Happy 96th Birthday, Grandma!

My Grandmother's 96th birthday is Tuesday and she loves butterflies and sparkle, so this is what I created for her.

The Art Philosophy cartridge made cutting out the butterflies a breeze. I attached one directly onto the background and the other one I glued just in the middle with the wings bent up to make it appear to be in flight. I love the Splendid Day stamp from the Harvest Happiness set, and I used the Eclectic Edges to trim the pink paper and the inside of the card. The paper, of course, is Lucy from CTMH. :)

More Country Life!

I could not put this "Country Life" stamp set away! The images are just so charming and sweet. I chose the lamb for this card and think he is just precious. I could easily see using this stamp on a baby card!  For this card, I distressed the papers by sponging chocolate ink around the edges. I have a confession... (you won't tell, will you?)... I have not been a big fan of distressing. Gasp!! I know!! Please don't judge me too harshly-- it's hard enough to live with the shame as it is! I have had trouble seeing the purpose in making something NEW look OLD. Yes, yes, I know! Vintage is "in." I think at some time in my past, I must have been exposed to some very badly done distressing-- you know, scrapbook pages that looked like they had been crumpled up and thrown away, then pulled out of the garbage as an afterthought, and cards that just looked torn and dirty. Honestly, I couldn't see giving that to someone as an expression of my affection for them! BUT-- I think I have seen the light! Lately I have seen some really beautifully distressed artwork! So, thank you to my wonderful team-mates (go Rose Blossoms!!) and the fabulous CTMH artists and crafters out there who share their passion and their lovely work each day. :) You have broadened my horizons.

Sooo... this little card has some Elemental paper (love it!), some Kraft Color Ready borders (sponged with chocolate ink), a button, ribbon, waxy flax and a little bit of that Simple Stories 100 Days of Summer floral print... all thrown together and attached to some Kraft cardstock.  Hope you like-y. :)

Here's a video clip from Close to My Heart featuring some gift ideas created with the "Country Life" stamp set. Enjoy, and have a wonderful weekend! xoxo

Country Life

One stamp set I don't see used very often is the Country Life set. I'm not sure why, though, because I think that set is adorable! The set includes a rooster, a sheep, a cow and a sentiment. The sentiment says, "Live simply, love generously." The stamps are rustic, yet detailed. I have several friends and family members who collect roosters, so I thought I would make a card using the rooster stamp.

I used the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut the oval and the scalloped frame. I can't tell you how much I love that cartridge (and there's a new one called Artiste coming out August 1--yippee!!)-- it has so many wonderful cuts-- I don't know what I'd do without it.

I embellished with a couple of "Just Blooms," an antiqued copper brad and some cocoa grosgrain ribbon. I love the blooms and really have to show restraint and not add them to every card I make! The paper is not from CTMH, but I fell in love with the floral print which reverses to check. It is from Simple Stories' "100 Days of Summer" line. I think it is just perfect for that cute little rooster. Inside I added more of the print paper and trimmed it with the Color Ready Kraft Borders (from the "while supplies last" list) which I inked in CTMH's chocolate ink.

I'm thinking I might make a card set using the sheep and the cow, too. Stay tuned... :)

Materials:

Paper: CTMH Kraft and Colonial White cardstock, Simple Stories 100 Days of Summer
Stamps: CTMH Country Life
Ink: CTMH Chocolate Exclusive Ink
Embellishments: (All CTMH) Just Blooms, Antique Brass Brads, Color Ready Kraft Borders
Other: CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge

Avonlea and Mojo Monday

I was so happy to wake up this morning and not feel like I should be writing a paper or reading a text book! Saturday was my last class for my Specialist's degree and I am so excited to be done!  Teachers in my district report back to work in two weeks, so I have two weeks to relax, play and catch up on things. :)

This morning I opened my e-mail and there was the new Mojo Monday card sketch. I always enjoy looking at all of the beautiful creations and have found so much inspiration from all of the talented papercrafters who participate. So... I decided to jump right in! This is not the first time I have created a card from one of the sketches, but I might just try to link this one up! :)

I love CTMH's new Avonlea paper-- the color combination of green, teal, grey and chocolate are just lovely!  I really, really, like the patterns too. They are just so fresh and modern. All of the papers are from the Avonlea kit, the stamp is from Hooray Bouquet and the embellishments are mocha gems. I hope you like it!

Here is my card:

From this sketch:



Quick Cards

I am totally in love with the "Quick Card" stamps from Close to My Heart! One stamp, some ink and paper and you have a complete card, ready for sending to that special someone. Here's a video featuring these fabulous stamps. The "Kristine" in this video is not me! She is Kristine from the CTMH Corporate Office. I'd love to craft with her someday!



Enjoy!

Party Pennants

So... in the spirit of trying to appreciate the here and now, I pulled out my summery inks and created this card with all of my favorite bright, cheerful colors. I really do enjoy the brights, and they lend themselves perfectly to this stamp set called "Party Pennants." I've had this set for a few months, and just pulled it out last night to play. Have you noticed how popular pennants and buntings are these days? I really adore this set and it is right on trend! I love that each flag-- there are four to choose from--is a separate stamp, which makes it so easy to make a variety of pennants using whatever patterns and colors you choose. I also love that the frame is separate and there are several sentiments to choose from.

This card is my version of a Clean and Simple (CAS) card. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that just because the word "simple" is in the title that creating a CAS card is easy!  I can't tell you how much White Daisy cardstock I went through! One smear or smudge... and it's all over! I finally ended up stamping the flags on separate paper and cutting them out (pretty easy because they are basically triangles, right?), then gluing them down. So, maybe it's not a "true" CAS card... but I think it has that spirit! What do you think? Have you tried the clean and simple style?

Elemental Apple

I hope you all are enjoying your summer!  I've had a chance to catch up on a few things and work on some school work. My grad school classes come to an end this weekend (so grateful for that!) and "back to school" is just around the corner!  Just another two or three weeks and those little darlings will be tumbling through the classroom door. I really love back to school time. It's so exciting to meet new friends and re-connect with the old. I have always loved going and picking out new school supplies (even as an adult!! There's nothing like opening up a new box of crayons!).  The apple on this card gives me that same back to school feeling...

So, here's a card that uses the Elemental paper (oh, I really like that patterned paper-- only available through the end of July!) and a variety of solid colored cardstock papers as well as some CTMH Kraft paper. Isn't that Kraft paper perfect for just about any occasion? The stamped sentiment is from the Mayberry Workshop kit (retired) and the apple was cut from Cricut's Preserves cartridge.  And... even though school is always on my mind, I am determined to make the most of the time left in this summer break! Be looking for a few Summery creations from me before school starts again!

Grateful for You

This little card was created for another team challenge swap. I sent this one to Lynn, whose talent has been a true inspiration to me. (You can see her blog here. )Our instructions were to use the Cricut AP cartridge to create the card shape. There are so many fun shapes to choose from on the AP cartridge! I first selected a rounded square with a fancy window cut in the center. I cut it from Colonial White cardstock then I random stamped it with a tiny flower. I backed the window in the sweet leaf dot from the Dotty for You collection and added the sentiment on the same paper cut out to mirror the window cut. I cut a frame of the same shape with the bold patterned paper and attached that. The bird was inked with desert sand then rolled in sweet leaf, lagoon and chocolate before coating it in liquid glass and left to dry over night. I had it all put together and then-- gasp!-- I bent the card! But, as I tell my students-- if you mess it up, dress it up!  I cut the card as close to the patterned frame as I could (don't look too closely!) and then went back to the Cricut and cut the fancy shape card out of Kraft cardstock. It was challenging to cut around the branch-- I had attached it firmly with liquid glass and it did not want to come apart from the paper. I mounted the whole extravaganza on the new Kraft base. Honestly, I like the fixed up version better than the first. But of course, it has been made to look even better by Lynn's fabulous staging and photography! I love how she nestled it among some decorative branches and berries before snapping the photo! Hope you enjoy it!