Lawnscaping Blog Hop: Lawnscaping + Caffeine = Happiness

Hello and happy Friday Friday!



**Edited to add: For those who stopped by my blog earlier today and questioned their sanity and eyesight, my deepest apologies-- I was up until 3 AM MST attempting to 'discipline' my computer into submission and I thought it finally did, so I then happily went to bed (dreaming of coffee, puppies and disciplined computers). Only to then return to my computer and find multiple comments as to the disappearance of my photos. Again, a million and one (x infinity, as my 4 year old would say), I believe I have indeed finally beaten my computer into submission. If you scroll down, there should be pictures there now! And in order to assuage my guilt, I decided I'll post far too  many pictures...call me an extremist? ;) And now, back to our regularly scheduled program (hehe):

Yes, THE day has finally arrived...the day where we paper- addicts crafters (and non-crafters welcome) share our love of 3 different heavenly "things", which on their own are absolutely awesome but once mixed...well magical! "What? What is it?!", you ask? Well,*drum roll please*: 
1) Paper-crafting,
2) Adorable and fantastic Lawn Fawn products, and
3) Coffee, in great amounts-- liberally applied to paper AND a rather large (literal) mug of coffee in hand...because as we know, "Given enough coffee (and cute and/or awesome crafty products), we could rule the world,". Right? :) 





And speaking of ruling and "cute and/or awesome crafty products-- the following are the generous sponsors that have graciously donated wonderful prizes and helped make this Lawnscaping + Caffeine = Happiness Bloghop happen!




Be sure to check out our sponsors' websites for fantastic shopping that will leave you drooling and incapable of resisting! ;-) 

Lawn Fawn
Ellen Hutson 
The Ink Road
Crafters Companion, 
Spectrum Noir
The Alley Way Stamps
Newtons Nook
Faber Castell
Right at Home

And, how can you be in the running for the giveaways? Well, all you have to do is leave comments on each of the blogs participating in the bloghop (listed below). You have until 11:59 PM EST on June 28th to leave your comments. ** But, please (please, with a cherry on top!) do not copy and paste your comments...original comments only! All information regarding sponsors, prizes, and how to win can be found on the Lawnscaping Challenge Blog. The winners will be announced sometime next week (also on the Lawnscaping Challenge Blog)


And now, here is the card that I made, while gulping down copious amounts of coffee... ;)

I started with 120 lb. white cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot with one of my very favorite (and oft used) dies, Lawn Fawn's Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables. Then, I pulled out my Tuxedo Black ink from Memento, as I knew I wanted to use my alcohol markers (Copics, Spectrum Noirs, Letraset Promarkers and discontinued Letraset Pantones). I stamped various images from the Lawn Fawn Love You a Latte stamp set on the entire panel, making sure to twist in different directions and also stamp off the edge in order to add depth and interest.

 I then pulled out my eclectic collection of alcohol markers (refer to supply list below) and colored them in with various cheerful and bright colors. Lawn Fawn, Coffee and these colors make me happy, so I thought it appropriate! Once done, I die cut the panel using my PTI Tag Sale #4.  Oh and I also die cut a saucer, mug and spoon and colored those in with the intent of using dimensional adhesive to super-impose them on the already stamped ones, to add interest and direct the eye to the focal point. . I  then stamped the super cute, girly happy face (using Lawn Fawn's Black Licorice dye ink) on the focal mug and then VERY liberally applied my beloved Zig Wink of Stella Clear on top.  This was my best attempt to capture the Wink of Stella sparkles, but alas this picture still does not quite capture it... if only you could see it in real life!

 I threaded through the top of the tag some hot pink, sheer organza ribbon and then to both secure and add detail tied that together with some Lawn Fawn Single Natural cord. Then, I added for more color and detail a button, which was included in PTI's recently released Make It Market Kit- Nostalgic Notions.

