Papertrey Ink December Blog Hop Challenge

It's hop time again!  I was excited to hear the hop was moved to the 26th as the kids were heading back to South Carolina late Christmas night and I would not have to take any time away from grandbaby time to do a little crafting.

I mean seriously?  Is he not the cutest thing?!?!?

(I may be biased, but it's my blog.)

This is what happens when Mom & Dad take a nap and Jacen is left alone with Grandma, a Christmas tree and a camera.

It may be Winter and only 23 degrees outside here in Pennsylvania, but PTI has us thinking spring.

The inspiration given to us this month was this photo "just right to celebrate love":

I had envisioned something a little different earlier in the week using the Garden Gild set.  Today, however my heart is a little heavier at the sudden passing of a family friend.  It may have been the tears, but I was drawn to use watercolor paper and vellum.

I love the softness and subtlety of the finished card.  

This was very organic going together.  The cardstock is PTI Soft Stone, with the sentiment from With Sympathy inked up in Royal Velvet.   The stamped background is an assortment of itty bitty stamps and soft PTI Inks from my Papertrey stash--I used Grand Finale and Graceful Greetings.  I covered the stamping with some brushed vellum I had left over.  

The leafy accents are from PTI Embellished Elegance.  I chose to use a length of Royal Velvet twill tape to pull it together and finish the look.  The split stitched cover plate is from Die-Namics.

I stamped on watercolor cardstock, wet it thoroughly, dried and then stamped some more.  I picked that up on my last trip to Pittsburgh at a small shop called Stamp Fanci.  I love being able to see the products in front of me, it takes me to a happy place where I started out stamping.   I think this is why I really enjoy the facebook LIVE release events with the PTI team.  I may not be there, but the atmosphere makes me feel as if I am!

Thank you for taking a moment to stop by and check out my card.  

Papertrey Ink October Blog Hop Challenge

It seems like we just did a blog hop.  What is it about Autumn that makes the days just fly by?  After one of the warmest Septembers ever in this neck of the woods, I am pleased to feel the fall temperatures finally kicking in.  

It is nice to finally get a day to kick back and create some cards.  The to-do list today was 5 cards.  1+1+3+1 =5.  Good thing I'm not in the banking industry or anything.  I did get 1 done last night, so that's still 5 to work on today.  I wish I could stretch my budget like that.

Card #2 is inspired by PTI's October Inspiration:

These works are by Adolfo Serra.

My mind doesn't process that much at one time anymore, so I will admit, I found it daunting at first. I was first drawn to the colors, but wasn't comfortable with the images. I decided to concentrate on just one photo--blow them up and look at them on their own and I'm glad I did.  I love this one:

The colors are awesome, I love the trees and the sheer weight felt in it is divine.  I had a lot of ideas running around in my head.  Christmas Trees? Mighty Oak? Stencils from Betsy's New Kit?  Ah, Betsy's Kit!!  With a Twist.  Not the one I was originally thinking.

The white house among the trees made me think of the Garden Gate Kit from 2016.  I love this kit and it seems I am always trying to think of ways to use it.  A version of this card has been building in my head for a few months.  In going with the inspiration photo, it did change a bit, but I love the end result.  I believe it was Dawn on the PTI Forum who asked if we tend to stick with images from one set or mix them up instead?  I'm a mixer!  I used the Garden Gate Kit, Topiary Trio, Wreath for All Seasons and Stylish Sentiments: Holiday.

The background was helped along by Yana's timely tutorial this morning.  I would have gotten here...EVENTUALLY.  Thanks for the helping hand!

Thanks for stopping by!  See all the great cards on Nichole's blog HERE

All products used are Papertrey Ink with the exception of the ribbon, which is Offray.

Papertrey Ink September Blog Hop Challenge

It's late September, and in my little neck of the woods, it means it's time for the Bloomsburg Fair.  I have loved Fair week ever since I was a little girl and now that we're back in the area, I can enjoy it as an adult.  It is the week that officially ushers in the start of Autumn, with crisp air, delicious food and great exhibits.  Well, in 2017, I guess we'll have to settle for 2 out of 3.  I cannot believe the temperature has been well above average, reaching as high as 91 degrees!  Today, I guess I will don my shorts and a tank top and head down for a Hewlett's hot sausage sandwich.  Totally worth venturing out in the heat.  We'll walk through the buildings today, too, which will be nice and cool.

One of the things I love about the Fair is walking through the Horticultural Building.  This year's theme is Hooked on Books, which features a boat floating on a sea of hydrangeas.  In keeping with the floral theme, I was excited to see the inspiration this month is this lovely print by Christa Pierce of Christa Pierce Paper Goods.

