Heartfelt For You

I'm so excited that one of my cards was chosen by Dawn McVey as one of the top cards in her Raspberry Suite Color Challenge. I've only participated in two so I'm happy that I was chosen. I guess I'll need to keep doing them since they're fun.

I had a girl e-mail me last week asking about Close To My Heart products. She's the second person who's contacted me about CTMH through the Consultant finder, which is awesome since we only moved here a few months ago. I sent her a couple of catalogs and made a card to stick in there too. I joined CTMH last year mostly just to get the discount since I spend so much money on their products. Since the only people I know that scrapbook are through my friend Amy I don't have anyone to sell to (can't be taking her customers)! Hopefully I may have just found my first customer, but if not, that's okay too. Anyway, on to the card. I know I saw a card very similar to this on someone's blog but I just can't remember whose. Sorry to whoever you are. I would give you credit if I could remember where I saw your great card.

I just got CTMH's Heartfelt Whimsy Die Cuts last week. They're so cute and easy to use. I'm hoping they come out with more colors soon. I chose a few flowers and Bigger brads that would match and attached them on the card with the brads. The grass is from March Word Puzzle and the stems are from With Love. The great thing about clear stamps is you can bend them however you want so all my stems didn't have to look the same. Simple and fun card.

Recipe
Stamps: March Word Puzzle, With Love, From Me To You (Close To My Heart)
Cardstock: White Daisy (CTMH)
Ink: Garden Green, Star Spangled Blue (CTMH)
Accents: Bigger Brads (CTMH); Heartfelt Whimsy Die Cuts (CTMH)

Have a great day,

Loonie Stampers Challenge #46

As I was checking out some fellow Papertrey bloggers I came across Charlene Austin's blog. I had noticed that she and some of the other Canadian girls organize something called the Loonie Stampers Challenge with Papertrey colors so I thought I'd give it a try. This week their colors are yellow and white. I am so not a yellow person so I decided to try something I normally wouldn't and it turned out better than I had hoped (I think).

For my background paper I decided to use the flourish from Papertrey's Silent Night set. I bought that set solely for the flourish. I absolutely love it. I stamped it all over the paper with Versamark then heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo that it's embossed. I wanted to keep the card simple so I just added a flower with a white button threaded with yellow DMC floss, and a Nestabilities tag. I stamped the tag with the same flourish in Lemon Tart ink before stamping the sentiment. It's pretty light so it's not too distracting. I mounted it on Aqua Mist cardstock and was finished!


Recipe
Stamps: Silent Night, Mega Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Lemon Tart, White, Aqua Mist (PTI)
Ink: Lemon Tart, Aqua Mist (PTI); Versamark
Accents: Button (PTI); DMC Floss; Flower (Prima); White Embossing Powder (CTMH)
Tools: Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

Thanks for looking,

Papertrey Blog Hop

I just realized a little while ago that the Papertrey Blog Hop is tonight so I made a real quick card. We just got home so hopefully I'll get it done in time. Summer to me means ice cream and popsicles, so here's my inspiration photo:

I embossed the sentiment but you can't really tell from the photo.


Recipe
Stamps: Delight In Everything, August Word Puzzle (Close To My Heart); Polka Dot Basics (PTI)
Cardstock: Star Spangled Blue, Holiday Red, Sunny Yellow (CTMH)
Patterned Paper: Cupcake (Basic Grey)
Ink: Star Spangled Blue (CTMH); Versamark
Accents: Buttons (CTMH); White Embossing Powder (CTMH)


Thanks for looking,

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #10

It's time for another Raspberry Suite Color Challenge. I would never have put these colors together on my own. Well, I never would have put the Melon Berry and Berry Sorbet together but they don't look bad together. The colors aren't looking quite right in my photo because I took it tonight. I didn't want to risk forgetting to take it tomorrow even though it would be in better light.

I really haven't used my Nestabilities enough and I do have almost all of them so I have to start using them some more. I layered the two labels and cut out a circle from the one and mounted it with 3D foam tape. The butterfly is from Papertrey's Butterfly Kisses, one of my favorite stamp sets. I did stamp it on Papertrey's shimmery cardstock, but you can't tell in the photo. I had planned to just glue the button on the ribbon but I came across a neat button in my stash with only one large hole so I just threaded the ribbon through it and I like the look.


