Phew! So I finally get some time to post something here on the blog - sorry it's been so quiet recently; let's just say this time of year is proving to be super busy!
I'm counting down to the summer holidays now I'm back at work for our final seven weeks (or 33 days to be exact *wink*) I can almost taste the summertime: the fresh, juicy strawberries, the ice-cream, the late night drinks during the light nights...bliss!
Here are a couple of cards I've not shared with you here that definitely make me think of summer:
I'm not one to love Berry Sorbet as a colour but I think that could change if the sunshine sticks around. I'm loving this paired with white for that clean, fresh look (makes me think of watermelon - yummy!)
And finally, summer wouldn't be summer without some heat so let's turn it up with a hot, hot, HOT colour combo:
Well I'm in a summertime mood now - how about you?
Hello folks and welcome to a new challenge for all you PTI fans to play along with. It was lovely seeing all your sketch inspired cards last week and as always we were amazed by the variety of creations it produced.
Our Kate is sunning herself in Spain at the moment (not jealous at all - honest) so is unable to play along this week. Hope you're enjoying yourself hunny!
So what are we challenging you to do for us this fortnight? Well we want to see your creations inspired by a song or piece of music. This doesn't have to be a literal interpretation of a song and doesn't have to have the title on the card - just share with us something that a favourite song or musical piece has inspired you to create. Once I got to thinking about this challenge and started looking at my PTI sets I couldn't stop thinking of songs to create a card from!! I made two different ones in the end but I could have gone on and on.
Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend - Marylin Monroe
{Recipe:} STAMPS: A Little Argyle, Round and Round. CARD: Vintage cream, Aqua mist. INK: Aqua mist, Enchanted Evening. OTHER: Limitless Layers 1.75" dies, gemstones
I Love Rock and Roll - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
{Recipe:} STAMPS: Grunge Me, Boy Basics: Rock On. CARD: Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise. INK: Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, Terracotta Tile, Smokey grey.. OTHER: Guitar die, Glossy Accents
Over to Aimes For this challenge I thought I'd struggle but actually the hardest part for me was narrowing down my song choice!
I really wanted to pay tribute to one of my favourite songs - Mr Jones by Counting Crows but time beat me once again....(if I ever get the time I'll play along again this fortnight!) so I thought I'd stick with a super cheesy classic, 'Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves' (note: this is not an indication of what is in my music collection!)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)
No literal interpretation here - just the title of the song inspiring my colour choices! This song makes me think of summer and beaches hence my sand, sea and sky colour combo. The good thing is that you can create a card based solely on the mood a song puts you in so the possibilities for getting inked up along to a song are endless!
Onto our featured stamper Jen,
The song that just kept coming to my mind and having so much meaning to me was a new one by Chris Tomlin (I LOVE his music!) called "Symphony". Here are a few lines from the song (if you'd like to hear the song and see the entire lyrics, feel free to visit my blog):
Shining wonders, fields of splendor; how they sing Your symphony The deepest oceans, rising mountains; how they sing Your symphony Let the earth fear the Lord, and all the people of the world; stand in awe, stand in awe In symphony with all created things, sing the song that we were made to sing We stand in awe, we stand in awe In the skies and in the oceans, everything that's living, breathing A symphony to You
I live in Kansas , in the United States and right now the fields are full of the splendor of God. I love, LOVE this time of year as the fields begin to grow, the trees are all turning green & flowers are blooming. The other day we were coming home from town and as we turned onto the road that leads to our small town, the fields were literally dancing (it is very windy here a lot!!). It was one of the most beautiful sights and I was very much in awe as I told my husband to slow down and just look! That is what this song says to me. The fields seemed to be dancing for the Lord and in that moment I was able to sing the praises of God and stand in awe. It's amazing what a little wind and some tall grasses/crops can do for my soul! I also love when the wheat begins to turn golden. It is such a beautiful picture and another one that makes me sing a symphony of praise to the Lord. That is how this song inspired me to create this card
So off you go and start going through your CD collection, iPod or vinyl (for you golden oldies out there - lol) and create something inspired!
Up for grabs this week is....
Signiature Series : Cupcake stamp set.
Here's what you need to know: * All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes for us it's hard to tell :D)
* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post (be aware that we've had a few niggles with it!). Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.
* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!
* Challenge closes on Monday, May 30th 2011 at 9.00am GMT
* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.
Looking forward to seeing all your fabulous sketch interpretations! Caryn, Aimes, Kate & Jenxxxx
Whether you're watching the Royal Wedding or not, wishing you all a fabulous day, weekend, and an extra Bank Holiday if you're lucky enough to have one! :)
Card Deets {Hope Your Day is Fabulous} Stamps: Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink) Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento) Card: Hawaiian Shores, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink) Patterned Paper: Dotty Biscotti (Papertrey Ink) Accessories: Dark Chocolate Twill Ribbon, Linen Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Flower Embellishment (Prima)/Border Punch (EK Success)/Chompy! (Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers)
Oooh and before I dash, there's still time to enter our current challenge....*wink*
Happy start of the weekend, peeps! Up to anything interesting? I'm so happy that I have two full days free and full of inky time - yay! Oooh and if you're not to busy yourself, why not tag along with our current challenge (see what I did there? Tag along...oh I know it's a poor pun but at least humour me a little *wink*)
Firstly apologies that our linky thingy was no longer available for you peeps cutting it close to our deadline for the last challenge. Thanks for leaving your links in the comments section for us! We do know of the extra entries that were entered after it decided to be naughty don't worry, you'll be included when we draw a winner and decide on our Top 3 :)
How about we start over again with a new challenge and hopefully with a linky tool that works (fingers crossed!)?! Sounds like a fun idea to me! So for this fortnight's challenge we wanna see your fabulous takes on gift tags!
I fancied making a tag suitable for any one of the guys in my family (both young and old!) and also wanted to show you that you can play Tag too even if you don't have a tag-shaped die:
I simply used the Mat Stack 1 Die, punched a hole and set an eyelet in the top - voila! A tag! It actually felt good to use one of the many thousands of eyelets I've hoarded from an era when they were popular LOL! Oooh and a bit of masking on my "Dude You Rock!" sentiment stamp provides the shortened sentiment and gives even more value for money on a sweet stamp :D
Tag Deets {You Rock} Stamps: Fancy Flourishes, Star Prints, Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink) Cardstock: Ocean Tides Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)/Versamark Patterned Paper: Pure Poppy Bitty Box Basics Accessories: True Black Vintage Button, Jute Ribbon Twine And now over to Caryn....
Hey everyone, are you all enjoying the anniversary celebrations so far on Nichole's blog? Yesterday there was a free download of some cute tags created by each of PTI's stamp designers - did you get it?? Well, I urge you to go grab it, there's some gorgeous images on there, one of which I have used here on my tag. This one is from Heather Nichols. Kate and Aimes will probably be rolling their eyes at me (wink) for using Pure Poppy again but it literally goes with just about everything (not sure about Melon Berry - haven't tried that combo....). I have used Polka Dot Basics II and embossed it with clear powder on the background and coloured the flower on the image in with a red ProMarker as the original is Melon Berry and I wanted it red!!
And here's a close up!
{Card recipe} Free anniversary download Stamps: Polka Dot Basics II, Banner Builder Cardstock: Spring Moss, Pure Poppy. Ink: Pure Poppy Other: Pure Poppy dating dots ribbon, Pure Poppy bakers twine, Promarker
Here's Kate:
For my tags I played around with one of my favourite colour combos - kraft and aqua mist - some new dies and some felt. All the PTI dies make tag-making so fun!!
These parcels are going to two very special ladies who deserve a special tag, and I'm definitely going to be making more tags in the future!
Finally, as our featured stamper for February, here's Imke's fabulous tag:
I think you'll agree that this one amazing tag!
So ready to play 'Tag'?! I hope so! Up for grabs for one randomly selected peep will be this Fillable Frames #11 stamp set: But before you dash - here are those all important deets:
* All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes for us it's hard to tell :D)
* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post (be aware that we've had a few niggles with it!). Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.
* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTIPassionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!
* Challenge closes on Monday, February 21st 2011 at 9.00am GMT
* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTIPassionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 PassionistaBlinkie on their own blog.
Ready for a new challenge?! Well we wanna see what you can do with your scraps. Yup, that's right - you've been saving them forever, promising yourself that you'd use them for something and now is your chance. The moment to let those scraps shine! LOL!
Kate is off for a while dancing in Cuba. (No, seriously! She is! Lucky gal...hope she brings some sunshine and warmth back with her when she returns!) So that leaves Caryn, Bev and myself for this challenge.
I'll confess that although I'm a messy crafter, I'm meticulously organised when it comes to scraps. I have card, patterned paper and ribbon all in separate bags divided by colour. I'll scrimp and save the tiniest scraps of ribbon and that's what I focused on for this challenge.
Ribbon can be tricky - it frays, you need long strips to tie the prettiest of bows with it, so what do you do with the little bits that you're left over with? Well create your very own banner of course! I was inspired by the new PTI release and those banners in particular - *drool*
I love that you could take this idea and create custom banners for any occasion! Just think, polka dots, satin, bitty dots or whatever colours you fancy - the possibilities are endless!
Over to Caryn: Firstly, can I just say I LOVED this challenge! I have a drawer overflowing with the tiniest little scraps of PTI "waste" (gasp - can I say that??) and found it SOO liberating to make a use of some of those abandoned little treasures! Other than the base card which is Rustic Cream all the other bits and bobs came out of the scrap drawer. I already had the stamped frame and scallop border in there so that was my starting point - everything else just fell into place and I am right chuffed with the end result!
Now over to our lovely November featured stamper, Bev: Like many crafters I find it hard to throw away scraps! I often die cut more shapes than I need when making a project and the ones I don't use end up in a box to use on a later project. Same goes for ribbon scraps, the little pieces after making a bow end up in the same box. I have to say it's not very often I go to the box to see what's in there! It's usually when I am faced with a challenge like this one that I go to the box!
After perusing Nichole's blog this morning the card she had made with the Hibiscus Burst & Scarlet Jewel colour combo jumped out at me as a fantastic colour combo and a combo I'd never attempted. I had a look in my now called 'scrapilicious' box and found these:
A while ago I was on a butterfly embellishment kick after seeing them on Dawn McVey's blog! I'd die cut loads of butterflies in an array of colours. The pink one using the Butterfly Dreams stamps and die was one I'd made for a set of Christening cards I'd made for a friend.
I used Nichole's card LO changing it slightly!
So have we tempted to you go rooting through your scraps?! I hope so! Remember that it doesn't have to be a card you create for your own entry - any paper-crafting project will count! And just to tempt you a bit more, up for grabs this fortnight for one randomly picked participant is this super sweet Fillable Frames stamp set #4:
Ready to play along? Here are those all important deets: * All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify (please state what is PTI as sometimes for us it's hard to tell :D)
* To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.
* Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTIPassionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!
* Challenge closes on Monday, November 29th 2010 at 9.00am GMT
* As well as a randomly picked winner, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTIPassionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 PassionistaBlinkie on their own blog.
So don't delay - root through your scraps today and turn something bland into something beautiful!
After being all 'squared out' with out last challenge, I hope you've got enough mojo left for this fortnight's challenge!
For this challenge we want you to be inspired by the season of Autumn. I myself will confess that autumn is my favourite time of the year - I adore the colours, wrapping up for walks in the bright sunshine, collecting conkers and of course, the yummy comfort food too!
But don't restrict yourself to these things only - you can use holidays such as Halloween for your autumnal inspiration or anything else you can think of!
For my example I didn't find inspiration from the wet and windy autumn that's occurring outside my window right now, that's NOT inspiring me at all! I instead, focused on the colours of autumn and the beautiful colours of autumnal leaves:
Card Deets {Thank You} All PTI Supplies Unless Stated Stamps: Turning a New Leaf/Round and Round Ink: Pure Poppy/Dark Chocolate Cardstock: Dark Chocolate Patterned Paper: Dotty Biscotti Accessories: Fine Linen Grosgrain Ribbon/Jute Ribbon Twine/Autumn Mix Vintage Buttons/Fiskars Apron Lace Border Punch
Over to Kate:
"While we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in the UK, I've always thought it such a wonderful autumnal celebration so I took this opportunity to make a thankful card for a dear friend in America. It also meant I could use my fabulous new leaf dies!"
And as our featured stamper for October , here's Debby's take on the challenge with not one, but two inspirational cards!
"Well autumn is definitely here. The days are darker, the weather grey ........ but leaves are crisp and crunchy and colours are rich and bright. I have two autumn themed cards today and first up is a Halloween one. Where I live Halloween is a big deal; the houses are decorated, everyone dresses up, all the neighbours participate and we have lots of visitors from dusk until late. It's a lovely time of year with a great party atmosphere. This year I wanted to send a few Halloween greetings to my friends and neighbours. I used Halloween tags on this card. I wanted to keep the card bright and cheerful, so went with plenty of colour with just a touch of black to make the colours pop.
Here's a close up where you can see a bit better the results of the swiss dot embossing folder on the white layer.
Next up is an autumn card of a different theme. As anyone knows who drops by my blog (www.limedoodle.blogspot.com) regularly - I do looove leaves! I cut out some leaves from possibly my favourite set - Turning a New Leaf and glittered them until they sparkled so beautifully. It reminds me of the frosts that we are just starting to get in the mornings.
I cut some harvest gold felt with a mat stack 1 die then added the leaves and sentiment with lots of dimensionals before finishing off with an aqua mist bow. Boy, the felt and layers add a lovely depth to the card.
I hope you enjoy this challenge as much as I have and make the most of all autumn has to offer before our attention is all too quickly diverted to the next big holiday on the calendar."
So fancy playing along with us? Here are the deets:
All entries must contain at least one PTI product to qualify
To enter, use our inlinkz thingy at the bottom of this post. Please leave the correct URL for your entry post and not just your generic blog address! If you're having problems then just leave a comment with a link to your post featuring the project on your blog or online gallery.
Worldwide entries are more than welcome to share the inspiration and can be in with a chance of being a Top 3 PTI Passionista, but unfortunately prizes can only be shipped within Europe!
Challenge closes on Monday, October 18th 2010 at 9.00am GMT
A winner will be chosen at random to receive some PTI goodies!
In addition to this, we'll select the top three creations we like the most and feature them on the Blog. The top three PTI Passionistas will have chance to display a Top 3 Passionista Blinkie on their own blog.
