Glittery Christmas Button House

Hey there friends!  I got side tracked from all my chores today and decided to make another little house.  This one has a button roof.  I was inspired by Melissa Phillips.

After all the buttons were in place I put on a ton of glitter.  I am no photographer so you can't really see it here but IRL it glistens. 

I am using PTI Rustic White cardstock, smokey shadow ink, aqua mist ink, copic markers, aqua mist buttons and ribbon, Martha Stewart glitter.  Everything is hand cut.  I used the PTI timeless template Homemade along with the Homemade stamp set.  Thanks for stopping in!

Christmas House

Hello friends!  I was going through my computer files today when I found the template for this cute little house.  I bought it from Papertrey Ink way back in 2009 and it was designed by Lauren Meader.  It had a companion stamp set that had all the windows, doors, and lights.  I also used the Home for the Holidays set to make the tree, garlands, and swags.

One of the best things about this house is the whole top comes off and you have a great little gift box that is quite roomy.  The whole thing is pretty sturdy and solid.

Thanks for stopping in today.  I hope you enjoyed my little house!

More Christmas Tags

 

Hello there friends!  I've got some Christmas gift tags for you today.  These are pretty small- couple of inches across maybe?  They are dies from provo craft.  I cut a bunch of them with white cardstock.

Next I stamped on the images (PTI and Cats Pajamas) and colored with my copics.

I added a little bit of stickles for sparkle.

 

And I wrapped them all up in this tiny little pizza box that I embellished with PTI and Cats Pajamas stamps and some Mines Eye papers.

Christmas Tags!

Well its been forever hasn't it?  I think its safe to say that some of my priorities have changed.  As much as I love crafting and blogging it just hasn't been at the top of my list lately.  I have made plenty of cards and lately tags but I haven't photographed and I clearly haven't blogged.  Life just gets so busy.  My job, my kids, the 200 books I have been reading recently!  Anyway if any of you are still out there- here is what I have for you today!

Cute little gingerbread man from Lawn Fawn.  Sentiment from PTI.  The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye and the tag is cut using the Tag Sale 2 die from PTI. 

Presents are paper pieced.  I used the stamp from Waltzingmouse's Basket Additions.  This one took plenty of fussy cutting.  Patterned paper from My Mind's Eye.

Gingerbread men- so cute!  Also from WMS basket additions!  Buttons are from PTI.  Paper from My Mind's Eye.

Hey do you love Waltzingmouse as much as I do?  Did you see that they are releasing some awesome and much needed dies???  And you can get them shipped from the USA?  All true!  Check it out!

Holiday Lights

Hi Friends! Another Christmas card for you today.  It looks so CAS doesn't it but really there are quite a few steps packed into this one.  The one that makes it unlikely for me to ever mass produce is the embossing using the cuttlebug and spellbinder's rectangle.  Next I masked the sides of the rectangle and stamped the light string from PTI's Holiday Lights.  Next come the little light bulbs in red and green.  Add a layer of coordinating stickles and a matching sentiment.  Punch some holes in the side and tie on some fancy silver ribbon.  Way to much trouble for mass production! LOL!

A Little More Christmas

Hello friends!  I made this last Monday while I was home enjoying some peace and quiet.  The second of the Christmas cards for this upcoming season.  I've got Love Lives Here Holiday, fancy silver ribbon, silver cardstock, new leaf ink, red stickles, encore silver ink.  Embossed with a spellbinder die.  I hope you like it!

Monday, Monday

Now that school (aka work) has started back up I am back to loving Mondays.  Why?  Well I don't work on Mondays.  Unfortunately there is not enough funding for a full time science teacher so I work Tuesday- Friday.  I used to be sad about it but not so much anymore.  Now I embrace my free day.  No kids (they are at school), no work, just me and my crafty supplies.  So anyway here I am today with a Christmas card I made this morning.  It uses PTI Love Lives Here Holiday.

Pure poppy base, stampers white panel, Encore silver ink, new leaf and pure poppy ink, specialty silver ribbon.  I hope you like it!

