Another PTI Challenge

Last night I was able to complete another weekly challenge on the PTI forum. Lynn supplied the sketch and we were free to use any colors or stamps we wanted. I also needed to make a birthday card for my nephew so I combined the two.

I started with a base of Spring Moss cardstock and you can barely see it but I stamped some tiny bees in Spring Moss ink along the top and bottom. I used some patterned paper from DCWV's summer stack and stamps from PTI's Honey Bees set and RubberNecker stamps (Colorbox Cyan pigment ink). I used stickers for his name.

This wasn't one of my best cards as I didn't have much time to work on it, but I think the colors are bright enough that my nephew will like it. Besides I think he may be more interested in what's inside the card anyway. :-)

Thanks for visiting. I hope you have a great (and safe) holiday weekend.

Great Find at Big Lots

I usually check out Big Lots hoping to find a great deal on craft supplies--sometimes I'm lucky and sometimes I'm not so lucky. Yesterday I hit the jackpot! I found all of these McGill punches for $4 each. I've seen a few of them for $19 each in my local craft stores and have put off buying them because of the price. I must've hit them on just the right day and was able to buy them all for the price of one. (happy dance!) :-)
Of course, I have too much scheduled for the next few days so I won't even get a chance to enjoy them, but once things settle down I'm ready.

I apologize for the lack of cards posted lately, but I have been cleaning like a mad woman and getting ready for a party I'm having tonight. I'll be happy when I can finally relax.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great day.

CTMH Stamps

Until a few months ago I had never heard of Close to My Heart products, but Annapurna (http://homemadegreetings.blogspot.com/) recently sent me an e-mail to let me know about their big clearance sale. I couldn't pass up $4.00 per stamp set so I bought 3 sets and I made 2 cards with them last night.

First up I stared with a base of PTI's Vintage Cream, stamped with Polka Dot Basics in Plum Pudding. I stamped the 2-step tulip from CTMH's Life is So Good set in Lavender Moon, Plum Pudding, and Spring Moss and used my Fiskars flower corner punch to accent the corners. I used Swiss Dots and Twill Tape from PTI in Lavender Moon and Plum Pudding.

Next up is the card that I started Wednesday night, but finished last night. I used PTI's Dark Chocolate paper and ink and some coordinating ribbon I had in my stash. I stamped two of the flowers from CTMH's Blossom Blocks in Dark Chocolate on Vintage Cream cardstock. The photo didn't pick it up, but I used VersaMark to make very subtle flourishes on the cream background paper. It adds just a little bit of interest without overpowering the rest of the card.

I didn't put sentiments of either one of the cards because I can always add them later if I decide, but I also think both of them work without it.

This was my first experience with CTMH stamps and I have to give them a thumbs up. I'm glad that Anna introduced me to them. I am still a PTI addict, but there's always room for more stamps.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you have a great weekend!

Poor, Poor Sam

I got home from work about an hour ago to find my fish Sam dead. :-(

He was alive and well this morning when I left. As usual, he greated me at his bowl and flared at the food jar so that I would feed him. I know it sounds silly, but for a little fish he had a big personality. He made me laugh with how excited he would get when I'd come near his bowl, yet he'd all but ignore my boyfriend unless he had blood worms with him. I remember right after I got him I had to rearrange some of the kitchen appliances because he kept trying to fight with my red KitchenAid mixer. (Hey, I didn't say he was smart, just that he made me laugh!) :-)

Somehow today he got trapped between the glass and some river rocks near the bottom of the bowl and he couldn't surface for air. The poor baby must've drowned (or suffocated whatever you want to call it). It seems so weird that a fish could drown, but I guess that's what happend to my poor Sam.

RIP Sammy, my little buddy--you were a great fish and I'll miss you.

Another PTI Challenge

I was able to complete PTI's weekly challenge card in record time last night. I also finished up a card for their monthly GSS contest, and almost finished another one using my new Close to My Heart stamps. The only one I can post now is the weekly challenge card so here goes:

Kimberly furnished us with a fun and original sketch for this week and I borrowed a few elements from her sample as well--I kept the stars for my embellishments and also the Aqua Mist color. When I originally made this card the plain crimped kraft paper still needed a little something so I went back and added the three berries from the Out on a Limb set (same set as the sentiment). I ran the two smaller clear stars through my little Xyron machine, stuck them to some Everyday Blessings patterned paper, and cut them out with my trusty Tim Holtz scissors (Yes, I am still in love with them).

