... clearing out the stash, woo hoo!

Hello everybody...

I have been a productive little bee and have a whole bunch of cards to show you that I made yesterday. I have been seriously trying to reduce the stash of overflowing stuff that I have accumulated over the years. I know that we all do it, we keep on buying supplies 'cause they are so beautiful but then we do not always use them. :(

So, I have been tackling one little pile at a time and am determined to use it up. I had some card bases from Crafters Companion and from K & Company and that is what I have used for all these cards. Some have stickers on them that I am using up and some have stamps and also some dimensional resin items. I added some die cuts and some ribbon and pearls. 

I love this last tri-fold card. I have kept it very simple and basic but I may yet go back and add a bit more. I do like the clean and simple lines though.

Well, that is all from me for today. My DH has just come home from the ski hill and it is time to make dinner and get the fire lit. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned. See you again soon. Cheers.

MFT Sketch Challenge #217

Good afternoon everyone ....

Back again for a card to share for My Favorite Things sketch challenge #217, which you can see here.

I stared with an ivory card base, rounded the corners to soften the look, added a piece of pattern paper (you know, from the stash) and then cut 5 double pointed banners from scrap paper. I stamped this little cutie patootie from the Cute is what I do set, coloured her with Copics and fussy cut her out.

I cut double layers of a creamy vellum with Spellbinders blossom 5 die and inked up the edges with Memento Tangerine for more dimension. The sentiment is not MFT but rather from Papertrey Ink as I do not have a MFT birthday sentiment and that is what I wanted to use. Lastly I dotted the little flowers I had stamped on her dress all over the place. The wee flower is also from Papertrey Ink.

Here is a close up of her cuteness and the vellum flower. I tried to just lift up the edges of the flower but vellum can be stubborn at times. :)

Thanks once again for visiting with me. Hope you have a wonderful afternoon. Cheers.

... Hoppy Easter is coming

Hello again....

I am back with a couple of cards from a stamp company that is fairly new to me. It is called Pink & Main. Michelle draws just the sweetest little faces on her creations and I just love them.

I have two cards for you today, both made using the Hoppy Easter set.

For this first card I stamped the focal image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured it up with Copics, cut the little munchkin out with Spellbinders dies and then finished up the card with a tiny die cut with Papertrey Ink Tiny Tags dies and the felt flower uses Spellbinders dies.

This second card also starts with the image stamped the same and coloured with Copics also. I used Spellbinders dies to cut out the image and the orange gingham mat (so cute to match the carrot, no?). I stamped the two corners of the card with Papertrey Ink set Ruby Reprise and cut out the green tag shape with an old Sizzix die. Added some orangey like ribbon at the top and all done.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by today. Do leave me your comments as I love to know what you think. I hope to be back once more with another post before the end of the day. Enjoy this glorious sunshine today. This has been such a bitterly cold and gray winter so far here in Ontario that I cannot help but go outside and turn my face to the beautiful sunshine and take my dogs for a romp. See you soon. Cheers.

.. a card from the past

Good morning everyone!

I have a card to share with you today that I made several years ago for a friend of mine that I lost touch with, but I stashed away the card and kept it.

I could not be happier to say that we have reconnected with each other, although it is long distance friendship as we live quite a ways apart. She has always loved sunflowers and it is her birthday soon so I felt that she should have this card after all. It is like it was meant to be. :)

The focal image is from Crafty Secrets and I coloured it up with Copics. A punch along the edge of the card and Spellbinders dies used also as well as some rich looking ribbon and a few brads. I hope she likes it.

Thanks so much for visiting with me. I will be back very shortly with another post. Cheers.

PTI Make it Monday #202

Hello everyone.

I am back with a card for the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday #202 challenge which is using border dies to anchor your card.

Well, I do not own any of Papertrey Ink's border dies but I thought I could get around that.

So, my card starts with a kraft base on which I stamped some everygreen boughs and wee hearts from the Love Lives Here Holiday set.

Yes, as you can see, this is a Christmas card. Oh, I can hear the groans already. I know we just had Christmas but it will be coming around again and you can never be far enough ahead with your Christmas cards. But I digress...

