Frosted Christmas Cards

It seems that the more I create the more I want to create!!

Here are the latest four cards I made using the lovely Frosted papers.

Thanks for stopping by! Also TODAY ONLY, if you spend $50 in Close To My Heart products with me, I will send you a FREE ink pad of your choice!
Meredith

Supplies all CTMH unless noted
Paper:  Frosted B&T and CS
Ink: Twilight, Ruby, Desert Sand, Chocolate
Stamps:  Merry and Bright (C1510) Pear and Partridge Card WS (C1525)
Other: washi tape, striped ribbon, sparkles, pearls, cream ribbon (from my stash) Glitz Glitter Gel almond

End Of Year Teacher's Card

Another school year is coming to a close...eight days, but who's counting??

I can hardly wait for summer's lazy days!  I know teachers probably can't wait either.  I have always given an end of school gift to Delaney's teacher.  This year (same theme as last year) I am doing a beach bag filled with beach towel, flip flops, sunscreen, aloe vera gel, Off! spray, decks of cards and I am planning on throwing in an Amazon gift card.

So today I sat down to make a card for Delaney to write in....here's what I came up with.

Does it have a beachy theme??  :)  I also used the swiping technique on the flower.

Have a great weekend!
Meredith

Supplies Used: all CTMH unless noted
Paper:  Dakota B&T, White Daisy CS
Ink:  Lagoon, Pear, Cotton Candy, Buttercup, Slate
Stamps:  Extreme Happiness (C1356 RETD) Thank You (C1361 RETD)
Other:  piercing tool, antique copper brads, micro tip scissors, edge distressor, adhesive 

You R Sweet {Pear and Partridge}

I'm back at it with the Pear and Partridge papers used for a Valentine's card.  I can't help it.  I like it better as a Valentine's paper than I ever did for Christmas!

I can't take credit for using the hearts as cherries.  I know I've seen that before, but I sure did think it would be cute to try.

I inked the edges of the hearts with Smoothie to give them some dimension.  So what do you think?  Is this card sweet??  :)

TGIF!

Meredith

Supplies Used: all CTMH unless noted

Paper: Hollyhock CS, Olive CS, Colonial White CS, Pear and Partridge B&T

Ink: Olive, Smoothie

Stamps: Serendipity (for the leaf-retired), Solo "s", "y" and "r" (retired), With Love (for the stem-retired)

Other: edge distresser, Sparkles, sponge dauber, Cricut Artiste (hearts), 

Aggie Girl {graduation card}

Well whatya know?  I finished the other graduation card today! 

So if you're from Texas you are plenty familiar with the rivalry between Texas A&M and The University of Texas.  I decided to play with some school spirit for this particular card.

Here'a a closeup of my favorite craft medium...glitter.  {giggle}

You'll notice I used the swiping technique on the letters.  Again I used the long and narrow style of card.  In hindsight I wish I would have used the barn wood pattern from the Dakota papers where the Whisper is--maybe next time.  ;)

Meredith

Supplies: all CTMH unless noted

Paper:  Champagne CS, Whisper CS

Ink: Vineyard Berry (ret'd)  you could easily substitute Barn Red, but I didn't have the matching ribbon for that color...

Stamps:  Varsity Alphabet (E1023), Paisly Flair (C1508)

Other:  Irresistibles Houndstooth Alphas, Vineyard Berry Grosgrain (ret'd), edge distresser, glue dots, Liquid Glass, Bonding Memories Glue, silver glitter (HL)

Good Job! {only four months late}

 So last May my mom asked me to make her two graduation cards.  One for a cousin who graduated from college and one for a cousin who graduated from high school.

Yes like the cobbler whose kids don't have shoes and the mechanic whose car never runs, there is a scrapbooker whose cards are never made.   : P

But last night I finally got around to one of them....for the Aeronautical Engineer.  And the neat thing about this long narrow size is that a check fits in it nicely without having to fold it up!

I loved this paper for her.  She's a science nerd and I think it's fabulous!!  I believe she also has a minor in Russian.  Too bad she didn't get the most of her college degree LOL!

Now to just get to that other one before the dear girl graduates college....

