Papertrey Make it Monday #272: Masked Heart Wreaths

Hello! Thanks for stopping by! Melissa Phillips shared a great tutorial over on Nicole Heady's blog here about using a mask to create a heart shaped wreath. I just loved this idea and couldn't wait to try it out. My heart shaped wreath was made using a mask created with the Limitless :ayers Hearts. I chose to work with the scalloped edge one. The stamps I used to stamp over the mask to create the wreath were flowers and leaves from Bitty Bouquets, and swirly shapes from Embellishments. I cut the bottom edge with a scalloped edge die to mimic the scallops in the heart. The sentiments are also from these two sets.

I loved the results! So I decided to try out this technique with another shape. I used one of the butterflies in Beautiful Butterflies to cut out the mask, and then several of the smallest butterflies in the set, as well as flourishes from Embellishments to stamp around the mask. The sentiment is from Embellishments also. I really love this one too!

Such a fun and easy technique! Thanks for sharing it Melissa! And thanks for stopping by my blog!

Papertrey Create Along With Us: September 2016

Hello! I have been so inspired (and overwhelmed) by all the gorgeousness going on in Papertrey land this month! It was hard to narrow down this challenge to just one card to case. You can read all about the challenge here on Nicole's blog. I ultimately chose to case this card by Dawn McVey. I just love the way she used the bookmark die in a different way.

Here is my rendition of it. I used the O Holy Night stamp set, the Bookmark 3 die, and Petite Places: Nativity. The background was stamped with a beautiful flourish in the Silent Night set (an oldie).

I just love how this turned out and will be using this design again! Thanks Dawn!

Papertrey Make-it-Monday #260 - From Black and White to Color

Hello! I had fun making a card for Papertrey's Make-it-Monday this week! When isn't it fun to color??? Danielle Flanders made us a video this week showing us how to divide up a card front image and color only parts of it. She went from black and white to color, I went from color  to black and white, back to color, back to black and white. It was a little confusing, but fun. I have always loved coloring Doodlie Doo, and this time was no exception.You have to look at it pretty closely to figure out what's going on!

I used the rectangular dies in the A2 set from Betsy's "Noted" Make-it-Market kit to cut the sections out. Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Make It Monday #259 - Ombre Cluster Stamping

Hello! I made a quick card for this week's Make-it-Monday over on Nicole's blog. Dawn showed us how to stamp a cluster of images in various ombre shades of a color. I like this technique and decided to give it a try.
I used Beautiful Butterflies (a classic!) to make a sympathy card. Blue butterflies always remind me of Hospice, which usually mean you will be needing a sympathy card fairly soon. :( We are going though that with my father-in-law right now. Hospice is a wonderful organization! So caring and supportive - very special people!
Anyway, here is my card for this week's challenge:

A simple card. I did distress the edges - does anyone else do that anymore??? Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Make-It-Monday #256: Spritzed Stamps

Hello! I am down here in my craft room gearing up for Papertrey's Stamp-a-faire Saturday, and I decided to make a card for Melissa Phillip's Make-It-Monday this week. Melissa showed us how to ink up a stamp and then spritz it with water and then stamp onto watercolor paper to get a pretty soft look to the image. You can watch Melissa's video here.

I used the Daydreamer stamp set to make the flowers on this card. The flower I decided to use did not have a detail layer, so after stamping my flower with the spritzed stamp, I went back in after it was dry and re-stamped the flower without spritzing it. I also spritzed the stems and leaves of the flowers. The sentiment is from Melissa's set, Choose Joy. I just love the sentiments and images in that set!

Have a great week! Thanks for stopping by....

Papertrey Make-It-Monday #251: Gradient Watercolor Die cuts

Hello! I have been taking a break from blogging lately and am ready to get back on board. Today I am participating in Papertrey's MIM, which Dawn did showing us how to make gradient watercolor die cuts. You can see her video here on Nicole's blog.

I used the same process that Dawn did, using my Zig markers to swipe a color gradient on a piece of A2 watercolor cardstock. Then I used my water brush to blend the colors. I chose to do a gradient of yellow, green and blues. Out of that gradient, once it was dry, I used the Text Block: You Did It die to cut for my card front. When I put this up against a white card front, it seemed to need something, so I sponged the same colors onto it. Not sure whether this helped or not. I also used one of the PTI stencils to add a bit of interest to the background. The die cut is coated with Wink of Stella, although you can't see it in this picture.

