Santa In July for AHSC #274

Hello again, crafty friends!  I broke out some oldies but goodies to play with this week's sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.  I didn't plan to start on Christmas cards just yet but the first two ideas I had for this sketch didn't quite pan out, so I was inspired to think outside the box... or calendar page.  In addition to creating this card for this week's AHSC design team submissions, it meets the themes for a couple of other current challenges so I will be entering it to the Heart2Heart Challenge Blog for their Christmas In July; the Double Trouble Paper Crafting Challenge Blog for their Christmas Only theme; and the Three Amigos Blog Hop Challenges for their embossing theme.

details:  All products used are from CTMH and almost all of them are retired.  I started with the red "plaid" from the Believe paper kit.  The stamped image is from a set called I Believe (C1427) and inked in Holiday Red.  The scalloped edge frame was cut in Topiary CS using the Art Philosophy cartridge, and I used Pear colored mini-brads to add a little extra interest.

The tag is from the Home for the Holidays (SOTM in 2014) and was cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge.  The sentiment from the Santa Claus set (C1567) and was initially cut from the Artbooking cartridge but I was a little pressed for space so I ended up trimming it up a bit by hand.  Both images were stamped using a Sweet Leaf mini pigment ink pad, covered in clear embossing powder, and heat embossed.

I used some Topiary mini chevron ribbon to for embellishment and to secure the tag.  I used the scallop border Thin Cuts with white glitter paper.  To get a scalloped edge on the base layer too I cut the white glitter paper first, glued it so that the very edges of the scallops met the edge of the patterned paper, then positioned the solid-piece scallop thin cut over the glitter paper, taped the straight edge in place, positioned the piece so that the scallops faced the opening of the Cuttlebug, and then I just rolled them into the device only until I could feel the increase in pressure that indicated a cut was being made.  I had to finish trimming the dips between one or two sets of scallops but otherwise it worked very well.

And that's all there is to this one!  Don't forget the weekly deadline at AHSC is 10:55 pm Eastern/9:55 pm Central on Sunday, 7/29/18, and you can enter your artwork by going HERE.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Blush and Gold Birthday Wishes for AHSC #240

Hello again, crafty friends!  Michelle Stewart has brought us another fabulous sketch to work with this week at the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, which I used for inspiration for a birthday card for my daughter.  Before I get into the details, I want to encourage everyone to share their take on this week's sketch by linking your projects HERE by 10:55 pm Eastern/9:55 pm Central on Sunday, 12/3/17.  You can also view the rest of the design team's creations by following THIS link. 

My daughter's 23rd birthday was this week and I wanted to make her a card that was both a little more grown up than the cards I've made her thus far.  She has several blouses that are either pale pink or white with gold accents and they have become the favorites in her wardrobe, so that was the inspiration for this card's color scheme.

details:  All products are from CTMH.  In order to size the banner and medallion elements the way I wanted, I had to upscale to a 5 x 7" card base.  I used gold foil paper for the base layer and then I used my Cricut and the retired Art Philosophy cartridge to cut this scalloped rectangle from Bashful glitter paper.  The white paper with gold foil hearts is from the current Silver and Gold kit and the balloons were cut from white and gold glitter paper at 1.5" using the retired Artiste cartridge, tied together with white and gold twine, and popped up with thin 3-D foam tape.  The other half of the triangle was a little trickier:  I started with the lighter side of the Bashful cardstock and over that I layered this clear, gold dotted acetate "paper" from the All About the Gold fundamental papers from the 2016-17 Idea Book.  Since it's clear acetate, I ran the piece through my large Xyron so there was a fairly consistent, widespread adhesive coverage.  For the banner, I used Versamark and gold embossing powder to heat emboss this sentiment from the retired Card Chatter - Birthday stamp set on white cardstock, backed on another piece of gold foil paper.  The base of the medallion was punched from gold foil paper using the retired 2" scallop punch.  The smaller scallop was cut on the lighter shade of Bashful cardstock, again using the retired Art Philosophy cartridge, at 1.5" and a duplicate medallion (with a 1.32" circle sliced from it) was cut from gold glitter paper.  I decided at the last minute, once I had my Cricut put away, that the medallion needed another layer so I cut one from white cardstock using my Cuttlebug and the smallest die from the basic circles Thin Cuts set.  The numbers were cut from gold foil paper at 0.658" with the alpha from the retired Artbooking cartridge.

