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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It is Christmas in the Heart

I am still working on my Christmas cards.  I keep telling my husband that I may have to send some New Year's card this year!  I don't know about you, but this year Christmas came really, really fast for me!  So I sought out some fun challenges and went about making another Christmas card.

What could be better than red and green for me to work with for a Christmas card?  And that exactly what Dynamic Duos, Pause Dream Enjoy, and CWC Cricut challenges wanted.

And then I found this GREAT sketch at Heart 2 Heart that is wide open for possibility!  

So here is what I came up with:

I decided to use some long retired Mistletoe scraps to make this card.  I love the look of vintage snowflakes in the red paper.  This is one of our diecut cards, and I love them because that flap is fun to work with!  I cut the snowflakes with the Art Philosophy cartridge, and I popped the middle one up to add some good dimension.  If you look closely, I put some bitty green sparkles around the snowflakes.  The sentiment is from the Christmas Card Chatter stamp set, and it's my favorite sentiment from that set.  But my favorite part of this card is the layered ribbon.  It is colonial white organdy and crocheted ribbon, and I will admit that I have been hoarding both of these for almost 3 years.  I've used them sparingly here and there because they are my favorite ribbons of all time - especially when they are layered.  The ribbon slide works well with the crocheted ribbon.

With all the snowflakes, this will also go into the snowflake challenge at Eclectic Ellapu.  

How is your holiday season going?  I'd love to hear about it!  I've already told you that I think time is going way too quickly.  I have so many ideas for classes and personal artwork, and I really need 36 hours in a day to implement all of them!  Thanks for stopping to visit today!

Cut it Up Challenge #7

We'd like to see your 3D holiday decorations at Cut it Up.  It's up to you what holiday you would like to create for - just make sure to use a die-cut!

I don't have any New Year's decor, so that is what I decided to create:

I only wish you could see how sparkly this is!  Let me show you some details up close:

My base pieces are the My Creations banner.  I left them plain and used my Universal Background music notes stamp to "cover" them.  (I am gaining a huge love for background stamping!)  I used the same desert sand ink to sponge the edges of the banners.  I cut the numbers at 5-1/2" using the Artiste cartridge.  I covered them with Liquid Glass and then pressed them into Prisma Glitter.  Ihad to let them dry for about 4 hours before I could adhere them to the banners.  It's worth the wait, though, because that glitter is permanent!  I wanted to add some New Year's sentiments, so I cut these using my Slice Words & Expressions Holiday card.  A few gems and  little organdy, and this banner was ready to hang in my living room!  I do want to give you another tip.  When making something like this, cut out extra numbers.  I cut numbers for the next six years (4 through 9), so that I can use this banner again and again.

I love visiting you when you play along!  You always inspire me greatly!  For this challenge, you are playing for this great prize:

I am entering this into the following challenges:

• Decorate to Celebrate - party decoration for a holiday
• Flourishes - gold or silver
• Heart 2 Heart - Glitter
• Eclectic Ellapu- Celebration with Sparkle

Noel

It's been some time since I posted - I am so sorry about that!  I have been teaching classes, went on a weekend scrapbook retreat, and I have been getting ready for the Close To My Heart Regional Celebration in St. Louis.  Whew!  I have posts scheduled for the next few days, too, so keep checking back often!

Today, I am bringing you a Christmas card inspired by three different challenges:

• Cardz TV - Bling it Up!
• Got Sketch? - awesome sketch - be sure to check it out!
• Heart 2 Heart - Christmas Time

This card was created with Pear and Partridge paper and the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  I really enjoy making 6x6 cards, so when I saw Valerie's sketch at Got Sketch?, I knew I had to do a larger card.  These colors from the paper packet lend themselves well to the shabby chic look and old world Christmas.  Let's look a little closer:

I've got 6 layers of poinsetta cuts from the Artiste Christmas key.  I used Almond Glitz Gel to add sparkle to the leaves, and then I tucked in some metal flourishes and a button from the Antiqued Gold Mini Medleys collection.  

You will see more of the ornaments next month when I introduce the October Stamp of the Month.  So that's just a sneak peek!  I hope that you are having a great week and that you're having plenty of time to craft!

Peace and Comfort

I am working my way through all the paper packets to create cards for my display boards.  Today I am working with the warm autumn colors of Flirty.

I made the card base and slide using the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  Let me tell you, I will not get tired of this cartridge any time soon! The goldrush paper and burlap ribbon really work well together.  The colors are very soothing to me, and I thought this would make a good sympathy card, so I chose a sentiment from the Words of Comfort set.  The challenge this week at Heart 2 Heart is to make a sympathy card, so I am entering this into that challenge.

Let me tell you about the leaves.  This is a new stamp set called Fall Harvest.  I really like the rustic look of the leaves in this set, and what I did was stamp one of them with New England Ivy ink.  From there, I sponged the center quite heavily with goldrush ink.  Using a lighter touch, I did the outsides of the leaves.  This  is the first time I've played with this set, and I am quite certain you will see it again and again!

Notes

There are just two more days to get your Dotty for You paper packet!  Place a $35 order and get your Dotty for just $5!  I have been working with this paper since the middle of April in order to show you all the wonderful things that can be done with it.  Today, I am bringing you a clipboard that I made ~

I can't remember where I got this clipboard.  I just know that it was super cheap, and I knew that it would make a fun decoration.  The mats, letters, scalloped borders, and flowers were all cut with the Art Philosophy cartridge.  Boy does that make projects fun and easy!  I added a little embellishment, and it was done in less than an hour.  I love it!

I'll be putting this in the Dots & Stripes challenge over at Heart 2 Heart.

Thanksgiving

It's Monday and time for another Heart 2 Heart reveal!  We are challenging you to use three colors from the beautiful Close To My Heart palette.  (Remember, you must use Close To My Heart products to play at Heart 2 Heart.)  We'd like to see a project using the combination of Bamboo, Juniper, and Autumn Terracotta. 

Aren't these colors lovely together?  They make a wonderful Thanksgiving card.  I'll tell you a little about my card.  The flowers were cut with the Art Philosophy cartridge, and I added a little bronze glitter gel to the top.  I added that wonderful bronze gel to the edges of my stamped leaves as well.  By popping the leaves up, I balanced out the 3-dimension of the flowers.  I added a strip of juniper ribbon to the card and then created a paper pleat to put on top of the ribbon.  That metal piece is one of our foundry bookplates (I love these).  Isn't that a nice stamp inside the bookplate?  That is the November Stamp of the Month called Cherish the Day, and I will be telling you much more about that in the coming days!

I am sad to say that this is my last post as Heart 2 Heart design team member.  I have loved being on this team and "meeting" the other members!  I so love Close To My Heart products and this was a wonderful opportunity to bring even more ideas to life, and I so appreciate the time I have spent with them!

Heart 2 Heart Challenges

It is time for this week's reveal at Heart 2 Heart Challenges!  You have got to stop over and see the amazing work that the design team has created for you.  If you need ideas, trust me, this is the place to go!

My card on the challenge blog is different than the one I am showing you today.  So if you'd like to see my card there, you'll have to click over ;)  This card is the one I created for the Regional Celebration contest/swap.  Our objective was to use the 6x6 kraft cards, and I just didn't have time to think of something really new and different.  However, the gals that won, WOWIE! is all I can say.  I saw easel cards, mini albums, candleholders, treat bags - all made with our 6x6 kraft cards.  So let me show you mine.

I created this card by cutting the scalloped border off card and layering pieces of Dreamin' paper.  The bird, scalloped circles, flowers, and tabs were cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge.  The sentiment and leaves are from the So Grateful stamp set.  Yes, I fussy cut 98 leaves for this swap!  I find fussy cutting very relaxing sometimes, so I popped in a movie and cut leaves.
I am going to link this up to:

• The Kraft Journal - Anything Goes
• Create Blog - Fall
• Really Reasonable Ribbon - Fun 4 Fall

Heart 2 Heart Challenge

This week at Heart 2 Heart, it's all about numbers.  You can create any type of project you want as long as it has one number on the front.  Easy, right?

For my project I used the following items available on my website:

• X7141B Elemental Level 2 Paper Packet
• Z1686 Cricut Art Philosophy Collection
• Z1450 Color Ready Cork Alphabets
• You & Me Stamp Set (no longer available)
• Z2137 Olive Ink
• Z2167 Creme Brulee Ink

Stop by Heart 2 Heart to see all the wonderful inspiration from the Design Team!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge

This week our challenge at H2H is to create a layout with a story.  Journaling is so very important, and this is a good chance to put that to practice!

This layout was created with Sonoma papers.  Such perfect paper for the black and white photos!  I'll show you some up close detail because that's part of the beauty in this layout.

Here I clustered some of the matching stickease, a resin floer, and I used the Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the butterfly and layer as well as the 3-D flowers.  Don't you love that pewter frame?

I cut the banner with the AP cartridge and adhered them to the matching Dimensional Element.  Of course there had to be the addition of ribbon and bling!  Now I'll share the journaling with you ~

We hope you play along with us this month at Heart 2 Heart!

Items used that can be found on my website:

X7143B Sonoma Level 2

X7143C Sonoma Stickease

D1491 Hooray Bouquet Stamp Set

Z1686 Art Philosophy Collection

Z1487 Pewter Mini Medleys

Z1126 Colonial White Ribbon Assortment

Z1466 Bling Assortment

Z1635 Heirloom Assortment

H2H Challenge and October Stamp of the Month

You won't see my card on the Heart 2 Heart reveal page as I was a little behind this last week.  But I wanted to make sure to get it done today and post it for your inspiration.  It is a really unique sketch, and I used it quite literally.

This is the October Stamp of the Month - Holiday Magic - and some different colors for Christmas.

I've used the smokey plum diamond pattern and the olive textured background from the Sonoma paper packet.  The stockings (smokey plum ink), fur (cocoa ink), and snowflake (smokey plum ink) are from the stamp of the month.  The couple other items used on the card are olive mini medleys and mocha opaque gems.

 Please stop by Heart 2 Heart today to visit the inspiration from the other design team members.  We have two new sponsors for the month of October - Nichole Lewno and Jena DeVries.  We'd love it if you stopped by their blogs and thanked them for their generosity!

New Heart 2 Heart Challenge

Time for a new challenge at Heart 2 Heart!  This week we are challenging you to use just a sentiment.  No other stamps allowed!  Here's what I created for you:

I love this long sentiment.  It's so heartfelt, and it's often hard to find one that is this long.  Do you have a particular Close To My Heart sentiment that you would love to create with?  This is the week!

Close To My Heart items used that can be found on my website:
X7143B Sonoma Level 2 Paper
D1306 Treasure Life stamp set
Z2114 Cocoa Exclusives Ink Pad
Z1126 Designer Ribbon Colonial White Collection
Z1466 Bling Assortment
Z1358 Basics Button Assortment

I feel like I have been kind of a bad blogger lately!  Shane moved home last week, so there was a lot of hustle and bustle in the house.  Jerry and I went away for the weekend, and it was simply one of the loveliest weekends!  We're also having a bonfire next weekend, so we've been working out in the yard.  I do love summer, but I love being outside in the fall.  It's so crunchy and pretty!  I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from the weekend.

Beautiful Lake Mille Lacs

I love this man, and I will never get tired of resting my head on his shoulder!

Jerry's favorite place to eat - Zorbaz - and his favorite lunch Macho Nachoz.

Minnesota's changing colors

New Heart 2 Heart Challenge!

Today brings a new challenge at Heart 2 Heart.  We want you to use 3 cardstock colors this week - no patterned paper!  Now this was a challenge for me, but I love a good challenge!

I stamped the colonial white with a wonderful stamp from All Hallow's Eve.  Such an elegant little stamp in a Halloween set.  I used the Matchbook template from the Wishes book.  I just can't get enough of these flowers from the Art Philosophy cartridge.  They are even gorgeous in black!

You can order any of the items used by clicking on the button on my left sidebar:
9033 Wishes Card Confidence Program
Z1686 Cricut Art Philosophy Collection
1386 Black Cardstock
1273 Desert Sand Cardstock
1388 Colonial White Cardstock
C1462 All Hallow's Eve
D1361 Thank You
Z2105 Black Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z1462 Midnight Felt Shapes
Z1393 Black Mini Medleys
Z1333 Mocha Opaque Gems

You'll want to check out the rest of the design team's work for great inspiration!

New Heart 2 Heart Challenge!

This week we would like ot see your favorite color combination.  Oh, that was easy for me!  I love the warm colors, and right now these are my favorite colors to work with. They are Smokey Plum, Olive, and Bamboo.

This is an old, old, old stamp set and paper packet, but I am so glad I have saved hoarded it to bring out now and again.  It was a winter special, and I want to say 2006 or 2007?  Yes, I have had it for a long time!!  Now don't hold me to these colors as my favorites because I may just pull out some Sunset, Outdoor Denim, and Desert Sand.  Then those will be my very favorite!  Like I said, warm colors (just in general) are my favorites!

We have an awesome guest design team member during the month of September, and her name is Jane.  We also have two really great sponsors - Heather and Kelly Jo.  I would love it if you stopped all their blogs to thank them for being a part of Heart 2 Heart this month!

New Heart 2 Heart Challenge!

It's time for a new challenge at Heart 2 Heart and we've got a color challenge for you!  We are using the fabulous color combination of Pear, Sorbet, and Cocoa.  These are such pretty colors together!  You can make anything you want for the H2H challenges as long as you are using Close To My Heart products.    I've created a card as my example.

There are so many fun thing to try on the Art Philosophy cartridge!  700 images are going to keep me busy for a long time, and I am going to be able to show you loads of fun things!  This is card, and I've cut the matching decorative layer.  Wowie - talk about an instant card!  It was so easy to finish it off with all the little extras!  I could see using this card base over and over for note cards.

Now let's see what you can come up when using these colors!  Check out the rest of the design team's work because it's inspirational!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge

What a great theme for this week at Heart 2 Heart!  We are asking for Back to School projects.  I am sharing a board book that I created for a class in September.

I created this using Typeset papers, the Blue Ribbon stamp set, and the Art Philosophy collection.  The inside is very basic because the purpose of this book is to add pictures and/or journal along the school year.  Here's a peek:

The perfect complement for this book is the September stamp of the month Limited Edition.  Of course, you'll be hearing more about that set next month!

I hope you'll stop by Heart 2 Heart to see the other design team member's work and to play along.  We'd love to have you join us!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge!

It's time for a new Heart 2 Heart challenge, and this week we are inviting you to CASE one of the design team's cards.  How incredibly fun is that?  A card, layout, or altered project that is copying the style of one of the design team's projects.

When I think about my style, I don't know if I can define it.  When I create pages, I definitely lean more toward clean lines.  I like looking at a page where the picture is the very first focal point.  However, when I create cards and altered items, I like lots of "stuff."  Now I don't always create like that because well, let's face it - those cards are expensive to mail.  But I do so love to create that way!  So that's what I am sharing today with you.

This paper, stamp, and chipboard are from the May CTMH special - You & Me.  I love the colors of the paper, and I love that stamp set.   I dyed the paper flowers by soaking them in a mixture of water and bamboo re-inker.  Then I very lightly spritzed them with a mixture of pearl paint and water.  I could have done this all in one step by mixing pearl paint, re-inker, and water in my spray pen, but I really love the effect that flowers have when they are soaked.  The chipboard (banner, leaves and corner element) is embossed so I sponged over them to give them color.

I hope that you will come and play along this week.  Remember, you have all month to play with any or all of our challenges!

H2H Reveal and the Theme is Hot!

The theme of our challenge this week at Heart 2 Heart is HOT.  Design a project that makes you think of hot - whatever your interpretation of that is!  Of course, I thought of the sun!

Don't you love the frog shading himself behind the cloud?  These cute papers are Splendor and discontinued.  However, they are still available in Studio J!  The other products used are Tree Tops stamp set, a few Sparkles, and some matching waxy flax.

I hope to see you playing along this month!!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge

This week at Heart 2 Heart, we are challenging you to create a child's birthday card.  My niece's golden 8th birthday is coming up, so I wanted to create something special to tie on her gift bag.

I created the card base, flowers, cupcake, and number using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  Did you know you can order yours today?  Oh, with 700 images, it is just so awesome!  If you are a Cricut user, I guarantee this is a must have.  The bundle consists of the Cricut cartridge, 3 matching stamp sets, and 3 sheets of matching dimensional elements.  So you can die cut an image and stamp over it perfectly with our beautiful clear stamps.  What a great idea, huh?!

Ok, back to the challenge - I could talk to you about this cartridge all day long!  LOL!!  At Heart 2 Heart you need to use CTMH product when you play.  Challenges are given on Monday, and you have all month long to submit them.  Our sponsor ths month is Melinda Everett with a great prize package.  Check out the post at Heart 2 Heart - there is B-E-A-utiful inspiration for you!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge - A Sketch!

I'd love for you to join us this week at Heart 2 Heart!  Our challenge this week is a sketch.

I grabbed a new stamp set that will be coming out August 1st called Love Life.  As you can see, I've flipped the sketch to the side.

If you click on this photo, you'll be able to see the background a little closer.  This is a stamp that I've used to create the paper.  The stars are also form Love Life.  The phrases are actually the strip at the top of the paper from a new paper packet called Elemental.  Colors used on this card are creme brulee and desert sand.

Be sure to stop by Heart 2 Heart!  There is some great inspiration waiting for you!!