March Workshop

Just a quick update with the layout from my March workshop.  I used CTMH"s Pemberly papers, which are stunning.  For the floral embellishments, I just cut out the flowers from one of the prints in the pack and foam mounted them to add depth.  (There are two vertical 4x6" photos that go on the right page - not shown).  Thanks for stopping by today!

A Birthday Ensemble

I have been pretty bad at posting some of the things I've been creating, so I challenged myself to share more this year. Here is a little birthday ensemble I made for my niece's birthday last week. She just turned 13, so obviously $ is the most desirable gift, but I just can't put $ in a card and call it good, so I made her a hair clip so she'd have something to open.

The card was created with CTMH's Gray Flannel and Petal. What a beautiful combo. I seldom use purples b/c they're just not my favorite, but it is my niece's. I stamped a piece of background using the medallion from the Wonderful You business builder set with grey flannel ink on grey flannel cs. I then stamped the label image from the December 25th stamp set and adhered a piece of petal to cover up the "Happy Holidays". Stamped "Happy Birthday" instead. I thought it turned out beautifully!

This little box was cut from the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. I love that thing! I used a PTI die and stamp to make the label and added the "celebrate with style" sentiment strip.

Here's what the hair clip looks like in the box.

The flower was made with some ivory wool felt. The shape of each layer is actually 3 hearts in a circular pattern in 2 different sizes. There are 4 layers all together - 2 of each size. I stitched each heart to give it some depth. I stitched and glued each layer together and added a jewel to the center. Then I glued a clip to the back. Clear as mud? Anyways, thanks so much for stopping by today!

October Workshop

This Friday is my monthly Scrap Night and this is the layout we will be making using a kit/papers of their choice. I made these pages with Close To My Heart's Dreamin' kit. It has such beautiful fall colors, but because of the blue in the kit, it makes it that much more versatile. I titled this page "Counting Our Blessings" because of the photos of our 4 kids. Having 4 kids in 3 years has definately brought its challenges, but my husband and I wouldn't do anything different. Our kids bring us so much joy, contentment, completion, laughter, pride.... I could go on and on. God has truly given us an incredible gift!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

September Layout

It's that time again for my monthly scrapbook workshop. Here is the layout we will be putting together tonight. I used Close To My Heart's new paper pack called "Roxie". Don't you just love that zebra print?!? It can really go with just about any color. I've also paired it with teal and apple green - adorable!

I used the cricut Calligraphy cartridge to cut out the title for this layout, as well as, CTMH"s Art Philosophy cartridge to make the scallop border. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

August Workshop

My August workshop is this evening, and this is the layout we'll be making tonight. I used Close To My Heart's Elemental Workshop on the Go. I absolutely LOVE this kit for its versatility. These are patterns and colors that I could use over and over, and would be a great compliment to other kits. As always, my attendees will be using a kit of their choosing, but most of them chose Elemental, as well.

This layout came together so easy, mostly due to the new Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, which I used for the title and embellishments. I'll post an update later with photos. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

All Supplies from CTMH.

So Happy For You

It's been awhile since I shared a card, so thought I would quick post one today. I received some new dies from Papertray Ink that I couldn't wait to play with so I made this card for my sons' teacher for her retirement. I used CTMH's Creme Brulee, Tulip, Sunset and Blush. Such fun colors! This cards was pretty simple to put together. I simply die cut 6 zig-zag squares, stamped different backgrounds in different colors, and then die cut a small flower from the center of each square. I then adhered the squares into a grid pattern on my card base and mixed up the flowers, adhering them with foam tape. Added some rhinestones, and "voila!", DONE!

The inside reads "So HAPPY for you" from a Verve stamp. A perfect sentiment for any occasion! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

June Workshop

It's that time again for my monthly workshop. This Friday we will be making this layout with papers of attendees' choosing. This first photo is a single page layout I plan to use as the front cover of my family photo album. I used CTMH's Bliss paper pack, which I absolutely LOVE. At first I didn't think I would have a need for it because I thought it was a "wedding" kit, but boy was I wrong! The papers are subtle, yet beautiful, and can be used for any number of occasions.

This next layout is the two-page spread that "my girls" will be making. For this layout I used CTMH's Lucky kit. These are pictures of my oldest son. He turned twelve a month or so ago and I always make a layout that celebrates their year past.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.

May Workshop & Special

This month Close To My Heart has a fantastic special for National Scrapbooking Month called "You and Me". You get darling papers, a fantastic stamp set that can be used over and over again, embellishments, and directions for 2 two-page layouts. These are some samples I made with the kit. I, of course, changed them up a bit by switching the colors of the two layouts and changing the picture sizes to make them more accomodating to standard size photos (5x7 and 4x6).

