Graduation card

We went to our last graduation party of the season on Saturday.  I made cards for all the graduates we knew this year, but most of them were thrown together really quickly for the sole purpose of holding a little cash for the recipient. But this weekend, I had a little more time and put this card together...

I found the layout on pinterest and thought it would be a great use of all the patterned paper scraps I have.

I also noticed on my little counter that I'm almost to 8,900 *different* visitors to my little blog here!  So thanks for coming by and if this is your first visit, I hope you stop again!

~Anika

Celebrate!

We had a very busy weekend...2 weddings and a graduation party! I managed to find time to make cards for each event, too! Here's the first one I have to share...

The smudge by the sentiment is from my camera lens. I guess I'd rather have it there instead of on the card itself, but it's still irritating me! I used the In Bloom impression plate on the Aqua Mist layer and wrapped the Vintage Cream card in Jute Button Twine. I am in love with this color combo!

And here is the family at my cousin Jeri's wedding! (Congrats Jeri & Seth!)

The boys were wonderful the entire day! Yes, they are usually good babies, but they were exceptionally good during the whole celebration! They slept through the ceremony, sat contently in their car seats while we at supper, and even tolerated being passed around until 11:00PM while we chatted with family and did a little dancing!

Enjoy the day!

~Anika

*All supplies are Papertrey Ink.

Back to School

Yesterday was the first day of school. It went great, but I was so exhausted by the end of the day - I forget every year how long it takes me to adjust to being back with students all day!

Anyway, I made a these cards - one for the other Kindergarten Teacher and one for the Aide in my room.

I'm still trying to make it to 100 posts...this is 97. Not sure when I'll get there now, but if you still want a CHA set keep your eyes peeled for my giveaway when I finally get to 100!

Have a great day!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Orange Zest, Ripe Avocado, Select White, miscellaneous brown scraps

Stamps: Leaf Prints, Signature Greetings

Ink: Dark Chocolate, Tea Dye Duo, Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink

Other: Book Print Impression Plate

Filled with Happiness

This is another card from the group I am making for the baby shower game prize. I've been meaning to use the cork I bought a couple months ago so I finally pulled it out for this card. And while I love the simple layout, colors and the ribbon on this card, I'm not completely sold on this cork flower. I think part of the reason is that since it's sticky back cork, it's 'bent' around the multiple layers of ribbon underneath it. Oh well!

We are off to the County Fair again today...I just can't get enough of the food and people watching! Enjoy your Friday!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink unless noted)

Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Harvest Gold, Old World Mat Stack

Stamps: Big & Bold Wishes

Ink: Dark Chocolate

Other: In Bloom Impression Plate, Dark Chocolate Satin Ribbon, Button from the Holiday Button Mix, Floss, Sticky Back Cork from JoAnn's

Color Couture Cards

When Papertrey Ink introduced Dawn's Color Couture embellishments, I was in love!! Of course, I bought Volumes 1-3 right away.  I hadn't used them much because they were on a shelf where I didn't see them much and I never seemed to have the time to cut them out.  Well, last night I sat down with my trusty Cutterbees - while my husband was watching a show that I didn't care about -  and I just started cutting away!  I am happy to say that I now have all of Volumes 1-3 cut out, and yes, my hand hurts a little!  Now I have to buy Volumes 4-6!

I LOVE this color scheme!  And I finally got to add some ruffly ribbon to a card!
I am loving this polka dot stamp from the Round and Round set!  (Go figure!)

For those of you who saw my previous two posts, I have an update...my friend had a baby boy this morning!!  Can't wait to meet him.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink)

Card #1:

Cardstock: Kraft, Raspberry Fizz, Aqua Mist Bitty Box

Other: Color Couture Volume 1, Raspberry Fizz Satin Ribbon, Hawaiian Shores Button, Giga Guidelines Impression Plate

Card #2:

Cardstock: Kraft

Stamps: Delightful Dahlia, Round and Round

Ink: Berry Sorbet, Dark Chocolate

Other: Color Couture Volume 3, Berry Sorbet Saddle Stitched Ribbon 

Cards for Sailors Part 2

I have 4 more cards to be sent off to the sailors today.  (See yesterday's post for the details.)  

I used my Giga Guidelines Impression Plate and the Guidelines 2 & Asian Fusion Stamp Sets.  The colors are Hawaiian Shores, Vintage Cream and Kraft.  I also used the lighter of the two Tea Dye Duo Inks around the edge of the Hawaiian Shores paper. 

