A Get Well SFYTT ~

** This is my 3rd post for today.  Please scroll down for the Perfect Presentation release and further for the Sketch Girl 13 creation **
I just had to squeak in for the challenge over at the i{heart}2stamp blog for the sketch for you to try.  I chose this sketch from the week of Valentine's Day. 

Have you seen the prize package???  Tons of stamps and things from all kinds of companies.  It's funny...when I first got into blogging, I participated in every week of Sketch for You to Try (SFYTT).  I don't think I've played along in over a year!  Jen has some fabulous sketches, but I find I play along with a ton of other challenge blogs now. 

This is the card that was supposed to accompany the Perfect Presentation Treat Box from the post below. 

Sorry the color is super wonky!  We have a terribly overcast day, so natural light is just not working for me.  I can never seem to get a good pic of Spring Moss anyway.  I colored and cut out another violet and mounted it on thin foam tape.  The center of the violet has a few dots of lemon Liquid Pearls.  The first mat is Plum Pudding stamped with a Tin Types background in VersaMark.  The circle piece is from the Pretty Pastels paper pack.  The sentiment is from Big and Bold Wishes, stamped in Versafine Onyx black and embossed with filigree clear embossing powder.  A few black pearls finish off the front. 
{This is where the colors get really wonky!}  The inside sentiment just needed a little umph, so I carried a few of the sketch elements inside to make it a bit more interesting.  This is also a bit blurry, sorry!  I'm using my husband's camera and can't figure out how to turn on the macro setting...grumble.  The inside sentiment says *GET WELL HUGS & WISHES*
Anyhow, here is the originally planned set together.  After posting the Treat Box, I decided I really needed something on the lid's front panel.  I cut out two small pieces of Spring Moss with the Spellbinders Labels 9 and pieced them together.  The sentiment is on a small Petite Oval nestabilitie.  I stamped the small leaf from the Violet set in Spring Moss and stamped *FEEL better* from Mixed Messages in Versafine Onyx black ink.

I think I may have to come back and post new pictures once we have some better light.  I think you can get the gist though!  Thank you so much for stopping by!!  Have a great Sunday evening! :o) lyss

All supplies are Papertrey Ink unless previously noted in post.  Copic colors are 110 Special Black, V95, V99, Y15, YG91, YG93, YG95

Perfect Presentation Treat Box ~

** This is the second post for today.  Please scroll down for Sketch Girl 13 post **
Leigh Ann has done it again!  Perfect Presentation has debuted two new templates today, Treat Box and Gift to Go.  Treat Box is a really fun and roomy box that can be used for just about anything.  I chose to make mine a *Get Well* box.  One of the features I love about this box is the fun decorative front flap.  The bow on top is tied in white grosgrain with a Spring Moss and Plum Pudding button sandwich at it's center.  In retrospect, I should've put my bow on the front of the box instead of the top.  Guess that means I'll just have to make another one! 

This large template has enough room for a bottle of hand sanitizing gel, about 10 tea bags and a tube of yummy pomegranate lip balm.  This would also be great for a package of tissues, etc.  This is what I have on hand though!  I even tried an Altoids tin standing on it's end - it fits!  Talk about lots of ideas for this one! 

That little front flap creates enough tension to hold this box closed on it's own - no need for a magnetic snap or velcro or something tied around it.  How great is that??
Now, before you say, "But Alyssa, there's no sentiment on this box", let me just tell you that there is a coordinated card coming.  It was practically finished to be shown as a combo when my son found my paper cutter and ruined attempt number one.  We'll blame that on Grandma too, since she just did an art project with him where he got to use scissors {chompers, as he calls them} for the first time! 
Treat Box comes in two formats, pdf for printing and cutting and svg for use with SCAL and Cricut machine.  Both files include instructions and photo assembly, as well as decorative panel templates for front panel and sides and measurements are given for the front and sides of the box portion.  So what are you waiting for?  Bop on over to The Wildflower Patch to get yours right now.  You could have one of these whipped up in about 5 minutes! 
I'll be back later with the card!  Thanks for coming back by today!  Hope you're all having wonderful crafty Sundays!!  :o) lyss

Sketch Girl 13 with the Wildflower Kids ~

Gee...it's been a bit quiet around here since 2010 began.  I think I've said that on every post!  lol  Nevertheless, I'm back with another card for Sketch Girl 13!  It's a super cute sketch that our wonderful leader, Leigh Ann, drew up. 

