Skip to content

Happy Father’s Day & Two Challenges

  • by

It’s a day to celebrate fatherhood here in the States. Two of my three favorite dads are here with me today, which makes for a good celebration. Matt, Betsy, and Skylar were here for brunch, and later we’ll be going out to dinner. It’s raining (again), but at least we don’t have the flooding that’s plaguing the middle of the country.

I think I got Adam’s card in the mail just in time. Hopefully, it arrived in Oregon before today. I think it’s my favorite.

AwesomeDad

The dark brown cardstock came from the June Simon Says card kit. The Absolutely die and awesome stamp are also from Simon Says, and the Thickers are Amy Tan for American Craft. I don’t often use Thickers on a card, but it worked well here.

The materials for the next card (for Tracy) almost all came from the June kit except for the map paper which was from an old October Afternoon collection called “Boarding Pass.” It started with this inspiration card from Kristina Werner, though I ended up in a totally different place.

What?

The card that holds the sentiment (from a Kelly Purkey set called “Dude”) is from a collection of cards by Basic Grey. Both the pad of cards and the stamp set were part of the June kit. I forgot to take a photo of the inside of the card, but I used two tickets from Papertrey’s set called “Big Ticket Basics.” They seemed to fit the theme perfectly. I coated the heart with some Glossy Accents.

I stuck with the same theme for Matt’s card, using a different map from the “Boarding Pass” collection. This card was inspired by one of Nicole Heady’s cards for a Papertrey release party awhile ago.

OutOfWorld

The plane which I colored with Copics and cut out came from “Fly Away” and neatly fit over a printed plane in the patterned paper. The sentiment is from the Boy Basics series by the same name. The last two cards meet the CASual Friday Challenge this week:  MAPQUEST.

Cfc105

And the last card also meets this week’s Simon Says Challenge:  TRANSPORT.

SimonSaysStamp_160x240

Big Birthday Wishes

  • by

 Here’s one final card for the CASual Friday Birthday Bash celebration.

 
Cfc99 (1)

This is one of those cards that had multiple iterations before it was done. I wanted to use the new Wonderful Words: Birthday die as well as the patterned papers from Lawn Fawn’s Daphne’s Closet that came with the Simon Says March card kit. I tried a lot of different ideas, but finally ended up with a birthday banner and a card I’m quite happy with. The card stock (all Bazzill except for Neenah Solar White) came from the kit as well. 

BDBanner_blog

The banner dies are Papertrey Ink’s Countdown banners folded in the middle, and I selectively stamped Big And Wishes from two different sets:  Birthday Bash and 2012 Birthday Tags. 

Spring has finally sprung here, and it’s simply gorgeous. I’ve managed to walk over ten miles in the last several days, walking when I normally would have driven—to the library on Friday, a walk through the park on Saturday, to breakfast with Tracy on Sunday, and to meet a friend for lunch this afternoon. So good to be outside again instead of on the treadmill!

 

Retro Sketches #60

  • by

Here’s another birthday card, this time based on this week’s Retro Sketch challenge. I had some flowers stamped from this project, and this sketch seemed perfect for them.

Rs60

I tried a couple different patterned papers for the right-hand side of the sketch, but they all seemed too busy, so I did a partial embossing with the Cuttlebug Polka-dot embossing folder. I couldn’t find any good way to add a bow either. I tried twine, thin ribbons, and twine, but my CAS style won out on this one.

RetroSketchBD

The flowers are stamped with Papertrey Ink’s Rosie Posie and Rosie Posie Step 2 stamp sets, and the sentiment is from Papertrey’s Daydreamer set. I die cut the circle with a Spellbinders Small Circles die. The inside sentiment reads, “Hope all your birthday wishes come true.”

Linking this to CASual Friday’s Birthday Bash challenge and Simon Says Anything Goes.

Cfc99 (1)

SimonSaysStamp_160x240

Amazing Birthday

  • by

Here’s a second card for the CASual Friday Birthday Bash challenge, as well as the Simon Says Challenge this week:  “Anything Goes.”

Cfc99 (1)

SimonSaysStamp_160x240

The calendar for the end of April, May, and June is packed with birthdays and anniversaries, so I set a challenge for this week to get some cards created using the April Simon Says Card Kit. I love the mix of yellows, grays and blacks so it was easy to do. You’ll be seeing several cards with this color scheme this week.

Amazing

All the product for this card except the wood veneer star (Studio Calico) which I painted yellow, the banner die (also Simon Says), and the rickrack from my ribbon stash came from the April kit. These kits are a great value. You received a full set of stamps (which retail for $14.99), a mix of patterned papers, cardstock, and embellishments for $19.95. There’s easily enough product to create a minimum of ten cards without raiding your stash (though I usually do add a few items) which is certainly cheaper than Hallmark.

