Alex @ 4 Months {Layout Share}

If I weren't so pleased with how this layout turned out, I might be embarrassed to show it to you because the adorable baby (my nephew and godson) is now four YEARS old! Thank goodness for snow days to get a little scrappin' done!

My sister had these photos made by a very talented photographer friend. Didn't she do a great job?
"Mama, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys." Maybe a baseball player instead?

All supplies from Close To My Heart: Giddy Up paper pack (retired); Rustic Alphabet, Rustic Numbers, Chocolate Alphabet Large, and Party Invitation stamp sets; Cranberry, Indian Corn Blue, and Desert Sand ink; black hemp; gold star brads (retired)

Sketch: "Elegant Context" from Cherish how-to guide

Don't you wish you could hold him? I'm glad we have these beautiful photos to capture this moment forever.

{Layout 2011 #1}

Gray Is the New Black {Challenge}

In the Jan./Feb. edition of PaperCrafts Magazine, they have an article entitled "Gray Is the New Black," and Moxie Fab World is hosting a challenge in gray's honor.

This card was pretty easy to make, but the damask pattern requires some patience for precision stamping. I first stamped the open medallion from the Wings Workshop stamp set in Grey Wool in the top center, then continued to stamp it in a pattern. Starting at the center helps the center look good. Then, I went back and used one of the center medallion stamps in Sweet Leaf.


I had planned to use a strip of patterned paper from the Wings collection, but it was just too busy. Instead, I used a strip of Grey Wool cardstock with Sweet Leaf ribbon layered over it. Finally, I stamped my initial in Sweet Leaf with the Baroque Alphabet, layered it onto a Grey Wool square, and attached. The absolute final touch was a bit of Glitz Glue on the "H" and at the centers of the Sweet Leaf stamped images. (To get good even coverage, apply the Glitz Glue on the "legs" of the H, then use a toothpick to drag it into the bar and other tiny places. A toothpick's a very technical tool!)


All supplies from Close To My Heart: Wings Workshop and Baroque Alphabet stamp sets; Colonial White and Grey Wool cardstock; Grey Wool and Sweet Leaf ink; Sweet Leaf designer ribbon rounds; Glitz Glue

CTMH Product Spotlight Blog Hop: Valentine's

Love is in the air...

It's time for this month's Product Spotlight Blog Hop, and a baker's dozen of CTMH Consultants are featuring Valentine ideas. (If you're already following the hop, you should have arrived here from Creative Diva Luisa's blog. Continue on to Corina's Scrapbooking Ink. blog next.)

My card is for my sweet and loving husband, who is not so lovey-dovey and romantic. (He is in his own way, but it's not the flowers-chocolate-candlelight variety!) Anyway, I pulled out my trusty (and adorable) Love Birds stamp set. (Our oldest reminded me that I've made him a card before with this set. Yeah, but this one's different.)

Here's a quick (or not-so-quick depending on your point of view) explanation of the card:
1. Spritz the background with the spray pen (Vineyard Berry reinker, Create-a-Shade paint, and alcohol).
2. Layer cardstock and patterened paper from the Wings paper pack.
3. Stamp sentiment in Sweet Leaf at the top of the focal panel.
4. Stamp larger bird in Grey Wool and medium bird in Juniper. (Go back and color in with a waterbrush when you decide that they are too plain.)
5. Stamp the heart three times without reinking. (Again, go back and fill in with the waterbrush- also without reinking- because they looked too plain.)
6. Swipe the edges in Vineyard Berry ink.
7. Add embellishment: scrap of pleated Juniper ribbon and a black cordouroy brad. (After trying it on the right and it looking like a doorknob, move it to the left side where it serves double duty covering up a smudge.)
8. Decide the focal image is too stark and stipple a bit of Sweet Leaf ink.
9. Adhere all layers to card front.

Thanks for hopping by! Be sure to come back often, but especially on the 15th of February for some CrEaTiVe CoLoR cOmBoS. Leave me a little lovin' if you feel inclined before heading to see Corina's fabulous design!

All supplies from Close To My Heart: Love Birds stamp set; Wings paper pack; Sweet Leaf, Grey Wool, Juniper, and Vineyard Berry inks; Vineyard Berry reinker; Create-a-Shade paint; Juniper pleated ribbon; black cordouroy brad

Tools: Spray pen, waterbrush, & stipple brush

Techniques: Make-your-own shimmer mist; stippling; direct-to-paper distressing

You can find all these supplies and more on my CTMH website!

On Edge Challenge with Find Your Style

365 Cards is a fun card challenge blog. A recent challenge (Day 318) is to use a paper punch to create a patterned border on just the front edge of your card. How fun and easy is that?

Since I still had my Find Your Style stamp set and Wings paper out, I had to play. I used the same sketch again that I used for the H2H Sky & Pear challenge (Wishes "Simply Said") but turned it like the pattern shows in the book.

To begin, I sprayed my 8"x3.5" card base twice with my spray pen filled with alcohol, Vineyard Berry reinker, and a few drops of Create-a-Shade pearl paint. (Click HERE to learn how.) While I let it dry, I attached the strip of B&T to the side edge of my card and stamped "Beautiful" and "Friend" in Colonial White ink on the Vineyard Berry piece. My card base dried in the time it took me to clean out my spray pen, so I was ready to put it all together, stamp the dress form, and punch the edge. I decided to add the strip of Vineyard Berry cardstock on the inside of my card to give the punched edge a bit more panache. To finish off the card, I threaded a black button with hemp and then added a "string" of Pearl Opaques to make a necklace. What do you think?


