Fold Card

Wow! I've been so busy with Christmas preparations, that I am only now posting my  MIM card today (Sunday) that I actually made last Wednesday.  My cards are all mailed out, but I was one short, so I decided I would try the new technique for a tri-fold card at PTI's MIM.

After looking through all my dies, I decided on one from Vintage Ornaments. After that the card just evolved.

I really liked this technique and will try it again. I do like how the card turned out too. Thanks for taking a peek.

PTI NOvember Blog Hop: Dashing through the snow.

A second post for me today for another submission to PTI's November Blog Hop where the theme is snow.  Once again I used In The Meadow. I used my Cameo to create the snow drifts and the birch trees.

The lighting on the next card is bad since I took the picture at night. It has a brown tinge to it, but I actually used Soft Stone as my background

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

PTI Blog Hop November 2014": Snow

    Can you believe that Christmas is only a month away! But Today is PTI's November Blog Hop. The theme is snow.  I just recently purchased In the Meadow. I don't know what took me so  long to get this set. It is one of my Christmas favorites next to Holly Jolly. (Polka Dot tree too) I guess I have a lot of Christmas favorites.

I sponged the background using Spring Rain and Aqua Mist. I created the little stream of snow using the Edger's die on two sides with a snip here and there. The sentiment from Star of Wonder is embossed in silver. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek. Enjoy the Blog Hop!

Newest Christmas card Challenge

I'm back with two Christmas cards today using PTI's O' Tannenbaum. I just love the little Christmas tree in that set.
 

After I made this card, I decided to try the same design with Kraft as a background.

Do you have a preference for one over the other?
I am submitting this card to a new challenge I found called Christmas Cards All Year Long. The challenge is to create a Christmas card using no pattern paper. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Gobble Gobble

Just a quick post today with two Thanksgiving cards I made for my granddaughters using my Cameo Silhouette.

A Close up shot.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Retrosketches # 141

It's been a long time since I participated in a Retrosketch challenge. Despite making many Christmas cards throughout the year, I still need quite a few more. Thought this sketch would work well with one of my new stamp sets from PTI: O'Tannenbaum.

Here's my take.

I heat embossed the tree with silver powder and stamped the ornaments & sentiment with Royal Velvet. Winter Wisteria was used for the dots around the tree. I created a snow drift using one of my edger's die. Added a dab of glitter to the edge. (My camera has a smudge on the lens; it's not the card)

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

MIM" Stamping Ombre Backgrounds

The MIM video this week on Nicole's website is Stamping Ombre Backgrounds. I decided to make a background for a Christmas cards. I love the way this card turned out. Very CAS.

I used the Linen Impression plate on the ornament to add a bit of texture. The sentiment is from Holiday Wishes. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

MIM: Partial Die Cuts for the Holidays

Just a quick post for PTI's MIM: Partial Die Cuts for the Holidays. I used the Christmas Tree die as my focal point. The partial die cuts were the swags from Birthday Style.

  I just loved Melissa's touch of the holly. I couldn't resist, especially since the tree needed a bit more than the glittered swags.

Thanks for stopping  by to take a peek.

MIM: Using Dies to Create a Decorative Edge

  I'm a little late to this week's challenge at PTI's MIM. It is really neat. I am so glad I finally found time to make a card for it. Danielle demonstrated how to use dies to make a decorative border.

My border is on the left since I didn't care for any of the balloon arrangements I made using the right side of the card. Following Danielle's lead, I added some color to the sentiment.  I know I will definitely be using this technique again, but will probably not have time before the challenge ends.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Merry Monday: Buttons & Ribbon

Back with another Christmas card for Merry Monday's challenge this week: Ribbon and Buttons. My card turned out completely different than envisioned. I started with vellum die cuts embossed with silver. However, they were washed out when put on card stock and I just didn't know how to save the idea. This is what I ended up with.

I had to add the 3 rhinestones on the ornament on the left since I got a smudge mark on it. All in all this turned out okay.  Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Frozen in August

My granddaughter is turning four in August. Of course she wants a Frozen Birthday Party. Being a good grandma I made her this banner.

For party favors, I am making each girl a barrette. I have used several different colors.

This is how I packaged them.

 PTI is having their monthly Blog Hop and there is a banner in the inspiration photo. So I am submitting this in their challenge

I have the invitations done, I am just waiting on the time for the party before I can assemble them. There are some other party decorations I am making. As soon as I finish, I'll post them.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek.

PTI July Blog Hop

My favorite time of the month; the 25th which can only mean it's PTI's Blog Hop unless it's December in which case it is Christmas! The challenge this month is to create a project based upon the inspirational photo below.

My card is CAS. I was actually inspired by the 5th triangle from the left on the banner. I also used the colors from the photo.

