Art Nouveau Two

 Last time I showed you a birthday card done with one of my favorite Cricut cartridges - the Art Nouveau.  Sometimes it's almost impossible not to get SO caught up in the beauty and versatility of these cartridges that one spends hours thinking up different ways to use all the wonderful features on them.

 Here are four more examples of the beautiful women featured on this cartridge.  I've made notecards out of all of them.

So far, I just have the plain note cards.  I am still "mulling over" what I want to do to accent each of these lovely women.  Eventually I will add something to the front, I think (maybe not), probably leaving the inside blank - especially if I decide to bundle these together as a gift.  I would like to receive these as a gift, wouldn't you?

Sparkles, glitter, bitty diamonds...  Oh!  The possibilities are endless for embellishment.  Still, I like them just as they are.  As you can see, the Cricut machine (I have the old faithful Expression) does all the "fussy cuts", right down to the tiny lips and details on those FABulous hoop earrings.  On second thought, Princess #1 could use some diamonds in her tiara, yes?

Have you enjoyed these gorgeous girls as much as I enjoyed making them?  I hope so!  Next time, I may delve into the Art Deco cartridge, if I have the nerve!  Can you stand it??  Until then, 

Au Revoir, mes amies,

Psalm 138:1-3

Art Nouveau

Good morning!  This is a card I made for my daughter's birthday.  The lovely maiden is from the Art Nouveau collection. 

The Cricut die cuts offer an almost infinite assortment of shapes and fonts for the creative paper crafter.  You can download the handbook for this cartridge here.  While the die cuts offer great detail - down to the tiny lips and flower buds - they are also very time consuming.  The nice thing is, you can always use up those itty-bitty scraps, as long as you can get them to STICK to your cutting mat!

The inside of the card uses CTMH stamp "Your Kind Of Wonderful" (D1627), with inks in Goldrush (Z2123), Sunset (Z2191) and Topiary (Z2155).  The card itself is made of Colonial White cardstock (1388) 4"x9" (cut 8"x9" folded in half) and using corner rounders to create the card.  It fit perfectly in a regular letter sized envelope.

Using complex die cuts to create cards can be time consuming.  It results in beautiful one of a kind cards.  Each card, even using the same die cuts, yields different looks and can be tailored to the person for whom you are making it.  I hope you will be inspired to explore some of the Cricut designs you may have available to you.  Until next time!

Romans 8:28

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