A musician's birthday...

... a friend of mine also happens to play off and on at Cafe Koi, and on occasion when he shows up with his instrument I keep wondering what really is in that body-sized instrument case. Thankfully he's a good guy or I'd really wonder.

It is about 3 weeks late, but as always I do need to include a vacation photo - we got back from sunny Cancun and miss the sun and warmth already.

One of the pools in the tranquil morning before the liquor and games hit.

So, I saw the Delightful Ditty set in the catalog and just had to pick it up for his birthday card. The inspiration is here: http://heartshugsandflowers.blogspot.ca/2014/09/a-new-challenge.html by Sending Hugs.

I was fiddling with a technique that's actually published in the catalogue - by using any acrylix block, inks, sponge daubers and one of their spray pens / water, I got a really cool distressed look for the violin. I suppose I could pretend they're bass instruments...

Then on the inside, I decided I'd continue the use of the same sponge daubers (12 pack is really worth it!) and got a cool multi-colored violin and sentiment. There is a lot more control over the inks and where they are on the stamp with the daubers, but you do have to work fast.

Other:
* Solid Cardstock
* Embossing Ink

CTMH:
* Delightful Ditty set
* Give A Lift set *retired
* Joyful Birthday set
* Autumn Terracotta Ink
* Ponderosa Pine Ink
* Outdoor Denim Ink
* Sponge Daubers
* Spray Pens
* Blue and Green Adhesive Sparkles *retired
* Metallic Sentiment *retired

And just like that, November is nearly over. I can't wait for the workshop coming up tomorrow!

You know you're a bit too OCD when...

... you wind up redoing the front of the card not once, twice, but three times! I was trying to do a pretty hexagonal pattern and failed badly on the first try as my hexagons were too big; the second try I wanted to add outlines but my ruler skills were not up to par. But, third time was the charm!

Inspiration : https://www.flickr.com/photos/tulip1312/9315856351/lightbox/ by Joy Taylor @ SimpleByDesign

Instead of following a mostly white on white tone, I opted to pick three flirty fun colors to stamp the different hexagons in. I also utilized a swipe technique - first you ink the stamp, and then you swipe to get a pattern, which you can see on all the hexagons stamped in Gypsy.

And then, I got inspired by a link that teaches you how to make your own epoxy embellishments - and covered the butterfly cutout all over with Liquid Glass. I fiddled with the front of the card for so long that my Liquid Glass dried by the time I was done.

I brought the hexagons back inside the card and picked a cute little sentiment for it. I'm sure Mom's going to love this - and for the second time this year, the card is *actually* on time.

Other:
* Cream cardstock

CTMH:
* Honeycomb Stamp Set
* Joyful Birthday Stamp Set
* You Are My Happy Sentiment - retired CC
* Cocoa Ink
* Twilight Ink
* Ruby Ink
* Gypsy Ink
* Liquid Glass
* Opaque Pearl Adhesives - retired
* Red / Pink Adhesive Sparkles - retired
* Artiste Cricut Cartridge

Looks like the snow has retreated this week but the damage that it has caused is unreal!

Sometimes it's just plain fun to fiddle.

It's time consuming, don't get me wrong, but I really loved the end result. This year is my MIL's big 60th birthday, but alas I had to go back to Calgary for work and so could not join her. Hubby, however is able to make a tiny detour so I'm glad for that, and I'm sending some cards with him.

It was a big set of cards to do in four days but I did it! There was no particular inspiration for this one but three hours of fiddling later...

I really love the silver frame on the black. It's downright gorgeous - and just that little extra sparkle here and there plus some foam tape and fussy cuts makes it really pretty. And ok, kudos to you if you can spot the distressing of three colors on the front!

The inside was the same butterfly - because you know, I absolutely adore this set which pairs perfectly with La Belle Vie Level 2 Paper Pack. I cried the day they retired it...

