Colour Challenge on Heart2Heart

We have an interesting colour combo of Creme Brulee, Gypsy & Black as this week's Heart2Heart challenge! 

A few of us on the design team found this a bit difficult - but the end results by everyone are incredible!  So be sure to check out all the inspiration ideas over at the blog, along with the creation by this week's guest designer, Angie Parchey.  Angie is also one of our prize sponsors for the month of March, along with Lori Brown.  I knew right away that I was going to do something floral for this week's card, so I made a few paper roses, and then realized that our Just Blooms paper flowers came in Creme Brulee, too!  After playing with my little grouping of flowers, I added a few punched ones, and then needed to somehow add some leaves and vines to round it out... but green isn't part of the challenge, and black leaves seemed a little gruesome!  So I came up with the idea to stitch a few wispy tendrils in black thread.  I sketched them out first, and then traced them with the sewing machine.  Voila!

Here's a closeup of the flowers:

and one of my little wisps:

Remember that your project (doesn't have to be a card!) should be mostly CTMH, and if you don't have the exact colours - use something close.  All supplies are CTMH: Stamp set is Gracious Greetings; Inks are Black, Creme Brulee & Gypsy; Cardstock is Black, White Daisy, Creme Brulee & Gypsy; Licorice & White Opaque Pearls.  Punches are Marvy & Martha Stewart.

Mojo Monday #179

I went with something soft for this week's Mojo sketch... with some new sei papers and a little cutting:

Patterned papers are Chick-a-dee by sei; Cardstock is White Daisy & Grey Wool - CTMH; Stamp set is Sweet Treats by Verve; Ink is Grey Wool; Licorice opaque pearls - both CTMH.

Things are a little chilly at Heart2Heart...

This week's challenge at the Heart2Heart blog is all about "cold".  Whatever that word means to you - ice & snow? cool colours? a glass of cold milk?  Since it's been snowy & blowy around here lately, I went with a snowflake theme, and used some fairly cool colours.  I decided to learn a little something new, so I learned how to do the emerging colour technique (and I learned a lot!).  I'm also keeping up with my promise to make 5 Christmas tags each month throughout the year, so that I end up with a nice stack of tags ready to go next Nov/Dec.  I'll post my little group of tags first, and then I'll show you each of the steps I took to make my background paper.  They are quite sparkly in person, but of course that doesn't show up in the photo!

Stamp sets are Snow Flurries, Simple Memories & Just for the Holidays; Cardstock is Gypsy, Spring Iris & White Daisy; Inks are Gypsy, Cotton Candy, Lilac Mist & Spring Iris; Lilac Mist & Pink Carnation Organdy & Baby Pink Gingham ribbons; Snowflake buttons - all CTMH;  Clear embossing powder; Stickles.

Using some glossy paper that I had on hand, I stamped one of the medallion images all over in Lilac Mist.

I filled in the empty spaces with a small snowflake in gypsy, and a tiny one in cotton candy.

Then using Versamark Ink, I stamped a fairly solid, large snowflake image all over the sheet of paper, and clear embossed them.

Now comes the fun part, where the white snowflakes appear.  Using Spring Iris ink, I sponged over the entire background, which filled in all of the white spaces, but anywhere that I clear embossed a snowflake - remained white, and shows some of the original snowflake images on the base.  In the picture at the right, you can see that I've sponged the right half of the sheet, showing how the snowflakes emerge.

Here's the finished product.  What did I learn?  That I liked a sporadically sponged background better, because more of the background snowflakes showed through.  I learned that clear embossing makes some colours go funky (pink especially!), and that it's hard to get a sharply stamped image on glossy paper.

Don't forget that you have until next Sunday to be entered into the random drawing for a prize pack from our two sponsors!  So head on over to the H2H blog and see what the our guest designer Aaron Brown, and the rest of the design team have made to inspire you...

A Combined Grind Challenge!

