Nancy's CRAFTY blog

A simple card

2012-01-21T07:38:00.000-08:00

This card is a take on fellow CTMH Consultant, Aaron Brown's, card. I combined Zoology and Unscripted.

The blue is Dutch Blue and the red is Tulip. I inked the cute elephant in Tulip, then kissed with the cross hatch image from Unscripted. I cut the bracket shape with my Art Philosophy cartridge, then stamped the cross hatch image on Tulip squares.

I added a sparkle to the elephant's eye and some Cranberry grosgrain ribbon and my card was done!

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Zoology; Unscripted

Cardstock: Dutch Blue; Tulip; Colonial White

Ink: Dutch Blue; Tulip; Desert Sand; Cocoa

Embellishments: Cranberry grosgrain ribbon; sparkle

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

A little more LOVE!

2012-01-20T07:31:00.000-08:00

Another simple Valentine's card using CTMH's December stamp of the month, Mad About You.

I stamped the border from Soul Mates on the Grey Flannel cardstock to create a background. I stamped the script image from Universal Backgrounds on the Tulip cardstock and then did several things. First I poked holes every 1/8 of an inch apart about 1/8 of an inch from the edges. Then I sanded along that line and added embroidery thread to each corner. Then I sanded the one spot alot, where I was going to stamp the word LOVE.

I stamped Love from Soul Mates in Black. The heart was cut with my Art Philosophy cartridge and then stamped with the heart image from Mad About You in Versamark. I embossed it in clear, then added Stardust Glitz to the outer edge. I added Tulip embroidery thread; a crocheted flower; and a bling button to finish the embellishment stack off.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Mad About You; Soul Mates; Universal Backgrounds

Cardstock: Grey Flannel; Tulip; White Daisy

Ink: Grey Wool; Black; Tulip; Versamark

Embellishments: Embroidery floss; Crocheted flower; Bling Button; Stardust Glitz; Clear Embossing Powder

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge

A little LOVE!

2012-01-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is not too far away now, so I thought I'd put together a LOVE inspired card.

I stamped the script image in black, from Universal Backgrounds, on some Desert Sand cardstock. I sanded over that to give a more weathered feel, then edged in black ink with a sponge.

The Heart and sentiment images are from a retired set, Soul Mates. I cut the heart shape in Tulip with my Art Philosophy cartridge; stamped in black; then used my Edge Distresser to texture the edges. The sentiment is stamped on Grey Flannel in Tulip, then over stamped with Versamark and embossed in clear.

I had not received my new CTMH butcher's twine, so I wrapped my heart up in some that a CTMH friend had sent me.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Universal Backgrounds; Soul Mates

Cardstock: Desert Sand; Grey Flannel; Tulip; White Daisy

Ink: Black; Tulip; Versamark

Embellishments: Clear embossing powder

Tools: Edge Distresser; Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Other: Baker's twine

Something a little more Spring/Valentine's like!

2012-01-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

In Victoria, BC, it is hard to know if you should start on Spring shower cards or Winter snow cards in mid January. Today, we have had some sprinkling of snow.....so not so sure this timing is any good! What the heck......here is a Spring card.

I used a new set from CTMH's Fall/Winter Idea Book, called Unscripted. I stamped the border on Sorbet cardstock with coordinating ink. I stamped the cross hatch image on Tulip cardstock, with Tulip ink. The focus flowers are stamped in Blush on Colonial White cardstock, along with the sentiment stamped in Tulip.

I cut the heart with our Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, in Tulip. I crumpled and then sanded the heart so it would stand out against the other Tulip behind it. I used our scallop maker to create the border from Blush cardstock. The scalloped circle is also cut with Art Philosophy.

I added Colonial White grosgrain ribbon, with Sorbet Waxy Flax on top. For what appears to be a cork heart, I stuck together the letters "A" and "B" from our alphabet. I then added one of our wooden buttons.

All of the cardstock had their edges sponged with Desert Sand ink. I also added some Stardust Glitz to the centres of each of the flowers.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Unscripted

Cardstock: Sorbet; Tulip; Blush; Colonial White; Kraft

Ink: Sorbet; Blush; Tulip; Desert Sand

Embellishments: Colonial White grosgrain; Sorbet Waxy Flax; Cork Alphabet; Wooden Button; Stardust Glitz

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge; Corner/Scallop maker

Rock the Block

2012-01-16T07:57:00.000-08:00

Here is a little number using CTMH's Rock the Block promotion available until Jan 31st.

I stamped the flourish image on Sky cardstock in coordinating ink, then overstamped in Versamark. I embossed with clear powder. I cut this tag image with Art Philosophy, then stamped these inspirational words on each tag. I added White Daisy grosgrain ribbon, along with Crystal Blue waxy flax.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Rock the Block

Cardstock: Sky; Twilight; White Daisy

Ink: Sky; Twilight; Versamark

Embellishments: White Daisy grosgrain ribbon; Crystal Blue waxy flax

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Humble Artist entry

2012-01-14T08:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a card I made for one of my August 10th Humble Artist swap. Here are the guidelines for this card:

This will be the “B” swap, make a Birthday card following these guidelines:

Card must be at least 4 ¼ x 5 ½

Background stamp

Border stamp

B&T paper

Brads

Buttons

Blue cardstock….at least 2 different shades

8 layers…because the number looks like a “B”

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Hooray Bouquet; Key Moments; Noted Backgrounds; Eclectic Edges

Cardstock: Desert Sand; Colonial White; Breeze; Twilight; Dutch Blue; Crystal Blue

Ink: Dutch Blue; Desert Sand

Patterned Paper: Magnifique

Embellishments: Colonial White brad; Stardust Glitz; Blue Assortment Buttons

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

2011 In Review

2012-01-01T08:11:00.000-08:00

I have seen gals posting "A Year in Review" on their blogs and I thought I would join the fun. These are some of my favourites created in 2011!

Jan 02, 2011

Jan 27, 2011

Feb 21. 2011

Feb 24, 2011

Mar 16, 2011

Mar 21. 2011

Mar 31. 2011

Apr 05, 2011

Apr 18, 2011

Jun 09, 2011

Aug 15, 2011

Sep 16, 2011

Sep 17, 2011

Sep 28, 2011

Oct 07, 2011

Oct 25, 2011

Oct 30, 2011

Nov 05, 2011

Dec 06, 2011

Dec 31. 2011

Ending the year with S-I-M-P-L-I-C-I-T-Y!

It's New Year's Eve!

2011-12-31T08:32:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can hardly believe it is already time to usher in a new year.

I wish each of you a very Happy and prosperous 2012!

These are my New Year's cards created with Love Life and an unnamed set where the sentiment came from...sorry. I used Holiday Red and Topiary in for the swirls. The sentiments were both stamped with Holiday Red on a shape cut with my Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.

I added Stardust Glitz to all of the swirls to finish each card off.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Love Life

Cardstock: White Daisy; Sweet Leaf; Holiday Red

Ink: Topiary; Holiday Red

Other: Stardust Glitz; Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Last of the Christmas cards...

2011-12-30T08:17:00.000-08:00

I have been enjoying my days off, home with family. I have been sleeping in past 11am every morning and didn't do much of anything in my workshop! I hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas!

This card was another I created while using my Love Life stamp set like crazy. I cut our the star with my Art Philosophy cartridge, as well as, the sentiment shape. The sentiment is from Holiday cheer and all of the stamping was done in Holiday Red ink. The final touch on this card was our Stardust Glitz on the star.

All supplies are Close to My Heart.

Stamps: Love Life; Holiday Cheer

Ink: Holiday Red

Cardstock: White Daisy; Holiday Red; Sweet Leaf

Other: Stardust Glitz; Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

It must be a Christmas stamp set?

2011-12-22T08:11:00.000-08:00

Once I started using the stamp set, Love Life, I realized it was really an all season set. These cards scream Christmas poinsettia to me...and yet in different colours, not so much.

I used the polka dot flourish in between the small polka dot flower image. The pointed tips of each flower petal resemble a poinsettia, to me.

As with previously shown cards, I made this one with all sorts of interchangeable colours. These two show Holiday Red ink with Sweet Leaf and Holiday Red mats. The sentiment is Topiary ink stamped on Sweet Leaf Cardstock. I added Stardust Glitz to finish the cards.

All supplies are Close to My Heart.

Stamps: Love Life; Holiday Cheer

Cardstock: Sweet Leaf; Holiday Red; White Daisy

Ink: Holiday Red; Topiary

Other: Stardust Glitz; Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Live Love Laugh and Christmas

2011-12-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

I have not been very far away......but just busy enough to not post to my blog for a bit. I've been feverishly working on Christmas cards and thought I'd share a few.

These three all use Love Life to add pattern to the trees. The sentiment is from Holiday Cheer and the tree shape was cut with Art Philosophy.

As you can see, I made several versions of this card by simply changing the colour of the tree, Glitz gel and mat. All of the trees are on foam squares for some dimension.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Love Life; Holiday Cheer

Ink: Holiday Red

Cardstock: Sweet Leaf; Topiary; Holiday Red; White Daisy

Other: Red & Stardust Glitz; Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Christmas Love Life

2011-12-12T07:33:00.000-08:00

This card was totally lifted from another CTMH Consultant.....at the moment I can not recall who..so sorry.

The flourish image and flowers are from Love Life and the star is from Holiday Wishes. I popped the star up on foam dots and added some Stardust Glitz to various spots on the card.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Holiday Wishes; Love Life

Ink: Topiary; Holiday Red

Cardstock: Topiary; White Daisy

Embellishments: Stardust Glitz

Tools: Art Philosophy and Cricut

A small interruption!

2011-12-10T08:13:00.000-08:00

I create things for one big craft fair every year. I have become very smitten with felt and started creating felt hair accessories, last year.

Yes, I do use my Nestabilities; Sizzix; and Quickutz to create them. This year, after getting and using my Close To My Heart Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, I decided I would make a holder for my hair accessories, rather than just letting them float around inside the zip lock bags I put them in.

I cut my favourite shape.....I call it the bracket square. First I cut 4 from a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 Colonial White cardstock. I used this a template to design the printed words for each tag. Once I had everything lined up just right, I put several pieces of cardstock through my printer for the words. Then I cut the shapes with my Cricut.

I stamped the flourish image from CTMH's May, You and Me promotional stamp set, in Sweet Leaf Ink. Then I used a punch that punches holes to thread ribbon through, to punch holes for the barrette or hair clip to slide through. Then I slide these into zip lock bags and they hang nicely on my display/sale rack, with all of my information there.

You may notice, I also used a glittered Bigger brad for the centre. I dipped the brad in Liquid Glass and then in Prisma Glitter before using it to secure the layers of my flower.

All paper supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamp: You and Me

Cardstock: Colonial White

Ink: Sweet Leaf

Love Life

2011-12-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

This stamp set, Love Life, is one of the most beautiful stamps sets Close To My Heart has created for our Fall/Winter Idea Book. It also contains an image that makes creating backgrounds easier than spelling it!

I started with White Daisy cardstock as the base. I added a Topiary background, then another White. I stamped the entire white piece in Topiary ink with the background image. I added a Tulip accent, then stamped a sentiment from set, December 25th, in Topiary. I stamped the next image with Holiday Red on a scallop circle cut with Art Philosophy. I see I should have matched the reds, but on the next one!

