Fabulous

On Saturday my family attended the 50th birthday party for a friend.  Although I had several birthday cards on hand, nothing was right for her…I knew I had to make a special card for a special birthday. 
In Bloom is one of my favorite stamp sets from Papertrey Ink.  I love the big bold flower.  It’s fun to color and great for layering.

I began by stamping the flower three times on Flourishes Classic White card stock and coloring each with Copic markers.  I wanted a casual loose look, so I was not precise adding colors on the leaves, giving it more of a watercolor effect.  On the first floral, the base, I colored the whole image, the second one just the middle layer, and on the third just the center.  I cut the middle section and center sections from the second and third images and popped each layer up on the original base.  I also stamped, colored, and cut out the leaves, both large and branches, and adhered them under the flower. 
Before I layered the flower together I pressed each into a Glue Pad and then sprinkled it with iridescent glitter.  Same for the leaves.

I used dies from By The Number on pink paper from Prism for the numbers and sponged a bit of Pink Petunia ink from a VersaMagic Dew Drop.  The sentiment is from the set Big Birthday Wishes.
All of the paper is from My Mind’s Eye In Bloom.  I had never seen this pad before, nor can I find it online, but I found it in Michaels over the weekend and I love it!
A long weekend over and the kids back to school, yay!  Hope you enjoyed it!  Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday’s Color Throwdown

Hi everyone! I am hosting this weeks Color Throwdown and I picked my color scheme from the MME Lost and Found line paper pad called Breeze. I love the vintagy collage like papers in this pad.

My husbands birthday is tomorrow I made him a card using the PTI set Enjoy the Ride.

I die cut the car from patterned paper and cut out the window. I applied a piece of vellum to the back to make it appear to be glass. I found some rain dots too that I’ve had forever and they were perfect little headlights. A little twine and a button…very simple.

We have a new Guest Designer for month of November and we also have added another new team member. Please give a warm welcome to the newest CTD girl…Kerri Michaud. The team has so many wonderful samples to share today so head on over the check them out!

Broni ~ Barbara ~ Tammy ~ Laura ~ Keva ~ Lori ~ Wanda ~ Joan ~ Kristin ~ Lynn~Kerri and our November Guest Designer Lydia Fielder

Wednesday’s Color Throwdown

Hey everyone, welcome to another Color Throwdown challenge! I am your hostess and this week my color inspiration came from the Blush paper pad from the Lost and Found line by MME.
I love this color combo…so rich, so sweet! I finally got my Button Boutique stamps from PTI inky.

I stamped the button background with Dark Chocolate Palette ink from PTI. I used different patterned papers to die cut the buttons using Buttoned Up 1 and Buttoned Up 2 coordinating dies. Very simple tea dyed twill, a doily, and a stick pin finish it up. The pretty patterned paper with the sweet chickadee’s is almost an embellishment in itself.

These lovely ladies of the Color Throwdown have luscious samples to share to help inspire your creation so stop by their blogs and say hello!
Barbara ~ Broni ~ Kristin and September Guest Designer Julee Tilman
Head on over to the Color Throwdown blog for all the challenge details and to submit your creation!

Wednesday’s Color Throwdown

Today our hostess is Broni and she picked this interesting color combo to challenge us.  And yes, it challenged me!  But before I get into that…
I have re-entered the world of the living!  Hurricane Irene knocked out our power for 5 days and internet for 6.  I had so much catching up to do, but it could have been worse. So, sorry I have been absent for a while.   On the bright side-yesterday was the first day of school!  Lordy, I have been counting down the days! 
First, Joey began the 3rd grade today…

Too cool for school he thinks!
Then my baby…Sean, started kindergarten today. Sigh.  This is the only picture he let me take.  He made a face, hid, or waved his hands every time I pointed the camera at him.  This was taken on the bus on the way home.  Finally, he smiled for me.  He loved it!

Tomorrow is Sean’s first full day of school and my first time ever as a stay at home mom with both kids in school!  Six whole hours alone!  I have so much to do I don’t know what to do first!  I know, deep breath, there will be so many days like this…but I am so excited! 
Okay, now for my card.  My peach parfait is more orange, but I love this paper from DCWV Café Mediterranean Stack.  I used three patterns from the pad.

