Yet another Holly card!

Okay, well it seems like I'm on a holly kick as of late! :)



I discovered I had some green embossing powder so wanted to use Papertrey Ink's Holiday Button Bits stamp set and have some fun with it. :) (Yes, I'm JUST now doing more heat embossing!)



I also tried something a bit different than my normal style and created an A2 card that is folded on the left but also horizontally long. :)



Here is the result:

I know what you're thinking: "Hmm... those holly berries are all different sizes!" And you'd be right. I could have spent more time trying to find all equal sizes, but I thought that I wanted to challenge my OCD and deliberately NOT choose all the same size. And besides, in nature, not every holly berry is the same size. :)

Perhaps I made a mistake... who knows and who cares? :)

A close-up of the buttons and holly leaves.

I wanted to show the embossing, so bent the card towards the light to show it hopefully better.

Finally, a close-up of the Pure Poppy (PTI) ribbon. :)

Thanks for looking!



Recipe:

Stamps: Holiday Button Bits (Papertrey Ink)



Ink:  Versamark (for embossing)

Paper: Whisper White, Bravo Burgundy (Stampin' Up)

Other:Pearlustre Emerald embossing powder, heat tool, Pure Poppy ribbon (PTI), Pure Poppy buttons (PTI), Scallop edge punch, rustic jute twine (PTI), corner rounder punch, ATG

Thank You - Heat Embossing

Wow, first sewing, and now heat embossing... who would have ever thought learning these new techniques could be so much fun?! :)



This is a VERY SIMPLE card but I also wanted to try making my own background paper using Papertrey Ink's (PTI) Guidelines stamp set... it was fun. (but with practice, I'll get better!)

Here's the card's full front side. :) The patterned paper you see was created with Guidelines stamp set... I used Chocolate Chip and Lavender Lace ink from Stampin' Up!

A close up of the embossing. :) The "Thank You" comes from PTI's "Big & Bold Wishes".

Whenever I used a dark base (as with SU's chocolate chip shown here), I like to use my Top Note die (Sizzix) and cut out a coordinating insert that I glue in... :)

Close-up of the sentiment and swirly thingy. :) Both from "Big & Bold Wishes"  :)

Thanks for looking!



Recipe:

Stamps: Guidelines and Big & Bold Wishes (Papertrey Ink)



Ink:  Lavender Lace and Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up); Versamark (for embossing)

Paper: Lavender Lace and Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up); Guidelines card stock (Papertrey Ink)

Other: Clear embossing powder, heat tool, Big Shot, Sizzix Top Note die, ATG

Notepad Covers

Well, I spent some time yesterday and today working on some Christmas gifts for the office staff at my school and created some notepad covers. :) I love these...they're a bit time-consuming, but not difficult at all, and you can do a lot of different styles! :)

Here are all of them. The two on the left are bagged using a couple of bags that are meant for candy (I got them at Michaels). The toppers are actually the Sizzix "Top Note" die folded in half. :) I cut them out of Stampin Up! Kraft paper.



Here are some close-ups:

I wish I would have centered the circle a bit better. :(



I'm quite pleased with the lemony background! :)

My principal's favorite two colors are pink and green and I was a bit hesitant to put these together, but overall, I'm pleased with the look! :)

I think the purple works well for notepad covers. :)

As does the pink! :)























The RSVP pens were altered by just getting a 3 1/2" x 7/8" piece of paper and PATIENTLY rolling it and inserting it into the pen.



Thanks for looking!



Recipe:

Stamps: 2009 Holiday Tags (Papertrey Ink) (for toppers); Take A Note, Fruitful, Guidelines (Papertrey Ink), Darling Dots (Stampin' Up!)



Ink:  Pixie Pink, Always Artichoke, Gable Green, Pretty in Pink, Elegant Eggplant, Apricot Appeal, Chocolate Chip (for toppers) (Stampin' Up)

Paper: Whisper White, Pixie Pink, Always Artichoke, Gable Green, Pretty in Pink, Elegant Eggplant, Apricot Appeal, Kraft (for toppers) - (Stampin' Up)

Other: 1 3/4" circle punch, 2" scallop circle punch, dimensionals, Whisper White ribbon (Stampin' Up!), pink polka-dot ribbon (my stash), buttons (my stash),  Rustic Twine (Papertrey Ink), RSVP pens, Sizzix Big Shot, Candy bags (Michaels) ATG

Feel Better

Well, I decided to break out my "Turning a New Leaf" stamp set from Papertrey Ink (PTI) and I'm very happy with the results.



Conversely, I have to say I'm NOT happy with PTI's new formulation of ink... I used their Terracotta Tile ink on their paper of the same name. You can BARELY see that there are stamped leaf images in the background. I found the ink to be too "wet" to my usual liking.