Meredith

Supplies:  all CTMH unless noted
Paper:  Superhero B&T, White Daisy CS, Black CS
Ink:  Cranberry, Black 
Stamp: Superhero WOTG (C1487)
Other:  Black and Clear Sparkles, Shimmer Trim, Foam Tape

Monster High Birthday Invites

My oldest daughter is into Monster High right now.  As in, we have the backpack, PJs, dolls, and now birthday theme.

Lucky for us, a friend has a Cricut cartridge that fits the bill!!  It's called Rock Princess and it has the cute little skull with bow that matches the Monster High theme.

Here is her party invite...

I know I've said it before, but I just LOVE the Shimmer Trim!  This is two lengths of it, one on top of the other...

I was so happy with how they turned out.  And it didn't take that long to make them...also a bonus!

Hope you are having a fabulous long weekend!
Meredith

Supplies:  all CTMH unless noted
Paper: White Daisy CS, Black CS, Grey Wool CS (ret'd), Pansy Purple CS (ret'd)
Other: Cricut Artiste and Rock Princess (Provo), Shimmer Trim, foam tape, Liquid Glass, adhesive, card bases (HL), Squares embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

Business Card Holder {Artiste}

One of the best parts of the CTMH convention is Extravaganza.  It is FOUR hours of creative genius from some of CTMH's most talented consultants.  Each of these consultants creates artwork with new product and then gives instruction on the products and the projects.  Today's feature was a direct result of one of their ideas!

The Artiste cartridge has one of those cute little mailboxes you could use for valentines or something, but one consultant stuck two together, bottom to bottom and came up with an adorable little 3D craft.  She suggested that you could put little Bath and Bodyworks lotions in it.

I immediately wrote down this idea!

When I came home it was one of the first things I cut with my new cartridge.  I decided to use it to hold business cards and pens at gatherings.

I chose the colors to match my business cards.  And I chose burlap because, DUH, it's burlap!!  :)

This 3D flower is also on the Artiste cartridge.  It's really cute.  I cut a circle of burlap, curled the edges to the back to make a little burlap button and then placed it in the center of the flower on a big ol' pile of Liquid Glass.  It's kind of neat how the end result looks like the burlap is somehow threaded through the flower.

I think I may make another and put some sort of treat in it for a door prize.

See you next time!
Meredith


Supplies: all CTMH unless noted
Paper:  Hollyhock CS, Chocolate CS
Ink:  Chocolate
Stamps: Intrinsic Backgrounds (D1335)
Other:  Liquid Glass, Burlap Ribbon, Cricut Artiste, Chocolate Baker's Twine, Glue Dots, Bonding Memories Glue.

You're Sweet

I put this card together using a new stamp set I received at the 2012 CTMH Convention.  It's a great set that is perfect for making cute cards!

I paper-pieced the cupcake and colored the icing with the new alcohol marker and then, of course, had to douse it with Prisma glitter--the shinest stuff on earth!

More to come!
Meredith

Supplies:  All CTMH unless noted
Paper: Lucy B&T, Sweet Leaf CS, Creme Brulee CS, Colonial White CS
Ink:  Slate, Cotton Candy (marker)
Stamps:  Pun Fun (C1505)
Other:  Blush organdy ribbon, edge distresser, Glu Dots, Bonding Memories Glue Pen, Micro Tip Scissors, Prisma Glitter, adhesive (Hobby Lobby)

Welcome to Texas

I made this card to welcome my upline to Texas.  I rubbed an ink pad over the embossed piece to create the wood grain.  It may not show in the picture, but I raised the star on a foam dot, bent the star points from center to point and then sanded the raised area to distress it.  How fortunate was it that I ordered Born to Ride and it had that barbed wire stamp on it?!?

I am including a local cookbook (from my daughter's school that I had the pleasure of being on the committee to create) and a Tervis tumbler that has the state flag and barbed wire on it.  I'm hoping she'll like the souvenir!

