Fill Your Paper With The Breathings of Your {Heart}

Mitten Christmas

2012-01-22T21:43:00.001Z

Yes yes, I know Christmas was ages ago, but I am playing extreme catch-up for not posting for ages!

So, here's a card I made for Christmas:

Very CAS but as I said I still find a way to make it complicated! Started with die-cutting the 'Merry' from New Leaf cardstock using the 'Wonderful Words: Holiday dies. I then stamped some of the snowflakes from In The Meadow using SU! Garden Green ink (stamped off).

I then stamped the mittens from Shape Up Series Snowman Accessories using Pure Poppy ink, cut them out and adhered a small piece of Rustic Cream Button Twine to the backs. Assembled all onto a Vintage Cream card base which was pre-stamped with the word 'Christmas' from Christmas Labels using Pure Poppy ink. The word and mittens were both adhered using lashings of Pinflair so that both the word and the mittens are raised off the surface with quite a bit of dimension!

That's it from me today! I'll hopefully be posting again soon! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lucky You

2012-01-19T16:29:00.000Z

Hey everyone! Remember me?!

I've not posted for such a long time. Hope you can forgive me. Life etc. I want to get back to posting again regularly this year, and after an impassioned plea from Steph (thanks honey!) I decided to bite the bullet and start by posting this card that I made last year:

What do you think? I know you won't have seen any of my stuff for ages so this might seem quite different from my usual stuff! I've been experimenting a lot with different styles, giving them a go, and letting the card dictate what the style ends up being. This one is my brand of 'CAS' I guess - which basically means CAS but more complicated as is my way!

I started by die-cutting a Tag Sale #3 die from Hibiscus Burst cardstock and stamping it with one of the images from Grunge Me using True Black ink. Edged the tag with the same and added a True Black cardstock reinforcer (from Tag Sale #1 die).

I then die-cut the words from True Black cardstock using Wonderful Words and coated with hand-mixed Martha Stewart glitters (for the pink/black). To do this I use a spray adhesive. The words were then carefully adhered (with dimension!) to some Angled Labels die cuts cut from Stamper's Select White cardstock. I used trusty Pinflair Glue Gel, a pin and lots of patience to add dimensional glue behind the letters so it can't be seen!!

Once all that was dry the labels were adhered to the tag and the card was assembled on a Stamper's Select White card base with a Doily Details die cut from True Black cardstock peeking out from behind the tag. Lots of Pinflair for these steps too so the whole thing has quite a bit of dimension. For a finishing touch I added some pink and black DMC embroidery floss and some thin white ribbon from my stash.

I would love to hear what you think of this card. I'm hoping that maybe my posts have been missed and that this is hopefully a good comeback card! Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey June 2011 Blog Hop

2011-06-25T16:31:00.003+01:00

Hey everyone!!

Well, it's been a month exactly since I last posted! Life's just been far too crazy to create much. But with the latest Papertrey Ink Blog Hop I just had to take part!!

This month's hope was based on an inspiration photo. Here's Nichole to set the challenge:

"We thought we would start a short inspirational series with the Blog Hops for the next few months as a fun way to spice things up! This month we are providing you with a beautiful photo to help trigger some creative ideas with color! This inspirational photo is just dreamy and it's the perfect thing to give you a creative jumpstart that will lead to nothing but fabulous results! We look forward to seeing everyone's interpretations using this inspiration!"

And here is the gorgeous inspiration photo she chose:

How pretty is that?!!

For my card I decided to focus mainly on the gorgeous rainbow of colour, the softness of the image, and the little cubby holes. Here's what I came up with:

I'm just so thrilled with how this turned out! And I'm starting to fall in love with white. Whereas before it was just far too cold and clinical, now it's starting to grow on me!!

I started with a Stamper's Select White card base and adhered some wide strips of Scor Tape to one side. I then stuck down a rainbow of wrinkly ribbons. I decided to use wrinkly ribbon to represent the ruffles in one of the dresses in the picture. So thrilled with this design detail!

I then cut another panel of Stamper's Select White cardstock. I used the Alpha-Blocks die to cut the series of windows, overlapping the third window in the cardstock so I could get 5 windows, evenly spaced. I gently inked the edges of the cuts with VintageTouch Chamomile ink (the only ink on this card, gasp!!).

I adhered the panel to the base using lashings of Pinflair Glue Gel. I then die-cut the word 'forever' using the Wonderful Words die, sprayed it with spray adhesive then coated with Martha Stewart Crystal Fine glitter. I used tiny amounts of Pinflair to adhere this to the panel, with just a little depth off the panel.

And that's it! I'd love to know what you think of this card! Happy Hopping, I can't wait to see what you've all created!!

Edited to add: oh, I'd almost forgotten!! Because of the rainbow of colours I thought this was ideal to enter for the Embellish Magazine Colour Trends Challenge:

Stop over and check it out!!

Papertrey May 2011 Blog Hop

2011-05-25T21:19:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone!

Well, it's time for the Papertrey Blog Hop! Boy May has gone fast!

This month's challenge is to create something with flowers. Here's the brief from Nichole:

May is the month when many flowers finally go into full bloom after a long winter's sleep. For the blog hop this month we want to see your favorite take on flowers. You can stamp backgrounds, create custom floral embellishments, showcase unique flower center additions (buttons, rhinestones, beads, etc...), flowers die-cut from different materials (like fabric, felt, vellum, etc...) or anything else you can dream up! We are looking forward to seeing all of your amazing creations!I

Fun right?!

For this challenge I've cheated a little and am presenting a card that I created a few days ago, so not for the Hop specifically, but it is floral so it fits!

Very CAS for me but I love how this turned out!!

I started with a Berry Sorbet card base and stamped the flowers from Sending You using Terracotta Tile ink. I accented with a few dots from Polka Dot Basics I and added plenty of rhinestones, finishing with the sentiment from Postmarks stamped using Versafine Onyx Black.

Well that must be the shortest post I've ever written, lol! I'd love to know what you think of this creation, and happy hopping!!

Happy Birthday Merry!! - Special Blog Hop!!!

2011-05-22T19:00:00.011+01:00

Hey everyone!

I've not posted in ages, but what better comeback than this! I'm organising a very special Blog Hop to wish my dear friend Merry a very Happy Birthday. Merry has become one of my dearest Forum Friends and I love her dearly - and I couldn't think of a better way to bring some cheer to her day than to get other Forum Friends to join in on the fun!

So, here's my card to you, Sweetie, I hope you like it!! I'll be popping it in the post for you soon!!

I wanted to go for something really bright and cheery, just like our friendship! :o) I'm really thrilled with how this turned out, and I hope you like it too!

I started with a Harvest Gold card base. The main panel is Lemon Tart cardstock, onto which I stamped Background Basics: Newsprint (Merry is a journalist loves this set!) using CTMH Buttercup ink, adding a couple of divider stripes using Distressed Stripes. I then overstamped this with Dot Spot using Hibiscus Burst and Berry Sortbet inks. I edged the panel with Hibiscus Burst ink and then ran over it with the VintageTouch Chamomile ink cube to soften it.

The die cut the sentiment panel from Spring Rain cardstock using the Ad Sense die. I stamped the frame with Versamark ink and stamped the custom sentiment, making it up from Ad Sense, Cupcake Collection and Modern Basics using Versafine Onyx Black. The starburst was die cut from Simply Chartreuse cardstock using the other Ad Sense Die then stamped with a stamp from the corresponding set. I added the starburst stamp from Ad Sense to both panels using Versafine ink and offset them with tiny pink rhinestones.

I then stamped the cupcake liner and frosting stamps from Cupcake Collection, the liner onto Happy Spots patterned paper and the frosting onto Hibiscus Burst cardstock which was then stamped with the gingham stamp from Bitty Background Blocks using Berry Sorbet ink. Both were hand cut out. I added some spray adhesive to the frosting and sprinkled it with Martha Stewart Crystal Fine glitter then added a tiny flower stamped from Background Basics: Botanicals using CTMH Buttercup, cut that out and adhered a pink rhinestone to it.

Once all that was done the card was assembled using Pinflair Glue Gel, with varying depths between the layers, and then offset with some clear rhinestones.

So I hope you like this card Merry, and to everyone, be sure to join in on the Hop and the fun on the Stamping Talk forum!! I'd love to hear what you think of this card, thank you all for stopping by!!

Well, Hello There

2011-03-27T18:52:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone! I hope you're all having a lovely Sunday. :o)

I'm back to share with you a card that I created today. I know, creating *and* posting on the same day - unheard of! Hehe. I just really wanted to share this fun card I created today as it makes me think of Summer. Our clocks just went forward to British Summer Time and we're having a lovely sunny day today. Can't wait for it to get a little warmer!

Now, where was I? Ah yes, my card! Here it is:

Really fun huh? I played around a lot to get the look I wanted but I'm really pleased with the results!

I started with a Rustic Cream card base and adhered some BasicGrey Hello Luscious patterned paper. I just got this paper in the mail yesterday and knew I had to create with it ASAP! The paper is pretty bright so I toned it down by swiping and tapping it with CTMH Colonial White and Vanilla Cream inks. You probably can't tell but I then built up a doily pattern using Delightful Doilies, stamped with CTMH Vanilla Cream.

Next I adhered the coloured lace. This lace was another find in my Grandmother's stash that I had to have, and it was an antique cream colour to begin with. I coloured it by tapping it with my Hawaiian Shores and VintagTouch Chai inks, then spraying and scrunching with Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist in Heirloom Gold. Since I got this stuff I can't stop using it! When dry I adhered with Scor Tape.

I then die cut a piece of coaster board using the Tag Sale #3 die and tied a piece of gold ric rac ribbon (also from my Grandmother's stash). I then stamped the 'Well, hello there' sentiment from Hello, Friend using CTMH Desert Sand. I die cut a doily using the Doily Details dies from Aqua Mist cardstock. I then tapped it with my Hawaiian Shores and VintageTouch Chai inks and sprayed with Perfect Pearls Mist.

I die cut a flower using the Friendly Flower die and stamped with the co-ordinating stamp from the Hello, Friend set using CTMH Parchment ink (at least I think it was that, can't remember!). I adhered the flower and doily to the tag using Pinflair Glue Gel, adhered the tag to the base in the same way, then finished with some rhinestones, colouring the tiny rhinestones with my BG49 Copic to match the larger Hawaiian Shores ones.

And there you have it! I'd love to hear what you think of this beauty, but in the meantime I'm off to have my dinner! Bye for now!

Impressed Frame Video Tutorial

2011-03-27T12:35:00.002+01:00

Hey everyone! How are you all today?

Remember this invitation that I created for Make It Mondays?

And remember how I said I'd make a video tutorial for the technique?

Well - here it is!!

You can also find the video here on YouTube.

You'll have to forgive the very amateur nature of this video, hehe! Hopefully it's not too bad and you can get the general idea for how to try this technique yourself. I know it should have been zoomed in a bit closer, but after hours of trying this was the best I could get that showed everything it needed to!

Well, I hope you enjoyed learning about this technique, and will try it yourself! Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back soon!

Embellish Magazine Colour Trends Challenge - Masculine

2011-03-21T22:40:00.000Z

Hey everyone!

Sorry for my absence! Things got crazy busy and, on top of that, my camera broke, so I couldn't take any pictures of any creations! But I've borrowed a friend's camera so that I can bring you my entry for the latest Embellish Magazine Colour Trends Challenge:

So, a fun colour combo and a masculine theme! I know some of us really dread making the masculine cards but I love them as I get to depart from my usual style for a bit and make something that is a) fun, and b) a lot quicker to make!

So here's my take:

Pretty funky huh?! I love how easily and quickly this came together!

I started with a Soft Stone card base and stamped Background Basics: Newsprint on it using SU! Going Grey ink. Then I inked up just individual adverts from the same set and stamped them randomly on the background with the same ink.

I then stamped one of the images from the WPlus9 So 80s set using Pure Poppy ink. Let me just say that although I am a PTI Girl through and through that I really love this set and a few others from WPlus9! I especially loved the retro funky feel of this set and thought it was about time that it got a showing!

After all that background stamping I edged the card with a little VintageTouch Chamomile ink. However I wanted more of a dirty grey look so I rubbed my cube onto my Smokey Shadow inkpad to pick up the grey and used that. I really love how it turned out - and my cube is still usable! Warning though: don't try this at home unless you are happy that your inkpad won't be the 'true' colour it was. Mine was drying out and I didn't want to re-ink it (I have spares) so I decided to sacrifice it for art! ;o)

After this I trimmed some strips of Spring Rain and Spring Moss cardstock, angling one end of each. I played with the design a little before settling on an idea. I stamped another background image from So 80s then stamped the 'Awesome' stamp over it using Versafine. I then overlaid the strips and overstamped the background image using Going Grey ink then overtsamped the sentiment on them so that the strips were at an angle (both with the base and with each other) but aligned with the word. I stamped the 'you're so' sentiment then adhered the strips off the base with Pinflair Glue Gel.

So there you have it! Not much PTI, I know! Shocker!! But I'd love to know what you think of this card. Thanks for stopping by!!

Make It Mondays #6 - Impression Plate Tricks #1

2011-03-14T22:23:00.001Z

Hey everyone!

I'm back with a quick post for the latest Make It Mondays:

So this week's challenge is for the use of impression plates. And once again I'm cheating by posting something that hasn't been on my blog yet but that fits the bill. Some of you on the forum may remember these Evening Invitations I made that featured edge impressing using the In Bloom impression plate:

I still need to make a video for this technique! As soon as I have a way to record it I still will do! Here's a close-up:

I'm hoping to be back this week with an actual new creation for Make It Mondays without cheating! But in the meantime I need to head to bed as I need to be up in time for the March Release - it'll be at 4am my time!

Thanks for stopping by!

Make It Mondays #5 - Distressing Edges

2011-03-08T22:45:00.001Z

Hey everyone!

I'm back quickly tonight to post a card for the Make It Mondays Challenge.

This week's challenge is to feature distressed edges on a card. This ties in so well with my vintage kick so I had to play along at least one! Here's what I came up with:

I'm cheating a little as I created this card sometime towards the end of last year but just never got around to posting it! But I think it fits, and hopefully I will get to create more for this challenge too!

I started with a Terracotta Tile card base. The main panel is Rustic Cream cardstock, and the edges were distressed with my Heidi Swapp Paper Distresser, before inking into the edges with VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo. I love doing this to distressed edges to just highlight them a bit more.

The panel was stamped with Background Basics: Text Style II with CTMH Bamboo, CTMH Buttercup and Terracotta Tile inks. I added a lace detail strip from an 'other company' stamp set with CTMH Bamboo and Terracotta Tile inks, then swiped Tea Dye Duo over the Terracotta Tile part to really smoosh the design.