I love Guidelines 2 and I'm not sure why I don't use it more often!  I used Kraft, Plum Pudding & Vintage Cream PTI card stock and a strip of Basic Grey patterned paper.  The ribbon is Berry Sorbet and the ink is Ocean Tides, Berry Sorbet & Dusty Concord Distress Ink.  Oh and that sentiment is from Big & Bold Wishes.

I used more Basic Grey patterned papers on this card.  The stamps are from Asian Fusion. The ink is Hawaiian Shores and Dark Chocolate and 3 different Distress Inks: Dusty Concord, Peeled Paint, and Spiced Marmalade.

And my favorite of the day...I just adore this card.  I ran a sheet of Pure Poppy through my Cuttlebug using some Beautiful Blooms Dies, then I masked and stamped Fancy Flourishes, A Little Argyle, and Polka Dot Basics II onto the card base using Fresh Snow and Dark Chocolate Ink.  I stamped and embossed the sentiment from Signature Greetings and put the pieces all together.  

I'm going to go enjoy some of this sunshine that we (finally) have today! Hope you are having a fantastic Wednesday!

~Anika

Cards for Sailors Part 1

My best friend's husband is currently deployed with the Navy and I've been wanting to make a bunch of cards to send him that he can use to write home or share with his buddies who need a special card to send home.  Kind of like a mini-version of Operation Write Home.  Now that school is out, I've had time to start making them.  This is what I was able to accomplish today.  I'm hoping to make a bunch more this week and get them in the mail by the weekend.

I used Star Prints and A Little Argyle on the card.  The ink is True Black and Enchanted Evening, and Peeled Paint and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks.  Cardstock is Stampers Select White and New Leaf.

I used Damask Designs and Asian Fusion stamps, Pure Poppy Ink, Stampers Select White and Pure Poppy Cardstock.  The die cut was cut with my Cricut.

No stamping on this one! I ran the Dotty Biscotti paper through my Cuttlebug with the Giga Guidelines Impression Plate.  Then I cut an embellishment from Color Couture Volume 3 and put it all on a Stampers Select White card base.

I used some Pretty Pastels paper on this card along with Stampers Select White and Melon Berry.  I used the small Scallop Die for the strip on the left.  The stamps are from Scattered Showers and Fancy Flourishes and are stamped in Dark Chocolate and Antique Linen Distress Ink.  To finish it off I tied some white floss around the mat layer. 

This card uses YOF: Violets and Signature Greetings all stamped in Hawaiian Shores Ink.  I used the large Scallop Die to make the border on the bottom.  The cardstock is Stampers Select White and Hawaiian Shores. I added a strip of Fresh Snow Twill to finish it off.

Can't wait to make some more tomorrow! 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Anika

Paper Dolls Challenge #1

I joined a blog group on the PTI Forum!  We call ourselves the Papertrey Paper Dolls!  We will take turns hosting challenges that anyone can participate in.  So if you make something using this sketch, link it up on the Paper Dolls blog so we can all see it!I needed to make a birthday card for my husband's foreman.  We are headed over to his house later today for a surprise party!  So here is my 'masculine' take on the sketch!

I love that Dotty Biscotti paper!  The lighting in my living room is perfect for taking pictures right now, but I guess I wasn't at the best angle to pick up the cool Woodgrain Impression.  You can kind of see it here, but it's much more noticeable in person.

It's been busy around here lately!  I feel like I've barely been home - just enough to sleep, eat and make the house a mess! There are 31 days of school left so I am looking forward to some extra hours to just relax around the house and do some more crafting!

Thanks for stopping by; have a great weekend!

~Anika

Supplies:  (All Papertrey Ink)

Cardstock: New Leaf, Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream, Dotty Biscotti Patterned Paper

Stamps: Signature Greetings, Out to Sea

Ink: Dark Chocolate

Misc: New Leaf Vintage Buttons, Woodgrain Impression Plate 

Mojo Monday - Week 133

When I saw this weeks Mojo Monday Sketch I decided to play along!  I have been loving all the fun patterns in the BasicGrey Kioshi paper pad that I picked up last week and thought this was the perfect sketch to use some more of it!  Here's the sketch...

And here's my take on it.