 Bonus was, that I was able to use the leftover from the die cut to make another card. :) I used the What the Doodle: Feather stamp set on this one.

Hope you are having a great day! Thanks for stopping by! 

Make It Monday #237: Matchbook Valentines

Hello! Just popping in today to share a Matchbook Valentine I made using a tutorial by Lexi Daily over on Nicole's blog. Lexi showed us how to make a Matchbook Valentine (or any other occasion) to fit just about any item you wanted to put inside. You can see the video here.
I decided to make a little coloring book for my grandson Will. I put some sheets of regular copy paper inside the matchbook, along with a crayon. I used the Write Stuff holder die to cut the holder for the crayon. When I was putting the matchbook together, I figured out that the crayon would block the matchbook from closing, so I modified it a bit and cut out the left side of the cover.

 I kind of like that you can see the crayon from the outside - gives you a peek of what's inside. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Paper: Pure poppy, Stampers Select white
Stamps: Out of this World, Tremendous Treats
Dies: The Write Stuff holder 

Papertrey Make It Monday #225: Die Cut Shaped Boxes

Hello! I wanted to give Ashley's technique for making die cut shaped boxes a  try.You can see her video over on Nicole's blog here.  I decided to use the Snowglobe shaker die for my front and back pieces. I used one of the stamps in Oh Holy Night inside my shaker.
The Away in the Manger stamp was one of the main reasons I purchased this stamp set - just love that song! Once I had the box put together, I was looking it over and realized that it really looked like a cradle. Light bulb moment - my Away in the Manger stamp would be perfect for a manger scene! So I pretty much dismantled everything and started over. I impressed the end and box pieces with the Woodgrain impression plate and used Kraft cardstock. Once assembled, I sliced really thin pieces of Harvest Gold paper to make the straw for the manger. 

 Then I realized I had nothing to put in the cradle! So to suffice until I get out to Hobby Lobby to find a little plastic Baby Jesus, I quickly needle felted a little baby Jesus. I wrapped Him in a vintage cream blanket and placed Him in the manger. Not the best solution, but it will suffice for now.

I just love how it turned out! Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Make-It-Monday #211 - Using Gelatos with Stamps

Hello! I am sharing a card I made for Papertrey's Make-It-Monday this week. Melissa Phillips showed us how to use gelatos to soften a stamped image. You can see her video on Nicole's blog here. I decided to use the new Flower Favorites stamp set. I didn't plan out my card very well though. I only have a few gelatos (actually I just went out and bought them when I saw Melissa's video!). I stamped a purple/blue iris, yellow daisies, and purple lupines. Unfortunately, I don't have a yellow gelato, and my purple is way too light. I tried using them the best I could, and then added "softening" with my chalk. These chalks come with a little clip that holds small balls of cotton to apply the chalk. It worked really well, and gave  much the same look as the gelatos.

I used some masking of the daisies when I stamped the lupines. I also used a grass stamp and a sentiment from Botanical Silhouettes. The three little dots are from Petite Pots. This will probably be a graduation card.

Make It Monday #205: Confetti Cluster Stamping

Hello! I have a card for Papertrey's Make-It-Monday this week. Lizze Jones showed us how to use little confetti-type stamps and a basic shape to create a design element on our card. You can see the video here.
For my shapes, I used the balloon die cut negative from Birthday Style. I used confetti stamps from Shakers and Sprinkles. The ink colors I used were Pure Poppy, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise and Limeade Ice. The sentiment is also from Shakers and Sprinkles. This card will go out to my 6 month old grandson. I send my grandkids birthday cards each month.

Hope you are having a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Make-It-Monday #203 - Doodling with Stamps

 Hello! Thanks for stopping by today! I am entering the card to the left in Papertrey's Make-It-Monday this week. Ashley showed us how to doodle on our stamps. It's alot harder than it looks though. At least for me! I think you need to be relaxed to make this work, and I think I was just trying too hard. My first attempt (see last card) was awful - way to busy. The second attempt (see left) was much simpler - and the one I will enter for the MIM challenge.