Off to pack (since this post was typed Tuesday but I scheduled it to post Thursday)

Meredith

Supplies:  All CTMH unless noted

Paper:  Desert Sand CS, Cranberry CS, Bamboo CS

Ink:  Cranberry, Chocolate, Moonstruck

Stamps:  Star Struck (D1237), Born to Ride (C1483), Around the Block (D1377)

Other: Paper Studio embossing folder, Antique Copper brads, sanding block, foam dot

Happy Birthday Tea Party {Pemberly Papers}

One of my sweet nieces is turning two in just a few short weeks and when I found out a tea party may be in the works, I knew what my card would be.  Well, at least I knew what stamp set to use!

Even though she is a sweet and dainty little girl I couldn't use pink for her card because her favorite color is blue.  I choose shades of a soft dusty blue.

The 'ribbon' at the bottom is made from a folded piece of paper.  I added ink to the edges to give it dimension.

And of course I had to add a little sparkle to finish it off.

Until next time,
Meredith


Supplies: (All CTMH unless noted)
Paper: Vanilla Cream CS, Pemberly B&T
Ink:  Outdoor Denim
Stamps:  Happy Birthday (C1257), Tea Party (D1149)
Other:  sponge dauber, edge distressor, micro-tip scissors, bonding memories glue, prisma glitter, adhesive

3 Birthday Cards

My dad's good friend is unfortunately going through pretty intense cancer treatments.  To cheer him up, his daughter is organizing a card drive of sorts.  She's collected over 90 so far and plans to surprise him on his birthday this week.

My parents, my brother and his wife, and my husband and I are all sending cards.  I put these three together last night.

They are all simple and all made with retired products.  In fact the third is made with paper I got in my Consultant's Kit the last time I was a Consultant!  The first card is made with some old Christmas papers.  It just proves that CTMH papers are versatile AND timeless!!  :)

Until next time,
Meredith

Smile {Inspired by Current Catalog}

Recently I was flipping through the Current Catalog.  I saw THIS card.  (I would love to just copy and paste a picture of it for you, but sadly I can't seem to do it.)  But I did take a picture of the catalog page with my camera.....how's that for cheating the system??

So I thought it might be fun to try to re-create the look.   I grabbed every color of the rainbow...a few million stamps....and....whatdya think?

Similar anyway.

I changed the sentiment, to make it fit with the stamp sizes I had.  Here's a fun fact:  Those circles behind the letters are actually the back side of another stamp.  It's a cool little trick you can do with the MyAcrylix stamps.  The reverse side of the stamp is smooth, so if you like the shape of a particular stamp, just put it on the clear block facing in and voila! you have another stamp.  In this case the actual stamp is the large center of a flower with some texture detail.  But when I flipped it over it became a somewhat misshapen circle.  Perfect for what I needed!

Hope it brought a smile to your face!
Meredith

Supplies:  (all CTMH unless noted)
Ink:  Black, Watermelon, Sunflower, Hydrangea, Sunny Yellow, Heavenly Blue, Sorbet, Citrus Leaf
Stamps:  Solos "S" "M" "I" "L" "E",  two of these stamps came from Workshop-on-the-Go kits, Just for You (B1398), Family Love (D1506)
Other: card base (Hobby Lobby)


*all current CTMH products can be found on my shopping website listed on the sidebar*

Cookies from the trash...

taste SO much better!  At least according to my son.

One day after cleaning and re-organizing the pantry I noticed my son had chocolate all over his face.  When I figured out where it came from, I did what any self respecting mom would have done.

 I grabbed the camera and made him re-create what he did....

I titled this LO "Gah-ya" because that is how he says Gotcha!  And he does say it often.  I haven't added the journaling yet.  I really love the look of the spool of film.  Finally I remembered about a punch I had that makes paper look like a spiral notebook.  In this case I think it works to look like a some negatives...

Click on the pictures to enlarge the details.

Thanks for stopping by!
Meredith


Supplies: (all CTMH unless noted)
Paper:  Sweet Leaf CS, Black CS, White Daisy CS, Olive CS, Tan Camouflage (Hot Off The Press)
Stamps:  Star Struck (D1237), Boutique Alphabet (E1003), Journaling Jots (B1269)
Ink:  Olive, Chocolate, Black, Chocolate Marker
Other:  adhesive, punch (Stampin' Up)

 *All current CTMH supplies can be found on my shopping website listed on the sidebar*

Beachy Happy Birthday

My mom called and asked for a special birthday card, and we discussed themes.  We landed on 'beach'.  At first I was toying with the idea of using a seashell stamp, but at the last minute decided on this...