Grief

I have to admit I don't know a whole lot about it.  I've had people pass away in my life- my grandparents, my aunt, some acquaintances, but as much as I loved those people it was not grief like this.  This grief hits me like a tidal wave, pulling me under, making it hard to breathe, making it hard to push to the surface.  Sometimes this grief sneaks up on me- tiny and insidious- feeling me with anger and rage.  Making that anger spout out into my everyday life in ways I didn't even first realize were connected to this grief I feel.   Sometimes the grief sits like a sad, pathetic hungry little bird on my shoulder.  It picks at my skin and makes me feel all prickly and weepy.  Sometimes it snakes up my side in the midst of happiness and then lays there covering everything with a thick gray cotton.

I don't know how to make it go away.  Maybe I can't make it go away.  It may be that I just need to wait.  I am not used to feeling this way.  So much feeling roiling right under the surface of my skin waiting for the opportunity to break through.  It makes me edgy and jumpy.  It makes me feel "wrong".

Why I am putting this out on my blog?  I don't know.  I really don't know what to do with all this feeling.  I feel like maybe if I just cast it out there I will feel a little freer and  I can let go of a little more.  I am sorry if you came here looking for cards and got my bleak heart instead. 

Edit:  I've had a couple of people email asking what had happened.  You can read about my very good friend here.  http://iamderby.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-tribute-to-my-friend.html Thanks for the love via the comments and my inbox.  I appreciate you stamping friends. 

Floral Gift Set (Inspired by...)

Hi friends!  I have a new gift set for you today.  I got the idea for this set after watching this video from Kristina Werner.  I fell in love with that envelope.  In fact, I made the envelopes before I even had an idea of what to do with the cards.

I used PTI's Floral Frenzy and Fillable Frames for these cards and envelopes.  The sentiment is from Mini Blooms.  Floral Frenzy is an older set and I have certainly gotten my money's worth from it.  A great addition to any collection. 

I

The color pallet is New Leaf, Harvest Gold, Summer Sunrise, Berry Sorbet, and Hawaiian Shores (all PTI).  Cardstock and ribbons are from PTI as well.  The cards have diamond stickles on the centers of the flowers.

A close up of the back envie flap and the front of the card.

All sets need great packaging.  This set is seriously on its way out the door today so I needed a quick package for it.  I am using a clear box that some PTI stamps came in.  I used Washi tape (doodlebug) to cover up where the sticky from the belly bad was.  I used some May arts twine to tie on the tag.

Back side of the gift set.   The tag (in the previous pic) was made from an Ad Sense die that I cut in half (it was blank and laying on my desk and got pressed into service! LOL).  Thanks for stopping in today!

Sending Smiles

Hello Friends! Quick little card for you today.  It uses PTI's button bits and Darcie's Some Birdy Loves You.  A little copic coloring and a few buttons and you are all done!  Thanks for stopping in today!

Smile Flowers

Hi Friends!  I have another Smile card for you today.  I just love those little striped flowers.  This one is done in Berry Sorbet, Smokey Shadow, and New Leaf.  Its been a while since I pulled out the buttons!  I have enough that I will probably be passing them down to the great grandchildren!  Ha!  Have a great Friday- thanks for stopping in!

Friend

Hi there!  Another CAS card for you today.  The flowers are from the PTI special edition, Smile.  The sentiment is from another set, Friends Til the End.  Colors are Summer Sunrise, New Leaf, and Canyon Clay.  Hope you like it!

Cherry On Top

Hey friends!  Happy SAF day to you Papertrey Ink customers!  I bought the set but I didn't participate.  My kids had opening day of soccer today and I am still getting over the wisdom teeth pain as well.  However a week or so ago I made this with the SAF set.  The set has a lot of scratch and sniff sentiments but this is not a scratch and sniff- LOL.  I don't see myself ever doing that, but I think these little fruits are just adorable.

Step It Up

So today I have something a little different.  I have the same basic card done two ways.  The first card is the more basic look.  Less stuff going on, a little more plain.  I made this one first.  When I was done with it, I liked it but I didn't like it enough.  So I tried again and came up with card number 2.

In this card I changed one of the flowers out to a bigger stamp.  I changed position of the stamps and the ribbon.  The border is smaller and the flowers have copic coloring.  I also added a second smaller sentiment.  Both cards are the same colors and feature buttons and stickles in the flowers.  Both are mounted on foam tape.