The third attempt below was ok - just not my favorite. I will keep practicing at this technique, because I love the look it brings to your cards.

I used Beautiful Blooms 2, and the Swoosh dies.

 This was my first attempt - way too busy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Make-It-Monday #200 - Layering Coverplate Die Cuts

Hello! I was able to carve out a bit of time today to make a card for Dawn's Make-it-Monday technique. She showed us how to layer our cover plate die cuts several different ways. I chose to layer the Triangle coverplate with the two layers going opposite directions in order to make a new pattern for my background. I layered a Big Hugs die cut on the top of that. Easy peasy card!

Hope you have time to make one this week! Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Make-It-Monday #199: Confetti Garlands

Hello! I thought I would sneak in here towards the end of the week and make a card using confetti garlands in a technique Betsy demonstrated over on Nicole's blog this week. You can read about it here.

My card uses the Text Block: Party die, American Crafts glitter paper, and the Papertrey sequin die. Patterned paper is from Lily Bee.

 A close up of all that sparkly goodness!

Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey MIM #198 - Three Panel Cards

Hello! I had some time yesterday to make up a three panel card using the dimensions and technique Ashley used in her Make-It-Monday video on Nicole's blog here. I really like making this size card - there are several panels to decorate and you can really bring in alot of ideas and embellishments with it.
This first card will be the Valentine for my husband this year. I used the Embellishments set (an oldie, but a goodie) for the background, the Wonderful Words Love die with felt, a stitched heart, and some pretty patterned paper. I used Edgers #3 for the front top panel.  I also used embossing paste on the back with a hearts stencil I cut out with my Silhouette Cameo.

 
Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey MIM #182 - Mason Jar Stamping

Hello! I finally had a chance to try out Melissa Phillip's technique of painting a mason jar and then stamping on it. You can read more about it here on Nicole's blog. It's been a busy week around here - we had a little grandson born on Sunday! So I thought I would make this jar for him. It is filled with little notes about the day he was born. Things like the date, time, his weight, who was there, who came to visit him, who his family is, how much we love him and other things. There are also a couple pictures in the jar of him in his first few hours and one of his big sisters coming to meet him. Hopefully one day when he is older, he can pull out these slips of paper and know more about what the day of his birth was like. Sometimes it's easy to forget the little things. :)

The front of the jar

 A close up of some of the embossed stars

 Henry's little boat

 The back of the jar

I painted the jar with a Martha Stewart pearl paint - I think I would have liked the chalk paint Melissa used better, but this was what I had on hand. I embossed stars from the Super Stars stamp set with gold embossing powder all around. I designed and a little sailboat in my Silhouette software and print and cut it out with my Cameo. Henry's room is decorated in a nautical theme. :) I printed two of the image - one reversed so I could sandwich them together with foam tape to make it sturdy. I added some trim I had in my stash around the band - some lace trim and some glittered star trim from Michael's, and then cut a bunch of fibers I had in my stash to tie a junk type bow around the rim. I also added some of the trim to the top lid to mimic waves.

What a fun technique! Thanks for showing us how to make these adorable jars Melissa!

Papertrey MIM #181: Paper Casting

Hello! I am trying out Danielle's technique to make paper castings of our stamps. You can read all about how to do this over on Nicole's blog here. This was alot of fun! Who would have ever thought you could make such beautiful little castings from toilet paper? 

I used 6 sheets of TP for each casting. After die cutting the sheets using a Matt Stack die,  I just laid my stamp face up on my granite kitchen countertop, laid the die cut TP on top, added a little water on top and pressed with a kitchen towel and then a paper towel until I got most of the water out. 

Then I just laid them out on a cookie rack to dry (overnight). The hardest part of this whole thing was figuring what to do with them once they were dry. They are a bit delicate on their own, so I was afraid they wouldn't hold up by themselves as a tag. I tried mounting them to the same die cut shape cut out of cardstock, but found that the shape distorts once you add the water. So they wouldn't fit nicely on the die cut shape of cardstock. 

