Quilt Block on Blue with Layered Banner

Rich deep colors with crisp bright white.  Such a simple design and it looks great.  The little 8-pointed star shape adds a perfect accent at the center of the quilt block.
  
Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source lake (medium blue), Papertrey Ink (PTI) classic kraft, terra cotta tile (orangey red), saffron spice (gold), dark indigo (navy), stamper's select white, and the stripes print from PTI classic kraft pattern pack.
• The medium blue card stock is embossed with the Dreamweaver faux cross-stitch stencil screen, as explained in this post.
• Dies are PTI county fair quilt block, star gazer (8-pointed star), and banner style.
• The sentiment "just a note" is from PTI winter woods, curved on the acrylic block and stamped with PTI dark indigo ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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White Sprigs - Two Cards

Two lovely monochromatic cards with the same arrangement of white sprigs, stamped on kraft or muted teal.  Simple and serene.
 
Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) classic kraft (left card), rustic white (left card), ocean tides (muted teal - right card), stamper's select white (right card), stripes print from PTI fine linen (tan) pattern pack, and an aqua print from PTI pretty pastels 8x8" paper pad.
• Embroidery floss (right card) is DMC #926.  I used one full strand, split in two.
• Die is from PTI double-ended banners.
• The sentiment "thinking of you" is from PTI keep it simple: thinking of you, stamped with PTI cocoa bean (medium brown) or ocean tides ink cube.  The sprigs are from PTI life and larger than life, stamped with Hero Arts unicorn white pigment ink.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Silver with Copper and Plaid

A very handsome card - shimmery silver and copper, with a gray grid print and a gray and brown plaid.  The individual elements are plain, even drab, but together they make a striking effect.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) copper and silver shimmer, a grid print from PTI argyle socks 8 x 8" pad, and a plaid from PTI three piece suit A2 paper collection.
• Die is Impression Obsession thankful.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Bird and Floral Branch on Stripes

When I was stamping the bird and branch for the shimmery birthday card posted here, I made some extras for a different design.  The first card was lovely, and this one is too, in its own way.  It has more of a modern feel with a blue striped sky and a blocky outline sentiment font.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring rain (light blue), stamper's select white, and the stripes print from PTI blueberry sky (medium blue) pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI spring woods.
• The sentiment "hello" is from PTI colorful words, stamped with PTI cocoa bean (dark brown) ink cube. The bird and branch, from PTI spring woods, are stamped with PTI canyon clay (orangey brown), cocoa bean, classic kraft (light brown), lavender moon (pink-purple), and simply chartreuse (green) ink cubes.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Yellow Bouquet on Lacy White with Blue

I made this card for today's challenge on Nichole Heady's blog Capture the Moment.  We were asked to use one of the featured PTI stamp sets from 2016, or to draw inspiration from any of the projects she highlighted.  I don't have those sets, so I chose a card by Amy Sheffer to work from.  It's this one, the 5th "tulip time" example in Nichole's post today.  

The elements on my card all come from Amy's design.  A lacy white die cut on a light blue background - a bouquet of yellow flowers - a twine bow - and a white sentiment on a narrow banner.  It's very sunny and cheerful!  Thank you, Amy and Nichole, for your inspiration!

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) blue shimmer, new leaf (green), and stamper's select white.
• Twine is buttercream (yellow) stripe from The Twinery.
• Dies are cover plate: twist and sketched shapes (long narrow banner).  I cut the flowers and leaves with scissors.
• The sentiment "sending sunshine" is from PTI what the doodle: sun, stamped with Versamark and white heat embossed.  Flowers and leaves are from PTI life and larger than life, stamped with PTI harvest gold (yellow), summer sunrise (yellow-orange), orange zest, vintage jadeite (light green), new leaf (medium green), and Hawaiian shores (turquoise) ink cubes.

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Yellow and White Star with Red Stripes and Blue Circles

For today's challenge on Nichole Heady's blog Capture the Moment, we were asked to use one of the featured PTI stamp sets from 2015, or to draw inspiration from any of the projects she highlighted.  I don't have those sets, so I chose one of the projects to work from.  It's this card by Ashley Cannon Newell, the 3rd "you've been framed: hexagon" example in Nichole's post today.

While yesterday's card was a close CASE of its inspiration, today's is a distant cousin of Ashley's design.  But I can see a resemblance.  As prompted by Ashley's card, I layered a dark cover plate over a light yellow print, then added some bright vertical stripes and a bold sentiment on white in a yellow frame.  Though my end result is very different from the original, I never would have made my card without that starting point.  Thank you, Ashley and Nichole, for inspiring my card today! 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) enchanted evening (dark blue), summer sunrise (yellow-orange), pure poppy (red), stamper's select white, a yellow swirl print from PTI pretty pastels 8x8" paper pad, and the narrow stripes print from PTI pure poppy "+ white basics" patterned paper.
• Dies are cover plate: circles, wonderful words: thank you, and seeing stars.  I popped out the circles from the cover plate die cut, but left the little diamond and triangle shapes in place.  The white star is inlaid into the yellow star, making a flat surface to adhere the "thank you" die cut. 

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Silver Foil Chevrons with Green and Vellum

For today's challenge on Nichole Heady's blog Capture the Moment, we were asked to use one of the featured PTI stamp sets from 2014, or to draw inspiration from any of the projects she highlighted.  I don't have those sets, so I chose one of the projects to work from.  It's this card by Laurie Willison, the 2nd "life is beautiful" example in Nichole's post today.  I used a green circle instead of pink, and a leafy branch instead of a butterfly.  Otherwise it's a close CASE of the inspiration card. 

Unfortunately, my photo doesn't capture the bright shine of the silver foil chevrons, and my vellum coloring looks rather brown when it's really a soft sweet green.  In real life, it's quite a pretty card!  Thank you, Laurie and Nichole, for your inspiration!

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stamper's select white, vellum, the bitty dot print from PTI new leaf (green) pattern pack, and the chevron print from PTI silver luxe foil A2 size patterned paper collection.
• Dies are a 5-1/2" We R Memory Keepers circle die and PTI branching out. 
• The banner is notched with scissors. 
• I added some color to the right-hand portion of my vellum branch with Copic marker G43. 
• The sentiment "thanks" is from PTI limitless layers: labels, stamped with Versafine onyx black ink.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Blue with Gold Flowers

I made this card for today's challenge on Nichole Heady's blog Capture the Moment.  We were asked to use one of the featured PTI stamp sets from 2013, or to draw inspiration from any of the projects she highlighted.  I don't have those sets, so I chose a card by Erin Lincoln to work from.  It's this one, the 4th "pedal pusher" example in Nichole's post today. 

My card is not at all what I set out to make.  But the inspiration card sentiment was "enjoy the ride," and it seems fitting that I went on a bumpy path that took me someplace very unexpected.  I started with spring rain flowers stamped on spring rain card stock, intending to add a summer sunrise (yellow-orange) die cut word like Erin's to my white stitched rectangle.  But the flowers needed "something" more, so I added summer sunrise ink.  I never imagined the result would look so golden!  So I added some sun rays, changed my die cut to PTI saffron spice, which looked similar to  my flower color, and ... called it done.  Thank you, Nichole and Erin, for inspiring my card today!

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring rain (light blue), saffron spice (gold), and stamper's select white.
• Dies are PTI big basics: thanks and stitched rectangles.  I used the largest rectangle to edge my 1" strip of white, then turned it and lined it up with the end holes to edge the other side.
• The sentiment "very much" is from PTI fillable frames #2, stamped with PTI saffron spice ink cube.  The flower cluster is from PTI mini blooms, stamped with PTI spring rain ink cube, as well as PTI summer sunrise (yellow-orange) ink applied to the stamp with a finger dauber.  The rays are from PTI shine, stamped with PTI summer sunrise ink cube.

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Sun Rays on Aqua with Muted Teal

For today's challenge on Nichole Heady's blog Capture the Moment, we were asked to use one of the featured PTI stamp sets from 2012, or to draw inspiration from any of the projects she highlighted.  I don't have those sets, but I do have the "hello sunshine" dies, perfect for the inspiration I chose.  It's this card by Maile Belles, the 6th "hello sunshine" card shown in Nichole's post today. 

I copied Maile's sun panel, except that my sun circle and patterned triangles are die cut instead of stamped.  I turned my panel upside down and used deeper colors for my background.  The large die cut word completes the sunshine theme.  Thank you, Maile and Nichole, for inspiring me to make this!

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) aqua mist, summer sunrise (yellow-orange), and several prints (leaf, polka dot, and bitty dot) from PTI summer sunrise, harvest gold (yellow), orange zest, and ocean tides (muted teal) pattern packs.
• Dies are PTI sunshine (word) and hello sunshine.  
• For the sun's center, I used an EK Success 1" circle punch. 

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Red Rose and Green Leaves on White Oval

For today's challenge on Nichole Heady's blog Capture the Moment, we were asked to use one of the featured PTI stamp sets from 2011, or to draw inspiration from any of the projects she highlighted.  I don't have those sets, so I chose one of the projects to work from.  It's this card by Danielle Flanders, the 4th "year of flowers collection" example in Nichole's post today. 

My card, like the inspiration card, has a lacy white oval with a multi-line sentiment, a single red rose  on a white die cut, a leafy green branch, and a bow tied with baker's twine.  I made some changes to the ink color, the card shape, and the oval size.  Also I used an embossed card base instead of tone-on-tone stamping.  Thank you, Nichole and Danielle, for your inspiration!

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) simply chartreuse (green), aqua mist, stamper's select white,  and the leaf print from PTI simply chartreuse pattern pack.
• The aqua card stock is embossed with a stencil from PTI modern background collection.  See this post for the technique and warnings.
• Baker's twine is PTI chocolate.
• Dies are from friendship jar flowers and limitless layers: 2-1/4" ovals.
• The sentiment "thankful for you" is from PTI think big favorites #19, stamped with PTI dark chocolate (brown) ink cube.  The rose is from PTI friendship jar flowers, stamped with PTI pure poppy (red) ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Bright Retro Flowers - Yellow and Red with Gingham

A trio of bright (bright!) flowers in a red frame on some yellow gingham.  It makes me smile!

I made this card for today's challenge on Nichole Heady's blog Capture the Moment.  We were asked to use one of the featured PTI stamp sets from 2010, or to draw inspiration from any of the projects she highlighted.  I don't have those sets, but I do have some of the "beautiful blooms II" dies, so I chose one of those cards to work from.  It's this one, the 2nd "beautiful blooms II" example in Nichole's post today.

I was inspired by the bright red and yellow colors on a white panel, the simple "retro" flower shapes, the red frame, and the black sentiment below the focal image.  It was fun creating this (very bright!) card.   Thank you, Nichole, for your inspiration!

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red), bright buttercup (deep yellow), stamper's select white, and the gingham print from PTI lemon tart (light yellow) pattern pack.
• Dies are PTI beautiful blooms II #3. 
• The red flower centers are punched with a very old 1/4" hand punch - one of the basics for my card making then and now. 
• The sentiment "sending sunshine" is from PTI keep it simple: encouragement, stamped with PTI true black ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Orange Sunflower with Cream and Brown

For today's challenge on Nichole Heady's blog Capture the Moment, we were asked to use one of the featured PTI stamp sets from 2009, or to draw inspiration from any of the projects she highlighted.  I don't have those sets, so I chose one of the projects to work from.  It's this one, the 6th "giga guide lines" example in Nichole's post today.  Thank you, Nichole, for your inspiration!

From the inspiration project, I combined elements of the card and the gift box.  From the card, I took the cream oval shape, with its circular orange motif and brown sentiment stamped across the design, and also the diamond-embossed cream panel.  From the box, I took the dark brown border and the horizontal orange accent, which I changed from ribbon to patterned paper. 

 Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) dark chocolate (dark brown), orange zest, vintage cream, and the damask print from PTI orange zest pattern pack.  In real life, the stamped flower looks less red; it's a good match with the patterned paper.
• Embossing folder is Lifestyle Crafts diamonds and dots.
• Die is from Spellbinders large classic ovals. 
• The sentiment "thinking of you" is from PTI keep it simple: thinking of you, and the flower is from PTI simple sunflower.  They are stamped with PTI orange zest, dark chocolate, and fine linen (tan) ink cubes.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Rose with White - Hearts and Ribbons

For today's challenge on Nichole Heady's blog Capture the Moment, we were asked to use one of the featured PTI stamp sets from 2008, or to draw inspiration from any of the projects she highlighted.  Since I don't have those sets, I chose one of the cards to work from.  It's this card, the 6th "garden of life" example in Nichole's post today. Thank you, Nichole, for your inspiration!

From the inspiration project, I changed the colors and the shape of the focal point.  I kept the mostly monochromatic theme, the horizontal ribbon band beneath a layered focal point, the corner rounding, and the small-scale pattern across the lower half of the card.  It's perfect for the valentine I needed to make today!

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) sweet blush (light pink) autumn rose (medium pink), scarlet jewel (burgundy), stamper's select white,  and lavender moon (pink-purple) bitty box print.
• Ribbon is an unknown 1/8" white satin, set between two strips of PTI 3/8" autumn rose twill.
• Dies are PTI framed out #11 and limitless layers: 2-1/4" hearts. 
• Right-side corners are rounded with Crop-a-Dile 1/2" corner chomper.
• The sentiment "be mine xoxo" is from PTI tag-its #11, stamped with PTI autumn rose ink cube.

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Bird and Floral Branch on Shimmer

A special birthday card for a very special lady who just turned 102.  Both the card base and the sheer ribbon are shimmery, and there's a touch of glitter on the flower centers.  I almost never use glitter, but this was a very good exception to the rule. 

I love the sweet bird on the branch.  After trying several different ink colors for the flowers, I was surprised at the beauty of the pink-purple ink with the other colors. 

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) blue shimmer and stamper's select white.
• Ribbon (1" wide) is a random scrap, probably saved from a gift box.  It was perfect with the blue shimmer card stock, so I'm glad I saved it!
• Glitter is Ranger diamond stickles.
• Dies are PTI spring woods.
• The sentiment "birthday wishes" is from PTI winter woods, stamped with PTI simply chartreuse (green) ink cube. The bird and branch, from PTI spring woods, are stamped with PTI canyon clay (orangey brown), cocoa bean (dark brown), classic kraft (light brown), lavender moon, and simply chartreuse ink cubes.

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Turquoise Stars with Ribbon on Kraft

For today's challenge on Nichole Heady's blog Capture the Moment, we were asked to use one of the featured PTI stamp sets from 2007, or to draw inspiration from any of the projects she highlighted.  Since I don't have any 2007 sets, I chose one of the cards to work from.  It's this card, the 7th "spiral bouquet" example in Nichole's post today. Thank you to Nichole and KCrawford for your inspiration!

Although I changed the colors and shapes, I kept many things the same: the ribbon threaded through slots in a simple white shape, the sentiment in black, the embossed kraft background, and the accents coordinating with the ribbon color.  It was fun using some elements and tools that were popular in 2007 - though I was happy to use modern dies, which I like much better than the old-style punches! 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) classic kraft, Hawaiian shores (turquoise), and stamper's select white. 
• Ribbon is 3/4" and is probably made by May Arts.  In real life, the ribbon and star colors work well together.
• Embossing folder is Darice stars asst (assorted).
• Dies are PTI cover plate: stars and limitless layers: 1-3/4" circles. 
• Slot punch is similar to this one.
• The sentiment "thank you" is from PTI communique sentiments, stamped with PTI true black ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Flower Stems with Two Pink Prints

Two more pink cards today!  The white panels have the same stamped elements, but mounted on dark or pale pink prints with matching baker's twine.  Though I'm usually drawn to using deeper colors, I also really like this lighter pink print and twine with the stamped panel.

It was a fun challenge for me to design these cards.  Another card maker kindly gave me a dozen precut white panels, with a variety of sentiments already stamped from Papertrey Ink (PTI) bigger blooms and mini blooms.  (We had split the stamp sets - I kept the images, and she kept the sentiments.)  To create my finished cards from the panels, I added a stamped bow and flower stems, curved around the sentiment, with two strands of twine accenting the white space at the bottom, and mounted on an A2 print for the card base.

Card details:

• Card stock is PTI stamper's select white, damask print from PTI hibiscus burst (deep pink) pattern pack, and pale pink print from PTI pretty pastels 8x8" paper pad.
• Twine is pink sorbet (deep pink) and blossom (pale pink) stripe from The Twinery.
• The sentiments "happy birthday" and "get well soon" are from PTI bigger blooms.  The flowers and bow are from PTI gathered garden, stamped with PTI new leaf (green) and hibiscus burst ink cubes. 
• I don't know the details for the black ink and stitched rectangle die. 

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Pink with Lime Green and White

Nice and bright - almost neon!  The crisp white and the plaid-embossed green make a strong contrast with the pink damask print. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) limeade ice (green), hibiscus burst (pink), stamper's select white, and damask print from PTI hibiscus burst pattern pack.
• Embossing folder is Darice plaid.
• Dies are PTI wonderful words: hello and eyelet lace.  I shortened the tail of the "o" to fit better on my pink panel.
• White lines around three sides of the panel are drawn with Signo Uni-ball white gel impact pen.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Stripes with Brown Stenciled Panel

Two monochromatic cards with the same elements.  The stenciled panels are the "positive and negative" from one stenciling session.  I like the effect of the brown stripes under the die cut sentiment, which in real life has good contrast on both cards.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) classic kraft (left card), vintage cream (right card), cocoa bean (dark brown - left card), dark chocolate (dark brown- right card), canyon clay (orangey brown - both cards), and a stripe print from PTI canyon clay (both cards), classic kraft (left card), and dark chocolate (right card) pattern packs.
•  I airbrushed onto classic kraft card stock with Copic marker E49 and a stencil from PTI modern background collection for the left card.  Then I spritzed my stencil with Copic "0" colorless blending solution and printed it off onto vintage cream card stock (cleaning up the stencil in the process) for the right card.
• For both cards, I also embossed my panels with the stencil.  See this post for the technique and warnings.
• Die is from My Favorite Things many thanks (retired).

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Birdhouse Scene - Before and After

"After" card

Sometimes it's fun for me to remake an older card, and this design was one of my favorites from 2012.  Bright and cheerful, with lots of detail and texture.  With the few changes I made, I like it all the more. 

The changes are: a smaller turquoise panel without ribbon, a tone-on-tone damask print instead of the embossed solid color, and a different sentiment.  See below for original card.

Card details for the "after" card (above):

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink lemon tart (yellow), aqua mist (light aqua), Hawaiian shores (medium turquoise), new leaf (green), pure poppy (red), scarlet jewel (burgundy), and damask print from PTI lemon tart pattern pack.
• The bird, leaves, and birdhouse dies are from WPlus9 Folk Art Florals (retired). 
• The sun is 1/4 of a 2" scalloped circle, embossed with two small Spellbinder circle dies to provide some texture.
• The sky is embossed with Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls embossing folder.
• The sentiment "sending sunshine" is computer-printed in teal ink with Milkshake and Courier fonts.

Card details for the "before" card (below):  Posted here.

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"Before" card

Confetti Backgrounds with Teal and Purple

I wanted to stamp a bright and bubbly confetti background for a birthday card (on the left), and I also made a few more for thank you cards.  Both cards have the same overall design and colors.  It was fun using all of my four confetti ink colors in card stock, patterned paper, or twine on each design.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) tropical teal, amethyst allure (purple), pure poppy (red), summer sunrise (yellow), stamper's select white, a bitty dot print from PTI summer sunrise pattern pack, and a narrow stripe print from PTI pure poppy "+ white basics" patterned paper.
• Twine is by WeRMemoryKeepers.
• Dies are from PTI tipped tops (happy), PTI flower fusion #7, and My Favorite Things many thanks (retired).  
• I used my very old 1/4" hole punch for the teal flower center.
• The confetti background is from PTI confetti toss, stamped with PTI tropical teal, amethyst allure, pure poppy, and summer sunrise ink cubes.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Gray with Lime Green Squares

I don't often use my alphabet dies, and I'm glad I tried them here!  The shimmery silver letters look good on the lime green squares, which look good on the green and gray block print. 

Playing with colors is something I love about card making.  Normally I wouldn't pick gray with lime green for a happy color scheme, but to me, this card feels very fresh and friendly. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) limeade ice (lime green), silver shimmer, bitty dot print from PTI soft stone (light gray) pattern pack, and block print from PTI three piece suit A2 paper collection.
• Dies are My Favorite Things retro squares border (retired) and PTI polka dot parade alphabet upper.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Green with Brown - Leaf Print

A very simple masculine note card in green and brown.  Detail and texture are added by the leaf print, dotted brown border strip, stitched banner, and line of embroidery floss.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) ripe avocado (green), rustic white, a bitty dot print from PTI dark chocolate (brown) pattern pack, and a leaf print from PTI turning a new leaf 8x8" pad.
• Embroidery floss is DMC #372.
• Die is from PTI keep it simple frames.
• The sentiment "just because" is from PTI keep it simple: just because, stamped with PTI dark chocolate ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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