Rosy Sketch

Hooray it's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge time!  Another lovely one this week by Edna Morrisedie:

I went for a love-y theme this week, as Jason and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on May 25th!

Used the Waltzingmouse Stamp sets Musical Backgrounds, Say it Loud, and Very Vintage Labels No.10 for this card. 

These are my first attempts at handmade paper roses!  All I did was cut a piece of scrap paper into a spiral and wound it into a loose rose shape.  Then I cut a separate little half circle shape and glued it in the center to make the rose look more authentic.  I sprayed them (heavily!) with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists (one is Yellow Daisy, and one is a Yellow Daisy/Pink Cherub mix). Scrunched and bent the petals into shape while they were still wet.  Let them dry on my window sill for a few days, and then added some glue in spots to hold the spiral together a bit better.

Now it's your turn!  Upload your creation HERE by next Friday, June 3, and make sure to include at least 1 Waltzingmouse Stamps image on your card to be eligible for the random drawing for a stamp set of choice!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Musical Backgrounds, Say it Loud, and Very Vintage Labels No. 10, all Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock:  PTI Vintage Cream
Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Black Soot, Antique Linen, Tea Dye, and Vintage Photo
Other:  Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists in Cherub Pink and Yellow Daisy, Spellbinders Labels 10 die, Martha Stewart branch punch and white pearls, crocheted trim, cream ribbon, dimensionals

PTI Flower Hop

Another PTI Blog Hop, and April showers bring May FLOWERS!  The flower theme will make for a VERY big hop today, I think!

Used the new Garden Variety stamp set, seed packet, and seed packet frame die, along with the flowers from Friendship Jar Spring Fillers.  Added some Vintage Tea Leaves paper in the background.  My seed packet holder is for a gift card, and it comes off...

Just added a little bit of Dual Lock velcro by 3D that I got from a swap.  Both sides are the same clear material, so you don't have to search for "match ups"!  Plus, it's really sticky on that back, and has an excellent hold on the front. 

Can't wait to see everyone's creations today.  It will be like a beautiful garden posted on Nichole's blog (in linky form) !  Thanks for visiting today!

Supplies:  (all PTI unless otherwise noted)
Cardstock:  Vintage Cream, bits of Sweet Blush and Melon Berry for hearts on Butterfly
Decorative Paper:  Vintage Tea Leaves
Stamps:  sentiment, frame from Garden Variety, sunflowers from Friendship Jar: Spring Fillers
Ink:  Stazon Timber Brown, SU Watercolor Pencils, waterbrush, Tim Holtz Antique Linen and Tumbled Glass Distress inks
Other:  yellow gingham ribbon, velcro, Large Scallop die, Seed Packet and Seed Packet Frame dies, Love Lives Here butterfly die, Melon Berry, Lemon Tart, and Sweet Blush Buttons (little stickers in center from Heidi Grace), Divine Twine in green, paper piercer, Ranger Glossy Accents on butterfly hearts

Sweet Fun

Time for some fun with the new Waltzingmouse and Papertrey Ink stamps that came in the mail recently!  Used PTI's new Garden Variety stamps and dies, Fruit Fusion: Melon stamps and dies, and sentiments from Friendship Jar Fillers.  Used the new Gingham & Co. set from Waltzingmouse Stamps and Background Basics: Gingham (A girl can never have enough gingham stamps!!) to make the background patterns.  This card started out for AmberDawn's VSN challenge at Splitcoastampers...to use 3 R's on your card.  I got those:  ribbon, rhinestones, and red...but I went WAY over the 45-minute time limit set for the challenge!

Forgot to post this one...for Beate's VSN challenge last night...to use the colors Aqua, Light Green, and Kraft on a card, with a dessert option of yellow.  Looks like I ate most of the dessert and skimped on the kraft (I only used a light brown ink on the sentiment)!

Used Papertrey Ink's Tag It #3, Tiny Tags, and the Vineyard Impression Plate at the top.  Then for the bottom, I used Vintage Cream cardstock and the Guide Lines Grid Impression Plate, then stamped a daisy and pattern from Quilter's Sampler Additions.  A glaze pen made all the difference on this one (used it on both the image circle and on the quilt).  See....

Stamping is fun!  If only there were more hours in the day!

Birthday Sketch!

Today Waltzingmouse Stamps is TWO years old!  It's time to celebrate Claire Brennan and her awesome little company that could!

This week at the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge Blog is another fab sketch by Edna Morrisedie, and lots of birthday inspiration from the Mischief Makers and WMS Design Team...

