Sequins

Who knew I could like sequins?  When they first started popping up I totally did not get the attraction.  But now?  Now I am in love...  Its like when I first found stickles.

Card 1- Hawaiian Shores Cardstock, PTI Building Blocks stamps, assorted sequins.  About as CAS as it gets.

Card 2- New Leaf, Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise inks, assorted sequins, diamond stickles, PTI Building blocks stamps.  I wish you could see this one in person because the sparkle word is so sparkly!! I covered it in stickles in a splatter pattern.  There are also dots of stickles as well.

Thanks...

What's that?  A third day of posting?  How can it be?   Haha!  I made a few cards recently and actually took pictures- simple as that.  Today I have for you a Thank You card.  I am constantly in need of thank you cards.

This card is mostly pattern paper.  I'd love to tell you which pad but I am so lazy that I am not going to go dig for it.  I think its by Carta Bella.  The squares are from PTI square prints- stamped in Summer Sunrise, Berry Sorbet, and kraft.  The sentiment is from WMS.  Some little sequins from my LSS and its all done.  Thanks for stopping by!

Sequin Leaves

Wow two days in a row!  Is the world coming to an end or something?  I have another little CAS card for you today.  I finally hopped on the sequin band wagon.

The birds and tree are from Clearly Besotted.  I love that all the birds in the set are mirror images of each other.  I have been looking for a set like that for a long time.  The sentiment is from WMS Compact Sentiments.  Ink from PTI- blueberry sky and kraft.  Sequins from my LSS.

Inspired by....

Hello friends!  I have a card for you today inspired by something I saw on Nichole Heady's blog.  Its on this post but you may have to scroll down a bit.  Anyway I just loved the way the flowers looked with that bit of masking in the center.

 So here is my take.  I used PTI's new set, Garden Gate for the flowers and WMS say it loud for the sentiment.  Berry Sorbet, New Leaf, and Summer Sunrise inks, with the sentiment in Kraft.  Simple one layer card.

Polka Dot Card and Tag

Hello friends!  Today I have for you one card of a set I made.  I unfortunately deleted the pictures of all the other cards and cute packaging.  The set was auctioned off at our chili lunch.  So all I have left is this one sad little picture.  I might recreate this set because it was fun to make.  I used PTI's Polka dot basics, fillable frames, cardstock, ribbon, tag sale die, and buttons.  The big sentiment on the tag (one of my favorites!) is from Waltzingmouse's compact sentiments.

Baby Card and Gift Bag

Hey Friends! I have a quick card and bag for you today.  I apologize for the bad pictures.  Someday I will get my act together!  The card below was made using PTI product.  The stamps are from Baby Button Bits.  Dot Spot paper and Hawaiian shores cardstock and button.

Next up is a cute little gift bag.

 

Here is the thing I am really proud of!  My little vellum pocket for the card!  Genius and super easy! Adhere thick vellum on 3 sides to your Kraft bag.  Slide in your card!  Easy peasy and cute!  Matching tag was cut with a PTI die.  Its stamped with Baby Button Bits and Polka Dot basics. 

Birthday Circles

Hello Friends! I've got a birthday card for you today.  I made the background with polka dot basics and simple circles from PTI.  Hand cut banner with a sentiment from Wonderful Words (I think) also from PTI.  Colors used: Harvest Gold, Summer Sunrise, New Leaf, and Blueberry Sky.  I got the background idea from something I saw on Nichole Heady's blog awhile back.  Sorry I can't link you to the original.  I can't find it.

Polka Dots!

Hello Friends!  I have a new card for you today.  I used a couple of old PTI sets:  Polka dot basics and Fillable Frames.  I used New Leaf paper and ink.

Cute Little Tag

Hi Friends!  Today I have a fun little tag for you.  You are probably seeing the double tag all over the place- I thought I would give it a try.  I double cut the PTI tag 1 die from both patterned paper and cardstock.  Then I shortened the cardstock layer and gave it a scalloped edge.  A little stamping, a little ribbon and we are good to go!

And here it is all put together!  So pretty!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Thank You!

Hi Friends! Happy New Year!  I hope 2014 is starting off well for you all!  This is the first card I've made this year.  I used all PTI product.  I stamped the stitched flowers in white ink on Blueberry Sky cardstock.  I then added some shading with a white pencil.  A few red rhinestones finish things off.  The banner is PTI bitty boxes paper stamped with a sentiment from a special Thank You set from a few years ago.  Thanks for stopping by- I know the posts are few and far between.  Blogging has taken the back burner for me the past six months.  My life is a bit chaotic at the moment so I don't see blogging coming back to the forefront any time soon but I do appreciate you checking in on me!

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!