What do you think?  Does it look like waves rolling into the beach?  My husband didn't get that from it...oh well.  The 'sand' is made by using a Sanding Block on textured paper, then using a distressing tool to pounce on some Desert Sand and Chocolate ink.  (The white-core textured CS from CTMH is retired, but you could get the same effect by pouncing on some White Daisy ink first.)  Always remember to ink on lightest to darkest.  

The waves were made by simply tearing the white-core CS across at an angle.  So easy!

Thanks for stopping by!
Meredith


Supplies: (all CTMH unless noted)
Paper:  Bamboo Textured CS, Twilight CS, Juniper CS
Stamps:  Happy Birthday (C1257)
Ink:  Desert Sand, Chocolate
Other:  adhesive, sanding block (from the Sanding Kit), stubble tool (from the Texture Tools), card base (Hobby Lobby)

**all current CTMH supplies can be found on my shopping page linked in the sidebar**

For You (a gift tote)

One of the best things CTMH ever did was partner with Cricut!  I have had so much fun learning to use my Imagine machine.  Here's a little 3D item you can make using the Art Philosophy cartidge...

First I cut the handled tote from the <Square1> key using some patterned paper.  Next I cut the 3D flower from another patterned paper with the <Banner6> key.  My upline Lisa Stenz has a great tutorial HERE for rolling the flowers up.  I'm still getting the hang of it.  ;)

My final step was to cut the 'leaves' and stamp the sentiment.  (I used key <Shape11> in two sizes to make them.)  I inked the edges of the leaves because they looked a little naked to me!

Thanks for stopping by!
Meredith

Supplies: (all CTMH unless noted)
Paper:  Vanilla Cream cs, Florentine pp
Stamps:  From Me To You (D1247)
Ink:  Cocoa, Twilight
Other:  Sponge Dauber, Liquid Glass, adhesive, Art Philosophy cartidge

**I've decided not to link to all supplies, just list them at the bottom.  You can find all current CTMH supplies at my website which is linked on the sidebar.**

Key To My Heart

While rearranging the scrap stuff, I went though all of my CTMH papers and stamps from when I was a consultant a few years ago.  Oh I have TONS of stuff too--and it's all still beautiful.    One of my favorites was a promotional kit called Key to My Heart.  It had a beautiful "E" size stamp set.

Of course I had all my new kit stuff still out on my table, so I decided to combine a little.  I wanted to try the new die-cut cards (Z1738).  I also had one of the stamps from my Art Philosophy kit out.

This is the fold over flap of the tri-fold card.

I wanted to use the flourish stamp in the Key to my Heart set to decorate it.  It is a very large almost L-shaped stamp.  So to cover the area I needed to stamp part of it....

Then I inked another part of the stamp to cover that bit that is empty there in the corner.

With that done, I covered the outside flap with some patterned paper, and inked the edges with Cocoa ink and a Sponge Dauber.  I used cocoa ink to stamp a keyhole and flourish from my new stamp set as a little embellishment to the flap.

My next task was to make a cut out key.  I inked the key with Juniper ink.  I stamped it one time on scratch paper, and then without re-inking I stamped it onto my Colonial White cardstock.  This technique is called second generation stamping.   I cut it out with the Micro Tip Scissors and again used the cocoa ink to distress the edges.

For the inside I stamped the sentiment with Creme Brulee ink (which happens to be my all time favorite ink color!)  I inked the heart image with Juniper ink and then stamped off on scratch paper.

 I used the dauber in Cocoa ink to ink the edges of the stamp....

Then I stamped it onto Colonial White cs, cut it out and used foam dot adhesives to pop it up off the base.

For a final touch I added a bit of cream ribbon to the key and adhered it to the front of the card.

Here's the inside...

Whew!  This post took longer to create than the card!

NOTE:  While I used a retired set, you can find a key stamp and flourish stamps in the current catalog.

Happy Stamping!
Meredith