Inside I repeated a strip of the Washi tape, and used some Papertrey Ink products for the inside sentiment. (Tremendous Tags die, and 2012 Birthday Tags stamp).

AmazingInside

There’s been quite a bit of blog conversation about what reader to use once Google Reader disappears this summer. I’ve been using Feedly for a month now, and can highly recommend it. I have it on my desktop, iPhone, and iPad, and blogs read seamlessly on all three. I can actually say I prefer it to Google Reader. I love the small photos and summaries of the posts on the desktop, so if it’s a blog where there are only certain posts I read carefully, I can work through them very quickly.

I also switched my browser to Chrome which I like as well. Safari was giving me a hard time about comments on several blogs, so I moved to Chrome to see if things would improve. It’s very fast, and the only feature I miss from Safari is the ability to “save” blog posts or websites to read later without having to add them to your bookmark system. On my agenda is to set up a bookmark folder in Chrome for that purpose (and to clean out the old bookmarks I no longer want!)

 

Papertrey April Blog Hop Challenge

  • by

Today is the monthly blog hop at Papertrey Ink. I couldn’t participate last month since we were in Oregon, so I really wanted to play along today. Here’s the challenge:

PTI

Papertrey Ink is frequently right on top of trends, and tilted is definitely one I’ve seen around the internet for the last couple of months. I managed to get two cards completed for today’s blog hop. The first one was a get well card for a dear friend who had eye surgery on Monday. She is required to keep her head face down forty-five minutes of every hour for at least a week, and most likely two weeks. She has a special chair, but to say it’s uncomfortable is to put it mildly. Fortunately she isn’t in any pain.

BlogHop2

I haven’t place a PTI order in awhile, but I did this month and ordered “Rosie Posie Step 2” stamps for the “Rosie Posie” set. I’ve always loved “Rosie Posie,” and the second stamping brings the flowers alive. The patterned paper is an old one from my scrapbook stash: Basic Stripe by Reminisce, and the sentiment is from “Communique Sentiments.” I colored the pearls with a Copic marker. Here’s a closer look at the flowers.

BlogHop2Close

Last night after dinner, I tried used another of my new purchases, the “Wonderful Words: Birthday” die. I cut thin strips of Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, and Raspberry Fizz, and layered them diagonally on Select White cardstock. “Birthday” was cut from True Black and the Happy is stamped from “Birthday Bash Sentiments.” The pearls are from Michaels.

BlogHop1

You’re sure to find lots of inspiration for beautiful cards here today. Edited to add a link to this week’s CASual Friday challenge: Birthday Bash!


Cfc99 (1)

Wish Big

  • by

One of my favorite card designers, Cristina Kowalczyk, recently posted a challenge on her blog to create a card using one of the smallest stamps in a given stamp set. It’s a technique I’ve wanted to try for a while. I chose Mama Elephants “Trifecta” set, chosing one of the small triangles.

WishBig

I stamped it multiple times using three Fresh Inks from Impress:  Ginger, Celery, and Sky Blue. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink’s “Stylish Sentiments: Birthday,” a set I find myself using over and over.

I’m linking this to the CASual Friday challenge: Birthday Bash.

Cfc99 (1)

Simon Says Birthday Challenge

  • by

SimonSaysStamp_160x240

I have another card for the Simon Says Birthday Challenge. April is a big month for birthdays and although I made a few before we left for Oregon, I still have three or four more to go. Here’s a second masculine one for another brother-in-law.

Tom'sBDcard

Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream (PTI); Patterned Paper: Studio Calico 6X6 February card kit;Stamp: 2012 Birthday Tags (PTI);Twine: Pure Poppy (PTI)

 

Two Challenges

  • by

My brother-in-law has a big birthday coming up, and I decided to see if I could get his card made in time to post it for two challenges:  Simon Says “Birthday” Challenge, and the current CAS(E) This Sketch challenge. I’m just under the wire for the second one.

SimonSaysStamp_160x240

Cts22

Here’s my card. I used papers from the April Simon Says card kit, the Typewriter dies from Memory Box, Tremendous Tags by Papertrey Ink, and an inside sentiment (no photo) that says, “. . .  years ago on what otherwise might have been an ordinary day, THE WORLD GOT YOU!” from Papertrey’s Big Birthday Wishes set. 

Scott'sBD

I have another card for the Simon Says challenge which I’ll be posting later today.

CASE Study Challenge #133

  • by

When this week’s CASE Study challenge appeared in my blog reader this week, I knew I had the perfect card for it. I made a few cards before we left for our trip to post while we were away, and this is one of them. Here’s the inspiration piece:

CASE

Here’s my card. It’s amazing to me how many of the elements are the same:  bike, sunshine, clouds, and even the striped paper. I cut this from a chevron pattern much like the inspiration piece. 

