STAMP CLUB - APRIL 2013

April's Stamp Club will give us the opportunity to honor the special women in our lives - whether they are mothers, sisters, daughters, or friends.  All of the card projects can be tailored to the people you want to send them to.  And don't forget that you can decorate a pretty muslin bag to give a small gift in!

Click here to find out all the details on the Stamp Club page.

Stamp Club will meet on three separate dates in April.  

Choose the date that works best for you:

Monday, April 8

Tuesday, April 9

Saturday, April 13

All groups meet at 9:30 at my home craft room in Prescott Valley.

Play Date Cafe Challenge #174 & Timeless Tuesday #212

Cardmaker Magazine showcased this beautiful cascading card - and I knew I had to use it in the April Stamp Clubs. Play Date Cafe provided the color inspiration and it fit right in with Timeless Tuesday's BRING ON SPRING challenge.  I mean, what says spring better than flowers.

I followed the directions in the magazine for the base of the card, then used my Cricut to cut most everything else.  Here's what I used.  All are CTMH unless otherwise stated.

Papers: Cardstock - white daisy, lagoon, gypsy, and pear

Stamps: Perfect Fit Frames (D1527) and Perfect Fit - Mom (C1543)

Inks: Gypsy and Lagoon

Images cut from CTMH Art Philosophy, CTMH Artiste and Sophisticated cartridges

Embellishments: Paradise Paper Flowers (Z1710), Bitty Opaques Pearls (Z1707), misc sparkles from my stash!

The tag pulls out for whatever message you want to add!

Click here to see other great creations from these two challenges:

Play Date Cafe

Timeless Tuesday

Thanks for stopping by and looking!

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #78

I have discovered the fun of using Prismacolor colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits to color designs.  It is so easy!

I found this stamp at the recent Stamp Convention in Mesa, and had to give it a try.  The image was larger than I realized, but this sketch worked perfectly.

This will be a project for April's Stamp Club - I have lots of color combinations that will work so everyone can give this technique a try.

Here's what I used -
Stamps -  Belle (#670-01) from Rubbernecker.com
Fabulous You  (C1533) CTMH
Papers - background from K & Co. (retired) and lagoon cs (CTMH)
Fiskars border punch
Colonial White grosgrain ribbon (CTMH) retired

Click here to check out the other great cards made with this sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!

Thanks for looking!

New challenge blog - CTMH Cricut Cartridges!

Click here to head over to this new challenge blog!

This new challenge blog was created by a talented group of CTMH consultants who want everyone to have fun with the Art Philosophy and Artiste Cricut cartridges.  Here is the information they have shared:

We want you to really utilize the Close To My Heart Cricut cartridges.  On the 1st and 15th of each month, we will be posing new challenges that focus on a specific key of one of our exclusive cartridges - Art Philosophy or Artiste.  We'll have a Top 3 for each challenge, and there will be a "Top Blossom" for the month!  The "Top Blossom" will win the monthly prize which will always be a stamp set that coordinates with a Cricut cut.  Sounds like fun, right?!  You can read more rules by clicking on the "Rules" tab at the top of the blog.

Our FIRST challenge will be on April 1st so be sure to check in!

For those of you with these cartridges, even if you don't participate in the challenge, you can get great ideas by checking the submissions made by not only the design team but all those who submit.  Be sure to check it out!

MARCH STAMP CLUB - BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA

It's time to stock up on birthday cards!  We will make 10 birthday projects in Stamp Club this month.  You can scroll through the recent postings on this blog to see 9 of these cards that I entered in challenges.  Click here to head over to the Stamp Club page to find out the details.

Retrosketches #52 - any sketch goes!

Retrosketches is celebrating their 52nd challenge, and they are allowing us to pick from any of the previous sketches - and I chose #6.  When you open this card, there is a suprise inside - a honeycomb cupcake!  Almost looks good enough to eat!

Materials used:
Stamp images -
cake plate & cupcakes - A Cherry on Top (Stampin' Up)
Happy Birthday - Bring on the Cake (Stampin' Up)
inside greeting - Cricut Artiste stamp collection (CTMH)
Papers - background pattern (K & Company) White Daisy, Pear, and Gypsy cardstock (CTMH)
Honeycomb paper - pink & brown HoneyPOP collection (Inky Antics)
Inks - Dusty Concord & Spun Sugar (Tim Holtz Distress), White Daisy pigment, Gypsy, Blush & Citrus Green (retired) dye (CTMH), clear and white daisy embossing powders (CTMH)

This is the last of the cards I've designed for the March Birthday Extravaganza.  Now on to Mother's Day projects!!!

