Oh! Deer Gift Box for BTF #36

Hello, crafty friends!  I hope the advent of the holiday season finds you more blessed than stressed!

This week at Between The Folds Bi-Weekly Challenge our theme is the Oh! Deer paper kit and it's color palette, which contains a lovely combination of greenish-blues, neutrals, and silver and gold. This has also proven to be more versatile as I expected, and it got me thinking outside the box... which led me to create this fun gift box to hold one of my husband's Christmas presents.

details: I used the retired Artiste cartridge to size and cut a lid for a 4" box from a piece of Sea Glass cardstock.  I created my own box by scoring and cutting a 12" sheet of white cardstock, which I decorated with various panels of the pocket scrapbooking sheet from this kit as well as the lovely gold and silver foiled complements for this kit.  For the lid, I added a strip of paper that had a subtle pattern of Sea Glass polka dots on a white background, because I wanted a little color but not so much that it would compete with the bow cut from 8 strips (6 x 3/4") of the swirling stars patterned paper and 4 strips (4 x 1/2") of the Desert Sand paper with a pattern of musical notes.  For the center, I used a 3 x 1/2" strip and a large brad to secure both ends of each strip, and then secure the entire bow to the lid.  For the final touch, I added the silver and gold foil starts in a random pattern.

edit:  I also made the box so that it folds flat in hopes that it can be saved and reused multiple times, whether for decor or gift giving.  Here are some pics I hope will help, basically I scored every 4 inches, drew a diagonal line from point to point and cut off the corners of the 12 x 12" paper, and scored those sections diagonally for a fold line so that it folds in.  If this isn't clear enough, I can add a diagram later.

I hope you will take time to check out all the projects our design team and participants have come up with using this lovely and versatile kit, and perhaps you will find some time to craft this week and share your creation as well.  As always, you have until Monday evening at 10 pm Eastern/11 pm Central, and you can link your projects here.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Gift Tags for CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

Hello and welcome back for another installment of the Close To My Heart Featured Products Blog Hop, where this time we are bringing you lots of fun gift tags ideas.  If you came here from Donna's blog you are in the right place but as always, hops are circular things so you are welcome to jump in anywhere along the way and make the rounds.  I have included a complete list of this week's participants in case you get lost along the way.  Let's get started!

I've been dying to make this first tag ever since I got my Oh! Deer paper kit.  I cut this tag at 4" height using my Cricut and the retired Art Philosophy cartridge.  I used the Artistry cartridge to cut this deer at 2.75" using Desert Sand for the head and Cocoa for the base, which are both colors used in the Oh! Deer kit, and I sponged the edges of the deer head in Desert Sand.  I didn't have any red glitter paper for the sparkly red nose so I went with a hole punching tool and a bit of red shimmer trim but I imagine you could also make do with red enamel gem for a more 3-D effect.  To finish this tag, I cut a 3/4" strip of Sea Glass cardstock, stamped it in Cocoa ink with the to/from found in the Perfect Presents stamp set, and I used a bit of the white and gold twine for the loop on the tag.  So easy but so much fun!

Now it's time to send you off to see what Lauren has for you.  One quick note, we will be taking a break for the month of December to enjoy the holidays with our families but we will be back on Wednesday, 1/4/17, to bring you our projects with the January Stamp of the Month, which is really lovely so you won't want to miss it.

Thanks for stopping by and happy holidays!  ~~  Annette


Complete list of participants:

1.  Annette Clark (here)

2.  Lauren Moore

3.  Janna Gray

4.  Donna Digby

Wise Guy Birthday Meets Confetti Wishes

As soon as I saw the Wise Guy Birthday stamp set, I showed it to my husband and we were both in agreement this would be perfect for my daughter's birthday this year.  My daughter and I are so similar, she began to see it as a bit of a competition and all through school her biggest goal was to beat my GPA and ACT test scores (even though I told her to set her sights higher than that, lol).  At any rate, I paired that stamp set with this card base from the retired Artfully sent Cricut cartridge and the hat base from the Artistry cartridge, and the super fun (but also retired) Confetti wishes paper kit.

Luckily, my daughter is a good sport and she laughed out loud and then we had a good chuckle and some fun reminiscing together over some birthday cake.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look.  

