ric#30 - Erdem

Update: April 1st/ 2013_________________________________

Suzanne Dahlberg of The Card Yard had a brilliant idea to host an April Fools Day blog hop so everyone can post their ugliest card and have a laugh about it. I've probably made uglier cards, but thankfully there's no photographic evidence since I've only been blogging for about 5 minutes! Anyway, this was an important day for me, because I immediately regretted posting this card, and vowed that I would never again post a card I hated just because I had invested time in it. I also vowed not to do challenges if they failed to inspire me, so it wasn't a total loss. Enjoy! (if it doesn't hurt your eyes to look at it).
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I'm not sure what inspired me to do this week's Runway Inspired Challenge. I certainly wouldn't be caught dead in either of those outfits! I suppose that's what makes it a challenge, and I was interested in trying to recreate the plaid with stripe stamps. Once I did that, I couldn't really waste it, so kept plugging along. I don't love the results, but maybe I'm just a little cranky today. This cold can take a hike! I finally used the floral fusion sizzlit I bought 2 years ago, and this was the first time inking up any of the super stripes stamps, so I'm happy that I at least accomplished the goal of using some of my unloved supplies. It's hard to tell from the photo, but I popped up the frame and the flowers to add some dimension.

Here is the "inspiration" photo:


Supplies
PTI: white cardstock, background basics: super stripes stamps, modern alphabet dies
SU: daffodil delight, melon mambo, and tempting turquoise cs, midnight muse ink, floral fusion sizzlit die, pearls, mini 4 petal flower punch
Other: nestabilities labels 8 dies,  pink 1/8" satin ribbon, scotch foam tape.

Thanks for stopping by,
T

OLW 128

This week's One Layer Wednesday challenge, hosted by Heather Telford, was to make a feminine birthday card.  Happy Birthday Heather! Hope you are having a great week, and hope the weather is as lovely and springy for you as it is here.

I was completely undecided what I wanted to make until I saw this week's Muse challenge inspiration card. I loved the layout, and though it wasn't a one layer card, I could really see it working well in a one layer format, so thought I would take it for test drive. I did some masking to give it a little dimension. The scribbled frame is hand drawn.

Simple, yet effective. I'll definitely use this layout again this week for the Muse challenge, and maybe even a third card.

Supplies
PTI: white cs, berry sorbet and limeade ice ink, beautiful butterflies sentiment
SU: vintage vogue set, peach parfait and daffodil delight ink, always artichoke marker

Thanks for stopping by,
T

FFC02

This weeks Festive Friday Challenge is a rustic country theme, as shown below.

Rustic country wouldn't be the first direction I would choose for a Christmas card, but I think I can roll with that! Of course, now I'm totally bummed that I didn't get any burlap on my last PTI order because it was sold out. Had to settle for a faux burlap look by stamping a fabric background on kraft. It's supposed to look like aida cloth, but in browns, it resembles burlap if you don't look too closely. The "burlap" and cherry mat are popped up with foam tape so the image in the center is inset. I used liquid pearls to make the mistletoe berries white and 3D. The rest is pretty self explanatory.

Supplies
SU: peaceful wishes stamp, aida background, cherry cobbler cs, soft suede and old olive inks
PTI: signature christmas stamp, kraft and fine linen cs, mat stack 4 and layerz 4 dies, kraft button
other: liquid pearls, hemp twine, white cs, scotch foam tape

Thanks for stopping by,
T

Spread the Love

I saw an interesting post today on Damask Love. Clear & Simple Stamps is encouraging the papercrafters of blogland to send a "virtual high-five" to a blogger they find inspiring. My first thought was, "Wow, what a fantastic idea!" My second thought was, "How can I possibly pick one favourite?" I follow a number of papercrafting blogs, and I have a pretty good idea who my current Top 5 would be (including Amber of Damask Love), but who is the most inspirational? Good question. I certainly didn't know the answer, so I consulted my "inspiration file". (Sometimes, when I am surfing and I see a great idea or technique that I might want to try out at a later date, I save a pic of the card so that when I'm short on inspiration I can consult my file, and hopefully kick-start my mojo). I looked through and noticed that recently, one particular designer keeps rocking my world with her out-of-the box thinking, and inspired design. But before I get to that, I'll tell you the other 3 are  that round out my Top 5. It's still hard to narrow down, (my favourites are really more like a Top 20!), but I will say: Simply Stamped by Maile Belles, Simplicity by Susan Raihala, and Bits & Pieces by Heather Telford. Kudos to you all for all your hard work! The results are stellar.

Are you still reading? Here we go. *Drumroll, please!* Doublestick Heaven by Laura Bassen is my current #1 crush. She really has a way of bringing a fresh eye to every project, and inspiring me to try something I may never have thought up on my own. In a recent post, she stamped over top of patterned paper, after masking an area for the greeting to go. Not her most earth shattering idea, but brilliantly executed, and a great reminder to me that I never think to stamp on patterned paper. So I decided to give it a go today using the following color scheme:


Unfortunately, I don't have any products from Clear & Simple Stamps to use on this project. I haven't investigated yet to see whether they ship to Canada, and if so, what the shipping charges will be, so I had to use what was available. Luckily, I was able to get pretty good matches for this color scheme. I followed the same layout as Laura, but thought my version looked a little "unfinished" as a one layer, so decided to mat it and add a button and bow to top it off.

Actually, I might pull this button off after looking at this photo!  We'll see. It looks better in person. Anyway, I don't like mine as much as Laura's, but hopefully I remember to use this technique again in the future. Thank you Laura (and the rest of my Top 20) for inspiring me on a regular basis.

Supplies:
PTI: Beautiful Butterflies and Think Big Favorites #5 stamps, Lavender Moon ink
SU: Rich Razzleberry ink and button, Pacific Point ink and cardstock, Pink Pirouette ink, Beyond the Garden DSP
other: white cardstock, white 1/8" satin ribbon

Thanks for stopping by,
T

Muse Challenge #5

This week's Muse Challenge inspiration was a great card by Marion Vagg featuring a striking background constructed of washi tape. I decided to use her layout, but changed it up a little by doing a square card rather than horizontal.

I had some adorable plaid washi that I've been meaning to use, so thought this was the perfect opportunity. I didn't have a second washi pattern to coordinate with the plaid, so I created a pattern with white embossing on orange to pull out the accent color in the plaid pattern. I felt like another color was required to make the sentiment stand out on the busy background, so threw in a splash of Hawaiian Shores. I'm not generally that crazy about turquoise, but am totally infatuated with this shade lately. It's a little darker in person than it looks in this photo, and looks pretty sharp against this background.

Supplies
PTI: white, berry sorbet, and hawaiin shores cs, modern alphabet die
SU: white craft ink
Other: plaid Trendy Tape, Martha Stewart background stamp (unknown name), Fiskars heart punch, detail white embossing powder

Thanks for stopping by,
T

OLW 127

It's been awhile since I made a one layer card, but I really love doing them. It's good exercise for the designing brain to plan out the layout before you start rather than making it up as you go along, and covering your mistakes with a butterfly! (Note: That butterfly trick really is handy though. I encourage you to use it, if you hadn't thought if it already. It can cure a world of ills. I'd also encourage you to save any ruined one layer cards to be repurposed as muli-layer cards. I hate to waste good cardstock).

This week's One Layer Wednesday Challenge, posted by Cheryl on A Paperie Journey , was to use something from one of your own Pinterest boards as inspiration. I found a card I had pinned long ago, when Lisa Johnson was still on the Papertrey Ink design team. It was posted as a video tutorial on Make It Monday. I thought it had a lot of potential, and have always meant to give this technique a try. I guess today is the day. Here is her card:


So pretty. It's a nice soft look that might work well for a sympathy card. She used dark chocolate and smoky shadow inks, then layered fresh snow over top and smudged it to produce a foggy effect. I decided to try it blue and ivory. I'm a little underwhelmed with the results, so not too disappointed that I  missed the deadline to link up to the challenge. Oh, well. Better luck next time?

Supplies
SU: midnight muse, crumb cake and white inks, just believe set
PTI: beautiful butterflies and signature greetings II sets, rustic cream cs, kraft button
Other: hemp twine


Thanks for stopping by,
T

Muse Challenge #4

This week's Muse challenge inspiration card looked like spring, especially the bright green, so I decided to use Therese's color scheme as a jumping off point. Here's her card:

I did simple purple and green color blocking with some white spring flowers thrown in.

Supplies
SU - lucky limeade, concord crush and lovely lilac cardstock,  infinite goodness set, old olive button, concord crush classic ink, and white craft ink
PTI - white cardstock, photofinish strip die, beautiful butterflies set
Misc. - detail white embossing powder. green and white bakers' twine

Update: Beyond excited to report that I was voted as one of the top 3 featured members for this card! Thanks to all who voted!

Thanks for stopping by,
T

Valentine's Day

I think it's finally safe to post the card I made for my hubby since he's out reffing basketball tonight, and again tomorrow evening. If he finds any time to go on line, he likely won't get much beyond checking sports scores! It was inspired by the PPA 152 color challenge:


I love how the splash of blue is a different twist on the typical Valentine's color theme, and makes it seem a little more guy friendly. I also gave the background a herringbone texture for a masculine touch. The large red heart was handcut and given a plaid texture.

 

Supplies
cardstock: white - PTI,  pool party/real red/primrose petals - SU
dies: fashionable hearts - SU,  wonderful words - PTI
impression plates: herringbone/plaid - PTI
ink: pool party - SU
stamp: sew simple borders - PTI
ribbon: pool party ruffled grosgrain - SU
slot punch: SU

Thanks for stopping by,
T

Watercolor Challenge

Today's challenge on the Papertrey Ink countdown is to create a project with a watercolor technique. This is simply a color wash with an aquapainter and reinkers over an embossed image. It's a very forgiving technique. I think I will be revisiting this one. It's pretty quick and fun!

Supplies
cardstock: Early Espresso - SU, white and Spring Moss - PTI, watercolor paper - Michael's
stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Teeny Tiny Wishes, SU
emboss powder: Early Espresso - SU
reinkers: Pear Pizazz, Pool Party - SU
impression plate: plaid - PTI
ribbon: Michael's

Thanks for stopping by,
T

Valentine Gift Bag

When I saw the PPA 152 color challenge this week, I thought it would be perfect for Valentine's Day. I made a card for my hubby that I will post later in the week. Don't want him to catch a sneak peek! Here are the colors.



I was also inspired to make a gift bag in the same color scheme, so was thrilled that the PTI contest for today was to make a tag or gift packaging from an on line inspiration. I have both a bag and tag. I don't happen to have Primrose Petals ink, so I substituted PTI's Berry Sorbet which worked nicely. Here is the finished product. Just need to stop by the dollar store this week to pick up some matching tissue paper and I am set for Valentine's Day.

Supplies
PTI - Berry Sorbet ink, Tag Sale #3 Die, Heart-2-Heart #3, Trendy Tree Tops, Script Sentiments
SU - Pool Party ink, ribbon and cardstock, Poppy Parade ink, Whisper White cardstock
Misc. - white gift bag

Thanks for stopping by,
T

FFC01

When I first heard about this new challenge blog, Festive Friday, I wasn't sure I was ready to get back into Christmas already, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was really a great idea, especially since I got way behind schedule this past Christmas and didn't get around to sending any cards. I'm hereby vowing to be better prepared this year!

The first challenge is a color challenge in white, red, and silver.


This combo made me think of a sparkly Christmas ornament, so I broke out the glitter paper. Unfortunately, it looks like I need to get a better flash for my camera, so this pic is a tad dark and the red doesn't show up that well. Luckily I was more successful at capturing the glitter and embossing.




Supplies
SU -  Ornament Keepsakes set and dies, Teeny Tiny Wishes,  Cherry Cobbler ink and  twine, rhinestone
PTI -  white cardstock
Michael's - silver glitter cardstock, Cuttlebug snowflake folder, versamark, detail silver embossing powder, Scotch foam tape

Thanks for stopping by,
Tanis

 

 

 

PTI Printable Freebies Challenge II

Hello again,

This is my second post for today since I had enough time to squeeze in one more card. Hope to use more of these great images another day, but 2 cards is all I have time for tonight.

This card uses the tea cup image designed by Melissa Bickford which is beyond cute. Hopefully this card does it justice!

Additional Supplies
cardstock: white, chartreuse - PTI
dies: nestibilities - Spellbinders; swiss dots embossing folder - SU
ribbon: fresh snow - PTI
misc.: red button, red & white baker's twine.

Nighty night!
Tanis

PTI Printable Freebies Challenge

PTI is hosting a great challenge today to use an image provided by the design team to create a project for a chance to win customized stamps. Sounds pretty cool to me, so I decided to jump on board.

My first card uses the happy birthday image designed by Dawn McVey. I liked that the colors make this card guy friendly, and my shoe box tends to be a little light on guy cards, so I'm always on the lookout for ideas to beef up my stock.

Supplies
cardstock: white - PTI; marina mist - SU
ink: marina mist, wild wasabi - SU
stamps: heart-2-heart #7 - PTI
dies: limitless layers 1 3/4", tag sale #5, plaid impression plate - PTI
ribbon: marina mist - SU
misc: Scotch brand foam tape

That's all for this post. One more to follow.
Tanis