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

sketch challenge at CAS

I *just* missed the deadline to actually enter this challenge but I was in need of a little crafting therapy today so I whipped this out over my lunch hour, and I wanted to share it anyway because the sketch from (CAS) Colours and Sketch Challenge #78 was so versatile it really had me thinking but no one else used torn paper for their project.

details:  I went back to one of my all time favorite CTMH papers, For Always, which {sadly} is retired, but it lends itself so well to torn paper projects.  I backed the patterned papers with Ruby cs and used blank ink and another piece of Ruby cs to stamp the sentiment from the Casual Expressions set.  While this is one of the sets that is Cricut-compatible (specifically, the Artiste cartridge) but I hand cut this one just for the sake of time.


Happy crafting!  Annette

Nobody's Perfect

If I had to sum up what I have learned from 27 years of marriage it would be "neither of us is perfect, but we are perfect for each other."  Of course, I couldn't find a stamp set that said that so I based my card around including that as a hand written sentiment inside the card.  There is also one stamp that has reminded me of my husband from the first time I saw it in an Idea Book so when I saw this week's sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge as well as the "hearts galore" theme at the Heart 2 Heart challenge blog, I knew this would be the "perfect" time to ink it up.

details:  All products are from CTMH.  I broke out my discontinued "For Always" paper kit and the stamp set that came with the scrapbooking Workshop On The Go.  In case you aren't familiar with those papers, they are all variations of black and white but they take on color very well so I used my (discontinued) Tulip ink pad to add color to the flowered paper.  I also used the Tulip ink to stamp the heart image and Tulip paper to back the checklist stamp.  I used Black Shimmer Trim for the horizontal stripe and one of the Clear Sparkle Flourishes.  I sponged black ink around both the cardstock base for the checklist as well as the stamped heart and I also used pop up adhesive behind the heart to add a little dimension.

For the inside of the card I used the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut the heart and black ink to edge the heart and stamp the sentiment from the In The Moment set which reads, "The best love is the one that makes you a better person without changing you into someone other than yourself".  After I had adhered the heart I thought it was lacking a little something so I carefully peeled it up and used the Flight of the Arrows set for a little background flair.  Of course, since I added this touch at the last minute and *after* I had all the layers on the front of the card, the image didn't stamp  perfectly but I minimized that a little by offsetting the heart and even with the imperfect stamping I like it better this way than with the heart centered on a plain background.  Finally, even though I hate my handwriting I included the handwritten note about not being perfect.  I have to say, this is *the* perfect Valentine for my handsome, charming, and very patient husband!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!  Annette

Wild About Love

We all have those weeks where daily life gets in the way of our crafting, and this was one of those weeks.  Nothing big, just lots of little things to keep me a little extra busy so it was taking me longer than usual to figure out what I wanted to try with this week's color combination at Color My Heart (which was Ruby, Cotton Candy, and Sunset) and the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch.  So even though I didn't make the deadline for either challenge I found that I still wanted to make it, even if it was just a chance to get my fingers inky again.  :-)

details:  All products are from CTMH.  The border is from the Sarita paper kit, the banner was stamped with Ruby ink on Cotton Candy cardstock using the discontinued (but still my go-to) Tiny Typewriter alpha.  All  the other stamped images are from the February Stamp of the Month, "Wild About Love."  I even used the small heart from that set to stamp on the opposite side of the patterned paper I used for the border and then I just cut the heart out so the side I wanted to use was the right shape but free from ink.  I also sponged the edges of the banner with Ruby and stamped the "wild thing" image on a shape I cut with the Art Philosophy cartridge.  This makes me think of grade school Valentines and makes me nostalgic for the days when I had little ones that age.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Annette

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

For Always CAS layout

This project is not for any online challenge but something I have challenged myself to do, something on my bucket list:  not only have I captured an image that represents a big part of my daughter's personality but I'm going to enter this for exhibit at our state fair, my first time doing so.  It's a really clean and simple layout but I felt that's what was most fitting for these pictures.  I admit I tried various other layouts and several other paper kits but kept coming back to this one...  and I even got my daughter's stamp of approval!

I used the For Always paper kit and White Daisy, Slate, and Black cardstock and the large black gems in the black and gray sparkles set.  I wanted a font that looked handwritten so I used the one from the Paper Lace Cricut cartridge.

Happy crafting!

Annette

Freshly Made Sketches for a 40th birthday

So not only is graduation over but I have also created a new craft space in my home so I'm itching to get crafting again, and what better project to get started with than a birthday card for the friend who introduced me to papercrafting?  The current challenge at Chocolate, Cards & Coffee Challenge is to use numbers, and when I spotted a sketch on Freshly Made Sketches challenge this morning and it called for 2 shapes over a banner or vertical strip on one side, and I immediately pictured the numbers for this card.  I took a little liberty with the challenge sketch in that it did not include the horizontal strip but I already had the elements of  the card done when I realized it and I just couldn't get the balance I wanted without it.  And since I was having so much fun playing in my new craft space I made a coordinating envelope.

details:  For the outside of the card, I started with the For Always paper pack which included the Lagoon cs and to tie it in I swiped the vertical strip of patterned paper with the Lagoon ink pad, and I used the Card Chatter-Birthday stamp set in black.  For the numbers I used a random dull silver paper and black cardstock for the backing and made the cut from the Black Letter alpha that came preloaded when I got my Gypse.  For the inside, I used Lagoon ink to stamp the Love Doily on the card base and black ink to stamp the sentiment from Hooray Bouquet set inside one of the frames from the Frame Flair set.  For the envelope I stamped Lagoon ink on Lagoon CS using a stamp from the first Perfect Fit Frames set and then I used black ink and my friend's intial from the monogram sets, backed with the zip strip from the For Always patterned paper I used for the card.  I hope my friend doesn't mind that I used her birthday present stamp to make her card.  :-)
Happy crafting!  Annette