Capture The Date: CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

It's another round of Blog Hopping, featuring our CTMH Stamp of the Month!  This month our group of consultants are bringing you artwork created with the super versitile set, Capture the Date. 

If you are on your round trip, you've just come from Judy's Blog.  If not, just sit back and start your hop here with me!

November's SOTM is full of numbers, dates, months...everything you'll need to personalize those special cards or for journaling your precious memories.  Take a look at everything you'll get!

This set is really loaded up with numbers, wouldn't you say?   Well, at least numbers that I can understand!

And that's just what I did with my card, load it up with numbers!

Stamps: Capture the Date November 2012 SOTM, Card Chatter-Birthday

Inks: Indian Corn Blue, Cashmere, Champagne, Black

Papers: Indian Corn Blue cardstock, Colonial White cardstock, Champagne cardstock, Black cardstock

Accessories: Black Tulle Ribbon

Tools: Artiste Cricut cartridge, Stipple Tool brush

I used a large block and created my own background stamp using very nearly every number in the stamp set!     The gears (found on page 38 and 39 in the handbook) were cut out at various sizes using the Artiste cartridge.  I used the Black Tulle to give some added texture.  This stamp set didn't have any sentiments, so I used one from the Card Chatter-Birthday stamp set. 

An quick and easy card to put together, the part that took the longest was getting all those numbers on one block!

Well, it's time to move on.  Head on over to Kim's Blog and see what great things are waiting for you down the Hop!


For everyone that is having to deal with Hurricane Sandy, know that the prayers of the country are with you!

Glitter Vases

    Happy Halloween everyone!   Do you have enough candy for tonight? We might have...if we hadn't eaten most if it over the weekend!

The boys love Halloween so much, I wanted to have something really nice to give their teachers for today.  I saw this pin on Pinterest and the boys all loved the idea!  Originally we were going to cut out vinyl jack o'lantern faces and put a candle (battery operated) in it.   But I thought if left them plain, their teachers would be able to use them more often throughout the year.

So we opted to just tie some Black Tulle ribbon around them and fill them with candy.  They are so pretty and sparkly in the sun!  And very cheap and easy to do, Dollar Store vases, glitter (with coupon) from JoAnn, and a big bottle of Elmer's Glue.  That's it!

Saved enough money to buy more candy last night...just in time.

Have a great night!

Heart 2 Heart Challenges: Keeping It Neutral

Well, I'm giving myself a great big high five!

It is only Tuesday, and I've already completed a card for this week's H2H Challenge!  And by my count, that also means I've completed every one this month!  Whew.  I don't think I've done that since I was on the DT myself!

This week's challenge was to use only neutral shades in our creations.  With the new color palette from CTMH, it was easy to choose.  Well, okay not that easy.  I chose to use the new Whisper and Slate shades of grey.
Not to be confused with that other Shades of Grey nonsense!
*Ahem*  Moving on...here is my card:

Stamps: La Belle Vie Scrapbooking WOTG, Avonlea Cardmaking WOTG

Inks: Whisper, Slate, Black

Papers: Whisper cardstock, Slate cardstock, Black cardstock

Accessories: Black Tulle Ribbon, Opaques Licorice Gems

Tools: Artiste Cricut cartridge



 

 I really had fun with this challenge!  So much so, that I may even get another card made...just because!

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 



Heart 2 Heart Challenges: Stamp Rolling Technique

I finally made my way through to the beginning of this month's Heart 2 Heart Challenges!

The very first challenge of the month was a technique challenge: stamp rolling.

The DT members shared some lovely creations!  Be sure to check out their artwork...after you've taken a look at my card, that is.

 

Stamps: Quick Cards-Bountiful Seasons

Inks: Honey, Goldrush, Autumn Terracotta, Saddle

Papers: Colonial White cardstock, Goldrush cardstock, Kraft cardstock

Accessories: Wooden Buttons, Colonial White Embroidery Floss

I've got a couple of new things still to show this week, including the new H2H challenge issued today!  So be sure you come back and visit.

Heart 2 Heart Challenge: Birthdays By the Numbers

Happy Saturday everyone!  I have another of this month's Heart 2 Heart Challenges to share.  When I saw the Birthdays by the Numbers challenge a couple of weeks ago, it couldn't have been more perfect timing.  I was needing to get a card made for my Dad's birthday and it was the kick in the pants I needed.  See, every year the poor man has to wait for his card.   Sometimes up to a month afterwards!  But not this year...see what I came up with for him.

Stamps: Card Chatter-Birthday

Inks: Archival Black, Saddle

Papers: Dakota Reflections Kit, Clementine Reflections Kit, Scholastic Reflections Kit,

Kraft cardstock, Black cardstock, Colonial White cardstock

Accessories: Almond Glitz Glitter Gel, Liquid Glass, Baker's Twine Neutral Assortment,

Milepost Shapes, Blue Button Assortment

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

The challenge was to celebrate a birthday using numbers.  I really hope he doesn't mind me sharing his age with everyone!   It just shows how wise he is, right?!?

I waited to share the card here because  1.  I didn't want him to see a sneak peek.  And 2.  I didn't want to spoil the surprise of actually getting a card from me on time!  My gift-giving/card-sending punctuality skills are quite well known in the family.

In fact, when he got it early and called me, the first words out of his mouth were, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"


Hope your Birthday is amazing Dad!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge: Christmas

Well it seems as if I'm doing the October Heart 2 Heart Challenges backwards!  It just so happens I've had some pieces waiting to share and the challenges are lining up perfectly with them.