So, it helped me decide that I'll stick STRICTLY with Stampin' Up! inks and papers (why by the paper of PTI if I can't get a matching ink?)... but I'll go to PTI for their ribbons and buttons and hope that there is some SU! color that matches them. ;)



I know many are pleased with the new formulation of the ink; I'm just not one of them. To each his own, eh? :)









































Thanks for looking! :)





Recipe:

Stamps: Turning a New Leaf, Mega Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink)



Ink:  Terracotta Tile (Papertrey Ink)

Paper: Whisper White (Stampin' Up), Terracotta Tile (Papertrey Ink)

Other: Terracotta Tile button (Papertrey Ink), Blue string, ribbon (my stash), ATG

Snowman Tag

Okay, now that I'm learning how to sew, I'm having a blast! :) It really isn't as hard as I once thought and if I can do it, anybody can.



Honest.



Anyway, for the PTI Blog Hop (that's a link, folks) we were asked to create a tag or wrapping paper for the upcoming holidays. Well, I went ahead and gave it my best shot. :)

Here's the little guy in his full glory!



Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. I realize the stitched designer paper isn't perfectly straight, but I'm learning! :)

A close-up of Mr. Frosty himself! :)

A close-up of the button and ribbon. I love PTI's Rustic Twine and believe I'll get a lot of use out of it. :)

A close-up of the "to/from" tag. :) I was so thrilled when my Key Tag punch (from Stampin' Up!) worked perfectly with the stamp from PTI's 2009 Holiday Tags

















Thanks so much for looking!





Recipe:

Stamps: 2009 Holiday Tags (Papertrey Ink)



Ink:  Baja Breeze (Stampin' Up)

Paper: Whisper White, Real Red - (Stampin' Up), Aqua Mist, Rustic Snowflakes Designer Paper (Papertrey Ink)

Other: 1 3/4" circle punch, 2" scallop circle punch, photo sticker squares, dimensionals, Sew Mini sewing machine, Pure Poppy 3/8" Top Notch Twill (Papertrey Ink), Rustic Twine (Papertrey Ink), Button - Vintage Holiday Mix (Papertrey Ink), ATG

Holly Jolly Card

Well, I've always wanted to create a 5" x 5" square card...and now that I purchased some square envelopes from Papertrey Ink, I can! :)



Here's my attempt at one. Overall, I'm not very pleased with it (especially the fact that I forgot to add twine to the buttons! GRR!)

Thanks for looking! :)



Recipe:

Stamps: Holiday Button Bits -  (Papertrey Ink)

Ink:  Handsome Hunter (Stampin' Up)

Paper: Whisper White, Ballet Blue - (Stampin' Up)

Other: Corner Rounder, ATG, dimensionals, Vintage Button Holiday Mix (Papertrey Ink); Cuttlebug (& Holly embossing folder and Swiss Dots embossing folder)

Setting Up PTI Stamps

Well, after about three hours of frustration and growling, I created a video tutorial on how to set up Papertrey Ink stamps in CD cases. :)



Thanks for watching!



(I'm not crazy about the resolution, so if anybody can offer advice on how to improve it, I'd appreciate it!)

Warm Winter Wishes

Well, I finally broke into my second Papertrey Ink (PTI) order and figured I'd give "Holiday Button Bits"  and "Vintage Labels" a try. This was just a little fun, and I really didn't give a WHOLE lot of thought in the design, so keep that in mind when you see the simplicity of it! :)



It was a lot of fun and thankfully I have a button stash from which to draw some green buttons.

Here's the card. The paper is "Plum Pudding" (also from PTI) although I know it looks a bit dark here.

Here's a close-up of the card.

Here's a close-up of the sentiment (which came in the "Holiday Button Bits" stamp set)

And finally, a close-up of the tree itself! :)

Recipe:

Stamps: Vintage Labels, Holiday Button Bits -  (Papertrey Ink)

Ink:  Tempting Turquoise, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip (All Stampin' Up)

Paper: Whisper White - (Stampin' Up), Plum Pudding - (Papertrey Ink)

Other: Ribbon - Tempting Turquoise (Stampin' Up!); Nestabilities (Label 1), Zots, Dimensionals, Buttons (my stash), ATG, Scissors, Cuttlebug, Green Stickles

Mini Popcorn Box

A new friend of mine, Aimes (her blog is here), was so kind enough to send me a template for a little popcorn box she made.



I figured since she was generous enough to send me the template, I'd be wise enough to show it off! :)



It was easy to make and I enjoyed doing it. The only problem I had (and believe me, it's MY fault - I think I must not have scored it properly or mis-cut it. :) ), was that the lid wouldn't close properly... so I improvised with some ribbon! :)



I hope you enjoy it! :) Thanks again, Aimes! :)

Here the box is closed (duh!)  :)

The box is open here. (Yes, I teach "opposites" to my students!)

And the only way I could figure out how to show the lid whilst keeping my camera on its tripod was to hold it. :) (Photography isn't one of my strongest skills!)











Recipe:

Stamps: Guidelines -  (Papertrey Ink)

Ink:  Taken with Teal, Brocade Blue - (Stampin' Up)

Paper: Apricot Appeal - (Stampin' Up)

Other: Popcorn Box Template - (Crafting Confessions Blog); Scor-Pal, Ribbon (my stash), Cutterbee scissors, Ribbon Hole Punch