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!

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!

Birthday Sketch Challenge

Here's another card I made using the 2 Sketches 4 You challenge (I told you I would use this one again and again). I kept it easy by using a white card base, and added a punch of color. This card was for my niece's birthday and these happen to be her favorite colors right now (CTMH's Outdoor Denim, Lagoon and Pear). I stamped up a striped background strip to pull in all of these fabulous colors.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: CTMH Just Be You, Connections; PTI Background Basics: Distressed Stripes, Just the Ticket, Everyday Treats

Cardstock: CTMH White Daisy, Outdoor Denim

Inks: CTMH Outdoor Denim, Pear, Lagoon

Accessories: PTI Dies

Vintage Thanks

I had the day off and it felt great to be able to do nothing but the things I love (shopping, reading a good book, and playing with my stamps!). This afternoon I decided to meet a last minute color challenge at the Embellish Magazine Blog. Such beautiful colors, especially for fall (only today in Southern California it was 93 degrees - not exactly fall-like). I used CTMH's Creme Brulee, Olive and Brown Bag. The added challenge was to make it vintage. I did that by adding some ink to give it that aged look.

I also took advantage of the sketch challenge at 2 Sketches 4 You. This is a sketch I would come to again and again. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: PTI Everyday Treat, Tiny Treats Christmas, Background Basics: Diamonds

Cardstock: CTMH Brown Bag, Creme Brulee, Olive; PTI Rustic White

Inks: CTMH Creme Brulee, Brown Bag and Desert Sand (for distressing)

Accessories: Ivory Grosgrain Ribbon; PTI Dies; Cuttlebug Dies; Marvy Punches; CTMH Creme Brulee Brad

Happy Belated Halloween!

Well, I'm back (finally) with a card to share with you. I was able to play a little on Saturday with some ladies who were over, and how great it was to get my fingers inked up! It was long overdue. I wanted to make a hostess card for a friend who had us over for a little Halloween celebration on Saturday night. I started with some damask stamped in Sunset, and I was thrilled with the results! Added some black and cream polka dot edging, and then sewed on some ruffled up black satin ribbon. I was also wanting to use my new dies from PTI, so I added the pumpkin image to the circle for just the right seasonal touch. This card is also a perfec t fit for the Diggin' on Damask Challenge over on the Moxie Fab World blog. Cath's blog is always one of my first stops for inspiration and challenges - check it out and play along! Hope you enjoyed your Halloween weekend!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies:

Stamps: CTMH Damask Tiles and Hit the Spot; PTI Vintage Picnic and Everyday Treats

Cardstock: CTMH Black; PTI Rustic White

Inks: CTMH Sunset, Black, Olive, Desert Sand (for distressing)

Accessories: Black Satin Ribbon; PTI Dies

Feeling Grateful

So, I can't even begin to tell you how much I've missed the blogging world lately. I'm getting ready to finish up the last two weeks of my long-term teaching position, and I am counting down the days!!! It has been so crazy busy around here with working full time, keeping up with my kids' activities and my PTA responsibilities, let alone, trying to be a wife, daughter, sister and friend. I have failed so miserably at saying proper thanks to some very special people, so I set out today to make a card/box wrap for my neighbors. They took care of our pets, plants, and mail while we were away in August. (I know, long overdue!) I had this idea in my head to make some chrysanthemums inspired by the cover of the Paper Source catalog. I decided to keep the colors realistic and fallish.

I made a larger flower out of CTMH Goldrush and a smaller one out of CTMH Tulip and added some Olive Green leaves. And, it wouldn't be a "Karla" project if I didn't include a stamped background, so I stamped up a plaid pattern using CTMH Chocolate, and mounted the whole thing on PTI Kraft. I bought my neighbors a box of See's Candies (Yum!!) and simply wrapped the box with two pieces of ribbon, and then attached the card to the ribbon. So there you have it, a wrap and a card in one! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: PTI Distressed Stripes and Fillable Frames #4; Verve So Thankful

Cardstock: CTMH Goldrush, Tulip, Chocolate, Olive; PTI Rustic Cream and Kraft

Inks: CTMH Chocolate, Goldrush, Tulip

Accessories: CTMH Chocolate brads, Cuttlebug leaves die, PTI Fillable Frames Die, Marvy Uchida flower punches (3 sizes)

I Know, I Know....

Hello bloggers! I know, I know, I'm about the flakiest blogger out there! I promised a post earlier this past week, but time got away from me. I went back to the classroom to set up and prepare for my students, who start this coming Wednesday, and then my own children started school this past Wednesday. Just a busy time a year. Naturally, I went to the sketch from Clean and Simple to make a quick card to post for you. I happened to have a stamped up card base from when I was working with the new colors from Close To My Heart, but I hadn't used it, yet. I added the cocoa sentiment strip and the text style butterflies, and the card was done! As you can tell, I kept the same color scheme from this card, which is why I had a stamped up card base to begin with, but ended up taking a different route. Anyhow, enough rambling. I have been working on some back-to-school "trinkets" for my fellow teachers, which I hope to share soon. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: CTMH Damask Tiles; PTI Polka Dot Basics II, Background Basics: Text Style

Cardstock: PTI Rustic White; CTMH Cocoa

Inks: CTMH Smoothie, Cocoa; Versamark

Accessories: CTMH Clear Sparkles; Ivory Pearl embossing powder

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)

