PTI MIM #349: Negative Die Cut Backgrounds

Once again it's time to try this week's Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday. Ashley showed us how she created a background using negative die cuts. I was at a loss for which dies to use because I don't own any that she recommended. After skimming through the thumbnails, I see a variety of ways stampers interpreted this challenge. This is what I created to encourage an acquaintance while she endures a year of chemo treatments for her breast cancer (second time around). 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Soft Stone, Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores and Berry Sorbet

Ink: Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Tropical Teal and Berry Sorbet

Stamps: Graceful Greetings and Confetti Toss

Dies: Floral Flaps

Other: Wink of Stella, Ink Blending Tool and SU Dimensionals 

PTI MIM #348: Lotsa Letters

This week's Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday is hosted by the very talented Michelle Leone with her vibrant "Fiesta" card using a fun rainbow of letters. 

Decided to try my hand at this technique and will definitely keep it in mind for future cards. Rather than use a rainbow of letters, I ink blended the bottoms of mine for an ombré effect. Here's my entry for this week's challenge. 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, True Black and Bitty Dots

Ink: Tropical Teal, Hibiscus Burst and  VersaMark

Stamps: Painted Petals

Dies: Block Alphabet Lower Case and Shape Shifters: Oval 3

Other: Ink Blending Tool, Black Watercolor, Paintbrush, White Nuvo Drops, White Embossing Powder and Foam Tape

PTI MIM #347: Winter Watercolor

Happy New Year! This is my first post and first card of the new year today. Just trying to get my mojo started by participating in this week's Papertrey Ink Make It Monday. I'm flying by the seat of my pants here because Ashley shared her process in designing a winter scene using watercolors. Oh, how I wish I owned Enchanted Forest, and I will one of these days!

Have a few thank you notes due after the Christmas holidays so here's what I created using my old-time favorite set, In The Meadow. 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: New Leaf and Canson Mix Media Paper

Ink: Green Parakeet, Distressed Peacock Feathers and VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: In The Meadow

Dies: In The Meadow

Other: Paintbrush, White Acrylic Paint and Foam Tape

PTI MIM #305: Love of Layers (Revisited)

It's time once again for another Make It Monday with Papertrey Ink. This one revisits Laurie sharing different ways to use layers on projects.  Don't you just love her style and unique color combinations? I sure do. It's been a busy week around here, but squeezed in some time to make a masculine birthday card for one of our nephews. These are his school colors and bears are their mascot. Enough said as it's past my bedtime and on with my card. 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White and Autumn Chicken Scratch

Ink: Pure Poppy,VersaMark and VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: MIM Mini Kit: Holiday Folk, Birthday Style, Background Basics: Super Stripes and Keep It Simple: Birthday II Mini

Dies: MIM Mini Kit: Holiday Folk, Birthday Style, Balloon Strings, Scene It:  Basic Backer and Modern Numbers

Other: White Embossing Powder, We R Memory Keepers Gemstone Embossing Folder, Ink Blending Tool

PTI MIM #343: Masking & Ink Sponging

That Betsy Veldman is pretty amazing, isn't she? The latest challenge for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday uses Betsy's technique of combining masking with ink sponging/blending. All week I tried to come up with something other than snowflakes, but I failed. Also, I didn't have adhesive-backed vinyl so used Sizzix Adhesive Sheets. Big mistake! My saving grace was glitter because I could not get all the adhesive off of each image. Should have known permanent adhesive means permanent but I had a "duh" moment, I guess. This is it...there is no more!

Sorry, the glitter made it very difficult to photograph. 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White

Ink: Amethyst Allure, Blueberry Sky and Aqua Mist

Stamps: None

Dies: Fancy Flakes and Wet Paint Holiday

Other: Ink Blending Tools, Sizzix Adhesive Sheets and SU Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

PTI MIM #342: Envelope Bags with Patterned Paper

Didn't think I'd have time this week to try Lexi Daly's challenge for this week's Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday so I'm rushing to beat the deadline and also my bedtime. 

The old bag-elopes have made a comeback by using patterned paper instead of an envelope. Same concept, new idea! I had to be very careful while folding my scored lines as to not tear the paper. Perhaps it's a bit easier with a tad-bit thicker patterned paper than my old Bitty Dots. Thanks, Lexi, for the inspiration and awesome refresher!

