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A Cut Above: Lesson 5 Other Than Paper & Retro Sketches

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Recently I’ve seen the Retro Sketch site show up on some of my favorite card-making blogs. This week’s sketch appealed to me and was perfect for trying out the lesson on cutting materials other than paper in the Cut Above Class.

Rs8

 

I used some Magenta Adhesive-backed cork and some Papertrey Ink felt to die cut the banner.

CorkBanner

The cardstock is Classic Kraft by Papertrey Ink and the patterned paper from the new Neopolitan line by American Craft. The twine is from Paper Source and the brad is an old Making Memories one.

We’ve had a fabulous weekend despite cold, rainy weather. Yesterday afternoon I attended a three hour workshop with Cole Thompson on Black & White Photography. If I had paid double or triple what I did, I would have thought it worth the money. An excellent speaker, very well-prepared, adn wonderful content.  I’ve been reading some books by David DuChemin (Within the Frame and Vision and Voice), and Cole’s workshop was a perfect accompaniment to what I’ve been reading. The lessons from my current online course, A Sense of Place, also fall right in line. I could easily immerse myself all day in this material!

Today was the birthday brunch and later this week, I’ll have several posts heavy on photography. The egg boats were fabulous (thanks, Deb!) as was the cinnamon French toast, and Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake. My sister-in-laws brought wonderful fruit salads. It was great to have the family together. Most of them had not seen Matt since January, or Skylar since October. 

A Cut Above: Lessons 2 & 3 Plus 1

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Lesson three in A Cut Above was about making shaped cards. It’s something I’ve done in the past, but I used a different die than I’ve ever used in the past, and am very happy with it. I know I’ll do this again. (Had to edit this since I had the lessons reversed in the original post!)

ShapedCard

I started with a Memory Box premade card and lined it up with the top of a Spellbinders Grand Nestability Labels die so the top did not cut. Then I cut a the orange piece with a regular Small Labels die and added the die cut “Thanks” from Memory Box. The patterned papers are both from an older MME paper pack: Lime Twist “Fly A Kite.” The stamp is from Hero Arts “Everyday Sayings.”

Lesson Two was to create a window card. I loved the star card Jennifer made, and did a very close copy of it.

WindowCard

The angle I shot the photo from makes the top look as if there is more space than on the bottom, but IRL the green layer is even all around. I didn’t have time to take the photo again. I used Lifestyle Crafts Nested Stars, and patterned papers from Echo Park’s “Hometown Summer” Petite Paper Pack. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink’s “Tiny Tags.” Here’s a look at the inside:

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Since I had all the scraps from this project laying on the table I decided to make another birthday card.

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The only supply I used that is different from the card above is an Edger die on the yellow border strip from Papertrey Ink. The inside sentiment reads: “Have a star-spangled day!”

Matt arrived safe and sound this afternoon. It’s always good to get my eyes on him and my arms around him!

A Cut Above

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Traveling for four days put me a bit behind with all the classes I’m taking. But today I almost got caught up with the lessons for A Cut Above, a card-making class using die cuts. This afternoon I got a card finished for the first lesson on layered die cuts.

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I used a Lifestyle Crafts layered bloom die for the flower, and the Sending You die from Papertrey Ink for the leaves. I gave both some dimension by using some distress inks around the edges and bending them slightly. The flower is popped up with dimensional dots and the leaves slid in underneath. The patterned papers are from the new Classic Calico (Studio Calico) paper pad and an old MME pad, “Rosy” Lost & Found. The border punch is a new one from American Crafts. The button is from Papertrey Ink, and the twine from Michaels.

We had a fabulous weekend away. It started a bit ominously, but ended up being great. More on all of it later. I took a lot of photos, and have them all uploaded into Lightroom with key words :-), and have started editing them. I hope to have enough for a first blog post by the weekend, but Matt arrives tomorrow so I’m not sure how much time I’ll have. I’m signed up for a class on black and white photography with Cole Thompson on Saturday afternoon. One of the photography galleries has brought him in for an exhibit and this class. On Sunday I’m having the family for brunch so everyone can see Matt, and we can celebrate two birthdays (one for 91 years and one for 29). I’m planning to serve Deb’s egg boats, French toast, and fruit salad—and a birthday cake of course.