For My Teacher

So I spent some time "putzing" (is that a word??) in my studio this morning with no specific goal. Didn't feel like meeting any challenges today, just wanted to create. So, here it is, a card for one of my kids' teachers. I stamped the kraft cardstock with the text image from CTMH's Noted Backgrounds using Versamark ink. The little piece of note paper was made with Noted Background, as well, but stamped in Crystal blue, and then punched at the top with my Ek Success punch. I sanded a piece of Crystal Blue cardstock to back the note paper just to make it stand out. Pretty straight forward card, really. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: CTMH Noted Backgrounds, You're Sweet; PTI Limitless Labels, Distressed Stripes

Cardstock: PTI Kraft, Rustic White; CTMH Crystal Blue

Inks: CTMH Crystal Blue, Desert Sand, Holiday Red, Topiary; Versamark

Accessories: Red Grosgrain Ribbon (stash); CTMH Craft Buttons

Our Prayers Are With You

Back again with another card I made on Friday, for a friend who's mother passed away. The funeral is this morning. I made this quick card for her with the Embellish Magazine challenge in mind. I used CTMH's Sweet Leaf, Baby Pink and Cocoa. Not only was this a color challenge, but we were also asked to incorporate birds. The bird stamp I used is actually a solid stamp image from CTMH's Treasure Life. I first stamped it with 2nd generation cocoa, and then used the "rock & roll" technique in 1st generation cocoa. I was so thrilled with the results. Doesn't it look cool? I think if I did this 20 times I would come up with 20 different birds. I think I happened to luck out with this one.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but I also used my new PTI die to give the Sweet Leaf card base a little "linen" texture. So loving that die! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: CTMH Treasure Life; Verve Notes of Prayer

Cardstock: CTMH Sweet Life, White Daisy

Inks: CTMH Cocoa, Sweet Leaf, Baby Pink & Creme Brulee (flower centers)
Accessories: PTI Linen Die; Ribbon (stash)

I'm So Proud of You!

All this week I have been volunteering at my church for Vacation Bible School (VBS). Besides my four kids, I also brought two other girls from my kids' school. Since my 11 year old is a boy, and the 11 year old I brought was a girl, I asked my niece if she would befriend her and "show her the ropes". I was so incredibly proud of how my niece stepped up to the challenge and showed this girl love and kindness even when it became difficult for her. I was grateful for her efforts, so I made her a card to tell her so.

I decided if I was making a card anyways, I may as well incorporate a couple of challenges. The first is this weeks color challenge from Color Combos Galore. I used CTMH's Creme Brulee, Goldrush and Baby Pink. (I also used this combo in the Hip Hip Hooray card that won the "Let's Do fun & Cute" Challenge at the Moxie Fab World. Woot! Woot!).

I also used last week's sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketch. I realize it's a week late, but she didn't post a new sketch last Sunday.

The inside of this card reads: Thank You, I'm so incredibly proud of you! A perfect sentiment for how I feel towards my niece right now. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: CTMH Bowl of Cherries, Thank You; PTI Vintage Picnic, Background Basics: Tin Types, Big & Bold Wishes

Cardstock: CTMH White Daisy, Baby Pink, Creme Brulee

Inks: CTMH Goldrush, White Daisy, Black, Baby Pink, Creme Brulee

Accessories: CTMH Creme Brulee Ribbon, Buttons (unknown), PTI Button Twine

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)

Special Friend

Well, today I decided to try my hand at a new challenge blog I found called Color Combos Galore. What fun colors to work with and an ultra feminine inspiration photo. For my card I used CTMH's Sweet Leaf, Olive and Baby Pink. I was inspired by the mix of patterns in the photo, so I used lots of different stamp sets to create all the different patterns you see on the card. I started by stamping up a piece of the berries/plaid pattern with included all of the colors from the inspiration board. I added a bit of a damask print on the pink scallop piece and some polka dots along the bottom. I thought the card looked a bit shabby chic and a lot feminine, which would be a perfect card for a special friend. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: PTI Polka Dot Basics II, Vintage Picnic, Background Basics: Retro; CTMH Intrinsic Backgrounds, Damask Tiles, True Friends

Cardstock: CTMH White Daisy, Olive, Baby Pink

Inks: CTMH White Daisy, Olive, Sweet Leaf, Baby Pink and Black

Signs of Peace

There is a challenge over at the Moxie Fab World blog called "Signs of Peace". When I saw this post I immediately thought of this darling tank top from Crazy 8 (which my daughter happens to own). This card was completely inspired by my daughter's outfit. It's hard to tell on the tank top and my card, but the floral image on the peace sign has tiny sparkles in the centers of the flowers. It took some time to add all 25+ rhinestones, but it was so worth it! I used CTMH's Outdoor Denim Textured Cardstock for the background, which I lightly sanded to bring out the texture even more. I hand cut the peace sign with my coluzzle circles and a ruler, and then stamped it with the floral image from CTMH's Intrinsic Backgrounds in Outdoor Denim ink. It was a pretty simple and easy card to put together.

The hardest part of this card was trying to find the right sentiment. This phrase from PTI's Through The Trees was a perfect fit. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Supplies

Stamps: CTMH Intrinsic Backgrounds; PTI Through the Trees

Cardstock: CTMH Textured Outdoor Denim; PTI Rustic White

Inks: CTMH Outdoor Denim; Versamark

Accesssories: CTMH Clear Sparkles; American Crafts Ribbon; Ivory Pearl Embossing Powder