Buzz and Bumble for SFC

I was a little daunted when I saw this week's challenge at the Sketchy Friday Challenge as I haven't yet tried working with torn and ragged edged papers, but then I remembered I also haven't tried working with the burlap ribbon from CTMH and having crafted with fabrics longer than paper, I knew burlap would unravel and fray very easily.  Plus, I love the Buzz and Bumble paper kit kit and couldn't wait any longer to play with it!  So without further ado, here's what I came up.



 
Happy crafting! Annette

sentiment-al Paper Playtime

I'm so excited about this week's challenge at Paper Playtime which is to stamp a sentiment.  Not only does it promise lots of variety but I already have a project I can share.  Yay!!  I often have trouble finding inspiration for any given challenge until a few days after it's finished and that was the case for the Close To My Heart consultants blog hop featuring the February stamp of the month Home Sweet Home BUT I happened to be playing with this stamp last night and came up with a card I liked.  Not having any particular use in mind for it, I tucked it into my stash but now I can pull it back out and share it.  :-)

All products are from CTMH.  I started with some scraps I had from the Dakota paper kit and the Log Cabin pattern featured in "Originals" by Jeanette Lynton.  I trimmed the pieces to size and then I used the Artiste cartridge to cut the center shape.  I inked the edges and stamped the center image using Pacifica ink, being careful not to get any ink on the "YOU" at the bottom.  I then cleaned my stamp and let it dry, and then I used Barn Red for the "YOU," again just inking the part I needed.  Some of the versions I've seen of this card feature hinges or some other point of interest where the papers meet but I chose to use stars from the Typeset workshop on the go (retired) stamped in Whisper.

Once I was done I realized how well this card might work for my stepfather's birthday card this week so I played around with the same elements but I ended up using the Perfect Fit-Frames 2 and Perfect Fit-Birthday stamp sets.  I really liked this particular shape from the PF frames but the pattern on the stamped image ended up being a little busy against the red/blue patterned paper so I used the BACK of the stamp and generously inked it with Pacifica using a slightly twisting motion.  I *really* like how this turned out, it gave the image enough subtle shading and texture that I thought it looked like denim, and the more solid color not only tied in the patterned papers and put the focus on the sentiments.  The only issue was that when I used the back of the stamp it left a slightly off-centered opening for the sentiment but that was easily solved by adding a little circular frame of silver shimmer paper, which I cut with the Art Philosophy cartridge.

Happy crafting!  Annette

Seeing red for the Pause, Dream & Enjoy challenge

This week's challenge at the Pause, Dream and Enjoy challenge was to use mostly red.  While I have nothing against red it isn't necessarily my go-to color either, but then something reminded me of the Go Red for Women campaign each February to help make women more aware and proactive with their heart health, and this simple little card is what I came up with.

As usual, all products are from Close To My Heart.  I used the retired Be Yourself stamp set which I first stamped in black and then in Ruby on a separate piece of CS, then I cut out the dress and shoe areas of the red stamped image and glued them on the black stamped image.  This is stamp set I've had for awhile and hadn't used yet but I really like it, I especially like how it gives a sort of modern silhouette image when stamped like this.  I also *love* CTMH's new Silver Shimmer Trim, it's so versatile!  I wanted thin strips of silver to frame the image so I cut two strips of the shimmer tape, one the length of the card and one the height, and then I cut each strip up the middle and it was so easy to work with.  I also added a red sparkle where each strip overlapped.  The sentiment was also stamped in Ruby.
So ladies, please remember to take care of yourselves and your hearts!

happy crafting, Annette

my "spin" on Freshly Made Sketches #73

For whatever odd reason, the first thing I thought of when I saw this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches this week was the Ferris wheel cut on CTMH's Artiste Cricut cartridge, and that made me think if my husband because he's such a boy at heart, LOL.  Anyway, it took a bit of thinking before I could piece it all together in the way I wanted to make a Valentine as unique as our lives together but I think I pulled it off and that boyish smile on his face was worth the extra time I took with this one.
Details:  As I mentioned, I use the Artiste cartridge for the Ferris wheel with Whisper for the circular part of the frame and then I cut the other pieces (which are grouped together as one image) in white and sponged the center support piece with Whisper ink.

I used the Dotty 4 You paper pack for the sky/cloud background as well as the gondola pieces, which I simply glued the pieces I had cut out of white CS on the back of the patterned paper and cut out each piece so the dotted paper showed on the front.  The heart image is in Smoothie using The Happy Couple (D1539).  The patterned paper at the bottom is from the Later Sk8r paper kit (X7167B) and I used Outdoor Denim CS behind the white banner.  Because I had a lot to say in a little space, I cut my CS to a size that would fit in the computer and typed my sentiment and then cut it to size.

