My kinda recipe...

Hey!

Happy Tuesday! Can't quite get my head around it being Tuesday today when we've had a long weekend.It was a pretty soggy Bank Holiday here, but that didn't dampen my spirits: in fact, it gave me the perfect excuse to hide away in my crafty corner studio :)

Now before you think I attempted any kind of culinary activity from the title of today's post, don't panic because I haven't! Don't worry, no one has been poisoned! (I'm pretty hopeless in the kitchen and although I have a million cookbooks, I still find a reason not to use them...)

However one recipe I have used and will probably turn to again and again is a card recipe! (see my clever link there, eh?!)

Now this is my kinda cookin....card cookin that is LOL!

The recipe I followed was simple and is our new challenge on our PTI blog.

• A dollop of colour (3 colours - plus neutrals if required, e.g black/white)
• A sprinkling of buttons (2 buttons)
• A pinch of ribbon (1 Ribbon)

I thought I'd struggle with the two buttons (I like to do things in 3s) but I just used my sentiment panel as part of a three-piece design feature. And finally, I'm actually using some more of my PTI DP stash hoard collection on a card. One sheet down....I daren't count how much left I have to use!

We'd love it if you could join in this recipe for fun too! While you're at it, if you fancy baking or cooking on top of this, then feel free to send a sample my way *wink*

Have a super week and I'll be back on Thursday with a new CASE study, featuring a new muse...lemme just say you wanna revisit or explore new stamping techniques then you're in for a treat for this month's muse (just sayin'!)

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Happy Birthday}
Stamps: Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Beautiful Blooms (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Simply Chartreuse Vintage Buttons, True Black Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug/Circle Nestabilities/Chompy! Corner Chomper/Bling (Zva)/Promarkers to colour clear bling!

Kickin' off the holiday with colour...

Hey!

Happy Weekend! It's the start of a week off for me, and a bank holiday for us here in the UK (and if I'm not mistaken, the start of a long weekend for American peeps too!) Hurrah for long weekends :D

I've been squeezing in an inky session in an attempt to play along with Paper Craft's Color Inspiration Challenge #5. These colours aren't my usual ones I turn to but I fancied a challenge...

Firstly a very, very CAS design with just tiny elements of the two bold colours:

I'm hoping you can tell that the gem in the tiara is pink! It was orignally clear, but I coloured it with an alcohol-based marker. FYI: I don't buy coloured gems often: I have a huge stash of clear ones and colour them as required to coordinate with my projects.

After creating this card I felt like I'd 'cheated' myself a little and only dipped my tiny toe into the pink and orange waters. So I played along again and promised myself to use more of those bright colours and take the opportunity to contrast them against the black on a bigger scale:

I followed the 'rule of three' when it came to balancing those bright colours on this card: three strips of orange and three pink elements (The strip, the gem and ribbon) help to ensure the bright colours don't lead your eyes to just one element of the card and guide your eyes to take it all in (hopefully!)

Right, I've got even more cards to make with a whole rush of family birthdays coming up (including my own soon....guess I don't have to make a card for that one though; I've not had any requests yet!) so it's a good job I can grab more time this week to get inky and have fun in the process. Hope you all manage to squeeze in some inky therapy time too!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Sweet li'l Princess}
Stamps: Daily Designs, Daily Designs Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Clear Gems (Hero Arts) Promarkers

{happy happy birthday}
Stamps: Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Orange Zest, Raspberry Fizz (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Detail White EP (Stampendous)/Pink Gem (Hero Arts)/Raspberry Fizz Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

It's what's on the inside that counts...

Hey!

Happy Friday Eve, Peeps! :)

We're nearly hitting that sweet weekend (and the start of a week off work for me *wink*) with a fabulous new CASE study of course!


It's Sarah Martina Parker's last week with us as our muse, and I'm sure like me, you're really gonna miss her :( Thanks, Sarah for all the wonderful inspiration and for showing me that sometimes it's not too scary to venture outside your comfort zone :)

Let's check out her final, super card up for CASEing this week:

You can check out the original post of this card here.

