Simple, elegant...

... and did I mention I just cannot get enough of the embossing folders from CTMH? They got debuted in the catalog before Annual Inspirations. I bought a Cuttlebug as I knew my Cricut wouldn't emboss, but little did I know you can do all sorts of things with a Cuttlebug too!

This one was meant to be simple yet still make a statement, and boy did it ever do that. I'm just loving how well the ivory shows off the true colors of the stamped images. And that Baker's Twine - I have so much fun buying random embellishments, and having even more fun using them when occasion calls for it.

I brought the same lady which was stamped in Twilight to the inside of the card.

Other:
* Cream Cardstock

CTMH:
* Fashionista Stamp Set - retired
* Perfect Fit - Mom - retired
* Mother's Day
* Twilight Ink
* Smoothie Ink
* Floral embossing folder
* Baker's Twine

The leaves are changing color and fall is just around the corner - happy Fall!

Happy (belated) Mother's Day...

Only a day late in getting this to her, but she always appreciates the results. We cooked a very nice 3 course dinner for Mom which included an appetizer of scallops with a side of asparagus, a main of lamb and riced cauliflower, and a funky diy dessert of cut up fruit, honey and rice paper wrappers where you could wrap your own "salad rolls".

It was a hit. Inspiration for her card was from here: Case Study 185 : Catherine Pooler

I apologize for the lack of editing on photos -  my life has been absolutely crazy lately. I used paper piecing and masking on this card: I first stamped the orchids on the original cardstock, then I stamped again and cut out 3 other orchids that if you look closely you can see it. The center orchid and stem is raised up on this card. I also used Copics to color in the orchid.

The masking was to protect the Smoothie border from being stamped on.

There was more masking to do to protect the same border on the inside. I tilted the stamp so that there were no words from the stamp set showing.

Other:
* Cream cardstock

CTMH
* Eclectic Edges
* Island Greetings
* Mother's Day
* Ruby Ink
* Smoothie Ink
* Gypsy Ink

Hope you are enjoying the beautiful sunshine today!

Another Mother's Day Card

... you know you need a scrapbooking room when you make a card, but in the midst of waiting for said Mom to come for a visit (in a few weeks' time) and the card being done, you actually lose the card. But, I remade the card and now I can post it for you!

On the bright side, the basement development is done and that means I can commandeer a room and a walk in closet for scrapbooking!

I can't figure out which Case Study was my muse for this card, but she had this cool white on cream (Kraft-style) look that I just absolutely had to case. (and yes maybe I'm just a wee bit obsessed with that blog).

The swirls and rose are all embossed in White. I actually found the white powder hard to emboss with. My first time embossing was with silver which changes color as it melts, but white isn't quite as easy to see unless if you're right in the sun with the right angle.

My first attempt at sticking things on top of embossed images didn't work (it kept coming off!) so this time around I got smart. I instead decided to stamp the swirls again from the front in White Daisy ink and this time it really stuck.

Other:
* Solid cardstock

CTMH:
* Dream Big
* Happy Valentine's - Jan 2013 SOTM
* White Embossing Powder
* White Daisy Ink
* Red, Pink and Purple Sparkles
* Just Blooms Flutter Paper Shapes

I hope this rain onslaught ends. You can literally see in my garden when I had to stop digging due to the rain in the last week or so and where the crazy weeds start.

Stay dry,

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there...

... whether you are a mom of kids or pets you're still a mommy!

This year with the added responsibilities at work, it has been a struggle to get my cards done on time. But done they are - and this year I got two completed for both my Mom and my Mother-in-Law. I really hit the jackpot with my inlaws as we get along very well.

Today's inspiration: Case Study #139 : Buttons & Bling - Maureen Plut

I was determined to use a button and add some sparkle. Originally I had tied the ribbon in a bow but it overpowered the flower that I had painstakingly colored with Copic markers. So instead I trimmed the ribbon for something smaller and cuter. You may not be able to see in the photo, but the colored flower and the three red words "Hope, Love, Joy" are embossed.

This is when I realized I didn't have any decent sentiments for Mother's Day so I left it blank, but you can see the same flower from the front peeking around the corners of the card. I love bringing images towards the inside of the card. I had better fix that with my next CTMH order!

Other: 
* Solid cardstock
* Embossing Ink
* Embossing Gun
* Button
* White Ribbon
* Copic Markers R22, R24, R29

CTMH:
* Friendship Bouquet (retired, May 2012 SOTM)
* Artiste Cricut Package Stamp Set
* Black Embossing Powder
* Red Embossing Powder
* Sponges (for distressing)

Hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day with your moms!

Butterflies and Mother's Day

I just needed an excuse to use my newest stamp, Delight, but it also so happens that I need to make a second Mother's Day card for my mom who lives here and feeds me and my husband every Sunday! She deserves a card too and of course she will come over for dinner which is often a three course meal.

Today's inspiration is a mix of iheart2stamp's March SFYTT and Amber Hight of The Stamping Scrapbooker's interpretation, Mr & Mrs.

I wanted to do three butterflies, but it wasn't big enough - however, two seems to be just perfect. They were embossed with Dutch Blue embossing powder with a bling button in the middle. You can't see from the photograph, but I glued the middle of the butterflies down and then added foam tape to their wings to pop it up a little.

The third butterfly has made it's appearance on the inside, which is an echo of the colors used on the front of the card. I also decided to distress the sides of the cream cardstock so that it had a bit of a fuzzy look to tie into the blue background.

Michaels etc:
* Cream patterned paper, CM
* Solid cardstock, Michaels
* Ribbon, Michaels
* Fiskars Edge punch and embosser

CTMH:
* Delight
* Classmate Alphabet
* Dreams Come True
* Dutch Blue embossing powder
* Bling buttons
* Lilac Mist Ink
* Moonstruck Ink
* Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge

It's almost Easter! I can't wait!

Farewell Jamaica, Hello Reality.

Jamaica was beautiful and a blast; everyone's laid back there and friendly and I even learned one Jamaican word! I visited Margaritaville and Seven Mile Beach which I walked off most of the vacation food I had. I would definetly go back again... gorgeous beach and beautiful place.

This is a picture of the sunset as we got near our resort on Seven Mile Beach, Negril, Jamaica.

Just wanted to show you quickly March's stamp of the month - Potential! It's gorgeous! Ask me how you can get this awesome set for only $5.00 more!

As you know when I'm not crafting I'm travelling and of course to continue on with the Denmark theme, I had to make a Mother's Day card for my mother in law to take with me. International postage these days is crazy!!

Today's card is inspired by an older Mojo Monday: MOJO228, and in particular HandKrafted By Stephanie : Valentine for my Girl's post.

I always like breaking out a new stamp set to use for cards and this was no exception. I'd gotten it early last year when I bought my Cricut Art Philosophy bundle, and it's a perfect match! I just cut out the flowers using the size recommended on my stamp sheet, and then stamped the flowers with Smoothie and added a small rhinestone center. The background was embossed by hand using Fiskars Scrapboss.

And of course, no card would be complete without something to open it up to! I used the same set again alongside with a set that includes Mother's Day greetings inside.

Michaels, etc:
* Solid cardstock
* Printed pattern piece
* Fiskars Scrapboss

CTMH:
* Art Philosophy stamp set
* A Little Everything
* Itty Bitty Sparkles
* Smoothie Ink
* Cranberry Ink
* Outdoor Denim Ink

Happy March everyone, hope the days ahead will be warmer!