Cards for Friends and Family

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I took time out from a major purge and clean project here to make two cards. The first is for a good friend who fell off a ladder several months ago. Although it might well have been a fatal fall, he has undergone multiple surgeries, the latest of which was Tuesday. He’ll be in a cast/brace for 6-8 weeks, and can’t drive or lift for 6 months! Although we keep tabs through phone calls and emails, I thought this latest episode required a card as well.

GetWell

I’ve purged about half of my wooden rubber stamps. My plan at the moment is to store them in the basement until the next garage sale at Buffalo Stamps and Stuff. If I don’t want any of them between now and then I’ll see what I can sell there. After that there may be a giant give-away here on the blog. This cute pill bottle was one stamp I hadn’t used in several years. I can’t read the name of the company on the side of the stamp any more. The card turned up in another purge/clean episode a couple of days ago. I bought several sets of these years ago, and am no longer sure who makes it.

The next card is for a much happier occasion. My niece is getting married this summer. Her wedding shower is in two weeks. Normally I would drive down to my brother’s for it, but Matt is coming home that weekend, and I haven’t seen him since January. My brother sweetly agreed to buy and wrap the gift for me. I mailed this card to him today, and my other niece will take it to the shower for me.

ShowerCard

Another similar card from the set. I used a Memory Box die for the wreath, and some very old Prima flowers. The sentiment is from Papertrey’s Mat Stack 2 Collection.

Easter Cards

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Well, I know I’m not too late for this challenge, but I wasn’t planning on posting these until Sunday. But since The Scrapbook Trends CREATE blog is looking for Easter cards, I thought I’d get them up today.

EasterCards

I actualy made the pink card a year ago for a Scrap-Mart post but I recently found it and realized that unlike last year, I have two cute grandchildren to whom I can send cute bunny cards. Both cards use Jillibean patterned paper, Papertrey Select White cardstock, doilies cut with the Lacy Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinder) and a bunny cut with my Silhouette and scraps from the scrap folder. Skylar’s tag was cut with a Papertrey Tag Sale die, and Caleb’s is a tag I bought years ago from Impress. Both sentiments are from Papertrey, and both bunnies are embellished with some Fun Flock. (I knew I kept that around for a reason!)

ColorQ Challenge

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ColorQ has another bright and cheerful palette. As soon as I saw it in my Reader I knew I’d be playing along. 

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Here’s my card. I ended up with two cards (nearly identical) since I cut each star border out of the four different papers.

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Nothing but cardstock (all Papertrey except for the green which came from my scrap folder). The star borders are also Papertrey Ink as is the sentiment from the “Fillable Frames Additions 2” set. Now I have a start on the many May birthdays on my calendar.

Well, it turns out I was a day late to post this for the challenge. Too bad as I had it done in plenty of time!

Card Patterns Challenge

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In my effort to finish the April birthday cards, I decided to play along with the Card Patterns challenge. Here’s the sketch:

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I don’t often follow along with sketch challenges, and I think I know why. I enjoy creating a card for them, but often the final product is not really me. This one falls into that category. Although I’m pleased with it, it’s not a card I would create on my own. 

HBCardPatterns

I chose the papers first, both from a 6X6 paper pad, Random by Crate Paper. Papertrey’s Raspberry Fizz and Vintage Cream cardstock were good matches, and I thought the Pretty Peony stamps worked well. The sentiment is from Delightful Dahlias, and the tiny butterfly from Butterfly Dreams. I used both Spellbinder’s Lacy Circles and the Double Ended Banner dies from PTI, and finished it off with a Simply Chartreuse ribbon. The pearls are from Michaels.

Lots going on this weekend. On Friday I’m going to a lecture by the All Rochester Reads author, Debra Dean, who wrote The Madonnas of Leningrad which our book group read several years ago.  Everyone in the book group liked it, which is a good recommendation since we’re a couples book group, and pretty diverse. Then we’re having company for dinner later that night.

Saturday, I’m off with friends to a baby shower in Buffalo. Since we’re all crafters, we’re leaving early so we can spend some time at Buffalo Stamps & Stuff beforehand. It will be an all day event. When we get home, Tracy and I are going to friend’s for dinner. I’m providing dessert, and will get it made so I can serve it on Friday as well. If it turns out well, I’ll take photos and post it here. My friend made it for us last month, and it was fabulous! Hope you have some fun planned for the weekend as well.