Below, I switched up the base mat to Blush, along with the ink. The sentiment was stamped in Tulip. Both of these cards took maybe 15 minutes to complete! I also added a blob of Glitz to the centre of each flower.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Love Life; December 25th

Cardstock: White Daisy; Topiary; Tulip; Blush

Ink: Topiary; Tulip; Holiday Red; Blush

Embellishments: Stardust Glitz

Tools: Art Philosophy and Cricut

Twist with Remarkable Wreath.

2011-12-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

This is another card made at my recent Remarkable Wreath class. It took a lot of thought, but I knew I wanted to something a little different.

I started with the 1/2 scallop shape and went from there. I had decided on the Sweet Leaf mat and the Twilight scallop circle, but it was the smaller circle from Kraft cardstock that brought it all together.

The stamping was a lot of steps. On the 1/2 circle, we stamped the leaves twice in Sweet Leaf. Then in Twilight ink, we stamped the berries 4 times to cover all but the middle. After all of the coloured stamping, then we stamped the wreath in Cocoa.

Once the 1/2 circle was finished, we stamped the wreath in Cocoa on the Kraft circle. The berries were stamped twice in Twilight after that. We used Eclectic Edges to stamp the border in Twilight on the Colonial White base.

The sentiment came from Bundled Buddies. The word "Friends" was stamped in Twilight and the rest in Black ink. We added a Twilight brad and some Colonial white grosgrain ribbon. The striped paper is from Miracle. Finally, we added Stardust Glitz all over where no berries were stamped.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Eclectic Edges; Bundled Buddies; Remarkable Wreath

Paper: Miracle

Cardstock: Twilight; Sweet Leaf; Colonial White; Kraft

Ink: Twilight; Sweet Leaf; Cocoa; Black

Embellishments: Twilight brad; Colonial White grosgrain ribbon; Stardust Glitz

Tools: Art Philosophy and Cricut machine

Remarkable Wreath strikes again!

2011-12-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

I have just completed my final Remarkable Wreath class for the season. For this class I thought we'd so some non-Christmas cards.

I started with a White Daisy card base and added some paper from Spring Sophia. We stamped the bottom right corner in Blush with an image from Typeset WOTG set. The border was stamped in Tulip with Eclectic Edges.

For the wreath, I cut a 2 3/4" circle in White Daisy; a 3" circle in Tulip and a 3 1/4" scallop circle in Kraft. These were all cut with Art Philosophy and my Cricut.

The wreath was stamped in Cocoa. The flowers were stamped in Creme Brulee; Sorbet; and Tulip. We stamped the lightest ink first and then the second colour overlapped about one third of the first. Then the Tulip was stamped to overlap about one third of the Sorbet. I added Stardust Glitz to the flowers and retired red velvet ribbon.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Eclectic Edges; Typset WOTG; Remarkable Wreath

Paper: Sophia

Cardstock: White Daisy; Blush; Tulip; Kraft

Ink: Tulip; Sorbet; Creme Brulee; Cocoa; Blush

Embellishments: Stardust Glitz; retired Red Velvet Ribbon

Tools: Art Philosophy; Cricut

Some Christmas Cheer

2011-12-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

I'm finally back with some cards I've been making over the past few weeks. I got through my craft fair and then didn't seem to be able to get my act together to get any of these posted. So, here comes another run.

I've been staring at my "Happy Clusters" stamp set since I was fortunate enough to get it in a convention bundle. I just haven't been able to come with anything to help me use it. I am smitten with shades of grey the last few months and with that, was finally able to come up with something.

I used Tulip cardstock as my background and Grey Flannel over top. I stamped in Grey Wool ink with an image from "Universal Backgrounds". The word, "Wish" came from a retired set that I think was "December Word Puzzle". I stamped it in Tulip, then overstamped in Versamark. I embossed it with clear powder for a raised effect.

The luscious buttons are from our Red Assortment and I added some Red Glitz where no buttons would fit.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Happy Clusters; Universal Backgrounds; retired December Word Puzzle

Cardstock: Grey Flannel; Grey Wool; Tulip; Versamark

Embellishments: Red Button Assortment; Red Glitz

Still hanging around!

2011-11-30T08:22:00.000-08:00

I am still hanging around in blog land....just have not had time to post any pics lately. I finished up my craft fair on the weekend, but had a genius idea about one of my items.

I have been making felt hair accessories and will post how my scrapbook supplies continue to collide with all of the crafts I do.

So hang on for a few more days.....and I'll see you soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would pop in from creating items for my upcoming Craft Fair this Saturday, to say HAPPY THANKSGIVING

to all of my U.S. friends.

A Holiday

2011-11-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

Yes, I would like another holiday.....but in the meantime I can stamp with, "A Holiday"! This is the 4th and final card from my Red and Green card workshop.

The plaid paper is from the Believe paper pack. The tag is made with Kraft cardstock and I prestamped each of them with the music image from Universal Backgrounds. I also precut the corners and punched the holes for the gals.

The holly leaves are cut in Sweet Leaf cardstock, from Art Philosophy and stamped in Topiary ink. For the berries, I punched 1" circles from Tulip cardstock and we rolled them like you would roll dough for buns. We stuck the holly leaves together, then added a small pool of Liquid Glass and stuck the berries down. Once the Liquid Glass was set up we added Stardust Glitz to the berries.

The sentiment was stamped in Topiary and the entire tag is strung with White Hemp, overtop of Cranberry grosgrain ribbon.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamp: A Holiday

Paper: Believe

Cardstock: White Daisy; Kraft; Topiary; Sweet Leaf; Tulip

Ink: Topiary; Desert Sand

Embellishments: White Hemp; Stardust Glitz; Liquid Glass

Tools: Art Philosophy

Christmas ornaments of Holiday Cheer

2011-11-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

This is the third card in my recent Red and Green card workshop. I thought it would be fun to use non-holiday paper to complete it.

I used the Juniper side of paper from Typeset for the bottom. The top colour is Vineyard Berry. All of the components are on a Cocoa mat. The bulbs are from the new stamp set, Holiday Cheer. They are stamped in Creme Brulee; Vineyard Berry; and Juniper, which are the colours used in the Typeset paper package.

We added a Kraft border and some Sparkles to each ornament. I also dug out some retired Vineyard Berry grosgrain ribbon, to finish the card.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamp: Holiday Cheer

Paper: Typeset

Cardstock: Cocoa; Colonial White; Vineyard Berry

Ink: Creme Brulee; Vineyard Berry; Juniper

Embellishments: Kraft Borders; Sparkles; retired Vineyard Berry grosgrain ribbon

Christmas Red and Green #2

2011-11-18T08:17:00.000-08:00

This is the second card made at my Red and Green card workshop, this past Sunday. While the girls wanted no sharing in my head cold germs....they were happy to share time in making these cards.

First, we started with Roxie patterned paper. We added black; Desert Sand and Colonial White cardstock before adding some retired red velvet ribbon. The reindeer image is stamped in Chocolate and is from the "I Believe" stamp set. The sentiment is stamped in Tulip ink and is from the same stamp set.

The main piece is cut with our Art Philosophy cartridge from Colonial White and the mat is from Tulip cardstock. We've added Red Glitz to the reindeer's nose and snowflakes.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: I Believe

Paper: Roxie

Cardstock: Colonial White; Desert Sand; Black; Tulip

Ink: Chocolate; Tulip

Embellishments: Red Glitz; Sparkles; retired velvet ribbon

Tools: Art Philosophy; Corner/Scallop maker

Let the Red and Green begin!

2011-11-17T08:09:00.000-08:00

This is the first card in my recent Shades of Red and Green workshop. Gals made 4 each of 4 cards.

This card started with patterned paper from Believe. All of the other images came from Winter Joy, which is a very sweet silhouette stamp set.

The ice skater was stamped in Sky and the sentiment in Topiary. I stamped the winter fun border in Sweet Leaf ink on Sweet Leaf cardstock.

We finished up with a scallop border and some red Sparkles. There is also a wee bit of Glitz on the skater's ear muff.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Winter Joy

Paper: Believe

Cardstock: Sweet Leaf; Sky; Colonial White

Ink: Sky; Topiary; Sweet Leaf

Embellishments: Red Sparkles

Tools: Art Philosophy

The final Shade of Blue card

2011-11-16T08:19:00.000-08:00

This is the final card gals created at my Shades of Blue workshop. They created 4 each of the 4 cards I have recently posted.

This card was inspired by Vicki Wizniuk and is the second time I have recreated it. This time the images are from Wonderland's Workshop On The Go stamp set.

The mittens and sentiment were stamped in Pacifica ink, to go with the patterned paper from Magnifique. The snowflake was stamped in the background with Crystal Blue and we added some Silver Glitz to the centres.

The base of the card is 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 and the shape is added hanging over the folded edge enough to extend the card's length to 5 1/2. We finished off the card with Chocolate grosgrain ribbon and Chocolate Waxy Flax tied through a button from our Blue Assortment.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Wonderland Workshop On The Go

Paper: Magnifique

Cardstock: Colonial White; Dutch Blue

Ink: Pacifica; Crystal Blue

Embellishments: Chocolate grosgrain ribbon & Waxy Flax; Blue Button; Silver Glitz

Tools: Art Philosophy

Let them make snow!

2011-11-15T08:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it is paper crafting snow........but we get so little snow here in Victoria, I needed to let my gals create some!

This card is a simpler recreation of my previously posted card. We used Remarkable Wreath to stamp the wreath in Cocoa ink on Kraft paper. The snowflakes were stamped in Crystal Blue and Pacifica ink. The berries were stamped in White Daisy pigment ink, then snow was added with Liquid Applique.

The patterned paper is from Magnifique and we added some Sparkles to complete this card.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Remarkable Wreath; Just For The Holidays; Holiday Trinkets; retired December Word Puzzle

Paper: Magnifique

Cardstock: Sky; Colonial White; Twilight; Dutch Blue; Kraft

Ink: Crystal Blue; Pacifica; Cocoa; White Daisy

Embellishemts: Sparkles

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

More Shades of Blue

2011-11-14T08:15:00.000-08:00

This is the second card in my Shades of Blue workshop. I love this playful image from the new, "Winter Joy" stamp set.

We stamped the snowman image in Crystal Blue, then stamped the sentiment in Chocolate. The snowflake images on the background are from Snow Flurries and are stamped in Crystal Blue and Twilight.

I used patterned paper from Wonderland; shapes from Art Philosophy; and added White Hemp and Glitz to finish this card off.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Winter Joy; Snow Flurries

Paper: Wonderland

Cardstock: Grey Flannel; White Daisy; Twilight

Ink: Crystal Blue; Twilight; Chocolate

Embellishments: Glitz; White Hemp

Tools: Art Philosophy

Shades of Blue Workshop

2011-11-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

I am sorry I have not posted in a week or so. My youngest daughter started the week in Emergency with a playground accident. Then I began my decent into sore throat.....laryngitis....coughing.....stuffy head.....blow through 2 boxes a day....cold H-E-double hockey sticks!

Okay, so on with the card! I was inspired by Lisa Stenz to create this card, for my "Shades of Blue" workshop. The patterned paper is from Wonderland; sentiment is from Ice Crystal stamp set; snowflake images are from Snowflakes; and the shapes are cut from Art Philosophy.

The background snowflake image was stamped in Crystal Blue, while the snowflake was stamped over top in Grey Wool. The sentiment was stamped in Twilight and a sparkle was added to the snowflake with some Chocolate grosgrain ribbon.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Snowflakes; Ice Crystals

Paper: Wonderland

Ink: Twilight; Grey Wool; Crystal Blue

Cardstock: Grey Flannel; White Daisy; Crystal Blue

Embellishments: Chocolate grosgrain ribbon; Clear Sparkles

Tools: Art Philosophy

Wonderland and Remarkable Wreath

2011-11-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

OMG, I'm so sorry, this originally posted without my description! Sometimes being able to create a post to edit later can get you......this one and yesterday's did!

This card needed retired December Word Puzzle; Just for the Holidays; and Holiday Trinkets to complete the wreath. I have since recreated the stamped portion with stamp sets current to CTMH's Idea book.

The snowflakes were stamped in Pacifica and Twilight over top of the Cocoa wreath. I stamped the dots in white 4 times before adding Liquid Applique. The patterned paper is from Wonderland; with striped Chocolate ribbon and a button from our new Bling Assortment. The button is tied up with Chocolate Waxy Flax.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Remarkable Wreath; Just For The Holidays; Holiday Trinkets; retired December Word Puzzle

Paper: Wonderland

Cardstock: Sky; Colonial White; Twilight; Chocolate; Kraft; Grey Flannel

Ink: Twilight; Pacifica; Cocoa; White Daisy

Embellishemts: Bling Assortment; Chocolate striped Ribbon; Chocolate Waxy Flax

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

A snowy Remarkable Wreath for the holidays

2011-11-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

Christmas Love and all of the fixins!

2011-11-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

This was the 3rd card each gal made at my weekend, Christmas Love, card class.

First thing each gal did was roll their flowers and secure the bottoms with Liquid Glass. We inked the bird with Twilight Ink and the sentiment in Black. I had not noticed this flourish image on Art Philosophy until cutting the main shapes for each card.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamp: Christmas Love

Paper: Believe

Cardstock: White Daisy; Sweet Leaf; Topiary

Ink: Twilight; Black

Embellishments: Sparkles

Other: Liquid Glass

Tools: Art Philosophy

More Christmas Love

2011-11-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Here is the second card gals made at my recent Christmas Love and Believe card class. The gals usually only put one of each design together, so then they can take home pieces to make the rest.

Each of the 3 designs we did could be mixed and matched with different pattern designs of the Believe paper pack. For this image, we inked the sentiment in Black ink then used CTMH markers to colour the holly and berries.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Believe and Jingle Borders

Paper: Believe

Cardstock: White Daisy and Topiary

Ink: Black

Markers: Topiary and Tulip

Embellishments: Cranberry and White Daisy brads; Red Glitz

Tools: Art Philosophy; Corner/scallop maker

Christmas Love and Art Philosophy

2011-11-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

I held a card class this past weekend featuring the stamp set, Christmas Love and the Believe paper pack.

We inked the image in Sweet Leaf, then the sentiment in Black ink. A little Glitz was added to the gift for just a wee bit of sparkle. Each gal made 4 each of this design.

All supplies are Close To My Heart

Stamp: Christmas Love

Paper: Believe

Cardstock: Sky and White Daisy

Ink: Sweet Leaf and Black

Embellishments: White Bigger Brads; Holiday Red grosgrain ribbon

Tools: Art Philosophy

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN

2011-10-31T14:34:00.000-07:00

I hope you have a very SPOOKY Hallowe'en today! I made these packages for gals who attended a Christmas Love card class on this past Saturday night.

The stamp set is Thriller and I cut the tags with Art Philosophy from retired Orange and Hydrangea cardstock. They were stamped in Black ink and I added sparkles and some satin ribbon.

What is inside the bags you say......well, I found this post on Tatertots and Jello for Candy Corn fudge. I am not a big fan of candy corn, because it always seems to not taste fresh from the stores. So, making my own candy corn that tasted like fudge was a no brainer.

The recipe was also a no brainer.....6 cups of white chocolate chips and 2 cans of condensed milk. Here is a link to the recipe from Something Swanky. Both of these sites have some wonderful things to oogle!

Now, I know you're saying...."Why is her candy corn not orange and yellow?" Well, I added what I thought was enough food colouring, but clearly it was not enough! The colours may not have been very vibrant, but it tasted fudgelicious!

All supplies are Close to My Heart, unless noted.

Stamp: Thriller

Ink: Black

Cardstock: Retired Orange and Hydrangea

Embellishments: Sparkles

Tools: Art Philosophy

Other: Hallowe'en plastic bags

Fall glory with Remarkable Wreath

2011-10-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is my ode to Fall.....I LOVE Fall. I love the temperature outside; I love the colours; I love how dark it is so early in the evening; and I love the rain!

I started this card with a Barn Red base then added patterned paper from Elemental. The Kraft and Goldrush cardstock pieces were stamped with an image from Spot On Backgrounds.

The wreath was stamped in Cocoa, the the leaves were inked in Goldrush and rolled in Autumn Terracotta. I added Bronze Glitz along with Twill ribbon; hemp; and an Antiqued Copper brad.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Remarkable Wreath; Spot On Backgrounds

Paper: Elemental

Cardstock: Barn Red; Kraft; Goldrush; Colonial White

Ink: Desert Sand; Cocoa; Goldrush; Autumn Terracotta

Embellishments: Antiqued Copper brad; hemp; twill ribbon; Bronze Glitz

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Sonoma and Remarkable Wreath

2011-10-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

This is my non-Christmas card. I shamelessly stole the idea and colours from fellow HAS swap card member, Lorrinda Holman.

I created two of everything with Remarkable Wreath, and this card was no exception. I stamped the flowers in both Petal and Smokey Plum inks. What you can't see is I have used our Silver Glitz in the centres of some of the flowers.

I stamped our Canvas Badge Buttons with a butterfly image from Gnome Garden. The image stamped behind the button is from Dreamin' Workshop On The Go.

I used Sonoma paper and Kraft borders. All edges were inked with Desert Sand.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Paper: Sonoma

Stamps: Remarkable Wreath; Gnome Garden; Dreamin' WOTG

Cardstock: Petal;Smokey Plum; Garden Green; Colonial White

Ink: Petal; Smokey Plum; Desert Sand; Cocoa

Embellishments: Canvas Badge Buttons; Kraft Borders; Silver Glitz

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Love Life and Remarkable Wreath for Christmas!

2011-10-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Another fine use, just a little different, for my Remarkable Wreath stamp set.

For this card, I stamped the leaves in green over the Cocoa wreath, then the berries in red. I wanted it to somewhat resemble holly. I stamped the flourish image from Love Life in Sweet Leaf ink on Sweet Leaf cardstock.

I LOVE our Kraft cardstock and borders, so you can see the base layer of the card; scallop circle mat and borders are all in Kraft paper. I added some patterned paper from Believe and White Daisy grosgrain ribbon. Finally, I had to add some red Glitz to the berries to finish off this card.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Remarkable Wreath; Love Life

Paper: Believe

Cardstock: Kraft; Colonial White

Ink: Sweet Leaf; Holiday Red; Desert Sand; Cocoa

Embellishments: White Daisy Grosgrain ribbon; red Glitz

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Remarkable Wreath and Believe

2011-10-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

This version of Close To My Heart's, Remarkable Wreath, has got the Christmas holidays all over it.

I used patterned paper from Believe on a White Daisy card base. The wreath is stamped in Cocoa ink and the berries are stamped in Holiday Red, four times. The berry image is a semi-circle, so you must stamp it twice to cover the wreath. After I stamped the berry wreath once, I turned the paper a 1/4 turn and then stamped the berry wreath again, for a fuller image.

The sentiment is stamped in Cocoa ink from the set, Glory to God. I added Red Glitz to some of the berries. I sponged Desert Sand ink on all paper edges and added 3 White Daisy brads, at the bottom.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Paper: Believe

Stamp: Remarkable Wreath; Glory to God

Ink: Desert Sand; Holiday Red; Cocoa

Cardstock: Kraft; White Daisy; Sky

Embellishments: White Daisy brads

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Remarkable Wreath Extravaganza!

2011-10-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

For the next several days, I will be posting cards I have recently made with this AMAZING and VERSATILE stamp set.........Remarkable Wreath. You can purchase it, Remarkable Wreath C1473 for $15.50, from my website OR attend my upcoming classes on Saturday, Dec 3rd or Sunday, Dec 4th. We will be making versions of the upcoming cards. Please email me for my class descriptions.

This card began as an experiment......in what would work with White Daisy pigment ink. I stamped the wreath image in Cocoa ink on Barn Red cardstock. Then I stamped the berry image and sentiment with White Daisy. I find when you are stamping with this pigment ink on dark coloured cardstock, you have to wait a bit for the ink to dry so you can really see what it will look like. You could use your heat gun to speed up the process, but I just let it sit and the ink became much brighter with time.

The patterned paper is from Mischeif, as well as, the border image. The border is the zip strip, which is new to Close To My Heart's paper. It is patterned on one side and on the reverse is the paper kit's name and colours it is comprised of.

I cut the bracket shape with my CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge. The lighter mat is cut at 1/4 inch larger. I added White Daisy ric rac ribbon and some Bitty Sparkles. I also used a sponge to ink some piece edges with Desert Sand ink.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamp: Remarkable Wreath

Paper: Mischief

Ink: White Daisy pigment; Cocoa; Desert Sand

Cardstock: Barn Red; White Daisy; Grey Flannel; Smoothie

Embellishments: Bitty Sparkles; White Daisy ric rac ribbon

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Dreamin' for a workshop

2011-10-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

This is the final card in my recent Variety card class. It started with Dreamin' paper and some cuts from Close To My Heart's Art Philosophy cartridge.

The stamped images are from the stamp set, Unscripted. The sentiment is stamped on Crystal Blue cardstock with Pacifica ink. The tiny flowers are stamped with Crystal Blue ink on Colonial White cardstock.

The bracket shapes and flowers are all Art Philosophy cuts. The flowers, which are the lollipop or circular ones, were cut at sizes between 1 3/4" and 2 1/4". The bracket shape was cut at 3 1/4" in Colonial White and 3 1/2" in Chocolate.

I used White Daisy waxy flax to add the tie and Opaques and Sparkles in the centres of each flower.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Paper: Dreamin'

Stamp: Unscripted

Cardstock: Dutch Blue; Chocolate; Colonial White; Crystal Blue

Ink: Crystal Blue; Pacifica

Embellishments: White Daisy Waxy Flax; Opaques; Sparkles

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge; Cricut

Remarkable Wreath

2011-10-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

This card was lifted from Vicki Wizniuk.......she creates amazing artwork and I just couldn't resist. You can check out her card by clicking on her name, for a link to her blog.

I have come to the conclusion that stamp set, Remarkable Wreath, is one of the most versatile stamp sets yet. For this card I stamped the wreath in Cocoa ink; leaves in Creme Brulee; then berries in Cranberry. The scalloped mat is Barn Red and it is paired with patterned paper from Mischief. We added Red Glitz to some of the berries.

The circle and scallop shape were cut with Art Philosophy. We added our new, glorious Chocolate striped ribbon with a Colonial White button and Chocolate Waxy Flax. Pretty clean and simple, with a gorgeous outcome.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Remarkable Wreath

Paper: Mischief

Cardstock: Barn Red; Colonial White

Ink: Creme Brulee; Cocoa; Cranberry

Embellishments: Chocolate ribbon; Colonial White button; Chocolate Waxy Flax

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Mrs. Claus is fashionable!

2011-10-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

This is another card recently created for my Variety Card class. I used a technique previously lifted and used from Mandy Leahy. You can check out her instructions of how to make these dresses on her blog, by clicking on her name.

We used "Believe" patterned paper and the zip strip on the end, also. The dress was cut at 3" and scored across every space, leaving one open half way, to be cut for the top of the dress. We folded the skirt up, then flattened it out and added Liquid Applique. This is the best "snow" for paper crafts....it is just amazing stuff.

The dress form is from Tailor-Made and the sentiment is from Christmas Love. We used some retired Topiary embellishments and my trusty corner/scallop maker for the border. We also used a Topiary marker to adjust the words on the zip strip to read Mrs. Claus.

All supplies are Close to My Heart.

Stamps: Christmas Love; Tailor-Made

Paper: Believe

Cardstock: White Daisy; Topiary; Sweet Leaf

Ink: Topiary

Embellishments: retired Topiary buttons

Tools: Art Philosophy; corner/scallop maker

Typeset craziness

2011-10-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

I recently held a Variety card class and this is one of the cards each gal made. As much as I love Typset paper, I seem to go a bit crazy whenever I use it.

I cut star and bracket shapes on with my Art Philosophy cartridge in Desert Sand, then put them through my dollar store crimper. I also cut the cut ticket shapes. These were stamped with one coordinating AP stamp set and an image from Blue Ribbon.

We stuck the tickets in our new Pin Clips, then added coordinating buttons. Our corner rounder/scallop maker was used to make the border.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Blue Ribbon; AP bundle set

Paper: Typeset

Cardstock: Vineyard Berry; Colonial White; Juniper; Desert Sand

Ink: Juniper; Vineyard Berry

Other: Pin Clips; Buttons

Tools: Art Philosophy; Corner/Scallop Maker

An Elemental Birthday

2011-10-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

Hah, rather than an Elemental Birthday.....it could have been a temper mental birthday for my husband!I put this card together, quickly, when I realized it was past midnight and already my husband's birthday. This wouldn't matter to most, however, my husband arrives home from work at 12:30am, so there didn't seem to be any excuses for me to not have a card ready!

This was a very simple card using Elemental paper in the background on a Dutch Blue background. I stamped the Art Philosophy shape with the background image from Happy Journey. I inked up some Milepost stars and added two Kraft border strips. The card was finished off with wooden buttons and some mushy, words of love on the inside!

All supplies are Close to My Heart.

Paper: Elemental

Stamp: Happy Journey; A Little Everything

Cardstock: Dutch Blue; White Daisy; Pacifica; Indian Corn Blue

Ink: Dutch Blue; Pacifica

Embellishments: Wooden Buttons; Kraft Borders; Milepost shapes

Believe in pointsettias

2011-10-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

I have discovered a new use for a flower image on my Close To My Heart Art Philosophy cartridge.....poinsettias.

I started with one of our new card boxes and covered it with patterned paper from, Believe. I added some of our new gingham ribbon from the Red assortment.

Then I set out to decorate with a poinsettia.....which I love because of there colours and joyfullness. This image is the second to last image on the second row of buttons...flower7. I cut 4 different sizes: 3 3/4; 3 1/4; 2 3/4; and 2 1/4. Then I used my stylus and drew leaf spines the backside of each petal. Then I turned the flower over and bent each petal on the centre line.

After bending each petal on the centre line, I used our sanding block to expose the other spine lines I had drawn on the back side. I used a sponge to apply Topiary ink to the edges and lightly on the spine marks. I used our glue pen to draw a thin bead of glue on each petal edge. Once it was tacky I rubbed our Prisma glitter on for the bling.

Here is what the front of my box looks like decorated.

For the berry like middle of the poinsettias, I simply tor a 1/4" piece of cardstock in white, then soaked the edge in Topiary ink. I applied glue pen to the top and added Prisma glitter once tacky. I put a small pool of Liquid Glass in the middle of the stuck together flowers, then held the berries in place until the LG was set.

Here is a second pointsettia in Holiday Red. I also slightly bent each petal towards the middle, just by pressing my thumb nail in between each towards the middle of the petals.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Paper: Believe

Tools: Art Philosophy; stylus

Cardstock: White Daisy; Holiday Red

Ink: topiary

Other: Liquid Glass; Prisma Glitter; Glue pen; Red ribbon Assortment; Card Box

More spooky Hallowe'en......

2011-10-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

While at Close To My Heart's annual convention, I was able to take advantage of ordering new product that was bundled up with other new goodies. One stamp set I received was, Backdrop-Charmed.

This stamp set has Hallowe'en and Fall backdrop style frames and a few sentiments. I stamped the Hallowe'en image on Mischief patterned cardstock. I overstamped it in Versamark and embossed in clear embossing powder.

I cut out an image from another patterned piece of paper in the Mischief kit, for the circle embellishment. The sentiment is from Mischief Workshop On The Go. I also stamped the entire Barn Red cardstock mat in the web flourish image from the same stamp set.

Finally, I added the crow/raven from our new Midnight Felt Shapes. Once it was stuck down, I covered it in our Stardust Glitz for a bit of bling on the card.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Backdrop-Charmed; Mischief WOTG

Paper: Mischief

Cardstock: Colonial White; Barn Red; Sunset; Black

Ink: Black; Versamark

Embellishments: Midnight Felt Shapes; Black brad

Spiders...'n Crows....'n webs oh my!

2011-10-05T07:55:00.000-07:00

Hallowe'en is less than a month away........I've made a few more cards for the occasion! This card started with Close To My Heart's new stamp set, All Hallows Eve.

I first cut the main shape with my Art Philosophy cartridge. I used the web image and stamped enough times in black ink, to cover the entire shape. Then I stamped the crow image in black and embossed in clear over top.

I have been very selectively cutting this piece of patterned paper from my Mischief package. It has several great scenes on it and I figured I should use it for several cards. I picked out the creepyish flourish border to creatively look like a spider's silk, that he comes repelling from outta nowhere. You know what I mean.....one minute there is nothing there and the next thing you know you've got a spider's silk and likely the spider too.....on you............eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

I stamped in black, then embossed in clear the little spindly legged creeper. Seems, most every image I stamped, I followed the same technique. The sentiment is from the Mischief Workshop On The Go kit and the border from Aug stamp of the month, Wicked.

Finally, I added Barn Red cardstock and Mischief patterned as a mat for the crow. I also added Black Opaques.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: All Hallows Eve; Mischief WOTG; Wicked

Paper: Mischief

Ink: Black; Versamark

Cardstock: Colonial White; Barn Red; Black; Sunset

Embellishments: Black Opaques; Colonial White brad; Clear embossing powder

Tools: Art Philosophy cartridge

Other: Fiskars Admit One punch

Blogtoberfest Challenge

2011-10-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

Fellow consultant extraordinaire, Tresa Black has posted a Blogtoberfest challenge on her blog. It is a time to "step up their game" in everything that is bloggy. So, I am going to take challenge and I hope you enjoy my stepping up! Please click on this icon to the right to take you to a list of blogs who have also accepted Tresa's challenge!

Stamping Bella Challenge

2011-09-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, I did a few challenges this week....here is my entry for Stamping Bella's Bellarific Friday challenge. The theme was "Pop It Up" and from another great Canadian stamp company!

This sweet image is called "Everyday Princess", by Christy Croll. She seemed a bit rebellious, so I paired her with Close To My Heart's Sweetheart patterned paper and coordinating cardstock.

My background mat is Tulip cardstock; then Colonial White; and then patterned paper for the top layer. The reverse side of the black patterned paper is the same I used on the pop up portion of her skirt and on the scalloped border.

I used my Edge Distresser on the Colonial White layers to add more interest to the card. The pink layers are Blush cardstock. I coloured the image with my Copic markers using shades of grey and pinks, since these seem to be the colours my 13 year old daughter are wearing. She is a bit rebellious these days, so this is my ode to her this week.

Finally, I added some black Opaque gems; Clear Sparkles and butcher's twine to finish off this card. You can also see it alongside other entries on the Stamping Bella Blog today.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Paper: Sweetheart

Stamp: Everyday Princess by Christy Croll at Stamping Bella

Cardstock: Colonial White; Tulip; Black; Blush

Embellisments: Black Opaque gems; Clear Sparkles

Tools: Corner/scallop maker

Other: butcher's twine; Copic markers

More Flower Power.....

2011-09-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

While playing along with challenges last week, I cut out some extra flowers with my new Spellbinders Grand Peony dies. They paired so well with Elemental paper, I put together this card:

The sentiment on this card is from CTMH's Tea Time, stamped in Olive. The background stamped on the shape, is from Universal Backgrounds (which, by the way, I've been calling something else!). I stamped the background with Garden Green and also sponged with it.

The flower is cut from Elemental patterned paper, with Tulip and Sorbet cardstock. I inked the patterned flowers with Desert Sand ink.

I added Twill ribbon that I pleated; a Colonial White button with Sorbet waxy flax; and finally 3 Opaques Adhesive Gems.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Tea Time; Universal Backgrounds

Ink: Desert Sand; Garden Green; Olive; Sorbet

Cardstock: Tulip; Sunflower; Honey; Sorbet; Colonial white; Olive

Embellishments: Opaques Adhesive Gems; Colonial White buttons; Sorbet waxy flax

Other: Cricut and Spellbinders

The witch's dress.....

2011-09-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, so when I first spied this technique on a fellow CTMH consultant's blog, I went crazy and made several of these dresses. Mandy Leahy is very creative and is always coming up with creative ways to use our Art Philosophy cartridge.

I started with cutting a 3" scalloped circled with my Art Philosophy cartridge from retired Orange cardstock. Before scoring it, I stamped the edges with this flourish spider web border from the stamp set included with Mischief's Workshop on the Go. You can see it by clicking on the link to my website.

I started with a Barn Red cardstock mat, added a layer with Colonial White and then the striped patterned paper from Mischief. The "Witch Hazel" square is cut from another patterned paper in the paper kit. I stamped the border, on the Colonial White scalloped edge border, from August's stamp of the month, Wicked. The stamped the cat in black, then embossed her in clear embossing powder.

The black and white patterned papers are also from the Mischief paper pack. Finally I added Black Opaques to the dress flower and two corners of the card, to finish things off.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Mischief Workshop On The Go; Wicked

Patterned Paper: Mischief

Cardstock: Barn Red; Colonial White; Grey Flannel

Ink: Black

Embellishments: Black Opaques; Black printed grosgrain ribbon

Other: Art Philosophy; Clear Embossing powder

Christmas Tree craziness

2011-09-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

Well, here is another creation inspired from Mandy Leahy. A fellow Close To My Heart Consultant, Mandy's tree was gorgeous, but a crazy crazy 17" high! There was no way I was going to take that on, so this tree was created on an 8" styrofoam cone.

I used 6 different green cardstock colours: Sweet Leaf; Topiary; Garden Green; Olive; Pear; and retired Citrus Leaf. I cut the spikey flower with CTMH's Art Philosophy cartridge at 2 3/4"; 3"; 3 1/4" and 3 1/2 ". I rolled them and secured them with Liquid Glass on the bottom.

I usually let mine set overnight, just to be sure the Liquid glass had dried. I started with 2 sheets each of all 6 colours. You can cut 9 flowers on each 12 x 12 sheet of cardstock. I ended up cutting an additional 2 sheets for each colour, in order to finish this tree. Yes, that IS a lot of flowers for one tree!

The close up shows how the flowers are fanned out and I've attached them to the cone with pins, I picked up at a fabric store. I added Cranberry grosgrain ribbon as a garland, then went on to the all important tree topper.

The topper, also lifted from Mandy's tree, is 3 stars cut from our AP cartridge at about 2 1/2", from Cranberry cardstock. I coloured each with our Bonding Memories Glue pen. When the glue had turned clear and was tacky, I rubbed on our Prisma Glitter. I scored each in the middle, then stuck them together with a kebob skewer in the middle. Then I stuck the skewer in to the top of the tree and fluffed the flowers up around it.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Cardstock: Cranberry; Sweet Leaf; retired Citrus Leaf; Garden Green; Olive; Topiary; Pear.

Embellishments: Cranberry grosgrain ribbon; Prisma Glitter

Tools: Art Philosophy cartridge; Liquid Glass

Other: White headed pins; skewer

A Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge

2011-09-26T07:15:00.000-07:00

I really love to find Canadian made products and that is what Kraftin' Kimmies are! This week was a sketch challenge so I inked "Giselle" and "Kimmie's Tea Sentiments" up for this one.

I started by picking my Copic markers and then paired those up with Close To My Heart's Mayberry patterned paper and coordinated cardstock. The base cardstock colour is Honey, then I added some Hollyhock patterned paper. The sentiment mat is Hollyhock and Giselle's mat is Cocoa. The striped pattern paper has a Garden Green cardstock mat.

After I stamped and coloured Giselle, I used my rectangle Spellbinders to cut and emboss her image and the Cocoa mat. I did trim her image as I like the way it made her look as though she was running to serve tea!

The flowers and sentiment shape were cut with my CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge. This is my new favourite Cricut cartridge and you can purchase it by heading to my online store here. You can also pick up our FREE Pair-A-Phrase stamp set with your qualifying purchase, before Sep 30th.

Here is the Kraftin' Kimmie sketch:

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Patterned paper: Mayberry

Stamp: Kraftin' Kimmie Giselle and Kimmie's Tea Sentiments

Cardstock: Colonial White; Hollyhock; Cocoa; Garden Green

Ink: Hollyhock; Garden Green

Embellishments: Clear Sparkles

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Other: Copic Markers

A Blog Award

2011-09-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

I am tickled to have received this award from Andrea Ruiz, a fellow Close To My Heart sister. Check out Andrea's blog, she has some beautiful artwork!

The goal of the award is to spotlight up and coming bloggers who currently have less than 200 followers. The rules of the award are:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blog who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award onto your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
5. And most of all, HAVE FUN!

Please visit the blogs of my Top 5 picks, in random order:

1. Karen Day (a fellow Canadian consultant with GORGEOUS artwork)
2. Jackie Lupien (my new found "Tweeker" buddy, from 2011 convention)
3. Sarah Walmsley (a sweet downline of mine)
4. Jamia Bankhead (one of my HAS swapping friends)
5. Tiffany Cheney (a fellow CTMH sister, whose artwork I admire)

I hope we can inspire you to follow us.

The Play Date and Mojo Monday merge.....

2011-09-24T02:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've finally got it together again to do some challenges. The first I tackled was this week's challenge for The Play Date Cafe. Since this week was a colour challenge, I combined it with the weekly sketch challenge over at Mojo Monday.

I used Sorbet; Sunflower; Olive and Garden Green from Close To My Heart to represent the required colours for The Play Date Cafe. I used my new Spellbinders Grand Peony dies to cut the flower layers. I used a bone folder to curl their edges and inked them with Sorbet ink.

I stamped an image from "State of Mind" with Sorbet ink on Sorbet cardstock, then mounted it on Colonial White. The green layers are Garden Green and Olive and they are sitting on patterned paper from "Elemental". The leaves are cut from New England Ivy cardstock.

The patterned paper is mounted on Colonial White, then more Sorbet. The edges were sponged in coordinating ink colours. I added White Hemp and Colonial White buttons to finish everything off.

Here is The Play Date Cafe and Mojo Monday information.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: State of Mind

Paper: Elemental

Cardstock: Colonial White; Sorbet; Sunflower; Garden Green; Olive; New England Ivy

Ink: Sorbet; Garden Green; Olive

Embellishments: White Hemp; Colonial White buttons

Other: Spellbinders Grand Peony Nestabilities

Sonoma and Art Philosophy

2011-09-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been lifting more ideas from Mandy Leahy. She posted a beautiful card and video tutorial, with a dress she made using a shape from Close To My Heart's Art Philosophy cartridge. I have changed colours and added a few more layers to create this card using Sonoma colours.

Following Mandy's instructions, I cut 3 scalloped circles at 3"; 3 1/4" and 3 1/2" in retired Amethyst; Smokey Plum; and Pansy Purple respectively. I scored them between each scallop, leaving 2 to cut out for the top of the dress.

I added gold ribbon that had been included in a Creative Basic paper pack and cut and rolled a flower from Art Philosophy, aslo. I added Stardust Glitz to the centre of the flower and top of the dress. I also added an almost retired Kraft border with the strip of Sonoma paper.

The dress form image was stamped in Cocoa from the Tailor-Made stamp set and the sentiment is from Wings Workshop On The Go set.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Tailor-Made; Wings WOTG

Paper: Sonoma

Cardstock: Colonial White; retired Amethyst; Smokey Plum; Pansy Purple; Cocoa

Ink: Cocoa

Embellishments: Kraft Borders; Stardust Glitz; Gold Ribbon

Tools: Art Philosophy cartridge

More Damask Decor and CTMH

2011-09-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

I needed to replenish my stock of cards at the cafe, so using Damask Decor was an easy and elegant solution. I paired the cartridge with my all time two favourite colours....Sweet Leaf and Twilight.

I stamped in Desert Sand with Universal Backgrounds and the sentiment in the card above is from A Little Thanks. The shape was cut from Twilight and adhered to the Sweet Leaf on a Colonial White card base.

I trimmed the front of both cards 1/4 inch and added cardstock on the inside of the card for something different.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Universal Backgrounds; A Little Thanks

Ink: Desert Sand; Twilight; Pacifica

Cardstock: Sweet Leaf; Twilight; Colonial White

Other: Cricut and Damask Decor

Dreamin and Art Philosophy

2011-09-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

This shaped card was the second cut from one piece of 12 x 12 cardstock. It is 5 1/2 square and it is for my neighbour's 40th birthday this Sunday.

I sponged all edges with Cocoa ink. The patterned paper is from Dreamin' and the base and left side of the card are Bamboo cardstock. The right side is Goldrush and the small mat is Cocoa cardstock.

I used our wonderful new Milepost embellishments along with some retired buttons. The grid pattern was stamped with Noted Backgrounds; the sentiment from A Little Everything; and the ticket from You and Me. The ticket is tied up with some White Hemp.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Noted Backgrounds; A Little Everything; You and Me

Paper: Dreamin'

Cardstock: Bamboo; Goldrush; Cocoa

Ink: Dutch Blue; Cocoa; Goldrush

Embellishments: Milepost shapes; retired Fall buttons; White Hemp

Tools: Art Philosophy and Cricut

Noted Backgrounds and Cricut

2011-09-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

While I was away in Oregon, in July, I managed to pick up a Cricut cartridge that has been on my list for a few months. Damask Decor had some beautiful images I wanted to have to cut.....so here is the beginning.

I cut this image in CTMH's Blush cardstock and then stamped an image from Noted Backgrounds in Desert Sand ink. I mounted it on Black cardstock; then Tulip; then Black again. All of the edges have Desert Sand ink sponged on them.

All supplies are Close to My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Noted Backgrounds

Cardstock: Black; Tulip; Blush; Colonial White

Ink: Desert Sand

Tools: Sponge; Cricut and Damask Decor

Aaaaaah, Sonoma is back.

2011-09-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

I wasn't too fond of this paper when we first saw it as a special, but something in it now makes me warm to it. Could be those paisley and purples....who could resist!

I made this card for a dear friend of mine I used to work with. We had dinner together and I had to at least show up with a card.

I've cut this amazing shaped card with my Art Philosophy cartridge.....you can purchase your own by clicking to my website and ordering the amazing bundle! This was cut at 5 1/2 in Desert Sand and I sponged the same ink on all of the edges. I also used my edge Distresser to rough things up a bit, too.

I also cut the lollipop flowers with the AP cartridge. They were cut at 1.5; 1.75; and 2 inches, then rolled and secured with Liquid Glass. I added sparkles to the middle of each flower, then added some Cocoa grosgrain ribbon, along with a decorative pin in our new Bling assortment.

I stamped and cut out an image from Paisley Praise and stamped the smaller Desert Sand shape with the notebook image from Typeset WOTG stamp set.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Paisley Praise; You and Me; Typeset WOTG

Paper: Sonoma

Cardstock: Desert Sand; Cocoa; Colonial White; Pansy Purple

Ink: Desert Sand; Smokey Plum

Embellishments: Sparkles; Bling Assortment; Cocoa grosgrain ribbon; Liquid Glass

Tools: Art Philosophy; Edge Distresser

Fall is here..................yipee!

2011-09-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

I LOVE FALL!

Ahem......now that I have professed my feelings for this season, here is a simple card I made with some beautiful Dreamin' paper and new stamp set, Unscripted.

I started with a Pacifica background underneath the beautiful blue leaf patterned cardstock from Dreamin'. I cut the underneath shape with my Art Philosophy cartridge from Bamboo cardstock and used a sponge to ink the edges with Desert Sand ink.

I stamped the background on Sky cardstock with coordinating ink; then added a mat in Pacifica. The sentiment is stamped in Dutch Blue on Colonial White cardstock, on the matching Art Philosophy shape. I cut a mat 1/4" larger from Goldrush cardstock. The sentiment is on foam squares for some added dimension.

My final stamping was the flower border along the edge in Dutch Blue ink. All pieces were edged by sponge with Desert Sand ink. To finish the card off, I added white hemp to the background image and some of our new Wooden Designer Buttons.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Unscripted

Paper: Dreamin' kit

Cardstock: Colonial White; Bamboo; Sky; Pacifica; Goldrush

Ink: Sky; Dutch Blue; Desert Sand

Embellishments: Wooden Designer Buttons; White Hemp

Other: CTMH's Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Keep swimming........

2011-09-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

I am falling behind in photographing and posting my recent artwork....today will be no different!

First, I am overwhelmed with our Art Philosophy cartridge and my need to roll flowers. I have not had something consume my time like this for a long time. I'm obsessed....let's be frank!

I'm covering styrofoam balls; styrofoam cones; cutting spiky flowers; cutting rose like flowers; cutting spiral circles for lollipop flowers....................it is crazy flower town in my scrapbook room!

I have a dear friend with a birthday this Sunday and a neighbour. I must get on with making their birthday cards. Also I must make a Thank you card to send along with an album to a wonderful gal who has accepted countless packages for me.

So, I will post more artwork this weekend when I can get out from under my glorious Art Philosophy flowers. If you haven't got your cartridge yet.................click to the right onto my website and order it so you can join my crazy flower town!

Art Philosophy CTMH exclusive

2011-09-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

Here is another rose made with Close To My Heart's, fabulous new and exclusive, Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.

This rose was made with Blush and Grey Flannel cardstock. Each rose was cut at 3 1/2". The Grey Flannel roses were first stamped with an image from Noted Backgrounds in second generation Black ink. I used a sponge with Black in to add ink to the edges.

For the Blush roses, I also used a sponge to apply ink to the edges of each rose. I added pins with white ball heads to the centre of each flower. The ribbon is retired Blush polka dot grosgrain ribbon. The pins are holding the roses on to a 2" styrofoam ball I got from the dollar store.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Noted Backgrounds

Tools: Art Philosophy cartridge

Cardstock: Blush; Grey Flannel

Ink: Blush; Black

Other: Pins and Styrofoam ball

Remarkable Wreath workshop is complete!

2011-09-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

This is the final card in my upcoming Remarkable Wreath class. Each gal will make 4 of each of these cards I've posted using this stamp set. They are cards for all seasons!

This is the fall one of the bunch with Cranberry cardstock stamped with Damask Tiles in Cranberry ink. The flourish is from Playful Flourishes.

The shapes were cut with Close To My Heart's Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. The buckle is a new embellishment in our Fall/Winter Idea Book.

The leaves for this images were inked in Goldrush, then rolled in Autumn Terracotta. The Cranberry cardstock was distressed with our Edge Distresser. Bronze Glitz was used to bling up the wreath.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Remarkeable Wreath; Damask Tiles; Playful Flourishes

Cardstock: Cranberry; Colonial White; Goldrush; retired Breeze

Ink: Cranberry; Cocoa; Goldrush; Autumn Terracotta

Embellishments: Foundry Metal Accessories; Bronze Glitz

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

More Remarkable Wreath

2011-09-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

Here is the second card in my "Remarkable Wreath" card workshop. I used Cocoa and Hollyhock ink along with retired Breeze; Colonial White; Hollyhock; and Smokey Plum cardstock.

The border and other shapes were cut with Art Philosophy, CTMH's exclusive Cricut cartridge. The background was stamped in second generation Cocoa with an image from Damask Tiles.

Then three types of bling were added: Glitz to the flowers and border along with Bitty Sparkles. I also added one of our new, gorgeous Rhinestone brads.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Remarkable Wreath; Damask Tiles

Cardstock: Colonial White; Hollyhock; Smokey Plum and retired Breeze

Ink: Cocoa and Hollyhock

Embellishments: Bitty Sparkles; Rhinestone brads; Glitz

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Remarkable Wreath

2011-09-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

I am finally going to post some artwork with new products from Close To My Heart's Fall//Winter Idea Book. This is the first card in a series designed for an upcoming card class. Gals will go home with 4 each of 3 designs; Remarkable Wreath stamp set; and some new Glitz.

I started with Grey Flannel and stamped with Damask Tile in second generation Cocoa ink. The shapes were cut with CTMH's Art Philosophy cartridge, then the edges were distressed with our Distresser. I stamped the wreath in Cocoa ink, then the berries in Cranberry. You'll excuse me for using retired Breeze for the blue ink and cardstock. I have a pack I wanted to use up.

A strip of Cranberry cardstock tied up with some white hemp and some new Red Glitz......I call this card classy and done!

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamp: Remarkable Wreath; Damask Tiles

Cardstock: Grey Flannel; Breeze; Cranberry; Colonial White

Ink: Cocoa; Cranberry

Embellishments: Red Glitz; White Hemp; Art Philosophy

Roses are red...and sometimes blue, green and creme!

2011-09-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

I am having a rose crazy time with CTMH's new, exclusive Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. In addition to some great basic shapes that coordinate with our stamp sets, there are 2 fonts; card shapes; decorative boxes; borders; and flower spirals!

I became rose crazy when a fellow CTMH Consultant, Lisa Stenz, created a beautiful wreath with these roses. Since seeing her wreath, I've been rose rolling CRAZY! No, really, I've probably rolled about 300 roses!

I have some small styrofoam balls I was going to use for another project, but they seemed to be telling me to cover them in roses. So I obliged and here is my rose ball ornament.

I cut all of the flowers at 3 1/2 in Sweet Leaf, Twilight, and Colonial White cardstock. I stuck them together with Liquid Glass and used a white headed pin to get them on the ball. I added some Sweet Leaf stitched ribbon as the hanger. This ball was 2" and with the roses it is now about 4" across.

I've since used spray adhesive......the really toxic, messy, smelly stuff.....and added glitter to this ball.

If you want to make one of these for yourself....all you need to do is contact me to order the NEW Close To My Heart, Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. When you purchase it before the end of September, you will also receive a wonderful double D stamp set called Pair-A-Phrase. You can get more information from my website.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Tools: CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge

Cardstock: Sweet Leaf; Twilight; Colonial White

Embellishments: Sweet Leaf stitched ribbon

Other: Cricut Expressions; pins; 2" styrofoam ball

Miracle and Hot Diggity

2011-08-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here is another card from my Summer card workshop. You can see the theme was using Hot Diggity; Kraft borders; a Spellbinder's shape and every paper pack from CTMH's Spring/Summer Idea Book.

This was a very simple card.......yet I love this little owl a huge bunch! A Sweet Leaf strip of cardstock against a Kraft Border. A stamp like Spellbinder's die in Crystal Blue for the owl stamped in Pear ink. The sentiment was stamped in Black.

We added a Bloom and some Colonial White brads. The girls made 3 each of the 4 cards.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamp: Hot Diggity

Paper: Miracle

Cardstock: Sweet Leaf; Crystal Blue; Colonial White

Ink: Black; Pear

Embellishments: Kraft Borders; Blooms; Colonial White brads

Other: Spellbinder Nestabilities Die

Some birdy is whistling.....

2011-08-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hah, that was a silly play on words...........so I'll show you another card from a recent workshop. In keeping with the using Hot Diggity and Nestability shapes....here is the card.

Some Mayberry patterned paper was used along with coordinating cardstock colours. The bird was stamped in Hollyhock ink on top of flowers stamped with Goldrush. This is also a loose take on one of the patterns from Close To My Heart's Originals card book.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamp: Hot Diggity

Paper: Mayberry

Cardstock: Colonial White; Hollyhock; Honey; Garden Green; Cocoa

Ink: Cocoa; Hollyhock; Goldrush

Embellishments: Colonial White Ric Rac ribbon

Puddle Pad technique

2011-08-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

At a recent workshop, we used the puddle technique to stamp images. We used Sweet Leaf and Crystal Blue reinkers on a small piece of felt, as our puddle pad.

The buttlerfly stamp is from CTMH's Hot Diggity along with paper from our Wings pack. I also had to use one of our fabulous Kraft Borders to this simple, yet sweet card. The rectangle is cut with a Spellbinders die and the ladybug is stamped in Black ink on Vineyard Berry cardstock.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Hot Diggity

Paper: Wings

Cardstock: Vineyard Berry; Colonial White

Ink: Black ink; Sweet Leaf and Crystal Blue reinkers

Embellishments: Kraft Borders; Crystal Blue brads

Other: Spellbinders die; felt

Baby Love

2011-08-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

This card was a little something I put together after seeing a similar card on another Consultant's blog. It started with "Baby Love", the first stamp set I had to have from the Spring/Summer Idea Book.

I stamped an image from Universal Backgrounds in Twilight on Sweet Leaf cardstock. Then I stamped the image and sentiment in Black over top. I drew lines around the outside to appear as stitching, then added a Bloom and brad to finish it off.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamp: Baby Love; Universal Backgrounds

Cardstock: Lagoon; Sky; Black; Sweet Leaf

Ink: Twilight; Black

Embellishments: Bloom and Sky brad

Something a little different

2011-08-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what I was going for when I created this card. I wanted to use a background image, but this card went completely off track of where I planned.

I used the script image from Universal Backgrounds, stamped in Black on Baby Pink cardstock. The cherry blossom and sentiment are from a retired set, Aspiration. I added the word "dream" from another retired set, whose name escapes me.

I added patterned paper from Sweetheart and also stamped and cut out the cherry blossoms from that paper. I finished the card with some Black Bitty brads and a Colonial White Bigger Brad that was dipped in Liquid Glass and then some Prisma Glitter.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Paper: Sweetheart

Stamps: Aspiration; Universal Backgrounds

Cardstock: Baby Pink; Hollyhock; Colonial White; Black

Ink: Black; Hollyhock

Embellishments: Black Bitty Brads and Colonial White Bigger Brad

Other: Prisma Glitter; Liquid Glass

Tailor-Made

2011-08-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

Here is the second card in my "Size Matters" class. I finally got a chance to use my sewing stamp set, Tailor-Made. The point of this class, in addition to showing the versatility of an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock, was to use a different background stamp for each card.

We stamped with an image from Universal Backgrounds in Tulip ink on Baby Pink cardstock. Some Mayberry patterned paper was added in the back and we made a flower from it, also. The sewing machine was stamped in second generation Black; the sentiment and stitches in 1st generation Black.

The flower was made by cutting a 1" strip of patterned paper and folding it in half, lengthwise. Then, making small cuts every 1/8 th of an inch along the non-folded edge. Then roll up the paper and fluff the flower. We also added some Glitz once we had the flower secured to the card.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Patterned Paper: Mayberry

Stamps: Universal Backgrounds; Tailor-Made

Cardstock: Baby Pink; Colonial White; Black; Cocoa; Garden Green; Sky

Ink: Tulip; Black

Other: Glitz; Corner/Scallop Maker

Size Matters card workshop

2011-08-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

Before I went to CTMH's convention in Disneyland, I held a workshop with the intriguing name "Size Matters". I wanted to show how you could get two different sized cards from one piece of 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock.

This card is 3 1/2" x 8" and we also made 4x4 cards from the left overs from the sheet of cardstock.

The background was stamped with Universal Backgrounds in Twilight on Sweet Leaf cardstock. We added a strip of patterned paper from Miracle and Twilight cardstock. Each gal got to choose some Kraft Border strips to use on their cards.

The flower is one of our old Dimensional Elements stamped with an image from Simple Memories in Pacifica. We sponged Sweet Leaf ink over the entire thing and Pacifica on the edges, before adding a Colonial White brad. The sentiment is from For Every Occasion.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Simple Memories; Universal Backgrounds; For Every Occasion

Patterned Paper: Miracle

Cardstock: Colonial White; Sweet Leaf; Twilight

Ink: Twilight; Pacifica

Embellishments: Kraft Borders; Dimensional Elements; Colonial White brad

Dreamin' about these cards

2011-08-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

Here is the second card featured in my Photo Card Workshop. I have used lots of new products from Close To My Heart's Fall Idea Book and some great techniques.

I started with our new Kraft Die Cut cards and sponged Desert Sand ink everywhere. The dandelion fluff images was embossed in Colonial White. The tall flower images are embossed in clear embossing powder, then Crystal Blue; Pacifica; Goldrush and Chocolate ink where sponged in.

My embellishment grouping used our new Copper brads and stamping in Pacifica. I also cut the scalloped oval shape with my Art Philosophy cartridge.

I cut the "zip strip" from my new Dreamin' paper pack and along with a new Foundry buckle, added some great wide Chocolate striped ribbon. Below is the inside of the card where a picture can be included.

Finally, here is the bonus clip made with an ordinary clothes pin, covered in extraordinary paper. I used two of my favourite stamp sets to complete this card, Soul Mates and Treasure.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Soul Mates; Treasures; Ecclectic Borders

Paper: Dreamin'

Cardstock: Goldrush; Pacifica; Colonial White; Desert Sand; Chocolate

Ink: Desert Sand; Pacifica; Goldrush; Chocolate; Crystal Blue

Embellishments: Chocolate Striped Ribbon; Foundry Slides; Copper Brads; Bitty Sparkles; White Hemp

Other: Clothes Pin

Roxie and some new bling.

2011-08-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

This is one of the cards customers will be creating in a upcoming workshop I am having. I have started with new Roxie paper; Kraft Die Cut cards and great new embellishments from Close To My Heart's Fall/Winter Idea Book.

I started by sponging Desert Sand ink on every edge of my Kraft card base. I stamped with Dreams Come True in Black on Smoothie cardstock. I also used images from You and Me. The flourish was in second generation and then overstamped with Versamark and embossed in clear embossing powder.

I spritzed new Butterfly Blooms with Blush reinker and Pearl paint in our Spray Pen. I added a button and pin from our new Bling Assortment and pleated ribbon from our new Designer Red Collection.

The flowers were made by cutting a spiral, wavy circle from Roxy papers and adding an Opaque gem to the middle. The inside has stamping on one side and the other is ready for a picture of someone special, along with room to write and another spritzed flower.

In addition, I made this sweet pin to go with the card. It is a clothes pin dressed up to match the card. Each person at my workshop will get to make this to go along with the card.

Tomorrow, I will post the second card customers will make at this workshop.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Dreams Come True; You and Me

Paper: Roxie

Cardstock: Smoothie; Tulip; Colonial White; Kraft Die Cut Cards

Ink: Desert Sand; Black; Versamark

Embellishments: Bling Assortment; Red Designer Ribbon; Black Hemp; Opaque Gems; Butterfly and Flower Blooms

Other: Clothes pins

A late night cup of tea.

2011-08-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the final two beverage cards, this first one with the stamped flourish being my favourite. Ink is Pacifica and paper is from Miracle. Sentiments from Kraftin' Kimmie and CTMH Border Basics.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Border Basics; Promotional stamp

Paper: Miracle

Cardstock: Colonial White; Pacifica; Chocolate

Ink: Pacifica

Embellishments: Pacifica brads

Other: Kraftin Kimmie sentiments; Etsy graphic images

Convention swap cards

2011-08-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here are two of the cards I created to swap at CTMH's Convention. First, let me apologize for the lousy pictures. I was rushing the night before I left and just snapped pics on my work table, rather than using my light box and lights.

These were both very simple 4x4 cards. Both used Universal Backgrounds. The first used Wings patterned paper along with some Sweet Leaf and Black cardstock on a Colonial White base. I added one of my favourite products, our Kraft Borders.

I also used my Martha Punch All Over the Page punch to make the butterfly and stamped it in second generation Vineyard Berry with the script image from Universal Backgrounds.

This second card is a take on one from Leisa Hubley's blog using the Mayberry Workshop On The Go stamp set. I wish this card didn't look so crooked.....but I was stamping fast and that script is slanting and making things wonky!

The cardstock with the script is Baby Pink and there is Garden Green and Hollyhock along with the Colonial White base. The pear image is inked in Honey and rolled in Hollyhock. The script is stamped in Black.

I would like to say Thank you to everyone who swapped with me, at convention. This was an experience like no other. You are almost swarmed by Ladies asking if you are swapping. I saw some Gals with an enormous amount of items to swap, and understand some made upwards of 300! I don't know how anyone has the time to make that many....but I sure did enjoy swapping with who I did.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Mayberry WOTG; Universal Backgrounds; Thank You

Paper: Wings and Mayberry

Cardstock: Sweet Leaf; Black; Hollyhock; Baby Pink; Garden Green; Colonial White

Ink: Black; Sweet Leaf; Vineyard Berry; Honey; Hollyhock

Embellishments: Colonial White Waxy Flax; Garden Green brads; Kraft Borders

Tools: Corner/Scallop maker

Other: Martha Stewart Punch All Over the Page

Coffee and Tea time

2011-08-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

Before I left for CTMH's convention, I needed to make several cards for the stock I sell at a local cafe....Caffe Fantastico.

I had purchased these great downloads from an etsy shop recently. I also spied these great coffee and tea sentiments from Kraftin Kimmie. I put them together with great Close To My Heart paper and inks and here are two cards I made to sell.

The first one used Miracle paper along with Universal Backgrounds. I added Lagoon and Pacifica cardstock to Colonial White.

The second card used Intrinsic Backgrounds along with Mayberry patterned paper. I used Hollyhock and Garden Green cardstock along with the Colonial White.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless mentioned.

Stamps: Intrinsic and Universal Backgrounds

Paper: Mayberry and Miracle

Cardstock: Pacifica; Lagoon; Hollyhock; Garden Green; Colonial White

Ink: Pacifica; Cocoa; Hollyhock

Buttons: retired Fall buttons

Other: Martha Steward border punch; Cricut Storybook; Etsy graphic download

Thank you for not "unfollowing" me!

2011-08-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm not even going to look back to see how long it has been since I posted some artwork.

I attended my first Close To My Heart convention a few weeks ago, after 7 wonderful years as a Consultant. I had the best time and met some new friends, namely Jennifer Kelly; Jackie Block-Lupien; Barb Sinclair and Karen Norman.

We shared much laughter and Jennifer was my adoptive Mom, making sure I got where I needed to go on time and pretty much leading me around by the nose (Hmmm, if you know me you know how difficult that would actually be to accomplish!). I'm pretty sure Jennifer and I are sisters from another Mother!

Anyhow, here is some artwork I created before I left for the Disneyland convention and our family's three week vacation.

I punched out the butterflies with Martha's Punch All Over the page punch. The background was stamped with the script image from Universal Backgrounds. The sentiment is from Dreams Come True. I added some sparkles to each of the butterfly cut outs.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Universal Backgrounds; Dreams Come True

Patterned Paper: Miracle

Cardstock: Vineyard Berry; Twilight; Colonial White base

Ink: Vineyard Berry

Embellishments: Bitty Sparkles

Other: Martha Steward Punch All Over the Page

Coffee or Tea anyone?

2011-08-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

Here are two more cards I created for sale at Caffe Fantastico. I used Miracle patterned paper for both along with Lagoon; Sweet Leaf; Pacifica; and Twilight cardstock. I stamped with a border set whose name escapes. me.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Border Basics

Paper: Miracle

Cardstock: Pacifica; Sweet Leaf; Lagoon; Twilight; Colonial White

Ink: Chocolate; Pacifica

Other: Cricut Storybook and Kraftin' Kimmie sentiments and Etsy digital images

Disneyland here I come!

2011-07-08T04:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I must apologize for not keeping my blog up to date lately. With all of my trip planning and working extra hours, I have found little time to take pictures and post my latest artwork.

Our family is off to Disneyland tomorrow. We will arrive in Anaheim on Monday, July 11th. I will be attending our Close To My Heart conference and Fall Idea Book launch from Wed - Sat.

Sunday, July 17th is my birthday and I will be spending in Disneyland park with my family. On the 20th, we will work our way North to Eureka, California for a few days and then on to the Oregon coast.

We will spend 8 days on the Oregon coast enjoying the beaches and shopping, until we return home on the 29th of July for a long weekend.

For others travelling to Disneyland, too, I'll see you soon!

Cupcakes........lifted!

2011-06-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

This card was lifted from some other, very creative, CTMH Consultants.

I used this card for a Birthday card class, along with the lantern one posted a few days ago. This card used Sophia patterned paper; Cotton Candy and Kraft cardstock. The cupcake is mounted on White Daisy cardstock.

The cupcake icing is half of a scallop circle punched with our 2" punch. I put the cupcake base through a dollar store crimper. The scallops were made with our corner rounder/scallop maker. The gals used and took home our new stamp set, Card Chatter - Birthday. Chocolate grosgrain ribbon; a brown flower and pink button; along with White Daisy waxy flax finished the card off.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamp: Card Chatter - Birthday

Paper: Sophia

Cardstock: White Daisy; Kraft; Cotton Candy

Ink: Cocoa

Embellishments: Chocolate grosgrain ribbon; Pink and Basic button assortments; White Daisy Waxy Flax

Tools: Corner Rounder/Scallop Maker; 2" Scallop Circle punch

Other: Crimper

Paper Lanterns

2011-06-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

Another one of my favourite Spring/Summer stamp sets is Paper Lantern.

This card is one I created for a Birthday card workshop. The gals made 4 each of three different cards and took home the stamp set: Card Chatter-Birthday.

This one combined gorgeous Sweet Leaf stitched ribbon with Kraft paper. I didn't really get the kraft paper trend until I started using it in my own projects......I love the stuff!

We combined everything with patterned paper from Miracle, along with a mix of blue and green inks. The final touch was Bitty Sparkles also in our blue/green assortment.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamp: Paper Lantern; Card Chatter-Birthday

Paper: Miracle

Cardstock: Sweet Leaf; Sky; White Daisy; Kraft

Ink: Black; Lagoon; Pacifica; Sky; Crystal Blue; Sweet Leaf

Embellishments: Blue/Green Sparkles; Sweet Leaf stitched ribbon

Tools: Corner/Scallop maker

Creative Embellishing

2011-06-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

I seem to get hung up on a stamp set sometimes and Precious Love is no exception.

First I stamped the cake on White Daisy cardstock and used my Blending pen to colour the swags and flowers in. Then I went for three coats of clear embossing powder. I just wiped my Versamark pad over the entire piece of cardstock, then used clear embossing powder. I repeated this three times to get a nice thick coat. Had I wanted the "Cracked Glass" look, I could have put the piece in the freezer for a minute or two, then gently bent it when I took it out and the embossing would have cracked like glass.

I stamped the Blush cardstock in coordinating ink and then it was time for embellishments. I took some White Daisy organdy ribbon and did a running stitch through it. I pulled the string tight to gather the ribbon, then I sewed the ends together to make a flower or closed circle. I stuck two Opaque Gems together to create a pearl. I used Liquid Glass to adhere the pearl to the ribbon flower.

Finally, I used old White Daisy buckles and threaded White Daisy Organdy ribbon through them for this decoration down the right hand side. I'm indifferent to it at this point, but think it adds an interesting touch to the card.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamp: Precious Love

Cardstock: Black; White Daisy; Blush

Ink: Versamark; Black; Blush; Buttercup; Hollyhock; Topiary; Cotton Candy

Embellishments: White Daisy Organdy Ribbon and buckles; Opaque Gems

Other: Clear Embossing Powder

It's Wedding Season.........

2011-06-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

Since our Spring Idea Books arrived back in January, I have been admiring a few images in the set, Precious Love.

This antiqued background with the hearts and flourishes had my eye when I first spied it. It took me months to decide to finally purchase this set, as I just didn't know if I would use it for anything. Now that I have it, I can't imagine why I waited so long.

The backgrounds are stamped in Black and Desert Sand. I added a scallop border and blinged it up with Bitty Sparkles. I added two kinds of Black ribbon; one of our beautiful Blooms with a button for the centre.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Precious Love

Ink: Desert Sand; Black

Cardstock: Black; Desert Sand; Colonial White

Embellishments: Black Ribbon; Bitty Sparkles; Button; Blooms

Tools: Scallop/Corner punch

Easter Goodies

2011-06-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

Since I am a few weeks behind in posting, I'm starting with the oldest and working forward.

Here is a package I made for each of my Hostess Club gals for our April workshop. I used Miracle paper along with some help from my Cricut. I also added Kraft borders to each package to show the girls how great these can look on EVERYTHING!

I stamped with Universal Backgrounds and A Little Everything. Each package was stuffed with Easter candy for a complete sugar high!

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Universal Backgrounds; A Little Everything

Paper: Miracle

Cardstock: Pear; Colonial White; Moonstruck

Ink: Black; Topiary

Embellishments: Kraft Borders; Bitty Sparkles

Tools: Scallop/Corner punch

Other: Cricut Easter cartridge; Paper Tagger

M. I. M. C.

2011-06-01T01:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am still alive. My title....."Missing In My Craft-room"! I have been working on lots of different things lately, but seem to have a problem getting my camera to take photos of my latest cards.

I thought I might share one of the 5x7 photo cards I came up with a while back. I took photos of the most beautiful hydrangeas at a local garden...Government House. I used to photograph there two or three times each week, last year. This year I try to go at least once a week.

I was there on Monday and the baby ducks are swimming and the summer flowers are starting to peak out. Anyhow, I promise to get my cards posted to my blog in the next day, so you can be assured I will get back up to speed.

Thanks for sticking with me!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T15:24:00.001-07:00

I hope all Moms have a wonderful Mother's Day. This is a picture I took of a sweet baby duck spending time with its Mom.

Is it Friday yet.....

2011-05-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hello, yes I am still puttering around in blog land. I have got some art to share, but I just haven't found the time to take pictures of it.

I have also been working on some swap items for Close To My Heart's convention in Disneyland in July. I am trying to stay calm since this is my first convention, ever! I have been a Consultant for almost years and yet, have never been to convention before.

I will post artwork in the coming days so you don't think I've dropped off the earth.

You are so WONDERFUL.

2011-04-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

This card was another I lifted from Leisa Hubley. The only thing I added was the stamping of the flourish image from Playful Flourishes.

I loved this card so much, I created several with slight differences. I added tiny green buttons, from CTMH, to this one.

This one I added green pearls I picked up at the dollar store.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Sophia; Playful Flourishes; Universal Backgrounds

Cardstock: Black; Colonial White; Chocolate; Twilight; Sweet Leaf

Ink: Sweet Leaf; Black; Chocolate

Embellishments: Chocolate grosgrain ribbon; Bitty Sparkles; Green buttons; Hemp

Tools: Corner/Scallop maker

Other: Green pearls

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

May your day be filled with family, love and chocolate.

HAPPY EASTER!

Paper Lantern plethora

2011-04-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Here are three different versions of my original card made with Close To My Heart's fabulous Paper Lantern stamp set.

Each included CTMH's wonderful Kraft borders and patterned paper from: Wings; Miracle; and Sweetheart Level 2 kits.

I used Glitz on the dots of dotted lantern and on the tassels, too. Lanterns were stamped in coordinating inks.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamp: Paper Lantern

Patterned Paper: Wings; Miracle; Sweetheart

Cardstock: Black; Sweet Leaf; Cotton Candy; Colonial White

Ink: Vineyard Berry; Pacifica; Crystal Blue; Sweet Leaf; Cotton Candy

Embellishments: Kraft Borders; Glitz

More Blessed

2011-04-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

This is another card I created with Blessed, our April stamp of the month.

This time I used striped paper from Miracle and the beautiful sentiment with the Blessed stamp set. I coloured in the leaves with a blending pen, then added a dot of Glitz to the base of each leaf. I stamped an image from Eclectic Edges on the scalloped border. Then I added my new, most favourite embellishment....buttons.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Eclectic Borders; Blessed

Paper: Miracle

Cardstock: Colonial White; Sweet Leaf; Twilight

Ink: Sky; Twilight; Sweet Leaf

Embellishments: Green assortment buttons; Glitz

Tools: Corner Rounder

Sophia and Universal Backgrounds

2011-04-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

I was once again inspired by CTMH Consultant, Leisa Hubley.

I created several versions of this card because I love Leisa's design so much. The background is stamped with Vineyard Berry on Vineyard Berry. The other ink used is Chocolate. I added our amazing Kraft borders and delicious Pink buttons.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Playful Flourishes; Universal Backgrounds; Sophia

Cardstock: Colonial White; Chocolate; Vineyard Berry; Cotton Candy

Ink: Chocolate; Vineyard Berry

Embellishments: Pink buttons; White Hemp; Kraft Borders

Paper Lantern fun

2011-04-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

I have found another new stamp set I really like from our Spring/Summer Idea Book.....Paper Lantern.

I created this card for a class I was teaching and was inspired by another CTMH consultant's version. I used patterned paper from Wings and stamped the lanterns in Vineyard Berry and Sweet Leaf. I added our spectacular Kraft Borders; some Glitz to the lanterns and some hemp to finish things off.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Paper Lantern

Patterned paper: Wings

Cardstock: Colonial White; Vineyard Berry

Ink: Black; Vineyard Berry; Sweet Leaf

Embellishments: Kraft Borders; Natural Hemp; Glitz

Butterfly dreaming

2011-04-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

With what almost seemed like Spring in Victoria a few days ago (we're back in the deep freeze...Victoria style...cold with cherry blossom snow), I got to thinking about seeing butterflies again.

This is a very simple card I created with Wings patterned paper and the Dreams Come True stamp set. All were stamped in Black ink. The sentiment mat is Black and the base is Vineyard Berry. The butterflies were punched with my Martha All Over the Page punch and I added our Bitty Sparkles for some bling.

That's it.....sweet and simple.

All supplies are Close to My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Dreams Come True

Patterned Paper: Wings

Cardstock: Colonial White; Vineyard Berry; Black

Ink: Black

Embellishments: Bitty Sparkles

Other: Martha Steward All Over the Page punch

Here I am.....again!

2011-04-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why I have not been able to get things loaded to my blog, but I do continue to create. This card was inspired by a card on a fellow CTMH consultant's blog, Karen Pedersen.

I used Close To My Heart's April stamp of the month, Blessed. I stamped it in Versamark on Chocolate cardstock and embossed with Colonial White embossing powder. I also stamped the flower and leaves on Colonial White cardstock, with Versamark, then embossed them also.

I used a Blending pen and Sweet Leaf and Cotton Candy ink to colour in the shapes. I cut them out and added them over the image embossed on the Chocolate cardstock. I punched a scallop border from patterned paper from Sweetheart and sandwiched it with a strip of Cotton Candy cardstock. I finished the card off with a sentiment from the Sophia stamp set and pink Bitty Sparkles.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamps: Blessed; Sophia

Patterned Paper: Sweetheart

Cardstock: Chocolate; Colonial White; Cotton Candy

Ink: Black; Versamark; Sweet Leaf; Cotton Candy

Embellishments: Pink Bitty Sparkles; Colonial White embossing powder

Humble Artist's Swap card Feb 10th

2011-04-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the card I create for my Humble Artist Swap for February 10th.

Here are what the rules for this card were:

-Your card must be square and at least 5” x 5”.

-You must depict an animal with non-animal stamps or use an animal stamp.

-Your card must be LOVE themed.

-You must use only neutral colours with only one other colour, excluding all shades of red. (no smoothie; blush; vineyard berry; etc….you get the picture!) These neutrals must be from either of the Basics: Antique or Timeless packs. (watch your patterned paper, so as not to blow this colour rule!)

-You must have 7 layers of paper, stacked and countable, all in one place. (this does not include your card base)(we’re going to start 2011 off easy!)

-You should have at least 3 embellishments.

-And…..just for the fun of it……let’s add some liquid glass!

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.

Stamps: Doodle Alphabet; A Tweet; Soul Mates; Happy Journey; Live Inspired

Cardstock: Desert Sand; Pear; Cocoa; Colonial White

Ink: Pear; Cocoa; Desert Sand

Embellishments: Colonial White metal tag; Twill ribbon; Cocoa brad

Other: Cricut for scallop shape

A Hop

2011-04-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

This is the final card in my "A" sized card class.

We used patterned paper from Miracle along with Sparkles and Colonial White grosgrain ribbon. We stamped our bunny 4 times for 4 cards. Once each in Sweet Leaf and Crystal Blue. For these two, we coloured with a glue pen and then flocked them with our White flocking powder.

The second two bunnies we inked in Sweet Leaf and Crystal blue again, but we kissed them to the leaf image in Intrisic Backgrounds, before stamping. A Bitty black brad was used for the b unny's eye. For the flowers, we inked in Sweet Leaf and rolled the edges in Twilight before stamping.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Paper: Miracle

Stamps: A Hop

Cardstock: Colonial White; White Daisy

Ink: Sweet Leaf; Twilight; Crystal Blue; Black

Embellishments: Bitty black brads; Sparkles; White flocking powder

A Game

2011-04-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

Here is the second card in my "A" sized workshop, I recently held. We used "A Game".

For this card we stamped the cross hatch image on the black cardstock in Versamark. With a stylus, we drew the lines of the cross hatch, to create almost an embossing effect on the opposite side. We turned the cardstock over and sanded to reveal the cross hatch image. Finally, we stamped the flower in White Daisy ink.

The flower image is from the stamp set that came with our Splendor Workshop On The Go kit from Summer 2010. We stamped it in Hollyhock; cut it out; added a brad; then popped it on foam dots. The "Smiles" sentiment is from Hot Diggity.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Patterned Paper: Sweetheart

Stamps: A Game; Splendor; Hot Diggity

Cardstock: Black; White Daisy; Cotton Candy

Ink: Hollyhock; White Daisy; Black

Embellishments: Pink brads

Tools: Corner rounder/scallop maker