Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 170

Happy Wednesday everyone.  I hope you are all having a good week.  Mine has been so busy I don't know how I get myself into all the extra work I volunteer for.  Here are my cards I made for this week's  Papercraft Star Challenge.  We have a wonderful photo to inspire you this week and we hope you play along.  I'd love to see what inspires you.  Be sure to stop by the Papercraft Star blog to see what our amazing design team has created to further inspire you.









Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Brrr It's Cold

Hello everyone!  We are back!  After the whole month of November off the Papercraft Star is back to give another fun challenge.  We have a chilly photo to inspire you this week.


Black and White
Brown and White 
Bare Trees
Snow

I was inspired by how cold it must be in the photo.  I also found inspiration in the bare tree.  My children call trees that have lost their leaves "naked trees".


I used a stamp from Raisin Boat, a stamp company where you can "rent' stamp sets and return them for other stamp sets without the obligation to purchase.  I simply shaded the snowman using Copic markers and added a cloudy background.  I created my own patterned paper by stamping snowflakes.  A few beads and doily and my card was finished.  I hope you get a chance to play along with us this week.  Be sure to stop by the Papercraft Star blog to see what our amazing design team had come up with to further inspire you!  

Anitra


Monday, November 25, 2013

Icicle Ornaments

Playing with wire and beads is so much fun!  Here are some simple icicle ornaments I made for a swap i participated in over on Your Paper Pantry ning site.  Using some 16 gauge wire, some wire cutters, round nose pliers, beads, spacer beads and bead caps, I was able to make these adorable ornaments.  Thank you for stopping by and I hope like them.




Supplies:  Wire cutters, round nose pliers, 16 gauge wire, beads, bead caps, spacer beads, head pins and jump ring.  




Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Papercraft Star 168

Hello everyone!  I hope you are ready for another fun challenge over at the Papercraft Star!  This is our last challenge for the month and we will be taking the month of November off.  Let's make this a fun challenge!  We have a great inspiration photo.



Tags
Postmarks
Stamps
Fleur de lis
Fabric

I took inspiration from the natural colors in the photo.  I just love the natural tones for a Christmas card. I decided I'd better get started on Christmas cards after all the wonderful cards Deanne creates I couldn't resist.



I used an image and sentiment from Verve stamps along with a die cut doily from my friend Laura who is littleluluscraps on youtube.  She was kind enough to cut a variety of them for me.  Thank you Laura Lulu!  I also matted some text paper from prima and added some vintage lace to make my bow.  I finished off my bow with some rusty bells given to me from Teresa.  Thank you Teresa!  I do hope you get a chance to play along this week.  I would love to see how you are inspired by our photo.  Our design team members have more wonderful projects to further inspire you. Be sure to stop by the Papercraft Star blog to check it out!

Hugs,
Anitra 


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 167

Greetings everyone.  I hope everyone is having a good week.  My son's Halloween costume has come in through the mail, so he was super excited about that.  He's going to be a storm trooper from Star Wars.  It's funny seeing him get all excited about a movie that was made over 30 years ago.  Well on to our challenge this week over at the Papercraft Star.  This week I was drawn to our inspiration photo and the primitive look to it.



Suggestions:
Witch
Broom
Cat
Hat
Checks/Polka dots


For my card I used patterned paper form My Minds Eye paper pad which I picked up at Archivers for about $3!  I know, what a steal!  Sometimes that store suprises me with their sales.  The "witch" flash card is from October Afternoon, and the jar image is from one of my favorite Esty stores called Iralamijashop.  She sells the cutest vintage digital images.  




I kept this card pretty simple and matted each of my patterned papers with black cardstock.  This one come together pretty quickly.  No seam binding this time around.  I think I may try this one again and do some Jinny Newlin inspired stitching around some of the matted pieces.  I can't wait to see how the photo inspires you.  We have seen some really beautiful entries the past few challenges!  Be sure to stop by the Papercraft Star blog to see what our wonderful design team has to further inspire you.  Thank you so much for stopping by.

Hugs,
Anitra


Thursday, October 17, 2013

Mixed Media Challenge 10

Greetings everyone.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful week.  This week the Papercraft Star design team gets to play along with the Mona Pendelton's Mixed Media Challenge #10.  This week's color pallet is so stunning it was so much fun to play along using MPD Timeless stamp set and coordinating dies from MFT stamps.



Have you ever shown your creative projects to friends and family and had them say wow "you must have a lot of time on your hands"?  Well I hear this a lot.  It's not that I have so much time on my hands between caring for my two young children running back and forth from dance to therapy to tutoring and swimming lessons.  However those couple of hours when the housework is all done and the kiddos are fast asleep in bed...well that's my time to be creative!



