Thanks - Lifting Spirits Zoe Airplane Card

I'm back with another card I made for my August "Zoe" card workshop.

I used three stamp sets for this card; "Lifting Spirits" for the airplane and cloud images, "Framed" (August 2015 Stamp of the Month) for the "sky" & "Variety of Thanks" for the "thanks" in the banner.  Unfortunately I wasn't very timely posting this card and all three of the stamp sets are now unavailable.

Here's a closer look at the card, showing how I cut out the airplane & cloud images and placed them in a sky stamped with "Thanks" from the Framed stamp set.  I got the sky idea from a card I saw on Wendy Coffman's blog.  She's fantastic.  Click HERE to check out her site, she posts something new every day.  :)

I used CTMH's Shin Han Markers to color the airplane.  I love to color and would love to have more time to get better at it.  

Here's a look at the stamp sets I used:

"Lifting Spirits" (now retired)

"Framed" (now retired)

"Variety of Thanks" (now retired)

Well, that's it for today.  Thank you for stopping by and please visit again soon.  Cheers!

SUPPLIES USED:

Paper: Zoe paper pack

Stamps: B1471 Variety of Thanks (retired), C1570 Lifting Spirits (retired), S1508 Framed (retired)

Inks: Glacier, Black Memento Ink Pad

Markers: Cerulean Blue, Golden Yellow, Leaf Green, Light Orange, Turquoise, Warm Grey 4

Embellishments: Coral shimmer trim, Glacier Extra Thick Twine

Other: White Daisy Cards & Envelopes

Happy Birthday - "Zoe" Joyful Birthday & Have a Happy Day

Here is another card from my Zoe card workshop back in August.

Isn't that fun?  I just love those Zoe paper colors.  THIS card by Karen Giron inspired my card design.  I loved the look of her card so I made mine with Close to My Heart papers and stamps.

Here's a closer look.  You can see the sentiment circle and flower are popped up with foam tape:

I used two different stamp sets:

Joyful Birthday - one of my most used birthday sentiment stamps

And "Have a Happy Day" (now unavailable)

I hope you enjoyed this card.  I think it would put a smile on the recipient's face.  

Please visit again soon.

SUPPLIES USED:

Paper: Zoe paper pack

Stamps: B1419 Joyful Birthday, D1616 Have a Happy Day (for flower & leaves - retired)

Inks: Slate, Sorbet, Sweet Leaf
Embellishments: Sparkles

Other: White Daisy Cards & Envelopes, 
Non-CTMH: MFT Stitched Circle Stax Die

Thinking of You - "Zoe" floral card

Hello, it's been a while.  Life just keeps getting busier and busier these days.  Anyhoo, along with our normal daily life I've still been having monthly card workshops, just failing to share what we make.  Oops.

Waaay back in August I did a card workshop using the newer "Zoe" paper pack from Close to My Heart.  I just love the bright color combination of these papers.  Here is one of the cards we made:

My inspiration was THIS CARD I found on Pinterest, created by Sandy Mathis.  For my version I used the Close to My Heat "Hooray Bouquet" stamp set.  It's a set that is not in the current catalog but is still available because it coordinates with our fabulous "Art Philosophy" Cricut Cartridge (still my favorite).

Here is a closer view of the flowers on the card:

I also used two of the new CTMH shimmer trim tapes.  The Green across the band and I hole punched the Coral to add to the center of one of the flowers.  The green shimmer trim is so sparkly in real life, it's hard to capture in a photo.  And I love adding a bit of texture with an embossing folder.  This one is the "Dot" embossing folder, a must have in my collection.

Here's a look at the Hooray Bouquet stamp set:

Well, I hope this card has brightened your day a bit.  Please visit again soon.  Cheers!

SUPPLIES USED:

Paper: Zoe paper pack

Stamps: D1491 Hooray Bouquet, C1570 Lifting Spirits (for sentiment - retired)

Inks: Canary, Glacier, Sorbet, Sweet Leaf
Embellishments: Coral & Green shimmer trim, Sparkles

Other: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, Dot embossing folder, White Daisy Cards & Envelopes, Misc. Hole Punch

The new CTMH catalogs are here!!!

It's September 1st and the new Close to My Heart catalogs are live!  Woo hoo!  Not only one catalog, but two are available to peruse, starting today.

The "Annual Inspiratons" catalog: Items inside are available for a full year, 9/1/2015 - 8/31/2016

And one of my favorites, the "Holiday Expressions" catalog.  Items are available from 9/1/15 - 12/31/15.  Many fun new Holiday items, from Halloween to Christmas.  Yay!

Please let me know if you'd like a hard copy of your own. In the meantime, you can click HERE to view each of the catalogs online.  **You can also always find the link to the catalogs on my side bar.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks a Latte

Here's another fun card from my recent card workshop using the Seaside Paper Pack from Close to My Heart.

This was a "fan favorite" in the class.  I was inspired from a Stampin' Up card by demonstrator Eileen Dent.  She doesn't have a link to her card online, but it was super cute and I used her layout and replaced her SU products with our CTMH papers and stamps for my purposes.  :)

I knew I wanted to use this coffee cup as soon as I saw it in the "Treats of Friendship" set.  One of the sentiments in this set says "I like you a latte", but I thought a thank you card would be more useful for my group of workshop attendees, so I cut the sentiment in half and only used the "a latte" portion.  I used the "Thanks" from the very versatile set called "Finding the Words".  

This set is also a great one for coloring or paper piecing, which I did here.  Here's a closer look.

I also added some interest to the Crystal Blue cardstock by stamping with one of the images on the Distressed Backgrounds set.

Here's a closer look at the three stamp sets used on this card: 

"Treats of Friendship":

"Finding the Words":

"Distressed Backgrounds":

Well, that's it for today.  Thanks a latte for stopping by, hee hee.  Please visit again soon.  :)

** Note: And as I've mentioned in my previous posts, I'm also listing some of my cards for sale in both my Etsy shop and my Ebay shop.  You can find the links on the sidebar of this blog.  For the next few months the sales will go towards the cost of a school trip to Italy my 15 year old son will be taking next Spring.  Every little bit helps, right? **

SUPPLIES USED:

Paper: Seaside Paper Pack, Colonial White CS

Stamps: C1616 Treats of Friendship, D1646 Finding the Words, D1544 Distressed Backgrounds

Inks: Black, Desert Sand

Other: Colonial White Cards & Envelopes Value Pack, Micro-Tip Scissors

Chalk it Up "Happy Birthday" tiled card

Here's another fun card from my recent card workshop.  I've been wanting to try this type of card for a while now.  I was inspired by a fellow CTMH consultant named Vicki Wizniuck.  I love all of Vicki's cards and projects.  See her card HERE.

I love how she paper-pieced the "birthday" on her card, but I thought it might be too time consuming for a classroom situation, so I just had my workshop attendees use our ShinHan markers to color the Framework Alphabet letters.

The life of the current Close to My Heart catalog is nearing its end and I hadn't used the "Chalk it Up" paper yet for my classes.  I really liked it once I started playing with it.  I also added in one of the papers from the Whimsy Paper Fundamentals collection.  It's the fun embossed Sorbet colored paper.

Now for the pattern, honestly, it took me a little while to figure out, but once I got it down, it was easy peasy.  This is a great design to use up paper scraps.  I don't throw anything away, so I have lots of scraps to use, lol.  Each "tile" on this card measures 1" x 1-1/2".

Here's another card without the sentiment, so you can see the complete pattern.

I kept the card simple as far as embellishments go.  I just added a trio of stars cut from the various Chalk It Up papers, Whimsy Paper Fundamentals and cardstock.  I raised the one in the middle with foam tape, just to give a little extra interest.

The word "Happy" came from another great stamp set called "Finding the Words".  I've used this set for many cards already and I'm sure I'll use it for many more.  