The papers in this Kioshi pack are amazing!!  I bought the 6x6 pad so I believe the scale of the patterns is smaller, which makes them perfect for cards!  The base and other white cardstock is Stampers Select White from Papertrey Ink.  I used Plum Pudding Swiss Dot Ribbon.  The green buttons are from the Holiday Mix jar and the stamps are from Baby Button Bits.  I used Dusty Concord and Peeled Paint Distress Inks.  You can barely see it in this picture, but I ran the green background paper through my Cuttlebug using the Giga Guidelines Impression Plate.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you are having a wonderful day!

~Anika

*Ribbon, Buttons & Stamps are from Papertrey Ink.

Thank You Card & Scrap Storage

Lately, I have been seeing so many cards created with black bases so I decided to give it a whirl.  I finally got around to using my Scor-Tape and Glitter that I bought last month.  When I first started this card, I was going to have a bunch of flowers on it, so I cut out 6 Violets and then only used 2.  Oh well, guess I have a little jump start on another card!

I organized all my scraps awhile back and now that I know I like this method, I thought I would share it.  I just used a cardboard box that some of my PTI Supplies were shipped in and folded the flaps down on the inside.  Then I labeled file folders for each color.  I sorted my scraps into the folders and set them in the box.  Easy Peasy! I am able to keep my little supply of PTI patterned paper and my Mat Stacks in the front of the box.  

I also keep the white sheet (or the label) that comes in the packs of PTI Cardstock right in front of the folders.  I am constantly using them as shims for my Cuttlebug, or to catch embossing powder, etc...  So it's nice to have them in reach.

Here is the "Pink" file.  (Not all my scraps are this big.)

And the "Green" file.

I know I have saved a lot of money by doing this, because it is so easy to find exactly what I need.  No more cutting into a brand new piece of cardstock just for a small piece!

Thanks for stopping by!  

~Anika

Supplies: (All Papertrey Ink)

Cardstock: True Black, Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, and Bitty Box in Lemon Tart

Stamps: Year of Flowers: Violets, Asian Fusian

Ink: True Black

Other: Vintage Buttons in Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz & Lemon Tart; Glitter; Clear Rhinestones; Polka Dot Impression Plate

Compose a Card #7

You can get the details for Becky's latest challenge here.  

I had a lot of fun making this card, but it was definitely a challenge!  I started it on Tuesday evening, but just couldn't 'get it'.  It wasn't until today when I saw Betsy's post for the PTI DT Challenge that I finally figured out what I wanted to do!  I loved her idea of inking the Impression Plate before sending it through the Cuttlebug - definitely a technique I will use frequently!!  So here is my card...

My other favorite thing these days is blanket stitching!  On Tuesday night (after I gave up on my card for the night), I took a chunk of black felt and free hand cut a bunch of flowers out of it and stitched around the edges while I watched TV.  

Thanks for checking it out!

~Anika

Supplies:  (All Papertrey Ink - except the blue floss)

Cardstock: Vintage Cream, Lemon Tart, Bitty Box in Spring Rain

Stamps: Year of Flowers: Violets

Ink:  True Black, Fresh Snow

Other: Black Wool Felt, Spring Rain Button, Rustic Cream Button Twine, Rickrack Border Die, Giga Guidelines Impression Plate, Embroidery Floss

So Sweet of You

I was so excited to start using my new PTI products.  On of my favorite new things is the Giga Guidelines Impression Plate!  I just love it!  I made this card for my BFF.  So Kari, if you're reading this...act surprised when you actually get it!

I really need to get the Tea-Dye Duo!  I keep putting it in my cart, but then it goes out of stock before I get around to placing my order.  Good thing I don't wait too long between orders!  Anyway, I used a paper towel and Dark Chocolate Ink to get a little color on the edges. I love how it accents the Impression on the orange paper.  I also used my small Scallop Die.

Here's another angle. You can really see the gorgeous impression!

Hope you're having a fantastic Saturday - mine is just flying by!  Thanks for stopping! 

~Anika

Supplies: (All PTI unless noted)

Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Spring Rain; Orange Stripe and Light Blue PP by DCWV in the Animal Crackers Stack; Indian Summer PP by BasicGrey

Stamps: Signature Greetings

Ink: Dark Chocolate; Spiced Marmalade by Ranger

Other: Giga Guidelines Impression Plate & Small Scallop Die