For this project I used bits of burlap, sprays, and masks, along with some embossing power.  For the base I used graph paper and layered different mists.  I just adhered more patterned papers in layers and started to tear some away exposing the different mists and paints.  I added the title "Art the great escape" and outlined with a sketch pen.  




The "Timeless" stamp set and coordinating dies went perfect with my art journal page.  I die cut the gears with some chocolate chip card stock.  I added some flowers and half backed pearls and stamped "Time to Be Creative" to finish of my page.


I hope you get a chance to play along and find your very own time to be creative.  Thank you for stopping by.


Hugs,
Anitra









Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 166

Hello all!  I hope you are all having a wonderful week.  Here in Central Texas we are having some much needed rain!  This week we have a fun challenge for you over at the Papercraft Star.  We have had some amazing entries the past couple of weeks and I'm so looking forward to seeing what everyone has up their sleeve for this photo inspiration.




For my card I took inspiration form the Jack-o-lantern that mischievous kitty is sitting on.  




Using an image I had in my stash from the Etsy store Iralamija, I matched some Authentique patterned papers with it and matted them on black cardstock.  I then added some simple embellishments like the Martha Stewart web punch along with some bling and half back pearls.  Of course a bit of seam binding never hurt any card I've ever made so I added some of that for good measure too.  I hope you are all enjoying playing along with us and please be sure to check our what our super talented design team members have created for you over at the Papercraft Star!

Hugs,
Anitra 


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Papercraft Challenge 165

Fall is here!  Just this week we had a cold front come in and bring the high down to a cool 85 degrees!  Almost time to break out those winter boots here in Texas!  Yes, we don't have many super cold days in the Fall or Winter in my part of the world.  This week over at the Papercraft Star we have another wonderful inspiration photo for you to get your creative juices flowing.



Pumpkins
Fall Flowers
Scarecrows 
Woodgrains

For my card I went with a pumpkin image I stamped using a TCP stamp set.  I colored it using some Prisma  color pencils.  I just love the way they blended together.  



The sunflowers were stamped and colored, also with Prisma color pencils, then fussy cut and popped up using some foam tape.  A craft doily from Maya Road is tucked behind the image and for my sentiment I stamped the word "Autumn" in rich cocoa.  This was such a fun card to make and I love working with all the beautiful colors of Fall.  The rest of the design team has some wonderful projects to further inspire you.  Be sure to head on over to the Papercraft Star blog to take a look.  Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week.

Hugs,
Anitra




Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 164

Greetings my bloggy friends!  We have a really pretty inspiration photo for you over at the Papercraft Star!  It is officially fall here in the U.S and this photo inspiration if filled with the rich colors this season brings.



For my card this week I was inspired by the wreath and the beautiful rich colors in the photo.  I started with a card base of some butter cream card stock from Taylored Expressions. 


I then matted some marbled paper from Tim Holtz.  Then using a masking technique I learned long ago  from my days as a Stampin Up demonstrator.  I simply punched a 1 1/4" circle to use as a mask.  I then took a leaf stamp I had and stamped around the circle in different fall colored inks.  After I stamped the leaves I removed the circle and presto!  Instant wreath!  I made a simple banner from vellum and added buttons to each side.  I then adhered some dew drops to the upper corner.  Then using some of my favorite embellishments of seam binding and lace I finished my card.  This week I am looking forward to seeing every one's photo inspired projects.  Stop by the Papercraft Star blog to see what our amazing design team has created to further inspire you.  Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

Hugs,
Anitra




Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 163

It's Wednesday and the challenge over at the Papercraft Star is a fun one.  This week we have a photo to inspire you.  When I saw this photo I immediately thought of Monopoly.  The thing is I have never liked playing Monopoly.  My brother's always cheated and stole my colorful money and trick me into selling my railroads!  So I went with one of the suggestions to the photo.



Metal 
Shoes
Hats
Games
Dogs

I went with games!  I once worked at Sea World of San Antonio, and my job was to make the cotton candy, which by the way, I can't stand now.  Some how though every year for the past three years I volunteer, yes I said "volunteer" to make the stuff at my son's Fall Fest for his school.  Well down from my cotton candy card was the Midway.  That's were all the carnival like games were, and every once in a while someone would actually win one of those stuffed prizes!  



