CTMH July SOTM Blog Hop ... Canadian Celebration

Welcome to the Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  This month we are featuring the July SOTM.  The version available in Canada is called Canadian Celebration, which I've used on my card above.  (The US version, that is only available in the US, is called American Celebration, which you can see likely on most of the other hoppers' blogs.)

You may have arrived to my blog from Lori Brown's blog.

But this is a circlular hop, so it doesn't matter where you start along the hop.

I decided to go with a more vintage feel to my card, sponging Chocolate ink on most all the pieces before assembling them.  I grabbed a couple of background stamps to create my own B&Ts for this card.  I used Universal Backgrounds for the script and the woodgrain, and I used Hit the Spot for the big Cranberry polka-dots. 

It's not really visible in the photo, but I also embossed the shooting stars with a 50/50 mixture of clear embossing powder and Prisma Glitter.

I really like how this card turned out.  :)

Here's a photo of the Canadian version of the Stamp of the Month - Canadian Celebration stamp set:

You can continue along the hop by heading over to Karen Fullam's blog.

Happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper:  Colonial White, Kraft CS

Stamps:  Canadian Celebration - July SOTM, Universal Backgrounds, Hit the Spot

Inks:  Cranberry, Black, Grey Flannel, Brown Bag, Chocolate, Versamark

Embellishments:  Black button brads, Natural hemp, Prisma Glitter

Punches:  1 1/4" circle, Upper Crest border (Fiskars)

Other:  Clear embossing powder, paper piercer, sponge, micro-tip scissors, 3D foam tape

Celebrate with Fanfare... {Mojo Monday 197 sketch}

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe this may be my first ever round-shaped card that I've made.  ;)   (It measures 4 1/4" around.)

I created my card using this week's Mojo Monday sketch #197. 

I think it turned out pretty cute!  I used Fanfare B&Ts to help make it chock-full of funn-ness! 

The only stamping I did was for the sentiment and the rest of it was all Fanfare MyStickease, oh, and the added ribbon row detail.  Love that I can bend my CTMH stamps in a curve to match the shape I needed for my card!

I'll be back later tonight with my CTMH Stamp Of The Month Blog Hop creation. 

(Wow, three posts in one day... crazy, hey!)

Happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper:  Fanfare B&Ts; Black CS

Stamp:  You & Me

Ink:  Black

Embellishments:  Fanfare MyStickease, Sunny Yellow button, Colonial White waxy flax, Black gingham ribbon (WalMart)

Other:  Cricut and George & Basic Shapes cartridge (Provo Craft), Cuttlebug (Provo Craft), Scallop circle die (SU), ScorTape (ScorPal), 3D foam tape, Micro-tip scissors

H2H Color Challenge ~ Bamboo, Barn Red, Any Blue

This week over at the Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog it's a color challenge.  You are to use Bamboo, Barn Red, and your choice of Blue... I chose to use Crystal Blue on my card.

I wouldn't normally grab these colours to use together, so it was a challenge that I had to think about for a while before I tackled it.  I chose to use the brighter colours sparingly, toning them down with the Bamboo, Colonial White and a little Black.

The front sentiment reads "A true friend remembers your birthday..." and the inside says "but not your age.  Happy Birthday!"

I like how it turned out and I hope you do too!

Check back later for another post.  I also created a card for the Mojo Monday challenge, too.

Happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):
Paper:  Bamboo, Colonial White CS
Stamps:  You Are Beautiful, Universal Backgrounds, Card Chatter - Birthday
Inks:  Bamboo, Barn Red, Crystal Blue, Black
Embellishments:  Clear buttons, Crystal Blue waxy flax, Colonial White crocheted ribbon, Silver charm - no longer available, Silver jump ring (other)
Punch:  Apron Lace border (Fiskars)
Other:  Blender pen, Paper piercer, ScorTape (ScorPal)

My "You & Me" 3-ring Album (created with Nona's class instructions)

This is just the front cover of my 5"x7" 3-ring album using the B&T papers from the You & Me kit (plus a little extra cardstock).  Because it's Nona's class, I didn't think it would be appropriate to show all the innerds of it.  But take my word for it that it's super cute!