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

New Year's Countdown for AHSC #188

Hello and welcome back, crafty friends!  I have been waiting for this sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge to roll around, I fell in love with it the first time I got a sneak preview.  Of course, that just means I've changed my mind several times but this week the holidays are on my mind and so I went in the direction of making a card for New Year's Eve.




details:  I started with a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" base, placed gold foil tape around the edges, and then made a 4 x 5 1/4" panel from the Oh! Deer paper kit.  I used a metallic gold ink from Color Box and the New Year's Eve Subway art stamp from Stampabilities on black cardstock for the bottom panel, which I adhered to a slightly larger piece of gold glitter paper.  I used the same gold ink and the November Stamp of the Month "New Year's Cheer" to make the champagne glasses and a bit of the metallic silver ink from Color Box and another stamp from the SOTM to make the bubbles.  The "cheers" at the top of this panel is also from the SOTM set and it was stamped in black Memento ink, which I also used to sponge the edges of the panel for a little extra definition.  I used the retired Basic Fundamentals stickers and black cardstock for the 2017 tab, and 3 graduated heart stickers from the retired gold Fundamental Assortment.  I originally thought to actually use this as a card to send out but the more I look at it, I'm really starting to see it as part of a layout since this New Year's Eve also happens to be my 30th anniversary with my husband...  we just have to figure out what are plans will be!

I hope you are able to find time this week to work with this sketch, there are endless possibilities.  As always, you have until 10 pm Central time on Sunday, 12/4/16, to link your projects here, or to at least check out what the rest of the design team and this week's participants came up with.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Glitter and Bling for Between The Folds Challenge

Hello again and welcome back!  This week at the Between The Folds Bi-Weekly Challenge our theme is Glitter and Bling...  my favorite kind!

For my project, I used this Sea Glass and silver striped card base from the Fiesta Cut Above card kit (available only while supplies last), a 2 3/4 x 5 1/2" piece of black cardstock, and silver foil tape to make up the card.  I used the Snowflakes Thin Cuts with silver glitter paper to create this trio of snowflakes.  To further embellish them, I placed the retired Bitty Sparkles in the diamond cut outs and a Clear Sparkle in the centers after I had colored them with the Turquoise Blue alcohol marker.  Simple but bold, don't you think?

That's all I have for you today.  Don't forget that you have until 11 pm Central Time on Monday, 12/5/16, to link your glitter and bling projects here.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Cricut Cartridges for CTMH Featured Products Blog Hopc

Hello and welcome back for another installment of the Close To My Heart Featured Products Blog Hop, where this week we are bringing you projects made with CTMH's exclusive Cricut Cartridges.  If you arrived here from Janna's blog you are in the right place, but as always, hops are circular things so you are welcome to jump in anywhere along the way and simply follow  the links until you've made the rounds.  I have included a complete list of participants at the end of this page just in case you get lost.

Currently there are 5 to choose from:  Artistry, Artbooking, Flower Market (physical and digital), City Sidewalks (digital only), and Artfully Sent (available only while supplies last).  I love images from each of them, but I chose to bring you a holiday themed decor project from the Artistry cartridge.

My stash of retired CTMH products is getting a little out of hand, so I wanted to make a fun piece using some of my favorite papers from years past.  I started out by usingn Cricut Design Space so I could customize the image just a bit by contouring (basically hiding) the leaf cutouts in the lighter green base layer, which was cut at 10.27" on a paper from the LONG retired Believe kit.  I then used the same measurement and cut another wreath image at the same size without contouring, using the Topiary piece of the earlier version of our Fundamentals (the ones that featured a white toned pattern on one side and a glossy same-color pattern on the flip side).  I then inserted a circle shape from DS and sized it so it would cover the holly berries (1/2" worked for me) and I cut most of them from the glossy side of the older Cranberry Fundamentals and about one-third of the circles from the flip side.  To create the sentiment, which was also from the Artistry cartridge, I sized the image at 1.93" height in the red patterned paper from the Believe kit and then I used the glossy side of the old Sweet Leaf Fundamental to layer "Christmas" on it.  I had thought I might cut a 3-D bow from the retired Artiste cartridge but once I had everything put together, I decided I liked the clean and simple look so I left it as it is.

And that is all there is to my project today.  Now I get to send you on over to Corinna's blog so she can further inspire you.  I hope you will join us again on November 30th when we will be showcasing a variety of seasonal gift tags created from our favorite CTMH Cricut cartridges and our My Acrylix stamp sets.  Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Complete list of participants:

1.  Lauren Moore

2.  Janna Gray

3.  Annette Clark (here)

4.  Corinna Murphy

"Unforgettable" Card for AHSC #186

Hello, crafty friends!  I'm having so much with this week's sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.  Isn't this a great one?  So many possibilities, but here's the one I want to share with you today:










I started by playing around with various border stamps and paper combinations and while I was certainly having fun, nothing quite did it for me so I dug into some of my retired CTMH papers and came up with this beauty called "Unforgettable."  I loved the colors but really put it over the top for me was this lovely sentiment in the kit's compliments/sticker pack.  So everything you see came from that kit, and for the vertical strip down the middle I fussy cut this border piece that was already printed in a wavy pattern and sponged the edges with Cocoa to make the piece stand out a little better against the pink patterned paper it sits on.  I had planned on this being a birthday card for my best friend of 32 years but then it occurred to me how this would be the *perfect* Thanksgiving card for a woman in our community who was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer earlier this year but just got her miracle, after multiple rounds of chemo she had surgery and was just deemed cancer free!  She will need to have a couple more chemo treatments to be safe, but she and all who know and love her have much to be grateful for this year.