Nothing fancy but I've completed the challenge, and one bag is ready for goodies. 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Bitty Dots and Clear Vellum

Ink: Raspberry Fizz

Stamps: None

Dies: Tag Sale #9, Hexagon Cover Plate and Fancy Flakes

Other: Ink Blending Tool, Twine, Nuvo Drops, Heart Clip and Victorian Edge Scissors

PTI MIM #341: Painted Brushstroke Backgrounds

It's time once again for another Make It Monday Challenge at Papertrey Ink. Dawn McVey shows us a quick and easy way to paint beautiful brushstroke backgrounds. She used acrylic paints but since I only have white, I used a paintbrush with my PTI ink pads on Stamper's Select White card stock. Now I want to invest in the same colors Dawn used because they are stunning. Look at her beautiful cards! Can't wait to get my hands on those Brushed Birds when the stamps and dies are in stock at the same time. 

Since I'm pushing myself to get more Christmas cards made, I opted to use Pure Poppy and Pinefeather inks but with light brushstrokes. My foam brushes worked okay, but I can see where acrylic paint colors would be more vibrant. Anyway, it's getting late here so I'll wrap this up and share the two cards I made from my painted background. 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Pinefeather, Berry Sorbet, Ocean Tides and Holiday Plaid

Ink: Pure Poppy and Pinefeather

Stamps: None

Dies: Shaped Sayings: Merry Christmas, Jolly Holiday and Mix & Mat: Pretty Brackets

Other: Silver Glitter Paper, White Acrylic Paint, Paintbrush and Nuvo Drops

PTI MIM #340: Banner-ific!

Good thing I started this challenge early because it took me a few days to get back to finishing this banner. Thanks, Michelle, for the inspiration on this week's Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday! She challenged us to create a banner for the upcoming holiday season. Look at how gorgeous hers is!

Those newly-released stamp sets and dies get me every time...already.  Love her nontraditional color scheme also. 

Because I wanted to use my birch wrapping paper I bought last year, I went with the traditional red, white, green & black plus some silver thrown in there to add a little sparkle. Besides my total banner image, I also posted individual ones of all three tags. Looking forward to seeing what others created for this fun challenge!

The birch wrapping paper is quite thin so I backed each tag with two layers of white card stock. This also gives the backsides a nice finished look. 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White and Pure Poppy

Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black and Pinefeather

Stamps: MIM Mini Kit: Holiday Folk

Dies: MIM Mini Kit: Holiday Folk, Tag Sale #4, Jolly Holiday and Block Alphabet Upper

Other: Birch Wrapping Paper (Pier 1), TH Tinsel Twine, Silver Twine, Darice Red Bells, SU Real Red Marker, Gelly Roll Glitter Dust and Foam Tape

PTI MIM #339: Patterned Frames

This week's Papertrey Ink Make It Monday is hosted by Ashley, and she showed three different cards adding patterns to a die-cut frame. I loved her examples, but of course, I don't own any of the frames she used. To the drawing board I went, and this is what I created. Chalk one up for another Christmas card completed!

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Autumn Rose, Enchanted Evening and Ocean Tides

Ink: Autumn Rose, Enchanted Evening and VersaMark

Stamps: Penned Elegance: Christmas

Dies: Penned Elegance: Christmas, Cover Plate: Pretty Frame, MFT Stitched Rectangles and What The Doodle: Snowflakes

Other: Ink Blending Tool, Wonderland Scenes Stencil, White Embossing Powder, White Glitter Paper and Foam Tape

PTI MIM #338: Incorporating Packaging Dies into Cards

This past week has been a busy one. Returned Tuesday afternoon from a week's vacation in Boston, and our bridge project was in full action through Thursday. We've only been waiting for the powers at be to approve replacing our existing bridge for almost four years. You cannot believe all the restrictions and required permits when working around water. Now that it's almost done, we are so relieved. Anyway, after completing household chores, I managed to squeeze in a small window of stamping to participate in this week's Make It Monday for Papertrey Ink. This challenge by Lizzie Jones is to incorporate packaging dies into cards, but she okayed the use of tags for those of us who don't own packaging dies. Thanks, Lizzie!

As I thought about this challenge, I was originally going to use Tag Sale #9 but decided to make a Christmas card using Enclosed: Bell. I think it looks like a box/package all decorated. Anyway, I'm going with that, and here it is.

