CPS Sketch #254!

Hello!

I just wanted to pop in & share my take on CPS Sketch #254.  I picked up a 12x12 pad of black-on-kraft paper when I was at Hobby Lobby last, and thought it would work well with this sketch.  Then I added some wrinkle ribbon my friend Tanya sent me, as well as a button, some twine & a couple of stick pins from my stash (that I just found the other day when I was rearranging a few bazillion things in my office the other day).  I can honestly say this is the first time I've ever used stick pins on a card!  Finally, I coloured up Bryony (you have to scroll about halfway down the page), fussy cut her out & placed her on the image panel.  I tried something new-to-me & added a bit of RV95 in the deepest shadows of her skin... but you can't really tell... except for on her feet/legs where I screwed up and used RV99 - so she just sort of looks bruised.  Oh well - practice makes perfect, right?

Anyway, here it is:

I kind of love how the bow/button/stick pin combo somewhat resembles a butterfly!

Have a great day,
Steph

Chocolate Mousse Cake

It's my mother-in-law's 70th birthday today... so I figured since my husband decided what she's having for her birthday supper, I'd at least make her a cake I know she'll love!  I used this Chocolate Mousse Cake recipe, and didn't run into any of the problems mentioned in the comments section with the mousse part not setting.  (And I even screwed up and added the salt & vanilla to the egg whites instead of the yolks!)  I had everything put together & ready to go in the fridge at 6pm yesterday, and took it out around 9:30 this morning to add the ganache layer & the walnuts (even though the recipe says it needs to set for 1-2 days, and I wasn't really expecting to be able to do anything else until at least this afternoon, curiosity got the best of me, and I'm glad it did!).  Keep in mind, I'm generally a 'grab a box mix & throw something together' kind of baker (because I never plan this far in advance - lol), so I'm pretty proud of how this turned out:

I added the chocolate covered strawberry to the top, because the cake looked naked without it... but since the top of the strawberry wasn't very pretty (the leaves were all gnarly), I cut them off, hollowed out the top of the berry a little bit, filled it with more chocolate, and sprinkled on some crushed walnuts.  Not exactly what I had in mind, but it certainly seems to do the trick!

Now it's just the hard part left - waiting until after supper this evening to cut into this baby & find out how it tastes!

Laters!
Steph

Rainbows!

So... I was rearranging some things in my office today.  Conclusion:  I'm pretty sure flowers multiply like bunny rabbits.  You know it's bad when I actually seriously considered throwing some of them out! (lol)

I spent the rest of the morning pondering what I was going to do about the ridiculous amount of flowers in my stash... and then I remembered recently seeing THIS l/o on the DoodleBug blog... which reminded of my favourite l/o I've ever seen (which I can't show you because it's on the wall in the LSS and I don't have a photo of it) that puts the Doodlebug rainbow to shame... which reminded me that I've been meaning to make a wall-sized version of my own, minus the actual l/o part, because I'm totally not a scrapbooker... which reminded me that I had this frame laying around that the glass was smashed in (not too sure where my 'before' photo went.  Crap.)...

Which all resulted in a couple hours this afternoon spent doing this (with lots of help from Lily!):

It makes me happy to look at....  Now to decide where to hang it (and then get Mr Jones to do so!)!

Laters,
Steph

CPS Sketch #253!

Well this is pretty exciting - not only did I manage to complete all 15 of the CPS Anniversary sketches, but I was able to play along with this Sunday's sketch, too!  My mother-in-law's birthday is coming up soon, so this worked out just perfectly... even my girls played along!

My card:

Cardstock:  PTI Rustic White, Dark Chocolate
Patterned Paper:  PTI Distressed Dots
Stamps:  PTI Year of Flowers: Collection, PTI Year of Flowers: Violets, PTI Just  The Ticket, PTI Fillable Frames Additions #2
Ink:  PTI Dark Chocolate, PTI Scarlet Jewel, Memento Tuxedo Black
Dies:  PTI Parisian Lace Doily, PTI Fillable Frames #8
Other:  Queen & Co Self-Adhesive Pearls, images coloured with Copics

I stamped the smaller violet cluster from Year of Flowers: Collection all over the Dark Chocolate panel, in Dark Chocolate ink.  The focal violet is popped up for some dimension, and  I went with slightly fancier shapes for the small rectangle & the circle in the sketch.  The only thing that could have made the making of this card any simpler would have been if PTI would come out with dies for their Year of Flowers series of stamps!  (*Hint, hint, PTI Powers-That-Be!*)

Next is Emily's card:

Supplies are mostly the same, with the exception of cardstock colours; Scarlet Jewel & Raspberry Fizz  were used on this one.