Recipe
Stamps: Butterfly Kisses; Polka Dot Basics; Boxes, Bags, and Tags; Mega Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Melon Berry, Vintage Cream, White Shimmer (PTI)
Ink: Dark Chocolate (PTI)
Accents: Button (PTI); Ribbon (Offray); Rhinestones (Me & My Big Ideas)
Tools: Nestabilities (Spellbinders); 3D Squares (CTMH); Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

Have a great day,

Kwerner's Color Inspiration #55

It's still really hot here so I guess the weather may be here to stay...yuk. I can deal with 90 degrees but 100 is too hot! We're so thankful for the pool, although the water is already REALLY warm. I guess I'll need to add some cold water to it tomorrow but I'm not sure how much that will help.

Tonight I made another card for Kwerner's color challenge. I really like the color combination. As soon as I saw it I thought about my Basic Grey Ambrosia paper. It's the exact same color so it was perfect. I had originally planned to put the butterfly paper along the bottom of the card but I accidentally cut it the wrong size. I pulled out the paper pad to use the other butterfly sheet and there wasn't one. I'm so annoyed that someone else took it before I bought it because it's my favorite paper in the pack. I guess I'm not the only one who likes it!


I have the 6X6 and 12X12 Ambrosia papers so I used the smaller pattern for the card base and cut out two of the butterflies from the larger papers and layered them. I had a hard time stamping the butterflies trail because I was only using part of the stamp and couldn't really manipulate it. I messed it up a bit, but oh well. :)



Recipe
Stamps: Little Lady, Mega Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Autumn Terracotta (CTMH); Smokey Shadow (PTI)
Patterned Paper: Ambrosia (Basic Grey)
Ink: Grey Wool (Close To My Heart)
Accents: Buttons (CTMH, PTI)

Thanks for looking,

Mojo Monday Week 91

I haven't really made anything all week. I've been organizing my scrap room and a few nights I was just too tired to do anything but watch TV. It's been 100 degrees for most of the week and it just makes you so tired. Thankfully we got the pool up just in time and it's soooooo nice. It's already warmed up a bit too much so I guess we'll have to put the cover on it and see if that will keep it from getting too warm. Here's a picture of the boys in the pool yesterday:


Anyway, on to the card. I had to make a Father's Day card for Brian so at the same time I decided to participate in Mojo Monday and kill two birds with one stone.
I wanted to use the It's a Guy Thing paper from Close To My Heart since I've had it forever. I started with Cocoa cardstock and used my Scor Pal to add diagonal score lines. I sanded them with sandpaper and I love the way it turned out. I added a few pieces of patterned paper, stamped my sentiment on a rectangle and matted it to a larger rectangle. I couldn't decide how to add my ribbon so I finally settled on a photo hanger, and just tied the ribbon to it. I added a couple of Papertrey buttons threaded with twine and was finished. I like the way it turned out but my camera isn't really picking up the color in the card too well. It looks really washed out and I have no idea how to fix that so this is the picture you're stuck with!


Recipe
Stamps: April Word Puzzle, June Word Puzzle (Close To My Heart)
Cardstock: New England Ivy, Cocoa (CTMH)
Patterned Paper: It's a Guy Thing (CTMH)
Ink: Chocolate (Close To My Heart)
Accents: Photo Hanger, Ribbon, Hemp (CTMH); Buttons (Papertrey Ink)
Tools: Scor Pal; Sandpaper (CTMH)

Thanks and have a great day,

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #9

Well, once again I made the card and didn't submit it in time before the challenge closed. It's been a hectic, hot week (over 100 degrees today) and I've been feeling really disorganized for some reason. I guess the heat's getting to me. Anyway, I made two cards for Dawn's challenge this week. New Leaf is not one of my favorite colors so it was a bit of a challenge for me. It's a bit brighter green than I like.