EnjoyTheRide

As soon as I saw the Memory Box die of the bicycle, I knew I wanted it. It’s taken me awhile to put it to use, however. The patterned papers are from a Studio Calico kit, and the chipboard clouds are also Studio Calico. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink’s set by the same name:  Enjoy the Ride. The Pure Poppy cardstock and button are also from Papertrey Ink.

 

Color Blocked and Colour Q

  • by

Newcqcbadge0510

Thanks to Cassandra, I woke up this morning to find out I’d been named the Colour Queen for last week’s challenge. That was a nice surprise! Today I’m back with another ColourQ Challenge as well as the latest challenge for CAS-ual Friday: use color blocks. The two challenges went together perfectly.

ColourQ
Cfc93

I’ve been wanting to try die cutting a word from strips of cardstock for awhile. I’ve seen it popping up all over the card design blogs. It wasn’t as easy as it looks. Next time I think I’d do it a bit differently, but I do like the effect.

Colorblocked

I needed to get a thank you note in the mail before we leave. One of my friends goes to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra concerts with another friend. Louise couldn’t go last Thursday and offered me her ticket. It was a fabulous concert, and I wanted to send her a gift certificate and note since she wouldn’t let me pay for the ticket.

I started by cutting strips of New Leaf, Simply Chartruese, Smoky Shadow, and True Black. I adhered them to a piece of copy paper, and then die cut the “thanks” from a Memory Box die. Next time, I’d apply a lot more adhesive to the copy paper before I did the die cutting. Getting it apart and onto the card took longer than it should have. The card is one I purchased from Impress a long time ago–Saavy, I think. Then I added a few gems since I liked the gem in the ColourQ inspiration piece.

Very windy and snowy here right now. Enough already!

Yay! It’s Your Birthday

  • by

I got a card made yesterday just in time for the latest Retro Sketch Challenge. It also fits the current Simon Says Challenge for “A Bit ‘O Green.” 

SimonSaysStamp_160x240

The sketch is so similar to several cards I’ve made in the past, and the card comes together so quickly. I didn’t set a timer, but it probably would make the 10 minute challenges I see around the web.

Rs53

Here’s my take on it. Once again I reached for the new Papertrey Ink set, Stylish Sentiments: Birthday. This is clearly going to be a favorite set.

 
Yay!

I started with a piece of Rustic Cream cardstock (PTI) and added three strips from the Very Vintage Double Dots paper pad by BoBunny I picked up in Buffalo last month. The pads were tucked into a revolving rack at the back of the store, and I’m so glad I found them. A little ink distressing on the edges, and it was done.

Two Cards, Two Challenges

  • by

Since LOAD is finally completed, I’ve been busy making the cards I’ll need to send while we’re in Oregon visiting Sarah, Adam, and Caleb.

Two that I made yesterday fit the current CASual Friday challenge which is to create your own wallpaper or background. It’s not something I find particularly easy to do, but the new Simon Says Card Kit has a stamp set that is made for this kind of stamping. I ended up using some images from Papertrey Ink’s Floral Frenzy as well.

Cfc92

CASualFridayBD

Even though it’s a bit busy for my taste, I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out. The second card also meets the current ColorQ challenge.

Cqc178

ColorQBD

Both cards use sentiments from the Papertrey Ink Stylish Sentiments: Birthday set. This one is a bit more involved, so I added some Studio Calico enamel dots which helped focus on the flowers. I missed the one on the top right corner, but it now has an enamel dot as well. It’s too dark to take another photo now!

We had a nice weekend with Matt. He only made it as far as Chicago tonight. Missed his flight by a few minutes because the plane sat on the runway after landing for nearly half an hour. He gets to spend the night in the airport, and will miss another day of work. He’s not too pleased, but you’re at the mercy of the airlines. I guess there’s a possibility tomorrow morning’s flight might be delayed due to weather. Fortunately, this is the first time it’s happened to him, so I’m hoping it won’t discourage other weekends at home.

 

CASE Study Challenge #129

  • by

I haven’t given up on card making while doing LOAD. In fact, I’ll have quite a few to share next month, but I wanted to get this one up for this week’s CASE challenge. Here’s the card to case:

Sunshinecard_teri_zps694f6d60

I liked the diagonal lines on this card, and needed a thank you note for a friend. Here’s my take on it:

You'reTheBest

I started with a ready-made card by Memory Box, and cut strips of paper from the papers provided in Simon Says Card kit for January. The sentiment comes from a Hero Arts stamp set, “Everyday Sayings,” and the little stars are from A Muse.

