How About Some Guidelines?

How about some Guidelines? I have been loving PTI's new Giga Guidelines. So much fun to play with and so easy to use. I also like mixing them up with original guidelines and Guidelines 2. So much you can do with these little guys. On this card I started with a piece of rustic cream cardstock. I drew one inch gridlines in with a pencil because I wanted the pattern to be straight. I stamped the dark chocolate stamp first and then went back with the same stamp (but smaller version) and stamped the spring moss design. I love the way it came out. I added a few rhinestones in the centers. I adhered my pp to my spring moss base and lined the edge with cream twill. Next I used Waltzingmouse's No. 4 labels stamp to stamp my dark chocolate which I then cut out with my spellbinder nestie. I stamped the sentiment from Giga in Cream and added a prima flower with a spring moss button. Thats it! All done. I still have a good half sheet of this paper left so you will probably see it again. I also have a few more Giga projects for you provided I find some blogging time over the next few days. Thanks for stopping by and big thanks to those who leave me comments. Seriously, I am not lying when I say they make my day!

The Last of the Aqua and Chocolate

Well at least for now....  anyway I made this in my aqua chocolate frenzy a few weeks ago.  The base dark chocolate stamped in versamark with a stamp from PTIs vintage labels.  The little strip of pp is made from more PTI stamps... I think from Vintage labels?  The sentiment is from Vintage Picnic.  The frame on the nesties and the little design under it is from waltzingmouse stamps.  I added on some cute aquamist buttons and called it good.

This and That Notebook

I made this for Dawn McVey's color challenge then never photographed and entered it. That seems to be a recurring theme in my life lately... do something, never quite finish, never quite get it there on time. It means I have too much on my plate or I need to make better use of my time. I think its probably a little of both. I have been putting in some long hours at work and then I have all my home responsibilities too. I also have an unhealthy addiction to facebook, LOL! Anyhow on to the notebook. I used leaf green cardstock from PTI. I stamped it in dark chocolate using the grid stamp from Off Beat Backgrounds from Waltzingmouse stamps. Next I stamped a cream panel with roses from PTI's flower garden. I stamped twice, once to get the dark image, then again for the softer image. If you enlarge the image you can see the softer image better. Because I didnt read the color challenge (I just looked at the pic) I thought the pink was suppose to be hibiscus, which is what I used (it was suppose to be raspberry fizz). I mounted the cream panel onto a thin dark chocolate layer. I put some hibiscus twill onto the green portion then mounted on my panel. I covered the roses in crystal stickles. I added a punched kraft border to one side. I punched out a scalloped cream circle and a plain dark chocolate circle and paired them. The cream circle is stamped in leaf green with a stamp from Take Note. The hibiscus border is also from Take Note. The last thing was the addition of hibiscus buttons tied with cream twine. Thanks for stopping by! Have an awesome Friday!

Holiday Notebook

For this notebook I pulled out Rustic Snowflake. Michelle Wooderson had just done a whole post on red and cream so I thought I would give that a try. The base is PTI vintage cream, its stamped with pure poppy. The red panels are Pure Poppy stamped with vintage cream. Pure poppy grosgrain and cream twill are tied on, as well as some cream buttons tied with jute twine. I also added a few red rhinestones to the centers of the snowflakes. On the inside is a PTI notebook in cream and chocolate. The other stamps are all from the Take Note set. Thanks so much for coming by! I hope you have a great Thursday! I can't wait for the weekend, myself. I haven't had a chance to craft all week.

Notebooks!

The first in quite a few notebooks that I have made with PTI's new Take a Note set and cute little notepads. Those notepads are a good deal, only 60 cents each and such a perfect size. I also love the dark chocolate lines. For the base of this notebook I used melonberry cardstock. I stamped it with the plaid stamp from Waltzingmouse stamps in dark chocolate and melonberry ink. Next I cut a piece of dark chocolate cs and adhered it to the front. After that I stamped the pencil image and box image on some PTI kraft. I cut it out and adhered it to the dark chocolate panel. I punched a kraft circle and stamped it with the circle image and the sentiment. I added a piece of melonberry bitty dot ribbon and a melonberry button tied with jute twine. Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous Wednesday.

Guidelines Thank you

Another Guidelines card. I stamped the base of this one the day I got the new Giga Guidelines and then promptly lost it in the pile of mess I had made. Does that ever happen to you? My husband assures me I am the messiest woman he has ever known. Its probably true. Anyway I stamped the top panel with Giga Guidelines in Aquamist on cream cardstock. I then used a stamp from original Guidelines and stamped in plum pudding. The sentiment is from Giga and is in plum pudding as well. The little strip of purple is plum pudding cs punched with my threading water fiskars punch. I added some tiny purple rhinestones and called it done. Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Guidelines!

Well finally I got around to taking some pictures!  I have been really busy with school and with my kids but I have been crafting. Unfortunately I hadn't taken a picture of a darn thing lately!  I have enough pics taken now to get the blog moving for at least this week and part of next week.  I even found a notebook I had made for Dawn's color challenge, which is now long over!  Oh well!  For this card I pulled out a couple of PTI's sets:  Giga guidelines, Guidelines 1, and Guidelines 2.  These are some of my most favorite sets.  Sometimes I just like to sit and build backgrounds on a blank piece of paper.  For this background I used the gridlines cardstock from PTI.  It makes building the background even easier.  Everything is easier to line up.  If you use a gridlined block its even better!  I started with big Giga stamp in Spring Moss (original formula).  Next I added in a tile from guidelines 2 in aqua mist (new formula).  Finally I went back with a stamp from guidelines 1 in plum pudding.  Next I stamped the sentiment from Giga Guidelines on some plum pudding cardstock that I had scalloped with my corner rounder.  I added a layer of aqua mist bitty dots and some satin aqua mist ribbon.  I added to that a plum pudding button tied on with cream twine.  Everything is mounted to a Ripe Avocado base.  It is so pretty IRL.  I think it might be one of the ones I hoard!  LOL!  

I hope you all had a good Monday.  I spent the day with my kiddies (they go to year round school and are off track right now) at the zoo.  We looked at animals and played at the park.  It was a really nice morning.  Tomorrow we are back to the work grind!  Thanks for coming by!

Happy Halloween!

Thats my hubby's head. He likes to dress it up! Happy Halloween from our family to yours!

Vintage Picnic and Plaid

Another of my aqua and chocolate creations... I was on a roll that day! This one uses PTI's vintage labels and vintage picnic along with Waltzingmouse stamps off beat backgrounds (plaid stamp). I used both dark chocolate and aqua mist inks. Dark chocolate twill as well. Labels one dies from spellbinders, I love them! I colored in the flowers with my trusty copic markers.

It's Blog Hop Time

Hello Friends! It is PTI Blog Hop time! This month's challenge was:
October Blog Hop

It's time for our annual Holiday Hop! Show us your best upcoming holiday plans for cards, gifts, wraps
or whatever else you have up your sleeve! With everyone's cumulative efforts the participant list will be
an amazing resource!

I have for you a gift idea. Perfect for someone you want to remember, yet don't have a lot of money in the budget for. I think it would be fabulous for a teacher, coworker, friend, or daycare provider. I got the idea from a wooden tea box I received from my best friend last Christmas. I was so proud of myself for coming up with the box! Its simple but I am not so great at the 3D thing. The size is based on the size of my Stash brand tea bags. The sides of the box are 1 1/4 inches. The base is 8.5 inches. So it pretty much uses up a full sheet of cardstock. The width is 3.5 inches. I made the accompanying lid 1/4 inch bigger in width and length. All materials are PTI except for the lovely plaid stamp which I got at waltzingmousestamps.
I used PTI's scarlet jewel and cream cardstock. After I cut the lid to size I scored it and stamped it in scarlet jewel with my plaid stamp from Waltzingmouse. Then I punched the edges with my Fiskars Threading Water punch. Next I stamped the teapots from Tea for Two onto cream cardstock and cut them out with rectangle nesties. I ran a length of scarlet jewel saddlestitch ribbon down the length of the lid and then adhered the teapot panels. I stamped a sentiment from Tea for Two in cream on scarlet cardstock. I cut it out and rounded the corners. Then I adhered it and added some cream and scarlet buttons
On the bottom part of the box I stamped some sentiments from Tea for Two. I did the stamping before putting the box together. On the inserts I stamped the little cup from the Everyday Classics set.
A couple more shots of the end and the inside. Hope you like this project and it gives you some ideas for inexpensive and thoughtful gifts.

Waltzingmouse Thank you

Hi there!  Its Wednesday, we are half way through the week!  Today I have a thank you card featuring Waltzingmouse stamps.  The only stamp not from WM is the sentiment which is from PTI.  I used WM off beat backgrounds for the lovely polkadot background.  I stamped it in ripe avocado ink on PTI's ripe avocado paper.  I added a strip of basic grey paper (sorry no clue what line). Next I stamped a piece of PTI spring moss with WM Very vintage labels.  I then cut it out with a spellbinder 4 nestie.  I added a lovely piece of summer sunrise grosgrain and tied it in a knot.  Then I layered on another nestie stamped with another WM Very Vintage Label.  I stamped on the PTI sentiment in ripe avocado.  A ripe avocado button and a little button twine finish it off.  Hope you like!

A Little More Aqua and Chocolate

Actually I have a lot more Aqua and Chocolate but I am not posting it all today... gotta spread out the love.  Today I have a thank you card to show you.  I used all PTI on this one.  The colors are Aqua Mist, Vintage Cream, and Dark Chocolate.  Thats the new Aqua Mist ink, which I must say is a thousand times better than the old.  The stamp set Vintage labels with the exception of the sentiment which is from either Beyond Basic Borders or Rustic branches... they look so much alike and I am too tired to run and check.
And here is a close up of all that yummy aqua goodness.  I got the idea for the background on the Aqua from a card on Dawn McVey's blog.  I can't find it now, but I think she showed it during the Vintage Label countdown.  I am off to work, have a great Tuesday!  Today I will be explaining solids, liquids, and gases to first graders; discussing Atoms and the periodic table with fifth graders; and reviewing magnetism with some cute 4th graders.  Hope your day is fun too!

Halloween Boxes

Good Morning and Happy Monday. I do love a Monday, perhaps because I have the day off every week. Today I have for you a couple of little Halloween boxes. They are made with some orange Bazzill cardstock and a mix of Waltzingmouse and Papertrey Ink stamps. The bats and little stars are from WM everything else from PTI. The ribbon I picked up at Michaels last year. I made the box by copying the one my smashbox eyeshadow came in. I don't have any measurements I just took the original apart and traced and scored it. I was thinking I would make these for the teachers at school but it was way too time consuming so I need another idea before the 30th.

Aqua and Chocolate

Good morning and Happy Sunday! I have some aqua mist and chocolate goodness for you today. I stamped the little wreath from Rustic Branches onto vintage cream card stock. I added the berries in aqua mist and dotted them with eucalyptus stickles. I stamped the words peace, joy, and love in the center of the wreath with aqua mist. You can see it better if you enlarge the picture. The buttons are from PTI, aqua mist in color, tied with jute button twine.Here is a close up of the love wreath. I just love this color pairing. And I am so glad I got out some older stamps to play with... so often they just sit on the shelf. Enjoy your Sunday! Thanks for stopping by.

Fall Leaves

I have been meaning to post this one, but it got lost in the digital pile.  I ran across it today while looking for something else.  I have been working on new cards this weekend, so hopefully I will have some new stuff this week.  This card uses all PTI products.  The leaves are from fall elegance.  Swirls from Fancy Flourishes, melon, moss, and hibiscus ink.  melon, moss, and cream cardstock.  The sentiment is from the Butterfly Kisses.  Thanks for stopping by.

Grateful List

Hello and happy Saturday!  Today I have my grateful list for you.... ten things I am grateful for in no particular order:

1.  I finally got my paycheck! (It was an unhappy surprise when my paycheck did not show up on the first of the month.)

2.  My son cleaned his room last night so I won't have to whine at him today.

3.  The second grade pizza party was too much fun, love those little kids.

4.  No soccer this weekend.

5.  Mondays off!

6.  Computer guy fixed my software issue at school.

7.  Got to skip out on the staff meeting

8.  Facebook friends.

9.  Chocolate

10.  New stamps headed my way!

More Christmas

I have another little Christmas card to show you today. All products by Papertrey Ink. I took one of the trees from Tree Trimming Trio. I stamped it in Ripe Avocado. I then got out my lovely PTI buttons and covered the tree. I added green stickles to the little stars. The stand is stamped in Dark Chocolate. I inked around the edges of the cream cardstock in ripe avocado. This is my favorite card out of the latest batch. Thanks for stopping by! Have an awesome Thursday! I will be serving up pizza to some second graders at lunch today. They are so excited.

Christmas, so soon?

It is way early for me to be making Christmas cards. It does help that the weather just changed. I can not make Christmas cards when its warm and toasty outside! Usually I make all my cards in the first week of December. This is not a good idea, but its usually what happens. Anyhow... I made this card using PTI's new Tree trimming Trio. Love this set. Even cuter than you think it will be. It also has some great sentiments in it. My sentiment is there on the side because I scored my card in the wrong place! Happy accident, love the way it turned out.

That rain yesterday? Holy cow! I was 45 minutes late to work, along with the 5 other teachers who live out my way. My classroom sprung two different leaks. It was so wet and soggy! But its over now and its not like we don't need the rain. So bring it on, I say. Happy Wednesday!

Nothing Better

Hello! Happy Tuesday to you! Here in Northern California we are expecting our first big rain storm and if you listened to the news, you would think it had never rained here before! Looks like its going to be a pain getting to work this morning.
This morning I have a cute little friend card for you. I made the base out of PTI kraft cardstock. I stamped it in PTI ripe avocado with Waltzingmouse stamps off beat backgrounds grid stamp. The pretty flourish, leaves, and sentiment are all from PTI. The cute little ends on the label are from WM very vintage labels. PTI buttons, ribbon, and twine round out the card. Thanks for stopping in! Stay dry this Tuesday!

On a Roll!

Wow, two whole posts in two days! Don't get used to it.... I don't think I will make the whole week. Today I have for you another card using Waltzingmouse stamps. Very similar to yesterdays card. The cardstock is PTI's enchanted evening and vintage cream. Ink is enchanted evening. All stamps by Waltzingmouse except for the sentiment, that is from PTI's Wishing You set. The button, twill, and twine are also from PTI. Thanks for stopping in!

Something New!

Finally I made it to my craft table! I have been so busy and also I am easily sucked into other things like this computer or a good novel. Anyway today I have for you a cute little all occasion card featuring new stamps from Waltzingmouse Stamps. I used WM offbeat backgrounds to complete the plaid background in PTI's sweet blush and berry sorbet on PTI cream cardstock. I stamped WM Very Vintage labels on PTI cream with PTI berry sorbet. I cut it out by hand (but then I ran down to my local stamp store and picked up the coordinating spellbinder label four dies... shhhhh... dont tell my hubby.) The cute little accents are also from WM very vintage labels. The sentiment is from PTI's Wishing You. The ribbon is PTI berry sorbet, swiss dot. Before I go I would like to add that Claire, owner of Waltzingmouse has wonderful customer service. Her shipping is speedy fast, she replies to emails quickly, and she took care of a small problem with one of my stamps quickly and efficiently. Not only that but she is a terrific person and an amazing designer. If you have been hesitant to order from her, rest assured she is top notch.

Need a Laugh?

This is me and my kitty Tiger. The kids wanted to get him this little chicken hat for Halloween. As you can probably tell, he won't be wearing it. He was mad! I almost thought he was going to give me the paw. Thats all I got today, no cards, no crafty stuff. I am treading water at work, lots of new responsiblities = me working harder and longer hours. Add in my two kids, the usual chores and I just am not having any free time lately. However I got two new sets of stamps from Waltzing Mouse Stamps by the fabulous Claire so I should be getting inky this weekend. My husband intercepted my package yesterday (I try to keep these things on the down low) and he said, "What on earth are you getting from the UK?" I said, new stamps in the quietest whisper voice to which he rolled his eyes. Clearly my little hobby is getting out of hand. :)

PTI World Card Making Day Challenge 1 & 2

Nichole Heady from PTI is running a contest on her blog for World Card Making Day (yesterday).  You still have time if you want to enter!  You could win the entire October Release!  Wouldn't that be sweet?!  The first challenge was to make a card inspired by Japan, japenese art, etc.  I pulled out my Out On a Limb set because it reminds me of Japanese cherry blossoms.

Card Deets: All products PTI unless noted.  CS: Hibiscus burst, vintage cream, dark chocolate.  Ribbon:  Hibiscus satin.  Ink: Hibiscus, dark chocolate, spring moss.  Ranger stickles and liquid pearls.

Challenge 2 Mexico

The little spots and dots background here reminds me of Mexican tiles. The bright and bold colors of the gems say Mexico to me as well. Imagine my surprise when I saw the website later and saw the next challenge was India... LOL I guess I could have used this for that one as well! But it was slated to be Mexico, so thats where its staying. All materials PTI except for the galaxy gold ink and rhinestones (K&co.)

Wedding Time

I think I mentioned that my sister in law (my husband's younger sister) was getting married this weekend. Both my kids were in the wedding along with the groom's niece and nephew who just happen to be the same age and same genders! Isn't that funny? So the big day was yesterday, in Tahoe, California. If you have never been to Tahoe, you should definitely go. Its some beautiful country. I thought I would share a few pictures from the big day.
The bride and her parents walking her down the aisle.
My two kids, aren't they so cute?

Here they are at the hotel right before the wedding.

My sister in law and her new husband at the reception.  I love how happy they look!

New Papertrey Goodness

Look at all this yummy PTI goodness!  I havent had much crafty time lately but I did manage to make a couple of  Christmas cards when my box of PTI goodies landed on my doorstep Tuesday.  I was a bad girl.  I skipped the gym and stayed home and made cards.  The rest of the week has been full of school.  Today I work and then tomorrow we leave to go to Tahoe for my Sister In Laws wedding.  Wedding all weekend long and then Monday I volunteer in both kids classes and meet with my nutritionist (diabetes and insulin pump issues).  So no signs of slowing down.  

CARD DEETS:  PTI cardstock in new leaf and rustic white.  Stamped with Tree Trimming Trio

in spring moss and pure poppy.  Sentiment in new leaf. Hero arts rhinestones and PTI satin ribbon in pure poppy.

Yippee! A Card!

Well I had planned a crafty weekend... but life got the best of me once again.  I did get this one card made.  It took me two hours!  Way, way longer then normal.  This one is for my sister in law who is getting married on Saturday!  Yay!  My daughter and son are both going to be in the wedding.  I just know they are going to be frieking adorable.   Anyway back to the card.  I started by stamping that small strip of pp.  I actually made a full sheet of that using PTI's grid line cardstock, guidelines 1, aquamist and enchanted evening ink.  The card base is enchanted evening.  The oval from Wedding Day is stamped on aquamist cs.  All the other stamps are also from the Wedding Day set.  The ribbon is enchanted evening twill with some of the silver that PTI sold last christmas (um yeah first time I have used it... me thinks maybe I buy too much?).  The bling is from Heidi Swapp.  It was orignally a circle.  I made it become oval.  Hope you  like!

Helllloooooooo

Wow, work is taking its toll on my blog! I apologize for the lack of posts. The problem is I haven't had time to make anything! We are two weeks into the school year and I am already swamped! On top of that I have my first illness of the year, some kind of horrid head cold. I am not complaining because trust me, I am happy to be employed. Hoping this weekend to get some new things made, maybe get them photographed so we have something pretty to look at next week. In the meantime here is my grateful list for this week!

Ten Things I am Thankful For (In totally random order!)
1. New stamps from PTI
2. An Ha1c of 6.8
3. Cute new pants that were on sale
4. My sewing machine
5. That my mom taught me how to sew
6. My friend, Louise, for making me laugh
7. My friend, Asa, for his high standards
8. My husband for bringing me lunch on Friday
9. My boss for giving me some leeway on my arrival time so I can drop my kids at school.
10. My cat

Celebrate Fall

I don't know about you all but I am ready for some cool weather! We had a nice summer, not too many days in the triple digits... but I am really ready for some sweater weather. A little wind and maybe a tad bit of rain. This card uses some of the newer papertrey products. The pp is from their August collection. The sentiment and stamp is from Autumn Abundance. I stamped in dark chocolate and fresh snow. I colored with my copics. The acorns have a little bit of stickles on them.

A Cherry Gift Ensemble

My friend's little girl was turning a year old this past weekend. I always like to give a homemade gift when I can, usually along with something store bought. We bought the one year old a couple of our favorite board books by Sandra Boynton and then I made her this cute little onesie.
Ever since I bought Everyday Button Bits from Papertrey Ink I had thought those cherries would look fabulous as a T-shirt or a onesie. Since this one is for a little girl who is less than three I made doubly sure to sew those buttons on extra tight. We wouldn't want them to end up in someone's mouth. I stamped the leaves on in palette viridian green. I sewed on some scarlett jewel buttons and then I stamped the sentiment (from Studio G) in palette noir. It really didn't take long at all, most time consuming was the securing of the buttons. When I finished I made a matching gift bag an card. The Kraft bag is from Target. They run about 50cents. I stamped it with PTI Polka Dot basics in Scarlet Jewel. I then cut a label from my Label one dies and added on the cherry leaves and scarlet jewel buttons. Same studio G sentiment. I added some scarlet jewel satin ribbon to the bag and then glued on the label. The card was made in the same fashion except the sentiment is from PTI's Everyday Button Bits.

Rosemary for Remembrance

Hard to believe its been 8 years. My thoughts are with those who paid the ultimate price and their loved ones who are still paying. May God Bless America

Happy First Day of School to Me!

I made these for the staff at the elementary school where I teach. I love my coworkers! I can't wait for this school year to begin!
Deets: Hero arts apple, copics, PTI cardstock, Martha Stewart and PTI ribbon, PTI sentiment

Moxie Fab Challenge

The Moxie Fab Blog (here) is having a challenge. You still have time to participate if you hurry. The deadline is Labor Day. The challenge is to make a Christmas card. This is such a challenge for me in the summer. I do not work well out of season. I don't think I could ever be on a design team for this very reason. I do not feel Christmasy in August or September or even in October! But the prize for this challenge is 4 sets of PTI stamps! 4 sets! So I got out my Waltzingmouse Gingerbread men. Actually these aren't even mine. Claire gave them to my daughter but I make her share with me.
Card details: I used Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy cardstock and ribbon. The gingerbread man and sentiment is from Waltzingmouse stamps. He is stamped in PTI dark chocolate on Kraft. The white is PTI fresh snow, the red is pure poppy. The pp is from my stash and bought so long ago I have no idea where it is from. The snowflakes are from PTI's rustic snowflake.

Ruffled Ribbon

Ruffled Ribbon seems to be in lately, doesn't it? I made mine with PTI grosgrain. I took a couple pieces of embroidery thread and ran a running stitch through the top of the ribbon. Pull to ruffle. I hate to sew on paper so I stuck it down with sticky tape. All materials are PTI. I used dimensionals to pop up the pp. Colored the flowers with copics. I like it, alot.

Feeling Grateful

It's been awhile since I have had a grateful post... in no particular order, here are ten things I am grateful for today.

10. My job! Helping kids, playing scientist, a paycheck... whats not to like?
9. My coworkers: I am lucky to work in a place where I adore the people around me.
8. Toby Keith: Saw his concert last Friday night. It was awesome!
7. Starbucks black ice tea: my favorite summer drink
6. My son's first grade teachers: what a difference a year makes, these teachers rock!
5. My husband: sat through Toby Keith (he hates country music) with a smile on his face, he is a keeper!
4. My son can ride his two wheeler!
3. My daughter treating her brother so well lately.
2. My copic marker air gun. LOVE it!!!!
1. Bootcamp- making me feel awful for days, but leaving me with some nice muscles!

I hope you have a terrific Thursday! Hopefully I will have some new cards in the next few days, thanks for stopping by!