The best holiday of the year...

This is the last few hours to get in on the Pair A Phrase deal! It's CTMH's first time selling a double stamp set in one envelope, and this one in particular is so versatile. I also noticed a card in CTMH's Facebook Group (the group's official name is Close To My Heart) and just had to use it for inspiration. It's found in their My Acrylix® Pair a Phrase Inspiration photo album and looks like this:

I don't own the spray pens yet or the pearl paint or reinkers; however, that's what they used to achieve that neat "spritzed" effect on the upper left hand corner. My take on this card using a similar color scheme:

As you can see, I also distressed the edges in Desert Sand and colored my present somewhat similar. However, I added some rhinestones and some awesome patterened paper from Mistletoe's Level 2 Paper Pack (retired). This was also my first time stitching on paper and it was so easy! Using CTMH's new ruler with the holes and their piercing kit it looks pretty even. The embroidery floss is from the days I was obsessed with cross-stitch. I colored the present which is raised up with a blending pen.

Instead of using a blended pen this time, I actually decided to break out my old box of pencil crayons. There is definetly some merit to being a bit of a saver when it comes to anything crafty. It brought back memories... and the sentiment is from Festive Thoughts (retired).

Michaels:
* White cardstock from 'Gems' set
* Rhinestones

CTMH:
* Pair-A-Phrase (last day of promotional item)
* Festive Thoughts (retired)
* Mistletoe paper pack Level 2 (retired)
* Piercing Kit
* Ruler
* Grey Wool Ink
* Cranberry Ink
* Spring Iris Ink
* Desert Sand Ink

Have a great weekend!

Holiday Cheers.

This is a cute little stamp set that has a coordinating shape inside the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge :) Except I am still hoping like mad for a Cricut Expression for Christmas. However, I got a look at the latest sketch from Mojo Monday and I just had to play.

I have quite a ways to go on my individually designed Xmas card project, but it is a departure from years past when I used to design one card and replicate it in required numbers for the recipients.

Today's inspiration is from Mojo Monday : MOJO208.

The ribbon obscures it a bit, but of the Christmas ornaments in the right hand bottom corner there are 3 layers. The bottom one is stamped onto cardstock; the second gray one is a layer on top and finally the purple ornament is the third layer. To ensure my foam squares were high enough for the third one I just used two back to back. For my ribbon to stay perfectly curled, this was achieved with using wired ribbon.

This card measures 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 which fits very well in a regular A2 envelope. As you can see, I attempted to bring in the blue accent color inside the card as well.

Dollar Store Find:

* Silver wired ribbon

Michaels:

* Solid cardstock

* Cardstock from 'Gems' collection

CTMH:

* Snow Flurries

* Holiday Cheer

* Mistletoe paper pack (retired)

* Grey Wool ink

* Spring Iris ink

* Corner rounder punch

New House New Beginnings

A friend who originally was a coworker of mine back in the day 7 years prior, recently bought a new home. I know that he has been dying to move out of the basement suite he has been living in since he moved into Vancouver.

I had acquired Chairs to You without realizing what I'd use them for, but they were just perfect for this occasion. Today's inspiration comes from a previous Teneal Williams post: Creative Elements Case Study 50 Hop.

As the middle chair needed to stand out, I used a technique known as paper piecing. What you do is stamp the image onto two sheets of paper, one is your base image, and the other you cut pieces out of. In this case I used plain brown cardstock, but you could do this with patterned cardstock to really 'pop' the image. As well, the sentiment on the front is embossed in black.

I seem to have a real habit of decorating the inside as well, but I find that it helps to balance out the card weight if it's a card with the fold on top. This time I opted to stay simple, to keep in theme with the rest of the card.

Michaels:
- Cardstock
- Embossing Inks

CTMH:
- Chairs To You (May 2011 Stamp of the Month)
- Lucky Level 2 Chipboard accents
- Chocolate Shades Collection Mini Medley
- Black embossing powder
- Chocolate Ink
- Smokey Plum Ink

Believe enough to heal...

A close relative of mine found out that the cancer he beat successfully 9 years ago has made a return, to the dismay of his family and of course, myself.

