December Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: Special Care

The CTMH December stamp of the month is just darling!  You are going to find so many uses for these "handle with care" Special Care stamps!  You're sure to be inspired along this blog hop, so visit Traci Godbee's blog when you're ready to leave here.  (If you're already cruising along, then you should have arrived here from Wanda's blog.)

To create my card, I started with a sketch from Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 2 and my Babycakes paper pack.  I cut out the tag and its mat with my CTMH/Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.  To create the Slate background, I stamped "Handle with Care" on the background.  I also stamped a different sentiment from the set in Chocolate on the Chocolate strip to give it more interest.  The "Warning" tag was hand cut following the image's border.  Finally, I finished off the card with an embellishment from the Babycakes Assortment and cut a zip strip to make my "ribbon."

For more great ideas with the December stamp of the month, Special Care, go to Traci's blog now.  Thanks for leaving a comment before you hop off!

Thank You!

What a surprise!  I was totally shocked when I went over to the Color My Heart Color Dare blog to find that I had won first place for my gratitude mini album.  Thank you so much!

Gratitude Mini Album

Do you "do" Black Friday?  I am not sure the sales are worth the hassle!  I would love to hear the deals you've scored (past or present).

When I posed my gratitude layout, I mentioned the coordinating mini album we made.  Everything was cut with the CTMH/Cricut Artbooking cartridge (except I managed to cut the rectangles myself).  I set my dial size at 5" and everything, no matter what key I chose, cut to scale to fit nicely.

We kept the pages fairly simple so that photos and journaling would take center stage.  We can always go back and add a little more bling once we've completed the pages if they're lacking.

All the paper is from the Huntington paper pack plus Colonial White cardstock.  Barn Red is such a great color, and we also used Desert Sand and Slate.

I'm linking this album up to the Color Dare color challenge #70: Autumn Terracotta, Barn Red, and Olive.

We left the back cover plain card stock.  To me, it's easier not to have embellishments on the back so that it lays flat.  

Gratitude Layout

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!  At my recent scrapbooking class, we created this layout to remember our gratitude and appreciation.

The fancy cuts you see were all made with the CTMH/Cricut Artbooking cartridge and the Huntington paper pack.  We added bronze shimmer trim and bronze and almond glitter glitz gel to add a little bling and pizzaz to the layout.  Our new jute ribbon was very easy to add to the page: I ran a strip of tape with my Tombow tape runner, and then used a glue dot at each end and in the middle to be sure it stayed in place.

I am looking forward to getting photos of all of our family this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving!  My aunt and several cousins are coming with their families, plus we'll spend time with Hubby's family too.  We'll definitely enjoy some mandatory Forced Family Fun!

To decorate the tree, I first sponged the trunk with Desert Sand ink and then stamped the wood grain from the Huntington Workshop on the Go stamp set, also in Desert Sand.  Some of the leaves are covered in glitz gel and others are pieces of Huntington B&T.  (I'm linking this layout up to Heart 2 Heart Challenge's sponging technique challenge and the Craft Your Passion challenge #190: Thanksgiving/Give Thanks.)

Come back soon to see the coordinating mini album we made.

H2H Challenges: Sponging

It's time for a technique/tool challenge over at Heart 2 Heart.  Grab a sponge and get to work- crafting at least!  (That sounds a lot more fun than housework, doesn't it?)  To color this card, I used a wedge of a sponge and a sponge dauber, along with a few post-it notes.

 1.  Stamp your image onto a post-it note or onto printer paper.  Cut out the part where you want to apply color.  (This makes a "reverse mask" to color in the inside of the line drawn image.)

 2.  Carefully place your mask over your stamped image.  (I used an office-supply hole punch to punch out the eyes, and they were a great fit!)

 3.  Sponge the desired color.  Feel free to try to shade your image as you sponge.

 4.  Remove the mask.

5.  Decide the piece is too plain.  Create a mask to cover up the owl.  Use another post-it to create a horizon across the focal image.

 6.  Sponge Juniper on the exposed piece.

 7.  Remove mask.  Much better!

 8.  Use the same sponging/coloring technique to color in the Santa hat.  Cut it out and place it on the owl's head.

This card sketch comes from the Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 2 how-to guide.  It is one of 5 designs that we made at my 50 card workshop this weekend.  I love how this little fellow turned out!  (The ornament and circle were cut with the CTMH/Cricut Artbooking cartridge, and the banner was cut with Artiste.)

Now that you're suitably impressed (I hope), be sure to go check out what the rest of the H2H DT has created for you this week.

Beautiful Smile Layout Share

Another highlight for our older daughter is that she got her braces off (after two-and-a-half years) in September!  I created a Studio J layout to commemorate her braces journey.  One cool thing about Studio J is that I could upload photos as I went.  In other words, I started this layout over two years ago!  As long as I order every quarter, I could keep the photos in my project files.

Can you believe how much she has grown and changed in the past 2.5 years?  It is amazing to see her growth all together like this!

I used the feminine Chantilly collection for the layout.  Since you can add a text box anywhere, I typed "before" and "after" directly onto the appropriate photos.  Turn off the vellum and the text background is transparent.  Easy, right?

Thanks for taking a few steps on this journey with me!

Watch Out! Learner's Permit Layout Share

This summer, our 15-year-old got her learner's driving permit.  Watch out, world (or at least our local area)!  I only had a few pictures to commemorate the big event, in part because I was too nervous while she was driving that day to even think about snapping a photo.  I turned to Studio J to scrap these memories.  Once I made the layout, I ordered two copies: one for me and one for her.