Thanks for stopping by and please take time to check out all the projects using this week's sketch.  Hopefully you can find a little craft time this week and can share your project, too, you have until 10 pm Central time on Sunday, 11/20/16, to add your creations here.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

City Sidewalks for BTF #34

This week's challenge at the Between The Folds Bi-Weekly Challenge is the City Sidewalks paper kit of it's color palette.

I chose to use the green and red patterned papers from the City Sidewalks kit with my favorite pattern from page 46 of the Make It From Your Heart Vol. 2 pattern book.  I used this striped paper from the same kit to back the sentiment and bell image, both of which are from the Yuletide Joy set and stamped in Memento ink.  I used the Vivid Green, Leaf Green, and Carmine ShinHan markers.

We would love to see your creations featuring the City Sidewalks paper or its colors.  You have until Monday, 11/21/16, at 11:55 pm Central time to link your projects here.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

City Sidewalks for CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

Hello and welcome back for another installment of the Close To  My Heart Featured Products Blog Hop.  This time out we are bringing you projects featuring the City Sidewalks collection, which includes both a paper kit and an exclusive Cricut cartridge.  If you came here from Donna's blog you are in the right place but, as always, hops are circular things so you can jump in anywhere along the way and just make the rounds, plus there is a complete list of participants at the end of this post.

My project is inspired this a set of Christmas gift tags shared by the talented Annette Green, which features 5" gift tags cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge.  You cut several bases and then you cut your patterned paper in the same shape and size and cut it at designated intervals and mix and match and then embellish.  I have also sized a box and sliding cover/lid from the Artiste cartridge to use as a tag holder so that if I can get these to come out as nicely as I hope, I will offer them as a mother/daughter workshop later this month.

These are the papers I chose to work with, based on the dimensions Annette Green used.  Be careful when using the Christmas tree print, it is directional so I wasn't able to use the top of that print but I was able to turn the rectangle around and still use it.
Another help hint, these go much quicker if you have one of the Xyron adhesive machines, so I ran my tag bases through and then started layering my individual pieces to your liking.  I found I needed the piece Annette G. marked as scrap but I chose to use a zip strip in its place to add some interest, the only difference being I had about 1/16" at the end of that tag I had to manually trim down.

And here is the box and lid once assembled.  I cut the base of the box out of white CS and used Cranberry for the lid to save on my patterned paper (and keep the cost of the class as low as possible if I use these for a class).

I'm still working on my embellishments so that's all I have for now, but I plan on using a mix of stamps with both Cricut and Thin Cuts, so I will continue to post the finished tags throughout the month as I continue to play around with them.  I hope you enjoyed them and are inspired to create some of your own.  Now it's on to Lauren's blog to see what she has in store for you.  Be sure to leave some comments for my very talented fellow hoppers, especially Lauren and her husband as she is under the weather and he finished up her post so she could still participate and we could still enjoy her creativity.

Don't forget to stop back in 2 weeks on 11/16/16 when our theme will be CTMH's exclusive Cricut Cartridges.  With 4 to choose from, including the new Flower Market and City Sidewalks, there should be no shortage of inspiration!     Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

1.  Lauren Moore

2.  Janna Gray

3.  Corinna Murphy

4.  Donna Digby

5.  Annette Clark  (here)

First Christmas Card of the Season for AHSC #184

Hello again, crafty friends!  Michelle Stewart has brought us another fabulous sketch to work with this week at the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #184.

details:  I used a distressed piece of Cocoa cardstock for a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" base and the Whisper woodgrain patterned paper from the Oh Deer! paper pack for the next layer.  All the banners are either zip strips or 1/2" strips cut from papers from the same kit, and the center star with the sentiment and both the smaller stars in the corner are from the Oh Deer! complements.  For the smaller stamped sentiment in the upper left corner, I used Cocoa ink and the retired Card Word Puzzle set.

This is such a fun sketch to work with, you will definitely want to check out all the projects from the rest of the design team and participants.  I hope you will find some time to create your own take on this sketch and share it with us.  Remember, you have until 10 pm on Sunday evening, 11/6/16, to link your projects here.

Swan Lake for CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

Hello and welcome back to another installment of the Close To My Heart Featured Products Blog Hop, where this week we are bringing you projects based on the Swan Lake kit.  If you came here from Corinna's blog you are in the right spot, but as always hops are circular things so you are welcome to jump in anywhere along the line and make the rounds.  Just in case you get lost along the way, I have included a complete list of this week's participants at the end of this post.  Let's get started!

