Butterfly and Mister Huey

I can't seem to type a coherent sentence today so I'm going to stop trying to be chatty and just get to the card.

The butterfly is from GinaK's Hope is Faith set. I colored it with YR02, YR04, and YR07 Copics for the wings and C1 and B39 for the highlights on the body. (Kinda going for blue black, but I'm not sure it worked.) I used the PTI Book Prints impression plate for the kraft panel. I love that thing, but can never get it straight. The white is Studio Calico Mister Huey! I'm so excited to have gotten it! Dawn McVey has been making me want it for ages but it wasn't in stock anywhere! I tried the DIY tutorials but never could get it right. This is misted. I'm going to try to get paint droplets next time. Anyway, I opted to leave off a sentiment so I can use it for anything. I entered this in the StampTV facebook fan challenge to use a butterfly. Feels good to be making cards and doing challenges again! Thanks for looking!

Supplies: Stamps - GinaK Hope is Faith

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper - Georgia Pacific White, PTI Kraft, Orange Zest, Recollections Black

Other - cutterbee scissors, scor-tape, Studio Calico Mister Huey White, PTI Book Prints impression plate

PTI Anniversary Pinterest Challenge

Hello again! I had to sit out yesterday's challenge but I'm back for today's. The deal today is to pick a pinterest pin and use it as inspiration for a card. Took me a little while to pick one since I have a ton of pins. Finally settled on this one. I love the colors and how ethereal it is.

Father Knows Best doesn't see enough ink lately so I was excited to get to use it here. The leaves are colored with Copics. The trunk, too, actually. It just wasn't dark enough. Dawn McVey has been inspiring/tormenting me with her Mr Huey sprays so I decided to use my Vanilla Smooch Spritz, which is the closest thing I have. The bottle gave me some trouble - spray bottles and I don't get along for some reason - but I won out. The In the Meadow die and the eyelet border cutout both came from my friend Alyssa. Thanks girl!

Okay, it's almost tomorrow so I'm going to bed! Thanks for looking!

Supplies - Stamps: PTI Father Knows Best, Simply Jane

Ink - PTI Aqua Mist; Memento Rich Cocoa; Palette Burnt Umber
Paper - PTI Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist, White, kraft

Other - PTI In the Meadow die, Eyelet Border die cut; Ranger blending tool; 1/8 scor-tape, Copics R000, RV00, R02; Vanilla Smooch Spritz; We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Hello - PTI Anniversary Day 2

Two posts again! If nothing else, I'm getting some cards made. :) This time I used Maile's pretty 'hello' image. There were 3 buttons near the tiny space left on my table for me to work. They looked good together so that's how I picked the colors and embellishments for this one. Very quick, very CAS.

Supplies: Paper - PTI white

Other - PTI Woodgrain Impression Plate, Pure Poppy button, Hawaiian Shores button, random white button; Copics R39, BG15; thread

Retro - Designing with Papertrey

It's PTI AnniversaryDay 2! Today they introduced all the fabulous stamp designers and I'm totally stoked for this year. They have a fabulous free download of images created by the designers to use for today's contest. My younger brother is turning 30 in a couple of weeks and Erin Lincoln's cassette tape seemed perfect for his card.


This would have been a super quick and easy card if my kids had been asleep, but they weren't so it took all day. You can't see in this picture but I ran the grey strip through the woodgrain impression plate so it has some manly texture. So happy to have his card out of the way!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies: Stamps - PTI Simple Alphabet
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper - PTI white, New Leaf, Smokey Shadow
Other - Free download, Sunshine Impression Plate, Woodgrain Impression plate, pop dots, Copics - C1, YG23, YG06

PTI Anniversary Day 1 Part Deux

Like I said, might even be two posts. ;) Squeezed in a second card tonight, this one inspired by Ashley Cannon Newell's project. I'm so excited she's on the design team! Her work is amazing!

I used an unusal color combo for me: Soft Stone, Lemon Tart, Aqua Mist, and Smoky Shadow (except it's really SU Basic Gray ribbon and Memento London Fog ink because I haven't bought the grey collections from PTI yet. But I will. That Smoky Shadow satin has me swooning.) I used several sets for this one, which is nice. Makes me feel all mix and matchy. Background Basics: Hearts, Text Style, and Polka Dot Basics 2 and the new Simply Jane. I cut a felt rose from the closest thing I have to Lemon Tart. No idea who makes this felt. I picked it up in Austin at The Stitch Lab. Great store. You should go if you're in Austin and like sewing. I digress.

I saw another poster made a top 5 PTI products list of her own and loved it so I'm stealing it. I'm hideously bad at this kind of thing but here goes.

1. Woodgrain Impression Plate. - I. Love. It.
2. Cloud Dies - Because they make every card cuter. Except this one. Well, maybe this one, too, I didn't try it.
3. Simple Alphabet - Used it a bazillion times.
4. Cardstock - Especially white, kraft, Soft Stone, and Lemon Tart.
5. Buttons - I love digging through the bag and looking at every single one. Oh, and using them. That's fun, too.

Thanks for looking! See all the awesomeness here. Can't wait to see what Nichole's got in store tomorrow!

Supplies: Stamps - Papertrey Simply Jane, Background Basics: Hearts, Background Basics: Polka Dot Basics 2, Background Basics: Text Style
Ink - Papertrey Aqua Mist; Memento Dandelion, London Fog
Paper - Papertrey Soft Stone, Aqua Mist, Lemon Tart
Other - Papertrey Simply Jane dies; yellow felt; Stampin' Up! Basic Gray taffeta

PTI Anniversary Contests!

So, yeah, big surprise, I posted about posting more often and then let a whole month go by. Distracted is in the title of the blog for a reason, folks! About the time I start to recover from the madness that is December, I remember I have a birthday party to plan for my oldest! Panic ensues. Etc. The party was super cute so I will try to post about it after the madness that is early February, Papertrey anniversary time. 'Cause nothing gets me posting like ginormous prizes. There might even be two posts in one day. Ya never know.

Today's contest is to choose one of the Design Team's favorite projects as inspiration. I chose Melissa Phillips fantastically gorgeous baby card. I absolutely love Melissa's vintage style although it is nothing like mine. Melissa makes masterpieces and she makes them with love. Every piece is a treasure.

I don't have the sweet little stork set (but I'm thinking of getting it now - these designers make me buy things I never even glanced at before all the time!) so I poked around my table, where apparently I'm storing everything I own, and found the Fruit Fusion: Apple set. I paired it with the sweet baby sentiment from Mixed Messages. Ran the onesie through the Linen and Canvas impression plate to give it a little texture. I faked a Peter Pan collar with the ric-rac and trimmed the arm and legs with it, too. Mine is sort of the poor country cousin to Melissa's card, but it is very much made with love and going to an adorable new baby.

Thanks PTI for the inspiration, the kick in the pants to post, and for stealing all my money! I kid, I kid. Sort of. Happy anniversary!

Supplies: Stamps - Papertrey Fruit Fusion: Apple, Mixed Messages

Ink - Memento Bamboo Leaves, Ladybug; Tim Holtz Distress Ink Old Paper

Paper - Papertrey Soft Stone

Other - white ric-rac; Scor-tape; sponge; Papertrey Pure Poppy button, Linen and Canvas Impression Plate, Onesie die

Present

Oh hello. It's been a while, hasn't it?

It's a whole new year. A new calendar. Lots of lists of things we did and things we hope to do. Introspection. And there was a three day weekend. All things I love.

I've decided to participate in One Little Word this year and my word is "present". As in, be present, be in the present, present a good example (yes, technically that's a different word entirely, but it's spelled the same so there), each day is a present (and I like presents!), all the things in my life that are presents from above, and I'm sure tons of things I haven't thought of yet. I will try to be present more here, as well. I missed my own blogaversary for Pete's sake.

So let's catch up.

Our new baby is almost 3 months old and has a stack of outgrown clothes! The oldest is almost 4 and, by "almost", I mean that I have 2-3 weeks to throw together a birthday party (top theme contenders are an art party or a Mario Bros party). Yes, I will be spending copious amounts of time on Pinterest. And, lest I have leave out the other boy thereby fostering his inevitable middle child syndrome, he has a huge vocabulary for a 2 year old, recognizes several letters, counts, sings songs, and adores his little sister.

We had a great holiday season if you ignore the stomach bug, the ER trip for the busted gum (no stitches needed!), the crazy melt-down I had trying to get everything ready for extended family Christmas Eve morning, and that the suitable for 5 yr+ transformer I bought the boy took my extremely handy husband 30 minutes to turn from a robot to a car. But it really was nice. There was a lot of good family time and that's what it's really about, isn't it?


I have been crafting and cooking so I should have a post with pictures next time. I'm going to try my hand at Project Life this year and take Ali Edwards One Little Word class. Through the magic of Pinterest I've discovered embroidery. This baby season is just about over (waiting on 2 last babies) but the next cycle has begun! So I won't just gab next time, but if I wait until I get pictures to get started it might be February or 2013! So best to just get this awkward first post back out of the way. And there's no time like the present.