Colour Q #174

It's a bright, sunshiny day here! And it's motivated me  to get up and "doing"! After doing some quick housework, (to banish the I'm-crafting-in-the-middle-of-the-day-guilt), I went up to my crafty space for some much needed time of solitude and playing with paper and ink. Just what the Dr. ordered.

Colour Q colors this week really made me think Valentine's, but I came across this piece of patterned paper while digging around in my "pinks" folder. It's perfect! The same colors all on one piece - that rarely happens.

For CTMH colors, it's Baby Pink, Blush, Hollyhock, and Cocoa.


I've added a ribbon from My Craft Spot and stamped my sentiment from PaperTrey Ink a "Think Big Favorites" set.

Thank you for visiting! 

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Freshly Made Sketches #70 and Pemberly

I've only recently cracked open my Pemberly kit from CTMH this past summer. And, now, lo' and behold, it's nearly time to purchase new summer paper! The burdens we bear in this craft...{sigh}.  So -- for those of you who don't know me well, once I've cracked open a packet and cut a few pieces, then I let loose and actually use the paper. So, I've been enjoying my Pemberly lately. (Still yet to cut into Florentine! But that's next - I promise it's in the hopper!)

I paired the beautiful floral background paper with the Freshly Made Sketch this week. I've been wanting to make a card using this piece of the kit and this sketch was almost exactly what I had in mind! It was fate!

 

My favorite part is the flower that  I heat embossed in White Daisy on Honey colored cardstock. I made 3 embossed copies of this flower before I trimmed the images. I trimmed each of the images at different petals to create a layered effect. Each layer is popped up on 3-D foam tape. I also added the Bitty Pearls to  make it even prettier! The flower and sentiment are both from my CTMH "Card Word Puzzle" stamp set. (I LOVE this set and use it often!) The navy ribbon is American Crafts and the Vintage Cream cardstock is from PaperTrey Ink.

 

Thanks for visiting!

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CASE Study Challenge #124

My last post of the evening! Whew!

I have been wanting to play along (AND post) with CASE study for the last 3 or 4 weeks and keep missing it! Sometimes I play along, but don't post in time for the deadline. I know that doesn't sound like me, but despite the surprise, I can assure you - that really happened.

This week's cute card is from the January muse, Amber Kemp-Gerstel:



I made this card, also using My Mind's Eye, Miss Caroline collection stampset:

This one was very simple and fast! (My favorite). I used Blush and Honey colored inks. The dotted paper is from CTMH's Dotty For You paper set, as well as the Colonial White cardstock. The pink ribbon is from Amuse Studio and the pink gems from Recollections @ Michael's. 

Thank you for visiting! 

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Retro Sketches #47

I'm getting to stay up late tonight since this isn't a "school night"! I feel like a kid again - when the kids get a holiday, I get a holiday. In the mornings anyway. By lunch, they'll be fighting and I'll be fussing at them, but the morning will feel glorious when I get to sleep in!   :)   So, I'm taking advantage of my extra time (and of my nap this afternoon) and catching up on some posts.

I played along with Retro Sketches again this week and made a very simple card that I'm loving. I used the CTMH colors of Outdoor Denim, Pear, and Grey Wool.





Here is my card using a stamp set from My Mind's Eye, the Miss Caroline collection:

I stamped the wood plank and trimmed the panel before stamping the sentiment using my CTMH Card Chatter-Sympathy stamp set. I matted the card panel in Outdoor Denim and adhered it all to a Pear colored cardstock base. 

Thank you for visiting! 

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Paper Players #129 and Colour Q #172

I'm back with another post! I had a quick crafty session this afternoon, but I whipped out three cards and felt much better. A little Sunday afternoon nap and then crafting is a pretty good day in my book.

I combined the Paper Players sketch and the colors from Colour Q this week.



I felt like some of my patterned paper from this fall's Flirty CTMH kit went great with this color scheme. I decided to make a not-so-traditional Valentine's card. I {heart} doing that for Christmas, so why not give it a whirl now?