I then added the image from Year of Flowers: Morning Glories using the CTMH Bamboo ink. I added the flourishes from Embellishments using New Leaf ink. I then stamped the flowers from the same set onto Harvest Gold cardstock using Scarlet Jewel ink and overstamped the flourishes using Orange Zest ink. The flowers were cut out and adhered over the original image using varying levels of Pinflair Glue Gel.

The frame was created using the Mat Stack 4 and Fillable Frames #8 dies using Harvest Gold cardstock, before overstamping the flourish from Embellishments using Scarlet Jewel inks and edging with Orange Zest, Terracotta Tile and Scarlet Jewel inks. I 'dirtied' a piece of New Leaf satin ribbon using Terracotta Tile and Orange Zest inks before tying it to the frame in a bow. The frame was adhered with quite a bit of depth off the base using more Pinflair. I finished the design off with a few brown KaiserCraft rhinestones.

So there you have it! Quite an unusual colour combo for me but I think it works! I originally made this for the Embellish Magazine Challenge when the theme was these colours plus vintage - a long time ago! I'd love to know what you think of this creation. Thanks for stopping by!

Decisions, Decisions!

2011-03-07T22:45:00.003Z

Hey everyone! How are you all today?

Do you ever have a crafting dilemma? I had one this weekend with this card. I created a background that I loved so much that I really struggled with whether to finish it off in my usual style as it would mean covering up all that hard work! I struggled with the decision for almost a day, and also posted on the Forum to see if others suffered the same problem!

In the end I decided to keep to my kind of style and create a 'Taheerah' card with it. Felt much more finished to me and I think (hope!) I made the right choice!

So here's what I ended up with:

What do you think? I really love how this turned out!!

I started with a Lavender Moon card base. I was going for a vintage card with a different kind of colour combo twist! I stamped the background with Background Basics: Newsprint using CTMH Desert Sand, the overstamped a doily design using Delightful Doilies using Lavender Moon ink. The result looked a little something like this:

Now you maybe see my dilemma!! I loved how this turned out so much!! Here's a close-up of that doily before it was hidden away forever:

The rest of the detail needs a little explanation. I edged the card with the VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo inks to age the base. I then die cut some Berry Sorbet cardstock using the Edgers #2 Die and the Vintage Lace Border die to create a unique shape of my own!

The ribbon treatment is a real shining star. I used some lace I got from my Grandmother's stash from my last trip to London. It's very close to a Scarlet Jewel colour which is why I took some! I adhered this to a strip of Kraft cardstock using ScorTape, along with a piece of wrinkly ribbon that is close to an Aqua Mist colour.

I then embellished the ribbon treatment with a variety of KaiserCraft pearls and rhinestones, before spraying over the whole thing with a generous helping of Ranger Perfect Pearls mist in Heirloom Gold. This added a bit of glitz, aged the colour of the lace and added some speckled detail to the pearls and rhinestones so they looked more vintage. If you look closely as well you might notice some glitter applied to the Kraft strip where the ScorTape was left exposed, and some very thin strips of Martha Stewart Brownstone tinsel glitter applied on top too. Love how this turned out!!

I finally decided to embellish over the top of the design, and added a tag I created using the Tag Sale #3 die. I die cut the shape from Rustic Cream cardstock and inked the edges with VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo. I stamped the flourish from Mat Stack 2 Collection using Palette Haystack ink before adhering a reinforcer ring cut from Kraft cardstock using the Tag Sale #1 die.

I added the sentiment from Simple Sentiments using CTMH Desert Sand. I then added a heart frame cut from cork using the Cuttlebug Concentric Hearts die, tapped over with CTMH Desert Sand to bring out the texture, and added a KaiserCraft pearl to finish it off. I threaded through some Fine Linen Saddle Stitch ribbon and tied with Rustic Jute Button Twine. I added the tag to the base with Pinflair Glue Gel, with plenty of dimension!

So there you have it! Did I make the right choice with finishing up my card the way I did? I'm happy with it but I'd be interested to know what you think! FYI if I had left it plain I would have finished it off with the 'Well, hello there' sentiment from Hello Friend in the bottom right corner with CTMH Desert Sand, probably stamped with a good amount of ink so it would lift off the base. I tried visualising what this would look like (even stamped the sentiment on a separate small piece of Lavender Moon cardstock, put it in place then took a photo to see what it might look like) but it just didn't feel 'right' to me. This is definitely a Taheerah card the way it turned out!

I would love to hear what you think of this card. Thanks so much for stopping by! I'll hopefully be back tomorrow with another creation!!

Just A Note

2011-03-06T17:39:00.000Z

Hey everyone!

I thought I'd pop on quickly and share a card with you that I created recently. I really need to get back in the habit of posting what I make!

So this card was created using a Rustic Cream card base, edged with the VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo inks. I added a Berry Sorbet doily die cut with the Parisian Lace doily die. I stamped Background Basics: Sheet Music on it using Pure Poppy ink then edged the doily with Pure Poppy and VintageTouch inks.

I threaded a piece of Pure Poppy Satin ribbon through two of the holes and tied in a bow then added three rhinestones to offset the design. The sentiment is from Signature Series: Dress Form, stamped with CTMH Desert Sand ink, and the frame is from the Mat Stack 3 Collection set and is stamped with Palette Haystack ink.

So I've done a bit of a redesign on my blog. It's more or less finished, just needs a decent header image now! I'd love to know what you think of it, and this card! A very CAS card for me! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh - I'm Getting Published!!!!!!

2011-02-11T23:56:00.009Z

Hey everyone!!!

I have the most amazing news!!!!! I have had a card picked up by Paper Crafts Magazine for the Stamp It! Cards 8 Magazine!!!!!!!!!!!

This has been a dream of mine for so, *so* long, and finally, *finally* it has come true!!!!! I am so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obviously I cannot share the card online, but you will be able to see it in the magazine which comes out on 12th July 2011. I am so excited and can't wait to see my creation in print!!!!!!!!!

Thank you to *everyone* who encouraged me, supported me, and believed in me every step of the way, especially those who comforted me all those other times I wasn't successful. I love you all and am so happy you were all right!!!!!!!

Well, I'll end this post with one of the cards that *wasn't* picked up - a cute, fun card created with the Banner Builder dies, various patterned papers, the cupcake from Tiny Treats: Birthday, sentiment from Big Birthday Wishes and stars from 2009 Halloween Tags.

And if you love this, just wait 'til you see what actually did get picked up! It's one of my most favourite cards ever!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by, and have an *amazing* day!! I have!!!!!!!

Papertrey Favourites 2010

2011-02-06T01:57:00.007Z

Hey everyone! How are you all doing?

Well, it's gearing up towards Anniversary Time at Papertrey Ink. My most favourite crafting company in the whole world will be 4 years old on the 15th!!

As usual the Anniversary celebrations are chock-full of contests, challenges and much, much more! Make sure you check out Nichole's blog for all the gossip!!

In the meantime I'm here to post my favourite PTI project created last year. As I did my Top 10 just a few weeks ago you'll find it no surprise that I've picked this beauty as my absolute favourite:

You can click on the image to view the original post!!

If you want to check out my other favourites from last year you can do so here.

Thanks for stopping by everyone!!

Papertrey January 2011 Blog Hop

2011-01-25T21:03:00.014Z

Hello all, and welcome! Thanks for stopping by!!

Well, it's that time of the month again - Blog Hop time that is!! I haven't participated in the Blog Hop for a few reasons, but thought it was about time I put that right!

So the challenge this month was to use a stamp set that we haven't used before. Here's the brief from Nichole:

With the new year comes a clean slate along with many resolutions. This month's blog hop challenge involves you challenging yourself to use a Papertrey stamp set that has yet to see ink or even one that might be collecting a little dust! Go through your stash and see what little used treasure it might hold. If you are in need of inspiration for your chosen set, feel free to utilize the gallery posted in the side bar of each set's sale page on our website, or go to the Previous Countdown page here on my blog where each set is organized by month of release. 2011 is the year where what's old is new again!

Because I haven't crafted in so long finding an uninked set was easy! Choosing which set was the hard part! In truth I could have created a lot more but simply didn't have the time!

I decided on Love Lives Here, which I completely fell in love with from the moment I saw the Sneak Peek. I just love the idea, the sentiments, the dies - everything!! So I decided to utilise some of those products and came up with this:

This is definitely my new favourite card, lol. I love so much about it!! Definitely still on my vintage kick!!

I started with the butterfly. The small butterfly was cut from Sweet Symphony patterned paper uaing the Love Lives Here die and inked with the VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo, including the centre cut-out for definition. The larger butterfly was cut from Library Ledger patterned paper using the Signature Series: Butterfly die then gently stamped with Background Basics: Sheet Music using Palette Haystack ink. I edged this butterfly with the Tea Dye Duo before adhering the butterflies together wih Pinflair for dimension, bending the wings to add dimension too.

I then cut another piece of Library Ledger paper using the Spiral Notebook die, carefully positioning the die to get the numbers where I wanted them on the die cut. I bent the tabs before edging with Tea Dye Duo. The butterfly was then adhered with Pinflair, before adding co-ordinating rhinestones, the aqua ones starting as clear rhinestones which I then coloured to match using Copics. I then added a strip of Kraft cardstock stamped with another company's stamps using Vintage Cream ink (then overlaid with Tea Dye Duo and Palette Haystack to vintage it up), cut to match the pattern then adhered at an angle.

For the amazing doily effect I built up the pattern from many smaller stamps from another stamp company, alternating the inks between Palette Haystack and CTMH Desert Sand (stamped off once). I stamped these directly onto the Vintage Cream card base before adhering the notebook page using plenty of Pinflair. I have stamped doilies like this before with this set but this is the first time I'm posting the results!!

I finished off the card adding some small hearts cut with the Love Lives Here dies, cut from the previous patterned papers, stamped the sentiment from Love Lives Here with CTMH Desert Sand, then edged the card with VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo.

I'm truly proud of this beauty and am currently displaying it at my desk at work!! I'd love to hear what you think of it. Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy Hopping!!

Happy Birthday To Me!!

2011-01-08T00:00:00.010Z

Hey everyone!!

Well, it's my birthday today!! I'm posting a card I made ages ago but that I held back on posting as I wanted to put it up for my birthday!! It's a milestone birthday for me and I'm determined to celebrate and be fabulous!!

So here's my card to me:

I love how girly and glitzy this is!!

Started with a Kraft card base and a piece of Dotty Biscotti patterned paper, which I stamped with Background Basics: Woodgrain. I tied a bow using Snow White satin luxe ribbon before adhering a strip of True Black cardstock behind which was cut with the Eyelet Lace Border die.

Die-cut a Fillable Frames #4 frame from Stamper's Select White cardstock and stamped the co-ordinating frame. The sentiment is from Say It With Style and underlined with loads of pink rhinestones!

For the birthday number I used Get To The Point and stamped the arrow using Raspberry Fizz unk and numbers and ampersand using Versafine before carefully cutting out. Adhered all the layers with Pinflair Glue Gel for depth and voila!!

I'd love to hear what you think of this card! I submitted it for publication last June and it didn't get picked up but I still love it!!

Well, I have an amazing party planned for my birthday and I'm really excited!! I hope that the coming year is a great one and can help me out of the negativity I've been feeling lately. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

2010 Top Ten

2010-12-30T00:24:00.010Z

Hey everyone,

Well, I haven't blogged in a really long time. To be honest, I haven't created properly for a long time either. Just not been in the mood. [sigh] Let's hope that changes in 2011!

Anyway, quite a few of my blogging friends are taking part in a blog hop showcasing their Top Ten cards of 2010, so I thought I'd join in! So here are my Top Ten creations this year. You can click on any of the images to see the original post:

10. Wishing You Sunshine

I'm starting with a card that really kicked off my 2010! I created this for the last Raspberry Suite Colour Challenge that was on Dawn McVey's blog and I made The Spotlight!! I really like the CAS nature of this card and that it came together so easily!

9. You Are My Sunshine

This card was a lot of fun to make and I got to play with felt and cork! Love the colours on this one - and it was showcased in the August Papertrey Newsletter!!

8. Damask Rose

A card that I submitted for publication that wasn't picked up, I love the shape of the card (the right edge matches the shape of the rose) and the simplicity of the design.

7. Eat Cake!

Love the colours on this one!! All the elements came together perfectly - *and* it was picked as a runner-up for Lisa Johnson's Poppy Seed Challenge!!

6. Celebrate Today & Every Day

This card was a real labour of love (about 6 hours I think!) and was my first foray into a vintage style. I love the soft colours and how, after all the effort and trials in putting this together (see the blog entry!) it ended up being a card that I really loved.

5. Birthday Cupcake

I created this card for my friend Chrissie's birthday and it was so cute and fun that I didn't want to give it away!! Love the hot pink and black - and the cupcake of course!!

4. {Sweet Fabulous You}

Another vintage creation, I loved building up a custom background and putting together my own sentiment from different stamps from Say It With Style. And the punctuation - love it!!

3. There's Nothing Better Than A True Friend

Truly proud of this card. One of my only ever CASEs (and only because the challenge was to CASE!) ended up being something I put my own spin on and still showcased my own style.

2. Happy Birthday Dawn!

I love this uber-fun card I created and sent to the one and only Dawn McVey for her birthday! Dawn loved it too so there's no greater validation in my book!!

and finally ...

1. Live, Laugh, Love

This card is truly my greatest achievement. Everything custom-created and put together, a *real* labour of love (about 8-10 hours easy when you factor everything in!), and a truly vintage card that holds pride of place in my bedroom. I just love every single thing about this one!!

Well, thank you for stopping by my creative journey of 2010. I hope I can bring you more cards next year than I did this year, and I really hope to get published next year. For one reason after another I couldn't give my all to crafting in the last few months of this year - and I really want to put that right as soon as!! I hope you enjoyed looking through my Top Ten and would love to have your comments!!

Wishing you all the best for a truly happy and prosperous New Year,

Taheerah xx

Wedded Bliss

2010-10-23T23:51:00.009+01:00

Hey everyone!

Long time no speak! I've not been up to much crafting lately, terrible I know! So I thought I'd pop on and share a card I made for the wedding of my two friends Rob and Jen. I was commissioned to produce their wedding invitations and was honoured to be amongst the Evening Reception guests! So I made them a card that tied in closely to their wedding colours:

I started with a Vintage Cream card base and stamped the text from Background Basics: Hearts using Palette Haystack ink, then overstamped with one of the flourishes from Embellishments. The rose bud stem was stamped onto the base using the same ink.

The rose from Year of Flowers: Roses was stamped repeatedly onto Scarlet Jewel cardstock using True Black ink which had been stamped with the flourishes from Embellishments using Versamark ink. I carefully cut out the roses and assembled using Pinflair to vary the depth. The rose and the rose bud were adhered to the base with Pinflair.

I coloured a strip of Silk Ribbon with Copics to match the colour, cut a slit in the base and threaded through and tied into a bow. Finally the sentiment was stamped using Scarlet Jewel ink.

Thanks for stopping by and I will hopefully will be back to crafting and blogging soon!

Embellish Magazine Colour Challenge - Using Background Stamping

2010-10-05T22:12:00.009+01:00

Hey everyone!

Just popping on to post my entry to the latest Embellish Magazine Colour Challenge while there's still time!

The challenge was to use the colours shown above as well as incorporate background stamping. I thought I'd keep it pretty Clean And Simple this time and came up with this:

The background is the Hero Arts Cloud Background stamp stamped onto Soft Stone cardstock using Smokey Shadow ink. Adhered a big Harvest Gold button for the sun, die cut some clouds from Smokey Shadow cardstock and stamped flourishes from Embellishments on two of them with Versamark before adhering at varying depths with Pinflair.

Added the sentiment from Scattered Showers Additions, added a piece of True Black cardstock die cut with the Eyelet Lace Border die before adhering to a Stamper's Select White card base. Voila!

Well I've got to run - got a ton of new sets to try and give some love/ink to! I'd love to know what you think of this card, and thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey September 2010 Blog Hop

2010-09-25T15:00:00.002+01:00

Hey everyone!! It's Blog Hop time!!!

This month's Blog Hop was to focus on something you've learned during your stamping career. Here's the brief from Nichole:

"One of the most fun things about this hobby is the people you meet, whether in person or online, and the things you learn from them. Now is your chance to show off any skills you might have learned from a fellow stamper, and perhaps even give them a little shout out to thank them for the inspiration they have provided. Create a project using one of your favorite learned skills and perhaps after a little blog hopping, we will ALL learn some new tips and tricks and continue to pass on the love of this hobby!"

Should be simple right? Not so much for me! See, I'm always so intent and determined (read: stubborn!) to create something unique and all my own that I try my hardest not to CASE, take ideas or techniques or designs etc from anyone else! However I obviously have learned a lot from all the amazing creations and designers I see out there everyday so obviously I have absorbed lots from them!

So my entry tonight I'm focusing on a style more than anything else. As you may know I've been on a real vintage kick recently. Well, I decided to finally embrace it 'properly' and do a 'proper' vintage-y card! So for my inspiration I've trawled the blogs of Melissa Phillips, Sarah Martina Parker, Ashley Cannon Newell and Betsy Veldman! Quite a bevy of talent!

The things/techniques/designs/whatever I picked up on the most were probably from Melissa, mostly in terms of how she composes her amazing vintage creations. When it comes to vintage I think she can't be equalled by anybody!

From Betsy I learned how to make the style a little cleaner and more modern/funky, whilst still maintaining a lot of vintage aspects.

From Sarah and Ashley I learned of wrinkly ribbon and all the amazing ways you can use it! In particular I learned a bit more about placement for their ribbon treatments.

So, although my creation has taken inspiration from the various creations I've seen by these ladies I've made something that is all my own, and showcases a lot of techniques and individual design elements that I've come up with by myself! Without further ado, here is my creation:

*Very* different for me, huh? But boy I love it!!

It would probably take me all day to describe all the little extras I've added to this card. It was a true labour of love and some elements have been sat on my desk for weeks on end, just waiting for me to work out how I wanted to incorporate them. I'm really proud of the end result.

So instead of describing all the bits that make up this card I thought I'd touch on some of the individual aspects that I've created that make this card unique. Apart from the wrinkle ribbon every single thing on the card is hand made by myself you see. I told you it was a labour of love!

The Bingo card. This was stamped, coated completely in glitter, then I overstamped on the glitter to add the flourishes and stars etc, as well as adding some glimmer mist. This stamping on glitter gives the effect of coloured glitter almost, just love it! Super shimmery and sparkly in real life!

The gold brackets. These were created with the mat stack 4 die, the running through again with the Fillable Frames #4 die in the middle, creating two curly brackets. I coated with Martha Stewart Antique Gold glitter then smudged on some VintageTouch Chai ink (from the refill bottle), and again with the True Black ink refill too, and smushing in with my finger to antique it up some more. More overstamping on this (probably can barely see it) using Embellishments.

The wrinkle ribbon bow is a double bow with the pale pink ribbon then a single bow with the cream ribbon on top of it. The button treatment is a Rustic Wood button (rough side) tied onto the bow with twine then a rhinestone attached.

The twine bow on the side. Started as Rustic Jute twine but smeared on Stazon Metallic Gold ink and True Black ink to vintage it up. This also made the twine stiffer which means the bow holds better.

The background. Probably can hardly be seen but definitely contributes to the overall feel of the card. Stamped Year of Flowers: Gladiolus in the middle, and some Text Style I stamped at the edges of the base. The lace effect on the left side is created with a different company's stamps, lots of overstamping and so on to make it vintage and soft.

I can't wait to see what everyone else has come up with for this hop! Really hope you like this creation I've posted, as I said it was a real labour of love and I'm truly proud of how it's turned out. I know I haven't provided much by way of step-by-step, so if you have any specific questions please ask and I'll do my best to answer! Other than that I would love to know what you think of this card. Thanks for stopping by and happy hopping!!

Elegant Flourish Wedding Card

2010-09-24T22:51:00.003+01:00

Hey everyone!

I'm back tonight with another card submitted to Paper Crafts that wasn't picked up. This one's a wedding card and I chose to go monochromatic and elegant:

Probably one of the simplest cards I've ever made! Stamped the flourish from Embellishments all over a Vintage Cream card base using Versafine Onyx Black then adhered a strip of True Black Saddle Stitch ribbon using Scor-Tape. The mat is die cut from Vintage Cream cardstock using the Mat Stack #4 die (*love* this die!!), stamped the sentiment from Year of Flowers: Rose, stamped the flourishes using Smokey Shadow ink then adhered using Pinflair Glue gel and voila!

I'll hopefully be back tomorrow with a post for the Blog Hop. Trust me, you're not going to want to miss it as I have something very special to showcase! In the meantime I'd love to hear what you think of this creation, thanks for stopping by!

Here To Give You A Lift

2010-09-21T21:47:00.006+01:00

Hey Y'all!

Apologies for not posting for a while, very busy yada yada yada. I really must get into the habit of posting more regularly, or at least scheduling posts for when I'm busier!

Today I have a card that was recently submitted to Paper Crafts and not picked up. One day I'll get in!! I really like this one though so I thought I'd share!

So, another not-totally-PTI card here! I started with a Vintage Cream card base and stamped the background using the Hero Arts Clouds Background stamp with Sweet Blush ink. I've been wanting to get my hands on this stamp for ages!

Added to the base are some clouds die cut from Vintage Cream cardstock and edged with Sweet Blush ink. The sentiment is from Everyday Button Bits and stamped with True Black ink, with the clouds adhered at differing heights using Pinflair.

The balloons were die cut and then stamped using Up, Up & Away and Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse and Summer Sunrise inks then adhered with Pinflair. As a finishing touch I added some glue to 3 of the clouds on the base and coated with Martha Stewart glitter (doesn't show too well in the pic).

I've gotta run and see if I can schedule in any quick inky time before bed! Would love to know what you think of this creation though! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Kelly Marie!!

2010-09-11T00:00:00.009+01:00

Hey everyone!

I'm back today for a card I made for my gorgeous friend Kelly Marie Alvarez! I sent this card to her earlier this week but not sure if it arrived in time, so thought I'd also post it here seeing as today's her birthday!

I used some Lawn Fawn stamps on this card (*gasp* I know - not a 100% PTI card!!). But it seemed fitting so I went with it!

I paper pieced the cake layers using Basic Grey Phoebe patterned paper. Love how it turned out!

Anyway, I'm heading off for tonight! I'd love to hear what you think of this card, thanks for stopping by!

Damask Rose

2010-09-04T10:51:00.006+01:00

Hey y'all!

Apologies for my absence for a few days, got busy again!

I'm back with a card I submitted to the latest Paper Crafts call. Didn't get picked up so I can share it with you now!

This card took me absolutely ages to make! Despite its simplicity I wanted to get the rose exactly right and ended up making about 5-6 different ones! That's a lot of cutting!

I stamped the small medallion from Damask Designs onto Berry Sorbet cardstock using Versamark then overstamped the rose from Year of Flowers: Rose using Pure Poppy ink, cut out and assembled with Pinflair. The card base is Kraft cardstock (the right side trimmed to match the shape of the rose). Did a double bow with some wrinkle ribbon then adhered the rose and added the sentiment from Year of Flowers: Larkspurs using CTMH Desert Sand ink.

I'm off to get ready for my weekend but would love to know what you think of this one! Thanks for stopping by! BTW what do you think of the photo? Those of you who know me on Facebook will know that I tried a new method for taking them - this is in my bath with the card at one end and me at the other!

Thank You Meg!

2010-08-31T22:25:00.008+01:00

Hey everyone!

I'm back today with a card I created many months back for a sweet lady on the Papertrey Forum: Meghan. I actually did send this card to her months ago but never got to posting it on my blog! Meghan helped me out when I was after a US card mag. Not only did she buy me a copy and send it but she also didn't want to be paid back! Such a super sweet girl, so I had to make her a super-sweet card to match!

I used Delightful Dahlia dies to cut out Pretty Pastels patterned paper then stamped the images from Delightful Dahlia onto them. I crumpled up the leaves and distressed with VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo to make them a bit more realistic and shaded the flowers with Copics.

The panel was created with the Giga Guidelines and Polka Dot Basics II Impression plates, with me doing a letterpress effect with the first using Sweet Blush ink, and using the reverse of the impression and inking up with VintageTouch Chamomile ink on the second. I die-cut a border using the ric-rac die before joining the panels together. Berry Sorbet Satin ribbon covers the join and then the knot was topped with a button and rhinestone. Sentiment is from Signature Greetings stamped onto Rustic Cream cardstock with Dark Chocolate ink and distressed.

I continued the theme inside with a sentiment from Big & Bold Wishes and more dahlias and leaves stamped with chamomile ink.

I know Meg loved her card and I'd love to know if you do too! Thanks for stopping by!

Thank You Nichole! Special Blog Hop

2010-08-31T00:00:00.007+01:00

Hey everyone!

I'm back with a special card tonight for a very wonderful and talented lady: Nichole Heady. We felt that Nichole deserved an extra special thank you for everything she does for us and so a few of us on the PTI Forum decided to take part in a very special Blog Hop with Thank You cards created and posted just for Nichole!

Just before I come onto my card I wanted to post a special Thank You message for Nichole.

Nichole, if you're reading this I just wanted to thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the joy and happiness you bring to me and others like me through your very special and unique gift. Thank you for teaching me so much and for inspiring me to be better and do better.

You are a shining example to us all of what hard work, determination, talent, honesty, integrity and just general kindness and thoughtfulness can achieve. Thank you for sharing your gift with us through your blog and your company. Thank you for listening to us and striving to do your best by us each and every day.

If it wasn't for you then not only would I have not been able to take my crafting to another level, but I would never have met and made so many wonderful friends through your forum. I would never have gone to Chicago and had the time of my life. I would never had a chance to learn so much and share my cards with others.

Thank you for spending so much time talking to me and listening to me at CHA. You made me feel like the guest of honour and so valued and important. I know you must have got tired of my jabbering away but you never made me feel like I was bothering you. Thank you for encouraging me and supporting me in my dream to get published. Your kind words and advice will not be forgotten.

Thank you, for everything. You'll never know just how much of a difference you've made to my life.

Well, that was quite a speech! I just got caught up in the moment I guess! Anyway, I suppose you folks would like to see a card now, haha!

I'm still on a vintagey kick and so this card came to me pretty quickly, and also used some of my favourite sets! I started by cutting a piece of Stamper's Select White cardstock using the Spiral Notebook die, then stamped the Library Card on it using Sweet Blush ink and edged the shape with the same. I then stamped the big flourish from Fancy Flourishes using VintageTouch Chamomile ink. The flowers are from Year of Flowers: Larkspurs and were stamped with Raspberry Fizz ink.

For the card base I used Vintage Cream cardstock and stamped it with Dot Spot using Aqua Mist ink. I tapped my Palette New Canvas ink all over it to temper the colour then stamped lots of 'Thank You' phrases from Inside & Out: Thank You and Mega Mixed Messages using Sweet Blush ink. I edged the card with VintageTouch Chamomile ink.

I die-cut a ticket using the Ticket Border die and Bitty Star Basics patterned paper before stamping the border, sentiment and stars from Just The Ticket using True Black ink. I stapled it to the notebook page using my Tiny Attacher. Embellished the notebook page with Kaiser Craft rhinestones, wrinkly ribbon and a Kaiser Craft pearl before adhering to the base with Pinflair.

Right, it's my bedtime so I best head off! Thank you for stopping by and I'd love to hear what you think of this creation!

Spelling Love

2010-08-29T12:12:00.004+01:00

Hey everyone!

I'm back with another quick post. I figure if I keep these short and sweet I might be able to post more regularly!

So up today is another card I submitted to the last Paper Crafts call that didn't get picked up. I'll get there someday!

Quite CAS this one! I started with a Vintage Cream card base and scored a border using my Scor Pal, then added strips of Scor Tape and covered with some custom-mixed Martha Stewart glitter. I then stamped the letters from Trajan Monogram Edition onto Sweet Blush cardstock squares using True Black ink and drew the numbers on by hand to turn them into Scrabble tiles! Adhered with Pinflair Glue Gel and voila!

I've gotta run but I'd love to hear what you think of this card! Thanks for stopping by!!

Birthday Cupcake

2010-08-28T12:37:00.008+01:00

Hey everyone!

I got crazy busy again as usual but thought I'd pop back on to share this funky little card I created for my friend Chrissie. Chrissie's my boss at my new job and she is *amazing*, not only as a boss but we hit it off straight away and I really consider her a friend too. Anyway, it was her birthday on Thursday so I made a larger card that was passed around the office for people to sign (maybe to be posted at another time) and this little one just from me:

I am *so* in love with this card! So much so that it was very hard to part with, haha!

The notebook page was cut with the Spiral Notebook die using Rustic White cardstock, then stamped with the Library Card using VintageTouch Chamomile ink and the edges inked with the same. Flourishes added from Fancy Flourishes using Sweet Blush ink and little stars from Cupcake Collection.

The cupcake top was stamped with Sweet Blush and Hibiscus Burst inks, with the candle also stamped in Hibiscus Burst ink. The stars were stamped with True Black ink. The cupcake was assembled with Pinflair Glue Gel before adding Kaiser Scrapbook rhinestones.

