Christmas Card #1

I don't know if I will make a Christmas card #2 but I thought I would start a numbering system nonethless.  Maybe I should have started with some random number...say...Christmas Card #7.  Would you have looked for Cards 1-7?  Probably not! HAHA!

Anyway I used the larger Tim Holtz rosette die to make this card:

It was made with some Christmas paper from the DCWV Ultimate Stack that came out last year...LOVED that stack...HAD to have it and have only used about 6 sheets!  HAHA...I'm saving it, I guess! :)
Anyway, accordion pleated and gathered up the pleats and secured them to a piece of Kraft cardstock.  This was my first attempt...I think I would adhere the folds a little differently next time. I used Tacky Tape but might try hot glue next go-around.  And of course, you could always make a taller thinner tree too with more layers of paper.  The star was cut with my Cricut and the Art Philosophy cartridge from Close to My Heart and stamped with the corresponding stamp...and heat embossed with some gold powder.  I tied a little SU tinsel ribbon at the base of the tree and stamped the card with a little sentiment from Tiny Tags by Paper Trey Ink.  I think it looked cuter than in the picture here...but I do want to work on my technique a little...

Happy Crafting!

Gift Box

I'm off to Archiver's today for a Christmas tag class.  I love those little tag classes...you make a bunch and I generally have one of those "AH HA...I never would have thought of THAT!" moments.  Generally more than one!  It's always fun and interesting and the classes are well organized and today I'm meeting up with 2 good friends...one who had a birthday yesteday. 

I made this little gift card box for her with the Close to my Heart Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge.  I cut the box out at 8 inches.  It has circular flaps so you can fold them in and don't have to use any other closure thingie (you know what I mean...you put one flap down, the next one on top of that, the third one on top of that and then the last one you tuck under the first one).  Anyway, I used a teeny bit of a hook and loop closure.  The tag on top was cut at 2 inches and adhered to a chipboard shape and stamped with another CTMH stamp which goes with the cartridge.  Love that!

I also cut a flower out...I made several...I think this one was cut at about 3 inches.  I do have some trouble getting those secured and getting the petals to flare out but maybe my paper was a bit too stiff.  but I still love the way it looked.  I put a little bling on both the tag and inside the flower.

Added a little ribbon and that was it. 

I know she'll like it!

Happy Crafting!

Sometimes It's a Struggle!

I don't know why but masculine cards are a struggle for me to make.  I'm not talking about little boy stuff...I'm talking about cards for grown men!  I love ribbon, lace, bling....I'm quite the girly-girl when it comes to cards but those elements don't often work well on cards for men!

I needed a birthday card for a man so sat down to see what I could come up with.  I really had fun doing this...I did have to tweak a few things but was happy with the result.

And here it is:

BTW, I scanned this.  I never scan.  I barely even know how to scan but thought I'd give it a try tonight.  I'm not certain the colors are true but then they don't always show up accurately in photos either.  Anyway, this gives you a good idea of what the card looked like but it IS cuter in real life!

OK, I went ahead and took a photo of it this morning...this is straight out of the camera.  And in the background is my cute little dog, Isabella, who turned 2 yesterday!  Happy Birthday, Izzie....but now that you are technically 14 years old can you CALM DOWN A BIT????

Well, the colors look much better than in the scanned image AND you get to see Isabella!

I used Joy Ride paper by Cosmo Cricket and a piece of Papertrey Ink cardstock for the base.  Most of the stamps I used were from the Oh Happy Day set by Unity Stamps but I did use the star stamps from the Everyday Life set by Close to My Heart. I used Archival Ink: Jet Black.   Edges were scuffed up with the Tim Hotlz distresser and inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink.  I also used a little Distress Stickles (Rock Candy) on the little candle to jazz it up a bit.  I also used a Fiskars border punch as well as an EK success one.  I also used a little twine that I picked up in the jewelry section at Michaels. I also used a good bit of foam tape to pop up some of the items on the card.

I think this looks manly enough...don't you?

Happy Crafting!

