PTI Make it Monday- Non Background Background Stamp

Hello there. I just wanted to share this week's submission for PTI Make it Monday. This week's challenge was to build a background for a card using a stamp that is not necessarily intended as a background stamp. I chose to use my favorite stamp from the Iconic Images stamp set that I received for free when I attended the first ever Papertrey Ink Stamp Affaire. I think it made a cute background and I'm actually a big fan of the color combo I chose. It's PTI smokey shadow, aqua mist, and lemon tart. Here's the goods...

PTI Make it Monday - Colored Pencils

Hello there. I am back again today participating in Papertrey Ink Make it Monday. This week the challenge was to use colored pencils for coloring in your image. I have been obsessed with coloring with my Copic markers lately, but I am a fan of coloring with any medium so I was definitely up for playing with my old colored pencils. The stinky part is that I know I used to have a nice set of Prismacolor colored pencils from college....where they are now, I have no idea. So I had to resort to my stash of junky Roseart pencils...let's just say...well...they suck. I need to either find my old Prismacolors or buy a new set, because the quality really does make a difference. Anyway here is the result that I came up with...It's not great but it will just have to do for now.

Stamps: PTI Friendship Jar, and Friendship Jar Fillers Paper: PTI Sweet Blush and Simply Chartreuse, (the pink houndstooth is SU! but I can't remember the name of the DSP pack) Ink-Momento Tuxedo Black Accessories- PTI Friendship Jar Die, SU Framed Tulips Embossing Folder, SU Decorative Label Punch, Roseart colored pencils.

Stay tuned for next week because three of my best buds/sorority sisters are coming to my house for a visit this weekend and we will be stampin it up! I'm planning on taking lots of pics and showing you all of the loveliness that we create! I'm sooo excited!!

Clean and Simple

Hi There! I wanted to stop by blog land today and show you some clean and simple (and easy) cards that I made using only a white card base, some stamps, and my precious Copic markers. This is a perfect option for when you're in a hurry, you need a lightweight mailable card, or you just like a fresh,clean, minimal design. The only stamp sets that I used for these cards were PTI Framed, Gracious Vases, and Friendship Jar Fillers. Easy breezy!

Make It Monday- Glitter Die Border

Hola! Happy Hump Day! Today I want to show you the card I made using the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday technique. I'm kicking myself that I've only recently started paying attention to these MIM videos...because they have some great ideas and stuff I would have never thought up myself. This weeks technique involves using a metal die to create a glitter border for your die cut image. It's really pretty easy and adds a nice little detail to your card. I've only recently started building my PTI collection so I only have two PTI dies in my stash, but my Mat Stack 5 die was a good fit for this technique. Here's what I came up with...

Stamps: PTI Tiny Treats Birthday Paper: PTI Spring Moss, Hawaiian Shores Ink: PTI Spring Moss, Aqua Mist Accessories: Mat Stack 5 die, SU Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, SU Glue Pen, SU Basic Black 1 1/4 inch striped grosgrain ribbon. Copic markers

Papertrey Ink Make it Monday

Hey there, I just wanted to show you my submission for the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday challenge. Yes the challenge was posted on Monday and yes, even though I had the whole week off work I did not make my cards until late last night. The challenge was to create your own striped ribbon using Copic markers. Sounds easy enough right? Um well let's just not talk about the YARDS of ribbon that I wasted trying to make this damn ribbon. I even made a special trip to Target to buy not one, but two clear rulers solely for this purpose...that being said, here are my two cards I made using my custom Copic ribbon.

Stamps: PTI Simple Sunflower Ink: SU Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip Paper: SU Crushed Curry, PTI Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart, Dark Chocolate Accessries: SU Ticket corner punch, Various Circle Punches, White twill ribbon(unknown brand), Copic markers, PTI button, Dollar Store twine.

This was my first try. It was kind of an attempt at an avant garde design...mostly I think it just looks weird. The ribbon I used was actually a thick white twill ribbon and I colored the whole thing with a mustard-y yellow copic and added a few brown stripes. Not particularly attractive, but I guess it does have kind of a rustic quality to it. I went with the yellow and brown color color scheme because I knew I wanted to use my Simple Sunflower stamp set that I got when I went to the PTI Stamp Affaire a few weeks ago. The set is not going to be for sale until the 15th of this month but I got my hands on it early and for free by attending the event and making a $100 purchase. Next I made a birthday card for Sophie, the little princess that I nanny for. You can see her twin brother's birthday card that somewhat matches this one here. This ribbon I think actually turned out pretty cute. It's preppy and girly and perhaps even something I would buy in a store...but I don't have to! I think I could get used to this DIY custom ribbon thing...that is if I start buying white grosgrain in bulk to make up for all that I waste in the process!