(I'm way behind in blog surfing and commenting but hope to catch up this week.) 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, New Leaf, Pure Poppy and Holiday Plaid

Ink: Pure Poppy and Pinfeather

Stamps: Enclosed: Bell

Dies: Enclosed: Bell and Noted: Pinked A2 Vertical

Other: Gold Twine, Glitter Gelly Roll Pen and SU Dimensionals

PTI MIM #336: Faux Gilded Leaves

Let me start off by saying how fabulous Laurie Schmidlin's gilded leaves look on her beautiful card. She used three colored embossing powders to achieve this plus clear for the veins. It is stunning! Laurie shared her technique for gilding leaves for this week's Papertrey Ink Make It Monday. 

For once I have the actual stamps and dies she used so I opted for the Leaf Prints, but will now view other stamps with this technique in mind. I'm sure other stampers came up with some awesome ideas that never occurred to me. Here's my design, and I know my dear friend will appreciate this card. 

Here's a close up of the leaves so you can really see the gilding. The middle leaf is popped up using Stampin' Up Dimensionals. 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Vintage Cream and DCWV Metallic Stack

Ink: VersaMark and VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: Give Thanks and Leaf Prints

Dies: Noted: Scalloped A2 and Leaf Prints

Other: Offray Ribbon (stash), Clear (Ranger), Copper, Silver & Gold (Zing!) Embossing Powders and SU Dimensionals

PTI MIM #334: Glitter Inlays

Now I know exactly why I like glittered paper because after finishing this challenge, I had glitter everywhere. Lexi Daly was the hostess this week for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday. She shared tips on adding bling to our projects by creating glitter inlays. I was determined even though it took me all week to come up with an idea using supplies I have on hand. Without further ado, here's my card, including smooshing (which I haven't done in awhile)!

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White and Lovely Lady

Ink: Royal Velvet, Lovely Lady, Hibiscus Burst, Smokey Shadow and VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: Some Like It Hot and Mini Kit: Color Pop Autumn

Dies: Some Like It Hot, Mix & Mat: Pretty Brackets, Mix & Mat: Postal and Bountiful Banners

Other: Adhesive Sheet, Glitter, White Foam, Heart Rhinestones and SU Dimensionals

PTI MIM #333: Layering Patterns Over Images

Guess what? It's Sunday night and I’m hurriedly creating and posting an entry for the latest Papertrey Ink Make It Monday. Dawn McVey challenged us to layer a pattern over our images and shared tips to accomplish this. No what else? I don’t own a single Cover Up Stamp yet. Hope to change that once Cover Up Grid is restocked. Anyway, it’s been another wild and crazy week with appointments, company and social engagements. Praying for a much quieter week. Here's what I created layering the Crackled Mini Stamp over my leaves. (Note to self: Buy clear embossing powder as mine is too old.)

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Enchanted Evening and Green Parakeet

Ink: Aqua Must, Hawaiian Shores, Tropical Teal, Green Parakeet, Enchanted Evening and VersaMark
Stamps: Turning A New Leaf, Crackled Mini and Ways To Say: Birthday

Dies: Sketched Shapes

Other: Clear Embossing Powder, White Crochet Thread and Foam Tape

PTI MIM #332: Petite Pattern Play

I swear each week goes by faster and faster and the temperatures get hotter and hotter. We finally have a bit of a cool down here in Western Washington, and we're heading to Yakima for a wedding today. Praying it's not too hot over there. 

Anyway, I'm rushing again to get this card posted for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday before we leave. Michelle Leone challenged us to experiment with some smaller images to create a pattern. Another way to get more bang for our buck from stamp sets in our collection. Needing an anniversary card, which I seldom make, this technique seemed to work OK for what I wanted. 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, True Black and Autumn Rose

Ink: Autumn Rose and VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: Trendy Tree Tops, Wet Paint and Harvest Berries

Dies: Limitless Layers 2-1/4" Hearts, Tipped Tops and Noted: Scalloped A2 Vertical

Other: Clear Embossing Powder, WOS and Twinery Twine

PTI MIM #331: Creating Mixed Background Texture

Here we are in August already and time for another Papertrey Ink Make It Monday. This week Stephanie shared how to mix textures using stamps and die cuts. Believe it or not, I still need more graduation cards (+ one more to make) and a wedding card so I created two using this technique. Thanks, Stephanie, as I'm happy with the results but definitely need more Cover Plates to mix things up a bit. Here are my two creations. 

