It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Well it may not be Christmas - but you wouldn't know it by the weather here in Calgary!   We were hit with a huge snowstorm Sunday and all signs of spring are now buried in several feet of snow!!  

In keeping with a wintery theme - I have a Christmas layout for you today.   We have a brand new sketch up at Let's Get Sketchy and a twist this week - - a colour combo challenge to go along with it!

Here is my layout:

Materials Used:
CTMH paper pack: Pear & Partridge (retired)
CTMH stickers: Mistletoe (retired)
Ink: New England Ivy
Marker: Creative Memories journal writer
Cardstock: CTMH Cashmere and White Daisy

The sketch by Jenessa Franco:

And the colour combo twist:

Join us at Let's Get Sketchy!  We'd love to have you play along this week.

Tis the Season to Smile

We have one of my favourite holiday tunes on the playlist this week at Scrap it with a Song - "Shake up Christmas" by Train.

Sketch is Creative Scrappers #230.
The title of my layout is a gentle reminder to me (and to us all) this week about what the holidays are all about - - family & being together being on the top of the list for me.     So easy to forget that in the hustle & bustle & stress of the holidays and with the added horrors & tragedy of all that is going on in the world right now.  

Materials Used:
CTMH paper pack: Pear & Partridge
CTMH Eclectic Chipboard Alphabet
CTMH Harvest Bakers Twine
CTMH Holiday Buttons (retired)
Prima Alphabet Stickers
CTMH Ink: Cranberry & Cocoa

Hope you'll have a chance to play along this week & be sure to let us know if you are interested in joining our Scrap it with a Song Design Team - - we are looking for some fresh faces & it could be you!!  Check out the SIWAS blog for all the details!

Christmas Gift Card Holder

New artwork to share!!
I don't know about you but it seems like I give more & more gift cards every year.   I guess as my neices and nephews get older and as we have more & more teachers & coaches in our lives - gift cards are the go-to gift!    I find that 'dressing up' the gift cards a little makes me feel a little better about giving what seems like such an impersonal gift.    The CTMH Cricut Artiste cartridge makes creating gift card holders super easy!   Check out this Christmas version I created:

The gift card holder base is cut with the Cricut - you simply fold it, adhere it & decorate it!  

EDIT - I've had a few questions about the specific Cricut cut -- it is the "L" key (found on page 59 of the booklet), "Card" function, size - 'fit to page'.   If you use your fit to page function - it doesn't matter what size your dial is set at.  The finished card is just over 5.25" x 3.5" - fits in a standard envelope for a 4.25 x 5.5" card.  You can cut two gift card holders on each 12x12" sheet of cardstock.  

Materials Used:

Patterned paper: CTMH Stella, CTMH Pear & Partridge

Gift card holder, ornaments and sentiment panel cut with CTMH Cricut Artiste

Holiday Cheer stamp set

Harvest Bakers Twine

Ink: CTMH Cocoa

Have a great weekend!

CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop for December

Welcome to the CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop for December!   This month we are featuring the super-versatile stamp set "YEAR ROUND CHEER".

Hope you'll join us this month - we'll be hopping among a group of great CTMH consultants who have created a multitude of different projects, all featuring this great stamp set.  If you've come here from Lori's Blog, you are on the right path.  If this is your first stop on the hop, that's OK too, just keep hopping until you get back here again :-)

To continue along the hop, click on the link at the end of each post to move to the next site.  We hope that the creations you find along the way will inspire you & will give you many ideas for working with this month's featured stamp set, as well as all of the other great CTMH products you'll see along the way!

My creation for you today is two cute holiday cards:

When I'm creating holiday cards - I lean towards more clean & simple (and flatter), simply because I know I'll be mailing them and don't want them to be destroyed enroute!

This stamp set is full of great sentiments & matching images for many occasions all year long!  Certainly makes for quick & easy card making!

Materials Used:
CTMH Pear & Partridge patterned paper
CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge
CTMH Harvest Bakers Twine
CTMH Year Round Cheer stamp set (Dec 2012 Stamp of the Month)
CTMH Perfect Fit Frames stamp set
CTMH Bitty Sparkles
CTMH Cardstock: White Daisy, Cocoa, Cranberry

The December Stamp of the Month is available from your consultant (or from me!) from December 1st to 31st, 2012.   It can be purchased for $17.95, or get it for just $5 with every qualifying purchase of $50 or more during the month of December.  

