Wow… that’s a lot of snow…

February 6, 2010 – 8:03 pm

Hi all,

Just a quick post to let you know the using Random.org, Kati was the winner of the Friday Challenge.  Kati – i sent you an e-mail.

We have been digging out from a lot of snow…

snow-swingset

Its a lot of work for a 3 month old puppy….

dogsnow

But it is pretty…..

snowtree

By Cathy | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments (4)

Birthday Hearts

February 4, 2010 – 8:19 pm

crittersbdayJust a quick reminder that you still have one more day to enter the Friday Challenge for the Hearts Bloom Mini Kit Prize. 

Just make a “love” themed card with ribbon (extra credit for buttons) and link it in a comment on the Friday Challenge post below.

Speaking of the Hearts Bloom kit, I needed a Birthday card and decided to use some papers from the kit to make a quick “heartfelt” card.  The stamp is from the Penny Black Critter Party Clear set.  

Its colored with Copics.  Here are the colors I used.  I’m never sure if people are interested in the colors or not???  (Copics are 25% off in the store right now By the way…)

markers

 

 I also used the Martha Stewart Lace Heart Border Punch and the Labels 4 Spellbinders die.

 Speaking of Birthdays, I’ve been playing with fancy B-day cupcakes for all my girls. 

 I’m still an amateur – but there are some really cute ideas out there.

penguin

My older DD and I made Penguins.  They were cute, although not quite as neat and tidy as the ones in the book!  A whole class’s worth of penguins are very difficult to get to scpenguinbunchhool – especially in a rainstorm!  But we made it.

 

 

 butterflycupcake I tried to do something easier for the twins since I had to make twice as many.  We tried the butterflies with chocolate melt wings.  100 wings – yikes!  It took aboubutterflybuncht 75 wings to get the hang of it so some are a little ummm…. lopsided.  But the kids liked it anyway.

By Cathy | Posted in Penny Black | Comments (2)

The Fourth (OK… the fifth) Friday Fun Challange + Digital freebie

January 28, 2010 – 11:05 pm

teacupsampleWelcome to the first Friday Fun Challenge for 2010.

The challenge for January 2010 is… “Pulling on your heart strings”

Our challenge to you is to create a Valentine or love themed project that includes ribbon. And if your projects also includes buttons, you will get a double entry!

You have till midnight (EST) of Friday Feb. 5 to add a comment to this post with link your project. We will draw one random winner for the prize.

The rules are:

  • It must be a newly created project for this challenge – but feel free to combine this challenge with any other ones out there.
  • We’d love to see all the art you care to share, but each person will only be entered in the random drawing once (well, twice if you have ribbon and buttons).
  • The winner will be drawn randomly and announced the following Saturday.

The prize is a Hearts Bloom mini kit:

    The prize includes:
  • 12 – 6″x 6″ pieces of Pink Paislee double sided patterned paper from the Cupid Collection. (4 pieces each of Bow and Arrow, Hearts Bloom, and Bullseye)
  • 1 sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ Prism cardstock in Suede Brown Dark
  • 1 sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ Prism cardstock in Frosted Teal
  • 1 sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ Prism cardstock in Baby Pink Light
  • 1 sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ Prism cardstock in Blush Red Dark
  • 1 sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ Prism cardstock in Spring Willow Medium
  • 5 yards of different coordinating ribbon including Sheer Pink organza, 2-tone aqua and green woven satin, red grosgrain, brown grosgrain, celadon green grosgrain.
  • A packet of coordinating buttons and pearly Champagne Dew Droplets

teastillsampleWe also thought you might enjoy a nice, quiet cup of tea. 

 So feel free to download this free Tea Time Still Life digital stamp set.   It is available in the Paper Garden Projects store as a free download.   The stamp set contains two images and 3 sentiments – all saved as PNG files with transparent backgrounds.  If you decide to use the stamps – I’d LOVE to see what you make!.   And this is a new venture for us – so we’d love some (gentle)  feedback.