Oh she just rocks that shabby chic, vintage style: making those layers work effortlessly together *sigh*

I was completely hooked by the yummy colours and those sweet stars. I got inky earlier this week and here's what I rustled up (and apologies in advance for the poor pics - Mr Sunshine hasn't come out to play recently...):

I know what you're thinking. "Is that it?" Well c'mon, surely you know me well enough by now to know I wouldn't leave it at this (although I am diggin' that green ribbon of course!)

You just gotta pull on that ribbon to get your reward.....

Ta-dah!

OK so the gift card inside is actually my library card and wouldn't be much use as a gift! Ha! I didn't have any gift cards on me but you get the idea, right? I'm thinking I may hold on to this for Christmas with that colour scheme and obviously purchase a gift card rather than giving away my library card!

Be sure to check out what the rest of the amazing CASE study DT whipped up for you to feast your eyes on before getting inky with us and joining in the fun!

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Cristina Kowalczyk
Jean Martin
Julie Smith
Lenet Mos
Melyssa Connolly
Sue Kohler
Teneale Williams
Sarah Martina Parker (May's Muse)

OK so now you can go and have some inky fun! Be inspired by Sarah's fantastic card and get CASEing :D

Gotta sign off now and wish you all a super duper weekend, whatever you're doing! Hoping to be able to catch up with you all during my week off (though truth be told, if I'm gonna squeeze in everything I've said I'm going to do during the half term it'll be over before I know it!)

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Gift Card Holder}
Stamps: Stars from Around and About Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)/'To' and 'From' - Teeny Trees (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Cardstock: Scarlet Jewel, Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Holiday Cheer (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)/Rich Cocoa (Memento)
Accessories: Cuttlebug/ Nestabilities - Labels One/Distressed Wood Embossing Folder (Provocraft)/Spring Moss Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)

A Very 'Merry' Birthday!

Hey!

A surprise Sunday post from me today! Hope y'all having a super weekend so far and making the most of it!

This surprise post is as part of a li'l surprise blog hop celebrate the birthday of a gal who needs a special 'birthday boost' this year.

Merry is such a sweet member of the PTI Forum who has had waaaaaaay more than her fair share of tough times. Today is her birthday and as part of this wonderful online community, we wanted to let her know that we're here to celebrate this day with her, and also wanted to let her know how much we think she rocks!

So without further ado, Happy Birthday, Merry!!!!

Wishing you happiness, love, peace (and cake!)

This card fits the current challenge on the fabby new CAS-ual Fridays blog (to incorporate bling in your CAS project) I'm so happy to have finally squeezed a challenge in as I just know that this is gonna be one challenge site I wanna play along with again and again :)

Edited to add: after creating this card, I've realised it could also fit in the near-ending May Gallery challenge on Paper Crafts Connection. This could easily suit a card for Mothers' Day IMHO!

OK, I gotta dash and make the most of the last few hours of the weekend. Just one more working week left until a week off - let the countdown begin! :)

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Celebrate Your Day!}
Stamps: Friends 'til the End, Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Fresh Snow (Papertrey Ink)/ Versamark
Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Stamper's Select White, Vellum Cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Detail White EP (Stampendous)/Bling (Hero Arts)/White Gel Pen (Ranger)

Gettin' busy with the berry...

Hey!

Oooh two posts in two days - don't get used to it! Ha!

I'm ready to kick-start the fabby (and hopefully sunny!) weekend on this glorious Friday-Eve with a new CASE study to share with ya

Up for CASEing this week from our fabulous muse, Sarah Martina Parker, is this drool-worthy creation:

You can check out the original of this post here!

I've gotta say - Sarah's creations are taking me on inky adventures that I'd never dream of normally going on! Take this as a warning for the card I'm about to share with you: it's totally not my style but I had so much fun making it:

See what I mean? :)

This whole card started with me being inspired by the flower on Sarah's original card. I also fancied a challenge too so decided to work with my all-time dreaded colour: Melon Berry (Eeek!)

