November Friends of WMS Blog Waltz

It's November 15 and time for the WMS monthly blog waltz. To get us in the mood for the holidays (or maybe to give us a push to complete those holiday cards), the theme this month is Christmas.

Several years ago, one of my favorite paper companies, My Mind's Eye, had a Christmas paper collection that featured browns and blues. I've always liked that color combo and decided to use those non-traditional colors as my inspiration. Although I have several WMS Christmas sets, I seem to go back to Very Vintage Christmas over and over this year.





I pulled out my trusty Marvy snowflake punch to create my embellishment. And Tara, if you are reading this, I had to stand on it to get it to work. I actually thought I broke it but after a bit of time manipulating it, it's ok and ready for the next snowflake!

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Very Vintage Christmas, Seasons of Love, Off Beat Backgrounds
Cardstock: PTI Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream, Spring Rain
Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate, Spring rain
Miscellaneous: SU Very Vanilla seam binding, Marvy snowflake punch, Hero Arts rhinestones, Nestabilities Pinked Circle die

A Year of PTI - November

With Christmas 6 weeks away, I need to get moving on my calendars. The designs are the challenge for me. Assembly goes pretty easily. In fact, I'll probably be mass producing these when the NE Ohio PTI group gets together on December 4.

So here's the November design. I try not to repeat themes from year to year and I've already done turkeys, acorns and leaves for this month. Wish PTI would add a cornucopia stamp to their line up.



Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: First Fruits, Calendar Basics
Card Stock: Dark Cocolate, Vintage Creme, Summer Sunrise
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Summer Sunrise, Palette Cognac
Patterned Paper: First Fruits Collection
Miscellaneous: SU oval punch, SU Sizzlits Lots of Tags Label 1, Nestabilities oval, dimensionals

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge 22

I love to participate in sketch challenges but it seems I rarely have time to do so. Since we gained an hour last night, I'm putting that extra hour towards stamping. Here's what I came up with for Challenge #22. It's not my traditional style but I had so much fun creating it.



Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Compliments of the Season, Text-It, Very Vintage Christmas
Card Stock: PTI Scarlet Jewel, Vintage Cream
Patterned Paper: Webster's Pages Waiting for Santa/Sweet Season Combo Pack
Ink: PTI Scarlet Jewel, Palette Landscape and Cognac
Other: Nestabilities, SU gold ribbon, Cuttlebug die, dimensionals

A Year of PTI - December

Here we are at the last day of the month and I managed to get one more calendar page done. Three down, nine to go and less than 60 days. The craft room cleaning is still in process. With family coming to visit for Thanksgiving, I really need to kick this cleaning up a notch.

But it was far more fun to pull out some stamps for a couple of hours. It's funny how sometimes a project comes together so quickly, while other times it is such a struggle. Today was one of those easy, peasy days. Who knows why!

I found that the retired Stampin' Up Handsome Hunter is a pretty good match for Pinefeather. And I like Pinefeather better in person than on the website.

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Holiday Button Bits, Calendar Basics
Card Stock: Pinefeather, Pure Poppy, Stampers Select White
Ink: SU Handsome Hunter, Pure Poppy
Patterned Paper: Christmas Prints
Miscellaneous: Vintage Buttons, SU punches, embossing powder, dimensionals

A Year of PTI - July

My crafting time has been a bit limited lately. I'm cleaning and organizing my craft room. I've got a huge box of cardstock and patterned paper ready to go to the local daycare. I'm sure the kids will have fun with my castoffs and I'm glad to see the box go.

I'm still working on my calendar, a Christmas gift for family and friends. Here's the month of July. I'm working through the months as inspiration hits. If you scroll down, you can see the only other month complete - September.



Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Calendar Basics, Men of Life
Cardstock: Spring Rain, Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy, Stampers Select White
Ink: Pure Poppy, Fresh Snow, Basic Black
Patterned Paper: Men of Life
Miscellaneous: Fiskars Border Punch, SU Lets of Tags Label 1 Sizzlits, embossing powder, dimensionals

Friends of Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz

It's the 17th of the month and time for the Friends of Waltzingmouse Stamp Blog Waltz. The theme for this month is Autumn/Harvest. Fall is my favorite time of the year. Love the cooler temperatures, the bright blue skies and, most of all, the changing of the trees. It's only natural that I would have to use leaves and acorns on my card.



Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Blessed by You
Card Stock: Fine Linen, Ripe Avocado
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate
Miscellaneous: Circle punches, Nestabilities, Vintage Button, twine, SU embossing folder, dimensionals, corner rounder.

PTI Christmas Tags

PTI is offering a new set of tags this month and several of the DT posts have centered around tags. I decided to challenge myself to make tags using a number of older PTI sets. It was so much fun to search for tiny images that would work on the Fillable Frames dies. I'm awaiting a shipment of twine so please excuse that my tags are stringless.

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Home for the Holidays. Signature Christmas, Rustic Branches, Sign Language, Take A Bough, Holiday Tree, Snowfall, 2009 Holiday Tag Collection, Fillable Frames 1,5 and 7
Card Stock: Rustic Cream, Kraft, Pure Poppy
Ink: SU Handsome Hunter, Simply Chartreuse, Hibiscus Burst, Pure Poppy, Fresh Snow, Enchanted Evening, True Black, Dark Chocolate, Hawaiian Shores, Encore Silver Metallic
Other: Copics, Fillable Frame Dies 1.5 and 7, MS punch

PTI Fall/Halloween Card Swap

Ted organized a fall or Halloween card swap on the PTI forum. This was the card I made to send to Kelly. First time using the dies and leaf stamps - love all things fall. Sure would have liked an acorn to complete the grouping but had to make do with a button!

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Leaf Prints, Falling Leaves
Card Stock: Ripe Avocado, Terracotta Tile, Harvest Gold, Vintage Cream
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate
Other: Woodgrain Impression Plate, Leaf Print dies, Tea for Two Collection die, SU oval punch, Vintage Buttons, twine

Mom's Birthday Card

Fall birthdays are my favorites. And so are the cards that accompany them. Can I tell you that Wreath for All Seasons is one of my favorite sets? I'm sure I'll have fun with the winter version later but, for now, this twig and berry one is perfect.

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Wreath for All Seasons
Cardstock: Rustic Cream, Terracotta Tile
Ink: Dark Chocolate
Miscellaneous: PTI die, Dark Chocolate ribbon, SU embossing folder, dimensionals

September Friends of Waltzingmouse Blog Hop

It's September 17 and time for the September Friends of Waltzingmouse Blog Hop. Our theme this month is Halloween.

I had to create my card last weekend and, at that time, only had one Waltzingmouse Halloween stamp set. So I challenged myself to create with what I had. Here's the result.



Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Halloween Party, PTI Background Basics Woodgrain
Cardstock: True Black, Vintage Cream
Ink: True Black, Terracotta Tile, New Leaf, Chamomile
Patterned Paper: Halloween Prints
Miscellaneous: Tim Holtz hanging sign die and jump rings, dimensionals

A Year of PTI - September

I've posted previously about my coaster calendars. For 2011 I've decided to challenge myself to create a PTI only calendar. I have the stamps. Let's see if I have the creativity.

I had hoped to get 2 months put together this weekend, but computer problems consumed way too much of my time. I did manage to complete September. I'm hoping the new calendar stamp set coming out on the 15th of the month will include stamps with the names of the months that will work for this small scale.



Cathy, this one's for you. I've had a lot of questions about how I make these calendars. So I decide to post some tips. Here's the first one. Do yourself a favor and create some templates. Make one in a 4x4 size and figure out where you want to punch your holes. Use this template to ensure all your holes will line up. The second template is for the monthly calendar. Mark them as templates so they don't accidentally get thrown away. Ask me how many I lost before I started marking them. LOL!



Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy.

Supplies:
Stamps: Falling Leaves
Cardstock: Kraft, Simply Chartreuse, Pure Poppy, Stampers Select
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Simply Chartreuse
Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot Basics
Miscellaneous: Stampin' Up punches, dimensionals

September Challenge

September is my month to host the Papertrey Pixies' challenge. You can find all the details for the challenge on our blog here.

http://papertreypixies.blogspot.com/

Here's my card for the challenge.



Supplies:
Stamps: Turning A New Leaf, Beautiful Blooms II, Fillable Frames #3, Fillable Frames #5
Card Stock: Kraft, Ocean Tides, Plum Pudding
Ink: Fresh Snow, Plum Pudding, Ocean Tides, Orange Zest
Miscellaneous: PTI dies, SU punch, dimensionals

Coaster Calendars

We've been talking about what we are making for Christmas on the PTI forums. I posted that I make coaster calendars and was asked to post pictures. So here we go.

I have been making these calendars for 4 years and every year I have more requests. The bases for the calendars are coasters like you would get for your drink at a restaurant or bar. We did a group buy of these several years ago at Split Coast Stampers. They measure 4" square. I cover both sides with cardstock and their weight and sturdiness add stability to the calendar and enable it to sit up on its own.

Here's this year's cover.


Next are some of my favorite months from the past several years. I've used supplies from a large variety of sources. If you have a question about a specific month, please leave me a comment and I'll track it down for you.





















Thanks for stopping by!

PTI August Blog Hop

It's been a long, tiring summer. Too much work, not enough play. And my poor neglected blog has gone without a post for a month. I decided I wanted, no, I needed to play along with PTI's August blog hop no matter what. Feels so good to put ink to paper again.

This month was a Brown Bag Challenge. We were to dress up, alter or change an ordinary brown lunch bad into a paper crafting work of art. I just received my latest PTI order from the August release so I had to break out the new Friendship Jar Fall Fillers for my Halloween goodie bag.



Supplies:
Stamps: Friendship Jar Fall Fillers
Card Stock: Kraft, Terracotta Tile, Stampers Select White, True Black
Ink: True Black
Patterned Paper: Halloween Prints
Miscellaneous: paper bag, Vintage Buttons, circle punches, Rustic Twine, Cuttlebug embossing folder, PTI dies, dimensionals, embossing powder.

This is my first time to participate in a Waltzing Mouse Blog Waltz. The theme for this month's challenge is the colors of summer... blue and green (any shades of your choosing). My color choices were inspired by this month's logo and the cover on a Better Homes & Gardens magazine from a few months ago. I also used the Mojo Monday 147 sketch.

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Waltzing Mouse Asian Gardens, Fancy Phrases, Faux Fun Circles, Faux Fun
Card Stock: Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse, Lemon Tart
Ink: Hawaiian Shores, Simply Chartreuse
Miscellaneous: Dimensionals, embossing powder, Hero Arts bling.

Birthday Cupcake

Here's the card that sat unfinished on my craft desk for over a week. All the elements were the same ones from that intial creative session - it just took a while to get everything to come together.

This was my first time to use any of the Color Couture downloads. I have to say it was fun to use paper knowing I could print more. And I'm excited to try printing some of the patterns on different color cardstock or even vellum as Nichole showed on her blog today.

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Cupcake Collection, Polka Dot Basics II
Card stock: Hibiscus Burst, Stampers Select, Stampin' Up Close to Cocoa
Ink: Fresh Snow, Hibiscus Burst, Deep Chocolate
Patterned Paper: 2009 Bitty Dot Basics, Color Couture
Miscellaneous: EK Success punch, embossing powder, dimensionals.

All About You

I had hoped to have a productive weekend. There were a couple of challenges I wanted to do and I really need to get started on Christmas gifts (yes, Christmas gifts in July - I'm slow).

Instead I finished one card and another sits on my craft table, waiting for divine inspiration to finish it. So only one to share with you today.

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: All About You, All About You Additions
Card Stock: Ripe Avocado, Melon Berry, Vintage Cream
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Melon Berry
Patterned Paper: Green Tea Leaves
Miscellaneous: SU Bird Punch, PTI Small Scalloped Border Die, Vintage Buttons, CM Corner Punch, dimensionals.

Favorite Color Combo

I made this card in preparation for the PTI June Blog Hop. Unfortunately, I forgot about the hop and didn't get it posted in time.

I think I like this layout well enough to try it with other colors. Love this Tea for Two Additions set and the die for the teacup. Guess I'm getting lazy - it would be great to have a die for the spoon!

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Tea for Two Additions, Vintage Labels
Card Stock: Pure Poppy, True Black, Stampers Select White
Ink: True Black, Pure Poppy
Patterned Paper: Black & White Basics, Bitty Dot Basics
Miscellaneous: Copics, Nestabilities, Tea Cup die, True Black saddle stitched ribbon, dimensionals, embossing powder.

June Pixie Challenge

Karen posted these fat quarters for color inspiration. Other than the color inspiration, there weren't a lot of rules. We could use the colors, pick a pattern from the group or just go with a general sewing theme.



My card today is so far out of my comfort zone. I love Betsy Veldman's style of mixing colors, patterns and multiple layers but it is so different from my typical style. I'm trying, I'm really trying. Oh, and I did ink up 2 sets I've never used before.



Hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Fillable Frames #4, Quilters Sampler
Card Stock: Terra Cotta Tile, Vintage Cream, Lemon Tart
Ink: Terra Cotta Tile, Simply Chartruese
Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket Material Girl
Miscellaneous: twine, Vintage Buttons, Fillable Frames #4 die, Copics, clear embossing powder, dimensionals.

Inking Up Unused Stamps - High Flying Ideas

What a great challenge! I was able to use 2 stamp sets for the first time (and 3 dies, if we're counting those!). From the first time I saw the hot air balloon dies, I thought "light bulb". It took this challenge to get the idea to paper. I kept this pretty simple as this notebook is going in my purse and I knew buttons and extra ribbons would take a beating.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Take Note, Up, Up & Away
Card Stock: Stamper's Select, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise, Soft Stone
Ink: True Black
Patterned Paper: Black & White Basics
Miscellanous: Copics, twill ribbon, rickrack border die, Up, Up & Away die, Tabbed Mini Book Page

Fancy Damask

I didn't get any stamping done this weekend so I thought I'd share a project from last weekend. On another forum I sometimes visit, people were posting pictures of what they had done with Heidi Swapp damask stickers. I took a look at their creations and thought "I can do that with PTI stamps!"

So I started with a Spring Moss card. I liked it so well, I did a Berry Sorbet one. And so on and so on. Some have more pearls than others. And all have a different sentiment. A quick way to add to my stash of cards.

I hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Mixed Messages, Damask Designs, Fancy Flourishes
Card Stock: Stampers Select White, Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet, Ocean Tides, Melon Berry, Plum Pudding
Ink: Fresh Snow, Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet, Ocean Tides, Melon Berry, Plum Pudding
Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot Basics, Black & White Basics
Miscellaneous: Butterfly die, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, pearls, ciecle punches, Marvy scallop circle punch, white embossing powder

Round & Round Birthday Wishes

I thought I better get some use out of the April release before May 15 is upon us. It's always nice to have a supply of birthday, thank you and get well cards on hand. My stash is pretty low right now so here's one to add to the pile.

Hope you enjoy. And Happy Mother's Day to all!

Supplies:
Stamps: Round & Round, Signature Greetings, For the Graduate
Card Stock: True Black, Vintage Cream, Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise
Ink: True Black, Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise
Miscellanoue: Ribbon, Mat Stack die, circle punches, Scallop border die, Vintage buttons, twine, Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Sweet Argyle

I had this idea for A Little Argyle from the first day the set was previewed in April. But it wasn't until this weekend that I had the opportunity to sit down and put ink on paper. Can I tell you I love A Little Argyle? It's going to be one of my new go-to sets!

Supplies:
Stamps: A Little Argyle, Cupcake Collection
Card Stock: Stampers' Select, Hibiscus Burst, Aqua Mist, Deep Chocolate, Kraft
Ink: Deep Chocolate, Hibiscus Burst, Aqua Mist
Miscellaneous: Copics, Vintage Buttons, Nestabilities, clear embossing powder, Diamond Dust, Cuttlebug embossing folder

PTI April Blog Hop

Welcome to PTI's April Blog hop. This month the challenge is to use tissue paper on a card or other paper project.

There are several ways to use tissue paper. Layered flowers are all the rage now. Nichole has great tutorials on her blog showing the faux silk technique.

I'm not much of a technique person. Oh, I have all the supplies. I watch the videos. I try the technique. However, my cards never look like what they're supposed to. Faux silk? No, mine looks like wadded up tissue paper.

After several attempts, I gave up and pulled out a stamp from my collection and went with the obvious use of tissue. Yeah, I know .... strange sense of humor. I was, however, pleased with my first attempt at this kind of bow. I always admire the bows on everyone's cards. Would have helped to have a third hand, though.



I hope this card qualifies. And I hope you enjoy it.

Supplies:
Stamps: Art Gone Wild Box of Tissues, PTI Tea for Two
Card stock: Hawaiian Shores, New Leaf, Aqua Mist, Stampers Select
Ink: True Black
Patterned Paper: Green Boutique
Miscellaneous: Stampin' Up punches, Hawaiian Shores Satin ribbon and vintage buttons, twine

Compose a Card 9

Nine squares this time. No problem - I just picked out a section of the wall and used those colors. The next challenge was how to get some sentiments on the card. I used the shapes and colors of the lights in the photo for my inspiration. There have been a number of discussions on the PTI board on Mixed Messages vs. Mega Mixed Messages. I've always recommended Mega but this is one time I was glad I had the small version on hand.

Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Stamps: Mixed Messages
Card Stock: Kraft, Spring Rain, Raspberry Fizz, Sweet Blush
Ink: Deep Chocolate
Patterned Paper: Various PTI
Other: PTI ribbons, circle punches

Blooms & Buttons

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by.

I started this card for Becky's Compose a Card 7 but never got it finished. If you check out her blog, you might remember the vintage cream, spring rain, polka dot and black felt combo from that challenge.

Better late than never, I guess. At least the components will no longer sit on my desk and mock me!

Supplies:
Stamps: Blooming Button Bits, Beautiful Blooms II, Polka Dots II
Card Stock: Vintage Cream, Spring Rain, Summer Sunrise, Pure Poppy
Ink: Spring Rain, Summer Sunrise, Pure Poppy, Spring Moss, True Black
Other: Felt, Fiskars border punch, medium scallop die, Beautiful Blooms dies, vintage buttons

Compose a Card 8

This is a busy time of the year for me. So much work to do outside in order to get ready for spring and summer. My time for crafting becomes extremely limited. I did get a chance to play today - a much needed break from weeding, trimming and cleaning flower beds.

Becky's challenges are always just that - a challenge! Becky's outdoor photos of her cute daughters in their Easter dresses were the inspiration. I chose the black polka dots and new leaf option and finally got to ink 2 new PTI sets.

Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies:
Stamps: Beautiful Blooms II, Wonderfully Whimsical
Card Stock: Stamper's Select White, True Black, New Leaf
Ink: New Leaf, True Black
Miscellaneous: Nestabilities, circle punch