The papers are just beautiful! You should see them in person!!!

I changed the purpose of this layout because I wanted to use it for some miniature golf pictures, so the title reads "CELEBRATE Good Times". My workshop was this past Friday and we had a great time! Thanks so much for stopping by.

Magnifique Layout

Hey fellow bloggers!! Thought I'd post a layout once (I know, it's been awhile!). I used a NEW Paper Kit from Close To My Heart's Autumn/Winter Catalog, which comes out Sept. 1. This kit is called "Magnifique", and it is truly stunning!! The pictures are of my twin girls when they were 4 years old. They're 8 now, so now you know how far behind I am on my scrapbooking. It's okay, though, because for me it's about the process, not the product (at least that's what I try to convince myself. HaHa!) Aren't they adorable? I wish I could bottle some of that cuteness. Don't get me wrong, they are still adorable, but that cuteness somehow morphed into prettiness, and I just miss those cheeks! (: Thanks so much for stopping by today!

All Supplies from CTMH

Patterned Paper: Magnifique My Reflections Paper

Cardstock: Colonial White, Chocolate, Lagoon

Accessories: Mini Medley Accents Shades of Chocolate, Twill Ribbon, Color Ready Oxford & Bold Alphabets

A Special Friend

Hi bloggers! Just posting a card I made for my CTMH New Catalog Open House. This is one of 2 make & takes that my guests will create while picking up their free catalog. I used one of the new My Reflections Kit from the Autumn/Winter Idea Book called "Magnifique". This paper is so pretty & versatile! As I was trying to come up with some simple, but beautiful cards for my guests to make, I immediately thought of this weeks sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. I love how this sketch helps you create a simple, yet polished card in minutes. This is one of those sketches that I will find myself going to time & time again. Thanks, Kazan & Laura, for such inspiration each week! Thanks for stopping by today!

All Supplies from CTMH, except ribbon (unknown)

More New Colors

Here are some more fabulous NEW summer colors from CTMH. Today I am featuring Cotton Candy, Pear and Sunset. Just delicious!! On this first card I am also featuring a NEW stamp set called "Party Pennants". I've been using it in the last couple of blog posts, but wanted to wait to talk about it until you saw these adorable pennant images. This card was so easy to stamp up because each of the different pennant images is separate, so you can build your own banner. The polka dot images at the bottom are stamped with the medium dots from "Hit the Spot", and then masked and sponged with a light layer of ink.

This last card was made by masking off a bottom portion of the card base and stamping a diagonal stripe pattern. The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Happy Birthday

Stamps: CTMH Hit the Spot, Party Pennants

Cardstock: CTMH White Daisy, Sunset

Inks: CTMH Pear, Cotton Candy, Sunset, Black

Accesories: Ribbon (Fabric Barn)

Make A Wish

Stamps: CTMH Candlelight, Party Pennants; PTI Distressed Stripes

Cardstock: CTMH White Daisy, Key Lime, Sunset

Inks: CTMH White Daisy, Cotton Candy, Pear, Sunset, Black

Accessories: Black Satin Ribbon (unknown)

My Favorite New Color

Back today with another card using MY FAVORITE NEW summer color from CTMH. This color is called "Smoothie". Isn't it just yummy? I kept this color combo simple by pairing it with Colonial White and Cocoa. I've been working on some other color combos that I'll share later. This color combo screamed "elegant" to me, so I reached for my favorite stamp set, "Damask Tiles". I stamped up a piece of patterned paper and layered from there. I used the sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You (a bit loosely, I might add).

I also used the frame from "Party Pennants", which, again, I'll share more about that later. I heat embossed it with ivory embossing powder onto Cocoa CS. I an so glad I took the extra time to do this because I love how it looks.

Also wanted to wish my son, Chad, a Happy 10th Birthda,y and my Dad a Happy Birthday, too! Chad's was Tuesday and my Dad's is today, so we've been doing lots of celebrating. WooHoo!Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies
Stamps: CTMH Damask Tiles, Party Pennants, Thank You, Hit the Spot
Cardstock: PTI Rustic White; CTMH Cocoa
Inks: CTMH Cocoa, Smoothie; Versamark
Accessories: Smoothie Ribbon (from the Fabric Barn), Ivory Embossing Powder

Delicious New Colors

Hi Bloggers! Did you know that Close To My Heart has come out with 8 new delicious colors for their summer palette? Just look at the richness of them in this card. I love how nicely they coordinate with the colors from the other palettes. I made this card using the NEW Lagoon & Pacifica. I paired them with the current Sweet Leaf & New England Ivy. I wanted to focus on the colors, so I stamped up a striped pattern to showcase them.

Did you notice the sentiment? That's from a NEW stamp set called Party Pennants. I'll have more on that later.

Here's another card I stamped up rather quickly, only I left out the New England Ivy. I love how easy this card was to pull together just by stamping the "thanks" image mulitple times in varying colors. The inside reads: "Many thanks". So what do you think of the new colors so far? I'll be back later this week with some more sneaks of the NEW colors. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Celebrate You!

Stamps: CTMH Hit the Spot, Just Be You, Party Pennants; PTI Distressed Stripes

Cardstock: CTMH White Daisy, Pacifica

Inks: CTMH Lagoon, Pacifica, Sweet Leaf, New England Ivy

Many Thanks

Stamps: CTMH Hit the Spot, Thank You

Cardstock: CTMH White Daisy, Sweet Leaf, Pacifica

Inks: CTMH Lagoon, Pacifica, Sweet Leaf

Accessories: Azure Blue Satin Ribbon (stash)

I Appreciate You

Hey bloggers! Made a card today with a color scheme I have been wanting to try for awhile. I used CTMH's Moonstruck, Lilac Mist and Petal. I am NOT a fan of purple, so I seldom use it. I really wanted to challenge myself to find a color scheme with purple that I could live with. The jury's still out on this one.

For the card, I used Laura's sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. I kept it clean and simple - no special techniques on this one. Anyhow, thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: CTMH Thank You, Damask tiles, Hit the Spot, Spot On Backgrounds; PTI Big & Bold Wishes
Cardstock: CTMH White Daisy, Moonstruck, Petal, Lilac Mist

Inks: CTMH White Daisy, Moonstruck, Lilac Mist

Accessories: Ric Rac (unknown), CTMH Clear Sparkles

Tools: Spellbinders Butterfly Die, Marvy Circle Punch (yellow)

Make A Wish

Hi fellow bloggers! Tonight I set out to meet the Embellish Color Challenge w/ ric rac. I knew I wanted to use a ric rac stamp to make a background, and I love how it turned out! I used CTMH's Cocoa, Bamboo, Twilight and Goldrush. However, I had a tough time with the focal image. The background was so busy that all the things I tried (4 total) just made the card feel too fussy. I ended up with this simple cupcake image w/ just a touch of color in the button accents. I'm pleased.

I thought this color scheme was fun to work with, and the final product is perfect for male or female of all ages. How much fun would this ric rac background paper look in lots of different colors schemes? HMMM! Might have to ink up some more of this!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: CTMH Cupcake Sprinkles, Ritzy Ribbon (retired?) and Pieces of Cake (sentiment)

Cardstock: CTMH Cocoa; PTI Rustic White

Inks: CTMH Cocoa, Bamboo, Goldrush and Twilight

Accessories: CTMH Craft Buttons, Cocoa Grosgrain Ribbon; PTI button twine

Back From Hiatus

Hello Bloggers! I'm back from my hiatus. My family and I just needed some time in this crazy thing called "life" to put things back in perspective and proper priority. I have missed the crafting world and am happy to be back at it again. I haven't participated in a challenge in nearly 3 months, so I stole some time in the studio Friday to meet the sketch challenge at CPS. What fun I had inking up my stamps and enjoying some "me" time. Thank you so much for patience!

I started out this card with a stamped plaid background, and then added the ever-so-popular library card. I had a friend in mind for this card - she happens to love to read. Wouldn't a gift card to Borders or Barnes & Noble be a perfect fit? I distressed all the edges with a little Desert Sand ink, and used CTMH's Edge Distresser on the plaid piece.

I'm hoping to blog more regularly for the rest of the summer, and we'll see what the fall brings. I appreciate, though, the emails I received from a few readers. It helped to give me the motivation I needed to start up again. Thank you so much for stopping by today!!

Supplies:

Stamps: PTI Distressed Stripes & Circle Around; CTMH Library Cards

Cardstock: CTMH Sorbet; PTI Rustic White

Patterned Paper: CTMH Perfect Day; Bo Bunny Green Polka Dot

Inks: CTMH Creme Brulee, Sorbet and Desert Sand

Accessories: CTMH Pizzazz Irresistables; Ivory Grosgrain Ribbon

Tools: PTI Blossom Die; Cuttlebug Leaf Die