However, I wasn't just feeling brave. I felt super brave and up for a challenge. I dared to make my own extra-fussy rose embellishment. After all, you'd never catch a store-bought Melon Berry rose in my crafting stash (I admit it, I couldn't bear to part with the pennies for 'em!) and I figured if I could make one out of Melon Berry cardstock, heck, the world's my oyster when it comes to creating future, colour-coordinating roses!

Now I cannot take complete credit for that rose (which I've gotta say I'm kinda impressed with!), I got the gist of how to make them thanks to this fabby tutorial courtesty of Dana. Although kinda time consuming, and almost sticking my fingers together with Glossy Accents (works great as a glue too y'know!), after a sprinkle of glitter I can totally see myself making a ton of these babies! I even considered leaving it off the card altogether and attaching it to my hair-clip instead :D

We'd love it if you too fancied joining in this week's CASE study. You don't have to actually CASE everything about Sarah's lovely card but just be inspired by it! Check out the fabulous different takes the rest of the amazing CASE study DT took this week:

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Cristina Kowalczyk
Jean Martin
Julie Smith
Lenet Mos
Melyssa Connolly
Sue Kohler (on an inky vacation this week)
Teneale Williams (on an inky vacation this week)
Sarah Martina Parker (May's Muse)

I'm signing off now and wishing you all a super weekend! Next weekend will be super happy for me courtesy of 2 simple words: half term! Yay!

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Happy Birthday}
Stamps: Sheet Music (Kaisercraft)/Sentiment - Frame It (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Ink: Antique Linen (Distress Ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)/Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Melon Berry, Kraft (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Basic White 6x6 Collection (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Prisma Glitter (Judikins)/Beautiful Blooms II #1 Dies (Papertrey Ink)/Trims (Webster's Pages)

Walking on Sunshine...

Hey!

Can you believe it's Wednesday already? It's zooming by so fast for me!

Speaking of zooming (see what I did, there - smooooooth transition, eh?) I'm literally zooming by, posting a li'l card that I was s'posed to share with you yesterday but somehow the hours were stolen from me and it was bedtime before I knew it:

You can probably tell that this is a diddy card - I just love making 'em: having a smaller area to work on somehow makes my cards so much easier to make.

Now this card is for our super new challenge on our PTI blog. I know that everyone who owns one PTI product can get inky for this challenge as we want you to be inspired by a song. Any song will do - just let it inspire you! Can you tell what I picked for mine? Nope? Well firstly it's not an indication of what my music collection is full of (honest!), but I picked that cheesy classic - Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and Waves. Think I was still on a Eurovision Song Contest kick whilst making this card over the weekend and wishing for summer at the same time (the song inspired my summer-by-the-beach colour combo btw!)

Edited to add: 'Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini' would suit this card even more than my orignal song choice! Thanks, Diva! *wink*

So c'mon - there's a million songs out there and a challenge just waiting for you to sing and ink along to!

Right I'm off to play some footie on this lovely, sunny, light night!

Stop by tomorrow to check out a super new CASE study!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Thank you for being so thoughtful}
Stamps: Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Blueberry Sky
Patterned Paper: Distressed Dots - Harvest Gold (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: White Twill Ribbon, White Vintage Button (Papertrey Ink)/Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers)

Do NOT adjust your monitor....

***Originally Posted on Thursday but due to the crash of Blogger is posted now on Saturday!***

Hey!

Are we all here? Have we all survived the almighty crash of Blogger?! Well one things for sure, my post from Thursday is still MIA so I'm gonna repost it now (if it does ever decide to come back home I'll just have to delete it!)

So I'm kicking off the weekend by pretending it's Friday Eve - are you still with me?! Friday-Eve means another CASE study here on the ol' blogeroo but you knew that already, right?


Yup, time for our amazing muse, Sarah Martina Parker to dazzle us with another drool-worthy creation for us to CASE:

You can check out the original post of this beauty here.