CAS-ual Friday Challenge

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This week’s challenge at CAS-ual Fridays was to create a card using pastels and blacks. This finishes my stash of birthday cards for April. You’ll see the rest of them in the next day or so.

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This gave me a chance to play with a couple more new purchases from Papertrey Ink:  the 2012 Birthday Tags (which I’m sure will get lots of use) and the new Tag Sale #6 die which I love. I stamped the image on Aqua Mist cardstock and cut the tag from Bitty Box, using the Aqua Mist pattern. I love the way so many of the Papertrey products are color coordinated. The card itself was created from paper I purchased at the very first stamp store in Rochester so it must be at least 15 years old. The store closed years ago. Since then we’ve had two other lovely stores, but they are no longer in business either. The other die is the Vine Border, and the ribbon and pearls are from Michaels. 

March Papertrey Blog Hop

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Today’s the day for the monthly blog hop at Papertrey Ink, and I always enjoy playing along. I’ve been drawn to bright and cheerful colors recently so this inspiration piece was right up my alley.

PTIBlog Ho

I’m still working on the stash of birthday cards I need for April, so that was the direction I took. I also wanted to use the new star border dies which arrived a couple of days ago. I think you’ll be seeing a lot of them.

MarchPTIBlogHop

Aside from the colors, I was drawn to the polka dots on one of the gift bags in the inspiration piece so I backed my larger star with a piece of Distressed Dots patterned paper. The smaller star was die cut with a piece of paper from the Hodge Podge collection which I’ve had for years. I used the Seeing Stars dies for both. The cardstock is Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise, and Harvest Gold, and the sentiment is from Simple Sentiments. All the products are PTI. Here’s a closer look at the layers on the card.

BlogHopDetail

Yesterday was such a busy day. I was gone most of the day, and we celebrated Tracy’s birthday and my brother-in-law’s birthdays at Tavern 58 last night. In between I visited all the wonderful stops on Deb’s fabulous Potluck Blog Hop. If you haven’t had a chance to check these out, there are a lot of wonderful recipes to be had. 

CR84FN Challenge

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I’ve been really attracted to the bright colors of spring recently. I have my orange, yellow, and pink sweaters out of winter storage, so I was anxious to play along with CR84FN challenge this week.

CR84FN50 Graphic

This CAS card was inspired by one created by Cristina Kowalczyk published in a Paper Crafts magazine.

HappyBD

I started with some Bazzil textured cardstock in bright pink and added the Echo Park striped paper from their Dots and Stripes line. I stamped the sentiment from Papertrey’s Birthday Basics right onto the patterned paper and added a couple of flowers and a brad from my stash. I just purged a lot of my flowers since I rarely use them anymore, but I was smart enough to keep a few around.  While I was at it, I made a second card with a slightly different color combination. 

MakeAWish

Same ingredients except I used Hibiscus Burst cardstock (Papertrey) and a Basic Grey brad that arrived in one of my Studio Calico kits.

The weather here is just amazing. They are predicting a high of 80° today. Tracy is out golfing and later we’ll go for our fourth bike ride in four days. I don’t believe we’ve ever had our bikes out in March. I know it can’t last, but I’m enjoying every day we have of these summer-like temperatures.

CAS-ual Friday Challenge

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This week’s challenge at CAS-ual Fridays was to create a CAS card with the following element:

1. A Pattern
2.  An Image
3.  A Sentiment

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I needed a couple more cards for guys and made two of the same card. I chose the chevron pattern from a new Echo Park paper from the Style Essentials line. The image is a cute camera from Studio Calico and I created the sentiment on the computer with the American Typewriter font. I added the heart to add a touch of color to the card. Since they are both going to relatives, the heart was perfectly appropriate.

PicturePerfect

I love this chevron pattern and wish I’d purchased several sheets of it!

Babies!

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This week a good friend and his wife had a tiny baby—just 3 pounds, 7 ounces. She’s doing great, though, and I couldn’t wait to go buy some little baby clothes. While I was there, of course, I had some other babies in mind as well. I still want to buy little Chloe a few more things, but I was only allowed to use one coupon at a time, so I’ll go back in a day or two to use my $10 off coupon. Look at the difference between the premies on the right, and the three month size in the middle! The dress for Skylar is 9 months because I know she has plenty of clothes for the next few months.

