Sympathy Card

Sympathy cards are one of the hardest cards for me to make. It is such a tough time for the individuals and trying to put in a card what you want to tell that person is hard to convey. I have needed a couple of this type of card recently.

This is the first one. I will give you some of the details I used in making his card.
  I used  all of CTMH products except for the brown sheer ribbon . The colors are Ruby, Cashmere, Champagne, Saddle  on a Colonial White Base.
 This is a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 vertical card.
 I cut a 1" Saddle CS circle, 1 1/2" Champagne CS circle and 2 1/2" Cashmere CS circle using the Art Philosophy cartridge button A1. I also cut using the Art Philosophy cart. the scallop strip using Champagne CS. It is button Shift +Font + E4 cut at 3/4" and then sub cut to 3" in length.
 I inked all papers with Saddle ink.
 I scored the Ruby CS diagonally and sanded it.

The Burlap ribbon embellishment was made by cutting a piece and pulling the strands apart. I then grouped them together and tied a knot at one end and trimmed the ends. I took another piece of Burlap ribbon and cut it down to about 3/4" wide and adhered that to the card first. Then I took the stranded pieces and adhered it on top of the strip with Liquid Glass.

After adding all the elements this is the completed card.

I will post my other Sympathy Card in  a few days.

Thanks for stopping by.
I would love to hear from you. Leave a me comment below.

Window Card

First of all I am so glad to be back crafting again!!  I had a Family emergency in Minnesota and recently got back home. It has been a while and much has happened but I hope to be crafting more often and posting here for all of you. Thanks for being one of my Followers and hanging in there with me.

So let's get started.  On to today's project I have a Window Card. I have heard and seen many "Window Cards" on the Internet. I love the look of them and all the different things you can do when using these dies. I have a friend who was able to pick me up a couple of the sets(thank you) and this is my first attempt at making something with them.

I purchased both the large set and the small set and have used the small size of the window, shutters, flower box, curtains and vine in this card. My card is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. I used papers from a 6 x 6 paper pad I have had for a long time!!! You don't have any older papers do you? lol The papers were all textured which gave me  a good look for the different dies. I looked through all my embossing folders and I didn't find a brick look or wood grain etc to use for the window and shutters. So with the paper having some texture that helped with the look I as wanting to get.

I put each of the dies through my Cuttlebug and cut them out.  Then I added a Martha Stewart sprig punch,  a Stampin Up bird punch using the leaf stem from it ,and a small flowers punch for all the little flowers to make up my parts in the flower box.

The CTMH elements are the Hollyhock rick rack (retired), The little paper butterfly from the Flutter paper shapes, and the Happy Birthday (retired) stamp set for the sentiment. I used a dauber and Blush ink to give the butterfly a little soft color.

It was a fun card to put together. So many possibilities!!! I hope you enjoyed this one. I will be back with some other looks too using both sizes of the windows etc.

Thanks for stopping by!
See you next time.

A Little Birdhouse revisited

You know how you start a project but don't get it finished and you come across it sometimes months or even longer later? Or you saw a project you liked and kept the idea to make it but forgot all about it?  Well I have many in these categories and thought I should try to get caught up. So here is a project that I made for a friend but never got one made for myself like I originally planned.

A few years ago I made a little birdhouse for a friend's "Welcome to your New Home". It is made from a template I got from Nichole Heady's blog which can be found HERE.  Thank You Nichole. I have been into birdhouses lately and decided to revisit that template for one of the birdhouses I was going to make.

Here is a little about how I made this project. For this one  I added  a base with a fence and some flowers surrounding the little birdhouse this time.  I used the following tools.  A Martha Stewart border punch for the fence,  CTMH Dainty Thoughts stamp set for the flowers, Fiskars scallop border punch for the Roof, and CTMH card stock in the colors of Indian Corn Blue, Garden Green, Olive, White Daisy and Barn Red. The ink colors are Indian Corn Blue, Olive, Honey, Smoothie, White Daisy, and Ruby. To make the front of the birdhouse look like clapboard I cut a second front only of the birdhouse. Then I cut 1/2" strips of Indian Corn Blue CS and inked the edges with White Daisy pigment ink. Then just start layering them across the front template overlapping each row about 1/4". I will say it was a little tricky getting my 1 1/4" hole in the front of my birdhouse. I used a Cuttlebug circle die. Trying to line it up was the challenge but I think I got it. The tag was also made using my Cuttlebug with a Spellbinders scallop circle die. I cut it and then ran it through again to emboss it. Lastly using the Around the Block stamp set for the sentiment on the tag. Add a ribbon to the top to hold the tag and a little waxy flax curled to add to it for a little more interest.

I hope you enjoy this one. I will be back with another birdhouse to show you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Easter is just around the corner

 

Easter is early his year so I thought I had better start on some of my Easter projects. In the new Spring/Summer Idea Book for CTMH they have a new stamp called "Hoppy Easter". It has the cutest Bunny. Don't you agree?  This stamp set lent itself to using the alcohol markers to add color to the bunny and the egg he is carrying.  I used a few colors of markers and the colored pencils and waterbrush to color my stamped images.

The Artiste Cricut cartridge was used to cut the clouds.

It was a fun card to make and of course I had to add some stitching. I just love to stitch on everything I make.

Supply List:

B1423 Hoppy Easter

Chantilly Paper

Buttercup & White daisy CS

Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon

Sky, Cotton Candy, Pear, Crème Brulee,Whisper, Blush markers

Sunny Yellow colored pencil

Waterbrush

White Embroidery Floss

Bitty Sparkles

 

Fabulous You...

I just love the stamp set called Fabulous You from CTMH. This card features that stamp so I just had to try my hand at it. The colors used are Olive for the base card,
B&T papers from Claire, along with Cashmere, Colonial White and Hollyhock card stocks. The Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge was used to cut the doily type shape that this card is built upon. All the stamped work is from the Fabulous You stamp set. The stamp with the bird on the branch can be stamped and left as is and is beautiful just that way or you can add a hint of color. I chose in this case to add a bit of color using the alcohol markers again. I put a little Olive on the branches and Hollyhock on the small flowers.
I also used a few techniques in making this card. There is stitching, scissor distressing on the small B&T strip and inked edges along with the coloring with alcohol markers.
To further embellish I added brads, a button , a crochet flower and a flourish from the Mini Medley Antique Gold assortment.

Supply List:

C1533 Fabulous You
Claire paper pack
Olive, Cashmere, Colonial White and Hollyhock CS
Cashmere, Cocoa inks
Olive and Hollyhock markers
Mini Medley Antique Gold assortment
Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Happy Birthday To You.....

I have been practicing with the new CTMH Alcohol markers. I have more to learn but am having fun seeing how they color and blend so easily. I will be posting the different projects I make using them as part of the project in the following days.

I made a birthday card from a pattern in the Wishes How to Book for cards and the Chantilly paper pack.I used the alcohol markers to color my rose and the small flowers on the sentiment card. I still need more practice but it sure is fun to work with them. I love the shading you can get and the variation in color from just one marker or more than one. In this card I used the following colors: Cotton Candy, Crème Brulee and Juniper.

Thanks for stopping by. See you next time.

Supply List
C1494 Card Word Puzzle
Chantilly paper pack
Cashmere, Kraft, Juniper, White Daisy CS
Cotton Candy, Crème Brulee, Juniper, Autumn Terracotta  markers
Almond Glitter Glitz
Brown and Tan sparkles

Living in Arizona ......

Two days ago  we had a winter storm go through. Normally in winter we see snow in the mountains and rain in the valley. But we had a VERY unusual winter storm yesterday ! Take a look at our back and front yards. Can you see the large snowflakes ? We actually had a blizzard ! What a unbelievable day!

I grew up in Minnesota so I am very familiar with snow but the difference in Arizona it is rare for snow to appear and leaves very quickly. So you get the Fun of seeing the snow but having it disappear a short time later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now here we are a day later and look at our beautiful sunshine and near 70 degrees! The same view but no snow and plenty of sunshine.

Fresh Start...

I am using a stamp set called "Year Round Cheer" am going to be making a 3 x 3 card each month with it. It's a fun stamp set that was last year Dec SOTM from CTMH. It has a cute stamp for each month of the year. Today I have both January's and February's cards. After this I will be posting one each month.

 January's "Fresh Start" card. All CTMH products used except if noted.

1. Twilight CS 3x3
2. Flirty paper pack Outline flower B&T 1x3
3. Flirty paper pack Goldrush B&T 1/2 x3
4. Bamboo CS 2x2
5. Col. White CS 1 3/4 x 1 3/4
6. Goldrush CS 1/2 x 2 (banner)
7. Twilight Ink
8. Blue Button Assortment
9. Hemp
10. Staples (misc)

February "I Love You" Card

1. Twilight CS 3x3
2. Flirty paper pack B&T 1 1/2 x 2 3/4
3. Goldrush CS 1/4 x 2 7/8
4. Flirty paper pack B&T 1/2 x 2(banner)
5. Bamboo CS 1 3/4 x 1 3/4
6. Col. White CS 1 1/2 x 1 1/2
7. Paper flowers
8. Twilight Ink
9. Cranberry Ink
10. Olive Ink

See what the 3x3 cards looks like in March. See you then.
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Happy Crafting!!

Cricut meets Valentine's

For my last Valentine post I wanted to show you the cards I made for our Grand kids. Our oldest Granddaughter loves Ladybugs and our little Grandson loves Monkeys. So I got out my Create a critter Cricut cartridge and put together these two cards. I cut everything on the Cricut. I decorated with some glitter and embossing.

Thanks for stopping by!!
Happy Crafting!!

My Hubby's Valentine Card

This was the Valentine Card I made for my Hubby. I am still practicing my coloring with the new CTMH alcohol markers. I am having a lot of fun playing with the different colors and how easily you can blend colors. I did some random stamping with the roses using the  tone on tone technique on the Saddle CS section with Saddle ink. The roses were stamped with Black pigment ink and then colored with the Olive and Sorbet 2 marker packs. I did a little masking with the sentiment and added some Cream and Mocha Pearls to  finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by!!
Happy Crafting!!

Hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day

 

 

 

 

 I am sorry I didn't get all my Valentine's projects posted before Valentine's Day. I hope you will still enjoy seeing them and maybe make them for different holiday's coming up or save the idea for next year!
 The first picture shows a number of different projects. I put together this Valentine section in my home and another on the fireplace mantel.
Let's start at the top of the photo.
First there is a banner that says "LOVE". This was the banner I had made for our 25th Renewal of vows ceremony. 
Below that is a quilted square I had made with a   Valentine's Day theme. It is hung on a wooden stand with wooden hearts.
Next we get to the Treat tubes. There are a new product from CTMH. I had posted a short post showing just a couple of Treat tubes earlier. Here I have a few more all decorated differently. They were filled with a few different candies. There are so many things that you could fill these tubes with. Think about decorating them for Easter or Christmas also.
I also made up a Valentine mailbox to hold all those Valentine's you get! I cut everything with my Cricut and the Artiste cartridge and my Gypsy. The mailbox was cut at 3.25"found on page 51. I random stamped all over it with a few different heart stamps from a stamp set called Whoos Your Valentine. I cut out the sentiment on the front of the mailbox door with the Artiste cart. pg72 at 1.5".  The back was decorated with some layered hearts cut at 2" from pg 51. I used the colors Blush and Hollyhock.
Here are a few close up pictures of the large mailbox. I had sprayed  with some Pearl Paint mixed with Rubbing alcohol all over the completed mailbox for a little shimmer.

 

 

This is the mantel area of my home where you can see some more Valentine projects. I decided to try making some tiny mailboxes. I cut them at 1.5". They turned out so cute!! A little bit of a challenge gluing the parts together but worth it in the end. Added to this area is the wooden birdhouse I had posted earlier as well.

Lastly the Heart Banner was made with chipboard and B&T papers. I strung them together with a few beads in between.

 

I will have some cards for you next time.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Valentine Treat Tubes

Treat tubes are all the rage right now. With Valentine's Day coming up this is a quick and cute way to give your special someone a little treat. I made this one with the "Whoos Your Valentine" kit that was a special last month. I didn't get my treat tub filled but I will be posting a few more so you can see how they look completely done.
Thanks for stopping by!!

Valentine Birdhouse

Well I am finally getting back into my craft room and making projects. WHEW!!! So I decided I would start with some Valentine projects and maybe for once be ahead of the Holiday! lol  I will be posting them in separate posts.

Today I have a wooden birdhouse that I decorated it for Valentines Day. I have had a number of different styled houses I had picked up a few years back at Michael's. I know Michael's still carry wood items but not sure what style of houses they carry now but any one I am sure could be used for this project.

I painted it first with white acrylic paint. I added black ad red paint to the bottom rims.  Then I looked through some of my older CTMH papers for some Valentine looking papers. I ended up using a pack called Sweetheart. I made paper patterns for all the sides of the birdhouse and transferred them to the B&T papers. There was a hole in the front of the birdhouse but I chose to cover it up for this project. After covering up the house then I began to decorate it. Again I went through my stash of goodies and went from there. For the "Love Birds" I stamped them with Versamark ink and embossed with white embossing powder. I added a pink heart between them. I used the Cricut Art Philosophy and Artiste's cartridges. I cut the large heart, and both the label and the " Be Mine" from the Artiste cart and the key from the Art Philosophy. It was a fun little project to make. I think it will look good with my other Valentine decorations.

I will be back with some more Valentine themed projects in a few days.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Sweet Little Mia

Today I have a layout for you that I used the La Belle Vie paper pack from CTMH for. It is a beautiful pack of Pinks, Mauve, Bamboo and Black. I used the Cricut and the Artiste cartridge for many cuts in the layout. For some of the embellishments I used Black Tulle and the Boutique Assortment  and Bitty Sparkles All products were from CTMH.

The base page was made from a striped paper. I am not sure how well the camera picked it up. But it has a bamboo background with very soft stripes in multiple colors.
ENJOY!!!
Thanks for stopping by. See you next time.

Barrette Holder

My oldest Grandchild recently turned 5 years old. She has very long hair and has numerous Barrettes. So her Mommy asked me if I could make her a holder to contain all her barrettes. When her Mommy was little I had one for her. I couldn't find one any where so I decided to make one for her. I did some trial and error and finally came up with this one.  What do you think? I took a piece of muslin and drew a doll face on it. I colored in the lips and eyes with markers. Then I put two pieces together and stuffed with fiberfill. Then to make the hair I searched for a good "blond" color of yarn. I used one entire skein, split it in half , stitched it on a piece of muslin to give it a part  and then braided the yarn. I clipped on a couple of new barrettes and tied some ribbons for bows. I gave it to her at Christmas. I got a call from my daughter the following day to tell me they completely filled both braids with her collection of barrettes!!! I guess she was right. She was in need of something to contain her barrettes. Enjoy!!!