Punch by Martha Stewart

All other supplies from Close To My Heart: Leave me a comment or email me if you want to know more! Thanks.

Find Your Style (Jan. Stamp of the Month)

Once again, the monthly stamp of the month swap group I get to "play" with have outdone themselves! Aren't their cards gorgeous? They all use the January stamp of the month, Find Your Style, and the Wings paper collection (Black, Vineyard Berry, Juniper, and Sweet Leaf).

Remember, this month only, if you purchase the Wings workshop on the go kit, you unlock some fabulous savings! You can easily earn the January stamp of the month for FREE! I will be holding the Wings workshop on 1/29, so order your kit by 1/15. Thanks!

CARD CREDITS: (Above right) Beautiful Bird by Chris Hill, Black Butterfly Friend by Pam Beery, and Sweet Leaf Butterfly Friend by Tonya Stone

(Below) My Tweet Heart by Cindi Jensen and Butterfly Friend by Linda

By the way, today is our 4th day this week to be out of school (work for me) this week; our 9th day this winter! (And it's only January!) I hope to get some crafting done this morning while I have the entire house to myself for a few hours. :)

H2H Color Challenge: Sky, Pear, & Colonial White

The first challenge this year over at Heart 2 Heart challenges is a color challenge: use the colors Sky, Pear, Colonial White (and a touch of Sorbet if you like).

To make my card, I grabbed my new A Game stamp set (found in the Inspirations brochure- and laying out on my work desk) and remembered a cool idea I saw with this set over on Teri Baxter's blog. I grabbed my Wishes card how-to book, some scraps from my Magnifique (Sky) and Olivia (Pear) paper packs, and voila! I used the "Simply Said" pattern for the card sketch.

To give me card a little more sparkle, I used my new spray pen and filled it with alcohol, Create-a-Shade pearl paint, and a few drops of Sky reinker. (I prefer to use rubbing alcohol instead of water because it dries so much quicker). Sky is such a light color that you really can't see it on the Sky B&T paper (but there is a nice light shimmer). You might notice the Sky color on the focal image and the card base.

All supplies from Close To My Heart: A Game stamp set; Magnifique & Olivia paper packs; Sky & Pear ink; Sky reinker; Create-a-Shade paint; spray pen; Blue & Green sparkles; Colonial White designer ribbon rounds; Wishes how-to guide; glue dots

Proud to be an H2H Sponsor!

If you have never checked out Heart 2 Heart challenges (or if you already love them), head over there just as soon as you finish reading this post. You won't want to miss out!

I am sponsoring a prize this month over at H2H. All you have to do to win is participate in at least one of this month's challenges and fill out the Mr. Linky box for the challenge. It's really that simple! Of course, the more challenges you participate in, the more chances you have to win.

What will you win? Well, I'm glad you asked...
*The Everyday Celebration Card Kit (Everything you need- except blocks and adhesive- to create 16 cards!):
four 12”x12” B&T Duos paper; two 12”x12” cardstock sheets (Colonial White & Dutch Blue); sixteen 4-1/4”x5-1/2” Colonial White scalloped cards; sixteen matching envelopes; one My Acrylix Everyday Celebration stamp set; one Shades of Chocolate Mini-Medley Accents collection; 5’ of Chocolate ribbon; one Chocolate distressing ink; one Dutch Blue distressing ink; fifty 3-D foam squares; one sponge; one instructional brochure
*And a few “projects in the raw” plus a few hand-stamped goodies from Yours Truly

So what are you waiting for? Go check out H2H today! (Don't worry if you can't make it today; challenges are good for the entire month.) This week's challenge is to create a project with the colors Sky, Pear, and Colonial White. Happy paper crafting, and good luck!

More Mist Tips

Practical Scrappers has a great post today about using mists- and a giveaway too!

New Spray Pen Video Tutorial

Here is a great video tutorial from Close To My Heart showing how to use our new spray pens. Oh so fun! My tip to add: save a shirt box (lid or bottom) or soda flat. Place your project in the box and then spray away. The box bottom and edges will catch the excess mist.

Journaling with a Twist: A Family Journal

THIS POST inspired me to create our own family journal. I don't know how successful we'll be at using it, but anything that keeps us connected is a good thing. (I've had this idea for a long time but never found the time to implement it. I decided the new year was a great time to try something new.)

To make the journal, I simply covered the front and back of a composition book (you know, the marbled black and white notebooks?) with the striped Magnifique paper. All of the artwork, including the title, came from the Magnifique My Stickease (some from the Level 1 kit and some from the pack that is sold separately). I might have gone a little crazy with all the bling- blue sparkles, mocha opaques, and foundry frames, oh my!

On the inside, I handwrote a title page and then on the next page a few instructions for using the journal. I went ahead and started the first entry, about New Year's Resolutions. Our oldest has already written a response. We're off to a great start!

Inspirations Linky Blog Hop

My fabulously artsy friend Tresa is hosting a "linky blog hop" featuring items found in the new Close To My Heart Inspirations brochure. Check out all the fabulous projects! (If you're a CTMH consultant, feel free to join in and link your project too!)

2010 "Stats"

Books read: 72
Cards created: 298
Layouts completed: 79
"Other" crafty projects finished: 223
Tutorials developed & published: 12