I used the PTI Mat Stack 4 Collection and Mat Stack die for the main label and sentiment.   The flowers are all from Prima, some with buttons in the center and brads.  The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch and the body created with Viva Decor Pearls.   The decorative border is another Martha Stewart punch.  
The design team, and our September guestie, has some really beautiful samples to share – so check ‘em out!  And don’t forget to visit the Color Throwdown to enter your own creation this week!  Have a great day!!
Broni ~ Barbara ~ Tammy ~ Kristin ~ Laura ~ Carole and our September guest designer Julee Tilman

It’s Color Throwdown time!

Welcome to Color Throwdown #112. This week our wonderful color palette was chosen by Barbara and our challenge is being sponsored by Pixie Petals. One lucky winner will receive a $10 voucher to the Pixie Petal Etsy store! Check out all the beautiful handmade embellishments there!

I used these lovely crocheted flowers and jumbo brads for centers. The red ribbon comes packaged with a little string of pearls tied around it so I used the larger one for the center of my red flower. The pretty ribbon is all crinkly and fun! I love the texture and the great bow it made. The patterned papers are both from Papertrey ink and I used a leaf image from Turning a New Leaf and sentiment from Through the Trees also from Papertrey ink.

This was simple but fun card to make. The bold flowers really make a statement and not much else is needed! Make sure you check out the Color Throwdown blog for details and inspiration! Check out our design team member below too and see the awesome samples they created!

Tammy Laura Broni Barbara Kristin LeAnne and our September Guest Designer Silke Ledlow!

Wednesday’s Color Throwdown

Wow, today’s Color Throwdown is certainly a challenge! Our Miss Broni threw me for a loop with this one!

This shade of blue I would rarely use and I really had a hard time trying to figure out what I was going to do. When I saw Bar’s card I was tempted to just case her because I have the same paper!

Here I used Everyday Button Bits by Papertrey Ink. The freckles in the sky is actually Martha Stewart ultra fine glitter I added using my Quickie Glue Pen. It’s really sparkly and not so diseased looking in real life! I used the same to add glitter to the hills I created with grey cardstock and some inked edges with Tea Leaves by Versa Magic. River Rock is not a color that I had…the grey with a touch of green was the closest I could get. The dp is all SU. The ribbon is also from Papertrey Ink and the sentiment from the stamp set was cut with a flag die from Lil’ Inkers which you can find here!

Pop on over to the Color Throwdown today and see if you can handle the challenge! For inspiration check out the samples from our design team!

Tammy Laura Broni Barbara Kristin LeAnne and our

September Guest Designer Silke Ledlow!

It’s time for another Throwdown!

This week Color Throwdown challenge #95 is being hosted by LeAnne! She picked this vibrant fun color combo that was inspired by a t-shirt.

I used butterflies from the PTI set Butterfly Dreams and colored them with Copics, each one to coordinate with this weeks colors. I just love how the black really makes these bright colors jump off the page! I used all scraps of card stock that were similar to the SU colors and matted everything on black. I stamped the sentiment with Color Box white pigment ink and embossed with Detail White ep. Then I used my inkssentials white gel pen to make flight trails. Oh, and the inside of each pair of wings is accented with Diamond Stickles.

Please welcome our June Guest Designer Wanda Cullen and we also welcome a new DT member Laura Pryor. Woo hoo to both of these awesome talented ladies!

Fly on over to the Color Throwdown and join us this week. We love to see your creations! Have a great day!

Hello

I missed yesterdays High Hopes challenge because I was so busy this weekend! I will spend the next few days just trying to catch up…and I meant to get this posted earlier, but well, that’s how it goes sometimes. Anyway, last Sunday we celebrated my mother’s birthday and I wanted to share some pictures of the cupcakes I made for her.

I used the book Hello Cupcake and followed the directions to make these chocolate butterflies. Takes a little practice to get the hang of the chocolate drawing…but they didn’t come out too bad. I was impressed enough that I want to do it again in different colors. I used boxed chocolate fudge cake mix for the cupcakes and make my own buttercream frosting tinted light yellow.

I made a dozen butterflies some small and some large and put them all together on a plate then pulled out my new Papertrey Ink set Butterfly Dreams to make a decoration for the center. I die cut the butterflies, then stamped and colored them with Copics. I glued them each to a floral wire stem and gathered them for a fun centerpiece. Here’s a close up of the butterflies.

And here’s a closeup of the centerpiece.

