Hello from a Clean Studio!

Hello (dearest) friends!  I am happy to say that the studio is DONE...clean, purged, wiped, thrownout, vacuumed...DONE!  It was so good to go through everything and get rid of the clutter.  With a sparkling studio, I couldn't wait to make a card!  I pulled out the new to me Seasonal Borders: Summer.  I found Betsy's video on how to stamp it with a Misti and that was a must-see.  I finally got the hang of it.  It's a lot of stamping so I suggest you make multiple die cuts...it's definitely not a "quick card."  However, the results are stunning, even with your first time! I used the same layout as my card for the Blog Hop and changed up the colours, stamps, and sentiment for PTI's Transformation Tuesday.

Below are some photos of the CLEAN studio!  I don't want to mess it up! LOL  Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend :)

what's in it?
stamps: Penned Elegance, Scripted, Seasonal Borders: Summer (PTI)
dies: Seasonal Borders: Summer, Tag Sale #10 (PTI)
ink: versafine onyx, lovely lady, hibiscus burst, mint julep, green parakeet, aquamist (PTI), bermuda bay, pumpkin pie, summer sun (SU)

Baby Thanks & Studio Photos

Hi friends!  It’s been a fun week getting ready for our granddaughter’s baby party we are hosting this coming weekend. I’ve been busy getting all the fun little details ready including a sweet set of thank you onesie cards.  I just love this Onesie die from Top Dog Dies.  I bought some 90 lbs 12 x 12 Bazzill white cardstock as the die lets you fold it over at the top to make a complete card.  The scalloped collar is from the Onesie Finishers Set.  It was easy peasy to make 16 cards!  Now, the only problem is that the bottom of the onesie is rounded so the card falls over when you stand it up (in a place of honour once you receive it!).  To fix this, I simply trimmed off the rounded edge on the back of the card.  You can see how this easily solves the crisis!

I have some more party details I’ll share after the party.  In the meantime, how about some studio before and after shots?  I’ve been a busy girl getting my room all ready for my new ink sprays coming next week.

Here’s how the desk looked after my last project…too many piles!

Now, it’s at least cleaned off, ready for some mixed media supplies.  My stamp area is now behind this desk over on the counter.

Here is my new work space. Funny thing is that my body still wants to stamp on the desk so I find myself turning around to work at my desk! LOL

This is where I used to die cut…

Now it’s my stamping station.

See the bank of drawers?  The top one used to hold all my felt, but it really was a waste of good useable space.  I needed it for something I use all the time…PAPER!  So I put all my felt into a basket and …

Voila!  All my neutral cardstock!  I love it!

And here are baskets of my PTI stamps, patterned paper, paper scraps, doilies, bling, etc…all close at hand!

Here is how the whole back counter looked before the reorganization.  I was desperate to clear it as it’s a very useful work space and didn’t want to take up this expensive real estate with display items and stamps.

Now it’s my die cutting area.  I also went through my ribbon and packed some away so I could make room for the new ink sprays coming soon!

Here are my shelving units, before…

and after… be still my anal heart!

The last photo shows where my lovely display shelf went…much better, by my computer so I can see all my recent lovelies!

There you have it!  My body needs to get use to the new areas, but I sure do love having it all organized again!  AND vacuumed! LOL  Have a great day!  See you tomorrow with my VLV card!

PTI Stamps for Sale, my new Caddy and some Cards!

I have some Papertrey Ink stamps sets and dies for sale…please see the end of this post for details.

 
Good morning!  I’ve got a hodge podge of things to share today…and not necessarily in the order of my Post Title :)  First up are some commissioned wedding cards I made this past winter and last summer for a coworker.  She LOVES my cards and is my best customer :) These first 2 are similar with different colours…

This next one was for a wedding in Hawaii that she went to.  I really wanted to use a Hawaiian sentiment….this means “Be One in Love.”

These next photos are of a little caddy I saw in the bathroom section of Ikea.  I just HAD to have it!

I thought it would be a great place for odd embellishments and/or candy!  LOL  Right now I have some lace and wood butterflies in it :)

Okay, finally I’m down to the PTI stamp sale.  I only have a few I’m ready to part with, but there may be more to follow in the upcoming months :)  All prices include shipping to anywhere in Canada or the U.S.  International shipments would need to be priced individually.  Contact me if you are interested or have any questions.  All sets are gently used with some slight staining unless otherwise noted.  Click on the name of each set to see a picture of it :)


Rustic Snowflake - $15
Holiday Button Bits - $15 SOLD
Blooming Button Bits - $15 SOLD
Sweet as Can Be (one stamp used, like new) - $15
Background Basics – Diamonds (one stamp used once, like new)  $15
Background Basics – Gingham (one stamp used once, like new) $15
Spiral Bouquet - $15
Polka Dot Basics 1 - $15
Floral Frenzy - $15 SOLD
Guidelines 2 - $15 SOLD
Bloom Builder #1 die set - $15.00 PENDING
Bloom Builder #2 die set - $15.00 SOLD
Thanks everyone!  Have a glorious first day of August!

Birthday Wishes and Studio Pics!

Good morning!  It was a cold and rainy day yesterday so after running the weekend errands, I hunkered down in the studio to play with some new goodies and organize my buttons and PTI sets…more on that in a bit!  I’ve got a little bit of a school girl crush on the new Retro Sketch Challenge.  School girl in the sense that I’ve been a bit shy and haven’t played much, but I’ve definitely been quietly staring at them and hoping I’ll just take a chance and play more :)  AND their sketch images are FANTABULOUS!

My new PTI arrived this week via my shipping buddy, Lynn!  Woohoo!  She was able to fit a whole lotta product into one small little box.  I’m putting her name in to PTI as coordinator for new shipping practices {{wink, wink}}!  I couldn’t resist Maile’s new butterfly set and dies…I’m going to have mucho fun with these!  The bottom of the greenish/yellow paper was half thread through the Labels 20 die and then run through the Big Shot.

Okay, so my wonderful dh is back from a long work trip and before he left again he had one must do “Honey-do” job…hang my cubby organizer, magnetic backsplash, and card display (is that 3 jobs? teehee).  I even put the hockey game on for him in the studio :)

 

I am so happy with this cubby!! I first saw it on Dawn McVey’s blog and after thinking about what to do with my PTI sets, etc., knew I had to have it!

 

It holds a TON of stuff!  ALL my button jars and ALL my PTI sets!!  I’ve finally got them in alphabetical order for quicker access!  The ones up in the top left hand corner are the Christmas ones and the ones on their sides in the second cubby from the bottom right hand corner are my go to sets!  I won’t grow out of this organizer as PTI has changed the way they sell their stamps…I’m still not sure how I feel about that.  The DVD cases are a little clumsier to store, but the stamps feel more secure in them and they all actually fit :)

The bulletin board over my computer screen is made up of a Pottery Barn magnetic backsplash and just some cork squares from Michaels (with 50% coupon!).  The card display frame to the left of that is one I picked up at Pier 1 a few years ago and had in the old studio in my townhouse.  The floating shelves are from Ikea  (START THE CAR!).  The huge calendar was on my stamping desk as an extra blotter, but I really wanted a big calendar on the wall for DT assignments and my own personal planner.  So there you have it…I’m getting there!  Next is to unpack that Cricut and learn how to use it before it becomes obsolete!  LOL  Thanks so much for visiting and letting me share my little stamping oasis :)  Have a wonderful day :)

 

what’s in it?

stamps: pti birthday tags 2012, beautiful butterflies

ink: versafine onyx, su soft sky

paper: pti white, kraft, basicgrey konnichiwa

accessories: pti butterfly and banner die, spellbinders labels 20, pti button, su bakers twine

Kindness

Good evening!! I thought I’d be back to my regular morning posts, but I had time to play with this week’s Waltzingmouse Sketch :)  Oh, I wasn’t going to have time but we had a HUGE dump of snow today so I went straight home after work instead of running all my errands.  Needless to say, I got my ribbon all organized and had time to make this sweet little kindness card using this fun sketch.  I used eyelets for the small circles and tied twine into a bow.

Okay, here’s a photo of the ribbon racks!! ACK!! I could probably have gotten them all into 2 racks…but last time we only put 2 up, I ran out of room quickly.  I think all the purging I did helped PLUS I keep my seam binding in a small container now, not on the ribbon rack.  I may use that extra rack for some embellishment bottles.  You can also see my die cutting area and my paper:)  All my SU paper is in the lower cabinet and all my PTI paper is up on the counter in a magazine holder.  My patterned paper pads are the wicker basket and my scrap bags are in a matching basket right beside it :)  I love having all my dies, paper and cutting tools in one area :)

TGIF tomorrow!!  Come back first thing in the morning for a brand new Viva La Verve sketch!!  Thanks for stopping by :)  Hugs!

 

what’s in it?

stamps: wms rescue remedies

ink: su chocolate chip

paper: pti rustic cream, su espresso, MME Lost and Found 2

accessories: pti tag die, buttons and twine, making memories eyelets, spellbinders labels 4 die, su seam binding ribbon, stitching, gems

The Day That Gave Me You

Good morning!! Ah, the lovely weekend is here!  I’m most excited about the new studio arriving this week!! But now comes the daunting task of UNPACKING!  And purging big time!  I’ll share some photos at the end of this post :)  I am also excited about today’s card.  I wasn’t too sure about this week’s colourQ colours, but then I got thinking that they would be perfect for my dh’s birthday card for his birthday next week :)  While I was making this, he called me while out of town and asked what I was doing…I told him I was making a birthday card for someone I loved dearly.  He was a little puzzled and said that the only upcoming birthday he knew about was his own, pause…then he said, “oh, I get it!”  LOL  I warned him there was one bit of “girlie” on his card.  I had the gorgeous red ribbon on my mind for this card so there it is!! I also knew I wanted to use this fabulous Verve sentiment from Love’s Flower (on sale this month!). It perfectly conveys how I feel about Tony’s birthday :)

Okay, here are the just installed pictures of the new studio cupboards and counters.  I opted for lower cupboards only as I have many things to put on the wall…3 ribbon racks, a button cubby organizer, bulletin board/magnetic board and a few framed pictures of special publications :)  I will share more when I’ve organized and unpacked more :) Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

what’s in it?

stamps: verve love’s flower, pti fillable frames

ink: versafine onyx, su sahara sand

paper: PTI white, su more mustard, MME Gertie Paper and Kraft FunDay

accessories: pti fillable frame and scallop border dies, Michaels ribbon, gems, stitching

In Love With You (and Studio pics!)

Good morning!  Yesterday was a VERY EXCITING day!!  As I was leaving the house before noon, the postal truck drove up and had not one but TWO packages for me :)  Then, when I checked our mail box ANOTHER package had arrived.  THEN our new living room furniture arrived!!  Oh, it felt like Christmas all over again.  I also spent some quality time in the studio, organizing more paper and making a few cards.  The colourQ challenge was on my “to do for sure” list and I had fun using some new and old items on this card.  The challenge this week is to use black and white with a splash of one other colour.  Hmmm, which colour?!  After some auditions, I went with HOT PINK!!  She wins almost every time when adding a pop of colour :)  The paper is from last year’s Echo Park’s Be Mine kit.  I still love this and you will probably see more of it as we get closer to Valentine’s Day ;)

I took a couple of pictures of the studio as it looked last night.  It’s a bit make shift right now until the new cupboards and counters come in and I can hang my ribbon holders on the wall.  But it’s starting to feel like “home.”

These are the 2 Ikea shelves we picked up in October.  They hold a LOT of things and were much cheaper than the ones in Nichole Heady’s new studio (if you follow the PTI newsletters).  HA!  There’s Seinfeld on t.v.!!  I picked up a cheap flat screen at Costco and it will be mounted on the wall soon too…counter space is expensive real estate in a studio, so anything that can be mounted on the wall will be :)

Now for something incredible that I discovered at Michaels this week!  The perfect die storage for my beloved Verve dies (which are on SALE right now!) and PTI dies.  I had 2 GCs from Santa to spend and LOVED going in after Christmas with them to pick up some Christmas and organization items on sale for 50 – 70% off!!  This little jewelry/drawer organizer was in one of the main aisles with a bunch of other matching organizers.  I thought it might be the perfect die holder and once I got home, I discovered it WAS!!  My dies fit perfectly!!  I went back to Michaels and picked up 2 more…for future growth!!  The right side, where my Verve dies are, is divided into 3 sections.  SCORE!!

Well, that’s all for me :)  I’m off to the gym and then for a pedicure this morning.  Then back into the studio for some more inky time :)  Hope your week has been fabulous :)

what’s in it?

stamps: pti love and marriage

ink: versafine onyx

paper: pti white, echo park be mine dp

accessories: pti edger die and ribbon, Michaels button, bakers twine, gems