Not bad for a 7-year-old!  I think it's cute she had to slip a little teal in there with her pearls, as that's her favourite colour.  She pretty much did everything on her own, with the exception of die-cutting the doily, as it's a pain in the butt to run through (I need to invest in the metal shim; I just haven't gotten around to it yet).  Oh, and she suckered my step-dad into cutting out the flower & leaves for her.  (Which is hilarious, because my step-dad wouldn't have done that for anyone else... it's not very manly to cut out flowers, you know.  LOL!)

Finally, here's Lily's take on the sketch:

Supplies that differ from my card:
Cardstock:  PTI Melon Berry, Berry Sorbet, Rustic White
Stamps:  PTI Fillable Frames Additions #1 & #2
Dies:  PTI Fillable Frames #9
Other:  The Twinery Honeydew Twine, Lime Green Stickles

I must say, I was quite impressed with Lily's offering - considering she's only 2.5!  She chose her own colours, did her own stamping (with the exception of the frame that I inked up for her, the sentiment I inked & lined up, and the flower/leaves that I stamped for her to colour), and chose her own shape for the focal rectangle.  I cut out her flower/leaves, and put the adhesive on the pieces for her, and then she put everything together.  After that, she had to go pick out her own colour for the pearls, and then she decided it was still 'not weady' yet.  She thought it needed some 'stwing', as well as some 'parklies' (aka twine & Stickles), so I added the twine for her where I was instructed to, and helped her add the Stickles to the flower.  She still thinks it needs to be coloured on the inside, but we'll wait until the Stickles are dry before that happens! (lol)

Well, I'm off... Laundry needs folding, and then I need a shower!  (This only having 4 shirts and 4 pairs of pants that fit business kind of sucks - but I can't be bothered to spend more money on maternity clothes that will only be worn for roughly 8 more weeks, when that money could be spent on important things, like stamps!  I'll just suck it up & keep doing lots of laundry - or raiding my hubby's closet!  HA!)

Laters!
Steph

CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 15!

CPS Day 15 - Sketch #231:

Cardstock:  PTI Vintage Cream
Patterned Paper:  Echo Park "Country Drive" Collection

This has to be one of the 'scrappiest' cards I've ever made (and one with the fewest supplies!).  Totally loving how easy it is to put cards together out of a collection kit; I made all 4 of these last night in about an hour!

Anyway, that's it - all 15 of the CPS 5th Anniversary Sketches have been completed - YAY!

Have a great day!
Steph

CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 14!

CPS Day 14 - Sketch #45:

Cardstock:  PTI Vintage Cream
Patterned Paper:  Echo Park "Country Drive" Collection
Dies/Tools:  PTI Signature Series Butterfly,  EK Success Corner Rounder
Stamps:  PTI Signature Series Butterfly
Ink:  PTI Tea Dye Duo, Raspberry Fizz
Other:  PTI Autumn Rose Luxe Satin Ribbon, PTI Summer Sunrise Button, PTI Rustic Cream Button Twine

I love how this one turned out; I think it's one of my favourite cards I've made in a long time.  Definitely thanks  to a great sketch!

One more to go!
Steph

CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 13!

CPS Day 13 - Sketch #121:

Cardstock:  PTI Vintage Cream, Pure Poppy
Patterned Paper & Stickers:  Echo Park "Country Drive" Collection
Dies/Tools:  PTI Limitless Layers 1.75" Circle Collection, EK Success Corner Rounder
Other:  The Twinery "Blossom" Twine

I'm so proud of myself - I've actually been using the papers I've bought instead of hoarding them!  (And the sticker sheets, too!  I NEVER use them, so this was a nice change!)

More to come,
Steph

CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 12!

Here's my entry for Day 12 (Sketch #118) of the CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations:

Cardstock:  PTI Vintage Cream
Patterned Paper:  Echo Park 'Country Drive' Collection
Stamps:  PTI Flower Fusion #1
Inks:  PTI Summer Sunrise, Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate
Dies/Tools:  PTI Limitless Layers 1.75" Circle Collection, EK Success Small Corner Rounder
Other:   PTI Summer Sunrise Button, PTI Rustic Cream Button Twine, grass added with Copics

I'm finding myself seriously in love with Echo Park's Journaling Card sheets; they make for a pretty quick focal panel!

