A 70th Birthday Tea Party Invitation

I'm flying off to Washington D.C this week for work.  It's been a while since I traveled and it always surprises me how nervous I can get when it has been a while.  I decided to finish these invitations and this post as therapy.  I just love my Papertrey Ink stamps and this Tea for Two stamp and die set has been in the stash for quite a while.  This was one of the first stamp sets I purchased from them and I've used it often over the years.  Check it out here, here and here for some inspiration.

I decided to use the Papertrey Shape Shifters circle die and the Forest Floor Winter stamp set as accents along with my Concord and 9th Stitched Turnabout stamp. 

On the inside, all the details about the party designed in Word and printed for easy application on the invitation.  I'm so pleased, I'm seeing pink!  Which is why I'm entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge Simon Says Think Pink.

It's Fall Y'all

Brandy used her Cricut and some cut files to create this beautiful stitched pumpkin for a few of her favorite people.  I just happen to be one of them, so this pretty think is sitting on my desk and it greets me every morning, reminding me it's fall (since it is still in the high 90s here in Arizona!).

I'm going to enter this card in the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge Simon Says Fall/Autumn

Joy at Christmas

I was on fire when I saw Spellbinders Shapeabilities Joy Etched dies Holiday 2019 release last month.  I can't say what about the dies so attracted me, but I had a couple of different color combinations in mind and so I'm sharing the outpouring of these ideas here today.  The gold heat embossed die image in the background was inspired by Jennifer McGuire's video.  She didn't address it much, but you really have to find the stack up on your die machine which creates a light touch - for me it wasn't any stack up recommended by the machine manufacturer, but ended up being minus one cutting plate and the embossing pad.

I'm saving a few of these pink versions for a gift - they really telegraph soft and I truly enjoy how the pearl accents add to the soft look.

A few more cards are done and we're on to other projects.  Yay!  I'm entering the pink cards in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge Simon Says Think Pink.

Starting in on the Christmas Cards

I used to always pick a card design and then make 50 - 70 of that card to call them my "Christmas Card".  I enjoyed the repetitiveness of the process and the end result with a ton of cards, all the same, lined up and looking pretty.  Since I started to sell my cards at a local boutique store (Rowan Tree, check them out if you are in Tempe, Arizona!), I've changed this strategy so that I can make a couple of cards for the store and repeats for my stash and use at Christmas.  In the end, I like both techniques.  However, it means that this year I'll be sharing a few more Christmas card designs.  You've already seen a few and today I'm sharing one of my most favorite.

Made with my Distress Oxide inks on Kraft cardstock, I stamped the trees from Papertrey Ink's Enchanted Forest stamp set in this eclectic scene card.  Splatters of black and white acrylic paint in the background and white pigment ink stamped snowflakes really set the scene.  I used a red marker to add the dots to the "stick" trees for some bright contrast.

These first three cards show my trial and error dry embossing a frame using some dies.  I settled on this thinner, more subtle version for the repeats.

A few down and a few more to go.

A Ten Minute Challenge at the Scrapbook Expo

I can't believe nearly three weeks have passed since our Scrapbook Expo weekend in Mesa, AZ.  Brandy and I have been attending some form of a scrapbook convention for more than 15 years, it is a cornerstone of our friendship - a time to spend together and enjoy our hobby.  Since we've been going for so many years, we thought to spice up the weekend by preparing a ten minute card challenge for each other.  We prepared one for Friday and one for Saturday and were inspired by MayMay Made It's recent challenge of the same intention.  It was with a bit of excitement (because this was something new to us!) that we gathered our project supplies together.

Now, we'd agreed beforehand that it was maker's choice on cutting tool and type of glue.  So that left each of us 8 supply items to select and provide to our challenge participant. Andie was the first challenge participant using this kit Brandy created:

Brandy made this first set for Andie's challenge

When Andie saw these supplies, it was an easy selection to use the Hey Chickie sentiment.  Brandy is well know for greeting Andie with Hey Chickie! so that was a no brainer.  A quick snap and ten (short!) minutes laters we have this card:

Andie made this first set for Brandy's challenge

Whew!  Brandy's first challenge was a bit intense.  While some pretty blue embellishments were pre-made, the glue didn't quite set quick enough and the lack of stamps, a la sentiment, made this challenge a bit edgy.  Brandy met the challenge head on creating an easel card using one of the shaped tags from the paper pack.  The results of our Friday challenge:

Brandy made the Friday tag using her Concord and 9th Bold and Brushy Uppercase stamp set.  I thought they were simply perfect for the occasion.

Andie made this kit for Brandy's Saturday Challenge

Next up what our Saturday challenge.  Some of the butterflies had settled and we both looked forward to the challenge.  This black and white kit was facing Brandy for her challenge as she went first on Saturday.

Brandy made this kit for Andie's Saturday Challenge

Here's our final Saturday creations.  Brandy's beautiful black and white card is on the left and Andie's watercolored (with Sennilier dot card handmade by Brandy!) owl card on the right.  A throwback to our early days, Andie's card features a hand torn mulberry paper (all you young'uns look it up!) as a tribute to where we began.

Brandy snapped this multi-layered photo on her phone as a rainstorm blew threw and left a rainbow out the window.  Rain is so rare in Arizona that we had to go out to see it and the rainbow (which are not necessarily rare since we get a lot of sun during rain...).  This artistic shot through the venue windows was a picture on our fun and beautiful weekend.  I think we made have our next, new tradition each year.