Thankful For You Card

I haven't been crafting much this summer, which is a very sad thing for me. Tonight I broke into some of my newest goodies, most of which aren't even available until the new idea book goes live in a couple of weeks. I figure whatever gets me creating again is what I'm gonna use...and this fall I want to really make a goal of making time for myself and my craft therapy!

Since there is an adorable new sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, I decided I wanted to make something happy! I grabbed some papers from the upcoming Oh What Fun! papers, which is ostensibly for Christmas, but I have this thing about pink... Anyhoooo, combined with the September SOTM (I know, this entire project is all sneak peeks) I've managed a cheerful thank you card by re-purposing holiday items. You can also see a peek of the new stitches stamps coming soon. Seriously big heart eyes for that one!

I used a lot of bashful shimmer brush on the little candies and cocoa mug, along with a fair amount of clear stickles. The whole card sparkles in real life, which lifts my crafty spirits and brings glittery peace to my soul. I'm linking this project up to the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Cuteness Overload.

I hope you'll pop over to Atlantic Hearts to join in this week's sketch challenge fun!

Just a Note to Say Thanks Card

I'm back from CTMH Convention 2018, and it was, as always, an amazing experience. My family came with me this year, so it was a two week road trip with lots of stops for fun and family along the way, topped off by the actual Convention and hanging with my fabulous team.  I've got so much to share with you, but I'm actually headed to Spokane tomorrow to camp (at a KOA...my nephew calls it Kamping with a "K") with my brother and his family, so I'm not quite ready to blog all of the fun stuff...plus the new book isn't available until this fall, so I'm going to be doing mostly peeks and having fun with the current goodies this summer...but before I go off to Kamp I'll share one card I made as soon as I got home. 'Cause I cannot resist...

I used this week's cute Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge sketch as a jumping off point. I cut into the new Grateful Heart paper packet I got at Leadership day of Convention. How much do you love that floral? We also got a new and totes adorbs typewriter stamp set which I totally love!

I stamped the typewriter three times, twice on Linen Cardstock and Once on some of the Grateful Heart patterned paper. Then I pieced the typewriter together and added some black shimmer to the key areas. I got the little grey daisies from one of the Grateful Heart packet's zip strips. My team made this card yesterday at our meeting, where we got to go over the Convention highlights and get started on fall planning. These ladies really fill my own grateful heart, and I feel so lucky to have each of them in my life. I am so grateful that my CTMH experience is made so much richer and even more fun because of my fabulous team!

The new AHSC sketch is adorable, and I hope you'll hop over there to play along this week!

September SOTM Sneak Peek

I sat down at my desk to create something for my team to make at our meeting on Sunday. I was stuck for a while, as my desk is literally covered in Whimsy pastels, and the September Stamp of the Month is a gratitude/autumn-y feeling kind of set. I popped over to Color Throwdown, and the challenge this week was also pastels, like the ones covering my desk, so I decided "Why not?" and got down to business. 

I used the new palest pink Bashful cardstock and ink combined with second generation Thistle and Lagoon to go along with the Color Throwdown challenge. I was working off the sketch over at  CAS(E) This Sketch, with the wider border on the right and the banner overlapping the edge. I filled the pink border on the right with the openwork heart image, which I also sprinkled around my feather work as well. I got to use my new Tim Holtz stamp platform for placing the Thanks and that arrow border, which made it way easier to line the border up over multiple cards. I don't know if you can see it but I applied shimmer pen to all the feathers for a subtle shine, then finished off the card with a few teeny sequins. 

The feathers were stamped using both the front AND the back of the feather stamp image. First I inked the back or solid side of the stamp, swiping the ink off and then stamping off before adding it to the card so the image would be distressed and lighter. Then I flipped the image back to the front side on my block so I could stamp it again with the same color full strength on top of the feather "shadows".  The September Stamp of the Month won't be available until September, of course, but I hope you'll forgive me for this little sneak peek!

Gratitude Doily Card

So out of the entire Stamp of the Month set this month, I think this Gratitude sentiment image is my absolute favorite. 

I combined some of the new Enchantment Fundamentals with some Sangria retired paper. I love how the patterns in the new fundamentals can support and extend whats already in my paper stash! I was working off the sweet new RetroSketches sketch.

I topped off the design with slate sequins topped with some rounded clear gems. I love the look of white doilies against bold colors! 

Crafty Card Buffet kicks on on Sunday!

Thankful Beyond Measure card

So I am (as I'm sure many of you are as well) completely in LOVE with Betsy Veldman. Everything she makes is Amazing with a capital A, and if you haven't met her yet, go there now. I'll wait...and you're welcome.

So this week she did this card for Papertrey Ink Make it Monday and I about swooned. Immediately I knew I had to MAKE THE THING. So I grabbed my September SOTM and got inky. I started with the new Mojo Monday Sketch. I wanted to spray my background with Distress Spray in Antique Linen, so I extended that second panel to meet the first so my card base wouldn't curl up. I also extended the banner bits into a shiny copper twine wrap because shiny, And copper. I hope Mojo Monday will forgive me!