Back soon with the last three cards!
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 4

This one doesn't use any sketch in particular that I'm aware of... but it seems to be a common-ish layout in Blogland, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Last, but not least, we've got Maile's Color Combo (Smokey Shadow, Classic Kraft, Spring Moss, Aqua Mist & Canyon Clay)!

Cardstock:  PTI Classic Kraft, Canyon Clay, Smokey Shadow, Spring Moss
Patterned Paper:  PTI Dotty Biscotti
Dies:  PTI Heart Prints, Small Scallop Border
Impression Plate:  PTI Canvas/Linen

Simple & sweet.... a perfect finishing touch to a full day of card making!  (Now here's hoping Random.org loves me, and my hard work pays off!)

Have a great night!
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 4/Deconstructed Sketch #37

Card #9 for today pairs Deconstructed Sketch #37 with Jessica's Color Combo (Aqua Mist, Dark Chocolate, Canyon Clay & Harvest Gold):

Cardstock:  PTI Dark Chocolate, Canyon Clay, Aqua Mist,  Vintage Cream
Patterned Paper:  PTI Distressed Dots
Stamps:  PTI Mat Stack 1 Collection
Ink:  PTI Dark Chocolate, Canyon Clay, Aqua Mist
Dies:  PTI Mat Stack 1, Medium Scallop Border
Other:  PTI Aqua Mist Topnotch Twill

Awesome.  Totally not a color combo I'd ever come up with, but this is one of the few times I quite like the outcome!

One left!
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 4/FTL #176

I really love the sketches they post over at Clean and Simple Stamping, and I've used them many, many times... I just never actually get around to linking anything up.  This actually may be the first one I've ever linked!

I paired Heather's Color Combo (Classic Kraft, Spring Moss, Aqua Mist, & Vintage Cream) with FTL #176:

Cardstock:  PTI Classic Kraft, Spring Moss, Vintage Cream
Stamps:  PTI Heart Prints
Ink:  PTI Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate, Tea Dye Duo
Die:  PTI Small Scallop Border

The photo is crap (as in, worse than usual) but this is my absolute favourite from today's efforts.

Two more to go...
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 4/SFYTT February 2012

Okie doke - Card #7 for today paired Melissa's Color Combo (Autumn Rose, Hibiscus Burst, Simply Chartreuse, & Raspberry Fizz) with Jen's SFYTT for February:

Cardstock:  PTI Autumn Rose, Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, Rustic Cream
Patterned Paper:  PTI Bitty Dot Basics
Stamp:  PTI Rosie Posie
Ink:  PTI Autumn Rose
Dies:  PTI Parisian Lace Doily, Limitless Layers 1.75" Circle Collection, Rosie Posie

I'm a little *meh* on this one... VERY out of my box with this colour combo!

Laters,
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 4/ Mojo Monday #227

I decided I was quite liking this pairing of Color Challenge + Sketch Challenge - so the Mojo Monday sketch for this week was the next one I played along with.  This one combines Lisa's Color Combo (Classic Kraft, Pure Poppy, Spring Moss, & Aqua Mist) with Mojo Monday #227:

Cardstock:  PTI Classic Kraft, Aqua Mist, Spring Moss
Patterned Paper:  PTI Bitty Dot Basics
Stamps:  PTI Background Basics: Hearts, Think Big Favorites #11
Ink:  PTI Pure Poppy, True Black
Dies:  PTI Mat Stack 2, Layerz Mat Stack 2, Double-Ended Banners
Other:  PTI Pure Poppy Luxe Satin Ribbon, Pure Poppy Buttons, miscellaneous crochet thread

Cute.  Came together fairly simply.  I have no clue who's going to get this one... but that just doesn't matter!