I used a My Favorite Things tag die which I cut some dark red paper from my stash and over that I layered the angel from Love Lives Here Holiday and I stamped her in Memento Peanut Brittle ink. Over that I layered the Rustic Wreath die cut from paler kraft card and stamped with Versamark and embossed in white. Over that I layered a harlequin border die and the word "holiday" from Wonderful words cut from some gold paper. Attached a piece of gold ribbon on top and two layers of button stacks dies cut from felt with a tiny tag cut from vellum with the sentiment. 

There is a whole lot of stuff going on here. Lots of layers but I do believe that was the whole point.  :) 

I chose to glue my borders down due to the nature of the word holiday. I could not have it hanging loose and flapping around. Otherwise, I think I would have done as Melissa die and leave them loose.

Thanks a lot for stopping by. Hope you have a wonderful day. Cheers.

Adding to my Stash

Hello everyone,

I have a couple of cards to share with you, super fast, super simple and easy. Just adding a few to my stash for just in case. I used square blue card bases 
( I have almost used them all up! ) and added one single layer of pattern paper on top of each. On the first one I stamped a Papertrey Ink Boutique Borders sentiment on the matching die and the second one uses another sentiment and some butterflies I cut out and stamped from the Beautiful Butterflies stamp set. Love that set, use it over and over again.

That is it for the moment. I will be back shortly with a post for Make it Monday. Thanks so much for stopping by. Cheers.

MFT Challenge #216

Greetings to you all. We are having a very snowy day here in Ontario but it does make everything look so pretty and magical. Until you need to go out and shovel it, that is. Oh there, see, I had to go and ruin the moment!  :)

Sorry to have been absent for a while but we had company come and stay so I had other things to occupy me. However, I am back.

I have a card for you today that I made for the My Favorite Things sketch challenge #216 which you will see here.

Blue card base, two different papers from the stash and such a cute image from My Favorite Things. I know just who I will be giving this card to!

Thanks so much for visiting with me. Have a wonderful winter weekend! Cheers.

PTI Into the Blue

Good evening everyone,

I have a card to share with you tonight that I made for the Papertrey Ink Blue challenge which required a card all in ombre blues.

As soon as I read that I had an idea and here it is.

I used white cardstock and every blue ink pad I could find. I used the sentiment from Think Big Favorites #16 and stamped it repeatedly in gradations of colour up and down the card. Then I used the Beautiful Butterflies set and did much the same thing using different butterflies and colours to match the sentiment colours. Matted it on blue cardstock and all done!

Super easy card to do and I love the way it turned out.

Thanks so very much for visiting with me. Cannot wait to see what tomorrow will bring at Papertrey Ink as they celebrate their 8th anniversary. Cheers. 

MFT Sketch Challenge

Hello once again everybody.

I have one more card for you today which I did for the My Favorite Things sketch challenge. Here is the sketch.

Super simple design. Ivory cardstock base with a strip of paper down the left side and then I used this cute little farm set from MFT. Stamped out all the images in Memento Tuxedo black and coloured with Copics. I cut out the circle and the scalloped circle with Spellbinders. The sentiment banner is also cut with Spellbinders. I mounted up the little girl and the pig/chicken combo with pop dots. I love this set, perhaps because I live on a farm!!

That is all from me for today. Thanks so much for visiting and I hope to see you back again really soon. Cheers.

PTI Silver and Gold

Hello everyone.

I have a card to share with you today that I made for the Papertrey Ink Silver and Gold challenge for their 8th anniversary.

I began with a white card base, added a layer of silver cardstock over which I layered this really interesting paper than I found in with my specialty paper. I never throw out any kind of interesting paper and I suspect that this may have come from a box of chocolates!!

I cut out a tag from the same silver cardstock with a My Favorite Things die and wrapped some ribbon around the card beneath it. I used the die and stamp set from Papertrey Ink called "In Bloom" for the focal image. It is one of my absolute favourites of all time. I inked up the image in Versamark and embossed in gold. This I added onto the tag and added a couple of buttons that I coloured with a Gold Sharpie marker and added the same ribbon in a bow.

To finish off I die cut a couple of leafy swirls from gold cardstock along with a label, both from Spellbinders. I added a sentiment to the label along with a single pearl. I think this would make a terrific Mother's Day card, or anniversary or even for a wedding. Silver and Gold are simply timeless and always elegant. Here is a close up of that beautiful bloom.

