Throwdown My Heart Desires When Making on Monday

Happy Thursday! Wanted to share four cards with you today. Haven't played along with some of these challenges in a while so excited to get some crafty time in these past two days and build up my birthday card stash.

First card is inspired by the fabulous color palette at Color Throwdown.  It was a big challenge for me because the color scheme has a masculine feel to it but without any blue (my favorite color!).

I stamped paisley images from PTI Woodblock prints along the bottom of a white panel. I added a die cut Happy (PTI One-Liners) on top of a strip of Pure Poppy card stock with the 'birthday' embossed on it. For a different touch I kept the red strip long, reach end to end on the card base. 

Second card is inspired by the Heart Desires Challenge. My first time joining in! I was drawn to the blues of course as well as the fun winter images. 

I was also inspired by THIS recent amazing card from Laura Bassen. I stamped my large sentiment from Mama Elephant in the middle of a white panel. I used my MISTI to make sure the sentiment was nice, bold, and dark. Then I heat embossed white snowflakes (with clear powder) in the two diagonal corners. Then I blended in a few colors (PTI Bright Buttercup, Hawaiian Shores, Stormy Sea, and Dark Indigo) on top of the embossed snowflakes. Truthfully, this is my second panel because the first time I embossed the snowflakes with white powder, not realizing that the embossing powder would also stick to the main sentiment, making it white. Oops. Lesson learned. 

Last two cards use Melissa Phillips' Masked Heart Wreaths technique in PTI Make It Monday this week. I used mask paper to die cut a heart and stamped flowers from Ruby Rose and Ruby Rose Reprise in my favorite blues and greens - Tropical Teal, Limeade Ice, Hawaiian Shores and New Leaf. I didn't add anything else so I could keep it clean and simple. LOVED how it turned out! 

Mask was still sticky so I used it to make another card. Instead of flowers I used the leaves from PTI Mighty Oak stamped in another favorite color combination - Tropical Teal, Aqua Mist, Stormy Sea, and Vintage Jadeite.  Birthday diecut is PTI with a softer Happy from Simon Says Stamp. Added a few matching pearls for a final touch. 

Like my attempt at mashing all the challenge names into my blog post title? LOL. 

Thanks for taking a peek at my latest creations. See you soon. 

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Twas The Day Before....

Hello -

Weekend is here! I'm sharing a few cards I made last night before the madness of Papertrey's StampAFaire tomorrow. So excited for all the inspiration and fun PTI has planned.

First card is using this week's PTI Make It Monday technique Spritzed Stamps. I inked and spritzed the tree image from PTI Through The Trees in one corner of the watercolor paper panel. Sentiment is from KIS:Thinking of You. I added a tilted piece of Spring Moss underneath the stamped panel before adhering to Simply Chartreuse card base.

 I love how the water creates variations in color even though I only used Simply Chartreuse for the leaves.

Second card is inspired by the gorgeous color palette at ColourQ this week - Love the deep colors paired with gold. 

I masked off different sections along the frame and ink blended the challenge colors. Colors so vibrant in real life. Die cut THANKS from MFT. 

My last card was inspired by this week's fun sketch challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch:

I stamped the "arrow" image (don't know what else to call it) from PTI Teach & Inspire in Stormy Sea, Tropical Teal, Mint Julep, and Aqua Mist. I used my MISTI to stamp each color several times so each arrow's color was bold. Instead of a double ended banner like in the sketch, I used one of the Happy One-Liner dies in Stormy Sea on top of the row of arrows. I double mounted the stamped panel to highlight the gorgeous color palette. I contemplated stamping or heat embossing the word 'birthday' under the banner on top of the teal arrow but wasn't sure how it would stand out enough. Will probably add the 'birthday' before I send it out. 

That's all for now. Hope to be back tomorrow with more cards. Thanks for popping in! 

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CASology #191 WASHI

Happy Tuesday! We have a fun one for you at CASology this week! WASHI! We all probably have more WASHI than we will ever use or even care to admit to having. I have tons of it but have been using it more often in my everyday note taking, list making, and bullet journaling. 

