Paper Pieced Apron

There's something about aprons that I just love. The homey feeling they give and the fun patterns are so cute. Karen Lockhart has created an adorable Vintage Apron. It's just like paper dolls for grown ups!!

To create my paper pieced apron, I stamped the apron image onto three pieces of October Afternoon patterned paper. I cut the pocket from one design, the trims from a second and the main apron piece from a third piece of patterned paper. I also used a grey Copic marker, I think a W2 or W3 to add some shading. Then I stamped the main image again onto white cardstock. I colored in a few trim pieces with a green Copic marker. Then I simply pieced the color portions onto the white apron with adhesive. So fun!! Jordan would love this cuz she's really into paper dolls right now. Here's my finished card. I used a base card of PTI Kraft with two pieces of Ocotober Afternoon. I stitched around the main image with my sewing machine and added a Lockhart birthday sentiment.

I needed a few embellishements so I punched some squares of scrap patterned paper and added some buttons on top.

For the inside of the card, I used the Lockhart *let's get cookin'* sentiment alnog with *it's your day* from Papertrey's Star Prints. I also stamped two Lockhart Itty Bitty Pie Slices and colored them with Copics to resemble Key Lime Pie....to match my snippet of patterned paper.

A perfect little card for my birthday stash. Do you have ideas for fun sentiments that would go with aprons? I have a fun idea that I'll have to save for another day but I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks for stopping by!

Little Girl's Apron/1st day of school

Today my *not so little * girls go back to school. As they were primping and getting ready, I thought about all of our first days of school. And how little they were on their first day of kindergarten, barely able to make that big step onto the school bus. My, how they've come a long way over all those years. I'm so proud of my reds and I'm hoping for a great school year!! And I even miss all the noise they made all summer, it's SO quiet here today. I thought I would share a card, just perfect for a little girl. I used Karen Lockhart's Apron stamp and a Papertrey sentiment, along with paper from Imaginesce and ribbon from Making Memories. If you click on the link to the apron stamp HERE, you will notice that I cut off the bottom pockets of the larger apron image. That shortens the apron and makes a perfect sized apron for a little girl. I'll have to take a photo of the little apron my mom made for me when I was a little girl....she found it the other day and I was SOOO happy! It's tiny though, I'm not sure it EVER fit around my chubby little body.

I hope you have a GREAT day! I know many of you will be sending your *little* ones off to school soon. Enjoy each and every day with your loved ones.

Be sure to stop by Nichole's blog today for some new product finds that are in store now at the Papertrey website...view the new First Fruits 8 x 8 paper collection... and see some more sneak peeks from the awesome PT Design Team. Tonight's the big night, the new August releases will be available at midnight. Woohoo, there's a party goin' on 2-Nite at the Papertrey Forum! Don't miss it!

Lockhart Sweetie Pie

I loved making this card, there are so many fun elements!! I was inspired by some new October Afternoon patterned that I purchased recently. I just had to do something with that apple paper! I paper pieced Karen Lockhart's new Apron stamp with some coordinating October Afternoon patterned paper. The towel also has been paper pieced. I then colored a Lockhart Itty Bitty Apple and adhered it to the apron pocket. This totally ties the apron into the background paper. For an accent piece, I cut a portion from the Lockhart Berry Pie Shoe image and colored it to resemble a slice of apple pie. I mounted this on circle and scallop circle Spellbinder's Die Templates and added some airbrushing to the white circle so that the pie slice would stand out. I finished off my card with Papertrey birthday sentiments....love that Sweetie Pie, it's perfect with this card! There's lots of layers and dimension to this card, here's a closeup view.
And another closeup of the slice of pie. Yummo!

All Lockhart stamps can be purchased at Ellen's online store. I found the October Afternoon paper at the Two Peas website.

Pink Apron Button Card

Hey friends. I'm back from sunny Phoenix. My dad and I had a great time visiting relatives.

Here I am back in the Artsy Studio. And today I got the most fun little package from Karen Lockhart. Immediately, I had to create something with the pretty little Daisy Apron stamp. Recently I've divided all of my vintage finds by color. So I reached for my pink basket and found some wonderful laces that are used for lingerie, pretty pink buttons, fake pearls, seam binding and more. Be sure to check my Etsy shop soon for some kits that have a wonderful sampling of some of these goodies.

In the meantime, how about a pretty little project? I stamped the apron with Palette Black Noir ink and allowed my images to sit for little while. This helps to prevent bleeding with coloring with Copics. I then colored the apron using the colors shown below. I kept the apron all pink, just using various shades to add depth and dimension to the apron folds. The E21 marker was used to outline the apron image and a little bit on the apron hem.
Next up, I masked my stamped apron and then used Papertrey background stamps to create a subtle pink and tan background as you can see on the left in the photo below.
I finished off my card with machine stitching, vintage buttons, ivory lace and a Tiny Tag from my Etsy shop.
Such a pretty little, homemade button card that will make a nice finishing touch to a tin full of pink and lacey goodies. I tied the tin up with pink tulle and a button. All ready to be packaged up in a bright pink sack.
Enjoy!

Tie one on....

Karen Lockhart's Vintage Apron stamp is simply adorable. Every time I make a trip to the quilt shop, I see a different apron made up.....and tons of apron patterns. I think I'll have to buy a few patterns and see what I can whip up for my Etsy shop sometime soon. In the meantime, I've made some fun apron cards with Karen's stamp. I paper pieced the apron by stamping the image onto some Basic Grey patterned paper. I cut out the images and adhered them so my cardstock mats, stitching around the edges to add a homespun feel. I added strings of tied buttons and pretty pink ribbons.

The inside of my cards read *It's your birthday...tie one one!!* I love the play on words..perfect for that friend that loves aprons!

And here's another card from the blog archives I made using Vintage Apron.

Boy, all this talk about aprons makes me wanna go whip up something in the kitchen. Hope you're having a great day!

The List

Speaking of the list, I wanted to give you my reviews of the movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman (one of my favorite actors, I just love his voice). The previews of this movie shows lots of funny scenes but the story line is much more serious...along with those funny moments. I do recommend the movie, it's great! It delivers a serious message but in a light hearted way.

Now on to today's post. I worked kind of backwards on this project because I created this stamped image piece first but had no idea what I wanted to do with it. I just wanted to play with Karen Lockhart's new Apron stamp. Is't it nicely illustrated? I paper pieced the apron with polka dot and striped patterned paper and colored the rest with Copic markers. I added some buttons, a little flower, some stitching and some distress ink to give the apron a vintage feel.

I decided that I would make a little notebook for lists. I cut up some grid paper to use for the inside of my list. I love to use grid paper because I can doodle and sketch and I just love all the little squares. I covered the chipboard cover with some Cosmo Cricket paper, assembled my cover and cut holes with my Zutter Bind It All.....great for making your own notebooks!
For the horizontal strip, I used Papertrey's new Kraft cardstock, the Polka Dot Basics stamp and Palette New Canvas white ink.
I dug out some chipboard letters from my stash drawer and inked them with red ink and dried them speedy quick with my heat tool. Here's my assembled notebook. I simply call it the LIST. I dont' know about yours, but my family is constantly saying, *hey mom, we need more *blank*....well put it on the LIST, duh!! Then they ask *where's the list?*......good grief people. Sooooooo nowwwww they have no excuse. The list is labeled the LIST.....should be easy to find right!? Here's what the inside looks like.
And here it is displayed with a vintage apron on a hanger(courtesy of Karen Lockhart, thank you Karen!) I decorated my new white pantry cabinet with all sorts of patriotic stuff for July 4th decorations. It's a big time of year for us.....Josey's birthday is on the 4th, my mom's is the 1st and we have a HUGE July 4th bash. Good times.
Well, I gotta run....my folks are coming over with their pickup and we're headed off to get the girls' mattresses for their new rooms. Have a great day! It's a beautiful one here in Kansas today!

Spellbinder's Sneak Peek

There's a blog party going on at Spellbinders! Click on that link to read all about the two week celebration, celebrating the 1 year birthday of Nestabilities! Today, I get to show you some new dies being introduced at Summer CHA coming up soon. Be sure to check out the official rules at the end of my blog post for the Spellbinders Birthday Celebration Sneak Peek Party Drawing for the dies I'm showing today and for a chance to win the gihugic GRAND PRIZE of a new raspberry Wizard and $500 worth of Spellbinders dies!!

Today I will be featuring two new sets of dies.

