{something special for my friend, mellie}

This is one of those projects that in real life....is so much better to see!!!

My friend from a travel board, Mellie (real name Melissa, but only her mother is allowed to call her that) had this quote on an index card on her fridge.

I thought her favorite quote by Helen Keller was totally frame worthy and told her so. She was hip to it...and said make it "blue". I just happened to have some new LYB "Twig" pp which I felt would be perfect.

Here's a close-up. I printed the quote from my computer. The flowers are by Prima, wooden pieces were purchased in the bare wood section of Hobby Lobby. I painted them w/country blue MM paint, sanded lightly and then added some "frost" glimmer mist. They sparkle so pretty, wish you could see. The Prima pearl bling was one piece that I cut apart. There's also some machine stitching, offray ribbon and a Fiskars border punch was used as well.

I would prefer to take a photo of this outdoors....but wouldn't you know it? We're having a snow day here in upstate New York. Big surprise. HA!!! ;)

Happy Friday!!!
hugs, patti

{the paper variety ~ sew much fun!!!}

Hi everyone! Wait 'til you see the inspiration this week at the Paper Variety!!!!

It's all about getting your stitch on. Hand stitch, machine stitch, doodle tiny faux stitches.

Whatever you gotta do to put yourself in stitches. :) :)

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Of course there is a prize!

Abby has donated this -----> OCTOBER AFTERNOON. love, love, love!!!

{An 8x8 paper pad & fun chipboard!}
Hope you get the chance to play with us this week. It would be "sew much fun." :) Please link up your paper project (anything goes!) to the paper variety by next Tuesday, March 1, 12:00 noon EST.

Here are a couple more pics of my project. I used 2 square punches to punch several squares from jillibean pp. I lightly adhered them to a piece of cs and then zig zag stitched between each square. I love the quilted look I achieved!! Just what I was going for. {sidenote - I always admire hip, contemporary decorating...but, clearly, I am a country girl at heart. May was well embrace it.} :)

{getting my stitch on.....} The metal pan had been in the back of my cupboard for over twenty years. LOL! I spray painted it, and then gave the Basic Gray metal square frame a fresh coat of paint as well. The fabric flowers are by jillibean soup, buttons are a mix of jillibean & fancy pants. The trim (a RAK from my friend Kay) is also fancy pants. I folded it in half, ironed it, and then machine stitched around the edge. It's not perfect, but neither am I...so it works. :) The green fabric "home sweet home" letters are by Basic Gray.

Thanks for coming by my blog!!! Last week I received some of the nicest comments and you all need to know that each one means so much to me! I am so grateful for this hobby and the friendships I've made because of paper crafting. :) :)

I almost forgot!!!! The paper variety is hosting a blog hop next week!!! See that cute little frog on my sidebar? We're going to be hoppin' around, goin' green! We will have prizes too!!! Sure hope you'll join us. And, ladies...if you haven't already...why not become a follower of The paper variety?? There will be another prize when we reach 500 followers. I know. I so love prizes too!!! Fun stuff...all happening this winter!

Have a happy day!!

hugs, patti

{so many challenges...}

...so little time. ;)

For this card "love you.", I combined 3 challenges.

Seriously, combining challenges is a challenge. :) :)

1) The Play Date Cafe - PDCC69 challenge is to use the colors BLACK, GREEN & RED.

{I found the Play Date Cafe blog yesterday and had a look around. It feels like a very nice place and I love that they challenge you with color!}

2) My Sketch World - Lucy's sketch #10 from the month long celebration going on now.

{Lucy's challenge also needs to include stitching, brad(s) & paint.}

3) The CREATE challenge to use decorative tape on a card.

{sidenote - if you look through last week's challenge card gallery, you'll see that my card made it in.}

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Remember that 7 Gypsies tape with all of the fun words? Love! This scrappy supply ranks right up there w/Heidi Swapp crimson chip hearts, if you ask me. One of my favorite scrappy things ever. Anyway, it's all gone. Used the rest up to cover this chip circle. I then zig zag stitched on top of the tape (and my machine got a little pissy with me...but we got through it, working together. LOL!).

Thank you, The Play Date Cafe girls, Lucy at MSW, and Paige at CREATE for stimulating my brain while in my craft room last night. Totally appreciate it!!! :)

Hope you all have a wonderful day!!

hugs, patti

{cardabilities #25}

I had such a good time with this sketch from cardabilities!

Yesterday, I finished a lay-out and used a Prima sprig of flowers. While cleaning up my scrap table, I was about to trash the packaging from the flowers...when I thought "stop right there!" "put that cardboard piece through your cuttlebug w/a die!"

So, that's exactly what I did.

And, is it alright {sometimes} to say "I love it"?
Because I just love how this card came together. :) :)

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The base is bazzill, Websters pp on top. You know, I am so bad with my trims. I have them all in a big clear bin just willy nilly in there...so half the time I don't remember who made what. My bad. Seriously need to remedy that situation. ;) The lime green trim on top of die cut piece is Prima, Prima flower & leaf. The pink heart came in a kit, AC metal flower, misc. buttons & machine stitching. I pop dotted the die cut piece and note to self - buy more pop dots -- {I always use up the big ones first.}

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Close-up view - especially so you can see that the yellow button is embossed with a butterfly. I so love this button!!

Thank you to the cardabilities DT for their fabulous inspiration & sketch!!

Thanks, also, for coming by my blog.

Have a great day!!

hugs, patti

{Carmel by the sea.}

Hi everyone! Hope you are having a nice Sunday!

I just finished this lay-out for Sketchy Thursdays challenge this week.

Lucky for me, the sun is shining...so I was able to get a photo outdoors. :)

I started with a bazzill base and used Little Yellow Bicycle "Twig" pp and Prima "Madeline" pp. {Love both of these collections!} I handstitched "Carmel", using 4 strands of brown and 2 strands of dark blue DMC. The green letter stickers are by Sassafras, tiny stickers are LYB. All of the flowers are Primas - some I took apart from a sprig. I also used a couple sculpture flowers by Prima. I pop dotted two of the photos, including the focal photo of this gorgeous beach in California.

Here's a close-up view.

{journaling: The beach at Carmel was long and wide! I was quite surprised to see just how big it was. It was gorgeous!! We stayed at the Lobos Lodge, two blocks from the ocean and within walking distance to shops and restaurants. I ate the BEST calamari I've ever had while in Carmel. Shopped at some funky shops - and brought home some fun jewelry and a beautiful scarf. Carmel was a lovely place, and I'm so glad we included it in our ten day California vacation.}

Thanks to the Sketchy Thursdays' girls and thank you for coming by my blog!

hugs, patti

The Paper Variety - card sketch by Abby!!

I so love this sketch!! It's easy! Open to interpretation! And FUN!! {My kind of sketch.} Thanks again, Abby!! :) :)

April, from the Paper Variety's Design Team A, is sick this week. {feel better soon, April!!}

We were able to substitute a card I had made for this challenge. I used some Jillibean pp (found in this week's prize!) and some older thickers. Note - when your old thickers letters no longer stick, don't sweat it. Just apply a tiny bit of glue using a small paint brush to the back of each letter before applying to your project. I've been applying glue to thickers for a while now...and for me, this is the easiest, least messy, way. :) The Offray ribbon on my card was pleated and then machine stitched. Twine is from The Twinery and buttons are some of my faves from Fancy Pants.

{hello.} Hope you'll get the chance to play with us this week at The Paper Variety!! Take it from me...the prize is so fun!! These jillibean products are some of my all time favorite scrappy things. Please upload your card to the Paper Variety by next Tuesday, February 22, for a chance to win.

Thanks for coming by my blog. Hope your day is full of good things!

hugs, patti

{many thanks.}

If there is a bird pp out there, I will more than likely buy it.

I sincerely believe I'm going to be one of those little old ladies who walks through the woods with her binoculars tied around her neck, wearing her floppy sun hat, w/notebook in denim shirt pocket to keep track of what birds were sighted. I can feel it. {LOL!!} Where ever the hubs and I travel, I must identify and get pics of the birds. So what that I have a BIRD atlas on my coffee table. I love birds! :) :)

Anyway, over at Twisted Sketches, the girls have this sketch up ~ The twist - use a heart on your card.
I used a Maya Road wood piece, layered on top of Cosmo Cricket's "togetherness" bird pp. The stamp is by fiskars and the cs is a mix of bazzill and AC. Ribbon is Offray. Loopy punch is by Martha Stewart.