This print really captures the spirit of the season.  I see this little fellow taking that bit of color into the colder weather, giving light and warmth to the darkness.  Fall, to me, screams out "mums!" and there is a lovely stamp in PTI's Year of Flowers Collection I've been wanting to play with.  This, to me, seemed like a perfect opportunity to try my hand at masking stamped images.  I have only ever masked tiny areas and wanted to push myself to try something on a grander scale.  It was easier than I feared it would be, I am pleased to say.  This turned out just as I was seeing it in my head.

  

The verse I chose to accompany the flowers is from PTI's Choose Joy.  Getting back to my simpler style, this is a one layer card stamped in black on white.  I did decide to give it some weight by adding a layer of craft foam and attaching it all to a black card base. I played around with both pencils and markers and decided that with all of the black, it would look best colored with alcohol markers.  Someday, I will have to take a marker class.  Everything I learned about coloring I learned in Kindergarten! 

Stamps used this month:

Both currently available in the Papertrey Ink store

Be sure to check out all the creative entries in the hop this month HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stampa-a-faire is here! Take Ten warm up challenge

This one is a simple way to get started for the Papertrey Ink event:  Stamp-a-faire 2017.

The steps?

Select one of the TEN inspiration photos/color schemes from the blog post

Take TEN to sketch your card and make a plan

Use TEN to gather supplies, trim paper, etc.

Then TEN more to actually create and assemble the project.

OK.  It's 2:04.

First, timer off, let's go find the sketchbook.  I think it's in my purse.  Or my suitcase.  My car?  Oh this doesn't look good.  It's just a sketc... Oh!  Yes it's on the nightstand.  Seriously?  Whatever.  Timer back on.  It's 2:08.

Pick my photo inspiration,  I looked through them all and was drawn immediately to this one by Kirstin Sevig  The intensity is fabulous!

That was fast, let's sketch.  

2:11, phone rings.  Is my dad there?  It's Thing 1, trying to reassemble his garbage disposal in South Carolina.  Dad's not here.  No, he can't answer his phone.  Can he call you later? .....

 2:24, back to the sketching.  I want more blue, I think I will add some layers.  I am thinking Harvest Berries.  But I'll need a focal.  No, let's go with Embellished Elegance.

2:32, time to gather.  Ink, check.  Snail, check.  MISTI and blocks, check.  Stamps and die, check.  Paper, ribbon and glue pen, check.

2:40, time to start trimming paper  No, time to continue gathering.  I am crafting in the dining room today and I forgot the paper trimmer.  And the Big Shot.  And the baby wipes.

2:55 Panels and ribbons are cut it's time to dig in, yes FINALLY.  I'm late already!  From a time perspective, I really bit off more than I could chew, but I finished!  OK, I finished at 3:22.  Take a few photos.  Oop! Missed a detail.  NOW I'm finished, at 3:31.  I guess I took TWELVE TENS instead of three.  Heck, who cares?!  Loving my finished project!

Detail

PTI Supplies:

Cardstock in Dark Indigo and Blueberry Sky

Stamps and dies from Embellished Elegance

Inks:  Dark Indigo, Blueberry Sky, Spring Rain, New Leaf & Green Parakeet

Twill tape in Spring Rain

Other:

Tombow tape runner

Tear tape

White #110 cardstock

Papertrey July Blog Hop Challenge

This has been a crazy CRAZY month!  Mother Nature has given us a run for our money, that's for sure.  Feels good to slow down and do a little card making.  Granted, I'd have had this posted 2 hours ago were it not for the Orangeville Carnival (and trying to get there between the rain drops!)  The Teaberry ice cream was a subtle start, but really packed the flavor by the end of my scoop.

For July, we were given this photo for our inspiration.

Much like my ice cream, it was a slow start, but I found the more I looked, the more I liked.

And, a huge plus, ZERO calories.

I was initially drawn to the ribbon spilling in the corner.  I wasn't sure how to interpret it but I just kept coming back around and around to it.  

I really wanted to make it the focal point of the card.  After a couple different approaches, I went with Papertrey Ink Fresh Snow Twill Tape sprayed with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in blue.  It wasn't as easy to get an ombre effect as I had hoped, but I do like the subtle variegation.  Neat discovery--if you apply light heat to the twill tape, it will melt slightly and warp, which was just perfect!

The card was stamped with PTI Inks on White Cardstock with a sentiment in Blueberry Sky.

