Make it Monday #67

Happy Memorial Day weekend! I hope you are having a weekend filled with BBQ's, fun in the sun, and of course in honor and remembrance of those who serve or have served to protect this great nation of ours.   My hubby happens to be on alert this weekend, so we've been very limited in our holiday plans because he has to be within 30 minutes of the base at all times.  The girls and I did attend a birthday party yesterday for a sweet little princess who is turning 4 tomorrow.  I used to babysit her when she was just 6 weeks old up until about a year ago, so she's a pretty special little lady to us.

We also attended a neighborhood party with some other families from our block, complete with burgers, watermelon, and a waterslide.  We were only there for a couple of hours (the party went on all day), but the kids really seemed to enjoy it.

Today, we have had a rather lazy day around the house, doing laundry and such, and watching the Indy 500 race.  I was able to sneak off to my studio to play a little bit and of course had my fall back Make it Monday Challenge to direct what I was going to play with once I got in there.

This week's challenge was to step it up with pattern mixing.  I chose to use a patterned paper pack from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found collection in the blush color palette.  I purchased it at AC Moore a few weeks ago along with a few of the other color palettes in the collection- it was on clearance.  A lucky find, because I do love this paper...

Anyway...here is the card I came up with:

 The 3 patterns I chose to work with were the black bitty dots, the floral pattern, and the small houndstooth. I started with a soft stone card base, adhered the bitty dots pattern and then topped it with the floral paper.  I then created the top panel using a scrap sheet of Stampin' Up Pink Pirouette cardstock.  (It was a 2008 In Color.)  I used the Pretty Peonies die to cut out Happy, then stamped the birthday from Pretty Peonies in true black ink.  I stamped the happy image from Pretty Peonies on white cardstock and used foam adhesive to mount the pink panel on top of it.  I finished the card off with a flower from my third pattern choice, the houndstooth, that was created using the Notched Flower dies from PTI.  I inked the edges of the flowers just a bit to help them stand out from each other, and topped it with a fun button that I got in my Raspberry Fizz Buttons. I added a little gem from Queen and Co to the center of the button to cover the hole that was there, and added the leaf die cuts cut out of true black cardstock to the back of the flower.

Supplies:

Papertrey Ink:  Dies:
                       Notched Flower Dies
                       Turning a New Leaf Dies
                       Pretty Peonies Die Collection
                       Stamps:
                       Pretty Peonies
                       True black cardstock
                       soft stone cardstock
                       Raspberry Fizz Button
Other:  Stampin' Up Pink Pirouette cardstock, My Mind's Eye patterned paper, Queen and Co. gemstone.

Another great challenge, and while this color combo is much darker than what I normally use, it was a lot of fun to play with!

                   

Make it Monday #65

What a fun challenge this week over at Nichole's blog!

I'm excited that I was able to play along before Sunday this time! I suppose that's what happens when the school nurse calls and says that your child needs to be picked up.  I picked her up and she doesn't have a fever, just a headache and a little cough.  Grrr!  She really could've stayed at school.  Instead, she's parked herself on the couch and is catching up on Once Upon a Time.

I decided to catch up on some house work and chores and then sneak off to my studio for a quick stamping session.  These Make it Monday challenges are so perfect for that.  An assignment takes the guesswork out of where to start! Love that!

So this week's challenge was to create a background using patterned paper scraps.

Here is my take on the challenge:

I chose to use Aqua Mist, Summer Sunrise, and Stampin' Up's Chocolate Chip as my color palette for this card.  The background was created from mostly patterned papers, but the woodgrain one is actually a stamped scrap piece of paper that is a leftover from another project.  It was stamped using the Background Basics Woodgrain stamp set in Chocolate chip ink on white cardstock.  .  