Stamps: PTI Tiny Treats Birthday, SU Dot Dot Dot Ink: SU Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, PTI Spring Moss Paper: PTI Hibiscus Burst, Spring Moss Accessories: SU Top Note Die, PTI Mat Stack #5 Die, White Grosgrain Ribbon (unknown), Copic Markers, PTI button, Dollar Store twine

I got a new toy!

Look at my new toy! Isn't she a beaut!?! My sweet, wonderful, generous boyfriend knew how much I have been longing for a Digital SLR camera. So on Tuesday (which was HIS birthday btw) he decided that we should go on a "fact finding mission" at the camera store...needless to say it ended up being more of a "buy it today mission" The clincher was that since we bought it at a mom n' pop type store, the owner said he would answer as many questions as I could come up with and basically give me free lessons on how to use my camera. Considering I don't know the first thing about photography, it was a big bonus...and not the kind of service you could get at a "big box store". Also it was on sale and they had a smokin' deal on an extra lens. It's actually my birthday present two months early...and pretty much the best bday present ever, so I can definitely make the excitement last for two months! I've been wanting a DSLR for YEARS and I've especially wanted one lately to take nice pictures of my cards for my blog. I also want to learn the ins and outs of it by the time I have some bambinos to take pictures of...My goal is to never need to take my kids to the Sears portrait studio because I'll be able to take professional quality photos DIY style.... I know I have a long way to go. Considering I just learned what aperture and Fstop mean TODAY via YouTube! VERY long way to go. But I will get there. So without further ado here are some of my first tries at photography.

This is the birthday card that I made for Scott for the birthday on which he bought ME a (really big) present. What a weirdo! But I sure do love my weirdo! It turns out I really don't have a lot of masculine stamps so I fear that this one came out a little "little boy-ish". But I wrote some really nice stuff inside so I don't think he minded :) ( Note-to-self: Buy manly stamps!)

Here is Lilly. Or "Miss Priss" as we sometimes like to call her because she is constantly laying like this with her paws crossed. She is so fancy.

And this little stinker is Maggie. We affectionately refer to her as Maggie Moo...among many other names. Don't let her innocent face fool you... she is thoroughly ROTTEN! Also FYI, I black and whited the photos for the sole reason of hiding the nasty bright blue shag carpet in our house :)

I will be back this weekend with some more (oh-so-fancy-DSLR) pictures of some more cards I've made recently. So does anyone have any digital photography tips for this newbie? I'd love to hear some!

Ahoy, Birthday Boy!

Ahoy! Wouldn't it be awesome if we all used this greeting more often? My inner pirate wants to bring it back. Anyway, remember how I told you that I stamped all weekend and didn't end up having much to show for it? Well here is one of the cards I made that I like but don't love. I made it for Luke, the little guy that I nanny for. He and Sophie are turning 4 in September which I CAN NOT believe! I"ve been taking care of them since they collectively weighed about 10 pounds, so it's been amazing to see how they've grown over the last 4 years!

Stamps: PTI Tiny Treats Birthday, PTI Bitty Baby Blessings Paper: PTI Lemon Zest, PTI Spring Moss Ink: SU So Saffron, SU Bashful Blue, SU Pear Pizzazz Accessories: PTI buttons, PTI Mat Stack #5 Die, PTI Lemon Zest Ribbon, Dollar store twine, SU Scallop border punch

It's a pretty straight forward card...Nothing too fancy. I love the PTI Tiny Treats Birthday set because EVERY image in the set is sooooo stinkin cute. And they lend themselves well to being colored in. Which leads me to my other new obsession- Copic markers! Leave it to me to find the most expensive crafting tool and absolutely NEEEEED every.single.color. Well maybe not every color since they are approximately $5.00 a pop and there are hundreds of colors...but you get my drift. They are like potato chips- you can't have just one.

On a roll

Hey guys, I'm back again today with another card to share. I'm really going to try to update way more frequently. But if you notice that I'm MIA for a while it is probably because I had to go to stamping rehab...seriously I'm addicted! It's so bad that I've actually had dreams about stamping! I need help! Anyway I spent my weekend buried under a mound of stamping supplies at the dining room table and although I had a ton of fun, I wasn't super impressed with any of my creations...until I made this little gem...