 So, I initially had simply planned to 'return' the tag to its original place but with dimensional adhesive for interest and depth. But when I went to do so, the card panel felt too busy and bright to me and I therefore feared the focal point would get "lost" in the sea of the other colored images. So, I remembered the technique that Lizzie Jones introduced a couple months back, where she used a vellum overlay to tone down a busy, vibrant background. So I cut two vellum panels, again using my Stitched Rectangles-- one was a beautiful sheer vellum that has tiny specks of glitter randomly scattered throughout it and another, which is from the PTI Sheer Basics Collection, Bitty Polka Dot. I cut them both in half and attached the sheer vellum to the top and the Polka dot to the bottom. Then, most likely because I have OCD tendencies, I had to add hot pink satin ribbon where the two vellum pieces meet, as it drives me nuts to not have a nice, finished edge! ;) I then cut from black cardstock a double ended banner, stamped and then heat embossed the sentiment and added some enamel dots to finish it off. I mounted all this on an  A2-sized top folding, white cardstock base and....I'm done!!! 

Thanks so much for spending a portion of your day with me!! And until next time...craft on!

-O

You may have arrived here from the super talented Lydia's blog. If by chance you have lost track of the bloghop order,  please don't fret because here is the complete list for your convenience! 

So, feel free to join me and grab a "cup o' joe", kick up your feet and enjoy all the inspiration coming your way! Hop along to :

• Lawnscaping Challenge Blog

• Niki G. 
• Gray Whiskers Crafts
• Melissa
• Kristina B.
• Lysa
• Dianchik
• Yolanda G. 
• Jennie M. 
• Julie C. 
• Ellen 
• Nina-Marie
• Michele S. 
• Anni
• Michelle L.
• Lydia
• Oreet  You are here!!  
• Tammy H.
• Shannon M. 
• Kim
• Kelly S. 
• Trish K. 
• Tanja
• Amy
• Kim H. 
• Monica M. 
• Beau Monde Designs
• Valerie W. 
• Maria
• Wiebke
• Maia Ink
• http://melissabowden.com/
• Vicki
• Chitra
• Tracy
• Curl E. Cue's
• Coralynn
• Carisa
• Dawn E.
• Kate
•  Kristina P. 

Should you encounter any errors along the hop, please email Laurel directly at laurelbeard at me dot com. Please do not leave them in the comments. Thanks!


Submitting this card also into the following challenges:
- Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, where the theme is "Anything Goes".

7 items in 17 minutes!

Hello, I;m back with another submission for the PTI challenge of creating a card in 17 minutes using 7 supplies. It's also a Valentine's Day card, so it'll give a bit more inspiration for those of you who may be scrambling to finish them!

For this card, the supplies I used were:
1. Cardstock
2. Rhinestone
3. Ribbon
4. Twine
5. Stamp Set
6. Memento Love Letter Ink
7. Die

Hope you enjoy and craft on!
-O

MIM #150

I had so much fun creating the card for PTI's Make It Monday Challenge, I decided to make another! Here it is:

The base was created using PTI's Rustic Cream Cardstock and from there I layered and stamped as Melissa Phillips did. The only slight variances that detracted from the original a bit is the use of vintage lace, lilac tulle and no button, twine or sequins. I wanted something soft and girly and I think I accomplished that, don't you?

Enjoy and craft on!

-O

Gift Tags...

This is another entry for this week's Make-It-Monday challenge from PaperTrey Ink. A while back
I purchased their superb stamp set To You From Me and just absolutely loved the versatility. While of course it can be used for gift tags, bookmarks and labeling, the designs also lend themselves as wonderful frames for sentiments. Here are a few I recently created:

 In this gift tag, I once again used the texture technique, though it's quite a bit more subtle. I took the tree from PTI's Love and Marriage stamp and swiped it across Hero Arts' Soft Lilac shadow ink. Gave it a beautiful yet soft textured look.

A close up. The wreath, "with love" and the "to" and "from" are all part of the newer stamp set.

Here I used the cake from the "Foodie Fun" stamp set and then embellished with a very muted wreath at the bottom.

This gift tag feel a bit more organic with the kraft cardstock and natural hemp twine. I wanted  a much more simple layout so not too much 'glitz' on this one.

This combined the To You From Me stamp set with the Polka Dot Parade "THANKS" stamp and die set. I absolutely love the coral and mint color scheme, as exemplified by nearly all of the tags here! ;)

Hope you enjoy and craft on!

-O