I love it when a plan comes together

So after waiting almost a year to order from Papertrey Ink I finally got to place a small order to catch up on the colors that I had missed out on. My plan was to order the paper and one ribbon of each color, but to wait on the ink in case I had something close enough to work in my already large ink pad collection.

I just had time to look and I found inks that will work for all 4 colors.

Scarlet Jewel = Aged Mahogany Distress Ink or Chianti from Color Box

Enchanted Evening = Faded Jeans Distress Ink

Orange Zest = Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink

Terracotta Tile = Sepia Archival Ink **Edited on 3/5/10 to add that I'm not really loving this one and I may go ahead and order the PTI ink, but hey 3 out of 4 ain't bad.**

They may not be exact matches, but they'll be close enough for me and it saved me enough money that I could justify buying that new Butterfly Dreams stamp set I've been eyeing. LOL

I know I'm not the only one who has to keep a tighter eye on the budget, so I thought I'd share how well my latest plan of attack worked out. :-)

Last Card for Feb

Just as I finishing up my last blog post I got a call from my MIL inviting me and Joe to get some dinner when he got off work with her and her husband. I scrambled to get ready and went and met them all down at the bar DH works at on the weekends.

We made a reservation at the restaurant next door, House of Savoy, and we had about an hour or so to hill so we had a few cocktails and chatted. We had a great dinner and a few bottles of Pinot Nior and then MIL and I went next door the the casino to play the penny slots. DH had given me $40 to play with and within a half hour of playing I had won back his $40 plus another $87--not too shabby for penny slots. I cashed out and was ready to go, otherwise I know I could've spent it all again. :-)

I came home and even with a little bit of a wine buzz I finished the last card I needed to make this weekend. I used the same EK Success border punch (bracket) and more pp from Me & My Big Ideas. The ribbon is Hibiscus Burst from PTI and the stamps are also from PTI (sentiment = Birthday Basics, flower = Everyday Classics). I used a tag from the Cuttlebug tag sliders set. It was another quick/simple card that lets the pp do the work.

I finally got the pic of DH's Valentine's Day cookies off the camera too. They're sweet enough to make you sick if you eat too many at once, yet they were gone within 24 hours. Sweets do not have a chance at our house. LOL

I have to get ready for a birthday party so I need to get off the computer. I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

New Cards

I was in record-breaking card-making mode today and finished three of the Birthday cards that I need for tomorrow. I still have one more to make and hopefully later today I'll get to it.

First up I have a card I made for my older sister. It's a little blurry, but it's a pretty basic card. I used a base of PTI black, some pp from Me & My Big Ideas, and some orange ribbon I found at Michael's. The sentiment is from PTI's Birthday Basics and I used an EK Success border punch (bracket).

This card is for my 5-yr old Niece who loves princesses and everything girly. I thought it was the perfect time to use my first ever Lily stamp "Angelface" from Stampavie. I used color pencils and Stickles so it really sparkles in person. The base and ribbon is Hibiscus Burst from PTI and the pp is from DCWV's Summer Matstack.

Last up is one I made for my Nephew. He turned 10 on Valentine's Day so I'm a little late, but we're celebrating tomorrow so I think I get a pass on that. LOL The base is PTI's Ripe Avocado, the blue is from my stash, and the pp is again from DCVW's Summer Matstack. The stamps are from Inkadinkado's Humorous Birthday set. I used two different stamps from this set only inking the parts I wanted so that the sentiment and creature from different stamps could be used together.

I used yet another EK Success border punch (noticing a pattern here? LOL) I also used a fun starburst punch from Martha Stewart just for a little fun touch.

I still have another card to make, but it doesn't have to be mailed out until Monday so I have a little time. I should be back with it soon.

Kitten Cuteness :-)

My kittens are getting so big so fast. They both were trying to squeeze into the bed that I got them a few months ago and it's a much tighter fit than it used to be.

Here they are back in Oct:

And here they are this week (4 months later):

I can't believe how much they've grown in such a short time--they've each gained at least 4 lbs and are very sweet, playful fuzzballs that love to snuggle. They are so loving it's like they know how horrible their lives could've ended up at the shelter and they are so happy/thankful to have a good home. They get into everything and can be very frustrating at times, but it is so worth it when they nuzzle up to my neck and purr themselves to sleep.

