Darlin' Birthday Card

"Sentiment Secured"

This card is one of five created from a Close To My Heart "Workshops On The Go" (WOTG) Bonus Project for Clementine.  My sister's birthday is in September and this card is just perfect for her.  Since the papers and stamps for Clementine are no longer offered, I suggest using Huntington paper (X7174B), In The Moment (C1565) and One Way Border (C1561) stamps or any of the appropriate stamps and papers in your stash.

Close To My Heart supplies needed:

Wishes Book (9041) pattern p. 78
WOTG for Clementine (not available - substitute current product)
Colonial White Card 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 (X1410) (link is to the 50 card value pack)
Colonial White Cardstock (1388)
Sparkles Brown and Tan Assortment (Z1753)
Burlap Ribbon (Z1760)
Inks - Creme Brulee (Z2167), Saddle (Z2171), Sorbet (Z2164), Topiary (Z2155)
Sanding Kit (Z1294)
Sponge Daubers (Z726)
3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)

Art Philosophy Cartridge (Z1686)
Artiste Cartridge (Z1790)
Liquid Glass (Z679) 
Acrylic Stamps and Blocks

Non-CTMH supplies needed:

ATG Tape Runner
Embossing Machine (Big Kick) and Folders ("Flowers")
Cricut machine (plus Gypsy, if desired)
Adhesives of choice

Using the base card, cut the pieces as described in the Wishes book pattern:

Pattern dimensions

Note:  An additional 1"x 3"  cut piece is needed for this card that is not listed in the book.  It is the distressed blue piece under the burlap ribbon below the piece with the flowers, above the piece with the sentiment statement.  Clear as mud, right?

Sponge all edges of card and pieces with saddle ink:

Distress the bottom (3") edge of the 1" x 3" piece (no picture).

If you have the sanding kit, use a tool from that to sand the sorbet colored piece (3" x 4") to obtain a distressed look over the entire surface of the piece.  A regular emery board will also work.

Stamp largest piece with straight border on all four sides:

In my stamp set this required using the edge of the stamp

The "look" desired is of a straight stitch on all four sides of the piece.  The next step I did was to emboss this piece as an extra bit of "fancy", because I knew my sister would love it!

If you look closely, you can see the "stitch" border stamp.

Stamp the medium flower in creme brulee on colonial white cardstock and cut it out.  I used my Cricut Artiste cartridge (Accent 1<s> R3, C6) to cut shapes approximating the flowers at 1" high for this card.  I still had to trim it for a final size.

Stamp the bitty flower in saddle ink on piece B.

Cut the zip strip of sentiments from the 12x12 paper and find the one that says "You're So Fun" - this will be used on the card front.  Sponge edges to give it a finished look.

Alternatively, you may decide on a stamped sentiment for the front of your card.

Assemble the card, attaching the medium flower using 3-D foam tape on piece B.  Also add a flower decoration from the WOTG package.

Assembling the card components

Trim two 2-3/4" strips from serged edges of burlap ribbon and secure them to the small distressed piece with liquid glass.

I've said it before - I really like liquid glass when securing "wiggly" or otherwise difficult materials such as ribbon, buttons or fabric to paper.  It holds securely and is reliable when mailing items.

The right side of the card didn't quite line up, so I sponged it with saddle ink to camouflage the opening.

 When closed, the card now has a nicer finished look.
   
Attach all pieces to the card and finish assembly by adding some brown and tan sparkles.

The bottom of this card looked a little plain to me, so I spiced it up by randomly adding as many of those itty-bitty (now I know what to use them for!) sparkles as I could fit on the bottom of the card next to the sentiment.

 The inside of the card uses "Hello Tweety" (B1420), 

a cute little stamp set, as well as the birthday greeting that comes with the Art Philosophy cartridge stamp set.

Here is the inside of the card:

Thanks for joining me on this project.  If you have any questions, send me a note.  Many blessings for a bountiful autumn.  Adrienne

"Down Time" Sweater, Blanket and Frustration

Being fundamentally lazy, faced with the prospect of yet ANOTHER step in an already seemingly daunting project was just about more than I wanted to deal with today.  The instructions?  "Spray the cut cardstock piece lightly (?) with water, crumple into a ball, then flatten out; repeat as desired.  Set aside to dry under heavy, flat surface."  Yeah, right.

Clearly these people are not dealing with humid climes on a routine basis (uh, no, they're in UTAH!).  So now I'm grumpy AND behind on this project.  All the spray bottles I own are downstairs, industrial size and likely don't work anyway - can I get an "amen"?!

Then, a chorus sang from Heaven, a light beamed brightly through the window and I gazed upon that most maligned of household appliances - the steam iron.  

Problem solved and I didn't even have to turn it on.  A few spritzes from the on-board "sprinkler", that baby was crumpled into a sodden mass, filleted like a trout, and stomped under 5 pounds (OK, well maybe it's only 2 - who cares?) of steam iron on a board with holes - built in convection air dry!  Genius (and laziness) comes through again.

In the meantime, here are a couple of projects I HAVE completed in the last few weeks.  The first is a baby blanket made from a pattern right off the yarn label:

Bernat Baby Sport 100% Acrylic

Lace Edging Detail

The second project is a lovely sweater made for a lucky lady for an upcoming holiday!  From Debbie Bliss Junior Knits book.

Crystal Palace Merino 5 100% Superwash Merino Wool in Guacamole

The color is really pretty and the yarn knits up very smooth and soft.  Next up will be the completed cards made with that paper wad mess drying under the iron - I promise!

A Card to Say Farewell

This project uses several Close To My Heart products including the exclusive CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.  This post is can also be seen on She's A Sassy Lady today.  It is so much fun to be part of the Sassy Lady design team.

It is never easy to see friends move away, even when we know it is for the best.  The French always say, "Au Revoir", which means, "Until we meet again", a very hopeful outlook.  Here is a card made for such a time.

Close To My Heart Supplies Needed:


Papers  - "Stella" (no longer available) and small scraps
Inks - Ruby Z2170  Cocoa Z2114  Lagoon Z2195
Embellishments - "Stella" workshop lace and button (no longer available)
Stamp Set - "Bonjour Occasions" B1414 (retired)
Art Philosophy Cartridge (Z1686)
Colonial White Card 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 (X1410) (link is to the 50 card value pack)
Liquid Glass (as adhesive) (Z679)

Non-CTMH Supplies:
Embossing Machine (Big Kick) and Folders ("Botanics")
Cricut machine (plus Gypsy, if desired)
Adhesives of choice

To make the card:

Choose your embossing materials, cut your main paper at 1/4" less than the size of your card and emboss that paper for the front of your card.

Sizzix "Botanics" Embossing Folder

Paper in folder ready to emboss

Embossing detail - pretty flowers!

Using your Gypsy (or inputting directly into your Cricut machine if you prefer), find the designs on the CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge needed for this project.
     Heart - p. 26  Layer <s> setting (row 1, col. 5).  Cut one each at 1", 1.5" and 2.25"
     Scallop - p. 55 <Rctngle7>** (row 5, col. 4).  cut one at 1.5"

**(note - on the Gypsy, to me, this means NONE of the buttons are pushed on the left hand side where you pick icons or fonts and "shift" - clear as mud, right?  It would be the same thing on the Cricut keypad.)

Designs laid out on Gypsy

Papers loaded and ready to cut

Brush edges of card and embossed paper with ink

Attach main paper to base card

Brush edges of hearts with ink

Here's the pretty embossed paper on the card

Brush edges of scallop with ruby ink, stamp sentiment with cocoa ink, add embellishments and secure with liquid glass.  Note - Liquid Glass is wonderful for adding a 3-dimensional look to paper, details, or stamped images, making them sparkle and shine.  It is also terrific as used here - securing embellishments absolutely.  They WILL NOT fall off your card!

Completed card

Thanks for  joining me this time.  If you have any questions, feel free to send me a note.  Have a wonderful week and a safe Labor Day holiday.

Summer Sewing and Knitting

Taking a break from card making, here are a few things sewn this summer for my grandchildren:

Summer Nightgown

Detail of yolk and sleeves

Flannel Nightgown

 

Ribbon Detail at bodice

Cat friend - there was extra fabric

Hand embroidered face - M-E-O-O-W!

Summer boy's pajamas

There is a little stuffed dog toy to go with my grandson's pj's, unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it.

While we were visiting our family in California, our photographer daughter asked me to make one of my photo prop pea pods.  So here it is:

Entire Pea Pod, made 22 inches long

Detail of top - instead of knitting all the way up, I purled the last 5 rows.

The pea pod is made of worsted weight acrylic yarn, very soft.  My daughter used it at her photo shoot and was very pleased with how it worked.