Here's a look at Finding the Words and the Framework Alphabet stamp sets:

I hope you enjoyed this card.  I will list all of the supplies used and links to my website in case you want to give it a try too.  :)

** Note: And as I've mentioned in my previous posts, I'm also listing some of my cards for sale in both my Etsy shop and my Ebay shop.  You can find the links on the sidebar of this blog.  For the next few months the sales will go towards the cost of a school trip to Italy my 15 year old son will be taking next Spring.  Every little bit helps, right? **

SUPPLIES USED:

Paper: Chalk It Up, Whimsy Paper Fundamentals, Black, Flaxen & White Daisy CS

Stamps: D1646 Finding the Words, E1027 Framework Alphabet

Inks: Black
Shin Han Markers: Peacock Green

Other: White Daisy Cards & Envelopes Value Pack

Ice cream equals happiness, right?

I had my July Greeting Card workshop recently and this was one of the favorites of the bunch.

Cute, huh?  I hadn't really played with the Seaside Paper Pack until I started designing this card.  I just love the fun stripes and polka-dots.  I've personally never had polka-dotted ice cream, but I'd try it if I had the chance.  :)

I love the sentiment on this card.  We are guilty of having ice cream in our house almost every night and I have to say, we're pretty happy here, hee hee.  

I used the now unavailable June Stamp of the Month called "Ice Cream Dream" on this card.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to have a card class in June, but I still wanted to use this cute stamp set.  I pre-warned my workshop attendees that it wouldn't be available by the time we'd be making this card, so they could pre-order it if they wanted one for themselves.  

This a great stamp set for paper piecing (which I did on the ice cream cone) or coloring with our wonderful markers.  We did a little coloring on the sentiment with two of the Shin Han markers.  I also used a little green epoxy bubble to dot the "i" on "Happiness".   

Here's a closer look at the "Ice Cream Dream" set:

So many cute images, it was hard to decide which ones to use.  Well, thank you for stopping by.  I hope you enjoyed the card and please visit again soon.

** Note: And as I've mentioned in my previous posts, I'm also listing some of my cards for sale in both my Etsy shop and my Ebay shop.  You can find the links on the sidebar of this blog.  For the next few months the sales will go towards the cost of a school trip to Italy my 15 year old son will be taking next Spring.  Every little bit helps, right? **

SUPPLIES USED:

Paper: Seaside Paper Pack, Colonial White CS

Stamps: S1506 June Stamp of the Month "Ice Cream Dream" (unavailable)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink (non-CTMH)
Shin Han Markers: Light Orange, Turquoise Blue

Embellishments: Green & Blue Epoxy Bubbles

Other: Colonial White Cards & Envelopes Value Pack, Micro-Tip Scissors

Woo hoo, my first online sale!

I had my first online sale yesterday.  Someone purchased 7 of my cards from my Ebay shop!  I've been listing cards in both my Ebay and Etsy shops and waiting to see if someone would find me.

If you'd like to see what I have for sale, you can go to either of my shops.

My Ebay store is called "teojax-crafts", you can find it HERE.
My Etsy store is called "teojax", you can find it HERE.

The card prices and shipping are the same on both sites.  I wasn't sure which would be the best place to sell my items, so I chose both.  I also have links on the side bar here on my blog, so you can click on them any time and see what I've added.

For now, any sales I have will go towards Mateo's school trip to Italy next spring.  He's doing some fund raising, along with his classmates that are also going, but this mama's got to do some fund raising as well, to make up the difference, lol.  Ciao!

Family & Friends: School's out for Summer!

Friday was the last day of school for the boys.  I made them let me take a "last day of the year" photo.  It was a little like pulling teeth, but I finally got one shot that was halfway decent.  (The sun was in Jaxon's eyes, so he wasn't too happy about it.)

You can see from the garage panels how much the boys have grown, probably about an inch (or more) for each of them.  Mateo's now taller than both Chico & I and I'm sure Jaxon will pass us in no time.

The boys have a week to hang out, then they start their six week summer program at CBAP.  Mateo will be a volunteer again this year and Jaxon will be a participant.  You have to be at least 14 to volunteer, so Jaxon has a couple years to go.  I'm excited to hear about all of the fun activities they get to do this year.  Here's to a great summer!

