I am posting very (very) late in the week, and I can tell you, there is much inspiration to be had by both the DT and participants in The Shabby Tea Room challenge this week. We were to use this photo as a sketch/inspiration. There are so many beautiful projects that have been made as a result. Check them out at http://theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com.

I've had a hard time finding time to get my card done this week, and I've been frettin' and fussin' over it just a bit. I wanted to stick with the "tea" theme and had only ONE very OLD stamp that was appropriate...my chunky little tea cup from DOTS (told you it was OLD!). I could picture the cup as a little vase with some pretty little blossoms spilling out. I also wanted to try making the flowers out of my vintage seem binding, but I hated the thought of making flowers, only to find I didn't like the look of the whole thing, and the binding...the TREASURED (and, in my case, very LIMITED) seam binding would be wasted!! Yikes!!

I finally took the plunge and began assembling the flowers. I really liked the look of them, and they only take 3 1/2" to 5" (max.) of binding each (and, they're pretty quick!) Here's a close up...

I punched out a few other tiny little daisies (Fiskars) and added some pearls. I used a Sizzix die for the leaves. (What a pretty little stem that is!) I embossed the tea cup and distressed it, and arranged all the little blossoms and leaves. I also cut out the large circular die cut from Spellbinders Lattice pendant, and cut off the bottom edge to resemble a doillie/table top. Finished the whole thing off with a little trim, stitching, a glittered "Hello" at the top, and a little binding bow in the corner. Overall, I'm pleased...the binding blossoms weren't a waste after all!!

Thanks so much for visiting me on this fine Sunday! Hope you're enjoying your day!

Geri

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Supplies:

Cardstock: Vintage Creme, Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, Spring Moss (Papertrey Ink)

Paper: Paper Studio, My Minds Eye

Ink: Dark Chocolate, Summer Sunrise, Hibiscus Burst, Fresh Snow, Vintage Olive (Papertrey Ink)

Dies/Punches: Spellbinders Lattice Pendant die, Fiskars Daisy, Cuttlebug Olivia font, Sizzix Branch with Leaves

Other: MemrieMare (Etsy) seam binding, Studio His&Hers pearls, Papertrey Ink button (SB), DOTS Tea Cup stamp, JoAnn Fabrics trim, Personal Stamp Exchange gold embossing powder

I know...these pictures don't look like they're destined to be together, but hopefully my completed card will show that they ARE, they really, really ARE! I'm not fond of combining challenges, but I really wanted to do both, and the more I looked at the pictures and thought about the challenges involved, it made perfect sense to combine the two...in fact one seemed to enhance the other for me! The photo on the left is from Melissa Phillips' (http://lilybeanpaperie.typepad.com/) photo challenge...simply for inspiration sake (photo from Creative Mint). The top photo is from The Shabby Tea Room (http://theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com/) - It's Hip to be Square challenge to use squares in the project design. There are lots of squares and patterns in Melissa's photo done in some of my most favorite colors. When I saw the roses, I new I wanted to make some of my own...

I used the Spellbinder Flower Creator dies to make these (Thank you again, Susan!!)...they're so fun and I love the vintage look and feel they have!


I cut some other white squares and gave them some soft pretty edges with Hibiscus ink and another peach color. Paired these with some beautiful square shapes found in the Spellbinder Lattice and Fleur De Lis dies. I felt like a little tile layer after putting all these together. Yes, I know...it's a fussy card...I got started and couldn't help myself. It's for my sister who's in the middle of a long adoption process out of Guatemala for her family's little princesa, Nola. She just got back from another trip to try to help the process along...Her post brought tears to my eyes this morning, and while this most recent experience was very difficult, she did come home with some new hope. She could use the prayers of any of you out there who spend time doing so. You can find the details of this last trip at her blog, http://journeytonola.blogspot.com/ , along with some sweet pictures of the little princess and the rest of the family, including sweet Maria who also came to them from Guatemala. I think she'll like the card! Hope you do to!! Have a wonderful day...count your blessings and hug your family!!
Geri


Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink: Lavender Moon, Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, White
Ink: Papertrey Ink: HB, Fresh Snow, White StazOn, peach color from Color Box Petal Point set
Punches/Dies: Spellbinders: Fleur De Lis pendant, Lattice pendant, Fiskars border punch, McGill Multi Tags punch, Kane dec. edge scissor
Other: Xyron Sticker maker, prisma glitter, Studio His & Hers pearls, Martha Stewart vellum leaves, Offray ribbon, buttons from my own collection, sentiment from computer, tag stamp from M&MBI Sassy Icons set

Needed another card this week. One of my little Sunday School girls had her tonsils taken out. I thought she might enjoy getting some girlie 'get well' wishes in the mail. She LOVES pink, so I thought I would put it with creme and post it in The Shabby Tea Room - Embrace the White challenge. You can get some of your own luscious creamy white inspiration by visiting there yourself at http://www.theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com/.

Chloe is six...I thought she would like seeing her name in glitter! I glam'd the rest of it up a little with some Prima flowers, Glimmerz paint, Shimmer Spritz and pearls. Thought it turned out kinda sweet!

Thanks for visiting me again! Can't wait for the new challenge on Monday!

Geri

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Supplies:

Cardstock: Vintage Creme (PTI)

Paper: My Mind's Eye

Ink: VersaMagic Wheat, PTI Sweet Blush

Stamps: Mega Mixed Messages, Limitless Labels, the vintage background image is a Paper Studio stamp...unknown name

Die Cuts/Punches: Fiskars border, McGill tags, Kane dec. edge scissor, Cuttlebug Olivia Font

Other: Prima Flowers, Tsukineko Sparkle Shimmer Spritz, Opal Glimmerz paint, Studio His & Hers Pearls (Hobby Lobby), Jim Holtz Grungeboard

My card today is for the challenge over at http://www.theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com/. The challenge is to create a project using mostly white or creme and one other subtle color. I've always admired these cards when I come across them, but have never created one. I'm needing an anniversary card for my husband's parents this week and thought the "mostly white" theme would be perfect.

Today's card is similar to the one I created for my very 1st blog post back in February using a technique I learned from Becca Feeken over at http://www.amazingpapergrace.com. She is TOPS at creating with Spellbinders dies. The medallion focal point on my card is made from 10 small die cuts from the Floral Accent die. You cut them and stack them as I have below...

After they're assembled and embellished, they result in the prettiest little medallion! I've also used a piece of lace I've had for awhile. I got it thinking it would be perfect for a card front. It seems to fit nicely with the style and theme of the card. The other color I chose to use with the creme was Papertrey Ink's Spring Moss...one of my favorite colors...it looks so pretty and fresh with almost any other color! Anyway here's the finished card.

Happy Anniversary, Bill and Susie! May you have many more!

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Supplies:

Cardstock: Vintage creme, Spring Moss (PTI)

Ink: Wheat (Tsukineko - Versa Magic) Spring Moss (PTI)

Stamps: Sassy Icons (M&MBI), Mega Mixed Messages (PTI)

Punches/Dies: Tag Trio, Floral Accent (Spellbinders) Small flower (EK Success)

Other: Offray ribbon, pearls and gems (Studio His & Hers), prisma glitter, glue dots (Zots)

When I saw the design team inspiration projects over at http://www.theshabbytearoom.blogspot.com (which were ESPECIALLY pretty this week!!) I thought, "It's a paper piecing challenge!" but as I started reading I saw that we just needed to use scraps in our project. I don't know about you, but I use scraps in every card I make. I started thinking about what I have the most scraps of...that would be solid cardstocks, and what I use my smallest scraps for...that would be the little "finishing touch" embellishments made from punches and dies. I wanted to make a really small project that could truly turn my "trash scraps to treasure". One of my very favorite things to do with my papers is to create and embellish little treat packages so I decided to create a little teacher treat, matchbox style. Although there are a zillion templates out there, I designed a little box template...I thought that would be quicker than searching the internet to get the size I wanted. The stamped template looked like this...

I love creating my own patterned paper...I can make it exactly the color and style I need! I knew I wanted to use red...seems like a classic "teacher color". Added some pink and gold to "Spring" it up a little. I used my clear cardstock from Papertrey Ink to create a sleeve for the box. (This wasn't a scrap, I confess...my first time using it. I love it!) Then it was a matter of die cutting and punching all kinds of solid little shapes and flowers from my scraps to embellish the top of the sleeve. I couldn't resist getting matching colored m&m's to put in the box.

I made a little matching mini-card with a Spellbinders die (Labels One). It measures only about 3 3/8" square, but it's a cutie!Fun little project...two more to make...can't wait to give these away!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you all are having a very blessed Easter weekend!

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Paper and Cardstock: Papertrey Ink: Vintage Creme, Sweet Blush, Lemon Tart, Pure Poppy, Clearly Creative and a tiny bit of Pretty Pastels paper for greenery. Paper Studio Kraft cardstock

Ink: VersaMark Wheat, Papertrey Ink: Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Summer Sunrise, Stampin Up Close to Cocoa

Punches/Die Cuts: Flowers: EK Success, Fiskars, Paper Studio. Martha Stewart, Spellbinders Fleur De Lis and Labels One, and McGill Multi Tags

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Boxes Bags and Tags, Teachers Apple, Turning a New Leaf and Limitless Labels

Other: Zig glue pen, Prisma Glitter, Studio His & Hers pearls, Etsy vintage ribbon