Here is my card:

Based on Edna's lovely sketch here:

The background is the sweater pattern from Faux Fun.  Then I die cut 12 of the smallest heart from the Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Hearts Nestabilities set, embossed them, and then stamped them with patterns from Gingham & Company.  The BIG Birthday Hugs sentiment is from Say it Loud, stamped on vellum and wrapped around the heart panel.  Lot of Antique Linen Distress ink, my birthday shout out to Claire (who has quite the fondness for it)!

Now it's your turn to play.  Link your creation with this sketch HERE in the specified time frame, and be sure to use at least one Waltzingmouse Stamps image on your project.  You could be the randomly-selected player that receives a free WMS stamp set of choice!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, Dear Sweet Waltzingmouse.....Happy Birthday to You (with HUGS)!

Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz

It's the 17th, so it's time for another Waltzingmouse Blog Waltz!  I have a quick post for you today. Let me just say that I have the hardest time making masculine cards, which is the theme this month.  So I am just leaving it at ..."You knew what I was going for, right?"  Hee! 

On a GREAT note, my new WMS stamps from the May release are here...including Gingham & Company, woo hoo! 

I tried my best to make a distressed masculine quilty/flannel-y looking shirt/blanket, but the lighting was horrible for this photo.  On the first go around, I ruined the bottom sentiment panel (when I was all finished) because I stamped the first 2 words of the sentiment, and about half of the rest of them!  So I ripped it off and re-stamped... apparently what I thought was a straight line was not!  The sweet sentiment is from "Blessed by You". 

Thanks for stopping by, I'll do better on the next masculine waltz (I am just crossing my fingers that it is 12 months from now, giggle!)

Stamps:  Gingham & Company, sentiment from Blessed by You, Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper:  PTI Ocean Tides, Vintage Cream, Fine Linen

Ink:  PTI Scarlet Jewel, Ocean Tides, and Smokey Shadow, Colorbox Chesnut, Stazon Timber Brown, PTI Tea Dye Duo, Tim Holtz Antique Linen

Other:  Martha Stewart Baker's Twine in Brown, PTI Dark Chocolate buttons, hemp twine

Door's Open Sketch!

This week's sketch at the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge Blog is by none other than fellow Mischief Maker, the lovely Edna Morrisedie!  Ohhh it's such a good one, too!:

Much like last week, I am feeling "upside down" with the busy time that spring and all of the nice weather brings.  So here is my sketch sample card, turned 180 degrees!

I used the house and sentiment from one of my trusty favorites Sewing Box Hugs, and two other sets...the open flower from Pic-Nic Patterns, and leaves from Faux Fun Circles. 

I just love the sentiment "My door is always open" from Sewing Box Hugs, so I stamped the door on PTI's Raspberry Fizz cardstock and attached it in a most welcoming way!  Wouldn't it be great to have a house with a Raspberry Fizz kind of door?! 

Now it's your turn!  Upload your creation HERE by next Friday May 20th in the time frame, and be sure to use at least one Waltzingmouse Stamp image on your project.  You could be the randomly-selected winner of a free stamp set of choice!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Sewing Box Hugs, Faux Fun Circles, Pic-Nic Patterns, Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper:  PTI Vintage Cream, Fine Linen, and Raspberry Fizz cardstocks, also June Bug Collection from Basic Grey
Ink:  VersaColor inks in Raspberry and Bamboo, Stazon Black, Chamomille Fresh Ink by Impress (yellow), Tim Holtz Antique Linen and Tea Dye Distress inks, yellow marker
Other:  PTI Lemon Tart buttons, A Muse Studio Bubblegum buttons, PTI's Woodgrain Impression Plate and Large Scallop Border die, yellow gingham ribbon, DMC embroidery floss, dimensionals

Heather Bailey inspired...like Betsy!

For this week's Inspiration Challenge at SCS, the website Henrietta's Handbags.  I chose the "Smarty Girl Book Bag" by Heather Bailey under the Purse Patterns section of the website.  Here is a picture:

I took inspiration from THIS POST by Betsy Veldman in June, 2010 when she, too, was inspired by Heather Bailey's fabrics.  I remembered this card that Betsy did, and when I saw the Heather Bailey bag, I had to go back and look at it!  Here is my card:

All of the stamps on this are from Papertrey Ink:  Year of the Flowers: Roses, A Little Argyle, the "feathery" pattern from First Fruits, stripes from Faux Ribbon, and Tiny Tags.  I made my rose with watercolor markers and a waterbrush, and popped up some pieces on dimensionals.  Also did some cutting like Betsy did!  The rose was stamped in Versamark ink on watercolor paper, and then embossed with A Muse Studio's Satin Pearl embossing powder. 

This card took forever, and I am not sure if I am totally happy with it...BUT it was so much fun getting to stamp a little bit while Jason whisked the girls away for a bike ride on this Mother's Day :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Like last year, Eva and Claire had their dance recital the day before Mother's Day.  It really is the best gift to see them dancing their little hearts out up there!  This year, they were in the same class so we had to keep our eyes glued to the stage so we didn't miss anything!