Like Dawn did in her video, I adhered all of my patterned pieces of paper to piece of cardstock to help with lining them up.  The pieces I chose are from the Aqua Mist patterned paper pack, and the Distressed Dots and Bitty Dots paper packs. I stuck a small scrap of chocolate chip cardstock in there as well just to add a little more brown.  

I topped my scrap strips panel with a Mat Stack 4 die that I ran through my paper crimper twice- once length-wise and then again width-wise to get that cross hatch pattern.  I then used the double ended banner die to cut the banner, and stamped my sentiment from Framed Out #3 and added a simple little pearl.  Then I attached my flowers that were stamped using Hawaiian Shores Ink (to pull the darker color from the patterned paper) and Chocolate Chip (SU).  The flower with the leaves on it was actually in my junk pile because I stamped the leaves in the wrong spot around the flower, but I figured I might as well use it up :-) The individual pieces of this card are popped up using foam adhesive so there is a lot of dimension.  Here is a close up picture so you can see...  

That's all for today, my dears!  I'm off to see if my "sick" kiddo needs anything! 

Make It Monday #64

Hey Guys!! It's that time again!
Time for my weekly post for PTI's Make it Monday challenge!!

This week's challenge was all about using color inspiration.  I chose this as my inspiration photo:

I just LOVE these colors.  I actually painted my studio Hawaiian Shores unintentionally :-).  After we finished painting it, I had a sheet of cardstock out to play with and held it up and it's pretty much the exact same color.  It just makes me happy.  

Anyway, here is my entry this week:

I used a Fine Linen card base and topped that with an off-white panel.  I stamped the circles image from Background Basics: Circles in Berry Sorbet and then added the sentiment from the Half and Half stamp set in Aqua Mist ink.
I used the Mat Stack #4 die and the coordinating layerz die using Aqua Mist cardstock.  I first die cut the layerz size and then centered the original #4 on that die cut and made the outline.  I cut a second #4 from Hawaiian Shores and put it inside the outline I created from the Aqua mist.  The Notched Flowers die was used to create the two flowers.  I stamped each piece with the Year of Flowers Mums large flower image in Berry Sorbet and then topped that off with a spring moss button that was finished with a Queen and Co. gemstone.   To incorporate the Simply Chartruese, I cut some leaves using the Turning a New Leaf dies and tore off a few of the leaves and tucked them in behind the flowers.

I really love the effect of the mums image on those notched flowers.  I'm such a sucker for the flower outlines :-) !

That's all for today- my hubby just came home from a mission so I'm off to spend some quality time with him. Happy weekend!!

Make it Monday #63: Glitter Die Cuts

Hey there!  Back again with another Make it Monday.  The weeks go by so fast these days, I don't seem to be able to get much posting done before it's Monday again.  I happened to be home with a sick kiddo today, so I was able to get some crafty time in.  Usually I have to wait to do these things on the weekend. So hooray for an excuse to call out of work...boo for my kiddo with the stomach bug.  Sorry, H.

Ok, so anyway, back to my card for the challenge!

I just had a lovely visit from the UPS man this afternoon, he had such wonderful timing bringing me my new box of goodies on a day when I was home and able to play with them!
Here is my card for the glitter die cuts challenge:

I used the new Trendy Tree Tops dies for my glittered die cut and because I do not have a refill for my Xyron right now, I had to use scor-tape.  I know the xyron is so much simpler so I really do need to go get that refill, but the scor-tape did work.

The embossing was done with a cuttlebug folder. Sentiment and tag are from Tag It's #3 stamp set and dies. Colors are Aqua Mist, Raspberry Fizz, and Hawaiian Shores, and the striped paper is from the new Aqua Mist paper collection.  I LOVE that paper pack!

Make It Monday #62

Hello again, friends!

 

I am back again to share my take on this week's Make It Monday challenge over at Nichole Heady's blog for Papertrey Ink.  

This week's challenge was a Step It Up: Layering challenge.  I think this concept is a lot of fun.  I don't always have a ton of time to stamp, so the single layer cards come together quickly and easily and I love that.  But sometimes you just want to get your hands dirty and really get into something more in-depth, and this technique allows you to do that by using the single layer card to inspire a multi-layered one.  

Here is my take on this week's challenge- both cards side by side:

The single layer card:

And the multi-layer:

So fun to just dig into some supplies and just play around.  

For these cards I used all Papertrey Ink Supplies except the black and white striped washi tape is Smash tape from EK Success, Rhinestones are by Queen and Co, and the yellow patterned paper is by American Crafts.  The stamp sets are Beautiful Butterflies and Background Basics Circles.  Ink colors are Harvest Gold, Berry Sorbet, True Black, and Hawaiian Shores.

Guilty Conscience

Today has been a very long day.  It's been a very long week for that matter.  The hubster is traveling, work has been absolutely insane after coming home from vacation and trying to get caught back up, and things at home are a little piled up as well.  Combine the stress of what is the day to day this week with a headache and two whiny, over-tired kids and you get a mommy who loses her cool.  I had a little mommy temper tantrum tonight. A little meltdown.  And I'm feeling bad.  I did apologize to my kids who were on the receiving end of my raised voice rant, but still...not feeling so good about the fact that I lost control of my temper.  Yes, the dog did chew up the 5th pair of shoes for the week.  Yes, the girls were screaming at each other in the bath tub at the top of their lungs.   Yes, I have laundry coming out of every nook and cranny in this house, a raging headache, and the inability to sleep soundly while my husband is away.  But it's not really like me to lose my cool like that.  All eyes bulging out of my head and steam coming out of my ears mad.

I had a mommy temper tantrum.
A little mommy meltdown.
And...well...I feel bad.
I did, of course, apologize to my kids who were on the receiving end of my raised voice rant, but I still feel absolutely horrible.  Not my style.  So I suppose I have some making up to do.  I am thinking, though, that at some point, something has to give.  I don't want a repeat of this performance.  I don't want to be that parent.  I love my kids.  I love their noise and their laughter and even their messes.  So why the melt down?  I'm just plain overwhelmed.  Seems like as good a time as any to re-evaluate things and try to figure out how to keep this from happening again.  I have never been a half-way kind of girl.  I like to do anything and everything I do to the absolute best of my ability.  It's the super-nerd inside me fighting to get out.  Half-way is about all I can muster these days, though, because that seems to be all I have time for.  Must work on a game plan for coping with all of this in a better way.  More wine, perhaps??  :-)

I think I'll go test that theory and see if it helps- I'll be back a little later to share a Make It Monday challenge entry as well so you'll have something pretty to look at, too.  Thanks for reading my vent and allowing me to clear my conscience just a bit.

A handful of cheer

Hello again, friends! Happy Wednesday to you!

  I hope you are all having a wonderful week.  I'm dragging a bit this week.  The first week back from a vacation is always tough, so it's been struggle to get through the work day.  Wishing I could be back at Disney with my hubby and my girls, watching parades and shows and eating yummy food that I had nothing to do with preparing.  

It is nice to be back home, though.  Nice to have my own bed and to see our Lucy-dog.  Nice to see friends and get caught up.  Not so nice to have to do all of the laundry! :-)  It is my nemesis, but something that must be done nevertheless.  Sigh.  

So instead of rambling on and on, I'll leave you with something pretty to look at.  Just something I put together while playing a bit with color.  

            

The deets:

Stamps:  Rosie Posie, Celebrations, and Hello Friend- Papertrey Ink
Ink:  Enchanged Evening, Berry Sorbet- Papertrey Ink
Dies:  Celebrations Die- Papertrey Ink, Oval- Nestabilities
Punch:  label by EK Success, corner rounder also by EK success
Cardstock:  Stampers Select White, Berry Sorbet- Papertrey Ink
Other- Buttons and ribbon by Papertrey Ink, Scor-Tape, paper crimper