Laters,
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 4/CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 11

This one has me all caught up with the CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations! (WOO HOO!)  We've got Erin's Color Challenge (Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Simply Chartreuse, & Aqua Mist) combined with CPS Day 11 (Sketch #170):

Cardstock:  PTI Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Rustic Cream
Patterned Paper:  PTI Bitty Box Basics, Bitty Dot Basics
Stamps:   PTI Birthday Basics, Larger Than Life
Ink:  PTI True Black, Pure Poppy, Spring Moss (because I have no Simply Chartreuse yet)
Die:  PTI Small Scallop Border
Other: Pick Your Plum Red Baker's Twine

I wouldn't say I'm in love with this one...but I definitely like it.  Great sketch, but definitely not a color combo I'd come up with on my own.  Felt good to get out my box with this one!  As for that twine... it's super-duper thick.  I bought a bunch of different spools from Pick Your Plum when they had twine on, and didn't realize it was crazy thick - so thick, that knot is barely holding; I couldn't imagine trying to tie a bow with it.  That stuff's definitely better suited to packaging!  (And I'm *gasp* out of Pure Poppy Baker's Twine!)

Laters,
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 4/CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 10

Danielle's Color Combo (Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise, Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz) combined with CPS Day 10 (Sketch # 26):

Cardstock:  PTI Rustic Cream, Hawaiian Shores, Pure Poppy, Summer Sunrise
Patterned Paper:  PTI Bitty Dots Basics, Bitty Box Basics, In Bloom
Stamps:  PTI Birthday Basics, Beautiful Blooms 2
Ink:  PTI True Black, Summer Sunrise
Die:  PTI Beautiful Blooms 2 Collection #3
Other:  PTI Hawaiian Shores Button, miscellaneous crochet thread

Yeah... I totally struggled with this sketch.  It is what it is... at least Emily likes it! (Lol, if you can trust the opinion of a 7-year-old!)

Laters,
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 4/CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 9

This is Betsy's Color Combo (Classic Kraft, Berry Sorbet, Melon Berry, Aqua Mist, Plum Pudding) combined with CPS Day 9 (Sketch #5):

Cardstock:  PTI Kraft, Aqua Mist, Melon Berry
Patterned Paper:  PTI 2008 Bitty Dot Basics, 2008 Bitty Box Basics
Stamp:  PTI Birthday Basics
Ink:  PTI Plum Pudding
Die:  PTI Flower Fusion #1
Other:  PTI Melon Berry Button, white crochet thread, Queen & Co Pearls

Kind of lovin' this one... it's definitely one of my favourites from today.

Laters,
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 4/CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 7

This one is Ashley's Color Combo (Harvest Gold, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores, Berry Sorbet, & Sweet Blush) combined with CPS Day 7 (Sketch #242):

Cardstock:  PTI Hawaiian Shores, Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush
Patterned Paper:  PTI Funky Town, Distressed Dots
Stamp:  PTI Birthday Basics
Ink:  PTI True Black
Dies:  PTI Bloom Builders #2, Double-Ended Banners
Other:  PTI Hawaiian Shores Button, Rustic Cream Button Twine

That's the first time I've used the Bloom Builders #2 die... I suspect it works much better with patterned paper vs cardstock, although it wasn't too bad with the cardstock.

Laters,
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 4/CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 6

I'm feeling pretty awesome today - I was able to play along with every single one of PTI's Colour Challenges today (that's 10 cards - sorry for flooding your Google Readers... lol)!

This is Dawn's color combo (Berry Sorbet, Raspberry Fizz & Ripe Avocado) combined with CPS Day 6 (Sketch #37):

Cardstock:  PTI Berry Sorbet, Raspberry Fizz
Patterned Paper:  PTI Distressed Dots
Stamp:  PTI Friends 'Til The End
Ink:  PTI Raspberry Fizz
Dies:  PTI Friends 'Til The End, Medium Scallop Border
Other:  PTI Raspberry Fizz Button, Ripe Avocado Luxe Satin Ribbon

Not exactly one of my go-to colour combos, but for being the first card of the day it didn't turn out too bad.  I'll throw a sentiment on the bottom when I decide what this card will be used for!

Laters,
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 2/CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 8

CPS Day 8 (Sketch #102) - Beth Siliaka's bee (haaaa.... this one seriously makes me giggle.  Love it!)

Cardstock:  PTI Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy, Raspberry Fizz
Patterned Paper:  PTI Simple Valentine
Dies:  PTI Small Scalloped Border, Limitless Layers 1.75" Circle Collection
Other:  Stardust Stickles
Image coloured with Copics

Really lovin' the Simple Valentine paper pad... and that bee.  Oh, that bee.  I think this card is going to find it's way to school on Valentine's Day for my 7 year old...

This might be it... at least for PTI's Day 2.  I'm off to decide whether I'm going to make the last 3 cards I wanted to make today.. or if I'm going to sleep instead.

Laters!
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 2/CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 5

CPS Day 5 (Sketch #38) - Heather Nichols' sweet little birdie!

Cardstock:  PTI Smokey Shadow, Stamper's Select White
Patterned Papers:  PTI Funky Town, 2008 Bitty Dots Basics
Other:  PTI Fresh Snow Topnotch Twill, Basic Grey Self-Adhesive Pearl

This one was another super-quick card.  Love it!  (Thanks Heather Nichols & CPS for making it that way!)

Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 2/CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 4

CPS Day 4 (Sketch #220) - Erin Lincoln's cassette tape (Dude.  I only ever owned 2 tapes - something by Amy Grant, and Queen's Greatest Hits.  I think I was 8-ish when I got those... it was forever CDs after that!)

Cardstock:  PTI Stamper's Select White, True Black
Patterned Paper:  American Crafts Teen
Stamps:  PTI Fillable Frames #12
Other:  PTI Summer Sunrise Topnotch Twill, Queen & Co. Nightfall Self-Adhesive Pearls
Image coloured with Copic markers

This one pretty much was born in about 10 minutes.  As soon as I saw that cassette tape, I knew I HAD to use these papers (that I may or may not be hoarding...lol)... and I realize that tapes were generally either clear or black - but that's boring.  Wouldn't they have been so much more interesting if they had colours like this?!

Back soon with more -
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 2/CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 3

CPS Day 3/ Sketch #54 - Lexi Daly's super cute toaster image...

Cardstock:  PTI Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy, Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst
Patterned Paper:  PTI Simple Valentine
Die:  PTI Double-Ended Banner
Image coloured with Copics

The sentiment is handwritten... the other half of the banner's inside with more handwriting that says "Let's have a TOAST!"  (Haaa, I'm so punny... not.  I was so stuck!)

More to come...
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 2/CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 2

Here's Card #2 - using CPS Sketch #166 and Lisa Johnson's image:

Cardstock:  PTI Stamper's Select White, Hibiscus Burst, Melon Berry
Patterned Paper:  Making Memories (circa 2005 - omg.)
Dies:  PTI Limitless Layers 2.5" & 1.75" Circle Collections
Image coloured with Copics

(I swear that patterned paper is straight in real life.  I'm blaming my (lack of) photography skills + lack of natural light for anything you see that looks awry.)

......
Steph

PTI's 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 2/CPS 5th Anniversary Celebrations - Day 1

Hello, hello!

I've been working hard all day long, doing my best to use every one of the free images PTI shared today as part of their 5th Anniversary Celebrations - and I've been combining that task with the sketches that have been released so far at Card Positioning Systems for their 5th Anniversary Celebrations as well!  (Congrats, by the way, to both for rocking their respective fields over the last 5 years!)

Anyway, here's my take on CPS Sketch #136 (from Day 1), using Dawn McVey's image:

Cardstock:  PTI Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy
Patterned Papers:  PTI In Bloom, 2008 Bitty Box Basics
Dies:  PTI 'Mat Stack 1', 'Limitless Layers 1.75" Circle Collection'
Other:  PTI Woodgrain Impression Plate, EK Success Small Corner Rounder

I'll be back with more...

Steph

PTI's 'My Favorite Things' Challenge

I had a chance to play along with PTI's first challenge in their 5th (!) Anniversary celebrations, which was to create a project inspired by any of PTI's designer's favourite projects from the last year.   I absolutely loved THIS project by Erin Lincoln when she first showed it, and was equally inspired when she shared THIS version of it.  Here's my take on it:

Cardstock:  PTI Vintage Cream
Papers:  Echo Park's "Little Girl" collection
Stamps:  PTI "Background Basics:  Hearts", "Think Big Favorites #7"
Dies:  PTI "Mega Mat Stack 4", "Heart Prints", "Journaling Tabs"
Ink:  PTI Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist
Other:  PTI Hawaiian Shores Felt, Simply Chartreuse Felt; 3/8' White Grosgrain Ribbon ,  Half-Back Pearls, Hair Clips (from stash)

Ta-da - just perfect for adding a pair of handmade hair clips to!  Thanks for such a great idea, Erin!  (And thanks to the entire PTI Design Team for providing so much inspiration in various forms throughout the year!!)

Laters,
Steph