Tuesday 25 January 2011

Birthday Buttons...

Hey!

Back again already, you ask? Well don't get used to it, but I couldn't resist joining in the fun this month for the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop:


Especially as this month's hop was dedicated to giving some inky love to any neglected unloved sets collecting a little *ahem* dust....well I'll raise my hand and confess that I have a couple of sets that I just had to have at the time and have hardly used. C'mon I know I'm not the only one....!

Cue Studio Style - what a fabulous stamp set: so perfect for inking up for my fellow crafty friends and yet I've hardly used it! It was sat ever-so patiently at the bottom of my stamp sets just crying out for ink and who am I to deny it a li'l inky love....

Buttons Birthday

***FYI: the sentiment continues inside, "Wishing you major mojo!"***

Now I'm really hoping that this card has reached its destination, or that the recipient isn't checking out this blog post. It was my dear friend, Kate's birthday on Sunday and I wasn't the best buddy ever in getting this to her on time - sorry, hun! I really hope she can forgive me and that all the Hawaiian Shores on this creation will divert her attention from the fact it was late :D

Not only did I use a masking technique for my stamping, I treated those jars to some Glossy Accents treatment as well as some shading using Promarkers and my trusty white gel pen. It totally brings those jars to life as they were looking very flat before. Here's another shot to show the shiny goodness :)


I'm now thinking that I could make a set of these cards in different colours...what would be your colour? No prizes for guessing which colour I'd pick for myself *wink*

Thank you soooooooo much for stopping by! I'll be back on Thursday to share a new CASE study card with y'all!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Birthday Buttons}

Stamps:
Studio Style (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: London Fog (Memento Inks)/Versamark
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: White Detail EP (Stampendous)/Glossy Accents/Hawaiian Shores Saddle Stitched Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/Promarkers/White Gel Pen (Ranger)/3D Foam Pads

Sunday 23 January 2011

Total Sweetness...

Hey!

Happy Monday! I'm not a Monday-lovin' kinda gal but let's look on the bright side, we're one day closer to the next weekend :D

This Monday is slightly sweeter than your usual Monday as we've got a sweeeeeeeet new challenge on our PTI Blog. Why so sweet? Well check out the inspiration piccy for it:

Total sweetness

Apart from feeling the urge to eat sweet treats, I also got inky and created a card using an old set:

Thinking of you

Around & About Sentiments was my first ever PTI set I purchased. It has sentimental value to me; signifying the start of a new love affair with a new (to me!) stamp company! This ever-faithful sweet set will never fail me: it can cater for pretty much any occasion, has both sentiments and images, and is so much fun to play with every now and again!

Now I'm gonna 'fess up and let you know that this card was not the end result I was aiming for. The dropping of a Raspberry Fizz inkpad on the front of this clean, crisp, pure, white card during the making of it forced me into a change of plan! Yup, underneath that strip of ribbon is a lovely pink splodge! Ha!

Feeling the sugar rush too after that sweet pic? Well why not join us and be inspired to create something? Maybe even dig out your own older sets and see what you can come up with? You could even be super sneaky then and enter it into our challenge and the PTI Blog Hop if you act quick *wink*

Thanks so much for stopping by! Wishing you all a wonderfully sweet week!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Thinking of you}
Stamps: Around & About Sentiments
Ink: Sweet Blush, Raspberry Fizz, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White
Accessories: Dark Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon/Glossy Accents/Cuttlebug/Nestabilities/Chompy! (Corner Chomper)

Monday 17 January 2011

A layout to love...

Hey!

Happy Monday! Much happier than last Monday for me as I have my voice back and some much needed rest over the weekend has shifted my icky cold - hurrah!

I'm easing into Monday today with a super simple card that uses a layout that I think I'll always love no matter what size the card. Size just doesn't matter when it comes to this sweet layout!

Thinkin' about ya

This is one card from a set I made for a sweet friend of mine for Christmas. I wanted to make the cards flat so it wouldn't be any inconvenience to my friend if she wished to send any of the cards through the post. You don't know how hard it was to resist the temptation to tie pretty bows on these cards or embellish with buttons! Nevertheless it was a great way to not only give a present from the heart, but also make me use up my hoard stash collection of patterned paper!

Patterned paper is something I love to stroke, 'ooooh' and 'ahhhh' over but struggle to use. I think using it as a base of a card is the best way for me to tackle my way through the piles of it: giving room to replenish with new stocks and start the process all over again! *happy sigh*

Right then, I'm off to the gym now because I ate WAY too many dough-balls over the weekend (to aid my cold recovery of course *wink*!)

Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
Thinkin' about ya
Stamps: Teeny Trees, Frame-it (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento Inks)/Simply Chartreuse (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Distressed Dots (Papertrey Ink)

Monday 10 January 2011

Next!

Hey!

Oh Monday - you come around so fast from Friday! I hope your Monday was better than mine: I'm kickin' off the working week with a sore throat and no voice. Not the ideal state to be in, but it made for lots of miming and pointing at the board today at work!

