Postage stamp bliss!

I saw this card on a Pinterest board and I knew immediately that I had to case it. It was so adorable with sparkles and snowflakes, but I didn't want to completely copy the card.

Inspiration: http://cloudwplus9.blogspot.ca/2012/12/december-blog-hop.html from Cloud 9 by their guest designer, Maureen!

I replaced the snowflakes with little Angels, and of course I decided to move the sparkles just wherever I felt like it! The ribbon was sourced from something random at my local Michaels.

I brought the pattern inside the card, a cool little sentiment and one more press of the Angel stamp! I really loved how this worked out. I'm always looking for new ideas for the insides of cards.

Other:
* Red ribbon

CTMH:
* Angel Sent set : retired
* Card Chatter-Christmas : retired
* Ruby Ink
* Mistletoe Level 2 Paper Pack : retired
* Red and Pink Adhesive Sparkles : retired

It's getting close to Christmas, I'm singing along with all the carols on the radio!

Pigment Inks and Paintbrushes...

I'm still working away on the commission I had for the 10 cards. My client has gotten pictures of all the ones I've completed so far and he's just loving them.

Inspiration: Pinterest Image with no actual author! https://www.flickr.com/photos/54210777@N05/5838427648/in/faves-25616484@N08/

On the front, I combined two retired paper packs - Frosted and Wonderland with a ton of foam tape for each layer to stand out on it's own. But none of my cards go without that little something on top, so I used the retired Red and Pink Adhesive Sparkles along with some itty bitties. I colored the ribbon and fir boughs with a paintbrush and pigment inks.

This is a first where I've used pattern paper for both parts of the inside of the card. It's simply amazing what you do wind up doing when you just sit at home on a snowy day and fiddle like hell.

Other:
* White cardstock

CTMH:
* Frosted Level 2 Paper Pack - retired
* Wonderland Level 2 Paper Pack - retired
* Yuletide Greetings Set
* Snow Flurries - retired
* Itty Bitty Adhesive Sparkles
* Red and Purple Adhesive Sparkles - retired
* Sweet Leaf Pigment Ink
* New England Ivy Pigment Ink
* Sky Pigment Ink
* Cranberry Pigment Ink
* Desert Sand Ink
* Cocoa Ink

On my schedule - hanging Christmas Lights, breaking out the annual villages, and wrapping presents!

Almost a year later...

.. I can't remember what the inspiration was, but I can definetly say a lot of the stamps and card stock were from the previous catalog. These were birthday cards that were for my brother and sister in law.

First card - for my sweet sister in law in CA!! I couldn't imagine adding a sweeter person to the large family of siblings I am part of either by blood or by marriage.

Only because I spent so much time with the Give A Lift stamp set and La Belle Vie is my favorite paper pack of all time is why I still know the name of the set! I used a plain paintbrush (dollar stores or your local craft stores will carry these) and a bunch of CTMH water based ink pads. Coloring with the pigment inks gives you a deeper color and it's easier to paint with.

Whoops, looks like I never quite took this photo in the correct orientation! I brought a strip of the same patterned cardstock inside and added some floral flourishes.

Second Card - for my little bro in CA. With the deep freeze that shows up from time to time, he was the smarter one and moved down to where it was warmer!

Another set that I spent a lot of time with for my Spring 2014 workshop - Robot Family with Timber Level 2 Paper Pack! I love these little robots and what's even better; husband loves robots, so I will be using this set over and over again :) and even better - the gears are from the Artiste CTMH Cricut cartridge! I can't get enough of how much I love CTMH and how it's held up so well over the years.

Gears are from the same stamp set - they're super cool! And how cheesy is the sentiment? I just had to use it - my little brother is an engineer so totally relevant. And P.S - the red gears were left over from the cuts I did originally for his wedding banquet invites. Waste not, want not.

Are you gearing up for Xmas yet? I certainly am!

Advent Packages!!

I saw the movie on how to make little packages from CTMH which was featured in a previous catalog and they were dead easy to make. A tradition I've had in years past is to buy Advent Calendars, but the chocolate isn't that great and I didn't get around to actually buying them.

