Papertrey Ink Blog Hop January 2015

 

 

 

Hello!
I'm popping in quickly to share a card I made to play along with this month's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop.

This month it's all about hearts and this fun inspiration photo:

 

 

 

I played around with my Bigger Blooms stamp set as it hasn't seen much love lately and that's just wrong.

 

 

I just lightly drew a heart shape on a Rustic White cardstock panel with a pencil and stamped inside it. (I always feel like an epic success when I manage to erase pencil lines without smearing my ink or ruining my stamped image in some other way! Can I get a what-what?!) I used PTI's Hibiscus Burst and Rasberry Fizz and CTMH's Blush and Hollyhock inks. I then trimmed my panel down to fit my card base, making sure the heart went off the edge of the accent panel. Just layered a little patterned paper and strip of CTMH Silver Washi before adhering and stamping the sentiment from Wet Paint II. Very easy!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit.

 

God Bless,

Mandy



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A short break

I probably won't be posting here on my blog for the next week as The Hubs and I are both down with the flu! We took him to the doctor yesterday thinking he had a sinus infection and had given me "the crud" because my symptoms weren't as severe and about a day behind his. The man came back to the car with a face mask and saying he had BOTH strands of the flu!

Maybe I will make it to my room for some much needed therapy and alone time (although doubtful) but even if I do I won't share here until I'm well. Keep my hands and germs off the laptop that The Piglets stay on! :)

Hope to chat with you again soon and in a much better physical state!

God Bless,
Mandy Pin It

Lazy Day Results

Hello there!

I took a 'lazy day' today. :) I'm still not moving much and plan to get into bed early! Mama needs some rest! Part of my rest today was a little crafty time. I wanted to log in and share a couple of cards before I turn in early. :)


I had fun with the watercolor technique on my first card:

 

I clear embossed the Hero Arts background stamp onto my card panel. Then brushed on blue metallic gelato (rubbed on a craft mat and spritzed with water). I then layered Outdoor Denim (CTMH) ink over it after it dried. I applied it the same way, by rubbing on a craft mat, spritzing with water, and then brushing it on. The globe stamp is also Hero Arts and stamped in the same Outdoor Denim ink. The letter stickers are from Elle's Studio.

 

I was inspired to make this card specifically for The Hubs based on the inspiration found over at A Blog Named Hero.

 

 

I am also playing along with Addicted To CAS's challenge codeword:World.

 

 

Next up, I was playing with Paper Smooches again. :) I made this one based on both Curtain Call and Fusion inspiration. Kind of a wintery/Valentine thing going on. Love the colors.

 





 


I used my Warm Hearts stamp set by Paper Smooches.

 

 

I'm also playing along with Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, "Have a Heart" challenge and Paper Smooches SPARKS "Anything Goes" Challenge.

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy



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Masculine Retro Hello card

Hello!

I'm popping in for just a moment to share a card I made today. I squeezed in some crafty time in between the weekly grocery trip and picking up the kids from school. We raced home so they could play outside. Have to enjoy this warm snap while it lasts. :) And, let's face it -- it's good for all of us if they go outside and play! :)

I made a fun little masculine card. I wanted to use the Colour Q colors from this week and once it was all together - definitely masculine! I was good with that. Never have enough of those, right? I also used the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge to create my design. Little thinking today for me!



Here is my card (rotated sketch):

 

Once this was all put together, I loved how the colors and geometric pattern had a "retro" feel to it. Happy accident, I can assure you. I can only wish I had that much foresight. :) I stamped the borders on the bottom from Avery Elle's "All Squared Up" stamp set. I stamped them again on scraps of pattern papers in the challenge colors and glued them down. I then added the sentiment from Avery Elle's "Brushed" and added some matching enamel dots. That was all. It was easy, but it did take a while because of cutting all the tiny hexagons. Good brainless activity while I had a few music videos on, grooving.

 

I am also playing along with AEI[Heart}U's Challenge, Paper Piecing and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, It's A Guy Thing.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,
Mandy

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Squared x 2 and challenge time

Hello there!