Instead of florals I used the big pumpkin image. You can imagine how inky my paws were after I finished the leaves and pumpkin inking.I added some touched on shimmer pen and glitter gel to the background stamping, but the real sparkle is that copper twine, which I scored at Target. 

Don't forget my new Card Buffet is coming this Sunday! Hope to see you there!

Day 338: Owl Miss You Card

The closer we get to our actual move date, the more torn the boys feel about moving. While they are excited about the new house, and happy/nervous about their new school, they are leaving behind so many wonderful friends and teachers who made Spokane a great place to live. 

This weekend I helped them with a little project, making thank you notes and pen pal packages for their teachers and best friends. I was in charge of the card making, and they were in charge of the heartfelt inner notes plus delivery. I used the new sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge to get this party started, plus some adorable wooden owls and polka dot skinny washi tape that I found at Hobby Lobby and hoarded saved for the right occasion. All the other papers are from La Vie En Rose.

I added bow ties to the owls using the La Vie En rose Complements, and that layered banner at the top was built from a La Vie kraft arrow that I split in half and layered back together. 

I think this quote paraphrased from Winnie the Pooh says it best. "How lucky we are to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." Thank you to Spokane, and especially to all of lovely, fabulous Spokanites. I know the boys and I will always be happy we had this #spokaneadventure.  

Day 311: Glitter Mason Jar Thank You Card

Tonight's project is one of those that looks so much better in person that it makes me wish I were a better photographer.

I started with a new (to me) sketch challenge blog I found this week called Can You Case It? I stamped my card base with the friendship sentiment and tiny heart from the December SOTM in Cashmere ink.Then I layered on a Beautiful You PML card. I crossed that with some silver washi tape and popped up the Thank You sentiment on thin foam tape.

By then my Mason Jar treatment was dry. I wanted to evoke glitter mason jars (like these that I made for my craft fair table), so after I stamped the jar I filled it in with glitter nail polish. I could've used Stickles, but it would be so chunky and take forever to dry. Since this wasn't for a scrapbook page I just painted on some glitter nail polish and a few minutes later it was dry and so very sparkly! I did the same for the little heart, except I used silver sparkly nail polish and dropped a few drops of the berry color from the jar into it and swirled it around with my piercing tool. 

It's photographing as kind of bumpy but in person it' just shimmery and sparkly loveliness. I'm really hoping my ShotBox gets here soon!!

Day 298: Homemade Toffee Candy Teacher Mason Jar Gift

So this is what I did with the tags from last night's post - I popped them onto these adorable mason jars filled with a homemade toffee candy to deliver to my boys' hard working teachers at our conferences today.

I got the jars on Etsy. I know I can make my own, and heaven knows there are enough mason jars in my house, but sometimes you need a little helping hand. These were adorable, and not too expensive, and best of all I didn't have to paint them myself. I did make the tags  (I'm sure you can see where the tag inspiration came from) plus the candy to fill them up. On the tags we wrote, "Thank you for every piece of knowledge." We heart our teachers!

Here's the link to the original toffee recipe I altered. It's simple, with few ingredients, and totally yummy! It was originally supposed to be an Almond Roca copy, but I crushed some pecans and unsweetened shredded coconut together in my food processor and put that down instead of the crushed almonds. Then I poured the toffee mixture on top (made with real butter and dark brown sugar) and topped it with melted Enjoy Life Semi Sweet Chocolate Mini Chips, because that's our favorite allergy friendly chocolate. You'd better just go ahead and make a double batch because it's so delicious! I'm going to save all the crumbs left from break it up for ice cream topping. Sweet!

I'm linking up to the Heart 2 Heart gifts from the heart challenge and the Paper Issues Owl I Want for Christmas party.

Day 297: Mason Jar Holiday Gift Tag

Tonight I'm trying to finish up our teacher gifts before conferences this week. I'll show you the whole enchilada tomorrow, but for tonight, here's the tag I made to go on our gift.

I decorated up the back a bit too, leaving space for the boys to add their own note. I used the December SOTM mason jar, which matches the adorable jars I got for our gifts. I stamped the heart onto the jar, all on Cranberry cardstock. Then I trimmed out the heart to back it with a bit of White Pines paper. I added some sparkly glitter polka dot washi tape, and I'm planning to tie them on with baker's twine and those wood veneer snowflakes in the background. Now that I've got cute tags I'm almost ready to fill the jars! 

Day 281: Candlelight Garden Thank You Card

Tonight I'm sharing a little sneak peek of the December SOTM called Candlelight Garden. It's such a pretty and versatile set! I was holding this set for the SOTM blog hop on December 1, but in the bustle of last week's power outage adventure I plum forgot to sign up for the hop. 

I started with this week's challenge from Retrosketches. I stamped the jar and the bouquet along the right side of the card, then I fussy cut about 3/4 of an inch of the card edge right off. I masked off the jar and added the string lights using Glacier ink. Then I water colored everything using my water brush and ink from my pads (Glacier, Juniper, Honey, and Pomegranate).