The base is True Black cardstock onto which I adhered a piece of Raspberry Fizz In Bloom patterned paper which was stamped with Dot Spot using True Black ink. I added strips of Scor Tape on either side and coated with Martha Stewart glitter before adding the notebook page using more Pinflair. Finally I die cut a ticket from Sweet Blush Bitty Stars paper using the Ticket border die then stamped the border, sentiment and accent from Just The Ticket using True Black ink, then adhered with Pinflair.

I've got to run but I'd love to hear what you think of this little card! Thanks for stopping by!!

CHA Cards

2010-08-14T13:53:00.016+01:00

Hi guys and gals!

Today I have a bumper post for you all! As many of you know, I managed to undertake the trip of a lifetime and make it to Chicago and CHA this year!! It was the most amazing experience and I hope I can repeat it next year!

The main reason (well, almost the only reason!) for CHA for PTI of course, and in anticipation of this I decided to give the PTI Gang (and one extra special friend) a little card and gift! For the gifts I put together little packs of British snacks (Cadbury's chocolate, shortbread biscuits and milk chocolate digestives) into medium glassine bags and tied a simple bow with silk ribbon (I put these together in my hotel room the night before so no time to really jazz them up unfortunately!), but it's the cards I spent a chunk of time creating before jetting off!

For each of the PTI DT I picked their favourite colour combos as posted during the Anniversary celebrations and made a card in line with that, and for the others I picked favourites of my own!

Here are the cards all laid out together:

And here's who they were for:

Dawn:

Debbie:

Heather:

Jane:

Jenn:

Julie:

Kelly Marie of Lawn Fawn:

Mish:

Nichole:

Everyone seemed to really love their little cards! I'd love to know what you think of them too!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Thank You Lynny!!

2010-08-12T21:12:00.009+01:00

Hey everyone!

I'm back today with another post! This card is for my wonderful friend and mentor Lynn. Lynn helped me so much with advice, confidence, friendship, support and so much else when I was applying for and succeeded in getting my new job. She will never know just how much I've learned from her!

I started with a piece of In Bloom patterned paper in the Orange Zest and stamped one of the designs from Damask Designs on it using Dark Chocolate ink then tapped my Orange Zest inkpad over it in areas to lessen the contrast. I then adhered a strip of Dark Chocolate cardstock to the bottom which had been cut with the Large Scalloped Die. I added a Vintage Cream grosgrain ribbon bow at the join. I then stamped the sentiment from Big & Bold Wishes on Vintage Cream cardstock using Dark Chocolate ink and adhered with Pinflair Glue Gel before adhering the panel to a Berry Sorbet cardstock base using a tape runner.

Inside the card I carried on the theme by stamping the small matching image from Damask Designs using Versamark ink and stamping a sentiment from Inside & Out: Thank You using Dark Chocolate ink.

Lynn loved her card and I hope you love it too! Thanks for stopping by!!

Sweet Fabulous You

2010-08-11T20:10:00.009+01:00

Hey everyone!

Well, I guess you thought you'd probably never see me blog again! Life has just been getting in the way and I've really neglected posting, so I'm sorry about that. I'm going to make an effort to rectify that though - again!

So, today's card is one that I submitted for a Paper Crafts call. The card wasn't picked up but I still love it and I'm going to keep trying!

I've been on a really feminine-vintagey kick lately and I just love the sweet colours and delicate nature of this card!

I started with a piece of Library Ledger patterned paper (my new favourite patterned paper BTW!) and stamped it with Dot Spot using Aqua Mist and CTMH Desert Sand inks. I am so loving CTMH inks and can see myself getting loads more of them! After stamping I distressed the edges, crumpled up the paper then swiped with VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo inks, both on the panel creases and into the distressed edges too.

I created the sentiment with a few different stamps from Say It With Style then framed it with curly brackets from Get To The Point. I used CTMH Desert Sand with a little Dark Chocolate ink added in to make the sentiment stand out from the paper. I then added Kaisercraft Rhinestones for a pretty effect. I tied a Sweet Blush Swiss Dot bow then added Aqua Mist and Dark Chocolate buttons using Glue Dots. Finally the panel was adhered to a Vintage Cream card base using Pinflair Glue Gel.

I'd love to hear what you think of this creation, and I promise I'm going to do my best to keep updating! Bye for now and thanks for stopping by!!

Papertrey June 2010 Blog Hop

2010-06-25T22:10:00.015+01:00

Hey everyone!

Well, I must apologise for my total absence from Blogland for so long, both on here and on commenting on your posts! Those of you that are on the forum will know why and what's been going on! I promise to try and do better as soon as I'm in a better place!

So ... it's that time of the month again - the Papertrey Blog Hop!

This month the theme is colour combos! Here's the brief from Nichole:

"This month's blog hop is all about color! We want to see all of your favorite Papertrey color combinations! So your challenge is to create a project using your favorite combination, listing the colors at the top of your post so it will be easy for people to collect schemes and make lists."

Well, those of you who frequent my blog will know just how much I love bright, fun colour combos! I love all colour combos in fact, but especially ones that are a bit different and a bit out of your normal comfort zone. So this hop was made for me!!

Now I don't have a favourite colour combo so instead I've picked my favourite *at the minute*:

How bright and fun is that?!

I created a card for this based on this combo almost a week ago. Those of you who follow Dawn McVey's blog will know it's her birthday today! Happy Birthday Dawn!! So I made a card for her and sent it, and I'm so thankful she received it in time! So here's what the uber-talented Ms. McVey received from me:

I really hope she liked it - I thought it was very Dawn!!

I started with a Lemon Tart card base. The panel is Orange Zest cardstock, onto which I stamped a pattern created with Background Basics: Woodgrain using Raspberry Fizz ink. I then ran the panel through with the Linen & Canvas impression plate - love the look this gives!!

Next I tied a bow using Hawaiian Shore Topnotch Twill before adding a strip of Raspberry Fizz cardstock cut with the Eyelet Lace Border die, adhered behind the panel. Then came the main focal point - those gorgeous flowers from Year of Flowers: Lily of The Valley! I stamped them onto Raspberry Fizz Dotty Biscotti patterned paper, then *very* patiently cut it all out with scissors, including cutting out all the gaps in between! Time consuming? Let's just say I must love Dawn an awful lot to do that, lol!

After trimming I coloured the blooms in with a Copic marker just to make them stand out a little. I then worked out where they would position roughly.

Next I went back to the panel and stamped the frame from Fillable Frames #4 using black Versafine, then added the sentiment from Enjoy The Ride using the same ink. I then added a strip of tiny hot pink rhinestones below the word 'Happy' to emphasise it. I then adhered the flowers in place with strategic use of Pinflair Glue Gel, giving just enough support and dimension in the right places.

Finally I added some black pearls and tiny rhinestones before adhering the panel to the base using a good dose of Pinflair.

So there you have it! What do you think of the combo and of the card? Have I done Dawn proud? I sure hope so!! Thank you so much for stopping by and for leaving some love if you've chosen to do so. Given the day I've just had you won't believe how much you've brightened it!!

Papertrey May 2010 Blog Hop

2010-05-25T22:00:00.006+01:00

Hey everyone, and thanks for stopping by!

Can you believe it's that time again already?! Doesn't seem like that long ago that I was fretting and stressing over my April Blog Hop card and here we are for May's episode!

This month's challenge was to use felt. Here's the challenge in Nichole's words:

"This month's blog hop is all about fabulous felt! We know you love this new addition to our product line-up and we would love to see what you are doing with it! From borders to focal points, paper crafts to sewing projects. Hair accessories to home decor accents. Cards to scrapbook layouts. We want to see it all!"

I had a beaming smile on my face when I saw this challenge! For one, PTI's felt is amazing. I've never used felt until PI brought it out and I fell head over heels for it! It really is of the highest quality and I love adding something tactile to my creations! And my second reason - unlike April's card I pretty much knew what I wanted to do for this challenge! In fact I actually finished my card several days early - definitely not the norm for me where the Blog Hop is concerned!

I knew I wanted to create a felt flower to adorn my card. But what kind of felt flower? There are plenty of ideas out there but my mind remembered a card that the uber-talented Dawn McVey made that was featured in the March issue of CARDS. The card is the last one shown in this post for those of you who are interested!

I liked the idea of a big layered felt flower so took my lead from there. I didn't want my flower to be exactly the same, and I didn't want to CASE the card (you know me and CASEing!). Here's what I came up with:

I am so in love with how this card turned out!! So bright and cheery, and so much fun!

It all started with the felt flower. Using the large scallop die I cut a strip of Raspberry Fizz felt the same length as the die. I then took the felt and trimmed the width using my paper trimmer - the felt cuts like buttah!

After doing this I took some embroidery floss and did a simple hand sewn running stitch across the straight edge of the felt. When I got to the end I pulled the thread to create the ruffled, natural flower shape. I cut off one or two of the scallops that didn't fit with the shape of the flower before using some more embroidery floss to stitch the edges together with small, tight stitches, knotting at the back.

I then die cut a circle of Dark Chocolate felt using one of my circle Nestabilities then cut chunks out of it. Next came a flower cut from Hawaiian Shores felt using the smallest of the Beautiful Blooms #1 dies. I adhered a big Lemon Tart button to the flower before adhering the flower to the Dark Chocolate layer, then adhered the layered flower to the Raspberry Fizz bloom. I use Pinflair Glue Gel to adhere my felt, big surprise!

I took a while before deciding how I wanted the actual card to be composed but it all fell into place perfectly! I knew I wanted to use Background Basics: Woodgrain on my card, mainly because I'm using it on everything right now! I decided to do something different with it this time though.

I recently purchased some cork sheets from MFT and decided it would be fun to stamp a woodgrain pattern on it! I stamped the pattern using Hero Arts Latte ink (gasp, shock horror, I know - not a PTI ink!!). I pre-cut the cork before stamping, then after the pattern had been stamped I broke little bits off by hand to give a more distressed finish. I did use my edge distresser a little too for the smaller 'nibbles'. I then adhered at an angle to a Rustic Cream card base using Pinflair.

I tore some leaves from some Ripe Avocado cardstock and crumpled them up before adhering in place with Pinflair. I did actually stamp the leaves with the polka dot pattern from the Round & Round Anniversary set with Spring Moss ink which you might be able to just make out on one of the leaves (left one of them plain). I then adhered the felt flower on top.

I stamped the sentiment from Fillable Frames #3 a couple of times onto Rustic Cream cardstock using Hero Arts Latte ink, then cut out each word individually. I wanted to create a sort of noticeboard feel given that I'd used the cork. I adhered each word using Pinflair.

I then decided to finish with some final little flower embellishments so stamped one of the single flowers from Background Basics: Botanicals using Raspberry Fizz, Hawaiian Shores and Summer Sunrise inks, before cutting out carefully and adhering at slightly different heights using Pinflair. They're kind of like the little pin heads on my noticeboard, how cute are they?!

So there you have it! I had so much fun making this project and I would *love* to hear what you think of it! Thank you for stopping by, and for leaving some love if you've chosen to do so - and enjoy the rest of the hop!!

U Rock!

2010-05-24T22:13:00.006+01:00

Hey everyone!

Well, I know I said I had a lot of cards to post, and I started doing a good job of posting regularly ... then life got in the way as usual! I'm still playing catch-up big time so thought I better start trying to post regularly again, especially as I've still been creating and have even more of a backlog now!

So today I have a little card I made quite some time ago:

I really love how funky this card is! I think it could work for a guy or a girl!

I started with the striped pattern which was stamped on Hawaiian Shores cardstock using Distressed Stripes. Love this set! I stamped the different stripes using True Black and Fresh Snow inks.

I trimmed the panel to fit a 5.5" x 3.5" card base, which I cut from True Black cardstock. I wanted an element to lead off the edge so I punched a strip of Stamper's Select White cardstock using my SU! punch the adhered side-by-side with the panel. I used a strip of True Black Saddle Stitch ribbon along the join before mounting the whole panel on the card base using Scor Tape.

I die cut the sentiment panel from Hawaiian Shores cardstock using the Fillable Frames #1 die, then stamped the frame from Fillable Frames #1 on it. I then chose the sentiment from Say It With Style and stamped inside the frame using True Black ink. Love how it fits in the frame so perfectly! I adhered the sentiment to the card using foam pads then added a trio of black Kaiser Scrapbook pearls to finish the design.

I'd love to know what you think of this little card! Your comments always bring a smile to my face so thank you for leaving some love if you've chosen to do so! I'll be back tomorrow with my Blog Hop post, bye for now!

Joyful Blooms

2010-05-09T21:10:00.008+01:00

Hey everyone!

Sorry for being absent for a couple of days, life's just been getting in the way!

I have another card featuring Beautiful Blooms II today. I love the assortment of designs and sizes in this set, very versatile! I decided to embrace that and incorporate that into today's card:

Don't all those colours make you happy?! They certainly do me!

I started with a Stamper's Select White card base. I planned the card in my head to be a sort of swelling cascade of blooms so I started at the top left and worked down to bottom right, varying the size, colour and composition of the blooms as I went along. The colours used are Lemon Tart, Summer Sunrise and Berry Sorbet.

I finished the card with an offcut of Spring Moss cardstock. This is actually the sort of 'negative' left when cutting with one of the PTI scallop dies. Here I used the Small Scallop die and used the negative piece as I liked the sort of different effect it gave. I stamped the sentiment from Everyday Button Bits using True Black ink then adhered with a decent amount of Pinflair for depth off the base.

I'd love to know what you think of this one! It reminds me of Summer so hopefully it's brought a little sunshine to you to look at it! Thank you to all of you who have stopped by and chosen to leave some love, and also thanks to all of you who commented on my last card and congratulated me on reaching 100 posts! Really made my day!

Dahlia Thanks

2010-05-07T00:16:00.008+01:00

Hey everyone!

Well, I didn't get a chance to post last night as I was really busy, but I do have a card today! I actually couldn't really decide what I wanted to post next! In the end I decided on a card featuring what has quickly become my favourite flower set - Delightful Dahlia!

I expected to love this set but I didn't expect to love it *this* much! I have had a real hard time putting it down! I think the fact that it has co-ordinating dies has really opened up a lot more possibilities for me and made it a lot quicker to create wonderful looks with it!

I do have a few cards created with this set to post, but for now this is what I have for you:

I just love how this card turned out, for a few different reasons! One: the colour combo. Loving that pop of Hawaiian Shores and two: more distressed stripes in a pattern that really took a while to do!

It started with the striped panel actually. When Dawn was showing her last lot of Colour Couture downloads I loved her ticking patterned paper. While I was debating whether to delve into digital patterns (I did in the end) I decided to stamp my own equivalent and see how it turned out! Not exactly the same but pretty close! I used my VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo and Dark Chocolate ink to stamp the pattern on Rustic White cardstock. I then trimmed the panel to size and rounded the top corners.

