Today's ramblings...

Hi everyone! After struggling with stomach issues, I finally went to see my doctor about it and found out I am the proud owner of a nasty ulcer. I am happy to report that I am half way thru my 14 day regimen of medication where I have to take 4 different pills FOUR (yes 4!!) times a day! Blech!! I guess when I worry and stress, I keep it in and it has manifested itself as an ulcer in my stomach. I know, I know- TMI. ha ha. Not really playing the sympathy card, just want you to be proud of me for enduring this horrible medicine situation. I know. Things could be worse. Thank God it's not cancer, which is something I worried about, which I'm sure only contributed to the ulcer's happy party in my stomach. Ok. enough.


Now on to happy talk!


I went to a card party last night with my SU! guru, Donna LaPorte where we made 5 cards and one gift item for $15.


Here's what we did:
(all items are from Stampin Up unless otherwise noted)

A bleach technique was used with the Upsy Daisy stamp set. I love finishing the inside of the card with the same stamp set but inked with Melon Mambo ink. When the card bleaches it turns a pretty vanilla color, which goes well with the vanilla grosgrain.

Isn't this baby buggy card cute? To make the buggy, just take a circle punch and cut a wedge out of it. The button wheels are made with a small circle punch and a paper piercer was used to make the holes. The buggy frame is made with SU! gold cord. The slit punch on the bottom holds the top flap in place. The sentiment is from Whimsical Words in the SAB flyer.

Isn't this lovely and lacey looking? The "lace" was done by first inking the bottom with a sponge and soft suede ink. Then it was cut with a scallop border punch (found in the SAB flyer). This punch can be earned free. Ask you demo about it. The stamp set is a new feature of SU! which is an unmounted stamp. It clings on to an acrylic block so you can see better where you're stamping. This stamp set is in the new occasions mini (I think!).




Last but not least is this Easter card done with the chocolate bunny stamp that's in the occasions mini as well. The bunny was stamped with Versamark, then embossed, then fussy cut and placed on the mats. A cuttlebug folder was used to create the grass. The leaves are a SU! die that was cut out on a Big Shot. The sentiment was from Teeny Tiny Wishes (I think) and the tag was used with the Oval Window and Modern Label punches.

If you don't have a demo, you can either contact Donna (above) or a new, sweet friend I just met on SCS who is also a demo, Jamie. She can help you as well. Or just email me what you want and I'll find a way to get it to ya!!
And there you have it! Enjoy!

Papertrey Ink Party Continues!!

There's an anniversary party goin on at Nichole Heady’s Blog!

Today's challenge was to pick a color scheme from one of 12 designer's favorite color combo's. Of course I chose Erin Lincoln's combo because she is like one of my most favorite crafters ever! I had the privilege of meeting her a couple years ago at CHA and I immediately clicked with her.

So here is Erin's fav color combo-





And here is my take on the challenge:



I had to substitute a different orange cardstock since I didn't have any Terracotta Tile in my stash. I used 2 PTI stamp sets- Beautiful Blooms and Life. I used Versamark for the leaves in the background. It's hard to tell but I chalked my focal point using the Spellbinders Nestabilities die as a stencil. The ink I used was PTI Ripe Avocado and Chocolate. I needed some chocolate on my card so I just cut out 3 little circles with my handheld hole punch.


Thanks for looking!
~Tree

Papertrey Ink's Third Anniversary!!

There's a party goin on at Nichole Heady’s Blog with tons of give aways to boot!

Today's challenge was a Paint By Number based on a sketch and the color palette we were assigned was one that had to do with the first letter of my message board name, which is "T" of course.

Here's the sketch:



Here is my color palette based on the first letter of my MB name (T):




And Voila! Here is what I came up with titled, "Follow Your Own Star":




Here is a close-up:


I thought the blues in the palette lent itself nicely to a manly card, so I substituted the scalloped edge for a pinked edge. I popped up my star with foam tape to give it interest and dimension. I also thought it'd be fun to kinda curve the sentiment- you know, making it look like a shooting star.
Here's my formula per the sketch:

1. Aqua Mist
2. White (used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder on it)
3. Enchanted Evening- didn't have it in my stash so improvised with Bazzil Smoothie in Huckleberry Pie
4. Kraft
5. Spring Rain

Stamps used are all PTI: Polka Dot Basics, Text Boxed and Star Prints.

So hop on over to Nichole's blog and play along. There are fun challenges and prizes galore!!

Remember to click on the photos for a better look!

While I have your attention (hee hee) I wanted to show you that I've actually dusted of my Copics and tried my hand at coloring today! After a long dry spell of no crafting, if feels good to put some of my supplies to good use!! You'll see on the left two hummingbirds colored in and on the right is the before picture. The first one I colored was the top left and thought it needed some work on the tail feathers. There wasn't enough light reflecting off the feathers, so I tried it again and the lower one is my second attempt, which is the one I like better.

Last, but not least. I altered a journal that I found in the dollar spot at Mike's for a dear friend of mine who is going through the scary situation of being tested for cancer. I filled it with a bunch of inspirational quotes throughout the journal that I stamped with some stamps I've been dying to use.

If you turn your head to the side (oops!) you can see the inside cover of the journal.

Thanks for looking!!!

~Tree
XOX