For my card I created a striped butterfly out of washi. As pictured below, I created the striped pattern by alternating gold and silver washi tape on a scrap piece of card stock and then die cut the butterfly out of it. I also used washi tape for the PTI Swoosh sentiment as well. Before adhering the butterfly and sentiment, I scored part of the card base on a diagonal to line up with the washi tape lines in the butterfly. Scoring adds interest while preserving white space. Check out Laurie's PTI Make It Monday video this week for great ideas on using score lines for additional detail and texture! She always uses score lines on her CAS projects in such interesting ways. 

Check out the rest of the DT interpretations of WASHI for more ideas on how to use up your washi stash. Can't wait to see what you come up with! Have a good week!

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Deidre Payne
Hannelie Bester
Hazel Hodgkins
Jacquie Southas
Jen Wills
Joyce Mehrberg
Judy Marino
Kymona Tracey
Melissa Chipperfield
Tracey McNeely

Creating Like Crazy Instead Of....

Hello friends -

Good news is that I've been busy creating a lot lately. Bad news is that its keeping me from working on what I really need to be doing - TAXES! UGH. The evil procrastination monster strikes again!

But on to fun stuff! My first card was inspired by the Muse challenge this week where the fabulous Tracey is the inspiration. I wanted to make something light and airy so I went back to my tried and true PTI Circle Scribbles set. I stamped in the same colors and general placement of her flowers. In place of sequins, I stamped smaller scribbles in gold (like Tracey's embossing).

Tracey's gorgeous card - 

Next card is for the fun ColourQ challenge this week - 

I used the PTI diagonal stripes coverplate to create my black and white background. This is so easy to use when you adhere the card stock to a double sided adhesive sheet first. Easy peasy to place down on the card base using the coverplate as a guide. I die cut the Hip Hip Hooray from the Phrase Play line in Hawaiian Shores. The stripes look even better in real life. 

Next up is my card for the PTI Make It Monday this week which challenges us to customize our patterned paper. I definitely wanted to try this because I have SO MUCH patterned paper that I never use. I have a few of the PTI patterned paper packs but I NEVER use the big polka dot paper. Lizzie's idea to stamp randomly on the paper is brilliant.  It took me a while to find a good image that I liked and was the right size but I ended up loving this little flower from the Cup of Cheer set. 

Patterned paper is the from the soft stone collection. I stamped flowers in Enchanted Evening, Melon Berry, Aqua Mist, and Sweet Blush. Sentiment and die from Sentiment Splits. 

Last card for today is for the February One-Layer Simplicity challenge - FRIENDS. 

Sentiment is from PTI Choose Joy, flower from Flower Fusion, and "grounding" lines from Ombre Stripes. 

Whew, that's it for now. I'm really gonna stop crafting now and eat the frog. REALLY! :)

Have a great weekend! Thanks for popping in!

Make It Monday #232

Checking in one last time today before I start cooking for Thanksgiving.

Here's a quick card I made inspired by PTI Make It Monday challenge this week - layered stamping on kraft. Wanted to try this with something other than flowers or snowflakes which I've done before.

I stamped a few wine glasses in bold colors slightly offset from the white glass. Looks pretty cool in real life. Love this sentiment from this Uncorked set which I heat embossed on a stitched tag (with the tag part cut off). I put the panel on a kraft card base using foam tape which I think gives the card another special effect. Inside is stamped with sentiment and glass as well. 

Thanks for taking a peek. Have a great weekend! 

MIM #231

This week's PTI Make It Monday challenge is Motif Building. I didn't have one of the folksy or Nordic style stamp sets that would have been better for this challenge but thought I could make due with some of the other sets I have. 

For these two cards I used Round Repeats as my base and built the motif around the center using little stamps from Simply Stationery. Colors inspired by some of the PTI monthly inspiration color schemes. 

The cards turned out OK even though I'm not completely thrilled with the results. Maybe need to play around more with other sets. This challenge completely put me out of my comfort zone. Guess that's the whole point of these challenge....stretch yourself and do something different. 

Thanks for popping by! 

Pearlized Blending

Hi! Sharing two cards I made this morning while waiting for the repair man to come...it's the first time I've been excited by the 4 hour window they gave me! 

