February 25, 2010

PTI Blog hop night!


I really LOVED this month's blog hop challenge issued by Nichole Heady. Design Team Appreciation Day! Isn't that thoughtful of her to celebrate her designers who indeed contribute incredible amounts of time and thought into promoting PTI stamps?
I chose to focus on one project that really took my breath away when I first saw it.

This card, by Niki Estes literally made me gasp when I first saw it. All her inking really made this card soft, aged, and victorian looking. It's just lovely, and it makes me think of my grandmother (who died when I was 14). Thank you Niki for all you do, and for inspiring us humble devotees to PTI!
I tried several times to make my own "twist" using Niki's card as inspiration. Seriously, I have 4 different samples that weren't quite what I was going for!  I finally called it quits and decided to show two that weren't bad:

This one is my favorite of the four I made. I love the avocado and terracotta colors together, and if you ignore my terrible stitching,  as a whole the card is not half bad! Notice the right hand button? It only has three holes! LOVE IT!

I really wish I had some Smoky Shadow ribbon for this card, but all the other grey ribbon I had was too light, so I went with the Aqua Mist. I like the modern feel to this card, but wish I could change the ribbon!

Thanks for stopping by tonight!
And THANK YOU to the entire Design Team of Papertreyink!
You are all super-stars.

81 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my. These are both gorgeous samples.

Melissa said...

Dana, these are amazing! I love the "Best Wishes" one...the colors are so warm and cozy!

Elizabeth S. said...

Beautiful cards!! Love the colors.

jen said...

Very pretty- both of them! I bet the ones you aren't showing us are lovely too!! :)

Kay D said...

These are great! I especially like the Hello Friend card- I love the leaves stamped in blue! (gonna have to try that).

Anonymous said...

These are gorgeous!! I love the best wishes card- nice colors and love the stitching!

Kelly S. said...

Oh wow, what a great card to choose! Love how you showed different ways of using the same layout with different stamps and colors. They're all beautiful!

Lea L. said...

These are very pretty!! I think you did a great job with the stitching! I can't straight stitch at all...so I only zigzag stitch whenever I do actually break out my machine. Great job with the challenge!

♥Lea

Rose said...

Beautiful card ! Love the awua most one so bright an cheery !!

mimi said...

Hello :) I think you did a great job with your cards!!! Your stitching is perfect. I love how the little button only has three holes. Makes your card unique :)

Mrs. Tamashiro said...

Beautiful job. I love the colors you chose for your first card.

Ted said...

Beautiful project, Dana! You should be proud! :)

Ginny Larsen said...

i love these! great job :D

@JoyceCasaldi said...

Very pretty!

Tricia T said...

What a great job! And that button is great. It looks like a little face. :-)

Taheerah said...

Wow, I love your take on this card Dana! My favourite is the first - yummy colour combo and great background stamping!

Diane said...

These cards are beautiful! I couldn't pick a favorite since I really like them both.

Sue in Grapevine said...

Very cute! I need to try this.

Susan said...

Niki's card is one of my all time faves. You did a GREAT job with yours!! Love them!!

Anika said...

Gorgeous cards! Way to go!

Lori said...

These are both beautiful!! You did a great job and the stitching is perfect in my opinion.

Lori said...

Such beautiful cards!!

Laural-Lee said...

Fab job on both of them. I do like the distressed look of the first. And I like the clean lines of the second.

The great thing about having a blog is that we can always return to those pictures and recall what we would change.

Shay said...

Oh you did a superb job on both (!!) of your cards. I am so excited to keep reading your blog.

Lizzie Jones said...

You did a beautiful job with both cards! I'm particularly fond of the first one. I agree that Terracotta Tile and Ripe Avocado are amazing together. Thanks for sharing!

Sharron said...

Both are so lovely but I love the Best Wishes one most! Those colors are wonderful together--beautiful job!

Rhonda said...

Nice work on the challenge! Love the 3 hole button.

Cathy Weber said...

Those leaves look so pretty stamped in aqua mist. Definitely one of my favorite colors. Very pretty.

Pat said...

Great colors and designs!

Rosanne said...

Love your cards!

Marge said...

Love that first one!!!

Nadine said...

Both cards are gorgeous! Love how you've paired Terracota Tile and Ripe Avocado together. I'll have to give that a try sometime!

Diane Jaquay said...

I love both of these, the colors on the first card are gorgeous, and I love the patterns you stamped on both cards!

Karli said...

beautiful job with both cards. Great choice in choosing Niki's card- really beautiful, TFS :)

Kay said...

Yours cards are gorgeous and your stamping perfect!!
♥♥ Kay

Banu said...

OMG!! both these cards are so cute..What are you talking about. These are perfect.

Sue Ann said...

Wow ..... your cards are so pretty. LOVE THEM!!!

Janelle said...

Mmmm. I love that terra cotta and avocado together, too. So rich looking. Great cards from a great inspiration piece!

Daniela F. said...

Wow, beautiful cards!! Love the different styles and colors you chose!

Dru said...

These are great!! Love the avacado and terra cotta together!

Terri said...

Nice job on both of them!

Nancy L. said...

beautiful cards!

IamDerby said...

Very pretty! I really like the terracotta one, so pretty.

Lisa Voerg said...

Wow! Beautiful cards and the ribbon is just fine. Nice twist

Anonymous said...

Beautiful card! Love what you did!

Babies-Beth said...

They are both gorgeous, but the Terracotta Tile one comes closer to what Niki's feels like- I agree about the lighter gray ribbon, lol, wish I had some, too!!

Dana said...

I really like the avocado and terra cotta together...pretty card

Anonymous said...

Your interpretation is just wonderful. I love both cards.

Marcie Sharp said...

Fabulous colours for BOTH cards!

Bonnie said...

Both are gorgeous Dana! I agree that Niki sure has a way with those backgrounds!

Gail said...

I am trying this one tomorrow! Beautiful!

Cammie said...

Both are lovely! I love the avocado and terra cotta tile together and the second does have a more modern look. Both are wonderful tributes to Nikki.

Liz said...

Great job Dana! Love that first one! You really captured the best pieces of Nikki's!

Jen Carter said...

Those are just great! I think I need to get that set with the dotted leaves!

Melissa Flieg said...

I also love that beautiful card by Niki and your cards are fabulous.

Unknown said...

Beautiful cards! Great job making them your own! :)

Anita Rex said...

Love the cards! The second one is my fav!

Carly said...

Simply beautiful! Love your take!!

Kim said...

Both are beautiful - you're too hard on yourself!

Maureen said...

love how you show different versions of this sketch :) Love the aqua leaves :)TFS

Linda W said...

Great cards! The second is my choice and it definitely looks different.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful cards. Love the colors on the best wishes card.

Michelle (abzzymom) said...

You had nothing to worry about. Your cards turned out great!

Gayatri said...

Great cards. I really love the first one. Beautiful color combination.

Sherry said...

Both are just beautiful! Great job!

Unknown said...

Love all of the textures... both are pretty!

Sarah Souza said...

These are just lovely! Your backgrounds look like patterned paper!

peggysue said...

I had forgotten that card, that one made me gasp too when I saw it and both of your interpretations are so lovely! You sewed on your card too, wow! And you did the fancy ribbon fold thingy . . .so pretty, both of them! And I saw you're a vegan, I have a great web site with yummy recipes you'll love, look up the gluten free goddess on google. She's a vegan celiac. (sorry, I know its OT, but I love her recipes)

Cindy Holshouser said...

So beautiful. The one with fall colors is so pretty. Great job.

Anonymous said...

Love your color combos on both cards! Awesome.

Jennifer L. said...

Really like the color combo on the first card. I need to invest in the Terra Cotta tile.

LindaR said...

The best wishes is my favorite too.
Lovely!!

Cheryl said...

You have such a good eye for color togetherness--especially fall colors. I also love the second card's colors. Great job!

Rebecca said...

Two thumbs up!

Tracey Jean said...

Fantastic interpretation. Loving the colour combos on both.

shiloh said...

These are both so pretty! I love the stitching.... its my goal this year to learn how to use my sewing machine that I got just for my cards

Sara Mac said...

These are two great cards! I would love to see the other two attempts as well. I love the terracotta and avocado card the best. I have to give that color combo a try.

Kim Wilson said...

Thank you for the comment :) it was my first hop so its a lot to learn ha ha! I am following your blog now, I love your cards! Feel free to add me too if you are interested!!!

Lisa said...

Dana I love both of your cards!! They turned out great and I too love those three holed buttons:)

Karen H. said...

Your cards are fabulous! I love the earthy tones of the first one and the CAS style of the second.

Niki Estes said...

Dana, both your cards are beautiful! I love the colors combos!