Work feels like I've never been away, and Christmas feels like it was soooooooo very long ago that I'm ready preparing for the next holiday (hence the title of the post!) which in my calendar is St Valentine's Day. (You never can be too early making cards for a future holiday as my buddy Lynn proved with her fabulous July 4th Cards!)

So here's a lovey-dovey card that I can 100% assure won't be going to my guy:

I Love You

Ha! Really? I couldn't see this being Chris' kinda card....his needs to be green and very CAS methinks!

So who is this card for? Well I'm not sure but it's the result of a weekend inky session for our new challenge on our PTI blog which is to step outta your comfort zone when creating. Pinks and bold colours are not my kinda style, but I have to admit I had fun playing with them! And the girly, fussy nature of the card isn't my kinda style either, but I could always give this card to a guy to give to a gal who might appreciate it!

We'd love it so much if you could join us - just experiment and have a go at something different; I think you could be surprised by your results!

Thanks sooooooo much for visiting me! I'm off to find some Buttercup Syrup for my throat in the hope that I can speak tomorrow :)

Catch ya later





Card Deets
{I Love You}
All Papertrey Ink unless stated
Stamps: Damask Designs
Ink: Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush
Accessories: Pure Poppy Grosgrain Ribbon, Pure Poppy Buttons, Mat Stack 2 Die, Cuttlebug

Saturday 8 January 2011

Birthday Banner...

Hey!

Happy Saturday, peeps! Love Saturdays; the way I can wake up in the morning, initially think about having to get out of bed for work but then the realisation dawning on me that it's Saturday and I can curl back up for some more winks - bliss! :D

But I am awake now and here with a card I made for my nephew's birthday. Sweet Tom was 6 yesterday and I spent most of yesterday asking myself how the years fly by so fast?! Can't believe this little man is 6 already! I'm sure he appreciated his present waaaaaaaay more than his card; but still, what's a birthday without a card, eh?!

Happy Happy Birthday Banner

I had fun with this card and you might not see, but the focal point is raised on 3D foam pads for extra dimension (I love dimension when I'm hand delivering a card!).

There's something fun about making your own banners with some paper piecing to make it coordinate with your project. I went a little further and added a good dollop of Glossy Accents on each flag of the banner and practised my patience skills waiting for it to dry - love my Glossy Accents! :)

Have a super weekend whatever you may have planned (I hope it includes some inky time for ya *wink*)

Thank you so much for stopping by - I really appreciate your visits from both the lovely people who just visit and hop to the next blog, and those who leave the love too!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Happy Happy Birthday}

Stamps: Ledger (Hero Arts)/Look Up (Practicing Creativity Designs)/Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Card: Blueberry Sky, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot Basics 2008 & 2009 (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Glossy Accents/Pure Poppy Buttons and Twine (Papertrey Ink)

Sunday 2 January 2011

Quick fun with Overlays!

Hey!

Happy New Year y'all!!! Can't quite believe it's already 2011 where did last year zoom by to?!

We're ready here to put the tree down now, recycle the cards (apart from the beautiful handmade ones I got from some of you; they go in my special draw :D) and start eating some fruit and veg, but I did manage to find a tiny amount of time and space on my desk to quickly whip out a couple of cards. I'm thinking of it as a warm up to an serious inky session later today...

I have been totally inspired by my bloggin' buddy and all-round fab girlie with a fab name (I'm biased of course!), Amy!

Now I always tease her for not using her On My Couch PTI set enough, but then Amy reminded me that I've been guilty of hoarding some yummy Hambly Screen Prints Overlays with her sweet card here! So to make up for all that teasing in 2010, girlie - I've made a couple of cards using my hoarded stash.

I only had a matter of minutes to whip my cards up, so decided to use my overlay as a layer rather than a card base because that just seemed way to adventurous for an inky warm up for me!

With Sympathy

I've decided that this year I'm gonna build up a stash of cards to have on supply so I don't have the last minute panic of being a card-maker without a card to give this year! I think sympathy ones for guys are always the toughest to make, so why not tackle this first, so I can have fun with the next one:

Happy Happy Birthday!

Well again - a guy card! What can I say? My overlays seem to suit the guys LOL!

So fun with overlays over for a while now; I've now gotta create some space in my inky corner, put the kettle on, get the chocolate and prepare for an afternoon of inky fun - Bliss!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{With Sympathy}

Stamps: Round & Round (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Smokey Shadow, Soft Stone (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories:
Brocade Overlay (Hambly Screen Prints)/Fine Line Pen (Letraset)

{Happy Happy Birthday}

Stamps: Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Simply Chartreuse, Dark Chocolate, Harvest Gold (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Accessories:
Mini Bicycles Overlay (Hambly Screen Prints)/Chompy (Corner Chomper)/Simply Chartreuse Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

Copyright/Disclosure

I am on various design teams and receive free product to use and promote. I geniunely love the products of the companies and all opinons are honest and my own.

I'm flattered if I've inspired you and you want to CASE anything of mine, but please don't enter it for commercial publications or competitions.
Thank You!
All designs, text, and photographs on Crafting Confessions are ©2009-2016 to Amy Gray unless stated otherwise.