Paint Cans!!

I am so proud of myself! I finished the paint cans I had been working on. Aren't they cute! The paper pieced snowmen are my favorite. I used a template someone on the CTMH bulitin boards shared with me. I would be willing to share it with whoever wants it.

Finally decided...

So I think I finally made a decision regarding cards for my stamp a stack... I will be doing these two new ones I am adding in a few plus the frosty one and the snowflake one with the 3 layers of paper. I was going to showcase the technique I used for the other snowflake one but I don think a stamp a stack where time is of the essence is the place for embossing and sponging. Maybe another day.
Each card uses a different stamp set and just two sets of paper. And maybe I will even rid myself of all the cranberry ribbon I bought. LOL 36 yards is a bit much.
Hopefully tomorrow I will finish up the other projects I have been working on. I think they are the cutest things ever and I know you will probably agree and beg me for the pattern. I will try to post those pics tomorrow. I have so much to do tomorrow my mind is going crazy just trying to think of it all. All of my craziness with a broken foot too :) Thank goodness for walking boots is all I can say. Now if only I could drive......

Stamps: Holiday Greetings
Paper: Creative Basics - Holiday, Bamboo, Cranberry, Ponderosa Pine
Ink: Cranberry, Ponderosa Pine
Accessories: edge anchor, Cranberry grosgrain ribbon, watercolor pencils, liquid glass


Stamps: Snowfriends
Paper: Deck The Halls, Cranberry, Dutch blue, White Daisy
Ink: Outdoor Denim
Accessories: markers, silver brads, cranberry grosgrain ribbon

oh christmas tree

Here is another card I might use for my stamp a stack. Good to have lots of options. Although I am thinking of changing all the the green to cranberry because I have more of it. Gosh I wish I could absolutely like more cards I make. Maybe I am just picky. Maybe I need some outside option.... Anyone Anyone? :)

Stamps: Christmas Greetings
Paper: Ponderosa Pine, Bamboo, Cranberry, Creative Basics-Holiday
Ink: Ponderosa Pine, Cranberry
Accessories: Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon, Watercolor pencils, Watercolor marker

A card inspired by my daughter's outfit

Yep that's right. This card was inspired by my daughter's outfit from carters. Weird huh. But i thought it was kinda cute.

Stamps: CTMH Snow Friends November Stamp of the Month, CTMH Let it Snow, My Favorite Things Behind the Scenes
Paper: Twilight, Blush, White Daisy, Petal
Ink: Twilight, Blush, White Daisy, Petal
Accessories: Organdy Winter Cozy Ribbon, Watercolor Pencils

Here is another one...

This is another option I might use for my stamp a stack.

Stamps: Christmas Greetings
Paper: Creative Basics-Holiday, Cranberry, White Daisy
Ink: Cranberry, Ponderosa Pine
Accessories: Craberry Grosgrain, Watercolor Pencils

Hmmm whether or not to use this one....

This isn't my favorite card but it is an option for next weekends stamp a stack. I am going to see what else I can come up with before commiting to the 4 cards I have done so far. I was thinking of doing a photo card for it but it would be rather time consuming and probably cost a decent amount. I might save it for the gift making class.

Stamps: Christmas Greetings
Paper: Hollydays, Clover Meadow, Cranberry, White Daisy
Ink: Cranberry, Clover Meadow
Accessories: Craberry Grosgrain, Scallop Punch, Coluzzle

October stamp of the month & a treat bag

As promised, I received my marvy punch in the mail so I made the card featuring the October stamp of the month Magical Season. I wish I could say that I came up with this one on my own but I didn't. I cased it from someone on the CTMH BB. Very cute though isn't it. Don't you wish you bought it now??

Stamps: Magical Season October Stamp of the Month
Paper: Creative Basics-Holiday, Bamboo
Ink: Black, Cranberry
Accessories: Super Jumbo Scalloped Circle Punch, Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon, Corner Rounder, Sponge Dauber

Finally I bought the address labels and made the hersheys nuggets look pretty. This is a cute little treat bag I made to hold them. I was thinking it would look even more adorable if I could find some snowflake brads instead of the silver ones.

Stamps: Snowfriends November Stamp of the Month
Paper: Crystal Blue, White Daisy
Ink: Outdoor Denim, Twilight (if u have crystal blue use that instead)
Accessories: Silver brads, clear flat bag

Hope everyone had a safe and happy halloween! This is how I spent mine :)

November Stamp of the Month

I adore this set! I will be doing tons of projects with this set in the upcoming weeks so keep checking back. I don't think I have enough ribbon to use this card in my stamp a stack but it is really easy to do so I will have project sheets available for it. I will probably have a few kits for purchase for this card which will be on a first come first serve basis.

Stamps: Snow Friends November Stamp of the Month
Paper: Crystal Blue, Outdoor Denim, White Daisy
Ink: Crystal blue, Outdoor Denim, Orange
Accessories: Organdy Winter Cozy Ribbon

Revealing some cards....

I am sharing some cards I did for my stamp a stack on November 10th. Well these are only the first two. Knowing me though I will probably change them up some between now and then. But here is an idea....

For this one I used a special technique I am eager to show called color emerging. I borrowed the idea for this card from someone who used the stamp set Flurries and then the ink and cardstock colors Amethyst, Heavenly blue and Breeze. But I used:
Stamps: Let it snow
Paper: White daisy cardstock, Petal, Twilight
Ink: Twilight, Petal, Indian Corn Blue
Accessories: clear embossing powder


Stamps: Let it Snow
Paper: Dutch Blue, Cranberry, Clover Meadow, Deck the Halls
Ink: Clover Meadow, Dutch Blue
Accessories: White Daisy Sassy Strands

Underrated Stamping Tools

As I was working on a few cards today I was using a few tools that I feel are underrated but I absolutely don't know how I ever lived without them. I don't want you to have to live without them so I will let you know what they are....
1. Micro-tip scissors- If you want to cut in small tight spaces these are a must have. I used them to cut out my flowers in one of the cards below.
2. Blending Pen- If you have a stamp pad but not a matching marker you can create your own using this. Also it is great for use with watercolor pencils, chalks etc....

I gained new appreciation for the clear stamps again today while I was working. One of my images didn't properly get inked and so I was able to restamp it. Because they are clear it is so easy to perfectly line it up.

Stamps: Confetti & Favors, Holiday Jubilee
Paper: Cranberry, Twilight
Ink: Cranberry, Twilight
Accessories: Sponge, blender pen

Stamps: Party hostess set, Holiday Jubilee
Paper: Floral tapestry level 2, garden green, twilight, vanilla cream
Ink: Garden green, Twilight, Holiday red
Accessories: red ribbon, blender pen

Stamps: From me to you
Paper: stripe (paper reflections), baby pink cardstock, crystal blue cardstock, chocolate cardstock
Ink: Blush, Chocolate, Twilight
Accessories: ribbon (american crafts)

slow coming ideas....

Last night I worked on my daughter's scrapbook so tonight I decided I needed to make a few cards. Well a few cards ended up being just one. I quickly found inspiration tonight but it took me forever to decide on paper, stamp sets, correct cutting and the list goes on..... But I think my one card is kinda cute.

Stamps: Delight in Everything, For Every Occasion
Paper: Let's get together level 2, Cranberry cardstock, Crystal blue cardstock, white daisy cardstock
Ink: Buttercup, Cranberry, Twilight
Accessories: Cranberry brad, White Daisy brad

Fonts...

As a scrapbooker that does not like her own handwriting I tend to print a lot of it out on my computer.... Note to self, check out the longevity on that... But anyways, I like to find unique fonts. Well my current favorite one is called CAC One Seventy and it reminded me that I wanted to share this awesome site where I get all of my free fonts from. So here it is....Scrap Village I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

:) Melissa

Buy stamps, help a cause....

Like I need an excuse to buy crafting supplies but now I can do it while helping a cause...

As you can probably tell from my blog I don't discriminate against stamping companies just because I am a CTMH consultant. I have never felt companies compete in this business which is why I like to share my love for them all. It actually really bothers me when I meet a consultant for another company who is so caught up she can't even look at a catalog for a supposed competing company. For those of you who know me as a CTMH consultant might not know that I also belong to a stampin up club and have for many years. Actually if I could, I would be a consultant for both companies and I love them both. I did, however, choose CTMH because of the ease of use and more scrapbooking supplies. I have many sets of Stampin up I haven't even cut out yet.

I have a few crafting blogs I like to read sometimes daily sometimes when I need inspiration and sometimes just when I think about it. Well one of these blogs is a lady who is a designer for a company called My Favorite Things. They designed a cute set called Think Pink. 50% of the retail proceeds will be going directly to the Susan G Komen For the Cure. If you are like me though, you will be able to find a few other sets you like on that site too. Orders over $40 dollars get free shipping! I hope to be sharing some projects with these stamps when they get here. Can't wait!

I love pink and chocolate

This is my ctmh card I made for the sketch challenge. I am sorta obsessed with this color combination as you will soon see. Also I used my new marvy punch I ordered from papertreyink.com. Aren't you proud! LOL! I think it needs ribbon but that will have to wait until the new ones I ordered arrive. I can't wait. They are so pretty.




Stamps: CTMH make my day
Paper: CTMH blush, chocolate and white daisy card stock, Level 2 more to adore paper pack
Ink: chocolate
Accessories: marvy mega punch, sponge

My new punches

I recently ordered some punches from Papertreyink.com and they came in the mail today. I am really excited to start using them. Hopefully I will be able to create something with them tonight to show you. That site also has some cute stamps that I want to get sometime as well. I really suggest you check out their inspirational projects and their blog. I really should put a link to it on my side bar. Maybe I will at some point. :)

my first sketch challenge

So I just took time out from working on my daughters scrapbook to participate in my first sketch challenge on SCS. I am very happy with the results and I even used some of the paper I bought today at the local scrapbook stores sale.

This was the sketch:

And this is what I came up with:

(btw there is no white around it I just didnt crop it well)

Stamps: SU Carved & candlelit
Paper: Chatterbox Sun Dots, Cloud 9 Design Lefty Behind Happy Halloween, SU Pumpkin Pie cardstock, CTMH black cardstock
Ink: SU pumpkin pie, SU mellow moss, CTMH black
Accessories: ribbon

Lets Celebrate World Card Making Day....

October 6th is officially World Card Making Day. But because I have a prior commitment that day.... I have decided to announce a contest that will take place through the end of October. It will be a card making contest where your goal is come up with a card design using something CTMH. It could be paper, a stamp, an embellishment... whatever it may be and send it to me before the last day in October. You can have as many entries as you want. In the beginning of November I will have a party to announce the winner(s). (date is TBA) Prizes will depend on participation (aka the more people that get involved in this the better the prize). All entries will be displayed on my blog for all my readers to see. LOL. So have fun with this!

:) Melissa

Halloween Fun

So tonight I had my first actual gathering that my neighbor hosted. I decided to create projects with a Halloween theme and this is what I came up with...

Stamps: Holiday Jubilee, Happy Haunting
Paper: Enchanted Level 2, Autumn Terracotta, Sunflower, White Daisy
Ink: Autumn Terracotta, Garden Green
Accessories: Stipple Tool, Liquid Glass


Stamps: Happy Haunting
Paper: Autumn Terracotta, White Daisy, Garden Green
Ink: Autumn Terracotta, Black, Garden Green
Accessories: Pewter brads, stipple tool, Sponge, clear flat bags

A few cards....

Here are two cards I made for different events I had at my house. This first one I made to introduce the new Close to my Heart Autumn Winter Idea Book. It features some new paper called Caprice. I did a cute layout with this paper as well but unfortunately I cant easily scan 12x12 pages.




Stamps: Sensational Seals
Paper: Caprice Level 2, Honey, Crystal Blue, Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate, Honey, Crystal Blue
Accessories: Texture tools, natural hemp



This card is one that I borrowed the idea for from a consultant because I thought it was oh so pretty. Also it used a stamp set I already had so that was even better. I am obsessed with chocolate and any color combination.




Stamps: Delight in Everything, Playful Flourishes
Paper: White Daisy, Twighlight, Chocolate
Ink: Twighlight, Chocolate
Accessories: Chocolate Collection Ribbon

Splitcoast stampers

Okay so I think I am becoming a little obsessed with this new site I found called Splitcoaststampers.com. They have so many cute cards, gifts, etc that they have stamped. It is really inspiring. I hope it makes me a better stamper checking out all their projects. Mostly it just makes me feel less creative right now in comparison. I hope to learn some new techniques and come up with new layouts. I guess we shall see wont we.

:) Melissa

Blogging Begins

I have decided to start sharing some of my creations via this blog. Being a Close to My Heart Consultant has forced me to start stamping more which is definitely a good thing. It is a great outlet and a fun hobby. I also like Stampin Up products as well. I wish I could be a consultant to both companies but I am not allowed. So I will be sharing cards and paper crafts I make and hopefully eventually some digital scrapbook pages maybe even some stuff I sew if I ever manage to get back to that. I hope you all enjoy checking out my creations as much as I enjoy creating them.

:) Melissa