Gratitude

This year I have been lucky to have some scrappin' time - WOOT!!! I created this simple card for Thanksgiving. It's an "A" size stamp from Close to My Heart. I do love my trees! To create this, I first inked the tree in Goldrush, rolled the edges in Ruby, and added the sentiment in Cocoa.  I also put down a piece of scrap paper for a mask and sponged on some cashmere ink. Inside the card says Happy Thanksgiving.

We travel soon. I will be thankful that Mr. Baggins goes with us, even if he is NOT! I'll post from the other side, but this might be the last for a week, as I'm sorting the MN studio and creating inventories to have as a reference.

Hugs!!

Birthday - embossing on vellum

Did you know that I will prepare Close To My Heart gift certificates for you to use as gifts? This is a good time to be planning one - let me know who it's for (so I can personalize the certificate and card) and how much you want to give. Sent me the gift payment, and I'll send you the gift! I put a generous 12 month date on them as an expiration date. Most of the time these are used within a month! I can redeem the certificates with an e-mail, phone call, or hand-written order and the certificate can be combined with other discount specials and can be used as partial payment for big orders. I'm flexible like that!

The reason I used this particular post to explain all that is that this card was one I made recently for a surprise birthday party and it contained a tag gift certificate.  

I have tried embossing vellum before with near disastrous results! (The vellum was burning!). This time it worked. Whew! I think next time I might use silver embossing powder. Silver might stand out better . . .

Tags

Perhaps the reason I love making tags is similar to the reason I do FAR more cards than scrapbook pages? Can you say "instant gratification"? Sure you can! (Does anyone else miss Mr. Rogers?)

I was inspired by some tags posted for a new Papertrey Ink release with birds. I realized that I had the perfect birds in a vintage CTMH set and whipped them out right away! The two bird tag designs are double layers - the top swings to the side and the Kraft piece is stamped with "to/from" for labeling packages! The polar bear was in the October stamp of the month reward from CTMH and I used the CTMH Snowhaven papers. I free-cut the hearts from some red felt, and plan to label these on the back of the tag. So, the lesson here is possibly, don't miss those CTMH specials!  

On another note, it snowed here yesterday (all day!) and my world is bright and crisp this morning! {deep sigh} I love it as long as I don't need to drive anywhere! *giggle*

Gratitude

A dear friend was showing photos of some leaves she stamped, and then colored with pencils. I recognized the stamps as vintage Close to My Heart, and lamented that I have them, but they are in AZ and I'm not. So what did my friend do? She stamped them for me on both black cardstock and off-white watercolor paper and mailed them to me. I was both surprised, and yet not at all surprised by her sweet and generous gifts!! So, this is the first thing I made with them - for Eve. 

We had a wonderful Halloween! 84 trick-or-treaters! So blessed!!

Halloween fun

The new CTMH treat projects are a blast to make! They are attractive and easy-peasy! I took the project pre-cuts and designed my own just a little bigger to hold the home-made dog cookies I made for the doggies in our family.  I believe these will be a hit, whole wheat, oatmeal, peanut butter, YUMM. They are pictured below.

 

And this last photo is a close up. The back of the tag says "To Miley From Bilbo". *giggle*

Steve said we can expect 100 trick-or-treaters tomorrow! I hope so!!

Hope your holiday is fun and fabulous! Hugs!

Red, white, blue, and Kraft!

Having fun with my favorite colors! I love red, white, blue and Kraft!! 

I've been working on some Halloween treats - guess I forgot to photograph them but it's not too late! Tomorrow when the sun is up! 

The second photo is just a little fun - we were tricked and treated by the family to visit AMaze'in Pumpkins in Nisswa, MN. They had two corn mazes, one easy and the other harder, and scarier! There was a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, corn kernel "sandbox", horseshoe game, loads of photo opportuniti and hay-rides! They had daylight fun for families, and after dark fun for adults complete with a live band and "over 40 volunteers" that might dress up and jump out to scare you half to death. You can see which category we were in ( the only one I want to be in, frankly)!!!

Water coloring with color pencil highlights

I have been so impressed by the gorgeous watercoloring people have been creating recently that I've been trying over and over and over!  Can you tell that this is my current obsession?  LOL. EDITED TO ADD: I found the inspiration for this card and was surprised at how closely I copied it! Please give creative credit to A Blog Called Wanda on this post here. In keeping with Wanda's copyright, I can attest that this was used for my own personal use. No contests, sales, etc. 