I stamped my sentiment onto a 3/4" cardstock scrap, then cut in a dovetail for a banner. I outlined the sentiment and card front with a journaling pen. Finally I lined the inner edge of the card with some La Vie En Rose paper. I know I'm going to be loving on this set all through the month of December. 

Don't forget to check out CTMH's Cyberweek Sale! From 8 a.m. PST on Monday, November 30 through 3 p.m. PST on Friday December, 4th, a selection of current awesome goodies can be yours at 25% off retail pricing. Get supplies you'll need to make handcrafted gifts and cards for the holidays, including the amazing Cricut Artfully Sent Collection at a fab discount! Let me know if I can help you make a plan to use these specially priced items to give your holiday gift giving a handmade from the heart touch!

Day 173: I Am Grateful Card

Tonight I busted out my Simple Stories I Am pad to create a card for this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge. 

I trimmed out a card front panel from the brick/heart pattern sheet. I layered on a black open circle and and black cardstock circle covered in silver chevron washi tape. I stitched around the open circle with white thread after threading on some coral shimmer trim. I lined the card base with silver geometric washi tape before mounting the brick panel onto the card base. 

I trimmed out the I AM and THANKFUL words from the pad, adding banner tips to each side before mounting them with thin foam tape. I popped on a tiny 1/4" Artistry butterfly, then painted the butterfly and the sentiment with clear Wink of Stella. I added a couple of Bitty Sparkles. 

Day 77: Orange You Sweet Card

Here's the last of my Taste of Summer cards for now - I've linked all of them on this post.

I am loving the bold colors and subtle patterns on the backsides of the Taste of Summer papers.  I used the CAS(E) this Sketch #122. I mounted this chevron onto Orange Cardstock that is just 1/8th inch bigger for just a touch of a frame. I split the sentiment into two banners with some careful selective inking.

I inked the oranges in Sunflower ink and Rolled the edges in Sunset ink. Then I glittered the centers. I added a few green epoxy bubbles to pop against the orange. I love me a sweet and simple thank you card!

Day 53: Hexagon Thank You Card

So after cutting the honeycombs for my Just Beecause card I was left with a plethora of teensy tiny hexagons... what to do...what to do?

I figured stamping them was a good start. I'd seen the ColourQ Challenge for this week, which was Black and White plus one color, so I grabbed some Cranberry. I used the patterns from the May SOTM to add texture to my hexagons. I added the sentiment from Finding the Words, which is quickly becoming a favorite set.

I stitched the edges with black thread, and added some black enamel dots. Then I used a fine line pen to shadow the stamped image, just following the stamped image edge. I love the extra definition just a bit of foam tape can give to a simple card! 

Day 16: Atlantic Hearts Thank You Card

Yesterday I went to grab a thank you card from my stash...only to discover that there were no thank you cards left. Birthday cards, congrats on your new baby cards...but no thank you cards. Luckily I had the new Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge sketch on my desk, so it was time to get inky!

I used some Brushed B&T and the adorable stamp set from the Brushed Workshop On The Go. I outlined the layers with a fine point black marker. I inked the butterfly image in Canary ink and rolled it in Thistle ink - so light and pretty!

I outlined the butterfly with pink stickles. Then I added drops of pink stickles around the card and dropped black sparkles into the glitter puddles. I backed the thanks with a scrap of pink glitter paper and now I'm ready to send my happy thoughts! 

Pop over to Atlantic Hearts to share your take on Sketch 98!

Annual Inspirations Hop #4

It's day four of the Annual Inspirations Hop, so I'm back with a new project. I couldn't stay away from those cute August SOTM owls, and I was in a party kind of mood after having an awesome time at my Brother's wedding...so I figured if one owl is cute, a gaggle of owls would be a celebration indeed. (I looked it up...it's a parliment of owls...but that's not very festive.)

I hopped out to Color Throwdown for some inspiration and they had a cool and summery combo for this week that I interpreted as Lagoon, Pear, Topiary, and Carmine (I used the new ShinHan Marker for my masks). I stamped the background in a gradient from Lagoon to Pear, rocking the sentiment stamp in two colors to bring the colors down the background cardstock. I pulled my thanks bubble from Cuddly Salutation, which is a hostess only set on page 10 of the new Annual Inspirations Idea Book, and the adorable What A Day set CTMH gave us at Convention down in DisneyLand.

I used post-its to make a mask of the owl body and stamp a grouping of owls. Then I cut the eye area out of my mask and used that to protect their faces as I stamped on the cute patterns (which are actually more owl eyeball options). I based my card on the new Atlantic Heart Sketch. I hope you'll grab the sketch and pop over there to share a card of your own!

Have you been keeping an eye on all the fabulousness in this on going blog hop? I've been travelling, so I hope that tonight I'll get a chance to sit down and feast my eyes on this collection of crafty goodness!