Spring Banner

I just love all the banners that Kelly Lunceford makes for the different holidays/season and decided to make one myself.  Michelle Wooderson got me thinking about spring with her spring/easter inspiration station.  After the winter we've had, I'm soooo ready for spring.

I have this hanging over the closet in my craft room to remind me that spring is just around the corner.  I used several different papers from My Mind's Eye.  I wanted to use one's that had a springish feel to them.  I followed Kelly's directions and cut reach flag to 4" x 6" then added the inverted "V" at the bottom.

I found some white chipboard letters at JoAnn's and painted each letter and added some Martha Stewart glitter while the paint was still wet.  I also added some Martha Stewart coarse glitter to the tops of the flags and to the accordian medallion.

I added some zigzag stitching, attached each flag together with a stapler and hid the staples with some buttons.  I'm so looking forward to making more of these banners. Thanks for the inspiration Kelly!  And Mish, thanls for reminding me that spring IS just around the corner.

Think Spring Everyone!
Hugs
Lisa

Luck of the Irish

Hi Everyone, Happy Sunday!  I have a little card to show you today.  I made this card before PTI came out with the Luck of the Irish little stamp set. 

I fell in love with this paper.  I love the different colors of green and the little sparkle to the shamrocks.  I paired it up with some spring moss paper and using a large embossing scalloped punch.  For my little embellishment, I used a scalloped nesties and cut out a piece of green felt and a circle punch to cut a piece of glitter paper and a smaller punch to cut out one of the shamrocks from the patterned paper.  Then I glued everything together and added an epoxy clear circle on top of the shamrock.  I then added a couple of piece of spring moss twill ribbon to the back and attached it to the card using some scor tape.  The sentiment is from Damask Designs.

Check back tomorrow when I'll have a little spring project I've been working on. 

Till then, Hugs

Lisa

February Blog Hop

I'm so excited to be able to participate in this month's hop.  I missed out on the last few due to my father's illness, so I'm glad to be back.  I admire all of the talented ladies that are on the design team at PTI and it was really hard to pick one  person or project that has inspired me because truthfully they all have.  So with that in mind I just wrote down everyone's name and put them in a basket then picked a name and the chosen person is  Michelle Wooderson.  Yes Mishie, you were the chosen one!  

I love visiting her blog almost on a daily basis and one of her many projects that has inspired me was the notebooks.  Visit her blog and on the left bar you will find a label marked notebooks to see all those cute little gems she has created.  Here is a sample of one of the:

and here is mine

I used some paper from My Mind's Eye paired up with some vintage cream and kraft cardstock, melon berry twill ribbon and ink and of course Mish's stamp set Take Note. The button is from my stash and I thought it went well with the kraft paper.

I want to take this time to thank all of the design team members for all their hard work and super projects that have so  inspiring me.  I'm excited to see who has inspired you and the project you have recreated.  Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs

Lisa

Desk Top Organizer

I thought I would show you where I keep my scraps and cardstock bases.

I keep this at my work space so whenever I need a card base or a scrap of patterned paper or a piece that I punched and decided not to use it, I can dig throught this.  I don't have to go digging through a drawer or folder to find something and this reminders me that I have these pieces available.

PTI had a senior design team challenge to use their scraps to make a project.  Here was my take on that challenge.

Back in November I won the GSS for Best Project using notebooks.  You can view my post here.  I had some left over scraps from that project and decided to use them up and created this little number with them.  If you notice on the outside straight stitching where these is no thread.  Well my bobbin decided to run out of thread as I was stitching.  I knew that I would not be able to match up the holes if I tried to run it through my machine again with the thread so I left it threadless (if that's a word). 

I hope you've enjoyed some of the ways I keep myself organized.

Hugs

Lisa

Swatch Book

Last year some time, Lisa Johnson did a tutorial on making a swatch book using all of the PTI colored cardstock.  This is my take on her idea.  I had purchased a package of square chipboard a while back and thought this would be the perfect size for a swatch book.  It's small enough to fit in your purse.

First thing I did was to take two pieces of the chipboard and add some patterned paper to the front and back cover.  Using the Fresh Alphabet stamp set I stamped the letters for swatch book on different colored cardstock and used a 3/4" circle punch to punch out the letters.