I played along with the PTI Make It Monday challenge - Pearlized Blending. I love the effect of Perfect Pearls but always forget to use them. Thanks Lizzie for the reminder! 

For my card I masked off a strip on my white panel and heat embossed some PTI Beautiful Butterflies in white. Then I blended Tropical Teal ink along the bottom, Hawaiian Shores in the middle and Aqua Mist toward the top for an ombre look. The I rubbed the masked area directly with Versamark ink and applied Perfect Pearls over it. Next time though I will blend the ink darker because the pearls lighten the overall color a lot. 

Seriously these photos don't do this effect justice. The masked portion is simply gorgeous - shiny but not TOO shiny. Love this look! 

Second card is inspired by the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge this week.

I stamped the greeting from Wet Paint Holiday and added some holly and ivy from the new PTI Spruce and Sprigs. I added a strip of PTI Candy Prints patterned paper on the top and bottom of the panel before attaching to Pinefeather card stock. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Three for Thursday

Hi my friends...long time no post. Things have been crazy with my various volunteer roles I have this year so little time for crafting. Next year, I will adopt a "just say no" attitude in order to get some ME time back into my life!

DH was away last two days so had a chance to escape in my craft room for a few hours.

First card is for the One Layer Simplicity Challenge this month which features "Whatever The Weather". I used a Memory Box cloud stencil and white embossing paste to create the textured clouds on the light blue card panel. Sentiment is from the PTI Up, Up, and Away set.

Second card uses the largest Simon Says Stamp die. I created a folded die cut balloon, heat embossed stars on the balloon, added a simple sentiment banner and a touch of twine around the balloon end.
Colors inspired by the Colour Me....Subtle! challenge this week.

Last card uses a PTI set I've been dying to use since the summer. I created a focal cluster (PTI Make It Monday challenge this week) by stamping a swoosh from PTI Brushed off along the bottom white panel to ground the sentiment and image from PTI Fashion Sense. Love this model and the way the dress stamp isn't quite perfectly lined up. Colors inspired by ColourQ challenge.

That's it for me! Thanks for stopping by! Have a good weekend!

Two Cards, Three Challenges

Hello friends -

Hope you are having a great week. Sharing two quick cards today.

First card uses Fancy That which I haven't been able to put away since PTI Anniversary challenges last week. Love this set. I heat embossed the medallion in white on white yardstick and then masked a triangle around the medallion image. I blended Tropical Teal onto the medallion concentrating the ink in the center and working my way lighter on the outside. Sentiment from Keep It Simple series.

One layer card with blending for the One Layer Simplicity challenge:You Blend this month and I stuck to only one bold color for this week's CASology cue card MONOCHROME.

Second card is for this week's Make It Monday challenge to use a cover plate as a stencil to use with embossing paste. I wanted to use a portion of the Mighty Oak cover plate. I colored white embossing paste with Simply Chartreuse reinker. I opted not to use the leaves as part of a tree as a thought a nice circle sentiment would fit nicely with the leaves. I punched a circle out of Summer Sunrise card stock and heat embossed a circular sentiment from Thank You Kindly in clear for a nice shine and tone-on-tone look. I mounted the panel on kraft card base after cutting it all down to a 4x4 square card. 

I didn't have enough embossing paste colored so I was trying to stretch what I had which made for a less than smooth finish on the leaves. But once it dried I actually liked the texture it left behind. Makes for a really cool and unique background. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Snow Day Creation

Another snowy day here in NJ. Not fun snow but heavy wet snow. Ugh. Despite the fact that my girls were home all day and there was some bickering going on, I got some time in my craft room this afternoon.

I had fun playing along with this week's Make It Monday challenge Layering Coverplate Diecuts. After seeing Dawn's video I knew I wanted to layer my horizontal and diagonal striped coverplates. The hardest part was selecting the colors to layer. After trying several combinations I settled on my three favorite PTI colors - Hawaiian Shores card base, Enchanted Evening horizontal stripes, and Aqua Mist diagonal stripes on the top.

Love these colors together! Sentiment from Keep It Simple series and I added a Jenni Bowlin pale orange vellum butterfly for some contrast. 