I should be able to assemle and put the finishing touches on my next card after work tonight. I have most of it completed already I just ran out of time. I used my new Close to My Heart stamps that I received yesterday. I didn't have as much time to play as I would've liked, but I think I am going to really enjoy using them.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope to be back tomorrow with another card or two. :-)

An Award!

I am so honored to have received a new blog award from Katie ( http://katiespaperhaven.blogspot.com/ ) today.

Here are the rules:

1) The winner can put the logo on their blog

2) Link the person you received your award from

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4) Put links of those blogs on yours

5) Leave a message on the blogs of the girls or boys you’ve nominated

I am really touched that I was given this award (and the previous ones too) because there are so many wonderful blogs out there and the fact that someone thinks mine is special enough for an award gets me all warm and fuzzy.

I know I've been bad in the past about passing these along, but with or without technical difficulties I'm going to give this a try. I have several blogs on my sidebar already and it's hard to narrow it down to 7, but here goes. For inspiration go visit:

Annapura http://homemadegreetings.blogspot.com/

Niki http://mypapercreations.blogspot.com/

Erica http://1creativelife.blogspot.com/

Claire http://waltzingmouse.blogspot.com/

Donelda http://wiggysworldofcrafts.blogspot.com/

Tracy http://whoistracy.com/myhead/

Deb http://dpkcreations.blogspot.com/

I could list many more because there are so many blogs that I love to visit, but these are my 7. I hope you visit them to see what they've been up to. You won't be disappointed.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Pure Poppy & Dark Chocolate

I got my new goodies from Papertrey Ink yesterday and I couldn't wait to get home and play. The new color this month is a beautiful red called Pure Poppy. I paired it with last month's color Dark Chocolate and I really liked the results. The stamps are from their new set called First Fruits.

First Fruits has a lot of design elements that are different from anything else I have. I knew I had to have it when I saw the stamp that creates the pattern on the bottom of my card, but I can honestly say I like the entire set and not just a few stamps from it.

I hope to be able to get a few more cards done this week. I liked getting back into my craft room even if it was just for an hour or so. Thanks for stopping by.

I {heart} Butterflies

We have been having such beautiful weather in St. Louis lately. It doesn't feel like August--we should be sweltering in the upper 90s with high humidity by now, but for some reason we've had lows in the 60s and highs in the low to mid 80s without much humidity.

What does that have to do with butterflies you may ask? Nothing really, other than because of the beautiful weather we decided to take a quick trip to the zoo yesterday. I love the fact that we live close enough that we can take a short trip if we want. Admission is free, parking is free in Forest Park and we've lucked out finding close parking spots the last few times we've visited.

One of my favorite parts of the zoo is the geodesic flight dome cage that is part of the insectarium building. It is smaller than the Butterfly House in Chesterfield, but it is still full of beautiful rainforest plants and butterflies. I got a few pictures, but I'd love to be able to spend more time there and get a few more photos.

The first few could've been a little better, but I forgot to change the settings on my camera.

Right before I left I had my camera adjusted properly and was able to catch this black and white beauty with one shot. It was just hanging out right near the exit door.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Thanks for stopping by today. (The one shot worked perfectly for my blog header as well. Yes, I changed it again. LOL)

Animals Crack Me Up

Animals, and in particular my cat, crack me up. Last Saturday I bought my kitty a 3-story cat condo like the one pictured below. Of course she wouldn't go anywhere near it other than to sniff it and run away. Even hiding treats inside and on top was of no use--she'd grab the treats and run.





Last night out of frustration I asked the cat (yes I talk to my animals, even the fish) if Mommy had wasted her money on the cat condo, and if I should just give it to the kitties at the humane society who would appreciate it? That must've struck a chord because within an hour or so I got this picture.