For the inside, I used the Smoothie colored paper from the Dotty 4 You kit and cut a heart frame using the Art Philosophy cartridge and centered it over the sentiment, which was also done on the computer.  All in all, this is not your typical or traditional Valentine card but, well, that just wouldn't be our style.  Happy crafting, Annette

 

a sympathy card for the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge

I don't know about you, but I tend to put off creating sympathy cards.  However, I hate *not* having one when I need to send one to someone I care about so I finally broke down and got my first sentiment stamp set for sympathy cards.  It arrived this week, and I need to make one already but at least I will be able to send a card made with thought and TLC.  It  wasn't until after the card was done and I was getting ready to address it that I remembered that the Stamptacular Sunday challenge for this week was to create a card where the sentiment was the main focus, so I'm including it in the challenge just in case it helps someone else who still finds it difficult to make sympathy cards.

All products are from Close To My Heart.  The paper and button/ribbon stickers are from the retired Dreamin' set and both the outside and inside sentiments are from the Words of Comfort (C1524) stamp set.

Seize the Birthday with a Roxie rose

I have a confession to make:  I have always been absolutely terrible at remembering birthdays and getting cards sent BUT I'm finding an added bonus in participating in card challenges is I'm actually making birthday cards ahead of time.  Woohoo!  I was inspired by this week's sketch at Seize the Birthday to make a card for a special lady who's having a birthday this month and she loves roses so I have turned again to the retired CTMH Roxie papers.

I am really getting hooked on CTMH's Perfect Fit Frames (there are two sets now) that have several stamp sets that work with the frames.  I used the Art Philosophy cartridge and my Cricut to cut this shape from the Perfect Frames stamp set. Usually I would have cut the shape on a solid colored piece of cardstock and stamped an image on it but this time I specifically wanted to use the plaid paper in the Roxie kit for a cohesive look as the same plaid shows up in the rose on the printed paper. Anyway, I paired the PF Frame shape with two of the stamps from the Perfect Fit-Birthday stamp set. I hope she enjoys it and I *know* she will be surprised to get it on time! LOL

Happy crafting! Annette

Color My Heart challenge #28

Here is my belated entry for this week's Color My Heart challenge to use Twilight, Juniper, Goldrush, Cotton Candy, Ruby and Gypsy. 

I had actually made a card similar to this one a while back with different colors and this retired stamp set "Buttoned Together," and when I saw this challenge I held off in hopes I would receive my Buttons, Bits & Bobs (B1408) stamp so I could use a stamp that is still being sold but I didn't my stamp set in time.  The stitching around the edges is actually made as a straight line but one of the things I love most about CTMH's stamps is they are flexible enough you can manipulate many of them to accomodate different shapes or bending.  At any rate, here is my card, a clean and simple card that was quick to make and will hopefully brighten a good friend's day.






 

Happy crafting!  Annette

Freshly Made Sketches challenge with Chantilly

This is one of the new papers from Close To My Heart's Spring/Summer 2013 Idea Book, and I think these colors just sing "spring" so I was tickled pink (among other colors, LOL) to use this for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week.  Using this kit also gave me the opportunity to use several features on the Art Philosophy cartridge I hadn't used before as well as the Artiste cartridge, and I love how much I can do between these two cartridges!  Here's this week's inspiration sketch:

I used the AP cartridge to cut the tag and eggs and the Artiste cartridge to cut "Happy Easter" and the small banner (I just stamped "to you" using the A Typeface stamp set).  Both eggs have two layers and for the pink one, I sponged Cotton Candy over the decorative layer and Ruby around the edges, and I cut the decorative layer in Buttercup and adhered small pieces of some of two more papers from the Chantilly kit and Twilight cs.  I also used Sunset ribbon and Sweet Leaf brads; the kit uses Pear for the green but I had to substitute, hope it blends well enough.  It can be a little tricky to use a busy pattern for the background but I tried to balance or ground it by using Champagne and white for the tag and banner.

Happy crafting!  Annette

Using what I've got #2

So once again I missed a deadline to submit this for a challenge (Stamptacular Sunday #200 to use spots and stripes in case you're curious) but I thought it turned out well enough to go ahead and share.  This is the first card I've made using this sketch from Make It From Your Heart Vol.1 and this is another project featuring retired but previously unused items from my stash, and I felt this was the *perfect* sentiment for the person this card is intended for. 

All products used are from Close To My Heart.  The paper is the retired "Sophia" kit which features Hollyhock, Blush, and Pear.  The stamp is from the "Live Out Loud" set which was the stamp of the month in July '12, and the shape was cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge.

Happy crafting,  Annette