I also made a tag inspired by Debby Hughes' gorgeous and elegant creation for the Tag You're It Challenge. 

Since I'm in the midst of a snow storm right now, I wanted to make a bright tag for the summer so I colored my embossing paste with Summer Sunrise reindeers and used it with my Heidi Swapp arrows stencil in the same direction as Debby's sunburst. I added coordinating washi tape to the bottom of the Hawaiian Shores die. Sentiment and popsicle from Summer Sweetness. 

I clear embossed the Hibiscus Burst popsicle to give it a shiny, wet look. Love all the dimension on this tag. 

That's all for me tonight. Hope you are warm whereever you are and thanks for stopping by! 

Three For Thursday

Happy Thursday! Here today with three cards to share and a fabulous recipe for you to try.

First up is my card for the CASology cue card FRIEND. I made this for a friend that I don't see very often but think of often. 

I heat embossed the FRIENDS from Wet Paint in black and added small scattered hearts in some of my favorite bright colors. I left lots of white space so the hearts were not overwhelming. The white card panel is mounted on black cardstock to give nice contrast to the colorful hearts. 

I'm playing along with the Tag You're It! challenge for the first time. Figure if I play along with every challenge I'll build a good stash of gift tags.

I was inspired by the gold in Heather's beautiful tag and the scribbled circles under her cluster of flowers.  My tag features a favorite color combination - gold and teal (Hawaiian Shores & Aqua Mist). I used some gold Washi tag for the bottom of the tag and stamped gold circle scribbles to anchor my balloon. I scattered the stars on the tag to go along with the stars in the balloon. Finished it off with some Hawaiian Shores ribbon. 

I also used the tag reinforcer circle die at the top - never used it before but just realized the die came with one of my tag dies. It was beginning to annoy me how the hole at the top would always rip when I used ribbon. 

My last card to share uses this week's Make It Monday - Three Panel Card challenge. Thanks Ashley for the easy directions and measurements. Super easy! Got a head start on my end of year teacher thank you cards. 

I stayed away with traditional 'school' colors, the primary colors but opted for bright fun colors like teal and orange. I used one of the edgers die for the flap and stamped a bunch of different THANKS from the Thanks All Ways set. The bottom flap has the dotted lines from Ombre Builders (my FAVE stamp from that set). Love how the orange twine finishes it off. 

For the inside I used the sentiment from Wonderful Words:Teacher leaving lots of room for my daughter and I to write a personal note in there. 

I created a pocket cut out of Summer Sunrise on the bottom panel to hold the gift card and stamped some flip flops in Summer Sunrise for a tone-on-tone look and the sentiment (both from Flipping Out) in Hawaiian Shores to stand out. Can you tell that Hawaiian Shores is one of my favorite colors?? 

Also going to start sharing some recipes here on my blog. One of my New Year resolutions is to cook more and to cook outside the box. I'm going to be trying a lot of new recipes this year since I've got a gazillion food related pins on Pinterest and a hundred ripped out recipes from magazines that I'm determined to tackle this year. I'm a foodie - love to eat, love exotic ingredients, and watch all sorts of cooking shows - but finding it tough to balance cooking for practicality (we all gotta eat right?!) and cooking for fun. So I'll be sharing my successes here - both the quick & easy meals as well as the fancier complicated ones that I may try. 

Last night's dinner was a complete success. I made Slow-Cooked Salmon, Chickpeas, and Greens from Bon Appetit magazine. It was so delicious and even the kids loved it. Well, 2 out of 3 because the 3rd hates salmon so there's no preparation could make her love it.  The chickpeas were creamy and the fried capers....yum. Kinda like popcorn when you can't stop eating them. The slow roasted part threw me a little as I am used to cooking either fast or at a high temp and I was doubtful that 30 min at 250 degrees would result in anything good. But wow, the salmon was moist and perfectly cooked. The recipe is a little complicated as there are four distinct components to be cooked/assembled before the whole thing is put in the oven but definitely was worth the effort. 

I used kale instead of mustard greens and I doubled the recipe because we are big eaters and also love leftovers for lunch the next day. 

Thanks for hanging till the end of this extra long blog post. I appreciate you stopping by and hope you are having a great week.