Then I used more of the same butterflies along with images from the set Turning A New Leaf which I stamped in various Versa Magic inks and added a series of white dots with a gel pen.

I am headed today to yet another kiddie birthday party, the fourth one in four days! This has not been any kind of spring break for ME! The kids of course are loving it.

Be back tomorrow with The Color Throwdown! Have a great day!

Wednesday’s Color Throwdown

This week ourhostess is Broni and she has chosen these funky colors for us:

I mixed quite a few products here. My base is Tangerine Tango stamped with the Tin Type background from Papertrey Ink. The main image is from SU! A Flower For All Seasons colored with Copics. Both the image and scallop mat were cut with Nestabilities and then adhered to a large Prima flower. The patterned paper under that is from Making Memories Chloe’s Closet. The sentiment is from the set Tags for Spring from Papertrey Ink and so is the ribbon.

I was a bit worried about this color combo especially after I created that background but once I put it together I think it was a success! Make sure you head over to the Color Throwdown and play along with us. Make sure you check out all the great work from the rest of the team! Have a great day!

Tammy Broni Kristin Barbara LeAnne Cathy Pam

Wednesday's Color Throwdown

Welcome to Color Throwdown #82. Our hostess this week is LeAnne and she has this awesome color combo for us...


I used the stamp set Out to Sea from Papertrey Ink and paired it with patterned paper from the Boxer line by Basic Grey.


The anchor and sentiment are stamped in Night Sky VersaMagic chalk ink. The anchor was stamped again, cut out, and popped up on the main image. The image and mat are both cut out with new Nestabilities dies. I took a piece of rustic twine and wrapped it around the popped up anchor for a simple embellishment.

Make sure you head over to the CTD blog and check out all the wonderful samples from the design team and guest designer and please play along! Have a great day!!

Wednesday Color Throwdown

I am hosting this weeks Color Throwdown and I have chosen some challenging colors for you! I pulled them from this gorgeous patterned paper from Fancy Pants Vintage Valentine collection.


My image is baby boy from Lili of the Valley. How cute is he?! They have some of the most adorable images! He's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on kraft paper and colored it with Prismacolor pencils and oms. The twine and buttons are both from PTI and the paper Fancy Pants.

Head on over to the Color Throwdown and join us for this weeks challenging colors! Check out what our awesome design team came up with!

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcomb - Splashes of Watercolor

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

Cathy Indelicato - Crafty Thoughts

Kristin Bueter – Mindless Creativity

Debi Southard/Guest Designer- Sendable Sentiments

Mo's Challenge #18

It's all about colors this week at Mo's Digital Challenge. Here I used Patience. I really think that's the cats name you know...poor kitty!

The image is printed on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth cardstock and colored with Prismacolor pencils and oms. She's layered on this gorgeous patterned paper from Basic Grey's Bittersweet line. The card base, ribbon, and button are from PTI.

This week I was NOT going to be late! LOL!

Wednesday's Color Throwdown #79

Hey all happy Wednesday! Welcome to Color Throwdown #79! This weeks our host Bar picked some purty colors! Soft and sweet and oh so lovey dovey...just in time for Valentine's Day!



I used Papertrey's Everyday Button Bits with Papertrey buttons and ribbon in Ocean Tides which is a nice match to Sage Shadow. The patterned paper is from Bo Bunny.

Just watching the weather report...anywhere from 6-12 inches of snow predicted for today. I am working from home today and I don't plan on getting out of my pajamas! Maybe I can even squeeze in some stamping between spreadsheets...lol!

Pop on over to the blog and play along! The girls always throwdown some awesome samples so check 'em out!

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings
Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits
Broni Holcomb - Splashes of Watercolor
Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy
Cathy Indelicato - Crafty Thoughts
Kristin Bueter – Mindless Creativity
Debi Southard - Sendable Sentiments

Papertrey Ink Challenge

Today over at Capture the Moment there is a PTI challenge called Paint by Number. It provides the sketch, the colors, and the actual sizes for the layout...almost foolproof, and that's good for me! This is my color palette as designated by the challenge.

I used the set Honey Bee's and also the new background basics Petal Power. I added some tiny gems to the flower centers and a little sparkle to the bee's wings with a Stardust Glaze pen. All products are from PTI.



It's pretty self explanatory...if you check out the challenge! Have a great day!