I then die cut the dahlia bloom from Dark Chocolate cardstock and stamped the bloom using Memento Tuxedo Black (I think!). I then used a Copic W3 marker to add shading to the petals. I die-cut the leaves from Kraft cardstock and stamped them with Dark Chocolate ink.

Next: more die-cutting! I die cut a piece of Hawaiian Shores cardstock that had been stamped with Background Basics: Botanicals using Hawaiian Shores ink. Doesn't the ink show up well on the cardstock?! I used my large scallop die then adhered the strip to the panel using Scor Tape.

I then added a strip of Hawaiian Shores Luxe Satin ribbon using Scor Tape. I've been meaning for a while to try putting a complimentary ribbon next to its cardstock rather than a contrasting colour and really like this look now I've tried it! I then stamped the sentiment from Delightful Dahlia on another piece of Hawaiian Shores cardstock using Dark Chocolate ink,trimmed to size and adhered with Pinflair. I then assembed the rest of the panel using Pinflair before mounting on a Kraft card base using the same.

I'd love to hear what you think of this one. Makes me really happy to look at it! *smile* Also this is my 100th blog post so I'd just like to thank all of you who pop by and especially those who choose to leave some love along the way. You really make my day and here's to the next 100 posts!!

Nautical Wishes

2010-05-04T21:40:00.007+01:00

Hey everyone!

Well, I'm not doing too badly at keeping up with the regular blogging, hope I can keep it up!

Seeing as I've been creating a lot of girly cards recently I thought I'd post something different today. I was inspired by a TV fashion programme on TV the other week that was talking about how nautical clothing is on trend right now (at least it is in the UK!). It gave me a lightbulb moment so I scurried off to make this beauty:

Not a bad interpretation huh?! I think this'd make a good guy card!

I started with a Stamper's Select White card panel and stamped various stripes from Distressed Stripes using Enchanted Evening ink. I just love Distressed Stripes set, and you can expect to see a few more cards with it posted soon!

After stamping the panel I inked the edges with my VintageTouch Chamomile ink. I did this while the Enchanted Evening ink was still a little wet so I would end up with a 'dirty' edge rather than a vintage edge. I'm please with how this turned out!

To add that touch of red to the nautical theme I adhered a strip of Pure Poppy Grosgrain ribbon across the front using Scor-Tape. I then picked out three Pure Poppy buttons that had ribbons of an almost black colour on the back. I threaded some white embroidery floss through the holes a few times then knotted. I wanted a more rustic/nautical look so I then pushed half of the tail back through the hole, leaving a more frayed look. I adhered each button with a glue dot.

I adhered the panel to a white card base using a tape runner then set about making the sentiment panel. I die cut the panel using the Fillable Frames #1 die then stamped the co-ordinating frame using Enchanted Evening. I stamped the sentiment from Cupcake Collection using True Black ink then adhered the sentiment using plenty of Pinflair for depth.

So there you have it! I'd love to know what you think of this card. It's not often I have a lightbulb moment, especially whilst watching TV, so I'd love to know what you think of my 'on-trend' card and whether I should do this sort of thing more often! Also would love to know what you think of this as a masculine card. You know me, always trying to do something unique and different, so I'd love your thoughts on it! I'll hopefully be back again tomorrow with another post, ciao for now!

Hey There!

2010-05-03T21:00:00.010+01:00

Hey everyone!

Well, I did say I was going to try and get back into the habit of posting regularly so I thought I'd strike whilst the iron is hot! All of these cards are me playing 'catch-up' - I've been creating steadily but just not getting around to photographing and posting!

Well, yesterday's card featured Beautiful Blooms II and I do have another great card to show you featuring that, but today I thought I'd feature something different. In fact this does use the Beautiful Blooms Dies so I suppose I haven't strayed too far!

Without further ado here is today's card:

Quite a colour combo huh?! I wanted to make something contrasty but that still worked well and I'm pretty pleased with the results!

It started out with the gorgeous Hawaiian Shores felt. I'd never used felt on a card until PTI came out with it and I think I can safely say I'm a convert now! I die cut the blooms using the Beautiful Blooms II #1 die, and they really do cut through felt like buttah! For the centres I added White, New Leaf and Raspberry Fizz buttons, and topped the largest ones with pink and green rhinestones, the green one being coloured with Copics. I adhered to the felt flowers using Pinflair of course!

I then stamped some New Leaf cardstock with Polka Dot Basics II using Hawaiian Shores ink. Love how that turned out! I cut out the leaves using the leaves dies from the Delightful Dahlias die set then overstamped the leaves using a mix of New Leaf and Ripe Avocado inks.

I then took a piece of Rustic White cardstock, rounded one corner and created the bottom by putting just part of the Ric Rac die over the edge. The edges were inked with VintageTouch Chamomile ink before adhering the leaves and flowers using more Pinflair.

The panel was then mounted onto a Raspberry Fizz card base using more Pinflair. I then stamped the sentiment from Say It With Style onto Rustic White cardstock using Raspberry Fizz ink, trimmed to size, inked the edges with Chamomile ink and then adhered in place with Pinflair. Voila!

I'd love to know what you think of this card so thank you if you've chosen to leave some love - your words always put a smile on my face! I'll (hopefully!) be back tomorrow with another card, so see you then!

Smile

2010-05-02T20:54:00.006+01:00

Something I haven't been too good at doing recently, for one reason or another. But at least this bright cheery card should help put a smile on your faces!

I started with a piece of Raspberry Fizz cardstock and randomly stamped various blooms from Beautiful Blooms II using Dark Chocolate ink. I didn't want the Dark Chocolate to stand out too much so I tapped my Raspberry Fizz inkpad over the top afterwards to tone it down.

I then paired the panel with a smaller piece of Orange Zest cardstock that I had left over from a previous card. I stamped one of the designs from Damask Designs on it using Lemon Tart ink. I added a trio of Dark Chocolate buttons to embellish.

I wanted to embellish over the join so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to break out my Dark Chocolate felt and Ric Rac die!! Boy do I love both of these products! I cut a strip of the felt and adhered with tiny strips of Scor Tape on the reverse. Took a bit of time but at least I know it'll hold!

I adhered the panel to a Rustic White card base using Pinflair Glue Gel. I then prepared the sentiment panel, stamping the sentiment from Say It With Style onto Raspberry Fizz cardstock using True Black ink. I adhered to a slightly larger Rustic White mat and adhered to the panel using plenty of Pinflair for height. Finally I stamped one of the single blooms from Background Basics: Petal Power onto Rustic White cardstock using Orange Zest ink, cut out and adhered with more Pinflair.

I'm really going to try and make an effort to get back on top of my blogging, I have a backlog of about 23 cards still waiting to go up!! In the meantime I would love your comments on this card, you know your kind words really make my day, and make me smile. :o)

Papertrey April 2010 Blog Hop

2010-04-25T22:00:00.001+01:00

Hi everyone, and thanks for stopping by!

I haven't posted in *ages* and really needed something to get me out of my rut! So, even though it was painful, I decided to push myself and create something for the Papertrey Blog Hop.

This month's challenge was all about tissue paper. Here's the brief from Nichole:

"This month let's focus on tissue paper! It has become one of the hottest trends in the paper crafting world and we want to see you take it on! Whether it is die-cutting it to make beautiful layered blooms, the faux silk technique, creating layered backgrounds or even delicate stitched pleated borders, we want to see you get creative! And don't forget, your new stamps arrive lovingly wrapped in tissue paper each month, so these can prove to be "free & green" projects as well! Have fun and we look forward to seeing all of your projects!"

Well, she makes it sound so easy, but let me tell you, coming up with something *original* with tissue paper is a lot harder than it sounds! I finally settled on a Faux Silk technique, which is by no means original! But I've never tried the technique before so at least I gave it a go!

As soon as I thought Faux Silk there was only one set I could think of to use with it: Damask Designs. I figured that if it's meant to look like silk it ought to use a pattern that may well be found on silk!

So without further ado, here's what I came up with:

Well, I guess I don't *hate* this card, but I wish I were more original!

I started with a piece of tissue paper that I cut down to 5.5" x 4.25". I used a piece of the tissue paper that every PTI set comes wrapped in (and believe me I have a lot of those pieces of tissue paper now! *wink*).

I decided I wanted the look really soft and as if the pattern was part of the 'silk', so instead of stamping on a piece of cardstock then creating the faux silk I stamped directly onto the tissue paper using Sweet Blush ink.

I then cut a piece of Rustic White cardstock to 5" x 3.75" and applied a generous layer of glue using a glue stick. I crumpled up the tissue paper really tight to get lots of fine wrinkles then placed on the cardstock with the stamped side down to give a slightly softer look. After pressing the tissue paper down and adhering the edges to the back I was left with a Faux Silk panel.

I wanted to give the panel a softer edge, so I inked the edges with my VintageTouch Tea Dye Chamomile ink. I then decided this was too strong and went over it with a little Sweet Blush ink. Then again deciding it was still too strong went over with Vintage Cream ink. Then *finally* went over one last time with the Palette New Canvas ink to end up with what I wanted. I told you this was painful!!

I knew I wanted a fancy bow on the panel so made one with Sweet Blush Satin. Next spent ages coming up with a button treatment to top off the bow. I settled on a Sweet Blush button with a lovely glittery rim, then after a lot of searching found a Vintage Cream button the right size, colour and appearance to adhere on top of it, then *finally* settled on a Champagne rhinestone to adhere on top of the button (this after several attempts with various colours and sizes of pearls and rhinestones, ack!). The buttons were adhered to each other and to the bow with glue dots, and I added another glue dot between the bow and the panel to give it a bit of support. The panel was then adhered to a Rustic White card base.

Next came a *lot* of staring at the card deciding what to do with it next! I wanted something subtle and something that wouldn't hide a lot of the panel, so I eventually opted for some of the blooms from Life. I stamped them on Rustic White cardstock using Sweet Blush and VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo (the flower with both of the duo and the leaves with just the Chai - there is a slight difference if you look hard enough!). I then trimmed out each bloom carefully and arranged and adhered at differing depths using Pinflair Glue Gel.

I wanted to try out a pearl embellishment treatment so messed about with a couple of colours before settling on the Champagne ones. Just enough 'off white' in there without being too 'cream'. I really like the arrangement I came up with these actually, finally something I didn't agonise too much over! (although I did re-position a few of them a couple of times *sigh*).

After a few more hours of staring (and a break part way through) I finally chose a sentiment and went for one of the ones from Year of Flowers: Daffodils. I stamped it with a light hand onto Rustic White cardstock using Dark Chocolate ink, then adhered very slightly off the panel using Pinflair. I did originally try stamping directly on the panel but I'm glad I settled for this option instead.

So there you go - my journey of pain to produce this card!! Did I do a good job? I really hope so as a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this one as you can tell if you've read my babble!! I'd love to hear what you think of my effort and want to thank you for stopping by and leaving some love if you've chosen to do so. I can't wait to see what you've all come up with and I'm sure I'll see a lot more original ideas than mine when I'm hopping!!

Happy Happy In Bloom Birthday ...

2010-03-29T13:47:00.008+01:00

Hey everyone!

Well, I'm *still* waiting for my Violets set to arrive, so you know what that means ... ! Yep, yet *another* card featuring In Bloom! I hope you're not getting bored of these yet, hehe!

For someone who really never used to like orange I'm really digging it lately! I think I've learned to pair it with other colours in a way that doesn't make it stand out like a sore thumb, haha! For this creation I paired Orange Zest with Aqua Mist, with a good dose of white space to balance it out:

I really like how fresh this looks without being overpowering!! Another colour I just couldn't get around using was Aqua Mist but again I think I'm learning to love it now!

I kept this card nice and simple. I started with a Rustic White panel and stamped the blooms and leaves using Orange Zest and Aqua Mist inks. I wanted a sort of 'open frame' but to still keep a lot of white space. I might have learned to use orange but that doesn't mean I want it jumping out at me too much!!

I adhered the panel to an Aqua Mist card base with Pinflair Glue Gel to give it a bit of depth. Keeping with the simple theme I finished off the card with the sentiment from Fillable Frames #1, stamping it on Orange Zest cardstock using True Black ink, trimmed and adhered with a good dose of Pinflair to really lift it off the panel.

Tonight I'll be collecting my (first) March Release order - can't wait to get all those goodies home and start playing!! Thank you for stopping by and leaving some love if you've chosen to do so, you know how much I appreciate your kind words!

PS: I just wanted to end the post with some good news. I was lucky enough to be picked for an Honourable Mention for Lisa's Poppy Seed Challenge with my last card!! Thank you so much Lisa, it was the perfect start to the week for me and I'm on Cloud 9 and just thrilled to bits!!

Papertrey March 2010 Blog Hop

2010-03-25T21:58:00.009Z

Evening all!

Well, tonight is the Papertrey Blog Hop! Are you all as excited as I am?!! Thank you for stopping by and taking time to visit my creation!!

Well, let's get down to business shall we?! This month's challenge was to use buttons in any way we wanted! I *adore* PTI buttons - their sizes, shapes, colours, all those little special ones we get in the packets that have glitter and just the general all-round yumminess of them!! So I couldn't wait to get stuck in!!

I decided to also combine the Blog Hop Challenge with the latest Poppy Seed Challenge:

I really love the idea behind Lisa's Challenge! Because we only have these three seeds it leaves everything else open to interpretation and inspiration!!

I had a think and a play, and finally opted for this colourful creation, featuring my set of the moment - Cupcake Collection!

Ah, doesn't that look yummy to you?!! I love the colours and warmth in this card!!

I started with a Berry Sorbet card base which was stamped, front and back, with Damask Designs using Sweet Blush ink. This gave a lovely damask effect I thought - subtle, two-tone and just enough to take a bit of heat out of the overall colour. Love how it turned out!!

I decided to opt for a yellow cupcake frosting and stamped the top with Lemon Tart ink onto Rustic White cardstock. See what a job reinking does?! How bright and zesty is that Lemon Tart?! I paired the top with a Berry Sorbet lining, stamped again onto Rustic White cardstock. I cut both out carefully for later assembly.

I used a mat of Spring Moss cardstock and stamped the dots from Polka Dot Basics I using Dark Chocolate. I remember how rubbish I was at lining up the pattern when I first got this set months and months ago, guess I must have improved my technique a lot as it came out lovely and aligned!!

I wanted a contrast for the bottom layer of my mat so I chose the polka dot patterned paper from Turning a New Leaf, which also mirrored the colour arrangement on the main mat. Love it when little details like that come together!! I punched the bottom with my SU! punch and adhered to the main mat with Scor Tape.