Birthday Cards

I have a couple of birthdays coming up this month so spent a little time this afternoon making cards.  Since I'd left my area a bit of a mess after making the 2 page layout yesterday I just decided to use some scraps leftover from the CTMH Sophia collection.  I cut the cupcakes out with my Cricut using the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge (this is really a GREAT cartridge) and embossed them with Ranger Bridal Embossing Tinsel.  (LOVE THAT STUFF!).  I added a little ribbon...stamped a sentiment with the CTMH Celebration set (and CTMH inks) onto a precut chipboard banner piece I had gotten with my recent CTMH order. I added buttons and that was about it.  And why did I put buttons on the top right of the first card?  Well, because I had a booboo to cover up, of course!  Note to self....remember to close up your inks! HAHa!

Hope ya'all have a wonderful Sunday! 

Am I Done or Not?

As I've mentioned before...I am a very slow scrapbooker.  I can spend hours and hours fussing with a layout.  I don't complain though because I don't mind.  I love fussing around with things...adding things...taking them away...trying other things...moving things around.  Matting...unmatting...inking, cleaning up ink.  I also admit I spend a lot of time locating things (which are usually right in front of my face!)...
but again...I love just about every single second of creating...and if it takes me hours and hours...well, so be it.
Sometimes I leave a layout and then come back the next day and finish it off.  Sometimes things might not look quite done to me but with a fresh eye I'm often happy with the result.
I worked on this layout on Sunday and think I'm done.  I may play around with a few more embellishments but I think I'm pretty happy with the look.
I used a bunch of different things on this layout of my cute grandson being all serious about something.  I love this photo I took of him.  He's not angry here...and only had this expression on his face for a few seconds but I loved it and just knew I had to scrap this photo.  Here is my layout:

Most of the paper was from the Close to My Heart pack called Elemental. I also used Techniques Tuesday stamps for the word "Sweet" and  Unity stamp that say "You Make Me Smile" and also one that has tiny hearts on it. I used some paint on the CTMH arrow and bracket, some CTMH buttons, a CTMH star stamp, a Spellbinders sign hanging thingy and some off white cardstock.  I also used the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge to cut that tag out.  I love mixing prints and colors on layouts...it is easier when you use papers from a certain line as these papers are designed to coordinate.

So there you go...I think it is DONE!

Froufrou and Cricut Challenge 23: CTMH Art Philosophy

I'm back from my week NORTH to see family on Nantucket and Cape Cod.  It was great and I took some fabulous weather with me.  Despite forecasts for rain we only ever got a few sprinkles!
I did get to an AC Moore in Hyannis (we don't have AC Moore in metro Atlanta...boohoo) and found the Tim Holtz small and medium rosette die.  I was able to use my virtual coupon on my phone from Michael's towards the purchase so saved a whopping $8 on it!  Woohoo!!!
I already have the larger one so now I have the full set.  You know how I love those dimensional flowers!











While I was gone my order from Close to My Heart came which included the Art Philosophy cartridge.  It was $99 but it came with all sorts of other stuff...stamp sets that coordinate with the cartridge, chipboard pieces...it really was a pretty good bargain.  I think the promotion only runs for a few more days so if you have a CTMH consultant grab it while you can.  My friend, Christine, is a consultant so if you want to order from her let me know and I'll send you her information!  I think it's worth it!
I am also counting this in my personal Cricut challenge of using each cartridge I have (this is number 23 if you're keeping count! :)).  I will use it more...this cartridge is fabulous and with the coordinating stamp sets is really a great addition to my collection!
So....last night I went to my playroom/toyroom/studio/scrapbook room and created this froufrou card!

I didn't even know if froufrou was a real word.  Guess what?  IT IS!  I checked it out in the Websters online dictionary! And this card definitely counts as froufrou!  I made it with scraps leftover from a Teresa Collins mini album I made....it has wonderful damask looking papers, velvet paper, lace and bling.  Almost all supplies are Teresa Collins...she sure loves that black, white and pink...definitely a girly girl!  The little medallion in the center was cut with the new CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge and then stamped with the coordinating stamp that comes with the package.  I used Versamark and then embossed it with white Zing embossing powder.
Simple but froufrou-ish...don't you think?
Oh....and I finally finished the mini album I started for ABG just after she was born in May.  All I needed to do was punch some holes for the jump rings and add a few little touches...it took me about 5 minutes...why it took me 2 months to complete it I'll never know!!!  Here's the front of the finished album...