These butterflies were done with the waterbrush, picking up color directly from the ink pad and layering it on.  At the end, I decided there were a few edges that needed emphasis so I pulled out the color pencils to add a little highlighting.  These two things work so beautifully together!

But the really new, and fun, thing I tried on this card was to get my water brush full of ink and then flick it at the paper!  Yes, I did clear my work table of other projects before trying this - why do you ask?!  I love the result and in fact, I still have a small scrap that was trimmed off that I just haven't been able to toss - yet.  It looks so pretty with the color freckles!  

Below is the inside of the card:

This butterfly was stamped in the lighter color and rolled in the darker one.  Then the body of the butterfly was detailed with the pencil after it was good and dry.  I hope my dear friend who receives this for her birthday knows that she is in my thoughts.  

Just for fun, I thought I'd share a photo of the STAR of the baptism yesterday.  Introducing (again) Thomas James Grover (the baby, not the photo bomber)!  

ShinHan markers

Recently Close to My Heart added some alcohol markers to their product line. Their first try was a dismal failure, but the newest ones, ShinHan markers, seem much better. Time will tell if they can keep from drying up, and the nibs from falling apart.  So far, so good.  This card used the four markers I have so far. They are very reasonable, but they add up, don't ya know! 

Today is the baptism of Thomas James Grover. He is the child of Melissa and Jim Grover - Melissa is my beloved's daughter. Steve will perform the baptism. It is a very special day, indeed!

CTMH Snowhaven papers

I found a Waltzingmouse Stamps set called Teeny Trees that I hadn't realized I'd brought up North with me.  So, I said "let's get some ink on this baa-bee"!  I love the look of the "glacier" tree with the Snowhaven papers. The card base was Whisper cardstock so I added a piece of White Daisy to the "writing side" of the inside and trimmed it with a piece of red washi tape that has white polka dots.  

I've been creating all sorts of fun things!  Stay tuned for more soon!

Hugs!

who, whoo

Who, who likes these little owls?! I do! I found this stamp in a discontinued special from CTMH that had all sorts of holiday images. It was a double D size set! 😉 I used the current Halloween papers, a zip-strip and the sentiment from an earlier Stamp of The Month (SOTM). 

I colored the Owls with pencils and odorless mineral spirits (OMS). Have I mentioned that I am having so much fun playing with my toys?!?

More fun with Sunflowers!

More fun!  This one uses three techniques combined.  I stamped the initial image with Flaxen ink, used the water coloring brush-pen to pick up ink from the ink pads and color (layering as I went along) and then, once it was all dry, I went back over some sections with Prismacolor pencils. Once the dye inks are dry, you can actually use OMS (odorless mineral spirits) over the pencils to blend them in without smudging the inks.  All of this was on a good quality watercolor paper. You might notice that the top sunflower is  much bolder than the other two.  Well, life is like that sometimes!  *wink*

Oh!  I had a comment come in on an older post where the person asked me questions about my name.  I would have replied directly to her, but there isn't any e-mail connected with her blog post.  So, I will answer the question here - feel free to skip over this part!  LOL My given name, on my birth certificate, is Sharli.  I was named for my Grandfather Charles and in those days it wasn't as fashionable to name girls with boy names.  I adored and respected my Grandfather, so I am proud to be his namesake. Mystery solved!

Belated Birthday

Recently I "missed" a very special little girl's birthday.  I know, I'm very ashamed and im sure it won't happen again! To catch up, I made this cute owl card. My "a-ha" moment was when I took a conversation bubble and turned it backwards on the acrylic block so I could make a nice yellow bubble where I could stamp the sentiment.  I love how that turned out - so much better than free-handing it!

At the last minute I decided the owl needed legs, so they are sturdy ones that color coordinate like all girly owls.  It was actually pretty quick to make and I enjoyed it!

Thank you notes

I've been stocking up on my thank you notes.  It seems like I go through these very quickly!  Such a problem to have!  LOL  

This was an old stamp (one of the stamp of the month specials I believe, from CTMH).  I still LOVE playing with it!  Can I ever have too many flower stamps?  I didn't think so either!