Now just before I want to share my card with you, I feel a duty to warn you that those of you with a nervous disposition may want to click away now....


...I tried to capture Sarah's super style....


...I played with lace trim.....


....heck, I even played with seam binding!

Wanna see the finished result?

Please don't click away! LOL! I know it's still no-where near Sarah's fabulous style but it's definietly a nod in her direction. I was surprised I had the lace trim and seam binding (thanks, Diva - I've finally used it!) in my stash as Sarah's style is sooooooo different to mine:

I hope I've paid tribute to our muse this month with this card, and I've gotta admit: I kinda enjoyed myself surrounded by such pretty embellishments :) Sometimes it's good to kick yourself outta your comfort zone sometimes....

...and that's where you come in! Whether you wanna experiment with a new style, or fancy staying put in your creative comfort zone, come and join in the fun! We'd love to see how Sarah inspires you!

Also be sure to check out the creative adventures the rest of the super duper CASE study DT went on just for you!

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Cristina Kowalczyk
Jean Martin
Julie Smith
Lenet Mos
Melyssa Connolly
Sarah Martina Parker (May's Muse)

Right, I signed off on Friday-Eve by saying I was attending a staff meeting that I was particularly eager to attend due to the promise of cake to celebrate a fellow colleague's birthday. Well I'm pleased to report that the cake was absolutely scrumptious - though I'll have to refer to the minutes to know what was actually decided in the meeting *wink*

Have a super duper weekend!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{So Sweet of You}
Stamps: Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)/Antique Linen, Vintage Photo (Distress Inks)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Fine and Dandy - True Blue 6x6 Collection (My Mind's Eye)
Accessories: Lace Trim (May Arts)/Seam Binding (From Diva!)/Vintage Aqua Mist Button, Cream Button Twine (Papertrey Ink)/Bling and Pearls (Hero Arts)/Chompy! (Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers)

A Polkadot Party!

Hey!

Hooooooooooray for the weekend! :)

I'm kicking off my weekend nice and early here on the ol' blogeroo (don't be fooled though as thanks to the wonder of scheduled posting, I'm probably still curled up in my bed *wink*)

Not so long ago I received a sweet invitation from Rebecca Lynn of Polkadot Door Designs, inviting me to the blog's first birthday party! To celebrate, Polkadot Door Designs are hosting a Bloghop and Inspiration Challenge. Never one to refuse an invite to party, I jumped at the chance to join in the fun...

The way to party is to be inspired by the following pic:


There's three sources of inspiration here so plenty to get the mojo ticking. You can pick one, two or all three sources of inspiration if you wish. See if you can guess what I picked:

Never one to make a decision, I had my cake and ate it - it's a party afterall - and incorporated all three sources. I'm hoping it's obvious I picked the crocheted flowers! I also tried to include part of the sentiment and some of the colours of the photograph.

So come and join the party celebrations! Peeps who play along could be in with a chance of being invited to participate in next month's Bloghop as part of the Polkadot Door Designs DT!

As well as the fun Bloghop and Inspiration Challenge, the blog itself received a birthday treat and has had a makeover. Take a trip over there: it's looking fabulous!

So anyways, back to the party, right? If you haven't already, join the conga line and party your way through some inspirational projects! Leave a comment on each blog, Then head back to the Polkadot Door Designs blog to tell 'em you've partied with everyone and also tell them which your favourite project was. There's a prize for one peep who does this and there's also a prize for the one of the DT members too who gets the most votes (obviously I'd love it if you suggested my card, but seeing as there's some seriously fabby projects out there then feel free to suggest someone else - I won't be offended!)

Kim
Natasha
Geri
Amanda
Valerie
Jean
Diana
Nicole
Yvonne
Amy <-------- (You are here!)
Dana
Jennifer

Winners will be posted on the 16th!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and hoping you too may squeeze some inky time into those crucial 48 hours of R&R :D

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{You Make Me Smile}
Stamps: Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)/Grid (Kaisercraft)
Ink: Plum Pudding (Papertrey Ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Plum Pudding (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Chalks/Crochet Flower (thanks, Diva!)/Pearl Brad (Recollections - Michaels)/Cuttlebug/Nestabilities/Gem (Craft Supply)

New Muse, New Challenges....