Other:
* Cream Cardstock
* Butterfly punch
* Lace edge punch

CTMH:
* La Belle Vie Level 2 Paper Pack
* Jardin Stamp Set - retired
* You Are My Happy Sentiments - retired
* Smokey Plum Ink
* Gypsy Ink
* Cotton Candy Ink
* Silver embossing powder - retired
* Detail embossing powder - retired

In the last three days, Old Man Winter decided to visit with a vengance and we had broken trees, power outs, dicey roads... I hope that it hasn't affected you too much and that you are warm, safe, and dry!

Working on the backlog...

this time I was working on Dad's birthday card only half a month late. I hate it when work gets in the way. I originally saw this while digging through PInterest, and it was only a matter of time before I decided it was worth doing.

I`m pretty tired these days so classy and simple is my favorite style lately. Today`s inspiration : http://www.mamamostamps.com/2013/08/case-study-3rd-anniversary-blog-hop.html by Maureen Merritt.

I just realized I forgot to add fancy borders on these photos... oh well, guess that is for next time. I went through my scrap heap and pulled out the funky little pigment cube sets to use on these stamps. I also brought back Enjoy Life`s clock and added a few embellishments.

And of course, I couldn`t resist using the bicycle once again teamed with some fancy yellow swirls and the same colors into the inside.

Other:
* Solid cardstock
* Orange patterned cardstock

CTMH:
* Enjoy Life (retired)
* Just A Number (retired)
* Saddle Pigment cube from Basic set
* Buttercup Pigment cube from Whimsy set
* Twilight Pigment cube from Whimsy set
* Avalon Level 2 Paper Pack (retired)
* Dreamin`Level 2 Paper Pack (retired)
* Mocha Adhesive Pearls (retired)
* Blue and Green Adhesive Rhinestones (retired)

What a crazy set of ridiculously cold days, hope you are staying warm!

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!

Blue and Feminine...

My best friend's birthday was back in April and her favorite color is blue, plus she enjoys travelling and the sea. So I finally cracked out the sea wood shapes that I'd bought some time ago from CTMH but had no idea what to do with them.

My inspiration was Mojo Monday and it popped up from viewing several designers: MOJO290

I went with clean lines and beachy, relaxed feel. I kept to a specific palette and wanted the sea shapes to pop right out as orange against blue.

I didn't go too fancy on the inside but I stamped the entire card with one color which I'd never done before. Usually I like to use a combination of colors and occasionally stamp sets. It worked out well contrasted with the other pieces and cardstock colors.

Other:
* White cardstock

CTMH: 
* Lucky Level 2 Paper Pack (retired)
* Jardin
* Card Chatter - Birthday
* Seaside Wood Shapes
* Blue Adhesive rhinestones
* Blue Designer Ribbon (retired)

Looks like we'll get a hint of summer at 25 tomorrow before it hits 11... if nothing else, the weather around here is never boring.

Happy Crafting!!

When you don't have time...

... you make the time.

I'm still trying to get my Easter project for my office completed by tomorrow morning. So my pre-cut 3-D shape pieces, paper trimmer, and glue gun have been living under my desk for the last four hours in hopes that I will be gluing it all together during the lunch hour.

Today's card was inspired some time ago by Random Acts of Creativity but I can't remember the exact card.

Happy birthday to my father-in-law! I admit sheepishly that yes, today is his birthday and I haven't yet sent the card, but he snowbirds in South Africa over the winter months so I still have to find out where to send it to. I pulled out some random embellishments from CTMH that I have been saving for a little while and cut out a shape from Art Philosophy's cart in different sizes for the top of the card. I distressed the edges of the sentiment in Olive and created a bowtie by tying a knot in CTMH ribbon and then cutting the ends.

I brought in the stamping under the bowtie to the inside of this card as well. Can you recognize the paper? If you guessed Stella, you're right - I would have never thought to use Stella in a male card.

Other:
* Solid cardstock

CTMH:
* Ribbon
* Stella Level 2 Paper Pack (retired)
* Dreamin Level 2 Paper Pack (retired)
* Opaque Pearl Adhesives, Mocha
* Random CTMH embellishment
* Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge
* You and Me (retired)
* Love Life
* Olive Ink
* Chocolate Ink

Happy Easter everyone! With luck I'll be able to get the Easter project up in the next few days.

Mojo Monday Fun...

It's been a while since I used a Mojo Monday layout. This one was an old one from Nov 2011 but I really liked Debbie Carrier's take on it.

The inspiration: MOJO2160 : Debbie Carriere

I used a combination of papers for this one and decided to use the daylights out of the Rock n' Roll technique. You stamp an image in a lighter color, then roll the edges of the stamp around in a darker color. You can see it on the middle piece just under the birthday wishes piece.

The bird and flowers were colored with Copics R22, R24, V12, V15

There was one paper that I would have never thought to use for a guy's card - Stella! This is the other side of a vivacious pink that I used on the baby card a little while back. The two colors I used for Rock n' Roll was Ponderosa Pine and Desert Sand.

Other:
* Solid Cardstock

CTMH:
* Blue and Green Adhesive Sparkles
* Mocha Adhesive Pearls
* Wings Workshop stamp set (retired)
* Wonderful You
* Just A Number
* Desert Sand
* Ponderosa Pine
* Stella Paper Pack Level 2 (retired)
* Dreamin Paper Pack Level 2 (retired)

Happy Family Day!

Love of Travel

I thought I'd crack into some of the paper packs that I have purchased and saved for the right occasion. CTMH tends to retire papers now and again but I always grab a few packs from the current line and use them much later on.

Today's inspiration is another Random Acts of Creativity piece, Sketchbook Saturday Challenge #48.

I wanted to incorporate a bit of heat embossing and a travel theme into this piece. One of my brother's favorite things to do is travel alongside rock climbing and diving and what better than to add a suitcase with a compass on it?

I finished the inside with flourishes from Love Life and I brought the same cardstock patterns inside by way of four little squares, distressed in two different shades of brown - my trusty Chocolate and then Cocoa to darken it a bit more. This turned into a two tone distress which looked really cool.

Wonder how I got those fancy lines on? A ruler and a Sharpie marker!

My Stash:
* Solid color cardstock
* Gold button
* Sharpie

CTMH:
* Love Life
* Just a Number
* Ruler
* Black Embossing Powder
* Blue and Green Adhesive Sparkles
* Mocha Opaque Pearls
* Avonlea Paper Pack Lvl 2 (retired)
* Chocolate Ink
* Cocoa Ink
* Black Ink
* Twilight Ink
* Garden Green Ink

And like that January is out the door and Feburary arrives - with a new catalogue!

So simplistic it's beautiful...

I originally saw this card from Random Acts of Creativity: Sketchbook Challenge #67 but I didn't have the right butterfly stamps!

However I decided to use silver embossing powder which didn't originally show up so well on La Belle Vie, and then I distressed all over it in Gypsy Ink and the stamp just popped up.

I also cut the edges with Fiskars Edging scissors and distressed them in Gypsy. A few gems and all of a sudden it was looking very classy. The photo doesn't do the color of the paper justice. That's what I get for photo-editing on a tiny iPhone screen... my iPad is in Moscow with my husband.

I finished the inside with the same stamp in gypsy along with a sentiment and it was a perfect match to the purple cardstock. Did I mention I have a love affair with La Belle Vie and the Flair stamp?

My Stash:
* Fiskars Edging scissors
* Solid cardstock

CTMH:
* Flair
* Silver embossing powder
* Itty Bitty Clear Sparkles
* La Belle Vie Level 2 Paper Pack
* Gypsy Ink

It's foggy out today!

And the birthdays start again...

With both my brothers having birthdays in January I had to break out all my crafts again, even though they were all put away for the holidays.

However a swift inspiration kick in the back is always welcome and the new Spring/Summer catalogs arrived! They will debut Feb 1st but I will include one new catalog with any order in January.

My inspiration for today had to include planes, as my brother-in-law was once a pilot and still adores them : Mojo Monday : MOJO275

I thought I'd let the paper from Dreamin Level 2 (retired) carry the oomph of this card as it is so beautiful. However I was needing a distress tool and as it turns out, my foot file did the trick. Mind you I think I'll have to include the distress files in my next order. It exposes the white core that is at the center of all CTMH papers for a nice look.