Lets get Wired!

It's Sunday and that means it's High Hopes challenge #62! Karen has asked us to use wire on our cards this week. You can also use any metal in place of wire. Here I used some Wild Wire to make "balloon strings" for my image.


My image is Willy One Eye stamped on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth card stock and colored with Copic markers. The stars are stamped on a Basic Grey scrap from the Origins line and cut out and attached to the end of the wires to represent balloons. The patterned paper is also from Origins and the cardstock, button, and ribbon from PTI.

Come join this weeks challenge and show us what you can do with wire or metal embellishments! You have a chance to win a prize from High Hopes too! Have a great Sunday!

Sean's invention

This adorable image called Eli from Mo's Digital Pencil reminds me of my 4 year old son so much! His mop of a head of hair and how he loves to play in boxes...I couldn't resist it! You should have seen him and my 6 year old playing with the television box...opened it up flat and rode it down the stairs like a sled, over and over and over again! I was sure I was going to take someone to the ER-but luckily their fun was just that-boys and boxes, fun, fun, fun!

It's printed on Neenah Solar Crest White Ultra Smooth card stock and colored with Copics. It's layered on this fun paper from K&Company called Actopus to Zelephant. The ribbon and button are from PTI. It's hard to see the button and ribbon treatment since the brown kind of blends right into the paper. I have this tiny paw punch that I used on green paper then I punched a circle around then layered on black paper so the paw would stand out.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day!

It's Color Throwdown #77

Time flies when you're having fun! This week marks Color Throwdown #77 and our hostess with the mostess is Cathy! She's picked these beautiful colors for us:


I used another image from the new Baby Button Bits set from PTI.

The image was stamped and cut out with oval Nesties and popped up with the eggplant mat. The polka dot paper is a scrap from my stash that was a very close match to Baja Breeze but I can't remember who makes it. I threaded three buttons and added them along with some glitter on the pea pod. I added some piercing to the celery mat for some texture and stamped the tiny sentiment in Versafine black ink. It's all layered onto an eggplant card base.

Head on over to the Color Throwdown this week and play along with this lovely color combo! We love to see your creations! Please make sure you checko ut all the wonderful designers samples too! Have a great day!

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings

Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits

Broni Holcomb - Splashes of Watercolor

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

Cathy Indelicato - Crafty Thoughts

Kristin Bueter – Mindless Creativity

Deb Horst/Guest Designer - Sendable Sentiments

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I hope everyone had a good time last night or at least a good nights sleep! If you partied like this frog from Sparkle N Sprinkle I hope you are feeling good this morning! Happy and Healthy!

It's Color Throwdown #68

Happy Wednesday! It's another Color Throwdown being sponsored this week by Simon Says Stamps! Broni is the hostess with the mostess and these funky colors:



Here I used an image and sentiment from the set You=Cherry on my Sundae.



It is stamped with Versa Fine Sepia and colored with Copics. The hot fudge is coated with Diamond Glaze and the cherry with red Stickles. I did a zig zag stitch around the background panel and used a rectangle nestie to mat the image on. I used an EK Success branch punch and after punching a green branch I removed all but the top leaves, then added a second one, branch only without leaves to create a double cherry stem. I then added a couple of buttons from PTI as my cherries. The ribbon and red button with twine are all also from PTI. The patterned paper is from the Nutmeg Mini Deck by Cosmo Cricket.

Head on over to the blog and check out all the DT's great samples and join in the fun! You have a chance to win a prize from Simon Says! Have a great day!

A little Spider Crazy

I've had this idea for a while now...ever since I saw a stamp that was similar. My design actually came out quite different. I went for the super clean and simple and I really like it!

I used my Scor-pal to create a diamond pattern on a piece of PTI Stampers Select White cardstock. I drew a line with a fine point Sharpie and added a spider Doodlebrad that I bought at my lss Scrappers Playground. I stamped the sentiment from PTI set 2009 Halloween Tags and punched with a SU word window punch. But I couldn't stop there...


This card uses a piece of dp from Recollections -this pad of Halloween paper is fantastic! I once again drew thread lines at varying lengths and at the end of each adhered a black gem from Kaiser in a few different sizes. I just added legs and the sentiment from the Anna Wight set Spooky Expressions from Whipper Snapper.

I had so much fun with these and I hope you enjoy them! Have a great day!