Small Pinking Circle Dies (S4 172) MSRP $24.99
Largest die in this set measures 3-1/2" in diameter

Large Pinking Circles Dies( S4 170) MSRP $24.99
Largest die in this set measures 3-5/8" in diameter You can check out some great videos HERE! Stacey has demonstrated how to use Spellbinder's dies in other die cutting machines.

Now onto my projects for today featuring the new Small and Large Pinking Circles! I wanted to show you how verstatile the dies are for you projects. I first chose to use some of the smaller Pinking Circles as an accent for a card. When I first saw a photo of these dies, I immediately though of prize ribbons and emblem type projects. So my inspiration led to a blue ribbon pie! I used two sizes of Pinking Circles dies to create the round portion of the ribbon. I hand cut two longer pieces of cardstock to create the rest of the ribbon. I adhered this to my card as if it hand won first prize in a pie contest! Pie and polka dot stamps are from Papertrey Ink. Rectangle die templates from Spellbinders.

Next, I wanted to show you how one of the larger Pinking Circles can be used the focal image of a card. I paper pieced a Lockhart Apron with Cosmo Cricket patterned paper then outlined it with a grey Copic marker, plus some shading on the dish towel hanging out of the apron. I then adhered my circle cut main image to a large Pinking Circle die. The zig zag of the pinking pattern really helps the focal image to pop off the card. Polka dot stamps are from Papertrey Ink.

And lastly, I want to show you how the dies can be used as a card in itself. I folded a piece of cardstock and then ran it through my Wizard with a large Pinking Circle die, making sure that a portion of the fold hung over my template. This allows for the clamshell type card to still have a small fold for opening and closing. These types of cards would be great for little gift cards or perhaps a recipe could be printed up and adhered to the inside.

So however you choose to use the new dies, Spellbinders offers limitless possibilities to what you can create because there are so many sizes to choose from. And these particular dies nest perfectly with the regular circle dies too.

Here's a list of the 2008 Blog Party Schedule so you can check out all the other new dies arriving soon!

June 30: Thinking Inking by Debbie Olson -- http://debbiedesigns.typepad.com/muse_and_amuse/
July 01: Created From Paper by Jennifer Ellefson – http://www.createdfrompaper.blogspot.com/
July 02: Wickedly Wonderful Creations by Wendy Weixler – http://wickedlywonderfulcreations.blogspot.com/
July 03: Embellished Dreams by Heidi Blankenship Decorative Frames – http://embellished-dreams.blogspot.com/
July 04: Simple Dreams by Ellen Hutson -- http://www.ellenhutson.typepad.com/
July 05: Caffeinated Thoughts by Michelle Klomp - http://michellejoklomp.blogspot.com/
July 06: Linda’s Works of Heart by Linda Duke -- http://www.lindaduke.typepad.com/
July 07: Mish Mash by Michelle Wooderson – http://michellewooderson.blogspot.com/
July 08: Inky Heart by Sally Lynn MacDonald – http://www.inkyheart.typepad.com/
July 09: Cookies for Breakfast by Beth Pingry – http://bethping.blogspot.com/
July 10: PaperFections by Sharon Harnist – http://www.PaperFections.typepad.com
July 11: Today’s Creations by Holly Craft – http://todayscreations.blogspot.com/
July 12: Donya Schroeder by Donya Schroeder -- http://donyas.typepad.com/puckish
July 13: Follow Your Bliss by Trudee Sauer -- http://trudee.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

Here's the official information for the:
Spellbinders Birthday Celebration Sneak Peek Party Drawing

Spellbinders will randomly pick one entry from each of the 14 Spellbinders Sneak Peek Blog reveals as stated in the "Rules". This name will be drawn to receive the die being revealed on said blog. These entries must follow all rules stated below to be valid for the drawing.

Entrants visiting all 14 Spellbinders Birthday Celebration Sneak Peeks Blog reveals and correctly entering their information into the 14 separate drawings, as described below, will automatically be entered into a GRAND PRIZE give away of a new RASPBERRY WIZARD and a $500 retail value die package!

Rules:
Any participant wishing to be included in the daily drawing for the Spellbinders Birthday Celebration Sneak Peek die give away must adhere to all of the following rules:

1. Participant must click on the provided drawing link on blog to enter each individual drawing on sneak peeks between June 30 and July 13.
2. Participant must type in the subject line the name of the die being revealed.
3. Participant must send their entry for this blog before 12:00 midnight Central Standard Time on July 8th, 2008
4. Participant is only allowed to enter each of the 14 Spellbinders sneak peek blog give away drawings one time per sneak peek. Participant must use the same email address daily to be considered for grand prize entry.
5. Spellbinders Design Team members and employees are not eligible for drawing.