For my 2 cards, I used the images and sentiments from the stamp kit.  They are printed on Neenah Solar White paper with my HP printer and cheap replacement ink (shhh… don’t tell….).  The images are colored with Copic Markers. 

I used the Hearts Bloom Paper kit for both cards.  And I had fun with some of the Spellbinder dies. 

For the top card I used Labels 1 layered on top of Labels 3, and then the ribbon slide die.  For the bottom card, I cut out the sentiment with Labels 4, and then cut another from the brown.  I cut the brown tag down the middle and spread it out to make the matte.

So come join the Friday Fun…. and be sure to check out all the specials in the Paper Garden Projects store – we have a lot of love on sale!

By Cathy | Posted in Digi Stamps, Fourth Friday Fun Challenge | Tagged , , , | Comments (10)

My Main Squeeze – plus blog hop winner

January 27, 2010 – 10:54 am

mainsqueezeHi all!

I wanted to share this card using the Main Squeeze cling stamp from Eat Cake Graphics.  I guess I’m in a goofy mood this Valentine’s day, but this image totally makes me smile!   Its colored with Copics and I inked the edges a little with Tattered Rose distress Ink.

All of the cardstock, patterned paper, ribbon and the button are from the Hearts Bloom paper kit. 

The sentiment is from the Sentiments I set from Impression Obsession.  It is cut out with a Spellbinders die.  I inked the circle with the Tattered Rose ink and a duster brush before I removed the die to get the pink background.

Just a fun little card….

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Romantic Garden Walk. 

We hope you enjoyed your little stroll.  Using Random.org, the winner of the hop drawing is number 57 – Anneliese G.  I sent you an E-mail Anneliese – to get your shipping info.

I also want to remind everyone of our Fourth (well – fifth) Friday challenge this Friday (1/29).  Join in the challenge for a chance to win another great prize!

By Cathy | Posted in Eat Cake Graphics | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

A piece of my heart…

January 26, 2010 – 7:53 am

pbhedgieHi all!  Just a quick little card using the new Penny Black Clear Set Piece of My Heart.  I love those cute little critters!.

All the papers and embellies came from the  new Hearts Bloom Paper Kit.  I’m really enjoying those Pink Paislee papers too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go to PaperGardenProjects.comYou still have until midnight tonight (EST) to join us for the Romantic Garden walk . 

Come for a garden tour to get inspiration and put your name in a drawing to win a Penny Black clear stamp set!!

Also, be sure to stop by Friday for our fourth Friday Fun Challenge (yes I know its the fifth Friday, but its been such a busy month we are so glad to have an extra Friday!)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

By Cathy | Posted in Card kits, Penny Black | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)

the Romantic Garden Walk

January 23, 2010 – 8:23 am


Go to PaperGardenProjects.com

Welcome to the Paper Garden Projects Romantic Garden Walk.

Take a stroll through the blogs of all the Paper Gardeners and enjoy some “heart-felt” inspiration with fun Valentine projects

While you visit, subscribe to each Gardener’s blog and take note of each designer’s name and their Romantic Word in their blog post. Once you finish your garden tour, send an E-mail to custserv@papergardenprojects.com with the list of designers and their Romantic Word.

Everyone who sends the correct list of designers and words will be entered in a random drawing to win a sweet Valentine prize. You need to send an e-mail to the address above; please don’t leave your list as a comment. You have until midnight (EST) on January 26 to sent your list.

And the prize? The super cute Penny Black clear stamp set called Every Which Way.

So enjoy the garden tour (feel free to bring along some Valentine treats). Here is the garden tour guide list:

For my project, I decided to decorate those little Sweetheart candy boxes for my three daughters.  I don’t think it would be Valentine’s Day without those little candy hearts and their sweet messages.

boxtrio

To do my project, I used the Penny Black A Piece of my Heart clear set and the Hearts Bloom paper kit.

sweettemplateTo cover the boxes, I cut a piece of patterned paper 6 3/4″ long and 3 1/2″ tall.  Then scored it to wrap around.  For my box, the sides were 3/4″ and the front and back were 2 3/8″.  I left a half inch for an overlap.

