Be Mine Valentine

I'm checking in with another valentine that I decided to whip up.  In this case, I used some of the softer flowers that I stamped onto smooth, white cardstock using my Papertrey Ink Farmers Market Florals stamp and die set.  The inks are also all Papertrey Ink.  Any imperfections in the stamping are all mine - I was playing with a lighter color and thus, a less solid impression.  I also used the Papertrey Ink You Have My Heart die and the bonus stamp set from January's release.  They all combined to create a very soft, delicate and, I think, delightful valentine.

It is really amazing to think that we've made it to the end of January.  We're entering the best month of the year in southern Arizona.  February - the month of love and fantastic weather.

Valentine's for Work

So, I did exactly as I said - I've made a big batch of valentines to give out at work.  I thought I'd share with you the fun mix and match die cutting that I did.  All coffee cup paper pieces were die cut using my Honey Bee Stamps' Coffee cup card die set.  I used papers already in the stash - again with no dent in the pile problem!  That's a testament to the stash, not my abilities, I hope.  

The heart shape on the front and the sentiment are all made using my Papertrey Ink You Have My Heart stamp and die set.  They stamp like a dream - I am falling more in love with Papertrey Ink's products with every step.

I think this makes me all set to get these cards done and ready to hand out in a few short weeks.  The trouble is that this has inspired me further to create a few more personalized valentines.  I've left that Papertrey products on the workstation so that I might add a few more to the pile, ready for the day of loooovvve.

How about you?  Any valentine making plans?

City Crafter Challenge Blog - Balloon Shakers

I was inspired by the challenge this week at City Crafter Challenge Blog.  I decided to join the fun using Balloons as the major theme and make this shaker card.  A bit clean and simple in design, but the sparkle in the shaker portion really pops in person.

On the inside, a simple sentiment.  My thought was to keep this neat and clean so that it could work for a masculine birthday if needed.  This card will go into the stash so that I can use it if needed.

I'm going to link the card up with the City Crafter Challenge Balloons.  Come join the fun!

Contagiously Crafty Runs in the Family

My daughter decided during Christmas break from college that she wanted a calendar for her dorm room.  I think the original thought was that she wanted to me buy her some calendar on the shelf during a shopping trip.  We're used to her purchasing tricks, having spent 18 years (she couldn't form full sentences on shopping trips until she was over 12 months old...) distracting and correcting this habit.  So I responded - "Hey,  I have one of those calendar kits at home (leftover from 2014...) that you could use to make your own calendar with your own pictures."  I followed up my response by pulling the kit from the stash and placing it strategically on the island in the kitchen.  She quietly began putting it together and I thought to share her final product here with you.  Bear with me and all the pictures for another post this year...

This kit is from Basic Grey - a now defunct manufacturer.  This project made me miss them, their design and creativity more.  Any funkyness to the photos are the fault of photography - Katie's or mine.  The pages are fantastic in person and will be a nice hello from home or her friends as she will be away at school for a large portion of 2018 - her first since last fall was her freshman semester in school.  Like mama, like daughter...

for Katie

BOOM! POW! You're Unstoppable! Creating a Pathway to Work

Hello, crafty friends.  I wanted to share this card I made using the My Favorite Things “You’re Super” stamp set.  Before I go into the details of the card, I would like to thank Andie, who so graciously not only posts the photos my creative attempts, but also writes the posts as well.  If it wasn’t for her, none of my creations would ever see the blog. Today’s post is one I wanted to write personally.  I also want to share the meaning behind this card and why it was created. I apologize for what I know is going to be an unusually long post, but if you read through you will see it is all done with the purpose of bringing attention to a very good cause.


When I saw the “You’re Super” stamp set, I immediately thought of all the very strong women that I have had the privilege to know in my life. I thought of making cards for all of them and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.  The super hero girl is just so cute and comes across so determined, just like the women in my life, my personal heroes. 

These women keep me fueled, whether it is blowing off steam about the crazy environment we work in, supporting each other through personal challenges, laughing at things that only we find funny, crying with each other, and carrying each other when we can’t carry ourselves.  The women in my life have faced personal challenges and made it through to keep going and growing.  These women are my friends and my family.  With this post I would like to highlight one in particular, my cousin Shannon.

Shannon, is one of the most intelligent and giving people I know. I am blessed not only to know her, but also be related to her.  When I say Shannon is  “giving” I do not mean that hands out gifts to friends or picks up the lunch bill, although she does do those things; what I am talking about his how she gives back to her community and defends those who may not be able to defend themselves.  She picks people up and helps them stand on their own.

As long as I can remember Shannon has been a champion for those in need or crisis.  The long list of Shannon’s actions to help other includes volunteering with women’s crisis organizations, working in state education, teaching special needs children, and helping to build core values with the children in our family.  Shannon leads by example and continuously strives to find ways to positively impact the world around her. Shannon is one of my personal heroes.

Several months ago, I received a text from Shannon indicating that she and a group of colleagues/friends were working to establish a public charity organization, called Pathway to Work.  The goal of Pathway to Work is to prepare adults with developmental disabilities for the working world.  In late December, Shannon sent an update that Pathway to Work had achieved its 501 (c)(3) status and they are moving forward to helping people who otherwise may not have these opportunities!  The link to the website is provided if you are interested in learning more about Pathway to Work and how you can help further this cause.  Shannon’s determination and desire to help others inspired this card.

I could not be prouder to see Shannon’s accomplishments or happier to know how many people will benefit from the work she and her colleagues will do here.  Who are your heroes?