The leaves are stamped in Spring Moss, Ripe Avocodo and Simply Chartreuse.  The flower is stamped in Lemon Tart, Sweet Blush and Soft Stone.  The panel was bumped up with foam tape and the clear drop embellishments are from Simon Says Stamp.

The stamps and dies are all Papertrey Ink:

Pen & Ink

Embellished Elegance

Vintage Linens

Lots of great cards in this month's hop which you can see by following this link HERE.

A Little Guilt-Free Crafting

OK, so maybe TINY bit of guilt, crafting on the Mister's birthday.  It's so nice to have him here and a break from school for him and work for me. To be fair, I did prioritize and he got his treats first, including the traditional non birthday cake.

His mom always made sticky buns for his birthday growing up.  It was the start of their annual trip to Canada for a family vacation.  I did take a moment to tease him last night that A)  His Mom REALLY  loved him as a child because in looking at the recipe, and remembering back a couple years, this was not a quick task, or B)  She got smart and realized how much work the buns were, who wants to bake a cake on top of that?  Knowing his Mom, it had to be a little of both.

So while T is working on his business assignment for class next week, I decided to make a card for Papertrey Ink's latest challenge.  What usually happens is I wait until the whole release is revealed, narrow a couple choices down for my inspiration and either create a card over the next day or two or make mental notes for later on.  I was so taken with Nichole's card below I had to re-create it.  Love it so much I wanted mine to be as close to her original as I could get.  

Nichole's Original as seen on her blog

Her card was made using the new Stemmed Sentiments and Infinity Frames Die--both available on July 15th and both of which will be finding a home in my studio--and the Infinity Sentiments set.  My card is on Kraft cardstock as well, using the Morning Glory image from the Year of Flowers Collection.  While I am slowly collecting the larger Year of Flowers sets, I was fortunate to re-home the collection set in June.  Thanks again, Linda!  My Nana's birthday is coming up Sunday and this is a great way to continue the flower theme from my Aunts' June birthday cards.  

The sentiment is also Papertrey Ink, from the now retired Framed Out #1.  The die used for the center square is from QuicKutz, a cookie cutter nesting die.  It had the weight needed to mimic the infinity dies.  Getting the outer layers of the card front to just the right even width will be so much easier with the new PTI dies.  One final note, I like the Spectrum Noir pens, but I think I need to pick up a Copic or two that match the Fine Linen and Classic Kraft papers more closely.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Papertrey Ink June Blog Hop

It's Blog Hop day!

The photo inspiration for this month's Blog Hop is one I fell in love with immediately.

 I do love a good deep blue and the ombre effect in the glass is just gorgeous!  I have had so many ideas churning around in my head.  I wanted to do something with an acetate sheet, to pull the influence of the glass carboy, and I had picked up some Stazon inks last month for the May Blog Hop.  (Nope, you didn't miss it!  I couldn't find the right groove on that one and didn't complete an entry)  I also wanted to concentrate on the blue with a touch of peach.  In my head, the card went from birthday card to anniversary card to birthday card back finally to anniversary card.  

I found this fantastic piece of acetate at Michael's.  The gold dots just screamed, "Elevate!" What a great place to start!  I knew I wanted to mimic the ombre on my card.  It's an obvious choice, but one I felt was necessary.  I had initially wanted to stamp a floral into the background, but it was just too busy and really competed with the pattern of the top layer.  Simple was the way to go.  Using the 2017 Anniversary Set "Grand Finale" allowed me to add some fomality and a floral element without all the chaos.

I decided to go with Jet Black Stazon Ink for the focal piece as the Stazon Blue Hawaii Midi wasn't packing enough of a punch on the gold pattern. The ombre background was created with Papertrey Ink's Enchanted Evening dye ink on white cardstock.  The card base is also Enchanted Evening.  The acetate panel is popped up slightly to add dimension.

As for the flower, that inspiration came from a post I saw on Instagram a couple days ago.  I folded a sheet of tissue paper (coincidentally, the packing tissue from my last PTI delivery) and cut out 8 layers using one of the larder floral dies from my favorite PTI set, Doodlie-Do. For the color, I chose Sweet Blush and Melon Berry, sponging some mottled ink onto each flower.  

Once colored, I stacked them up being careful not to be too neat about it.  I used a gold brad to hold the layers together and form the center of the flower.  Then I bunched and crimped the layers to form a fluffy, 3D flower.  This adds a touch of softness to the design. I just love how this card turned out.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my project.

You can see all of the entries on Nichole's blog here after 10am today.  

2017 Grand Finale

The Home Stretch!

