MIM334 + Seize the Birthday & CTS287 + PSC#48 + SSS Anything Goes

After a month long separation, I'm so happy to be reunited with my craft room and even happier to have a couple of cards to share today.

This first one is inspired by Lexi Daly's Glitter Inlay challenge for PTI's Make It Monday #334 and Seize the Birthday.

The sticker paper was cut slightly bigger than the Text Block birthday die cut. After the die cut was adhered, a trio of glitter colors were poured over the panel and worked into all the nooks and crannies created by the letters.

The finished panel is popped up on a white card base.

This second card is inspired by the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch #287, along with the Anything Goes challenges at both Poppystamps (PSC#48) and the Wednesday Challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

A trio of Mama Elephant Party Kit balloons provide the rectangle element of the sketch, with the angled Poppystamps Happy Birthday Melody die stretched across the panel.

     

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

MIM 326 + Muse 272 + JUGS 447

I started playing around with some ideas after watching Lexi's video for the Papertrey Ink Make It Monday 326: Inchie Elements challenge and seeing Steffi's card as the guest designer for Muse #272.

  

My first attempt at the card included the sentiments and hearts stamped on one inch squares, but I wasn't happy with the results and rummaged around for a similar sized heart die. I hope this is still considered close enough to an "inchie element" for the challenge.

The heart die and outline stamp are from the Framed Out #11 Heart set and the sentiments and ampersand die are from the Grand Ampersand set.

A white panel is embossed with horizontal stripes and the raised stripes lightly inked in pink before the other elements are adhered. The white panel is then added to a pale pink card base.

I'm also linking this card to Just Us Girls Challenge #447: Wild Card Week where anything goes.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

MIM #324 + CTD #496

I loved Michelle Leone's challenge to add Lots o' Dots for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday but was limited by my collection of Nuvo Drops. Can I call it a collection if I only have two bottles?

Then I saw the colors for Color Throwdown #496 and started playing with white on white dimension with the dots.

 

Three images and a sentiment from the PTI What the Doodle: Feather Mini stamp set are added to the panel first. Parts of the largest feather are colored with a Copic marker or highlighted with the Simply White Nuvo Crystal  Drops.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

MIM#249: Make It With Money + JUGS #343: Vellum

Lexi has a fun challenge for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #249: Make It With Money to use a cash gift as part of the design.

Around here money leis are a big thing for graduation and our daughter recieved a couple last year with the cash folded into pretty butterfly shapes, so that is what I decided to add to this card.

Two bills are needed to make this butterfly and this is the tutorial I followed. A woodgrain embossed panel is layered with white cardstock and vellum Turning a New Leaf die cuts before the butterfly is added.

There is two weights of vellum used, offering a little more interest to the texture and translucency of the die cuts. The Wet Paint sentiment is heat embossed on a black banner and then wrapped around the card base and adhered.

This card is being linked to the Just Us Girls #343 Trend Week: Vellum challenge.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

MIM #248 Ink Blending Through Die Cut Masks + ColourQ Challenge #341

I haven't played along with the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday technique challenge in ages but, after seeing Lizzie's tutorial for MIM #248: Ink Blending Through Die Cut Masks and the colors ColourQ Challenge #341, I decided to make an anniversary card.

     

The masks were made with the PTI Limitless Layers heart die,  PTI  Framed Out #11 and a small unlabeled heart die and inked with Orange Zest, Raspberry Fizz and Berry Sorbet inks.

Two stamps from PTI's All My Heart are paired to create the sentiment before the scatter of rainstones added. This panel is layered asymmetrically on a Berry Sorbet panel that has a scalloped edge on one side and then popped up on the kraft card base.

Tomorrow is our 21st wedding anniversary and, even though the last two weeks have been the most challenging by far, I still love the guy with all my heart. Stefan's elbow is healing but it is going to be a long, slow process and he is not a guy that does well under restrictions. He's also a DIY guy, so when his new brace was bugging him, he went into the garage and brought me a hacksaw to trim it down a couple of inches. I can't wait to hear how his doctor reacts to this adjustment.

  

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

MIM #225: Die Cut Shaped Boxes & Muse #135 + 2015 Fall Coffee Lovers + Simon Says Anything Goes

It's been an interesting week around here as I have been knocked down by a terrible head cold. My family watched in shock as I dragged myself off to bed by 8 o'clock for the last few nights, went through boxes of tissues and stripped the poor lemon tree bare so I could concoct the number one, sure thing cold busting solution: hot lemon honey drinks. I'm feeling 90% better and, even though I'm not drinking coffee this week, I wanted to join in the 2015 Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. You seriously need to check out the wonderful coffee themed cards that have been linked!

   

My card is inspired by Tracey McNeely's card for the Muse Challenge #135. Part of the card base is taped off, the leaf pattern stamped in fall colors and a couple of score lines added to reinforce the edges of this panel. The MFT sentiment is partially stamped on the Memory Box die cut and partly directly onto the card base.

A felt sleeve adds texture and the Lawn Fawn leaf die cut echos the leaf die cut on Tracey's card.

This second project is something I've been itching to make ever since I saw Ashley Cannon Newell's video tutorial at Capture the Moment for Make It Monday #225: Die Cut Shaped Boxes.

I die cut the Friendship Jar Shaker twice from black cardstock and once from black foamboard and two transparency pieces from the full jar die. This allowed me to put together a see-through shaker that was finished both front and back.

Another black cardstock jar is die cut for the back of the box.

For today the box is stuffed with tissue paper, but I love that when it is stuffed with treats, it will look like a jar full of goodies from the front!

