Sea Shimmer

After coming to terms with a tragedy in our family over the past couple of weeks, and then oral surgery yesterday, I feel some of my mojo returning. I have several birthday cards to get done for August, and as most of them are family members, a card from my stash just won't do!

A few months ago I purchased a sampler pack of Papertrey's Shimmer card stock but until today, I had not opened it. Oh my goodness, what delights awaited me! I chose to use the one sheet of Sea Shimmer for a couple of cards right off the bat. It is simply scrumptious!  It is impossible to capture the shimmer in online photos, but here is one of two cards I created:

                               

I love this color combo for summer - it feels very refreshing, like a cool breeze on a warm summer day.

In addition to the Sea Shimmer card stock, I also used white shimmer for the large leaf border die cut. The added butterflies are embossed with an iridescent Peacock embossing powder, which also displays a beautiful shimmer in the light. Unfortunately, my photos just can't capture the beauty of all this shimmer.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: PTI Summer Hills, Inside & Out Birthday 2
Dies: Memory Box
Ink, white detail embossing powder, card stock: PTI
Peacock embossing powder: Embossing Arts (now defunct)
Border punch: Stampin Up
Pink Bling: Kaiser Kraft

Online Card Class - Week 2 Homework

I am so far behind with my Summer Card Camp Homework. I totally underestimated just how busy my life would be during this three week period of nearly perfect summer weather. Fortunately I have all the time in the world to complete the projects with a lifetime access to class content.

For this card I combined about three techniques from the first weeks of classes. It took me almost a week to find time to complete this, but I kind of like how it turned out. And since we have another six family birthdays in August, I best get on the stick and get a few more birthday cars completed!

Day One of class last week focused on circles, and Day 2 on clear embossing techniques. I started with a piece of Spring Rain card stock and clear embossed Hero Arts Lotus background image onto this, followed by a direct-to-paper application of New Leaf ink. When wiped the ink off the embossed areas, the background really popped!  

The centered circles were reverse layered with graduated-sizes of Spellbinders circle dies, with a piece of clear acrylic slipped in between two of the layers. I then die cut and stamped the cupcake and sentiment strip and attached to the window. The cupcake looks like it was sort of floating there.

I stamped the inside sentiment using a technique from Week 1 of class. I totally forgot the part about using a stamp positioner, so the middle section of the sentiment is a little catty-wampus. Fortunately the images in the window cover up my little mistake so I left well enough alone.  

Supplies:

Stamps: Hero Arts Lotus background; PTI Stylish Sentiments Birthday, Cupcake Collection, Think Big Favorites #11

PTI card stock and dye inks

Clear embossing powder

Make it Monday #119 - Flagged Borders

Good Monday Morning everyone. Today I bring you my challenge card for this week's PTI MIM theme of flagged borders. (You can view Dawn's MIM video here.) As I have been in a very patriotic frame of mind since Memorial Day, and with our country's birthday celebration just around the corner, I decided to go with the inspiration for this challenge.
The most difficult part of this card was letting some of these flags sit slanted or crooked. I have a hard time letting go of the the straight and narrow alignment tendencies I practiced during my years in the service, which often can be a block to creative spirit.  It's getting better - but still not easy!
Thanks for stopping by!

                 

Patterned Paper: Doodlebug Design
Stamps from PTI's Est. 1776 set
Fresh Snow White ink, white detail embossing powder - PTI
Card stock: Pure Poppy PTI (gold card stock from my stash).
Dies: Spellbinders Stars 5;  PTI Tag sale #5, Double Ended Banner, Countdown Details. (For some banners I used a square punch turned to punch just a corner on the end of a strip, as I didn't have any other banner dies that would work.)

A PreSchool Grad - CFC #103

Our sweet five year-old granddaughter is graduating preschool today. She is very excited, and yes, we are VERY proud of her.  So off to kindergarten she goes in the fall, which means I will be losing my half-day of 1:1 Nana time with her :(   How quickly they grow up!

Our granddaughter's favorite snuggle toy is a monkey, which was perfect for using the monkey from PTI's Tremendous Treats: Birthday.

I made her card using a CAS approach, which is not my usual style.  I desperately wanted to add a little bird or birdhouse in the tree or clouds in the background, but resisted.
(Full disclosure: I cased one of my favorite stamp artists Kristii Lockhart's CAS card here.)

I am also entering this card in this week's CAS-ual Friday challenge here. This is the first time I've entered this challenge, but am thinking I will make this a weekly goal, just to improve my CAS skills.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Tremendous Treats Birthday (and dies), Little Bitty Bird, Tag-It's #4
Cardstock, PP and Ink: Papertrey Ink
Other: PTI Countdown Details dies; Glossy Accents

Make It Monday #118: Photo Postcard

I'm back with another MIM challenge at Papertrey Ink. This was a super fun challenge to create a photo postcard. One of our sons is a very talented hobby photographer, whose work you can see here. He says I am somewhat biased, but I love his work, much of which he has taken near his home "back yard" in Olympic National Park. I chose two of my favorite recent shots, in which he was kind enough to leave plenty of white space for stamping. Thanks Michael! (Maybe I'll mail this to him to entice another weekend trip home with our granddaughters :))

My second postcard uses a photo Michael took in early spring up in the area of the Skagit Tulip Festival, but before the tulips were in bloom (and before the I-5 bridge collapse over the Skagit River).  I thought this image made the perfect choice for a sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Hello Sunshine.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies used:

Explore the Great Outdoors:

Photograph from son Michael

Stamps: PTI Summer Camp, Gratitude Journal

Cardstock, Ink: PTI

Sending You Sunshine:

Photograph from son Michael

Stamps: PTI Hello Sunshine, Gratitude Journal, Faux Ribbon, Heart-2-Heart #2

Cardstock, Ink: PTI

A Friend Retires

This weekend a good friend and co-worker is hanging up her stethoscope. I am just a little sad to see her leave. Her expertise will be missed in our Emergency Department. Our friendship will continue; I just won't be seeing her as often.

I chose this color scheme based on the first challenge at Online Card Classes Summer Card Camp 2. The class doesn't begin until July 8th, but  Kristina posted the first pre-class challenge using colors used on the card below.

These are not colors I would have thought to put together, but I really like the combination. They just say Summer to me. (Which, BTW, has not yet arrived to Washington State :(

Thanks for stopping by!

  

Supplies:
Stamps: Mixed Messages
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Aqua Mist, Melon Berry and Smokey Shadow.
Ink: Aqua Mist, Melon Berry and Smokey Shadow.
Designer Paper: Melon Berry Pattern Pack
Dies: PTI: Cover Plate Twist, Bloom Builder 3, Framed Out #2; Memory Box: Butterfly Dance
Buttons: PTI

Papertrey May Blog Hop Challenge #3

This is my third entry for the PTI May Blog hop. Surprisingly, this was a difficult of the three entries, using colors that I don't normally put together. It took me longer than I care to admit to make this work, but in the end I am very pleased with the results.

(Ssee my two additional blog hop posts by clicking on the Freshwater Stamps header above.)

 

Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Floral Foliage, Framed Out #1 and #2 (and die)

Cardstock, Pattern Paper: PTI

Ink: PTI and Colorbox

Butterfly Die: Dancing Butterflies

Glossy Accents