Then I used a square nestabilities to cut out all of the colors of cardstock I had.  By the way the chipboard measures 3 1/2" square.  I used a slightly smaller nesties for the cardstock.  All the cardstock measures 3" square. 

 After cutting all the colors, I used an address label and typed out all the color names using my computer.  After printing them out I used an image from Guidelines Two set to stamp the coordinating ink color next to the name.

To assemble the little book I just punched  holes in the top left corner and used an old shower curtain ring to attach in all.  This little book comes in handy when I'm out shopping and am looking to find different elements to coorinate with my cardstock colors. 

Thanks for stopping by

Hugs

Lisa

Crafter's Notebooks

A while back I made some crafter's notebooks that I can refer to when creating.

I refer to these books quite often with the except of the dry embossing book.  I created this along time ago when I was really into dry embossing, this was before I starting stamping.  I can't tell you the last time I looked in that book.

This book is where I keep all my box templates.  Each box instructions are kept in a page protector.  For the Timeless Templates and Simple Click templates, I print out the template on cheap cardstock that I purchased at Walmart so I have on hand in case my computer crashes.  I did save them to a disc as well.

This next book is of miscellanous templates that I have downloaded or of instruction to make anything but a card, hense the title of the book.  Again, each project is in it's own page protector.

This book is of card tutorials and card sketches. I think I will move my color inspirations here as well.

This book is used quite often.  I download pics of  cards, gift sets, etc... that inspire me especially from the design team girls from PTI.  

I also have a book of sewing projects and a book of card versus that I can refer to when creating the inside of a card.

I hope you enjoyed looking at some ways that help me stay organized and inspired.

Hugs

Lisa

Shaker Box

I love the new Shaker Box templates from PTI.  I have decided that I am going to make these to store my buttons in using the coordinating colored cardstock.  I started by making the smallest box but it was too small to hold a full bag of PTI buttons so I made the medium size box which is the perfect size. 

It did take me some time to make it but I found that the medium size box was alot easier to make then the smallest box. 

Right now I store my buttons in small glass jars that I can not stack one on top of the other, so by using these adorable boxes I will be able to stack them thus freeing up some space for other things I can display.

I have about 17 more of these little gems to make so this will take me some time to do but when they are all done I will post a pic.  I should be a pro at making these by the time I'm done.  Don't hold your breath, cause who knows how long this will take me to get them all done with all the other projects I have on my to do list.

Thanks for popping in.

Hugs

Lisa

PTI and CPS challenge

PTI's day seven of their anniversary party and they have challenged us to use a sketch from CPS and a chance to win some great prizes.  Here's my submission:

Thanks for taking a peek!
Hugs
Lisa

Snow Storm of February 2010

Here are just a few pics of what we received in 24 hours.  Thank goodness this happened over the weekend.  We didn't have power from 8:00am to 3:00pm and we also lost phone service for awhile.

This is a picture of the backyard.  The snow was so heavy all the trees were sagging.

This bush normally stands about 8 feet tall.  Ahhhh doesn't it look sad.

This was taken in the driveway before we shoveled.  We haven't received this much snow at one time since 1993.  I'm so glad I didn't have plans to go anywhere.  I did plan to spend the whole day in my craft room but since we didn't have power and my room is in the basement, that didn't happen.  Although I was able to work on a few projects at the dining room table where there was plenty of natural light. So the day wasn't a total loss.

Hugs

Lisa

PTI party continues

The party is still going on over at PTI and today's challenge is to do an emboss resist project.  So here is what I came up with.  By the way, this is the first time I've ever tried this technique.

Ok, I'm off to see what everyone else created using this technique.  Thanks for stopping in.

Hugs,

Lisa

PTI Anniversary Challenge

Papertrey Ink is celebrating their 3rd anniversary this month.  Today on Nichole's blog she has featured all 9 stamp designers who have provided free downloadable images on their individual blogs.  Our challenge is to create a project using the images.  I only have time to do one project and have chosen Heather Nichols image. 

Everyone entering the challenge has a chance to win 7 stamps sets, that's a $159 prize package to one lucky winner.  Good Luck to everyone that enters.

Hugs
Lisa

Get Well Soon

Here's a little get well card I made for Dad.  I just received the Vintage Label stamp set and love it. 

I used plum pudding cardstock for the base and used an imade for the stamp set to create the background.  Then I ran a piece of lemon tart bitty box paper through a crimper.  The ink I used for the focal image is plum pudding and lemon tart.  The sentiment is from the Communique Curves sentiment set.  For a few final touches I added some yellow pearls and rounded for the bottom corner.  This card came together rather quickly.  Thanks for popping in.

Hugs

Lisa

January Blog Hop

I was disappointed that I could not participate in PTI's January Blog Hop.  My sister and niece were here from Florida.  I just got back from dropping them off at the airport.  They came in to visit my father (and the rest of the fam) who by the way is doing very well.  He is in a rehab facility getting physical and occupational therapy.  We're hoping he will be able to come home in a couple of weeks.

So because I missed the hop I wanted to share a few projects that just happened to fit the Total Package Challenge.  The first card I made for Dad using the Turn a New Leaf stamp set along with some spring rain bitty dots paper as well as rustic cream cardstock.  The ink I used for the leaves was Versa Magic Dew Drops in Sahara Sand.  I added some dots in spring rain ink and scalloped the edge of the paper.  The ribbon is from my stash.

This photo shows where I cut out some of the leaves and adheres them with some bitty foam pop dots.

For the inside of the card I used a verse from Everyday Blessing stamp set with some smaller leaves and cut a strip of pp and added the scallop to match the front of the card.

And of course we have to have a matching envelop. 

This next project is a sample of this year's Christmas card.  I don't send out that many cards and I don't have time to make them all different.  For me it is easier to make them all the same and have an assembly line going.

I used PTI's Tree Trimming Trio and cased the card sample Nichole used in her countdown.  I just loved the color combo she used.  Thank's Nichole for the idea.  For the inside I used the leave stamp from Beyond Basic Borders stamped over the sentiment which I did on my computer.

And here is the matching envelope.

I hope you enjoyed my projects as well as I did making them.  I hope to join you all for next month's hop.

Hugs
Lisa

Time to create

It's been over two months since I've been able to get in my craft room and be creative.  I finally had some time yesterday and it felt so good.  Here's a quick update on my father before I share a couple of projects I was able to make yesterday.  Dad is still in the long term acute care hospital but he may be  discharged this week to a skilled care facility for rehab.   He's doing much better but will need more physical and occupational therapy before we can bring him home which is the plan.   He has not been home since November 21st and there have been many trips to the hospital since then.  He's actually been in 4 different facilities.  So there is a bright light at the end of this long tunnel.

Now to share a couple of projects.  The first one is a little winter card I made using some Imaginisce paper I picked up at the LSS.  When I saw this paper I knew I had to get the Snowfall stamp set from PTI that had those adorable mittens in it.

I made a template from the mittens so I could trace it onto some cardstock that matched the pp.  I then stamped the double line  from Faux Ribbon with pure poppy ink and added some Star Dust Stickles.  I used some red fet for the top of the mittens and added some small black buttons.  These mittens were made to mimick the ones in the pp.  The happy winter was also stamped in pure poppy and the snowflake in Color Box's Celadon.  I used the 1 3/8" circle punch and added some Stickles to the center of the snowflake.  The green glitter paper I purchased at my LSS.

The second card was created using all Papertrey Ink products with the exception of the little heart punch and the sentiment and ink.

The cardstock used was kraft, vintage cream and sweet blush.  I stamped the little tree from Beyond Basic Borders in Versa Magic wheat and I adhered some little hearts using a punch from Provo Crafts.  The background was created using the open circle stamp from Polka Dot Basics and the little heart from Around and About stamped in the center using Versamark ink.  The sentiment in from a $ stamp I picked up a few years back which is stamped in wheat as well.

Well I hope you enjoyed my projects today and I'm looking forward to getting in my craft room to create more projects.  Stay warm and see you soon!

Lisa

It's been awhile

I'm sorry for being away from the blog for so long. I thought I would pop in real quick to explain my absence.  For the last month or so I have been dealing with the illness of my father.  In November he was in the hospital over Thanksgiving, I then moved him to a facility for him to get physical therapy before he could go home.  While he was there he got real sick and ended up going back to the hospital this time to CCU, from there he was transfered to a larger hospital in their ICU.  The first hospital he was in was only 5 minutes from home so I would go to work during the day and spend a few hours every evening with him.  The second hospital he went to is about an hour away so I was only able to get to see him every other day.  He was moved yesterday to a long term acute care facility which is about 20 minutes away.  So he will not be home for Christmas.  Things are starting to look more positive but it will be a long road to recovery for him.
This has been very hard on my mother and I have been taking alot of the burden off her.  My dad is 81 and mom is 76.  

So needless to say I have not been in my craft room for about a month and a half.  It's a good thing I made my Christmas cards early this year and  few other handmade gifts.  I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.

Lisa

November GSS

I can't believe that I won November's GSS for Best Altered Notepad.  This came to a suprise to me and couldn't have come at a better time with everything I've been dealing with lately.  What an uplift to the spirit.  I thought I would share with you some steps I used in creating these.

These little numbers will be given to the girls in the office for Christmas.  I decided to make each one a different color and let the girls pick which color they like.

For each one I used coordinating cardstock, ink, buttons and In Bloom patterned paper.  The stamps I used are Polka Dot Basics I and Background Basics Text Style both stamped in fresh snow ink and of course the new Take Note stamp set. I did all my stamping in fresh snow first and set them aside to dry.  I then created the base for the notepad. 

These notepads I had left over from another project I did for Thanksgiving.  I'll share that with you later this week. I covered the top of the notepad with In Bloom paper and made a pocket for the inside cover.  I did this by creating a tri fold then used a circle punch.   I attached all my notepads with Scor Tape.  Once it's attached , it's not going anywhere.

For the front I cut all pieces and attached them to stampers select white cardstock.  I attached the fresh snow grosgrain ribbon with Scor Tape wrapping the top piece under then attaching it to the base.  The focal images are all stamped in the matching ink, punched out using EK Success 1 3/4" punch and matted to a piece of cardstock using the Nesties scalloped circle.  All the buttons are tied with white embroidery floss and attched with a piece of scor tape.

I really enjoyed making these and look forward to making more in the future.  A big Thank You goes out to PTI for selecting my project and thank you for stoppin in.  Have a good week.

Love these Heat Pillows

Every year I give a handmade gift as well as a store bought one.  Well after seeing a post by Nichole Heady where she featured a project making a heat pillow, I knew that this was what I was going to make all the adults in my family and a few friends. 

I bought flannel fabric in coordinating colors and followed Nichole's directions for the heat pillow and made my own little bag to store the pillow in.

I also made tags that I attached to the bag with directions on how to use the pillow.

 

I used my publisher program to created the inside of the tag, printed them on vintage cream cardstock and cut them out using the nesties scalloped long rectangle.  For the front of the tag I used some coordinating patterned paper I had in my stash.  I then scored down the middle, punched a small hole in the corner and used some vintage twine and a small safety pin to attach it to the bag.

I found this pretty paisley print and thought some of the girls would like this. Unfortuanely I didn't have alot of fabric to choose from that wasn't made for kids.   I also made a coordinating tissue case from left over fabric.

I hope my family and friends will enjoy these.  I know I'll be using mine on those cold winter nights to keep my feet warm in bed.  What I like most about these is that you don't have to plug them in. 

Well thank you for letting me share my project with you and thanks for stopping by.

Halloween Treats

I can't believe I've been away from the blog for so long.  My father has had some health issues that I've been dealing with, but he's coming along fairly well right now.  I wanted to share a couple pics from our Halloween/Birthday party.  My sister from Florida flew in with my niece to celebrate Halloween with us.  Where they live the kids go to the malls to trick or treat and she wanted her daughter to experience what it's like going door to door so she brought her up here.  Fortunately where we live the crime is pretty low.  While they were here we celebrated my sister and brother's birthdays which were in October and my niece's which was this week.  The pic below is of a cake made by a friend of my other sister.

I made treats for the kids that I had featured in a previous post and I thought that the adults needed a little treat bag of their own. 

I filled  medium size glassine bags from PTI with some goodies, punched two holes at the top and tied some ribbon to enclose them.  For the front of the bag I used the Spooky Treats II set stamped in true black on some orange zest cardstock.  I cut them out using the circle nesties die and true black cardstock cut from the scalloped die.  All the adults where excited to get their own little treat and I was happy they liked them. 

Stop back tomorrow when I'll be featuring a project I worked on earlier in October.  Thanks for stopping by.