I stamped the Penny Black stamps in Rich Cocoa memento ink and colored them with copic markers.  I matted the images with cardstock form the kit  and mounted them on the boxes. 

Plus added embellies from the kit – I just can’t resist buttons!!  The flower on the box with the cat was cut from the patterned paper.  I just shaped it with a stylus to make it dimensional.

The heart border is made with the Martha Stewart Lace Heart Edger punch.  I love it!!  I was afraid a punch with so much detail might not punch well – but it works perfectly.  So fun – I have ideas and I want to try it with vellum!

catboxSo that is my simple project.  I’m Cathy and my Romantic word is:  hugs

Next in the tour is Mel over at MelStampz……

By Cathy | Posted in Blog Hops, Penny Black | Tagged , , , | Comments (25)

Hearts Bloom

January 15, 2010 – 1:47 pm

Wow – this month is moving fast.  Valentine’s Day is right around the corner!

heartnest2

I really like Valentine’s Day.  We keep it pretty simple around here – but my girls get a little surprise during dinner.  Last year I decorated Target mini mailboxes.  I’m not sure what I’ll do this year.  I guess I better get thinking!

But I did want to let everyone know about the new Hearts Bloom Paper Kit in the paper garden Projects Store.  I think the papers are so fun and also versatile.    It really is a fun kit to play with

I used the Hearts Bloom kit to make this card.  I also used the Impression Obsession Heart’s Nest cling stamp.  I just love this stamp – the image really makes me smile. 

To make it easier to color all those thin branches, try embossing it instead of just stamping.  For this card I stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia and then embossed in clear.  Then I just colored away with Copics  - the embossed edges keep the marker point inside the lines.  ( Note – the Copic markers can dissolve some metallic or colored embossing, but is fine with clear embossing.)

All the papers and ribbon are from the kit.  Here is a picture of the kit contents:

 valentine2010_LRG

Kit Contents:

  • 6 sheets 12″x12″ Pink Paislee double sided patterned paper from the Cupid Collection.  (2 sheets each of Bow and Arrow, Hearts Bloom, and Bullseye)
  • 2 sheets of 8.5″ x 11″ Prism cardstock in Suede Brown Dark
  • 2 sheets of 8.5″ x 11″ Prism cardstock in Frosted Teal
  • 2 sheets of 8.5″ x 11″ Prism cardstock in Baby Pink Light
  • 2 sheets of 8.5″ x 11″ Prism cardstock in Blush Red Dark
  • 2 sheets of 8.5″ x 11″ Prism cardstock in Spring Willow Medium
  • 5 yards of different coordinating ribbon including Sheer Pink organza, 2-tone aqua and green woven satin, red grosgrain, brown grosgrain, celadon green grosgrain.
  • A packet of coordinating buttons and pearly Champagne Dew Droplets

I hope everyone has a great weekend planned.  I’m supervising 2 Girl Scout Cookie Booths – but the weather is supposed to be in the 40’s thank goodness.  And the girls do have fun at the booths – especially when they are not freezing.   I’m hoping to do something crafty too!

Chester is settled into his new home.  He had a little puppy playdate with one of my friends’ dog and he is exhausted!  He had to get a bath though – what a muddy dog!

By Cathy | Posted in Card kits, Copic Marker tips, Impression Obsession | Tagged , , , | Comments (6)

Hello Hugs!

January 8, 2010 – 3:43 pm

mmbellabronteHello everyone!  I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  2010 – can you believe it?

I know I have not posted in a while – things have been so busy – with you too I’ll bet.  

One thing I want to mention up front – I had a total hard drive failure on my main computer over the holidays and I’ve spent the last 4 days trying to restore everything from back up (yikes! what a mess!).  If you contacted me by e-mail and I have not responded, please send your mail again.  It might have gotten lost in the restore process.

On the plus side – we got to spend time visiting with extended family over the Holidays - which was great (although I have to admit that my pants are all a little tighter after all the partying!). 

chester1We also added a new little member to our family!