So last week's challenge was to share a Christmas creation.  I made these gift boxes to show at our Open House in August and now I can share with you!  (Believe me, it is hard to get into the Christmas spirit of creating during August in Tucson!)

Inks: Cashmere

Papers: Pear & Partridge Reflections Kit

Accessories: Dimensional Elements In Color-Holiday

These cute little trees boxes are cut from the Pie Box on page 70 of the Artiste cartridge.  I used the Pear & Partridge papers and cut them at 6", 4.25", 3", and 2.25".  A little sponging with Cashmere ink, decorate with the Holiday DE and you're good to go!

If you choose to use them as decorations instead of treat boxes, they nestle very nicely inside one another for storage!

Heart2Heart Challenge: Halloween or Pumpkin

  This is my boys' favorite time of year...just before Halloween when the antici...pation for Trick or Treating is nearly overwhelming.  And while we don't exactly have falling leaves around here, it is cool enough during the early day to keep all the doors and windows open...and that's a plus with me!

I've been waiting to show this Stamp Camp project properly and with the Heart2Heart Challenge this week being Halloween or Pumpkin themed, it was the perfect time!  And it has been so long since I've been able to join in on the challenges, I've missed them.   What's more, I think I'll be able to complete every challenge this month!  Woohoo for me!

Okay, now back to this week's challenge.  This Halloween project was the project I created for the Holiday Stamp Camp back over Labor Day.  And it was also my Creative Class held last week.  The ladies loved it!  Take a peek:

The top of the My Creations Card Box is decorated with the new Moonlight Complements Dimensional Elements and Olive Twine from the Baker's Twine Harvest Assortment.  I used Liquid Glass to highlight bits of the banner pieces and the cat's eyes and nose.  There is also a touch of Green Glitz Glitter Gel (say that 5 times fast!) on its eyes.  The long banner piece is for writing the name of the recipient of your wonderful Halloween treat!

The front of the box has a couple of cute pumpkins and a spooky ghost from the complements sheets.

And once again, I used Liquid Glass and highlighted the ghost's eyes and mouth as well as the pumpkins' eyes.  Green Glitz for the stems and around the EEK! for a touch of sparkle.

Open up the box and you have a cute little Halloween scene!  Lots of Glitz and Liquid Glass to add sparkle: moon, windows, Frank, the spider.  Even some Silver Glitz on the "cauldron"!

The cupcake wrapper was cut at 1.75" from the Artiste cartridge, found on page 77.  Fill it with a bag of your favorite candy!

A couple of Tombstones to decorate the sides of the box, cut from the Artiste at 2.8 cm in Whisper and Slate cardstock.  I filled in the RIP with Silver Glitz.

Quick and easy to put together...well, aside from all the waiting for everything to dry part!

I hope you enjoyed my little project!  So now are you wondering how I colored the box itself?  Easy, but not necessarily neatly!  I did one box for my display for camp.  This was done with our Spray Pens, Black reinker, water, alcohol, and Create-A-Shade Pearl Paint.  Well, I needed to get several boxes done for camp and our little Spray Pens only hold so much.  I used one of our travel spray bottles and made a big batch of the spray.  It worked fantastically!

Until I realized something important.
So if you attempt to make many boxes at a time as gifts, one word of caution:

 

Wishes & Dreams

It is a wonderfully chilly morning here.  Ah, maybe Fall has come to the desert at last!  I love when I can open up the doors early and hear the day start.

Engineer and Bio-Comp are off to a Scout activity and the other two boys are still in bed.  One last sleep in before school resumes Monday I guess.  So right now I have a quiet house to myself.  The last 3 weeks with the boys home have been wonderful, but I think I'm ready for them to go back to school and be on a schedule again!

This morning, I'm going to share another Stamp Camp project from a couple of months ago.  Our fearless leader Kim (she'd have to be fearless to let us take over her downstairs for the weekend!) created a project using the new My Creations Canvas Journals.  She used the Flirty paper, Sparkle Flourinshes, Love Blooms stamp set and Canvas Alphabet.  It was a totally adorable project...and I went a completely different direction with mine...as you can see! 

Stamps: Love Blooms

Inks: Ponderosa Pine, Indian Corn Blue, Outdoor Denim pigment inks, Archival Black

Hollyhock, Topiary, Sweet Leaf marker sets

Accessories: My Creations Canvas Journal, Pixie Glitter Alphabet, Sparkles Flourishes, Sparkles

Tools: Liquid Glass,3D foam tape 

 

 

I took the new pigment inks and simply rubbed them all over the canvas until I got the coverage I wanted.  While that dried, and it does take a while for the inks to dry  , like get-out-your-heat-guns-and-zap-it-awhile time for it to dry, I stamped and colored my roses and leaves.  I love the new alcohol markers...I think I've said that once or twice before already...but I truely do!  I even colored the Sparkles in the roses with the markers!

 

So after the journal was mostly dried,  I attached the Sparkle Flourishes.  I did have to use little drops of Liquid Glass here and there to keep it attached to the canvas.  I popped up the leaves and roses with 3D tape and placed them on.  Then I used the Pixie Glitter letters (which I won at Stamp Camp, thank you Kim!) for the title.  That was probably the hardest part of this whole project, coming up with a title!

 

And now I have a beautiful journal waiting for me to fill it up!

 

Let's see...wishes and dreams of a mom with 3 (or 4) boys.  How about: 

help with laundry

shopping

cleaning up  

making dinner

kids not fighting    

and getting to sleep in myself every once in a while . 

 

Yeah, I'll let you all know when that happens!

 

 

Have a great weekend everyone!  I'm off to set up tables for an afternoon class of Trick or Treat Boxes!