I wanted to do something a little different for this project so I started this as a custom page for my Everyday Life Planner, intending to have a section for journaling on gratitude, but I love these cute pedestal card holders I got at Micheal's at graduation time, so I might just leave this out until Thanksgiving has past.

details:  I measured a Everyday Life Planner page and cut a piece of the Swan Lake paper to size.  I then turned to my Cricut and cut this white heart at 4 1/2" using the retired Artiste cartridge.  I used the Flower Market cartridge to cut the words out at 2.33" height using Poppy and Glacier CS.  For a little added visual interest (and because I love a little touch of glitter and bling) I wove some black and gold ribbon through the edges.  I thought it still needed a little more bling so I added 3 graduated-sized hearts for the top left and bottom right corners as well as this gold embossed bow, all from the retired Gold Fundamentals Assortment.

And that's all there is to this one, your next stop on our hop is Lauren's blog.  I hope you take time to make the complete tour and that you find inspiration for your own Swan Lake projects, and please stop back on 11/2/16 when we will be working with the City Sidewalks kit.
Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Complete list of participants:

1.  Lauren Moore

2.  Janna Gray

3.  Donna Digby

4.  Corinna Murphy

5.  Annette Clark (here)

Quoth the Raven for AHSC #182

Hello, crafty friends!  I have spent a lovely autumn evening playing with this week's from the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.  I had initially thought I would make a breast cancer awareness card but as I was also enjoying "The Walking Dead" marathon while I crafted, somehow I ended up with a Halloween themed card instead.

details:  All products used for this one are from CTMH and most are retired items.  I started with this set of patterned papers from the Mischief kit on a 6 x 4" base of Smokey Plum cardstock. The left edge of the orange paper is one of the zip strips from that kit and I edged it with a piece of black shimmer trim that I ran through my trimmer to get a thinner piece.  For the smaller panel, I used the Quoth the Raven stamp with Tuxedo Black ink by Memento on a piece of Colonial White CS sponged with Smokey Plum ink and backed with the Smokey  Plum piece of the earlier version of fundamental papers that  had clear embossed designs.

This was another really fun and versatile sketch to work with and I hope you are able to make time to craft this week and give this sketch a try.  As always, you have until 10 pm Central time on Sunday, 10/23/16, to link your project  over at the AHSC blog.  The more the merrier, and we'd love to see your creations!

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Swan Lake for BTF Challenge #32

Welcome, crafty friends!  This week at the Between The Folds Bi-Weekly Challenge Blog our theme is the Swan Lake paper kit or its color  palette of Black, Canary, Fern, Glacier, Goldrush, Peacock, Poppy, Slate, Whisper, and White Daisy.  Wow, that's a lot of colors!  So many that I had a really hard time deciding which ones to focus on so instead of choosing, I tried to use them all!

details:  I really love autumn and the Thanksgiving holiday, so I was in a particularly playful mood when I started putting this card together.  I used a combinations of zip strips and 1/2" wide strips of the patterned paper to make a panel of woven strips, stamped this adorable patterned pumpkin image from the new Autumn Wishes set in Goldrush and Fern inks, set it on a panel of white CS and the Peacock patterned paper, and then I brushed the pumpkin with the shimmer brush.  For the panel on the right, I broke out a retired set called Poster Tidings, which I masked several times so I could use multiple inks.  (Here's a hint:  stamp the top and bottom lines together and then mask/stamp one color at a time, using the "autumn" and "blessed" to get everything lined up.)  I topped that with strips of the retired bronze shimmer trim.

For the inside, I cut a piece of Whisper CS to the size I needed and topped that with this pocket panel featuring this pair of swans.  I used the retired scrapbooking and card making workshop stamps from last year's Pathfinding kit and added these 3-d heart and arrow pieces from the Swan Lake complements.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget that you have until Monday evening, 10/24/16, at 10:55 p.m. Central to link your Swan Lake themed project if you want to play along with us this week.  The more the merrier and we'd love to see what you come up with!

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

For the Love of Stamping for CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

Welcome to this installment of the CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop where our theme this
time out is For the Love of Stamping. What does that mean? It pretty much means anything
goes as long as it involves using your favorite CTMH stamps or your favorite stamping
techniques. If you found your way here from Donna's blog you are in the right place but as
always, hops are circular so you are welcome to jump in anywhere along the way and make
the rounds, and I have included a list of our participants for this hop at the bottom of this
page. Let's get started!

