Heartstrings

 Heartstrings is the name of this terrific Workshop on the Go (WOTG) Cardmaking Kit (G1090) from Close To My Heart for Valentine's Day cards.  It makes 15 cards of 3 different styles.  Using the included stamps, the possibilities for variety and creativity are as unique as the person making the cards.

Paper pieces cut and ready to place

That's what I like about these kits. - while the underlying design is the same, changing a sentiment or ink color, adding distressed edges or embellishments; even using the opposite side of the paper than what is shown in the design can give each card a unique "look" for that special person.

Different ink colors, distressed edges and "flipping" the paper for unique looks on each card individualizes a "stock kit" idea here.

Different sentiments were used on these cards

The stamp set that comes with this kit has many different sentiments that can be used inside each card.  It's nice the sayings are versatile and "work" both as salutations and inside greetings.

There is still time to make some of these great cards for Valentine's Day.  While I was making these cards, I also thought they would make great cards for other occasions, using some different embellishments and sentiments.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Matthew 7:7

Bittersweet Days

Sometimes in the midst of celebrating the joy of holidays, we also experience the bittersweet occasion of mourning the passing of a friend or family member.  Such was the case for us last month.  Here is the card I sent to the family.

Supplies needed:
Twilight Ink (retired)
Avonlea Papers (retired)
"Be Still" Stamp (A1141)
"Words of Comfort" Stamps (retired, suggest "Look to the Light" B1428)
Just Blooms Butterflies (retired)

I sanded the edges of the papers to give them a worn look.  The butterflies were daubed with a couple different colors of ink to match the paper color.  Inside, the card has a fitting expression with a small grouping of flowers.

Thanks for looking at this project.  Best wishes for the New Year!

Matthew 7:7

Anniversary Card

The "Free To Be Me" promotional papers from a few months back were really beautiful and versatile.  When I made a wedding card for our brother-in-law and his bride, I also made an anniversary card for my husband.

CTMH Supplies used:
Free To Be me Papers (retired)
Sorbet Ink (Z2164)
Stamp - "The Happy Couple" (D1539)

Non-CTMH Supplies:
Stampendous Asian Collection "Faith, Hope, Love" (N089)

This was a very simple card and went together quickly.  My husband liked it a lot!

Blessings of the season to you all.

Isaiah 9:6

The End of the Road... And the Beginning

Last month my sister retired, YAY!  We celebrated with a BIG party and of course, lots of cards and gifts.  One of her great passions is camping, so this card was perfect for her.

CTMH Supplies:
Timberline papers, assortment and embellishments (retired)
Colonial White Cardstock (1388)
Colonial White Card and Envelope (X1410)
Camper Crazy Stamp (C1578)
Shin Han Markers (Z2453)
Chocolate (Z2111) and Champagne (Z2174) Inks
Sunflower Ink (retired - any bright yellow will do)
Baker's Twine (retired)
Scraps

Using the embellishments and stickease assortment items always helps a card go together very quickly.  All the edges of the paper pieces were inked with chocolate ink.

Isn't that the cutest little trailer?  The Shin Han markers were perfect for coloring the little windows and pennant flags.  My sister loved her card as much as I loved making it for her.

Thanks for joining me on this project.  Drop me a line if you have any questions or would like to know more about the products I used.  Enjoy your time getting ready for the holidays!  Fun with projects, to be sure.                               

Blessings,

 

Matthew 11:28-30

Autumn Is Busy

We had the pleasure of attending a family wedding recently.  Since it was fairly close to home, we made a road trip of it and had a great time.  The card I made for the bride and groom (my husband's brother) used these supplies:

CTMH - 
Free To Be Me Papers (Promotional, retired)
Daisy White Paper(1385)
Sparkles Flourishes (Z1812)
Opaques Pearls (retired)
Art Philosophy Cartridge (Z1686)
Stamp - "The Happy Couple" (D1539)
Inks - Sorbet (Z2164), Lagoon (Z2195), Hollyhock (Z2128)
Liquid Glass (Z679)

Non-CTMH Supplies - 
Copic Markers Y38, YR18, YR02
Adhesives of choice (I love my ATG tape runner!)

Inside of card

The flowers came together quite nicely on the Cricut cartridge - I have found using an old hemostat from my working days is great for hanging on to that bitty internal edge and winding that flower until it is nice and "set".  The CTMH Liquid Glass works very well to hold the flowers in place once they have been formed, needing only a minute or two for setting them on the bases.

Lucia and Brian

The wedding was lovely.  The bride and groom are a terrific couple and we know they will be happy.

Adrienne and David

The next day we all went to Niagara Falls together and had a marvelous time.

Thanks for following along on this project.  Contact me with any questions or comments.

 I Corinthians 13:13

Jesse's Card

As summer moves into fall, we continue to celebrate birthdays and other special times with family and friends.  Here is a card I made for a musician friend who celebrated his 85th birthday recently.

Supplies needed:


Lollydoodle Papers (retired)
Sorbet Ink (Z2164)
Juniper Ink (Z2165)
Universal Backgrounds Stamp (retired)
Cricut Art Philosophy Stamps (Z1686)
Mini Medley Accents (retired)
Tim Holtz Music Tape

Retired elements can be substituted with other available stamps and embellishments.

All paper edges were inked.  The zip strip was added for accent, as was the triangle repeating stamp on the plain blue paper.  Since Jesse is a musician, the background music stamp added a nice touch on the inside of the card.

Have a wonderful time with your end of summer, beginning of autumn crafts!  Holidays are fast approaching - ghosts and goblins will overtake us next month!

Blessings,

                                                                           Proverbs 17:1


 

Getting Organized

Getting Organized

It's great fun to spend time crafting and creating.  Every once in awhile, though, I have to take a deep breath and re-organize things in my craft room.

After two years as a CTMH consultant, I have collected almost 200 stamp sets.  It was becoming nearly impossible to locate "that stamp with the wedding bells" or "lighthouses" or "Sorry for your loss" sentiments or... you name it.  I spent more time pawing through my large organizers looking for things than I spent making things!  SO, I took several days and organized my STAMPS.

Excel Spreadsheet

This Excel spreadsheet catalogues stamps by number, title, description of each stamp, how many (yes, maybe I'm the only one who does it, but I wind up with duplicates because I forget what I have and buy another one) and whether there is a complimentary Cricut cartridge.  Using the spreadsheet, I can search by item or phrase ("Christmas", "Congratulations", "Happy Birthday", "cake", heart") to locate the stamps that most closely match what I want to portray.

Stamp set with project example

 Next, I went through old catalogues and found examples of how the stamp set can be used.  Having a picture on the FRONT of the stamp envelope allows me to file the stamps by catalogue number, rather than by event, season, holiday or other designation which might not come to mind when searching for a specific stamp.

Large Organizer with stamp sets

As I catalogued the stamp sets, I filled CTMH large organizers (Z1834) with them.  A and B sets in one, C and D sets in one, 2012-2013 Stamp of the Month (SOTM) in one, 2014-15 SOTM and Cricut cartridge stamps in the last 2 organizers.  I didn't label the organizers since I may have to change them out later.

Slide out cabinet drawer with organizers

Finally, I put 4 of the 5 organizers in the slide out drawer of my lower cabinet - they fit perfectly!  Since the lower slide out drawer holds my Cricut machine and cartridges, there is no room for the fifth organizer - it's on the floor.  One step at a time, right?

Perhaps this will energize you to get organized with your stamps.  It certainly makes it easier to find what I need without going through all my stamps.

Thanks for looking and keep enjoying summer!

Blessings,

II Corinthians 4:15-18

Summer Birthdays

Happy Birthday!

Summer birthdays are always fun.  this year I made cards for the grandchildren using my Cricut machine with "Tinkerbell and Friends" and "Cars" cartridge layers.  I made two of each card so I have a "spare".  Using my Gypsy to lay out the different layers, I was able to get many of them on to one 12"x12" Cricut cutting mat.

Ready to cut Tinkerbell layers!

Oops - can you tell which one is "cross-eyed"?

Love the little Teddy Bear!

The inside sentiment is CTMH "Teddy Bear Birthday" (A1143)

Happy summer time to everyone.  Hope you enjoy this project.  If you have any questions, drop me a note.


 
Matthew 7:1-12

Remains of the Day, Part 2

Father's Day 2014

Last week I showed you a birthday card and two inspirational cards made with remains of an Ivy Lane project I did for Mother's Day.  Now Father's Day is upon us and here are some more examples of how to use leftover papers and embellishments for great looking cards.

Supplies needed:

Ivy Lane Papers (X7178B)
Colonial White Cards (X1410)
Ink - Chocolate (Z2111)
"Perfect Fit Dad Holiday" Stamp (C1542)
"You've Got A Friend" May 2014 SOTM (retired)
Copic markers Y19 (Napoli Yellow) and B18 (Lapis Lazuli)
3D Foam
Cricut Artiste Cartridge (Z1790) for moustache outline (optional, p. 67; I just cut them freehand)

Hm-m-m-m, how to arrange the papers?

Here are four cards of the same general design (finally, after some lip chewing and arranging papers) with a couple of different sentiments inside for the "fathers" in our family.

Final Look

Perfect Sentiments for Father's Day!

These cards showcase the masculine prints in "Ivy Lane" papers.  Please use these ideas to generate your creativity and imagination.  Blessings, Adrienne  Romans 8: 38-39

Remains of the Day

A few posts back I showed you a great card box with five inspirational cards.  Well, like most projects, after making 4 of those, I ended up with a lot of leftover paper odds and ends.  I don't know about you, but I just go nuts trying to figure out what to do with all that paper!!  The Ivy Lane papers are so beautiful, it was easy to come up with some more cards.

Supplies needed for  "Light" Cards:

Ivy Lane Papers (X7178B)
Ivy Lane Complements (X7178C)
Colonial White Cards (X1410)
"Illuminate" November 2013 SOTM (retired)
Ink - Pansy Purple (retired - may use Smokey Plum Z2147 instead)
Bohemian Assortment (lace and brass button - collection retired, other embellishment will work)
Bitty Sparkles (Z1263)
Copic markers Y38 (Honey) and Y21 (Buttercup)
3D Foam

All of the cuts are made by hand or using a simple paper cutter.

Two finished cards

Inside sentiment

 Additional or Alternate Supplies needed for Birthday Card:

Art Philosophy "Happy Birthday" Stamp (Z1686) included in collection
"You've Got A Friend" May 2014 SOTM (retired)
Ink - Sweet Leaf (Z2153)
Bohemian Assortment (green button - collection retired, other embellishment will work)
Copic marker Y06 (Yellow)
CM Corner Rounder (OK, it didn't come out exactly right)

Finished Birthday Card

Inside sentiment for my husband!

This card  demonstrates the use of more masculine-looking papers in the Ivy Lane collection.

Most of you have "stashes" (do we use this term in papercrafting like we do in knitting for squirreling away yarn?) of papers and accessories you can use to create equally nice projects from "leftovers".  "Use it up, wear it out, make it do" is a phrase I was raised on and now live by.  Please use these ideas to generate your creativity and imagination.  Blessings, Adrienne  Matthew 7:7