For my card I used the paper from October Afternoon called "Midway".   I used embellishment stickers form the coordinating sticker sheet for the little tabs off the sides and a ticket from the coordinating miscellaneous pack.  Of course there's some seam binding and a button from my stash that matched perfectly with this paper line.  I love making these bright cards.  For more inspiration please check our other designers over on the Papercraft Star blog.  I just love how each of the amazing designers have such a different take on the same challenge.  I'd love to see what you come up with!  Have a wonderful week and thank you for stopping by!

Hugs,
Anitra


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 162

Welcome everyone to another challenge over at the Papercraft Star.  Big thank you to all who joining us last week in our Mona Pendelton Design sponsored challenge.  There were a lot of creative and beautiful projects!  This week we have a fun inspiration photo.


Colors
Create a scene
Doors or Windows
Christmas

For my card I was inspired to create my own house.  Using some chipboard window panes from Maya Road I fussy cut some patterned paper to create this little house.




For this challenge I just had fun with it.  No rules for me just me in my crafty spot with paper and glue creating.  At times I tend to over think cards, and/or paper combinations but not this time.  I used papers from My Minds Eye, Crate Paper, and a corrugated card base from Recollections.  I hope you get a chance to play along in our challenge.  Show us how you interpret the inspiration photo and be sure to check out our amazing design team on the Papercraft Star blog.  I love how each of us are different.  I look forward to stopping by to see your creativity. 

Hugs,
Anitra




Thursday, September 12, 2013

Raisin Boat Challenge 14

Hello all my blog land friends!  I hope you are all having a good week.  I recently signed up to rent stamps from a company called Raisin boat and decided to try out one of their challenges.  With this stamp company you can "rent" stamps, and use them as many times as you'd like.  When you're done send them back and get another set from your wish list.  You can find out more on their site here.  I created this card using Raisin Boat's stamp set called "Stunning Silhouettes".




I stamped the images in tuxedo black ink on a piece of dictionary paper first then sponged different colors of reds, rust, yellows and even some blues and purples.  Here in Texas we have had dome hot summers the past couple of years so when I think of summer all I can imagine are Hot Summer Days.  I typed out that sentiment on a piece of craft cardstock and punched it out using my SU oval punch.  A bit of lace and trim finishes my card.  This was a fun challenge and I look forward to participating in the next one!  Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week!

Hugs,
Anitra



Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Papercraft Challenge 161

Hello everyone. This Wednesday we have another challenge over at the Papercraft Star.  We have a great inspiration photo for you.  This week we welcome the super talented Mona Pendelton from Cupcake Creations!  Mona has generously sponsored this weeks prize and I tell you the "Timeless" stamp set and "Time Pieces" die set were so fun to work with!


Back to school
 Maps
Books
Ruler
Clocks
Pencils

Using MPD "Timeless" stamp set from My Favorite Things Stamps, and MPD "Time Pieces" die set I created this card with the Back to School theme in mind.  




I started out with a teal cardstock base and matted some October Afternoon patterned paper from the Farm Girl collection.  I then created my own patterned paper using the "Timeless" stamp by stamping in alternating colors in black and rose red.  I then filled the open spaces with another stamp from the set in antique linen.  The gingham patterned piece is from October Afternoon's Farm Girl and "school days" tab is from Graphic 45.  




Of course I had to use one of the awesome clock faces in the MPD "Timeless" stamp set.  I just stamped it and cut it out using the coordinating die set, "Time Pieces".  I then added a simple hand cut banner and stamped the "Happy Times" sentiment from the "Timeless" set.  A huge thank you to Mona Pendelton!  It was so much fun playing with this awesome stamp set and coordinating die set!  I really hope you get a chance to play along with us this week, as you could have a chance to WIN your very own prize from MPD!!!  Please take a peek the rest of our design team to see what fabulous projects they have created to further inspire you on the Papercraft Star blog!  Looking forward to seeing what you create!  Remember you could be our next Papercraft Star!



Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Blue inspiration

Hello everyone!  The holiday on Monday has gotten me all mixed up!  I hope you are not as mixed up as I am and get a chance to play along in our challenge this week over at the Papercraft Star.  We have an inspiration photo with lots of yummy looking blues!



For my card this week I used the colors as my inspiration.




I started out with a bashful blue cardstock and matted some Webster's Pages patterned paper, which I stitched using a zig zag stitch around it.  Because I want to use the items I purchase and not keep buying more, I used some pennant chipboard from Maya Rd, which I painted using bashful blue craft ink and matted with coordinating Webster's Pages patterned paper.  I then stamped a frame from MFT stamps in so saffron and die cut using coordinating die.  I paired the first frame with another frame stamp from MFT stamped in ballet blue.  Ballet blue has to be my favorite shade of blue!  I then cut the blue frame out using the coordinating die and popped it up with foam tape.  I just can't help myself with the seam binding and added a simple little bow and a button to the center.  So cute and easy.  I would love to see what you create.  Thank you for stopping by and be sure to take a look at what the other design team members have created to inspire you!