I have been wanting to make some version of this card for ages, but I'm so glad I waited
until now because I LOVE adding our silver shimmer trim, it looks like chrome and is the
perfect touch for this masculine card. I used the retired "Cruisin' " paper for the card base
and then I inked this motorcycle image from the retired "Born to Ride" set once time and
then kept stamping for a 2nd and 3rd generation effect which I'm hoping will lend a sense of movement to this card. The image in the top-center of the card is another stamp in this set,
which I stamped in black onto a piece of retired Sunset CS and fussy cut the image.

And that's all there is to my project today and now it's time to venture on over to
Lauren's blog to see what she has in store for you. There are so many fabulous effects
you can do with stamping, I hope you find lots of inspiration and step outside your
comfort zone this week to try something new! Happy crafting! ~~ Annette

Complete list of this week's participants:

1. Annette Clark (here)

2. Lauren Moore

3. Corinna Murphy

4. Donna Digby

50th Birthday Card for AHSC #180

Hello, crafty friends!  A lifelong friend will be turning the big 5-0 in a few days so I was so happy I could use this week's sketch at the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge to create a special card for the occasion.









details:  (All products used are from CTMH.)  I thought it was only fitting to add some touches of gold for a 50th birthday, and also a bit of black since I'm sure that seems to be a theme for the bigger milestone birthdays.  I started with a 4 x 6" base of Poppy CS with a 3 3/4 x 5 3/4" panel of Swan Lake.  For the panel behind the sentiment, I used the Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the numbers panel out of Glacier CS at 4" height but I had to trim the right edge by hand to make it better fit the sketch.  I used the retired "Just a Number" stamp set for the sentiment panel (cut at 2 x 3 1/4" white CS with a base of 2 1/4 x 3 1/2").  For the trim, I used the gold diagonal striped zip strip from last May's "Happy Times" kit and a bit of the gold foil tape for the bottom part of the card and the black and gold  ribbon that goes along with the Swan Lake kit in the upper corner of the sentiment panel.  I cut 2 hearts out of gold glitter paper with the Artiste cartridge at 1 and 1 1/2" and used some retired white and black embroidery thread for the string for the larger balloon.  I tried to stamp the "50" on the larger balloon but the ink didn't show up well enough, so luckily I had some stickers left from last year's version of the basics fundamentals pack.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look, and be sure to check out all the participants' entries as well as the design team members' projects.  We'd love to see your take on this sketch, too, and you can link your project HERE by 10 pm Central Time on Sunday, 10/9/16.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Creative Stamping for BTF #31

Hello and welcome back,, crafty friends!  We're all in our second week of our Creative Stamping Techniques theme at the Between The Folds Bi-Weekly Challenge Blog.  There are so many fun things you can do with CTMH's My Acrylix stamps that I had a hard time narrowing down what I wanted to do, so I went back to one of my faves, blending and shading by "rocking and rolling" a stamp in at least two colors of ink.  Here's my take for this project:

I used the new Swan Lake paper kit and the retired "Feathers" stamp set.  For the blue feathers, I used Glacier and Peacock; Whisper, Slate, and Black for the gray feahers; and Canary, Goldrush, and Poppy for the orange-red feathers.
To accomplish this, you stamp the majority of the stamp in the lighter color, "rocking" the stamp on the pad, and then layering on more ink by rocking the stamp onto another ink pad or using a sponge dauber to brush on additional in.  To get the darker edges, you simply "roll" the edges of the mounted stamp onto the darkest ink pad you are using.  It's a fun technique that makes a uniquely shaded image each time.

Don't forget to check out all the creative stamping projects by both the participants and the rest of the design team at the Between The Folds challenge.  We'd love to see what you come up with too, so if you find yourself doing some creative stamping this week you have until 11:55 pm Eastern/10:55 pm Central on Monday, 10/10/16.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Jeepers Creepers Fun for CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

Hello and welcome back to another Close To My Heart Featured Products Blog Hop, where this week we are bringing showcasing the Jeepers Creepers paper kit.  This is a fun Halloween themed paper pack that has a lot of versatility and doesn't have to be spook related.  If you came here from Donna's blog you are in the right place but hops are circular things so feel free to jump in anywhere and make the rounds.  Just in case you get lost, I have included a complete list of participants at the end of this blog.  So let's get to it!

So, even though I said this paper pack didn't have to be Halloween related, I couldn't resist using it for just that!  I have never gotten around to making one of those adorable pop up box cards so I immediately thought of making a haunted house themed card.  My project is still a little under construction as I just realized I probably need to add some ghosts in keeping with the haunted house theme, but these adorable monster stickers were too darn cute to resist!

Now it's on to Lauren's blog to see what she has waiting for you.  Thanks for joining us and please stop back by on October 5th when our theme will be For the Love of Stamping, which is sure to be a fun and inspiring hop!

