Friday, April 30, 2010

Sketch Challenge from Betsy Veldman

Betsy Veldman is a Go-To gal and incredibly talented artist. I'm sure you've all seen her art in various publications. I like to peek in on her blog from time to time for inspiration. She recently posted a sketch challenge that was just too cute to pass up. If you want more fun sketches from Betsy or other Go-To gals I would strongly suggest getting the Go-To Sketches book published by Paper Crafts Magazine. You can get more details on Betsy's blog and see what other creations were submitted for this challenge.


I created 2 cards from the sketch. The first one is done exactly as the sketch shows. For some reason outer space, rockets and stars came to mind??




This second card flips the sketch sideways.






Thursday, April 29, 2010

Fruits of Summer

The new Summer 2010 Idea Book will be released very soon! {this Saturday} I held a little home gathering in conjunction with my Birthday card exchange and showcased a few of these cards. They all use fruits from a new stamp set called You're Sweet! All of the fruits remind me of summer time.

The first card uses the lemon stamp and will also be my submission for a new Blog challenge. It's called Heart 2 Heart Challenges and features a new challenge every week. The best part is that all products used for these challenges are Close to my Heart. This is their 4th challenge so I'm joining the fun a little late. This weeks challenge is to use 2 different types of ribbon. Who doesn't love ribbon? I wanted to use my ribbon in an obvious manner and a not-so obvious manner. So you see the lovely Creme Brulee stitched ribbon, but do you see the brand new Cocoa ribbon? I rolled it around and adhered it to my card as the lemon branch. I really wanted to use the ribbon in a non-traditional way and I'm pretty happy with the results!



This next project uses the cherry stamp as well as the "You're Sweet" sentiment. This was the project that the ladies actually made at the gathering. It uses an 8 1/2x 11 piece of chipboard as the base and then I covered it with the new Cherry-O papers. Again I used ribbon on this project. The first is a new lush velvet ribbon in cranberry red and the other is a sheer organdy colonial white ribbon. The cherries were first stamped and then I went around the edges of them with the new glitz glitter glue to add a bit of sparkle. The photo mat is popped off the board just a bit so that the library clip is functional to hold a photo. When you want to change the picture, simply un-clip and pop a new one in.

Here are some more "fruit~tastic" cards. This one has some Splendor paper on it and I used my spellbinder frames. A few juicy oranges, summer buttons and floss finish this card.


How about four different types of ribbon and some big buttons! And that Strawberry is just so sweet!


Almost the end of the school year, time to say thanks to all those teachers! How about an apple stamp with a little green button for the leaf. I used new papers from Cherry-O and Zippidee.




Finally, how about the perfect pear for that perfect pair!! Again I used Splendor papers and some Spellbinder frames.



Here's the inside:



Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Rock Star Banner

My son celebrates his Birthday today. He is my Rock Star and all around awesome kid. I wanted to surprise him when he got home from school today, so in a hurry I made this banner to hang directly in his view upon entering the house. I literally had an hour to create it before I had to head off to work. {I have a witness to the madness if you don't believe it} I made the tags look like tickets. My son is a big Killers fan and really into his music. He can't wait to spend his money on i-tunes.

The tags measure 4x6 and made from white daisy cardstock. I then covered them with You Rock B&T pattern paper. I used a circle punch to cut the corners off each of them. I used Star Power stamp set to stamp the guitar in mixed colors, then embossed it again in black and cut it out. All the letters, from Rustic Alphabet, were also embossed in black. I mounted them on colored cardstock to coordinate with the pattern paper and attached to the tag. I then punched 2 holes in the tops of each and ran white string through the holes. To keep the tags from sliding around I glued some thick orange ribbon to the tops of the tag, pleated it and stapled it to secure. I added the "you" to the top of the guitar using Cocktail Alphabet.

His response to it when I got home was: "That's really cool Mom, you were thinking about me today". "I think about you everyday" I told him. We'll complete our evening with his choice of Cheesy Chili Dogs and a tower of Fudge Brownies with a candle on top!!! Total Teenager!





Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Miracle Mini Album

A few days ago I posted about this month's Miracle Kit promotion. I mentioned that it's a beautiful kit that enables you to create 2 two-page layouts full of embellishments, stickease, die cut papers and flip-flaps. Oh, let's not forget my favorite item, the Irresistibles chipboard die cuts. I also said that the kit could be used for other projects such as cards or even a mini album.

Well, I've done a mini album with this kit and I am so happy with every product. I used the All Sorts Mini Album as my base. I used a good majority of the cardstock included in the kit, but have some pieces left over. I also used just a small portion of the B&T papers included, but have enough to make some scrapbook pages. {look for those soon} I added just a few things that were not in the kit such as a brad from the new Splendor brads, some organdy ribbon, adhesive pearls, corduroy brad and rhinestone bling. I also added a few sentiments from the Treasures of the Heart stamp set and journaling lines from the Journaling Jots stamp set.

You will also see that I made a card to accompany the album for the recipient. I simply added more organdy ribbon, a paper flower and a corduroy brad to that.

The possibilities of this kit are endless and now having worked with it I am in love with the color combo and the products included.

~ The Cover ~
~ Page 1 ~
~ Page 2 ~
~ Page 3 ~
~ Page 4 ~

~ The card ~


Sunday, April 18, 2010

Back to Basics with Paper Flowers


Back to Basics Club in April couldn't be easier! The pages are simple and clean. They require minimal cardstock and papers. The only stamping required is the month title and a simple sentiment from the Month of June stamp. Embellishments are 1/2 purchased and 1/2 handmade. Chocolate ribbon and Colonial White Brads are your purchased embellishes and the flower is totally handmade and really easy.
Here are the pages side by side ~ {the sentiment on the bottom of the right page says: Not a Care in the World}

To make the flower you only need to cut 4 circles of varied sizes and then trim with scallop scissors. You will then fold them in half and then in quarters. Now open them again, pinch in the middle and scrunch them up a bit. Layer them on top of one another and secure with a brad.
Here are some other ways to create paper flowers. The directions for this technique are illustrated in the new Summer Idea Book. Just like the other paper flower they are simple and quick to make. Scroll down for more info.
How to make circle punched paper flowers:
1. Punch 9 circles of the same size, you can use any size punch, I believe mine is 1 1/4". I then stamped a border image on 8 of the circles (you will use the 9th circle as the base of the flower).
2. Then fold in two of the sides towards the center, overlapping the edges.
3. Adhere the points of the folded circles onto the 9th remaining circle.

4. Finish the center of the flower with a button or brad and attach to your project.


I hope you'll try some of these flower techniques. They are super simple and really add that WOW to your project!!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Birthday Card Exchange

Today I held a Birthday Card Exchange. A total of 6 ladies and myself participated in this exchange. The rules are to use as much CTMH product as possible, especially the stamps! They could make them for girls or boys or not gender specific at all. They were all so different and I am impressed by all the talent. Here are pics of the front and insides of each card.


~ Happy Cake & Flowers ~



~ Gift Packages in a Row ~ (this one is peppermint mocha scented)



~ Adorable Packages ~



~ Embossed Candlelight ~




~ Hippo Hooray ~



~ A Grrrreat Birthday ~




And finally this is my own card. I chalked the belly band with a blush pink and embellished a banner using Topstitch papers, floss and bigger brads. The card itself is a tri-fold gift card holder. It is scented with butter cream frosting to compliment the cupcake stamp.








Friday, April 16, 2010

Miracle Promotion

To celebrate National Scrapbooking Month Close To My Heart is offering a spring-inspired kit. The brochure provided in the kit will guide you through creating two beautiful 2 - page layouts. Not a scrapbooker?? Think beyond the brochure and create gorgeous cards, or better yet a mini album. To find out more information on this limited time offer, go to the CTMH website here.




Friday, April 9, 2010

Spring Banner

Just a little spring banner to share today. I used pieces of 3x3 natural chipboard for the base, then layered textured pieces of cardstock on top. {I used various Cuttlebug folders to achieve the textures on each.} I cut out letters for the SPRING title and then adorned each square with sweet stamped images from Bunny Love and Love You Forever stamp sets. Natural twine holds the banner together.



Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Purple Flowers ~ Ribbons & Real

If you were to ask me which color I use the least in my crafting, I would tell you purple. However, when it's paired with my favorite color, green, then I really love it.

There is a wonderful new challenge blog called Heart 2 Heart Challenges which just launched their first challenge. I saw these ribbon flowers on one of the cards by Tracey Mason. She gives instructions to make them over on her blog. I wanted to give them a try right away. They were simple to do, yet I may need a bit more practice.




Now having said that my least favorite color when crafting is purple, I do love to use it in my landscaping. The drab desert that surrounds us needs a burst of color and purple is just the color! Here are a couple pics from my backyard. I look forward to picnics under the willow tree as the weather gets warmer!




Card details: Pattern from Originals Program, A Message Secured, Colors: Smokey Plum, Olive, White Daisy, Pansy Purple (organdy ribbon), Creme Brulee (grosgrain ribbon), White daisy brads & eyelet, Stamps: Endless Friendship, April Word Puzzle

Saturday, April 3, 2010

More Mini's

Filled with candy and chocolate, these mini milk cartons will make a special Easter treat. Each is decorated with a different color theme and uses different stamps.




Have a Happy Easter everyone!