Tan with Orangey Brown - Hello

Two tan-on-tan words make a background for my layered "hello" die cuts.  A gingham border echoes the criss-cross pattern of the stamped words.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) fine linen (tan), cocoa bean (brown), canyon clay (orangey brown), and gingham print from PTI canyon clay pattern pack (retired).
• Die is PTI wonderful words: hello. 
• The sentiments "just a note to say" and "hello" are from PTI wonderful words: hello, stamped with PTI cocoa bean and fine linen ink cubes.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Gray Thanks on Gray, with Green Vines

Such a simple card, gray-on-gray with green.  It's one of my favorites!  Softly serene, yet with a bold message.  From this card's leftover pieces (dotted word and plain background), I made a second card that's just as nice.

It's a CASE of a beautiful card I received from a fellow card maker.  Hers had a white "thanks" inlaid in a white background, with a sentiment line stamped beneath the die cut word, and lovely bright stamped flowers with delicate green foliage.  Thank you, Ann, for your sweet note and your inspiration!

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) soft stone (light gray) and the bitty dot print from PTI soft stone pattern pack (retired).
• Die is from My Favorite Things many thanks (retired).  The word is inlaid into the background.   
• Technique:  To be sure of getting a smooth, well-stamped image across my die cut lines, I stamped an A2 of both the plain and the patterned card stock, before die cutting, using the MISTI for exact placement.  Then I laid the two A2's together (the lighter weight patterned piece on top, with the MISTI corners aligned) and die cut them both at once.  This worked very well for me.  It might have been okay to die cut and inlay first, then stamp, but I didn't want to take a chance on it.
• The vine leaves are from PTI turning a new leaf, and the sentiment "very much" is from PTI wonderful words: thank you, stamped with PTI green parakeet ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Muted Red, White, and Blue with Brown Stars

A very "country" looking card with muted colors, roughly textured stripes, and Western star circles.   Diagonal stars and words help to balance the strong horizontal lines.  I like the brush-stroke style of the sentiment with the brown and white patterned paper. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) Americana (muted red), ocean tides (muted teal), dark chocolate (brown), and a print from Pebbles Americana 6x6" paper pad.
• The patterned paper is edged with Copic marker E29.
• Embossing folder is Sizzix Tim Holtz stripes.
• Dies are from My Favorite Things western star border duo (retired).
• The sentiment "thank you" is from PTI keep it simple: thank you II, stamped with PTI Americana ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Yellow Flowers with Gingham, Ribbon, and Doily

For a friend's birthday, I made a card with her favorite color.  Yellow flowers, ribbon, gingham, and dots, with a dotted vellum doily and a dainty bow.  She enjoys my drawings, so I colored one for the center. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white for the flowers, Papertrey Ink (PTI) bright buttercup (deep yellow), gingham print from PTI lemon tart (light yellow) pattern pack (retired), bitty dot print from PTI sheer basics vellum, and bitty dot print from PTI bright buttercup "+ white basics" patterned paper (retired). 
• The flower drawing is the same as this card, which has links to other cards using this drawing.  It's computer printed, then colored with Copic markers Y11,15,19,38, YR09,24,27, YG05, G14, E11,44, B21,24, V04, and W5.
• Dies are WeRMemoryKeepers nesting circles (1-3/4" and 2") and PTI Parisian lace doily.
• Ribbon is 3/8" satin.  
• Technique: Over the years, I've tried a few different ways to seal my ribbon ends, and none have worked very well for me.  This time, I tried a small amount of Ranger multi medium matte, which I thin a bit with water and use with a Quilled Creations precision tip bottle top as my favorite liquid glue.  I squeezed out a thin line of it onto my nonstick craft mat, then lightly dipped/dabbed the ends of my ribbon.  It dried clear, clean, and almost invisible.  Very quick and easy.  This will be my ribbon sealing technique from now on. 

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Bamboo with Green, Teal, and Aqua

A green, teal, and aqua card in two variations.  See below for the second one.  I'm making 36 for the use of our community senior center, so I needed an easy layout to cut, stamp, and assemble.

The bamboo is stamped on a pale aqua grid that I created and printed with my computer.  The grid adds a lovely subtle texture and a suggestion of sky.  I like both cards very much! 

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white, Papertrey Ink (PTI) tropical teal, spring moss (light green - above), aqua mist (below), and bitty dot prints from PTI aqua mist (above) and spring moss (below) pattern packs (retired).  
• My homemade patterned paper is a Word table, with rows and columns set to approx. 3/16" and an uneven dashed aqua line for the grid lines.  It's a bit darker in real life, but not much.
• The sentiment "just because" is from PTI keep it simple: just because, stamped with PTI tropical teal ink cube.  
• The bamboo is from PTI peaceful garden (retired), stamped with PTI spring moss and tropical teal ink cubes.  After stamping the bamboo in green, I added some teal ink to my stamp with a sponge dauber and restamped it, using the MISTI. 

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Dark Green with Kraft and Rusty Red - Frame Hello

For the Papertrey Ink "Create Along with Us" June challenge, I chose the 3rd project in this post by Lizzie Jones as my starting point.  Many of my ingredients came from Lizzie's card ...  a busy patterned paper background, a die cut frame and word, a diagonal "2nd line" sentiment, and a color scheme with green, brown, and rusty red. 

Sponging cream ink onto the patterned paper inside my frame allowed the "hello" to stand out well on the dark pattern, and then I also sponged some cream and rusty red onto the kraft frame and eyelet border.

This card is far from my usual style, but I think I like it!  Thanks, Lizzie, for inspiring me to try something very different today!

Card details:

• Card stock is an unknown leather-textured dark green (a few sheets given to me by a cardmaking friend), Papertrey Ink (PTI) terra cotta tile (rusty red), classic kraft, and a print from PTI argyle socks 8x8" patterned paper (retired).
• Dies are PTI seed packet frame 2, wonderful words: hello, and eyelet lace. 
• Sponging is done with PTI vintage cream and terra cotta tile ink cubes, using the round Ranger ink blending tool to apply the ink.
• The sentiment "thinking of you" is from PTI fillable frames #2 (retiring), stamped with PTI terra cotta tile ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Orange and Yellow Sunshine Circles with Blue

Bright colors and an off-center layout bring energy to today's card, with yellow circles shading to orange, a light blue chevron pattern, a two-tone blue sentiment, and an orange card base. 

In real life it's crisper looking, and the sentiment stands out more, but at least in my picture, the orange looks orange!  It's always a challenge for me to get a good image with orange colors.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) orange zest, spring rain (light blue), and stamper's select white.
• The yellow and orange circles are stenciled using The Crafter's Workshop 203S circle grid (6x6") stencil, with PTI bright buttercup (yellow) and orange zest ink cubes using the round Ranger ink blending tool to apply the ink.
• The light blue chevrons are stenciled using The Crafter's Workshop 227S chevrons (6x6") stencil, with PTI blueberry sky (medium blue) ink cube using an e.l.f total face brush to apply the ink.
• The darker blue on the bottom of the words was added with PTI enchanted evening (dark blue) ink cube using an e.l.f total face brush to apply the ink.  I masked the tops of the words with strips of removable tape.
• Die is PTI big basics: sunshine.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Blue Stars on Blue with Red

A blue-on-blue starry panel, accented with a red frame, and a simple white banner with red sentiment.  I like the textured card base with the somewhat textured look of the stamped stars. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring rain (light blue), pure poppy (red), enchanted evening (dark blue), and stamper's select white.
• The dark blue card stock is embossed with the Dreamweaver faux cross-stitch stencil screen, as explained in this post.
• Die is from PTI bountiful banners.
• The stars are from PTI military stars (retired), stamped with PTI blueberry sky (medium blue) ink cube. The sentiment "thank you" is from PTI keep it simple: thank you II, stamped with PTI pure poppy ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Yellow Sunshine Medallion with Light Blue

A bright yellow sunshiny medallion, with swirly-textured light blue for a sky background.  I like this combination, especially with the very pale yellow card stock for the medallion and sentiment.

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah baronial ivory (pale yellow), Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring rain (light blue), blueberry sky (medium blue), and bright buttercup (yellow).
• Embossing folder is Cuttlebug d'vine swirls.
• Dies are PTI limitless layers: 1-3/4" circles.
• The medallion is from PTI round and round, stamped with PTI bright buttercup ink cube.  The sentiment "sending sunshine" is from PTI what the doodle: sun, stamped with PTI blueberry sky ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Green Herringbone with Turquoise

Shades of green in herringbone, chevron, and dot patterns.  Plenty of texture with linen card stock, twill ribbon, embossed faux stitching lines, and a die cut herringbone screen.  Monochromatic except for a turquoise panel behind the herringbone, bringing focus to the sentiment label.  I really like this card!
 
Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pinefeather (dark green), Hawaiian shores (turquoise), stamper's select white, and the bitty dot print from PTI mint julep (light green) "+ white basics" patterned paper (retired).
• Green twill chevron ribbon is by May Arts.
• Dies are PTI my mother, my friend (large label) and mix & mat: herringbone.
• The sentiment "thank you" is from PTI keep it simple: thank you, stamped with PTI pinefeather ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Tag with Red, White, and Blue Twine Bow

I'm always happy when I manage to make a card with a tag on it!  Though I like the idea of a tag, my feeling that it should be tied onto something, like a real tag, somehow gets in the way when I'm creating.  But I do enjoy using twine and embroidery floss, and I'll remind myself to include tags more often.

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source royal blue, Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red) and stamper's select white, and a dotted print from Doodlebug patriotic picnic 6x6" paper pad. 
• Red, white, and blue twine is by Doodlebug.
• Die is from PTI keep it simple frames.
• The sentiment "thanks" is from PTI polka dot parade #6, stamped with PTI pure poppy ink cube.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Yellow Butterfly with Green on Striped Vellum

Something bright!  I do enjoy making sunshine-themed cards.  A band of striped vellum softens part of the background, letting the eye rest on the butterfly focal point.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) bright buttercup (yellow), new leaf (green), stamper's select white, and a striped print from PTI sheer basics patterned vellum.
• Dies are PTI limitless layers: 1-3/4" circles and number the stars banner.
• The butterfly leaf image is from PTI round and round, and the sentiment "sending sunshine" is from PTI keep it simple: encouragement, stamped with PTI bright buttercup and new leaf ink cubes.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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