Thanks for stopping by.  Head over to retrosketches to see the other great creations this week.

Seize the Birthday #7 {Feminine Birthday Sketch}

 

The new Buzz and Bumble paper pack is so cute - and the new honeycomb embossing folder I recently got is perfect with it.  The sketch from Seize the Birthday really helped me pull this card together.

I love the stamp set, and it's perfect for the multi-color inking technique.  Really fast but looks great!

This card joins the other seven I've already posted for March's Birthday Extravaganza.

Here's a list of materials I used (all CTMH unless indicated) 

Paper - Buzz and Bumble (X7164B), Honey and Colonial White cardstock

Inks - Creme Brulee, Goldrush and Chocolate Distressing ink
Stamp Images - Quick Cards - Bumble Bee (A1135) and Birthday Wave by Stampendous!
Embossing Folder - Honeycomb (Sizzix from Stampin' Up)

Click to check out the other great birthday cards at Seize the Birthday - it's a great source of inspiration!.

Thanks for stopping by.

CAS(E) this Sketch! #16 and H2H Clean and Simple Challenge

I have really come to like the clean and simple look, and CAS(E) had another great sketch this week - as well as a similar challenge over at Heart 2 Heart.

I LOVE the new Chantilly paper and the stamp set that comes with the Chantilly cardmaking Workshop on the Go.  I used an embossing folder for the background - gives it some detail without overwhelming it.

These are the materials I used (CTMH unless otherwise noted)
Paper - Chantilly (X7163B), White Daisy and Cotton Candy cardstock
Inks - Lagoon, Creme Brulee, Blush and Cotton Candy
Stamp Images - Chantilly Cardmaking Kit WOTG (G1061)

 Embossing folder - Elegant Lines (Sizzix from Stampin' Up)

Click on these links to visit the two challenges and see other Clean and Simple designs:
Heart 2 Heart
CAS(E) this sketch! #16

Thanks for stopping by!

Timeless Tuesday #208 ~ I’m Seeing Red!

The challenge at Timeless Tuesday this week was using red - and a great opportunity for me to use the latest red in the CTMH palette - RUBY!  It goes so well with the new Always paper pack.

I also used an outdated deconstructed sketch - I knew when I saw the sketch back in January that I wanted to use this paper for it, but just didn't have the time.  It was quick and easy, but looks more elegant.  What a great paper!

Here's what I used for this card - all CTMH products:

Paper - White Daisy and Ruby cardstock, Always paper pack

Stamps - 

inside message - Chantilly Cardmaking stamp set 

Happy Birthday - Cricut Artiste Collection stamp set (and banner cut from Artiste as well)

Embellishiments - red glitter gems left over from the Pear and Partridge cardmaking kit

 

Click here to check out the other great red creations at Timeless Tuesday!

Thanks for looking!

Black Tie Fridays #18 - TEXTURE!

Black Tie Fridays #18 this week is all about Texture, Texture, Texture.    I had several new embossing folders I wanted to try, and this card was perfect for them.  I had tried to get it done in time for the CAS(E) this Sketch! #14 challenge, but had been sick and it just didn't work out.  So I included the sketch so you could see my inspiration.  You'll notice that I rotated the sketch to make it work with the direction of the embossing folder.

Here's a list of what I used for this project - again, everything is CTMH unless noted:

Stamp Images -
Balloon - My Sunshine (S1304) April's Stamp of the Month 
Happy Birthday - Piece of Cake (retired)
CELEBRATE - A Little Everything (retired)
Cloud - unmounted stamp in my stash! 
 
Cardstock -
White Daisy
Honey
Heavenly Blue (retired)

Inks -
Twilight
Crystal Blue

Embossing Folders -
Cloudy Day (Stampin' Up)
Square Lattice (Stampin' Up)

Cut shapes are from Artiste Cricut Cartridge

Head on over to Black Tie Fridays and see the other great cards with texture!