Thursday, January 31, 2013

February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

Hello!  Welcome to the February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop.  If you've arrived here from Kami's Blog, welcome!  If you're just starting out here, you can click at the link at the end of my post to go on to the next blog hopper.  It's a big circle, and hopefully, you'll have time to go all the way around and end up right where you started!

Everyone is using the same February Stamp of the Month stamp set, Home Sweet Home.  If you haven't seen it yet, here it is:



I thought this stamp set was kind of challenging, mostly because I don't really like big word stamps.  Plus, it's kind of square, so it takes up a lot of space on the card front.  I dealt with that by using a bigger card base, the 3 1/2" x 8" size.



I LOVE the Chantilly paper pack, which is what I used for my cards here...but I bet you knew that.  :)

I used the Olive/Buttercup paper first.  It looks like wallpaper to me, so I thought it would work nicely as a background.  I edged it with Twilight ink, just to give it some depth.

I used the Olive Mini-Medleys that I had hanging around.  They're cool, because they have an assortment of embellishments that are all Olive-y...like the ribbon and the "belt buckle" that I used here.

The second card I made was a total  "stamplift" from the Chantilly Workshop on the Go.

Here's the card that that CTMH designed:



Here's my version:



I just think that big stamp is too big for a "standard" 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card.  I think it would work great on a 6"x6" card, though.

CTMH used Twilight, I used Lagoon.  Instead of ribbon, I used the Glitter Tape.  I also used the darker grey glitter paper for a mat, but it's hard to tell.

Buttons go like this:



I used a button from the Blue Button Assortment and a sparkly top from the Boutique Assortment.  I had to use a tiny piece of foam mounting tape, because the top of the button was too bumpy for anything to stick to.  On the bottom of the button, I used Liquid Glass as an adhesive.

So, I hope you had fun looking.  Don't forget, if you want to shop for anything you saw here, you can go to my website.

Now you can hop on over to Beth's Blog and check out her beautiful creations!

Happy Stamping!

Lisa



Monday, January 28, 2013

Touching the lives of others...



What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.     ~ Pericles


I saw this quote last week, and loved it.  I think that's what card making does for me.  It gives me a chance to connect with others in a way that seems small on my end, but for the person getting the card, it could be a very big thing.  Maybe they don't get many cards, maybe they feel like people have forgotten them because they can't go out of their home any more.

Telephone calls are great, but we're all so busy!  Sometimes it's hard to fit it in.  A card can continue to 'give' to the person when you're not there, or if they're feeling sad.  AND you can write the card in the middle of the night.  You can't (ordinarily) make a phone call at midnight.

I encourage you to send a card to someone today...even if it's just a note to say HELLO.  It will make your friend smile.  And it might just make you smile, too.

Here's one of the cards we made in class this month:


I used the border in the Avonlea card making workshop kit to make faux ribbon on the card base.  It's kind of a cool technique!

Supplies Used:
Avonlea Cardmaking Workshop on the Go (G1527, $29.95)
Pun Fun (C1505, $13.95)
Card Stock: Sweet Leaf, Sky and Cotton Candy
Cricut Art Philosophy (for the circle and scallop)
Spray Pen (with rubbing alcohol and Pacifica Reinker) to darken the blue ribbon
Silver Shimmer Trim
Designer Rhinestone Brads (retiring 1/31/13 - so get 'em while you can!) (Z1360, $5.95 for 12)
Ink:  Ruby
Markers: Sunkiss Yellow (retired), Bamboo (retired), Cotton Candy (to color the rhinestones)
Other:  Gel Pens, green, clear, pink
Micro Tip Scissors
Foam Mounting Tape


And here's a card we made at a Close To My Heart corporate event.  





I would never have thought of using the (Flirty) Raspberry card stock with the grey driftwood paper from the Dakota paper pack.  And the epoxy flowers are a wonderful addition!  

Supplies Used:
Dakota Paper Pack (grey driftwood B&T paper)
La Belle Vie (black B&T paper)
Flirty (raspberry card stock)
Baker's Twine Harvest Assortment (Z1751, $4.95)
Slate Mini-Medleys (Z1787, $5.95) (flower pins and brad)






Thursday, January 17, 2013

Just Have Some Fun!

Recently a friend told me that I should make a list of fun things I've always wanted to do, and start doing them.  What great advice!  :)

I've started my list, but one of the easiest fun things for me to do is to make a card!  (It's the simple things...)

Here's one of the cards we'll be making at card class this month.  It was designed by Lalia Harris.  She's so talented!

It's a "swing card" that folds flat to 5 1/2" x 4 1/4", and opens with a little flap in the inside.  This particular one is from the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  Here's the outside:


And when you unfold it -  the inside:


If you were to look down at the card from the top, it folds like a "Z".

I love how cute it is, and there's still room to write a message.

If you want to make this fun card - come to a class this month!  January 18,19, 24 or 25 (times vary, check my "Monthly Classes and Workshops" tab at the top of my blog).

If you just want to buy the supplies to make this card - click here to start shopping.  Plus, there's always some great "While Supplies Last" items.    Don't forget to check it out..

Don't forget to have a sunny day!

Lisa

Supplies Used:

CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (Z1686, $99)
CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge (Z1790, $99)
Clementine Paper Pack (X7156B, $9.95)
Chocolate Card Stock (X5643, $14.50 for 24 sheets)
Inks:  Olive, Sorbet
Words of Comfort Stamp Set (C1524, $13.95)
Casual Expressions Stamp Set (D1525, $17.95)
Burlap Ribbon (Z1760, $7.95 for 5 yards)
Brown Sparkles
Liquid Glass
Markers:  Sorbet (both light and dark)
Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon
Foam Mounting Tape
Glue Dots
Almond Glitz

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Birthday Gift for my Mother-In-Law

I like to make mini-scrapbooks and projects.  Every Christmas/birthday I give my Mother-In-Law a scrapbook-y gift.  (She loves scrapbooking and scrapbooks.) 

This year, when Close To My Heart came out with the Display Tray, I knew I had to use it for my gift to her.


It's perfect for little (3x4) pictures, and since we have kids and grandkids in our family, I thought it would work great.

Here's what I came up with.  It's not fancy, but I know she loved it, because she got all teary-eyed when she opened it.  (This is my goal every year...haha)







I used the Garden Wooden Shapes Color Ready Accents (Z1718, $5.95 for 24 wooden shapes) for one of the boxes with some glittery rub-ons.  (I loved putting the rub-ons directly on the wood.)  I would have liked to have added some patterned paper in one of the boxes, but I had too many family members and not enough boxes to spare...




Also, I used the dot adhesive, and I told her she could switch out the pictures later if she wanted, but she said she wouldn't do that. 

I edged each of the pictures with Black Staz-On ink, so the white edges of the picture wouldn't show on the black background.

Hope this inspires you to make a little scrapbook for someone you love!  (I may even make one of these for our family.  I printed out 30 pictures and was only able to use 11 of them...)