Embellished Frame

On Christmas Eve (literally) I took my daughters out for a quick photo shoot, ordered one-hour prints, and found a frame to decorate to give to their grandmother for Christmas.  (Nothing like waiting until the last minutes!)  All of the family members got a copy of the picture.  I had to make one for myself too while I was at it.

This isn't the best picture, but you can see that I matted the photo with a piece of the Snowhaven black B&T and then the pretty Yuletide Carol B&T.  A strip of black shimmer trim and a CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent medallion with the date stamped from the Artfully Sent alphabet set finished it prettily.  I know the photo would have been great just in a frame, but I love the added touches.

Here is the photo that I used followed by a few outtakes from our impromptu photo shoot.

 I love these girls so much!

H2H CAS Challenge

This week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge is to create a CAS project: Clean And Simple.  While there are no real rules, CAS projects are often one layer and usually have lots of "white space."  Here's my take on the challenge using the January stamp of the month, This Moment.

This card came together in no time at all.  The heart (cut with the CTMH/Cricut Artbooking cartridge) was leftover from another project, as was the black square from the Snowhaven paper pack.  I stamped the arrows across the bottom of the card with Whisper ink.  The heart is stamped with Pixie.  (I wanted to get away from the Cranberry in Snowhaven.)  Three silver sequins finished it off.  Love this!

Are you ready to try the H2H CAS challenge?  You have until the end of the month to play along with any of the January challenges!

Thank You!

Imagine my delight to find out that I am the Color My Heart Color Dare Diamond Winner for Challenge #125!

 Here is the layout I made using the Snowhaven paper pack and the January 2015 stamp of the month, This Moment.  (More details HERE.)

Thank you again!  I am truly honored!

H2H Challenges: A Birthday Color Challenge

This week Heart 2 Heart Challenges has issued a "birthday color challenge."  Say what?!?  You don't have to have a birthday theme to your project, but you do have to use the color assigned to your birth month for your creation.

Since my assigned color is Thistle, I decided it would be a perfect fit for my niece's 14th birthday card for her birthday today.  I ended up pairing it with the colors of the Confetti Wishes paper pack, though I had really wanted to try a different color combo.

My card used two cuts from the CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent cartridge: the Thistle swing card base and the White Daisy happy birthday sentiment.  I did color the cupcake just a little with a few of my (retired) marching markers.

I embellished the "celebrate" bottom border (that I cut by hand from a strip of the B&T) with purple shimmer trim and the front with a few purple sparkle gems.  The inside sentiments come from one of the stamp sets that comes with the Artfully Sent cartridge.

I can't wait to see this pretty young lady soon to give her the card and her present.  Of course I didn't think to have it with me at her piano recital!  She and our older daughter performed Sunday along with our dear friend Joy and several others.  It was lovely!

{Don't forget that you have all month to play along with any of the H2H January challenges!  Won't you join us?)

H2H Challenges: Tic-Tac-Toe

This week at Heart 2 Heart Challenges, we're inviting you to join a little game of crafty tic-tac-toe!  Just use the provided game board to make your creation.  You can choose any 3 across, down, or diagonally.  You have until the end of the month to play.

Can you guess how I played?

If you guessed the top row, you're correct!  I used the Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 2 layout #15, lots of Cricut cuts from the CTMH/Cricut Artbooking cartridge, and (dry) embossing.  I'm not sure if I had more fun with the Cricut or with the January stamp of the month, This Moment.  This layout uses the Snowhaven paper pack, which is the featured color challenge at Color My Heart (#125).

 Can you see how the white shimmer trim is used on the film strips?  I also used red shimmer trim on the I <3 bubble.="" p="" speech="" u="">

Arrow washi tape, silver sequins, and a red epoxy heart also embellish this layout.

 Can you see the dry embossing on my White Daisy photo mat?

My gals and I had a great time making these in class this weekend, so here's a final shot.  Love you, gals!

Be sure to check out how the H2H Team Thistle has played the 2015 tic-tac-toe challenge game!

H2H Challenges: Something Old Is New!

Happy New Year!  Are you ready for 2015?!?  We have some great challenges planned over at the Heart 2 Heart Challenge blog.  Our first challenge of the year is "old is new."  It's time to re-purpose something old into something new- or use something old in a new way.

My project is something that I had been wanting to make for a long time, especially after seeing a similar item in a local store for $30 (!!!!).  I took an OLD map and cut out our hometown to place in a NEW pendant.  Both my husband and my daughter liked the addition of the red shimmer trim heart.  All it took was a little liquid glass to piece the pendant together, and then I added the base & bling charms.  (Click HERE to see the Base & Bling line.)

Be sure to check out how all of the talented H2H designers have interpreted this challenge.  I bet you've got something old that you'd like to make new.  Won't you join us?  You have all month to give it a try!

This Moment: My Aim is True

Here's another card that I made with the January stamp of the month and the fabulous Snowhaven paper pack.

The "target" has a heart in the center, but I used one of our darling red enamel hearts as a fun focus.

January Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: This Moment

Happy 2015!!!!!!  It's time to ring in the new year with the January 2015 Close To My Heart stamp of the month, This Moment.  (If you're already hopping in the new year, you should have arrived from Judy's blog.  You'll rock on over to Paige's blog next!)

Here are four of the six cards that we made at my "one sheet wonder" card class.  (If you'd like more info, click HERE.)

Each card uses the Snowhaven paper pack with red shimmer trim and sequins, plus Cranberry, Slate, Glacier, and/or Black ink.  Here are close ups of each one.

Thanks for hopping by and ringing in the new year, CTMH style!  Be sure to see how Paige is celebrating!  (Click on her name to go to her blog.)  Happy 2015!

Click HERE for the complete hop list.

Secret Santa Post #2

If you saw my post yesterday, then you got to see what I created for a fellow CTMH consultant for a little Christmas fun.  Here is the great fun that I received in my mailbox from the talented Melissa Robinson!  Thank you, Melissa!  First is this pretty Yuletide Carol Christmas tree card.

Then a cool treat purse filled with York peppermint patties! :)

 Aren't the snowflakes darling?  What a cute idea!

 More chocolate...

 A treat bag...

 Just pull off the ornament to reveal what's inside.

 This gorgeous ornament!  Who wants to make one?  I do!

Thank you again, Melissa!  I love them all!!!

Secret Santa Post #1

In one of my CTMH consultant groups, we decided to participate in a "secret Santa" swap.  Here is what I made to send to Diane B.

First up is her Christmas card, which I made with the Yuletide Carol paper pack, gold shimmer trim, and a pretty piece from the My Crush Holiday Happenings Assortment.

Since her favorite color is blue, I made her this ornament with the Cricut Artfully Sent cartridge.

 You probably can't tell, but I poked holes in the sanded Pacifica card stock to mimic stars.  (The sparkles show up well in the photo.)  I used both of our new shimmer trims, white and blue, on the ornament.

Next is a set of six cards using the January stamp of the month, This Moment, and Snowhaven, from my "One Sheet Wonder" template that I created.  (Click HERE for more info.)

Finally, she also received some of her favorite chocolates so that she can enjoy a little scrappy snack while she plays!  Merry Christmas, Diane!

One Sheet Wonder: Six Cards from One

Here is another set of six cards that I made with my "one sheet wonder" template I created.  This one uses the January stamp of the month, This Moment, and the Snowhaven paper pack plus silver shimmer trim and silver sequins.

Everyone who places a minimum $25 order through my website or through me directly during the month of January will receive a PDF file of the "Six Cards from One/One Sheet Wonder" workshop that I created and taught last month.  Here is one of the sample sets that I made.  (Click HERE for another.)

December Birthdays

We have two family birthdays this month: my brother-in-law's on the 19th and my Mom's on the 21st.  We celebrated with a delicious dinner on Friday for him and lunch out with the family for her on Sunday.  In addition, our younger daughter attended a sleepover for two friends Friday evening.  She made these two gorgeous cards all by herself for the birthday girls.

 She used the Snowhaven paper pack for both.  The top one is a 5"x7" and the second is an 8"x3.5" to hold a gift certificate.

Here we are at Mom's celebration.  We girls surprised her with a spa day tomorrow that I am so looking forward to!