You make my World go 'Round

I was searching through some boxes in my craft room the other day and ran across more cards I haven't shared here.  Geez, I'm beginning to realize just how many cards I've made over the years.  This was a fun one from a couple years ago.

This paper was part of the "Dream Pop" paper pack.  It was a really bright and fun paper pack introduced for National Scrapbooking month back in May 2013.  The stamp set called "Pinwheel" was the Stamp of the Month that same month.  

This was a super fun stamp set.  It could be used with any paper pack, just by stamping the pinwheel wheels in any color combination that suits your needs.  For this card I was inspired by a very talented fellow CTMH Consultant named Allisa Chilton.  I love all of  her cards!

The "wheels" of the pinwheel were stamped in Cotton Candy, Sunset & Honey inks and coordinated very well with this fun paper pattern.  I added a little bit of foam tape between the pinwheel layers to add more dimension.  I put them together with a large white brad and added a bright colored stir stick (which I found in the break room at work, shhh...).

This is the now retired "Pinwheel" set (which coordinated with CTMH's "Artiste" Cricut Cartridge).  This set really reminds me of summertime.

I hope you enjoyed this card.  Please visit again.

SUPPLIES:

Paper: Dream Pop (retired), Honey & White Daisy CS

Stamps: S1305 Pinwheel (retired)

Inks: Cotton Candy, Honey, Sunset

Embellishments: White Daisy Brad (retired), Stir Stick (non CTMH)

Other: Cricut Artiste Cartridge, White Cards & Envelopes Value Pack

Hello tweety...

What?  No, it's not a post about Tweety Bird, it's actually the name of the stamp set I used on this card.  I've been working on some ideas for cards for my upcoming card classes, but they're not ready for photos yet.

In the mean time, I thought I'd continue to post some older cards that I haven't shown in the past.  Even though the stamp sets and/or paper may not be available on some of my older cards, I thought they may still inspire you if you're a card maker.  Or if not, maybe it will inspire you to visit my Etsy or Ebay shops.  Can you say shameless plug?  hee hee

This is a card I made a couple years ago with a great paper pack called "Claire".  I had fun with this paper and did an entire card class with it.  The different patterns in this paper pack made it pretty easy to create some nice cards.  This stamp set was fun one too.  I loved the birdcage when I saw it and knew I had to use it.  These "Center Step" cards are great for a long, narrow stamped image.  You can see a sample of another "Center Step" card I made recently HERE.  

When I stamped the birdcage, I used the "rock n' roll" stamping technique.  In case you're unfamiliar with that technique, you stamp the image in a base color and then before stamping that image on your paper, you roll the edges of the stamp in a different ink color (usually darker), then stamp your paper.  If you look closely you can see that I stamped the entire birdcage in Sunset Ink and then rolled the edges in Hollyhock Ink.  It's subtle on this image, but is a pretty effect.  

I also did all of the stamping on the Colonial White paper on the center of the card, then ran that piece of cardstock thru my embossing machine giving it some texture.  After that, I stamped the bird image in Outdoor Denim ink, cut it out and adhered it to the birdcage image.  

I used the Close to My Heart exclusive "Art Philosophy" Cricut Cartridge for the shape the main sentiment is stamped on.  I have all of the CTMH Cricut Cartridges, but I have to say Art Philosophy is still my favorite.  There are approximately 700 different images on this cartridge.  Amazing!  The nice thing about the cartridges is the fact that Close to My Heart has many stamp sets that coordinate with shapes on the different cartridges.  It makes it even more fun to create!  See all of the different images available on Art Philosophy HERE.

I added a piece of Colonial White cardstock to the inside of the card to make it easier to write your special message.  The stamped row of birds is a nice surprise for the recipient too.  

This is the stamp set I used on this card.  Along with the great sentiment on the the front of my card, you can see it also includes a few other sentiments and a lovely vine design.  As I mentioned before, it's called "Hello Tweety" and unfortunately it is a retired set.