What a great sketch!  Our sponsor for this sketch is Wildflower Kids digital stamps available at The Wildflower Patch.  You should really become a follower over on PaperCraft Planet of the Wildflower Kids - sometimes Jen is fabulous enough to give out freebies!!  Jen Shults is the amazing illustrator of these stamps and has donated a couple of her new Royal Court line to each of the Sketch Girl designers to play with.  One randomly drawn winner will receive 5, yes, you read that right...5 digital stamps of their choice from the Wildflower Kids line!!

I chose to color up the little Pretty Princess using the DCWV background paper as my jumping point.  She is colored in with Copics {of course}.  She has a little sparkle and dimension in her tiara and necklace with a Sakura clearstar pen and a clear glaze pen.  I shaded in some grass with colored pencils and OMS...and then tried to draw in a light blue glow around her with the same technique.  It didn't go so great!  I ended up having to color in the entire sky, and I'm not sure that I love the effect.  Never fear though, I've already requested a tutorial from Jen so that I can do it right next time!! LOL  

   

I flipped the sketch over because it worked better in my mind for this image.  I hope to have another card to show you tomorrow with the sketch in it's proper orientation.  The sentiment is framed with some flourishes from a Cuttlebug die.  I used the SU word window punch for the happy birthday sentiment and modern label  punch to mat it - something a fellow Sketch Girl did on the last sketch.  Thanks for that fabulous idea, Harriet! 

The inside of the card has one of the sentiments from the Royal Court sentiments set.  It is die cut with the Spellbinder's Labels 9.  I made it big just because it is so cute!  What a great font, don't you think?  That's the best thing about digital stamps - you can size them however you want! How fun for scrapbook pages too!

Ok, you're off to check out the rest of the Sketch Girls now!  Thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget to play along for a chance to win!  You just have to link up your creation on the Sketch Girl blog. 

February's Guest Designer Amy Tsuruta ~ Amber ~ Annie ~ Bonnie ~ Eve ~ Harriet ~ Jennie ~ Jess ~ Julie ~ Katie ~ Randee ~ Sara ~ Tiffany
I'll be back later with a new Perfect Presentations template...I will have a peek of either the Gift to Go or Treat Box.  We'll just have to see which one I get finished and happy with!  Thanks for stopping by!!  :o) lyss

Cards for Mom

Hello!  Long time, no play!  I have been running around and just haven't had enough crafty time, so I thought I'd share the cards that I put in the gift I made for my mom.  I took the lead from Nichole's clean and simple cards that showcased the In Bloom stamp set.  I really didn't deviate from what she made too much. 

I did not take separate pictures, as I'm sure you can get the gist of what I made here.  I stamped flowers and leaves from the PTI set In Bloom in Fresh Snow ink.  Sentiments are from various stamp sets by Stampin Up, CC Designs and PTI.  Cardstock is all PTI in Kraft, Dark Chocolate, Ocean Tides, Pure Poppy, Plum Pudding, Raspberry Fizz and Ripe Avocado. 
Hope you all are getting crafty and inky!  It's snowing and super cold here, so I'm playing too!  I hope to have a couple of things to show you either tomorrow or Monday!  Have a great weekend!! ~lyss

Sketch Girl 12 ~

Hey all!  As promised, I'm back with a fun sketch for this holiday!  Here's the new Sketch Girl sketch:

Such a fun one!  I absolutely love square cards as of late, so this one was right up my alley.  We also got to play with some super fun images from our sponsor, Sassy Studio Designs.  I absolutely adore the new Alice in Wonderland series that was just released!  So fun...even though the movie scared the crap out of me when I was a youngin'!!  :o)

My focal image ended up kind of large because I wanted to include as much detail as possible. 

This bathing beauty is colored in with Copics and a little Sakura clear star pen on the bubbles for a bit of sparkle.  It's really kind of a clean and simple card for a *clean* image.  lol  I chose to use a wide black satin ribbon as the background rectangle part of the sketch.  It looked a bit plain, so I added a white organdy that has a silver stripe along the sides.  The sentiment is from a C.C. Designs set and lends the right feel.  I think this would go great with some homemade bath salts or a gift certificate for a spa day/facial/massage/whatever...maybe even a little set of lotion, bath gel, bath salts - you get the point! 

Ok, off you go to visit the other Sketch Girls and give them some love!  Don't forget to play along for your chance at 4 images of your choice from Sassy Studio Designs!!  There are some great ones out there!!  I know because I already bought some to play with :o)  Here's your hopping list.  Have fun! :o) lyss

February's Guest Designer Amy Tsuruta  ~  Amber  ~  Annie  ~  Bonnie  ~  Eve  ~  Harriet  ~  Jennie  ~  Jess  ~  Julie  ~  Katie  ~  Randee  ~  Sara  ~  Tiffany

Valentine and a new Winner ~

First off, unfortunately I never heard from Melissa, so I had to pick a new winner of my Bombshell blog candy.  Random.org picked #23 which is Barb.  Congratulations lady!  Drop me a snail mail address and I'll get your goodies off to you!  Now onto my Valentine project.
I decided to combine a few lovely challenges out there for another card and Perfect Presentation duo.  These Perfect Presentations are oh.so.easy to make!  Once I figured out how to change my preferences in SCAL, I think the Cricut cut the pieces out faster than my printer would have printed them!  I chose Able Gable because it's such a roomy box! 

I haven't yet decided what I'll be putting inside but most likely it'll be something naughty for my hubby!  {snicker}  I used PTI Fancy Flourishes stamped in Versafine and embossed with clear embossing powder for all of the decorative panels.  The sentiment tag is from a freebie Verve Stamps digi that I don't think is around anymore.  I matted it on pure poppy and rounded the top corners, popped a white eyelet through and tied it to the pure poppy satin bow with black embroidery floss.  Here's the card that goes along with it:

The background paper is stamped and embossed.  I used a new Spellbinders Impressabilities, Flourish, along with the Heart Nestabilities for the focal point.  I cut the heart first and then smooshed the Versafine onyx black ink all over the flourish thingy (technical term).  As quickly as I could, I ran the flourish thingy, the heart and the embossing sandwich through the Cuttlebug.  I had the embossing powder ready and drenched it as soon as it came out.  It really adds a lot of gloss and umph! to the finished product.  The sentiment is from PTI Damask Designs and is also embossed.  The heart is up on a thick layer of dimensionals since I didn't want to do a large mat.  The inside is finished with the other sentiment that came in the little freebie digi bundle and some more flourishes (not embossed). 

Hope you like!  I'm off to go color since dinner is already in the oven!  Go me!  Have a nice night ladies...oh and don't forget!  We have the new sketch from Sketch Girl blog coming up on Monday!  Maybe you'll have time to play since it's a holiday?  Toodles!  :o) lyss

A couple more PTI challenge cards ~

Dang it!  {Thank you, Annie, for that infectious little phrase that must be said with a little twang!}  I spent a short bit yesterday making a card for yesterday's PTI color challenge and then didn't get it posted b/c the hubby was playing around on the computer.  Here it is

The kraft base is clear embossed with one of the larger stamps from Turning a New Leaf.  The sentiment is one of the Plain Jane's from Verve Stamps.  My friend Tonya sent it to me for Christmas {thanks sweets!}.  It is stamped on Rustic Cream with Versafine Onyx black ink and clear embossed with Filigree embossing powder - I am using so much of that stuff lately!  I love embossing - even with the mess!   The nesties set is Labels 4.  You know, I love all the labels, I just wish they were grouped with sizes that mat a bit smaller...KWIM?  The ribbon is PTI True Black satin.  I tied a little bow with black embroidery floss around the center instead of knotting it.  It's a super cute look and much easier for me than tying an actual bow!  The last little bit to mention about this card is that it was for Lisa's favorite color combo: Kraft, Spring Moss, True Black & Vintage Cream. 

Now onto my second card for today.  This card is also for the CPS Card Sketch blog for sketch #153.

I stamped the flower/vase on Vintage cream and colored it with Copics.  I had the Rustic Cream out and decided I like it a lot better.  I cut the image out and traced around the edges with a black Copic so that you can't see the paper core .  I stamped the image again on the Rustic Cream and mounted the cut out with mini glue dots - it gives it just a hint of depth.  It's matted on Ripe Avocado, then more Rustic Cream and the base is Scarlet Jewel.  The distressing was an afterthought to hide a couple of mistakes.  See, I'm having some trouble with my Tonic 12x12 guillotine cutter.  For some reason, near the base of the page I do not get a clean cut.  For someone that is as obsessive compulsive as I, this is a problem.  So I distressed the edges of the Scarlet Jewel.  Then, when I was embossing the Ripe Avocado square, it slipped and gave me a funky edge...more distressing!  Kind of goes well with the whole *rustic* card though...right? 

Ok, that's all I have for you today!  My mom came and took the rugrat {YAY!}.  I am off to get inky!!  Hope you all are having a splendiforous day!!  :o) lyss

PTI *Paint* by Number challenge ~

I have another confession to make...I'm a PTI junkie!  I will do anything to win free PTI product!  And what could be better than a $100 gift certificate to PTI?!?!  Nothing, that's what!  The challenge for today is to create a card based on the paint by number sketch using the color combo that is designated by the first letter of your online user name.  Mine is critterlyss - a nickname from high school that combines my first and middle names.  No, my middle name is not critter, but it's Crittenden which is always mistakenly said as Critterden; hence critter and lyss! 

I got pretty lucky with my colors being that Ocean Tides and Kraft are two of my 'go-to' colors...Spring Moss not so much!  It turns out that I kind of like the colors together though!  Huh,  who knew that Nichole is kind of like a genius that way? 

 

I used a PTI set that I've had for a while and never inked up, Mod Squad.  I won it in a blog candy from Dawn McVey, the set's designer.  I think I like it!  Kind of a cool font and fun images to play with for a totally different look than I'm used to.  Now onto some other business...

I promised to share some pics of the stamping cave before and after.  Well, I've been playing and not cleaning so I don't have an after!  Here are the pics though

 Because the closet under the stairs is so small I tend to spread out into the kitchen.  Sometimes the go between drives me a little nuts, so I roll the little island out next to the cave.  If anyone wants to come over, organize my scraps and clean up my little area, I'll cook you dinner, serve you the beverage of your choice and laugh lots with you!  Come on...that sounds like a good deal, right???  lol

Last little order of business, I have not heard from Melissa, my blog candy winner.  Melissa, if you're out there, please send me an email with your snail mail address.  If I don't hear from you by Thursday, 11 Feb, I will draw a new winner.  Ok all, off to clean up my mess!  Thanks for stopping by!!  :o) lyss

Papertrey Ink Challenge ~

The challenge for Papertrey Ink today is to create a card using the emboss resist technique.  Here's mine in white and vintage cream:

Vintage cream with inside of white

Vintage Cream

White

I'm off to see if I'm getting this in on time... 

Winner Winner ~

Sorry, no chicken dinner...but you will get a Bombshell Stamps Love & Luck unmounted stamp set along with some other goodies that I've been setting aside!  Here's the number picked by RANDOM.ORG Integer Widget:
True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 30
Result: 29
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

#29 Melissa Melissa said...

O you have mastered the art of sexy stamping...

January 27, 2010 5:37 PM

Congrats Melissa!  I've sent you an email, so please reply with your snail mail address.

I think I may be dropping the monster off at mom's today so that I can organize my stamp cave.  Maybe I'll take a couple before/after pics for you so you all can understand why you haven't been seeing much on the old blog lately.  Have a super day!  :o) lyss

Happy Birthday PTI ~

It's hard for me to imagine that less than 3 years ago, stamping to me was cool but not all that important.  I knew I wanted to make my own Christmas and birthday cards, but it wasn't the passion that it is today.  Part of the reason for that passion is Papertrey Ink.  When I found PTI, I had no idea that they'd only been around for a short bit.  If you haven't already, you should take a look back to the beginning of Nichole's blog.  It's refreshing to see how her style, photography and verbiage have changed throughout a few short years.  It gives little.ole.me hope that my style will get better every.single.year! 
The challenge today is to use one of the free digi elements, prepared by some of the new stamp designers for PTI, to make a birthday card.  I began my card with one of my favorite artists in mind - Niki Estes.  She creates some amazing papers using stamps alone.  I ended up using a new designer, Beth's, digi element and love it so much that I can foresee it being used a lot in the future!  I used one of my all time PTI favorites, Guidelines 2 to create my back ground paper with Ocean Tides (all time fave PTI color) and Hibiscus Burst.  This set really has so many options that I recommend it fully.  If you're scared about making the grid lines work for you, make sure to buy the guidelines paper.  It's super easy to work with!  Ok, without further ado, here's my card:

  Happy Birthday Papertrey Ink!  May you continue to WOW me with amazing stamp sets, colors and inspiration!!!   Oh yeah, and if you do that, I'm sure it will be prosperous for you ;o) 

I forgot to choose a winner for my blog candy.  Sorry...I've been cleaning out closets to sell things and just plain trying to get organized.  Things are a bit cluttered and I feel chaotic.  I will pull a winner tomorrow morning!  I guess that means that the candy is still open for tonight!  Speaking of candy, check my sidebar for a couple of newbies that I've found!  Hope you all are well!  :o) lyss