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