Thanks for looking and have a blessed summer.  Hard to believe some of our children are already back in school!  Wow!

3D Artiste Cartridge Greeting Card

This project uses several Close To My Heart products including the exclusive CTMH Cricut Artiste cartridge.  The inspiration for this card comes from a video I found online.  The video takes you step-by-step through assembly of the card.  This post is can also be seen on She's A Sassy Lady this week - I am very pleased to be a new member of Sheila's design team.

CTMH Supplies needed:

 1.  Cricut Artiste Cartridge (Z1790)
 2.  "Baroque Borders" Acrylix stamp (August 2012 S1208) note - since this was a stamp of the
       month, substitute another border stamp, such as "The Best Things" (C1503) if needed.
 3.  "Casual Expression - Occasions" Acrylix stamp (D1525)
 4.  "Scrapbook Statements Poets" Acrylix stamp (C1539)
 5.  "Family Love" Acrylix stamp (D1506)
 6.  Exclusive Inks - Desert Sand (Z2118)
 7.  Exclusive Inks -Twilight (Z2160)
 8.  4"x5" Acrylix stamp block (Y1012)
 9.  3"x3" Acrylix stamp block (Y1006)
10.  Sponge Daubers (Z726)
11.  Liquid Glass (Z679)
12.  Card stock - Desert Sand (1273)
13.  B&T Duos Paper - I used Florentine (X7153B) no longer available, sorry

Non-CTMH Supplies:

14.  Base card - 4 1/4"x 5 1/2" or similar (in this case I did not use a CTMH product)
15.  Adhesives of choice (ATG gun for card paper, glue dots for 3D decorations)
16.  Cricut Gypsy machine (optional)
17.  Cricut machine
18.  Craft scoring board

To make the card:

1.  Using your Gypsy (or inputting directly into your Cricut machine if you prefer), find the designs
     on the CTMH Cricut Artiste cartridge needed for this project:
     a.  Emblem - p. 63, "Card" setting - (row 4, column 3) height 2"
     b.  Double fan - p. 50, "3D" <s> setting - (row 2, column 10) height 1 1/2" (note - make
          TWO of these, as indicated in the cartridge workbook, in order to make a circular "fan")

Gypsy with pattern for 2 cards

Layout on mat, ready to cut.
Note grid used to check paper is aligned properly.

2.  Cut card stock to allow for a 1/8" or 1/4" border on the front of the card, your choice - measure
     your card to determine the correct size for the card stock to be cut.

3.a.  Ink up border stamp with desert sand ink and apply to cut desert sand card stock.
   b.  Distress edges of card stock with desert sand ink using sponge dauber.
   c.  Affix card stock to front of card and distress edges of card front with  desert sand ink using
       sponge dauber.

When using a big stamp, I bring the ink TO the stamp,
decreasing the potential for ink overlap on the acrylic block

Distress edges with desert sand ink

Distress card edges with desert sand ink

Whenever possible, I make TWO cards

4.  Ink up "Celebrate Today" stamp with desert sand ink, then QUICKLY roll edges ("Rock and Roll"
     method) with Twilight ink and apply to emblem cut out.  Doing this quickly prevents the first ink
     from "beading up" and looking "dotty" on the stamp.

Stamp on right shows ink "beading" - I was too slow!

5.a.  Fold 3D shape on fan folds.  Using a scoring mat and bone folder to LIGHTLY score the folds
        will help keep the folds straight and precise.  A little extra time to take this step will save
        having to re-cut the fan if folds do not turn out nicely when "free-folded".

Using a bone folder saves my fingers!

See - two little accordions!

   b.  Secure the ends of the two fans together using Liquid Glass (Z679).  It dries very quickly, so
        be careful to place the sections exactly where you want them and hold for about 10 seconds.

6.  When the fan has dried, place 3 or 4 glue dots on the face of the card and press the opened fan
     on to the front and center firmly, while at the same time being careful not to press down the folds
     of the fan.


7.  Adhere more glue dots to the back of the emblem and place it firmly on the front of the fan.

8.  Two finished cards - front and inside.  One will be for a birthday, one for an anniversary.

The emblem on the right is centered - the photo just looks off center

Birthday sentiment from "Scrapbook Statements Poets"

Anniversary sentiment from "Family Love"

Thanks for joining me for this project.  If you have any questions, please send me a note.  Have a wonderful summer!