If you'd like to continue hopping to see more great artwork using this stamp set, continue on to LeAnne's Blog to see what she has in store for you!  

Easy Christmas Cards with CTMH Rub-Ons

I'm not sure about all of you, but I send out a TON of Christmas cards -- always handmade, of course!   So when it comes to my holiday cardmaking - - I am always looking for ways to make a lot of cards in a short amount of time.     I was able to do exactly that recently by playing with the new CTMH Pear & Partridge Rub-ons!      Absolutely love the quality of these rub-ons - - I found they were so much easier to use than a lot of other brands of rub-ons I've tried in the past.   Also love that the colours of the rub-ons are so vibrant!!

Here are my ten cards:

Card #1 (5"x7") - Inspired by this card by Aaron Brown

Card #2 (5"x7")

Card #3 (5"x7")

Card #4 (6"x6") - inspired by this card by Allisa Chilton

Card #5 (5"x7")

Card #6 (6"x6")

Card #7 (6"x6")

Card #8 (6"x6") - inspired by this card by Aaron Brown

Card #9 (5"x7")

Card #10 (6"x6")

Love how these turned out!!   I also used some of the remaining rub-ons in the package to decorate my ten envelopes for that added 'special touch'!

Hope you like these as much as I do!!  I'll be offering this set of cards as a class at my home in Calgary in December and will also be offering these as a card kit for those of you unable to attend the class.

Class -  Sunday December 9th @ 7:30pm
10 cards as shown above and envelopes - $27.50
RSVP by EMAIL by Saturday November 10th

Card Kit - 10 cards and envelopes as shown above, pre cut & pre stamped with diagrams of the finished cards (you add the rub-ons & assemble the cards) for $30 plus mailing costs to you (if applicable - if you are local to me - we can arrange a pickup).  Order by EMAIL by Saturday November 10th - kits will be mailed out to you on or before Monday December 3rd.

CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - October

Welcome to the CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop for October.  This month we are featuring the  stamp set "Very Merry Christmas".  

Hope you'll join us by hopping along with me & a very creative group of CTMH consultants who have created a multitude of great projects using this stamp set!     If you've come here from Michelle's blog, you are on the right path.  If this is your first stop on the hop, that will work too!   Just keep blog hopping until you get back here again!

To continue on the hop, just follow the link at the end of each post to go to the next site.   We hope that following the hop will give you lots of inspiration & ideas for creating with this month's featured stamp set, along with the many other great CTMH products you'll see in each post.

My creation for you today is a holiday card, measuring 5" x 7".  I like to make my Christmas cards large enough to tuck a photo inside for the recipient.    I have used the brand new Christmas paper from CTMH called Pear & Partridge.  Love the classic & traditional feel of this great collection.

The Very Merry Christmas stamp set coordinates with the CTMH Cricut cartridge "Artiste", so if you so choose, many of the stamped images can be cut using the Cricut (including the holiday ornament you see here on my card).    I added a little extra dimension to my ornament by popping it up with foam tape and by adding some bitty pearls to the front of it.   

The card design for this card is from the new CTMH publication 'Make it from your Heart, Vol. 1', a collection of great sketches for both layouts & cards.

The October stamp of the month is available from your CTMH consultant (or me!) from October 1st to 31st.   It can be purchased for $17.95, or get it for just $5 with every purchase of $50 or more during the month of October.   A must have stamp set for your holiday stamping!   

If you would like to continue on the hop for more holiday inspiration using this stamp set "Very Merry Christmas", continue on to Kami's blog to see what she has created!

Young Love with CTMH's Pear & Partridge

We have a brand new sketch for you today at Let's Get Sketchy!  This was a great sketch to work with:

The sketch by our DT member Jenessa:

I'm digging into some of my new fall product from CTMH for this one!

Patterned paper is CTMH's Pear & Partridge Paper Pack
Ribbon: CTMH Black Tulle
Alphas: CTMH Dimensional Elements Monograms "L" "O" "V" "E"
Stamps: Friendship Alphabet Small (retired)
Cardstock:  Kraft, Cranberry, Black
Banners:  Dimensional Elements Chipboard Awards 
Banners & Doilies cut with CTMH Artiste Cricut cartridge 
Ink: Black

Hope you'll join us this week at Let's Get Sketchy with your take on this great sketch!