Paper Trufflez

One of a kind

So fun, eh?!  The new SU! felt flowers were too cute to pass up--just had to have 'em! I'm having a ball mixing alpha stamps and hand-lettering together and love how this turned out!  (bouncin'!)

Hard to tell in the photo, but, the notecard is a pale shade of pink--one of my all-time favorites.  I was messing around with kraft card stock, and the little voices told me this blush shade would be better than white.  I think they were right. *chuckle*

I think this is one of those "easier than it looks" kinda cards--it's actually quite clean and simple, but, the kraft layer makes it appear more complex than it really was, UKWIM?

Love pairing chocolate with pink and green.  Feels so spring-like!

Are ya' glad it's Friday?  I am.  Tomorrow I have a date with my favorite girl (my daughter!).  We're gettin' pedis!  Oooh la la!  It's good to be a girl, eh?!

Happy Friday!

Stamp Credits:  Classic Alphabet by A Muse, Floral Stem and Dotted Background by Impress
Blush 4 Bar Note card by A Muse
Colorbox Pigment Ink in Frost White
Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Lime Pastel, Dark Brown
Corner Chomper by WR Memory Keepers (rounder)
Ribbon from craft store
Felt Flower by SU!

Love on the wing

I didn't think I needed June Bug.  But, I figured I should try some. *grin*  It's more fun than I thought it would be and has an eclectic mix of beautiful and zany patterns!  Bold colors, classic tartains, and some exotic florals mixed in.

Almost down to the last of my red ticking ribbon--eek!  But, it was the best ribbon I had for this design, so . . . had to make the supreme sacrifice and not hoard it.  So hard for me!

Butterfly was cut with my Slice and popped up for dimension.  Also embellished with a black glaze pen and Ebony Twinkle Stickers.  Oooh, LOLLY!!!  Definitely not a traditional Valentine, but, I know some peeps that would love it anyway. *grin*

 

"Happy Valentine's Day" by A Muse
Patterned Paper:  June Bug Collection by Basic Grey
Slice Design Card:  Spring
Scallop Border Punch by Fiskars
Ribbon by May Arts
Black Twinkle Stickers by A Muse
Black Glaze Pen by Sakura

You are here.

I needed a hip design for that man o' mine, so I used Basic Grey's Limey Rickey for this design--the colors are *so* vibrant.  The layout is a slight variation from one I really liked that Kristina Werner had done, which made it easy to crank this design out!

I lettered the sentiment since I didn't have a stamp that says that.

Mmmmmm, love this swanky, masculine look!

Patterned Paper:  Limey Rickey Collection by Basic Grey
Oatmeal Card Stock by Astro Converters
1 3/4" Circle Punch by EK Success
Wavy Dotted Border Punch by EK Success
Funky Heart Squeeze Punch by Fiskars
Corner Chomper by WR Memory Keepers
Slice Design Card:  Travel USA
Uniball Signo White Gel Pen (for lettering, outline detailing and hand-drawn stars)

I {heart} you

I know.  I'm addicted to this paper.  But, at least I'm using it and not hording it, right?!  Riiiiiiight?!!!

I'm a sucker for velvet.  Always have been.  And pink velvet seemed to tie the whole design together right nice.

Yeppers--cut the letters with my Slice!  I think the black letters gives an unusual pop to the overall design.  I did try other colors initially, and they just kinda got swallowed up.  Definitely not the effect I wanted.  And, I popped them up, along with the punched out heart, which was embellished with white gel pen dots.

I think the whole thing pops nicely against a plain white canvas.  Yes, indeedy.  I LIKEY!!!

Gonna be a busy coupla' days; zippin' out to CHA Saturday night, to walk the show on Sunday, and looking forward to huggin' friends old and new!

 

Patterned Paper:  Lemonade Collection by Basic Grey
1" Circle Punch by EK Success
Heart Squeeze Punch by Fiskars
Apron Lace Border Punch by Fiskars
Uniball Signo White Gel Pen
Slice Design Card:  Noteworthy
Pink Velvet Ribbon by May Arts

My heart flips for you! (A Muse COTW)

Here's a fun little ditty that was featured in the A Muse newsletter yesterday as the COTW!