I carried the paper and distressing through to the inside of the card and added a few flourishes, including distressing the middle panel's edges with Pacifica.

My Stash:
* Solid color cardstock
* Blue flower rhinestones

CTMH:
* Dreamin Level 2 Paper Pack
* Horizon
* Just A Number
* Love Life
* Olive Ink
* Pacifica Ink

Finally I should mention the stamp of the month for January - Happy Valentine's before it's too late - it's a beautiful set of roses that would work wonders on any layout or card.

This set is only 5$ with a minimum order of $50 CAD and don't forget about the latest promotion - a Valentine's Day kit for $10 with a minimum purchase of $35.00. 

Stay warm, it's cold outside!

Pumpkins...

I've had this set for a while and wanted to do something with it. It's a friend's birthday coming up this Friday at my favorite pasta place on 17th Ave, and I needed a card to go with a box of chocolate and a donation to the Calgary Distress Center, where he moonlights by day.

I saw this as an original inspiration and couldn't have deviated further from it, but it was a good starting point: http://tenealewilliams.com.au/2012/11/case-study-116/. Guess a girl's gotta start somewhere.

On the other hand, there is another card coming, from the same inspiration that is a lot closer and is so simple that it's elegant. At least, to me anyway. The patterned paper is something I picked up at a dollar store sometime ago, and it's gold on yellow.

The sentiment is from one of the stamp sets that came with the three D-size sets that are in the Artiste package - and the perfect one for my friend. I brought the leaves into the corners to tie the whole card together. I look forward to seeing him as we have been best friends for 10 years, and there's just something about how big his heart is - that he's always helping other people.

My Stash:
* Yellow patterned paper on front
* Solid cardstock
* Orange ribbon

CTMH:
* So Grateful
* Cocoa Ink
* Topiary Ink
* Honey Ink

Can't wait for the next chinook around the corner,

Just couldn't resist...

... playing with the new paper packs in the newest CTMH catalogue! Especially because my mother-in-law's birthday is coming up and what better choice than La Belle Vie?

My inspiration is Clean and Simple 117 from Clean & Simple Stamping. I really loved her choice of butterflies and string which I originally discovered on Pinterest.

The biggest butterfly in that trio on the front is actually the backside of the background paper! I cut out three different butterflies with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge in three different sizes and then the middle is glued down, and the wings are popped up with foam tape.

Because I wanted butterflies on the inside, I chose to use the butterflies from a special promotional double sided set called It's Your Day that is on sale for 5$ more when you spend $35! The promotion runs from August 15th - Sept 30th and has a lot of versatile images! It's National Stamping Month in September and what better way to celebrate?

My sister in law has left for home, sadly, but that means I will be posting on my regular schedule once again. Out of all the adventures we had, I think street poling was the most fun.

Michaels, etc:
* Solid cardstock

CTMH:
* Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge
* La Belle Vie Paper Pack Level 2
* Opaque Adhesive Pearls
* It's Your Day
* Card Chatter - Birthday
* Smoky Plum
* White Daisy

My goodness September long is coming up next weekend ... hope you all have grand plans!

Nothing like arrival...

... Of new products to get you revved up again and your creative juices flowing. The new catalog has been released to consultants and will be rolled out to everyone else Aug. 1. There are a lot of gorgeous new stamps, and my favorite two new things yet - a workshop to go geared towards making cards alongside the popular scrapbooking workshop to go, and a brand new Cricut cartridge! I can't wait! My mom's birthday is coming up next month and my sister in law is visiting, so posts next month may be sporadic but time will also be precious.

Want to see what's in Artiste - the new cartridge? Provocraft has just released the digital handbook for a peek!

The inspiration for this week's card is from Got Sketch : Sketch 145.

I just found out that I can't upload images from my iPad to the blog (or even to Facebook). Boo to the fact that Flash is not supported on Apple mobile devices.

