Beautiful Butterflies

Hello and Happy Leap Day! I hope you are having a good week so far! I am just stopping in to share a card I made last weekend using the Beautiful Butterflies stamp set by Maile Belles. Love this stamp set! Those butterflies are so fun to stamp and the font and sentiments are favorites already! I made a quick one layer card:

A little masking and scoring and that's it! The inks are Aqua Mist, Summer Sunrise, Berry Sorbet, Simply Chartreuse, and the sentiment is Smokey Shadow.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow with another zipper card!

Feb 2012 Blog Hop

Hello, Blog Hoppers! Hope you're having a nice Saturday! I am just stopping in to submit my card for this month's Blog Hop with Papertrey Ink! The theme this month is interactive cards. I received my February release goodies on Thursday, so I got to work today using the new Zipper dies. Here is what I came up with:

I started with a Rustic Cream card base, and stamped the new Background Basics: Medallions in Raspberry Fizz and Orange Zest. Very fun background to stamp! I will be using this set a lot! I then used the zipper die on Summer Sunrise, and matted with Orange Zest. I stamped the sentiments from Movers & Shakers Sentiments, added the little cake from a Tag-it's, put a couple drops of Stickles on the candle flames, and added the buttons. I planned on 'unzipping' the card and taking a picture of  the sentiment underneath, but when it came time, I just couldn't bring myself to do it!!!! I hope you like it, and appreciate you stopping by my blog! I am off to hop around and see what all you talented peeps did!

My storage solutions

Hello! I'm stopping in to share a couple photos of my recent storage solutions. I mentioned on the forum that I had labeled and organized my new inks over the weekend, and had a couple request to see photos of how I am storing them. I had been wanting to share my die storage as well, so when I got home last night, I snapped a couple quick pictures, and thought I'd share them. There is nothing groundbreaking about how I am storing things, but it's always interesting to see what works for people, and maybe someone will get an idea from seeing something here!
So, here is my new ink holder that I shared the other day:

I bought this to primarily hold the new inks being released from Papertrey Ink. I will add more as they are released, and take out the old ones. Of course I realized as soon as I got this organizer in the mail last week, that I should've ordered two! Or a bigger one for inks, and a bigger one for ribbon! I ordered this from www.organizemore.com . I highly recommend them! It did take a little over a month to get it, which while I was waiting seemed like forever! But, it was well worth the wait, as each unit is hand crafted to order, and they are made REALLY well!
So, this is how I am labeling my inks:

Labeled and Alphabetical Order. :) I bought those little labels from Walmart. I believe they are Avery. I stamped them with the little circle in Tiny Tags and wrote the name. The label do hang off a little, but not too bad, and I don't think it should be too annoying. I also open them from the tip on the other end. The labels are also removable, so if I decide to label them differently in the future, it shouldn't be too hard to remove. They are not too removable, like post-it's or anything, so I don't forsee them just falling off, either. I decided to store my inks upside down.
Next, I thought I'd share how I store my dies.

I found this little box, possibly card catalog at work. Our office bought an old, deserted college, and this was in the library. So, I have this sitting next to my desk, so I can reach it while I'm crafting. As you see, it has the 3 sections, so in the front I keep the Mat Stacks, Fillable Frames, Limitless Layers, and the like. In the middle I keep dies that coordinate with stamp sets like Garden Variety, TANL, Harvest Berries, Flower Fusions, etc., And in the back I keep the largest dies like Mega Mat Stacks, Edger dies, Alphabet dies, Banner dies, etc., It is a system, where I know where things are, and it isn't that hard to flip though, or pull a section at a time out and look through it. Again, this might not be for everyone, but it's working for me, right now. I always thought I was a little anal and OCD about organization, until I started looking online at other crafter's workspace's! ;) I have printed out the names of all the dies with the picture from the website, and plan on labeling their little baggies, but I haven't had the time for that, yet.
Oh, and I also have all of my border dies above my desk:

Some of them are on the magnetic strip, some are in the red thing, which is also magnetic, but is also like a little pocket strip. That looks a little messy. I need more of the little magnets. ;)
And finally, I will show you how I organize my stamps:

So, this is on the corner of my desk. And this is working for now, but may need to change, especially now that Papertrey has changed their packaging. But, I have those little crates stacked up, I got them from Dollar General. My stamps are stored Alphabetically. All my $5 sets are stored in the white box to the left. There is no rhyme or reason to how they get thrown in there. ;)

Oh, yeah! My ribbon. You saw some of my Papertrey ribbon in the first photo, in the ink organizer. But, of course I have more ribbon than that! So, until I buy more orgainzers, so I can have a uniform display, they are stacked in a hodgepodge of units, also on my desk:

The top two are Papertrey ribbon, and I've run out of containers, so the rest is being stacked on top! I forgot to take a picture of my buttons, but they are on a shelf in little jars, sorted by color. And, I think that's it! If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask! I appreciate you taking the time to look around and see how I store my *precious* goodies! And yes, in my head I said *precious* like Gollum in Lord of the Rings! ;)

PTI 5th Anniversary Day 7 Challenge: Hearts

Hello and Happy Saturday! I hope you are enjoying the day and staying warm! It has gotten quite cool here, and should be darn right cold tonight! It's the wind that's making feel way colder! Still no snow this year, though! :(
So, the challenge today is hearts. With all the Valentine's cards I've made this year, I still need one for my husband, so initial thought when I saw this challenge was, 'great!'. humph! However many hours later, I have 1 very clean and simple card so far! Mojo is not cooperating today, so far! I am hoping to come up with more this afternoon- evening, but we shall see. I think part of the problem is that I just got this in the mail:

So, of course I am now wanting to organize, label, etc., It is holding my new Papertrey Inks and some of my ribbon. My first thoughts are, I wish I would've gotten two. Or one for ink, one for ribbon. My husband is going to help me hang it on the wall when he gets home from work. I bought it from Organize More the beginning of January. So, it does take a few weeks, but they are all made to order, and boy are they well made! Very nice! I love it! And really want another one ASAP!
So, here is the card I made:

I embossed the heart border. And the pink heart is PTI's Shimmer pink die cut with the large heart die, then cut the medium heart out, then replaced with a Sweet Blush medium pink heart, stamped in Pure Poppy with the Silhouette from Love & Marriage, and clear rhinestone heart. Hopefully better things to come later today, if not tomorrow! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies: (All PTI, unless otherwise noted)

Paper: Rustic Cream, Kraft, Sweet Blush, Shimmer Pink

Stamps: Love & Marriage

Dies: Hearts, Heart Border

Other: Heart rhinestones

PTI 5th Anniversary Day 6: Sketch

Hey there! Friday night! Woohoo! I came home and needed to make a card for a woman to give her son, who is in college, for Valentine's Day. Eek! Tough one! I also wanted to get in some cards for today's Sketch challenges, but only got this one done. Ah, well. I have the next two days to play more!

I chose to use this sketch:


And this is what I came up with:

That's all for today! As always, I really appreciate you taking the time to visit my blog!

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise noted)

Paper: Stamper's Select, Pure Poppy, Smokey Shadow, Echo Park Patterned Paper

Stamps: Happy Day

Dies: Hearts, Limitless Layers Ovals, Double-ended banner, Heart border (for scallops), envelope liner

PTI 5th Anniversary Day 5: Pinterest

Hi there! I am back today with a quick card for today's Papertrey Inks 5th Anniversary Challenge:



As I have mentioned many times, I normally only craft on the weekends. Mainly because I am too tired during the week after work, have such limited time, but also because I have a hard time getting a good picture indoors, at night. Well, I had to get in on the challenge today, so I came home and went straight to my craft room and started cranking my Cuttlebug (a lot)! My poor husband and I haven't even had dinner yet, so I am going to get on with my card and get cooking (a quick meal)! ;)

Today's challenge was to make a card inspired by a picture on Pinterest, since Papertrey Ink is now on Pinterest! Yay! I LOVE Pinterest! I spend a lot of time there, get a lot of inspiration there, and am responsible for getting a lot of people addicted to Pinterest! hee hee.

So, here is the picture I found on Pinterest:


And here is my card:

Supplies:
Paper: Stamper's Select, Hibiscus Burst, Echo Park patterned paper
Stamps: Happy Trails
Die: Happy Trails
Other: Kaisercraft Rhinestones

Okie Dokie, I think that's it! Thank you so much for stopping by! It means so much to me that you take the time to visit my blog! If you would like to check out my Pinterest boards, there is a button up towards to the right side, or click here.

PTI 5th Anniversary Day 4: Color Combo, Take 4

Okay, last one for today's color combo challenge(s) for Papertrey Ink's 5th Anniversary Celebration!


So, I was a crafting machine today! I am a very slow crafter, and tend to really over think things, so for me to whip up 4 cards this afternoon was a lot for me! I usually only have time to craft on the weekends, because of my work and commute, but I happened to get sick and stayed home, so I wanted to make the most of my time! If you are visiting my blog, then you are probably like me, and really love Papertrey Ink! Most people probably don't understand how much Papertrey Ink means to me, and why it means so much to participate in the festivities going on this week, but you get it, right? And, those prizes? Come On! Oh, how happy I would be to win any of the prize packages they've been offering up every day! Anyway, back to my final card for today. I chose to work with Lisa Johnson's lovely color combo:


And this is what I came up with:

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted)
Paper: Kraft, Aqua Mist
Stamps: Through the Trees, Signature Series: Flower for sentiment
Dies: Mega Mat Stack 4, Woodgrain Impression Plate

PTI 5th Anniversary Day 5: Color Combo, Take 3

Back again with another color combo for...


This time I was drawn to the colors that Betsy Veldman chose:


They seemed very fun, so I tried to make a fun card:

I used Plum Pudding for the card base. I stamped the Chevrons in Berry Sorbet, Aqua Mist, Kraft and Melon Berry (Old formula). I also stamped the Tiny Tag in Melon Berry and Berry Sorbet.

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise noted)
Paper: Stamper's Select, Plum Pudding
Stamps: Background Basics: Chevrons, Tiny Tags, Rosie Posie
Dies: Rosie Posie, Tiny Tags
Other: Plum twine, Irridecent rhinestones by Queen & Co.

PTI 5th Anniversary Day 5: Color Combo, Take 2

I'm back with my next card...



This time I chose to work with Heather Nichols color combo:


I thought the soft colors would make a nice Sympathy card, and I'd bought the With Sympathy set off a forum friend awhile ago, and hadn't used it yet, so took the opportunity to finally ink it up!

I heat embossed the main image with clear embossing powder on the Vintage Cream panel. I used Spring Moss ink on the stems, Kraft ink on the cat tails? and Aqua Mist on the butterfly and sentiment.

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise noted)

Paper: Kraft, Vintage Cream, Aqua Mist

Stamps: With Sympathy, Gracious Vases for sentiment

Other: Kraft ribbon, Queen & Co. pearls

Papertrey Ink's 5th Anniversary Day 5: Color Combo

Happy Hump Day! I am stopping in real quick to post one of a few cards I made today for todays Anniversary challenges at Papertrey Ink!



Today we were given color combos that each of the designers picked as their favorite.

The first color combo I worked from was Dawn's:


And here is what I came up with:

There is a lot going on with this card. A little different than I normally make, but I like how it turned out. I had a piece of Ripe Avocado in my scrap file that had been embossed with the Vineyard Impression Plate, so I cut it with the Turning a New Leaf die, and my card just kind of evolved from there. I die cut the Mat Stack 5 die from Berry Sorbet and stamped it in Raspberry Fizz with Modern Wood Mats. There are also two layers of Beautiful Blooms dies and the larger is stamped in Raspberry Fizz, the smaller in Berry Sorbet, both in the smaller Houndstooth.

I'll be back in a few with my next card!

One thing before I go, I've gotten really behind visiting some of my favorite blogs, so if I haven't been by your blog in a few days, I'll be catching up in the next couple days!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise stated)

Paper: Stamper's Select, Berry Sorbet, 2008 Bitty Boxes

Stamps: Modern Wood Mats, Houndstooth, Gracious Vases for sentiment

Dies: Turning a New Leaf, Beautiful Blooms #2, Edgers #1, Mat Stack #5, Double ended banner

Other: Raspberry Fizz Ribbon, Ripe Avocado button, Cream button twine, Raspberry Rhinestones

Make it Monday #52: Double Sided Stamped Die Cuts

Hey all! I found a little time today to participate in this weeks Make it Monday! This week Erin created such a unique card and challenge, I just had to play along! We were asked to make a card using our die cuts by stamping both sides of it and showing the other side. I tried to think outside the box a little, and hope I did something a little different with mine. I am pleased with how it turned out and glad I was able to play along! Here is my version:

That's all for now! Thanks so much for stopping by today! It means so much to me! =)

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless otherwise stated)
Paper: Vintage Cream, True Black, Aqua Mist
Stamps: Love and Marriage, Half and Half
Dies: Half and Half
Other: Aqua Mist ribbon and black rhinestones from stash

Papertrey Ink's 5th Anniversary Day 1

Hello! Today is day 1 of Papertrey Ink's 5th Anniversary festivities! We were asked to pick one of the designers favorite cards and make our own based on inspiration from their cards. I chose the card(s) Betsy picked as her favorite. I remember when she posted those originally, and always loved them and had been wanted to recreate them, anyway! So, this is what I did with her cards in mind:

I think I may have gotten a little carried away with my stamping. lol.

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted)
Paper: Vintage Cream, Beautiful Blooms pp
Stamps: Big and Bold Wishes, Say it With Style, Tiny Tags, Modern Wood Mats, Mat Stack 4 Collection, Peaceful Garden, Botanical Silhouettes
Ink: Pure Poppy, Hawaiian Shores
Other: Pure Poppy button and Twine

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I'm off to see what everyone else did today with this challenge!

Love You

Hey there! Happy Friday! Just stopping in to share a card I made a couple weeks ago and never got around to posting, yet. I actually saw the layout used by a few different people, so it may have been from a sketch challenge or something, originally. Anyway, I liked it and needed some Valentine inspo, and came up with this:

I have trouble with truly CAS cards, and just *had* to add more, so I added the banner using the little stamps from Love & Marriage. I also added some glitter for a little something extra. Here is a close-up of that:

Supplies: (all Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise stated)
Paper: Stampers Select, Sweet Blush, Raspberry Fizz
Stamps: Love and Marriage, Say it with Style, BB: Text Style
Dies: Hearts
Other: Sweet Blush button, 1/4" silk ribbon, Doodlebug Valentine twine, Prisma glitter

That's all for now! Hoping to have a crafty weekend and getting excited to participate in all the anniversary festivities starting on Sunday!!! Are you excited??