The dahlia was stamped with Berry Sorbet and Pure Poppy and topped with rhinestones colored with Copic marker BG13.

Thanks for stooping by to take a peek.

Silver & White

The inspiration photo this week at Festive Friday is fabulous!!!!

I just love the white & silver. I not only used that color combination, but also the pine cones on the table for my inspiration.

 The leaves  & sentiment were embossed with silver embossing powder by Ranger Inks. The card panel was placed on soft stone card stock.


An up close shot.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek..

Hanging by a Limb

A quick post today to play along with the challenge at Cas-ology.

The cue word this week is:

  Since CAS isn't my style, I rarely play along. However, I needed to make a quick card for my great nephew who celebrated his 3rd birthday in May. A little belated wouldn't you say! Could traveling for 5 weeks count as a good excuse?

 I joined the band wagon of exotic pets. Here's my card.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Ombre Pine Boughs

  Back again to participate in two challenges with this card. Initially, I wasn't going to do either challenge since I am working on making my Christmas cards and I am not a sequin girl. My card stretches Pti's challenge: Rainbow Medallions as I used an ombre color scheme instead of a rainbow. (didn't think rainbow equates Christmas) The second challenge is to use sequins in the Merry Monday Challenge.

I added some texture by making a medallion for my pine cone focal point. I didn't add a sentiment as the pine boughs take up the entire front of the card. What do you think? Should I add a sentiment in the bottom right corner? I might have to move the sequin.  Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Make It a Very Merry Monday

Just popping in to post a card for two challenges:  Make It Monday: Pop Up Dies and Merry Monday: Green & White.  To learn more about these challenges, click on the links above.

 A side shot. The card is mounted on New Leaf while the Christmas tree is backed with Simply Chartreuse.
I used a Cuttlebug folder to create some texture on the tree.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Another MIM Die Pop Up Card

I'm back with another card for this week's MIM challenge: Pop Up Die Cuts.  This time I used the hearts from the Limitless Layer dies.

  A side shot.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

MIM: Pop Up Die Cuts

I'm on a roll. It's my third week in a row participating in PTI's Make It Monday Challenge. Betsy's video demonstrates how to do partial die cutting to create a pop up die cut. She also added an inlay to her die cut. Her card is so gorgeous! (as always) She recommended using a die with symmetry. That left me with the Damask Snowflake.

 I loved this challenge. It was so easy and quick to make this card.

 Here's a shot from a different angle to highlight the inlay on my die cut.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Merry Monday # 116: Green & White

     Happy Monday to you. I hope you enjoyed the nice long weekend. There's a new challenge this week for Merry Monday Christmas Challenge: Green & White.  I made a CAS card.

  The Holly Jolly stamp is one of my favorite Christmas stamps. I attached a felt die cut near the sentiment. If you look closely at the bottom, you might be able to see a wee bit of the impression from PTI's Linen IP. The anal part of me wants to add some red rhinestones on the holly.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

1OTH anniversary

My daughter is celebrating her 10th wedding anniversary later in the week. I decided to use  Beautiful Brushstrokes for her card.

Water coloring is not my thing, but I couldn't resist the beautiful stamps so I decided to purchase this kit anyway. The large rose is stamped with Hibiscus Burst and Razberry Fizz while the two little blooms are just stamped with Hibiscus Burst with the first layer stamped off first. As I was sponging on Winter Wisteria in the background, I was a little heavy on the right side.

I used the edger # 1 die at the bottom and applied the Washi tape from the kit as well as three of the rain stones (which come in two sizes)

Now all I need to do is buy a gift and make a tag. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Ladybug Barrettes

The ladybugs have invaded!  I just love the new seasonal stitches dies from Erin Lincoln. They make perfect barrettes for my granddaughters since they can put them in their hair independently.

                                      
Of course I had to make a traditional color lady bug (which neither of my granddaughters picked.)

Olivia chose the one made from Winter Wisteria felt on Simply Chartreuse.

 Lilly picked the lavender Moon on Limeade Ice.

After I gave them their lady bugs, they informed me they needed a 2nd one for the other side of their hair. As I was stitching them between customers in the hospital gift shop where I volunteer, someone saw them and asked if they could buy a set. (the Winter Wisteria) My first sale! Yippee.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

A Wreath Full of Joy

Back once again with another entry for this week's Merry Monday Christmas Challenge: White on White. I just love this challenge. Here's my take.

The rustic Wreath was run through the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder to add some texture.  I used PTI's Stripes IP for the background. I pressed the joy die cut into my Versamark pad and used Judikins Aegean Silver embossing powder.

Making Christmas cards has paid off. Our humidity has broken and cooler temps have arrived. (at least for the weekend)

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.