Meet Chesterton (Chester for short) – our new puppy.  He is very cute and really quite a gentleman for a puppy. 

(In case you are wondering, he’s named after G.K. Chesterton, the writer.   We are really hoping he has common sense too!)

 He is a mix of golden retriever and poodle.  We have some allergies in our extended family so I wanted a poodle mix to help prevent any problems.

Right now he is a kitchen dog  (till he learns proper bathroom etiquette). 

If you are allergic to dogs, don’t worry.  Chester is not allowed in the store (although I bet he’d love to chew on the paper crafts!  You should see him go to town on newspaper).

Hmmm…  maybe a little about the card…..

mmbellabrontecopicsI used the Bella and Bronte clear stamp by Mo Manning (my oldest DD simply ADORES this dog – just like Bella.  The other girls like him but J is head over heels).

The image is colored with Copics.  Here are the colors I used. 

One thing I wanted to mention – sometimes it can be hard to blend red copics – especially the darker reds.  They are very heavily loaded with pigment and can travel outside the lines more easily when you blend.  It can also be harder to “correct” mistakes with the colorless blender with the reds.  The pigment is so saturated that it tends to travel everywhere instead of nicely going back where it is supposed to. 

One thing to try is to color your red, and then use a lighter shade to remove color where you want highlights, instead of coloring lighter and then blending in the darker.   I did this with Bella’s boots on the card. 

You just need to be careful not to over saturate the red with alcohol and push it outside the lines.  If you do the color removal while the base red is still damp, the highlighted area will have soft edges.  If you want harder edges, wait for the red base to dry.  

mmbellabrontepic1It just a technique to try and see if you like it or not.  I use color removal for highlighting quite often (and not just with red).  Maybe because I don’t plan ahead enough???

 To make the ribbon slide tag,  I just cut and embossed my ribbon slide die once in white and once in blue.  Then I used a sharp craft knife to cut around the inside on the tag.  Then just layer the white in the blue.

Here are all my card pieces.  All of the supplies came from the Frosted Winter Paper kit.  The kit has patterned paper, cardstock, ribbon and embellishments.  The colors are really great.

mmbellabrontepic2

 

Well, that’s my news for today.  Stay tuned for some exciting new happenings in the Paper Garden Projects store.  We are going to be 2 years old in just a couple months!

chester2Say goodbye Chesterton….

By Cathy | Posted in Card kits, Copic Marker tips, Stampavie, tool tips | Tagged , , | Comments (3)

Holiday Store hours

December 21, 2009 – 6:11 pm

Greetings everyone!  We are planning to take a little time off over the Holiday Season to be with our families.

Any orders placed after midnight EST on December 21 will not be processed until January 2. The store is still open and we will still be available to answer questions, but we are taking a little break from shipping.

Edited to add:  The winner for the prize for the Winter Wonderland Garden Walk is Nancy M.  Nancy – I sent you an e-mail.  Now wasn’t that worth putting on your mittens for?

But… you still have till midnight tonight to stroll our Winter Wonderland Garden Walk

Since I’m here….  I thought I’d share some of my DD’s gift tags.  She just became a Brownie girl scout and needed to do a “good turn” (good deed) in order to turn her new membership pin right side up.  So she wrapped her cousin’s gifts and colored some gift tags for me.  (Just so it wasn’t all fun and games – she also helped straighten up the play room).   (These were made with Eat Cake Graphics and Penny Black stamps)

laurentags

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year!

By Cathy | Posted in Paper Garden Projects | Comments (1)

16 years? Really?

December 21, 2009 – 6:04 pm

jackgingerMy DH and I just celebrated our 16th anniversary.  Here is the card I made him.

I used the new Mo Manning Jack and Ginger clear stamp.  The paper is from the Nook and Pantry 6×6 pad.

Inside I wrote -” I’ll love you till our hair is gray….. Oh wait, our hair is gray.”  Plus some other mushy stuff I’m sure you don’t care to hear.

By Cathy | Posted in Stampavie | Tagged , , | Comments (1)
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