A break from cards....

So i took a break from card making to try my hand at something I've always admired.... Scrapbooking !! It was a lot harder than I thought...and Im definitely not really thinking out of the box...so although sophmoric, I'll post and hopefully see some progression...
First is a two page layout, of trying to get a good photo with the kids. Papers and embellies are Crate and October afternoon, canvas button is CTMH. I used my airbrush to colour the thickers...they look...umm...oh well!



some fun colours and papers, and I micked some of the flowers in the paper. Middle flower is some retired SU ribbon, and the top and bottom flowers are PTI beautiful blooms dies with the rounded part cut off



Second page is the amount of photos it took to get a decent shot !! No embelishment here as the photos make it quite busy...



last a single page spread of my son...and the damage a bowl of cherries can do. The two colour scheme is a bit..plain...but this was my very first attempt and I already see some growth from this to my double page layout..so happy with that !! Papers are Bazzil and Cosmo cricket.



Thanks for staying it out on this longer than usual post. And letting me show off my kiddos a bit too!!

Beautiful Blessings and makeshift edgers

I was really inspired by a card layout Debbie Olsen did during the PTI countdown (last card on this post), where she used the edgers as a layer on her card. Not having the edger I wanted, i decided to improvise with a spellbinders die - label 5 to be exact.


I used some pp from my stash, and a verse from Beautiful blessings - this set has a perma spot on my desk !!



I also took the flourish from Mat stack 2 and stamped it on the cutout, creating a bit of a frame. The sentiment looks a bit splotchy as it was coloured with markers (SU) but I think it sort of matches the antiquey look of the card. coloured some paper flowers gray..a little paper rose...done !!
Sorry for the glare on the plastic bag..this one is was destined for the church bookstore and I almost forgot to take a photo of it !!

Weddings....more weddings!

Not gonna lie, but you will probably get pretty sick of wedding cards on this blog over the summer...there are quite a few !!

This one was for my mom, we saw her off on her vacation to Greece last week and she wanted some cards for the various functions she is attending as she visits our family. And just in case you're wondering why you aren't detecting any jealousy in my tone, it's cause I'm SO not jealous! We considered going with them this summer for all of 10 minutes...once I started the mental list of what my 7 month old will need for us to travel...and imagined me luggin it around...fantasy OVER !!
Anyways, sometimes I"ll computer generate Greek saying for the cards going to Greece but I kinda thinks it's cool to keep it in English, then they'll never forget who it's from



The PP is from a Making memories 8x8 pad. I used some Nestabling on the label 9 shape (can you say LOVE !!!) and stamps from WMS - scrolly circle- and PTI - Mr and Mrs
Also use fancy flourishes over the background
The sparkly grey paper is from a wedding invitation i re purposed (am I the only one who does that ?? I've torn invites apart for paper, ribbon sliders, etc..)



Added some matching paper to the interior too..and some SU satin ribbon...

Enjoy your week !! Going to tackle the new colour combo from Online card class..MUCH easier this week !!

2nd summer card camp + Magic of Oz

OK, so I have a confession to make. I LOVE THE WIZARD OF OZ!! Everything to do with it. Books (and there are a whole lot ) movies, plays (especially wicked) and anything to do with Oz.

So when Graphic 45 came out with their Magic of Oz line....well I was SUPER excited. I don't have the stamps yet, just the PP but Fran at Frantic Stamper is the ABSOLUTE best. Great service, prices, and especially to this Canadian gal great shipping rates !!
Anyways, had a hard time cutting into this paper. Good thing I have a back up pad to hoard I mean use! And the colours co-ordinated with the card camp colours for this week

I made 2 variations of this card..I had this cute little wooden stamp from goodness knows where and of course the saying fit....and I like how Dorothy and the Scarecrow lead your eye to the sentiment.



But a bit out of place - the upper left corner was kinda bare. So I tried this variation. Chipboard accent from same line, and a scrap of blue gingham I distressed up with some tea dye.



So there you have it. PP that happened to match this weeks colours....is that a cop out ?? And what will I ever do with these cards....stare at them a lot i guess !!

Summer card camp

Here's with another colour combo from summer card camp.

This one was a bit easier for me....maybe cause most of the colours are spectral ?? Who knows...



I stamped some flowers and stems on a pattern paper card base, and tied the ribbon. It looked a little sparse so I added some sparkly brown "dirt" !!



I added a butterfly (its the same stem stamp, flower fusion 2 or 3) and it blended way to much with the background so I outlined it with and orange copic. Sentiment from a think big, with a couple of rhinestones. Back to having fun !!
I've got another card to share with this combo tonight....

Congratulations Cards

I was asked to make a couple of congratulations cards for 2 graduates. One was "girly" and one was very athletic. So fun to make 2 different cards back to back, I really enjoyed this commission. Mostly because I was just allowed to create based on a word or two, instead of really specific instructions.

The first card is probably my favourite.



I started off with a base of soft stone, and a layer of lavender moon. I made some pattern paper on soft stone with WMS musical backgrounds set, and layered some PTI fancy flourishes on top. Covered the whole thing with glue and tissue paper (one of PTI MIM techniques) and set aside to dry. This was the most time consuming part of the card, and I ended up hacking it to bit !! oh well
Ballerina is from a CTMH set. Beaded oval with some milled lavender distress inks, and WMS fancy phrases for the sentiment - figured it was appropriate with the ballerina. Ribbon is some gorgeous 2 sided Martha Stewart Satin (in the dollar bin and Mikes!!) and lost of rhinestones finish it off.


Next is a MUCH different card..and WAY harder for me to make...kept telling myself to stop when I wanted to add one more embellishment.
This is for the athlete - actually THE top female high school greco-roman wrestler in Ontario - and came in 3rd across Canada. So I wanted to play on that.



Used the faux metal technique for the middle of the medal (with PTI's Mega mixed messages), and Nichole Lazy Stamper Medallion for the base. Used like a bajillion different adhesives to glue them together!



Yellow is PTI harvest gold that I stamped with the Chevron from WMS off beat backgrounds. Banners are from PTI's Banner builder, Congrats from Say it with Style both stamped with a brilliance blue.
Ribbon and card base are SU Pacific Point

Thanks for looking everyone !! Enjoy your week!

Summer Card Camp

Hello all, and happy long weekend to those of us in Canada !!

I enrolled in the summer card class thinking it might give me a bit of a kick start to my languishing mojo, and would challenge me.

I was thinking i might get a bit of an intro before the challenges started but BHAM !! Out of the gate we got a colour combo that was...well....challenging !

So I did the best with what I got. I took out full sheets of card stock in those colours....and stared...and stared some more, willing a card to come to me...and nothing. Nada. Zip. So I went back and took a look at Jennifer Macguire's card. The colours weren't exactly in your face, but rather accents. So that gave me some hope and I started again.






Card base is PTI aqua mist. I cut out a frame using 2 nesties, and love this technique!


Stamped some polka dots in the upper right corner (round and round, PTI anniversary set) and cut off the lower corner. I made this flower using some pretty fabric I picked up at the CREATIV festival a few months ago, and backed it with some purple leaves. I know purple leaves arent exactly found in nature, however since aqua ruffle flowers aren't either i figured I was safe!! The flower was created using 2 different sizes of PTI scallop dies, as well as a big ol' SU button.

The frame is from a Waltzingmouse set that co-ordinates with the nestie, and the stamp from PTI's new faith based set - name escaping me right now of course.

So I survived my foray into the bright side. I came out alive. Converted - maybe not. But a little more open minded at least !!