For my first card I wanted to use my new Quickutz Diamonds and Dots embossing folder. I really like the look of it. I didn't have black ribbon thick enough so I just used two strips of the smaller width side by side and added the New Leaf ribbon on top. Turned out okay, I think.



Recipe
Stamps: Mixed Messages, Tags for Spring (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: New Leaf, Vintage Cream, True Black (PTI)
Ink: New Leaf (PTI); Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Accents: Black Ribbon (Offray); New Leaf (PTI)
Tools: Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provocraft); Punch (Fiskars); Embossing folder (Quickutz)

For my second card I embossed the card front with one of my rectangular Nestabilities. I stamped the boots and cut them out and popped them up with 3D foam squares. After adding the sentiment, the card still needed something. I'm not really sure if I like the black ribbon or if it's too thick. I have so much trouble tying bows and knots for some reason and they never look right to me. I finally just gave up on the card since I doubt I'll ever send it to anyone.


Recipe
Stamps: Green Thumb (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: White (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: New Leaf (PTI); Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko)
Accents: Ribbon (Michaels)
Tools: Nestabilities (Spellbinders); 3D Foam Squares (CTMH); Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

Have a great day,

Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration #54

I tried Kristina Werner's color challenge again this week. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the card in time to submit it. Oh well, next time. I had a bit of trouble incorporating the light blue in my card. It just didn't seem to go right, but I guess that's why they call it a challenge, isn't it?

I used some Basic Grey paper that I just got and distressed the edges, layered it on Ocean, and White Daisy cardstock. From there I couldn't decide where to put the Heavenly Blue paper. I decided to just put a band along the bottom and used my Scor-Pal to add the score lines, stamped the sentiment, and then the matching brad. I popped up the star with 3D foam squares and was finished. This was the first card I've ever made that didn't have a purpose or a recipient. I usually don't have enough time to make cards just for fun, but now that my scrap room is organized and I'm finally finished unpacking the house I've got a lot more time to myself!



Recipe
Stamps: Shining Star (Close To My Heart)
Cardstock: White Daisy, Ocean, Heavenly Blue (CTMH)
Patterned Paper: Offbeat (Basic Grey)
Ink: Sweet Leaf, Brown Distress Ink (CTMH); Teal Blue (StazOn)
Accents: Brad-Offbeat (Basic Grey)
Tools: 3D Foam Squares (CTMH); Scor-Pal

Have a great day,

Mojo Monday Week 90

It is getting so hot here in Georgia. It's already in the 90s, temperatures we rarely got to in Germany. I know it's here to stay for the rest of the summer. If I could stay inside all the time it would be fine, but that won't work with the boys. We're in the process of putting up an above ground pool which will be so nice when it's finished. We have to level the ground first and we still need more sand so I guess it won't be done until the end of the weekend :( I know the boys will ask constantly to go swimming, something neither of them know how to do! I really need to find out about swimming lessons for them because they both love the water so much.

Now on to the card. This is the first time I've participated in Mojo Monday. Thought I'd give it a try and see how I like it. Following a sketch makes things easier for me. I always have trouble deciding how I want to lay things out and sketches help a lot. I have to make a couple of Father's Day cards so I figured this would be a good opportunity. I mostly used Papertrey cardstock and patterned paper in Vintage Cream and Dark Chocolate. Good colors for a man's card.


Recipe
Stamps: April Word Puzzle, June Word Puzzle (Close To My Heart)
Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Chocolate Remix, Bitty Star Basics (PTI)
Ink: Dark Chocolate, Vintage Cream (PTI)
Accents: Sparkles (CTMH)
Tools: Star Nestabilities (Spellbinders); 3D Foam Squares (CTMH); Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

Thanks for looking,

Animal Cookies Hi

I've never done one of Kristina Werner's color challenge. I did this one after it closed but just to see how I'd like it. Here's the color inspiration photo.

For my card I used Close To My Heart's Animal Cookies patterned paper. Because I didn't have any buttons to match I used clear ones with cardstock behind them and threaded black DMC floss through them. I cut the circle and scalloped circle with my Nestabilities and sponged Tulip ink on the chipboard.


Recipe
Cardstock: White Daisy, Sunflower, Black, Tulip (CTMH)
Patterned Paper: Animal Cookies (CTMH)
Ink: Tulip (CTMH)
Accents: Clear Buttons (CTMH); Floss (DMC); Chipboard (CTMH)
Tools: Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

Have a great day,

Unforgettable Birthday

My friend Simona had a birthday a few weeks ago and I STILL haven't sent this card to her. Bad friend! I really have to get it to the post office today. I used Close To My Heart's Unforgettable paper packet. Love the colors.

Recipe
Stamps: Aspirations, Say It In Style (Close To My Heart)
Cardstock: Blush, Colonial White (CTMH)
Patterned Paper: Unforgettable (CTMH)
Ink: Blush, Juniper (CTMH)
Accents: Button (Papertrey Ink); Floss (CTMH)
Tools: White Gel Pen (American Crafts); Scalloped Sentiment Punch (Fiskars); Tag (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

Have a great day,

Baby Sarah's Welcome Card

Friends of ours just had a baby girl, Sarah. Unfortunately we can't see her in person since they live in Germany. So sad. I already sent them a few outfits for her so now I need to send the card. Shopping for girls is so much more fun than it is for boys. Everything on this card is Papertrey except for the Nestabilities and Spellbinders tag.

Recipe
Stamps: Bitty Baby Blessings (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Ripe Avocado, Berry Sorbet, White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Polka Dot Parade (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush (Papertrey Ink)
Accents: Buttons, Ribbon (Papertrey Ink)
Tools: Nestabilities, Tag (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provocraft)

Have a great day,

Paul's Birthday

My brother's birthday is on the 18th so I need to get the card out on Monday so that it will get to him on time. The mail is SO slow from the states into Canada. It's hard for me to make masculine cards. I have so many girly stamp sets or sets for boys that can't be used for adults. I doubt my brother wants baby animals or rocketships on his card! So, I pulled out some of the American Crafts Thickers I've collected and used those. I love those things! Along with some Papertrey paper and buttons the card turned out okay. Amazingly I didn't use any stamps.


Recipe
Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Chocolate Remix (Papertrey Ink)
Accents: Thickers (American Crafts); Buttons, Twine (Papertrey)
Tools: Corner Rounder (EK Success); Ric Rac-on inside of card (CTMH)


Thanks for looking,

Teacher's Thank You Cards

Connor graduated from Pre-K a few weeks ago and I bought his two teachers some gift cards so I had to make cards to go along with them. Papertrey's Teacher's Apple is the perfect stamp set. The first card I totally copied from Nichole Heady's blog. I love this card and it was fun to make.

Recipe
Stamps: Teacher's Apple, Trajan Monogram Edition (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: White, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate (Papertrey Ink)
Accents: Buttons, Ribbon (Papertrey Ink); Hemp (CTMH)
Tools: Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug


For this card, I know I saw a card somewhere with a line of apples and I liked it so this is what I came up with. I did ink the edges of the card, green cardstock, and tag but you can't see it very well in the photo. I also used 3D foam squares to pop the apples up.


Recipe
Stamps: Teacher's Apple, Polka Dot Basics, Simply Stationery (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: White, Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink); Kraft (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate, Black (Papertrey Ink); Distressing Ink (Tim Holtz)
Accents: Ribbon (Offray)
Tools: Tag (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug; 3D Foam Squares (CTMH)


Have a great day,

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #8

This is the very first time I've ever done a color challenge and it was fun. I struggle when I'm making cards deciding what colors to use or what kind of layout to use. Using sketches helps and being told what colors to use makes it easier for me. So, today I decided to participate in Dawn McVey's color sketch. Here's the inspiration photo:


And here's my card:

Recipe
Stamps: Handwritten Notes (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Fizz (Papertrey Ink); Craft (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink); Brown Distress Ink (Close To My Heart)
Accents: Brads, Flowers, Leaves (Close To My Heart)
Tools: Punch-Parisian (EK Success)


Thanks and have a great day,

Chipboard Coaster Calendars

I made a few calendars for the family out of chipboard coasters. Again, they were really easy and fun. I wish I had made one for myself.





Thanks for looking,