CTMH Summer Catalog

Tonight I hosted an Open House for Close To My Heart's new Summer Catalog. I thought I'd share the cards my guests made for their make & take. This first card was made with the "Cherry O" Workshop-on-the-Go stamp set called "Bowl of Cherries". It is so adorable!!

This next card is made with the "Splendor" papers and stamp set. It is always my goal with these make & takes to be simple and easy to put together, so I always have everything cut and prepped for my guests. Assembly literally takes 5-10 minutes per card. Not bad, huh?

Below are some more peeks of the new papers in the summer catalog. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

P.S. Also watching the Jazz/Nuggets game tonight. Go Jazz!! Truth be told, we're really more Laker's fans, but because we know Kyle Korver we cheer for him whenever we can. Go Kyle!!

Passages Sneak Peek

The release of Close To My Heart's Summer Catalog is only 3 days away! I'm having an Open House on Friday night for my customers to pick up their FREE catalog, and for them to get a chance to "play" with some of the new product. I hope to post my make & take card samples sometime soon, but for now another sneak peek. This card is made with the oh-so-elegant "Passages". I love the color combo of Cocoa, Garden Green, Brown Bag and Barn Red, and because all of these beautiful papers are double sided, the options are endless! It would be perfect for travel, family, heirloom and so much more!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

All supplies from Close To My Heart

Another Sneak Peak

Here's another sneak peek of Close To My Heart's Summer Catalog. Did I mention how thrilled I am with some of the new product? This card is made using the NEW "Splendor" paper pack, and the oh-so-fantastic Irresistables chipboard called "Pizzaz". These darling chipboard embellishments come with a resist pattern already on them, which makes inking them up so easy! There is so much more to come! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Sneak Peek

Just a little sneak peek of what's to come. Close To My Heart's Summer Catalog is coming May 1, and I couldn't be more thrilled with some of the new product they are showcasing! I've been busy creating some fun cards and scrapbook pages with the new paper packs and I can't wait to show you, but you'll have to wait. I'll be giving some sneak peeks here on the blog - a little at a time. Today's card is made with the Oh-so-adorable, "Cherry O", and the coordinating stamp sets. Enjoy! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Having a joyful day!

Hi bloggers! Just thought I'd share a quick card I made last night using the Mojo Monday #134 sketch. When I saw this sketch, I made it a goal to participate this week. Such a fun one. Spring has definately arrived here in Southern Ca. As I was driving home from work, I noticed all the businesses with colorful flowers, and the new leaves growing on the trees (my favorite shade of green!). I was feeling joyful driving home, and wanted to reflect that in my card.

This card started with the white daisies on kraft cardstock. I had been wanting to use my white gel pen to color in these fun cluster of daisies from PTI, but I didn't realize how hard it would be. What I discovered is that my eyes are aging! You can see how difficult it was for me on the close-up below. Wow! This might be one technique I'll need to put on hold until I get bi-focals!

Anyhow, I love the color combo of spring green and sunflower yellow. It screams "joy". Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies:

Stamps: CTMH Priceless Love Word Puzzle, Noted Backgrounds; PTI Vintage Picnic, Everyday Button Bits

Cardstock: PTI Kraft; CTMH Topiary and White Daisy

Patterned Paper: green dots from Bo Bunny

Inks: CTMH Black, Sunflower, Topiary, Sweet Leaf; Sakura White gel pen

Accessories: PTI Saddle stitch ribbon; CTMH Craft Button

Happy Birthday, Samantha!

Well, I'm happy to report that the family is finally on the mend. Girls are on antibiotics, and my oldest is still recovering, but hopefully he'll go back to school on Wednesday? I'm seeing the light! To those of you that commented on my last post with your words of encouragement, I was overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness! Thank you so much for your empathy!

Now on to today's post. Today is my niece's 13th birthday. I decided to take this occasion to participate in the 2 Sketches 4 You sketch challenge. It has been a couple of weeks since I have participated in any challenges, and I miss them!

So here's the card I made. The color combo came from the small bottles of nail polish I bought for her as a token gift (the real gift is the cash, of course!). The nail polishes were black, fuschia and teal, so I went with CTMH's Black, Watermelon and Juniper. I once again stamped up some plaid background and went with that preteen "rocker" look. Kazan's sketch was so fun to work with - I just might need to try it again!

