PTI Blog Hop July

This was a close one.  Though I had a whole 8 minutes to spare in posting this card.  This month's PTI Blog Hop Challenge is about color.  I found it quite challenging due to most of the combinations are similar and not necessarily my favorite blends.  Though this photograph seems off, IRL the colors are actually spot on.

I used the Friendship Jar and Friendship Jar Fillers for all my stamp selections.  Oddly enough my few Copic Markers were just the right colors or close to the above combo.  I first stamped the brushes, colored them and then stamped the jar over the brushes.   My "coloring" of the jar is something less than desirable.  Need to work on that one.  All card stock is from Club Scrap with the exception of the white panel.  The pink panel is dry embossed with a heart embossing folder which I had at the ready in a wonderful pile of pre-embossed panels thanks to my friend Jen, Queen of Embossing:)  It was fun to work on the clock and push myself in an area I was not very comfortable with.  This is also the first time for using the jar stamp collection.  They are going to be a lot of fun.  

Thanks for looking.

EDITED:  I couldn't stand how the first jar looked so I went back over the "glass" with a blender pen and it's much better now.  Obsessive?  Maybe.

Paint Brushes

I am crazy over these MFT Paint Brush dies.  The detail is wonderful with the embossing of the bristles and the center piece that holds the brush.  The 3 piece brush is made with multiple colored card stock to get this effect.  To add to the messy fun are the paint swipes called Abstract Art also from MFT as are the sentiments from the set My Favorite Sentiments.

MIM #125

Wow, I haven't done a MIM in a few months.  Shame on me.  But this morning I had some time to myself and just dove into this challenge.  This week Papertrey Ink has us using watercolors on our stamps and then redefining the edges with ink.  So stamp first with watercolored stamp and then stamp directly over it again with the stamp edges inked with a coordinating ink to define the edges more.  I used Distress Inks for the edges.

All stamps are from PTI's Happiness in Bloom.  Papers are all from Club Scrap with the exception of the watercolor paper for the flowers.  And of course I made a custom envelope for it.

A tad late...

I am taking the Onlinecardclass.com's Summer Camp 2 card class.  I am not being a very good student. Summer time is just too distracting I guess.  But I did make an effort last week to make two whole cards!  There's a third one somewhere but I can't find it, LOL.  At this point I won't even bother to explain the lesson but one part of the challenge was the colors we were to use.

I do like my results and will be happy to send them to someone.

All stamps are from PTI - Live Love Life stamp set.  Card stock and paper from SSS or stash.

Envelope Punch - Product Review

How many "tools" have you collected and thought "what was I thinking"?  I don't want to talk about them.  But this tool I do.  The We Are Memory Keepers Envelope Punch is really terrific.  I finally caved in yesterday and got one.  I was so amazed at how easy it is to make an envelope, I ended making around a dozen.  Admittedly I goofed the first two because I didn't fully read the instructions.  But once I did...wow...I couldn't stop making them.

I made two cards today and mailed them off in their own custom envelopes.   It's possible that the recipients will like the envelope as much as the enclosed card.  I used heavy printed card stock from Club Scrap and Graphic 45 for the envies below.  The dark busy printed one will need a lighter label of some kind.  But I didn't bother to decorate the envelope due to the attractive papers.  They stand on their own.

Me and my Cricut

Still cutting away at my paper stash, using my assorted dies as well as the Cricut Expression.

Recently my friend Nancy noticed that the Close To My Heart Cricut cartridge "Artiste" has "swing" cards.  Now I've been going gaga over the Sizzix Flip-It cards so this was great news.  I went crazy and made about a dozen of the swing style cards plus the die cuts that match the swing shapes found in either Artiste or Art Philosophy, also from CTMH.  If you have a Cricut, I highly recommend you investigate the 2 cartridges available.  Plus a third cartridge will be available August 1st.  Sign me up!  I use these carts more than any other of the Cricut carts combined.  One of the great things about the CTMH carts is that many of the images coordinate with their stamps.  How cool is that!

Below I am sharing just a few of the pile of cards I made being that these are the most complete.  

All card stock is from Club Scrap assorted collections.  Stamps are from MFT and SSS.

Happy Birthday Chrissie!

Today is my dear friend Chrissie's birthday.  I hope my little package and the card below got to her in time.  She lives a good 2000 miles from me and it's been nearly a year since we've seen each other.  Sister to Jen and dear friend to me and Nancy, we are a special circle of friends that communicate every day.

Chrissie I hope you had a fabulous day today, and by your text of an hour ago I'd say it was over the top special!

Happy Birthday sweetie!