Papertrey Ink is celebrating their 6th Anniversary. Their annual Designer Printable is ready for download and I am playing along. I would love to win the adorable prize. 

My fourth card uses the fun Flamingo image from Erin Lincoln. Thanks Erin!  I didn't think I could color the flamingo well enough to do her justice so decided to work with black, white, and a pop of PINK!


I had already made some of the little frames with clear plastic behind them due to some inspiration from Jessica Witty for Valentine projects. Perfect for my heart.


I also colored her necklace and created a computer generated sentiment. Impression plates are playing a BIG part of my cards today.
 
Do you think my sweet hubs will notice that I'm creating cards instead of dinner? ~Rhonda

Papertrey Ink is celebrating their 6th Anniversary. Their annual Designer Printable is ready for download and I am playing along. I would love to win the adorable prize.


My third card features the candles from Lizzie Jones. Thanks Lizzie! I love the colors that she chose for the candles. I tried emboss and resist for the FIRST time with this card. I embossed the numbers from Countdown to Christmas and used some Blueberry Sky and Berry Sorbet ink to create the background. In real life the Blueberry Sky is a little softer.   

Thanks for stopping by! ~Rhonda

Papertrey Ink is celebrating their 6th Anniversary. Their annual Designer Printable is ready for download and I am playing along. I would love to win the adorable prize. 

My second card uses the sweet Happy Birthday image from Dawn McVey. Thanks Dawn! I love that I could use Limeade Ice patterned paper. The Simple Borders Circles die is the perfect scale for anything punched with a 1 3/4" punch.


I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch a tiny hole at the top and bottom for my twine. It sure makes it easier to tie a bow when the twine isn't sliding everywhere.

I'm still making cards so I'll be back! ~Rhonda

 
Papertrey Ink is celebrating their 6th Anniversary. Their annual Designer Printable is ready for download and I am playing along. I would love to win the adorable prize. The first one I chose to use was this ADORABLE tea cup from Melissa Bickford. Thanks Melissa! I am hoping that dies will be available for this cute set.


Did you spy the differences between the 2 cards? 



I couldn't decide if both cards needed the little red heart? or rounded corners? What's your thought?

I hope you get a chance to play along. ~Rhonda

I am still playing with black card stock and embossing. I was inspired to use the big dots after seeing several people use them on the recent PTI Blog Hop. They make me HAPPY!


This sentiment is my new favorite. It's from My Favorite Things - My Favorite Sentiments 6th Birthday Celebration! Woo - that's a LONG name for a set. You will see this one again.

Have a great day! ~Rhonda

supplies:
stamps: MFT - My Favorite Sentiments 6th Birthday Celebration; PTI - Polka Dot Basics II
paper: PTI - True Black; Authentique - Lovely Collection
ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
other: PTI Fillable Frame #9; Seam binding ribbon; clear and black embossing powder

I am back with the completion of my die storage. Storing the larger and long dies was a challenge, but I hope I have discovered the pitfalls and some solutions that will make it easier if you choose to implement a new system.



I found two different products. The first is the Office Depot clear pockets. I love the weight and the little thumb notch at the top. Problem - some of my dies such as the PTI seed packet and essential pillow box dies wouldn't fit!



The next product is the Staples sheet protectors. I had to do a couple of things to make them work. The first is of my own choosing to cut 1/2" OFF the top to stay consistent with the clear pockets I had started with. The second was to cut off the binder holes. I wanted the clean look in my box. 

TIP for YOU: If I has starting from scratch I would buy the sheet protectors and cut off the binder holes and forgo the clear pockets. 



As I don't have as many large and longer dies I decided to group these by category such as large dies, impression plates, cover plates, and long border dies. 

TIP for YOU: Do you own any of the masks/stencils used for spray mists? I put my Studio Calico masks as a category in their own page protectors. This way I won't forget that I own them.


For the long border dies I used the sheet protectors and my sewing machine to stitch pockets that are 2" wide. I put the name of each one on the outside.


I received several questions asking if the Spellbinder dies would work in this system. The answer is YES. The only set that I own that wouldn't fit in the small pouches is the long rectangle dies seen below.


The only die that I own that didn't fit in any pocket is my PTI - Front and Center die. It is large enough that it just stands on its own.



I keep my top cutting plate, metal shim, and painter's tape in the front of the box. My embossing pads and extra cutting plates on in the back. Just keeping it all together people.


My box is a matching piece to my smaller Target Threshold Tip Towel Basket. This basket is called the "small basket." The dimensions are 9" L x 7 1/4" W x 6 1/4" H. I love that I can store them on my work counter or . . .


in the cabinet above. You can also see some of the organization I have been doing of ALL my craft supplies. It you are interested in "seeing" inside the cabinets let me know.


 
I hope you have been inspired to take control of your dies. I think it was a worthwhile investment of my time. If you missed my first post on die organization you can find it here.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great week. ~Rhonda

Happy February Everyone! My card today was inspired by this beauty that Geri Freeman made. I also saw that Geri is part of the design team for the new Festive Friday Challenge Blog. 

This card was so fun to make but I really wouldn't want to tell you HOW LONG it took!! I think I stared at it more than was necessary while trying to get it to come together. I definitely used more layers than usual.


I did a little sewing of the rickrack at the top and down the one side. Layering the banner border dies added some additional interest. I also painted the chipboard heart.


Are you planning to watch the Super Bowl?? I'm sure I will have it on but plan to work on a few more Valentine cards. Thanks for stopping by! ~Rhonda

supplies:
stamps: Verve- Love Notes; PTI Heart-2-Heart #3
paper: Authentique Collection: Lovely; PTI True Black
ink: Versamark; PTI - Pure Poppy
other: PTI - Banner Border die, Love Lives Here die, twine, Pure Poppy Button; MFT - Fishtail Flags; chipboard heart - stash; Michaels - white acrylic paint, white rickrack, doily; sewing machine; Divine Twine; white embossing powder

How are you storing your dies? Have you outgrown your system? This is the predicament that I faced. My old system relied on baseball trading card page protectors in a zippered notebook. I really liked being able to see several dies on a page but that created problems when there was "a series" of dies and they definitely couldn't be put in alphabetical order without a lot of shifting.



The new system starts with Memorex Keepers. A clear CD & DVD pouch. They are sold in a 50pk for $9.99. I found them at Staples and Office Depot. I cut a 4 1/2" square of Georgia Pacific card stock for each pouch.

(TIP: If you decide to use these I would suggest a  4 1/4" square instead so that you could get 4 pieces from each sheet. I didn't think that through and I just couldn't change midstream.)



Next I used my trusty Brother P-Touch label maker to put the name of the die on the paper. I made sure to put how many dies were in the collection. 


I also put a piece of a magnetic sheet in each pouch that contains an alpha or number set. Did I mention that each pouch has a back flap so you don't lose anything?



For collections that have different blooms for example, I traced around the die and labeled them on the page.



I was really surprised at how many of my dies fit the pouch. Even the tiny envelope die that is pretty large fit.

 
I made dividers using lots of different pattern papers. This is a great way to use up the stash. I cut two 5" squares of patterned paper. I sewed them together with the journal tab that I had die cut and stamped the letter with Fresh Alphabet from PTI. I think they are the perfect weight and look cute too. 



I have categorized my dies alphabetically by company. I briefly considered grouping them by floral, etc. but decided my brain doesn't work that way. 

The final piece of this project was the container. I found what I think is the piece that makes it all work-- the perfect file box at Target in the bathroom area. The reason this box is so perfect is the size 3 1/4" x 10". At 3 1/4" it allows me to flip through the box. I tried higher sides but that made them hard to see.The length is great for being able to stick in a cabinet or leaving out on your work area. There are over 100 pouches in this container. Yeah, UM, I know. I have too many dies!



I smile each time I spy my little box of dies in my craft room. I hope you have a beautiful week. ~Rhonda

PS - Want to know what I did with the long dies such as the scallop border dies? Tune in next Monday for another installment of die organization.

 

It's time once again for the Papertrey Ink Blog Hop. The challenge is to turn our creativity towards black! You can see what everyone is creating at Nicole Heady's blog here. I starting by pulling out anything that I thought would work for a Valentine theme. I had a pretty big mess going as you will see.

First up is a card that uses the chalkboard technique. This was my first time to try this and it certainly won't be my last. I had FUN! This is great for using stamps from lots of different sets.


  
This second card uses black as one of the main elements. The tiny envelope is bursting with hearts. 


Do you like the way I tied my heart?


My last card again used the blackboard technique. Have you picked up Authentique's Lovely Collection paper pad yet? Great papers.


The X & O's are from the Papertrey Ink border die. I also used the In the Meadow die for the heart paper behind the sentiment layer.



This last picture shows ALL the fun I will be having as I clean my craft room. If you look closely at the picture you might spy my new die storage. If you are interested I will be posting more about it on Monday, January 28th. So stop back by. 


Happy Hopping! ~Rhonda

Love You supplies
stamps: PTI - Sending My Love, Heart-2-Heart #3, Framed Out #5, Framed Out #12; MFT - Gift Card Greetings; Verve - Love Notes
ink: PTI - Pure Poppy; Versamark
paper: PTI - Smokey Shadow, Stamper's Select White
dies: PTI - Framed Out #12
other: white embossing powder

XOXO supplies
stamps: PTI - With All My Heart, Love Potion, Just the Ticket, Framed Out #5; Verve - Sweet Treats, Love Notes
ink: PTI - Fresh Snow; Versamark
paper: PTI - Pure Black, Smokey Shadow; Authentique Collection: Lovely
dies:PTI - XO Border, In the Meadow; MFT - Fishtail Flags, Vertical Greetings; Verve - Wavy Hearts
other: Ranger Distress Crackle paint - Picket Fence; Tattered Angels - Glam Glitter Paint; Mini Wooden Clothespins; Washi Tape - Pick your Plum

Love Notes supplies
stamps: Verve - Love Notes
ink: Versamark
paper: PTI Pure Black, Smokey Shadow; Authentique Collection: Lovely
dies: PTI - Tiny Envelope; Verve - Jotted Heart, Wavy Hearts, From the Heart
other: Twiney twine

 I needed to get my Christmas thank you's completed. I usually like to get them completed the 1st week of January but as so many others, I was under the weather! I still have a cough that I can't shake.


This is a simple, easy layout that allowed my to use some busy paper that I normally have trouble with. A little twine and an embossed sentiment made this one easy to mass produce.

Hope you are enjoying beautiful weather. We are in the 70's for at least another day. It was a perfect day for a walk. ~Rhonda

How about an easy dinner? This is a recipe I found through Pinterest. Frankly it is getting mixed reviews but we enjoyed it. Just be careful when sauteing the garlic and oil. My husband had to do it a second time because it came together so quickly. Another tip would be to line your baking dish with foil. The clean-up was NOT so easy as you can see in the picture above. 

Happy Cooking! ~Rhonda

How about a Tuesday Tip? I am always so thankful to learn something new that helps make something a little easier or to get the Ah Ha moment! It could be a new recipe from Pinterest, a tutorial or a new product or .... you get the picture.


My tip today is for everyone who has an induction cook top (works on regular cook tops too) and wants to make a grilled cheese sandwich! We remodeled our kitchen this last year and installed an induction cook top which means you must use cookware that a magnet will stick too. We couldn't find a frypan that was non-stick induction suitable under $150.

Well, my husband and I were killing time in Bed, Bath, and Beyond when we stumbled upon Twiztt by Joan Lunden. Apparently she launched a new cookware line in March 2012. We brought the 10" stainless steel frypan with Ceramic Non-stick home. Only $39.99.

LOVE. LOVE at first bite! I can make a grilled cheese or egg sandwich again. Yep, its the little things. ~Rhonda

Have a tip to share? It can be on anything! Link up below.

supplies used:
stamps: MFT Clearly Sentimental New Beginnings; PTI Funky Florals, Turning a New Leaf
paper: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 3; PTI Terracotta Tile, Simply Chartreuse, Kraft, Stamper's Select White;
ink: Versa Mark, Enchanted Evening
other: PTI Turning a New Leaf die, Notched Flowers die; MFT Fishtail Flags Stax dies

Happy New Year Family and Friends! I found a few quotes that I hope you will enjoy. ~Rhonda