I'm wondering how many of you had football Sundays at your house like we did? We are not big football people, so it's rare for it to be watched at our house. Unless the Seahawks are playing. The Piglets love them. I don't know how they even knew who the team was, but they were rooting for them in last year's Super Bowl and so excited when they won. Meanwhile, BD and I are scratching our heads and looking at each other, "Seahawks?". We have nothing against them at all, mind you, but we are in Middle TN. Ha! We can't figure out how the kids came up with this, but they are all into it. Both my daughter and son can quote you their record for the year (as well as other teams) - were discussing big plays with an adult at church this morning - wearing their favorite Seahawks hoodies to school everyday!  It's cracking us up. So, the beloved Seahawks were on at our house today, BD was looking up final scores for them while we were out to dinner and then he actually wanted to watch the other playoff game. And, I actually just sat on the sofa with him! So rare - I'm always up flitting about or crafting. I'm not good at sitting down. It makes me sleepy.

I'm wanting to share a couple of cards I made over the weekend and both turned out to be square shaped cards. Not really a plan to do more than one square - I don't usually think to cut my cardstock this way and mailing this shape isn't as convenient. However .... I always think the square cards I see by others are so neat looking. Must be the perfect square symmetry etc, that my OCD little A-type personality loves.

First up, these sweet little snowmen, Freezy Fellas from Paper Smooches!

 

I stamped different shaped snowmen, the mittens, and heart in CTMH colors: Watermelon, Gypsy, Sky, and Outdoor Denim -- inspired by the colors over at Colour Q and the challenge photo over at Curtain Call.

 

 

 

I die-cut a very detailed flower die (Prima Marketing) from patterned paper (Basic Grey's Persimmon), cut it in half and used it for a mat/doily under my sentiment banner. I have it taped down with purple polka dotted washi to avoid glue showing through all of the little openings. Sadly, the photo doesn't show the Wink of Stella glitter I added to each of the snowmen's noses. (So cute)

I'm also playing along with PaperSmooches SPARKS Anything Goes week and Loves Rubber Stamps stamp with ink other than black.

 

My next card is "okay". It didn't turn out bad, just as I planned, actually. It just didn't "pop" the way I had hoped. 8-) The burdens we must bear somedays, right?

 

I was inspired by the colors over at The Challenge and the layout/design id from the current Muse Challenge. 

I made my panel first by splattering from a paint brush and brushing on ink that I had dabbed onto my craft mat, then spritzed with water. I used Distress Ink Vintage Photo and CTMH Olive. I stamped the anchor and sentiment from Lawn Fawn's Float My Boat using VersaFine inks, then clear embossed over it. I added some stitching and a Chocolate cardstock mat and called it a day.

I'm also playing along with Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, It's a Guy Thing.

That's all I have for tonight. Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

God Bless,
Mandy

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CAS Cards Share

Hello!

I've been a little absent from crafty land the past couple of days due to reorganizing and cleaning in my craft space. BD put some new shelves in my closet over Christmas break and I finally got around to pulling most everything out of there and finding it a new home. It looks SO much better and it's much easier to acesss some of my goodies. Especially my vinyl. Wow. It was a mess - to the point it was hard to know what colors I had. Now I've got it all together. I didn't get into my craft desk and clean out much. I did some purging and will try to unload some of those items pretty soon, but I still have one drawer in my desk that really badly needs a good organzing. Not sure when I will tackle that one. I need to be "in the mood" to get into that! Everytime I open it --- UGH. and then I shut it again, rather quickly!

I had a brief time in here last night and made a couple of quick, CAS cards.

 

For this card, I used the Mama Elephant Party Kit stamp set and four different pink inks, CTMH Cotton Candy and Baby Pink,  PTI's Rasberry Fizz and Hibiscs Burst. I stamped the bows in Avery Elle's Fog pigment ink. The birthday sentiment is PTI's Keep It Simple: Birthday stamp set. I loved how the font kind of matched with the balloons.

 

I am playing along with The Card Concept's One Year Anniversary inspiration challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My next card is more Candy Cane Christmas fun (SSS stamp set). I wanted to play along with the One Layer Christmas Card Challenge blog.