It's cool here today but when the sun broke through the clouds I jumped up and announced that I was going for a bike ride.  My dear husband, knee deep in his own project, said, do you want me to come?  I answered, only if this is a good place to stop, and he simply dropped everything to go with me!  Isn't that awesome!?!  He still amazing me with his warmth and caring.  I love when he goes with me - I enjoy the ride more, and we see delightful things on the trail together.  I also feel safer and more relaxed when he's along.  I push myself more, too, because I want him to be impressed with my strength (giggle).  Yup.  He loves me!  

Masculine card

I made this card for a 30-something guy I know that is going on 13. He's really a hoot - and I love him dearly!  It was super quick to make and I used the new CTMH papers called Wanderful.  I had purchased a pack to scrapbook our trip this summer, but haven't started that project yet (shame on me!!) so I cut into it for this "emergency" card!  *giggle*

Hope things are wonderful in your part of the world.  It's cooling off here - I even saw some snowflakes a couple of days ago!  They were exciting (for a girl from Arizona)!

A little batty here

This was a really fun card that used a design template that was going around about 6 weeks ago!  (Yeah, I'm not very quick on the uptake).  I used CTMH papers from the new catalog called Scaredy Cat, and a retired alphabet set to stamp the "Boo".  I used the end of a pencil (eraser) to stamp the eyeballs inside the "O"s.  (giggle)

I am posting a photo tutorial below of how I made the bat!  For now, here is the inside of the card:

I used the pumpkins from the Stamp of the Month set with the Owls.  Isn't this cute?!  I colored them with pencils and odorless mineral spirits, and added the "extra" facial features with a black micron pen.

Using a die, do the unthinkable and cut a black butterfly from cardstock.

I've left the original die, the first black butterfly, and have progressively changed the last image in these tutorial photos:  

here I trimmed the ears to sharp points.

Here I've cut the opposite curve into the wing (concave versus convex?).

And continued the same on the opposite side.  Note: The tail should have been pointy-er - or even cut to look like two stubby feet about to land!  I actually fixed this before I took a photo of the final card!  oops.

Using the gold gel-Uniball pen I added two shimmering eyes. 

To place it on my card front, I had just a narrow strip of adhesive in the center section and folded the wings up so they looked like they are flying right off the page.

I was thrilled that I didn't need to purchase another die or punch. Hugs!! 

My MN studio and a card

I alluded to a "remodeling" of my craft space in an earlier post. I am so proud of the way my beloved encourages my art passion.  He began encouraging me to take my "pick" of the rooms to be converted before we were even married.  Once I chose the room with North and West light from windows, he shopped for a work table. Then installed a corner cabinet . . . 

One day I saw a fabulous way to store my stamps. I mentioned it casually, and Steve started shopping for shutters for me . . . 

He installed them last summer when I was still in Arizona.  As you can see, I am getting settled!  I can't believe how good he is to me!

Now, for the card! This was easy and fun! I love using up scraps of paper packs. And the butterfly focal point is so versatile. I think this one will be a birthday card, but it could even be a sympathy card with slight changes. Well, back to work! My darling daughter and her husband are coming this weekend for a week!  Woot!!

Trying to case Vicki

This card was my attempt to case a beautiful and inspiring card designed by Vicki Wizniuk here.  I didn't have the chevron mask that she used, but I did have a chevron stamp.  The leaves are a Hero Arts stamp that finally got some ink on it!  There are other minor changes in my version . . . I like it but felt I should try again.  

This one uses one of the new stamps from Close to My Heart and I added the rounded corners. I like it better, I think.  

Temperatures got down to 34 last night!  One of Steve's Grandsons had two soccer games this morning and I think I wore everything I have in an attempt to keep warm!  I succeeded!  LOL!  The teams are beginners so it was a tie score. ;-). Very fun!

Honoring Teachers

I couldn't await to get my hands on this school-themed stamp set when it appeared in the newest Close to My Heart catalog!  Playing with CTMH  stamps, papers, and inks, and one stencil with scallops of sorts, I created this card.  The punch was a fun detail that I probably overdid, and the ribbon is a piece of silk from my stash (so soft!). 

I may be a little prejudiced, but I think my daughter is an awesome teacher - with a natural gift that she works hard to perfect.  World class!! I sent this card to her recently to let her know how I feel and in celebration that her school district chose her to represent them in a development opportunity! Woot (or should I say Hoot?)!