A Tribute to My Friend

I’d like to tell you about someone.  Her name was Louise.  She was my friend and I loved her.  She passed away Saturday unexpectedly.  She was 42 years old.  She was a wife, a mother to three gorgeous kids, a teacher, and my friend.  She was so many things to so many people but I would like to tell you what she meant to me.

I met Louise when she student taught at the school where I teach.  She was funny, vivacious, and fun.  We became friends when I started teaching science and computers.  We ended up on a tech committee together.  We found out we had daughters who were the same age.  But it wasn’t those things we had in common that drew me to her.   It was the things that made her unique that really pulled me in.

She was so kind to everyone.  She always gave the benefit of the doubt.  Me? Yeah, I am not a huge fan of second chances, but Louise would give you five or ten chances to get it right.  She was never mean or malicious.

She was funny.  Louise was hilarious.  Her sense of humor cracked me up nearly everyday.  She would text me funny pictures, funny observations, and random things.  I would do the same.   Even now I see something funny I reach for my phone to share it with her.  I hope she is watching because I have seen some funny crap in the last day or so.

She knew how to have a good time.  Louise was the first up on the dance floor.  She never worried about what she looked like.  She was always into having a good time.  She would try just about anything.  You could find her running or kayaking or making cards or scrapbooking.  She would do just about anything.  When I told her I would not Zumba, she joined me in Boot camp and spin class.  When I told her I like to make cards, she came over and made them with me.  She shared my very unnatural and embarrassing love of the twilight movies.  We saw them all- together.  And then made fun of ourselves for it over and over again.

She was a whirlwind.  It was something hard for me to get because I like to sit and contemplate and just be.  Louise was always on the go.  Always had something going on, somewhere to be, and something to do.  She never looked stressed about it either.  I would tell, “Sheesh, take a break already!”  She said she was enjoying it.  Her cellphone was always full of emails and texts.  I’d see her phone on the table and there would be 35 text messages (UNREAD!) and I’d feel panicked!  She’d just laugh.  It was one of those things I never understood but loved about her.

She’d always help.  I told her I wanted to start a PTO at our school. She looked at me like I was crazy and then agreed to be the Vice President.  I told her I wanted to host a huge ice cream social fundraiser.  She shook her head and then agreed to find me a D.J. a bounce house, and a dunk tank.  I said wouldn’t it be awesome if we did a book faire and she said, “Fine I will chair it once.”  She chaired it every year.  I said I needed a classroom to experiment on for a project.  She volunteered hers.  Need someone to watch your insane dog?  Louise was your girl.  She came to my house 5x a day watching that stupid mutt, cleaning up all his accidents, and still being good-natured about it.  She even did the laundry.  I was getting all these text messages with updates on the dog and all his drama and I knew she had a million other things to do.  But she was the kind of friend you could always count on.  If she said, she would be there- she was there.

She wore her heart on her sleeve.  I am a pretty buttoned up person.  I tend to put on a hard front and keep my marshmallow heart stuffed way down inside, but Weezie always had her marshmallow heart on display.  She loved big.  Sometimes that made things hard on her because she was always giving and giving.  Some people just don’t get the whole love big thing.  She would always tell me, “Thanks for being my friend”.  I would always say, “You don’t need to thank me, of course you’re my friend.”  It took me a long time to realize she was telling me that because she meant it not because she was insecure or needed reassurance.   The last time I saw her, the afternoon before she passed, she said to me, “Thanks for being my friend.”  And as usual I said, “Of course, I am your friend.”  And she said, “No, really, Thank You.”  And I wish I had said, “I am honored to be your friend.”  But I didn’t.  Instead I gave her a big hug and a kiss on the head and told her I would see her soon.  Of course, that never happened.  I hope she knew that I was so very thankful she was my friend.

Stars (Boy Birthday)

Good Morning friends!  I apologize for my bad photography today!  Off center and everything- sheesh!  Anyway I did want to show you a fun little card for a boy birthday.  I used star prints from PTI.  The rest is pretty self explanatory I think.  If you have questions, just shoot me an email.