This week, the Play Date Cafe has teamed up with the CASE Study Challenge blog for a "Combined Grind" challenge... we're using the PDCC#69 colours of red/green/black... with the inspiration of the CASE muse Eva Dobilas for our design:

So I pulled out the gorgeous Mistletoe papers from Making Memories, and used one of my new Verve stamps to make this:

Patterned papers are Making Memories, Mistletoe; Black cardstock & ink is CTMH; Twine is Martha Stewart; Stamp set is Text Objects from Verve; Nestabilities die. Here's a closeup of my flower:

I won on Mojo Monday #177!!

I am so excited!!  I just checked out the Mojo Monday blog, and I was selected as one of the winners in last week's contest!  And lucky me gets to pick out a Verve stamp set for free (I can't stop smiling :o)  Here's my winning card again...

Bliss & Mojo Monday #178

Yay! I got a chance to use my new Bliss paper pack today, along with my new sentiment from Verve (love this!) for this week's Mojo sketch.  And yes, I actually cut around all of the ripply edges of the medallion, and then chalked the center and around the sentiment.

Sentiment is Verve; all other supplies are CTMH: Paper pack is Bliss; Cardstock is Chocolate & Vanilla Cream; Ink is Chocolate; Stamp sets are Simple Memories & Butterly Kisses; Grey organdy ribbon; Spring chalks.

All about Hearts at Heart2Heart this week

It's a brand new week at the Heart2Heart Challenge Blog... and we want to see your hearts!  Use a heart on your card/layout/project and link it up to the H2H blog.  As always, you should use *mostly* CTMH.  Don't forget that there will be 2 prizes randomly given out by our February sponsors Shirley and Sandra, and at the end of the month we will choose our Top Ten from all of the entries this month.  So get busy creatin' and head over to see what the rest of the design team has in store for you, along with our guest designer Aaron Brown.  For my card, I wanted to make a little heart banner, and decided to do a slightly funky colour combo (Smoothie/Creme Brulee/Blush).  For my background, I clear embossed the new Simple Memories doily-like images, and then sponged over them in smoothie ink - the camera didn't capture it to be quite as soft and smudged as it is in real life, but you get the idea.  The card is 4" x 9 1/2":

Stamp sets are Soul Mates, Charm Uppercase and Simple Memories;  Cardstock is Blush, Smoothie & Creme Brulee; Ink is Smoothie; Paper Blooms - all CTMH.  Michaels ribbon.

Play Date Cafe Challenge #68

We have a very girly/romantic colour inspiration at the Play Date Cafe this week... so I used it to make my daughter's valentine:

Ribbon & Kraft cardstock from Michaels; Verve Sweet Scallop die & Sweet Treats stamp set; Baby Pink ink, cardstock, button & bigger brads; Adorable Backgrounds stamp set - all CTMH.  Martha Stewart punch.

Mojo Monday #177

I've been dying to use these papers for a few months now... and with the arrival of this new stamp set this week, I finally had all the pieces fall in place.  The thimble and scissors were embossed in silver to make them shiny, and I softly chalked the flower and ruffles on the dress to pick up the vintagey colours in the background papers.  I've used this week's Mojo Monday sketch:

Patterned papers are Cosmo Cricket, Material Girl; Stamp set is Tailor Made; Cardstock is Black, Honey, Grey Wool & Colonial White; Inks are Black & Sorbet; Green Button assortment - all CTMH.

Lots of Kissing at Heart2Heart!

Not of the smooching variety... just the stamping version!  This week we're featuring the stamp kissing technique, and we want to see what you can come up with!  Don't know what stamp kissing is?  It's basically where you ink up a fairly solid image, and before you stamp it on your paper, you "kiss" it with a patterned stamp, that will remove the ink wherever the patterned image hits.  Clear as mud?  Hop on over to the Heart2Heart Challenge blog, where there is a link to the wonderfully talented Tresa Black's blog - she has a very informative video, with a number of different versions of stamp kissing.  For my card, I chose to make a valentine - the heart is inked in bamboo, then kissed with the dot pattern that was inked in cranberry.  The letters are not inked, just kissed with the cranberry inked dot pattern and then stamped onto the cream cardstock.  We have the amazing Aaron Brown joining us this month as our February Guest Designer, so be sure to check out what she's come up with, and don't forget that 2 entrants will be randomly selected at the end of the month to win prize packs from our two sponsors, and 10 entrants will make our monthly Top Ten list - so get creating!