Stamps: PTI Friendship Jar Summer Fillers, PTI Friendship Jar Fillers, PTI Trajen Monogram Alphabet

Ink: Momento Black, SU So Saffron Paper: All PTI -Lemon Zest CS, Spring Moss CS, Polka Dot Parade PP, Bitty Dot Basics PP

I love me a baby card, yes I do. And I especially love this one because I love using a stamp in a unique or unintended way. This is the pint jar from PTI's Friendship Jar Summer Fillers. I wish I could take credit for the idea of turning it in to a baby food jar, but I actually saw someone else do a similar design. And I love the subtle spoons and forks in the background from the Friendship Jar Fillers set. The last thing I needed was another baby card in my collection since they seem to be my favorite to make, but I just couldn't resist this one! What do you think? Anyone have any prego friends that need a baby card? I have plenty to share!!!

I'm baaaaaacccckkkkk!

Oh Hi! Nice to see you again! Yes, I realize it's been over a year since we've talked. A whole year! Can you believe it? A lot of great stuff has happened in the past year! And even though I have neglected my own blog I have most definitely still been a permanent resident of Blogland...In fact my obsession has grown exponentially! It all started with this happy little place called YoungHouseLove.com. And then the snowball effect happened and suddenly my morning coffee was being enjoyed over countless nesting blogs, DIY blogs, wedding blogs, and mommy blogs...holy blogger batman there are A LOT of great blogs out there! In the mean time I'm still a stamping fool and my dear boyfriend, Scott and I have been tirelessly working to make his home less 1950's Italian grandma style and more 2011 wannabe pottery barn on a walmart budget style. So I figured it was about time to get back to sharing my creations as well as the progress on Scott's house, because frankly, I'm pretty proud of our hard work! So I'll be sharing LOTS of stuff in the near future, but today I would like to share with you some new card creations I've made recently. I'm starting a new direction in my stamp style. You see for the last few years I've been a Stampin Up! (hobby) demonstrator. I loved being an SU demo because I met some awesome ladies, got some fabulous ideas and inspiration and I acquired A WHOLE STINKIN BUNCH of SU merchandise at a nicely discounted price. Then came the point when I realized I had pretty much of the SU stuff that I needed and I was spending way too much money on making my quarterly minimums, so I decided to move on from Stampin Up for the time being. It's a great company and I'll always be a fan and I'll get a ton of mileage out of all of my SU stamps and accessories. Which brings me to my new stamp obsession. I was pretty much exclusively buying SU merch for that last few years which didn't leave any $$ in the budget for the other product lines I was lusting for...BUT NOW my craft world is limitless (ya know besides that pesky budget) Anyway, since I started stamping about 3 years ago I've been in love with the stamp company Papertrey Ink, but like I said there was just never enough in my budget to partake in their fun monthly releases. However I did keep a nice mental list of all stamp sets that I NEEDED to purchase someday. That someday came when PTI hosted their first ever Stamp Affair, an all day stamping retreat in my hometown (and theirs) Cincinnati, OH. The event sold out in under three minutes and fans traveled from across not just the country, but THE WORLD to attend. I feel very fortunate that I was able to get tickets for my mom and I to attend. The event took place last weekend and it was AHH-MAZING. Seriously soooo cool and so inspirational. The owners of PTI as well as some of their VERY talented design team were there and it was so cool to get to meet them in person. They are like stamping celebrities! We made make n' take projects all day and had the opportunity to make purchases on site and the staff made trips to the warehouse to pick up our orders and deliver them to us at the event. As someone who enjoys instant gratification, it was spectacular! Needless to say, I spent waaaaay too much money catching up on all of the stamps and accessories I've been missing out on all these years. So this week I've been stamping my butt off and playing with all my new toys! It's been soooo fun! So how bout I stop rambling and show you a couple of the cards I've made with my new toys this week. Stamps: PTI Friendship Jar,Friendship Jar Fillers Summer, Beyond Basic Borders SU! Flight of the Butterfly Paper: PTI Hibiscus Burst and Lemon Zest Ink: SU! Regal Rose Accessories:PTI Lemon Zest Satin Ribbon, PTI Button, Copic markers Stamps: PTI Tiny Treats Birthday, PTI Friendship Jar Fillers Summer Paper: PTI Sweet Blush, PTI New Leaf Ink: SU! Regal Rose Accessories: Copic markers