 

I went very CAS with the peppermint stamp, a sentiment from Hero Arts, and adhesive pearl bling. That's all!

 

 

I am also playing along with Virginia's View Challenge, Clean Slate. :)

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless,

Mandy

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Marathon Crafty Session Results

Hello!

I'm back today after finally having a little crafty mojo in my Fortress this morning. Yay! It had been waning and I'd been leaning on my novels and pleasure reading heavily. (I still am, but I, at least, took a break from it today.) =) After not getting a chance to "play" Monday or Tuesday, I was determined I would make it today. And, the fact that the kids were out of school for weather related road conditions, played right into my plans. Mwaaahaaaahaaaa!

I made 4 complete cards this morning! And spent some time on one that never came to fruition. I'm only sharing 3 because one of them didn't turn out quite right. (Used a new (to me) medium and I need a bit more practice!)

Here we go!

A shaker card! Whee! I've been wanting to make another one. My dear mother managed to come up with some clear acetate sheets for me somehow so I've tackled a few shaker cards now. I really like it - so fun! :)

I used some of my Lawn Fawn Snow Day 6x6 pad (I LOVE this paper).

 

 

I used the Freshly Made Sketch for my layout inspiration, Lawnscaping Challenge's Winter Mood Board, and Merry Monday's Critter challenge,  as well.

 

 

 

Next up!

 

I had a leftover "Happy" from my first card attempt of the morning, which was a fail. =) As I took a snack break, the idea for this card came to me based on the Runway Inspired Challenge inspiration.

 

 

 

 

I am also entering this in CASology's NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) challenge, as the Avery Elle die/stamp set was new for me as was the flourish stamp by Inkadinkado (Mom put in my Christmas stocking! LOL). I am also entering the NBUS challenge - Anything Goes.

 

 

 

 

Ok - and last ... I appreciate it if you have hung in for all of these!

My beloved Paper Smooches and coloring....inspiration based on the Picture Perfect Challenge over at SPARKS.

 

 

 

I used the current sketch over at MFT Card Challenge for my layout inspiration and the current Christmas Card Challenge Case a Design Team challenge :

 

 

 

I used my new PS Warm Hearts stamp set and was SO proud of my masking/stamping/coloring - it was going SO well, when at the end of coloring the little red berries, I DROPPED MY RED MARKER! It bounced off the panel, marked up my finger and "ruined" my happy mojo buzz! I couldn't believe it! I knew I would put something across the panel based on the sketch but that pretty much sealed the deal and removed any creative license. Haha! It turned out ok. You can't really tell now, but I had to share what happened. I know someone, if not everyone, can relate. =)

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit! I know that was a terribly long post. Peace and blessings!

 

Mandy

 

 



 



 

 

 



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Playing with Paper Smooches

As promised, (because I know you've all waited with bated breath), I'm sharing some cards I made while playing with my new Christmas gift PS stamps. They are so fun and I love to color them with markers.

First up I used the Sugar Rush set to create this little cutie:



(Please pardon the poor lighting - I failed to snap a pic during the daylight hours today. That nap wasn't going to take itself!)

Everything is from the same stamp set. I used the masking technique a few times and colored everything in with Spectrum Noir Markers. I also added a few accents with a white gel pen and a Wink of Stella glitter pen. I wish it showed up better in the photo.

My card design was inspired by this weeks challenge at Freshly Made Sketches:

 

I am also playing along with 4 Crafty Chicks "Anniversary" challenge.

 

My next card I played around with a couple of new Avery Elle inks and the PS Leafy Greens stamp set:

 

 

I used Avery Elle's Fog and Mint To Be, CTMH's Sunset, and PTI's Hibiscus Burst. The sentiment is from PS Spiritual Sampler.

 

My card design was inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch:

 

 

 

I got a little wild and crazy and tilted my panels; it wouldn't be the first time I've been called a "non-conformist". I try not to advertise that, but sometimes my true inner self slips out like that. I just wanted an excuse to stamp those leaves all around my card! Luckily, I had restocked some of my enamel dots (I've been hoarding what little I still had) and I had perfect matches to the inks I used on this panel. I love how the extra dimension they provide without the bulk.