Will also link this up at Paper Issues...since they're having fun with the birds and the bees over there. ;)

Thanks, Twisted girls, for another week of fun inspiration and thank you for coming by my blog.

hugs, patti

{twisted cards #45!}

The Twisted Sketches cards challenge this week is to create a card using this sketch ~ The twist ~ Use 2 any how, any way. I so love the freedom you get when you play at twisted. :) I turned the sketch on it's side and began.

I used a happy birthday stamp ---> "happy birthday 2 u"

Perfect, right?

I'm including a close-up pic of the stamped sentiment because I did something different {for me}. I stamped the image 3 times, on white, red and green cs. Then I cut out the "2" from the green cs and cut the "u" from the red cs. I also cut the stripes on the "u" from the white & green cs. I popped up the "2" and the "u" - putting the stamp together was so fun! :)

Materials: AC cs, Imaginisce B-day Bash pp & candles tied w/MS twine, AC buttons w/DMC, and stamp (when I remember who makes this stamp I'll add it in. I bought at my LSS and don't have the packaging and I had never seen this brand before).

Thanks to the fun girls at Twisted Sketches!!!

It was another snow day here today!!! I've got supper in the crock pot, homemade bread from the oven, and a fire in the woodstove. The hubs will be happy to come home tonight. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

hugs, patti

{BEACH love}

It's true. I am no longer a one-project-for-multiple-challenges virgin. :) :) This lo was created with 3 challenges in mind!

1) My Sketch World - Lucy's sketch #3

2) Crop Suey - February challenge to use 9 items on a lo, and

3) The Studio Challenge - Create a "love" lo using blue, yellow, & green.

I started with a pretty blue piece of dotted swiss Coredinations cs and used Cosmo Cricket "Togetherness" pp & a tiny bit of jillibean soup pp. My title is made from a heidi swapp chip piece that was orginally pink. I painted it gold w/MM paint and layered it on top of some gold sparkly cs (both of these items were mailed to me by a sweet lady, Elaine Akers, as part of a give-away @her blog). The BEACH letters are Prima. I also included our tickets we received when entering Magen's Bay Beach on St. Thomas. MM eyelets, yellow and white twine from the Twinery, an October Afternoon cs sticker, punches & machine stitching complete my lo. {My 9 items for Crop Suey - cs, pp, chipboard, paint, letter stickers, cs sticker, punches, twine & eyelets}

It was fun to combine these challenges.

Thanks to Lucy, the Crop Suey girls and the Studio Challenge girls!

Hope you're all having a great week!!

hugs, patti

{lovin' from the oven - The Paper Variety!}

This week's challenge at The Paper Variety is to make a paper project using cupcakes as your inspiration. One cupcake or a bunch of cupcakes. Little cupcakes or big cupcakes. Chocolate or vanilla...it's all good! :)

On a recent snowy day, I cleaned out some kitchen cupboards and found this old cupcake tin. Thinking of this challenge, I knew I wanted to alter it. When the weather cleared, I made a trip to Hobby Lobby and bought some cream spray paint. Four coats later, and my old cupcake tin was lookin' shiny and new. I then used my most favorite embellies to make it into a piece of wall art - heidi swapp chip hearts and some jillibean soup buttons, tied w/DMC. Love!! The little 7Gypsies chip pieces were made into magnets using a For the Luv of Art stamp, Unity cupcake stamp, some Martha Stewart gold micro beads, machine stitching and a button tied w/DMC. To finish, I looped some Strano ribbon through the top of the tin.

I really love how this project turned out. I have it hanging above my kitchen sink and it looks so cute! My man/son Thomas asked me when I got home from work the other day..."hey, mom...how 'bout some lovin' from the oven?" He cracks me up!!! :)

Check it out!!!

Another fabulous prize from The Paper Variety! I don't know how Suzanne and Abby do it...but they offer up the most awesome prizes every single week! If you're not playing....you're not paying attention. LOL!! ;) This week's prize is from The Treasure Box Club.

~a couple of cupcake tin close-ups~

In this next photo, you can see that I used small round magnets. I adhered them to the chip pieces w/Fabri-Tac by BEACON. Great stuff!!! :)

I hope you'll get a chance to play with us this week at The Paper Variety!! Link up before noon, next Tuesday, February 15, for a chance to win that fab prize from The Treasure Box Club!

Thanks for coming by my blog & have a great day!!
hugs, patti

{awesome amy's give-away!!!}

Have you seen Curly Q Mosaics' blog? Amy Baldwin is a talented artist!!

She scraps, sews, and works with mosaic tiles. Her store has some of the most awesome {!!} items!!!


In honor of her 50th post, she is having a give-away on her blog.

You can win a handbag, made by Amy! To see more of Amy's creations, check out her gallery.


~Curly Q Mosaics gallery~

Thanks for being so awesome, Amy!!! And thank you for the chance to win one of your beautiful handbags!! :)

xo
~patti

{cardabilities - sketch #24}

{i love us.}

I've heard this Hallmark commercial on the radio that says...

"I love us."

I love that sentiment & right away knew I'd make the hub's Valentine using it.

Here's the sketch from cardabilities this week ~ {Card materials ~ Bazzill, Basic Gray pp, Doodlebug velvet pp, MS heart punch, SR stamp, g studio "love" stamp - embossed w/white, Prima bling (these were stems of flowers that I cut apart), Offray ribbon, AC thickers, gray momento ink, & some zig zag machine stitching.}

Here is another view ~ you can see that I built my card front, pop dotted it, and then mounted to a card base. This shaped card now sits well balanced. :)

Thanks to the cardabilities girls for this fun sketch challenge!!

I'm also going to link this card up to the Valentine's Party still going on at Paper Issues.

Thank you, also...for stopping by my blog!

Happy Saturday - the sun is shining here!! Hope your weather is nice too! :)

hugs, patti

{My Sketch World is celebrating!}

My Sketch World is celebrating their fifth anniversary w/a Sketch-a-Thon!!

Lucy Chesna has kicked off the celebration with this fabulous sketch~ Each day, between now and February 20, Lucy will be posting either a new sketch or a MSW favorite sketch for some serious scrappy inspiration. :) :)

For sketch #1, you must make a birthday lo.

Here's mine. My hubs. The Nike, Carhartt, Wolverine wearin' man of my dreams.

I mixed up some Bo Bunny b'day pp w/some Pink Paislee pp & added some Teresa Collins birthday die cuts. The letters are AC thickers, Technique Tuesday stamps, AC buttons and yarn from my stash, for the handmade yarn flowers. Just for fun, I cut some black cs like fringe to mimic the silly party hat on the hub's head. :)

Thanks Lucy...for always rockin' the sketches at MSW!!!

Thanks, friends...for coming by my blog. It's the Friday before Super Bowl!!! We're {big time} NY Giants fans around here...but we'll still get together w/family and friends for the big game. Party at our house!! It's an excuse for a winter time get-together.

Have a great week-end!!

hugs, patti

{twine challenge at twisted sketches!}

Twine!!! One of my favorite trims!
Twisted Sketches card challenge this week is to use this sketch with some twine. Any way you want!! :)

I first tried to cover a chip piece with twine and it didn't work out so well. Then, I thought...make a pom-pom! I had this Maya Road chip party hat in my stash. I embossed the hat with rich red embossing powder by Ranger. Then I added a bit of Martha Stewart twine near the bottom and placed the pom-pom on top. A LaMode button w/a Prima pearl finish the little party hat. Cute, right?

{celebrate}
I used a Bazzill dotted swiss base and an ek edge punch for the white scalloped edge. The BG chip square is covered w/For the Luv of Art pp. The stamped sentiment (popped up), is by Unity - and again, I embossed w/red Ranger.

Thanks to the Twisted girls for this fun sketch and thank you for coming by my blog!!

hugs, patti