Thanks ever so much for visiting. I hope to be back later with another post but have some chores to get done first. Have a wonderful day. Cheers.

Mojo Monday 384

Hello again. I know. I said that I was done for the night. Well, I wasn't. :)

I have one last card for you that I made for Mojo Monday #384. Here is the sketch. 



I chose to use one of my brand spanking new sets from Waltzing Mouse stamps that I just received yesterday called Simple Sprig. I just love it's simplicity and clean lines. I know I am going to love working with this set.

My card starts with an ivory base and on that I added two pieces of pattered paper from the every present stash. I stamped the "sprig" with Memento inks, matted it and added the ribbon down the side.

At present I own very few Waltzing Mouse sentiment stamps so I used one from Papertrey Ink from the Think Big Favorites.

Now, I promise that this is the last of me for the night. I hope you will join me again tomorrow as I know that there will be more to come from Papertrey Ink for their 8th anniversary. Cannot wait to see! Cheers.

PTI Bags and Tags

Good evening everyone,

This is my final post of the day and this is for the 8th anniversary Papertrey Ink challenge of Bags and Tags.

I found a really pretty bag that someone had given me and used that as my inspiration.

It is a lovely blue with striking white designs on it. Reminds me of Wedgwood.

I started by cutting out a tag from blue cardstock, matching the colours as close as possible. Then I used the Papertrey Ink stamp set "In Bloom", inked up with Versamark and embossed with White Detail powder. I think this is a pretty good match for the bag. 

I added a wee bit of lace along the bottom, some seam binding as a tie at the top and a single pearl. I deliberately kept it quite subtle without a lot of other embellishments or add ons so it will not compete with the bag.

Well, I am done for the night. Thanks so much for visiting. I hope you will leave me your comments to let me know what you think. Have a great evening. See you tomorrow. Cheers.

PTI Spring into Action/OCS

Hi again everyone,

This Papertrey Ink challenge was to "Spring into Action" and use a stamp set we had not yet used or used for a while. I recently got the new Papertrey Ink "Pretty Petals" set so decided to use that.  This card is also for the One Crazy Stamper February challenge to make a card in red and white and use a die.

Started with a deep red card base. I stamped the images a couple of times, both the flower and the leaves with Memento ink on a piece of white card. After I was finished stamping I cut a curve in the card and ran the stamped portion through an embossing folder. I stamped the sentiment on the un-embossed piece. Joined them together again, added some ribbon and three little felt flowers cut from the Doodlie Do dies. Added some twine tied buttons and all done.

Thank you so much for visiting once again. Please do leave me your comments as it means so much to me. Have a great day. Cheers.

PTI Flower Bouquet Challenge

Hello again,

I am back with the next Papertrey Ink Anniversary challenge which was to create a "bouquet" of flowers on a card.

My card is a kraft base with ivory card on top. I have used the Papertrey Ink stamp set "Doodlie Do". I die cut all the shapes and then stamped them with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then coloured all the pieces with Copics. I tried to keep the colours in the pink range with just one flower being a bit brighter for contrast. I also stamped and cut out the butterflies from Heart 2 Heart #10. All those beautiful flowers were "arranged" on the card and I stuck them down, some on pop dots. The sentiment is from Think Big Favorites.

Well that is it for this post but I will be right back again in a few minutes with another one. Thanks for sticking with me through all these challenges. It is fun, no? Cheers.

PTI Maile Belles Style

Good Morning everyone,

This card was made for the Papertrey Ink challenge to make a card "Maile Belles" style. I had a good look at her blog and this is what I came up with. 

I have an ivory card base, added blue cardstock and then the top section which I had stamped with Papertrey Ink Beautiful Butterflies in soft colours. I cut a curve in the cardstock using a Spellbinders die and mounted with pop dots. I cut a couple of butterflies out of felt using the coordinating die and added a bit of glittery sheer ribbon behind cut with a Doodlie Do die. A button and some bling and I was all finished.

Thanks a lot for visiting. I will be back again a couple more times with the other Papertrey Ink challenges. Cheers.

PTI Sketch/Colour Challenge

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. We are celebrating with family as it is my DH birthday. It is great to have them visit us out here in the country.

I have a card for you which I made for the PapertreyInk 8th Anniversary Sketch/Colour Challenge.

