Tea for Two and You Are Sixty Too! Happy Birthday Becky!

My friendly UPS driver, or was it my friendly USPS driver.. I never know because I am always at work when when they leave my packages, had delivered my Papertrey order yesterday and it was waiting for me when I came home. I'm always excited to receive my PTI packages, but this one was one I was doubly anticipating. The Tea for Two set is a set I've been hoping for for a long time. A friend at work, who is an avid tea drinker is having a birthday on Friday and I wanted to make her a birthday card using this set.
I hope she likes it!

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI- Tea for Two
Paper: PTI - Stamper's Select White, Summer Sunrise, PTI - Patterned Paper Polka Dot Parade
Ink: PTI Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate
Window Dressing: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four, Ribbon Tags Trio, PTI Ocean Tides Satin Ribbon, PTI Aqua Mist Buttons, Corner Rounder Punch, Button from button jar.

Bitty Baby CD Envelope Case Gift..

One of the things I enjoy most about my crafting is being able to make gifts and cards for family and friends to share with their friends. My sister called me last week from Denver and said she needed a small gift for a baby shower she was attending. The gift needed to be for a little boy and his room colours were to be moss, black, and white. Since both my sister and I enjoy music, I thought it would be a good opportunity to come up with a CD case that would contain hand picked music just for a little baby boy. If you look very closely the spring moss square directly behind the baby elephant is stamped using PTI's Polka Dot Basics in Fresh Snow. The bright early morning sun washed out the stamping from the eye of the camera. The baby gift and enclosure card, which mirrors the CD case is in the mail as of this morning, along with some other surprises for my sister and niece.

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI- Bitty Baby Blessings, Polka Dot Basics
Paper: PTI - Stamper's Select White, Kraft, Spring Moss, Patterned Paper Bitty Dot Basics, Vellum, SU Patterned Paper
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow
Window Dressing: Spellbinders Nestabilities Squares and Scalloped Squares, PTI True Black Swiss Dot Satin Ribbon, PTI True Black Buttons

Birthday Wishes for a Friend

One of my many Christmas presents from my sister was a set of Cuttlebug embossing borders. I've really fallen in love with these. The interior Raspberry Fizz scalloped overlay is embossed with the same floral design as can be seen on the outside of the card.When the card is opened the embossed image repeats its self both right and left of the spine of the card which makes an interesting detail to the inside of the card. The embossing on the outside of the card was "lightly dusted" with PTI's Fresh Snow cube. I particularly like using the cubes as they allow me more controlin application. Now to try out the Decorative Circles and Squares Folders she also gave me.

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI- Tags fpr Spring, Out On a Limb Sentiments
Paper: PTI - Stamper's Select White, Kraft, Raspberry Fizz, Making Memories-Pink Gingham
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Fresh Snow
Window Dressing: Spellbinders Nestabilities Circles, Nested Birds, Cuttlebug Embossing Borders Folder-Frills and full size folder-Polka Dots, Doodlebug Jewels, Pebbles Inc. Chalks, Create-a-Cut Paper Cutter, SU - Flower Punch, Scor-tape

Easter Wishes..

For I remember it is Easter morn,
And life and love and peace are all new born.
~Alice Freeman Palmer


An Easter Card for my Mother.


Stamps: PTI- Friends 'Till the End, Mixed Mega Messages
Paper: PTI - Stamper's Select White, Kraft, Raspberry Fizz, Friends 'Till the End Patterned Paper
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, Versamark
Window Dressing: PTI - Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, White Embossing Powder, Doodlebug Jewels, Wrights Baby Rick Rack and Medium Rick Rack, Trim from Wal-Mart, Corner Rounder, Scor-tape

My Cute Stamps Easter Giveaway!

My Cute Stamps is hosting a Giveaway of one of their absolutely precious stamp sets, Jelly Beans, in celebration of Easter Week. You can read about the the details over at the Creating Cupcakes blog.


My niece was born in Russia so My Cute Stamps Matryoshka Dolls stamp set has special meaning for me.


The Matryoshka dolls or Russian nested dolls is actually a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other. "Matryoshka" or Матрёшка is a derivative of the Russian female first name "Matryona" which was a very popular name among peasants in old Russia.

Matryoshkas date from 1890, and are said to have been inspired by souvenir dolls from Japan, however, the concept of nested objects was familiar in Russia, having been applied to carved wooden apples and Easter eggs. The first "Fabergé egg", in 1885, had a nesting of egg, yolk, hen, and chick.

A set of matryoshkas consists of a wooden figure which can be pulled apart to reveal another figure of the same sort inside. It has, in turn, another figure inside, and so on. The number of nested figures is usually five or more. The shape is mostly cylindrical, rounded at the top for the head and tapered towards the bottom, but little else; the dolls have no hands (except those that are painted). Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a sarafan. Inside, it contains other figures that may be of both genders, usually ending in a baby that does not open. The artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be extremely elaborate.

Matryoshkas are often designed to follow a particular theme, for instance peasant girls in traditional dress, but the theme can be anything, from fairy tale figures to characters of Soviet leaders.

Pictured: The first original matryoshka set carved by Zvezdochkin and painted by Malyutin, located at the Sergiev Posad Museum of Toys, Russia.

A "Cute" little birdie

I woke up this morning to one of my favorite sounds. The little birds were perched in my nearly ready to bloom Magnolia tree just singing their little hearts out. The bird feeder was stocked and the spring rains had filled the little pond just beyond my back porch. Thus the inspiration for another card using those absolutely precious My Cute Stamps set Spunky Nature.


Stamps: My Cute Stamps - Spunky Nature PTI - Sentiment: Birds of a Feather
Paper: PTI - PTI White, True Black, Patterned 2008 Bitty Dot Basics. Little Yellow Bicycle - Love Letters
Ink: PTI New Leaf, Hibiscus. True Black
Window Dressing: PTI - New Leaf Saddle Stitch Ribbon, PTI Vintage Buttons Black and Cream and WhiteSpellbinders Tags Nestabilities Flowers, Londonberry Linen Thread - Black

Just TOO Cute!

These spunky chunky stamps sure hold true to the company name! My Cute Stamps When I recently ran across them I was thrilled to find that they weren't like every other stamp design out there. Crisp and unique, this set was a must have for my sring collection. Take time to check out their other designs.

Supplies
Stamps: My Cute Stamps - Spunky Nature
Paper: PTI - PTI White, Melon Berry, DCWV Textured Mat Stack - Greens
Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate, Melon Berry, Spring Moss, Summer Sunrise,
Window Dressing: PTI - Melon Berry Extra Fine Polka Dot Ribbon, Pop Dots, Cornish Heritage Farms White Flocking, Create-a-Cut Paper, Cutter Copic Multiliner Black, Tim Holtz "Idea-ology" Sanding Grip

What a nice day.. today..

I've been a follower and avid admirer of a very talented lady's blog for sometime but just recently realized we live in the same city. On a recent trip into my local scrapbooking store, Scrapbook Studio, I mentioned to the owner I was a stamper and card maker. She immediately asked me if I knew Becca Feeken and followed her blog, Amazing Paper Grace, I had no idea this lady who's blog I'd been following was just across the bay. I emailed her and promptly received a reply inviting me to the Emerald Coast Stamp Club meeting, a group of stampers and card makers that meet once a month and share projects, ideas, and fellowship. So today I packed my tote and headed to the Michael's Classroom where I met not only Becca but a whole group of talented ladies. I was so inspired I came home and made this card. I look forward to becoming an active part of this creative group. Thank you so much, Becca!


Stamps: PTI- Damask Designs
Paper: PTI - PTI White, True Black, Patterned Paper Black and White Basics, SU Naturals White
Ink: PTI True Black, Berry Sorbet
Window Dressing: PTI - Berry Sorbet Grosgrain Ribbon, PTI - Vintage Button Collection Black, Spellbinders Nestabilities and Tag Dies, Waxed Linen Thread, Sakura Gelly Roll Glitter Pen, Joy Crafts Decorative Pearls