Shoot for the Stars

Let's Get Sketchy is hosting an 'Anything Goes' challenge for you this week!   Hope you'll play along!

Here is my layout for the challenge:

Chipboard alpha is inked in Cranberry ink with a sponge and then stamped on in black ink with various CTMH background stamps.  I also inked the edges of the letters in the black ink. 

Journalling was printed on my computer (white font with black background).

Chipboard stars were covered in patterned paper, which I trimmed to size with a craft knife, and then the edges were inked in black ink.  

I was totally inspired by Karen Pedersen's layout of the same title HERE.   

The sketch for my layout is actually a 'pattern' from CTMH's digital program Studio J called "Super Star".   

Materials Used:

CTMH paper collections (both retired): Superhero & Sweetheart

CTMH Black Waxy Flax (retired)

CTMH Cardstock: Black, White Daisy

CTMH Ink: Cranberry, Black

CTMH Licorice Opaques

CTMH Chipboard Letters - Dimensional Elements Monagrams

CTMH Stamp Sets - various retired

Staples

Don't forget to link up any new layout you create this week at Let's Get Sketchy for our "Anything Goes" challenge! 

I {HEART} You!

The Whooo's Your Valentine kit from CTMH is available for just one more day!
The stamp set that comes with the kit is super cute & so versatile!

I was able to showcase this great stamp set when I created this card for my make & take for the ladies attending my crop last Saturday.
I was inspired by a card I pinned HERE on Pinterest.  (Unfortunately, when I clicked through to visit the original site and creator of the card - the domain no longer exists, so I'm unable to give proper credit to the artist).

Here is my version:

I wanted to show the ladies at my crop how easy it is to create trendy banners for their cards & scrapbook pages using circles.   No die-cutter needed.   Everyone has circle punches or cutters, right?     I gathered some scraps of paper in the same colour tones (I used CTMH's Sweetheart, La Belle Vie, and Lucy papers, all retired, and punched 1.25" circles out of each of them).    To make a bigger banner - simply cut/punch bigger circles.   Cover the back sides of your circles in adhesive and simply fold in half along a length of twine to create your banner.    Adhere the banner to the front of the card, as desired & then trim the ends as needed.   Stamp a few images and a sentiment and voila - a super cute & easy Valentines Day card for your sweetie!

Still time for you to get your hands on the Whooo's Your Valentine stamp set & treat box kit!
Orders of $35 or more placed on my WEBSITE before January 31st (while supplies last) qualify to add on this great kit (value $40) for just $10!

Hello Beautiful!

With an extra 'Monday' on the calendar this month - - we decided to do something a little different with you this week at Let's Get Sketchy!  We are hosting a "White Plus One" challenge!  Can you do a whole layout with just white and one other colour? 

Here is what I came up with for mine:

Sketch is from the Scrap Shotz blog for their March challenge. 

Materials Used:

CTMH patterned paper: Sweetheart (retired)

CTMH border sticker: Sweetheart (retired)

Stampin' Up! crocheted flowers

My Mind's Eye die-cut title

Twine from The Twinery

CTMH Pink Assortment Buttons

CTMH Cardstock: Cotton Candy, White Daisy

CTMH Sweetheart "Love Can Last for a Lifetime"

We have a new song up on the playlist at Scrap it With a Song.  We are still celebrating the Oscars - so our pick for this week is "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion for the movie Titanic.  Both the song and the movie were HUGE Oscar winners! 

My layout was inspired by a line in the lyrics and the sketch is #69 from Sketches in Thyme:

Materials Used:

CTMH patterned paper - Sweetheart (retired)

CTMH epoxy stickers (retired)

CTMH chipboard borders (retired)

CTMH cardstock: black

Making Memories tiny alphabet stickers

AC Thickers


Be sure to visit Scrap it Song to see what the rest of the Rock Chicks have created to inspire you!  You have until February 29th to link up your creations for any of our Oscar themed songs on this month's playlist!

CTMH Clearance Sale

Woohoo - just in time for Christmas shopping (or a little gift to yourself!!) - - CTMH added some fabulous items to our "While Supplies Last" Clearance Rack online today!!

Don't miss out - - they'll go fast!!

Included are some great paper packs like Sweetheart, Wings, and Olivia, as well as some great variety packs of cardstock!!

GO HERE to start shopping!  Remember that you can combine your Clearance order with regular priced items and your order also counts towards earning this month's Stamp of the Month!