I took a picture of the Valentine's Day cookies I made for Joe on Sunday, but it's still on my camera--I haven't found time to download yet. This weather and lack of sunshine has been making me want to do nothing but sleep. The last few days we've been seeing peeks of the sun and I can tell I feel better/more energized when it's out. I have put it off long enough and now this weekend I have to make 4 b-day cards.

Nothing like a little pressure to get the creative mojo going. Wish me luck!

Happy Valentine's Day

I finished up Joe's Valentine's Day card in time to give it to him last night, but tonight is going to be the best part. I've had some nice steaks marinating since last night, I have all the fixings for my white wine lemon butter sauce, some baby portabella mushrooms, and I have some really good mozzarella and tomatoes to serve with balsamic dressing.

As I type this , the dough is chilling for my traditional Valentine's Day cookies I bake and decorate for him every year. I'd say that we're probably going to both gain about 10 lbs, but it is going to be SO good!

Enough about food, here's the card I made him. I carried the theme to the inside since it was a black card base and just because I think it is a nice finishing touch.

It took me a little while to decide to turn the focal point on an angle on the card front. That's one of those things I see other people do and I like it, but it's just not my normal way of making a card. I thought about it, and decided it was time to get out of my comfort zone and try something different.

I used True Black, Black & White Basics PP, White, and Pure Poppy cardstocks all from Papertrey Ink. The stamps are all from the Sweet Hearts set from Waltzingmouse Stamps. I used my new EK Success border punch and a few rhinestones in the hearts, but I kept the embellishments to a minimum since I was trying to strike a balance between Valentine's Day and a manly card. I've always loved the combo of black/white/red and I this card is no exception--I think those colors work for just about anything, but are perfect for Valentine's Day.

I hope everyone has a good day with someone they love! XXOOXX

I need to get busy

I still have a few cards to make this weekend and next week, but I've been in the middle of reorganizing my ribbon collection so I've been a little distracted. It is boring and time consuming, but it is going to be worth it with all of the space I will be saving by taking it off the cardboard spools.

I do need to take a break from that--I had a close call with one of the kitties and my ribbon. I still have no idea how Clyde got it, but somehow he swallowed several feet of 1/8" ribbon and I had no idea until he was throwing it up at 3:45 this morning. Luckily it all came out in one little compact bunch because it could've been a very serious situation if it had made it into his system. Thankfully he seems to be ok although it makes me wonder what else he could be eating?

On a crafty note, I scored some new border punches from EK Success at Jo-Ann's. They were on sale 40% off and they are new Spring designs that I have not seen anywhere else yet.

The first one is called bubbles and I think it adds a fun sort of lacy feel to the edge.

The next one is called graceful heart and it has a definite lacy quality about it that I cannot wait to use. I have a feeling this is going to be one of my new favorites.
I really like these punches and even the ones with tiny holes/delicate patterns have no trouble going through Papertrey's cardstock. (I have a few Martha punches that don't like to play nice the PTI paper.)

Yesterday, my honey was off work so he showed up at my office with 2 dozen roses and Merb's chocolate covered strawberries. He also went to a meat market and got some really nice steaks for us to make on Sunday. We've decided to stay home and have a nice dinner on Sunday since he says I "cook better than any restaurant anyway." I am looking forward to good steaks, a nice bottle of Pinot Nior and a quiet evening at home.

My first cards using Waltzingmouse Stamps!

I finally had a chance to ink up some of my new stamps from Waltzingmouse Stamps (see sidebar for link to store). These both use stamps from the Sweethearts set. All of the paper is from Papertrey Ink.

First up I wanted to do a Valentine card in non-traditional colors. I used a color scheme of Vintage Cream, Spring Moss, and Ripe Avocado. I used a fun border punch from EK Success that has a wavy edge and tiny dots that look like paper piercing. I think it gives some interest without looking as girly as my scalloped punches do. (I still have the old formula of Spring Moss ink so it doesn't show up as well as it should--I have to get the new formulation soon.)

Next up I went a little more traditional with my colors and added in some Dark Chocolate to the Vintage Cream and Pure Poppy. I stamped the hearts in Pure Poppy first and then stamped again without reinking to get the softer shade. I finished it up with some gold chord and a tiny heart charm with a keyhole that I found at Red Lead (local store with a webstore too - http://www.redleadpaperworks.com/). They have tons of sweet little charms and lots of vintage inspired stamps and papers.

I still have plenty more stamps that need to see some ink and I hope to be able to get working on that later today over the coming week. I'm also pretty excited about all of the fun contests happening for Papertrey Ink's 3rd Anniversary celebration.