Welcome Baby Card

This baby card was fun to make for a colleague who is due next month! Almost everything I used for this card is retired, but I wanted to share with you anyway.  Don’t be afraid to stash bust and pull out your “old stuff."

I cut the clouds background from Glacier cardstock with a retired Thin Cuts and then mounted it over a Ballerina glitter paper panel (since she's expecting a girl). The band across the front is from the retired Life‘s a Hoot collection. The rainbow stamped Thin Cut is from the Storybook Scrapbooking stamp set and Thin Cuts. The welcome baby banner is from a really old stamp set )and I don’t remember its name currently).

I love the sparkle from the glitter paper and the additional clear shimmer brush on the rainbow's clouds.  The pretty pink enamel dots are also from my stash.  Don’t be afraid to stash bust and combine old things in new ways!

A Gnome for All Seasons- Autumn Hiking Layout

The current A Gnome for All Seasons- Autumn special features a fun autumn paper collection and lots more.  (You can find it here!)

I had fun creating this layout of us hiking!  The strips of paper measure 3-4" x 10".   I added a few sticker embellishments and a few enamel gems from the (retired) Cozy Up collection. 

Be sure to get your gnomes before they're gone!

Freshman Cowboy Layout

When I came across these pictures of my nephew during the homecoming parade his freshman year, I knew that The Good Life would be a perfect match! I love how these photos capture his big personality!

To create this layout, I found a sketch from the NEW Make It From Your Heart, Volume 6, pattern 12 that worked well with my photos.  I love how it turned out!

I used Mist ink to distress the French Vanilla base pages.  The guide made it easy to create the cute little banner over the focal image.  I die cut the title from a retired Thin Cut alphabet set

The musical accents were a fun stamped addition.  (Since both my girls were in band and chorus, I knew I had a musical stamp set in my collection, so I grabbed one.  I really like how it turned out!)

Thanks for letting me share this handsome, funny fellow with you.  I have an album dedicated to cousins that this layout will be added to.  

If you struggle to come up with pleasing designs like I do, then you want to be sure to check out the new Make It From Your Heart, Volume 6!

September Stamp of the Month Double-Z Gatefold Birthday Card

This card is for a special stamping friend's birthday and was inspired by fellow Close To My Heart Maker, Amy McGrew.  I used the September stamp of the month, Thoughtful Tokens, paired with the last catalog cycle's Mix-In paper pack in Sage, Glacier, Honey Butter, and Sapphire.

This card style is knows as a double-z gatefold card.  Because the Mix-In paper I chose had Sage patterns on both the front and back, I accented the paper with Honey Butter from the same collection (using both sides- one side on the triangles and the other side on the band).

On the inside panel, I stamped the filigree in Glacier and the sentiment in Sapphire.  To create the focal medallion, I inked up the main image in Sage and then rolled it in Sapphire (and blended in a little Glacier ink for contrast).  For the butterfly accent, after stamping on scrap in Sapphire, I used a blending brush to add Honey Butter ink.  It seemed to smear a little, but adding Honey Butter shimmer brush really accented the butterfly beautifully.  Some foam tape, retired Sapphire embroidery floss, and the film strip stamped in Glacier and Sage finished off the accents.

I hope my friend likes her birthday card as much as I do!  

Vintage Birthday Card

Today, my brother-in-law is celebrating a very big birthday, so I made him this card featuring The Good Life paper collection (and a retired birthday stamp).

This sketch a from the NEW Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 6, Pattern 28.  (It is a delightful new collection of layout and card sketches!)

I distressed my card base by rubbing the edge in Toffee ink and swiping the card front across the ink pad to add color randomly across the card front.  I swiped each of the rectangles in Mist ink to distress their edges.  I stamped the (retired) sentiment in Harbour ink (after using the Stitched Circle Thin Cuts for the circles) and finished off the card with three wooden arrows from my stash.

The Good Life isn't just for country living!  I have several fun projects planned and will be sharing through the month.  Be sure to grab your collection this month or next while supplies last!  (Learn more HERE.)

Cozy Up Scrapbook Layouts

Even though the July-August catalog has retired, you can still find the Cozy Up and Cape Cod collections on my website while supplies last.  I used the Cozy Up collection, including the Cozy Up scrapbooking stamp set and Thin Cuts, to create three layouts about a trip we took to the Biltmore Estate.

I started with a sketch from the Gnomes for Autumn scrapbooking workshop but using Cozy Up instead.  On this close up of the left page, ignore the glare on the photos thanks to the flip flaps (my favorite way to add more pictures to my layouts).