It is hard to believe that just 4 years ago, we were waiting to hear when T would get picked up for Gunsmithing school.  Also hard to believe he has less than 7 weeks of his 16 months left until he earns his certification.  It has been a lot of hard work and a lot of travel, but it will definitely be worth it in the end.  

He is working on his final projects and for the first time in this experience, he is feeling the time crunch.  I am so proud of his dedication to making the very best of this opportunity, even if it means I mow a hell of a lot of grass.  

I asked him to share some photos of one of his projects.  This one is special.  In December of 2015, just a week before Christmas, my Dad left the farm early to go home and change clothes for his dental appointment.  It was very fortunate he did as when he arrived, the house was on fire.  He called the Fire Department and they were able to put out the fire that was contained to the master bedroom. By the grace of God, it was smoldering but had not managed to travel to the rest of the house. 

He had a couple guns damaged in the fire.  They would need to have new stocks and be cleaned up in general.  When T started school, the remains of these guns went along with him.

Through the course of his training, he has had the opportunity to learn the techniques of blueing barrels and other metal parts.  He also had a semester in stock making and has been machining things all along the way.  

It was awesome to see my Dad's face when Todd was able to give him the rifle pictured both above and below.

I can't wait to share more of his portfolio once it is complete.  

May 2017: Papertrey Ink's "Create Along With Us"

It's release day!  As far as new stuff, this month's release contains a couple must haves for me:

 BUT, no shopping for me tonight! I'm waiting for a few out of stock items to round an order out.  I will have to place it soon with the Vault being retired. Must... work... on... patience.

To tide me over, I'm crafting!  Hopefully, I won't have to wait long.  

The challenge today is to take inspiration from the release and come up with a project using Papertrey Ink goodness in our own interpretation.   I was drawn to Nichole's card:

From Nichole's blog at Papertrey Ink

She focused on a few new products, including:

Mix and Mat:  Herringbone

Ivy & Bloom

Ways to Say:  Sympathy

I decided to use a more neutral palate and pulled out:

Birds of a Feather

Larger than Life

Garden Gate Kit stencil:  Lattice

I liked the crafty look of the Ivy in the Ivy & Bloom set, so I decided to just cut the botanical images out of card stock rather than stamp them as well.  I like the textures at play on this card.  I'll admit, I was going for the hummingbird, but thought he was pointed to the left, when in fact he flies to the right.  His little friend saves the day with an addition of a few more grasses.  I like it better this way!

Thank you for stopping by!  Don't forget to check out all of the entries in this month's challenge. along with all the goodness!

May Release Challenge Entries

Papertreyink.com

Additional players:

Some PTI card stock in Olive Twist, Harvest Gold, Simply Chartreuse and Lemon Tart

Ink:  PTI Olive Twist &Smokey Shadow, along with Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark Embossing Pad, Clear embossing powder & Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Life is slow, and that's awesome!

Enjoying my mini-vacation from work--due to needs of the department, I am in the middle of 4 days away from the office.  It's felt good to chill out a bit.  T cooked all weekend--he made chili and nachos Saturday night and then chicken and waffles for Mother's Day. 

Speaking of mothers, I am hoping Mother Nature finally has her season's squared away!  This is why Spring is my least favorite of all.  It is so temperamental.  My yard behind the house looks like an African savanna, between the tall grass and the trees filling out.  Mowing is a multi-day affair, and trying to get it done between work and the raindrops is a challenge!  The rhubarb is getting high, so I baked an apple pie with rhubarb, yum!  The pie filling T canned in 2015 is holding up well, but we've not got much left.  With the craziness in our weather here so far this year, I wasn't sure if the fruit trees would be shocked like 2016 and we'd not see much in the way of fruit nubs.  THAT is not a problem!  Look at all of those little apples!

I think the orchard is going to be productive if we can keep the critters from knocking all of the fruit down before we get a chance to pick it and use it. Hoping to have lots to post on that as the year goes on.  The newer apple trees the mister planted are starting to make little apples, too.  I am anxious to taste my first "Arkansas Black" and see if the hype is warranted.  It is supposed to be an excellent baking choice.  Also a first this year, the 2 Bosc Pear trees have pears coming in.  I love fresh pears.

A few of my herbs came through the winter months beautifully!

Aside from mowing and tending to the yard, I've also been taking advantage of the colder temps and hitting the stacks of stamps and paper.  It has been a year of collecting supplies--probably in part to having a job again, part to T being in school and not seeing what comes in the mail, and part the fact that so many of the older stamps and supplies from my favorite stamp company are being discontinued.  It was hard to keep up during tax season, but I'm catching up!  You can see my cards either on Instagram (jilouise1) or from time to time, on here.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's day weekend! 