Hugs,
Anitra




Thursday, August 29, 2013

Inside the Crown Mini Album

I made a video to show the inside of the crown mini album I made for this week's Papercraft Star challenge.  I used Kathy Orta's December Daily version 2 tutorial to make my pages and her "hidden hinge" to bind the mini.



Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you get a chance to play along in this week's challenge over at the Papercraft Star!

Hugs,
Anitra

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 159

Welcome to another challenge over at the Papercraft Star.  This week's photo inspiration is a royal one! Isn't that crown just gorgeous!  When I was a little girl my mother used to call me "reina"  which is spanish for queen.  Now I find myself calling my daughter reina too.



Crown
Tassels
Bling
Colors 
Texture

I created this scrapbook for my little daughter.  The other day I heard her telling my son, "I'm the queen so you have to clean up the room".  I had to try real hard to keep from laughing!  I had to tell her, "OH no your majesty, you helped make the mess you help clean it up"! 



I used papers from Pink Paisley's London Market along with a spellbinders crown die.  I added some prima and wild orchid craft flowers and some Prima bling.  A little distressing to the edges gave it a more vintage look.



I added some charms to a toggle clasp and some seam binding along the spine of the book.  I made the crown charm using a vintage button and a bead cap and a crown adhered to the top using E6000.  I can't wait to add all the mats in the album and fill it with pictures of my little reina.  I hope you give this challenge a try.  I love to see what everyone comes up with each week.  Our design team had even more inspiration for you over on the Papercraft Star blog.  Thank you so much for stopping by.

Hugs,
Anitra


Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 158

Hello everyone!  I hope you are ready for another inspiration photo challenge over at the Papercraft Star!  We have a beautiful photo to evoke your creative side.  Look how delicious that fruit looks.  Oh my goodness I need to learn how to make this!  There are always parties to throw in my family and at everyone of them this is fruit that is served.  My favorite has to be strawberries.



For my card this week I used a digital image from an Etsy shop called Iralamija called Grown With Love Sheet.  I started out with a ruby red cardstock and matted it with a gingham patterned paper also printed out from a digital image from Iralamija.  I stitched around the gingham piece twice with a golden thread.  I then adhered a hand cut banner along with a Martha Steward paper doily.  I then matted the digital strawberry image onto the ruby red cardstock and adhered some vintage buttons on top.  A small label was stamped using a Teresa Collins Family stamp set and popped up with pop dots.  







I hope you all get a chance to play along this week.  Our design team has some wonderful projects for you this week.  I hope you stop by the Papercraft Star to check out what they have created.  Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful rest of the week.  I look forward to seeing how the photo inspires you.

Hugs,
Anitra






Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 157

It's the middle of the week and I am so ready for the weekend!  This week over at the Papercraft Star we have a beautiful photo challenge for you.  I can't say how much I love this photo!  I can remember being a kid and riding my bike around the neighborhood with my friends all summer long.  The sun would come up I'd eat my breakfast and it was "so long mom, I'll see you for dinner", and I'd go off with my brother and wouldn't come home until my dad would whistle for us to come eat dinner.




Colors
Bicycles
Hats
Sunflowers




For my card I started out with a butter cream card stock from Taylored Expressions.  I then matted some patterned papers from October Afternoon.   The lined paper is from Simple Stories.  I tucked a bit of a doily behind the lined paper and added a simple bow made from seam binding.  I then used my Spellbinder circle die to cut an image from The House Across The Bay's,  Vintage Seeds 229 page.  Then I used another Spellbinder die to cut a coordinating loopy circle in blue card stock.  




Next I used an adorable little wooden laser cut bicycle that I embossed using very vanilla embossing power and adhered it to my card.  A fun little butterfly from October Afternoon along with a simple sentiment also from an October Afternoon embellishment pack.  




For more inspiration see the other design team member's wonderful creations on the Papercraft Star blog.  Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week.

Hugs,
Anitra




Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 156

Hello, hello, hello!  I hope every one is having a great week so far.  This week over at the Papercraft Star we have a fun inspiration for you!  Looking at the photo I was inspired by the many colors.  Look at all those bright colors!



Ideas for your inspiration:

Books
Favorite book
Your favorite story
Doodles
Colors


My card was created for a friend who was hosting a challenge to create a card using her pintrest boards.  Well I love pinterest so I was IN!  I found a card that had multiple colors in it like our inspiration photo and set off creating it.  I scrap lifted a card made by Kristine Davidson.  She makes some wonderful cards and layouts.  You can find the card I recreated using what I had on hand here.



I started off using a paper bag card stock as a base and matted some patterned paper from Webster's Pages.  Then I used a crimper to corrugated a scrap of the paper bag card stock and tied some twine around it.  The stamped note is from Stamper's Best and the butterflies are a retired Stampin Up set.  I sewed around the colorful patterned paper and used a sentiment from Verve.  This card was so fun to make!  Big thank you to Kristine for the added inspiration and to Laura for the great challenge idea.  Our Design team has some really stunner projects so I hope you stop by the Papercraft Star to take a look!  How does our photo inspire you?  I'd love to see!

Hugs,

Anitra


Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 155

Hello Wednesday!  Are you ready for another challenge over at the Papercraft Star?  We have a fun inspiration photo for you this week.  I love seeing how the same photo inspires people in different ways.  Even on our own design team we have so many different points of view!




For my card I was inspired by the shape of the bird houses.  Since school is around the corner for my kiddos I used a school themed stamp set.  I started out with a red base and added paper from October Afternoon.  I then added a school themed bingo card.  I stamped the pencils on to white card stock and distressed using Antique linen.  I colored with my trusty Copic markers and matted that stamped image on to some Old Olive card stock.  Just for a little added something I adhered a scalloped red card stock piece under the image. 




This one was a fun card to make and I would make a great welcome back to school card for my son't teacher.  His whole class is staying together with their teacher for the new school year.  Well I hope you give our challenge a try and I look forward to seeing what you create!  Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and for you comments.  For more inspiration stop by the rest of the design teams blogs!

Hugs,
Anitra


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 154

Hello my blog land friends!  It's Wednesday and time for another challenge over at the Papercraft Star.  If you haven't already checked out the Papercraft Star blog head on over there and check out our new look!  This weeks inspiration photo brings thoughts of relaxing vacation time to my mind.



For my card this week I used an image I cut from a Graphic 45 sheet.  I love this vintage image.  I'm such a fan of vintage photos.  Whenever I see a vintage photo at antique stores I feel a bit odd purchasing them.  I mean, who are the people in the photos, and why aren't in someone's family photo album?  With the images on the G45 sheet I don't feel so strange using them.  



For my card I used a white card base and layered and aqua paper distressed with evergreen bough.  I then used a scalloped scallop punch to create waves cut from Graphic 45's Tropical Travelog.  I then tucked the image behind some of the "waves" and added some simple lace.  The "RELAX" is a stamp from Verve and was stamped in blushing bride ink.  I added a hint of distress ink on the edges of the word RELAX and popped it up with pop dots.  If my sewing machine didn't weigh a ton I would have liked to stitch around the edges.  Yea when the Bernina dealer made the pitch "yes it's made from all steel parts" I should have realized it then that it would be VERY heavy.  Oh well you live and learn.  I hope you get a chance to participate in our challenge this week.  Head on over the the Papercraft Star blog to see the new look and what beauties our fabulous design team have created!

Hugs,
Anitra


Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Papercraft Star Challenge 153

Greetings everyone.  This summer is just flying by.  I can't believe school starts next month!  Is it too early to go school shopping?  I just love to buy those school supplies.  Pencils, composition books, folders, crayons... I love it all!  For this weeks challenge over at the Papercraft Star our inspiration photo is a real beauty!



Recycle
Piano
Music
Colors
Flowers

I just love how Jan gives suggestions for the inspiration photo.  I really liked the idea of using the recycle theme.  Last May while the teachers were cleaning out their classrooms at my son's school one was throwing out lots of manila folders and good lined and graph paper.  Well you better believe I asked if I could have all that goodness.  For my project this week I recycled those manila folders into a mini junk journal. 



From one manilla folder I was able to make two mini file folders.  Using the original tab as a template I cut these to 6" high by 8 1/2" wide.  It was then scored at 4" along the width and folded to create this adorable journal.  Using some twine I sewed in the different papers from my stash and rescued school paper.  I covered the front using some cosmo cricket paper and added a digital image from Etsy.  I then added some sparklers from Webster's Pages and a Martha Stewart paper doily.  Some seam binding and a little charm are tied to keep the journal closed. 


On the inside of the journal I made pockets for tags and lots of room for journaling.  If only I can bring myself to actually write in this little cutie!  Be sure to check out the rest of the design teams creations here on the PCS blog. I hope to see how you are inspired by our photo.  Have a good week and thank you for stopping by!

Anitra