Now here are the first two flip flaps opened up to reveal more photos and my journaling.  (Ignore the white strips that will be removed to adhere them to my page protector when I put the layout in my 2018 album.)

I used three 4x6 flip flaps (with two different orientations) to add five more photos and journaling to this page.

The right page isn't interactive.

My second layout is about the same trip but with a focus on cousins playing a fun game together.

The third layout is the final one from this trip when the exhibit was beautifully lit at night.

Be sure to grab the Cozy Up collection, flip flaps, new products, and more right HERE!

Hello September!

August has come and gone with back to school on my part, and I can't believe how poorly I've neglected this blog!  (I've kept up a bit better on my Facebook page HERE if you're interested.)

September means TWO NEW Idea Books, the Essentials available for the year and the September-October collection.  You can virtually flip through both of them HERE.

This month's specials include the continuation of the Memory Lane and Gnomes for Autumn collections!

We also have a beautiful stamp of the month, Thoughtful Tokens.

I look forward to getting crafty and sharing more this month!  I hope you'll join me!

The Bee’s Knees Meets Cape Cod Meets Dream Maker

Although this card does not include any of the Dream Maker paper, I used a sketch from the Dream Maker card making workshop, and I LOVE how it turned out.  (I hope you do too!)

Each of the triangles is half of a 2“ x 4 1/2“ rectangle, cut on the diagonal. I ended up adding some really old, retired paper from my stash that happened to be out on my work table, and matches the Lagoon in Cape Cod. I had a lot of fun using an onion bag, sponge, and periwinkle ink to make the pretty textured background at the top of the card front.

I stamped the crab in Periwinkle and the coral in Toffee (from the Cape Cod Scrapbooking stamp set & Thin Cuts). I love the sentiment from the July stamp of the month, The Bee's Knees, so I stamped Hi in Bluebird on a Stitched Rectangle Thin Cut panel.  A little acrylic "sea glass" shell from the Cape Cod embellishments finished off this card perfectly (if I do say so myself). 

Hope you're all having a great summer!

The Bee’s Knees Meets Cape Cod

This card is a CASE from the Cape Cod cardmaking Workshop, but with several twists, including the addition of the soon to retire, close to my heart color of the year, Melon.

I splattered the card front with Toffee shimmer brush.  Then, I stamped the Hi sentiment (from the July stamp of the month, The Bee's Knees) in Lagoon and the rope in Toffee from the Cape Cod Scrapboking stamp set.  Using the Thin Cuts from that collection, I also stamped coral in Toffee and the seahorse and shells in Melon. The faux washi tape is a piece of one of the zip strips from the Cape Cod collection.

I really love this color combination of Glacier, Lagoon, Toffee, and Melon. Be sure to grab our color of the year before it is gone!

The Bee’s Knees Just Bee-cause Card

This card is a total CASE (copy & steal exactly- or almost exactly) of theCTMH Corp featured artwork!

I used Raspberry, Flamingo, and Honey Butter in lieu of the featured artwork colors.  I created a "wash" behind the sentiment of Flamingo shimmer brush prior to stamping the sentiment in Black.  (If you "wash" after stamping, your stamping won't be as clear.  Be sure to clean your stamp before reinking and stamping again.)

I also used Honey Butter shimmer brush on the flower centers and the bee abdomen, but that didn't photograph well.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so don't be afraid to CASE something you like!  It's even better when you add your own twist.

The Bee’s Knees Banner Card

This card uses the pretty July stamp of the month, The Bee's Knees, and a sketch from Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 4.  

After stamping the bee on the White Daisy panel, I colored it with a yellow and Alpine Green Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend marker then added shimmer with a clear shimmer brush.  The banners are from the Bring Back My Pack For Always collection plus Honey Butter cardstock. 

I wish that you could see this shimmer and sparkle in real life!

Dream Maker Anniversary Layout

When I bought the National Scrapbooking Month special collection, Dream Maker, I was planning to use it for some of our travel photos (and I still plan to do that), but it seemed just perfect with the pictures we took of our recent anniversary.

My layout was inspired by the Dream Maker Scrapbooking Workshop, but of course I had to make it my own to fit my photos. As you can see by the 4 x 4 photo mat, I forgot to order a picture of the beautiful orchid he gave me, so I’ve added it to my desktop "To Print" folder and will get it printed in my next batch.

Most of the embellishments are from the Cardstock Carnival die cuts (a special offer earlier this year) with some acrylic shapes thrown in for more color and dimension.

Part of me thinks I might need a few more black accents, but I think I am going to leave it as is.  I don't want to "gild the lily" for sure!

Do not be afraid to mix old and new products together!