I matted the white panel with a piece of October Afternoon patterned paper, but all other supplies are CTMH. Grey wool cardstock, Flirty patterned paper, Tulip ink, stamps (Art Philosophy collection and Affection set), Grey Wool ink, gray pearls and pink button. The gray twine is Doodlebug Design. I got really wild and wooly and tied the whole card up with some raffia I bought to put on packages. I like the somewhat-eclectic look that it gave the whole thing. A little outside my normal M.O. mixing the patterns (dots AND printed paper), but I really like it. 

Thank you for visiting. I hope you had a good weekend and an even better week ahead of you! 

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Seize the Birthday #2

Hello, my name is Mandy and I'm a paper hoarder. I've been working down my stash for 4 months now. (If I were in TRUE reform, I'd be able to say it's been that long since my last purchase, but 'tis not! Ha!) I've been working down my stash and still buying the stuff, so it's sorta like fighting a fire someone's pouring gasonline on, but that's not the end of the world, is it?

I made a masculine birthday card for Seize the Birthday using some of my coveted Victory paper from CTMH. I still only used "scraps" and refused to cut into a big piece. Ha! I really like this pack and I don't have much masculine paper and it's not near as easy to come by masculine paper, much less, some that I like this much.

Here is the sketch I used today:



And here is my "Victory" card:

My card base is Chocolate CTMH cardstock to match the Chocolate pieces from the aforementioned paper kit. I used my Skipping Stones Design Grunge stamp set to stamp the wood grain pattern (in Cashmere) on my chipboard label and the wood grain patterned (in Cocoa) on the Kraft (PTI) card panel. The sentiment (in Cocoa ink) is also from this Grunge set. All of my goodies are CTMH, the Round Durable Studs (A MUST HAVE), Natural colored Hemp, wood button, and chipboard label. 

Thank you for visiting! Hopes and wishes for a happy week to everyone.

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Dynamic Duos #36

I'm not normally fond of making Valentine's cards - those aren't my favorite colors, but this year I have really enjoyed it for some reason. I was feeling all "challenged out" and trying to give myself a break. So, today I worked on scrapbook layouts that I needed to complete/catch up on. After a little creative brain break, I felt inspired to give the Dynamic Duos a whirl because of the color combination.



I went with something pretty simple -- black frame around red BoBunny dotted cardstock - SQUEE! That stuff is SO cute. I can't help it. I bought some to stash for Christmas cards and I'm finding it's great for V-day cards. Dual purpose is even better.

I have been wanting some big ole' gaudy satin ribbon for Christmas cards! Perfect for making a big ole' gaudy bow for a card -- and I LOVE IT! I just picked this up at Wal-Mart. I'm somewhat adventurous, but unfortunately, rather cheap. That's a tough combination, believe me.

I used the stamp set from my CTMH Artiste collection and trimmed a black scalloped circle to mat it. The silver pearls are from Doodlebug Design (also purchased for a Christmas collection).

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Retro Sketches #46

I have to start by saying how much I LOVED the sketch over at RetroSketches this week! This pattern is one I definitely want to use again and again.I love how this one can be used as CAS or it could be layered up, too. Versatility is always good.



I decided to go with the Valentine theme and pulled out a lingering piece of BoBunny patterned paper. It's "lingered" so long, I can't even remember the name of the collection. And that's not like me. Of course, considering the week I've had --(accidents, clumsiness, and forgetfulness galore! -- my personal "favorite" is the bag of Corn Meal I almost sat on fire last night! I'm not kidding. It had to be thrown out [a brand new bag!] and the kids had to help me fan the doors to get the smoke out of the house before the smoke detectors went off AND BEFORE Big Daddy came home. EEKS! Unfortunately, there was no hiding that smell. I had to "corn-fess" before he even got in the back door.) Wow - that was a bigger sidebar than I originally intended.

Where was I? Oh yes. The solid cardstock is all CTMH. My stamp set is from PaperSmooches (Sentiment Sampler -- another versatile addition to any card makers stash.) Once again, I used some of my Silver Shimmer Tape, also used here and here. Versatility is the word of the day.

Thanks for visiting my blog! Hopefully I'll remember how to link this up properly.  ---Don't laugh. That was an issue yesterday. I'm not kidding.


Wow -- edited link -- I guess I needed to prove my own point, because I published this post with NO picture of my card! I even "previewed" the post 3 times before hitting "publish".   I'm a little fearful about fixing supper tonight. Pizza delivery may be the safest option!

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H2H - January #2

Wow. I'm 2 for 2 this year with H2H! :) I wanted to play along with more H2H -- so far, so good.

This week is a challenge related to cocoa. The colors, the images, the warmth, etc. I decided to go with the colors. Specifically those found in the remnants of my Wonderland kit.

You may not have noticed, but I popped out some of that Silver Shimmer Trim on this card, too. (A new obsession favorite as mentioned in this post.) I think I've used it on 3 out of my last 4 cards! :) I also used some of those square shaped sparkles -- I like how they coordinate with the Silver Trim and the icy snowflakes. I'm not the best at working those little guys into my projects.

All products used in this project are CTMH! Pin It

Dynamic Duos #35 - (Sweet Leaf and Creme Brulee)

Namaste.

Enjoying a peaceful afternoon in blogland with the piglets watching TV on the computer right next to me. (That's right - I won't mention the number of televisions we have, however, we frequently choose to view our favorite show on a laptop! Kids.) I'm wanting to get through my posts so I can go trolling everyone else's blogs and Pinterest posts and look for more inspiration. (One of my favorite pasttimes -- If I'm not crafting, then I want to look at everyone else's projects and ooh and ahh. Therefore, I'm thinking about crafting and planning my next crafting adventure.)

Here are the colors from Dynamic Duos:



I translated them to CTMH colors of Creme Brulee and Sweet Leaf and made this card with paper left from my Summer 2012 "Footloose" kit. I love the colors together, especially when teamed up with Kraft.

I stamped my sentiment and sentiment banner from my "You Are...." CTMH set. It was a SOTM from last year. I really like it, but don't ink it up all that often, even though I keep it right out and front to remember it. (Pssst. Don't tell anyone, but that's not working. This card is the first project I've used it on in a while.)

This card was simple and fast and that always puts me in a good mood! Simple and fast is my favorite crafty combo.

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Unscripted Sketches #193

A cheery hello from a not-so-cheery  Tennessee! Wow. We have had rain, rain, and more rain! It's so gloomy! It's only 3pm, but I had to turn all the lamps on in our den to make it brighter and more comforting. :) At least we are expecting to see Mr. Sun tomorrow. I'm sure he will be well-received by everyone around here.

I have a card for this week's Unscripted Sketches challenge. I made it with an engagement congrats in mind.

Here is the sketch:



And here is my congratulations card using this sketch and my favorite new embellie from CTMH -- Silver Shimmer Tape. Squee!!

This one is very simple, just using black and white cardstock and the coveted Silver Shimmer Tape and the Card Word Puzzle stamp set.


Thank you for visiting -- hope everyone is staying warm and dry! Pin It

CASE this Sketch #10

Good morning.

I love the sketches over at CASE This Sketch. This weeks is great - so versatile, you can do anything with it! I'll definitely be using it again!



And here is my Clean and Simple card (it was so fast!):

I used Bubblegum cardstock, the heart die-cut (Cricut Art Philosophy), heart stamp, Cotton Candy ink, dots stamp, and white cardstock all from CTMH. The sentiment is from Verve Stamps. Pink bling from Kaiser Crafts.

Thanks for visiting! Hope you are staying warm and dry in this yucky weather. Pin It

Seize the Birthday Challenge #1!

Whoo-hoo!  A new challenge blog. We can't have enough in my opinion. :) "It's the most fun."

I'm excited about this one becuase it will force me to make birthday cards. For some reason, I make cards galore, but rarely, if ever, birthday ones.

Here is the first challenge over at Seize the Birthday:



This week's challenge is for a feminine birthday card.     I used a piece of October Afternoon patterned paper I've had in my drawer for eons.

I also used my new stamp set that came with my Cricut Artiste Collection from CTMH for the sentiment. The grid is stamped from the CTMH set "You Are.....". The twine is from Hemptique.

Thanks for visiting!

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Colour Q #171

With the Colour Q colors reminding me of my treasured "Pemberly" kit from CTMH, I couldn't resist playing along with this challenge!




I had to make good use of some of the pretty paper pieces included in my kit --

I cut out the flowers using grey flannel cardstock and my Cricut/CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge, 3 sizes and layered. The resin flower is a suh-weet little embellie that came in my Pemberly kit. I was using up some Outdoor Denim ribbon scraps. (Now I'm all out. Yuck. Guess I gotta get shopping!). I stamped the sentiment with Outdoor Denim ink and my Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler stamp set.

Thank you for visiting!

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Merry Monday #44 and H2H Snow week

Wow - it seems like it's been a LONG time since I've played along with a Heart to Heart Challenge. Even if I count the ones where I play along, but forget to post my card in time.
So, I'm starting on a new foot in January! :)

And, as it turns out I {heart} the Merry  Monday colors this week and I thought it complemented the H2H snow challenge splendidly. (PLUS I love blues and red together in just about any setting.)

H2H: This week's theme is "Snow Much Fun!" 


I'm almost as excited about the picture of my card as I am about the card itself (which I was quite happy with). I have never been a stellar photographer and even worse at interpreting light and figuring out how to avoid shadows, etc. Since Mr. Sun has been avoiding our neck of the woods like the plague the last few weeks, I needed an indoor lighting solution!   I'd LOVE to brag and say I've been experimenting with lighting and found a solution, but the truth is, I found a solution all right - but it was a happy accident! You know what they say - even a blind squirrel can find a nut every now and then.

Here is my CTMH card using the "Flakey Friends" stamp set:

I pulled out snowflake patterned paper from my "Wonderland" kit and the Pacifica colored patterned paper from my remains of "Fanfare". The red button and twine is CTMH, as well as the red floss I hand-stitched with. (I was feeling really ambitious earlier this week.) The red bling (which I'm loving) is Doodlebug Designs.

Thank you for visiting! Hope you have a wonderful weekend headed your way! I'm getting an "unexpected" visit from a sister and her litter. Looking much forward to it! We'll be crafting all weekend - hopefully I will have posts of our progress up soon.
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CFC 84 - Thank You Card

Good evening!  Here for a quick post while supper is finishing off. Butter melting in the oven for 7up Biscuits and a Corned Beef Brisket cooking in the crock pot. I can't wait to eat it! Yum. :)

I have a post for this weeks CASual Friday challenge: create a Clean and Simple Thank You card.



I decided to make a (somewhat) masculine card:

I used leftover Roxie paper from last year's "February" CTMH Workshop on the Go kit. The chipboard shape, Desert Sand ink (Sponged the white chipboard shape), stamp set ("A Little Thanks"), Black Hemp, and black adhesive pearl gems are all CTMH. The card base is Rustic Cream PTI cardstock. As usual, I stamped my sentiment using Black VersaFine ink. It really makes the letters pop and show up so well. One of my best impulse purchases EVER! Pin It

Colour Q #170 and Paper Players #127

"Love is in the Air"  is the theme at Paper Players this week. (Sidebar: This card is my first Paper Player's play-along! Yippee!) I thought it was a perfect chance to combine with the Colour Q challenge, where there are different color combinations to choose. I picked one that paired up classically with the "Love" themed card.

     

I LOVE crafting on Kraft! So I'm usually game if I see that color popping up.

I used my CTMH chipboard hearts leftover from a kit and heat embossed red and pink on each one. CTMH Baby Pink and Ranger's Real Red. I stamped the diamond plating pattern in CTMH black from my Grunge set (Skipping Stones Design) and the red dotted paper is BoBunny. My sentiment is stamped in Black VersaFine ink from my CTMH "Affection" stamp set. 

Honestly, I wasn't all that tickled with how the diamond plating turned out and wish I'd selected a different background stamp to "ground" my hearts. The twine helped it a great deal, but it still went down as an "all right" in my files rather than favorite. :) They can't all blow my skirt up, but I sure would love for them to do so.

Hope you are having a wonderful week and getting back in the swing of things after the holiday madness has settled down. Thank you for visiting! 

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Freshly Made #67 & Dynamic Duos #34

Good day!

I had myself a little crafty marathon yesterday in between church services. Hee hee. It was quite invigorating!

My first post of these results is for the Freshly Made Sketch and the Dynamic Duos colors; (although I hope to get the time to do something else with Dynamic Duo colors.)



I used my CTMH "Flakey Friends" stamp set to stamp this adorable little snowman:

I stamped the striped row below the snowman using my "It's Your Day" (campaign) stamp set. I love that set! I think I use this stripe a lot. I colored the snowman with my CTMH watercolor pencils and blended with the blending pen. I stamped my sentiment from PaperSmooches "Sentiment Sampler" added the pink scalloped edge and gray twine. I also added the CTMH Bitty Pearls around the snowman where the stamped snowflakes appeared. This is all matted on matching blue cardstock and the card base is a light gray (grey flannel, I think).

Thanks for visiting today. Happy 2013! Pin It

Retro Sketches #44

Another quick post before I let the dog out one last time and settle down with a book tonight! (We are babysitting my in-law's dog. My kids are ecstatic. They love having another being they are "in charge of" and can boss around. It's quite entertaining.)

Here is this weeks challenge sketch at Retro Sketches:



I've made a "Miss You" card to be the first of a set I wish to donate to Operation Write Home. I've made it a goal to donate at least 20 (symbolic of the children in Newtown, CT) in the first half of 2013, inspired by the #20acts tweet by Ann Curry. My Dad showed me the news special over Christmas break and I was moved and immediately wanted to join in. It just took me a few days of subconscious deliberation to come up with a plan. :)

Here it is:

 

 

I used my stamp set that came with the CTMH's Twitterpated WOTG kit (an oldie, but a goodie!) to stamp the tree branch, leaves, and "berries". My sentiment is PaperSmooches and red dotty paper is DCWV. The cute little embellies are CTMH also.

 

Thank you for visiting! Happy New Year!

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Friday Mashup #90

I'm back with another "quick" post. It's 9pm and I'll swanee, I feel like this is the first time today I've sat down! My little "angel-baby-boy" was running a low-grade fever again yesterday and today. We went back to the pediatrician this afternoon to find he had fluid on his ears. That poor thing is running me ragged this school year. That was our 4th sick visit to the pediatrician's since October! I've been exasperated! The good news is that he can still go to school tomorrow, their first day back from Winter Break.

I've squeezed in a few cards the last few days, but it's been hard to get the time to sit down and post. I'm not as good at multi-tasking when the kids are running amok around me. I feel like I'm neglecting them! (Honestly, it's probably the flashbacks to working from home AND trying to care for them on sick days.)  :)

Oh, I digressed. What a surprise. I'm excited to have an "adult" conversation and I'm not even really talking to another person! Perhaps I should get on with it and get myself in bed. I'm slipping here!

On to Friday Mashup -- I had to participate because of all the blues and the snowflakes in the challenge. Maybe I like it because we don't get very much snow (if any) in this part of our great state. And blue is my favorite color -- monochromatic blues, even better!

1. Make a project using "Snowflakes".
   
2. Or Make a project with the colors "Whisper White, Pool Party, Midnight Muse, and Basic Black".
   
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Snowflake Project with the colors Whisper White, Pool Party, Midnight Muse, and Basic Black".

Here is my card:

 

 

 

 

I've used white PTI cardstock, the blue patterned papers are from a 6x6 DCWV stack (super fabulous bargain find at Archivers), Outdoor Denim cardstock and twine from CTMH, sentiment stamp from Skipping Stones, black VersaFine ink from Tsukineko, and the sweet little blue pearl is from KaiserCrafts. I did ink the edges of my snowflake patterned base with Lilac Mist ink; it's quite subtle, but gave it a nice texture.

 

Thank you for visiting! I had fun with this one; hope you can join in the fun over at the Friday Mashup! 

 

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