I made a quick little box to hold the nail polishes. No template, just measured the bottles and went from there. I die-cut a window on the box top with my Spellbinder's Labels 8 die, and added a piece of transparency film. The stitching was hand drawn with my white gel pen. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies:

Stamps: CTMH Just Be You, Priceless Love Word Puzzle and Boutique Borders; PTI Background Basics: Retro and Mega Mixed Messages; Verve Stamps You Rock

Cardstock: CTMH Black, Watermelon and White Daisy

Inks: CTMH Black, Watermelon, Juniper

Accessories: Offray Black Satin Ribbon

Tools: Sakura White gel pen; Spellbinder's Nestabilities Labels 8; Cuttlebug Tags Die

Many Thanks

Well, it seems my family just cannot catch a break health-wise this year. My oldest is recovering nicely from his tonsilectomy on Tuesday - he started perking up a bit tonight! He has suffered from strep throat 3 times a year for the last 5 years, with one bout of Scarlet Fever and an abcess. So glad those tonsils are gone!!! My second son, after 20 days of antibiotics, still had some inconclusive test results today, so we'll need to continue monitoring every 30 days. And now, it appears as if both of my girls have come down with strep throat, which means another Dr. visit tomorrow morning. Can I just say "I've had enough!" But, believe it or not, as I stole some time in the studio today to make some much needed thank you cards, I realized how truly blessed I am to have 4 beautiful (and moderately healthy) children, and one very supportive and helpful husband! I wouldn't trade my life for anybody's, even though I'm feeling a bit weary right now.

I made several designs of both masuline and feminine for my kids to send out for the many gifts they've received over the last little while. These four are the lucky ones that made the cut to the blog. I kept them simple and small (3.5x5). Thanks so much for stopping by today!

CARD #1:

Stamps: PTI Background Basics: Tin Types and Through the Trees

Cardstock: PTI Aqua Mist; CTMH White Daisy

Inks: CTMH Holiday Red

Accessories: Red Grosgrain Ribbon, white Ribbon Slide from stash

CARD #2:

Stamps: PTI Background Basics: Diamonds; CTMH Thank You; Making Memories (frame)

Cardstock: CTMH White Daisy and Bubblegum

Inks: CTMH Clover Meadow, Versamark

Accessories: White embossing powder

CARD #3

Stamps: PTI Background Basics: Retro; CTMH Thank You

Cardstock: CTMH Grey Flannel, Outdoor Denim

Inks: CTMH Outdoor Denim; Versamark, White Gel Pen

Accessories: White embossing powder

CARD #4

Stamps: PTI Background Basics: Retro; CTMH Thank You, Frame of Mind

Cardstock: PTI Rustic White; CTMH Brown Bag

Patterned Paper: CTMH Grace

Inks: CTMH Colonial White, Cocoa

Accessories: CTMH Pewter Brads

March CARDS

Just thought I'd share a couple of cards from the March 2010 CARDS magazine. This is my first publication for CARDS and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

To A Special Friend

I know, I've been a lousy poster lately. I hate to keep giving you excuses, but it has been especially busy. I am so looking forward to a week off of school/work. My oldest is having surgery on Tuesday, and my second has a Dr. appt. Thursday for some testing, so I'll be home a lot this week. Hopefully after nursing kids, and resting and relaxing, I'll find some time to hit the studio. Anyways, here's a card I made today for no reason except to create. I used a boat-load of stamps to create this one, but I had a great time inking them up! The color combo I used was CTMH's Sorbet, Heavenly Blue and Clover Meadow. I stamped up the plaid on a 4x5.25 card base, and then created a wrap with the heavenly blue cs. Thanks so much for stopping by today! Hope you have a wonderful Easter celebrating the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Supplies:

Stamps: CTMH A Posy, True Friend, Boutique Borders, Circle Around, Serendipity; PTI Background Basics: Retro

Cardstock: CTMH White Daisy, Heavenly Blue

Inks: CTMH Sorbet, Heavenly Blue, Clover Meadow

Accessories: CTMH Craft Buttons; PTI Saddle Stitch Ribbon in New Leaf