Yeah, I went Slice happy on this one, too.  *grin*

The free-hand wave piece is raised on pop dots, and then the die cut "U" was raised yet again, also with pop dots. It's not as easy to see in the photo, but IRL this does add some dimension to an otherwise pretty straightforward design.

Put little Heart blings in lieu of water splashes for lovey dovey effect.

 

Stamp credits:  Dolphin by A Muse
Sky Blue Notecard by A Muse
Ribbon by A Muse
Heart Twinkle Stickers by A Muse
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Koh-I-Noor Colored Pencils
Uniball Signo White Gel Pen
Slice Design Card:  Just Chillin'

Friends Make Life Sweet

I used my Slice on *every* Valentine I made over the weekend. Dang, but that thing is wicked fun!

When I first saw this cupcake set by Basic Grey, I had to have it--I love the bold, graphic styling of it!

I was going to use it with my new Sugar Rush paper, but the colors in Lemonade just seemed more suited, so Lemonade it was (I don't have Nook & Pantry . . . yet . . . heh, heh, heh!).  After die cutting the word, I ran it thru my Zyron and then glittered it.  "Friends make life" is my handwriting.

Because I just folded some 6x6 paper in half, the finished design measures 3 x 6" and I found some envelopes that size at Impress.  Perfect!

I haven't gone this color and pattern crazy in a long time--I'm livin' on the edge, baby!  BAH HAHAHAHAAAA!!!

Stamp credits:  Cupcake Stamp Set by Basic Grey
Patterned Paper:  Lemonade Collection by Basic Grey
Ink:  Colorbox Fluid Chalk in Rouge, Lime Pastel, Warm Red
Slice Design Card:  Holiday Words & Expressions
Glitter by Martha Stewart
Oval Punch by EK Success
Scallop Border Punch by Fiskars

Card-makin' heaven . . . *grin*

Yesterday, I got heaven from my hubbs:  He folded ALL the clean laundry, put away all the holiday decor AND took down the outside lights so I could play in my studio to my heart's content all day long.  Oh, I was such a happy girl.  I luxuriated in it . . .

Enjoyed every second in my happy place.   I LOVE EVERYTHING I MADE!!!  What a high!

Here's one I'm sharing today:

Inspired by:  Every heart beat belongs to you-Amy Grant

I like Amy Grant.  Make fun all ya' want; I've never denied being a nerd. *wink*

Happy Monday!

No stamps used
Slice Design Card:  Just Chillin'
Hand-lettered: "belongs to you"
Note card and blue band paper by A Muse
Corner Rounder by WR Memory Keepers
Heart Squeeze Punch by Fiskars
Glitter by Martha Stewart

Paper Trufflez: Love grows

via papertrufflez.typepad.com

Carole-ish left a comment that just made me wanna wrap her up in a *mondo* squishy hug. It has compelled me to mention how delightful and funny it is to me how a handful of stampers can see the same thing, in this case the most darling of mugs, and un-beknownst (is that a word?) to each other or anyone else, come up with similar yet still distinctly different designs. As the world becomes smaller and smaller due to the internet, we have such a great opportunity to share these connections that we otherwise would have made alone, and felt alone, in the joy of.

I love that.  It makes me giggle--we obviously share great taste!

But, I'm also seriously worried now.

Starbucks nationwide will sell out of this darn mug before I can get one for myself.  Cuz apparently I'm the one and only that didn't buy it when she first beheld it!!! ACK!

           

Friends on a Sugar Rush (Hah!)

It's a miracle--2 cards in one day!

It's been a long time since I've enjoyed myself this much in the studio.   I gave myself a belated Christmas present (err, ahem shopping spree) and got some 6x6" paper pads by Basic Grey--these are *so* cool!  You can fold them in half to make a 3 x 6" card--a fun size I haven't ever done before! Talk about a rush--SUGAR RUSH!!! *gleeful grinning*  The base card and flower stem/leaf are actually from the Lemonade paper collection but the rest is all Sugar Rush.

Not a lot of stamping--just a zig zag stitch stamp by Hero Arts that I've loved forever and will probably never ever give up because I can't seem to push myself to actually thread that sewing machine I bought 2 years ago (still unopened in the box.  I know.  Criminal.)

Used my white gel pen to do the other stitching and write "friends" across the heart--isn't it funky?  It's a Fiskars squeeze punch and I love the unusual shape!

I'm also excited over how easy it was to fringe the green paper with m' new Fringe Scissors!  I drew a pencil line on the back of the paper where I wanted the cuts to stop--I found if you cut all the way to the tips, the cuts will all end at the same distance, if you line the tips up with a pencil mark.  But, if you only cut partially down the blade, you will have "staggered" cut lines.  I don't know if that's the way they are supposed to work, but, I didn't mind it, once I knew what I would get, depending on how far down the blade I was cutting.  Just play with it a little on a piece of scratch paper and you'll understand what I mean.

Dang, I think this is one of the most favoritest cards I've ever made! *bouncing*

 

Stamp Credits:  Zig zag stitch by Hero Arts
Patterned papers from Lemonade and Sugar Rush Collections by Basic Grey
Funky Heart Punch by Fiskars
Scallop Border Punch by Fiskars
Fringe Scissors by Martha Stewart
Leaf Punch by Martha Stewart
1 1/2" Circle punch by EK Success
2" Scallop Circle Punch by EK Success
Ribbon by May Arts
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Uniball Signo White Gel Pen

Love grows

Shortly after the holidays, I passed by the little mini Starbuck's at Safeway over in town.  So far, I have resisted this darling Valentine mug, but that's what inspired this design.

Isn't it fun?!  I just punched out some pink and red hearts with my Martha Stewart Multi-Heart punch and glued them into place.  Then I traced around then with a white gel pen and drew stems with little leaves.  The sentiment is in my hand-writing (not a stamp).

Rounded the corners and promptly fell in love quite muchly when I finished.

Yes, quite muchly.

 

No rubbah involved, just a punch, corner rounder, and a white gel pen on a french roast note card by A Muse

Sending you love . . . 5MQ

I got a reprieve from puppy duty last night to stamp ONE card!  YAY!!!  I've had this drop-dead gorgeous floral stamp for ages now and been dying to use it, so it is no longer in virgin status any more! 

Since I didn't have a lot of time, I had to move fast--no time to mess around and experiment.  LOL!  So, I went with red on pink, and used one of those awesome Martha Stewart label stickers I've been hording.  They have pretty die cut edges and embossed lines around the perimeter--lovely!  If you click on the pic it will enlarge and you may see that detail better.

Some red velvet and BAM!  That was good for me.  How 'bout you?!  Awwwe, geeze, I crack myself. *wink*

Hayley's here to babysit Bear while I head off for a root canal.  joy.  not.

Have a great Thursday!

Stamp Credits:  Floral by Impress, Classic Alphabet Set by A Muse
Blush Note Card by A Muse
Ink:  Colorbox Fluid  Chalk Warm Red
Die Cut Label by Martha Stewart
Red Velvet Ribbon by May Arts

Bear gets a bath

Some of you have asked how things are going with Bear, so I thought I'd share some recent pics--not my best photography work--he moves pretty fast.  LOL!

 

He was not crazy about getting a bath, lemme tell ya'; we were as wet as he was by the time it was over.  LOL!

He looks so different all wet--not our little puff ball!

 

This is prolly his favorite toy--a plushy squeaky bone.  He has figured out how to make it squeak and will sit there and squeak it repeatedly and then kinda croons back to it.  It's so funny to watch!

He pounces like a cat.  I don't know if he'll always do that, but we find it highly entertaining . . .

 

We keep an old towel handy for wiping his paws whenever he comes in from outside and it's wet; I hate wet dog smell and this seems to really help cut down on that.  But, to Bear, an old towel is like a security blanket--he brings all his toys over and plops down on it to play or relax.

House-training is coming along--when we're on top of our game, he is, too. *wink*

His teeth are coming in quickly, so we're working on bite inhibition--he likes to mouth in affection and you can tell he's not biting hard or trying to hurt, but we have read that allowing this can later lead to a dog that does bite.

He has learned "sit", "stay", "come".  And, dang does he ever like cheese. *grin*

And, that's the Bear update for now!