Here are a few of the ideas I came up with.
One of the die cut shapes I wanted to try out was the lace edge heart in Limitless Layers Hearts. I wanted to see if the little lace edges would die cut and stay in tack once wet. I was very pleased with the result! I just used a little bit of water in the center of the heart and tried not to get the edges wet. I use a sentiment from Love and Marriage. I put the heart on top of a little hexagon shaped box, which I covered with pretty patterned paper. Tied it all up with a little gold cord.

Next up is one of my favorties. I die cut the TP with Mega Matt Stack 3, and impressed the tree from Love and Marriage into it. I decided that since this was bigger, I would try to use it as a tag on a wedding present. I embellished it with some pearl strands, a flower, and some tulle. 

And lastly, I wanted to give this  technique a real test and see just how detailed it would do well. I impressed all four of the Hills series scenes and they came out beautiful. I then thought I'd try to add some color to them. I experimented on a messed up impression with markers, and they just soaked in too much. I decided to use some of my chalks for some light color. After coloring them, I scored a piece of Smokey Shadow cardstock every 2", die cut the medium scallop for the top edge and stamped a background from Background Basics: Twinkle with Fresh Snow ink. I then mounted each little scene onto a panel. Just a cute little decoration for my stamping room. I tried to capture the detail on the impressions - hopefully you can see it.

Thanks for sticking with me through all these pictures! You NEED to try this out for yourself!

Papertrey Make-it-Monday #171: Pop Up Die Cuts

Hello! I am stopping by with a quick card for this week's Make-it-Monday over on Nicole Heady's blog here. This week Betsy Veldman showed us how to partially cut our dies. She had a beautiful example of this over on Nicole's blog. I chose to use the Leaf Prints dies and stamps for my card. I chose two different leaves and partially cut them on my card front.

 I then used the corresponding stamps to stamp over the die cuts. I backed the die cut card front with some Dear Jane script paper for interest. I then sponged on some Distress ink to add some color and then wet everything down with water to soften it.

 I love the result! Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Make-it-Monday #169: Vellum Overlays

Hello! I have a quick card to share for Danielle's Make-it-Monday using vellum overlays on your card. I pulled out my awesome Doodlie-Doo set, did a bunch of coloring (makes me feel like a kid again!), and then made a vellum tag using Tag Sale #5 as the overlay. I embossed one of the Doodlie- Doo images and sentiments on the tag using white Filagree embossing powder. Tied it up with a sparkly blue ribbon. The coloring took a long time - the rest was done in minutes!

Do you use vellum on your cards often? I usually struggle to use it on a card - not sure why. Maybe this challenge with help me to pull it out more often. Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey MIM #168: Combining Chalk and stamps with Impression Plates

Hello! I am joining in on Melissa Phillip's Make-It-Monday over on Nicole Heady's blog here. I have three palletes of Pebbles chalk, and I love when I use them, but I've not used them in a while. So this gave me a chance to pull them out and try a new technique.

 I used the cane impression plate, the Frilly Flowers stamps, and several Papertrey colors, as well as the Text Block : Baby, which I added lots of glitter to. Hope you can see how it sparkles.

I found that by the time I added the stamping to the background, it was kind of hard to see the chalking. It was really pretty when it was first applied - it just kind of got covered up. I like the way the impression plate shows through the stamping! I need to pull these chalks out more often! Thanks for looking!

Papertrey Make-It-Monday #167 DIY Notebooks

Hello! I really enjoyed this week's Papertrey Make--It-Monday done by Erin Lincoln! She showed us how to make our own little notebooks. These will make such cute little gifts for people! IF I can give any away! They are just so cute!

My first notebook uses some owl stamps I recently purchased from Darcie's Heart and Home at my local scrapbook store. These owls are just the cutest thing EVER! Can you tell I love owls??? I colored them in with Copics.

I used up a lot of scrap cardstock I had on hand because I couldn't bear to use up my precious PTI cardstock on the pages. I used Papertrey Aqua Mist patterned paper for the outside cover. 

 The second notebook I made used Beautiful Butterflies and a watercolor stamping technique. Not sure how I feel about the looseness of it. The sentiment is from PTI's Sweet Cheeks set. Again, I used scrap cardstock for the inside.

Hope you enjoyed these little notebooks! Did you make any? There are soooo many cute ones over on Nicole's blog! Thanks for stopping by!