My First Papertrey Ink Blog Hop -- Perception of Color

So, in a continuation of firsts, I have decided to participate in my first ever blog hop.

In early February of 2015, I received an email from a website I had casually stumbled upon looking for a set of number dies the summer before--a site for a company called Papertrey Ink. Over the next few months, I rediscovered how much I loved stamps.  This company's artistic style and aesthetic really spoke to me.  I have found some really cute stuff on either sites, but PTI keeps me coming around for more, time after time.  The florals, the crisp lines--I just love it.

Flash forward to last summer...

One of my new friends, Joyce, invited me over to spend the day crafting along to Papertrey Ink's annual Stamp-a-Faire celebration.  Up until then, I was too shy to post any of my creations, but she helped me out of that box.  Since then I have joined in on several "Make-it-Mondays" and other challenges posting photos on Instagram and Flickr.  I've again found myself in a group of some talented folks (OK LOTS of super talented folks) who enjoy this hobby as much as I do.

So, the blog hop?  Well, for those who don't know, an inspiration photo is chosen by the fine folks at Papertreyink.com.  Those who want to play along let it inspire them, make something using PTI products and post about it online.  This month's inspiration?  This fantastic print from Megan Carter:

To me, this reminded me of a fabric I would find in the kitchen.  Then it hit me.  Why not combine two of my favorite hobbies?  It's been quite a while since the sewing machine and I have had any interaction, but a nice apron would be a great way to get my legs again.  The gears began to turn.  It is a very pretty print, full of springtime goodness.  Still, the grey was a definite challenge, and not just to me.  Do I go grey?  Taupe?  Purple?

On one of my favorite new Facebook Groups, fellow card maker Crystal asked the group, to paraphrase, what shade of grey are you using?  Oh there were plenty of thoughts--it looked one color on the laptop, another on the phone....  Me, with the attention span of a small dog, found my mind drifting back to last year when that silly dress photo was all over the web.  You know the one I mean.

Is it blue and black?  Is it white and gold?  I doubt we'll ever really know.  

It made me want to do this:

That was it!  My imagination took off running.  I wondered if this was too far out of the box, but I was assured by Joyce, who has taken part in these blog hops many times, that the challenges were all about being inspired.  If this was the direction I was drawn, I should go with it.  So, I did,  I monkied around a bit with the pastels on yellow using some die cut flowers from PTI's Vintage Linens.  I liked where it was going, but this negative image was screaming for my attention.  It won out in the end.

 I started playing with inks and paints, along with one of my favorite stamp sets, Doodlie-Do, to see what would hold up to being laundered.  My initial direction was shades of blues, greys and teals on black. It was a bit dark, almost somber, and I could just imagine Pat, another PTI fan and papercrafter saying, "It needs more purple!"  The gears were really spinning now!  After  quick trip to the fabric store (oh, no, wait, that was just a wander through the fabric stash in the closet!) to pull out a "vintage" (OK, mid 90's) print and some black cotton, Also picked up a fresh new set of fabric markers that were made especially for dark fabrics from the local big box store.  I was on my way!

The part that took the longest was the stamped panel. 225 square inches of glorious color.

It was worth all of the effort.  I absolutely love it! 

I had looked online to see if I could find a longer apron pattern to make an apron suitable for gathering fruit and veggies during the harvest season.  I never seem to have enough hands!   I decided against a full length style and went for a gathered half apron.  It would have to be something that would be long enough and full enough to hold a nice bunch of peaches or pears.  I didn't want to squash them in a large pocket or bruise them with buttons.  Something simple, yet vintage inspired, with a modern color palate.  Nice and summery. Looking back on my weekend, it probably would have been easier with a pattern, but in true Project Runway fashion, I whipped one up.  Nina and Zack Posen would probably say it's a bit Arts and Crafts, but it will do nicely for the job intended.  I'm pleased with the end result.  Not going to win any ribbons at the fair, but hey!  Perhaps my jam made from the fruit I'll cart to the house while wearing it will?

A close up:

I hope you've enjoyed my slightly offbeat, non-conventional offering for this month's Blog Hop.

You can see what others have created by heading over to Nicole's Blog:

http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2017/04/april-2017-blog-hop-inspiration.html

I had a lot of fun with this project.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Materials:

Stamps:  Doodlie-Do from Papertrey Ink

Ink from Hero Arts, color: Unicorn

Fabric Markers from Tulip Arts

Miscellaneous fabrics and notions

Many thanks to Joyce C., Crystal M. and Pat W. for the inspiration you,

albeit unknowingly, lent to this challenge.