Wishing You Well...

Shortly before I was packing up my things for the move I received my PTI anniversary set. Honestly there is nothing worse than receiving something that you can't use right away! I exerted much patience and finally had the opportunity to stamp a card using this set last week.



You'll notice I took a strip of the paper and used it with the coffee cup rim. I always try and find a way to make my images connected with my patterned paper and I knew this would be the perfect touch! Besides doesn't Cosmo Cricket paper rock any image???



Stamp Set(s): 2009 Anniversary Set by PTI
Cardstock:Stamper's Select White by PTI
Patterned Paper: Early Bird: Apron Strings, Early Bird: Cherry Pie, Early Bird: Sunrise by Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Dark Chocolate by PTI
Accents: Ribbon by American Crafts, Pen by Tombo
Tools: Nestabilities by Spellbinders, Punch by Fiskars
Size: 4.25x5.5

Have a wonderful day
Alli

Thank You for being in my life.

Wow! Two posts in two days! So excited to be back. I have had Ali Edwards' Loving Words set since before the move but have not been able to use it until now. I love the sentiments in this set. I am all about the words when it comes to a card. As much as I love images (don't get me wrong) there really is nothing like the right words.





Whenever I get the chance I let everyone know how grateful I am to have them in my life. Life is just to short to miss that opportunity.

Stamp Set(s): Loving Words (Ali Edwards) by Techniques Tuesday
Cardstock:Stamper's Select White by PTI
Patterned Paper: Cherry Hill by October Afternoon
Ink: Black by PTI
Accents: Ribbon by PTI, Button by PTI
Tools: Nestabilities by Spellbinders, Punch by Fiskars
Size: 4.25x5.5

Have a wonderful day!

Alli

Apple for the teacher

*Edited-so sorry--I set a bunch of things to post the other day not realizing I picked the wrong month...so a month from now you would have seen the next 3 posts go live :( Anyways I realized today they have not been posting for the past few days and have now fixed the problem. Posts will now resume accordingly!

The end of the school year has come and gone and we were so fortunate to have had an awesome experience at our new school. My youngest just wrapped up Kindergarten and made the transition from May 15th (old school) to May 19th (new school) into the classroom. She wore a brave smile and came back after her first day claiming it was really hard to remember everyone's names. And yet she went to school the next day and the next...until the end of the school year. What amazed me the most was that her classmates accepted her immediately and her teacher made the transition seamless. So seamless that even the end of the year slideshow reflected that my daughter had been a member of the class for a while (she had just as many pics as the other kids)--doesn't that make your heart melt? All I can say is that I am so grateful and of course prepared a bunch of cards for Mrs Bunce because we love her so much! You may also remember that I started homeschooling my son--it was a huge success!








Stamp Set(s): Teacher's Apple by PTI
Cardstock: Dark Chocolate by PTI, Stamper's Select White by PTI
Patterned Paper: Cherry Hill by October Afternoon
Ink: Dark Chocolate by PTI, Black by PTI
Accents: Ribbon by PTI
Tools: Nestabilities by Spellbinders
Size: 4.25x5.5

Have a super day!

Alli

Blog tour winner...

I am excited to announce the winner of the Card Creations Volume 7 magazine is...

JustMargo who said...

I love that clean simple look -- polished and adorable. TFS!
--Margo
http://MargosGarden.blogspot.com

Congratulations!! Please e-mail me your address and Paper Crafts will send you your very own Card Creations Volume 7 issue. I received mine today and it is AMAZING--by far my favourite. It is jammed with paper craft goodness.

Thank you all for stopping by in the last few days and taking the time to leave me comments. I enjoyed reading every one of them.

I will be back to more regular posting after Canada Day (July 1st).

Alli

Card Creations Volume 7 Blog Tour

Have you seen the latest issue of Card Creations Volume 7?



Let me tell you that you are in for a treat. Make sure you have your tea or coffee in hand and are ready to sit back and relax because you have the ultimate sneak peak of this issue...right here in blogland. So are you ready for an incredible journey? Let me begin....

Once upon a time there was a card call and Alli sent in some cards...



I am honoured to have a number of cards in Card Creations 7 and thrilled that I was asked to share one of them with you! As a paper crafter, I often get asked about the "meaning" behind the card. Because all cards have a story don't you know! I draw inspiration from a number of things but this card was completely inspired by my dear friend Kim Hughes. Why you ask? 1) I absolutely love that she can pull together a simple, clean card layout and make it look so good 2) Kim Hughes illustrated this darling spring chick and "hello" sentiment from Cornish Heritage Farms.