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Complete list:
1.  Lauren Moore
2.  Corinna Murphy
3.  Donna Digby
4.  Annette Clark (here)

Florence TY Card for AHS #178

Hello and welcome, crafty friends!  I have another quick thank you card to share with you based on this week's sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, created by Michelle Stewart.

There really isn't much explanation to this one.  As soon as I saw the floral elements on the sketch, I knew I wanted to use some leftovers from the recently retired Florence kit.  Since I am still working on a series of thank you cards for a friend, I was pleased I could get the Hello - Thanks thin cut set to fit what I had planned, along with the "friend" sentiment from the Say It All stamp set (also retired) stamped in Peacock.  The only other thing I can add about this card is that the panel the "thanks" sits on is backed by another piece of white CS edged with a piece of zip strip from the same Florence kit.


Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are able to find some creative time this week and play along.  As always, you have until 10 p.m. Central time on Sunday evening, which is 9/25/16 for this sketch.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Jeepers Creepers for HP Tribute for BTF Challenge

Hello, crafty friends!  This is the second week of our Jeepers Creepers theme at Between The Folds Challenge Blog.  I'm so in love with the colors in this kit and I can't wait to show you my project!

Confession time:  I didn't take up scrapbooking until I was in my 40's and my son, disabled and severely epileptic since birth, had passed away.  My family and I had so many precious memories we didn't want to let slip away, but for a long time it was too overwhelming to actually scrapbook them.  However, as soon as I saw this fun kit and it's brightly colored, whimsical embellishments I knew there was one very special memory I HAD to tackle.  I was even inspired to write up the whole story of how the only movie my son ever got to see in a theater was "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," but my printer chose today to go on the fritz and I had to improvise for the journaling.  So I jotted down a condensed version on a journaling card left over from the Everyday Life planner kit, which I topped off with the Jeepers Creepers washi pack which I love!  It was a little plain with just the card on the left side so I made a diagonal panel, cut one of the zip strips in half and mitered the corners and placed that behind the journaling card for visual interest.  I also added a couple of the purple lightning bold puffies from the assortment for this kit.  I used the
Artistry cartridge for the lightning bolts and glasses, the cauldron is from the "Happy Hauntings" cartridge, and the title is from the "HarryP" font I downloaded from a site called DaFont.  So in the end, this page isn't quite what I had envisioned but the most important thing is I got this one done and my family can relive this special moment forever.  And that's what memory keeping is all about, after all.

So thanks for stopping by and letting me share this special moment in our family's history.  I hope you are inspired to unleash your creativity this week and share your Jeepers Creepers inspired projects with us at the Between The Folds challenge blog.  You have until Monday, September 26, 2016 at 11:55 p.m. Eastern/10:55 p.m. Central time to link your projects.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop - Thin Cuts

Hello and welcome back to another edition of the CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop, where this week we are bringing you projects created with our exclusive line of Thin Cuts.  As always, blog hops are circular things so you should have found your way here from Jennifer Bennett's blog but you are welcome to jump in at any point along the way and make the rounds.  A complete list of participants is included at the end of this post in case you get lost.

So not only do I have a clean and simple project of my own to show you, but I am pleased to share with you a guest post from a fellow CTMH consultant who has always inspired me, Allisa Steinlicht.  She has generously agreed to let me share this beautiful card featuring the snowflake Thin Cut, which you can find the details for HERE.

Isn't it lovely!  It has me wishing for snow... almost!  lol

So on to my project today.  It's a really clean and simple set using the Hello & Thanks set.

I love this set as it's sized to work especially well with cards.  Don't get me wrong, I dearly love my Cricut(s) but sometimes I prefer to do a more hands-on project, and other times I appreciate being able to quip up a quick accent without having to load up and log on to various machines.  Anyway, I have fallen in love with the Create Kindness card and stamps sets that are this month's special but not all of my scrapbook pals like to stamp so I have been working on a few cards using these Thin Cuts to show them they can still make adorable cards.  That's all I've finished so far but I promise there will be more, my desk is currently littered with a wild assortment of colored card bases, banners, and die cuts, I am having so much fun playing that I'm not sure I will be able to stop any time soon.

And that's all I have for you today.  The next stop along in our hop is Lauren Moore and I know you won't want to miss what she has in store for you.  Thanks for stopping by and please join us again in two weeks when we will be bringing you some fun and inspiring projects made with the Jeepers Creepers kit and its color scheme.  Until then, happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

And here is the complete list of this week's participants, as promised:

1.  Lauren Moore

2.  Corinna Murphy

3.  Donna Digby

4.  Jennifer Bennett

5.  Annette Clark (here)

Shabby Chic Wedding Card for AHSC #176

Hello and welcome back, crafty friends!  Here in the USA we just celebrated Labor Day, which is the unofficial end of summer which is fine with me as I have always been a big fan of autumn.  While some people get inspired when spring rolls around, whether it's to clean, redecorate, or get crafty in other ways, I feel my best in the fall.  Maybe that's why I felt brave enough to use this latest sketch by Michelle Stewart for Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #176 to venture into unknown territory...  I made my first attempt at a shabby chic card!  It's not as fabulous as the more experienced shabby-chic'ers that always inspire me, but I'm pretty tickled with it for my first try so let's get started!

details:   Later this month we will attend the wedding of a Young woman whose family and ours have known each other forever, and the bride and groom have planned a very country, somewhat rustic themed wedding with their colors being brown (barnwood), white, and mint.  So when I decided to use this sketch to make their wedding card, the first thing I did was to get out this lovely chevron barn board-patterned paper by The Paper Studio, which I cut to 5 x 7".  I cut a 3 3/4" panel of white CS and used Sea Glass ink and the heart stamp from the retired Charming Cascades set to stamp the background pattern and then I used my edge distresser to give that piece a rough, worn looking edge.  I then used CTMH's retired Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the 3 1/2" frame from Sea Glass glitter paper plus a solid shape in the same size in white CS to back the frame.  On that piece, I created a light watercolor background by pressing the closed Sea Glass stamp pad together so that ink was deposited in the lid and then "picking up" the ink using the medium flat waterbrush.  Then I used Saddle ink to stamp the ampersand image from a retired set called Mr. & Mrs., and Sea Glass ink to stamp the words and adhered those three layers to the card.  I used heat embossing and white embossing powder to stamp the congrats sentiment from another retired set called The Happy Couple.  Then came the really fun part:  the embellishments.  I dug out all kinds of things to try but ended up using a variety of retired (and some previously unused) CTMH products:  I hand cut leaves from a wide burlap ribbon, I layered 3 paper blooms and sponged one with Saddle and another with Sea Glass to make the body of the flower with the middle toned Mocha Opaques faux pearl in the center.  My rustic flower felt like it was lacking something so back to the stash I went and after several ribbons failed to impress me, I remembered seeing a recent post that had a pretty little clutch of string behind a focal point image, so I opened up a package of white waxy flax and that did the trick.  I finished the card off by adding a trio of pearls in the bottom corner:  the largest was another of those mocha opaques, the smallest was one of the white ones, and the middle sized was another white one which I colored with my turquoise blue ShinHan alcohol marker.

So, that's how  I created my first shabby chic wedding card.  I hope you will take time to check out all the projects our design team and participants have come up with this week, and hopefully you will find time to create and share your own project based on this sketch from AHSC and share it with us.  As always, you have until 11:55 p.m. Eastern/10:55 p.m. Central on Sunday, 9/11/16 to link up.

Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Random Stamping Projects for Between The Folds 29B

Hello and welcome back, crafty friends!  We are in our second week of projects featuring random stamping over at the Between The Folds challenge blog.  Not only is this really fitting since September is National Stamping Month, but it's one of those themes which are only limited by our imaginations, so the possibilities are virtually endless!

This one was really pretty simple once I settled on what I wanted to do.  I started with the recently retired "Diamonds Are Forever" stamp set from CTMH's May-August 2016 Seasonal Expressions idea book.  I tried making this on an A2 size card but that looked too crowded once I put my sentiment piece in place, so I started again with a 6" square card and liked how that looked much better.  I used a piece of Ruby CS for the base and then used Sapphire and Gypsy inks as well as the retired Topiary, Ruby, and Creme Brulee inks to stamp the jewels.  For the center piece, I used the center cut function on my Cricut Expression with the Artistry cartridge ( found on p.13 of the booklet) at 2" and 1 3/4" so that I came out with a thin frame of gold glitter paper, adhered that to a 2" cut of the same shape on white CS, and used Sapphire ink to stamp this sentiment from the same set.  The only thing missing is a little shimmer I want to add to the gems with a clear Shimmer Brush but I forgot to order it in time for this challenge.

