Freshly Made Sketch #32

I made this card for the Freshly Made Sketches blog, you can check it out HERE

this is the sketch.  I kept it pretty simple this time.  I used a beautiful butterfly die that a friend from the Netherlands gave to me (thank you Jose).  I die cut it three times with black, white and then the raspberry fizz paper from Papertrey Ink.  The sentiment is from Verve.  I colored the pearls with a black copics.  Thank you for taking a look!  Hope you had a great Sunday!

Papertrey MIM #63 and Freshly Made Sketches

I am entering this in both the Freshly Made Sketches HERE and also the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday HERE.  Papertrey asked us to use a die and add glitter.  I cut the "dove" from "Peace be Still" and ran it through my xyron machine to sticker it up.  I then added Palette Glitter to the bird.  The background "sunrise" stamp is from Nativity Silhouettes Addition.  The sentiment is from "Beautiful Blessings" which I embossed with Hero Arts silver embossing powder.  I added versamarked leaves and flowers from "Life".

Thanks for taking a look!

Make It Monday #63: Glitter Die Cuts

Heather Nichol is on deck this week with a new Make It Monday video from the Papertrey Ink blog HERE.  For my card I used the die and stamp from Rosie Posie,  I added a little feathering of copic R59 to the flower center that was stamped with Berry Sorbet.  I used a 1"circle punch for the center of the flower.  I ran them through my Xyron machine just like Heather did and added some Martha Stewart glitter...I stitched around the edges, distressed it a bit with my finger nail and added some Chamomile dye ink to the edges.  The sentiment is from Friends Till the End.  The pattern paper is from My Minds Eye, Fine and Dandy.

Make It Monday #62: Step It Up: Layering

Three different levels of cards were shown on the MIM at Papertrey.  I took an old card that I found in my MIL's house...it was a Mother's Day card from a couple of years ago.  She died last November and sadly her husband just died this March...4 months apart.   The family is cleaning out the house and I ran across this card I made her and decided to bring it home for inspiration.  This is the "Stepped Up"  Version of the card...I will show all three levels...

I added two layers of medium scallops to the bottom of the card front, I sewed a strip of hearts across the top of the scallops, I die cut all the flowers and the leaves,  I added bling to the centers of the flowers, I stitched around the card and lastly I used the chamomile ink around the edges of the card face to give it more depth.

This is the second level...stamped the leaves, die cut the flowers, added the hearts across the bottom.

This was the first card I made, I stamped everything.  The flowers are from Beautiful Blooms.

And this was the inspiration for the cards..

Tremendous Treats: Birthday Cards

Thought I would ink up my new stamp and make some cards for young people...seems like my daughters are asking me if I have a card because one of their children is going to a birthday party.  So this is what I have so far:

I colored these little elephants with a colored pencil and used a blending solution with it...the bottom strip is a piece of Washi tape!

Random Cards...

inside of card

As you can see I used Back Pocket Basics and I also used the Background Wrought Iron stamp set...die cut  the half & half die and used a white Signo pen for "faux stitching" around the edges...the pocket was stamped with Pure Poppy red ink and the flowers were inked up with Berry Sorbet...but then I used a copics # 59 cardinal and highlighted the center of each flower.

I cas'd a card done by Nichole Heady during the release in March...I made four of these cards and will mail them out to my elderly aunts in Seattle. 

Now for a couple of Birthday cards using On the Links...I think this will be a fun set to use...sure wish there were some dies to go with it...the golf bag was pretty easy, but the golf cart was a little more difficult...

I decided to send this last one to my brother for his birthday, I think he will like the: "fore" on the tees!!  (not that he needs to yell, "fore" or anything! 

Make It Monday #60: Generational Stamping

Here I have another card for the MIM generational stamping.  I used the Stars from Super Stars:

 I used Blueberry Sky and Pure Poppy ink...the sentiment is also from Super Stars.

Make It Monday #60: Generational Stamping

How's this for an idea--double the number of ink colors you have without spending a penny!  It's so very simple. Ashley Cannon-Newell is here this week to show you how. If you would like to watch the video, then please go HERE  and check out this new Make It Monday technique.  Basically Ashley inked up a stamp and then stamped several times with it, making each image a bit lighter in color...at times depending the color you select, it gives it a softer shade and sometimes it looks like a different ink was used, just in the same family tone...really cool...so this is my take on it.  I pulled out the Bells & Boughs stamp set and stamped the bells going down a strip of paper, I used Blueberry Sky ink and stamped, then stamped again..I used both sizes of the bells.  I heat embossed the sentiment using White Filgree powder.

A VERY special card

Last summer when my friend Linda and I traveled to Papertrey's Stamp-A-Faire, we met up with a generous lady who was also a big fan of Papertrey.  She lives outside Chicago and offered to drive us to Cincinnati for the one day retreat.  There were five of us in the car...Amber (Damask Love), Taheerah (Little Miss T), Dawn and then Linda and I...we had a great time getting to know each other.  We shared a lot of stories and one of things that Dawn said really weighed heavy on my heart.  She said that she is a parcel buddy (maybe parcel isn't the correct word) but she explained that she gets PTI products mailed to her house from a buddy in Ireland and then Dawn repackages it and sends it on.  She explained how it saves her buddy a lot of money, especially since it is a gift and not going through customs.  I thought to myself, I could be a buddy for someone!  And I met Jose from the Netherlands...if you want to see the amazing work that she does, then go HERE  to check out her blog...I warn you, she is one talented lady...she does it all...stitching that is beyond magnificent (and the inside too!).  She and I have become good friends and email back and forth regularly now.  I feel like I have known her my whole life...she is a real gem.  And she made me the most fantastic card for my birthday EVER!  I took a picture of it and some close ups too...you can admire the work she does.  I am truly honored that she thinks enough of me to take the time to put all these little details together and she sent me a butterfly die that I can hardly wait to use!!

 Are you as impressed with this card as I am?  Isn't it fantastic?  And look at all the details...she uses her Silhouette, dies, stitching, embossing, and blings all to perfection!  I love that girl and want to grow up to be just like her...I will always treasure this card...and I wanted to share it here for it to last more than my lifetime!

Thank you, Jose for thinking of me and putting so much of your "gifts" into this card.  YOU are a treasure!

 Hugs and Kisses back at you, Jose!

Easter Cards made by Lily

My 8 year old grand-daughter helped me make 40 Easter cards to give to the people who live in a rehab/retirement facility.  It is the place where my MIL stayed for several months when she was recuperating from a fall.  We made Christmas cards and handed them out to these lovely people and they so appreciated the cards and seeing the children again.  This facility has been around along time and they have lifetime residents here...you can imagine the folks who don't have a loved one to care for them, or are not able to care for them.  Many of them need a lot of assistance and many are perhaps mentally handicapped.  But we got to know some of them from all the visits we made daily to my MIL, Lily's Great Grandmother.  She passed away last November and we miss her, but these people need to know we care about them and the caregivers are just angels...so giving and loving towards these people in their care.  So Lily and I pulled out the paper and the stamps and got busy...Lily did all of the coloring, I just taped pieces together. 

Melissa Philips asked a question on the forum about letting children or grandchildren use our supplies.  How do we deal with that?  Do we allow it?  Do we restrict use of some materials?  (Must admit to coveting the PTI CS...they can use the colored paper from a local craft store) Yes and no...if it is one on one, I have taught Lily how to color with copics and how to use the Vagabond (although I do have a cuttlebug that her 4 year old brother uses).  I guess I let all the children come to the room and create anything they want and trust me, I do have to zip my lip when they are getting ink all over the stamp blocks and such.  I just ask that they stamp on the craft sheet so it is easy to wipe up.  I try to give direction, but some are very determined to do things "their way"...so for the most part I let them do whatever they what.  I do ask that they close up inks, clean all stamps and put away material before they leave the house...And have a mentioned that three of my grandchildren live right next door to me?  So I do get visitors all the time, which I don't mind (most of the time!).  And it cracks my husband up to hear our almost 5 year old little guy say, "I want to crap in Grandma's room"...!!!  LOL  He has some speech impediments!

Memory Bookmarks

In my last post I mentioned that I attempted to print some PTI cardstock and it got stuck and I was forced to tell my DH and ask for his help.  He was NOT happy with me and I had to promise to NEVER print with PTI cs paper again!  What I was trying to do was type a saying that my FIL was most famous for...well, he actually had two sayings that has been passed down through the family...The first is: "You get what you give".  And boy have I used that one a lot with the grandchildren...you know it is all about giving and helping, not about what you receive in return for your good works!  Yeah, sometimes a tough lesson, but one that we stick to in the family.  All the great grandchildren know that saying very well.  The other saying that my FIL used a lot was:  "Count Your Blessings".  And how true is that?  If only we can remember E.V.E.R.Y. single day how important it is to look for and find the abundance of blessings around us and to be thankful for them.  And now you may be asking why I was making some bookmarks.  Well, my dear sweet FIL unexpectedly passed away just last Sunday.  He had fallen (I know, I thought the same thing, oh oh...this will be the beginning of the end) and sure enough it was.  He fell on Tuesday, had surgery for a broken femur on Wednesday night and died Sunday afternoon.  We thought all was going well, he was even walking and doing physical therapy.  But the Lord called him home and it is our loss that is sad, but our Joy that he is with the Lord.  He lost his dear wife of almost 66 years just four months ago.  His funeral service will be private in that only a few family members will be present, but he will have the full military honor guard salute as he was a marine and fought in WWII.  I thought it only right to give out a memento to everyone with Bill Foelker's famous quote:  You GET what you GIVE...his name, date of birth and date of death.  I hope this will continue to be a reminder of how much this gentle, kind, compassionate man gave to anyone he met...every time they open a bible or read a book, this can be their marker...

I used Beautiful Butterflies and Fancy Flourishes....I will laminate these so that they will stay in better shape and last a long time.

Make It Monday #59: Computer Generated Sentiments on Die Cuts

Every now and then, you'll likely want to create your own sentiments and personalized messages for your paper crafting projects. Let Erin Lincoln show you how to do that easily and without fuss, while at the same time getting computer generated text perfectly positioned on your die cuts. It's a great technique to add to your crafting arsenal.  Go HERE to watch the video and learn about this technique that will open doors and allow you to personalize any cards you want to make.

I wasn't thinking I would be doing this week's MIM, but as I was making a little gift bag for a niece of my daughter's, I thought, well, why don't I type her name and wish her a Happy Birthday and print it out and then use the double banner dies...Only problem is my printer will NOT take the PTI paper...I got in trouble last night (by DH!!) for trying to use a piece of the spring moss cardstock when I was attempting to make tags with a sentiment on it...I will post those after this one...anyway, I found a piece of Bazzill paper and it was thin enough to go through my printer (although I was holding my breath as it was going through, hoping that it would NOT get stuck in the middle...because I "promised" to never use that paper again in the printer!)  All is good and I even managed to get it cut fairly well...and I like that I can still see the princess castle stamped on the face of the bag.  She will be 5 years old on Friday, so I took the "5" number from Movers & Shakers Sentiments and stamped it in the center tower of "5" castles!  so I think this qualifies and I can just get it in under the wire...