Speaking of Mother's Day, here are some photos of the other girls in our family...



Olive

and good ole' Phoebe Jean!

Happy Mother's Day to me...and to all of you!

Chickie Sketch

Time for sketch #46 at the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge Blog!  It is positively doi-licious I think, hee!

I don't have my new WMS Doily sets just yet (eeek, can't wait!) so I used some circle Nestabilities and inked up the Waltzingmouse Stamp sets L'il Buddies, Faux Fun Circles, and Off Beat Backgrounds.  I flipped the sketch 180 degrees so that the bigger circle was at the bottom:

I stamped the polka dot pattern from Off Beat Backgrounds on PTI's Aqua Mist paper using white ink, and the "sunny" circle at the top is an image from Faux Fun Circles. 

The chicks and sentiment are from L'il Buddies.  SO cute and cheerful, perfect for a get well card!  I sponged the chicks with yellow ink, and also used an orange marker.  They are popped up on various dimensionals, standing on the grid pattern from Off Beat Backgrounds, and snacking on some pearly crumbs!

The WMS Design Team and the other Mischief Makers have made such gorgeous samples this week! I hope you have fun playing along with this versatile sketch.  Upload your creation HERE in the specified time frame, making sure to use at least one Waltzingmouse Stamp image in your creation, and you could be the randomly-selected winner of a free WMS stamp set of choice!  Good luck!

Impression Plate Tricks!

I have not been able to participate in many of the Papertrey Ink "Make it Mondays", but just had to give this week's tutorial a try!  It's called "Impression Plate tricks".  You place a die on top of your impression plate with the cutting side of the die facing UP and NOT toward your Impression plate.  Lay some paper and the impression mats on the top.  Run it through your machine (I used my Cuttlebug) and you are left with an impression of the die in the middle of your pattern!

I used PTI's Woodgrain Impression plate, and the arch-shaped die from "Sending You" on Aqua Mist paper.  I then inked the woodgrain pattern with Fresh Snow ink to give a white-washed look.  The wreath and berries are from Wreath for All Seasons, and the sentiment is from Asian Fusion.

I stamped the berries in Enchanted Evening ink, and then used a Glaze Pen by Sakura to dot each berry and give them a little something "extra".  Used VersaColor "Umber" ink for the twig portion.

This was SUCH a fun technique!  I can't wait to try out more die and impression plate combos!

Spring Fest in Buffalo

Yesterday, I attended a Splitcoaststampers event in Buffalo, NY, called "Spring Fest"!  About 85 stampers got together to complete "shoebox" table projects, and to swap items like ATC cards, 3-D projects, and cards.

In the morning and afternoon, we sat at tables of eight and completed our "shoebox" projects.  Everyone brought a project to share, with all of the supplies needed in a "shoebox".  Then you go around the table, and complete all of the projects.  By the end of the day you end up bringing home about 16 cute things!  You learn so many tips and tricks during the day.  This was my shoebox project, a variation on a card that I did earlier this year:

I made the background using Leaf Prints from PTI, and a text background stamp from Penny Black.  I had the nestie oval and butterfly completed for each participant before the swap, so they just had to "slap" it on.  The sentiment is from PTI's Love Lives Here, and I coated the coordinating butterfly die with Martha Stewart clear coarse glitter.

I signed up to do the ATC swap...I had to make 26 of these little suckers!  This design seemed like a great idea at the time, until I was on about card #4 and had to thread sooo many more buttons with twine!  This ATC is also a variation on a card that I made earlier this year:

Papertrey Ink's Button Boutique card die is almost the size of a typical ATC, so I used that with the coordinating stamp set.  Also stamped Polka Dot Basics in the background, used a gingham square from Bitty Background Blocks, and the pea pod from Baby Button Bits.

Not only was the day a ton of fun, but prizes were involved, too!  Each person got a door prize.  When my number was called, I was lucky that there were 4 Spellbinders Nestie sets on the table, so I chose Labels Ten.  But the end of the day held a big surprise.  I purchased about 20 raffle tickets for a grand total of $5.00 and put them all in one "basket"...for the Spellbinders new Grand Calibur die-cutting and embossing machine....and I WON IT!  I practically screamed (and fainted) when they called out my number! 

The day ended at "Buffalo Stamps and Stuff" a store in Amherst, NY, just stocked with the latest and greatest stamps and supplies.  I snagged 4 Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists (they were on special for us, buy one get one free!), some VersaColor ink pads, 2 glaze pens, White Opal Liquid Pearls, and an Antique Linen Re-inker!

It was just a such a fun day all around!  Special thanks to Tracy Harp and all of her friends for making this event so special every year!