Happy Friday!

Hello friends! Happy Friday! Feels like its been a LONG week but I ended it with some crafty time so all is good.

First up is a card inspired by this week's ColourQ challenge. These colors are happy and bright so a birthday card was in order.

I used a Tim Holtz flower stencil and placed it on an angle on white cardstock and sponged the various ink colors onto the flower areas. I cut it off and added it to an Aqua Mist card base. Finishing touch was one of the  Everyday Happiness dies and sentiment. So bright and cheerful and perfect for my aunt's birthday. 

I've also been watching the videos in the Heat Wave online class this week. So many great projects but I'm finding the tips each teacher gives in the videos are so valuable. 

This first card was inspired by Kristina Werner's Basics video for an partially embossed one layer card. I used my favorite go-to PTI Snowflake Flurries set to form a sunburst border in Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate, and Hawaiian Shores. I embossed in gold some smaller and partial sunbursts as well as the sentiment. Love the look of regular inked images with the gold embossing. Forgot all about this design trick until I saw Kristina's video and sample project (which I can't seem to link here) which is so gorgeous and CAS. 

And since I'm on an embossing roll, I made another card inspired by Kathy Racoosin's embossed resist lesson and Laurie Willison's PTI release gorgeous project below. 

Unfortunately I've been using a few sympathy cards lately so I made another one to add to my stash. 

I didn't have the Outline stamp set she used so I heat embossed the frame from PTI Fillable Frames Additions 2 in white on watercolor paper. I wanted them to overlap a little for a more organic look to the background. I feel like purples are appropriate for sympathy cards so I added water to smears of Royal Velvet, Winter Wisteria, and Amethyst Allure on my craft mat and painted over the embossed watercolor paper. I added a layer butterfly to the center like Laurie's pineapple but didn't have a small diecut sentiment to use so I stamped it in one of the frames and added rainstones in a diagonal from the sentiment to butterfly and up - kinda like Laurie did. But in hindsight it might have looked better if the sentiment and rainstones were in the same direction as the paintstrokes. Didn't really think of it until now. Oh well. 

OK, that's it for me. I've got to pack as I am headed out for the weekend to meet up with my sister and her family at an amusement park. Hope you have a great weekend and stay cool. Thanks for popping in. 

ColourQ, CAS(E), & Create With Us

Hi friends - 

Checking in with two colorful cards today. 

First one was inspired by one of Lizzie Jones' PTI release cards this month for the Create Along With Us challenge.  Her card featured colorful fun Peep-like bunnies. 

My card features a colorful row of ice cream cones from PTI Sweet As Can Be using the same colors Lizzie used. I split the panel and stamped the sentiment in the space. I used a Jennifer McGuire trick of using fun foam to lift the panel off the card base instead of strips of foam tape. I used fun foam in orange to compliment one of the ice cream cones. You may see the orange peeking out in the photo. Looks kinda whimsical in real life. 

Second card is inspired by both the ColourQ and CAS(E) This Sketch challenges this week. I blended the three different pinkish shades using a Dylusions Dyan Reaveley Stencil. Wet Paint sentiment is heat embossed in gold. 

Temps dropping in NJ this weekend! :( Stay warm! Thanks for popping in! 

Create Along With Us January 2016

There were SO many fabulous DT creations with the last PTI release. But I was very inspired by this particular one by Lizzie Jones to create a card for the PTI Create Along With Us challenge:

I loved how the dots of multicolored splatter were peeking out beneath the butterflies. Since I don't have this pretty little cover plate yet, I was inspired to create this card using the largest Beautiful Butterflies die as my focal point. I also used Drips and Dribbles to create the background in the same fun color combo Lizzie used.

I used foam tape to adhere the center of the butterfly on top of the dot splatters and pushed the wings back a little bit for added dimension. Sentiment is from Perfect Pairing. Love how it turned out...I'm definitely doing this again. Can imagine a set of cards with different color combinations....fun! 

First signs of snow here in NJ today....its a little long overdue but I'm still not ready for it. Hope you are having a great weekend. Thanks for popping by!

Gotta a Bunch to Share

I have a bunch of cards to share. I'm grateful that I've gotten more crafty time in and I've got plenty of my TV shows to binge watch.

First card is a single layer card inspired by Laura Bassen's card HERE. I just LOVE what Laura does with color! Mine ended up being more pastel than bold bright color like Laura's card.