Techniques and Tips

I love ribbon and often incorporate it somewhere on my cards either in a bow, knotted bow, tab or a knot like the one above. I like to pair a simple layout with a knot because it does not "take over" the card. Simple cards needs simple accents.

I also adore buttons. I try and use buttons as an accent, focal point of a stamped image or as a filler for an image. One of my button tricks is to thread my button with a thin strip of paper rather than floss or hemp. I like that option because there are often times I can't find the "right" colour. In addition, it's a great way to use your scraps.

You probably noticed I left the stamped image "empty"/without colour. All too often we feel the need to colour or paper piece our images. It wasn't long ago I used to believe the same thing...and then I met Kim Hughes. She shook up my comfort zone and after observing her style I soon learned that an empty image was just as full as an image with colour as long as it is balanced. I stamped the spring chick using brown ink which matches the brown stitch in the ribbon. Also did you notice the ink I used for the sentiment is matched with the button at the center of the flower? Ahhhh yes...now you know how I think. It's true what they say, every card does have a story. Thanks for dropping by today...I hope to see you again.

Are you ready to see even more cards from the issue? Well before you leave make sure you leave me a comment for your chance to win your very own issue of Card Creations 7. Also, as you visit each of these talented and inspiring paper crafters, make sure you leave them a comment too to increase your chances of winning (since we are all giving one away). At the end of your tour visit Moxie Fab World and Paper Crafts Connection and tell them which project you liked best (from the tour) and you could be one of ten lucky winners who will receive a prize package. All draw winners will be announced on the MFW website and the PCC website on June 30th.

Charlene Austin
http://www.willowandpaisley.typepad.com/

Ashley Newell
http://ashleynewell.blogspot.com/

Beatriz Jennings
http://iralamija.blogspot.com/

Betsy Veldman
http://scrapbookgirl.typepad.com/

Carla Peicheff
http://www.moralia.wordpress.com/

Dawn McVey
http://dawnmcvey.typepad.com/

Debbie Olson
http://debbiedesigns.typepad.com/

Kim Kesti
http://kimberlykesti.typepad.com/

Layle Koncar
http://laylekoncar.typepad.com/

Maren Benedict
http://zanynotcrazy.blogspot.com/

Melissa Philips
http://lilybeanpaperie.typepad.com/

Sherry Wright
http://sherrywright.typepad.com/

Teri Anderson
http://terisplace.wordpress.com/

Kim Hughes

http://paperhugs.typepad.com/

Branching out again...

Another card for the delicious Moxie Fab World Lovely as a Tree Challenge.



Stamp Set(s): Beyond Basic Borders (Pine Feather Press) by PTI
Cardstock: Dark Chocolate by PTI, Kraft by PTI
Patterned Paper: Early Bird: Farmers Market by Cosmo Cricket, Ducks in a Row by October Afternoon
Ink: Dark Chocolate by PTI
Accents: Grosgrain Ribbon by PTI, Buttons by PTI
Tools: Border Punch by EK Success
Size: 5.5x5.5

Hope you are having a great day. Still piled under report cards...I sure hope June 30th comes really quickly. I have planned a couple more posts this week so stay tuned!

Alli

A Tree-mendous delight

So here it is...one of the long awaited "first cards" after the move. I am very excited to be in my "stamp room" again. I had a chance to stamp 3 cards the other day but am still working through report cards until June 30th.

As you will note there is minimal stamping on this card (not to worry--it's coming). I couldn't resist putting this combo together. I had all these beautiful things I wanted to use. Not to mention Cath's inspiration over at Moxie Fab World. She encouraged us to branch out and participate in the Lovely as a Tree Challenge. I figured this challenge was the perfect kickstart to my return to stamping!



Stamp Set(s): Tree trunk from Father Knows Best by PTI
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White by PTI, Vellum Cardstock
Patterned Paper: Just Chillin' by Making Memories, Cherry Hill by October Afternoon
Ink: Dark Chocolate by PTI
Accents: Twill Ribbon by PTI, Buttons by PTI, "Sweet" Brad from Just Chillin' by Making Memories, Flowers by Prima
Size: 4.25x5.5

A few people have asked me about the buckets that are hanging by my punches. They were purchased at Ikea about 2-3 years ago. They still sell them in the kitchen section.

Have a super day!

Alli