I'd like to send a card as he took the time to come to both of my wedding celebrations over 3 years ago. Nothing like a homemade card to bolster the positive thoughts that they are holding to in order to get through each day. And the rest of us are hoping that he will be successful in beating the disease the second time around.

Today's inspiration is another one of Got Sketch?'s designs, Sketch 128

I didn't want to use a huge big flower but given that Hope is such an important concept for cancer survivors whether they have battled or are still battling, that the Hope For Japan set was a good choice instead. My color scheme was based on fall with bright, sunny colors. The inside uses the Angels set; sometimes healing is nothing short of a miracle.

Although I felt the message both on the outside and inside were a bit mixed, it still means that they should believe in the fact they will have the strength to beat this monster.

Michaels:
- Cardstock
- Fiskars border punch
- Rhinestones

Dollar Store:
- Ribbons

CTMH:
- You and Me set (retired)
- Dreams Come True
- Angel Sent
- Chocolate Ink
- Outdoor Denim
- Desert Sand
- Ponderosa Pine

Looking for that special project...

When I first started with CTMH back in May, my consultant's welcome package included the You and Me kit with a stamp set, die cuts, and paper. As this set was also being used to fundraise for all the catastrophes on the other side of the border in the US I was just waiting for that "special" project that I thought would be fitting.

I am now in the process of starting Christmas cards and some homemade Christmas presents. As it were, my Mom lives vicariously through me, as her mother was a crafty lady and she doesn't have the patience or head for it. I thought she'd like a homemade calendar; and then it came to me that this was the You and Me project I was waiting on. I have only gotten as far as the front cover.



I have to pick up a few more items to start the inside including a stamp block, possibly some paper from Michaels, and the Autumn paper pack from CTMH. I will be using the Month By Month stamp. When I am done I will post a sneak peek of the inside.

As well I did finish my Halloween project, but you will have to wait until October for panels 3-9. My cube will be the envy of my cubemates.

Cardstock:

* Michaels

CTMH:

* You and Me Kit (stamp set, die cuts, opaque adhesive pearls) - retired

* Bohemian Alphabet

* Love Petite Perks set - retired

* My Creations™ Display Album

* Chocolate Ink

* Smoothie Ink

* Olive Ink

* Garden Green Ink

September's SOTM: Limited Edition

September's SOTM is truly what it's title is: Limited Edition. It is only available during the month of September for either $19.95 or if you already have an order of $55.00, it is only $5.50 more.

I admit that originally I was incredibly stumped by this set. It screamed 'make tags!!' at me, but I didn't want to just make tags. I thought I could somehow change this into a Christmas card. You see, this year I plan on making different cards for people instead of coming up with one design and frantically scrambling to get the right amount of cards made for that design. Besides, it allows me to play with all the pretty sketches that I see online. And then I got Got Sketch?'s latest card design in my inbox, and I was ready to go.

The inspiration for this is from Sketch 127. Here's my take on it.

I am still working on cutting my own card bases as sometimes they come out quite crooked, but practice makes perfect, right? And taking a cue from Teneal Williams I just had to design the inside as well.

A new thing I forgot to mention; as of August CTMH has started releasing idea cards with their stamp of the month sets. Here is the link for September's projects: http://ctmh.com/en/Campaigns_and_Promotions/Stamp_of_the_Month.aspx?p=%7b3BA4EB2D-4623-413D-969F-A5190A4CAC40%7d. For those who are lucky enough to have a Cricut and of course the CTMH Art Expression cartridge, there is an accompanying tag shape you can cut out. I just used scissors.

Cardstock
* Michaels
* CM

Other Items
* Brads: Michaels
* Silver embossing powder: Unknown
* Silver ribbon: Michaels
* Fiskars Border Punch: Michaels
* Rhinestones: Michaels

CTMH
* Piercing Tools
* Embossing Pen
* Limited Edition - September SOTM
* Heartfelt Xmas - retired
* Festive Thoughts - retired
* Ponderosa Pine Ink
* Chocolate Ink
* Olive Ink