I decided I wanted quite a simple arrangement for my ribbon and button embellishment, so I tied a piece of Lemon Tart Twill around the mat and knotted at the side. I then threaded a Dark Chocolate button with matching embroidery floss and adhered in place with a Glue Dot, leaving the ends of the floss tailing out at the sides.

To finish I adhered the cupcake frosting and liner to the mat using Pinflair Glue Gel, stamped the sentiment on Lemon Tart cardstock with Dark Chocolate ink and adhered with Pinflair, and adhered the mat to the base with the same.

I'd absolutely love to hear what you think of this little beauty, your comments always make my day!! Thank you all for stopping by and I'll be sure to look at all your creations really soon!

Sweet Cupcake

2010-03-16T12:27:00.008Z

Hey again everyone!

Well, what a fab release! A shame that the Forum died again but so thrilled that I managed to get everything on my list! Apart from the Daffodils set that is - I did see that one on the site but thought it was an error so didn't get it! Ah well, I'll catch it when it's back!!

Today I have a lovely card to show you featuring one of my very first sets. In fact it was the set that first hooked me on buying PTI stamps: Cupcake Collection. I just love these cute cupcakes and PTI's ones are just perfect, so much nicer a design and more options than any of the other cupcake sets out there!

I also wanted to try a different colour combination so I decided to base this card on Melissa Phillips' Photo Colour Challenge from a little while back:

I just love lilacs, lavenders and purples, and really welcomed the chance to pair them with a less conventional match in the oranges! Here's what I came up with:

Okay, so I cheated a little and added some Kraft, but I think I should be allowed to get away with that don't you?! I just love how this little darling turned out and it keeps making me hungry whenever I look at it!

I started by stamping the cupcake frosting onto Lavender Moon Bitty Dot Basics paper using True Black ink. I then cut out carefully and edged with VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo. I ordered 3 lots of this with this month's release as I go through them really fast and my current ones are pretty much dead!!

I stamped the cupcake liner onto Autumn Abundance patterned paper, added a small amount of shading with Copics then cut out and edged in the same manner as above. I love how the coloured polka dots on the case contrast with the white dots on the frosting!

I then set about creating my Kraft panel. This was stamped with two different stamps from Background Basics: Tin Type using Orange Zest and Plum Pudding inks. I stamped these straight but then cut the rectangle at 45 degrees to that so the pattern was rotated. I edged that panel with the Tea Dye Duo as well.

For the Rustic White panel I stamped with the same stamps but swapped the colours around and kept the orientation normal. I edged with the Tea Dye Duo again then adhered the Kraft panel onto it with Scor Tape. This gives a nice co-ordinating pattern on both layers but still a contrast/difference to keep things interesting.

I adhered the cupcake top and bottom to the panel using Pinflair. I love using this glue for cases just like this as I was able to alter the height just subtlely between the two layers. I find I get a lot more control with the glue than I ever have with foam pads.

I die cut some Lavender Moon cardstock using the small scalloped die then trimmed and adhered to my panel, then mounted the whole thing onto my Rustic White card base using more Pinflair. Finally I stamped my sentiment from Cupcake Collection using Orange Zest ink. I have to say I didn't really favour this colour at first as it just seemed too bright an orange for me to get on with, but now I've actually used it more I love the shade it is!

So what do you think of this creation? I had such fun creating it and really love how that colour combo worked out! Thank you for stopping by and leaving some love if you've chosen to do so, really brightens my day to read your sweet comments!

Enjoy

2010-03-15T01:31:00.008Z

Hello everyone!!

Well, as we're waiting (not so) patiently for the Papertrey Release I thought I'd show you a card today that I really love!

I really enjoyed playing with Damask Designs again in my last card, and I also really loved how the flower turned out in this card, so I thought I'd combine the two for a 'best of both worlds' kind of thing! Here's what I ended up with:

I'm just over the moon with how this card turned out!! It's so pretty and elegant, I just want to keep looking at it all the time!!

I started with a piece of Berry Sorbet cardstock and stamped my damask pattern using Vintage Cream ink. I then trimmed to size and stamped the flourish leaves from Turning a New Leaf using Dark Chocolate ink. Love how some of the damask shines through that Dark Chocolate! As the damask is very elegant I wanted to create a bit of contrast so I distressed the edges then applied the VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo to the frayed edges.

Next I stamped one of the flowers from In Bloom on Berry Sorbet cardstock using Dark Chocolate ink. I cut out very carefully then applied some Martha Stewart glue to the centre. I then added some brown Martha Stewart tinsel glitter. Really love the effect that it gives - not too showy but still stunning! I adhered the bloom in place using Pinflair to give some depth off the base.

I punched a piece of Rustic White cardstock using my EK Success punch and adhered to the Berry Cardstock layer. I took a smaller piece of the same cardstock and stamped the sentiment from 2009 Autumn Tags using Dark Chocolate ink. I adhered in place with Pinflair.

I adhered the panel to my Kraft card base with more Pinflair but decided there was something 'missing' so I added a strip of Scor Tape and sprinkled on some Martha Stewart fine crystal glitter. I think it added just the touch I needed!

So I'd love to hear what you think of this card! I really love this one and think it might go on display pride of place somewhere in my home! Thank you for stopping by and leaving some love if you chose to do so, you know how much I appreciate each and every one of your comments! Enjoy the rest of the Release Party and I hope you all get what you want!! :o)

Grateful Blooms

2010-03-13T15:44:00.012Z

Hey everyone!

Well, I took one day off blogging yesterday but I'm back today with another card to share!

While I'm still waiting for Year of Flowers: Violets to arrive I've been trying to tide myself over by using In Bloom a lot more! I've really been enjoying 'getting to know' this set in all new, different ways and I've been finding that it's a lot more versatile than I'd originally thought!

After all my CAS cards of late I wanted to go back to my normal sort of style and mix up my stamp sets and colour combos for something fun! I decided to try and use some colours/combos I wouldn't usually use, and after playing around a little I came up with the following:

I have to say, I was pretty undecided on whether I like this card or not, but it is growing on me!

I started out with a piece of Orange Zest cardstock and stamped repeatedly with one of the stamps from Damask Designs. I used Lemon Tart as I wanted a subtle effect but didn't want to use Versamark, I wanted something pale that would complement the orange. I held my breath as the ink dried as I wasn't sure if it would show up! But that's one of the greatest things about the pigment formulation of PTI's inks - the ink dried to give the lovely pale effect I was after!

I trimmed my panel down then accompanied it with a piece of Rustic White cardstock cut with the small scalloped border die. I covered the join with some Lemon Tart twill tied in one of Dawn's bows. This is the first time I've tied a bow and I have to say it is stiff and I found it harder to do. That said, once I'd fiddled with it I was happy with the result, and it holds its shape a lot better than the other ribbons, so I'm happy!

Next I stamped three of the blooms from In Bloom onto Raspberry Fizz cardstock. I used Smokey Shadow ink for a more subtle effect than black, but I think with hindsight I might have stuck with black even though I'm okay with how it turned out. I traced round the petals with some Martha Stewart glue (love the ultra fine nozzle on this!) then applied some Martha Stewart coarse crystal glitter. Once dry I adhered my blooms strategically using Pinflair Glue Gel.

I then stamped the sentiment from Signature Greetings using True Black ink then adhered the whole panel to the Ocean Tides card base using more Pinflair.

So what do you think? After all my CASness of late I found this to be like a breath of fresh air to make! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one, your comments always bring a smile to my face!

Baby Bear Bundle Congrats

2010-03-10T23:00:00.001Z

Try saying that three times fast, hehe!!

Hey everyone, and welcome back! Hope you're continuing to enjoy the Papertrey Countdown, like there was any way you couldn't be, lol! Today I'm sharing another diddy card I made, this time using that gorgeous bear from Baby Button Bits again:

How cute is that?!! So sweet!!!

I started with a piece of Rustic White cardstock and created a plaid background using Sweet Blush and Smokey Shadow inks. Ready for a shock? I didn't use a PTI set to do this!! :-O I know, I can't believe it either!! It looks like Papertrey will be bringing out a plaid background builder set, but I didn't know that when I finally broke down and purchased the Offbeat Backgrounds set from Waltzingmouse. The set is great but I'm kinda wishing I'd held out a little longer, lol! Ah well, they both look different enough so I'm sure I will find a use for both!!

After the background was created I stamped the little bear in a position I thought would yield a good pattern, then carefully cut her out. I used a Copic marker to add just a little extra hue on the paw pads and muzzle and then she was ready to use!

I used a small Rustic White cardstock base and stamped one of the heart stamps from Background Basics: Hearts, then coloured the hearts in with a Copic marker. I adhered the bear in place (no dimension this time!) then tied some of Papertrey's silk ribbon round the card, finishing with one of Dawn's bows. I deliberately placed the bow around the bear's neck so that it looks like she has a ribbon round her neck, so cute!!

To finish up I inked up the sentiment from Signature Greetings using Smokey Shadow ink and stamped onto the front, deliberately overstamping part of the ribbon. A bit of a different effect for me but I like how it turned out!!

Well, I would love to hear what you think about this little beauty! Really enjoying trying different things with my work and seeing the results, learning a little something extra every step of the way!! I'll be back again soon but thank you for stopping by and leaving some love if you've chosen to do so!!

January 2010 GSS Honourable Mention - Love Tree

2010-03-10T12:47:00.016Z

Evening all!

Wow, Day 1 of the Papertrey Countdown has *blown me away*!! Oh my God, we have so many new lovely goodies coming this month it's unbelievable!!!

Today I'm *finally* sharing my GSS Honourable Mention card!! You'd think after such an honour this card would have ended up on my blog straight away, but my love for all things flowery and summery took over!

I made this card for the PTI Forum Valentines Card Swap, where my swap partner was the ever-so-funny Ted Mattos. Ted's always been such a hoot on the forum, as well as being super-helpful and friendly, so I was delighted at the chance to make him a card! That meant of course that it had to be masculine but still fun! I cooked up an idea in my head and came up with this:

I *really* love how this card turned out - it was a labour of love and ended up pretty much how I'd envisioned it!

I started with the tree from Beyond Basic Borders, stamping it with Black Versafine and Versamark onto Smokey Shadow cardstock before embossing it with Matt Clear Embossing Powder. I then stamped the quotes stamp from Background Basics: Hearts at the bottom to act as the ground. I cut out the panel, distressed the edges then edged the distressing with a silver Sakura Pentouch pen.

I then inked up several of the smaller hearts from Simple Valentine with Versamark and stamped onto Pure Poppy cardstock, before embossing and cutting them out, adhering them to the ends of the branches.

Then the really painstaking part! I punched out loads of tiny hearts using the Martha Stewart Tiny Hearts border punch, before adhering each one in place individually using Micro Dots! For those of you who don't know just how tiny these hearts are - they are *tiny*, like 1mm or so big!! I wanted to create the look of falling blossom/leaves and it was well worth all the effort, but not something I'm sure I'd have the patience to repeat on a regular basis, ha!

I adhered the main panel to a Smokey Shadow card base using Pinflair Glue Gel. I then stamped a sentiment from Simple Valentine using True Black ink onto another piece of Smokey Shadow, cut out and distressed the edges and adhered in place. I added a few more red hearts on the inside of the card, along with a handwritten message, then it was on its way to Ted!!

Well, I really hope you liked my entry. I was so thrilled that Nichole liked it enough to select it for Honourable Mention, such a huge honour!! Here is the image from her blog and what she said about my card:

"Taheerah used an unconventional stamp choice for a Valentine project, Beyond Basic Borders. She transformed the tree image into something all new with hearts of various sizes. I also love her color combo of Smokey Shadow, Black & Pure Poppy!"

Truly something I'll treasure forever!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving some love if you chose to do so! I'll be back tomorrow with more to show you, bye for now!!

I've Come Over All CAS ... !

2010-03-09T13:03:00.007Z

Hey everyone!

Well, I'm managing to keep up the daily blogging ... so far! Really enjoying getting to show you all what I've been creating lately, but there's still so much to catch up on too!

While I'm waiting (not so) patiently for 1) the March Release, 2) my second PTI order to arrive and 3) my CPS Sketch win goodies to arrive, I'm trying to play with some other supplies. I got Studio Style in my first February order and decided I should ink it up and give it some love!

Now, as you all know, I'm not really a 'CAS' person, but this set was screaming 'CAS' to me, so I had to give it a whirl! I came up with this little but punchy number:

How cute is that?! I really like how this diddy card turned out - it only measures 5.5" x 2.75"! And I love the little pops of colour!!

I started with a white cardstock base and added a couple of score lines with my Scor Pal. I then stamped the sentiment repeatedly with Dark Chocolate, Berry Sorbet and Spring Moss - still loving that colour combo!

I then stamped the button jar image on cardstock of the same colours, cut out carefully then adhered to the card with plenty of Pinflair for dimension. I decided to mix up the order of the colours of jars so that they added a bit of visual interest, I think I liked that better than putting them next to their respective sentiments, what do you think? Apart from agonising over the order of the jars that was it for this card! Quick And Easy, and Clean And Simple! And only one stamp set used too!! I think I need to go lie down and work out what's happened to my normal style, lol!

I'd love to hear what you think of this little card. Do you like my more CAS-like cards or are you missing the layers and wilder combos?! I think I'm liking it, but I really want to start playing with other colours other than a white base now, lol, I'm missing mixing up my colours and stamp sets!

Sunshine In Bloom

2010-03-08T12:50:00.008Z

Hey everyone!

Still trying desperately to catch-up on cards I haven't posted! I have about half a dozen more to go!

I'm still very much on a Summer/flower kick at the moment, so today's card is another sunny creation that really puts me in the mood for some warm weather!

I really love how this card turned out!! You know when you start something, and about half way through you're not really sure how it'll turn out/whether you like it, but you just carry on anyway and see what happens? That's what happened with this one and I'm so glad it all fell into place!

I started with another tall card but decided to flip it on its side and make a long card instead! I then decided it was about time that I inked up the flower from Baby Button Bits so away I went, stamping to create a background that went about half way up the card. I then added some subtle Copic colouring to introduce the colours of Spring Moss and Melon Berry into the scheme.

I wanted the look of buttons but didn't want to use actual buttons or epoxy domes. That's where Studio Style came in! I love the fact that I can now stamp buttons! I just wish there were more buttons in the set!! I inked them up with Lemon Tart, finally managing to get a bit of colour out of that pad by poncing hard on the stamp. Can't wait for my reinker to arrive - before the topic was raised on the PTI Forum I just assumed it was meant to be as light as it was coming out, lol!

I added a strip of Melon Berry ribbon across the length of the card, tying into one of Dawn's bows again. I'm loving Melon Berry at the moment, it's such a great colour!!