I took this opportunity to check out some of the special effects that the iPad Adobe Photoshop app has. Kind of neat, but lacks the entire force of what you can do with the full package. I also wasn't able to watermark the images. I combined two paper packs here - Stella and Florentine and the border with the rhinestones is the back side of Florentine.

The ribbon is sourced from Crave Cupcakes :) I never throw away free ribbon! I have been slowly collecting Copic markers based on a starter list that I mentioned in a previous post. This time I have actually three shades of red that I used on the flower.

I used the same flower on the inside and decided to use Stella patterned paper on the inside as well. The little flourishes and sentiment are from Pair A Phrase, a retired set.

I am still battling technical issues so you may see more iPad based photos for now.

Michaels etc:
* Ribbon
* Solid color cardstock
* Copics R29, R24, R22

CTMH:
* Stella Level 2 Paper Pack
* Florentine Level 2 Paper Pack
* Friendship Bouquet - May 2012 SOTM
* Opaque Adhesive Pearls
* Bitty Sparkles
* Pair a Phrase - Retired
* Cocoa Ink
* Smoothie Ink

Sometimes you just get inspired...

I was browsing through my blogroll when my eye lighted on the following three:

* Papertrey Ink : Make it Monday Challenge #67
* Mojo Monday : Challenge #242 interpreted by Julie Tilman aka MOJO242
* Heart2Heart: Distressing Challenge

and off I was to my crafting supplies to make a card! I sadly don't qualify for the first challenge (Papertrey Ink) as they require you to use at least one PaperTrey item but don't worry - they make beautiful stamps and they're definetly going on my birthday wishlist.

I'm not sure that it's directly obvious here but I tried to sand the blue layer of the butterfly with my nailfile and the purple flourish to expose the white core that is at the heart of all CTMH cardstock. It shows best on the right wing, and I distressed the inside panel with chocolate ink. I had seen this layered technique before with butterflies some time ago and felt like giving it a try. The top is actually vellum embossed with silver embossing powder.

To get that look with the little butterflies, I used the same paintbrush technique that I've done previously, working from where I want it darkest and swept out to the lighter part of the image. The ink used here to "paint" with is Smoothie.

Michaels, etc:
* Solid cardstock (Spice Market)
* Silver embossing powder
* Fiskars Edge Punch

CTMH:
* Pair-A-Phrase (retired)
* Just A Number
* Dreamin Level 2 Paper Pack - retired
* Florentine Level 2 Paper Pack
* Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge
* Cocoa Ink
* Smokey Plum Ink
* Autumn Cardstock Pack
* Smoothie Ink
* Opaque Pearl Adhesives

Have a great weekend!

Retired Stamp Sets...

I always love how all the CTMH products coordinate together in a timeless fashion, no matter how old or retired they are. In this case, I had just purchased Fun Times from a consultant (my upline) who is trying to make room for new sets but it's retired.

I was fiddling around with elements and layout while I talked to the two lovely ladies during my workshop, trying to make everything work out. I also couldn't find the paintbrush I had used prior for one of the cards that was in high demand, so with this card I also realized that paper towel could also work. The final result:

You'll have to pardon the crappy lighting... taking photos at 10:30 at night never leads to great lighting no matter how awesome the camera is. My favorite part of this card is the chevron stripe. CTMH got really clever with their papers lately; they print all the info and CTMH copyright at the top of each patterned paper to make it easy to cut off and then on the other side they print a fun little corresponding border that you can actually use. That stripe behind the frog is from Superhero Level 2 Paper Pack.

I don't know why, when I was taking photos of the inside of this card (at a more appropriate time of day) that I didn't think to take photos of the front. :)  I absolutely love the frog. 

Michaels, etc:
* Solid color cardstock (Spice Market)
* White cardstock

CTMH:
* Superhero Level 2 Paper Pack
* Fun Times (retired)
* Lucky Level 2 chipboard elements (retired)
* Outdoor Denim Ink
* Topiary Ink
* Smoothie Ink
* Bitty Adhesive Backed Gems

Hope you all had a fantastic May Long weekend!