Sunday, March 28, 2010

Sparkle!

Yesterday afternoon I had the opportunity to spend some time in my craft room with my good friend Linda and our new friend Sparkle. Sparkle used to be a Close to My Heart consultant and that's how I originally found her blog. I've been following her blog for a while now and it was fun to get to meet her in person.

Sparkle lives in the Seattle area now, but grew up in Portland. She was down for the weekend because she's taking a Copic Certification class today. Copic's are the type of marker she uses to color her images with. She's a fantastic card maker and her coloring skills are what drew me to visit her blog daily. I want to color like her when I grow up, lol.

Here are the three of us thanks to Mateo the photographer.


* Sorry guys, this is the only photo I didn't have my eyes all the way closed in - good grief!

Well thank you Linda and Sparkle! I hope you both enjoyed our time together and Sparkle, maybe we'll meet again in the future. Thanks for coming over and hanging out with us! :)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

March Card Workshop - yes, another workshop....

OK, I know some of you "lurkers" reading this are not interested in the craft stuff I do and only want to see photos or hear stories of my goofy children, but too bad you're gonna have to wait for another post, heh heh.

I had my March Close to My Heart monthly card workshop this last weekend. I only offered it on Sunday this time around as I figured there wouldn't be a huge turnout because of Spring Break. I did have 3 lovely ladies join me on Sunday and we had a good time and actually finished on schedule. I thought I'd share the cards/projects we did.

This month's workshop didn't really have a theme. It was kind of Easter, Spring, whatever. Basically a mish mash of cards/projects. So here they are...

The first thing we made was this cute little "purse" made from a brown paper lunch sack.











How cute is that? My friend Linda saw that another consultant had posted one on the consultant artwork boards and she thought I should give it a try. Good call Linda! I think everyone thought it was really cute. The original post with directions came from here. I'll definitely be making more of these in the future.

Items used:
Stamps -
Eastertime
Paper -
Bella Level 2, Amethyst cardstock
Ink -
Amethyst, Hollyhock, Smokey Plum
Accessories - Hollyhock Ribbon, Spring Craft buttons, Bitty Sparkles, Blush Waxy Flax, Big Pinks Just Blooms paper flowers
Other - Brown paper lunch sack, Velcro tab

The next card we did involved a lot of folding.





Pretty cool huh? At a CTMH multi-unit consultant meeting back in January, a fellow consultant named Sharon Chatterton taught us how to make a card very similar to this. Sharon's folded area was in the shape of a circle. Another fellow consultant, Debi Davis was at the same meeting and has since altered the pattern to elongate it to become an oval.

In the oval shape this could look like an Easter Egg. It also has the look of a cross for Easter. I received Debi's directions and actually copied her card exactly, down the same paper pack. I think this Caboodle paper is so fun. You'll be seeing a lot more of it in photos of next month's workshop.

Items used:
Stamps -
Springtime
Paper -
Caboodle Level 2
Ink -
Cocoa


This next card was a bit of a "cheat". It's called a Double Diagonal Pocket fold card.







I had made this card with my friend Linda at that January multi-unit consultant meeting in January. We signed up to teach a project and this is the card we made. I actually had extra kits left over and the stamping and most of the prep was already done, so it was basically just an assembly project for my gals. It's a fun fold to learn and if you've been following my monthly workshop results, you saw it used in my January "Valentine" workshop.

Items used:
Stamps -
Dream Wishes, Say It In Style
Paper - Emporium Creative basics, Colonial White & Twilight cardstock
Ink - Vineyard Berry, Twilight
Accessories -
White Daisy Just Blooms, Pewter Designer Brads

This next card is one that I created for a monthly swap that I'm involved in with my local CTMH unit. In that swap each person receives the same piece of paper and accessory and the next month we see what we all came up with. It's fun to see all the different designs.





Isn't this butterfly fun? I wanted to show the "rock-n-roll" stamping technique again this month, so that's how the butterfly got it's 3 different colors. We also did some masking to get that polka dotted background around the butterfly and sentiments after they were already on the card base. Tricky!

Items used:
Stamps -
Embrace Life, Say It In Style, Argyle Background (retired)
Paper -
Bella Level 2, Colonial White cardstock
Ink -
Creme Brulee, Hollyhock, Smokey Plum
Accessories - Bitty Sparkles, Colonial White ribbon, Colonial White Waxy Flax, Book Smart Dimensional Elements

And last but not least is my favorite card of the day.







Isn't this little bird just adorable? It's called "A Tweet". It's one of CTMH's new low price stamp sets, only $7.95, what a deal! I've been wanting to try that box fold technique with paper for a long time and with a little trial and error, I've now got the measurements down. And how pretty is that ribbon? I just love that color, called Creme Brulee.

Items used:
Stamps - A Tweet, Noted Backgrounds

Papers - Veranda Level 2
Ink -
Juniper, Cocoa
Accessories -
Creme Brulee ribbon, Basic Craft Buttons, Metal Brad Assortment (bitty size)

In case any of the projects strike your fancy, I've listed the items used in each of the projects. I've added a link to the products that are currently available. Just click on the word and the link will take you directly to my website where you can purchase items 24/7. If you have any questions, just leave me a comment and I'll get back to you.

Thanks for visiting!

Friday, March 19, 2010

44 Years!

Happy 44th Anniversary Mom & Dad!!




















You were such babies in this photo!




















Congratulations on a wonderful marriage! Thank you for being such great role models to me my whole life! I love you very much. Enjoy your day!!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

February Card Workshop

Oops, it's the middle of March already and I've been promising people that I'd get photos posted of the cards we made in the February card workshop, so I guess I'd better get to it. The theme last month was "Birthday", so we made a variety of 5 Happy Birthday cards. Who can't use some birthday cards in their stash?

As always I had some inspiration from fellow consultants. I loved this first card so much when I saw it done by Connie Macfarlaine I just had to duplicate it for my workshop peeps. The workshop attendees had the option of 3 different colors of cardstock, markers & matching buttons: Crystal Blue (shown here), Blush or Buttercup. The card looked so cute in all the different colors, I should have taken photos of every one's all together.





Items used:
Stamps - Smiles, Happy Birthday
Paper - Black, White Daisy & Crystal Blue card stock

Ink - Markers (Crystal Blue for this one), Black Stamp Pad
Accessories - Winter Cozy buttons, Designer Ribbon - Black , Black Waxy Flax.
Tools - Paper Piercer

This second card has been in my "inspiration" file for a long, long time. I originally saw it done by a really talented consultant named Lisa Stenz. I've always loved everything she does, so I have lots of photos of her cards & projects in my file. Isn't that little birdie cute and I love to add those bitty sparkles to lots of my cards. They're such a great deal at $2.95 for 100!





Items used:
Stamps - Bird Basics, Gracious Greetings, Key to My Heart (retired)
Paper - Chocolate Textured Cardstock (retired), Caboodle Level 2
Ink - Sorbet & Chocolate Stamp Pads
Accessories - Bitty Sparkles, Liquid Glass


I came up with this next card very quickly on the morning of my card workshop (shhh, don't tell anyone, lol). I just found a pattern in the "Originals Card Confidence" book and followed the cutting guide, easy peasy. This Topstitch paper is so cute and I love the faux stitching on the "Togetherness" stamp set.

I also wanted to do a little preview of March's Stamp of the Month called "A Little Everything". It's a very versatile stamp set, but it's only available during the month of March, so you've got to make sure and get it before March 31st. Stamps of the Month are great too because you have the opportunity to get them at a discount or even for FREE - what a deal!




















Items used:
Stamps - Togetherness, A Little Everything (March SOTM)
Paper - Chocolate Textured Cardstock (retired), Topstitch Level 2
Ink - Chocolate Stamp Pads


For this next card we used one of my favorite card patterns called a Criss Cross Card. They're a fun alternative to the standard folded card. With this pattern you write your greeting on the little insert. We used the fun Caboodle paper again and attached a "Tiny Tab" on the pull out insert, too cute! We even stamped on the twill ribbon, how fun!

Here's the card all together.



Here it is with the Insert pulled out.




















Here's a closer look at our stamping on the twill ribbon.



Items used:
Stamps - Somethin' Special
Paper - Colonial White & Sweet Leaf Cardstock, Caboodle Level 2
Ink - Sorbet & Crystal Blue Stamp Pads
Accessories - Tiny Tabs, Twill Ribbon


And last but not least, our final card was a fun, colorful "Joy Fold" card using the new "You Rock" paper pack. I hadn't done much with this paper yet, so it was exciting to give it a try. My good friend an fellow consultant, Kim Ouimet, had done a very similar joy fold card using this paper for a swap we participated in, so I took inspiration from her.

Here's the card shown from closed to all the way open. On a Joy Fold card the front flap tucks under a button or some other embellishment to stay down. This "You Rock" stamp set is a lot of fun too. We random stamped the splatters and music notes (in second generation ink) on the front of the card to make our own design.







How do you like the guitar? We Liquid Glassed the heck out of that thing. I love Liquid Glass!



Items used:
Stamps - You Rock, Happy Birthday
Paper - White Daisy & Outdoor Denim Cardstock, You Rock Level 2
Ink - Indian Corn Blue, Outdoor Denim & Smokey Plum Stamp Pads
Accessories - Clear Buttons, Indian Corn Blue Waxy Flax (retired), Liquid Glass


During the boys' birthday party the following weekend I knew I was going to see my good friend Alicia's daughter Abigail, who had just turned 11. I thought this You Rock card would be perfect for holding a gift card, so I made another one and this time personalized it with her name (done with the Delightful Alphabet set) and added the gift card on the inside flap. I even decorated the envelope to match. Isn't this paper just perfect for that iTunes gift card?






















And speaking of gift cards, one of Mateo's classmates (Savanna) invited him to her rollerskating birthday party back in February. Man, I'm so far behind on my posting. I still have to put the photos and videos up from that, not to mention my own children's birthday events - yikes! Anyway, back to my story, so Mateo picked out a gift card for Savanna and I thought it would be fun to "wrap" it in a bag-a-lope. Remember that from the Valentine's card workshop? Click here to see.

Here's how her bag turned out.





















Check out the cool gift card from target. When you push the button on the front it lights up. Target has some very cute gift cards I must say. Hopefully Savanna liked it.





Here's a picture of Mateo and the birthday girl. Isn't she just beautiful? I think Mateo should marry her, lol.



Mateo's best friend Alex was also invited to the party. Here they are, the first time on roller skates for both of them.





















Whew, if you made it all the way to the end of this post, thank you! I know it was a long one. Now I'm off to design the cards for my March workshop, this Sunday. I'd better get busy! Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass

Check out this video, it's a pretty amazing set up. I got this from another blog I frequent (Fabulously Artsy). Click the button to the right of the volume (with the 4 arrows) to see the full screen. Enjoy!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Happy Birthday Mateo!




















Happy Birthday my first born! I can't believe you're 10 already!! You are such a handsome, smart, funny and creative young man! I love you so much! I hope you have a fantastic day today Baby!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Happy Birthday Jaxon!




















I can't believe my baby's 7 today! It's crazy how fast you've grown up! You're such a funny, loving, dramatic, crazy boy and I love you so much! Have an awesome day today Jaxi Poo!