La Bella Vita Graduation Pocket Card

Hi crafty friends!

It's Monday again... and the Penmaker and I have begun another week of... who knows what! I feel I could have used a bit more rest yesterday, but there's no time to dwell on that. Saturday, we spent the day with our son in Pennsylvania. He was shooting B-roll with some of his team for a new movie, and we got to tag along and watch. The scenery was fabulous and the weather was absolutely delightful. Lots of hiking, a visit to a festival, and an all round great time. Thus... the tiredness.

But here we go with another week.

I like to make my cards a little unusual... not the expected design for an occasion. This is one a created for the daughter of some family friends who just graduated.

The base, tag and layers are Bo Bunny's Enchanted Garden and Juliet. The image (I love this) was cut from Authentique's Fabulous. The flower is one of 49 and Market's Blush Shimmer & Shine Melange. I cut the foliage with Alterations Thinlits Garden Greens and congrats with their Celebrations Words Script. I gave them all a coat of Wink of Stella for some shine.   

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunshine & Good Times Pocket Card

Happy Sunday sweet friends!

With a glance at this card, can you tell it's from Prima's new St Tropez collection? This newest release is mostly a beachy, ocean theme, but this sheet that I used for my base and tag is a gorgeous floral. Oh, how I love Prima papers!!!

I went with the rich, dark navy of the floral background, adding in the pinks and greens. This stripe is a favorite of mine. I topped it with one of my mini wood hearts.

The leaves were cut with Spellbinders Foliage die set and glossied-up with Ranger UTEE... triple coat and heat set. The pink flowers are from I Am Roses, and the beautiful green bloom is 49 and Market Sage Vintage Shades Bouquet.

Clebrate is cut with Alterations Thinlits Celebration Words Script... three layers in Core'dinations Metallic Kraft Cardstock. It's held together with Ranger Distress College Medium.

The triple bicycle layer was cut with Die-namics Layered Labels. I used white craft foam for dimension.
Since it's Sunday, I'm considering a nap. It's too hot out for sitting on the patio, so I think a good movie and a rest are in order. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Praying For You Card and a Product Review

Hi sweet friends!

I'm working on replenishing my stash of easy mailing cards... as opposed to those I have to send in padded envelopes. I like working on pre-made card blanks to speed up the process, and I generally buy them at Pat Catan's or Joann's stores.

I was hoping to go quickly on this, but ended up taking almost as much time as I do on a fancier card. The base mat and doily are colored cardstock and the layers are Prima's Rossi Belle, with some fussy-cutting. I added some Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Confetti Mix and an ivory burlap string bow. I heat embossed my sentiment using Ranger's Super Fine Gold Embossing Powder.

Recently I purchased the Tim Holtz Guillotine Comfort Paper Trimmer by Tonic. I saw Jennifer McGuire using one on her YouTube videos, and thought that's just what I need. My Fiskars trimmer is okay, but the cutting blade falls off and it doesn't always cut straight. So, seeing I could get one at The Funkie Junkie Boutique for a good price, I decided to give it a go.

Here is what I've discovered in my first week of use:

• It is light weight, and as my working surface space is small, I have to move it back and forth from table to crafting station, that's a definite plus.
• It cuts smoothly and straight.
• It has a grid pattern (which I love) plus rulers at each end.
• Since I'm terrified I'll cut myself, the protective plastic shield is a big positive.

My only negative so far:

• It only cuts up to eight and a half inches. I do a lot of pocket cards that are cut twelve by five and a quarter. So I have to pull out the old Fiskars tool for those.

This is a tool I'm extremely happy to have paid the money for, and definitely recommend you checking it out. I'll be even happier when Tonic decides to make one to handle twelve by twelve sheets.

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas in July Pocket Card

 When my daughter-in-law asked if I had any Christmas cards on hand for a Christmas in July event at her school, I thought this would be a good time to get started on my stash. I needed to check my inventory anyway, and with all the new collections coming out on pre-sale, now is the time to get these ordered. I got side tracked, though, when I saw all the new Fall ones. Guess I'll take this one step at a time, and concentrate on those first then move on to Christmas. In the mean while, I still have some of last year's patterns left, and that's what I used to create the card she needed. 

This is the Carta Bella Christmas Delivery collection with some other odds and ends mixed in.

The flowers and greens are all from Petaloo, and the Alterations dies used are Thinlits Doily 2 and Holiday Words Script.

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday, my friends, and please let me know what you're buying to make your Christmas cards.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks Pocket Card and Pen Set

Happy Monday friends!

The card created for today is an combination of companies... Prima, Glitz, and My Mind's Eye.

The base is MME's Madison Ave. The layers and tag are Love Clippings from Prima and Glitz Design's 6x6 Pretty in Pink.

The lace medallion trim is by Prima. The ivory Fleur Des Champs and blush Melange Shimmer and Shine flowers are from 49 and Market. The white organza ribbon is from Joann's.

The Penmaker created these stunning writing instruments for a special order in our eBay shop... an antique pewter stickshift and a gunmetal shock absorber set in a royal designer resin.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thinking of You Pocket Card on Hester

Hi friends. Is your weekend in full swing? Our's certainly is... expecting the whole family here soon to celebrate the Penmaker's birthday.

While I wait, I'll show you a pocket card I created last week using the very last of my Melissa Frances 5th Ave paper Hester. I had just enough for the base and the tag.

I finished off the card with layers of Photo Play's Belle Vie by Julie Nutting, Love Clippings from Prima, and my old Glitz 6x6 paper pad Pretty in Pink. The butterfly is from 49 and Market's Shimmer & Shine Ivory Fleur Des Champs and the pink flowers are their Blush Melange.

I have to run now and get everything ready.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thinking of You... and Paris, Too!

Hi friends. I hope you're having a pleasant Thursday.

The Penmaker and I did some marathon shopping this morning, covering three counties. Everything we needed to purchase was spread out over a vast amount of miles, so we weren't gauging our buying on what we would save. This was more of a necessity trip. The outcome was happy hearts and a loaded car.

One of our stops today was at Joann's were I purchased some white craft foam. I'm going to try this in place of some of my 3-D foam adhesive, which is terrifically expensive even though I buy it online on a huge roll. I'll let you know how it turns out.

My pocket card is a mix of Julie Nutting's Belle Vie by Photo Play and Prima's Love Clippings. There's a bit of Tim Holtz Idea-ology Botanical Layers and Ephemera, and some ivory crocheted cotton lace. 

 The flowers are by 49 and Market... amber Shimmer & Shine Fleur Des Champs. These are gorgeous in real life. The Penmaker's photos are a tad off, and I can see I didn't do a good job of color correction. I'm so sorry for that, friends. Hummm... I was a graphic designer before retirement. How long is that now.......?

Thanks for stopping by!

Sail Away to St Tropez

Happy Tuesday friends!

At the beginning of the year I promised myself to get the kitchen cabinets touched up. Well here it is summer and I still haven't accomplished that goal. I thought today would be a good day to start, but here I sit at the computer having come from my craft room where I spent the last hour cleaning the closet. What's a woman to do? Truth is, I'd rather craft and write about it than anything else I do. So here is a pocket card I created last week with the Prima St Tropez collection.

St Tropez, like their last few offerings, has the gorgeous foil accents on the single 12x12 sheets. It, too, has some patterns that are to die for... like this wood plank sheet called Port of St Tropez. Beachy paper themes aren't my thing, but this collection is a whole other level of sand and surf. If you haven't checked this Prima gem out, you really should.

I still had a half a piece of packing left from yesterday's card, so I die cut it with the same Thinlits Mixed Media die, adding it to the layers. The tiny timepiece is from Hobby Lobby. The gorgeous flowers are called Meredith from the collection. They are teamed with some Ranger UTEE heat embossed fern from the Alterations Thinlits Holiday Greens. I know it's suppose to be a wintery fern, but I think it works great as a seaweed type green... especially with the "wet look" the UTEE gives. 

All in all... I love this new Prima stash of papers and flowers I purchased. I believe it will help me expand my view of beach related projects as it has already.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sage Thinking of You Pocket Card

Hello friends!

Today... more 49 and Market. I can't get enough of their products. I mixed it up a little, however, and added in some 7 Gypsies Conservatory from the 6x6 paper pad. I also used a bit of Prima packaging, and along with my Alterations Thinlits Mixed Media die, created a unique mat for one of the layers.

For my florals, I laid down a bed of green thread and topped it with 49 and Market Vintage Shade Bouquet and Bloom flowers in sage.

For my image layer, I glued on three laser-cut wood butterflies.

Thanks for stopping by!

For You Pocket Card with 49 and Market

Dipping into my stash of Vintage Artistry by 49 and Market, I created a pocket card with a neutral palette and just a hint of shine. The post card foiled piece is by Prima from the Rossi Belle collection. I truly love these foiled sheets as they add just the right amount of pizzaz to my cards that I want.

The 49 and Market papers are a very substantial 100 lb weight. Great for pocket cards. I don't have as many layers on this card as I normally do, but it's heavier than most. Very nice!!! Plus, it distresses well!

For the florals, I chose 49 and Market's Vintage Shades in Yellow Bouquet. I created a sentiment tag using Stephanie Barnard's #660195 Thinlits Framelits w/Stamps set by Sizzix and Archival Coffee ink. It has a bow of ivory burlap string.

The laser cut butterflies are from my favorite wood craft shop in Tennessee.
I hope you have a great weekend, dear friends.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lady in a Rosy Hat Pocket Card

 

Hello, my friends!

I want to show you a card that I think is my favorite of all the ones I've created lately. It's all because of this gorgeous collection from Prima called Love Clippings and the fabulous flowers from 49 & Market.

 I can't say enough about the quality of these flowers. I simply love these. In the styles I've purchase, they have included some foliage and buds. Just beautiful!

Some of the LC sheets have a huge amount of the foil, but I think those are perfect for die-cuts, especially frames. If you layer them, they add just the right amount of sparkle to your project.

Along with Love Clipping, I worked in some of Julie Nutting's Bell Vie from Photo Play. It gave me the bit more of pink I was looking for, and is totally lovely and feminine.

The pretty lady in the rosy hat image came as a gift in my order from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Thanks for stopping by!

Post Card Lady Pocket Card

Every other day or so, I switch out the papers on my desk. Sometimes I leave a stack that works well as base papers and add a collection to those. Today it was just plain Graphic 45. I created this card then put them all away so I could clean things up and get ready for a whole other pile of new patterns.  Being in business all my life, I like to rotate my stock. LOL.

As I said, this is Graphic 45. I have a box full of their mixed collections. I grabbed colors that combined well not looking at the names. The post card had been cut out previously. It was this lady in the big hat that drew me in.  I knew I had to fussy cut her and put her on the post card.

I inked her edges with Vintage Photo Distress, and popped both her and the post card up with foam adhesive. I added a couple of tiny I Am Roses blooms to her hat.

For the florals, I chose a Prima Sweet Peppermint Christmas Morning. This is a gorgeous flower, and certainly not just for Christmas projects. The foliage is cut with Alterations Thinlits Holiday Greens and Spellbinders Foliage. I heat embossed them with Ranger's UTEE... several coats for a glassy look. The bow is ivory burlap string from May Arts.

That's all I have for now. Have a wonderful day, my friends!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy 4th of July

Happy July 4th to all my American friends!

I wasn't expecting time for a post today, but you never know. I'm here at my desk with my favorite mug filled with the Penmaker's special brew of coffee. He does a mix of two that is fabulous, and even when I try the same, mine never tastes as good as what he makes. He is the coffee maker extraordinaire!

A have the fourth, and final card from a special order to show you. Another mix of papers, mostly Julie Nutting's Belle Vie for Photo Play Paper. I bought Julie's collection pack in Tennessee a while back. It's a beautiful mix of patterns... very feminine.

I cut the frame using two Spellbinder's Large Deckled Rectangles dies. Under it is a cut made with their Lacey Circles die and an Alterations Thinlits Doily. The flowers are a Botanica by Petaloo, tiny rosebuds from I Am Roses, and a Shimmer & Shine Blush Melange from 49 & Market.

This card has a shabby chic feel to it with the soft pinks, organza, and butterflies. If you check out the layers, you'll see some Marion Smith post cards...

and a beautiful cut from Prima's Rossibelle collection Sweet Souvenirs sheet.

Thanks for stopping by!