This next card could go either way.  Colors are certainly boy enough but I'd probably lose the pearls and maybe that scrolly stamp too.  This card uses all PTI- the medallion is from Round Repeats and the border is from their $5 border collection (can't remember the actual name and no time to go look).  Anyhow that is it for me today!  Hope Monday treats you well!

Minibloom Set

I gotta tell you, I love the Mini Bloom set from PTI.  I love the scale, I love the flowers, I love the sentiments.  There is nothing I would change here.

Card 1- I used Canyon Clay, Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, and Harvest Gold.

Card 2- Berry Sorbet, New Leaf, Blueberry Sky, Spring Rain, Harvest Gold

Card 3- Melon Berry, Hawaiian Shores, Smokey Grey, New Leaf

Card 4- Autumn Rose, Versamagic Lilac and Aqua, Hawaiian Shores, New Leaf, Harvest Gold

More Round Repeats

Hello friends!  I have another Round Repeats card for you today.  This stamp set is from PTI.  I love any set that allows for patterning building.  Its fun to just sit there and make patterns all day.  I lost this set for about 3 weeks.  I had just about given up hope when I found it--- sitting on its right shelf, alphabetically with all the other sets.  I felt like the biggest moron ever! Thanks for stopping in!

Stamps:  PTI- Round Repeats, WMS sentiment
Ink:  PTI chartreuse, hawaiian shores

Happy Frog!

Hey Friends! Happy 4th of July!  I am doing a whole lot of nothing today.  Nothing is my favorite thing to do.  I made this card a few days ago.  Using some new washie tape. And my froggy stamp and dies from PTI.  Cute sentiment from WMS.

Its my Daddy's birthday today.  So Happy Birthday Dad!   I love you! 

(My famous 1975 photo featuring our hideous couch and afghan)

Fruitful Apples

Hello friends!  I made this card with a new to me set (I bought it used from a friend) Fruitful from PTI.  I have always loved the apple image and the price was definitely right.   I made the background with the small apple and the focal point uses the larger one.  Unfortunately my ribbon got adhered a little crooked and I could not fix it.  Bah!

Thanks for stopping in!

Long Time, No Write

Hello there!  It's been awhile!  I've totally lost the blogging bug.  I have made so many cards and I haven't photographed at all, let alone uploaded!  But today my little family left for a few days without me and I was sitting around procrastinating when I thought: "Hey lets upload some of these cards!"  So here I am.

This card features some stamps from Papertrey Ink.  Round Repeats and birthday words (not sure that is the real title).  I love Round Repeats.  I am crazy about pattern building stamps.  Paper and ink also by PTI- Hawaiian Shores and New Leaf.

How About a Little Waltzingmouse?

Hey friends!  I've just been a card making machine lately.  Today I had a little time so I sat myself down with some Mad Men on Netflix (I am only on Season 3) and my Waltzingmouse set- Teeny Trees.

 

This is what I came up with.  Its a one layer card.  Bird, sentiment, and tree are all from WMS Teeny Trees.  The circles are from PTI's Background Basics Retro.  PTI ribbon and inks.  Shot with my iphone in the dark cause that's the only way I can get things done.  Thanks for stopping in!

Hey New Stuff!

Hard to believe eh?  I got nothing in the way of excuses.  I've made plenty of cards- just kind of lost interest in photographing them.  I've lost interest in many of things I used to do regarding paper crafting but I haven't lost interest in card making.  I knocked out 10 cards last night.  I took crappy photos of 5 to share with some friends on Facebook.  And then I thought hey why not update the old blog?  So here I am!

Of course I shot this with my iphone- and its unedited. I make no promises of greatness here. I am not branding myself, I am certainly not trying to be the next big thing.  Sometimes I have to remind myself of that.  Especially when blogging becomes a "job" and I find myself comparing my blog to others.   Anyway, I digress!   Here is the card.  I know just who I am sending this too.  Hopefully I will find a stamp before too many days go by.   The paper is from one of the millions of 6x6 pads I unearthed on my desk.  It's double sided, if I hazarded a guess I'd say Echo Park but I am not positive and you should know by now I am to lazy to go look!  The owl stamp is from Hero Arts.  I bought it separated from the main set so I can't help you there.  The chevron stamp on the far right is from PTI- simple squares or something like that.  The friend stamp is also from Hero Arts.