Well, thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you've enjoyed my card and maybe were inspired to do something creative today.  :)

SUPPLIES:

Paper: Claire (retired), Outdoor Denim & Colonial White CS

Stamps: B1420 Hello Tweety (retired)

Inks: Hollyhock, Outdoor Denim, Sunset

Embellishments: Outdoor Denim & White Baker's Twine (retired)

Other: Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge, Micro-tip scissors, Colonial White Cards & Envelopes Value Pack

"Oh-So Grateful" mini album

One of the requirements for the "Patfinding" paper swap I participated in a few months ago was to use the Close to My Heart Designer Creations Paper Bags in a creative way.  I decided to create a mini-album with them.

Isn't that cute?  The paper bags come in 4 different colors.  I used the Lagoon Paper Bags because they complimented the Pathfinding papers so well,  I only used 3 of the 12 bags that come in a package.  What a deal.  

I stapled the 3 bags together with the CTMH Mini-Stapler.  And for added decoration I punched two holes in the spine area, wound some Metallic Baker's Twine through and tied a bow.  I used the Pathfinding Compliments for the cover and the embellishing inside.  The chipboard pieces were perfect for this album, adding just the right amount of texture and cuteness.

The bags have a little flap on one side, so I folded that inside itself and glued it down.  I cut a piece of cardstock that coordinates with the Pathfinding papers to fit inside each pocket.  I also used more of the chipboard Pathfinding Compliments as little "pull tabs" to pull the inserts out easily.  These inserts would be a great space for more photos or journaling.

On the inside pages of the album I added either cardstock or Pathfinding paper (or both) as photo or journaling mats.  I also added more of the chipboard pieces here and there.  They sure are cute.  Here's a look at the inside pages and their different pull-outs and flaps.

Isn't that fun?  

I just love that cute fox.  The only stamping in the album is the "Live in the Moment" image above the fox.  Stamping wasn't really necessary, I just felt like I wanted a little something in that spot.  The image came from the "Lifetime of Happiness" stamp set, which I used on a card in an earlier post HERE.

Well, thank you for getting through the photo overload with me.  If this is something you'd like to make, I have listed the supplies below with links to my CTMH website.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks for visiting and please come again.

SUPPLIES:

Paper: Pathfinding paper pack, Barn Red cardstock

Stamps: Lifetime of Happiness

Inks: Chocolate

Embellishments: Pathfinding Compliments, Gold Bling Gems, Neutral Metallic Baker's Twine

Other: Lagoon Designer Creations Paper Bags, Mini Stapler, Hole Punch

Through stormy seas...

Here's an oldie but goodie.  I made this card when the CTMH "Tommy" paper was available.  It's a great nautical paper.  When I saw saw the stamp set that came with the "Tommy Workshop on the Go", I knew I had to have it.  I loved the sentiment and thought it would be a wonderful masculine card (maybe Anniversary card?) for my monthly card workshop.

I stamped the large sentiment and the two nautical map images in Outdoor Denim ink, then stamped the bottom of the large sentiment again in Cranberry ink on a scrap of cardstock.  I cut out the word "Together" from the cranberry stamping and adhered it to the main image to highlight that word.  I also stamped the anchor on a piece of scrap cardstock and cut it out to hang it from the Cranberry baker's twine.  Isn't it cute?

I like to add a stamp to the inside of a card if there's one that coordinates, so it's extra special for the recipient.  This set had a cute sailboat and a wave design, so I used those inside.  You can see it in the side view of the card above.

Here's a look at the "Tommy" Workshop on the Go (now retired).

I hope you enjoyed my throwback card today.  If you have any questions, please let me know by using the "Contact Me" area on my side bar.  

** Note: And as I've mentioned in my previous posts, I'm also listing some of my cards for sale in both my Etsy shop and my Ebay shop.  You can find the links on the sidebar of this blog.  For the next few months the sales will go towards the cost of a school trip to Italy my 15 year old son will be taking next Spring.  Every little bit helps, right? **

SUPPLIES:

Paper: Tommy (retired), Honey, Outdoor Denim & White Daisy CS

Stamps: Tommy WOTG Stamp set (retired)

Inks: Cranberry, Outdoor Denim

Embellishments: Cranberry Baker's Twine (retired)

Other: Micro-tip Scissors, White Cards & Envelopes Value Pack