I am back finally!

Well that was a crazy couple of weeks!  If the bug was out there I seemed to find it.  After laryngitis, a cold and a weird 24 hour stomach thing I am finally feeling back to my old self!  I missed out on a few challenges but I did manage to land in the Top 10 over at Heart 2 Heart!  Yeah!  I also received more Liebster Blog awards from 2 fellow CTMH bloggers Sharon - Oak Island Stamp Queen and Heather - Creative Coconut (be sure to check out their blogs).  Thank you so much ladies...I am completely honoured!  I haven't had the opportunity to pick 5 blogs so pass the award onto yet.  But I will get to that in the next few days. 

Until then I have posted a card that I made for my brother's birthday over the weekend.  It was something a little different for me.  It was a layered card.  There were 3 levels of "frames" and each had an element of the picture on it.  I used the Passage paper pack and the Beautiful Things stamp set (both retired) and I love the embossing in the center.  I used clear embossing on the Cocoa cardstock and then took some Colonial White Ink and sponged it over the image to make it pop a little.  It's not my favourite card that I've made because it is lacking something but I can't just put my finger on it.  I am thinking I should have put some brads or buttons along the bottom left corner or something.  Maybe it's because it doesn't have any embellishments...I am soooo used to have lots of embellishments on my projects.  I don't know but it was fun to do something different!

Thanks for looking!

Hope to be back soon...

Good morning everyone!
I just wanted to stop in and let you know I am not intentionally ignoring my little blog.   In fact I am feeling under the weather and not feeling terribly bloggy as of late.  I had viral laryngitis all last week and just as that was starting to go away, I got slammed with a nasty cold.  It has completely drained me.   I managed to get last week's H2H challenge done before I started feeling too bad but I haven't had the energy or drive to take and post pictures.  I am hoping that another day or two and I'll get some of my mojo back and I'll maybe even get this week's challenge completed. 

Thanks for checking in...things will be back to normal soon!  :)

To Love, Honour and Cherish

We had a wedding to go to a couple of weeks ago and this is the card I made for the happy new couple!   It's been a while since I made a wedding card so this was a lot of fun for me.  I really wanted a frame for behind my main embellishments and I didn't have one that was quite right.  Then I remembered I had one of those Foundry Frames from a few years ago but it was the wrong colour.  I really didn't want to paint it as I liked it the way it was so I got the idea to use it like an embossing folder.  It worked like a charm!  I embossed the circle around the sentiment and layered on the flowers, pearls and rhinestones.  I stamped the two background papers at the bottom of the card as I didn't have what I wanted to match the Veranda paper that I had my mind set on.  Pretty happy with how it all turned out.

So today's lesson...when you don't have what you need...CREATE it!!  :)

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes - H2H Challenge

This week's challenge at Heart 2 Heart is to do a layout that tells a story.  I am not sure if there is enough journalling on this layout to really be storytelling but I had fun completing this one.  I NEVER scrapbook myself so it was kind of weird but it felt really good to do something about me for a change.  So here I am...sheesh.  What was I thinking!  ;)

*** Dang...I found a spelling mistake!  Ugh!  This is why so many of my layouts have yet to be journalled.  There's too much pressure!  ;)

Happy 40th Anniversary!

Over the weekend my parents celebrated 40 fantastic years of marriage!  Hard to believe!  I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful this very simple card turned out.  It actually turned out better than I pictured it.  It was quick and easy to do - it doesn't get better than that!  Not too much to explain on this one as it's pretty straight forward. 

Supplies (all CTMH):
Stamp set: Find Your Style
Paper:  Verandah paper pack (discontinued), Passages paper pack, Colonial White cs, Twilight cs
Ribbon:  Cocoa grosgrain (bulk)
Embellishments:  Filigree Charms, Pewter Mini Medley, Mocha Opaques Adhesive Gems
Ink:  Cocoa Exclusives Ink, Chocolate Distressing Ink

So sorry

            

This card actually started out as a birthday card but due to some events that happened just before my friends birthday the card shifted gears to one of encouragement and understanding.  The mood just needed to be different...I figure we'll just move her birthday to a later date when she feels more like celebrating.

This summer my friends 2 year old son noticed some random pink petunias growing in their flower garden that weren't planted there on purpose.  Upon his discovery he said "Mommy...the pink flowers make me so happy!  Do the pink flowers make you happy?"  So it has become our little thing in our circle of friends that we need to think about pink flowers when we're feeling down.  That is where the inspiration for this card came from. This card was a little bit different for me but I am very pleased with how it turned out.  Inside the card I put a short letter of encouragment and dropped off the card today with some pink flowers waiting for her to come home from work.

So rememember...smile whenever you see pink flowers.  :)

                           

Give Thanks...

This week's challenge has been posted over at Heart 2 Heart and I already have my entry completed...yeah me!  The challenge that was given this week was a sketch and this is my interpretation.

Since next weekend is the Thanksgiving long weekend here in Canada and Fall seems to be setting in very quickly that inspired my seasonally appropriate theme.  I used a real mish mash of supplies.  Some old...some really old!  I am gonna use it up I tell ya!  :)  I used the flourish paper from the now discontinued Perfect Day pack...love that pattern...for the background.  The vertical stripes were cut from the patterned stripe paper in the Grace pack but I used the reverse side which is neutral.  Love how that turned out.  I cut out the two shapes behind the harvest veggies from the Art Philosophy cart and really like how they accent the stamped image and all three layers are popped off of one another making it really stand out.   I am pretty happy with how it turned out.  Let me know what you think!

Supplies (all CTMH):

Paper:  Grace & Perfect Day paper packs (both now discontinued), Colonial white and Cocoa cardstock

Ribbon:  Cocoa Designer Ribbon Rounds (discontinued)

Stamps:  Give Thanks (discontinued) and Grateful Hearts

Inks:  Chocolate Distress Ink and Cocoa Exclusive Ink

Other:  CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge

Blogtoberfest and what I've been up to...

Good Monday Morning Everyone!

~ If you want to skip my personal story...you can bypass this paragraph and head straight down to the part about Blogtoberfest.  :)

We had a crazy weekend and it's hard to believe it's already Monday.  We spent the weekend looking at houses and it was really bitter sweet.  My husband was laid off back in the fall of 2008 and decided to return to school.  He graduated at the top of his class this past spring and was hired immediately out of school into a secure and rewarding job that he truly loves.  The problem is that the dream job is in a not so dreamy location (for us anyways).  It's not that it's a bad place to live, it's just that we are small town people and our families all live here...all of them.  No one has EVER moved away...not cousins, aunts or uncles, sisters or brothers.  And we are very family orientated.  Matt spent 2 years away at school and now has been commuting back and forth to work since May and is only home on weekends so he has missed out on a lot the last 3 years.  Our girls are only 8 and 4 so they are at such wonderful ages and he misses them horribly and the girls miss him.  So we have made the decision to move to be with him as we can't afford to live in two different places especially since where he works it is REALLY expensive).  What would sell for $200,000 here would sell for $700,000 or more there.  Yikes!  But it is what we must do.  It will be hard leaving our families, friends and farm life but it will be nice to be a family again.  We will have to get used to urban living and living in a much smaller home in a more crowded neighbourhood but we will at least be a family again.  We won't be actually making a move until summer of next year as I don't want to move the girls part way through the school year.  That also gives me time to prepare the house and get it listed.  The market is slower in our town so it will take a while I am sure but that also gives us time to prepare both physically and emotionally!  Here's to a new adventure...

I know...blah, blah, blah...enough about my life!  Let's get to the REAL reason you are here!

The fantastic and Fabulously Artsy Stamp Goddess formerly known as Tresa Black  is hosting Blogtoberfest during the month of October.  Tresa is a supremely talented CTMH consultant and has an amazing blog with a ton of Followers...that's why she's the Stamp Goddess!  So if you've never visited her blog, hop on over and be sure to check out her fabulous video tutorials and stamped creations!

Ok...so what is Blogtoberfest you say??  Well it is a celebration of all things "bloggy".  Tresa will post blogging tips, challenges, artwork, tutorials and giveaways all month long so if you have been wanting to ramp up your blog, now is the time to do it!  So set a goal, get inspired and make yourself a better blog!  Head over to her blog to sign up and get your own Blog Button to add to your sidebar just like I did.

Happy Blogtoberfest to ya!

BOO!

It's not very often that I make a Halloween card because to be honest I don't "give out" Halloween cards!  But I felt inspired to make something spooky and I am so delighted how this card turned out!!    I used a multitude of bits and pieces to make up this card.  It feels good to use up some scraps and play with a variety of stamps I don't use often.  I just love how this card turned out!

Thanks for looking!

So Honoured!



Today, when I checked in on my blog I found a comment from a wonderful fellow blogger, Pam Trostle, who honoured me with a blog award...my very first one! Be sure to check out her blog as well and if you feel inspired make sure you become a Follower!

This is a different kind of blog award in the respect that it recognizes inspiring blogs with less than 200 followers.  This way some very worthy, but often over looked blogs benefit from some extra exposure...which is something every blogger can use!

Liebster is the German word for "beloved" or "favourite".  So it is now my turn to bestow this award to 5 of my most beloved blogs who have less than 200 followers.  So be sure to check out the blogs listed below and congratulate them by leaving them some blog love in the form of a comment and becoming a Follower if you find them to be as inspiring as I do!

Crafting with Camille

Cre8tive Cookie

Simply Creating

Tamra's Crafty Paper Creations

Peace Love Scrap

Thanks Ladies!  Now it's your turn to name 5 of your favourite blogs with less than 200 followers.

You Make Me Smile!

I checked in on my blog this morning and found so many wonderful comments about my card that I entered in the Heart 2 Heart Challenge yesterday!  You all have made me smile!  Thank you so much for all of the kind words!  I don't have a lot of action here on my little blog and rarely get feedback on my artwork so to hear so many nice things made me want to create more!  So this one is for you...Thank you!

Materials List:  (all CTMH)

Paper:  That's Amore paper pack (discontinued) and Cocoa cardstock

Stamp Set:  Hooray Bouquet

Embellishments:  Neutral Button Assortment (old set), bulk Cranberry ribbon, Cocoa ink
Tags were cut using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge...so fast and easy!!

A Day of Thanks Card...Heart 2 Heart Challenge

Okay, so this is my first challenge and of course I couldn't get my camera to cooperate (I have GOT to get that fixed!) but I am really happy with this card.  I check in regularily over at the Heart 2 Heart CTMH Challenge Blog and this week's challenge was to use only cardstock (no patterned paper) with a minimum of three colours being used.   I figured I could handle this one so I jumped in!  The colours I used were Juniper, Olive, Cocoa and Kraft (does that count as a colour?).  The stamped images are from the Pair-A-Phrase set with the exception of the background stamp I used on the colonial white paper which is from Noted Backgrounds.  All of the elements got a good dosing of distressing and antiquing.  I used the 1" circle punch for the scallop border and the button is from the wooden buttons set.  Oh and I added a few Opaques for a little polish.

Let me know what you think...is this challenge worthy?

(and of course all supplies are CTMH)  :)

Pair-a-Phrase Butterflies Card

Isn't this card beautiful!  I just love it.  I seen it on the Close to My Heart Facebook page and wanted to share it with you.  Isn't it awesome what you can create with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge!  Not to mention this Pair-a-Phrase stamp set is quickly becoming a favourite of mine...and a go-to if I need an inspirational, fast card.  Check out the other Pair-a-Phrase creations on the CTMH Facebook page if you haven't already!

Believe in Whoooo You Are!

Okay so I REALLY need to get my camera fixed.  It is not taking very good photos anymore.  The colour is off and I have a heck of a time getting the images crisp and sharp like I used to.  Ugh...what a pain.  So I appologize for the not so great images as of late.

On a positive note, I absolutely love the new Pair-a-Phrase stamp set that I blogged about yesterday.  Such easy to use images with uplifting sentiments...and there are a ton of them to choose from.  What a versatile and fun set!  I will try to post a few more projects with it in the new few days.  I haven't had a lot of time to papercraft but I just had to do something last night after the girls went to bed and I whipped up this simple card in just a few minutes...gotta love simple projects like that!

You can get your own Pair-a-Phrase stamp set but only until September 30th!  If you are interested click here to see all the images included in this double stamp set and check out the great artwork examples while you're there.  Place a qualifying order with me directly by sending me a quick email or order directly on my website.  You won't want to miss this one...get it before it's gone!!

National Stamping Month

To celebrate National Stamping Month in September, we are offering our first-ever double stamp set! You can get the exclusive My Acrylix® Pair-a-Phrase double stamp set FREE when you place an order of $82 CAN from August 15 through September 30, 2011. You'll love this double set—two D-size sets in one envelope—which includes lots of clever phrases and coordinating images you'll use in your handmade cards all year long. The double set has a retail value of $39.90, which drastically increases the value of your qualifying purchase! Have double the fun stamping during National Stamping Month with our new Pair-a-Phrase double stamp set!

Back to the daily grind.

Well we are back from summer at the trailer and getting ready to get back to the daily school routine.  It's a bittersweet feeling really.  As much as I love having my girls home and having sleepy mornings with lots of cuddles and then whatever fun we can stir up for the remainder of the day with no worries about bedtimes, lunches or homework, I do really crave the structure that school time routines bring to my life as well.  I have two in school this year so it's gonna be a bit different...whatever am I going to do with all of my extra time??  *wink*   Oh the papercrafting I plan to do!!! 

But while the dust settles around here and we get into the groove once again, check out the following Studio J video.  And if you've not checked out all that Studio J has to offer yet, you can go to http://www.studioj.com/ for more info!  Have a great long weekend everyone!

Thanks for checking in!

More hidden treasure...

Okay, so since I am still waiting on my order of new goodies to arrive I figured I'd post another older card that I did.  This is another hidden gem within the files of my very full Pictures folder.  I loved this card.  It was one of my favourites.  I made it for my parent's anniversary last October.  It used some scraps I had left over from the Aspen WOTG, some bling from a past Connections Club set and the Childhood Portrait and Card Commentary stamp sets.  I even decorated up the homemade envelope!  I was feeling particularily crafty that day!  This was one of those cards that actually turned out better in real life than it did in my head.  Usually it's the other way around and my vision far exceeds the finished product!! 

(sorry the colour is off a bit...they are all Chocolate brown but for some reason these two look very warm)

Inside of card...

Envelope...

                                                               

                                                        Thanks for stopping by!

      

Hidden deep in my computer

 

So I have been mucking about on my computer and I keep stumbling upon projects that never got posted here on my blog.  This card was one I made for a friend's baby shower (a year ago!) and I loved this card.   The colours are so soothing and it has a real vintage, shabby chic feel to it which is what I am all about!  I don't have all of the details about this card but one thing you will notice is I didn't use patterned paper.  The whole card is cardstock, stamps and ink.  It is actually a lot of fun making your own background paper!  You always get the colours you want!  :) 

Some of the detail...

This is the inside of the card...

    

This is the back of the card...

Thanks for looking!