Meet the Card Hanger Die!

Hello Friends!  I have something fun for you today featuring a great new die from Laurie at Soapbox Creations.  Its the card hanger die!  Isn't it ingenious?  It turns your great handmade card into a gift tag and bag decoration!  You can take a 50cent Michael's kraft bag and turn it into an awesome boutique like gift bag.  You can get the card hanger die from Laurie at her blog.  When they are in stock you will see a paypal link in the side bar.

A few quick details.  All the stamps are from Papertrey Ink.  I am using Sweet Baby and Birthday Style.  Inks are PTI- new leaf, blueberry sky, and hawaiian shores.  Patterned paper from echo park.
Thanks fro stopping in today!

Ugliest Card Hop

Hi there friends!  Happy April Fool's Day!  Today Suzanne of The Card Yard has put together a little treat for all of us:

I went back a few years to find this jewel... Good God what was I thinking???

Here is the original post:  http://iamderby.blogspot.com/2008/09/hero-arts-meet-pti.html  You can see I am quite proud of my creation.  Nothing to ground the focal point.  Sentiment way too small.  Coloring odd and color choice of the bird is just strange.  Again what was I thinking?  I even water marked that hideous thing!

Some New Cards

Hello Friends!  Its been awhile!  I've been busy making cards but still not so busy photographing, editing, or uploading.  I have lots of things going on right now and just haven't really had the time to devote to blogging.  Today though I have two iphone pics to share with you.  Both sets feature the latest PTI Anniversary Set- Birds and Blooms.  Many people said they didn't like the wreath because its not symmetrical- that is one of the things I love about it.  I also love that all the flowers can be different colors.  Its a four step stamp and once you get the hang of it its quite easy to put together.  The sentiment is one of the Think Big Favorites (no clue which, sorry).

This card uses the same set but the branch instead of the wreath. The nest is two steps.    That wide ribbon is from American Crafts.    Thanks for stopping in today!  Hope it won't be too long before I have something new!

PTI Make It Monday #107 Clear Cards

Hello friends!  Its me again, back with more iPhone photos- but for you I upped the ante and edited them (with the iPhone- hahaha!).  I decided to play along with papertrey ink's Make It Monday today.  The challenge was to create a clear card and do a little copic coloring.  It sounded easy enough even though I have never been a big fan of the clear card- simply too much work in my opinion and hard to photograph on top of all that.  Here is what I came up with:

The straight on shot- you can see I artfully arranged it on top of my tower of ink pads and chose two random coordinating pieces of paper for the background.  The stamp set used is flower garden with the sentiment from the latest birthday set.  I used memento black and winter wisteria ink.

A little peek at the inside.  Since its a clear card I was forced did up the inside too.  Same two stamp sets, winter wisteria ink.  Everything held together with my ATG.  Thanks for stopping in today.  If you want me to cry happy tears (instead of loud pitiful sobs into my pillow) leave me some love in the comments!

More Mini Blooms

Hello there friends! Just popping in with another quick post of a Mini Blooms card I made last week.

This card uses all PTI product.  Mini Blooms stamp set, hawaiian shores, aqua mist, hibiscus burst, new leaf inks, aqua mist patterned paper, white card base.  Thanks for stopping in!

PTI Make It Monday- Glitter Accents

Hello friends!  It appears I am on a roll- three days, three posts- perhaps the secret is my iphone photos.  No editing and no uploading saves on time.  I can go straight from my phone to flickr to my blog.  I sacrifice quality but well at least I have something to show right?

Here is today's card in all its unedited glory, LOL.  I made the glitter accents using PTI's star border die.  The stamps are from their new birthday sentiment set that was released last month.  I am using Aqua Mist paper with Hawaiian Shores Ink.  The glitter is WOW from American crafts.  I just picked up a huge pack (like over 20 bottles of glitter) at Tuesday Morning for the bargain price of 14 bucks.  I will never be able to use all that glitter!  Thanks for stopping in today and if you would like to see the rest of PTI's Make It Monday entries just click here.