I hope you will take time to check out the rest of the random stamping projects from the other design team members as well as our participants.  And as always, we'd love to have you join us this week at the Between The Folds challenge blog and share your project.  It's fun and it's easy, you just have to use some CTMH product (and let us know what  you used if it isn't obvious).  You have until 11:55 p.m Eastern/10:55 p.m. Central on Monday, September 11, 2016 to link your projects so there's still plenty of time to play along.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

New Fundamental Kits for CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the Close To My Heart Featured Products Blog Hop, where this time we are showcasing the new Fundamentals line of products.  This newest version of CTMH's Fundamentals line has a little something for everyone so this should be an especially fun hop and we're so happy you could join us.  If you found your way here from Corinna's blog you are in the  right spot, but as always hops are circular things so you are welcome to jump in anywhere along the line and make the rounds.  In case you get lost, you can find a complete list of participants at the end of this post.  Now on to my project:

I am *so* happy with the way this turned out!  I have been envisioning something like this for quite a while but nothing I put together quite hit the mark, but as soon as I saw this pattern in the new Fundamentals line, I new I could finally make it work.  For this photo, I have the page in an open frame but my plan is to place it in a 12 x 12" frame with a glass front so that it can be used as a dry erase board.  Not only will this probably find it's way onto the gift table for one of several weddings on my calendar in the next few weeks, but it will probably become a staple when I do vendor and craft fairs as well.  And this was so easy to make, I just cut 2 equal sized panels of the fundamentals papers and 2 pieces of CS which I then embossed and sanded, and inked the edges of all 4 panels before adhering them to a 12 x 12" base of white CS.  Then I used my Cricut Explore and the CTMH Art Philosophy (for the "today" and "because...") and Artistry cartridges (for the I Love You, cut twice with "love" fussy cut from the dominant color).  And that is all there is to this one!  Now it's time for you to hop on over to Lauren's blog to see what she has in store for you.  I hope you will join us again on 9/7/16 when we will be featuring projects using CTMH's Thin Cuts, plus this will be the first hop using new products from the Seasonal Expressions idea book so there's going to be lots of fun and inspiration you won't want to miss out on.  Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Complete list of blogs participating:

1.  Annette Clark  (here)

2.  Lauren Moore

3.  Donna Digby

4.  Jennifer Bennett

5.  Corinna Murphy

Wedding Congrats with AHSC #174

Hello and welcome back, crafty friends!  One of the things I love most about paper crafting is being able to really customize cards or gifts for special people on their special occasions, so I took this occasion and this sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge to create a card for my lovely step-niece and her groom for their upcoming wedding.  They gave chosen yellow, navy, and gray for their wedding colors, which aren't exactly traditional colors, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't going to find many cards to choose from in a store with this color combo so I was extra happy to be able to create something unique for the happy couple!

details:  I started with a 6 x 4" card base cut from Sapphire CS.  I then ran a 5 3/4 x 3 3/4" piece of Canary CS through my Cuttlebug using the retired Heart embossing folder and did a little sanding to make the hearts stand out.  I used some scraps from the retired Charlotte kit for the stripes on the left and the base of the sentiment panel.  I used Sapphire and Canary inks and some Canary CS scraps with the retired "The Happy Couple" stamp set for the cake and bride & groom cake topper and another retired set called "4 My Friend" for the sentiment.   I wasn't sure exactly where this one was going when I started but I'm pleased with how it turned out, and now I have to get busy designing and cutting some vinyl to adhere to a glass block they want to use for a mixed sand sculpture in place of a unity candle.  I have 5 step-nieces and this is the second one to get married, and both have asked me to create something for the wedding day, and I'm so happy and honored to do this for them and hope I will get to help when the next 3 are ready to tie the knot!

This is another fun and versatile sketch to play with, and we'd love to see your take on it.  You can find the link up HERE and you have until 10 pm Central on Sunday, 8/28, to enter.  Even if you can't play, I hope you will take the time to head on over to the AHSC challenge blog where I guarantee you will find some inspiration!  Happy crafting, Annette

Watercolor Fun with BTF Challenge

Hello and welcome back, crafty friends!  This week at the Between The Folds challenge blog we are creating with a water theme.  The first thing that came to my mind was all the paints, brushes, watercolor pencils, watercolor paper, and resist pattern watercolor Picture My Life cards for quite some time but I simply hadn't taken the time to actually sit down and try them, but now that I have you can be sure my paint brushes will be getting a workout.

I've had this hostess rewards stamp set called Unicorn Dreams (now retired) for some time but could never quite decide what I wanted to do with it.  And while I knew I wanted to break out my watercolor paints for this challenge, I was a little stuck coming up with a project so I decided to make something for myself, just for fun, and enjoy the experience of playing with something new to me.  I admit, I need to play around a bit more with heat embossing in combination with watercolors as this silver embossed unicorn is a bit patchy close up, but it's just for me and I actually kind of like that some of the background paints come through in places, it seems to make the unicorn image even more mystical.  I backed my 3 1/2 x 5 1/2" painted panel on a 4 x 6" piece of the retired Kaleidoscope paper for a little added color fun.

We'd love to have you join us this week at Between The Folds Challenges and share your watercolor or water inspired projects.  It's fun and it's easy, you just have to use some CTMH product (and let us know what you used if it isn't obvious) and you have until 10:55 p.m. Central on Monday, 8/29/16 to link your projects.  Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette