Book Plates Gift Set

As promised, I've got a sneak peek at one of my Christmas gifties.  My nephew has recently discovered the Wimpy Kid series of books and has been collecting them.  I was absolutely thrilled.  Until I saw how he was putting his name in them.  YIKES!!!  But, have no fear All Booked Up is here.  I wasn't sure how much use I'd get out of this set and the matching dies, but I am now hooked.  Aren't these pretty?

The bookplates were die cut from whole sheet adhesive labels from Avery using the Mat Stack 3.  This is actually the second set I did.  I tried stamping the centre image in a contrasting colour and also in black, but wasn't happy with the look.  On a whim, I tried using the same colour for both the mat and the image and struck gold.  I really like the monochromatic look on each one.  Before wrapping them up, I will write his name in to give them a more polished look. 

The bookmark was made from scraps leftover from my October Blog Hop Hanukkah card.  To make it a little more durable, I used a textured, glossy cardstock which I stuck to a piece of patterned paper before running through my Big Shot.  A simple monogram set in the Limitless Layers die cuts and my set is complete. 

Hope you like it and I hope it inspires all you PTI fanatics who bought All Booked Up to whip up a few sets as well.  And if you do, be sure to share.  We can all use a little inspiration.

Have a great one & be sure to make time to get inky!

Supplies (all PTI unless otherwise noted)
Paper - ripe avocado, white (Neenah), blue (Bazzill), patterned paper (unknown)
Stamps - all booked up, alphabet (Heidi Swapp)
Ink - VersaMark, Memento Dew Drops
Other - Mat Stack 3, Bookmark, and Limitless Layers dies, Ribbon (unknown)

P.S. I Love You

The minute I saw this week's Play Date Cafe colour challenge I thought of PTI's Beautiful Blooms patterned paper stack.  I absolutely love this paper and was thrilled to have a reason to pull it out again.  I got a few new-to-me stamp sets in the mail this week, so I immediately decided to ink up Love Songs.

It's funny how quickly a card can come together when you start with something you love.  Hopefully I can put some more of this to good use.  I've finally started my bookmark and book plate gift sets for Christmas and think this would be perfect.  Be sure to come back soon.  I'll be posting the set I did for my littlest nephew shortly.  Until then, happy stamping!

Supplies (all PTI unless otherwise noted)

Paper - Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado, & Beautiful Blooms, Solar White (Neenah)

Stamps - Love Songs & Everyday Button Bits

Ink - Fresh Snow, Black Staz-On

Other - white EP (Stampendous), Labels 3 (Nesties), Ocean Tides buttons, Button Twine

2S4Y66 -- Havin' a Hoot

I know.  I know.  I'm MIA, neglecting the poor old blog then TWO posts in one day.  Not sure what's going on but I will confess.  I pretended that laundry & vacuuming don't exist and have been hiding in my stamp room all day.  Absolute bliss.

This second post is actually one of three cards a customer (I LOVE saying that) ordered as a result of a fundraiser I did at my sister's office last month.  Since I had to get the cards done today to deliver to her on Monday, I figured I'd draw inspiration from some of my favorite card challenge websites.  This week's 2 Sketches 4 You layout was the jumping off point for my card.  Their Mr. Linky closes tonight which is the real reason I'm posting this today.

This is also one of the first pics taken in my new, homemade light box.  I have Ted over on the PTI forum to thank for his instructions.  It's actually quite fitting since he's also on the DT for the digital stamp I used for my card. 

Details:

Paper - Solar White (Neenah), brocade blue & polka dot print (SU - retired)

Stamps - Owl (Dustin Pike), Signature Greetings (PTI)

Colouring Mediums - Fresh Snow (PTI), PrismaColor pencils & Gamsol

Other - Button Twine (PTI), Labels 14 (Nesties), Bird Punch (SU), White EP

Thanks for dropping by.  Toodles!!

Peace on Earth

I really love the prints in PTI's Holiday Vintage Prints and wanted to create a set of cards using the gorgeous avocado stripe. A few weeks ago I showed you the first card in the set here. These are the other two:



The other card in the set used a PTI forum favorite, Turning a New Leaf, to add a little interest behind the sentiment. I love how the curve of the leaves mirrors the scripty font.



Thanks for sharing part of your day with me! And a special thanks to those who follow & comment on my little blog. You all make my day!

Details:
Paper - white (Neenah), red (Bazzill), stripe (PTI)
Stamps - dove & Peace (Recollections), Jesus sentiment (Stampabilities)
Ink - tuxedo black, pear tart, Encore gold metallic (Tsukineko)
Other - ribbon, gold tinsel EP (Stampendous)

Monkeyin' Around

I thought that I would try my hand at this week's Curtain Call Colour Challenge.  Aren't these colours delicious?  I didn't have all of the newer SU colours, so I improvised a bit.  So, here's my take on the challenge.   Hope you like it.

The details: 

Paper - Chocolate Chip (SU), Solar White (Neenah)

Stamps - Fox & Friends (SU), Sophie's Sentiment (LF), Woodgrain (Hero Arts)

Ink - Apricot Appeal (SU)

Other - Vine trim (PTI), Top Note die (SU), Ribbon (unknown), clear EP

fall farewell

Even though the season won't officially end for a few more weeks, it seems like fall is over.  I really fell in love with SU's Fall Foliage set and am sorry that I didn't put it to more use this year.  This card started out a few weeks ago when I created the collage print.  Problem was, I got some smudges on the bottom when I was embossing the original sentiment.  Not wanting to waste anything in my craft room, I put it aside with the intention of "fixing it up" later.  Well, it's finally later. 

I cut the original print and put an avocado strip at the bottom.  I wrapped it with grosgrain ribbon and accented it with a button bow.  The "thank you" sentiment is from Technique Tuesday's Loving Words set from Ali Edwards.  I {heart} this set.  The font and words are perfect.  The white embossing is a nice contrast to the dark chocolate base.

Hope you make some time today to get inky!  Thanks for visiting.

Lest We Forget

Hope you don't mind me taking a break from the festive but, I couldn't let today go without sending birthday wishes to a dear friend in the Canadian Armed Forces. I admire the support that Americans freely give to their troops and wish that Canadians were a little more openly supportive of our men and women who serve every day and not just on Rememberance Day.



Thanks for dropping by. And if you're a praying sort of person, don't forget to remember the men and women who willingly leave their families to keep us all safe.  Lest we forget all that has been done, and is still being done, to ensure our freedom and liberties. 

Have a great one!!

Details
Paper: green (SU), kraft (PTI), camo print (MM)
Stamps: Happy Birthday (Verve)
Ink: Fresh Snow
Other: wonky squares (Nesties), white EP, twill tape, brads

happy birthday

Okay, it's late. I'm tired. And I can't think of a creative title for this post. So, happy birthday it is. Work is gonna get crazy in the next few weeks, so I'm trying to get organized now and schedule some posts so the old blog isn't sorely neglected while work takes over my life.



Do you ever buy a pack of patterned paper because you absolutely love a few of the prints? Then, do you feel obligated to use the prints you don't like? Well, I do. Problem is ... I'm trying to talk myself into liking this print. But it ain't working. I do like how the ruffled twill toned it down a bit.

I realized at the last minute that I really, REALLY should have cracked open my new pack of vintage cream instead of using the glaringly bright SS white. But, I was too lazy to get up and start over. Hence the light blue flourishes in the background. Next time I will either stick to the "less is more" principle. Or try to be less lazy. Or just throw the whole card out with a clear conscious.  LOL

Details
Paper: SS white (PTI), Just Chillin' (Making Memories)
Stamps: All Booked Up, Enjoy the Ride, Embellishments (PTI), gift (Recollections)
Inks: rich cocoa, tangelo, summer sky, denim blue (all Memento)
Other: twill tape, Mat Stack 3 (PTI)

a non-traditional Christmas

Sometimes it's nice to get away from the traditional reds and greens for the holidays and really shake it up. The card base is a turquoise from SU that perfectly matched the lime & teal print I found at my LSS. The Pure Poppy oval was die cut and embossed using one of the newest Nestabilities, Lacey Ovals.  This is another card I made for a fundraiser sale at my sister's office to benefit the United Way.

The two stamps were cheapie bin finds at Michael's. And the sentiment is going in the trash pretty soon. That baby's got a mind of it's own. And it does not like to stay put on a block. Not to mention, it does NOT stamp evenly.  I had to touch up the "y" in happy with a gel pen (bless you signo). 

Thankfully, my PTI Christmas order showed up so I have plenty of holiday sentiments to choose from that stamp like a dream.

Not much else to say so ... see ya later!!

Thinking of You

    

After hearing about the Play Date Cafe on Keva's blog, I finally decided to check it out and play along.  This week's challenge was to create a card that was black and white with a splash of burgandy.  This card is actually doing double challenge duty this week.  Over at CASE Study, their card challenge for the week was to use these cards as the inspiration for a creation of your own.    I used lots of Papertrey goodies to create a card to send to my BFF to let her and her hubby know that they are in my thoughts and prayers.  So, here's my creation.

I started with a True Black card base and used a linen textured damask print from Recollections.  To balance out the busy background, I decided to shoot for a simple, classic, and elegant look.  I die cut the mat using the Mat Stack #1 and inked up just the dotted frame from TT: Christmas in Rhubarb Stalk (Memento).  The sentiment was taken from Mailbox Greetings and heat embossed in black.  To add the splash of burgandy, I used grosgrain ribbon under the tag and stuck on a fluffy organza double bow.  A half-back pearl was the finishing touch.

Can't wait to see what challenges the talented ladies over at the Play Date Cafe and CASE Study have in store for next week.  Thanks for sharing part of your day with me.