Bookmarks and books

My mother-in-law likes books.  A lot.  As in, she works at the Library of Congress.  So for her birthday I knew I had to send her this card, but I also wanted to make a gift set of cards for her using Papertrey Ink's All Booked Up set.  I never know quite what to do with that Mat Stack 1 die, so I went looking for some inspiration and found this lovely card by Stephanie.  After trying about 25 different sheets of patterned paper, this is my version:

 I used mostly October Afternoon Campfire, along with PTI's Distressed Dots and OA Thrift Shop (I think?) for the damask paper.  Hint: place the bookmark in the soon-to-be pocket (not too far down, though), and use some removable tape to hold everything in place.  Then when you sew up the edges, it won't be too tight to fit the bookmark into the pocket. Here are some pairs with their bookmarks:

And here they are all wrapped up (I also made four extra bookmarks for her to use):

Seems like this post is just calling for some book reports, doesn't it?  (Click on the book to be taken to its amazon page)

Book #28: Okay, technically this was probably book #25, but I had completely forgotten about reading it.  I think that says it all about how good it was.

Book #29: The Disappearing Spoon is a collection of stories about the elements of the periodic table.  I definitely enjoyed reading it and feel a little bit smarter, but I would recommend reading it in small doses--he packs a lot of information into this book! 

Book #30: GAH!  I remembered Seabiscuit being good, but I forgot about it being this good. After reading Unbroken to Mr Corgi; we decided to read this next and dare I say it is better than Unbroken?  If you haven't read it yet, go read it!  If you have read it, go read it again!  Three cheers for Biscuit!

Book #31: I bought Lost on Treasure Island when it was on sale for $.99 and I think I overpaid.  Okay, I take that back, the first three or four chapters were probably worth $.99.  Then he started  attending AA meetings to pick up girls, but then he started to attend them to really attend them, and then it turned into pages and pages of bad choices and belly button gazing.

Book #32: I thought this might make a good beach read, but it was pretty meh.

Book #33: Now this is a novel, my friend.  I don't know how he packed so much into 352 pages.  It tells the story of a Newfoundland town over the course of many generations.  If you're reading it on the Kindle, go ahead and copy down the family tree at the beginning.  I did notice it got a lot of mixed reviews on amazon, but I would still recommend it if you like sweeping family sagas.

I love hearing what you're reading, so let me know in the comments!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July to everyone, especially those with brave family members in the military. I love this stamp from Eat Cake Graphics and went right to it when I read Late Blossom's One Layer Wednesday patriotic card challenge.  I stamped it with PTI True Black onto PTI kraft, then used my Staedtler Watercolor Crayons and an aquapainter to color it in.  I wanted the flags to be the standout, so I kept their clothes fairly muted.  I used one of those horrible-finger-pain-inducing discount tiny punches to punch out the stars. A few landed on the paper and  I thought it'd be a fun way to add some subtle interest to the top of the card, so I glued 'em on-I hope it doesn't put me over my one-layer limit! 

Yesterday was a "no-computer" day for us (we spent the day watching movies, swimming, reading, and playing Wii instead!), so I have a couple more cards to share from the last few days.

I was still in a "pretty" mood on Friday, so I made another embossed & waterpainted flower, this time using PTI Delightful Dahlia.  After embossing it on SU Whisper White, I used SU Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose markers scribbled onto a CD case to watercolor with my aquapainter.  My "tip" is to have the aquapainter tip mostly dry, that way you have more control over where the paint goes.  I squeeze out one drop of water, then use a rag to dry it off.  I pick up some color from the CD case, then do one or two quick strokes onto a scratch sheet of paper and then start painting.  I covered the whole thing with Pretty in Pink, then added some shadow with Regal Rose, then went and added some more Pretty in Pink.   Get out your favorite flower stamp and try it-you'll feel like such the artist!

I decided to use it on a corner bookmark, which was this week's tutorial on SCS.  I used some SU dp for the base, covered with PTI Ocean Tides card stock, stamped with PTI's Text Styles in Versamark.  I layered some white ribbon with PTI Sweet Blush and Ocean Tides, and punched the border using Martha Stewart's Cornice Edge border punch.

Due to the no-computer rule yesterday, I had to-gasp!-try to make a card without using a challenge!  I was updating my stamping index and realized I hadn't given Wplus9's Funky Foliage the true inking it deserves.  I started by brayer the sky with Memento Summer Sky (good name!), using torn post-its to mask the bottom.  Then I covered the sky and brayered the grass using Memento New Sprout.  I guess I didn't do a great job of lining up the post-its since I was left with that white line, but I decided it looked kind of funky (in a good way).  I stamped the trees using Memento Rich Cocoa and Bamboo Leaves, cut the image into 3 strips, and matted onto PTI Dark Chocolate.  For the bottom layer, I tore the edges of PTI Spring Rain and SU Certain Celery, and added a white strip between them.

Wishing everyone a safe and delightful Fourth of July!