I added a small panel of Lemon Tart cardstock with a punched piece of Summer Sunrise cardstock to one side. The sentiment is from Blooming Button Bits and is stamped in True Black ink.

Then my favourite part of the card - the gorgeous flourish leaves from Turning A New Leaf, and a Melon Berry In Bloom flower to top it off! I love, love, *love* how this turned out!! I added some coarse glitter along the edges after gaining a little inspiration from Dawn McVey - so glad she gave me a use for this type of glitter, ha! It really finished off the card perfectly and the little glints as the sun catch the card make me so happy!!

I'd love to know what you think of this card! Does it put you in the mood for Summer? It certainly makes me very happy!! Thank you for stopping by and leaving some love if you choose to do so, your comments are like little rays of sunshine in my day. :o)

Embellish Magazine Colour Challenge with Borders

2010-03-07T23:27:00.008Z

Hi everyone!

I'm back with my second post of tonight, wow!

I usually like to post my cards in the order that they were made, but I've totally gone against that quite a lot this year, lol! I still have a backlog of older cards to show you but tonight I'm posting a card I made for the latest Embellish Magazine Colour Challenge:

I don't usually do 'non-PTI' challenges, but this one had a colour combo too good to miss out on! Plus it took inspiration from PTI colours so that makes me feel a little better, lol! I also fell head over heels with some of the cards that the Embellish Magazine DT made for this challenge, particularly Sarah Martina Parker's gorgeous creation here. Happy sigh, I wish I could create like her!

Anyway, once I got the idea in my head for what I wanted to do this card came together pretty easily:

I'm really pleased with how this card turned out! Not a huge amount of stamping for me, and the focal point is so much fun!

I began by creating the distressed flower heads. These were created from the Pretty Pastels patterned paper, cut into circles using my Nestabilities. I then distressed the edges of each one before crumpling them up a little bit then flattening them out a little, then securing the layers together with some gorgeous Making Memories brads.

The card base is Lemon Tart, and is a fairly large card, the front being 8" x 4". The back was actually half an inch wider so that I could punch the edge using my EK Success/SU! punch. I then set about the main panel, which is Vintage Cream, the top two corners being rounded. The stems were created using Faux Ribbon and Turning A New Leaf. The sentiment is from Signature Greetings and is stamped with Dark Chocolate ink, stamped off once before overinking with Smokey Shadow ink before stamping onto the panel.

After the flower heads my next favourite bit is the grass! I really like how this turned out! I started with a punched piece of Spring Moss cardstock and gave that a subtle deboss with my Tin Types Impression plate. Behind that are two pieces of cardstock cut with the Small Scallop Border die - I took both edges and mounted them to give an extra effect! The middle layer is stamped with Background Basics: Tin Type using Versamark ink. I then added a Melon Berry Bitty Dot ribbon and finished it with one of Dawn's bows. :o)

So what do you think? A bit of a style departure for me but I really like the whimsy look that came out of it! I think this won't be the last time you're seeing some of these flowers! ;o) Hope you liked and I'll be back tomorrow hopefully, still playing catch-up with all my creations!

Masculine Valentine

2010-03-07T22:02:00.007Z

Hey everyone!

Well, this post will just go to show exactly how far behind I am in my posts! Today I'm posting a masculine card I made for Valentine's Day - and no, it's still not my GSS Honourable Mention either, cripes!! One of these days I will get it posted though!

Today's card was also one I considered using for the February Blog Hop but I decided not to as Dawn's card was out for publication and so wasn't showing on her blog. Still, I really liked how it turned out, and it was well received too, so here it is!

I really like how this turned out! I think it makes a good, sentimental statement but still manages to be masculine at the same time!

I started with a Smokey Shadow base. This card is a big 'un, coming in at 8.5" x 5.5", but that was because I wanted to write a lot inside! The main panel is Rustic White, onto which I repeatedly stamped the 'Love You' sentiment from Say It With Style, using Enchanted Evening, Smokey Shadow, Ripe Avocado, Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss and Aqua Mist. I actually bought this set because I had the idea for this card!

I rounded each of the corners of the panel then inked the edges well with my VintageTouch Tea Dye Duo. I need to get some more of these, have finished my second set off already!

I added a smaller Smokey Shadow panel on top, with the 'U Rock!' sentiment stamped with True Black (or Black Versafine, I forget which!). I added a trio of buttons on the smaller panel. They are actually all True Black buttons but I managed to find some that looked more Smokey Shadow and Dark Chocolate in nature - perfect!

I decided I also wanted some extra buttons on the main panel, and you'll laugh at how I decided on their position - I literally picked out a selection of buttons, dropped them onto the card, and decided I liked the placement of where they'd fallen so I went with it, lol!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one, it really makes my day when you choose to leave some love! I'll hopefully be back later tonight with another card too so bye for now!!

Blooming Cascade

2010-03-06T18:50:00.006Z

Hey everyone!

Well, I promised I'd return with another post today so here I am!!

I'm still really loving the tall cards a la Maile Belles, so I have another today. This one is one that I'm rather proud of!

How fun, zesty and fresh is that?!! I love the colour combo - Berry Sorbet, Dark Chocolate and Spring Moss on Stamper's Select White! Looks good enough to eat!!

I started by stamping various blooms from Beautiful Blooms using the three inks, alternating the blooms and colours as I went along. I then chose a select few flowers and added rhinestone centres, colouring them with Copics to match the colours. I then added a few other random rhinestones as well. Love the tiny diddy ones!!

The sentiment is from Big & Bold wishes, and is stamped on Berry Sorbet cardstock using Dark Chocolate ink. I added a small piece of punched Spring Moss cardstock, finished with a rhinestone in the centre.

I'd love to know what you think of this one - it really gets me in the mood for Summer!! Take good care of yourselves and I'll be back again soon!!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

2010-03-05T23:39:00.013Z

Hey everyone!

I've been rubbish at updating my blog lately so I thought I'd make an effort tonight to share some cards I've made lately. One day I'll catch up, honest!!

Today's cards were made for a commission. I was asked to produce 4 'Thank You' cards, and apart from the size the rest of the details were up to me. I love requests like this, they equal more play time! :o)

Anyway, here's what I came up with:

This first card features In Bloom, Fancy Flourishes and Communique Sentiments. I just love the fun combination of Berry Sorbet, Raspberry Fizz, Spring Moss, Summer Sunrise and Kraft! The punch detail was created with my SU! punch and the flourish and blooms were stamped with Raspberry Fizz.

This second card features Blooming Button Bits, Polka Dot Basics I, Turning A New Leaf and Communique Sentiments again. Aren't those leaves so fun?! I inked up the leaves using Hibiscus then kissed against Polka Dot Basics I which had been inked with True Black ink. The base is actually Hibiscus Burst but for some reason it keeps coming out like Raspberry Fizz in the photo. :o( I added some rhinestones for a little extra detail and used sparkly Raspberry Fizz buttons to add some bling!

I think this third card is my favourite!! I started with a Rustic White base and stamped Background Basics: Tin Type using Aqua Mist, then again at the top and bottom with Dark Chocolate for some added detail. The tag features Big & Bold Wishes, stamped with Dark Chocolate on Vintage Cream. I added some Summer Sunrise ribbon to make it look like a tag (actually a scrap from the bow from my first card - see, save your scraps!!) and I added a small piece of Pretty Pastels patterned paper which was cut with my PTI Small Scallop border die. Oh my God, I love these dies!!

The last card is a lovely mellow combination of Kraft, Rustic Cream, Dark Chocolate and Berry Sorbet. I love using the buttons as berries! Stamps used on this card are Turning a New Leaf and 2009 Autumn Tags. Also I'm sure you can't help but notice that *gorgeous* subtle detail on the Rustic Cream panel!! That's the Tin Types Impression Plate people, and you *must* get it!!!

So there you go, I hope you enjoyed! I'd love to hear which of these is your favourite and why!! As always thank you so much for stopping by and leaving some love if you choose to do so, it really makes my day! I'll hopefully be back again tomorrow posting some more cards - I have so much to show you!!

Papertrey February 2010 Blog Hop

2010-02-25T12:58:00.024Z

Evening all!

Welcome to tonight's PTI Blog Hop!! It's been *ages* since I've participated so I'm super-excited about joining in this time!!

This month's Blog Hop Challenge was an extra special one for me. Here it is in Nichole's own words:

Since we just finished up our 3rd Anniversary Festivities, we thought we would do something extra special for this month's Blog Hop! Design Team Appreciation Day! Your challenge is to go through the Design Team gallery or any of the Design Team Members' blogs and find a project that is especially inspirational to you! Then recreate the project with your own spin, making it unique! Be sure to share a link and photo of the original project that inspired you! And you can also use this opportunity to thank the team for all their contributions this past year! I know they inspire ME daily and I never seem to thank them enough! We look forward to seeing your projects!

Now, those of you who visit here often know that I don't like to CASE. It's not that I think there's anything 'wrong' with CASEing, I just really like to try and come up with something by myself as much as possible so I can try and develop my own style. However there are occasions when I see some amazing creations and *wish* I could make myself break my own rule! So when this Challenge came along it was perfect - I could CASE but still add my own spin, so in my head it's 'allowed'!! :-D

For those of you who have stopped by here before I'm sure you can already deduce that I'm a *huge* fan of Dawn McVey's. Have been ever since I first visited her blog. So I guess it was a given that I'd be looking to her for my inspiration!

But wait, there's more!! With the February Anniversary Festivities it was annouced that the uber-talented Maile Belles would be joining the PTI DT ranks. I've always been awestruck by Maile's creations, so this placed me in somewhat of a quandry! Should I stick with my 'first love' Dawn, or tip my hat to Maile instead?

My solution? Both of course!! Both of these ladies insprire me so greatly, and on so many levels that I couldn't possibly just pick one of them!!

Before we come onto the cards, I thought I'd just share three things I love about Dawn's and Maile's creations:

3 Things I Love About Dawn's Style:

Her colour combos. Honestly, there is no-one who can combine colours the way she does and with such success!
The way she builds/combines patterns and backgrounds, often from different sets, yet making them work seamlessly together
Her perfect finishing touches - her bows need no introduction!

3 Things I Love About Maile's Style:

Her designs are just so modern and clean, whether she's doing CAS or something with a more visually striking background
She just balances everything in her composition perfectly, effortlessly even
She uses stamps in ways I would never have even thought of, especially In Bloom!

So, having said all that, let's move onto the cards!! I have to say it was really hard to pick a favourite amongst these ladies' work, not least because half their cards are missing from their blogs due to being removed for publication!! However, I think I settled on some good choices and managed to add my own touches and unique spin to them to make them my own.

Dawn's Card

I spent literally hours scouring through Dawn's blog, looking back on all her amazing creations!! I had many favourites in my mind, but I wanted to try and go for something that was more of a departure from my normal style. I finally opted for this creation:

I chose this card because the design was quite bold and the colours weren't ones I would use that often. I thought that would be a good starting point to add my own touches to the design.

Here's what I came up with:

I'm actually pretty happy with how this card turned out, even though I still think the colours aren't really 'me'! I kept with the colour scheme and with the main points/composition of the design, but I changed it up by using In Bloom instead of Friends 'Til The End.

I stamped the flowers and leaves from In Bloom on Orange Zest cardstock using Versamark ink, then embossed with white embossing powder. I then blended some Terracotta Tile ink over the design with a tissue to add a bit of depth, as well as inking the edges. I lost the white colour due to the ink staining but in a way I'm pleased as it softened the look a little.

Other little changes I made included stamping the Dark Chocolate layer with Background Basics: Petal Power, again using Versamark. I wanted a hint of pattern that wasn't too busy so I think it worked quite well. I used my SU!/EK Success punch to add the detail to the Summer Sunrise cardstock, but I tucked mine underneath my ribbon and overlapping the Dark Chocolate cardstock layer.

And did you spot the ribbon?!! I was really inspired by this card that Dawn showcased this month with her Studio Style set:

So I decided to attempt ... the double bow!! I used Vintage Cream Luxe Satin ribbon and Spring Moss Topnotch Twill so that I could have a two-tone effect. This was *very* fiddly to do but I think I more or less managed to pull it off, and I even have the faced side of the satin showing on the top as well!!

Finally, my other little design touches were to round the top corner of the card base and the In Bloom panel to soften the overall look, and my sentiments came from Communique Sentiments and Blooming Button Bits, with the 'Thank You' sentiment being stamped on Vintage Cream cardstock instead of white.

Maile's Card

Maile's card choice came a little easier to me than Dawn's one. Her use of the In Bloom stamp set really made me take a whole new look at this set and I'll definitely try to think of more creative and 'out of the box' uses for it in future! One card that stood out to me in particular was this beauty:

I just love how classy and sophisticated this card is!! The colours used also mean it can be changed to work with other colours and the design would still work perfectly!!

Here's my take on Maile's design:

Same but different huh?! I really wanted to try and make the design fresher and more funky, so I took inspiration from another of Maile's In Bloom cards:

I think combining my favourite things from both cards worked really well!!

I started with a Stamper's Select White card base and rounded the top corner. I then stamped the In Bloom flowers and leaves using Raspberry Fizz and Summer Sunrise inks, alternating as I progressed with the design. I kept the same layout for the blooms as I thought this was already perfect!!

I then scored two lines 1/8" apart, 1/4" from the spine, using my Scor-Pal. I then added a strip of 1/8" Scor Tape and sprinkled on some more of my custom coloured glitter, this time blending Martha Stewart's Tourmaline and Kunzite glitters.

Finally I added a strip of Summer Sunrise cardstock, with the sentiment coming from In Bloom and stamped using PTI's True Black ink. By using the glitter strip and the Summer Sunrise panel I still kept the elements of Maile's criss-cross design but freshened it up and was able to incorporate the two colours in a fresher way.

So what do you think?! I really enjoyed the whole process of picking out my favourites, dissecting what I loved most about them, and then putting my own creations together combining my favourite elements from them to add my own spin on them!! Maybe there is a way that CASEing and me can coexist peacefully after all, lol!! I'd love to hear what you think of these creations, and also which is your favourite, both from the original design and from my takes on them!! Enjoy the rest of the Hop and thank you so much for stopping by!!

CPS Sketch #153

2010-02-12T23:33:00.007Z

Hey everyone,

I'm back today with the card I created for the CPS #153 sketch. I don't usually use sketches but I made an exception for this one as it's being sponsored by Papertrey Ink and there's a fab PTI prize up for grabs!!

This is the sketch we had to follow:

And here is my take on it:

What do you think?! Quite a bold card with all that Pure Poppy but I think it works!

I created another one of my little furry bears using the stamp from Baby Button Bits and colouring with Copics. This time to get the darker fur I coloured part of my face cloth in with the darker shade of red I was using and immediately dabbing that over. I'm pleased with the end result!

