confetti

party time!

today, i offer up one more papertrey ink card in honor of another honorable mention, this time for the nugget tin i posted the other day!  and this month, there's a twist--the stamper's choice award.  readers get to vote for their favorite honorable mention, with the winner receiving a papertrey stamp set of her choice.  i would love to go vote for my own 'cause i love free stamps, but the competition is tough!!  i can't wait to make my own little gum stick airplanes!

this was another entry--an out of the box take with limitless labels.  every time i look at the label stamps, this one looks like a watch.  so i just had to create one, especially when i saw the sentiment!  it reminds me of the fancier swatch models i loved in high school.  i created the watch as an embellishment, using mini jewels to frame the face, which i covered in crystal effects.  the buckle is from su! hodgepodge hardware and i clipped the other end and pierced the holes.  there's a pink on pink heart stamped on the face, but the crystal effects faded it a bit.  the hard part was coming up with a suitable layout, so i opted for very simple!

have a great day!
:) lexi

nuts for nuggets

 

today i have another bit of papertrey love.  this is what inspired my trading cards for saturday's stamp club.  i was in the middle of creating it when i realized i still hadn't done them yet--oops!  anyway, back to the tin.  with all the nuggets i've covered, this is my first time creating a tin for them!  i had fun using the limitless labels to match the nuggets inside to the card on top--coordinating both the colors and the images, even finding the red polka dot ribbon to repeat the red polka dot band on the nuggets.  now i just need to make a few more for some special valentines next month!

:) lexi

quick papertrey love

 

here's another quick papertrey ink punny valentine.  nichole showed the sheep images with the head to the side, but i love how you can place the head and feet this way for a front view.  this is actually the way my 8 year old showed me how to draw a sheep a while back--i think a visiting illustrator at school taught them.  i'm not sure how i got the mottled grey look on the wool, but i hope i can figure it out and repeat it some time--funny how that happens!

thanks for stopping by...
:) lexi

stamp club saturday

 

after having to skip a couple of months because i was so busy with orders and family, i finally got to go to stamp club today!  since we're coming up to another papertrey ink release, i decided to use my punny valentine for my trading card--i love this little squirrel!  i often take papertrey ink and a muse clear stamps to stamp club because i can pack the cd cases easily and take lots of stamping options in very little space.  it's always hard to plan a project and choose supplies to bring--i'm so used to working in my little studio and having everything within reach!

happy saturday...
:) lexi

sweet victory!

 

yeah tigers--bcs national champions!!!  and yeah for me--i had time to make a quick card!  of course, my computer decided to start shutting down on me again as soon as i downloaded pics from my camera.  so it's taken me the better part of the afternoon to edit and post.  the good news is i'm just trying to decide what to get, but i will be getting a shiny new one soon!  hopefully, this one will hold out and be nicer to me until the replacement arrives.

anyway, back to the card--it was fun to use a variety of stamps for a completely different purpose than they were intended.  this was a recent amuseaddicts challenge, but i was in dallas and then overbooked, so i never got to it.  sparkler poms, a muse; cosmobella tiger fan, stamping bella; and sentiment, from piece of cake by papertrey ink--i was on a search for something else and this just jumped at me!  the note card is a muse; white card stock, papertrey ink; purple card stock, su!; and there are touches of copic spica markers and yellow stickles for bling.

enjoy!
:) lexi

papertrey hooray!

 

last night was another fun papertrey ink release.  i was so close to that puzzler prize!  and today the honorable mentions were posted and my bookmark was there!  thank you nichole--it's such an honor to be mentioned!  i sent it in at the last minute--i thought it was too simple and i've been too busy to do much extra this month.  i had actually wanted to include the bookmarks i posted yesterday too, but i couldn't get to them in time.  i did manage one other project...

a gift set of mini gift cards--same colors, different designs, eclectic but still cohesive.  i love monograms and the combination of borders and corners and the fonts nichole has chosen are perfect for simple and stylish.

thanks for stopping by!
:) lexi

more bookmarks!

 

i wanted some quick little thoughts for a group of friends and immediately thought of the ribbon bookmarks--complete with monograms, of course!  it was fun to come up with different color and shape combos for each person, especially since there were a lot of the same letters.  (all stamps are from the borders & corners and monogram sets by papertrey ink, punches are either su! or marvy)

 

to make them easy to give, i simply rolled them into small cello bags with the monogram taking center stage--gotta love quick & cute!

:) lexi

swapping pc pro style {4}

 

today i give you my fourth and final card for the paper crafts wcmd swaps!  the theme, all snowed in; the host, pc pro wendy johnson .  that brings my grand total to 80 cards made and mailed away.  now, i can't wait to see the returns--it's like getting a new magazine, but you can actually touch the cards instead of just look at pictures of them!  Like all of the others, this card features snowflake serenade by papertrey ink--with a theme like all snowed in, it was a natural fit and the perfect back drop to this winter elzybell stamp.  by accident i found out that the martha stewart velvet ribbon looked like a scarf when the edges frayed, which was a perfect look for a cold winter card.  the thick ribbon was hard to tie, so when i discovered the heart brad in my stash, it was the perfect solution, and another way to bring in my pop color.  i love shopping around my studio and discovering old purchases!  a little glitter on elzybell, the bird and the snow is the perfect finishing touch--and while it's hard to see here, there are at least 19 other people who'll definitely get to appreciate it up close and personal!

happy monday...
:) lexi

swapping pc pro style {3}

 

today i have card number three from my round of papercrafts wcmd swaps hosted by the pc pros--the host, none other than nichole heady; the swap, versatile verses.  both of the other swaps featured snowflake serenade by papertrey ink, so i felt compelled to use it again here--duh, she designed it!  it's new and has been sitting on my desk *and* the snowflakes are the perfect backdrop for christmas!  the idea was to create a card with a verse from a favorite holiday song or poem.  i love all christmas music, so it was hard to choose, but finally, inspired by the snowflakes, i went with the opening verse from winter wonderland.  it pretty much doesn't snow here in new orleans, but we had an actual white christmas a few years ago and it was beautiful and so much fun!

in addition to snowflake serenade, i used take a bough for the branch and ornament.  to add snow to my scene i printed the verse on white cardstock, trimmed the bottom and width and tore the top edge, adding stardust stickles along the tear to make it glisten.  i also added snow to the branch with liquid applique, dipped into clear glitter while wet, before heating.  the ornament is stamped on pink for a bit of extra color and punched with a small circle punch--of course, it needed shimmer too, so i ran it through my xyron sticker maker on the top side and pushed it into the glitter before adhering it to the card.  i love sparkle and shine!

have a great day!
:) lexi

celebrate

 

this is another of my piece of cake cards.  my goal here was to play with the frame.  i love the loops and swirls on it, which make it great for adding other pattern details as well, like i did down the folded edge.  i chose basic grey on cool caribbean, a color combination that i love.  the flowers in the background are stamped with versamark and i embellished the card with mini jewels, a few glitter pen dots and a maya road sheer white blossom.  the shape of the petals matched the flower stamp perfectly, but it kind of overwhelmed the frame, so i cut it in half and added it to each side.  i almost didn't keep it, but once i placed the pieces and then looked at it without, it seemed that something was missing, so i put them back!  i hope you're having a nice weekend...

:) lexi

have your cake & eat it too!

 

today was another happy stamper day for me!  nichole heady spotlighted this piece of cake card in her monthly honorable mention post following the guest star stamper contest--thank you so much, nichole! 

i started entering the contest way back in the very first month, and i'm a bit compulsive about it now, even after a few 'mentions and winning last month!  or, maybe that should be especially after all that.  i often set my sights on honorable mention, because i know the competition is stiff and it eases a little pressure on myself.  but i think it would feel too weird *not* to send something in at all! 

on this card, everything but the silverware is papertrey ink (piece of cake, plus the little faux ribbon touches).  the silverware is from a trip to vegas and viva las vegastamps a couple of years ago.  i thought the detail on them was perfect for the scallops and dainty cake.  the cake is foam mounted and i used regular scallop scissors and a piercing tool on the placemat, mini scallop scissors on the napkin and fruit punch stickles for a little finishing detail.

thanks so much for stopping by!
:) lexi

soft & still

 

when i was creating the embossed resist snowflake background for the holiday lights card the other day, i decided to create a few extra to see what else i could do with it.  i wanted to use the pieces and parts sentiments from same set (snowflake serenade by papertrey ink) for the focal point, so i cut the front panel of the card, turned it sideways and mounted it on a shimmery green card base.  i love how the sentiment is in pieces so you can mix and match it, change the color, etc.  when i look at this card now, it seems pretty easy and straightforward, but color presented a challenge for me, since the blue and red were decided from the other card.  in the end, i'm happy how it turned out, but i spent more time than i should have trying to make it just right!

:) lexi

heartfelt thanks

 

a quick post tonight...  this is a card i did a while back, but never got around to posting.  the colors and sentiment are perfect for fall and thanksgiving, so it works better now anyway!  all stamps are from butterfly kisses by papertrey ink; paper and ink are su! plus a little watercolor paper, probably from michael's.  i have a few cards using last month's papertrey releases in the next few days--just in time for new ones to debut!

:) lexi

swapping pc pro style {2}

 

here is the second of my wcmd swap cards, this time hosted by pc pro alisa.  with holiday lights as a theme, i just had to use the holiday house by a muse since it's all lit up!  once i decided that, i couldn't get past the one in this post of my a muse guest designer series.  so i decided to case myself with some significant changes--i wanted snow gently falling and a soft, mottled night shade of blue, so i masked off the top area of a standard card, stamped and clear embossed the snowflakes (by papertrey ink) and sponged ballet blue ink over them.  and since there were 20 cards to make, i traded dots of stickles for the a muse twinkle stickers on the original.  finally, i also changed the color of the house a bit as well as the sentiment.  one of my favorite touches that you can't see in the picture is that the lights are colored with copic spica markers and they shine like little lights should!

back to stamping...
:) lexi

swapping pc pro style {1}

 

on world card making day, the pc pros hosted holiday card swaps as part of the fun events of the day at the paper crafts website and since i was sitting near my computer making cards, i decided to sign up for a few.  this one was for pc pro sue's holiday symbol swap.  i thought a wreath would be perfect!  i created this one using a marvy scalloped circle punched around the hole created with a su! circle punch, including the non-traditional combo of pink & blue with red & green.  all stamps are papertrey ink (snowflake serenade, butterfly kisses, faux ribbon & take a bough).

enjoy!
:) lexi

more nest'ing = a scalloped card!

 

today, i have another quick card from my first play with nestabilities.  actually, it was after seeing that you could make shaped cards with the largest scalloped shapes that i was truly hooked on the idea of these dies.  here i used an a muse note card and the die cut right through both layers perfectly.  the outcome is not quite a true square because you have to keep the folded edge from getting cut, but it's close enough and oh so cute!  i really love the look of these scallops, especially the deep corners.  holiday treats by papertrey ink was sitting on my desk, so that became my subject.  i'm really loving su! in color wild wasabi for christmas, adding it here with ribbon and ink, and red a muse mini dot twinkle stickers are a great finishing touch to the embossed square.  my gingerbread man smudged a little, so stamping him again and punching with a small circle to cover the original turned out to be a perfect solution--didn't want to waste my die cut square!  hopefully i can squeeze in some more play time soon, but i'm off to finish a spa girl cake for a cake walk tonight...

tgif!
:) lexi

so excited!!!

 

yay! this card won guest star stamper for me this month at papertrey ink for the stamp set take a bough.  after months of entering consistently and a few honorable mentions.  i was thrilled to get those, so to actually win--wow, what an honor!  and free stamps on top of that.  thank you so much, nichole!

so, anyway, remember the halloween tree card from when my stamps arrived and i wasn't ready for christmas so much?  well, for the contest, i decided to expand on the idea and create a holiday tree series, which included the original, along with the winning christmas tree and an easter tree.  here's the complete set...

 

and, since i haven't posted it anywhere yet, a close up of the easter tree...

 

a few design notes: 

• i built up the branch a bit to make it more like a tree using the small add-on branch in the set. 
• i used the pot from green thumb stamped on various papertrey label scraps in coordinating ink to create the polka dot tree pots. 
• i was thinking charlie brown tree when i created the christmas one, so i bent the branch under the pressure of the ornament--i love the flexible nature of clear stamps.   
• and i used crystal effects on the egg ornaments to get the same look of the page pebbles on the other two, since they have a different shape and the pebbles wouldn't work. 

these were so much fun to create--and you really could decorate the tree for any occasion.

thanks again nichole!
:) lexi

meet jack...

 
                       click here to pull the tab!

here's an advanced look at one of the projects i created for my halloween product review over at craft critique this week.  i thought scoopy's pocket card from the a*muse*a*palooza challenges this summer was a perfect match for my jack card idea. the article is scheduled to post tomorrow, so be sure to check it out along with the other great halloween articles this week and next!  and if you've shared a crafty halloween idea or project on your blog, you still have time to submit a link for the upcoming carnival.  i love checking out all the great ideas that carnival links bring!

thanks for stopping by...
:) lexi

i love new stamps...

 

especially new stamps that arrive so fast!  here's a first play with papertrey ink's new set take a bough.  hey, weren't the new releases *christmas* sets?!

so i sat down and started to create something christmas-y but i'm just not ready for christmas right now!  and then it dawned on me to use the bough and ornaments to create a halloween tree!  pottery barn puts seasonal items on sale well before the season is over and i got this really cool tree a couple of years ago at a great bargain, so that was my inspiration.  i usually decorate it with lollipop ghosts and let visitors take them.   it's one of my favorite annual centerpieces!

for my card, i wanted to use the ornament stamps and the making memories page pebbles--i love the two step ornament and the different patterns.  i also want to point out that there is an additional little branch in the set which enabled me to fill out the bough a bit to look more like a tree--nichole is a genius!  i thought the spider from spooky sweets made the perfect filler ornament, especially with the making memories spider web paper.  the webs on the paper gave me the idea to dangle one over the sentiment, also from spooky sweets.  the pot is from green thumb with one of the ornament strips for detail.   i'll have to take a picture of my tree when i decorate this year--it's a pretty close likeness!

enjoy!
:) lexi

p.s. the tree ends up being kind of tall, especially with the pot, so the finished size of this card is 9 x 3.75 and fits into a legal envelope.

spooky sweets revisited

 

here's the candy from last week with the matching bag.  nichole gave it an honorable mention for this month's guest star stamper over the weekend, so i thought i'd share the full picture here as well.  i had my eye theme on the outside as well as the inside!  i love these little coffee bags.  while i've used it here for the candy in order to showcase several spooky sweets stamps, the bag is lined so it would be perfect for cookies or other treats, too.  and the tab closure is great for keeping the contents fresh.

here's the other card i submitted...

 

i love halloween and it was fun to use an older set, faux ribbon, to create the look of patterned paper on the lower half of my card.  the spiders liked it,too!  thanks again for the 'mention nichole--it's always fun to play with papertrey!

:) lexi