Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Hello!






Happy Tuesday!I have a card to share today.  I am playing along with this week's PTI Make It Monday Challenge to add score lines to your card.  I am also playing along with Inspired by All the Little Things #8 










For the PTI MIM Challenge, I chose to use white card base with a vintage cream layer that I scored at varying widths using my Score Pal.  I love the contrast of the white and vintage cream.  






Once I saw the inspiration piece  with the succulents and mixture of florals, I just knew the PTI Bloomin' Cute stamp set and coordinating dies would work perfectly.   I inked some of the stamps with two colors.  The second color was sponged on using a Ranger foam applicator.  I added a sentiment using What the Doodle: Feather Mini stamp set.  I finished with a few clear sequins.

As always thanks so much for stopping by!

Betty 

Friday, March 25, 2016

March PTI Blog Hop!




Happy Good Friday!   I am out of school for Easter Break and had some time to get crafty!  I am playing along with this month's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop Challenge.



  Here is the inspiration photo.





The first thing I thought of when I saw the inspiration photo was wow....stitching!  Not sewing....stitching  When I think of sewing, I think of a machine.  I can do that....sort of!  When I think of  stitching....I think needlepoint and cross stitching and probably some other things I am not aware existsWhile I have done cross stitching, I must say it really is not my thing. However, I decided to embrace the challenge. 




I started with the PTI doily die.  I die cut two in PTI white and glued together.  Then, I took my floss, a big needle, some scissors and sat down to stitch!  I found it very therapeutic.  I must say that what I stitched was by no means elaborate, I did just follow a few of the holes provided in the doily.  
 



Next, I die cut and stamped the PTI Painted Petals.  I popped up the doily as well as the flower using some foam tape.  I mounted the doily to smokey shadow card stock that I lightly sponged with some Pigment white ink to mimic the look in the inspiration photo.  I die cut and white embossed the sentiment  from Keep It Simple: Encouragement using the Tag Sale Quilted die sentiment strip.  I finished my card with a few clear sequins.


As always thanks so much for hopping by!

Betty


Sunday, March 20, 2016

Hello and Celebrate!






Happy Sunday!  It is cold and cloudy here in our part of North Carolina today.  After spring temps last week, sporting sandals with a fresh pedicure, and capri pants, I am back to pants, long sleeves, and socks today.  We even had to turned the heat on.  Bummers!  On the bright side, it was a perfect day to get crafty!   I have two cards to share today!




For my first card I am playing along with this week's ColourQ Challenge.  When I saw these wonderful hues of greens, I remembered some watercolored "practice" papers I created a few weeks back just playing around.  I went through my stash and decided I could use this background.  The colors worked perfectly.  I also decided it was time to use my PTI Sweet Speech.  I purchased this set a few months back on the Buy/Sale Forum at PTI.  Naturally, I cannot make a card without mixing a few sets, so I used PTI Flower Favorites for the butterflies, and Sentiment Splits for bottom sentiments. I finished my card with some silver thread and a few sequins.  I even put some wink of stella on my butterflies.  I am also playing along with City Crafter Challenge:  Make It Green. 







For my second card I am playing along with this month's Papertrey Ink Create Along With Us Challenge.  I chose to case Dawn's card HERE!  I just fell in love with this color combo.  I used the Spring Woods set like Dawn for my background.  This card is also very CAS, so I am playing along with this week's The Paper Players Clean and Simple Celebrate Spring Challenge. 

 


Dawn's Card






I had to improvise for the rest of the images.  I used Birthday Cheer for the sentiment in red and framed with Outlined stamp set in raspberry fizz.  I die cut the largest Scribble in white to give me some loops behind the sentiment.  I sponged the edges of the berry sorbet card stock with hibiscus burst.  I finished my card with a few clear sequins.

As always thanks so much for stopping by!

Betty


Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge: Rainbow!






It's time for a new Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge!




brit.com



The LEAD of this challenge will be invited to be a guest designer in an upcoming challenge!






For today's card I am using MFT Stamps and dies.  I started with some watercolor paper and a metal oval die cut to use for my arcs in the watercolor layered rainbow.  I chose to use metal instead of a die cut piece because I am working with water.  I wanted to clean the die cut between colors and a paper die cut would get soggy as well as absorb and possibly smear and muddy the colors.  







I placed the metal die cut onto watercolor paper, brushed the arc with plain water, then used Distress Reinkers to color the rainbow.  I blotted when necessary.  I even waited a bit between colors before proceeding to the next color.  I continued until I ran out of space.  I wanted to leave a bit of white at the top and the bottom.  I spritzed with water.  I also added some watered down copic white splatters for added dimension. 












Make sure you visit each of the designers' blogs for more inspiration!




                   



As always thanks so much for stopping by!  



Betty

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Celebrate Today!






Happy Sunday!  The weather was beautiful this weekend here in North Carolina.  It felt like Spring ALL weekend!    I am popping in with a card to share.   It is that time of year where I start to think about outdoor flowers blooming.  I finally had a chance to play along with this week's PTI Make It Monday Challenge so I thought it would be a perfect time to ink up my Make It Market Mini: Color Pop Florals.



First of all, I love stamping backgrounds.  It is where I get into the zone!  However, I must say I am really loving these interactive papers PTI has come out with.  I think it is so fun to see just how different a look I can create each time using the same pattern piece.  For instance, instead of using the stencil on the large and medium size flowers on the background paper,  I inked each flower stamp,  sponged the edges with a darker color, then stamped the flower.  I like this look since it leaves a white border around each flower.  Makes them pop.  I did use the stencils to sponge the tiny flowers and all of the leaves before I stamped the centers.  I die cut in gold the sentiment that comes in this set.  I layered two more times with smooth white card stock.  I like the texture I get stamping on the linen card stock, too. 





I die cut my circle with PTI polka dot vellum using the Petite Places base die.  I die cut and stamped a few more flowers and leaves, inked and added to the card. I was feeling the sponge stamping technique with these flowers.  I chose more contrasting sponged edges.  I finished with some loose string and sequins. 

As always thanks so much for stopping by!

Betty 

Friday, March 11, 2016

Verve Spotlight Hops - Day 5!







It's the final day of our March Spotlight Hops!  Have you enjoyed the spotlights we've been sharing this week? Thanks so much for hopping along with us and celebrating the new release this week! Everything previewed this week is available to order in the Verve online store. So come let's hop along one more time for a closer look at Rise Above, New Beginnings and the Partly Cloudy and Springtime Stitches die sets.

If you got her from Amber's Blog you are in the right spot, otherwise, you may want to start at the very beginning at the Verve Blog so you do not miss a thing!



For my card, I started with a persimmon card stock base.  I layered some fun pattern paper that just screams spring to me.  I die cut an oval in white card stock and sponged green and blue Ranger Distress Inks in tumble glass and citron to create the look of grass and sky.  I then masked off the grass area and stamped half of the sunshine from Rise Above in daffodil ink.  I chose the sentiment from Rise Above and stamped it in black hybrid ink.


Next, I die cut the stitched circle from Springtime Stitches dies and cut to fit along the rolling hills of the grass.  I inked the edges for some added dimension.  I highlighted my sunrise with some Wink of Stella for a shimmery glow.  I also lightly brushed on some of the shimmer onto the grassy area using my finger to apply.  I created an oval frame using more of the persimmon card stock  and glued to the top of the white oval.  The whole oval panel is mounted using some foam tape for more added dimension.  



For the flower accenting, I die cut, stamped, and colored with copics these adorable flowers using New Beginnings stamp set and Springtime Stitches die set.  I arranged my flowers using some foam tape to pop up a few.  I also colored the leaves with copics for some added definition.  As you can tell, I had to use my Wink of Stella on these as well because this card is all about "Hello Sunshine!"  I finished my card with tiny clear gems in the center of the flowers and a few sequins. 

 
Want to win some shiny new Verve? We'll be picking a random commenter on one of the hop spots below to win today's featured products! So be sure to leave a little comment on all the blogs below to increase your chances! Check out the Verve Blog today for the full hop list, a little more about our new products and all the prize info and deadlines!


Rise AboveNew Beginnings
Partly Cloudy Die SetSpringtime Stitches Die Set



Day 4 Hop List
1. Julee7. Mackie
2. Amber8. Marisa
3. Betty9.Maureen
4.Charmaine10. Stacey
5. Christyne11. Vicki
6. Lee-Anne


Next on the hop is Charmaine!

As always thanks so much for hopping by! 

Betty

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Verve Inspirations Challenge and Blog Hop!







It's time for the Verve Divas to bring you our monthly Diva Inspirations Challenge and Blog Hop! There are two ways to win Verve prizes: comment on the design team's blog hop posts (linked below) to see their take on the inspiration, then go get inky and link up your take on the challenge to be eligible in our prize drawings! You have until April 5 to link up, so feel free to play as often as you like.




After a few months of winter, nothing soothes the soul like a burst of vibrant color. This boho kids bedroom does that and more! Feel free to take your inspiration from the photo or the color combo, whatever suits your fancy! We can't wait to see what you create.


Click here to link up your challenge entries
Challenge deadline: Tuesday, April 5.
Prize: $30 gift voucher to the Verve online store!





For my card I decided to focus on the inspiration picture.  You can check out the Verve Blog for a bigger photo so you can see every detail of that beautiful room.  I love the center of the bed colors with a deep red wine flower with touches of greens, and turquoise.  I decided to recreate the look with some Verve Stamps.  I combined images from Verve's newly released Simply Amazing with Bloom & Grow, Great Friend, and Poppy Birthday to stamp the background.



For the sentiment panel, I die cut Verve's Occasion Frame die and stamped with coordinating image from On Occasion stamp set.  I used the newly released Simply Amazing stamp set again for the sentiment and the outline turquoise daisy. I finished with some loose threading and sequins.




To create some visual interest, I die cut a rectangle out of the background panel and added some fun foam to the panel.  Instead of just lining up the raised panel with the outside rectangle frame, I decided to turn the raise panel slightly.  I love the offset look with this technique, too.  


Need a little inspiration? Check out the blogs linked below to see what the other Divas did with the challenge! It's sure to be a treat, and speaking of treats, we're giving away a $30 gift voucher to Verve to one random commenter along the hop! 



1. Julee7. Laurie
2. Amber8. Marisa
3. Amy9. Maureen
4. Betty10. Sankari
5. Charmaine11. Stacey
6. Christyne12. Teresa
© The Things I Do With Paper. Made with love by The Dutch Lady Designs.