PTI Blog Hop – My Crafts are Like a Box of Chocolates

Stripes n Roses

January 25, 2017 beccreates1

This is a very late entry for the PTI Blog Hop today.

I used the Sweet Life stamp set and dies for the roses and painted the stripes with Gansai Tambi water colours. These are perfect for bold stripes as they aren’t as transparent as most professional water colours. I used Bristol smooth paper for the first time and I was impressed that it didn’t warp much.

The label shape dies are by Lifestyle Crafts; the cardstock is also by PTI. I tried writing the sentiment with gold leafing paint with a small brush but I’m much, much better with a dip ink pen. I should have used my gold ink and pen instead. Oh well.

Enjoy, Rebecca

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Navy and Pink PTI Blog Hop

April 25, 2015 beccreates1

Welcome to another PTI Blog Hop! My card was made when I was very tired this morning, I got up early because I couldn’t sleep, so please forgive a lack of inspiration. Overall though, I think it’s a pretty card worth posting.

I really wish PTI made a cardstock that was about halfway between blush and hibiscus and not peachy/coral like Melon Berry and Berry sorbet. Then I would have used that for the sentiment panel and the flowers would stand out more. IRL the sponging on the edges of the flowers shows more and they stand out from the background a bit better.

Such a gorgeous inspiration photo right? The flowers were made with a die from Memory Box and I took the time to shape them nicely before adding them to the card. I should have sponged them before shaping them though so I will make a note to myself for next time. Not only did they not sponge very smoothly but the tiny tab used to keep the flower 3-D

I love making lots of types of cards but I find myself using get well and thanks most so I love having lots of choices of sentiment in these two categories. This set, Healing Touch Sentiments, has lots of options. I am dying to get a Get Well die though. Anyone know of one? The only one I can find, from Hero Arts, isn’t in a font I like too well.

I used Cardabilities sketch 121 for this card. Isn’t it awesome? They have the best sketches for all cards but especially shabby chic ones.

Enjoy the rest of the hop! Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: fancy flourishes, Healing Touch sent-PTI
Ink: Paris dusk-Memento, hibiscus burst
Paper: DP-MME, cardstock all PTI
Accessories: Cherry Blossom die-Memory Box, Labels 8-Spellbinders, leaves die-SSS, gem-stash, border die-PTI
Tools: MISTI, Embossing stylus

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Spring Flowers for PTI Blog Hop

February 25, 2014 beccreates1

Spring is in the air! Even here where we had sooo many winter storms, it’s finally getting a wee bit warmer. Yeah!

Yes, I made these flowers! I used Susan’s Garden Sizzix dies to cut all the petals and painstakingly shaped and coloured each one as well as 13 leaves.

I used Fancy Flourishes in the background as filler. But I didn’t like how the card showed through the yarrow so I added more leaves and some ribbon poufs. It isn’t a full bow under there, just some loops which is why I call them poufs!

Just some flower closeups. This one is an open hardy geranium. I used to grow these, they are so lovely! If you make these, add the pollen BEFORE rolling up the center. It’s so much harder later!

A semi-closed geranium. Made with the same petals, I just cupped it more in the center so the petals stood up. These flowers have airbrushed colour in the centers and lines drawn on with Copics. Susan recommends Pan Pastels for the centers and I can’t wait to get them but airbrushing looks just as good. It doesn’t work for adding lighter colours though so I use Pastel Pencils or my old SU! chalks for those.

Yarrow. This one takes a while to make with all those tiny flowers. Each one has a center of pollen which I glue in with a Viva Paper Pen. I could use glue but since this has a very fine tip and is dimensional, it makes the centers look more realistic. You could use a dimensional glue but since most aren’t matte, it isn’t the best choice; if any shows through, it will look weird. I miss Matte Accents (sister to Glossy Accents) by Ranger. BRING IT BACK!!

See the yellow in the center and on the leaves? Definitely won’t work with Copics. This one is the violet. It comes in the same set as the Pansy and though I didn’t use it, I used some of the pansy leaves as filler. It’s the ruffled one in the top left corner.