For the inside, I used Pixie ink to stamp another sentiment from the same Card Chatter - Birthday set.  I used Bashful glitter paper and gold foil paper with the retired gift Thin Cut die to create the present in the left corner, and Bashful glitter paper with the smallest of the retired hearts Thin Cuts dies (the thin heart is from the actual die shape and smaller, "solid" heart is the "negative space" piece that was left over).  And that's all there is to this one... except for the mess I made and now have to clean up, LOL.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Animal Greetings from CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop

Hello, craft friends!  I hope you are ready for a big dose of CUTE 'cause the little critters (15 in all) in the Animal Greetings stamp set are absolutely adorable.  Added bonus:  this stamp is part of Close To My Heart's ongoing Operation Smile program, which raises funds to provide life-changing cleft lips and palates for children around the world.  How awesome is that?!?!  But hurry, this stamp won't be available much longer but rest assured, something equally as awesome will take its place so that Operation Smile can continue its mission of sharing smiles with children and their families.

So, on to the hop.  As always, hops are circular so you should have found your way here from Corinna's blog but you can jump in anywhere at any point and follow the links until you've made the rounds.  I have also included a list of all our participants in case you get lost along the way.  Now it's time to share my project with you.

I've said this before but this time, I REALLY pulled out all the stops and my craft room is unbearably messy at the moment, but it was worth it because I had a blast putting it together.  This was another instance where what I had planned ended up being nowhere near what I ended up with, lol.  I used the magical paper and embellishments, cuts from the Artbooking cartridge for the photo mat and film strip, and the Art Philosophy and a tricky little bit of planning to cut out the LOVE circles as well as the black circles they are matted on.  Hopefully you can see the cute little mouse friend in the corner and the sentiment in the word bubble, which are from the Animal Greetings set.  I used multiple ShinHan alcohol markers to color in the mouse and, for a little extra fun, the word "bomb" and the actual bomb image are from a previous Operation Smile stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by and now you can hop on over to Jennifer's blog to see what she has in store for you.  Also, please stop back by on Wednesday, Aug. 10, when we will be bringing you vacation themed projects made from and featuring Close To My Heart's line of products.  Until then, stay cool and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Complete list of blog hop participants:

1.  Annette Clark (here)
2.  Jennifer Bennett
3.  Corinna Murphy

"One" Challenge at H2H

The first challenge of 2016 over at the Heart 2 Heart blog is, appropriately enough, entitled "One."  As we get closer to February, I was looking for a new hearts and love themed display for the shelf above my craft space and I came across this photo I've had for ages.  I am guilty of never liking to see photos of myself but this one still manages to make me smile.  It was taken by a dear friend when my husband and I got to spend an evening out without the children, which was quite a rare treat considering one child had severe epilepsy and cerebral palsy and the other had life threatening food allergies.  Anyway, we all had a great time that night and I couldn't think of a better photo to use for a Valentine display and, coincidentally, this is the first layout I've completed in the new year!
details:  The background paper is from the La Vie En Rose paper pack.  I used the Artbooking Cricut cartridge to cut the photo mat in Pixie CS and added the Ruby colored hearts from the retired Stuck On You Puffies.  I also used Artbooking to cut both sentiments twice, once in the older version of CTMH's Fundamentals as the Ruby color had a clear embossed heart pattern on it, and I cut another layer in Black CS for a shadow layer.  I then used the Designed Decor Black Shadow Box Frame which is turning out to be my go-to for displays.
Note:  This smaller picture was my first version in which I used Ruby for the photo mat and Pixie for the title words, but I was disappointed in how much the words blended in with the background and essentially got "lost," so I just thought I'd share in order to encourage newer scrappers to take time to play with color and various options because sometimes a really small change can make a big difference!
And that's all there is to this one.  Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Nautical theme for Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge

Hello, crafty friends!  I was really inspired to make a card based on this week's sketch at Atlantic Hearts sketch Challenge but some weeks are crazier than others.  I had a crafty Sunday all planned with plenty of projects, starting with this card, but a young friend came over for some scrapbook lessons and since one of the things I love most about being a consultant with CTMH is teaching people the joys of memory keeping, I decided real life came first.  So, I actually missed the deadline for the challenge BUT I've had this card on my mind all week and I wanted to make it for my hubby's valentine, so I made it anyway.  He wasn't in the Navy nor does he own a boat, but he absolutely loves the water and this sentiment couldn't be more true, he really IS my anchor!  We've been married 29 years and in that time we've had our share of "rough seas" but he always keeps my spirits "afloat."  I think that's pretty important in a mate!

details:  I ended up using all retired products for this one.  CTMH has a lovely new nautical themed paper called Regatta but I didn't have any on hand yet, but I still had some of this lovely Tommy paper, and all the papers I used are from that kit.  I fussy cut the anchor from one of the pages and used a punch to cut another one and layered them before popping the image up with 3-D take and using the natural colored decorative hemp CTMH carried several years ago for the "rope."  I created my own sentiment using the Keyboard alpha in Outdoor Denim ink.

 A note about the inside:  One of  the reasons I wanted to use this paper was because I'd created most of these elements from it for a card last year but that project just never came together.  However, I really liked that curvy arrow (from the Artbooking Cricut cartridge) and the little "scroll" that I originally cut with the Art Philosophy cartridge and rolled and distress inked with Brown Bag.  The little compass is stamped and cut from an old monthly special set called, "Pair A Phrase," which was the cutest set and one I continue to use quite often.

And that's it for now.  Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

Halloween treat boxes for CMH #116

I kept telling myself I wasn't going to craft for Halloween since I'm now an empty nester, but then I decided to send treats to my daughter and her roommates at college.  And, as I'm sure any crafter can understand, once I got started crafting these cute little treat boxes I couldn't stop!  LOL  Luckily, there are a couple of Halloween-y challenges this week so I am submitting this at the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog and over at the Color My Heart where this week's challenge it to use Sunset and Thistle (which just happen to be prominent colors in Close To My Heart's Scaredy Cat paper kit).

Anyway, I used some of the Scaredy Cat papers as some discontinued paper kits, 3 of CTMH's exclusive Cricut cartridges, as well as a discontinued stamp set for the "Happy Halloween" sentiment with the bat, and the Perfect Fit stamp sets -- I love working with these sets!

Happy (crafty) Halloween!  Annette

  

details:  Art Philosophy cartridge was used to cut all treat containers as well as the scalloped circles in the center and the corresponding shapes for the Perfect Fit - Frames 2 stamp set.  The PF - Halloween stamp set was used for the smaller center shapes which could be cut with the AP cartridge or a 1 1/4" punch.   Jack o'lantern faces were cut from the Artbooking cartridge and the spider from the Artiste (with off-brand orange glitter glue for the eyes.  I chose to emboss the spider web design (from Paper Studios) rather than try to glue it onto 3-D projects.  The "Happy Halloween" sentiment with the bat is from an older, discontued CTMH set I borrowed from a friend; I can't find the name but the number is D1381).  White background/polka dot paper is from retired Spellbound kit and the darker fry box and spiders are from the Mischief kit, which is also retired.

a little card with lots of encouragement

When I saw this week's sketch at Retro Sketches I knew what stamps I wanted to ink up and I had a pretty good idea what I wanted to use for embellishments but then this one took on a life of its own!  I had to keep the card size at 3 1/2 x 3 1/2" to make good use of the stamps I wanted to use for the front and I had to vary from the sketch a bit and use 4 strips instead of the 3 shown in the sketch, but I tried a couple of new things on this card and was pleased with how they turned out.  Despite the card's small size, I still managed to pack a lot of encouragement into it and I plan to send it to my daughter for a little pick me up  as she has a really busy week coming up at college and she's at that midway point from when this term started and spring break begins.

details:  All products are from CTMH.  I started with the Laughing Lola.  The strips are made from the flip side of the magenta patterned paper and the zip strip from that paper.  I started off with the frame stamp in the Family Photo set (a Hostess Rewards set from the autumn/winter '13 Idea Book) and the sentiment is from the Paisley Perfect set stamped in black ink on Lagoon cardstock.  I have been experimenting with CTMH's  shimmer tape and found it can be cut with decorative edged scissors so I covered the frame image with black shimmer trim and trimmed with scalloped edged scissors.  For added embellishments, I used purple glitter gems and made my own bakers twine by twisting black and purple embroidery floss together with a strand of metallic silver I pulled from some metallic twine from another kit.  For the inside of the card, I used the A Typeface set in black ink.  I used gold embossing powder with the frame from the Laughing Lola cardmaking WOTG and the other sentiment from the Paisley Perfect set on black cardstock.  I used the Artbooking Cricut cartridge to cut the "be yourself" banner and the sentiment "always and forever" and then just fussy cut as I just wanted to use the "always."  I also used the Artbooking cartridge to cut the "1 of a kind" out of the gold cardstock that came in the Lola pack and "sweet" banner out of Gypsy cardstock.  Below are some pictures of how I lined up the shimmer trim on the frame stamp, just in case anyone needs a visual (which I usually do the first time I try something, lol.)

baby, it's cold outside!

And anyone who lives in the Midwest, or almost any part of the US, is feeling the cold tonight! Thankfully, the worst is supposed to be over and at least I got a little inspiration out of it even if I'm wearing two layers of clothing while I craft, lol. I'm entering this card in two challenges:  the color combo is from the current challenge at Color My Heart which calls for using Pacifica, Lagoon, and Sky and this is the sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. The snowflakes are from CTMH's Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge and the word bubble is the "LOL" word bubble on the Artbooking cartridge. I used both the Tiny Typewriter (discontinued) and A Typeface alphabet stamp sets. Also, the letters spelling "cold" are purposefully off center, I don't know how well I succeeded but I was going for a sense of motion as in shivering, lol!
Stay warm, friends!

Laughing Lola peace signs

My daughter is pretty much a hippie at heart and she has always loved smiley faces and peace signs so I wasn't at all surprised when she picked a comforter for college that featured brightly colored peace signs everywhere.  Since the first picture frame/dry erase board I made last year, I had promised to make one for my daughter when she was ready to go to college so I loved that the Laughing Lola paper kit so closely matched the colors in her comforter.  I can't wait until she gets home from her last shift at her summer job and I can show it to her!

I had hoarded saved some of the Ocean blue from the discontinued summer colors CTMH had several years ago.  This project is doubly nostalgic actually because this was the first paper pack I bought from CTMH and I got  it specifically because that blue was and still is my daughter's favorite color, and this is the last project I will get to make her before she leaves home.  Other than the Ocean, I used the Lola snakeskin pattern for the peace signs and letters, Gypsy and the Lola purple for the solid colored peace signs, and the zip  strip from the paisley page of the Lola kits as a border.  The letters for her name are from the Artbooking cartridge and the peace sign is from the "Feelin' Groovy" Cricut cartridge, which is also something I bought with my daughter in mind, and it has seen a lot of use, LOL!

Happy crafting, Annette

first layout with the Artbooking cartridge!

Just in case you haven't heard the news...  Close To My Heart has come out with another exclusive Cricut  cartridge and it is absolutely FABULOUS!!!!  Here's my first layout using the Artbooking cartridge:

I am finishing up my daughter's graduation and senior year pics so I really wanted to use the school's colors.  I tried one of the layouts in red and one in black and ended up taking the negative space pieces from one and trimming them down about 1/4" and resetting them in place.  I had to use my computer to scan, copy and size the mascot emblem and I cut a piece of cardstock down to a 4x6" rectangle and ran it through the printer, cut it in a circle and inked the edges to make it stand out.  I also cut the banner photo mat with the Artbooking cartridge and used the Keyboard Uppercase stamp set for "class of 2013."  Prior to getting the cartridge I had already cut out several of the "Red Raiders" pieces using an alpha from a Cricut cartridge called Paper Lace so I used those, and I just love what I came up with!

For Always WOTG for

I have been playing around with variations of the pattern from the For Always Workshop on the Go using our school colors and finally got it done...  just in time to enter it for exhibit at our state fair.  I LOVE this paper and I'm so glad it was one of the papers carried over from the last catalog!!!

I used the stamp sets from the Artbooking cartridge for the word "lovely" in the upper left corner as well as the lacey shape in the middle of the right hand page.  I used the monogram stamps and embossed them in silver on black cardstock for the school's initials, I used the black glitter tape along the bottom of the photos and black & grey sparkles assortment for a little added bling.

 

Happy crafting!  Annette