Now on to the card.  All of the images were stamped from the MFT You’re Super stamp set.  I used my MISTI to do some masking needed to add the shield as it is not part of the primary image and to add the skyline background.  

The image is colored with Copic markers, the sun rays were created with Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide Ink using the MFT Radiating Rays stencil, Broken China Distress Ink using the MFT Cloud stencil, and last, but not least the city scape is stamped using MFT’s new Extreme Black Ink.  The Extreme Black Ink is amazing!  It is the best black ink I have found for Copic coloring.  Unfortunately, as of the time this post is being written the large ink pad of Extreme Black Ink is out-of-stock with MFT.  I am hoping for a resupply soon as I only have the little cube that came in the December card kit.

Thank you all for taking the time to check out this post. Have a creative day.

ETA - I'm entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Simon Says Layer It Up.

A Sympathy Card

At this time of the year it is a tough thing to face the loss of a loved one.  Unfortunately, one of my staff at work lost not only one, but two of her brothers last month.  Tragic anytime, but definitely overwhelming during what is supposed to be a "happy" time of the year.  I wanted to send my condolences with something a bit bright, if understated.  This Kraft, one layer card fit my expectation.

I used my Simon Says Stamp Floral Bliss stamp and my Simon Says Stamp Friendship Messages for sentiment on the outside of the card, coloring the image with colored pencils.

On the inside, a simple sentiment with plenty of room for a handwritten note.  Since I was worried about getting something wrong in the coloring and I had the stamp in the MISTI, I stamped a few of these to color and add to the stash.  Without the sentiment inside, these cards can be used for many different occasions.

Mermaids and Birthdays

Who doesn't exactly love mermaids?  Especially with all the adorable stamp sets out there.  I'm sharing this card that Brandy made for her niece's birthday.  The amount of care and love thrown into all the intricate little details. Each of these pieces were fussy cut, ensuring a black edge and a seamless look.  That shading is all ink effects using a grey Copic marker - stunning!

Whoo hoo! A die cut card stand gives this little girl a method for displaying her card for weeks to come.  Those mermaids are definitely happy little girls and we'd have to agree that Brandy's niece must know how very much her auntie cares, making her one happy little girl as well.

We're both on a crafty roll starting the new year.  There's some fun we've planned for the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more cards and a little something extra.

Andie for 

Valentines with a Coffee Cup Theme

At Christmas time, I was so inspired by Nicole Spohr's Christmas gift card coffee cup holders that I picked up Honey Bee Stamps' Coffee cup card die set.  Nicole used the gift card holder which is slightly different from what I purchased.  Nicole's card has a "tri-fold" design which would ensure that the gift card is held in place.  My die set is the one which creates a standard A2 sized card which folds at the top and have the shape of a paper coffee cup.  The die set comes with the layering pieces for the lid, frame for the cup and insert for the frame of the cup.  There are also two dies for the sleeve that would traditionally protect your fingers from the heat of the coffee.  I decided to move in a valentines direction since Christmas is well and over, so I coupled these cards with some stamped die cuts using my Papertrey Ink You Have My Heart stamp and die set.

I decided to walk on the wild side and die cut from leftover patterned paper from a 6 x 6 Our Daily Bread Designs pack along with die cuts of hearts, arrows, etc. from coordinating cardstocks.  I cut way more patterns than I needed and just had fun pairing them together to create each card.

In the end, I finished off 4 different cards for the stash.  As I photographed these, I decided that I might want to make a bunch to give a valentine to folks at work.  I'm envisioning a Ghirardelli chocolate square tucked inside and held in place with a glue dot and that sleeve.  Nothing big, but a small way to brighten the day of a coworker or two (or 10 since I have a few folks in my organization at work).  Stay tuned as I intend to make more card bases and paper piece some more valentines.

I'm going to enter this card in the following challenges:

City Crafter Challenge Blog At the Tearoom

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge Simon Says Add A Sentiment

Coffee & Creativitea Macaroon Inspired

A Rainbow Notecard Set

I'm here today to share with you a card set made by Brandy.  She used Nicole Spohr's inspiration from this post as the card design inspiration.  All techniques and supplies matched Nicole's with the exception of the word background stamp as Brandy used a scripty words background stamp that she had on hand.

The ink colors are all Altenew inks and she was so inspired and the stamping so easy to complete a rainbow of cards were created over the course of a week.  Both Brandy and I have full time jobs which consume many hours a week and these cards represent hours spent relaxing from our day jobs.  What a beautiful way to relax, don't you think?

The strips on the bottom of the cards were made with gold (on the pink, red, orange and yellow flowers) and silver (on the teal, blue and purple) gilding flakes.  Easy peasy finish to a card that just pops off the page. 

Here's the final grouping in rainbow order.  These cards went into the stash - how perfect given the assortment of sentiments.  This project would be a fantastic gift set as well.  We'll hope that these are as inspiring to you as Nicole's set was inspiring to Brandy!

Andie for 

A Baby Girl Greeting Card

I had mentioned that I was going to search the stash for some other baby centric stamps.  Instead, I decided to transform this tiny little creature from Penny Black's Critter Party stamp set.  He was just too adorable to pass up.  I die cut the frame and then stamped onto Bristol paper to color the image with my Clean Color Brush tip markers which blend color so nicely that it looks like I might be halfway decent at it!

I ended up coloring two different frames and liked them both well enough to make a second card.  These will both end up in the stash should I have need of them in the future - which will be soon as I have a coworker who will welcomed a baby this month!

On the inside, the same sentiment from my previous cards - because I thought that was so adorable.  So fun, these cards were made not for a purpose, but for fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it.