Congrats

I saw a sketch at Inkspirational this morning, and I immediately thought of my background stamps.

The floral background is from the In the Background stamp set, and the argyle/harlequin is from Fabulous You.  The sentiment is from the For Always Card Making Workshop on the Go set, and I stamped it twice in order to pop up the "congrats" portion of the sentiment.  I've used champagne and cashmere ink for this card, so I added some interest by adding black organdy ribbon and hat pins from my stash.  I enjoy using my stamps to make my own background paper.  With forty colors in the CTMH palette, it's easy to create a look that's all your own!

Other challenges I will be entering this card into are:

• ABC Challenges - stamp your own background
• Anything Goes Challenges - handmade backgrounds
• Craft Room Challenge - stamp your own background

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Wishing You Peace

It has been snowing here the last couple of days, so it's a good opportunity to sit in my craft room and create.  It looks like we've got about 9" of fresh snow so far, and it's still snowing.  I can't deny that it's awfully pretty!

It seems as though the Mojo Monday sketch always make me want to sit down and create something pretty.

I pulled out my creme brulee ink and realized that if CTMH ever discontinued this color I'd have to make a personal plea.  This shade of yellow really is so versatile and speaks to me in a way like no other color.  It matches almost every color, and it's just so plain beautiful!

There is no patterned paper on this card.  I've used Lovely Lily (B1401) and Universal Background (D1477) stamps to create the pattern.  The embellishments I've used are hemp baker's twine (Z1837), garden wooden shapes (Z1718), and pearl opaque gems (Z1336).

I'm also including this card in the following challenges:

• Dynamic Duos (color challenge)
• Heck of a Challenge (spring, butterflies, and pearls)
• Addicted to Stamps (bring on spring/flowers)
• Heart 2 Heart (Spring forward)

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Happiness Is...March Stamp of the Month

What is better than a garden of roses?  That's what you'll find in March's Stamp of the Month Floral Happiness.  I'll show you a few ways to use it this month, but for this delicate criss cross card, I've grabbed the smallest roses.

Don't the roses and leaves make a wonderful focal point for this card.  For those of you that are interested in my background stamping class, we'll be making this card, too!  (See my Classes tab for more details.)  I stamped the base of the roses with ruby, and then used barn red for the detail.  Take a look at this stamp:

There are three different rose sizes as well as some fabulous sentiments to match.  Happiness is a lot of things, and this stamp set certainly helps you share that with others through your artwork!

Remember, the stamp of the month is always just $5 with a $50 purchase!

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Sweet as Honey

In March, I am having a background stamping class, and this is one of the cards we will be making.  CTMH carries a lot of really nice background stamps, and it's so much fun to put together a card or project using them.  I love the warm yellow in creme brulee ink, and I especially like pairing it with cocoa.  I've paired the Buzz and Bumble Workshop on the Go stamp with the Honeycomb stamp set.  The stamping is really the focus on this card, so I've only used a few embellishments - baker's twine hemp, artisan studs, and some bitty mocha opaque gems.

If you are local and would like to learn more about background stamping, mark your calendar for Monday, March 25th!

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Trick or Treat

With only one week left until Halloween,  I thought I'd better pull out my Halloween goodies and create some more with them.  I was on a little vacation the past few days, and it was really relaxing to get away.  However, by the time we were driving home, I couldn't wait to get my hands on some paper, ink, and stamps!

For this card, I pulled out a few scraps of Moonlight (the stripe and dotted banners) and my Spellbound Workshop on the Go stamp set.  I created the argyle background by stamping with goldrush ink.  I added a little piece of black tulle, a label and a couple cute little bats from Spellbound, and the black cat from the Moonlight Dimensional Elements.  (Big thanks to Jamie for the cat - I have one, but I was hoarding it!!)  I used a pattern from the Make It From Your Heart book.  Such a handy how-to book and such a great price at $7.95!

I will be entering this card into the following challenges:

• Heart 2 Heart - Halloween or Pumpkin
• Color Throwdown - Color Challenge
• Ribbon Carousel - Halloween Spirit