After cutting out my bear I adhered him to some circle mats using plenty of Pinflair. Both circles were cut with Nestibilities, with the top circle being stamped with Background Basics: Diamonds using Smokey Shadow ink on Stamper's Select White cardstock. The back scalloped circle was cut from True Black.

If you look closely at the large Pure Poppy mat you'll be able to see two different patterns, so that was my take on how I interpreted the two rectangular panels. The top section is stamped with Background Basics: Text Style II using Versamark, and the bottom section stamped with the trail of stars from Let Freedom Ring! using Smokey Shadow ink.

I stamped the sentiment from Say It With Style using True Black ink, then distressed the edges and followed up with inking the edges in the same ink. I also used a black Copic marker to edge the sides of the mat to cover any areas my inking missed. The whole panel was adhered to the front using more Pinflair.

I'd love to hear what you think of this one! Nothing wrong with a bold card once in a while I think, and I'm loving how that furry effect translates even with a more dramatic colouring!

January GSS Entry - The One I Thought Would Do Well!

2010-02-11T23:12:00.009Z

Hey everyone,

Well, I'm trying to play catch-up and thought it was time I posted a couple of the cards I submitted for last month's GSS!! As some of you may know I managed to secure an Honourable Mention for that month, woo hoo!!!! I'm still on Cloud Nine about it, so thrilled that Nichole liked my work!!

But this post is not that card!! This post is to show one of my other entries. This is the card I actually thought would do well but didn't get selected, guess it just goes to show you never know!!

I actually created this one at around New Year, so it's been a while coming! I entered this one into the 'Best Use of Previous Set' category and it utilises Beautiful Blooms, Big & Bold Wishes and Guide Lines Two:

I love how bright and cheery this card is!! A lot of work went into it and I'm really proud of it!!

I started with the frame. This was actually a scrap from an old card I'd made ages ago and I'd had some spare. I cut out a shape using my Labels Eight Nestibilities but decided it came out too big, so I cut again with a smaller die and used that shape, leaving the resulting frame waiting to be used on something else! The design was created with Guide Lines Two on Hibiscus Burst cardstock and a few different colour inks - so long ago that I can't remember which colours now!!

First I applied some spray adhesive to the frame and added some Martha Stewart glitter to it. I then applied a thick layer of Glossy Accents to the frame and waited patiently for it to dry, sprinkling on a little extra glitter while it was drying so that I got a 'dimensional' glitter effect. Took *ages* to dry!!

In the meantime I prepared the card base and flowers! I stamped some of the blooms from Beautiful Blooms using Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus, Lemon Tart and Summer Sunrise inks on a spare piece of Stamper's Select White cardstock. I selected my favourites and cut them out carefully to be used on the card.

I then prepared a white card base. I drew lightly around the inside of the frame with pencil and used that as a basis for where to stamp my inner images. I stamped those blooms with the same combination of inks as for the main blooms.

When the frame was fully dry I added lashings of Pinflair to the back and adhered quite high for dimension. I then applied even more Pinflair to the cut out blooms and adhered them into position so they were a bit higher than the frame and positioned where I thought they looked best. Cue more drying time!! When the card was finally dry enough I stamped the sentiment from Big & Bold Wishes using True Black ink.

I'd love to hear what you think about this card!! As I said before I'm so proud of it and I really hope you love it too!!

PTI DT Colour Favourites - Heather

2010-02-09T23:28:00.007Z

Hey everyone,

I hope you're all enjoying the Papertrey festivities as much as I am!

I have to say I've loved doing these colour challenges, they're so much fun!! There were 12 to choose from and I really wanted to do all 12 but didn't have enough time. I plan to revisit the ones I missed though and try them out some other time!

Next up are Heather's colours:

Aren't they gorgeous?! So soft and gentle!! I really wanted to bear that in mind with my design and create something that felt just as soft and relaxing as the combo made me feel! Keeping up with my plans to do a series of mini cards I came up with the following:

I love this one!! Cupcake Collection was one of the first sets I got from PTI and it's still one of my favourites, lots of fond memories of when I was first wowed by Nichole and the team, lol!

I started with a Vintage Cream base and rounded one corner. I stamped one of the designs from Background Basics: Petal Power using Spring Moss ink. Such a lovely, subtle effect, and so much better in the new formula!!

I really wanted to keep the card sweet and simple, so I stamped the cupcake frosting onto the Melon Berry design from the Pretty Pastels patterned paper collection. I stamped the base onto Kraft cardstock and added some shading with my Copics. Both top and bottom were stamped using Dark Chocolate ink so the result wasn't as stark as black. I adhered both to the base using lashings of Pinflair as usual!

The sentiment was inked up with Versamark first (to protect the stamp from staining) then VintageTouch Chai then Dark Chocolate lightly over the top, then all stamped down together to give a lovely Kraft coloured ink. I also used the Chai ink to edge two of the edges of the card. And that's all there is to it!!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this little series so far. Which has been your favourite colour combo and/or design? I really love them all and can't wait to get some spare time to complete the collection!!

PTI DT Colour Favourites - Maile

2010-02-09T22:36:00.008Z

Hey all,

I'm back with my second card for the colour challenges. Nichole really gave us a great challenge with this idea!! I have to say I'm having a ball with it as I really love my colour combos!!

The next swatch I chose was for Maile's colours:

Really bold and funky aren't they?! I've never mixed these colours before and I probably wouldn't have thought to incorporate Enchanted Evening and Raspberry Fizz!! This is one of the things I love most about colour combo challenges - you really get to try new things that are maybe outside of your usual modus operandi!!

Anyway, enough with the intellectual speak, hehe! Here's my card:

I really love this one, it turned out so fun!! I bought Scattered Showers from a fellow PTI Forum member and thought this was the perfect opportunity to ink it up!!

I started with a Kraft base and rounded the top right corner. Loving my new Corner Chomper from We R Memory Keepers - goes through PTI cardstock like buttah!!

I then added a strip of Enchanted Evening In Bloom patterned paper. I punched one edge with my new Stampin' Up punch (a freebie I got when ordering some SU! dies with my Forum friend!) and then adhered the strip with Scor-Tape.

I stamped the umbrella handle directly onto the base with Dark Chocolate ink. I then stamped the parasol onto a separate piece of Kraft cardstock with Raspberry Fizz ink. Doesn't the new formula pop so well?! I cut out the parasol carefully and adhered with Pinflair to give some dimension. I then stamped the sentiment from 2009 Autumn Tags (God I love that font!!) with Dark Chocolate ink.

Lastly I added a strip of Raspberry Fizz Twill Tape in a ruffled/folded fashion. I got the ruffled look by adding a strip of Scor-Tape first, cutting a length or ribbon longer than the strip and then folding the ribbon over randomly and holding it in place with the tape. Safer than me trying to sew it on!!

So what do you think? I really love this colour combo and may well use it again, it's so much fun! And I'm really glad I got Scattered Showers too, it's so pretty!!

PTI DT Colour Favourites - Lisa

2010-02-09T22:34:00.011Z

Hey everyone,

[[Previously on *Fill Your Paper With The Breathings of Your {Heart}* ... ] Sorry, it's really late here and I'm exhausted, so I'll add the description etc for these cards tomorrow or another day. In the meantime I just want to quickly post 3 cards I did for the latest PTI Challenge.]

Well, I finally got around to writing my usual blurb for my posts!! Hope you can forgive me for the delay, lol!

I'm loving the PTI Challenges so much!! I can't wait for the 'Make It Mondays' challenges to start. I don't know about you but I found my mojo really kicked up a gear with each challenge!!

The most recent challenge issued my Nichole was a DT Colour Favourites Challenge. Each member of the DT picked a favourite 4-colour combo and we were to create cards using them. I really love colour combos and so I dived right in!! I didn't get a chance to make all 12 but I plan to go back and rectify that when I've a chance!!

The first combo I took on was for Lisa's colours:

What a great combo!! Quite different from my normal combos with Kraft!!

I decided as well as being challenged with the colours, I would also challenge myself on the designs. I decided to make a series of mini cards (3.5"x3.5") but have each one with a different design to really make my mojo work, lol!!

Here's my design for Lisa's colours:

I love this little card!! Just because a card is small doesn't mean it can't be bold and pack a punch!! That's what I saw in my head with these colours and I'm really pleased with how the idea translated!!

I started with a Kraft cardstock base, then built my design. I wanted to use Blooming Butotn Bits again and opted to stamp the flower trio and the largest bloom using True Black ink. To change it up I stamped the largest bloom onto Vintage Cream cardstock and the smaller blooms on Kraft. I only used two of the trio and have one kept back to use on another project at some point!

For the largest flower I picked out a gorgeous button from my True Black buttons. Love the mother of pearl effect it has!! I picked out some cream buttons from my Cream & White mix buttons and used those for the smaller blooms. Buttons adhered with Pinflair as always!

I then stamped some of the leaves onto Vintage Cream cardstock using Spring Moss ink. Love the delicate colour of them! I worked out how I wanted to compose my design then adhered the blooms and leaves with more Pinflair, as usual having different dimension for them all.

I wanted a smaller accent of Vintage Cream so I punched a strip of it with my new SU! punch. The punch is made by EK Success but was a freebie from SU! for an order I placed with a fellow PTI Forum user. Really pretty design so thank you Angy for organising the order for me!! As my sentiment leaned to one side I decided to make the edge of my punched strip matched that so it was cut at an unusual angle. I think it ties in nicely!!

The sentiment is from 2009 Autumn Tags Collection. I have been after this set for *ages* as I completely fell in love with the font when the set came out!! I finally got it with my massive January order and am thrilled with it! The sentiment was stamped with True Black ink.

So what do you think of the design? I'm really loving changing up my style and going for something bold for a change!! I'd love to know what you think of my efforts!

Papertrey Paint By Numbers Sketch Challenge

2010-02-08T22:49:00.008Z

Hey everyone!!

I'll keep it short and sweet tonight as I'm exhausted and my bed is calling me! But before I head off to the land of nod I want to share with you the card I've made for the latest Papertrey Challenge.

For this challenge Nichole issued us the following sketch:

To spice things up a little though we were all assigned a colour palette according to our online username. Seeing as mine is LittleMissT I fell under the following colour category:

Quite a bright, jazzy combo! At first I was celebrating as it's a really fun selection of colours, but I didn't celebrate for long when it came to sitting down and making the card, lol! I sort of had an idea in my head of how I wanted to set the colours out, mainly born from me not wanting to make Orange Zest the focal point as I'm not good with orange!! So in the end I came up with this:

I'm actually quite happy with how this card came out in the end! The colours do work well together, it's just finding the right balance!

I started with a Terracotta Tile card base. The next layer up is a piece of Orange Zest In Bloom patterned paper. I like how it gives a subtle pattern without being too overwhelming.

The next layer is Stamper's Select White, with a piece of Raspberry Fizz cardstock as the final cardstock layer. I stamped the large flourish leaf from Turning a New Leaf using Fresh Snow ink, love how it shows up on bright cardstock! I then punched the edge with my Martha Stewart Tiny Hearts punch, really cute!

Now onto the stamped design. I stamped the bee trail from Baby Button Bits using Raspberry Fizz ink. I'd always envisaged using this trail with butterflies so chose to incorporate that here! I punched out Raspberry Fizz and Ripe Avocado butterflies using two Martha Stewart punches, then overlaid them, holding the Raspberry Fizz butterfly in place with Scor-Tape. I used a Sakura Stardust pen to add glitter to the Raspberry Fizz layer. I bent the wings up a little and adhered the whole butterfly to the card with Scor-Tape.

To finish the card off I stamped a sentiment from Communique Sentiments using Ripe Avocado ink. Finally, I added a strip of Ripe Avocado Swiss Dot ribbon, tying a small piece of 1/8" silk ribbon around it to pinch it in a little for interest.

I don't usually participate in sketches as I like the freedom to choose my own layout, but having done this one and also the CPS Sketch Challenge (to be posted soon) I can really see the value in having a ready made sketch so that your card can come together more easily and be professional in layout. So maybe I'll try using sketches in the future too, even if they're only my own! In the meantime I'd love your feedback on this card!!

Baby Bear

2010-02-07T23:02:00.009Z

Evening all!

I don't know about all of you but I've been *so* excited by all the Anniversary Celebrations going on at Papertrey Ink at the moment!! There's just so much goodness everyday it's just unbelievable!! I can't wait for Release Night!!!

One of the first announcements that Nichole made was to announce the DT for this year. Joining the ranks is the amazingly talented Maile Belles. I am in love with this girl!! I'd always loved her work but after the announcement I went to her blog and took a look at all of her past creations, and boy, am I bowled over by her talent!! All of her work is mindblowing!!

Anyway, gushing over with, I'll move onto today's post. It's no coincidence that I mention Maile or her work as the card I'm sharing with you today takes elements from some of her cards that I've particularly loved. It's still not a CASE but it's about as close as I'll come to one!! This also gave me the first chance to play with the gorgeously cute Baby Button Bits set that came with my giant PTI order!

Isn't that just the prettiest card?! I took inspiration for the card dimensions and the rounded corner from some of Maile's cards but then tried to make the rest my own. I hope it still shows some of my style in the design!!

Take a closer look at that little bear. He looks furry!!! After stamping him with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Rustic White cardstock I coloured him with Copics. Then here's the clever bit. To create the look of fur I took an old face cloth and dabbed some Colourless Blender ink (neat from the bottle) onto the cloth, then dabbed that onto the bear to give him the impression of textured fur!! I'm so thrilled with how this turned out!! I'd love to say that I came up with the idea for this myself but I have to confess to contacting Copics Guru Debbie Olson to ask her for an idea of how to do it. So Debbie, I hope you like how it turned out!!

I wanted to let the bear be the focal point for the card so I kept a lot of white space, pained me as it did!! I still keep looking at it and wondering if I should add a subtle clear sparkly flourish or something but I'm standing firm with my choice!

So, to add a little interest I added a strip of the new Pretty Pastels patterned paper at the bottom. I punched one side of it with the Fiskars Apron Lace punch (blame Dawn McVey for me succumbing to getting this punch!) for a little something different. I then tied a strip of the Sheer White Polka Dot ribbon and finished it with one of Dawn's bows. I adhered that to the Rustic White card base with Scor-Tape and then adhered the bear on top with loads of Pinflair Glue Gel.

The sentiment is also from Baby Button Bits. To get a colour close to the bear's fur I inked up with Dark Chocolate, stamped off once, then inked Smokey Shadow on top of it before stamping onto the card base. I practiced on scrap paper first to make sure it was the colour I was after and I think it turned out really well!!

So what do you think of this card? I'm sure you'll agree that that little bear is really cute!! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, and also your excitement about the upcoming Release and Anniversary Celebrations. I can't wait to see what other surprises await us!!