You can see some of the treats (bribes) inside the bottom level. Well my little heart-to-heart must've worked. I'm not sure how often I'll see a repeat of the above, but she seems to enjoy laying on the top where she can look out the window--she enjoys it enough that she got up early today and instead of snuggling with me in bed she curled up on top of her condo. I'm so happy that she finally seems to realize that it's hers and is getting to like it.

I know that some people may disagree, but I think my cat can understand a lot more of what I say to her than I ever thought possible. Maybe she just picks up on how I'm feeling rather than what I say, but the end result is the same. IMO she's one smart kitty.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great day.

A Couple of Challenge Cards

First up I have my card for last week's Casual Mid Week Challenge #18 at the PTI forum. I worked from a sketch created by Lynn and used a pink and brown color combo (I know surprise, surprise). The most exciting part of both of these cards is the fact that I got to use my new Fiskars Threading Water punch. I have been looking at my local craft stores for months and finally was rewarded.




For this week's challenge I designed the sketch. Well, actually I made a card first and then made the sketch. As usual I did it backwards. Still celebrating my new punch I decided to make scallops part of my sketch. I also made a point of using my script embossing folder that has been neglected for far too long. I am really pleased with how the colors came together for this card. I've had those flowers forever and once I saw them with the Hobby Lobby ribbon and PTI's Aqua Mist cardstock I knew it was a perfect match.

Thanks for stopping by today. If you want to check out any of the weekly challenges at PTI, here is the best place to start. http://forum.papertreyink.com/forum/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=8507&g2_GALLERYSID=012aacf4f907e4bbc0df82bca24e6bf4 .

New Layout

I've noticed a lot of bloggers out there sprucing up their pages and Imust've been bitten by the same bug. I'm sort of limited to the available templates Blogger has for now, but I like the colors and layout. The photo at the top is one that my bf took during his trip to Canada earlier this year. I'm going to have to see it for myself one day because his photos were breathtakingly beautiful.

My craft room is being neglected again so I have nothing else to show you, but hopefully I'll be back soon with something more to share.

Take care and have a great weekend.

I Won An Award!

Erica (http://1creativelife.blogspot.com) has honored me with an award. I check her blog regularly for creative inspiration whether it's coming from the craft room or the kitchen, or sometimes just about life in general. She was kind enough to pick my blog as one of her 7 to pass along the award to.


Here are the rules of the nomination and award acceptance:

1) The winner can post the logo on her blog

2) Link the person you received your award from

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4) Put links of those blogs on yours

5) Leave a message on the blogs you've nominated

I'm having some technical issues right now linking the blogs I want to nominate, but hopefully I will have that resolved shortly. Until then, please feel free to check out my blogroll over on the left side of the page. Those are a few of my favorites.

I'm Back!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything, but last night was the first time I've been back in my craft room in a week. It's been crazy enough at my house, but add in my parent's house being broken into and robbed the day after my birthday and it makes for a stressful and busy week.

My mom had asked me to make a few birthday cards for her so I got to work and made a few last night. I hope that she likes them. She had requested cards for a 75-yr old woman, a 90-yr old woman, and 1-yr old boy.

I used Papertrey Ink's Out on a Limb set for the first card and added some flowers made with a punch from Target's $1 spot. I love adding sparkle so each flower got a gem in the center.

The next card uses the Quilter's Sampler set from Papertrey Ink. I stamped the quilt squares and colored them with my Copic markers then stamped the sentiment on some of PTI's new linen vellum and layered it over the top and tied it with some Lemon Tart twill tape.





I had absolutely no idea what sort of card to make for a 1-yr old boy, especially one I've never met, but I figured the turtles would be good. They are from Papertrey Ink's Pond Life set.


The last card is one that I received in the mail this weekend from Lynn at PTI for my birthday. She apologized for being late, but I think it is such a great card that I'm happy to have it, no matter when it came. It has the perfect sentiment inside for a belated b-day card. When I saw it on her blog (http://stamperosity.blogspot.com/) I had no idea it was coming to me. It was a very nice surprise.



I hope you enjoyed the cards today. Hopefully I will be able to post more regularly now that things have settled down some. As always, thanks for visiting.