Happy Birthday Sue Ann!

Hey everyone!! Have you heard?  It's Sue Ann's birthday!!  So, Amy, Laurie  & I are having a mini-blog hop in her honor!  Yea!!

What can I say about Sue Ann?  She is so fun!  She is full of life! She is talented! She loves her family and she loves to bake!  She is so sweet and her comments on blog posts...well, they are so much fun to read each and every time!

So, when I was considering what kind of card to make in her honor and to help you celebrate her special day, I decided a card with cupcakes would be in order...oh, and cupcakes with some fun sprinkled in would be even better!

So...these stacked cupcakes with a fun birthday hat on to celebrate was born!

Here you can see the dimension a little better.  Isn't the party hat on top much more fun than a cherry?  LOL!!

Sue Ann you are such a fun and sweet lady!  I hope you have an extra special day!  Happy birthday!!

This card also qualifies for the Wee Memories Anything Goes challenge! 

Be sure to stop by Amy & Laurie's blogs as the party continues!

Supplies (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Cupcake Collection, Mat Stack 1 Collection, Paper Smooches Pretty Phrases
Paper: Kraft, Rustic White, My Mind's Eye Hazel Patterned Papers, DCWV Glitter Papers
 Ink: Berry Sorbet, Palette Charcoal
Other: Twinery Twine, Cupcake Collection Dies, Banner Builder Dies, Pop Dots

Papertrey March Blog Hop Challenge

Welcome to the March PTI Blog Hop!

"For the March Blog Hop we are challenging you to use embroidery floss in a fun and inventive way on your project. We look forward to seeing your creations!"

Well, I didn't exactly use floss in an "inventive" way, but I did have fun with it on my project!

I love to use color on my projects!  On this one I used lots of bright colors but tried not to overdo it.  I kept them grounded with the kraft cardstock.

On this card I used the floss to stitch the buttons onto the flowers and also as a "ribbon" on my card.  I love this color of floss! It adds such a nice color to the card without the bulk of ribbon. 

If you look closely you can see that I used an embossing folder on my Turning a New Leaf die.  For this side of the card I flipped the leaf over and used the impressed side.  On the other side of the card I used the embossed side as show below.

For the scallops on the bottom of the button card I used the Banner Borders die with my glitter paper...that you know I LOVE!! :)

Thanks for hopping to my blog today!! Cards can be uploaded until 10:30 PM (CST) and to see a list of all those participating, be sure to visit Nichole's blog!

Supplies (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Button Boutique, Background Basics: Retro, Big & Bold Wishes
Paper: Kraft, DCWV Glitter, Vintage Music & Book paper, Hawaiian Shores
Ink: Raspberry Fizz, ColorBox Tangerine
Other: Buttons, DMC Floss, Banner Borders Dies, Button Card Die, Flower Punch, Embossing Folder, Gingham Ribbon (Joanns), pop dots

Happy Spring!!

Ahhhhh Spring!!  How I LOVE Spring!  This is Spring Break too and so the kids and I have been enjoyed the park and being outside and today we even went to the zoo!  I got so excited every time I saw a tree that was blooming!  I'm sure my kids got tired of hearing me exclaim every time I saw the white blooming trees but my they are soooo gorgeous!! I can't help but be in awe of such beauty!  Thank you Lord for such a beautiful creation!

So, today's card is inspired by Spring.  By life.  By new life!

This color combination is one of my favorites secretly. I say secretly because I don't use it very often but I ALWAYS admire it.  I need to use it more often though!  It just makes me think of robin eggs in the trees.  {Big Sigh}. Such a picture of peace and joy.

Isn't that large ribbon fun?  Really I built the card around the ribbon.  But, don't tell anyone. LOL!  I found this at Hobby Lobby.  Guess what?  You get a whole 5 yard roll for $2 on sale!  And yes, they do have other colors too.  You'll see some of those later (although on a smaller sized scale).

Well, I hope you are enjoying some beautiful Spring weather where you are too!  It wouldn't quite be Spring in Kansas though without lots of wind.  Let me tell you.  It REALLY feels like Spring in Kansas!! LOL!! Yep! Lots and lots and lots of wind!  Sometimes I wonder why I even bother fixing my hair!

Well on that note, I hope you have a wonderful day full of God's blessings which are new each and every day.  No. Matter. What. :)

Supplies (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps:  Fillable Frames, Verve Kind Words
Paper: Kraft, Aqua Mist, White
Ink: Aqua Mist, Palette Chartreuse
Other: Gingham Ribbon (HL), Fillable Frames Die, Fiskars Border Punch & Canvas Impression Plate

Polka Dotted & Gingham Cuteness

Good morning everyone and happy Saturday!!

I've been busy making rings...rings that have been ordered but also NEW rings to add to my shop!  I just updated my Etsy store, Jen's Ink Spot, with FOUR new rings today and wanted to share them with you!  If you like polka dots or gingham, get ready! 

Poodle Skirt Button Ring

Glittered Red Hot Button Ring

Flowered Gingham Button Ring

Glittered Seascape Button Ring

Aren't those polka dotted & gingham buttons CUTE!!?  I have those same buttons in several others colors too so we'll see what I create next!  And of course, you can see all the rings currently available in my Etsy store by visiting Jen's Ink Spot on Etsy! 

Thanks for taking a look!  Have a great weekend!

Make it Monday: Impression Plate Tricks

Good afternoon!  I am popping in today with a card for PTI's weekly challenge Make it Monday.  This week's challenge was to use an impression plate in a fun way.

For this challenge I impressed the tops and bottoms of the card and left a strip in the center for my stamped paper strip.  I used my Scor-pal to score lines at the top/bottom of where the impression plate met the strip to create visual interest and to mask off the line left by the impression plate.

This shows a closeup of what I did.

Isn't that glittery house fun?  I got the idea from a sign I made for an upcoming women's event at church.  I used that same house die and the same papers, just opposite colors.  Our group is going to go see "Little House on the Prairie" at the Children's Theatre in town next month.  How fun!!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoyed this card!  Be sure to join the Make it Monday challenges! They are a lot of fun!

Supplies (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Fillable Frames, Signature Greetings Butterfly, Damask Designs
Paper: Rustic white, Dark Chocolate
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Chai, Lamore Red Palette
Other: Love Lives Here die, Fillable Frames Die, Fun Foam (red glitter), ribbon

Filled With Happiness

Hey everyone!!  How are you all doing?  It is going to be a super nice day today and even though we had a few inches of snow a couple days ago, it is melted and the sun is shining and it is feeling like Spring once again!  YEA!!

I have had a card "in progress" on my desk for over a week now and I figured it was time to finish it up!  All I had to do was put the pieces together and I was done!

Last week I had on a pair of black pants with a hot pink sweatshirt and that is what inspired this color combination.  I couldn't wait to sit down and play with it again.  I LOVE all the doily stamps so this just seemed like the perfect opportunity to make my own patterned paper and put them to good use.

One of my FAVORITE things about this card is a detail that you probably can't see well in the photos though!  :(  There's a closeup below.  Can you guess what it is?

Glimmer Mist (again)!  After I stamped the white piece with my Palette Claret ink, I sprayed the entire piece with Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Mist.  The way this piece shimmers and shines now is so beautiful!! If you like the look of shimmer cardstock but don't want to pay the high price for it or you would like it in different colors, this is the way to go!!  There are other "clear" like colors too...pearl, bubbles, etc.  I just use an old box to spray the piece with and then let it dry before I adhere it to my card.

Thanks for stopping by today!! I hope you have a great day!

Supplies (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps:  Delightful Doilies, Big & Bold Wishes
Paper: True Black, White, Raspberry Fizz
Ink: True Black, Palette Claret
Other: Linen Impression Plate, Black Rhinestones, Fiskars border punch, pop dots, ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

Thinking of You

I wanted to share a quick card with you.  This was one I made for the PTI Anniversary Challenge several weeks ago.  The challenge was to use the colors Ripe Avocado, Spring Rain, Dark Chocolate & Kraft.

This card measures 4x4 and is a fun size to work with, I need to make this size more often! 

Have you checked out Swagbucks yet?

I am telling you, you need to give it a try!  In one week I've earned 740 swagbuck points by searching using the Swagbucks Toolbar just like I would anyway with my Google toolbar.  You can earn extra points by taking a daily poll (literally takes you 5 seconds or less to do each day), participating in surveys if you choose, purchasing your Internet orders by first clicking through the swagbucks link (which I have not done yet), watching short videos, etc. 

So what could I get with my 740 swagbucks?

