June Papertrey Pages: Wes and the Bear

This month's Papertrey Pages challenge was to make your own background paper- sounds daunting at first, but really not so hard! Papertrey's Background stamps makes it pretty easy!

Like others in the challenge, I used Tin Types to create a visually 'busy' pattern. I used SU's Pacific Point paper just because it matched the blanket in the picture. Interestingly, lol, the Pacific Point ink did not match the paper, but Memento's Bahama Blue did.

I found a ribbon in the dollar bin at Michael's that matched pretty well, incorporating both blue and brown. Scarlet Jewel buttons tied in various ways are stuck to the ribbon with glue dots. As I have moved the pages around, the buttons are not stable, so I will go back with a little glue before I slide them in the page protectors.

The bear on the bottom right is an older SU bear, colored with watercolors. He's cut out with an oval nesty, then layered on a scalloped nesty from SU's brown In Colors from 2009. These are then layered on a Sizzix die cut with Scarlet Jewel. To finish him off I gave him a ribbon bow!

I used the new Library Ledger paper with the bear from Baby Button Bits to make the title page, it's cut with a Sizzix die from SU. That's just my very own handwriting with a 003 Prisma pen for the title- and that's a tan SU corduroy button swiped in Chai ink to brown it up!

My journaling spot was made with the same tin type background paper, stamped with Outlines Alphabet and Memento black ink, then colored in with a Prisma marker. I wrote the story of the shoot around the edges of the layered words, then popped it all up on dimensionals.

The hardest part of the challenges so far has been the photographing! There has to be a good way of getting pages to stand up so I don't have to stand on a chair over the bed, lol!!

Just a pretty Birthday card

When it comes to cardmaking, I'm rarely a leader- most often I am just a follower- a follower of trends, of styles, and of products. Many a time I have spent over $100.00 just to make one card, lol. Yes, it's true; Hallmark would be much cheaper!

This is the first time I have used the little preglued pearls that form a flourish. I am sure I need Zva pearls since everyone else but me is using them- but I can't find any in the store, so I got these instead. Hard to see on the printed paper in the photo, not so hard to see in real life.


Flowers are Prima; gosh I sure do love the ones they are coming out with now! Do yo remember the little paper flowers we all loved 4 or 5 years ago, lol? Yes, I too have pails full of them, but never use them... I just love the bigger, more realistic ones so much better!


The leaves are hand cut from Papertrey's Simply Chartreuse felt -such a lovely organic color. The ribbon is Simply Chartreuse Swiss Dots. The sentiment is an older SU one, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on some Sweet Blush cut with a nestability tag- and that little butterfly sticker finishes off that bow perfectly!

Savanna's Pout

We are 8 weeks into the 20 pages and 20 pounds in 20 weeks challenge, so here's a report!

This is a single page, driven by the photo of Savanna. The photo was shot with the Canon EOS Rebel by DD #1, and was another reason why I needed to buy this camera- you see, this was shot through a sliding glass door! Even more amazing is how clean the door is, lol! Yes, the event with the marshmallows on the sliders didn't happen until a couple of hours later...

The paper is part of a new release by Bo Bunny, as are the flowers. There is lots of glitter on the paper, so I added glitter to the flowers as well. Those are SU brads holding them together. Yellow and purple layering papers are Bazzill. I cut the flourishes from chipboard with Tim Holz's die cutter from Sizzix, then painted them with some yellow crackle paint. The yellow was a bit bright, so I rubbed on some Distress Ink Linen to tone it down a bit. Let's see, between camera, dies, papers and flowers, paints and cartridge, I think this page cost me $1,096.57.

Nah, it's priceless!

Hard to see, but the sentiment starts on the tag, it says 'Whenever I see that...' leading to Pretty Little Pout cut out with the Cricut cartridge Opposites Attract. My mom says I should finish the line '...It turns me inside out...' somewhere at the bottom right, and I may well do that having seen the photo posted.

I think I have finished 7 pages, but this is only the 5th you have seen (in case you were counting, the 6th wasn't created during the challenge weeks). I am holding my Papertrey pages until a little closer to July 1. That makes me one short, so I will have to hustle to get back on track!

How about the pounds, you ask? Yesterday morning the scale said I was down 8.5 pounds, but that wasn't true this morning- darn! I am weighing myself every day; it helps keep me focused, I think. Today I was down 7.5, so I think I will average and say it is an 8 pound loss so far. Wow!

Now, back to the table to try and make 6 baby cards before dinner! I have 2 hours, so it will be close! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, as I know I will be enjoying mine!

One Martini!

Lol, this is one of my favorite image stamps! Obviously, the inside says ...floor! I am not a terribly original person, and I always color it just the way it is colored on the stamp block, lol, I have to get over that~

The base card is PTI's Smoky Shadow, green layer is SU's Old Olive, then some Memory Box paper, I think from a Christmas pack. Colored with Prisma pencils and baby oil, then edged with Distress Walnut Stain. The word tags were stamped with the Walnut stain as well.

A fun birthday card!!

Love these things!

I'm just loving my new camera; I took all these pictures of things I love the most, and uploaded them without editing- this little guy is really why I got the camera, lol!

Well, I did crop a shadow out of the wildflowers- but that's just user error, lol, I was pretty sure the shadow of my head would be distracting. Gosh, I fancy myself a real photographer, now!

The last is wondering if the lens/camera stabilizer really works. Look at the DH's left foot; it's lifting off of the ground because he is walking towards me. Walking, talking and swatting a bug, too! I'm stunned; not a bit of blur here! Next time I'll have him walk towards me without the sun in his eyes, I guess~

Sigh- I am in photo heaven!

A new Baby in the house!

Not that kind of baby, lol... a new camera!! I have been stunned by how much better the DD's photos of baby Wes are than mine, even when we are standing side by side. I thought and thought, and chewed my nails, and did moral soul searching... why buy another camera when I have a pretty good one? I kept coming back to the photos of my cards, and not being happy with the photos I take- then this week at Best Buy was the camera, bag and telephoto lens all for $300.00 less than what they paid. I thought and thought some more, then drove myself over there at 8 pm and bought a Rebel XS with 2 lenes (one telephoto), a camera bag, and a clear filter to protect the lens. And a memory card. I should have gotten another filter to put on the telephoto, and will do that as soon as I stop gasping for air.

I got back to the house at 10 pm, and this is the first and only photo I have taken so far- lol, it might not seem that much better, but I know it was taken practically in the dark, and I did no color editing at all. Sigh- I am so hopeful that if I don't have to edit as much, I might post more. You think??

Oh yes, that's SU kraft as the base, since I have run out of PTI's. The new Dotty Biscotti paper of course, with Aqua Mist as a base layer, but the central image has 3 layers, the image, Aqua Mist, then Hawaiian Shores as the scalloped layer. It just needed a shot of bolder color. Snips and Snails is a Lockhart stamp; I colored it with 2 Copics. Those little pearly things are from one of the cheap $1.00 Recollections sets at Michael's.

I spent a lot of money on a camera, and it isn't going to feed us or keep us warm, and it certainly isn't going to save any lives. But so far, I love it!

Papertrey Pages June Challenge

This is a page I made a while ago- indeed, I think before Papertrey even had buttons! You can see that the inks are the original ones, so if you were to replicate this today I think the paper would end up a bit different.




I used the individual dots on Polka Dots 1 to make the dotted paper, and Faux Ribbons to make the stripes. Obviously, the animals came from Bitty Baby Basics and the 2008 polka dotted papers- the photo is layered on Spring Moss, but the blue is from who knows since it is in a 12 x 12 format. It could be SU's Bashful Blue? The layout was case'd from an add for David Walker stickers, the 'Oh Baby' came from the set.

This is not my real contribution to the challenge, of course, I need to do 2 more pages in the month of June!

Weight loss? 6.5 pounds as of this morning; cards? Um, well... not doing so good there, lol!