Now for the layout details: When I logged in to Studio J, I decided to check out the Express collections, a set of premade layouts in themes for an entire scrapbook.  I wondered if the travel theme might have something appropriate, and I found the above layout.  You could make an entire scrapbook using the theme, or just pick a layout like I did here.  All I had to do after adding my photos was convert the top left small photo well into a title block and then add my journaling in the journaling block.  That's it!  I wish that I had timed myself from start to finish, because I don't think it even took 10 minutes, including uploading my photo.  I think coming up with a title took longer than anything.  The cute "Going Places" sentiment, car, paper selections, brads, etc., were already there in this Express layout.  Cute, right?

BTW, the "grumpy" face is because the DMV computers glitched right after she finished her test.  She saw her score, but the employees couldn't see her score or access her record.  We had to come back a few hours later, and by then the computers had caught up with each other.

The current Heart 2 Heart Challenge is "Game On."   Not only did Ansley get her game on and get her learner's permit, but to me this event and layout certainly fit the game of Life! ;)

Hello Today Spinner Card

Close To My Heart introduced ready-made 5"x7" White Daisy spinner cards, and they are so much fun!  This one is modeled after one that we made at Convention.  It uses the Reel Life stamp set and Laughing Lola paper pack.

My mom and our friend Joan made their cards with a cute twist: stagger the stripes!  Here's my Mom's version:

Don't be afraid to play around with a sketch!

H2H Challenges: Seeing Double

This week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge is "seeing double."  You'll do a double take when you check out the DT's inspiration!

I was once again inspired with my new Season's Tweetings stamp set and the festive Sparkle & Shine paper pack..  It may be a little early for Christmas, but with everything I've got going on, I need to get a jump start on the holiday season.  The ornament was cut with the CTMH/Cricut Artbooking cartridge.  I stamped the owl image twice in Slate, then stamped the mistletoe in Juniper at the top, and finished off one of the owls with the Santa hat in Ruby.  I used my waterbrush to color them in a bit.  I also added some Stardust glitz glitter gel for my mistletoe berries and the hat's fuzz.  A piece of Sparkle & Shine washi tape and some Ruby baker's twine finished off the ornament nicely.

To decorate my card base, I started with the other two washi tapes from the Sparkle & Shine washi collection and a piece of silver shimmer trim.  I also used the cute polka dot patterned paper from the Sparkle & Shine paper pack.

Are you seeing double yet?  If so, be sure to check out the Heart 2 Heart challenge blog and then get crafting.  You know you want to share your double vision with us!

M-Sized Happy Birthday

Here's another card made with a different mini stamp, Happy Birthday.  We used the Sarita paper pack and a sketch from Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 2.

To create the sentiment, I first stamped Happy Birthday with Lagoon ink.  I then used my waterbrush to color in birth.  Because I wanted the bottom of the letters to be darker, I flipped the sentiment over.  My top-to-bottom coloring gave me the bottom-to-top look I wanted.  The next step was to color day the same way, only with Outdoor Denim ink.  The final important step was to ink up and over stamp birthday in Outdoor Denim ink after letting the sentiment dry a bit.

Using the ikat stamp from the Geometric Basics stamp set, I stamped the Goldrush base in Lagoon and again in Outdoor Denim.

The gem is from one of the Base & Bling collections- obviously not just for jewelry!

While I don't have a particular person in mind yet for this card, I love having cards on hand just in case.  My girls especially appreciate them!

M-Sized Snowflake Card

What's an M-sized snowflake, you ask?  Well, check out p. 113 of the Autumn/Winter Close To My Heart Idea Book (or click HERE) to see a collection adorable mini stamps.  At only $2.95 each, you're going to find at least one to love- or several!  This card features the Singe Snowflake stamp.


The White Daisy card stock base measures 3"x6", which is a fun mini to make.  The Ruby top piece is the reverse of the ornament B&T from the new holiday Sparkle & Shine paper pack.  A little silver shimmer trim holds the design elements together nicely.

After stamping the Single Snowflake in Juniper ink, I added dots of Stardust Glitter Glitz Gel to finish it off.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... or at least the holiday crafting season!  This week's Dynamic Duo Challenge #77 is the bold & cheery combo of Real Red and Bermuda Bay.   I think Close To My Heart's Ruby and Juniper are a great fit.  Don't you agree?

Life Is Good/H2H Gratitude Challenge

This Life Is Good card certainly fits the new Heart 2 Heart Challenges "gratitude" challenge to me, because life is indeed good.  It may not be perfect, it certainly has its ups and downs (two teenage daughters and a total home remodel, anyone?), but it is definitely a good life that we are living.  I am so very, very thankful for all the blessings that we have.  They are too numerous to list!

This card uses the Huntington Workshop on the Go scrapbooking kit.  I designed it for my recent card class, and I really like how it turned out.  We were working on "background basics," so I hope that you can see the wood grain stamped in Desert Sand on the Desert Sand card base.  While the "life is" and "good" were hand cut, that pretty Olive CTMH/Crict Art Philosophy flourish is actually leftover from another project.  The banner was cut from the same cartridge.

If you ever need a little something pretty on a paper crafting project, grab out you spools of shimmer trim!  In silver, black, red, and bronze (used here), you're sure to find one to dazzle on any project!