• For 450 points I could get a $5 Amazon.com gift certificate
• For 700 swagbucks (points) I could get a $5 Paypal giftcard (YEA!! FREE PTI STAMPS!!)
• Like to travel?  For 349 swagbucks I could get a $25 Hotel Travelocity Gift Card
• For 400 swagbucks I could get a $25 Restaurant.com gift card
• For 1,300 swagbucks I could choose to get a $10 Starbucks gift card
• For 2,350 swagbucks I could get a $20 Target gift card

And those are just some of the GIFT CARD options!!  There are so many things you can spend your bucks on!  Did I mention it's free?  Did I mention that in ONE WEEK I earned 740 points! 

Click on the swagbucks photo above or in the my sidebar to sign up and see what you can earn!!  Hey, I have no problem with FREE PTI money!!  Do you?  LOL!!

Have a great weekend!! Tomorrow we are celebrating my daughter's 3rd birthday (it's really Monday but she'll never know the difference).  Big sigh.  Where did the time go?  Love that girl (and her big brother too)!

Supplies (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Through the Trees
Paper: Kraft, Spring Rain
Ink: Palette Landscape, Dark Chocolate
Other:  Little Bitty Bird Die, Twine, Black Pen, Pop Dots

Papertrey Paper Dolls Blog Hop

Welcome to the first Paper Dolls' blog hop!

The theme for this blog hop is:  PTI!  Each project you see on our blog hop will have something that starts with a P, something that starts with a T and something that starts with an I on it. Just for hopping along and leaving comments on our Blog Hop posts, we are offering up a prize! One randomly selected winner from all the comments left on the individual Dolls' posts will receive the Papertrey Ink stamp set "Made of Snow"!  

We'd love for you to play along with us and link up your own creations using the "PTI" theme on the InLinkz tool at the bottom of the Paper Dolls post here!  A random participant will win a $25.00 gift certificate to PTI!  All comments and projects should be in by midnight CST on Sunday, March 13th. We'll randomly select the winner for both prizes on Monday, March 14th and announce it on the Paper Dolls' Blog!

For my project, I chose to use:
P:  Polka Dots (what else, lol???)
T:  Twine
I:  Impression Plate

(Edited to add that you can also see my post with this card on The Twinery's blog here and Cath from Moxie Fab World linked to it here.  How fun!!)

I just had to make a card with a  happy Spring/Summer theme on this rainy Kansas day!!  I LOVE the Baby Button Bits set from PTI and thought it would be a fun one to use on a spring card.  The idea of some fun twine swirled flowers came to me and I went with it!   Below is a closeup so you can see them a little better.

 

How I did it:  I punched out a 3/4" cardstock circle that matched the main color of the twine so that if there were gaps, it wouldn't be as noticeable.  I then used my ATG gun to apply adhesive to the front of the punched circle.  Then, I just rolled the twine around the circle starting in the middle.  When I finished, I placed a glue dot on the back of the circle and adhered the end of the twine to it to keep it in place.

I used one of my favorite PTI sets on this card too, Polka Dot Basics II.  LOVE this polka dot set (and Polka Dot Basics I too) so much!  You can also see in this photo that I used the canvas impression plate on the entire raspberry fizz cardstock base.  I really like how it adds just the right amount of texture to a card base!

Does that get you in the mood for sunny, spring days?!  It does me for sure!

The other goal of this blog hop is to get to know each other better so I'll share a few things about myself.

• I live in a small town (1,100 people) in Kansas.
• I grew up in Whitewater, KS (another small town) where I lived until I went to college.  After that I lived in Omaha, NE (where I went to college at Grace College of the Bible/Grace University), Joplin, MO (for one year) and Kansas City (for 4 years).  I am currently a homemaker and my husband is a pastor.
• I have two kids.  Mason is 8 and in 2nd Grade & Sadie is almost 3 (next week we'll celebrate her birthday) and a very busy little girl.  She'll start preschool next year and I know she will love it.
• I discovered PTI right after they first began business but it was over a year later that I finally placed my first order.  The rest is history!  No regrets, no turning back! :)
• I've been with the Papertrey Paper Dolls since day 1!  They are such a great group of gals!  I am so happy to be among them!  They are so encouraging, so creative and so kind-hearted!
• I am a design team member for The Twinery.

