Mother's Day Card for AHSC #148

I worked so hard and took a long time making my card for this week's sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge but it was worth it, I think it's my favorite of all the cards I've made so far.  Michelle Stewart gave us a FABULOUS sketch to work with, and I can't wait to see everyone else's creations.

details:  Once again, I used the Charlotte papers, complements, and those lovely gold tone Treasured Puffies.  I used the Artiste Cricut cartridge to cut the diamond grid from black CS and 2 patterns from the Charlotte kit and pieced those along with some fussy-cut pieces from the pink zip strips.  I used my ruler (a tool I truly could not papercraft without!) and gold metallic marker to mark the diagonal lines.  Then I used my scallop border punch and black shimmer trim to  make the border.  I used a piece of retired Baby Pink cardstock and gold embossed the image from the A Day For Mother on shapes cut from the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, and backed that with the black and gold ribbon and puffies.

For the inside, I just pieces some B&T from the Charlotte kit with one of the 3x4" pieces from the kit and stamped the sentiment from the My Mother set, and I couldn't resist adding a touch of shimmer with the more of the black and gold ribbon.


Thanks for stopping by and looking, and please take time to check out all the projects at AHSC this week.  Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Liquid Glass techniques for Between The Folds challenge

Hello again, crafty friends!  This week it is Team B's turn at Between The Folds challenge blog bring you some inspiration using Liquid Glass adhesive.  This is one versatile product and is good for far more than adhesive!  In fact, I had a really hard time deciding which one to use for today's  post.

Once again, I'm using the Charlotte paper kit.  I love all the dimension and shine in this kit's embellishments so I decided to add a little more of both by covering my letter stickers with Liquid Glass.  Since I haven't used this technique before, I wasn't sure if it would be better to apply the LG before or after I placed the stickers on the layout, so I chose after and just went slowly, applying right out of the bottle, and I had no issues at all.
Now, I have a confession:  after several years of paper crafting and almost 5 years of being a CTMH consultant, I am just now starting to scrapbook my own photos after years of making layouts from workshop kits for display or for other people, but I was inspired to create this layout for my favorite photo from my wedding. My husband and I eloped - yes, Justice of the Peace and everything - so we don't have the traditional photos taken by a professional photographer and I'm thinking this playful layout really matches our style.  Now, if I can just remember where I actually put the photo...
Be sure to check out the projects from the rest of the design team and don't forget, you have until Monday evening, 2/29.  Hope you can join us this week!  ~~  Annette

Base and Bling creations for CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

This installment of the CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop puts the spotlight on our Base and Bling line of products.  As always, hops are circular so you should have arrived here from Corinna's blog and since this week there happens to be only the two of us, if you found your way here first then you can head on over to her site when you're done here to see her fun project.

So, Base and Bling pendants, where do I start?  These lovely little pendants are these super cute and incredibly fun projects anyone and everyone can enjoy, even if you're not into traditional paper crafts or even if you've never crafted before.  I admit, when these first came out in the catalog a couple of years ago, I was reluctant to get into it just because I had decades of love-it-then-leave-it craft projects.  However, once I made my first pendant at an event sponsored by the corporate folks from CTMH, I was hooked and I continue to love the different options in each Idea Book and, even better, I keep finding new ways to use these products.  Since the list of participants is a little short this week, I thought I'd take an extra minute or two and showcase some of the various items I've created.
1st row: These pieces were made with our earlier antiqued silver finish which is no longer available.  I ended up with several of these cute little Eiffel Tower charms left over so I picked up an inexpensive jewelry findings kit at a craft store and made earrings out of them.  I put the crystal, monogram (from the current Signature style sheet), and crown on this chain for a birthday present to myself last year, and the "free spirit" pendant (from the Journeys style sheet) on the right side of that chain was one I put together for my daughter's birthday that year.
2nd row: This set was made with the antiqued gold finish (also no longer available).  The crystal, "follow your dreams" pendant and flower charm were the first set I ever made at that corporate event I mentioned, and I felt this one really captured how I feel about being a Close To My  Heart consultant:  it gives me the opportunity to sparkle and bloom!  Cheesy, I know, but totally true.  The middle pendant says "work in progress" (again from the Journeys set) and I wear this one the most often to encourage myself not to get overwhelmed or give up on myself.  The third pendant on this chain is by far the most meaningful of all the pieces I've made so far, I made it using a photograph taken by a friend of the moment my mother was explaining to us  children about the cancer diagnosis she had just received, which would take her life just 2 short years later.  Not only was it a major turning point in all our lives, but if I could show you the larger, original print you would be able to see that it was also a beautiful photograph in its own right, the colors were beautiful and coordinated, and I love that the photographer had no idea what was going on in that moment, he we was just a family friend who was excited to show us his new camera and he thought he had just captured a great "slice of life" pic as this was quite often how you would see my mom on a weekend.  Note:  it was super easy to make this and I love using these pendants for photos rather than a traditional, closed locket as it's easier to work with the photo but also because the image is right there on display.  However, if you are going to use a photo you have printed on a Selfie or home computer, make sure to cover both the front and back of the photo with a clear, smooth packing tape or similar product so that the colors don't run when you apply the Liquid Glass adhesive.
3rd row:  These are some of the newer pieces in the new silvers.  It's hard to see the teal bead next to  the black background but it goes so nicely with this first pendant, which is from a set available exclusively to consultants.  However, I  wanted to show this one as I often make it as a gift for my hostesses or for door prizes at crops that are put on by other people, especially ones that are fundraisers.  The "Hope" pendant is from the new Affirmations style sheet and was my daughter's birthday gift this year.
4th row:  This is another one from the Journeys style sheet in the new gold finish.  I have to say, this one is very special to me as well, as I lost my son nearly 11 years ago to a Cerebral Palsy brought on by a severe seizure disorder he was born with, and I recently learned that Carpe Diem, Latin for "seize the day," has become the awareness phrase for folks dealing with seizure disorders so  naturally, this one is very 'close to my heart.'
And finally, the bottom photo shows one of the newer gold pendants with another image from the consultant-exclusive set but I wanted to show how I used it to dress up my Everyday Life Planner.  All I had to do was thread a thin piece of ribbon under the spine of the 3-ring binder and thread the pendant onto the ribbon before tying the knot.  I haven't decided if I'm going to leave the ribbon at this length or make it longer so I place the ribbon inside the planner and let the pendant lie below  the pages so that it can be used as another bookmark, but when I decide on the ribbon length then I will add a little bit of the Liquid Glass adhesive to the knot so that it stays tied.  I have also made a couple of these lovely little pendants to put on key rings, which makes a fun gift for both guys and gals, but I didn't have any of those on hand to show.

