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!

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!!  :)

 

 

 

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.  :)

                           

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!

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!

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!

      

Cricut on the brain!

Okay...so my Cricut Expression is here and I have been playing with the cartridges that came with it but I really can't wait to get my hands on CTMH's Art Philosophy cartridge soon!  I am placing an order on the first and this will top the list for me and for many of my customers.  If you are interested, drop me a line and I'll add one to my order for you too!  Or click on the Shop Online tab at the top of my blog to go order it for yourself and have it shipped directly to your door (remember it won't be available until after August 1st).

Until then, I am stocking up on ideas and inspiration.  Check out the CTMH video above for some tips on amping up your projects using the Art Philosophy cartridge.

Happy Creating!

Pure Magic!!!

So I got my box of new CTMH goodies yesterday and was so excited to look through the newest how to book in the CTMH collection and all I have to say is WOW!! I love it! Everyone needs to check this book out. I am so inspired by all of the fresh, fun ideas and the DVD has great videos to help visualize the interactive elements in the books layouts as well as tons of printable templates to help complete them. I can't wait to get into my studio today and play!

If you are interested in purchasing this book click on the image above to go direct or click on the shopping cart in my sidebar.

I am off to go play!! Have a great saturday!

Baby Boy Card

Okay...two posts in less than 24 hours! I am on a roll! :)

Anyways, here is a card that I made for some friends who just had a baby. I was really happy with how this one turned out. I made a little pocket to slide a gift card into and even finished the backside of the card. I love these colours and it was a real treat doing something boyish for a change!!

Thanks for looking!

Front of Card

Inside Top of Card

Gift Card Pocket

Back of Card

All Supplies are CTMH unless otherwise noted

Stamps: Post Marked, Baby Love (I'll get back to you on the others)

Paper: Twitterpated

Ink: Cocoa, Crystal Blue

Miscellaneous: Buttons, Hemp

Off Road Birthday Card

This is a card I made for my brother's birthday. I struggle with masculine cards as I LOVE bling and flowers and all things shiny! My brother is definitely NOT a blingy guy so I had to come up with something that suited him and this stamp from CTMH's Off Road set was perfect. I am happy with how it turned out. I think I am getting the hang of the watercolouring technique...it looks really great with these type of stamps.

Hopefully I have some more posted for you soon! Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Grace Happy Birthday

I made this card for my mother's birthday and I was really happy with how it turned out. The picture is not the best as it looks very golden and it doesn' t show the dimension of the card but the flower layers are all individual and popped off of one another along with the other layers of cardstock underneath. Originally I wasn't crazy about the background floral from the Grace paper pack but it was perfect for this card and now I really like it! It just goes to show you that you shouldn't judge something until you try working with it first.

Supplies are all CTMH unless otherwised noted.
Stamp Sets: Tickled Pink; For Every Occassion
Patterned Paper: Grace Level 2 Paper Pack
Cardstock: Colonial White; Desert Sand
Ink: Cocoa Exclusives Ink
Ribbon: Creme Brulee Ribbon Rounds
Other: Button and Natural Hemp

Jolly Jingle 25 Card Workshop

In November I will be offering up a new workshop and I want you all to be a part of it! It's called the Jolly Jingle 25 card workshop. You will receive all the supplies needs to complete five each of the five cards shown above including envelopes for only $15.00!! It's hard to tell from the picture (so click on it for more detail) each card has some bling and glitter and they are absolutely adorable! All 25 cards will be completed in 2-3 hours depending on your experience level. How awesome will it be to give handmade cards to family and friends this year AND save a lot of money at the same time!!

If you are interested in this workshop check out my calendar for scheduled dates or contact me directly to schedule your own Jolly Jingle Gathering and earn free product too!

Speedy Halloween Goodie Bags

We've been really sick around here since the middle of last week so nothing too productive has occured...that is until I realized that I needed goodie bags for my daughter for her Sparks Halloween meeting. When did I realize this you ask...oh about 45 minutes before she needed them!

I threw these together really quickly and was actually amazed that they turned out as well as they did considering my mind was in a complete flu induced fog. :) You can't tell by this picture (I took that in a hurry too and it shows!) but the bat is on a pop dot.

Supplies (all CTMH unless otherwise noted)

Cardstock: White Daisy

Exclusives Inks: Autumn Terracotta, Black

Stamp Sets: Dream Wishes, Happy Haunting

Childhood Portrait card

I have to say that I am completely in love with this new stamp set from CTMH! It is so pretty and it was the first thing I ordered from the new catalogue. I had a chance to sit down and play a little today and this is the card I came up with. I love the colours.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Everything is from CTMH unless otherwise noted...

Childhood Portrait stamp set, TLC stamp set, Desert Sand ink, Baby Pink pearl button, Chocolate polka dot organdy ribbon, hemp, Colonial White cardstock, DCWV pre-printed card base.

Christmas Joy card

I was playing around with some old product...this is all CM stuff. I haven't used anything from them in years. I have a bunch of stuff laying around from when I was a CM consultant and I decided it is time to use it up. So I slapped this card together real quick and was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. I used some an old vellum diecut pieces (the blocks and the tree) from a Done With One kit (can't remember the name of it) and some of their black lined cardstock. Since the lines on the cs where silver I decided to emboss the word Joy in silver e.p. and I think it turned out nicely. I had some silver cording laying around too and that just jazzed it up a bit.



It really is amazing what you can come up with when you don't put a lot of planning into a project. I get things done quicker and I always seem to surprise myself with the results!




:)

Emporium Keepsake Cube

I held two different workshops at my SWON retreat a couple of weekends ago and this one the one project that we completed. I was so happy with how it turned out. It uses all CTMH product and one of my favourite paper packs of all time...Emporium. I love the colours and they are so easy to work with. I also used the Foundry Bookplate and Designer Brads which I also love. I used some photos from one of my photography class photo shoots...the subjects of course were my beautiful family! I was really please with how they turned out. I especially love the photo of Matt with the girls...and the one of Gracie looking at the dandelion is too cute...well and of course Emalyn is so beautiful and grown up. *sigh*

I hope you like it!