Hey!

Happy Friday Eve! Half of me is still expecting another sweet bank holiday as we've been spoilt with them recently - guess it'll finally hit me as I'm going to work tomorrow and on Monday...I really must get used to the idea of working on those days again LOL!

Anyways you know the deal, right? It's Friday Eve and so it's time for another fabulous CASE study.



AND seeing as it's a new month, it's time for a new muse! Now this month's muse is someone whose blog I stalk frequently and whose style I truly admire but could never pull off myself (gonna be learning a lot from CASEing this uber talented lady this month methinks!)....any guesses who? Yup, it's no other than Sarah Martina Parker!

Check out this beauty of a card up for CASEing this week:

You can check out the original post of this card here!

Y'know every time I admire this card, I discover something new that I hadn't spotted before - it's full of treasures!

Now if you're expecting me to jump into the doilies and seam binding I'm sorry to disappoint. I hope to - at least once this month - try to embrace more of Sarah's style and have fun with it, but time was against me this week. Still, I did take elements of Sarah's card and put my own kinda CAS spin on 'em:

I loved the white embossed panel on the kraft cardstock so that was the first thing I did! The rest of the card kinda fell into place: I played with a button for a while but it just wouldn't sit nicely anywhere so I left it off. Not sure if it's too plain but I can tell you that the gems sparkle much more IRL!

OK so that's my turn, now it's yours! I'd love to see your own take on Sarah's beautiful card. Oooh and don't' forget to check out what the rest of the super duper CASE study DT created:

Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)
Andrea Ewen
Cristina Kowalczyk
Jean Martin
Julie Smith
Lenet Mos
Melyssa Connolly
Sue Kohler
Teneale Williams
Sarah Martina Parker (May's Muse)

I'm signing off now to go and vote today. We've got an election and voting is something that I'm really passionate about - it you don't use it then you lose it!

Have a super weekend and I'll hope to catch up with everyone and everything in Blogland soon! :)

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{Celebrate Today}
Stamps: Round and Round Anniversary Set (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Antique Linen, Vintage Photo (Distress Inks)/Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)/Versamark
Cardstock: Swiss Dot (Bazzill)/Kraft, Vintage Cream, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Simply Chartreuse Grosgrain Ribbon/Die (Papertrey Ink)/Brads (Tim Holtz - Ranger)/Gems (Craft Supply)

Hello rainbow....

Hey!

Well it was gonna happen one day soon......yup I'm back at work. How can two weeks fly by so quickly? I got about 3 things done on my to-do list of 100! Not complaining too much though as I'm fortunate to enjoy my job (and the holidays that come with it *wink*)

Y'know I was stamping into the small hours of this morning getting this card done. Two weeks off and in true, Aimes style I leave it all to the last minute! I swear it's the only way I can get my mojo to kick-start! So although I was kinda sleepy this morning for work, all I had to do is take one look at the card I'd created earlier that morning to wake me up:

I guess I'd better point out that it's super bright IRL!

This card is based on a sketch for our new challenge on our PTI Blog. You can be as flexible as you'd like with the sketch (as you've probably noticed I've done!) and you don't have to limit it to a card. That said, I actually need to build up my stash of birthday cards so I'll be making a few more of these methinks...

So you know we'd love for you to join in the fun with us too! The only requirements are that you use the sketch and at least one PTI product - be it button, ribbon, cardstock, die, stamps, you get the idea!

OK gotta scoot as I've got much beauty sleep to catch up on!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{BIG birthday wishes}
Stamps: Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, True Black, Pure Poppy, Orange Zest, Lemon Tart, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, Plum Pudding (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Cuttlebug/Nestabilities/True Black Vintage Buttons and True Black Grosgrain Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)