Merry Christmas!

It has been forever since I posted here on the blog. I've just been going in a hundred different directions lately. I'm sure you know the feeling. I confess, I made no handmade Christmas cards this year. I'll have to do some stamping soon or I won't be able to justify any more new PTI stamps. :O

I've been doing more sewing and quilting lately, including this table runner that I made as a Christmas present for my Mom. This is the first project that I pieced, quilted and bound all by myself.

I made some mistakes (next time match bobbin thread to backing material), learned to bind (had to rip it all out once but I'm glad I did) but in the end, I was really happy with the finished piece and more importantly, so was my Mom!

I also made a small quilted wall hanging for my SIL with an appliqued snowman. I finished binding it at 4:00 a.m. of the day we were going to see them for our Christmas get together so no photos. Maybe she'll take one and send it to me so I can post it. I plan to make some more of them for other family members. It was a pretty simple project once I chose the fabrics I wanted to use for each piece. I am not super confident about mixing and matching fabric so that part takes me a while.

Well, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas. We're super excited here at our house today waiting for Santa to arrive tonight. I'll be back on the blog in the new year with some more projects, I promise!

Blog Hop Treats

Welcome to the Papertrey May Blog Hop! Thanks so much for stopping by my humble little blog. Sorry I've been MIA in blog world lately. There's been so much to do in the garden and I've been devoting some time to making a quilt for my daughter's first "big girl" bed. Since I am having such a good time sewing right now I decided to sew a pillow cover and decorate it with felt for the challenge. Here is the challenge that was issued:

This month's blog hop is all about fabulous felt! We know you love this new addition to our product line-up and we would love to see what you are doing with it! From borders to focal points, paper crafts to sewing projects. Hair accessories to home decor accents. Cards to scrapbook layouts. We want to see it all!

Here is my contribution:

I hope you love it. I had a great time creating it! :) I stitched the pillow cover out of an repurposed table cloth that doesn't fit our new dining room table. The stems and leaves of the flowers were cut from fabric and fused onto the pillow top. Then I used Raspberry Fizz and Vintage Cream felt and buttons to create the flowers. The new cloud die made a wonderful addition. I tacked down the clouds with some fabric glue and then did a simple running stitch for a nice handmade look. Finally I added a butterfly out of Vintage Cream and Hawaiian Shores felt with some half pearls for a little bling. Enjoy your hop and thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I love reading each and every one!

I'm Late, I'm Late!

So sorry, I'm late posting for the Blog Hop. Too many things to do today. I hope you'll forgive me. The challenge this month was to use tissue paper so I made a tissue paper butterfly.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink: Turning a New Leaf; Butterfly Dreams; Beautiful Blooms II; Delightful Dahlia. Ink: Hawaiian Shores, Spring Moss, New Leaf, Hibiscus Burst, Smoky Shadow. Cardstock: Aqua Mist, White. Accessories: Tissue Paper, rhinestones and rhinestone brad, PTI ribbon and buttons, PTI wool felt, Scallop border punch (EK Success).

Birthdays galore!

It is busy birthday season in our house. My niece's birthday was a couple of weeks ago, today is my daughter and my husband's birthday and another niece. Three birthdays on one day!

I have been lacking time in the stamp/sewing room the last few weeks. Work has been brutally busy and the garden is starting to need a lot of attention. But I do have a couple of things to share in honor of all the birthdays.

This is a card I made for my 10 years old niece. She's a very "hip" girl so I chose a really bright color combination. Way out of my comfort zone but I had fun with it. Check out the cork star. It was an embellishment sent to me by PTI friend JenniferK. I added some little rhinestones to the star to give it extra pizazz.

Next is my attempt at making Fur Monster cupcakes. I adore making dessert, especially something as fun as this. These are from the brand new book What's New Cupcake. You should see all of the fun things you can make with easy to find ingredients and candy.

We had these for a birthday treat after lunch today. They were thoroughly enjoyed as you can see! It was straight to the tub after lunch. I think just about her entire face was purple!

Have a Monster Fun day!

Supplies for card: All supplies by PTI unless noted. Stamps: Say it With Style, Polka Dot Basics II. Cardstock: Orange Zest, Spring Moss, Hibiscus Burst. Ink: Palette Noir, Fresh Snow, VersaMark. Accessories: White embossing Powder (stash), rhinestones (Kaiser Kraft), white gel pen (Signo), cork start (JenniferK), Hibiscus Burst button, black wool felt.

Welcome Spring!

Spring has finally arrived! The weekend was so beautiful. I spent a lot of time in my garden cleaning away the old plant debris. This is one of my favorite times in the garden. I enjoy seeing the fresh green shoots peeking out of the ground. The tips of my peonies are starting to show, daylilies are growing, tree peonies are beginning to sprout and the Spring bulbs are starting to bloom.

I also had another sewing class with my friend Trish at Two Peas In a Pod designs. We made really cute envelope syle pillow covers and a table topper. I thought I would share a picture of my table topper with you because it is really just says "Spring" to me.

Aren't those fabrics just yummy? They're from Heather Bailey's new line Nicey Jane with another fabric (don't remember which) on the ends. Here's another shot a little closer of some of the fabrics.

The colors are just so fresh and beautiful. I can't stop looking at it --and telling my husband how much I love it. :) Thanks Trish! As always I had a ton of fun at our class.

Dots and Bots

I missed the PTI blog hop this month. :( I think I have the winter blahs because by the time I get some spare time I haven't felt much like stamping. February is a really tough month! I have a few birthdays coming up though so I have to find my mojo and get going! I forced myself to the stamp room last night to make this quick birthday card for a party we were attending today.

I thought Papertrey's new Dot Spot set was a great background. I chose to pair it with this robot set from SU! The card is for a little boy who is turning 3. I wanted quick and pretty simple since the card probably wound up destroyed by the end of the day. I like really like the colors Orange Zest, Enchanted Evening and Spring Moss together.

Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully I will find some mojo this weekend and have more projects up soon!

Supplies: Stamps: Dot Spot (Papertrey Ink), Lots of Bots (SU!). Cardstock: White, Spring Moss, Enchanted Evening, Orange Zest (PTI). Ink: Orange Zest, Spring Moss, Enchanted Evening, (PTI) Palette Noir. Accessories: Nestabilities, screw shaped snaps (stash), copic markers.

Last one I promise!

O.K., so I have one last teeny weeny Valentine card to share. :)

I love these Moda Valentine fabrics. I bought a pack of charm squares and I have used them for all sorts of things. Plus, the colors match the Papertrey colors really well. Bonus! I have a little trouble keeping the fabric from scooting around while I stitch on the cardstock. I put a tad bit of scor-tape in the center to tack it down but somehow it still got a little bit askew while I sewed. Oh well, you wouldn't have noticed if I didn't tell you would you? It just adds to the homemade charm of the card - right? I hope!

The sentiment is from Heart Print Sentiments. A set I purchased only recently but I'm very glad I did. I think I will get all kinds of use out it. Thanks so much for stopping by. Don't forget the PTI Anniversary release party tonight. Check out the festivities on Nichole's blog here.

Supplies: Stamps: Heart Prints Sentiments, Simple Valentine. Cardstock: Rustic Cream, Berry Sorbet, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate Bitty Box paper. Ink: Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy. Accessories: Moda fabric, Marvy scallop heart punch and book print, Glitter glue, Pure Poppy and Berry Sorbet buttons, Vintage Cream and Pure Poppy ribbon, rustic twine, Fiskars border punch.

Sweet Celebrations

Valentine's Day is almost upon us. What are you doing with your loved ones this holiday? We don't have any big plans - just out for pizza tonight and I have a little heart shaped cake for a snack later. Our little one LOVES cake!

Today I have a birthday card to share. I was inspired to create an emboss resist card by the PTI festivities but I admit I didn't get around to it very quickly!

This card uses the cupcake image from Baby Button Bits, along with a pretty damask border from Damask Designs. I stamped the cupcake on Papertrey's Stampers Select white cardstock and then carefully cut it out and popped it up on dimensionals inside the Vintage Labels frame. Now that PTI is releasing dies that coordinate with some of their images - I would love to have a cupcake die for this one. Nichole are you listening? :)

I colored the image with Copic markers and then went over the icing with my Spica clear glitter pen. It's so shimmery! I stamped the damask border on Sweet Blush cardstock in Versamark and then embossed it with white embossing powder. I sponged Hibiscus Burst ink all around the designs but I didn't cover the Sweet Blush completely so it has a slightly variegated look. Then I rubbed the ink off of the embossed damask designs (this is the resist part). The sentiment is from Big & Bold Wishes, which I'm really glad I purchased. I like the font and sizes of the sentiments. I added a little bling to set off the sentiment and it's good to go! This little baby went out in the mail today to a very sweet lady celebrating her birthday next week.

Tonight I have to get busy making cards for some kids' birthday parties we have coming up. I want them to be cute but I have to remember not to put too much time into it. They're going to be 3, which means the card will be tossed aside at best and at worst, torn to shreds in about 5 minutes. On second thought, maybe I'll visit the dollar store for those cards and make something else tonight. LOL!

Supplies: All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless noted.

Stamps: Baby Button Bits, Damask Designs, Big & Bold Wishes, Vintage Labels. Ink: Hibiscus Burst, Palette Noir, VersaMark. Cardstock: White, Smoky Shadow, Hibiscus Burst. Accessories: Embossing Powder, Scallop border punch (SU!), Vintage button in Hibiscus Burst, Copic markers, rhinestones (Kaiser Crafts), Spica glitter pen.

Lots of Snow = Lots of Stamp Time

Happy Friday everyone! It is snowing like mad here. It's been snowing all day in fact. I have no idea how much snow we have already but it is supposed to continue through the night and we might get up to 16"! That's a lot for us. In a way I'm looking forward to being cooped up in the house. I hope to finish off the Valentines, do some other stamping and finish another tote bag.

Yes, I promise to post a picture of my tote bag soon!

Can you stand more Valentines? I will be moving on to other things soon. Here is another card for my hubby.

He's so sweet. I want to give him a card every day next week leading up to Valentine's Day. I am seriously spoiled by my dear husband. In addition to him being a SAHD to our little girl, he does the laundry, cooks and takes such good care of us girls in general. And he's sweet to me. My best friend in the whole wide world. :)

Sorry it's not the best photo in the world. This card fits in a standard business size envelope so it's a little tall for the space where I usually photograph my cards.

Thanks for stopping by. Be safe and warm wherever you are!

Kim

Supplies: Supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted. Stamps: Top 10; Heart Prints; Wedding Day (inside sentiment). Cardstock: Kraft, Rustic Cream, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate. Ink: Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate, Vintage Tea Dye Duo. Accessories: Glitter letter stickers (Making Memories); Heart embellishment (stash); Circle punches (SU!), Pure poppy twill; sewing.

Winding down the weekend

Hi everyone! Are you having a nice weekend? I sure am but it is winding down. I got the cutest tote bag done during a class with my extraordinary sewing teacher Trish over at Two Peas in a Pod Designs and some stamping. I loved my bag so much that I had to pick out some more fabric to make another since I plan to give the original one to my Mom for Mother's Day. I'll try to get a picture posted of one of the bags soon.

On the stamping front, guess what I have? You're right, more Valentine cards! LOL!

This is another card where I managed to incorporate some of my gorgeous Moda fabric by making another yo-yo flower topped off with a Papertrey button and I stitched some more hearts along the bottom. I think this sentiment from Wishing You, is perfect for a friend or family member. It is sometimes hard to find a Valentine sentiment for friends and family, because so many are romantic - for obvious reasons but I like to send Valentines to friends and family also.

Here's a peek at the inside.

Supplies: All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless noted. Stamps: Wishing You, Vintage Labels, Simple Valentine, Polka Dot Basics I, Heart Prints. Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Kraft, Bitty Dot decorative paper. Ink: Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate, Vintage Tea Dye Duo. Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinder), Rhinestones (Kaiser Kraft), Vintage Button, Pure Poppy twill, Scor Tape, Glitter (Art Institute), Border Punch (EK Success), fabric (Moda), stitching.

Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow is the start of the Papertrey Anniversary festivities. Don't forget to stop by Nichole's blog and check it out--as if you would! LOL!!

In Love

I am in love----with making Valentine cards! I am really enjoying all of my Valentine stamps right now. I thought I would post photos of the cards I made for the Papertrey Valentine swap and one other card. I can share my swap cards since I know they were both received by Janelle and Tammy.

Card #1:

I recently purchased some Moda fabric and realized that the colors are a near perfect match for Berry Sorbet and Sweet Blush!!! I had to incorporate this fabric into some of my cards. Here I used 1/2 of a Charm Square and stitched it to my card and embellished with a little paper heart. I love the look of fabric on cards and plan to do a lot more of this in the future.

Card #2:

This card uses the box image from Text Boxed, which I only recently purchased. I masked off the box and filled it with images from Simple Valentine and polka dots. I also incorporated some more Moda fabric. I used my Yo-Yo template to make the little flower and embellished it with Papertrey vintage buttons. Making these little yo-yos is super easy and makes a fun embellishment for your cards. I also saw a template for a heart shape that I might have to try out. I also remembered that my sewing machine has some decorative heart stitches so I added that to the bottom of the card and set it off with red glitter strips above and below.

Finally, here is a super quick card that I made that has no stamping!!!

I must have been channeling Mish Wooderson on my last trip to the scrapbook store because I also found this gorgeous Making Memories paper and thought it would make some great quick and easy cards. It is almost too pretty to cut into! I added some stitching around the blocks and a few embellishments and it's done. If you're short on time for making cards I recommend looking for some patterned paper to cut up and use. This would also be a great way to make multiple cards if you needed a bunch of Valentine cards for your child's school class.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a fantastic weekend.

Kim

Supplies: All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless noted

Card #1: Stamps: Tiny Treats: Valentine, Polka Dots Basics II. Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Vintage Cream, Sweet Blush. Ink: Vintage Cream, Tea Dye Duo, Dark Chocolate, Sweet Blush. Accessories: Nestabilities, scallop heart punch (Marvy), Vintage buttons, Vintage Cream ribbon, Sweet blush ribbon, border punch (EK Success), Fabric (Moda), Stickles, Vintage book print.

Card #2: Stamps: Text Boxed, Simple Valentine, Polka Dot Basics, Friends till the End. Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Kraft, Sweet Blush, Bitty Dot paper. Ink: Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush. Accessories: Vintage buttons, Pure Poppy twill, Scor-Tape, glitter (Art Institute), Brad (Making Memories), Stitching, fabric (Moda).

Card #3: Ink: Vintage Tea Dye Duo, Vintage Cream for distressing. Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Hibiscus Burst, Close to Cocoa (SU!), decorative paper (Making Memories). Accessories: stitching, vintage buttons and twin (Papertrey Ink), rhinestone (Kaiser Krafts), rhinestone heart brad (Making Memories).

The Total Package

Welcome to Papertrey Blog Hop night! This month's challenge was to create a "total package". Here is the challenge posted on the Papertrey site.

Total Package Challenge

During this month's release there was a lot of chatter about the interior of cards and how they don't always get the attention they need. This month's challenge is to create a card that has the "total package". Create any style card you can dream up, then take it the next step. Embellish the interior and adorn the envelope. You might even want to add a little something to the back of the card! Be sure to take photos of ever aspect so we can all be inspired with what you create! We can't wait to see what you make!

I forgot about the envelope until I re-read the challenge just now. Oops! You'll just have to imagine a very sweet, and probably sparkly envelope to go along with this card.

The Aqua Mist Labels 1 die is stamped in VersaMark with an image from Background Basics Retro. The Sweet Blush layer is also stamped with the same image. It is very subtle in the photo but easier to see IRL. Along the bottom third of the card I stamped the smallest dots from Polka Dot Basics 2 in Sweet Blush (love the new formula!) and then scored a couple of lines on my Scor-Pal and then in the center I adhered a piece of scor-tape and added glitter. I adore glitter! The card edges are all smudged with the Vintage Tea Dye Duo. The sentiment was stamped with Aqua Mist.

Here is a close up of the heart. You can see a little bit better the smudged ink. I used Sweet Blush and the Vintage Tea Dye Duo to distress it. I used my Marvy Scallop Heart punch and punched several layers from some Making Memories paper. I followed Dawn McVey's tutorial for making flowers but used a heart instead. :) The pretty brad in the center is also from Making Memories.

Here is the inside of the card. I carried through the heart theme and used a cute image from Tiny Treats: Valentine. Along the bottom I used the border punch again and carried through the design elements of the polka dots and glitter too. Plus I added a couple of buttons.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I can't wait to see what everyone else did!

Supplies: All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless noted. Stamps: Background Basics Retro, Polka Dot Basics 2, Tiny Treats: Valentine; Take Note . Ink: Sweet Blush, Vintage Tea Dye Duo, Aqua Mist, Ocean Tides, VersaMark (Tsunenko). Cardstock: Sweet Blush, Vintage Cream, Aqua Mist. Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinder), Scallop heart punch (Marvy), text print paper (Making Memories), Sweet Blush ribbon, Glitter (Art Institute), Border Punch (EK Success), Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal), Aqua Mist vintage buttons, antique brad (Making Memories).

Take note Sweetie!

Yesterday was a nice day for January. It was almost 50 degrees and dry. That's about as good as winter weather gets in Central Ohio! Today is grey and rainy. Blech! I'm getting ready to go out on a "date" with my hubby and our tot will stay home with a sitter today. We're going to a movie and dinner but we haven't decided what movie yet. Yesterday we were at the mall and there was a ginormous (that's my favorite made up word for "really big" line to see Avatar in 3D. Ummmm....no thanks! So, we'll go see something else.

Last night was another late night for me in the craft room and I got 3 more cards done. Two for my hubby and one for a friend. I just cannot put down the Papertrey Valentine sets. I haven't even started making my cute little cards for my daughter and my nieces and nephews. :)

Here is a quick card for my hubby using some Papertrey goodies.

Here is the inside:

Pretty simple. Too simple? I kept wanting to fuss with it but I couldn't decide what else to do. If you think it needs a little "something" let me know!

Supplies: All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless noted. Stamps: Take Note, Background Basics Hearts, Simple Valentine; Tiny Treats: Valentine, Ledger (Hero Arts). Ink: Vintage Cream, Vintage Tea Dye Duo, Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate, Memento Brown, Tea Dye (Ranger). Cardstock: HIbiscus Burst, Vintage Cream, Dark Chocolate. Accessories: Pure Poppy twill, Circle punches (SU!), Arrow Brad (Making Memories), Spiral punch (SU!)

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y-!!!!

The weekend is finally here, woohoo! I need to get back in my craft room and make some more Valentine cards. I've really been in the mood this week. Last Saturday I stayed up until 5:30 a.m. creating cards. :0 It's true. The only time I really get to stamp is from 9:00 p.m. until sunrise while the DD is in bed. It's just too hard to focus when she's in the room, all you mothers of toddlers can relate I'm sure! Plus something strange happens when I get in the groove of creating, I just don't get tired. In fact, it only energizes me and I can't go to sleep sometimes for an hour or more after I've stopped. This is why I seldom make cards on a weeknight. Otherwise I would stay up way too late. Well, enough of that, here is another Valentine card I made for someone special.

The layers on this card were inspired by a beautiful card from Debbie Olson that appears in the current issue of Paper Crafts. I gathered a bunch of colors of cardstock and played around with them until I found a combination I liked and then I began stamping backgrounds on them and punching borders. Then I sewed some layers with my sewing machine and added this sweet little dog image from Tiny Treats: Valentine. A complete list of stamps and products are listed below.

Have a great day everyone! I'm off to Weight Watchers to do my monthly weigh in. UGH! And then I'm going out with the family. I need to get a new suit for an interview this week. I'm applying for a promotion position so wish me luck! :)

Supplies: All supplies by PaperTrey Ink unless noted. Stamps: Tiny Treats Valentine, Simple Valentine, Background Basics Retro, Polka Dots 2, Damask Designs. Cardstock from bottom to top: White, Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist, Pure Poppy, Raspberry Fizz, Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet. Ink: Sweet Blush, Pure Poppy, Spring Moss, Raspberry Fizz. Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), circle punch (SU!), various border punches (Fiskars and EK Success), white gel pen (Signo), Copic Markers, Raspberry Fizz swiss dot ribbon, New Leaf button, Rustic twine, sewing machine stitching.

Shhhh....

I've haven't posted for a while but it doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything. ;) I've got a ton of Valentine cards to share but some I will not post until they've been received by my PTI sisters for our Valentine swap. I received the most beautiful card from TammyRN yesterday. I will take a picture and post it this week.

Tonight I wanted to share a card I made for my hubby for Valentine's day. Don't worry, I don't think he reads my blog. :) I used one of my favorite sets from Papertrey Ink, On My Couch and On My Couch Additions. I had this idea swirling around in my head for a few days. I wanted to come up with a color scheme and layout that wasn't too girly. I tend to put bows, buttons and glitter on everything that is standing still so this was a CHALLENGE. LOL! But I like how it turned out. Hope you enjoy it too, so here goes.....

I had to have just a little bit of sparkle, so I used a couple of rhinestone brads and some rhinestones in the centers of my pillows. By the way, I don't know if you can tell but the pillows are covered with red flock. They're cute and fuzzy! I thought this sentiment was a great one for Valentine's Day. Now the inside.....

I usually do add something decorative to the inside of my cards so I thought I would share since that seems to be a theme this month. I used some more of the decorative paper and a strip of scor-tape covered with red flock. I had to adapt the sentiment a little bit. It actually reads" I chair-ish your friendship". I just made sure to only ink part of the sentiment. I scoured my sets for a "you" stamp that was just right but didn't find one so I pieced it together with simple alphabet. The font doesn't match exactly of course but I still liked it.

Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting! Stop back soon, I have more Valentine cards to share.

Kim

Supplies: All by Papertrey unless noted. Stamps: On My Couch, On My Couch Additions, Simple Alphabet, Simple Valentine, Wedding Day. Ink: Palette Noir, Pure Poppy, Smoky Shadow. Cardstock: Soft Stone, Smoky Shadow, White, Pure Poppy, Black & White decorative paper. Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinder), Flock (my stash), Rhinestone brads (stash), rhinestones jewels (Kaiser Krafts).

Lovey Dovey

Christmas is barely over and already everything is focused on Valentine's Day. I guess I'm no different. I am trying to get more ahead of the curve this year and not wait until the last minute to create cards for occasions. Now that the Christmas hustle and bustle is over I had some time to just sit down and play around with some stamps. I am loving my new Papertrey Valentine stamps!

This card is clean and simple. I had this card base sitting on my desk. At first I thought it was Papertrey Aqua Mist but realized it was SU! Soft Sky. I also had this fun ribbon in my stash and it coordinates very well with Su! Ruby Red ink. Sorry, I don't remember whose ribbon this is. Maybe Making Memories?? The heart image is an older PTI set called Heart Prints. I stamped it and then stamped another one that I punched out and popped up on dimensionals and framed it with a Vintage Label. To create the border I scored two lines with my Scor-Pal, rubbed a little vintage cream ink on them to make them stand out a little and then added one of the ultra cute border stamps from Simple Valentine. One little rhinestone was all the bling I thought I needed for this card. This is more simple than a lot of my cards but it felt "right" to me so stopped adding things. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by. I love hearing from each and every one of you!

Kim

Supplies: Stamps: PTI Simple Valentine, Heart Prints, Vintage Labels. Cardstock: SU! Soft Sky, PTI Vintage Cream. Ink: SU! Soft Sky and Ruby Red. Accessories: Scor-Pal, ribbon (?), rhinestone (Kaiser Kraft), EK success heart punch.

I've got a lot of Scrap!

Nicole at Papertrey Ink issued this challenge to the Senior Design Team and invited everyone to play along.

We all have 'em. Lots and lots of scraps. Whether it be paper scraps, ribbon scraps or fabric scraps, this month's challenge is to share a clever & unique idea for using those little bits that sometimes end up neglected. I couldn't be more thrilled with what the team came up with for innovative uses of all their little snippets. Please join me in exploring all of their innovative ideas and perhaps even get your creative juices flowing on this New Year's Day!

I thought this was a great challenge since I have a pretty good stash of scraps of cardstock, paper and stamped pieces. I was inspired to create three cards using up scraps in my stash, including pre-cut card bases. I just let myself create something quick and simple using my scraps. Here they are:

This first card took the longest because of the sewing. I also was inspired by the Papertrey newsletter, which focused on creating texture. This card has lots of texture. I used the blanket stitch function on my sewing machine (I need a lot of practice with this one), an embossing plate and some buttons. In the end I think it's a pretty nice masculine birthday card, which I always need and have a hard time creating.

This next card is a quick little Christmas Thank you.

Finally, I have a little note that I can use for a Thank you or even a birthday card down the road when I need it. I left the inside blank for now so I can pick the sentiment when I know what I'll use the card for.

I hope you enjoyed looking at these and maybe you were even inspired to grab some of your scraps and create one too.

Have a fantastic day!

Kim

Supplies (All supplies by PTI unless noted) :

Card #1: Stamps: Big & Bold Wishes, Vintage Labels, Guidelines Two. Cardstock: Kraft, Aqua Mist, Melon Berry and Lemon Tart. Ink: Dark Chocolate, Tea Dye Duo, Ocean Tides, Melon Berry. Accessories: Brother sewing machine, cuttlebug embossing plate, Nestabilities Label 3 die, vintage buttons and vintage twine.

Card #2: Stamps: Snowflake Serenade, Signature Christmas. Cardstock: Ripe Avocado, Kraft, bitty dot dp. Ink: Fresh Snow. Accessories: Filigree white embossing powder, Marvy square scallped punch, Fiskars border punch, Vintage Cream grosgrain and button and twine.

Card #3: Stamps: Take Note. Cardstock: Orange Zest, Kraft, Vintage Cream, Bitty Box and Autumn Abundance papers. Ink: Dark Chocolate. Accessories: Marvy and EK Success circle punches, Martha Stewart (?) border punch, Summer Sunrise twill and vintage button and rustic cream twine.

Happy New Year & a Mish Mash Challenge

Happy New Year! I just finished my card for Mish Wooderson's challenge right about midnight. The DD has been in bed for hours and the DH is sick so he went to bed early, leaving me to play with some of my new Papertrey stamps. :) Now that Christmas is behind me I can relax and unwind.

Mish Wooderson issued a sketch challenge tonight and I had to play along because I have new stamps I haven't used and I need some sketch challenges to get me to try different layouts. Plus, Mish is my favorite blogger. She never fails to inspire me. So, here is the sketch from Mish. You can also check out her blog here.

And here is my card. I had to use my new Simple Valentine and Turning a New Leaf sets. I love them! I think I will use this sketch some more this weekend to make a birthday card and a Christmas card. One of my stamping resolutions this year is to make one Christmas card per week and to build up my stash of Birthday cards. So, with Mish's help I plan to get started right away.

I hope you had a safe and Happy New Year's eve and have a wonderful 2010! I appreciate everyone who stops by to look, even if you don't leave a comment. Of course I love hearing your feedback too. :)

Supplies: Stamps: Simple Valentine, Turning a New Leaf. Cardstock: Sweet Blush, Vintage Cream, Berry Sorbet, Pure Poppy. Ink: Sweet Blush, Pure Poppy, Berry Sorbet. Accessories: Circle punches (EK Success & SU!), rhinestones (Kaiser Kraft), Vintage Cream grosgrain ribbon, vintage button, vintage twine, border punch (Fiskars), ScorTape (ScorPal), Glitter #162 - Just Peachy (Art Institute). All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless noted.