I started with a Kraft card base. I used the stamps from Stitched Sentiments to stamp the leafy stray in Aqua Mist ink, then added the roses in both Sweet Blush and Melon Berry. I then ran that panel through a Swiss Dot embossing folder and attached to card.

I cut out a die shape from My Favorite Things, added the circles from Limitless Layers and stamped on the sentiments from Simply Jane. I used the "Love You"  from Stitched Sentiments in Melon Berry and cut it into a banner shape.

I used the die set from Simply Jane for the happy couple which I positioned at the top of the die.

I added a seam binding bow and a single pearl at the bottom. The bow simply would not behave itself much as I tried so I had to settle for it the way it is.

That is it for me for the moment. I must go and make breakfast for our family guests and then DH and his sister are off to the ski slopes while my wonderful brother-in-law and I are going to cook. Such fun!

Have a great day. Thanks for visiting with me today. Cheers.

Happy Birthday to my DH

Greetings everyone,

Today is my darling hubby's birthday, so naturally enough, I have made him a birthday card.

He has a very serious winter passion and that is downhill skiing. He goes skiing almost every day. Fortunately the hill is only about 30 minutes from our farm.

So, my card simply had to have a ski theme.

I started with a pale blue mottled card base and I used the icicle die from Spellbinders across the top. I dabbed on some glue and some glitter. OK, I know, this is supposed to be a masculine card but honestly, snow and ice does have some sparkle to it!!

The stamp set I used is from Papertrey Ink called Two Feet Deep. I die cut out the skis and then stamped them and also the sentiment with Memento inks.


So, there you have it.  A nice and clean and simple card as Frank does NOT like lots of embellishments.

That is it for me for today as we are having family visit for his special day and I still have dinner to prepare. Thanks for visiting. Cheers.

OCS and MFT Challenges

A wonderful good morning to you all.

I have a card to share today that I made for both the One Crazy Stamper February challenge and the My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge #214. This is like a "double scoop" ice cream cone! 

Here is the sketch I used from My Favorite Things.



I started with an ivory card base, added pattern paper that I stitched around, and that adorable little gardener image from Pure Innocence. Ribbon, a bit of lace and some felt flowers with buttons and it was all done.

Thanks so much for visiting with me. I love to hear from you so do please leave me your comments ... it means so much. Have a wonderful day. Cheers.

Happy Birthday Kevin & Karen

Hello everyone! Hope you are having a great day.

I have two cards to share with you right now. My neighbours, father and daughter, will be celebrating their birthdays soon, on the same day mind you!

So, here are their cards. 

First up is Kevin's card. He is a no nonsense sort of fella so I kept it pretty simple. I used the fox (or is it a wolf?) die cut from Spellbinders and then layered over that the negative of the cardstock that I had run through a wood grain embossing folder. The little die with the sentiment is also Spellbinders Labels 4. 

I mounted the cardstock up on pop dots to give some depth to the opening where the fox is sitting as you can see from this second photo.

Now Karen's card is entirely different. She is a very talented young lady. She weaves, is an amazing photographer and plays the piano like a dream. I wanted her card to be a bit more magical and to me, right now anyway, that means stars!

The background of her card is white cardstock run through a Swiss dot embossing folder over which I layered many stars cut from the PapertreyInk die Sketched Stars. I added the sentiment which is Boutique Borders - Birthday stamped in Memento inks.

Well, that is it for me for the moment. It is snowing, again, so I need to get out there and do a little bit of clearing before I can return and be snug in my craft room with a cuppa and enjoy my afternoon.

Thanks so much for visiting with me. Do leave me your comments as I love reading them. Have a terrific day. Cheers.

More stash busting

I am back with one more post tonight. I have continued using us my stash and made a couple of very quick CAS cards using some more of the blue card bases I found. 

I cut all the circles with a Spellbinders circle die from yet more scraps and the sentiments are from PapertreyInk Boutique Borders, stamped in Memento Teal Zeal and cut with the matching dies. They are the Birthday and Thank You sets.

These could not be simpler to do and I am happy with the way they turned out.

Thanks a lot for stopping by. Have a great evening. Cheers.

New Stamp Company for Me

Good evening all.

I recently discovered a new stamp company. Well, new to me anyway. It is called Pink & Main and Michelle draws just the cutest things. I bought a few of her sets to give them a go and I really like them.