I dug back into my previous posts to find just a few examples of the artwork I've created using these fabulous paper packs you'll find on sale:

As you can see - - all three of these great collections have been 'well-loved' in my craftroom!! I know they will be in yours too! 

Get them now before they are gone!  Click here to start shopping!

CTMH's Stamp of the Month Blog Hop for August - WICKED!

Welcome to the Close to My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop for August. This month we are featuring the stamp set "WICKED".


Along this month's Stamp of the Month hop you'll find dozens of fabulous creations using this stamp set - all brought to you by a very talented group of CTMH Consultants! If you've come here from Doreen's Blog, you are on the right path. If this is your first stop on the hop, that will work too (just keep hopping till you get back here again).

To continue along 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 and ideas for using this month's spooky stamp set, along with the many other great CTMH products you'll see in each post!

My creation for you today is a two-page layout.  My layout design is from the CTMH book "Cherish" and is called Elegant Context.

One of the things I love most about CTMH's layout pattern books is that when I have a few pictures I want to scrapbook, I can scan the indexes of each book to find layouts with the number of photos that I have and then also look at the index thumbnails of each pattern to look at the orientation and size of the photo spaces.  In just a few minutes - I can find an appropriate layout design for any set of photos!  And that is exactly what I did here with these Halloween pictures from MANY years ago!!  This is my husband and I (although at the time, we had just been dating a few months!) 

You can click on the photo to see the layout in more detail. 

For my layout, I didn't really have a Halloween paper that I wanted to use, so I used a lot of cardstock, and also created my own patterned paper by stamping on my background.  To add some dimension to the layout, I randomly popped up some of the honeycomb hexagons using foam tape and the paper piecing method.  I love how it turned out!

Materials Used (all CTMH):
Cardstock: Sunset, Black, White Daisy
Stickease Border: Hooligans Stickease (retired)
Photo Mats: Sweetheart Level 2 Paper (retired)
Black Mini Medley Accents
Black Waxy Flax
Cocktail Alphabet Stamp Set
Wicked Stamp Set (August 2011 Stamp of the Month)
Other: Black Ink, Sunset Marker

The "WICKED" stamp set is available from your consultant from August 1st to 31st! You can purchase it for the great low price of $19.95 or get it for just $5.50Cdn with every CTMH order of $55 or more placed in the month of August!

Thanks for stopping in!! To continue on the hop, visit SHIRLEY's BLOG to see what she has created for you!

ARTWORK!

Well, I'm sure a few of you had started to wonder if I was ever going to post artwork again!  The few weeks surrounding Convention are kind of crazy and do dominate my brain!  But . . . I do have artwork to share too.

These are convention related, but may give you some ideas for gift giving for a variety of occasions!
These are the gifts I gave to my roomies in Anaheim:

These were little tins I found at Michaels and decorated with the Sweetheart paper pack!  I also decorated matching notepads.  Also included inside the tin: TicTacs (an addiction of mine!), chocolate (who doesn't need chocolate?!), a pen, the notepad, and some Post-It Notes (for making notes in the new Idea Book!!). 

Brandy, Julie and I had a great time all week in Anaheim!  They were great roomies (other than the snoring and covers stealing, LOL!! Right ladies?)  Here we are at the Awards Dinner & Banquet (no, we did not plan the black and white coordinating outfits!!)  Love ya ladies!! See you in Dallas!!

Bathing Beauty

One of my fave sketch sites - Sketches in Thyme - is having a DT call! 
If you love creating from sketches as much as I do - - be sure to check out the details of the call!

Here is the DT application sketch:

And the layout I created with the sketch:

Materials Used (CTMH, except as noted):

Daydream Level 2 Paper Pack (retired)

Sweetheart Level 2 Paper Pack

Crocheted Flowers - White Daisy Mini Medley

Cotton Candy Bigger Brads

Nutmeg Thickers - American Crafts

Cardstock Pennant Border - Bazzill Basics

Chipboard Heart - from my stash - source unknown

My Legacy Writers journalling pen

Good luck to all!

The Sweetest Gift

I absolutely LOVE this sketch from Random Acts of Creativity this week.  I can see myself using this one again and again.

Here is my card:

I also incorporated the following challenges:
Hand Stamped Sentiments - Pinkalicious
Creative Inspirations - Punches & Dies
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart, except as noted):
Sweetheart Level 2 Paper Pack
Baby Love Acrylic Stamp set
White Grosgrain Ribbon (retired)
Cotton Candy Cardstock
White Cardstock
Puffies Sticker from KI Memories