Scrap Wench

February 2012 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2012-02-01T11:00:00.005+09:00

Welcome to the February 2012 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, featuring Thoughtful Tidings, a set of 11 Stamps. If you've just arrived here from {Katy's} blog, you are on the right track. If you are just starting here, just jump in and enjoy our circular hop, which has 60 participants this month. When you reach the end of a post, click on the link at the end to hop to the next post.

I'll be leaving Okinawa in a few weeks, so planning ahead is even more important yhan usual (because once the movers pick up my stuff, I won't see it again for probably two months). This June, two of my Dragons cheerleaders will be graduating from high school, so I wanted to make cards for them. The graduation cap card was cut with my Silhouette (I know, what's wrong with me??? I received a Cricut for Christmas and here I am using my Silhouette!). Some paper piecing, heat embossing, and a sentiment from this month's SOTM, and I have a couple of cute graduation cards. (Forgive the quality of the photos, my battery charger remains MIA)

Papers: CTMH Black, Topiary, and White Daisy
Inks: CTMH Black, Versamark
Tools and Techniques: Silhouette machine, CTMH Gold Embossing Powder, heat embossing
Stamp Sets: CTMH Thoughtful Tidings and Friendship Small Alphabet

Remember, Thoughtful Tidings is only available February 1-29, 2012. Contact your consultant, or click here, to find out how to get your own.

Now hop on over to {Shirley's} blog to see what she's created.

If you find any broken links along the way, {Helen} has the complete list of hoppers listed on her blog.

Free Studio J Layouts in January

2012-01-09T06:00:00.001+09:00

Are you a Studio J^® member? If not, now is the perfect time to join! In addition to the great member benefits (50% off retail price, JPG files available free with each purchased layout or for standalone purchase, free Memory Protectors^® with every order, free shipping*, and exclusive kits and patterns), until January 31st for every 9 custom-printed Studio J layouts you buy, you’ll receive the 10th layout free. The best part is that there is NO LIMIT to the number of free layouts you can receive. Buying 90 layouts? You'll get 10 for free. What's that you say?? You aren't a Studio J^® member? Well, head on over to my website and create your account today!

Here are a few of my recent Studio J^® creations.

Don't forget to download the Studio J^® app for your iPhone so you can keep all of your layouts right at your fingertips!

2011 Scrappin' Totals

2012-01-06T11:00:00.003+09:00

Well, I came nowhere near accomplishing my scrapping goals for the year. However, I did manage to take as many college classes as a full-time student (and earned a 4.0 GPA), volunteered as a cheerleading coach for a good portion of the year, completed some professional education training for work, and managed to put in TONS of hours at work (too bad I don't get paid overtime).

Pages complete: 2
Cards complete: 11
Altered Items: 15
Digital Pages complete: 24
Sewing Items: 7
Crochet Items: 1

My 2012 goals will be mostly a repeat of my 2011 goals: 100 pages (including digital), 200 cards, use my Silhouette and Cricut more often, get cards done the month before they are needed AND actually get them in the mail (I'm a notorious postal failure), and try to get some of that old scrapping caught up. What are your scrapping goals for 2012???

January 2012 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2012-01-01T11:00:00.021+09:00

Welcome to the January 2012 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. If you just arrived from {Wanda's} blog, you are on the right path. This month there are over 50 Close To My Heart consultants participating in our blog hop. We are featuring the January 2012 Stamp of the Month Little Reminder, a set of 25 stamps.

This is definitely countdown time. A friend is counting down to the birth of baby number three, any day now. I received a Cricut for Christmas, so I am counting down until I receive my Art Philosophy Collection. The Spring/Summer Idea book goes live in a month. I'll be leaving Okinawa and headed back to my family in less than two months. So a countdown card seemed like the perfect item to make with this versatile stamp set.

Papers: CTMH Grey Wool cardstock, CTMH You Rock
Inks: CTMH Goldrush and Outdoor Denim
Tools and Techniques: CTMH Rhinestone Flower, CTMH Bitty Sparkles, Direct-to-paper ink distressing
Stamp Sets: CTMH Little Reminder

Remember, Little Reminder is only available January 1-31, 2012. Contact your consultant or click here to find out how to get your own.

Now hop on over to {Mary's} blog to see what she's created.

If you find any broken links along the way, Kathleen has the complete list of hoppers listed on her blog.

December 2011 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2011-12-01T11:00:00.043+09:00

Welcome to the December 2011 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring Mad About You, a set of 14 stamps. If you have just arrived from {Kami's} blog, you are on the right path. If you are just starting here, you can join in our circular hop by simply clicking the link to the next blog at the end of each post.

The great thing about the December SOTM (that is, for those of you who aren't procrastinators) is that it is perfect for making your Valentine's Day cards and gifts. I used the set to decorate a cover for a box of candy. I started with a sheet of Blush cardstock, and then random stamped four images in Blush ink. I then laid the cardstock face down, and used my Embossing Stylus to trace around the box, and creased the lines and made cuts where necessary.

Next I adhered the cardstock to the candy box. I cut a strip of Pear cardstock, which was random stamped in Pear ink. Once again, the stylus was used to mark the edges, the creases were made and the coordinating strip attached to the box. The large heart image was stamped in Blush on Blush cardstock, and mounted using 3-D Mounting Foam. (I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. I seem to have lost my camera battery charger when I moved barracks six weeks ago, so I had to resort to using my phone for pictures.)

Remember, Mad About You is only available December 1-31, 2011. Contact your consultant or click here to find out how to get your own.

Now hop on over to {Melissa's} blog to see a project you're sure to be mad about.

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of hoppers listed on her blog.

November 2011 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2011-11-01T10:00:00.016+09:00

Welcome to the November 2011 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, featuring Cherish the Day, a set of 44 Stamps. If you've just arrived here from {Nicole's} blog, you are on the right path. If you are just starting here, just jump in and enjoy our circular hop, which has over 50 participants this month. When you reach the end of a post, click on the link at the end to go to the next post in the hop.

My project is a birthday card for a December birthday. I used the super-cute Roxie paper pack, which is even better in person than it appears in the Idea Book! My card was loosely patterned after one of the cards on page 143 in the Idea Book. And I'm LOVIN' the layers! Six layers of scrumptious colors and patterns! These papers are so great, and I can see them being used for all sorts of occasions (even Christmas).

The Filagree Charm was sponged with Timber Brown Staz-on ink, and the Desert Sand cardstock was sponged with Smoothie ink. The Smoothie cardstock was cut with the Nestabilities Labels One and sponged with Smoothie ink while still in the die. The tag was stamped in Tulip ink on Vanilla Cream cardstock and cut with a slight border. The sentiment was then stamped on the tag in Cocoa ink. The December tag was stamped in Tulip ink on Vanilla Cream cardstock and trimmed with a slight border. The pieces were all mounted, and the shaped portion was mounted using 3-D Mounting Foam.

Papers: CTMH Desert Sand, Smoothie, and Vanilla Cream cardstock, CTMH Roxie
Inks: CTMH Cocoa, Smoothie, and Tulip, Staz-on Timber Brown

Tools and Techniques: Nestabilities Labels One, CTMH Opaques Mocha, CTMH Filagree Charms, 3-D Mounting Foam, sponging
Stamp Sets: CTMH Cherish the Day, Happy Birthday, and Tender Tags

Remember, Cherish the Day is only available November 1-30, 2011. Contact your consultant, or click here, to find out how to get yours.

Now hop on over to {Carla's} blog to see what she has created.

If you find any broken links along the way, Kathleen has the complete list of hoppers here.

October 2011 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2011-10-01T10:00:00.005+09:00

Welcome to the October 2011 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring Holiday Magic, a set of 18 stamps. If you are just arriving from {Teresa's} blog, you are on the right path. If you are starting here, just click on the link at the end of each post to go to the next blog in the hop.

The October Stamp of the Month is always a Christmas stamp (well, at least "always" since 2007 that I can vouch for), so it is the perfect stamp to jump start your holiday crafting. I decided to make gift tags, which I like to do every year.

Some ideas for attaching your gift tags are Embroidery Floss, Waxy Flax, and Hemp. One thing I like to do with ribbon is punch a very small hole in the item (smaller than the width of the ribbon), and then run the ribbon through it. The small size of the hole will hold the ribbon in place, so it isn't necessary to tie a knot.

Remember, Holiday Magic is only available October 1-31, 2011. Contact your CTMH consultant, or click here, to find out how to get yours.

Now hop on over to {Wendy's} blog to see her magical creation.

If you find any broken links along the way, {Helen} has the complete list on her blog.

September 2011 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2011-09-01T10:00:00.009+09:00

Welcome to our Close To My Heart consultant Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring the September SOTM, which is Limited Edition, a set of 21 stamps. If you have come here from {Teresa's} blog, you are on the right path! If this is your starting point, hop on in and enjoy the fun. Just click the link at the end of the post to take you to the next blog in our hop.

This is one of many CTMH stamp sets that coordinates with the new Cricut© Art Philosophy Collection, which is exclusive to Close To My Heart and includes the Art Philosophy cartridge, 3 My Acrylix® D-sized stamp sets, and 3 9" X 12" Dimensional Elements (Item number for the collection is Z1686). I look at this stamp set and had inspiration for book marks, gift tags, and the project that I made, magnets.

I stamped the images on cardstock, and used some of our (now retired) Window Charms. I simply applied the Window Charms over the stamp image, cut out with my cutting knife and glued a magnet on the back (you can use magnetic sheets, which are usually self adhesive, as well). Since my barracks room has a metal door, I now have a cute magnet to hang my "don't forget" list (so maybe I'll stop forgetting my coffee, or workout clothes, or mp3 player...) when I leave for work or school. The other two will go to work for my board; the clock is for anything time-sensitive, and the hand is for my "to do" items. I love when I get to have something cute and useful at work!

Remember, Limited Edition is only available September 1-30, 2011. Contact your consultant, or click here, to find out how to get yours.

Now hop on over to {Angel's} blog to see her enchanting creation.

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of hoppers here.

August 2011 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop Featuring Circle Cards

2011-08-15T15:00:00.004+09:00

Welcome to the CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop featuring Circle Cards. If you've arrived from{Luisa's} blog, you are on the right path. If you are just starting here, welcome to our circle hop. Simply click on the link at the end of the post, and it will take you to the next blog in the hop. Once you get back here, you've completed the hop!

Circle cards can be unique and lots of fun, but they can also be a hassle. Trying to cut your circle just right, trying to find an envelope to fit it...ugh! But, Close To My Heart has made it easier to make it from your heart with Circle Cards. They are available in Colonial White (Z1352) or White Daisy (Z1353), and they come with matching envelopes.

I made this card using they Key To My Heart paper pack (a special from a few years back). I matched the paper up to the card, and using the card as my template cut out a piece for the front and a piece for the inside. After gluing on the paper and letting it dry, I added some Sorbet buttons, Juniper ribbon with Juniper Bigger Brad, and used 3-D Mounting Foam to mount the sentiment, which is from Salutation Seals and was stamped in Sorbet ink on Colonial White cardstock, and I used a Marvy Uchida punch for the circle. The buttons were adhered with Liquid Glass, and my Circle Card is cute, coordinated, and quick!

Circle Cards are a cute and fast way to make cards and their size makes them convenient to help you use up your scraps.

Now, hop on around to {Adeline's} blog to find more inspiration!

August 2011 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2011-08-01T10:00:00.020+09:00

Welcome to our Close To My Heart consultant Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring the August SOTM, which is Wicked, a set of 9 stamps. If you have come here from {Georgia's} blog, you are on the right path! If this is your first stop, you can hop right in and enjoy our round-robin hop.

I went a bit outside the box and used this set to make a birthday card for a friend. I stamped the witch image, and then cut it out (cutting the bird away entirely). I had the Eagles' Witchy Woman going through my head while making this card. LOL. I was pretty excited because I used a paper pack (Olivia) and two colors (Pear and Smoothie) that I had never used before (I haven't been scrapping much this year, owing to my work, school, and volunteer schedule). The Today's Date image was stamped on Bamboo cardstock, and cut out using a Coluzzle circle. I circled the "1" with Barn Red marker (my friend's birthday is the 1st), and the "Happy Birthday" sentiment was stamped in Chocolate ink. I had pulled out all sorts of embellishments to use, but as I started assembling the card, embellishments just seemed like too much for this card. I guess that's an advantage to using such busy (and I don't mean that in a bad way!) paper.

Papers: CTMH Bamboo and Smoothie cardstock, CTMH Olivia
Inks: CTMH Barn Red, Chocolate, and Olive, CTMH Barn Red Market

Tools and Techniques: Fiskars Threading Water punch, Coluzzle Circle,
Stamp Sets: CTMH Wicked, Card Chatter-Birthday, and Today's Date

Remember, Wicked is only available August 1-31, 2011. Contact your consultant, or click here, to find out how to get yours.

Now hop on over to {Sheila's} blog to see her enchanting creation.

If you find any broken links along the way, Kathleen has the complete list of hoppers here.

July 2011 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2011-07-01T15:00:00.002+09:00

Welcome to the July 2011 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring American Celebration, a set of 12 stamps. If you have just arrived from {Terrie's} blog, you are on the right path. If you are just starting here, you can join in our circular hop by simply clicking the link to the next blog at the end of each post.

My project is a set of place cards for your Independence Day picnic table. Simply cut cardstock to your desired width by two times your desired height, then score and fold. Stamp the images in shades of red and blue (I used Cranberry, Pacifica, and Sky), and stamp or write in the guests' names. I also made slightly larger cards that you can use to label the tables (really useful if you are having a potluck, so like dishes are put together). I used the rock and roll technique on the "dessert" card, first inking the stamp in Sky, then rolling the Cranberry stamp pad around the edges to get the two colors blended. Names were stamped using Friendship Alphabet Small.

Remember, American Celebration is only available July 1-31, 2011. Contact your consultant or click here to find out how to get your own.

Now hop on over to {Nicole's} blog to celebrate her project.

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of hoppers listed on her blog.

June 2011 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2011-06-01T10:00:00.047+09:00

Time for the June Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. If you just arrived from {Lisa's} blog, you are on the right path. This month there are over 50 Close To My Heart consultants participating in our round-robin blog hop. We are featuring the June 2011 Stamp of the Month Jubilation, a set of 24 stamps.

It is PCS season (that means "Permanent Change of Station", or moving season for all of you non-military types), so that means several of my friends will be moving in the next few weeks. I used the stamp of the month to make a few "good luck" cards. These cards were made using the pattern for card 1 of the greetings card workshop in the book Wishes by Jeanette Lynton. Two sheets of cardstock and one sheet of B&T paper give you all the pieces you need to make 16 cards. This stamp set is perfect with the greetings card workshop, because you can make a bunch of cards for a variety of occasions faster, simpler, and easier. Three pieces of paper and one stamp set! I LOVE easy!

Papers: CTMH Sweet Leaf and Juniper cardstock, CTMH Creative Basics Wings
Inks: CTMH Cocoa, Juniper, and Sweet Leaf

Tools and Techniques: Wishes, Direct-to-paper ink distressing, sponging, 3-D Mounting Foam
Stamp Set: Piece of Cake

Remember, Jubilation is only available June 1-30, 2011. Contact your Close To My Heart consultant, or click here, to order one for yourself.

Now hop on over to {Georgia's} blog to experience her Jubilation!

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of hoppers here.

CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop Featuring Buttons

2011-05-15T15:00:00.004+09:00

Welcome to the May 2011 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop featuring buttons. If you've just arrive from {Luisa's} blog, you're on the right path. If you are just starting here, you can still enjoy the whole hop. Our hop is a circular hop, so just click on the link at the end of each post to take you to the next stop on the hop.

One thing I love about CTMH is that the accessories and embellishments match the inks and papers perfectly. However, sometimes you want to do something a little different. I wanted to incorporate a patterned button into my card, so I made my very own designer buttons using a patterned paper, Liquid Glass, and a few clear buttons.

To do this, simply cover the back of your button with Liquid Glass, then place it on the paper. Press it down to ensure no air bubbles, and every few minutes press down again to ensure it stays even (notice the one on the paper is raised up on one side, you don't want your final product like that). Once it is dry, cut around the button, sand the edges if necessary, use your Piercing Tool or Embossing Stylus to poke through the holes, and then attach to your project.

I made my card following Mojo Monday Sketch 190, and the H2H Challenge (All Buttoned Up).

Now hop on over to {Nikka's} blog to see what she's put together! If you find any broken links along the way, Wendy has the complete list of hoppers here.

May 2011 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2011-05-01T10:00:00.065+09:00

Welcome to the May 2011 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, featuring Chairs to You, a set of 14 Stamps. This month we have over 50 Close To My Heart consultants participating in our hop. If you've just arrived here from {Sheila's} blog, you are on the right track. If you are just starting here, our round-robin hop can still be enjoyed in it's entirety. Just follow the links at the end of each post, and eventually you'll end up right back here!

I made this card following the sketch for Mojo Monday 188 and the OCC Challenge (easel cards). Rather than make a round or square card, I opted to use my Nestabilities Labels One die to make my card. This card actually had quite a monochromatic feel until I colored the flowers of the chair Vineyard Berry. After that addition, I figured a bit more color would look good, so I used a Cocoa button and Antiqued Copper brads as the centers of the flowers, which were colored using homemade glimmer-y mist. The scalloped circle was sponged with ink in the same color (Juniper), and mounted with 3-D Mounting Foam. Decorate the inside, and a cute housewarming card for a friend who is about to move (of course, knowing my "postal failure" history, only time will tell if this card actually makes it to the intended recipient).

Papers: CTMH cardstock in Cocoa, Juniper, and Sweet Leaf, CTMH Wings Creative Basics
Inks: CTMH Cocoa, CTMH Markers in New England Ivy and Vineyard Berry
Tools and Techniques: Nestabilities Labels One, Cuttlebug, CTMH flowers, CTMH ribbon (included in Wings Creative Basics, CTMH Buttons, CTMH brads, Marvy Uchida punch, 3-D Mounting Foam
Stamp Sets: CTMH Chairs to You

Remember, Chairs to You is only available during the month of May 2011. Ask your consultant, or click here, to find out how to get this stamp for a discount or possibly even FREE!

Now hop on over to {Brae's} blog to see what she's created.

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of hoppers here.

March 2011 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop

2011-03-15T15:00:00.037+09:00

Welcome to the March 2011 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop. This month we are featuring scrapbooking techniques. If you just arrived from {Haley's} blog, you are on the right path. If you're just starting here, you can enjoy our hop by simply clicking the link to the next blog at the end of the post.

I decided to feature Studio J layouts, specifically using them in interactive layouts. I have printed several Studio J layouts that I intended to add something to after I received it. In some instances, it was a picture that I didn't have electronically (a copyrighted photo from an event, for instance). Other items have been pressed pennies, tickets, and in today's example, bib numbers from races.

There are a lot of great ways to add interactive elements to your scrapbook layouts. One of the easiest is to use Memory Protector Flip Flaps. But the technique I am going to show you today is ideal when the interactive item is an unusual size. My bib number was 8 1/4" X 8 3/8", so instead of a flip flap, I used a piece of transparency film (yes, those same sheets that you remember from elementary school, which you can buy in your local office supply store). I cut a piece of transparency film 5" X 8", and scored it down the length. Next, I used a bone folder to sharpen the crease (hint: if you don't have a bone folder, the My Acrylix® blocks can be used to serve the same purpose). You really want to create a sharp crease so your interactive portion will lay flat when closed. Next, I attached the transparency to the back of the layout using Terrifically Tacky Tape. When you are using the transparencies, you need to use a really heavy-duty adhesive, because the slick material doesn't hold adhesive well. Also, you'll want to make sure to NOT put the layout or the materials you are attaching all the way up into the crease. If you don't leave a bit of space at the crease (really, you don't need much), your interactive flap won't lay down flat when you are finished (see the layout below, from the first time I did this technique. All except the bottom right photo were mounted using this technique-except through the page protector. Notice how the top left photo on the right page isn't laying flat. That's because I put the pieces all the way up into the crease, so it didn't have room to close flat).

After attaching the flap to the back of the layout, I prepared my two pieces for the outside of the page protector. One is the race number, the second is a piece of cardstock that I cut to match the size of the race number and used for journaling. Be mindful of how the viewer will look at the items when you mount them. Because I was using two items, I sandwiched the outer piece of transparency between them, once again using Terrifically Tacky Tape. I adhered the cardstock and race number to each other using my regular adhesive (only part of each is attached to the transparency). Then I simply lifted my "flap" and slid the page into the page protector, then laid the flap down on the outside of the page protector. The race number is made of Tyvek, so I wasn't really concerned about it not being protected. If you are using something that is paper, laminate it before attaching to the transparency (that is exactly what I did the first time I used this technique, and is how I discovered Terrifically Tacky Tape, as none of the other adhesives I tried would keep the laminated item attached to the transparency.

I hope I've given you some ideas for your scrapbook pages, and helped you to see how you can incorporate items into your layouts to make them interactive. Now hop on over to {Adeline's} blog to see what she's created.

If you find any broken links along the way, Wendy has the complete list of participants on her blog.

March 2011 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2011-03-01T11:00:00.031+09:00

Welcome to the October 2010 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, featuring Sensational Season, a set of 10 Stamps. If you've just bounced here from {Brae's} blog, you are on the right track. If you are just starting here, just jump in and enjoy our circular hop, which has over 60 participants this month. When you reach the end of a post, click on the link at the end to hop to the next post.

I couldn't resist all of the hoppy references with the cute little rabbits in this stamp set! I also decided to bend the rules a bit and made a birthday card instead of an Easter card. I made this card following Mojo Monday sketch 179. The adorable little hare was colored using Copics, and I paper-pieced his jacket. Since I'd stamped him on White Daisy paper to color him, and WD was too bright to look good with the other colors, I sponged around him to make it blend better. I used Nestabilities Classic Oval Large for the oval. Martha Stewart punch was used for the lacy border, which was then DTP distressed with Twilight ink. 3D Mounting Foam was used to mount the square, Xyron Create-a-Sticker was used for the ribbon, and glue dots were used for the buttons. The paper pack is Felicity, which was a promotional paper pack last year.

And hare's a close-up of the bunny (before sponging).

Now hop on over to {Tammy Lea's} blog to see her sensational work. Remember, Sensational Season is only available March 1-31, 2011. Contact your CTMH consultant, or click here, to find out how to get yours for a discount or even for FREE!

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of participants {here}.

CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop Featuring Color Combos

2011-02-15T16:00:00.002+09:00

Welcome to the February 2011 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop featuring color combos. If you've just arrive from {Adeline's} blog, you're on the right path. If you are just starting here, you are in for a treat. Our hop is a circular hop, so just click on the link at the end of each post to take you to the next stop on the hop.

The CTMH Idea Books are much more than just a catalog. They are full of great layouts, cards, and projects that you can look back on for inspiration. I have all of my Idea Books going back to the first CTMH gathering I attended in 2006. One of the great inspirations to be found in our Idea Books are the color combos. I always love getting to the My Acrylix stamp section to see the artwork created using interesting color combos. The color combo I'm using comes from the Autumn/Winter 2007 IB and features three colors that debuted in my first IB (A/W 2006). The colors are Cocoa, Honey, Petal, and Twilight. And since (with the exception of Cocoa) I'm pretty sure none of those colors has been with another in any CTMH paper pack, that left me to my cardstock and embellishments. But never fear!!! CTMH colors are easy to match with our Exclusive Inks and Re-Inkers.

This is just a "Fat Lil' Notebook" that I'm embellishing so there is no confusion as to whom it belongs. First I took out the spiral, and then covered the front and back cover with cardstock. One thing I love doing with my cardstock is ink distressing with the matching ink. That gives the oomph of the technique without making it too busy.

But then I realized that there is no ribbon in Twilight, Honey, or Petal. Never fear, there are several ways to get a perfectly-matched ribbon. For the Twilight organza ribbon, I cut a length of White Daisy organza and put it in a sandwich bag (the zipper type), making sure to push it toward the bottom. With the bag lying on its side, I dripped about 15 drops of Twilight Re-Inker into the bag near the top. Then I carefully closed and zipped the bag, and smooshed the Re-Inker across the width of the bag. After it seemed to be fairly evenly distributed, I pushed the ribbon up into the ink and rubbed the bag around. Once it appeared to have good coverage, I unzipped the bag and pulled the ribbon out to dry. There were a few spots with too much ink, so I patted the ribbon with a paper towel. And since I did this inside a zipped baggie, no inky smudges on my fingers (I removed the ribbon from the baggie using tweezers to keep my fingers clean)!

The Honey ricrac was colored in a different way, since I don't own Honey Re-Inker. I simply opened up my Honey ink pad and set it on a plastic grocery bag. Next, I took my length of ribbon, and starting at one end laid it on the surface of the ink pad. Then I used an edge of the plastic bag around my fingers while I pressed the ribbon into the ink pad, making sure to get both sides of the ribbon. After the first pass, there was a pretty cool pattern showing white through the Honey, but I decided to go for a solid color. So, second pass entailed pressing the ribbon into the surface of the ink pad while pulling it through for full coverage. A few spots looked a bit more color-saturated than the rest, so I blotted them with a paper towel. Voila! MORE perfectly-matched ribbon!!!

So, I challenge you to find some color inspiration, and don't let your options be limited by how things are. Use inks, Re-Inkers, and markers to get things just the color you want!

Now hop on over to {Wendy's} blog for some more color inspiration!

February 2011 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2011-02-01T11:00:00.005+09:00

Welcome to the February 2011 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, featuring Friendship, a set of 8 Stamps. If you've just arrived here from {Kristie's} blog, you are on the right path. But, if you're just starting here you won't miss a thing. Our hop is one big circle, so jump right on in and enjoy the artwork!

Well, one of the joys of living in Okinawa is the mail. Sometimes it arrives, and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes part of your shipment arrives, and sometimes you have to have things tracked and re-shipped...unfortunately my new Stamps of the Month haven't arrived, so I don't have any new artwork to show just yet. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll show up tomorrow (which would be today now that you're reading this. LOL). Keep yours crossed too please! I'm quite bummed out, because as you may have noticed from my blog background and the background in some of my pictures, I really like damask and black and white. I hope you'll have as much fun with this stamp as I hope to. In the meantime, here is a picture of the images in this set.

Remember, Friendship is only available February 1-28, 2011. Contact your consultant, or click here, to find out how to get yours for a discount or even for free.

Now hop on over to {Traci's} blog to see what she's created.

A New Bookmark

2011-01-19T18:00:00.018+09:00

My ninja progressed to his most recent belt a few months back. While I was home at Christmas, he mentioned that he needed a new bookmark (as he was still using his blue belt bookmark).

I definitely need to practice my hair coloring techniques. I just gave up and went with what I ended up with, rather than start over. He's a boy, he won't care. LOL. You can view the last one I made for him (with much better hair) here.

Ian's skin was colored with E00 and E02, his pants with 110, hair was E33, Y21, Y06, and Y00 (and who knows what else, I was trying to salvage it after all!!), belt was CTMH Watercolor Pencil and shadowing was Prismacolor Premier Cool Grey 10%.

Papers: CTMH cardstock in Hydrangea and White Daisy
Inks: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic Markers
Tools and Techniques: CTMH Watercolor Pencils, Basic Grey Small Magnetic Disks, Xyron Lamination, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Large Labels, CTMH Liquid Glass
Stamp Sets: CTMH Tiny Typewriter, TGF Karate Ian (digital)

The magnets are self-adhesive, but I used some Liquid Glass to ensure a good long-term bond. The lamination will also serve to keep the magnet disks in place. The lamination wasn't applied until after I took the picture, as it tends to cause a glare and make it a challenge to get a decent shot.

More Studio J

2011-01-18T18:00:00.002+09:00

Here's another Studio J layout of our vacation in 2009. I never bought the Stickease to go with this paper pack, so I love the fact that Studio J includes the matching Stickease for each paper pack!

January 2011 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop

2011-01-15T16:00:00.044+09:00

Welcome to the January 2011 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop! This month our hop is featuring Valentine's ideas. If you have just arrived from {Debbie's} blog, you are on the right path. If you are just beginning here, you won't miss any of the action, as our hop is a full circle. Just click on the link at the end of each post to take you to the next blog in the hop.

My project is a Valentine's box. This box actually has multiple uses. It could be placed on the desk to receive Valentines in, it could be given full of chocolate kisses, or it could even be used to hide a jewelry box. The box came from the dollar bin at Target, and all other items are CTMH (unless noted).

Papers: CTMH cardstock in Blush and Garden Green, CTMH That's Amore
Inks: CTMH Chocolate and Tulip, StazOn Timber Brown (to color the Colonial White Bigger Brads), CTMH Re-inker in Blush and Tulip
Tools and Techniques: CTMH ribbon(Cocoa Collection), CTMH Bigger Brads (Colonial White), Sponging (to color the Colonial White Bigger Brad and the cardstock on the flag), White Daisy Crochet Flowers (from Mini Medley Accents Collection), Mod Podge
Stamp Sets: CTMH Amore

Two outside of the ordinary things I did for this project: I used alcohol mixed with Re-inker to color the crochet flowers, and I coated the completed box with Mod Podge to give it extra durability.

I hope you're inspired to create a fun Valentine project of your own. Now hop on over to {Vicki's} blog to see her creation.

Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-01T20:20:00.001+09:00

I will scrap more in 2011!!! To get that off to a good start, I made a few Studio J layouts on New Year's Eve. This is from our family vacation in 2009.

I love Studio J membership! I get free shipping on one order of layouts each month (minimum and maximums apply, and vary based on shipping location), my layouts are half-price because I'm a member, there are special papers and layouts that are only available to members, I get free page protectors with every order, and I get free .jpgs of my purchased layouts (both high resolution for printing, and lower resolution for posting online). Want more info on Studio J? Just check it out on my website by clicking here.

2010 Scrapping Counts

2011-01-01T08:22:00.001+09:00

2010 ended up being a far busier year than I'd anticipated, so my scrapping totals were rather disappointing. My scrapping goals for 2010 were 100 pages and 200 cards. Here is what I ended up with:

Pages complete: 15
Cards complete: 40
Altered Items: 22
Digital Pages complete: 16

I never had time to start a scrap group or cardmaking group, I fell short on my blog posting goal (twice per week), and since I didn't scrap much, my Silhouette didn't get used much either (though I think I downloaded every file from the Silhouette store). I didn't even mail out Christmas cards for 2010. I did make a point of using my stash when I was able to scrap, although that was at least partly influenced by my location. For 2011, I plan to start making others step up and do more at work, and not to volunteer to take on so many projects and activities this year. I also intend to put scrapping on my schedule, so ~~hopefully~~ I will be able to do it more.

My 2011 goals will be mostly a repeat of my 2010 goals: 100 pages (including digital), 200 cards, use my Silhouette more often, get cards done the month before they are needed AND actually get them in the mail (I'm a notorious postal failure), and try to get some of that old scrapping caught up. Tell me about your scrapping goals for 2011.

December 2010 Spotlight Blog Hop

2010-12-15T16:00:00.002+09:00

"If I gave you diamonds and pearls
Would you be a happy boy or a girl

If I could I would give you the world

But all I can do is just offer you my love..."

And with that bit of Prince, I bring you my contribution to the December 2010 CTMH Product Spotlight Blog Hop, featuring Sparkles and Pearls. You may have arrived here from {DEBBIE'S} blog. If that is the case, you are on the right path. If this is your first stop on the hop, welcome! Our hop is a circular hop, so you can jump in here and follow the links at the end of each blog to see all of the creations using CTMH Sparkles and CTMH Pearls.

My project this month is a {candy} jar for my desk. Wearing combat boots for a living, I frequently feel the need to express my "grrl"-y side, which I do by carrying pink pens, working out in Running Skirts, volunteering as a cheerleading coach, and using cute stuff on my desk. Truthfully, I don't need a candy jar on my desk, but I really do enjoy "marking my territory" in the land of testosterone. LOL. Anyway, back to the jar. I actually lucked upon the jar for $.50 while at the thrift shop looking for accessories for my Halloween costume. The previous owner had decorated it as well, but I looked beyond the decorations to see something that I could alter as I saw fit. To me, that big cork top SCREAMED for a giant flower, and I was happy to oblige with a CTMH Big Pink. I mixed up a batch of glimmer-y mist using CTMH Re-inker in Garden Green, Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint, and water, which were placed in a Ranger Ink Mini Mister bottle (but you could use any leftover misting-type bottle, even your Spritz cleaner bottle). I sprayed the flower with my glimmery-y mist and let it dry. I used the adorable A Flitter stamp set to stamp the dragonfly and then random stamp the little butterflies in Garden Green ink on Garden Green cardstock. The cardstock was attached with Liquid Glass. Once the flower was really dry, I tacked it to the cork top (adhesive alone didn't seem to be the best idea) and then proceeded to decorate the flower center with CTMH Pearls and Buttercup Sassy Strands (retired). To give some extra lift to the flower petals, I put a 3-D mounting foam square beneath each one. Isn't this a yummy candy jar?

Now hop on over to {Tracey's} blog for some more BLING!

December 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2010-12-01T16:00:00.003+09:00

Welcome to the December 2010 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, featuring Amore, a set of 13 Stamps. If you've just arrived here from {Sarita's} blog, you are on the right path. If you are just starting here, just jump in and enjoy our circular hop, which has over 60 participants this month. When you reach the end of a post, click on the link at the end to go to the next post in the hop. Prepare to be inspired!!!

I just realized that this is my 18th month of participating in this blog hop! I hope you enjoy hopping for inspiration as much as I do. This month's project is a cute card that I made following the Satchel pattern from the book Wishes. Originally I planned to stay away from the color pink for this card, but I just couldn't resist the That's Amore papers.

Papers: CTMH cardstock in Chocolate and Garden Green
Inks: CTMH Chocolate, StazOn Timber Brown (to color the Filigree Charm and the Colonial White Designer Brad)
Tools and Techniques: CTMH ribbon, Karen Foster Design Scrapper's Floss, Sponging (to color the Filigree Charm and the Colonial White Designer Brad), Wishes "Satchel" pattern, Liquid Glass
Stamp Sets: CTMH Amore

My bit of fun for this card was the closure. I don't think I've ever made anything with a closure like this. I attached the Filigree Charm (which I sponged with StazOn Timber Brown to make it match) to the lower part of the card. I cut a little piece of foam to place between the front of the card and the charm in order to give it some lift off the page (so the floss would wrap around it easily for closure). I colored a Colonial White Designer Brad by sponging it with Timber Brown StazOn, and attached it to the top flap of the card, also using a small piece of foam to give it lift, and using Liquid Glass to attach the floss to the brad before I inserted it into the card. I think the little pieces of foam were the secret to making this closure work well. The foam is scraps from something I made using those little foamy sheets that they have in the craft sections (the same material that those foamy stickers in the buckets are made of). This closure would work great for gift card or money holders too.

Remember, Amore is only available 1-31 December 2010. Contact your Close To My Heart consultant, or click here, to find out how to order your own--or maybe even get it for FREE!!

Now hop on over to {Judy's blog} to see her creation.

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list on her blog.

November 2010 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop Featuring Christmas Stamps

2010-11-15T16:00:00.003+09:00

Welcome to the November 2010 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop. This month we are featuring Christmas Stamps. If you've just arrived from {Jenifer's} blog, you are on the right path. If you are just starting here, simply click on the link at the end of the post to go to the next blog on our circular hop.

I am simply ADORING the cute little "A" stamp sets. Firstly, the prices were recently reduced, and I can't resist a bargain! But most importantly, they are fantastic little sets in a cute little package. For this month's project, I used A Timber, which features a flourished Christmas tree, a few additional decorations, some flourishes, and the "Happy Holidays" sentiment. I also broke out my package of Colonial White Circle Cards and the Mistletoe Creative Basics pack. I stamped the cute flourished tree in New England Ivy on Garden Green cardstock, then cut it out. The card front was covered with the patterned paper, the sentiment was stamped on a chipboard ribbon slide (which was sponged with Bamboo ink), and then the chipboard was slid onto the gold ribbon from the Creative basics pack. Some 3-D Mounting foam to attach the tree to the card front, a few CTMH Sparkles, and there we have an adorable little card. Little does NOT have to equal boring!

I hope you're inspired to use one of your smaller stamp sets to create something fun! Now hop on over to {Chris'} blog for some more Christmas project inspiration.

If you find any broken links along the way, Wendy has the complete list of hoppers on her blog.

A Little Thanks November 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2010-11-01T10:00:00.022+09:00

Welcome to the November 2010 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, featuring A Little Thanks, a set of 16 Stamps. This month we have over 60 Close To My Heart consultants participating in our hop. If you've just arrived here from {Kristie's} blog, you are on the right track. If you are just starting here, our round-robin hop can still be enjoyed in it's entirety. Just follow the links at the end of each post, and eventually you'll end up right back here!

I am on a mission to use up my paper stash, so I went through my baskets of paper and decided on Boom-di-ada for my Thank You card. Since I was watching a movie on my computer at the time I made this card, I pulled out Wishes, and made this card following the directions for "Down the Middle" (which happened to be the first page I opened the book to).

Papers: CTMH cardstock in Buttercup and Hollyhock, CTMH Boom-di-ada
Inks: CTMH Hollyhock and Sweet Leaf, Versamark
Tools and Techniques: Emboss resist, CTMH embossing powder in Clear Detail, CTMH ribbon, CTMH Buttons, Fiskar's Threading Water punch
Stamp Sets: CTMH A Little Thanks

I used the emboss resist technique for the stamping. I stamped the image on Buttercup cardstock in Versamark ink, then heat embossed with CTMH Clear Detail embossing powder. After that, I direct-to-paper ink distressed the edges in Hollyhock, then sponged Sweet Leaf over the cardstock. I chose not to go for a dark/solid coverage with the Sweet Leaf, so I didn't remove the clear embossing powder. Had I gone for a solid coverage with the Sweet Leaf, I would have put a spare piece of paper over the top of the sponged panel, and then ironed it to remove the embossing powder. With the subtle color difference, I opted to leave the embossing powder to ensure the sentiment stands out. All of the pieces (except the punched edge) were DTP edge-distressed with Hollyhock ink.

A punched edge, some buttons, and a piece of ribbon finish off this cheery card.

Remember, A Little Thanks is only available during the month of November 2010. Ask your consultant, or click here, to find out how to get this stamp for a discount or possibly even FREE!

Now hop on over to {Mary's} blog to find some more inspiration.

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of participants {here}.

October 2010 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop

2010-10-15T15:00:00.005+09:00

Welcome to the October 2010 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop. This month we are featuring Christmas Projects. If you've just arrived from {Nikka's} blog, you are on the right path. If you are just starting here, simply click on the link at the end of the post to go to the next blog on our circular hop.

My project is a My Creations Memory Keeper inspired by the talented Lisa Stenz. You could make a box like this to keep the holiday cards and pictures you receive from family and friends this year, or make dividers from cardstock and use it to house special ornaments or decorations, or you can do like me and use it to store the Christmas cards that you make throughout the year (because we have all been so diligently working on our Christmas cards since January). This box was decorated with cardstock and the lovely Evensong Creative Basics paper (which, I'm sad to say, is retired). For the top of the box, I covered some chipboard letters in Evensong papers, and then used the Finishing Files to clean up the edges before using white paint along the edges of the letters (because unlike the wonderful CTMH Dimensional Elements letters, which are white, the chipboard I used was that oh-so-attractive blah gray-brown color). For the letters that were stacked, I used 3-D Foam Squares (which I cut in half through the height so they wouldn't pop up too much). I added snowflake brads to the corners, and now I have a great place to keep the Christmas cards I make throughout the year. (No, really. I really DO start my Christmas cards in January. Last year I even had them finished by early December. Mailing them, however, was a different story.) I've had a box like this for a while, and one thing I would do different is use glue instead of adhesive runners to attach the papers, especially to the top of the box. After some time, the papers on the top of the box that I used adhesive runners on isn't as smooth as I would like. This is a project that you can make multiples of: one for Christmas cards, one for Birthday cards, one for Thank You cards, one for gift card holders, the possibilities are limitless. These would also make great memory boxes for newlyweds, new parents, or grandparents. Heck, you can make one to give as a gift and one to keep for yourself. Those are the BEST kind of projects!

Now hop on over to {Traci's} blog for some more Christmas project inspiration.

Let your paper do the work

2010-10-12T11:10:00.000+09:00

These cards are from my scrap weekend a little while back. These are for me to send out to the guys in Afghanistan so they will have some cards to send home to family and friends. I decided to let my paper do the work. The papers are from the DCWV Holiday Collection The Christmas Stack. I used the patterned papers, adorned with sparkles or Stickles, a big decorative brad here or there, and minimal stamping.

October 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2010-10-01T10:00:00.009+09:00

Welcome to the October 2010 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, featuring Share the Magic, a set of 12 Stamps. If you've just arrived here from {Georgia's} blog, you are on the right track. If you are just starting here, just jump in and enjoy our circular hop, which has over 60 participants this month. When you reach the end of a post, click on the link at the end to go to the next post, easy peasy!!

My project is a set of 12 gift tags. I thought it would be fun to do some heat embossing, so I chose a few different colors of paper with plans to use different embossing powders on them. My first step was to punch out the tags, and then put in eyelets at the top for the ribbon/waxy flax. Next, I put the "To:" and "From:" stamps on the block. **Hint: to put multiple stamps on the block exactly the way you want them, place the stamps on your work surface or on a piece of paper with the flat side up and in the positions that you want them in. Then, set the block on top of the stamps and press gently. Voila! Perfectly positioned stamps for your project. This is extremely useful when making words from alphabet stamps.** The stamps were inked with Versamark, and then stamped on the tags. Embossing powder was applied, making sure to brush away the excess powder before using the heat gun. **Hint: when heat embossing on both sides of an item, make sure that you remove the excess powder from the first side before embossing the second side. Trust me, even if you don't intentionally put powder on the first side when you powder the second side, it WILL end up there.** The snowman was colored in using markers, and ribbon and Waxy Flax were used for the hanging loop.

Papers: CTMH cardstock in Cranberry, Olive, Tulip, and White Daisy
Inks: CTMH Markers in Black, Chocolate, Cranberry, Goldrush, and Olive, Versamark
Tools and Techniques: Heat embossing, CTMH embossing powder in Black, Gold, and White, CTMH eyelets (old style) in Cranberry and Olive, CTMH Eyelet Kit (old style), CTMH ribbon, Waxy Flax, Marvy Uchida punch
Stamp Sets: CTMH Share the Magic

Remember, Share the Magic is only available during the month of October 2010. Ask your consultant, or click here, to find out how to get this stamp for a discount or possibly even FREE!

Now hop on over to {Dawn's} blog to share in her magic.
If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of participants {here}.

September 2010 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop

2010-09-15T15:00:00.003+09:00

Welcome to the September 2010 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop. This month we are featuring Dimensional Elements. If you've just arrived from Chris' blog, you are on the right path. If you are just starting here, simply click on the link at the end of the post to go to the next blog on our circular hop. One of the purposes of our Spotlight Blog Hop is to give you ideas to use up those items in your stash. That is definitely something I need to work on (and, as I posted at the beginning of the year, is one of my scrapping goals for the year). Hopefully you will find some great ideas to inspire you to use up some of YOUR stash!

My project is a My Creations Display Album (yep, in my stash!). I covered the chipboard cover with CTMH Expedition paper (now retired). The Dimensional Elements used are from Classic Alphabet (retired) and On Target. Before adhering the paper to the DE, I used the CTMH Finishing Files to clean up the edges (particularly where they had been connected to the DE sheet). I used Mod Podge as my glue, and after it dried I trimmed with my Cutting Knife. I once again put the Finishing Files to use to clean up the edges. I then did direct-to-paper ink distressing with Chocolate ink, using a Sponge Dauber (which, by the way, my *frugal* butt washes and re-uses!) to ink the inner part of the circle. I cut a piece of Chocolate cardstock to back the letter (to help it stand out better against the green background), and attached with Liquid Glass. I cut out the picture using my (now retired) Coluzzle Circle, and adhered that to the DE circle with Liquid Glass as well. Just a few Basic Craft Buttons (also from my stash), and my cute little display album is complete.

I hope you enjoyed my project, and were inspired to use up some of your own stash! Now hop on over to {Tracey's} blog for more inspiration.

September 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2010-09-01T10:00:00.013+09:00

Welcome to the September 2010 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! If you have just arrived from Antoinette's blog, you're on the right path. If not, no worries. Our blog hop is a round-robin, so you can jump in anywhere and enjoy the whole experience. Just click on the link at the end of each blog to take you to the next blog on the hop. This month we have over 60 CTMH consultants participating in our hop. We are featuring the September Stamp of the Month Thriller, a set of nine stamps.

Although this seems to be a Halloween-themed set, when I saw the cute skulls with heart-shaped eye sockets, I thought of pink and black. My project is a covered composition book. I random stamped several of the images in versamark and heat embossed with black powder. The main image on the front was stamped in Versamark, heat embossed in black, and then I colored in the skull with Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint. For the distressing, I used black ink and Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint, and the techniques used were the stubble tool and fan brush from the Distressing Kit, and direct-to-paper edge distressing and cross-hatching. For the spine, I cut multiple strips of ribbon, which I adhered to another piece of cardstock, and then attached to the composition book. Photo was taken before coating with Mod Podge to protect it (I didn't want to have a glare when I took the photo).

Papers: CTMH Blush cardstock
Inks: CTMH Black, Versamark
Tools and Techniques: Heat embossing, crosshatching, direct-to-paper edge distressing, stubble tool, fan brush, Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint, CTMH ribbon
Stamp Sets: CTMH Thriller

Remember, the September Stamp of the Month is only available 1-30 September 2010. Contact your CTMH consultant, or click here to get yours for a discount or even for FREE!!!

Now hop on over to {Amy's blog} to see what she's created.

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of participants here.

Thank You Cards from my Scrap Weekend

2010-08-24T21:21:00.001+09:00

My plan for my scrap weekend was to make greeting cards for my guys in Afghanistan (where I would be now if I weren't in Okinawa), and to try to finish off some paper packs. I sent them a greeting card organizer from The Container Store a few months back, and I wanted to keep them stocked with cards to send to their family and friends.

I would LOVE to tell you the name of this paper pack, but I threw out the label over the scrap weekend. I can tell you that I got this CTMH paper pack at my very first scrap weekend in October 2006, and I used a good portion of it on a layout I did shortly thereafter of the annual Naha Tsunahiki. I didn't quite finish off the pack yet, but I will soon. All I can remember is the word "Country" is in the name of it...

Papers: CTMH, CTMH Cardstock in Autumn Terracotta and Dutch Blue

Inks: CTMH Autumn Terracotta and Dutch Blue

Tools and Techniques: Crosshatching, direct-to-paper edge distressing, CTMH Brads, CTMH flowers, Prima flowers
Stamp Sets: CTMH Thank You, CTMH A Little Everything, CTMH Card Chatter-Thank You, CTMH From Me to You, CTMH For Every Occasion

Perfect 10

2010-08-09T20:51:00.002+09:00

This is the card I made for my son for his tenth birthday. Of course, me and my postal issues didn't get it in the mail in time to arrive for his birthday. This card used two previous Stamps of the Month (March and July 2010).

Papers: CTMH Stardust

Inks: CTMH Chocolate, Moonstruck, and Topiary, CTMH markers in Black, Chocolate (accents in hedgie's scruff), Crystal Blue, and Topiary, Versamark

Tools and Techniques: Heat embossing, CTMH gold embossing powder, crosshatching, direct-to-paper edge distressing, CTMH Watercolor Pencils, Waterbrush, 3-D Mounting Foam, Bella's Baubles
Stamp Sets: CTMH Happy Forever, CTMH A Little Everything

August 2010 Stamp of the Month

2010-08-01T10:00:00.046+09:00

Wow, July flew by. I just realized that I didn't post any of my creations this month. I remember waiting so I wouldn't spoil anything, but here we are at the cusp of August (and I still have the unmailed items in my possession), and it's time for another Stamp of the Month blog hop. This month we have over 60 Close To My Heart consultants participating in our hop, featuring the August Stamp of the Month Something Splendid. If you just arrived from Angela's blog, you are on the right path. If you are just starting here, our round-robin hop can still be enjoyed in it's entirety. Just follow the links at the end of each post, and eventually you'll end up right back here!

My creation is an altered wood frame for a 4X6 photo. I think I may have picked this up from the dollar bins at Michael's. I mixed Delta Ceramcoat paint (available in the Distressing Kit Z1299) and Chocolate Re-Inker (Z2211) to achieve my desired shade to coordinate with the Cherry-O papers.

After painting the frame with a sponge brush (also in the Distressing Kit) and allowing it to dry, I mixed my second custom paint. This one was made using the Create-a-Shade Pearl paint (Z1039) and Chocolate Re-Inker, mixing to a darker shade than my first custom color.

I then used the fan-shaped brush from the Distressing Kit and dry brushed the mixture on the frame. The result is almost like a shimmery wood grain. After allowing that to dry, it was on to the stamping.

The coolest (I think) thing about Something Splendid is the two versions of the large flower, which allow you to get lots of definition without lots of work. I stamped the more solid image first in Blush, then followed up with the outline image using Tulip ink. The image was stamped on the Crystal Blue side of the striped paper from Cherry-O. The center of the flower was stamped with the second generation (in Chocolate ink) and rock and roll techniques (ink the image, stamp once on a piece of scrap paper, then roll the edge of the stamp on the ink pad to give more dimension and definition to the image, then stamp. I used Tulip ink for this part.). Of course, it wouldn't be me if I didn't use 3-D Mounting Foam, so the center of the flower has been mounted using it. I added five Adhesive-backed Pearls (an old Connections Club reward) to the corner opposite the flower, and used a piece of Cherry-O paper so that the frame is decorative even without a picture. If you love the Adhesive-backed Pearls like I do, just WAIT for the new Autumn Idea Book (***HINT HINT***), which will be available September 1st.

Remember, the August Stamp of the Month is only available 1-31 August 2010. Contact your CTMH consultant, or click here to get yours.

Now, hop on over to Traci's blog to see what she has created!

July 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2010-07-01T10:00:00.009+09:00

It's hopping time again! If you just arrived from Melissa's blog, you are on the right path. If you are just starting here, no worries. Our hop is a round-robin, so you can jump in anywhere and still see EVERYTHING!

This month we are featuring the July Stamp of the Month Happy Forever, a set of nine stamps. This set features the most ADORABLE little hedgehogs, along with a few sentiments. These cute critters are sure to be great for a variety of projects for many occasions.

This is only my second crafting project since I've arrived in Okinawa a month ago. I'm still getting settled in, and haven't had much time for crafting. I made this card following this sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday. I used the Cherry-O Creative Basics paper pack, which includes that adorable Cranberry velvet ribbon. Other challenges include Xtra Dimension at The ABC Challenge Blog, Paper Cutz Challenge #47, and Stampin' B's Challenge #64. This is intended to accompany a gift for a friend. But anyone who knows me knows I have postal issues, so this will definitely be posted before I actually get it postal!

Papers: CTMH Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf, Tulip and White Daisy cardstock, CTMH Cherry-O Creative Basics

Inks: CTMH Chocolate, Crystal Blue, and Tulip, CTMH markers in Tulip (kite bows) and Chocolate (accents in hedgie's scruff), CTMH Re-inker in Blush (large flower)

Tools and Techniques: Paper piecing (kite), crosshatching, direct-to-paper edge distressing, CTMH button, CTMH Just Blooms, CTMH ribbon, CTMH Watercolor Pencils, Waterbrush, 3-D Mounting Foam
Stamp Sets: CTMH Happy Forever

Directions for coloring your paper flowers with re-inkers follows below. Remember that Happy Forever is only available July 1st-31st 2010. Contact your CTMH consultant, or click here, to find out how to get this stamp set for a discount or even for FREE!

Now hop on over to Debra's blog to check out her creation!!

Coloring paper flowers with re-inker is fairly simple. I recommend a shallow container with a mostly-flat surface (a shallow bowl or plate is perfect), tweezers (like these reverse-action tweezers from CTMH), and rubbing alcohol. Simply drip some re-inker into your container, add a little bit of alcohol, and mix. Paper towels are a quick way to get an indication of your color. Simply dip a small piece of paper towel into the mixture. If it is too dark, add a little more alcohol. Too light, add more re-inker. Once you've found your desired shade, grasp the edge of your paper flower petal with the tweezer and quickly dip in the mixture. The flower will absorb the mixture quickly, so be prepared to move it quickly to achieve complete coverage, and then get it out of the mixture as quickly as possible and put it on a paper towel to dry. If you leave the paper flower in the mixture for too long, some of the "texture" or dimension of your flower may be lost. So work QUICKLY!!!! You can probably also do this with water instead of alcohol, but the alcohol dries much faster. This technique will give you flowers perfectly matched to your project!

For the teacher...

2010-06-13T11:54:00.002+09:00

My friend B is at the end of her first year as a teacher, and her birthday is also this week. So, my first scrapping project in Okinawa (this time) is a name placard shadow box for her classroom. She loves butterflies, and the colors pink and green, so I wanted to incorporate all of those into the shadow box. The box is 8X10, and I got it at JoAnn.

Papers: CTMH Blush cardstock, CTMH Emporium

Inks: CTMH Blush

Tools and Techniques: Sponge edge distressing, Silhouette Machine (words and butterflies), CTMH Big Pinks flower, CTMH adhesive pearls, Zva Creative crystal flourish, Karen Foster Scrapper's Floss, Making Memories button, 3-D Mounting Foam, Xyron Adhesive

The butterflies were cut out with my Silhouette machine. I adhered one completely onto the base, and the second one was mounted using 3-D mounting foam only on the center. The edges of the wings were rolled slightly to give it dimension. A row of adhesive pearls defines the butterfly's body, and a piece of floss attached to the underside are his antenna. The crystal flourish was applied before the top butterfly.

A piece of floss was tied through the button, which was then attached to the flower with glue dots. The flower was attached to the background using glue dots as well. Letters and mats were cut with the Silhouette. The mats were sponged with Blush ink around the edges. Letters were run through the Xyron to attach to the mats, then the mats were run through the Xyron to attach to background. The "W" was instead mounted using a double stack of 3-D Mounting Foam (two pieces stacked on top of each other--remember to remove the paper backing before sticking the pieces together) in order to raise it up enough to clear the flower.

Reflections Layout Using Veranda

2010-04-21T06:57:00.000+09:00

I had a gathering Saturday, and we made two projects using the CTMH Veranda paper pack. This was the second project, a layout from Reflections titled "Bottom Border - Title". I used direct-to-paper ink distressing around the edge of the Juniper B&T paper, and cross-hatching on the Cocoa and Garden Green cardstock. I stamped the little bird from the Follow Your Heart stamp set, which is only available as part of the Veranda Workshop on the Go (item G1007, only available through April 30, 2010). This definitely needs a title and some journaling, but since my stamps and my Silhouette are on their way to Okinawa, those will have to wait.

This is a close-up of the ink distressing on the various papers.

Papers: CTMH Cocoa, Garden Green, and Vanilla Cream cardstock, CTMH Veranda

Inks: CTMH Cocoa, Garden Green and Juniper

Tools and Techniques: Direct-to-paper edge distressing, cross-hatching
Stamp Sets: CTMH Follow Your Heart

Sneak Peek at Studio J

2010-04-11T02:30:00.000+09:00

Soon, you will be able to create fabulous digital scrapbook layouts from Close To My Heart. There is a wonderful selection of paper packs (including some retired favorites and a Studio J exclusive pack for each new Idea Book). I played around with it a few weeks ago, and will be sharing some of my layouts. Studio J should go live later this month, and you will be able to access it from my CTMH website. In the meantime, while almost all of my scrap stuff is on the way to Okinawa, I will share my digital scrapping with you.

This is our annual Christmas Eve tradition, baking cookies for Santa. I love that I was able to use that close-up of the cookies the same as you might use a patterned paper.

We also open one gift on Christmas Eve, and this layout is of that tradition. I love that I didn't have to cut the circle picture myself.

The little bits of gray you may have noticed at the top don't print, they are part of the tools for when you are creating your layouts. You can switch left and right, rotate each layout, and rotate the papers within the layout, among other effects). There are lots of embellishments you can add, including ribbon, buttons, threads, metal (brads, photo clips, etc), My Stickease, and even various distressing techniques. One thing I forgot to do on the left page (after I rotated it) was to rotate the papers so that both sides matched. But did you notice that before I pointed it out? That's EXACTLY how I missed it. I'm going to make myself a quick little checklist of things to verify when I approve my future layouts. This won't entirely replace paper scrapbooking, but I can definitely see it having its place (especially when I want to create multiple copies of a layout, either for gifts or for others involved in the event).

I have other layouts created, but I will post those at a later time.

Pastel'd Christmas Card

2010-04-05T07:36:00.000+09:00

I made this acetate Christmas card following the Friday Sketchers Challenge #96 sketch, Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge #18 (inspiration photo), and Christmas Cards All Year 'Round April Challenge (at least one soft pastel). Instead of buying acetate card bases, I just bought a package of write-on transparency film, and cut it with my paper trimmer.

This is the inside. I haven't chosen this year's Christmas card sentiment yet, so I'll stamp it later.

Papers: CTMH Blush and White Daisy cardstock, DCWV Holiday Collection The Christmas Stack

Inks: Brilliance Graphite Black, Copic Markers, Prismacolor marker, Sakura Gelly Roll White

Tools and Techniques: Nestabilities Classic Oval Large, Nestabilities Labels 1 (inside), unknown ribbon, 3-D Mounting Foam
Stamp Sets: CTMH Snow Friends

Lots of Christmas Cards

2010-04-05T00:21:00.000+09:00

Today I used a sketch from 365 Cards and followed Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge #17 (Snowflakes) and KL's Stampin' and Scrappin' (1-2-3 Recipe Challenge) to make a card. Then I just decided to make a bunch of the same card, so I ended up with a total of ten. The first five are mostly identical (I ran out of white snowflake brads, so I used embossing powder to cover silver snowflake brads to use--directions at the end of the post). The next four, I kept the positions of the two papers the same, but on two had to use buttons instead of brads (because I ran out of snowflake brads), and the ink color for the sentiment and the distressing were reversed. The last card has the paper position the opposite of the rest of cards, but I used the reverse side for some more variety. The last five all received sparkles in the centers of the punched-out snowflakes.

Papers: CTMH White Daisy cardstock, CTMH Evensong Creative Basics

Inks: CTMH Cranberry and New England Ivy

Tools and Techniques: Nestabilities Petite Oval Large, Martha Stewart Snowflake punches, unknown white snowflake brads, unknown silver snowflake brads, Stampendous embossing powder (Winter Wonderland), Horizon Group USA sparkles, CTMH Craft Buttons (Holiday), direct-to-paper ink distressing (around the oval), Zots glue dots
Stamp Sets: CTMH Christmas Scripts

To use embossing powder to color your metal brads is fairly easy. You will need a Craft Heater (CTMH product number Z555 is what I use), embossing powder, and some tweezers (I use CTMH Z1205, as they have a fine point, rubber grips so your fingers don't get hot, and reverse action so you don't have to squeeze to hold on to your item). Grasp the brad by the "flaps" with your tweezers. Using your craft heater, heat the front/top surface of your metal brad. This may take some adjusting, depending on the size of your brad as well as the powder you are using. I held these snowflakes fairly close to the heater for about 20 seconds, but a regular brad wouldn't require as much time. Once heated, dip immediately in your embossing powder, tap off the excess and then heat again with your craft heater until the powder is melted smooth. If a second coat is necessary, simply put it immediately back in the powder and repeat the tap and heat. Voila, perfectly colored or matched brads for your project. Keep in mind, some powders don't handle too much heat well, so err on the side of too little heat (which you can fix by heating more) rather than too much heat (which can cause your powder to discolor).

April 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2010-04-01T10:00:00.000+09:00

It's time for the April Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. This month there are over 60 Close To My Heart consultants participating in our hop, featuring the April Stamp of the Month Flower Pot, a set of 16 stamps. If you arrived from Latisha's blog, you are on the right path. If not, no worries. Our hop is a round-robin, so you can jump in anywhere and enjoy the sights!

This will likely be my last hop for a month or two, as I am about to be stationed in Okinawa, and the movers will be coming soon to take all of my stuff (don't worry, I will keep an emergency supply of scrap stuff here at the house so I don't go into complete scrap withdrawal). Once me and my stuff are re-acquainted in Okinawa, I will jump right back in to our monthly hops. The participants always make such amazing and creative projects with the Stamp of the Month, I LOVE all of the inspiration!!

I made this double pocket card following a tutorial found on Splitcoast Stampers. However, I did not mount the pocket portion on a card base, it felt quite sturdy without adding a base. I thought the tag would make a cute bookmark, and a bookstore giftcard would be a perfect addition. I used papers from the Felicity Collection, with some additional cardstock and ribbon. The Felicity Collection was a promotional kit which is unfortunately no longer available, and while I was using it I was reminded that whenever there is an adorable paper kit available for a limited time, STOCK UP!!! Keep watching, because CTMH will be offering another adorable paper kit for National Scrapbooking Month. National Scrapbooking Month is May, but Close To My Heart will begin to offer this special kit April 15th!

The flower pot was stamped on the plaid paper in Cocoa ink, and then cut out. The flowers were stamped on white cardstock in Black ink, colored with CTMH markers and then cut out.

Papers: CTMH Twilight and White Daisy cardstock, CTMH Felicity

Inks: CTMH Cocoa and Black, CTMH Markers in Autumn Terracotta, Barn Red, Garden Green, and Olive

Tools and Techniques: CTMH Long-Reach punch, Terrifically Tacky Tape, CTMH Sorbet stitched ribbon, paper piecing, Sticky Dots Die Cut Adhesive
Stamp Sets: CTMH Flower Pot

Remember, Flower Pot is only available April 1-30th, 2010. Contact your Close To My Heart consultant or click here to find out how to get this stamp for a discounted price or even FREE!!

Now check out Kami's blog to see her creation.

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of hoppers on her blog.

Another card from my scrap day

2010-03-29T17:40:00.000+09:00

This is the card I started while my friends were still here scrapping with me. No sketch, just winged it. I wanted to use lots of flowers, and I had the piece of patterned paper already cut out with the Nesty, so I wanted to put that piece to use.

Papers: CTMH Chocolate cardstock, CTMH That's Amore

Inks: Versamark

Tools and Techniques: CTMH flowers, CTMH ribbon (Blush collection), CTMH Tulip Brads, Nestabilities Labels Eight, Cuttlebug, CTMH White embossing powder
Stamp Sets: CTMH Happy Birthday

Birthday card from my scrap day...

2010-03-28T05:31:00.000+09:00

...sorta. I had some friends over to scrap last weekend, but I didn't get much scrapping done while they were here (but had some good conversation and some yummy snacks!!). I made this card after everyone left (instead of putting all of my supplies away, and they are STILL down on the dining room table).

I made this card following OCC Sketch Challenge 7, using some adorable paper I bought at CKC Pasadena last year. Other challenges include Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #75 (Spring Has Sprung), Pixie Dust Studio Pixie Challenge #12 (Buttons and Flowers), Crafty Calendar Challenge #6 (Flower Power), and Creative Card Crew Challenge (It's A Celebration).

Papers: CTMH Chocolate, Clover Meadow and Twilight cardstock, Doodlebug Designs Dragonfly Stripe and Seedlings

Inks: CTMH Chocolate and Twilight

Tools and Techniques: CTMH Buttons, Prima Flowers, CTMH Chocolate Brads, 3-D Mounting Foam, Marvy Uchida circle punch, Marvy Uchida scalloped oval punch
Stamp Sets: CTMH From Me to You

Shaped Birthday Card

2010-03-16T11:29:00.000+09:00

I lovelovelove my Silhouette. I don't use it nearly enough (but then again, I don't scrap nearly enough either). I signed up for the membership where I get unlimited downloads of digital images, so I have a lot of really cool files that I can cut out. This card template (both the whole card and the striped piece) is one of my Silhouette files. So I can make a really neat shaped card with very little effort (and no scissor-frustration).

I followed a few challenges for this birthday card: Pile It On Challenge #10 (pastel colors), Paper Cutz Challenge #32 (anything goes), Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #74 (also anything goes), Treehouse Thursday Challenge #40 (clean and simple), and Cute Card Thursday Challenge #103 (Celebrations).

Papers: CTMH White Daisy cardstock, Making Memories
Inks: CTMH Breeze (retired) and Grey Wool, Copic Markers

Tools and Techniques: CTMH Rhinestone Flowers, direct-to-paper edge distressing
Stamp Sets: CTMH A Little Everything and Card Sentiments (inside), Stamping Bella

Pretty in Pink Mojo Birthday Card

2010-03-15T11:03:00.000+09:00

I made this card following Mojo 129 sketch. This is actually the second card I made today (after doing 12 digital scrapbook pages--Studio J is going to be FANTASTIC!!!), and this one I'm actually EARLY for. Pretty simple, with lots of paper layers (7 layers at the center, which doesn't include the card base.).

Papers: CTMH Blush, Sweet Leaf, and White Daisy cardstock, Making Memories Brooke Narrow Stripe and Brook Paisley
Inks: CTMH Blush and Sweet Leaf

Tools and Techniques: CTMH Half Pearls, direct-to-paper edge distressing cross-hatching, CTMH ribbon
Stamp Sets: CTMH True Friends, Say It In Style, and and Card Sentiments (inside)

Felicity Birthday Card for an Old Friend

2010-03-03T05:00:00.000+09:00

I made this card for my oldest friend, who I met in 4th grade (we won't discuss just how many years ago that is). First, let me say that I am a horrible friend when it comes to writing, getting cards out on time, calling, even e-mailing. So A and I don't talk much, mostly just the occasional posts on Facebook. Last summer my husband, son and I went home to Florida for our vacation and tried to see all of our friends. The night we went out with A and her family was great. I think a good indicator of friendship is how easily you can pick right back up as though no time had passed. We had a great dinner, and then went back to her house where we hung out for hours talking as though we hadn't been away for nearly nine years. In the meantime, other than Christmas cards I have sent NO notes/letters/emails since we got back to California. With her birthday being at the beginning of the month, I am pretty much ALWAYS late getting her card in the mail, and this year is no exception (I may have got it out on time last year. Maybe.). If I'd finished two hours sooner, it might have made today's mail, and she might have received it on her birthday. Now, it will go out the day before her birthday and hopefully only be one day late.

I used the CTMH Felicity Collection (man, I wish those papers were still available), and the sketch for this 8 X 3 1/2" card is from Wishes by Jeanette Lynton.

Papers: CTMH Chocolate, Cocoa, Colonial White, and White Daisy cardstock, CTMH Felicity
Inks: CTMH Bamboo, Chocolate, and Twilight (inside)

Tools and Techniques: CTMH Half Pearls, sewing machine, second-generation stamping, direct-to-paper edge distressing cross-hatching, sponging
Stamp Sets: CTMH Felicity, Say It In Style, and and Card Sentiments (inside)

March 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!!

2010-03-01T11:00:00.000+09:00

The shortest month seemed to fly by even faster than usual this year. It's time for the March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. This month there are over 60 Close To My Heart consultants participating in our hop, featuring the March Stamp of the Month A Little Everything, a set of 26 stamps. This sentiment stamp set really does contain "a little everything", and the sentiments are all in our new Cocktail font. If you arrived from Chris' blog, you are on the right path. If not, no worries. Our hop is a round-robin, so you can jump in anywhere and enjoy the sights!

My card is a thank you card made following Sunday Sketch and Stamp Challenge #22, Crafty Creations Challenge #56 (cut it out and pop it up), Lexi's Creations Challenge #8 (anything goes), Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge #54 (All about me, using something you love, which is this case is 3-D Mounting Foam), Your Next Stamp Challenge #10 (Spring Colours), and Practical Scrappers challenge (stamps, I have had Cottage Floral for ages but had never used it). The really fun Cocktail font of the SOTM looks great with these cheery colors. Sorry the picture is a wee-bit fuzzy. I made this card because I needed a thank you card, so I took a quick picture and then put it in an envelope and sent it on it's way without checking the quality of the photo. Lesson learned.

Papers: CTMH Buttercup, Hollyhock, and White Daisy cardstock, CTMH Boom Di Ada
Inks: CTMH Autumn Terracotta, Buttercup, Garden Green, and Hollyhock

Tools and Techniques: Fiskars Threading Water border Punch, unknown ribbon, Marvy Uchida Giga Scalloped Circle and Mega Circle punches, direct-to-paper (aka "crosshatch") distressing, 3-D Mounting Foam
Stamp Sets: CTMH A Little Everything and Cottage Floral

Remember, A Little Everything is only available March 1-31st, 2010. Contact your Close To My Heart consultant or click here to find out how to get this stamp for a discounted price or even FREE!!

Now, hop on over to Jen's blog to see her fantastic creation!

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of hoppers on her blog.

Karate Ian Bookmark

2010-02-23T23:00:00.000+09:00

A few weeks ago, I made myself a magnetic bookmark. My son wanted me to make one for him also (he has been working his way through the Harry Potter books, and he frequently is reading more than one book at a time). So last night I bought Karate Anya and Karate Ian from The Greeting Farm (looks like Sparkle has enabled me to another line of stamps-she was one of the first to get me interested in Bellas also). I was a little worried about using digital "stamps", and I wondered if I would be able to use my Copic markers to color images printed on an inkjet printer. The great thing about these images is that you can re-size them without worry because they are really high resolution. So I printed 9 images on one sheet of paper, and let the ink dry while I made another card. I was quite pleased that the image didn't bleed when I colored it. It looks like I might be hooked. At least these won't require any storage space in my already-cramped stamp storage boxes. :) Obviously, I need lots of practice coloring hair.

Spring-y Mojo Birthday Card

2010-02-22T12:52:00.000+09:00

I'm on a roll today. I have to say, I really enjoy spending my entire Sunday in my pajamas. I'm glad I was able to get my roses trimmed yesterday, so I didn't have to get dressed today. So, this is card number two for today, made following Mojo Monday 126. Other challenges include Crafty Creations Challenge #55 (stitching), Pile It On challenge (flowers), and Your Next Stamp (Spring Colours). I'd also come across a challenge with plaid, but I can't seem to find it again.

Papers: CTMH White Daisy cardstock, Bazzill Cardstock, Basic Grey Lemonade
Inks: Copic Markers, CTMH Twilight

Tools and Techniques: Prima flowers Basic Grey Opaline Half Pearls, Nestabilities Petite Oval Large and Petite Scalloped Oval Large, Fiskars Threading Water border Punch, unknown ribbon, sewing machine, 3-D Mounting Foam
Stamp Sets: Hero Arts Sweet Wonderful You, CTMH Happy Birthday and Card Sentiments (inside)

Cute and Spring-y Birthday Card

2010-02-22T07:47:00.000+09:00

I'm still getting over the crud that has been going around, and I woke up with a headache, so I decided to scrap for a bit before hitting the gym (and DH hired a cleaning company that started two days ago and will come bi-weekly, so I don't feel obligated to be cleaning something right now). A few weeks ago I stopped at the Stampin' Post on my way home and bought the cutest little girl stamp set by Hero Arts. Which meant I needed more Copics to color them with. So I ordered 19 more from The Merri Artist (bringing my current total of Copic markers to 30), and was excited to get to break-in both of my new purchases. Friday evening I started coloring a few of the largest girl image, and today I am making cards with them. This is the first card, made for an upcoming birthday. This card was made following CPS sketch 154. Other challenges were OCC Something Old That's New, Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge (I LOVE using up stuff from my stash, and the paper, flowers and baubles have been in my stash for AGES), Pile it On (flowers), and Fun With Shapes and More challenge #41 (Spotted).

Papers: CTMH Orange and White Daisy cardstock, Sassafrass Sunshine Lollipops
Inks: Copic Markers

Tools and Techniques: Unknown flowers (whoever makes the monthly flowers, these are January Carnation and March Daffodil), Bella's Baubles
Stamp Sets: Hero A rts Sweet Wonderful You, CTMH Card Sentiments (inside)

At last!!!

2010-02-18T05:29:00.000+09:00

In December of 2008, I began working on a scrapbook for my father-in-law. It should have been easy, as I was using the (now retired) Magic Moments Scrapbook kit. Pre-printed layout pages, embellishments, directions, suggested photo sizes, really designed to make it easy. Well, I kept getting hung up on selecting photos, so it went untouched for a long time. But FINALLY, I completed the last page (which is actually the first page of the book) today [Note: "today" was actually January 6th 2010. It took me six more weeks to actually get the photos uploaded and the slideshow made, hence the mid-February post]. In addition to the Magic Moments kit, I put my Silhouette to use, cutting titles for several pages, and the bracketed square for the title page. I put some extra empty page protectors in the book, so that I can make and send layouts that he can simply slide in (always a good idea to keep things simple for those who aren't scrapbookers).

Sweet Sketch Wednesday Birthday Card

2010-02-16T16:24:00.000+09:00

While blurfing instead of cleaning, I happened upon Sweet Sketch Wednesday, and decided to use sketch #36 for a birthday card. I decided to go with colors outside of my normal comfort zone, and have fun with it. I think this turned out pretty cute. This is also for Pile It On challenge (flowers) and PaperPlay Challenge (Birthday for someone special).

Papers: CTMH Watermelon cardstock, Sassafrass Sunshine Lollipops
Inks: CTMH Cocoa, Garden Green, Twilight, and Watermelon

Tools and Techniques: Nestabilities die with Cuttlebug, second-generation stamping, 3-D Mounting foam, Zots, Xyron 150, unknown ribbon
Stamp Sets: CTMH With Love and Happy Birthday

Bright Mojo Birthday card with a cut-out

2010-02-15T13:58:00.000+09:00

I followed this week's Mojo Monday sketch to make a birthday card for another karate mom. I was inspired to use a white hibiscus with a pink center, as that is her profile photo on Facebook. Using the flower was also how this card meets the Pile It On challenge (Let us see flowers!). I chose Watermelon to be the shade of pink I used, and I used the CTMH Color Combo site to come up with the coordinating colors. Two bright cards in a row for me (although they won't be posted in order), and I like it!! I guess I'm feeling ready for summer. I know I'm ready to be over this nasty winter cold.

Papers: CTMH Sunkiss Yellow and White Daisy cardstock, CTMH Watermelon and White Daisy Textured Cardstock, CTMH Emporium
Inks: CTMH Garden Green and Watermelon

Tools and Techniques: Silhouette Machine (flower), Cuttlebug, Happy Birthday embossing folder (which I rubbed the Watermelon ink pad over the front part of the folder before putting the paper in and running through the machine), Wright's ribbon, 3-D Mounting Foam, sponging.
Stamp Sets: CTMH Happy Birthday and True Friends

Close To My Heart has the Textured Cardstock combo packages buy one get one free for the month of February, PLUS they will donate $2 to Operation Smile's Haiti relief efforts from each offer purchased. Visit my website for more details, or to place an order. Buy one get one free AND helping a good cause, you can't beat that!!!!

What to do with those beautiful cards

2010-02-14T14:19:00.000+09:00

I always keep the wonderful handmade cards that I receive, but usually they are in a file or a pile (for a while, makes me smile, like a crocodile...oh, sorry, didn't mean to get all rhyme-y on you). Not very neat, and not easy to look at. Well, I totally copied Sue's idea to scrap them. That is a perfect plan. Now, these wonderful cards are preserved so I can look back at them, and they aren't shoved in a box and constantly being moved when I *try* to get all of my scrap stuff organized. I think the card layouts will be a nice addition to the Christmas layouts (whenever I get around to getting THOSE finished).

Papers: CTMH Creme Brulee cardstock, DCWV textured cardstock, CTMH Jingle
Inks: CTMH Tulip, CTMH markers for journaling

Tools and Techniques: Silhouette Machine ("Season's Greetings" title), 2 page layout from CK Sketches January 2010
Stamp Sets: CTMH Made by Me

For these layouts, I wanted to try to make use of the pages in the DCWV stack that are meant to be used whole. Not something I normally do, and a bit of a challenge with cards (especially considering the unusual sizes of several of them), but I think I like how it turned out. I probably could have done more in some of the white (green) space, but I didn't want to detract from the cards. All I added was a strip of coordinating paper (also from the stack) and a little bit of bling.

Papers: DCWV Holiday Collection The Christmas Stack
Inks: Micron journaling pen

Tools and Techniques: CTMH Sparkles, Nicole Crafts rhinestones, CM number stickers, Snowflake brads (maybe MM?)

First Christmas cards of 2010

2010-02-08T08:52:00.000+09:00

Even without taking college classes this semester, 2010 has started out VERY busy for me. Before creating these two identical cards, my scrapping total for 2010 was 4 pages, 3 cards and two altered items. I really should have been cleaning, doing laundry, trimming my rose bushes or working out at the gym instead of scrapping, but sometimes a girl just HAS to scrap!!! I am really hoping to have a productive week and get my March cards made, but I won't be holding my breath. :) My January and February cards never ended up being made, so I know better!

I made this card following Mojo Monday sketch 124, Sparkle's 2010 Christmas Card Challenge Week #10 (use red and blue), and Cute Card Thursday Challenge 98 (Spots and Dots).

Papers: CTMH Star Spangled Blue cardstock, DCWV Holiday Collection The Christmas Stack, other cardstock
Inks: CTMH Bamboo, Chocolate, Outdoor Denim

Tools and Techniques: Marvy Uchida Punches, CTMH ricrac ribbon, direct-to-paper ink distressing, 3-D Mounting Foam
Stamp Sets: CTMH Heartfelt Christmas and CTMH Just for the Holidays

February 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2010-02-01T11:00:00.000+09:00

The first month of 2010 has FLOWN by! Time for the February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. If you just arrived from Lori's blog, you are on the right path. This month there are over 70 Close To My Heart consultants participating in our blog hop. We are featuring the February 2010 Stamp of the Month Piece of Cake, a set of 10 stamps. This set consists of adorable cakes on platters along with some sentiments that will work great for cards and other projects. And with so many participants, there are bound to be lots of adorable projects that you ( and I!!!!) will want to do for ourselves.

My project is a rather simple (but useful) one. I've been reading a lot lately, both pleasure reading and professional reading. On more than one occasion my bookmark has slipped out of my book, causing me to have a spend a few minutes searching for my place. So I decided to make a magnetic book mark. The first step was to cut a piece of cardstock slightly more than twice my desired finished size. I then scored it across the middle (just like you would score to fold a card). I then took the folded cardstock and cut it using a Nestabilities die (make sure that you place it in the die so that the fold doesn't get cut by the die).

I put the two magnetic disks together, and adhered to the back of one side of the cardstock (what would be the inside of the "card"). Then I closed the card to adhere the second disk to other side, which helped to make sure that the disks were properly lined up.

The cake image was stamped twice, once on white, and once on patterned paper. Both images were cut out, the patterned paper was adhered over the white paper, and I colored in parts of the image. The paper-pieced image was then adhered to the "front" of the bookmark, and I ran the whole thing (in the open position) through my Xyron with dual-sided lamination cartridge to laminate the bookmark (this will not only help it to last longer than bare cardstock, but will also ensure that your magnetic disks don't come unattached). Trim away the excess lamination, and your bookmark is ready for lots of use. I have found that if you intend to laminate something with a fold, it seems to work better to create the fold before you laminate the item.

Papers: CTMH Garden Green cardstock, CTMH That's Amore
Inks: CTMH Chocolate, CTMH markers Garden Green and Tulip

Tools and Techniques: Paper piecing, Nestabilities Labels Eight, Cuttlebug, Xyron lamination, Basic Grey magnetic disks
Stamp Set: Piece of Cake

I have to say, I find it highly amusing that I am using this really *cute* bookmark in a book about a Parachute Infantry Regiment company in World War II.

Remember, Piece of Cake is only available February 1-28, 2010. Contact your Close To My Heart consultant, or click here, to order one for yourself.

Now hop on over to Laura's blog to see what she has created!

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list on her blog.

Card for multiple challenges

2010-01-29T01:24:00.000+09:00

It had been a while since I had been able to scrap, so today when I sat down to scrap I went challenge hunting. This card was made following the sketch at Friday Sketchers, Challenge 2 at Raise the Bar (use something that was given to you), Cute Card Thursday Challenge 96 (use a fairy image), Papertake Weekly Challenge (predominately pink card), Doodle Palace Challenge (pink and bling), and A Spoonful of Sugar challenge (lots of layering). The Tinkerbella image was given to me, and the rest is pretty self-explanatory.

Papers: CTMH Blush and Sweet Leaf cardstock, MM patterned paper
Inks: CTMH Sweet Leaf, CTMH markers in Blush, Buttercup and Sweet Leaf, Copic marker

Embellishments: Prima Flowers, CTMH Rhinestone Flowers, CTMH Bitty Sparkles, MM buttons, Prisma glitter

Tools and Techniques: Nestabilities Classic Petite Rectangles, 3-D Mounting Foam, Sponging, Watercolor
Stamp Sets: TinkerBella

Mojo Valentine

2010-01-25T13:15:00.000+09:00

Today was only the second day this year that I've been able to scrap. I actually made three scrapbook pages, two cards and one altered item (that's a lot for me). One of the cards I made was a Valentine for my husband, which I made following Mojo Monday week 122 sketch.

Papers: CTMH Amethyst and Breeze cardstock, MM patterned papers, unknown textured cardstock
Inks: CTMH Amethyst and Breeze

Embellishments: CTMH White Daisy grosgrain ribbon

Tools and Techniques: Nestabilities Classic Scalloped Ovals, 3-D Mounting Foam, direct-to-paper ink distressing
Stamp Sets: Heartthrob

Scrapping Goals for 2010

2010-01-02T10:15:00.000+09:00

My scrapping totals for 2009 were 88 pages, 116 cards and 22 altered items. My scrapping goals for 2010 are 100 pages and 200 cards. I won't bother setting an altered item goal, I'll just do those as needed or wanted. I think (because of my move to Okinawa) I will end up taking a break from scrapping in the late spring/early summer. But I intend to resume as soon as possible. I am also thinking that once in Okinawa I would like to set up a monthly (or twice-monthly) cardmaking group, and also maybe a scrap group (although, I'm sure B and I will get lots of scrapping-and wine drinking-done). I think I may also look into making items to sell at the craft fairs in Oki. Maybe I'll be able to break even with my scrapping expenditures. Okay, probably not even close, but a girl can dream. I also want to post artwork to my blog at least twice a week. Finish my Okinawa 2006/2007 scrapbook (which is already over one volume). Get my son's school scrapbooking caught up. I did have all of my Christmas cards for 2009 complete by December 1st (getting them in the mail was a different story), and I want to do that again this year. Use my Silhouette (and my other tools, for that matter) more often. USE my stash instead of increasing its size. What are your scrapping goals for 2010?

January 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2010-01-01T11:00:00.000+09:00

Happy New Year!!! I am amazed that 2009 has come and gone so quickly. We have arrived at the first blog hop for 2010. If you just arrived from Antoinette's blog, you are on the right path. This month there are over 50 Close To My Heart consultants participating in our blog hop. We are featuring the January 2010 Stamp of the Month True Friends, a set of 11 stamps. This set consists of cute frames, brackets and sentiments, and will be fantastic for making cards for friends.

I decided to use this set to make an anniversary card for my husband. I followed the sketch from Mojo Monday Week 119. Something I tried for the first time was using re-inker and rubbing alcohol to dye the crocheted flower to match the card (the Vineyard Berry flower, while lighter than the paper, matches much better in person. It just didn't photograph well). I mixed 15 drops of re-inker with about a capful of alcohol, mixed and then dipped the flower in the mixture. I set the flower on paper towels and squeezed most of the liquid out, and then finished drying it with my heat gun. You can adjust the color by using more or less re-inker. I used alcohol instead of water simply because it dries faster.

Papers: CTMH Colonial White and Sweet Leaf cardstock, CTMH Emporium
Inks: CTMH Sweet Leaf, Cocoa, and Vineyard Berry

Embellishments: CTMH Crochet Flowers, CTMH Twilight Corduroy brad

Tools and Techniques: Nestabilities Classic Scalloped Rectangles Small, 3-D Mounting Foam, Re-inker dying of Crochet Flower
Stamp Sets: True Friends and From Me to You

Now hop on over to Barbra's blog to see what she has created.

If you find any broken links along the way, Jena has the complete list of participants on her blog.

December Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2009-12-01T11:00:00.000+09:00

Welcome to the December Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! If you just arrived from Laura's blog, you are on the right path.

This month there are over 60 Close To My Heart consultants participating. We are featuring the December Stamp of the Month Notice the Details, a set of 41 stamps. I can't wait to see the various projects that all of the participants will be showing. This set has a lot of potential for some fun projects.

The title of this stamp set made me think about my Project 365. Let's just say I haven't kept up with that the way I'd intended. But this set is exactly what Project 365 is about--noticing the little everyday things, and keeping track of it. I used this set in my layout for the week of Spring Break. I took the week off of work to spend with my son. We had a fun week, doing a bunch of little things. I'm glad that I was able to spend that time with him, and even happier that I documented it.

Papers: CTMH Colonial White, Sweet Leaf and Twilight cardstock
Inks: CTMH Sweet Leaf and Twilight

Techniques: Second-generation stamping
Stamp Sets: Notice the Details, Friendship Alphabet, April Word Puzzle, and Today's Date

And, because I know someone will ask, yes that is a giant rattlesnake in the picture. Photo is at the very bottom of the post (so if you're squeamish, don't scroll past the link to the next blog).

Remember, Notice the Details is only available December 1st-31st, 2009. Contact your Close To My Heart consultant, or click here, to order one for yourself.

Now hop on over to Katy's blog to see what she has created!

If you find any broken links along the way, Jena has the complete list on her blog.

Giant snake photo below

Do you really want to see it?

Don't say I didn't warn you...

Seriously, you've been warned.

Last chance....

Now imagine trying to take a picture of a flower and hearing your little one say "mom, there's a snake", and then turning to see this thing about 6-8 feet away from your kid. Good thing I'm not a screamer... If I hadn't stopped to take that flower picture, I would have walked within striking distance of that thing.

Card for a friend

2009-11-21T17:00:00.000+09:00

My friend Sue recently had a surgery, which has left her in a lot of pain (too much even to scrap some days). I wanted to send a gift and a card to let her know that I'm thinking about her. I made this card following Mojo Monday sketch 108. Sue loves all things Asian, so I wanted to use my Far East stack for this card. She also loves the Temecula Olive Oil Company, so I picked up something for her there.

Papers: CTMH Cardstock (Indian Corn Blue and White Daisy), DCWV Far East stack

Ink: CTMH Indian Corn Blue

Ribbon: White Organdy (JoAnn)

Flowers: Prima

Brad: Making Memories (??)

Tools and Techniques: Second-generation stamping

Feel Better Soon, Sue!!

Blog Candy ends tonight at Midnight Eastern

2009-11-16T07:09:00.000+09:00

Look what I found while blurfing (isn't that a cute term? I totally stole it from Vicki.) today...Jacque's Joie de Vivre. She's giving away fantastic blog candy with lots of goodies for making Christmas cards, but you have to leave a comment by midnight eastern TONIGHT!!!

Postcard Sketch Inspiration Challenge Christmas Card

2009-11-15T06:41:00.000+09:00

I needed to take a break from my homework, so I thought I'd try the OCC challenge. This week's challenge is a sketch inspiration challenge for a postcard. I think it turned out cute, and was a pretty quick (for me) card.

Papers: CTMH cardstock, DCWV Holiday Collection The Christmas Stack

Inks: CTMH Bamboo, Cranberry, Desert Sand, and Ponderosa Pine

Stamps: CTMH No Peeking, Vintage Christmas, and Friendship Alphabet Small

Embellishments: Prima flowers, Making Memories Crystal Brads

Tools and Techniques: Direct-to-paper ink distressing

This is yet another card for Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge (woohoo, number three for the week!!!).

I guess I have to get back to the homework...

That was easy

2009-11-11T11:42:00.000+09:00

Now I have the voice from the easy button going through my head. But the sketch at Card Positioning Systems was very simple. So in a quick few minutes, with no stamping and nothing complicated, I made this cute card. Who says you have to make a complicated card to make a nice card??? Not me.

Papers: DCWV Holiday Collection The Christmas Stack, CTMH cardstock Topiary and Holiday Red
Ribbon: Michael's
Brad: Creative Imaginations
Tools and Techniques: 3-D Mounting Foam

I guess that means one more for Sparkle's Christmas card challenge as well!

Mojo Christmas cards

2009-11-10T13:54:00.000+09:00

Woohoo, today is (I think) only the second time I've actually made the Mojo Monday card on Monday. I might even be one of the first 50 to post my card. I made two, so that ups my Christmas card total by two. I really think I will have my Christmas cards done by December 1st (Thank You Sparkle for the Christmas card challenge). This card follows Mojo Monday sketch 112.

Paper: DCWV Holiday Collection The Christmas Stack, CTMH cardstock Topiary and Tulip

Inks: CTMH Topiary, Versamark

Stamps: CTMH Just for the Holidays

Ribbon: Michael's

Tools and Techniques: Nestabilities Circle and Classic Scalloped Circle Small, CTMH 1/4" long reach punch, heat embossing, 3-D Mounting squares

All Boxed Up Card set

2009-11-06T15:12:00.000+09:00

I found a great template for a card box from Lauren Meader at Papertrey Ink. You can purchase the template here. I made a set of assorted cards following the September '09 PageMaps sketches. This is a fun and quick (and useful) gift to make.

Paper: CTMH Emporium, CTMH Cardstock

Inks: CTMH
Stamps: CTMH Thank You, CTMH Many Thanks, CTMH Connections, CTMH Treetops

Ribbon: CTMH Cocoa, Vineyard Berry (from Emporium Creative Basics) and White Daisy Ricrac

Tools and Techniques: Fiskars Threading Water punch, Marvy Uchida circle and scalloped circle punch.

It's a Stampaganza!

2009-11-03T12:24:00.000+09:00

Whether you're a long-time fan of stamps or are just venturing into this fun hobby, now is the perfect time to grab some My Acrylix® decorative stamp sets! From November 3–30, 2009, when you purchase any two stamp sets (sizes A, B, C, D, and/or E only) at full retail price you will receive a third stamp set of your choice FREE (of equal or lesser value)— a savings of up to $22.95! Choose from any stamp set offered in any 2009 Idea Book or the current Product Review.

Take advantage of this month’s great offer to add to your assortment of these innovative stamps. Don't forget to check out the section for retiring stamps on my website, so you can get your favorite stamp before it retires December 31st!

What are the details you ask??

- This special is available from 9 a.m. MST on November 3rd through November 30th 2009.

- You may choose your FREE set from any current stamp set we sell (excluding E-size, customizable (K), Art & Soul®, Workshops on the Go™ and Stamp of the Month) that is of equal or lesser value than the LOWEST PRICED set that you purchase.

- The full retail value of the FREE stamp set can vary up to $22.95.

- No tax is charged on FREE stamp sets. For Gathering and Individual orders, shipping/handling is always charged based on the full retail value of the item. For EZ Invite and MyCTMH orders, shipping/handling is charged based on the weight of the item.

- You will receive your choice of a free stamp set after every two sets you purchase at full retail price. The free sets will ALWAYS* be the smallest sized sets in your order. For example, if you plan to get four D-sized sets and 2 B-sized sets, the two B-sized sets will be the free sets. (*I'm all about the customer service. Email me to make your order the best it can be for YOU.)

Check out my website to view the catalog. You can place your order online or by email.

November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2009-11-01T15:00:00.000+09:00

Welcome to the November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! If you just arrived from Kristie's blog, you are on the right path.

This month there are over 60 Close To My Heart consultants participating. We are featuring the November Stamp of the Month, Around the Block, a set of 26 stamps. Take your time enjoying all of the wonderful artwork for display that has been created using this fun stamp set. I know I can't wait, because someone always makes something totally outside the box, and I always look forward to finding that item.

I made a gift card holder using this set. It is a 3X6 inch card, but instead of opening, the house slides up to reveal the gift card inside.

The card base was made from a 3 X 12 inch piece of cardstock, scored at 6 inches and folded like a top-fold card. The Jingle Creative Basics paper was adhered to the front.

Next, I created the houses by stamping in Versamark on chocolate cardstock and embossing with white embossing powder. I made one complete house, one roof, and one roofless house. The pieces were cut out, leaving tabs at the bottom of the complete house. After cutting out the pieces, I sponged them with Chocolate ink. The roofless house was adhered to the front of the card. I then used the top of the house as a guide to cut through the front of the card (extending a little bit beyond the edge of the house, which is necessary so the house will slide with the gift card attached). Next I adhered a piece of Juniper grosgrain ribbon (from the Jingle Creative Basics) to the back of the complete house, making a loop at the top and wrapping about 1/2 inch of the ribbon onto the front of the house at the bottom. Then the house was slid through the slit in the front of the card. After sliding the house up all the way to determine whether I needed to trim the height of the tabs, I mounted the roof piece to the sliding house using 3-D Mounting Foam. One more function check, and then I sealed the edges of the card shut with adhesive (being careful to keep the adhesive out of the path of travel for the tabs on the sliding house). Pull up the house, and mount the gift card using glue dots. You may want to check how well your house slides with the gift card attached before sealing the card base. If it is too tight. simply extend your slit a little bit more.

Fully extended, without gift card attached.

Remember, Around the Block is only available November 1st-30th. If you would like to find out how to get this stamp set at a discount or maybe even FREE, contact your Close To My Heart consultant, or check out my website.

Now hop on over to Adeline's blog to see her wonderful creation!

If you find any broken links along the way, Jena has the complete list on her blog.

A Season That Sparkles

2009-10-13T12:22:00.000+09:00

As I was clicking links on blogs this past weekend, I happened upon Flourishes. They had a post with the cutest card that had a chair that had been fabric-pieced. Very cool. So I kept reading and saw the Season That Sparkles challenge. Woohoo, an excuse to pull out my box-o-bling (yes, I really do have a box-o-bling. It is GOLD! It is a box I saved from my chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies that I brought back from Big Island Candies when I went to Hawaii. One day I will even cut a title for it on my Silhouette. And decorate it with more BLING! Oops, sorry, I went off on a tangent again.) and get SPARKLE-Y!

I decided to go ahead a try out the tri-shutter card I have been seeing so many of lately. Not too difficult, but the tutorial I found had a few of the measurements off. As long as I remember that for the next time, I'm good. The completed card is standard A2 size.

Papers: CTMH cardstock, CTMH Jingle Creative Basics
Inks: CTMH Chocolate, Juniper, Olive, Tulip
Stamp sets: CTMH Heartfelt Christmas, CTMH Card Chatter-Christmas
Tools and Techniques: Nestabilities Classic Oval Large, Martha Stewart Snowflake punches, CTMH Sparkles (there are 24 of those tiny things floating around the Christmas tree), Stampendous! Crystal Snow glitter in White (which was applied by running the snowflakes through my Xyron, then pouring the glitter over the adhesive--it doesn't tend to fall off using this technique)

Card open

Close up of the tree. There are 24 tiny little sparkles on there.

Close up of some of the snowflakes. The glitter doesn't photograph well, but it is definitely there.

View of the open card from above.

Christmas Stickease

2009-10-12T03:44:00.001+09:00

Well, so much for homework. I procrastinated just a little bit more to make this card. I followed the Mojo Monday sketch 107 for this Christmas card. I was troubled to find (after planning the card in my head before dragging everything over to the table) that I was out of Ponderosa Pine cardstock. So I improvised by using the back side of the polka-dotted paper from the Holiday Creative Basics pack (which is from before CTMH put patterns on both sides of the Background and Texture [B&T] paper). And I did NO stamping on this card (although I did use my stamp pads for ink distressing). The image on the scalloped circle and the patterned piece across the width of the card are both from the Everlasting My Stickease pack.

Autumn Many Thanks Card

2009-10-11T09:45:00.001+09:00

I had to get my scrapping fix in today, so I checked out the sketch challenge at OCC. I wanted to break in one of my (too many) stamp sets that I got this week, so decided on a thank you card. I also wanted to kick out a bunch of Christmas cards, but I don't see that happening today. I still have homework to do. :(

Stamps: CTMH Many Thanks
Papers: CTMH cardstock, CTMH Enchanted
Inks: CTMH Autumn Terracotta, Garden Green, Smoky Plum and Sunflower
Techniques: DTP ink distressing, emboss resist
Other: 3-D Foam mounting squares, Marvy Uchida scalloped punch, MM spirals

Pilin' it on

2009-10-05T12:19:00.001+09:00

Wow, I finished my homework assignments and had them turned in before dinner tonight, so I had time to scrap. I decided to work on a Christmas card, so I checked out Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge for this week. She challenged us to use something that was given to us. This was a difficult challenge for me, I buy EVERYTHING (don't worry, DH doesn't read my blog :) ). But, I also decided to try to work in another challenge or two. I ended up with a total of FOUR challenges for this card: Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge #44, Amy's Friday sketch from a few weeks ago at Prairie Paper and Ink, Monochromatic Mania from Our Creative Corner, and the Pile it On Challenge #18 (Three Dimensional--I know, real toughy for me, right??? LOL).

Papers: CTMH cardstock, CTMH Perfect Day, Scribble Scrabble Rosy Winter Wonderland
Inks: CTMH Sorbet and Tulip, CTMH markers, Copic markers
Stamps: Cosmobella, CTMH Annotations, CTMH December Word Puzzle
Techniques: Sponging, watercoloring
Dies and Punches: Nestabilities Classic Scalloped Circle Small and Standard Circle Small, Martha Stewart Snowflake

So, let's cover how I met each challenge. The Bella image I received in a swap. I followed Amy's sketch (with minor liberties-the extra snowflakes at the top). The colors used were Barn Red, Tulip, and Sorbet (I think it qualifies as monochromatic). I mounted the sentiment circle with 3-D Mounting Foam (of course!), and added some vellum snowflakes that were cut with a Martha Stewart punch. The two on the sentiment circle were mounted on the circle with glue dots. The three up top were mounted using glue dots and clear buttons (one has no button, one is mounted on one button, and the last is mounted on two buttons that are stacked on top of each other to give extra height).

Now I should try to clean up some of this scrap stuff that seems to have found its way onto every surface in my scrap room...

National Cardmaking Day

2009-10-04T08:22:00.000+09:00

Today is National Cardmaking Day, so I had an ~~excuse~~ reason to tear myself away from my Business Management paper to make a card. Technically, this card is related to my Business Management paper. The paper is based on an interview that we had to do with a business owner. So I chose a local business (Truly Madly Sweetly Bakeshop, which has the most delicious cupcakes and mini cheesecakes) to do an interview with. I was so pleased when the owner agreed to sit down with me. Because she was such a fantastic lady (as well as a fantastic pastry chef), the chat was really easy for me. So, I was going to write her a thank you note, and then I remembered that today was National Cardmaking Day, and instead decided to make a card. The inspiration for this card is from the colors of her shop (white and light pink, with striped walls up top). I followed Mojo Monday Week 106 sketch.

Stamps: Cupcakeabella, CTMH Thank You
Papers: CTMH cardstock (Blush, Chocolate, Hollyhock), CTMH More to Adore
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, CTMH markers, Copic markers, CTMH Hollyhock, Prismacolor marker
Embellishments: CTMH ribbon, CTMH brad (Cranberry), Liquid Applique, Round sticker from More to Adore Stickease
Techniques: Paper piecing, heat gun-puffed Liquid Applique, shadowing with Cool Grey marker

Here is a closer view of the cupcake. I was careful to keep the Liquid Applique off of the stamped lines of the icing so they would show when it was finished. To puff up the Liquid Applique, simply use your heat gun just as you would for heat embossing. The sticker stamped with "Thank You" was mounted on a 3-D foam mounting square. To remove the stickiness from the back of the sticker, I simply sprinkled it with baby powder and tapped off the excess. That way it won't stick to the card when I mail it.

October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2009-10-01T15:01:00.000+09:00

It's time to blog hop! If you've just arrived here from Wanda's blog, you are on the right path.

Wow, this year is 75% over! We're getting SO close to Christmas. What a perfect time for the October Stamp of the Month, Holiday Warmth. That is the stamp set that over 60 Close To My Heart consultants will be featuring in our October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. This month we've shaken things up a bit and broken the hop down into three mini-hops. There will be a link to each of the other groups at the end of my post. This month's SOTM is a set of 11 stamps, and is perfect for your Christmas card making.

For these cards, I used one of the workshops in Wishes by Jeanette Lynton. I went for a rustic look with these cards, using Desert Sand cardstock for the base, along with Cranberry, Bamboo and Ponderosa Pine.

Papers: Bamboo, Cranberry, and Desert Sand cardstock
Inks: Cranberry, Desert Sand and Ponderosa Pine
Techniques: Direct-to-paper
Stamp Sets: Holiday Warmth, Card Chatter-Christmas, Just For the Holidays (holly leaves and berries)

Papers: Bamboo, Cranberry, and Desert Sand cardstock
Inks: Bamboo, Cranberry, Desert Sand and Ponderosa Pine, Cranberry Exclusive Inks Marker
Techniques: Direct-to-paper, accent coloring
Stamp Sets: Holiday Warmth

Papers: Bamboo, Cranberry, and Desert Sand cardstock
Inks: Cranberry, Desert Sand and Ponderosa Pine
Techniques: Direct-to-paper, accent coloring, any color heat embossing, sponging
Stamp Sets: Holiday Warmth, Evergreen

Remember, the October Stamp of the Month is only available from October 1st through 31st. Contact your Close To My Heart consultant, or click here to find out how to get this stamp set for a discount or maybe even for free.

Now hop on over to Susan's blog to check out her artwork.

Blog hop group 1.

Blog hop group 2.

Everyday Celebration

2009-09-15T03:06:00.000+09:00

To celebrate National Stamping Month, Close To My Heart has a wonderful promotion featuring the Everyday Celebration card kit. This kit comes with an exclusive D-sized stamp set (only available with this kit), 16 Colonial White card bases (with a fantastic bracket-shaped edge) and matching envelopes, cardstock, B&T Duos papers, two mini distressing inks, Mini-Medley Accents Shades of Chocolate collection, ribbon, 3-D foam squares, a sponge and full-color directions for creating the 16 cards. You can purchase the kit for only $39.95, or you can earn it for free by purchasing $60 in stamp sets (sizes A, B, C, D, and E only) by September 30th, by hosting a gathering with at least $400 in sales by September 30th, or by signing up as a new consultant by September 30th. Additionally, there is a daily drawing for a free kit, and each day that you place an order you are entered in that day's drawing.

These are the cards made following the guide. 16 cards, embellished and decorated inside as well. Aren't the colors fantastic?

These are the leftovers. Plenty of scraps left to do a layout or a bunch more cards, even some embellishments left.

The guide and the stamp set. I can see this set getting a lot of use.

If you want to get one of these kits, check out my website.

Cheer-y birthday card

2009-09-14T02:45:00.000+09:00

I made a birthday card for my friend J, which I of course failed to get in the mail in time for her birthday. And to make matters even better, I forgot to sign it (which I realized right as I dropped it in the mailbox). There should be no doubt in anyone's mind about whether or not I am a true blonde...

This card followed the sketch from Mojo Turns 100 Day 6. There was another challenge for decorating the inside of your card, but I seem to have misplaced that. The circle of Emporium patterned paper on the inside of the card is the scrap leftover from this Thank You card I made for the September SOTM blog hop. I hate when pretty paper goes to waste, so I was quite glad to be able to put that scrap to use.

Papers: CTMH Emporium, CTMH cardstock
Inks: CTMH, Copic markers, CTMH markers
Ribbon: CTMH Cocoa grosgrain Stamps: Stamping Bella (image received in swap), CTMH Ring in the Year, CTMH Card Sentiments (retired) Tools and Techniques: Fiskars Threading Water punch, Nestabilities Circle and Scalloped Circle, sponging, direct-to-paper ink distressing, 3-D Foam mounting squares

Birthday Card for MIL

2009-09-13T22:32:00.000+09:00

So yesterday I realized that (holy cow!) September is nearly half over. Where has this year gone? I also realized that my MIL's birthday is coming up next week (nice of my husband to remind me--NOT) and I needed to make a card. I combined two challenges for this card, Mojo Monday 103 sketch and Cute Card Thursday Challenge 77 (color challenge-use pink and green). Actually, I had come across a third challenge that was to decorate the inside of your card, but I seem to have misplaced that one.

Papers: Basic Grey Eva, Bazzil cardstock
Inks: CTMH
Ribbon: CTMH
Stamps: CTMH Gracious Greetings
Tools and Techniques: Nestabilities Label , sponging, 3-D Foam mounting squares, Prima Flower

I also made some Christmas cards that will be in another post. I'm trying to complete as many cards as I can before I get back into having to do school work.

September Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2009-09-01T15:01:00.000+09:00

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring the September SOTM, which is Treasures, a set of 13 stamps. If you have come here from Kristie's blog, you are on the right path!

This month we have over 60 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the September SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This hop is simple to follow - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I made a 6X6 Thank You card, following the Open Outline pattern from Wishes Card Confidence Program. As usual, I took slight liberties with the sketch. Instead of adhering the vellum to the inside of the back of the card, I adhered it to the inside of the front. The vellum was random stamped in White Daisy ink, which I set using my Craft Heater (caution - when using your craft heater to set the ink on vellum, make sure you don't get the heater too close, and keep it moving so you don't scorch the vellum). The card base is Sweet Leaf cardstock, and the patterned paper is from the Emporium Level 2 Paper Pack. Circles were cut out using Coluzzle Circle Template. The patterned paper was sponged around the edges with Twilight ink, and the Sweet Leaf cardstock was sponged around the inside of the circle opening using Sweet Leaf ink. The sentiment on the inside was stamped using Twilight ink. The White Daisy circle was cut with Nestabilities, sponged with Bamboo ink while still in the die and the image was second generation stamped in Twilight ink. The scalloped circle was also cut with a Nestabilities die. The scalloped circle was mounted using 3-D Mounting Foam. The adhesive pearls in the top left corner are the new-for-Autumn Connections Club award, available exclusively through your Close To My Heart consultant.

Now "Hop" on over to Wanda's blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some other fun ideas! Remember, the September SOTM is only available until September 30th! Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

For a complete list of participating blogs for this month's blog hop, visit Jena's blog.

Semper Fi

2009-08-27T13:43:00.001+09:00

For the last several months, I have been secretly (well, not really secretly, just secretly for the friend we were making it for) working on a scrapbook with a friend. This was truly a world-wide project, as we had to send pieces of layouts to Okinawa, Afghanistan, Iraq, Hawaii, and all around the continental U.S. for this project. This album was to be a retirement gift for someone who has had a tremendous impact on many lives. Today we presented the album to MSgt Pearson, who will retire December 31st after 20 years of faithful service in the Marine Corps. Her influence will be felt for years to come, and she will be terribly missed.

Papers: CTMH, and miscellaneous cardstocks and patterned papers
Inks: CTMH, and my inkjet printer
Stamps: CTMH, and some stamps I purchased at Shuri-jo Castle
Embellishments: tons. MM brads, Prima flowers, others.
Titles were cut with my Silhouette
Interactive pages: Foto Flaps. Also, matted pictures were laminated in Xyron, and a piece of a transparency was cut, scored to make a "tent", and adhered to the layout and the matted photo using Terrifically Tacky tape (normal adhesives would not keep the transparency and lamination stuck together). Page protectors were cut with Xacto knife to allow the flap to stick through and be interactive.

August Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2009-08-01T16:00:00.000+09:00

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring August's SOTM,which is It's Your Day, a set of 26 stamps. If you have come here from Carol's Blog, you are on the right path! If this is your first stop, you may want to go back to Jena's Blog and start from the beginning!

This month we have 63 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

Here we go!

Funny story about this card. July was the first blog hop I participated in. Since I was going on vacation, I needed to get my card done early. So, going from memory, I grabbed my "July" stamp of the month, and commenced to making a really cute card. It used "Fold Back" pattern from the old CTMH Originals Card Confidence Program, Animal Cookies Creative Basics papers, Clover Meadow and White Daisy cardstock. Lots of Dutch Blue eyelets were used, some White Daisy ricrac on the insert part of the card. The stamping was done in Tulip ink, and the White Daisy insert piece was direct to paper ink distressed with Sunflower ink. The "party" image was mounted using 3-d Mounting foam. As you can see, I'm describing my AUGUST Stamp of the Month card. In my glorious blondness, I had made my August card for July. Luckily, I checked the Idea Book the day before I left for Florida, otherwise I would have had a really red face for that hop! Don't tell anyone about my blonde moment, okay??

Now "Hop" on over to Chris's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the August SOTM is only available until August 31! Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

The one I wish I didn't need to make

2009-07-29T14:01:00.000+09:00

I wish it could have been the congratulations card it was supposed to be.

Our Creative Corner sketch challenge was followed for this card. This isn't the best quality picture, it is hard to see the very light small flower silhouette on the right of the stamped image. I stamped it light intentionally, I suppose to be somewhat symbolic. This was probably the worst I have ever felt about making a card.

Birthday card for my baby...

2009-07-18T10:31:00.000+09:00

...who turned 9 today. I can't believe how the time flies. It is hard to believe that he will be starting 4th grade next month. Soon, he will be a teenager...ugh. Let's not think about that right now. This is supposed to be a happy day.

I made this last night, and attached it to his bedroom door in a clear envelope so he would find it when he woke up this morning (I had to leave for work WAY before he woke up).

I used the Tinkerin' paper pack, with Sunflower, Twilight and Clover Meadow cardstock. Stamps used were Happy Birthday and Solo 9. The nine I actually reverse stamped and cut out on the Twilight cardstock, then decided to color it with the Twilight ink (the only ink I used) anyway. Did you know that you can reverse a stamp image by inking a stamp, rolling a brayer over it and the rolling the brayer on a sheet of paper?? Voila, your image is now backwards! This was my first time doing that technique, and it turned out to be unnecessary. But it was VERY easy to do, and is a technique I am sure to use again. The Clover Meadow cardstock was ink distressed with Twilight, and the star brad came from my stash. And, of course, the 9 was mounted with 3-D Mounting Foam. I had intended to use a sketch to make his card, then I started flipping through Wishes Card Confidence Program and saw a card I thought would work and used it as a sketch instead of following the details exactly. I'm really excited to get time to go through Wishes and make some of the cards, but I don't think I will have much scrap time until the end of August.

Wedding card

2009-07-12T06:01:00.000+09:00

I'm getting ready to go to another wedding today. So of course I needed to make a card. This morning. After returning from the gym. If it wasn't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done. Please don't ask the status on my homework. Anyway, this morning I came across a new-to-me blog (Crafts-International) that had a big list of challenges, many of which I hadn't seen before. So I used one of those challenges for this card.

I followed the sketch on the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge (Challenge #40). They do a monthly prize drawing from the crafters who do their challenges and link it on their blog. You should definitely check it out! Okay, I made this card using DCWV papers (patterned papers and textured cardstock) and CTMH cardstock in White Daisy. Stamps used were CTMH Butterfly Wishes, Treasure Life (sentiment on the inside), and For Every Occasion. Inks used were CTMH Crystal Blue and Twilight. Embellishments are Bellas Baubles and Craft Essentials ricrac. I used a Prismacolor Premier marker in Cool Grey to outline the butterfly, and colored his body and antenna with a Gelly Roll pen. Instead of using the circle shown in the sketch, I used my Nestabilities Labels 1 (and, of course, I mounted it with 3-D Mounting Foam).

Back to reality...

2009-07-07T12:00:00.001+09:00

So my vacation to Florida is over, and now it is time to get back to work, housework and algebra. But I was jonesing to do some scrapping, as it had been over two weeks since I last made a card (my previous card was made before I left for vacation, but I didn't post until the 1st because of the blog hop). Of course, when I first sat down to scrap when we got back from vacation, I realized I needed to do some organizing. Which created a larger mess than I had to start with (and gave me 84 other projects that I want to do). So I didn't end up doing any scrapping until this morning (and in case you are wondering, the organization is NOT complete).

Realizing I would soon be in need of a birthday card, I followed this week's Mojo Monday sketch to make this card. I used the new DCWV designer cardstock I bought yesterday (as if I don't have enough paper), along with CTMH cardstock in Crystal Blue, Sorbet and White Daisy. The flowers (CTMH Big Pinks) were sponged around the edges with Crystal Blue and Sorbet inks, connected together with Zots, and given a Crystal Blue CTMH button for the center. The sentiment (from CTMH Card Sentiments) was stamped in Grey Wool ink on a panel cut using Nestabilities Large Labels and then sponged with Crystal Blue ink while still in the die. Stitched ribbon is CTMH Sorbet. The sentiment panel and the flower were mounted with 3-D Mounting Foam.

July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2009-07-01T15:01:00.000+09:00

Welcome to our Close To My Heart consultant Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring July's SOTM, which is You've Got Flair, a set of 8 stamps. If you have come here from Traci's blog, you are on the right path! If this is your first stop, you may want to go back to Jena's blog and start from the beginning!

This month we have 43 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. We have made it simple to see all of the fabulous artwork - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

My card was made in 8 X 3 1/2 inch size following the Mojo Monday Week 91 sketch. I used the Perfect Day paper pack, along with cardstock in Juniper, Sorbet and White Daisy. I stamped the paisley on the Sorbet patterned paper in Cocoa ink, then stamped it twice on the red patterned paper and once on Juniper cardstock, also in Cocoa. I then cut out the image, and paper pieced the pattern at the large end of the paisley and mounted using 3-D Mounting Foam (of course!). The oval was cut using a Nestabilities die, and shaded with Sorbet ink while still in the die to give the white border to the oval. The sentiment was then stamped in Tulip ink. The ribbon is the white-stitched Sorbet ribbon. Hope you enjoyed it!

Now "Hop" on over to Amy's blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the July SOTM is only available until July 31st! Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

A sketch for you to try

2009-06-17T14:36:00.000+09:00

So, while ~~avoiding algebra~~ taking a break from college work, I came across another fun challenge on Jen's blog. It just so happened that the base caught on fire today and it took me 85 minutes just to get off base (2 hours and 45 minutes for my entire commute). So I had to get my neighbor to pick up K from camp. I couldn't believe that I was going to be late picking him up on the first day of camp. Luckily, she was able to pick him up on time, saving me a dollar for every minute late I would have been (45, by the way). So I decided to make her a quick thank you card. I followed the Sketch for You to Try (SFYTT) 19, and used some of the Basic Grey papers I picked up at CKC this past weekend. I was DYING to break in some of my new stuff!! And of course, the butterfly is mounted with 3-D Mounting Foam.

Papers: Bazzill cardstock, Basic Grey Eva

Stamps: Unity Stamps, CTMH (Thank You)

Inks: Memento, CTMH, Copic

She calibrates. She shoots. She runs. She...

2009-06-13T07:22:00.000+09:00

...crochets. This is the second baby blanket I made this year. I made it for my friend Chris, whose adorable son was born in January (yes, I'm a little slow). I FINALLY got it finished, and in the mail. Okay, I finished it several weeks ago, but that whole getting to the post office, and knowing WHICH post office I am going to ship from (I regularly deal with post offices in four different zip codes) thing tends to be a problem. I actually bought the yarn back in November, then decided to wait to start the blanket until after the baby was born (since she chose to be surprised instead of finding out the gender ahead of time). I was worried that it might be too much blue for a girl. I realize that brown in a baby blanket is somewhat odd, but she liked the most adorable bedding set, and I was hoping that this would coordinate well with it. I'm not sure if you can make it out, but the pattern has raised lines crocheted, running the opposite direction of the solid blue stripes.

Bird Basics Christmas Card

2009-06-08T05:42:00.000+09:00

Well, I'm procrastinating about getting my math homework done. I know, bad Jill, but I am just NOT into doing math right now. So I decided to get the Mojo Monday sketch completed before the week was up. While I was busy ~~wasting time surfing the net~~ being inspired by other bloggers, I came across Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge for the week (use a non-Christmas stamp). So, being a good multi-tasker, I combined the two challenges.

Non-standard Christmas colors? Check. Multiple techniques? Check. 3-D Foam Mounting Squares? Check check.

Recipe:

Cardstock: CTMH Black and White Daisy

Patterned Paper: CTMH and Heidi Grace Designs

Ribbon: CTMH (flowered) and miscellaneous (dotted)

Stamps: CTMH Bird Basics and Christmas Scripts

Ink: CTMH Cranberry, Olive, and Black

Dies: Nestabilities Labels One and Petite Scalloped Circles Large

Other: CTMH Bitty Brads, CTMH embossing powder (Clear Detail and Black)

I guess maybe now I should get back to my math. Or, maybe I can go out in the garden and plant the tomatoe and herbs that I bought last weekend...

Butterfly congratulations

2009-06-07T13:05:00.000+09:00

We will be attending the wedding of G's cousin at the end of the month, so I thought I'd be proactive and make the card now. I followed the sketch at Our Creative Corner to make this card. I chose the colors Grey Flannel, Grey Wool, Indian Corn Blue and White Daisy. My choice of colors came from the invitations, which were blue print on white paper with a silvery-white embossed pattern.

I began by making two sheets of random stamped cardstock. I used Grey Flannel for the base, and Indian Corn Blue for the rectangle layer. Stamp sets used for the random stamped paper were Legendary Moments (the larger fleur-de-lis) and Tender Tags (the June '09 Stamp of the Month). The Indian Corn Blue panels were mounted on slightly larger White Daisy panels.

I used my Nestabilities Labels One to cut and stencil the panel for the butterfly. I sponged the panel with Indian Corn Blue and Grey Flannel ink while the paper was still in the die. I used Butterfly Wishes (the March '09 Stamp of the Month) for the butterfly and the sentiment. I used the rock and roll technique for the butterfly, first inking up with Indian Corn Blue ink and stamping once on scrap paper, then rolling the edges of the stamp on the Indian Corn Blue pad and stamping on the panel. I guess that technically, that means I also used second-generation stamping. The sentiment was stamped in Grey Wool. The panel was mounted using 3-D Mounting Foam (I love that stuff). White Organdy ribbon came from my stash. Now let's hope I remember to pack it for the trip to Florida.

Go Team Go!!!

2009-05-31T15:25:00.000+09:00

Tomorrow my friend Stephanie is running the San Diego Rock N' Roll Marathon as a participant with Team in Training. She has been doing a lot of events with TNT since she lost her sister to Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in 2002. As a matter of fact, Steph and I met as TNT teammates in 2007. This year she set her fundraising goal at $4000, she is closing in on that goal (if you want to check out her page, it is here). She has been doing a lot of races the past year, some for causes and others just for fun. I last saw her at the triathlon I did on May 3rd. She had several friends participating in it, and she came out to show us support. She really is an awesome woman! I am going to meet her around the halfway point tomorrow, to show my support. I wanted to make a card for her, and here is what I ended up with:

I followed this week's OCC sketch, which I turned on its side. I tried to match the TNT colors as much as possible (which isn't easy--it's a funky purple and a funky green). I used DCWV(green) and CTMH cardstock (White Daisy), and CTMH Enchanted paper. Stamp sets used were CTMH Be Yourself and You Rock. Inks used were Black and Pansy Purple, I also used Bella's Baubles in an unknown shade of purple.

Getting my Mojo back

2009-05-27T14:39:00.000+09:00

I made it through the ENTIRE week last week without making a single card. It certainly wasn't for lack of desire to make a card, or lack of inspiration. I actually had quite a few challenges that I fully intended to do last week. I even went so far as to choose inks, stamps and papers for a few cards. Somehow, time managed to get away from me and the next thing I know it is Tuesday, and all of last week's challenges went unfulfilled. So, even though I should have been doing classwork (this week is the first week of my college algebra class), I decided to make a card.

This card was made following this week's Mojo Monday sketch. I used the CTMH Animal Cookies Creative Basics papers, Clover Meadow, Sunflower and Tulip cardstock, Tulip ink, and the new Thank You stamp set. Embellishments were Bella's Baubles (I have NO IDEA what the color is--I split a pack with a friend. It may be apricot jam from the Tutti Frutti bauble set) and stitched ribbon from my stash. Circle and scalloped circle were cut with Nestabilities, and the rectangles were mounted with 3-D Mounting Foam. When the Summer Idea Book came out, I wasn't a big fan of the Animal Cookies paper. After seeing it in person, especially the Creative Basics pack, I actually like those papers a lot.

Rockin' Birthday Card

2009-05-18T12:30:00.000+09:00

This is the birthday card I made for my husband, following Card Patterns Sketch #13. I used the new CTMH Moon Doggie papers, along with Desert Sand, Chocolate, Honey and Indian Corn Blue. Stamp sets used were Happy Birthday, Star Struck, and You Rock. Inks used were Cocoa and Indian Corn Blue. The star was mounted using 3-D Foam Mounting Squares.

Teacher Appreciation

2009-05-17T13:37:00.000+09:00

So, apparently last week was national teacher appreciation week. Which I didn't find out until late one evening (I think Wednesday). I won't say anything about my teacher BB's not telling me in a more timely manner. Anyhoo, so on Thursday I made a Thank You card for K to sign and take to his teacher. Then today I get an email from our classroom parent that NEXT WEEK is Teacher Appreciation Week. I have NO idea why our district is doing it during a different week, but I guess I'll be making another card. I don't mind, though. For now, here is the card I made for teacher.

I used the sketch from Card Positioning Systems for this card. Papers used were CTMH Animal Cookies and CTMH cardstock in Clover Meadow, Dutch Blue and White Daisy. Buttons are CTMH, and the ribbon is unknown from the stash. Tools used were Cuttlebug with Nestabilities and EK Success Corner Rounder. Sentiment is from For Every Occasion and is stamped in Sunflower.

Yet to be

2009-05-17T13:16:00.001+09:00

This baby congrats card was made following this week's Mojo Monday sketch (which I took minor liberties with). This card will be accompanying a late baby gift (which I will post at a later time). I really love the blues and yellow together. I would have liked to have had (wait for it Sue) orange flowers that matched the thin orange stripes to add a bit of contrast, but I think it turned out well. The patterned papers and textured (darker blue) cardstock are DCWV. I also used CTMH cardstock in Crystal Blue and Sunkiss Yellow, CTMH inks in Crystal Blue and Buttercup, CTMH buttons, Imaginisce flowers, and Karen Foster Design floss. Stamp sets used were CTMH Reminisce (sentiment in the box)and Moments (flourish).

Cameo

2009-05-16T14:38:00.000+09:00

Today I chose patterned paper by 7 Gypsies to make this card for the OCC Sketch Challenge. Originally, I planned to use a flower of some sort. When I started visualizing the card, I started to think of how just the two colors made me think of those cameo brooches that my grandmother had (and the cameo images she had on the wall in her living room). So I decided to use Be Yourself (the May Stamp of the Month) for the image. This card went together rather easily, I actually spent more time choosing the papers than I did making the card. In addition to the 7 Gypsies paper (Requiem Quad), I used unknown cardstock and black rhinestones from my stash. Ovals were cut with Nestabilities Petite Oval Large. The card base was made from black, and I put a slightly smaller square of the red cardstock on the inside for sentiment and signature. The ovals were mounted with 3-D Foam Mounting Squares.

Mother's Day Card for the MIL

2009-05-05T13:44:00.000+09:00

I made a Mother's Day card for my husband to send to his mother. When I took the card in and handed it to him, his response was "you made yourself a card?" @@ Men...

Once again I'm completing two challenges with one card. The sketch is from Mojo Monday. Make sure you participate in this week's challenge, they will be giving away up to seven Verve Stamps stamp sets. The OCC challenge for this week was to create something for the moms in our lives. I made this card in 5 X 6 1/2, I just didn't think an A2 size was good for a Mother's Day card (is it just me, or are all of the store-bought Mother's Day cards HUGE???). The papers are CTMH That's Amore, with cardstock in Garden Green, Blush, Chocolate Brown, and Tulip. The ribbon is also CTMH. I used my Fiskars Threading Water punch, Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder and Nestabilities Labels One. The green label was actually cut out by using my Coluzzle swivel knife to trace around the same die I used to cut out the pink label. Stamp set used was CTMH Say It In Style. Inks used were Blush (sponged on the pink label) and Tulip. I was about to say that I didn't go crazy with this card because I wasn't sure that my MIL would appreciate the effort that goes in to a handmade card, but once I typed it all out, I realize that I did put a lot of work into this. She'd better appreciate it!!

I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas

2009-05-02T16:47:00.000+09:00

So this week I used the Mojo Monday Sketch to do Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge. This week Sparkle challenged us to use snowmen, with bonus points for using pink. Since I can't seem to turn down a challenge (which is part of why I will be doing a triathlon on Sunday), I decided to use pink in my cards.

The first card was made using a pretty paper I bought specifically to do this challenge (Jolly & Bright Holly Stripe Shimmer Glitter Paper by Heidi Grace Designs). It is hard to tell, but this paper has a very light pink base color. I also used CTMH Evensong Background and Texture paper, and CTMH cardstock in Baby Pink, Garden Green, Barn Red and White Daisy. Stamp sets used were Snow Friends and Christmas Melodies. Circle and Scalloped circle were cut with Nestabilities and mounted on 3-D Mounting foam, and the Snowflake brads are from Michael's. The snowman's hat was colored with CTMH markers, and his shadow lines were accented with White Snow glitter by Inkadinkadoo. Organza ribbon is from CTMH.

The second card was made using DCWV papers, and CTMH cardstock in Barn Red, Colonial White and White Daisy. His shadow lines were dusted with tiny glass beads, his hat was stamped on and cut from the striped paper, and the sparkles are from my stash. The snowflake was heat embossed in white powder on Barn Red cardstock and mounted with 3-D Foam Mounting Squares. Stitched ribbon is CTMH. My Christmas card box is getting full, I like it!!

Spring-y Birthday Card

2009-04-26T06:50:00.000+09:00

Today I combined this week's OCC Challenge (use your favorite color combo) and the Viva La Verve sketch April Week 5. Now, if you were to ask Sue how I answer questions about my favorite color, she would ramble on about "indecisive" and "thesis-length answers". Much like food, colors have their place, and I can appreciate almost all colors much as I can appreciate most foods (except the color orange, I just don't seem to care much for orange. Although, I really like coral, which is a shade of orange...Sue, be quiet about the thesis...). Anyway, I really like the combo of Sweet Leaf and Twilight, so I used those two colors to create a birthday card with a twist of spring. After all, what is more spring-y than a butterfly enjoying a cocktail? The image (from Stamping Bella) is one I received in a swap. I colored using CTMH Sweet Leaf marker, and watercolored with Blush and Twilight, and used Prismacolor Cool Grey for shadowing. The circle and scalloped circle were cut and embossed with Nestabilities, the scalloped circle was sponged with Twilight ink while it was still in the die. The Sweet Leaf cardstock was embossed with my Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl embossing folder. The sentiment (from CTMH Happy Birthday) was stamped on White Daisy cardstock and adorned with a butterfly brad (Creative Impressions). White Organza ribbon is from my stash, and the baubles are Squeeze of Lime from Stamping Bella.