I did it!

I finally took the plunge and bought my first ever set of Nestabilities. My local Hobby Lobby has started carrying them and I was able to use my 40% off coupon. I got the large scalloped squares for $14.99. They even had the tan embossing mats too. I was only able to try one square before I had to make dinner last night, but I think I'm in love. :-)

I can't wait to get more shapes and sizes. I see many trips to HL with 40% off coupons in my future. LOL

I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving and gets to spend quality time with their family and friends.

Take care.

I'm still alive...

I can't believe this is only my second post for the month and November is almost over. I feel much better than I did before, but I still have a cough that I could really do without. I guess it could always be worse though. :-)

I found some very cute clear Christmas/Winter stamps at Wal-Mart for $2.97/each. I didn't buy them all, but I picked my favorite four sets.

Hopefully I'll have time to use them before Christmas gets here. Although I bought some very cute stamps from Gina K that have yet to see ink too. I need to get back in my craft room more often.

I do have one card to share. This was another challenge card from PTI. The challenge gallery can be found here. http://forum.papertreyink.com/forum/gallery2.php?g2_itemId=38915

I really enjoyed getting a chance to use my Quilter's Sampler set from PTI. It's definitely been neglected lately. I wasn't really sure where I was going with this card, but I think it all pulled together. It's a little more shimmery in person--the red bling in the center, the gold shimmer paper circle, and the liquid gold pen accents didn't photograph as well as I had hoped.

Thanks for stopping by today. Hopefully when things calm down I will have more to share. Until then, I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving filled with family and good times.

PTI Challenge Cards

I've been pretty quiet here for a few reasons: I've been sick with a sinus infection and cough for over 2 weeks, and Lucy has taken over my craft room making it pretty hard to get anything done in there when I do feel OK enough to try. Luckily I did have a few moments of peace this weekend to get caught up on my PTI weekly challenge cards.

First up is one I did based on a great sketch by Lynn. I modified it slightly, but still kept the main theme of geometric shapes. I used mostly PTI products on this card, but added a few patterned papers from Memory Box and some shiny stickers from my stash.



The next card is based on a sketch by Jen, who also did a video tutorial on how to line up your border punches to have even edges without trying to punch through the front and back at the same time. She did a great job on the video, but I still need a little work on the technique. I had a slight problem on the one side, but I still decided to finish this card.

I used all PTI products on this with the exception of a small gem and some Aqua Stickles. The stamps I used were from Snowfall, one of the 5 stamp sets that I won from a contest on Nichole Heady's blog!!!


Speaking of winning stamps on Nichole's blog, it made the whole thing even more special when Nicole included a hand made card in the box. I was stunned that she took the time from her crazy busy life to personally hand write a card to me. This photo doesn't do it justice as some of the details are lost, like the tiny paper piercing in the center of each flower and and the embossed "bee happy" sentiment in brown on brown. This is just one more reason why I am a true PTI addict, not that I needed any more reasons. :-)

I received Snowfall, Snowfall Additions, and Warm Happiness all designed by Heather Nichols. I love the look of her stamps and was more than happy to receive 3 sets!

I also won Melissa Bickford's new set called Men of Life that is being released this month at PTI. It's a great set for making cards for all of the men in your life--just as the name suggests.

Last, but not least I won a set designed by Candice that won't be released until the Summer of 2009 called Out to Sea. It has a nautical theme that will go very well with Melissa's set to expand your options for masculine cards.

I hope to get to use all of these sets soon and when I do I will be sure to update my blog. Hopefully it won't be so long next time. Thanks for stopping by today.