All supplies are CTMH - Stamp sets are Rustic Alphabet, Love Is, Spot On Backgrounds, and Atomic Caps; Cardstock is Black; Cranberry & Colonial White; Inks are Cranberry & Bamboo; 1 1/4" circle punch; Kraft Colour-Ready Borders; Cranberry grosgrain ribbon.

Color Throwdown Challenge #127 & Waltzingmouse Sketch #33

This is a different card for me, because I used (gasp) stickers!  They were sitting in with these pretty patterned papers, and I thought, why not?  I used this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch, paired with the colours from the Color Throwdown Challenge... and here's what I put together:

Patterned papers & stickers are Caprice; Cardstock is Chocolate; Ink is Chocolate; Kraft Color-Ready Borders; Bamboo & Chocolate brads; - all CTMH; Prima flowers. 

Twelve Months of Christmas Tags

Fellow CTMH consultant Merri Barber came up with the idea of making 5 Christmas tags every month... so that when December rolls around, you've got a pretty decent stack of tags ready and waiting.  Brilliant idea!  I always have great intentions, but by Nov/Dec I'm either too pooped from shopping, getting the cards done or am simply in too much of a rush to send parcels - and I never end up making anything other than some quickly stamped tags.  Now as a first month's effort, I'll have to state that what I've come up with is LAME!!  But as it is the 5th of February, and this is my January contribution... I simply wanted them done.  I'll do better this month, I promise.  (Hold me to it?)  So I invite you all to join in.  Merri has set up a link on her blog, so that all who participate, can link their creations and see what everyone else has done.  Here's that lame January set of tags :o)

Kraft cardstock; Holiday Trinkets stamp set; White Daisy & Chocolate inks; - all CTMH; Stickles; Verve die.

Bonnie's cards for the Heart2Heart Challenge

This is so exciting for me!  My girlfriend and best customer, Bonnie is joining us at the Heart2Heart Challenge blog this week with not one but two cards.  This is her first ever challenge, and she had a great time with the sketch, so we may see her more often.  Since she doesn't have her own blog, I am "hosting" her entries - so feel free to leave her a comment here, as she'll check in often. *Note the hand stitching on the pink card - this is Bonnie's trademark - her stitched cards are to die for.  Here goes:

Stamp sets are Just for the Holidays and Thanks; Cardstock is White Daisy, Indian Corn Blue, Barn Red and Bamboo; Inks are Barn Red, Grey Wool, Indian Corn Blue & Bamboo - all CTMH; Spellbinders die, Cuttlebug embossing folders.

Stamp sets are All My Love, In My Heart & Boutique Borders; Cardstock is White Daisy, Blush, Vineyard Berry & Chocolate;  Inks are Vineyard Berry, Blush & Chocolate; - all CTMH. Spellbinders die; Cuttlebug embossing folder.
Thanks for playing, Bon!

Smile

I've used two brand new stamp sets and a paper pack that has been around for years in this card, but I wanted to do something a bit happy and springlike today.  The bird's tail and wings are curled up a bit, and I added a few Stickles to the edges.  Hope those of you here in the midwest/northeast are shovelled out from all the snow yesterday :o)

Patterned papers are Discovery; Cardstock is Kraft, White Daisy & Hollyhock; Stamp sets are Find Your Style & Take a Picture; Inks are Blush, Hollyhock, Sweetleaf & Clover Meadow; Sweetleaf 1" grosgrain ribbon - all CTMH.  Martha Stewart punch.

My Cupcake Diva

Just have to brag for a minute, here.  My 13yr old daughter & I took the Wilton cake decorating classes at Michael's in January, and one of my friend's husband heard and called to order a dozen cupcakes for his wife's birthday as a surprise (sweet man!).  Paige did an unbelievable job on them, the couple were thrilled (and surprised), so I thought I'd share some pics with you, along with the business card that I designed for her.  Enjoy.