My card tonight is using one of the bunnies from the Hoppy Easter set. It has just the cutest little face.

I stamped it out in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured with Copics and then just layered away on my card base. Added the spring green bow with a button to finish off.

I have continued my stash busting so I will be back with another post shortly.

Thanks for visiting. Cheers.

Last post of the night

I am back. Again. 

I swear this will be my last post of the day. I have had a really productive day and I have just one more card to share.

I chose to use the same PapertreyInk die, Text Block - Birthday for this last card.

I have used a Crafter's Companion card base, added a strip of pattern paper down the left side cut with a Harlequin die from My Favorite Things, and then added the Text die which I first mounted on some coordinating cardstock. I added a vellum butterfly from K & Company at the top 'cause it needed a little something to finish it off.

Thanks once again for visiting, again. :)  I love to read your comments so do leave them if you have a chance. Cheers.

Make It Monday #200

Hello once again.

I have a card for you tonight that I made for the PapertreyInk Make It Monday Challenge #200. You were to use their wonderful cover plates to create a card. Well, unfortunately, I do not own any of their cover plates, yet! But, after watching the video I thought that maybe I could achieve a similar effect using the Text Block dies which are much the same only somewhat smaller.

So, here goes.

I started with a card base from my stash from Crafter's Companion. I used the Text Block - Birthday die, cut it out twice, once from a creamy cardstock and once from black. Layered them on top of each other, just to the left side and then added that to the card. I hope that you can just see the edge of the black layer looking like a shadow. I put a piece of black sparkly ribbon down the left side and added a few gems. Kept things really clean and crisp looking so the die took center stage.

I hope you can see from this photo how nice and sparkly this ribbon is. It just adds a touch of something without being too much.

Thanks ever so much for stopping by. Hope you have a great evening. Cheers.

One Crazy Stamper February Challenge

Hello again. 

Hope your afternoon is going better than mine. My DH has just told me that our refrigerator freezer is not working so that means a service call.  :(

I have a card for you which I made for the One Crazy Stamper February Challenge which is to use the colours red and white and use a die cut. I have used the Mojo Monday layout as shown here.

A basic ivory card base on which I have layered white cardstock run through an Anna Griffin embossing folder called "Circular Grid". I have rounded the corners on it as well as the outer edge of the card. 

The bottom layer of pattern paper is from my ever overflowing stash and the top paper with the tiny hearts I made with a PapertreyInk stamp from the "Love Lives Here Holiday" set using Memento "Rhubarb Stalk" ink. It is always fun to use those tiny little stamps, don't you think? 

I have used two ribbons for the banners on the bottom. I used a Spellbinders die for the hearts on which I stamped the sentiment from PapertreyInk stamp set "Heart Prints" with Memento "Tuxedo Black" ink and I added a button. It just needed a little something extra so I added a rose die cut from the KaiserCraft "Storyteller" set at the top corner to balance things.

Well, I better go and empty out my freezer and see what I can save. Thanks for visiting. Hope you have a great day. Cheers.

An assortment of sentiments

Hello my dear blog friends,

It is a wicked blustery day here with very cold temperatures and snow blowing all over the place. My DH has just left to do some errands in town. I am not really brave enough to drive in this weather, especially since town is a half hour drive away. I can go tomorrow when things settle down a little bit.

Much better to stay warm and cozy in the house and make cards. :)

I have two for you today.

First up is a thank you card. I started with a K & Company card base and stamped on the Papertreyink butterfly images with Versamark and clear powder and heat set. I then added some colour with Distress inks. Lace and a bow at the top, die cut the sentiment, also from Papertreyink, and then added some vellum and felt butterflies and buttons. 

Here is the inside. So, completely, the sentiment reads: I am thankful beyond measure.

I like to dress up the envelopes as well as the cards. I sometimes wonder what our post office people think. :)

My second card today is all about love. I used the new die from Papertreyink on a card base from Crafter's Companion. I added a few die cuts from my stash and a cute little felt heart cut with Spellbinders and sewed on a button.

So easy but I think very heartfelt, yes?

Well, I think that is it for me for now. Time to go and make a hot cup of tea. Thanks so very much for visiting, it means so much to me. Have a wonderful and warm day. Cheers.