Hope your week is off to a good start! I’m anxiously watching the weather as Matt is headed home this weekend from Denver. He’s been off work for two days because of the snow there, and it’s headed our way again. He turns 30 on Thursday, so I’m hoping he gets here for a birthday celebration!

Two Challenges

  • by

2Challenges

I got Matt’s birthday card made yesterday and it meets two challenges. Since he doesn’t read my blog, it’s safe to post it early. I used the latest CAS(e) This Sketch as well as the most recent CAS-ual Friday challenge which is to use black and white plus one. You won’t be surprised that it’s black, white, and red—one of my favorite color combinations. I liked the sketch as it was, so I didn’t vary it at all.

MattBD

I think this is the last of a set of cards I bought from Impress years ago. I added a banner from Boxy Banners (PTI) and the numbers (Memory Box Typewriter die), and stitched it down. The sentiment is from PTI’s Birthday: Inside and Out. How is it possible that my youngest is going to be thirty years old?

Last week I used basically the same supplies to make my friend a thank you card.

ThanksMark

The only addition here is a very old Making Memories brad.

An Honor & LOAD: Days 4-6

  • by

Yesterday I had the great honor of being featured at Sian’s From High in the Sky. If you don’t know her blog, hop over for great stories and wonderful scrapbooking. Sian is an absolute genius at putting embellishments together!

I created one layout for her post about the birds we spied while in Florida. Since I haven’t shared it here, I’ll include it now.

BirdingLO

I made an envelope to hold the journaling as well as the birding checklist from the wildlife refuge where we recorded the birds we spotted.

The scrapbooking is chugging right along—one layout a day! Saturday will be my first challenge as I have to be a Church Leadership Development Day nearly all day, and we may be going out with friends at night. Hopefully something will come to me quickly.

Day Four’s prompt was to scrap a goal. I’ve already scrapped my intentions for 2013. On the same morning I received the prompt I also got an email from Rebecca Cooper from Simple As That that included a template for her monthly photo recaps. Right then, I decided how I’d share my Capture Your 365 photos this year. I’ll be using one of Rebecca’s templates (she has four) and I’ll choose some of my favorites as well as the photos that represent significant happenings. My journaling will stay in my art journal which I started here. So, finally, here’s a look at January’s favorites:

Capture365LOAD_4

Most of the photos are from our trip to Florida last month, but I included one of a frosty window in Rochester (such a contrast) and the photo of my OLW-“DO” for 2013. 

Day Five’s prompt was Scrap Your Honey. That was easy. I found a photo from our cruise to Alaska two years ago when we celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary. Should have scrapped that one a long time ago.

AnniversaryLO

I had the perfect stamps as embellishments. The camera is from Shutterbug Special (PTI), and the title “We Just Click” is from the one stamp set I picked up last weekend in Buffalo by My Favorite Things. 

Day Six was to scrap a photo you’ve put off scrapping. The photos for my last month recap layout for 2012 has been laying on my table since early January. It’s good to have it done.

DecemberLOAD_6

The tag pulls out with a summary of the month’s activities:

As always, December was a busy month. We started the season by getting our tree up and lighting the first Advent Candle for the chapel worship service.

I spent more time than usual with a camera in my hand since I took the Twelve Days of Christmas class with Cheryl Johnson. It got me out of the house and I took some more creative photos of our decorations this year.

The best part about the holiday is always family, and this year Matt was home for five fabulous days. We saw lots of him, and got some great time with Betsy and Skylar as well. The whole family was here for Christmas dinner–18 strong this year. It was filled with laughter and great fun. 

We had more snow this month than we did in all of 2011, but it didn’t interfere with our social life. We saw “Lincoln” with Mary & Jim and had dinner afterwards, entertained the bridge group, had Bill & Anne for lunch after the church Advent music service, & had Karen, Mike, and Nancy for dinner. I had meals with Nancy (and a trip to MAG & Image City), with Jane at the Gate House Cafe, with Marie in Honeoye Falls, with Barb & Ev at the new Brewery cafe, with Sue at Biaggio’s, and with Karen & Deb at Veneto’s. Matt & I had lunch at T.R.A.T.A. No wonder I have trouble losing that last 5 pounds! We ended the year at a lovely New Year’s Eve gathering at Dan and Jeannie’s.

I made 16 cards (not counting the 75 hand-made cards I mailed for Christmas), nine bookmarks, & completed my seventh Christmas Journal. That was all the scrapbooking I could manage! Although I did read, it appears I didn’t finish any books this month.

Off to read today’s prompt. We’re anticipating another big winter storm tomorrow. I’m hoping it doesn’t interfere with our church conference on Saturday. Every year we seem to have significant snow, but we’ve never had to cancel. This year one of the speakers is coming from Albany and staying with us. I hope he has safe travels.