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.

Masking with Dies

I'm on a roll. My 2nd week in a row that I am participating in PTI's MIM: Masking With Dies. I didn't want to do flowers so I decided to use balloons. The colors I used were inspired by this photo

which is from the challenge at Curtain Call: Birthday Bash. I have never participated in their challenges before.

My card was super easy to make. I used Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist, Hibiscus Burst and Summer Sunrise for my background. The Happy die is from tag sale and the rest of the sentiment is from Graceful Garden. I stamped the dots from Birthday Style in Versamark which created faint water marks on the card which didn't show up in the photo. I really like how this card turned out which isn't usually the case when I enter challenges.
Hopefully, I'll continue my roll participating in these two challenges. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

MIM # 146 Angled Background

Happy New Year!  I'm joining in my first challeng of the year with PTI's MIM's challenge: Angled Backgrounds. I just love how you can use scraps of paper to create stunning backgrounds. One just has to find enough coordinating scraps.
Since my great niece is turning 6 this week, I thought I would make a birthday card for her using this technique. Her favorite color is yellow, so I tried to incorporate as much yellow as possible into the card.

I used some more die cuts inside to liven it up a little.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek. If you have some crafting time this week, join in the fun as this technique is great and easy too!

Happy Belated Birthday, Mary Beth!

     I have a very special post today as I am participating in a surprise birthday blog hop for an amazing, creative, crafter, Mary Beth (aka MaryBeth's Time for Paper). Her cards, tags and banners are so beautiful.
Although I have never met Mary Beth personally, I feel a connection with her as she too is a grandmother.

So here is my card posted in honour of Mary Beth.

 Once again I turned to my current favorite stamp set, Balloon Bash. However, this time I used Glitter Glitz on each balloon. At the stamp convention I attended 2 weeks ago, I saw a demonstration on creating a rainbow effect on a die using glitter. I attempted it here using one of The Birthday Trio die.

Mary Beth, I hope you enjoyed this special surprise hop and that you had a wonderful birthday. Although we  missed your real birthday we hope with this hopthat your celebration was extended a wee bit.

Follow along:

Joyce The host
Cathy co-host
Ally
Bev
Bonnie
Carol J. that's me
Carol S
Christina
Darnell
Helen
Jeanne
Jill
Kara
Kelly
Kim
Lisa
Nancy
Renee
Sharon
Sue
Tracey
Vickie

Stop by Mary Beth's blog to send her some wishes.

MIM: Stamping Random Backgrounds

  I love this week's MIM: Stamping Random Backgrounds.  Ashley was right when she said it would take no time to stamp the background. I think it took me longer to find the right size of stars I needed for the card. My brother-in-law has a birthday next month. Since he will be in Europe on his birthday, I thought I would send it before he left.

 
I decided to use  sketch # 75 from this week's Retrosketches challenge.

Here's a close up.

   I just love the recently released Balloon Bash stamp set & dies. I can't seem to put this set down when making a birthday card.  Hopefully, I'll have a chance to make another card for MIM. Love how this turned out. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

MIM: Double Backgrounds

My nephew has a birthday coming up early next week.  After viewing the MIM "double Backgrounds, I thought I would give this technique a try. It also gave me an opportunity to use one of my newly released stamp sets, "Balloon Bash". I paired it up with BB: Birthday Fun. If the color scheme looks familiar, you might recognize it as one of the Fruits of Summer palettes from the July Blog Hop.

 A close up shot.

    I really liked how this card turned out. The double background is a cool technique. Hopefully, I'll be using it again.  Thank you for stopping by to take a peek.