So this year, I decided to make my own and use After Eight wafers - the hubby's favorite type of chocolate. He eats them like a fat cat given free reign to treats!

To put these little guys together:

1. Cut out a 4 x 6 rectangle of patterned cardstock
2. Glue the short ends together to create a "toilet paper roll" - use a glue gun!
3. Put your top embellishments together (in my case it was a 3/4 x 3 flag and then I cut the banners from the top of CTMH patterned paper to a length of 3", then I stamped images from Magical Days, cut them out and added that with foam tape).  Adhere to paper roll
4. Pinch one of the ends together and staple shut. I wasn't sure if my little flag would stay on so I stapled that on as well (middle staple)
5. Fill, then pinch the bottom opposite to Step #3 (to create a "triangle") and staple shut.

That's it! I used a variety of current and retired paper packs.

CTMH:
* Magical Days Set
* Pear & Partridge Level 2 Paper Pack - retired
* Snowhaven Level 2 Paper Pack
* Yuletide Carol Level 2 Paper Pack
* Ponderosa Pine Ink
* Ruby Ink

Can't let you go without letting you know about the latest promotion: Deal of the Decade!

A qualifying order of $50 in product nets you the best deal yet - any C or D size stamp from the Annual Inspirations catalog for 10$! A C size stamp set retails at $15.25 CAD and a D size stamp retails at $19.75, so you could be saving anywhere from $5.25-$9.75. What a steal! And even better yet, $50 also qualifies you for the cute SOTM below : Cutie Pie.

So glad the deep freeze has lifted!

Cyber Monday - 20% off all Cricut CTMH Collections!!

For Monday (Dec 1) and Monday only, CTMH is releasing a first-ever sale of 20% all Cricut collections! That includes

 Artiste

 

Art Philosophy

 Artbooking

Artfully Sent

In case you've ever wondered how I cut all those awesome shapes for my workshops, like those snowflakes, wonder no more - they are located in the Artiste / Art Philosophy cartridges!

And the packages have more than Cricut in them - depending on the package you'll receive cardstock or dimensional elements that coordinate with the cartridge you buy.

Third bonus - you've noticed stamp sets with a red outline on them - that means they have a corresponding Cricut shape! Each stamp set now also tells you what page and which cartridge it corresponds too printed directly on the protective plastic sheet.

Contact me for details!

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!

Sneaky sneaky...

... I didn't realize one of my team members had gotten married until I realized her last name on the door tag had changed! I was hesitant to ask, but nope, it was happy news - she got married! So I decided it was card time. I didn't have to, but I felt like it.

As well, Lest We Forget... I am forever grateful to those who have served, and those who are serving to keep our beautiful country safe and welcoming to live in.

Today's inspiration: http://scrappietoo.blogspot.ca/2014/09/case-study-challenge.html, from Case Study #207. I might have to dig around a bit more in her site - really liking her card style.

I embossed the flowers from an old SOTM onto the vellum, then used the "frosted glass" technique so the colors weren't too crazy. To do this, you stamp the one side of the vellum and emboss, then you color on the back side of it. The little flower I just bunched up a couple of squares of tissue paper from something I had before and attached all the layers together with Liquid Glass.

I used a totally different color technique with the inside - same flower, but this time I watercolored with pigment inks. I didn't want a strong color but I wanted to carry the image inside.

Other:
* Vellum adhesive
* Vellum
* Cream cardstock
* Blue cardstock
* Copic markers

CTMH:
* Jardin (retired)
* Big Hug
* It's The Little Things SOTM ** upcoming!!
* Happy Valentine's SOTM (retired)
* Brown Opaque Pearls (retired)
* White embossing powder
*  Liquid Glass
* Embossing Ink
* Twilight Ink
* Smokey Plum Ink
* Desert Sand Ink
* Cranberry Pigment Ink -- from pigment ink set Adventure
* New England Ivy Ink -- from pigment ink set Enchantment

Hope you are staying warm on this chilly day!