Love Blooms

This card uses the CTMH stamp set "Casual Expressions."

I used a colonial white cardstock base with a deep chocolate cardstock that was embossed with a large dots embossing folder and my Bigshot. The B&T paper is again from a 6" x 6" local craft store pad. I used my scalloped square Nestabilities for the
scalloped frame.

The flowers were cut using the Cricut and my CTMH Artiste cartridge.

Thanks for stopping by!

Flowers & Lace

I just LOVE the Cricut flowers and if you've followed my blog you'll already know that! I was using up some 6" x 6" paper pads today and this pattern worked well to add flowers from the Cricut and CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge. If you're not tired of seeing flowers then stop back tomorrow cause I'm on a flower theme!

The sentiment is from the CTMH set called "Christmas Joy."
Thanks for stopping by!

Tri-Shutter Christmas Card

CTMH Cricut-made flowers make such beautiful cards and this Christmas card shows this very well.

I cut the flowers using the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge along with the leaves. I scored the leaves and then sanded the edges for more dimension.

To create your own tri-shutter card, visit this site. It explains how to make this style card with great detail! The sentiment on the front was from the set Christmas Joy!


I used the B&T paper from CTMH called Pear & Partridge. It's a beautiful paper pack with reds, greens and neutral colors.
The tag was cut using the new CTMH Artiste cartridge and it coordinates perfectly with the October Stamp Of The Month called Very Merry Christmas. Thanks for stopping by!

Mother's Day Card

I'm getting an early start on making Mother's Day cards this year. I saw a card on a foreign blog that I really liked and added it to my Pinterest board. My replication of the card isn't nearly as elaborate as hers, but the inside is similar. I just looked back at her blog and her cards are amazing! Check her out.
My card base is colonial white. I used 2 pieces cut at 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" for the front and back of the card. The inside portion is a 5" x 12" piece scored at 3", 6" and 9".
I then layered a piece of green cardstock for the front (not sure what color or who made it) but it was embossed with the Big Shot using a butterfly pattern. Then I added CTMH "Blush" c.s. butterflies cut using an SU Embosslit die. The sentiment was cut freehand and stamped with the set Say It In Style, then sewed on. I also added a small cream, sheer bow.

The inside was layered with CTMH "blush" cardstock that was embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder. I used the AP Cricut cartridge for the leaf branches and flowers and also the hearts and sentiment shape. This sheet of cardstock is taped onto the front and back just around the edges so you have pockets for money or bookmarks or personal notes. I found the long sentiment online and printed it off my computer.

The back cover has a slot for a bookmark that I made using the shape of a tag from the Art Philosophy cartridge. It measures 2" x 4 1/4" and I added a sheer bow and used a verse from Verve stamps and the butterfly is from the CTMH set Delight.

I thought this verse from Jeremiah 33:3 was a perfect bookmark verse!

This card can be dressed up or down as much as you like and you can use all sorts of embellishments. Try creating one and then let me know how it turns out. Thanks for stopping by!

Forever in our Hearts

I received some news that my childhood pastor recently went to the arms of Jesus! That's happy for him, but sad for the family that grieves for his loss. I really like the paper pack from My Mind's Eye (MME), called Lost & Found 2: Sunshine, so I chose that for a sympathy card for his family.

The base of the card is from CTMH Colonial White with a layer of CTMH Twilight c.s., then MME B&T paper. For my sentiment I went to my favorite Verve sympathy set called "Forever In Our Hearts". The scalloped circle was cut using a steel die, the gems are called sunflower & some sheer black ribbon was added. The flowers, black sentiment shape and leaves were cut using the Art Philosophy Cartridge and the Cricut. I got inspired to keep creating so I made this card too:

This also uses the My Minds Eye B&T paper. I chose the same flowers and leaves with a tag this time. The stamp set is from Verve called "Forever in Our Hearts". Hopefully I won't have to use this card anytime soon:-) Be Blessed and enjoy the day. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Thoughts....coming your way

This card has bright, bold colors and reminds me of a happy day! I used a black card stock base, yellow card stock embossed with the Big Shot using a Swiss Dots embossing folder, I ink embossed the black strip using a Versamark ink pad and the stamp from the CTMH April Stamp of the Month. The flowers were cut at 2 3/4" and 2" and the black leaf branch was also cut at 2" using the Art Philosophy cartridge from CTMH. The stamp set is "Card Chatter-Sympathy". The inside sentiment reads "coming your way". Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday #231

Happy Monday! It's time for another sketch at the Mojo Monday Blogspot. This week's sketch was designed by the very talented Julee, owner of Verve Stamps.

For my card, I chose a colonial white cardstock base with the B&T paper called Florentine. The flower was cut using the Cricut and the CTMH Art Philosophy Cartridge at 3" and the leaves were cut at 1 1/2".

The sentiment came from the CTMH stamp set Enjoy! I sewed with my sewing machine for the stitching and chose Mocha Opaques for the 3 gems. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy!

The NEW stamp set Enjoy! is geared toward gift tags for food, but it doesn't have to be used just for that. I came up with a 5" x 5" card using pear and black cardstock and the stamp of the month set for March called "Potential" (available soon!) and I also used the set Universal Backgrounds. The flower was cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge and I added a black button and a tag. It's a pretty simple card with some bright colors and fun to share!

Enjoy your day!

Anything is Possible!

I just love this stamp set that will be available on March 1st and the paper from Authentique has such fun patterns and colors. I used the Chocolate Grosgrain Striped Ribbon from CTMH and added a button with ribbon. The butterflies were cut using the Cricut AP Cartridge from CTMH and then embossed using the Big Shot.

The card has rich warm tones with a chocolate cardstock base and some light aqua tones with the chocolate color are just yummy! That is if you can call a card "Yummy" LOL! Thanks for stopping by!

"Potential" Card

I have made several posts today. I guess I'm on a role:-) This card features some fun new paper from Authentique that matches the CTMH "Sunset" color just perfectly! I really love when paper colors come together!

The card features butterflies, a flower and leaves that were cut from the Cricut, the scalloped oval was cut with a Nestability and the sentiment shape was cut free-hand. This stamp set will be available very soon for the March Stamp of the Month. I wasn't sure I'd like this set but it's been really fun to play with!

Here's a close-up. The flower has a black opaque in the center and the leaves are scored to give it a more-realistic appearance. The butterflies have mocha opaques as their center and they were glued on with glue dots.

The inside greeting is from Card Chatter-Love and I thought it went well with the outside sentiment!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday #229

This week over at the Mojo Monday Blogspot they have another fun sketch designed by Mary Fish to inspire us. Here's the sketch she came up with:

I chose a 5" x 6 1/2" base with dark chocolate, sunset, & crystal blue cardstock. The B&T paper is from a 6" x 6" pad from Authentique Papers called Gathering. I cut the flower at 2 1/2" using the Art Philosophy Cartridge again. The flourish was also cut with that cartridge, cut at 1". I chose the March Stamp of the Month that will be available March 1st-31st and it is called "Potential". I used Silver Glitz Glitter Gel which at $2.75 is a huge bargain. It works terrific for the "bling" look and costs very little. I like this sentiment because it reminds me of the verse in scripture from Matthew 19:26 --With God, all things are possible.

Thanks for stopping by!

You Are....Original

Close To My Heart offers a special each month called "The Stamp of the Month". If you spend $50 in merchandise you can purchase the SOTM for just $5 more or you can purchase the set alone for $17.95. In April, the SOTM is called "You Are...." It's a fun set and I used it for this guy card. I chose a Bamboo cardstock base cut at 5 1/2" x 12". I used Outdoor Denim cardstock embossed using the Big Shot and then cut strips from the B&T paper pack Victory. This is the perfect "male" paper pack with camouflage, navy, brown and neutral tones. The shapes were cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge (a must-have for card-makers!)The "Original" banner was scored twice at each end so that it stands out from the rest of the card.

The inside pocket holds a gift card. You score the center line at 6", then at 4 1/4" and I rotate my paper 180 degrees and score again at 4 1/4". Then you can use a 1/2" circle punch half-way into the center to punch your first mark and I use a 2" square punch to create the rest of the gift card pocket. Have a great day!

It's A Zoo Card!

On February 28th, I'll be hosting a card workshop and this will be one of the cards you can make. Let me know if you'd like to join the class. This baby card uses a retired set from CTMH called "It's a Zoo". The faces were stamped twice with different colors so they could be popped out with 3-D tape. The banner was created with the Pennant Alphabet stamp set. I used Autumn Terracotta paper embossed with the Big Shot and chocolate cardstock also run through the Big Shot. The sentiment tag was cut using the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and the sentiment is from the (now retired) January Stamp of the Month called "Little Reminder".

This shows the 3-D faces:

Thanks for stopping by!

Born To Ride

I am thrilled that the new CTMH catalog features many terrific stamp sets for the men in our lives. This stamp set is called "Born To Ride". It is a motorcyle-themed stamp set and has tons of potential for really fun cards! The base of this card measures 5" x 6 1/2" and is made from white cardstock. The black cardstock was embossed with a diamond shaped texture plate and I used B & T paper called "Cruisin". The sentiment shape was cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge. I embossed the motorcycle by stamping the image in Black ink first, then re stamped with a Versamark pad and used clear embossing powder. I masked the motorcycle and did 2nd and 3rd generation stamping. I used Silver Glitz Glitter Gel on the circles with stars and additionally on the upper right corner. Twilight cardstock was used above and below the image and also embossed with the Big Shot. That piece of cardstock was cut from the Cricut at 1 1/4" and then I cut that in half to mount above and below the image.

This next card uses the same stamp set but it's on a black cardstock base with colonial white and cranberry cardstock. The motorcycle image was embossed and the shapes were cut using the AP Cartridge. I used crochet thread and wrapped it around 5 times and then taped the back to hold it and tied it tight to create a center to place the sentiment over. The stars were cut at 2 1/2" and then embossed in the Big Shot. These 2 cards are 2 of 3 cards being offered as a workshop in a couple of weeks. I will be hosting a workshop focused on masculine cards. I'm excited to see if there's interest. Thanks for stopping by!

Kite Card

This card was CAS'd from this very talented blogger, Johanna. I'm not exactly sure what country she is from because I'm unable to speak the German, Swedish or Danish language she might be using! :-)
The card base is Colonial White cardstock cut to be an A2-size card. The scored paper was twilight and then I sanded it to reveal the white core and sponged the edges in Chocolate ink. I used Kraft Cardstock and did lots of stitching. The kite was cut using small scraps of paper I had lying around. I cut the letters using the Art Philosophy cartridge. This was a time-consuming card but fun to try! Thanks for popping in!

Card Chatter-Love

I LOVE this stamp set and have used it over and over again for Valentine's Day, a wedding card or anniversary card. It has great sentiments and the Scalloped Heart is so fun!
The base is from CTMH's colonial white cardstock. The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye with a tulip cardstock backing. I used the Cricut to cut the heart and tag. The heart was run through my mini-crimper (from days of old:-) The scalloped circle was cut with a Nestabilities-type die. I stamped the "Love" heart with Tulip ink and cut it out free-hand. Then I attached a sheer gray ribbon with a tulip button. The strips were cut from Tulip and Grey Wool cardstock (CTMH)and then I used a Large Polka Dots embossing folder from Quickutz to add some texture.

The inside uses a sentiment from the Art Philosophy collection from CTMH. I used that cartridge with my Cricut to cut the shapes. I added a scalloped border by removing the guards on my corner rounder.

This is a close-up shot:

A Side-view....thanks for stopping by!

iSpy Sketches Challenge ISSC01

A new sketch challenge has begun over at iSpy Sketches.
It's for fun and inspiration and I decided to play along. I chose the Stella B&T paper from CTMh with an olive cardstock base. The stamp set I am using is called "A Tree" (A1124 $6.95) and it's a new release at CTMH. The cocoa cardstock was embossed with my Big Shot and a large dots embossing folder from Quick Kutz. I added some stitching and glitter along with some new CTMH baker's twine (Paradise Asst. Z1702 $4.95) and 3 buttons. The shapes were cut at 3 1/2" (olive) and 3 1/4" (colonial white) using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge from CTMH. Thanks for stopping by!

From their blog......

Here's how to play:

Create a paper crafting project (card, scrap book page or 3D item), based on the sketch provided.

Post your creation on your blog or an online gallery (using a code ISSC01), and link it here with the inlinkz widget below. Please provide a direct link to your post - not the generic link to your blog.

A new challenge will be posted every Friday at 12.01 AM EST, and you have until noon on Wednesday EST to submit your entry.

You may enter as many times as you like, but please provide a newly designed project with a new link for each additional project.

We will choose the top 2 creations to be featured in our "Top 2 Thursday" post where we will announce who we have picked :) The winners will receive their very own iSpy Sketches blog badge!

Don't forget that you may combine our challenges with others and use supplies from any company that you wish :)

Have fun and we look forward to "spying:" your creations!

Coming Soon

The New Release of the CTMH Spring/Summer 2012 catalog is just a few days away. This card features the February Stamp of the Month "Thoughtful Tidings". I used the retired paper pack "Wings" with chocolate cardstock and a wide brown & white striped ribbon. The flowers and sentiment shape were cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge. Pretty simple card which is what's great about CTMH products!

Here's another example of simple: This card has an embossed background with twilight cardstock from CTMH. The sentiment shape & snowflake were cut using the CTMH AP Cricut cartridge as well. I stamped the snowflake with Twilight Ink, added some Prisma glitter and a gem for the center and it's complete. Fast and Easy!

Valentine's Day Cards

It's soon another fun holiday so today's post features a couple Valentine card ideas. I'm teaching my monthly workshop at the senior highrise and wanted to come up with some fun Valentines cards for the ladies to make. This first one is a standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card:

Close-up:

Paper: CTMH Colonial White & Kraft cardstock, My Mind's Eye "Love Me" designer paper
Stamps:CTMH Card Chatter-Love (D1464 $17.95)
Accessories: sewing machine, small paper crimper, embossing powder on the "Love" heart, red gems, cream ribbon
Ink: CTMH Tulip, Hollyhock & Versamark for embossing


This is an easel card. The base is 5" x 10" and it's scored at 5" and again at 7 1/2" and an additional 5" x 5" piece of cardstock is attached to create the front of the card.

Side-view:

Card sitting as an easel:

The inside verse:

Paper:CTMH Blush, Chocolate, Kraft & White cardstock
Stamps:CTMH Card Chatter-Love (D1464); Universal Backgrounds (D1477 $17.95)
Accessories: paper crimper, polka dots texture plate,lace, sheer chocolate ribbon, glitter, 3M foam tape, scalloped border punch & Kraft color-ready borders (retired)
Ink:Blush & Chocolate from Close To My Heart