 

I'm also playing along with Crazy 4 Challenges - use the first thing you think of on your card (the Wink of Stella pen for card #1 and the new Mint ink on card #2 -- I had to use that color on something). Additionally, I'm submitting to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge -- use something new (most all of my goodies used on these two cards were from Christmas gifts.)

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit! I hope everyone is having a great new year so far! (I'm such a "winter wimp" I'm already counting down the days til springtime. Ugh.)

 

God Bless,

Mandy

 

 

 



 

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Ice Cream Fun using Challenge inspiration

Hello! I'm popping in on a Saturday while the kids play hide-and-seek in the house with the neighbor playmates (ha! -- it's still too cold to play outside. Yikes!). I've got kale chips going in the oven and some good music blasting on my little kitchen TV. A good productive afternoon. :)

I wanted to share a card I made earlier this week using the lovely Colour Q colors for the week. It's been so long since I've played along! Booo.

I used my new Paper Smooches Sugar Rush stamp set (thank you Christmas gift cards!) - I think all the "sweet" images are so fun. I need to get my patootie up there and ink up some more, but my mojo is waning and I've officially declared January my Hibernation/Recovery month! I've been reading my books like nobody's business. I've read two novels in the past 3 days. Giggle. 8-)  Thankfully, Big Daddy doesn't read my blog. He would be agog. He already thinks my nerd qualities are through the roof. (Plus I feel bad because he does have to get up really early and work really hard. Of course, he doesn't have to worry about mental instability from being on kid duty 24/7 - so I figure it balances out in the end. ;)  )  Shhhhh....our little secret!

On to my card! ----

 

I used patterned papers from various pads to find the colors from the inspiration photo and pieced my triple scoop cone together. It's all layered up on foam tape for extra dimension and has a little bit of handshading underneath to ground it. I  added some little banners from scraps to the top and stitched them down because my sewing machine was still out on my desk and I took advantage of it. After stamping the sentiment, I added a little silver bling from a CTMH embellie set.

 

I'm also playing along with a few more challenges:

 

 

Paper Smooches SPARKS Anything Goes:

 

 

Seize the Birthday

 

 

 

 

 



Crazy 4 Challenges  --    "use the first thing you think of on your card" -- sewing machine

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge  -- use Something new on your card -- new stamp set


Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

God Bless and Happy New Year,
Mandy Pin It

Sweater Weather and a few challenges

Hello!

I'm back after a little absence yesterday. I was DOWN with a bad migraine. I didn't even get the poor Piglets to school. Yikes. That was a first for me. And the really sad part is, I kinda needed them. They took such good care of me! It was so sweet (and I was super appreciative). I was back up and functioning around lunch time, but still zapped - and frankly, pretty paranoid about a relapse, so I was quite careful what I did, ate, and drank all day. Phew. Anyway!

I resumed my crafting today and had fun. Caught up on a few DVR'd shows that made me laugh and played with a new stencil! I had great inspiration all the way around - (Nothing like a new goodie to spur on the crafting) and there were several fab challenges with which I wanted to play.

A sketch, theme, colors - I had it all going on here. Check this out:

The FIRST MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge, Curtain Call, Just Us Girls, and Christmas Card Challenges ....





And, here is my card -- chalked full of inspiration! (LOVE when that happens!) 

 

I used my Tim Holtz Fair Isle stencil to create the pattern on the panel and the sentiment strip. I sponged in 3 different brown Distress Inks for the background, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo, and Gathered Twigs for the ombre pattern. I used CTMH's Bamboo ink on the sentiment strip to keep it muted and to allow the words to show up better. I used some string that I had in my stash that actually came with a sweater (for fixing snags and what-not, I guess) -- I thought it was fitting to use. 8-) Nerd smiley! I printed the sentiment using my Silhouette and the KG Skinny Latte font. That's all!

 

This one turned out to be one of my favorites of late - hope you like it!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit!

 

God Bless and Happy New Year,

Mandy 

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