I heat embossed the flower from Ruby Rose in white on white card stock and applied a little bit of ink to the centers with worked outward so the flower has a sort of colored halo. Sentiment is from SSS Tilted Banner Sayings. Linking with the One-Layer Simplicity challenge - Multitude of Gratitude - this month.

Second card is inspired by the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge this week. I pulled out one of my old favorites - PTI Feather Finery. I heat embossed the feather in white on watercolor paper. I used Tim Holtz watercolor panels - love the texture and durability of this paper vs. a watercolor pad I have which I would have just cut down to size. I watercolored teal over the feather like the sketch after I heat embossed the sentiment in black. 

Took me three tries to do this though. First time I my sentiment was crooked. Second time it smudged because I did the heat embossed sentiment AFTER watercoloring. So third time was the charm. All heat embossing first, then watercoloring. 

I gave the panel a little edge of black matting to help it stand out against the Tropical Teal card base. 

My third card is inspired by THIS card by Dawn McVey. PTI usually does a Create Along With Us challenge each month to make a new card inspired by a DT card. They haven't posted this month's challenge yet but I'm was excited to CASE Dawn's card anyway. 

I stamped snowflakes from Snowflake Serenade on a Plum Pudding panel and split the card on top of a Royal Velvet card base. I added pale purple sequins to each snowflake for some added sparkle. 

Last card is a holiday card I made using the new PTI Spruce & Springs set. I used the Vintage Cream Linen card stock for the first time. What a wonderful texture! I created a border of leaves around the edge of the card and added a few berries. Simple sentiment from Wet Paint finishes it off. Color inspired by Colour Me....Striking challenge. 

Finishing up a couple more cards so hopefully post them soon. Hope you are having a great weekend! Thanks for popping in! 

September Create Along With Us

Quick tag to share today for the Create Along With Us challenge. I made it using trees and sentiment from City Scene.

 Inspired by this colorful card Ashley made during Countdown festivities -

 Hope you are having a great weekend. Thanks for taking a peek!

Three on Thursday

Hello -

I've got three cards to share with you today...all created last night during three episodes of Gilmore Girls (LOVE that show!).

First card is inspired by the Create Along With Us challenge at PTI. I was completely inspired by THIS card by Ashley Cannon Newell. It was simple and pretty and gave me a chance to open up my new patterned vellum pack. For my birthday card, I used similar colors as Ashley's as well as the challenge colors at Colour Me....! this week. Sentiment is from Tucked In:Birthday and flowers from PTI Birds and Blooms. I used Lil Inkers Stitched Rectangles for around the sentiment panel.

My second card is inspired by the CASology cue card:Aquatic. To me Aquatic is nautical....maybe being a Coast Guard wife all these years has really influenced how I see things! :) I used PTI Out to Sea since I don't have any fish or sea themed stamps. I stamped the Crackled background in Soft Stone using my MISTI to ground the compass stamped in Enchanted Evening. Kept a good amount of white space around the light background to keep it CAS. 

My last card is for this month's One-Layer Simplicity Challenge - Striped Down. I masked off a large strip along the bottom of the white cardstock base. I embossed the birthday from PTI Swoosh in white and blended a rainbow of inks over the embossed sentiment. Still getting the hang of the ink blending technique. Hard a hard time with the middle colors like the green looking smooth. But Iove the crisp clean edge masking gives on white cardstock.  

Off to MD for my annual visit to my sister's! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by! 

Create Along With Us - July 2015

Hi friends -

Long time no see. Its been a while. I had to live through some home renovations in April and May and we are all settled back in but it took a LONG time for me to get my crafty mojo back. I've been reading blogs and websites but hadn't created anything in ages. Seriously, I didn't think I'd make it back into my craft room but decided to just stop thinking about it and jump back in.

I was inspired by this beautiful card by Dawn during July release.....

Here's my take....

For my card, I used the blooms and leaves from Mums The Word to stamp the flowers at the top of the panel. I used Scarlet Jewel, Hibiscus Burst, and Autumn Rose inks as well as Hawaiian Shores and Aqua Mist for the leaves. I stamped a scattering of polka dots across the panel and added a sentiment from Swoosh at the bottom. I didn't have the same Edgers die Dawn used but just used the one I had. Dawn left a little space at the top of her card panel. I left space on the sides of my panel so that more of the Hawaiian Shores card base would show. 

So much fun to use a DT release card as an inspiration piece....love this new monthly PTI challenge! 

Thanks for looking! Hope you had a great weekend.