If you would like to make this album, you can get your class instructions from former CTMH Consultant Nona Davenport on her blog HERE.  Her instructions for this class are to create 2 albums, 1 boy themed and 1 girl themed, but I only had one album on-hand, so I only created the boy one (so far).

I still need to add my photos and journaling... geez, sound familiar???  lol

Until next time, happy creating!  :)

3x3 Thanks card

I love to make these little 3x3 thank you cards for my customers.

I like to tuck one in with their purchases.

This is one I made recently.

Happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):
Paper:  Topstitch B&T; Colonial White, Smoothie CS
Stamps:  Heartfelt Treasures, Thanks, Hit the Spot
Inks:  Chocolate, Smoothie, Versamark
Embellishments:  Chocolate flower button, Colonial White waxy flax
Punch:  Dotted Scallop border (EK)
Other:  Micro-tip scissors, 3D foam tape, Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal), Clear detail embossing powder, Craft heater

My Free JPEG Studio J layout

CTMH is offering a free Studio J layout this month. Because I am on dial-up, I didn't think I was going to be able to try it out, but I was at my husband's office yesterday and had my laptop with me. While he did a little work, I spent about an hour online and created this layout of my neice's wedding. I was emailed the free JPEG within minutes of completion and saved the file for future use, which is what I'm sharing with you. You also get two individual JPEG pictures (left page and right page) suitable for printing, but I couldn't seem to get Blogger to load them tonight on this post thanks to my painfully slow dial-up connection.


So if you have about an hour to spare before the end of the month, you should try Studio J out for yourself... oh and did I mention that it's FREE??!! :D


Happy creating! :)

Inspired Thank You card

This simple, pretty card was inspired by this beauty by Jean Martin -- you just have to scroll down to the second card in her post.

I chose not to use yellow as she had because the yellows I have seemed too yellow, but instead went with Vanilla Cream.

I added a row of Liquid Pearls to the banner strip and learned that I really need to practice using them to get them more uniform.

I lightly sponged some Chocolate ink around the edges of the Vanilla Cream and Sky CS pieces.

Happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper:  Colonial White, Sky CS

Stamps:  Treasures, Gracious Greetings, Hit the Spot

Inks:  Black, Pacifica, Chocolate

Embellishments:  Licorice adhesive pearls, White Opal Liquid Pearls (Ranger), Black gingham ribbon (Walmart)

Other:  Double-ended Banners die (Papertrey Ink), Sponge, Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal)

H2H Bingo Challenge... {and a link to a fab Bachelor button flower tutorial}

This week at the Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog they are playing BINGO.  You get to choose a row of items to use for your project from their Bingo card below.

I chose to use Flowers / Border Punch / Buttons, and created my card using just those items from the Bingo card.

H2H Bingo Card

Aren't the Bachelor button flowers on my card fabulous?!  Fellow CTMH Consultant Connie MacFarlane came up with the idea and a video tutorial on how to make them.  They are now my current fave flower to make.  Thanks for the great tutorial, Connie!

In case you are looking at my supplies list and wondering about where I used some of the items, I'll make it easy for you:

• B&Ts were used to make the flowers, and for one of the buttons
• the sponge was used to ink the edge of the flowers (as shown in the video tutorial)
• the 3/4" circle punch was used to punch a piece of B&T and paired up with a clear button
• the liquid glass was used to glue the B&T to the back of the clear button
• the Versamark ink was used for clear embossing my sentiment

So this was a fun challenge.  It was so hard for me to not add any ribbon, brads, or gems!  But it turned out sweet just as is. 

Happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper:  Mayberry, Veranda B&Ts; Colonial White, Creme Brulee, Smoothie, Kraft, Topiary CS

Stamps:  Card Chatter - Birthday, Heartfelt Treasures, Hit the Spot, Universal Backgrounds

Inks:  Smoothie, Creme Brulee, Topiary, Chocolate, Brown Bag, Versamark

Embellishments:  Buttons - clear, Topiary, Colonial White

Punches:  3/4" circle punch (EK), Cornice border (Martha Stewart)

Other:  Paper crimper (Fiskars), Micro-tip scissors, Clear detail embossing powder, Sponge, Liquid glass, Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal), Craft heater

Life ~ Enjoy The Ride {a masculine card}

I had fun playing with the Enjoy Life stamp set.  I pulled out my Wishes card design book and chose to use the Sun Dial pattern for my card.

I clear embossed the bike image and the sentiment, and I rubbed some Sky ink with a sponge over the Outdoor Denim embossed bike.

I didn't use any B&Ts on this card, instead choosing to create my own patterned paper by stamping with Sky and Sunset inks with the Two-Step Backgrounds stamp set.  I also used Brown Bag ink on Kraft cardstock to stamp the woodgrain image from the Universal Backgrounds set.  And using some of the images from the Enjoy Life set, I random stamped with Outdoor Denim ink onto the Sky cardstock to create some depth and pattern behind the focal images.

Then I simply added some White Hemp and buttons to complete the masculine look/feel I was going for.

I hope you like my card as much as I do!

 

Until next time, happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):
Paper:  Colonial White, Sunset, Outdoor Denim, Sky, Kraft CS
Stamps:  Enjoy Life, Universal Backgrounds, Two-Step Backgrounds
Inks:  Outdoor Denim, Sunset, Sky, Brown Bag, Versamark
Embellishments:  Blue assorted buttons, Sunset button - Mini Medley's, White hemp
Other:  Wishes - Sun Dial pattern, Clear detail embossing powder, Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal), Coluzzle circles (retired), Sponge, Cornice border punch (Martha Stewart), Craft heater

With Great Love...

I've been watching a lot of HGTV lately -- a lot of home reno-type of shows.  I love Sarah Richardson (Sarah's House / Design Inc.) and her sense of style.  She has been doing a lot of rooms lately with white/creamy white, silver/greys and a punch of yellow.  Which actually isn't something I would put into my house necessarily, but I was completely inspired by the colour combo to create a card using those colours.

I used the Dreams Come True stamp set - one of my faves for flowers lately.  And the sentiment is from a retired set called Follow Your Dreams.

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It might be into next week when I get a chance to create again.  I have my friend's kids coming Friday and staying for the weekend while they fly south for a wedding.  So we'll be busy around here.  Plus weekends are when Lee's home from work, so he keeps me busy doing stuff around the house.  (Last weekend we finished painting the garage... yay! -- stuff like that.)  There's still so much to do. 

~~~~~~~

Until next time, happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper:  Bliss B&T; White Daisy, Grey Wool, Black, Sunny Yellow

Stamps:  Dreams Come True, Follow Your Dreams

Inks:  Sunny Yellow, Sunset, Grey Wool, Black

Embellishments:  Licorice Adhesive Pearls, Grey satin ribbon (Walmart), Prisma Glitter

Punch:  Doily Lace border (Martha Stewart)

Other:  3D foam tape, Micro-tip scissors, Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal), Sponge

Celebrate - Mojo Monday #195

I wanted to play along with this week's Mojo Monday sketch #195, so I started this card 3 days ago and got it finished yesterday.  Funny how time restraints draw it out like that.  Plus we only have dial-up right now, so uploading a single photo to photobucket to do a little editing takes about an hour.  But at least I can access it from home now.  It's temporary, until we can get our wireless hooked up.  It's on a list of many things that need to be done.  If Lee wasn't working 5 days a week, a lot more could be done around here...  ;)

Anyways, this week's sketch is by fellow CTMH Consultant, Debbie Carriere.  So of course I had to play along!  Great sketch, Debbie!

I finally pulled out my unused cupcake punch (SU) and paired it with some more leftovers from the You & Me kit.  They just work together so well, don't ya think?  Yum-my!

I added Liquid Glass, sprinkled with Prisma Glitter while it was still wet, to the balloons, the brads, and added little dots to the cupcake top.  And just Liquid Glass to the cherry (no glitter).

I've been using my paper crimper lately.  It adds the right touch sometimes.  Just a little texture without pattern.

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I found out yesterday that I was one of the winners for last week's Mojo contest for the card below... I'm beyond excited! Yahoo! :D

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Be sure to come back tomorrow.  I have a beautiful card ready to post.  You don't want to miss it!  (if I say so myself!)

Until then, happy creating!  :)

Supplies (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper: You & Me B&Ts; Colonial White, Chocolate, Creme Brulee, Smoothie CS

Stamps:  Card Chatter - Birthday, Everyday Celebration

Inks:  Chocolate, Cream Brulee, Smoothie

Punches/Dies:  2" circle (Fiskars), 2 1/4" circle (EK Success), 2 1/2" scallop circle (Marvy Uchida), Lg. Build-A-Cupcake (SU), Scallop border (SU), Double-ended Banners Die (Papertrey Ink)

Embellishments:  Tulip bigger brads, Colonial White Waxy flax, Prisma glitter

Other:  Paper crimper (Fiskars), Liquid Glass, Paper piercer, 3D foam tape

Close To My Heart Relay Race Blog Hop

Welcome to the CTMH Relay Race Blog Hop!  If you are just joining the blog hop at my blog, please start at the beginning of the hop where you will find the beginning inspiration and then follow through to see how each person was inspired from the beginning to the end of the relay race hop, with each person involved in the hop only seeing the previous work of art for inspiration to create their piece.  Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

You can start at the beginning of the relay race blog hop at Nikka Geer's blog.

~~~~~~~

This is Tracy Oleksak's relay race project, where the inspiration for my project came from:

And this is my project, inspired by Tracy's layout above:

From Tracy's layout, my inspiration for my card came from her use of the Mayberry B&Ts and the butterflies.  I also used the same or similar border punch as she had used. 

It might be hard to see, but I used Glitz Glitter glue on the butterflies to add a little extra sparkle.

~~~~~~~

Be sure to follow along the relay race blog hop to see how my card inspired Wendy Kessler to create something fabulous.   You can click HERE to continue along the hop.

Happy creating!   :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper:  Mayberry B&Ts; Colonial White, Cocoa, Sky, Olive CS

Stamp:  Sensational Season - past SOTM

Inks:  Sorbet, Cocoa

Embellishments:  Adhesive pearl, Clear sparkles

Punches/Dies:  Threading Water border (Fiskars), Monarch butterfly (Martha Stewart), Nestabilities Lg Labels dies (Spellbinders), Frond (leaf - Martha Stewart)

Other:  Micro-tip scissors, Sponge, Glitz glitter glue, 3D foam tape, Cuttlebug (Provo Craft), Xyron Create a Sticker (Xyron), Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal)

Happy Father's Day

Using some scraps from my You & Me kit, I have created a few things so far - I started with my Sketch Journal that I shared (by accident) yesterday -- I meant to schedule the post, but made an oopsie.  Can't Blogger come up with a "do-over" button???  

So now for my second project... I made this card for Lee for Father's Day.  I absolutely love the combination of the papers and the stamp set in the You & Me kit.  Fabulous! 

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In case you don't already know (and I've been just too busy to type up a proper informational post about it), the You & Me kit is being offered for just $16.50 this month with no minimum purchase requirement (and only while supplies last) with a portion of the proceeds going to help the devastated areas touched by tornadoes in the US.  Isn't CTMH awesome?!  I love that this company is so willing to help out in a crisis.

~~~~~~~

I'll be back tonight at 12 AM EST (9 PM local time) with my Relay Race Blog Hop post.

Happy creating!  :)

Supplies used are all CTMH:

Paper:  You & Me B&Ts; Chocolate, Olive, Colonial White CS

Stamps:  You & Me, A Little Everything, Soul Mates

Inks:  Chocolate, Olive, Creme Brulee

Embellishment:  Antique Copper brads

Other:  Micro-tip scissors, 3D foam tape, sponge, paper piercer, sanding block

*Note:  In case you're wondering, I used the sanding block on the Olive cardstock, so I could stamp the ticket image with Chocolate ink and have it show up nicely.  It gives it a nice weathered feel, too.

Take Time to Follow Your Dreams... my 7x5 sketch journal

I've had a couple of CTMH journals laying around for far too long.  So it was time to decorate one up for myself.  I'm going to use it for my sketches, since I'm not much of a journaler.  :)

I decided to leave the coils alone and not tie any ribbons around them or anything.  That way, when I want to re-do my cover, I can very easily and not have to worry about the ribbons matching the new insert page.  The journal's cover has a protector on it so you can just slide the 7x5 piece into it.  Love that.  It's not permanent.  Cool.

So this is a project using scraps from the You & Me kit.  In case you're wondering how I have so many scraps, it's because I cut parts out the base pages that would be covered by photos and B&Ts, then just glued them onto some cardstock.  I also measured out the patterened B&Ts and cut them down to fit, as well.  Gave me lots of extras to play around with.  ;)

Funny thing is I still have to do the layouts from the kit.  lol

Happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Alterable:  5x7 Journal

Paper:  You & Me B&Ts; Colonial White, Chocolate, Smoothie

Stamps:  You & Me, Tiny Typewriter Alphabet

Inks:  Chocolate, Smoothie, Creme Brulee

Punch/Tools:  Scallop Trim border (SU), Crimper (Fiskars), Micro-tip scissors

Other:  sponge

Celebrate with Jubilation (CTMH June SOTM)

It's all in the details!  I jazzed up my very basic birthday card with some simple sparkly glitter and some shiney silvery ribbon.  It's amazing what a little bling will do!  :)

I've been wanting to make a little candle made out of rolled up cardstock ever since I saw some in the sticker section at the LSS last summer.  They're so easy to make to match your project, so that's just what I did here.  Adds a little extra something, something.

I wanted to play with this Stamp of the Month set before the end of the month comes, while it's still available.  ;)  The set I used is called Jubilation and it's chock full of images to take you throughout the year, as you can see below.

Come back tomorrow morning to see my Father's Day card, and then tomorrow night to see the artwork I created for the Relay Race Blog Hop! 

Happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):
Paper:  White Daisy, Black, Pear, Lagoon CS
Stamps:  Jubilation - June SOTM, Card Chatter Birthday
Inks:  Black, Pear, Lagoon
Embellishments:  Chunky silver glitter (SU), Caribbean twine (The Twinery), Silver ribbon (unknown)
Punches:  1 1/4" circle and 2 " scallop circle (CTMH), Apron Lace border (Fiskars), 1 1/2" circle (EKSuccess)
Other:  Glue pen, 3D foam tape, Scor-Tape (Scor-Pal)

The Inner-Vention Project Blog... (my sister started a blog)

Oh yeah, my sister, Debra, has started a blog!  Very cool!  Check it out and follow it along with me, if you wish to.  Should be a fun read.  Though it could be that I just get her humour, you know, being related and all...  lol    ;)

The Inner-Vention Project blog

Way to go, Deb! 

Epic Birthday! (Mojo Monday sketch 194)

I love this card!  I made it for Cole for his upcoming 11th birthday (on August 3rd).  I know he'll love it. 

The lucky little fart gets to go away for 5 weeks this summer with his cousins (and Aunt & Uncle) to Maui, Hawaii.  He doesn't really comprehend as to how lucky he is!  But that also means that he'll be away on his birthday, so he'll have to wait until he gets back home for his gifties.  :)

I fell in love with this week's sketch on the Mojo Monday blog and created my card from memory of what the sketch looked like.  I took a little liberty to make it my own, I guess, but overall, it looks pretty close.

Gosh, it feels so good to be able to create again...  I was finally able to pull out an order of stuff from Papertrey Ink that I've had for close to 2 months now.

If you have the time, take advantage and go play with your paper and stamps.  It's such great therapy!

Happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper:  Hooligans B&T; White Daisy, Sunset, Bamboo CS

Stamps:  You & Me; Game On & Ad Sense (Papertrey Ink)

Inks:  Black, Lagoon, Pear, Sunset

Embellishments:  7/8" white grosgrain & 3/8" black grosgrain (Walmart)

Dies:  Ad Sense & Skater Dude (Papertrey Ink)

Punches:  1 3/4" circle (EK Success), 2" circle (Fiskars)

Other:  Micro-tip scissors, 3D foam tape, Cuttlebug (Provo Craft)

*Large scallop template is from a CTMH pattern from Magic

Dog Gratitude

I won't go into all the details, but my Dad's dog, Phoebe, had to be put down last week.  The dear lady who has been taking care of her for my Dad is so terribly sad and is grieving more than I've ever seen anyone grieve over a pet.  I made this card for her. 

(She had made a promise to my Dad and his deceased girlfriend that she would take the dog if anything happened to them -- she's had Phoebe since my Dad went into the hospital 3 years ago.  My Dad has dementia and is in a care home, not doing very well.) 

I like the detail of the little puppy peeking its head in from the side...  :)

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Phoebe was a sweet, gentle dog of 9 years, with poor health for the last while.

This is my Dad with Phoebe when we took her for a visit to the care home.

Happy creating!  :)

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper:  Bliss, Sweetheart B&Ts; White Daisy, Black CS

Stamps:  Thank You, Family Ties - Pets

Ink:  Black

Embellishments:  Red and clear sparkles, Tulip button, Black gingham ribbon (Walmart), Dog-bone brad (other-unknown)

Other:  Micro-tip scissors, Scor-Tape, 3D foam tape, Black journal pen, Nestabilities Labels Three dies (Spellbinders)

My niece is all grow'd up...

Debra (my sis), Stephanie (my beautiful niece), and me (the cry-baby) in Las Vegas for Stephanie and Brad's wedding.

The tattoo on Stephanie's arm is a picture of my Mom.  Steph was grandma's girl.

My niece is married, which is so hard to believe mostly because I still think of her as 4 years old.  She got a great guy, and he got a great girl.  Not a bad deal at all.  :)

I can't believe how much I cried that day!  (Well, actually I can.)  I cried more than the mom's of the bride and the groom.  I'm just so proud of my Sneffanie.  (not a typo, a little nickname)

See, there I go again...  sniff, sniff.

Stephanie & Brad cutting the cake.

The wedding cake.

Of course I have to include a picture of Lee (blue shirt) and Stephanie's dad, John (grey suit).

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While in Vegas, I got to meet some amazing people... lol

Like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

And me and Captain Jack Sparrow.

And the Pres and me, oh yeah, I'm ready to tackle the job... of taking notes, that is. 

And we saw some cool things...

Vegas is fun, but it's sure gotten a lot more expensive.  Although it's been 14 years since we were last there.  ;)

While there we got to go see Cirque du Soleil's KA.  It was so good.

~~~~~~~

I hope to be back at posting some artwork real soon.  Just need to find the time to create.

Take care and happy creating!  :)

Yes, I'm still around... :)

We still do not have internet at our new home yet. (I'm posting this from my BlackBerry.)  The joys of living out of town!  We finally just got our phone line hooked up after about 7 weeks of dealing with Telus... ugh!  And we finally got our old home listed to sell after replacing the collapsed septic tank.  Now we can focus on unpacking the new place and working on the driveway and a bunch of other exterior work that needs to get done.  Gosh, will it ever be done???  lol

Sorry for my absence and lack of posts.  I really can't wait to get into my new scrap room to play.  Thanks for your patience and for hanging in there with me.  I hope to be able to post some artwork soon. :)