This fun little treat box is also being linked to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog where Anything Goes this week.

Some things in life can't wait for mom to feel better. A cold is bad enough, but a cold + an afternoon at the DMV? The good news is we have a new licensed driver in the house! He is out on his first independent drive to get his haircut and I'm almost not nervous ;)

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

PTI MIM#224 + Simon Says Die Crazy

Have you seen Danielle Flanders' Make It Monday #224: Two-Toned Stamped Sentiments video tutorial for Papertrey Ink? It is a fun technique that I played with a bit this morning.

I used the same Horizontal Stripes Cover Plate as Danielle and one of the Graceful Greetings stamp set sentiments for my card. The sentiment is stamped on the black striped die cut first and embossed in white and then stamped in black on the card base.

White cardstock was inked before the Leaf Silhouette dies were cut and a New Leaf die cut is cut from New Leaf cardstock. The pieces are adhered together and a twine bow added on top.

I'm also linking this card to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog Die Crazy challenge.

I hope you are all enjoying the last day of summer, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere. We are expecting another heat wave this weekend and I think it is going to be a while before we get a Fall nip in the air and soup weather.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Merry Monday #153: Angels + Virginia's View #14 & MIM #208: Ombre Stamping + Seize the Birthday

I almost walked away from the Merry Monday Christmas Challenge #153: Angels or Cherubs because I don't have any angel stamps, but then I realized I could easily papercraft an angel and this is the result.

I cut a 4"x 3.5" panel of Christmas designer paper and scored every 1/4" to create a fan fold dress. A pearl is slipped on a Maya Road crystal pin and the pin is adhered to the center fold of the dress. The top of the fan is pinched together with a bit of wet glue between each fold and a piece of wire wrapped around the top to hold it together until the adhesive dried. A little glitter washi tape is wrapped around the top part of the dress once it was dry.

The Delaney and Cheviot butterfly dies create the vellum and glitter paper wings and the sentiment is cut from red glitter paper and adhered to vellum banners.

This card is also being entered in Virginia's View Challenge 14: Layers and Dimension.

My second card is based on Laurie Willison's tutorial for Make It Monday #208: Ombre Stamping. I had feathers on my mind after capturing photos of this wild peacock when picking up my daughter from a friend's house. He is usually hiding in the shade but decided to take a walk around the yard while I waited. 

I pulled out the largest feather from PTI's Feather Finery and stamped it with Tropical Teal, Hawaiian Shores and Aqua Mist inks to create the ombre design.

The sentiment was made with a Swoosh stamp and die and a few sequins and raindrops were added before the white panel was popped up on the teal card base. This card is being entered in the Seize the Birthday challenge in the Anything Goes category.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

MIM #207: Double Partial Die Cutting + Virginia's View #14 + The Challenge #28 & Muse #111

I've been playing around with Laura Bassen's great double partial die cutting technique demonstrated for this week's Make It Monday #207. Check out her tutorial here and put a sharp blade in your exacto knife.

This first card uses the same "HUGS" die that Laura used, along with a Spellbinders label die to create the bigger opening. I inked the card base and selectively stamped part of a sentiment from Thank You Kindly Stamp set.

Before I adhered the dark gray panel to the card base I decided to cut a channel with a Building Block die to nest in a line of buttons. This card is also being linked to Virginia's View Challenge #14: Layers & Dimension and The Challenge #28: Anything Goes in celebration of their one year anniversary.

This second card is inspired by Kristie Goulet's card as the Muse #111.

I played around with another attempt at the double partial die cut technique on this card. This was a bit trickier to pull off until I remembered I had a smaller On the Edge cutting plate which made it easy to partially cut the tree die to one side of the panel and the oval after.

The card base is inked to create a sunset/sunrise (you decide) and the sentiment is stamped and heat embossed before the panel is adhered with foam squares.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

MIM #205: Confetti Cluster Stamping + Seize the Birthday: Focus on the Sentiment & a crafting weekend

I really didn't mean to disappear for a couple of weeks but a landscaping project, new soccer schedule, and an annual retreat all conspired to keep me away from blogging. I finally have my supplies back in the office and was thrilled to play along with Lizzie Jones' Confetti Cluster stamping challenge for Make It Monday #205. You can check out her tutorial here. 

I computer generated a mask for the "happy" sentiment and stamped a number of small images from a few different stamp sets (Birthday Style, Topiary Trio, Birds & Blooms) to create the main part of the sentiment. Once it was done, the panel was finished with a Swoosh die cut and then adhered over an embossed panel.

This card is also being linked to the current Seize the Birthday challenge where the Toppings option is to "Make the Sentiment the Focal Point".

Do you want to see a few photos of our home away from home? Even though our retreat spot on Palomar Mountain is only an hour away, it really feels like a different world. There was even a little snow hanging around from the storm two weeks ago when we arrived but it quickly disappeared with the Santa Ana winds and high temperatures that came in for the weekend. 

I am used to palm trees and succulents, so seeing the daffodils in full bloom on the mountain was a treat. If you take a close look, you can see the trees are just starting to bud.

This acorn stuffed tree is the work of very busy woodpeckers that we heard all weekend.

Just in case you can't see the acorns in the bigger photo, here is a close-up of the stuffed holes.

Edited to add an Audubon link on the acorn woodpecker.

The farmhouse is for eating, reading, relaxing and sleeping and the green studio is where all the creative fun happens.

The studio saw basket weaving, loom weaving, scrapbooking, card making and mixed media art projects before it was once again time to pack up and head home. Is it wrong that I'm already thinking and planning for next year?

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie