Sitting Next to You...

Hi there!! So how was your Valentine's? :) We stayed at home and baked some homemade enchiladas and danced to old Elvis songs (our first dance at our wedding was an Elvis song). It was a great Valentine's!

One of the things my husband and I love to do is sit on the couch together after dinner and on Saturday and Sunday mornings. That time together is so precious and I treasure it. So when I saw the On My Couch set I knew I would make him a card. :)

The pearls were originally white. I colored them with a light brown copic and the shine of the pearl makes them appear gold. The paper behind the couch is a gold shimmer paper.

And here's the inside decorated. :) I added some score lines above and below the hearts strip.

I also made a coordinating envelope using PTI's Simply Valentine patterned paper and envelope liner die.

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's! Today has been a gorgeous day here and tonight I'm going to a cake decorating class. Should be fun. Can't wait! Have a sunny day!!

All supplies listed are Papertrey Ink unless otherwise listed.
STAMPS: On My Couch, Chair-ished (sentiment), Sweet Love, BB: Hearts
PAPER: Pure Poppy, SS White, Gold shimmer (Core'dinations Pearls paper line at Joann's), Simply Valentine patterned paper
INK: Red Brick, Midnight Black (Versamagic)
DIES: 2.5" Limitless Layers, Envelope Liner die, Double-ended Banners
OTHER: SS white envelopes, white pearls (from Michaels, colored gold with light brown copic)

Book Lovers Set and new Etsy shop!

In early December I posted a set of book notecards I made for my uncle for a Christmas present. The original post is here. I was happy to find out that Caardvarks chose that notecard set as a winner for their final challenge. :)

I ended up making my uncle a book lovers set, which included notecards, bookmarks, book plates, pen, gift bag and tin. It was a lot of fun to make the set and he really liked it. So today I thought I would show you the rest of the book lovers set. I'm also very excited to be announcing today that I'm opening a new Etsy shop! (I'll provide a little bit more info about that at the end of the post.)

I made a set of 4 magnetic bookmarks, each using a 1-1/2" x 8" piece of PTI Kraft paper scored at 4". I rounded off the tops to coordinate with the notecards and to give it a finished edge. By stamping the sentiment at the very top, the sentiment peeks out from the top of the book when it's closed.

I attached adhesive magnets to the inside of the bookmark to secure it to the page, so it won't slide around.

A tip about alignment: glue down one magnet, then snap the second magnet onto the first magnet, remove the adhesive backing from the back of the second magnet, then press the paper down onto the second magnet. The magnets will be perfectly aligned on the bookmark this way.

Here are the other bookmarks.

I stamped the sentiments from the PTI All Booked Up set and then masked the lines from the PTI Journaling Lines set and the PTI Text Style set.

I bought some mini kraft bags from Michaels to store the bookmarks inside. I stamped the outside of the bag with another image from the Booked Up set. I thought that image was appropriate since there is a bookmark sticking out of the book. ;)

I also made a set of 4 bookplates using the same circle images from the notecards, then stamped "From the library of" so he can personalize his books. Then I tied them together with twine.

For the gift bag, I made an extra book plate and attached it to the outside. I used the "From the library of" sentiment again and then put my uncle's name. It just seemed more fitting than putting "To/From". :)

Inside the gift bag, I included a RSVP pen with PTI kraft paper rolled up inside, a set of notecards and envelopes in a cello bag and then packaged up the book plates and bookmarks inside a tin. Here's the whole tin set.

I still plan to make coordinating mini magnets and notepad and more and will try to post those at a later date.

I made a few extras when I was making them for my uncle and I will be adding them to my new Etsy shop. My new etsy shop is HERE. It has been a goal of mine for awhile to open one so I'm very excited that it is now a reality! Hope you'll stop by and take a peek. I will be adding new things often too!

By the way, I'm including this special note with any book-related orders from my Etsy shop:

It says: "Thanks for checking out my Etsy shop!" ;)

Thanks for reading through this post! Hope you have a great, sunny day!

All supplies are Papertrey Ink unless otherwise listed.

Stamps: All Booked Up, Faux Ribbon, Text Style, Journaling Lines

Ink: Graphite Black (Brilliance), Tea Dye Duo

Paper: Kraft

Other: magnets (Michaels), clear top tins, pens, gift bag (Michaels), mini kraft bags (Michaels)

Simple Floral Notecards

It's been fun to do all the giveaways the past month! Now I thought I would show you some projects I've been working on. Today's project is a floral notecard set I made.

The flowers are stamped with PTI Year of Flowers Morning Glories stamp set and the sentiment is from Fillable Frames 10 stamp set. I love stamping the YOF flowers by themselves. The images are already detailed and then I used bold, happy colored cardstock to brighten and color the flowers.

That's all for today! I will have another post tomorrow, along with an announcement! :) See you tomorrow!

Final PTI Giveaway #5: WINNERS ANNOUNCED!!!!

Thanks so much to everyone for playing along with all of these giveaways. It's been so fun this past month celebrating the blogiversary and I've loved reading all of the wonderful comments! Also, hello to the new blog followers, so glad to have you here and I hope to see you again soon!

Now it's time to announce the winners again. Yay!! The winners of the final giveaway from Giveaway #5 are...

The winner of the Giveaway #1 package with PTI papers, etc. is...

MELISSA LADD!!!!

Congrats, Melissa!!!!!! You can check out her gorgeous blog here.

The winner of the Giveaway #2 package with PTI Impression plate, etc. is...

CATHY WEBER!!!!

Congrats, Cathy!!!!!! You can check out her lovely blog here.

And the winner of the Giveaway #3 PTI 2010 Anniversary stamp set is...

JEN ADCOCK!!!!

Congrats, Jen!!!!!! You can check out her really cool blog here.

Woohoo, congrats ladies! Please email me your mailing address and I will mail you the goodies! My email is under "contact info" on my sidebar.

Thanks again for playing along with these giveaways and I will have more giveaways in the future! Have a great sunny day!!

Final Papertrey Ink Giveaway #5!!

It's been a lot of fun doing these giveaways and reading all of your comments! Today I am offering lots of PTI goodies for this final giveaway. It is a sampler of many of PTI's products: stamps, impression plate, ribbons, buttons, paper, felt and more!

For those stopping by for the first time, I am celebrating my blogiversary by posting several Papertrey Ink giveaways throughout the month of January. Everyone can participate, so if you would like a chance to win, feel free to leave a comment!


There are three chances to win today!!

Giveaway #1 includes PTI Cardstock and patterned papers...

And it also includes three colors of felt, ribbons and buttons.

Giveaway #2 includes a Moroccon Motifs Impression Plate, mini paint cans, a 2011 blank mini calendar, a new pink PTI bag, and a PTI notepad.

Giveaway #3 is the yet to be released limited edition 2010 PTI Anniversary stamp set. For those who will not be earning one, this is a great chance to win a copy. I will send the Anniversary set free to you as soon I receive it later in the spring.

I will ship these free to 3 winners anywhere in the world. 

Here are the details to enter:

1. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment saying why you love papercrafting. Also, please mention which giveaway you'd like to win, or if you'd like to win any of them.

2. Since this giveaway is for my blog readers, I am asking that you must also be a follower to enter. Just click the "Follow" link to the side, if you are not already a follower. Please let me know if you are already a follower.

3. Also, it is not required, but I would so appreciate if you'd like to spread the word about the giveaway too.

I will announce the winners to the Giveaway on Thursday, February 3rd. This is the final giveaway for this round, but I will try to have more giveaways in the future!

Thanks again so much for reading my blog and for playing along with these giveaways!

Have a very sunshine-filled day!

PTI Giveaway #4: WINNERS ANNOUNCED!!!!

Thanks for sharing where your favorite places are in the world. Many of you chose "home" as your favorite place, which is very sweet. My favorite place is probably the house that I grew up in. Every time I visit it, it reminds me of so many happy memories from growing up.

Now it's time to announce the winners again! Thanks for everyone who played along with the PTI Giveaway #4! So without further ado, here are the winners of the ribbon samplers from Giveaway #4.

The US winner is...

KARA!!!!

Congrats, Kara!!!!!! You can check out her very cool blog here.

And the international winner is...

MINA!!!!

Congrats, Mina!!!!!! You can check out her wonderful blog here.

Please email me your mailing address, ladies, and I will send you the ribbon sampler! My email is under "contact info" on my sidebar.

The final PTI giveaway will be posted tomorrow! Sorry for the delay, it is going to be a big giveaway!

Seasonal Holiday Calendar

Hi there! Today I thought I'd share with you a patterned paper calendar I made for my mom. You can find the other two other calendars I made here and here.

My mother loves holidays and I remember fondly when we were growing up how she would decorate for each holiday with lots of decorations set all over the house.

In Florida the seasons don't really change outside, so it was especially fun as a kid to have all of the decorations up in the house to mark the changing of the seasons and holidays throughout the year.

Even though all of us are grown now and not living in the house, she still decorates for every holiday and season and I'm so glad she does. :)

So I knew when making a calendar for her that I wanted to incorporate the holidays and seasons for her. 

A way to thank her for all of the warm memories from growing up! :)

I used various PTI patterned papers from several different pads. The months are stamped with PTI's Calendar Basics set.

And here are the remaining months...

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful, sunshine-filled day! :)

Daffodils for Rada

I made today's card for my mother-in-law, Rada. My husband flew to Croatia to see her and will hand deliver this to Rada on her birthday today. :) Every summer we go to Croatia to see her and this time my husband will be going for a week to spend some mother/son time together.

I like the card much better in person than in the photo. I wish the picture was a little better, but I had to rush to take the picture so we could make it to the airport. The daffodils are embossed in gold and the sentiment is outlined in a shimmery soft gold (it looks very pronounced here for some reason). The papers are shimmery as well.

In Croatia this past summer, Rada pulled me aside and handed me a couple of poetry books she'd studied as an English Literature major in college many years ago. She loves poetry and asked me to read several of the poems aloud to her. So we sat together on her couch as I read to her Longfellow, Dickinson, and more.

She loves many poems, but her favorite poem of all is The Daffodils by William Wordsworth. I must have read it to her at least a half dozen times. Her name translated means "daisy", so it seems especially fitting that her most favorite poem is about flowers.

Now everytime I see daffodils, I think of her.

So here is Rada's most favorite poem. Hope you enjoy it.

The Daffodils
by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

   That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

   A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

   And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretched in never-ending line

   Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they 

   Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee:

A Poet could not but be gay,

   In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

   In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

   Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Papertrey Ink Giveaway #4: Win some RIBBON!

Thanks so much for playing along with these giveaways! For those stopping by for the first time, I am celebrating my blogiversary by posting several Papertrey Ink giveaways throughout the month of January. Everyone can participate, so if you would like a chance to win, feel free to leave a comment!

I am offering these goodies up today.

A PTI ribbon sampler! The sampler includes a foot of Papertrey Ink ribbon in almost all of the colors and styles, and also includes speciality PTI ribbons and twine for a total of 150 ribbons. This ribbon sampler is great if you want to keep it by your desk for reference or if you'd like to use them up on your projects too.


There are two full sets and I will ship it free to two winners. One winner will be in the US and the other will be International.

Here are the details to enter:

1. Leave a comment saying where your favorite place is in the world and why.

2. Since this is a giveaway for my blog readers, I am asking that you must also be a follower to enter. Just click the "Follow" link to the side, if you are not already a follower. Please let me know if you are already a follower.

3. Also, it is not required, but I would so appreciate if you'd like to spread the word about the giveaway too.

I will announce 2 winners on Thursday, January 27th. That same day I will also post the final giveaway.

Thanks again so much for reading my blog. I've really enjoyed posting these giveaways for you and hope you've had fun playing along!

Have a wonderful and sunny day!

PTI Giveaway #3: WINNER ANNOUNCED!!!

Thanks so much for sharing your stories about how you got started in papercrafting. I loved reading all of them! It was especially interesting to find out that most of you started with scrapbooking, and then eventually started making cards and other things. Many of you have also been papercrafting for awhile, some since when you were kids.

I have always loved crafting, but started papercrafting 1-1/2 years ago. I went to Joann's to find scrapbook supplies, but found the stamping and cardmaking aisle instead somehow. I was amazed, yet slightly overwhelmed by all of the types of inks and especially the clear stamps. A nice woman in the stamping aisle helped me out and explained what everything was. A month ago, I had an interesting experience in that same stamping aisle. Someone came up to me and asked me about the supplies. And I began to tell her all about dye inks vs. pigment inks and clear vs. rubber stamps, and I realized I had come full circle and now I was the experienced stamper.

Now it's time to announce a winner again. Thanks for everyone who played along with the PTI Giveaway #3!

So without further ado, the winner of the paper sampler from Giveaway #3 is...

CAROL!!!!

Big congrats, Carol!!!!!! You can check out her gorgeous blog here.

Please email me your mailing address and I will get your paper out to you! My email is under "contact info" on my sidebar.

Remember, there will be two more chances to win this month. Another PTI giveaway will be posted shortly! See you soon!!

Papertrey Ink Giveaway #3: PAPER!

Hi everyone! Hope you're having a great day. Thanks so much for playing along with these giveaways! I really appreciate it and hope you are having fun! For those stopping by for the first time, I am celebrating my blogiversary by posting several Papertrey Ink giveaways throughout the month of January. Everyone can participate, so if you would like a chance to win, feel free to leave a comment!

I am offering these goodies up today.

It is new sampler featuring 50 sheets of Papertrey Ink 110 lb. cardstock in all the colors, even the neutrals.

I am also including this...

A sampler of PTI envelopes (2 of each, 16 total) in a variety of neutral colors and sizes, including all A2 envelopes and square sizes.

And also this...

A PTI diecuts sampler with 50 different shapes. It includes all of the favor boxes, mat stacks, fillable frames, Beautiful Blooms flowers, tags, limitless layers, borders and more. They were all carefully diecut from PTI's Stamper's Select white cardstock.

I will ship all of this free to one person anywhere in the world.

Here are the details to enter:

1. Leave a comment saying what got you started in papercrafting.

2. Since this is a giveaway for my blog readers, I am asking that you must also be a follower to enter. Just click the "Follow" link to the side, if you are not already a follower. Please let me know if you are already a follower.

3. Also, it is not required, but I would so appreciate if you'd like to spread the word about the giveaway too. If you post the giveaway to your blog, you may enter twice.

I will announce a winner in 1 week on Thursday, January 20th. That same day I will also post a new giveaway. I won't say how many giveaways there will be, but there will be a few! ;)

Thanks again so much for reading my blog. Enjoy the giveaway!

Have a very sunny day today! :)

PTI Giveaway #2: WINNER ANNOUNCED!!!

Thanks for playing along with the PTI Giveaway #2! It's been a lot of fun doing these giveaways, and I hope you're having fun playing along too. I enjoyed reading your comments and seeing which colors are your favorite. Many of you chose blue as your favorite color, particularly Hawaiian Shores. A lot of you also chose green and pink. Your favorite PTI colors were Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, Simply Chartreuse and Aqua Mist. All gorgeous colors!

My favorite colors are usually bold, such as blacks and reds. My favorite PTI colors are Pure Poppy and Aqua Mist.

Enough chit chat, I'm sure you want to find out who won. The winner of the felt sampler from Giveaway #2 is...

Jessica Wekenman!!!

Yay, congrats, Jessica!!! I hope you have fun with your felt! You can check out her lovely blog here.

Please email me your mailing address and I will get your felt out to you! My email is under "contact info" on my sidebar.

Thanks again for playing along!! Remember, there will be several more chances to win this month.

Another PTI giveaway will be posted shortly! See you soon!!