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Here’s the card for Chloe.

WelcomeChloe

I think the tag came from Paper Source many years ago. The papers are old Jillibean from my scrap drawer as is the ribbon. The flower is a new one from Pebbles, the stamp from Fillable Frames Additions 2 (PTI), and the die cut alpha is also Papertrey Ink. The wide pink ribbon is May Arts (I think) that I ordered from Emma’s Paperie. The border punch is American Crafts.

At the end of the month, I’m going to Buffalo to a baby shower for one of my best friend’s daughter-in-law. They’re expecting a boy and doing a baseball theme in the nursery. I based this on a card Debbie Olsen did a long time ago, and was really pleased with how it came out. 

BabyBaseball

I used Papertrey’s Banner Builders to create the pennants with scraps in my “baby drawer” and Pure Poppy cardstock. “BABY” was stamped with the PTI “Fresh” alphabet, and the baseballs were cut from a piece of patterned paper from Michael’s. Also from Papertrey is the twine, the patterned paper (Bitty Stars), cardstock (Pure Poppy, Blueberry Sky and Select White), and the sentiment (Bitty Baby Blessings).

 

Cards for Guys

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Three of my family members (all guys) have March birthdays. The first is one that I’m linking with the CAS-ual Friday where the challenge is to make the sentiment front and center.

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And here’s my card for Tracy’s St.Patrick’s Day birthday. He’s been warned to stay off the blog. I love the sentiments in the new Papertrey Ink “Movers and Shakers” set. The inside sentiment is just as great. All papers are Papertrey Ink as well as the Woodgrain Impression Plate.

TOWBD

The next card is for my niece’s finance. One of our big events this summer is their wedding in Hyde Park. I’m already looking forward to it. The papers here are old Cosmo Cricket “Boyfriend.” The frame, sentiment, and circle border die are all Papertrey Ink.

TomHB

Last is the card for my BIL. We’ll be celebrating his and Tracy’s birthday at Tavern 58 the night before Tom’s birthday, so I can hand deliver this one. The Houndstooth stamp, circle border and sentiment are, again, from Papertrey Ink. I used three different circle punches to create the tag.

StarCard

 

Birthday Cards

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I’m in need of some birthday cards. The other night while I was watching NCAA basketball (both men and women) I got a start. I still need a group of cards for guys. Fortunately, there’s a lot of college basketball on now as March Madness gets underway. I’ve been a fan of college basketball ever since my childhood when my dad was on the faculty of Ohio State. He had faculty seats for every home game, and we were often there. OSU was in their heyday in the 60’s. Lots of the players I watched then became NBA stars and college coaches. No one else in my family has any interest, so I can watch in my studio and create at the same time.

I got a chance to play with some new stamps and papers, too.

WishingYou

A very simple card. I cut out a section of the hexagon paper from a new paper pad, “Be Happy,” by MME, tied a silk ribbon (Papertrey) behind it and stamped the sentiment (Impress).

RosyPosy

This card uses some new papers by Echo Park, some new Papertrey Ink stamps (Rosie Posie, Pretty Peonies, and a sentiment from Fillable Frames #4). The pearls are from Michaels.

PrettyPeony

I lifted the design for this card from Ashley Cannon Newell. The patterned paper is an older Cosmo Cricket (DeLovely), and the stamps are from the PTI anniversary set, Pretty Peonies.

Our beautiful spring day yesterday (record high of 67°) is long gone today. It’s been like a roller coaster here, and the long range forecast calls for more of the same. I can live with that since every now and then we’re getting a taste of spring. Yesterday I sorted through all of my spring and summer clothes and donated about 1/3 of them. Since I’ve been retired I don’t wear many skirts, and didn’t need anywhere near the number of slacks I owned. It felt good to clean out, and I now have a very short list of things I need. 

Papertrey Anniversary Challenge: Part 6

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There was no way I could pass up the most recent challenge at Papertrey Ink:  use hearts. I think this is my last valentine, and just in time!

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I punched hearts from Pure Poppy, Raspberry Fizz, and Hibiscus papers, and added a sentiment from “Sending You.”