Any participant wishing to be automatically entered into the drawing for the Spellbinders Birthday Celebration Sneak Peek Grand Prize drawing, must enter the drawing from all of the 14 blog reveals and follow all the above rules.

Please note:
*Spellbinders will only use email information to contact the winner.
*Spellbinders will not share this email address with any other parties.
*Spellbinders will not use this email information for advertisements or communications
other than to contact the winner.
*If you wish to be included in further communications from Spellbinders, please go to their homepage and sign up: http://www.spellbinders.us/.

Click HERE to enter the drawing. Good luck!!(If you use an e-mail client that does not work with this pop-up box, you may copy and paste this address to send your entry to: NewDierelease@spellbinders.us .) Winner of my dies will be announced July 9th!

If you would like to receive more Spellbinders product release information, please go to their homepage and sign up at: http://www.spellbinders.us/.

Pink Apron

Since I've been on this sewing themed kick lately, I just had to pull out one of Karen Lockhart's aprons to work with. This image is called Vintage Apron. I love paper piecing Karen's apron designs, it's like playing with paper dolls again. I stamped the apron image onto some Fancy Pants patterned paper and colored the trims a little with a pink Copic marker. For the background I scrunched up a piece of old sewing pattern. A pretty ribbon and tied pink buttons just add to the feminine sewing theme. For the inside of my card, I used some Crafty Secrets stamps for the sentiment and stitching line.
With all the crafty crazy going on, it's fun to reach for other types of crafting supplies....like the sewing themed stamps, old sewing patterns, my sewing machine, vintage buttons, etc. Oh how I love to dig through my goodies. Hope you're having a fabulous day!

Sweetie Pie Apron

I love this Apron stamp from Karen Lockart. I think it's the biggest image from all of Karen's collections...and to me it just begs to be paper pieced each time I reach for it.

So I reached for some of my new Valentine paper from My Mind's Eye and used three separate patterns to paper piece the apron, pocket and dish towel. I colored the straps red with a Copic Sketch marker.

The dish towel is raised up on pop dots to add dimension. For some detail, I used some Papertrey Sweet blush satin ribbon and tied on some gold charms. I added a pink sequin to the heart.
And above is the inside of the card. The *let's get cookin'* sentiment is by Karen Lockhart, a perfect companion to the apron. The *Sweetie Pie* sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's My Punny Valentine. This will be a FUN card to send out for Valentine's Day....perhaps to someone who likes to cook. Have you started on YOUR Valentine cards yet?

Cupcake Birthday

EDIT: I thought you might like to see what JustRite Stampers is up to. There's LOTS of new products coming out. Be sure to scroll down a few posts to see the new goodies. I'll be doing a guest make and take session during CHA too, so be sure to stop by and see me! You can see my recipe card/apron project at the JustRite blog too. So cute!!

Today's card takes on a vintage look by using some distress ink on all the cardstock edges. For my main image, I used Karen Lockhart's Best Cupcake stamp layerd with scallop dies from Spellbinders. Patterned paper is by Fancy Pants and the polka dot layer was created with Papertrey's Polka Dot Basics stamp set. You'll notice that a lot of my cards have a horizontal element that grounds the main image. A horizontal piece of cardstock or ribbon under the main image gives the focal point something to rest on, like a horizon line. On my card today, I used three horizontal elements: a think strip of pink cardstock, a wider strip of green cardstock that has the *happy birthday* sentiment and the pearls, and then a piece of Sweet Blush ribbon from Papertrey Ink as the final horizontal element. I think all these little layers add a lot of creativity and interest to a project. So next time you have your card ready to assemble, cut a strip of cardstock and place it under the main image. You'll be surprised how much it adds to your project.

Today will be a lazy day, how about you? I drank a large McDonald's Vanilla Iced Coffee yesterday......was bouncing off the walls and doing great...til it was time to go to sleep. It was 4:30am the last time I checked before I fell asleep. Not good. But I can't help it, I love those iced coffees!!!!!!! Today it's water for me though! I hope you have a *sparky* kind of day today!