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Enchanted Evening and Bright Buttercup

Ink: Enchanted Evening and Bright Buttercup

Stamps: Celebrations and For The Graduate

Dies: Celebrations, Tag Sale: Quilted, Modern Numbers, Layered Banner Banter and Hexagon Cover Plate

Other: Make-Up Brush (ink blending), Sponge (edging sentiment strip), Foam Tape and Crochet Thread (died with Bright Buttercup Ink)

*****

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Pinefeather, Ocean Tides and Lovely Lady

Ink: Lovely Lady, Pinefeather and VersaMark

Stamps: Wet Paint III and Tag-Its #4

Dies: Wet Paint III, Rustic Wreath, Shape Shifters: Circle 1, Limitless Layers: 1.75" Circles and Heart Border 

Other: Clear Embossing Powder, Ink Blending Tool, SU Dimensionals, Smooshing, Perfect Pearls Mist: Perfect Pearl and White Crochet Thread

Papertrey Ink July Blog Hop Challenge & PTI MIM #330: Repeating The Greeting

Here we are already on the 25th of the month so it's time for another Blog Hop Challenge at Papertrey Ink. This is this month's inspiration photo. Because I don't own any Salt Air stamps or dies, I chose to go with the color palette shown in this image. 

{source: Poppy & Red on Behance}

Thought I'd try something different so I embossed Happy Birthday from Graceful Greetings several times, ink blending them in Blueberry Sky with the exception of one. To highlight one of the repeated sentiments, I opted to layer die-cuts in Pure Poppy to make it stand out. Randomly stamped a few stars in Blueberry Sky and Pure Poppy, adhered a strip of Blueberry Sky to the left side and finished the card. Planning to send this to my BIL, whose birthday is later this month. 

This is a two-for-one card as I'm also entering this in Papertrey's Make It Monday #330, where Lizzie Jones challenged us to repeat sentiments on our card. 

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White and Blueberry Sky

Ink: Blueberry Sky and Pure Poppy

Stamps: Birthday Cheer

Dies: Graceful Greetings

Other: Ink Blending Tool and Spray Adhesive

SaveSave

PTI MIM #329: Creating Stencils from Die Cuts

This week I'm joining Melissa Phillips for her Papertrey Ink Make It Monday where she challenges us to make our own stencil from die-cuts. Once again I'm a bit out of my comfort zone but just had to make the attempt. 

To start with, I die-cut the most inner layer of Mix & Mat: Postal from acetate to save it for future stenciling. Thanks, Melissa, as I will definitely keep this in mind to make those dies even more versatile. A little ink blending and layering of die-cuts and I've got this pretty sympathy card.

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Ocean Tides and Holiday Plaid

Ink: Soft Stone, Pale Peony, Autumn Rose, Ocean Tides, Pinefeather and VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: Stitching Garden and Keep It Simple: Sympathy

Dies: Cover Plate: Pretty Frame, Mix & Mat: Postal, Mix & Mat: Pretty Brackets and Stitching Garden

Other: Acetate (to make stencil), White Foam, SU Dimensionals and Ink Blending Tool

PTI MIM #328: Creating Shadow Backgrounds

This week it's Laurie Schmidlin's turn to host Make It Monday for Papertrey Ink. Details can be found here. She told us "it's a super easy technique" that she loves. Well, I didn't have a lot of time to ponder what stamps to use as I'm leaving town tomorrow for a week and didn't want to miss out on participating. Let's just say I'm not thrilled with my first one but do like the second one better. Why is it all the stamps I own never seem to fit the challenges presented? Anyone else feel that way? On with my cards. (I'm packed and ready to go so thought I'd try a totally different version of a "shadow" background using Americana ink for my third card.)

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Soft Stone

Ink: Soft Stone, Tropical Teal and VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: What The Doodle: Feathers and Floral Sketches

Dies: What The Doodle: Feathers

Other: Black Watercolor (splatters), Black Sequins and Foam Tape

*****

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White

Ink: Lovely Lady, Autumn Rose, Scarlet Jewel, New Leaf and VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: Sentiment Staples: Birthday, Ways to Say: Birthday, Rosie Posie, Rosie Posie Step 2 and Gran's Garden

Dies: Noted: Scalloped A2 Vertical, Rosie Posie and Gran's Garden

Other: Ink Blending Tool, Stencil Basics: Dots and White Foam

*****

Thank you for stopping by, and I really do appreciate your comments!

Supplies: (all PTI unless noted):

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White

Ink: Americana, Orange Zest, Scarlet Jewel and VersaFine Onyx Black

Stamps: Painted Petals and Penned Elegance

Dies: Painted Petals

Other: SU Dimensionals and Gelly Roll Glitter Pen