 Thank you so much for sticking along for my long post!! I hope you had fun visiting!  Please be sure to visit the rest of the girls on the blog hop!  Your next stop is Lee Anne's blog!  Don't forget to leave a comment here on my blog to be entered into the drawing for the FREE PTI set Made of Snow!! And, if you'd like a chance to win the $25 PTI gift certificate don't forget to link your own card using the "P.T.I." theme on our Paper Dolls Challenge blog by Midnight CST on Sunday, March 13th!

Here are all the blogs participating in the blog hop!

Jen (JenCarter)

Lee Anne (Lee Anne)
Laurie W. (Laurie Beth)  
Deena (honugurl16)
Leish (leish)
Amy (kolling143)  
Suzanne (*suzanne*)
Katie (choc0holic)
Laurie (In My Craft Room)
Cecilia "C" (camvds)
Michelle (abzzymom)
Sara (hiinaz)
Tanna (tfiskers)
Renee (Renee L.)
Kristin (jcmom04)
Christy (christea) 

Supplies (all PTI unless noted)

Stamps: Baby Button Bits, Polka Dot Basics II, Green Thumb
Paper: Raspberry Fizz, White, Sweet Blush
Ink: True Black, Fresh Snow
Other: Canvas Impression Plate, Copics, Pop Dots, Ribbon, Twinery Twine, Glitter

A Card, Swagbucks & 2 Rings!

Hi!! I have several things to share with you today!

First, a card...

I made this card based on last week's Clean & Simple sketch #129.  I first stamped the patterned paper and then looked for a sketch that I could use it with...kind of backwards I know!

Here's the sketch.

I just loved this sketch! 

I am not sure that the bow really looks right on the card, so I think I might have to go back and try to figure out how to make it a little better, but I just loved playing with the color scheme and the doily background!  And, I got to use of my favorite PTI sets on this card for the main image too, Floral Fusion!

Next...have you heard of Swagbucks?

It is new to me!  I recently learned about it on the PTI forum.  I do a lot of searching on the Internet for ideas for church, for papercrafting links, etc and with this program, you can earn points (which translates into dollars) for using their search bar.  You can also earn points by taking a daily one-question poll, playing games, watching short videos and taking surveys.

Do you like paypal gift certificates?  Target gift certificates? Amazon gift certificates? Etc?  With this program you can turn your points into gift certificates from these companies and so MUCH more!!  Cool right?  I know!

Anyway, just wanted to share about this super cool program!  If you click on the swagbucks photo in this post above OR on the photo on the right-hand side of my blog, you will be directed to their site.  Just for signing up you get 30 FREE swagbucks...and I get credit too if you sign-up using one of the links I provided or just simply click HERE!

One last thing...New Rings

I also wanted to share a couple of rings that I added to my Etsy shop today!

Dots of Fun Button Ring

This ring is also available in the colors shown below.

(Colors options for the Dots of Fun Ring)

Zebra Button Ring

If you like zebra stripes, big & blingy...FUN ring for you!! :)

Ok, I think I crammed enough info into this one post today!! Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Card Supplies (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Floral Fusion, Healing Touch, My Minds Eye Gertie "Girly"
Paper: Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Tea Dye, Palette Water Lily Green
Other: Wrinkle Ribbon, Banner Die, Rhinestones, Doily Details Die, Fillable Frames Die, Fiskars Border Punch, Pop Dots

Make it Monday: Fun Foam

Hi everyone!! I wanted to swing by real quick today with my card for the PTI Make it Monday Challenge.  The challenge was to use fun foam on a project.  I decided to try to do that in a totally unique and unexpected way and so I decided to try it in 3D!

Here is what I came up with.

A 3D foam doily! 

I realize that this would be pretty heavy to mail but how fun to open the envelope and have a doily pop up!  Once I finished adhering the doily it was too plain, so I sprayed it with glimmer mist and then stamped a giga guidelines image in the middle! 

To see a few other cards that I've used foam click here and here.

Thanks for stopping by today!!  You can play along with this challenge too!  You have until next Sunday evening to do so!


Supplies (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Giga Guidelines, Round & Round
Paper: Royal Velvet, Ripe Avocado, Terra Cotta Tile
Ink: True Black, French Lilac
Other: Pearl Glimmer Mist, Mat Stack Die, Doily Details Die, Banner Die, Glitter, Score Tape, Scor-pal, Moroccan Motifs Impression Plate