So that's all I have for you today.  Not bad for someone who wasn't going to ever give this a try, huh?  Seriously, if  you have thought  about making one of these pieces yet and haven't, do yourself a favor and give it a try.  They really are so easy and versatile, they make a fabulous way to express yourself with style!  Again, if you haven't been to Corinna's blog  yet, please stop by and check out her project.  Also, don't forget to come back and see us in 2 weeks when we will be showcasing projects made using CTMH's fabulous embossing folders, there should be lots of inspiration for us to share!  Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Combined Challenges for AHSC #146 & Color My Heart #179

Hello and welcome to today's project.  I am very excited as this is my first official sketch as part of the design team over at the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge (AHSC) and the first time in quite a while that I've played along with the folks over at Color My Heart.
Just in case I haven't mentioned it, I am totally in love with the Charlotte paper kit (Champagne, Sorbet, Slate, Whisper, White Daisy and Black) so when I saw that these were the featured colors this week at the Color My Heart I knew I wanted to find a way to use it for this week's sketch at AHSC.

details:  This little card was inspired by the fact that the first of my daughter's friends just announced her engagement and I have offered to help with some of the decorations, etc.  As stated, I used the Charlotte paper kit; the top and bottom pieces of the card base are flip sides of the same designer paper, and I backed the arrow piece with black CS.  The "save the date" was stamped on one of the zip strips using the retired Tiny Typewriter alpha in black ink and embellished at each end of the strip with the lovely black and gold ribbon.  I used my 1-inch circle punch to cut two circles in black and one in the retired CTMH color called Baby Pink, which I heat embossed with Versamark and gold embossing powder using the retired Friendship alpha.

And that's all there is to this project.  I hope you will take time to stop by both challenge blogs for some inspiration based on AHSC's versatile sketch and the lovely colors of  the Charlotte papers over at the Color My Heart site.
Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Charlotte layout for BTF and Color My Heart challenges

Hello, crafty friends!  From what I have been seeing online for the last few weeks, I'm hardly the only one who is totally in love with CTMH's new Charlotte paper kit, so I'm submitting this for my first official project as a design team member over at the Between The Folds challenge and for consideration at the Color My Heart color challenge, both of which feature the colors from the Charlotte kit.

details:  It took me a day or two to figure out what project I wanted to do for another Charlotte project as I have already done several, but I woke up Monday thinking about "home," and from that point things came together quite quickly.  I started with one of the base layouts from the Workshops Your Way sets because this combination worked best with the various colors in the pictures I wanted to work with.  All pages, zip strips, and embellishments come from the Charlotte kit with the exception of the lacy-looking house in the upper left corner, which is actually trimmed down from the retired For Always PML kit.  And that's all there is to this one.  Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out both challenge blogs for lots more inspiration!


Happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop: Stunning Sequins!

Hello and welcome to another installment of the CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop, with today's spotlight on gold and silver sequins.  Once again, you should have arrived here from Corinna's blog but blog hops are circular so feel free to jump in anywhere along the line and continue to follow the links until you've made the rounds.

So, sequins:  I love these versatile embellishments and I had a really hard time deciding between too many projects that kept coming to mind, but currently I am also in love with the new Charlotte paper, which happens to be the featured paper over at the Between The Folds challenges this week, so finally I had to come up with a way to combine the two.  I added a long-retired stamp set called A Game, stamping the tic-tac-toe board in Whisper and the X's in Sorbet, backing that panel with a discontinued CS called Baby Pink - perfect match, don't you think?  I used the middle tone of the Silver Sequins to replace the O's and then fussy cut the arrows from the same Charlotte designer paper that backs the tic-tac-toe panel.  The banner is stamped in Whisper again from the current Hostess Rewards set called #makes me happy and set on another piece from the Charlotte collection, and I just had to add some more sequins to fill in what  would have otherwise been some empty space behind the banner.

And that's all there is to this one, since I am still deciding on the interior sentiment.  The next stop on the hop is the very talented Kirsten with a lovely project you won't want to miss.  Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette