Christmas Ornaments...

... what I love about making cards for the family that isn't part of my annual workshop, is that I can use any stamp set which is Christmas based to make them. I have a few favorites that were part of catalogues past.

This one was no exception. I whipped out a mix of snowflakes and cute ornaments, my silver emboss powder and just went to town.

Today's inspiration: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2320958

On the front I combined old and new stamps. Swirls Around provided the main swirly and the old snowflakes from the Winter 2011/2012 catalog was the perfect background. The best pop is the Cranberry Baker's Twine.

I brought a swirl from the same set up the right hand side of the cardstock inside the card and used the sentiment from the same set as the ornaments.

Last but not least is the November Stamp of the Month: Illuminate!!

Other:
Solid cardstock (kraft & white)

CTMH:
Swirls Around
Snowflakes
Holiday Cheer
Ponderosa Pine Ink
Topiary Ink
Olive Ink
Cranberry Ink
Cranberry Baker's Twine
Silver embossing powder
Opaque Pearls - Black/Grey
Adhesive Rhinestones - Blue/Green
Itty Bitty Rhinestones

The first of many Xmas cards to come!!

Holidays From The Heart Gift Guide and Christmas Workshop

Two neat things to tell you about today.

First of all, Holidays From the Heart Gift Guide!

For each $100 that you order, you can choose a free "star" item from the Holidays From the Heart gift guide. There are some gorgeous products in there that cannot be found in the standard CTMH Idea books so make sure you look through the gift guide.

Secondly here are this year's designs for the Christmas Card workshop.

Card #1: This was inspired by a Pinterest Pin from Handmade Holiday

Card #2: This was inspired by Andrea Ewen's take on Case Study #158

Card #3:This was inspired by a Pinterest Pin from SplitcoastStampers

Card #4: This was inspired by Iwona Palamountain's take on Case Study #108

Card #5: This was inspired by Anya Schrier's take on Case Study #135

Card #6: This was inspired by Iwona Palamountain's card from her personal blog

This year, I trimmed down to six cards as I found it hard to maintain 8 designs, and from last year's experience kept most of the cards to more simplistic rather than difficult designs. After all, sometimes the simplest cards are the most elegant. 

If you'd like to buy a set of cards to put together as a pre-stamped kit or purchase pre-cut cardstock along with the associated stamp sets, please let me know.

It's getting cold - we got our first snows last weekend!

Fall Babies!!

At the office, my manager is expecting with his wife a new child any day now. This is their second but will be a sibling to their first. So, one of the ladies said we should come up with a baby gift for my manager as well as a card. [update: they gave birth to a beautiful baby boy mid-September]

You know how I feel about Hallmark cards. They're great, but for all the years I've made my own, I just don't feel they're personable enough. Plus I'm getting a reputation for making amazing cards at the office. As I don't have a proper baby welcome set it's always a creative feat to make them.

Today's inspiration is Case Study Challenge 156 : Tasnim Ahmed

I was looking for a simpler card due to time restraints for getting up early the following day and Tasnim's card was so pretty. I popped up the two chicks and dressed up the swirlies. As 156 is all about coloring, the chicks got colored!!

On the inside, I brought the swirls in and added a few hearts.

Michaels:
* White cardstock
* Copics Y11, Y21, Y13, R22, R29, R20, YG63, YG67, BG72, BG75, B24, B21

CTMH:
* Love Life
* Easter Wishes
* Blue and Green Adhesive Sparkles

Nothing like a rainy day for cheery cards!

Scandinavian Wishes SOTM!

Happy October everyone!!

Wow time just flies. This SOTM has a special spot in my heart because I married someone who is from one of the Scandinavian countries - Denmark. It is always a good time to visit with the inlaws because they are always sweet, kind hearted and they know how to have a good time.

Get this beautiful set for 5$ more when you order 50$ or more.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving,

Mom's birthday...

So close to being 100% CTMH materials! Mom's birthday was about to arrive back in August (yes, another slightly outdated post) and I figured that instead of giving her real flowers, I'd decide instead to stamp flowers all over the front of her card. Besides, they don't require much care.

I decided to take a bold move and not use any one inspiration, but here is where I confess my addiction to Case Study. It was probably a combination of all of them.

All the cardstock is from CTMH, but the exception is the butterflies - they were cut with a limited edition butterfly punch from Creative Memories. If you look really closely, there are a few red rhinestones scattered all amongst the flowers. As this was done so long ago, the fun part is remembering all the different inks I used to stamp the different flowers.

As always I brought the flower motif inside the card down the left hand side of the card, using two of the colors from the front of the card. By turning the stamp every so often, it gives a look of tumbling flowers. I can't figure out which set the sentiment was from!

Other:
* Creative Memories limited edition butterfly punch

CTMH:
* La Belle Vie Paper Pack Level 2
* Joyful Birthday
* Dreams Come True
* Ruby Ink
* Barn Red Ink
* Smoothie Ink
* Blush Ink
* Ponderosa Pine Ink

The air is getting nippy again but October and Halloween are coming!

Happy Father's Day!!

It is that day in the year that we celebrate everything that our Dads mean to us. And for those of us who were the eldest and female in the house, there were a lot of funny stories to follow.

I still remember how loud it was when Dad's jaw dropped - after I'd asked him for a 3AM curfew, the day I brought home a boy that wasn't Chinese (and I even married him six years later!). And then when I married into an amazing family, acquired a second Dad and there were equally many amusing moments between him and I. (And yes I know... this post is a little late... it's been a crazy year for me).

Today's inspiration is Case Study : Challenge #145 interpreted by Lynn Mangan.

I used the rock and roll technique to give the lanterns some more oomph. Perhaps this year I'll wise up and actually find a proper Father's Day and Mother's Day stamp set in time for next year. In the meantime, I think this one turned out pretty awesome.

Other:
* Solid Cardstock

CTMH:
* Paper Lantern
* Classmate Alphabet
* Designer Buttons - Wooden
* Itty Bitty Sparkles
* Adhesive Pearls - Mocha
* Outdoor Denim Ink
* Topiary Ink
* Honey Ink
* Autumn Terracotta Ink

I meant to post this back in June but as you can see...  a little late on the post :)

And we hail the beginning of Fall...

... I am always sad to see Summer go, but travelling usually makes up for the 10+ months of winter we normally have here. Onto cheerier things, a few things to tell you about in the month of September!!

First up is the September Constant Campaign - it's National Scrapbooking Month!

This means that with a qualifying purchase of $50, you can pick up this awesome trio of stamp sets for only $10 more:

 

You get one alphabet set, a bunch of super cute images (did I mention I was a sucker for butterflies?) and a bunch of useful sayings for scrapbooking and cards alike.

And of course the best for last two powerful stamps that can be used in many different ways - September's SOTM: Poster Tidings.

 It could be tags, it's just asking for the masking technique and there's a cool Subway Print video on the many different ways you could use it.



Happy Fall,