I hope you enjoy the hop! Like my card? Please leave a comment or sign up for email or RSS updates! They are on the sidebar.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Fancy Flourishes-PTI
Ink: spring moss-PTI
Paper: Spring moss, cream CS, DP-PTI, olive, artichoke, banana, brocade CS-SU!
Accessories: sequins-Ellen Hutson, flourish dies-PTI, yarrow, geranium, pansy/violet dies, flower and leaf shaping mats-Sizzix, ribbon-Masterstroke, foam dots-Sticky Stuff Store, Copics and airbrushing system, Pastel Pencils-Conte, chalks-SU!, fine, medium and large embossing tools-unknown, pollen-Woodland Scenics, paper perfect pen-Viva Decor, lace-vintage

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Watermelon Card for Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

July 25, 2013 beccreates1

Welcome to another Papertrey Ink Blog Hop. This month the focus was luscious, mouth-watering summer fruit colour combos. I was missing many of the colours of inks and papers used in the combos so this truly was a challenge for me!

First I had planned on using this one and omitting the new leaf which I DO NOT like. The challenge did say we didn’t have to use every colour. I planned to make a 3-D, triple-scoop ice cream cone with dies and stamp some gorgeous berry sorbet and GOLD! swirls behind. Oh yeah! But I had NO harvest gold paper. Maybe the colour is too new to be in my multi pack I bought and rely on heavily? I’m still switching over from SU! to PTI as my main source of cardstock. I have no scraps either and don’t remember using any as card bases (the only way I’d not have any scraps) so I guess that must be it. I will have to write down my idea (I guess i just did, didn’t I? hee hee) and make it later!

I usually get to the card right away, sorry! Here it is finally! The colour and inspiration photo is below. I don’t usually take a lot of inspiration from colour challenge photos but I was kind of stumped on a way to use these colours especially since I don’t have any raspberry fizz, limeade ice or new leaf ink.

I hope you enjoyed my card! Please keep in touch by subscribing by email or adding my blog to your feed reader of choice. All the options are at the top of my sidebar. Enjoy the rest of the blog hop.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Sweet Life, BB-Hearts-PTI
Ink: Ranger Archival black, PTI white, frayed burlap Distress ink
Paper: new leaf, hibiscus, raspberry-PTI
Accessories: white EP-Hero Arts, white pastel pencil, foam dots-Jody Morrow, lace, gems-stash, dies-Lifestyle crafts

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Bee Thanks Hex Card for PTI June Blog Hop

June 24, 2013 beccreates1

This month’s challenge was Touch of Gold! Gold embellishments and accents are huge in fashion, home decor and paper crafting so we were challenged to add some to our project.

Ever have an idea on your head and the resulting card doesn’t end up quite as impressive? This is that card for me. Especially since the embossing doesn’t show up as shiny and pretty as it does IRL. and neither does the fact that the ivory hexagons are raised up on foam dots. (the ones NOT under the sentiment anyway) But, I still think it looks pretty nice! I hope you like it too; kind of a quilt look. The ivory hexagons with gold on half of them were swiped in Versamark then heated with gold EP. I deliberately didn’t tap of all the excess EP then heated from the bottom for a messy look. I used the same technique on the edges of the cover plate die.

Thanks for visiting. If you are new to my blog, I hope you will come by again! Feel free to sign up as a follower or by email subscription and I’d be thrilled if you’d leave a comment. Have fun on the blog hop!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: PTI
Ink: Versamark, Ranger archival black, pink pirouette-SU!, berry sorbet, summer sunrise-PTI
Paper: kraft, ivory, aqua CS-PTI, DP-MME
Accessories: EP-SU!, foam dots-Jody Morrow, hexagon cover plate die-PTI

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Waltzing Mouse Stamps Blog Party–Summer Shells Box

June 17, 2013 beccreates1

This month’s challenge was Summertime Fun. Since I won a free set from some challenge back in October and I finally chose it (I had been waiting to order some stamps at the same time and get a deal on shipping, never happened… ), I had fun using My Island.

I absolutely ADORE the beach and hot weather so this set and this challenge is so perfect for me! I wanted to do something more than just a card but I hate trying to decide what to do. As I looked around my craft room, this little box was just sitting there asking to be decorated!

I pulled out some favourite old MME papers which colours remind me of the beach and started covering the box and stamping.

I have a LOT of cool beach related items so choosing which to use was the hardest part! The shell trim has been waiting patiently for just the perfect project. It is too thick for a card and kind of big with the shells spaced too widely. But it looks amazing here dontcha think?

I used my new compressor and Copic markers to add colour to the coral and shell I had hanging around in my stash. They were both so boring before. That reminds me, have to turn it off and bleed the tank before I go to bed…

I used some very sheer gold ribbon to make a big bow using my bow easy. Then I distressed it using my heat tool. TIP: To get the bow to fluff up really well, instead of just wrapping the ribbon around and around the tool, pass it through the slit each time. You may need to scrunch your ribbon to make it all fit but that’s ok. If this means patterned, one-sided ribbon no longer shows the correct side up, just flip it in the middle! Works soooo much better than just wrapping it. The loops always separate correctly my way.

I am also entering this in Ribbon Carousel 82 Fun in the Sun.

I hope you enjoyed this post and if so, I’d love to hear from you. I treasure each and every comment. Ok, except for those weird spam ones… 🙂 If you’d like to come back, maybe email updates would help? I have a subscription widget on my sidebar. I think my RSS feeder is ending soon and I don’t know how to replace it so if you do, I’d love to know how. Anyway, thanks for reading.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: My Island-WMS, flourishes-PTI
Ink: moss, baja-SU! chocolate, kraft-PTI, frayed burlap Distress
Paper: DP-MME
Accessories: flourish die-PTI, foam dots-Jody Morrow, ribbon, loopy wired twine trim-May Arts

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Soft and Shabby for PTI Angled Blog Hop

April 25, 2013 beccreates1

The challenge this month is to place some elements on an angle. This wasn’t too hard! I enjoy asymmetrical designs and most angled designs are.

I made all three of my flowers on this card. I used a Cheery Lynn Dye for two of them and a tutorial from Pretty Little Mess blog (see sidebar) for the third.

I also used this week’s Deconstructed Sketch. Click on it to visit the blog post.

I’m also entering this card in this week’s Joan’s Gardens Challenge to use the word Tulips as an acronym for items used in the card.

T-Trim, I used lace
U-Upside Down, I used the corsage pins facing down rather than up like I usually do. (this one is really hard)
L-Lavender, I used lots on the card
I-Items from Joan’s Gardens, the Cheery Lynn Die I used for the flowers
P-Pearl tips on the corsage Pins, also designer Paper and Perfume bottle
S-Sentiment

I hope you enjoyed my card. If you have any questions, feel free to email me and don’t forget to subscribe by email or RSS if you’d like to visit again and be sure to not miss future posts.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Mega Mixed Messages
Ink: Winter Wisteria-PTI, Frayed Burlap Distress ink
Paper: MME DP, kraft CS-PTI
Accessories: May Arts ribbon, corsage pins-Michaels, flower making die-Cheery Lynn, perfume charm-Jesse James buttons, hexagon, circle dies-PTI, lace-Fabricland, ticket corner dies-SU!, Bow Easy

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PTI Blog Hop–Larkspur Sequinned Bookmark Card

March 24, 2013 beccreates1

This month’s theme is all about sequins. It was harder than I would have thought to find sequins. The ones at Michaels were horribly gaudy! I phoned to ask if they had any and the clerk went to look. I had already told her I wanted pastels and she came back to tell me they had two packs and where they were. When I found them, they were in super metallic Christmas colours – red, green, blue, silver and gold! Seriously, they need new staff!

I finally found a roll a white iridescent sequin trim in the bridal section and removed the string holding the sequins together then airbrushed them for colour. Unfortunately, they aren’t faceted like many I’ve seen people using lately and I wish they were but they will have to do.

I embossed and coloured the larkspur first without a clear idea what I was going to do to make it into a card. I used Distress markers to watercolour it using a loose, painterly technique and not necessarily staying in the lines. Though I have to admit, that is outside my comfort zone so I sort of coloured in the lines first then added some colour outside the lines after. Then while the colour outside the lines was still wet, I added the sky/background colour.

TIP: Leaving white around the outside of the image and not taking the paint to the edges of the paper adds to the ‘painterly’ effect. Sorry the picture is a bit dark, it was the only way you could see the lighter painted areas at all.

Once I trimmed out the image on the sides, I realized it was pretty tall and thin. I could have trimmed the top but I got the idea to make it into a bookmark. I needed a card for a young friend’s recent baptism and then thought about this sentiment and it all fell into place! (We baptize as teens or young adults, not as babies.) She is quite the artist and paints a lot so I knew she’d appreciate it. To hold the bookmark in, I used an old tool, the Basic Grey Notch and Die tool, to cut the circular notches.

I hope you have fun looking at the rest of the projects on the hop. If you’d like to visit again, be sure to sign up for RSS or email subscriptions on my sidebar. Thanks for visiting.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Out on a Limb Sentiments, Year of Flowers Larkspur-PTI
Ink: Versamark, Archival black-Ranger, lemon, lavender, wisteria, chartreuse, moss-PTI
Paper: watercolour paper-stash, rustic white-PTI
Accessories: Distress Markers-Ranger, sequins-Simplicity, Copics and airbrush system, Notch and Die tool, Masterstroke seam binding ribbon, white EP-stash, Crop-a-dile

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Monogrammed Notecard Set for Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

February 25, 2013 beccreates1

This month’s challenge was to create with monograms. Not something I do a lot of but isn’t that why they call it a ‘challenge’ and not an ‘easy’!? hee hee!

I decided to make myself a pretty set of monogrammed notecards. I never have a decent thing to write a note on to the teacher despite having literally reams worth of GORGEOUS paper! Absolutely disgusting! So I was happy to finally have something nice to write on.

I plan to make a few more like these and a few more with just stamping and the monogram for when I need more space plus they will take less time to make. I may even stamp the monogram instead of die cutting it saving even more time. 4 was plenty for now considering I’ve just finished making 230 wedding favours for my sister’s wedding! Kinda sick of multiples for a while. I’m going to have a tutorial soon with tips on die cutting and stamping huge quantities of items! Stay tuned or check back if you are new to my blog.

Many of you may be new today so you don’t know me. But I am, in the words of Tim Gunn (Project Runway), a “make it work” type of person. So I rarely throw a card in the trash. An element or two maybe but even that is rare. So when a comedy of errors befell these cards, I made them work! First, my stupid cutter’s blade was dull so my papers had whiskers. So I trimmed them off with a scissors. Then I was adding the monograms and using a fine tipped bottle of glue. It virtually never clogs so I just kept adding more and more pressure to get the darn glue out until… you guessed it, a gigantic blob of glue landed on my notecard! Fortunately, it wasn’t the kind that sinks down into the paper so I used an adhesive eraser once it was dry!

I laid out all my stamps along the left edge of the paper to arrange them. When the hand touched my acrylic block, the pencil too came for a ride even though I had moved it out of the way, just not far enough. I guess I inked the hand on the edge of the pad and didn’t ink the pencil so once I checked how it looked the first time, something I do when stamping multiples, especially with a stamp I’ve not used before, I went ahead and stamped the rest. I guess I hit the ink pad differently the other times because the pencil partially stamped and not in the colour or place I wanted it to. grrr… After saying bad things under my breath I tried stamping over. Nope, the lines were so thin, I couldn’t see them through my block and yes, it is clean! The solid end lined up.

So, is this worth trashing, especially when it’s the last step? IMHO, nope! Seriously, its a note to the teacher. Does she care if the pencil isn’t lined up? Nope! So think about that the next time something is headed for the round file! Does it matter that much? If it is headed to CHA, then yes, save the flubbed one for grandma and redo it but otherwise, take a deep breath and move on! I have to work very hard to not obsess and take myself too seriously! My kids need me and I can’t spend all day in my craft room redoing things and it isn’t healthy. So make it work ladies!

I hope you are enjoying the hop! If you like what you’ve seen or you don’t want to forget to come back for my assembly line die cutting and stamping tutorial or to see my wedding favours, be sure to subscribe by RSS or email subscription. They are both on my left sidebar. If you read this far, you are amazing and I thank you for visiting. Have a great day!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Button Boutique, Take Note-PTI
Ink: Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, Kraft, Chocolate
Paper: DP-PTI, ivory-cheap stuff
Accessories: chevron die-PTI, alpha die-Quickutz

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Papertrey Ink October Blog Hop–Love Has Wings

October 25, 2012 beccreates1

I loved the colour combos PTI provided as inspiration for this month’s blog hop. I don’t have quite a few of them though as I’m still working with a 2009 paper pack so I went with the combo shown below.

The little house is a layered die cut which resembles chipboard. It is made of three layers with an additional roof layer and the patterned paper layer. The heart section is only one layer thick so it is recessed into the house.

I used a new technique I developed for the leaves. I turned the leaves upside down and scored the veins. Then I flipped it back over and folded each score line upwards, away from the scoring. This cracked the score lines giving a vintage. distressed look. Then I sponged ink over the cracked score lines to accentuate them.

I also entered this in Retro Sketches #34. Click to visit challenge post.

I hope you enjoyed my card. Thanks for taking the time to visit and I hope you will leave a comment. If you liked this project, feel free to sign up for email updates or my RSS feed, thingies on the sidebar.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Paper: all cardstock-PTI, DP-SU!
Ink: vintage photo, antique linen Distress, artichoke-SU!
Accessories: foam dots-Jody Morrow, house, edge, scallop die-PTI, leaf die-Spellbinders, floral die-Heartfelt Creations (I think), ribbon-Offray, embossing tool-stash