It is starting to feel like Autumn here.  Wow!

Playing with new stamps!

Do you buy stamps and then never use them? I have been guilty of that and I'm trying to turn over a new leaf! My trick is to leave the new stamps on my work table until at least some of them have ink on them!  LOL  

This was a new Close to My Heart B-size stamp set called Love This. I used the new ShinHan markers, olive ink on the leaves and black ink for the sentiment (another CTMH stamp).  The center of the flower was colored with a yellow pencil (only because I don't have any yellow ShinHan markers yet) and then some Sakura Clear Star gel pen over that part to make it sparkle.  It could have been a single layer card if I'd planned ahead with a mask - but instead the flowers were done on the side and cut out.  

So, it's September already?!  Wow, summer has gone fast up here in the beautiful lake country of Minnesota.  I am reluctant to see the days getting shorter and the nights cooler.  The autumn plants are the only ones left blooming . . . you sure do experience the seasons here! Having lived in Arizona (Phoenix area) most of my life this is very different and I do like it. We won't be staying for the brutal winter however.  *wink*

Hugs!

Owls!

The CTMH Stamp of The Month for August was simply fantastic!  I hope you had a chance to get this one - it has cute potential for Halloween, but there are also other fun things you can do!  I stole this idea from Vicki Wizniuk here.  Vicki inspires me every day!  

Just a note, the bottom owl (pink version) has a strip of pink glitter paper.  It looks totally purple in the photo! Strange.  These were fun!  

Happy Labor Day!

Scooter!

These notecards were inspired by the fabulous Lisa Stenz here.  I absolutely fell hard for the scooter in one of the new Holiday stamp sets.  Who says the scooter has to be used just for Christmas!?!  

The four new Close to My Heart colors are represented, Glacier (upper left) Pixie (upper right), Canary (lower left) and Thistle (lower middle).  The other two colors are Sweet leaf and Sorbet.  I didn't have the new paper fundamentals yet for all of these (like Lisa used), but I had some design papers with those colors to highlight how awesome these colors can be!  For a change I decorated the envelopes, too.  This was all packaged up as a gift for a dear friend.  

I need to take some photos of my remodeled work space . . . 

It's time to restock my card stash.  I started with this one because I was inspired to try watercoloring the butterfly.  It turned out alright - but I felt it needed something more (the stamped lines were Glacier color, like the body of the butterfly, and it just looked "blah").  I grabbed my gel pen and added just a little glimmer.  

Now that the remodeling of the space where I do my art work is completed, I finally have time to play again!  It's a good thing since all I was doing was shopping and my budget can't afford that tactic! Hugs!

Wedding cards . . . or Annniversary!!

This card was so much fun to make (but remember, I like to color!).  

I used the new CTMH stamp set called Celebrate Love Occasions. I also used CTMH inks and their new ShinHan alcohol markers as well as a couple of Prisma watercolor pencils.  (the purple and greens).  Then I randomly cut around the image at the bottom of my white piece (with the flower decoration) and layered it over a bright design paper from Pebbles.  Very fun!

This card was scrap-lifted from Lucy Abrams.  She is a popular artist and I can't find where the card was posted (perhaps it was pulled for publication?) but you can see her fabulous blog here.  I used different paper, color scheme, an extra layer, used two different size butterflies for the openings, and placed my sentiment in a different spot, but basically it is her card!  This was really quick and I love the effect!

Have I mentioned that summer in Minnesota is amazing!?  I am loving the outdoor time, the beautiful GREEN colors and the wildlife is fantastic! The other day we were at Grandview Lodge and I was delighted to watch a black squirrel and a gray squirrel playing together.  They are so much fun to watch - I could just daydream and watch their antics all day. 

Hugs! 

Sad and Happy

I'm sad, because my local scrapbook store is closing. But I'm also happy, because I was able to pick up a lot of great items at reduced prices.  The owners had such an up-beat attitude, it reminds me of how very positive people are in Minnesota.  So, no tears here - just looking forward to new beginnings and, on my part, playing with my new toys.

The stamps are My Favorite Things and had coordinating dies to cut the flowers and leaves.  I used Close-to-My-Heart inks (Blush, Hollyhock, Tulip and Lagoon) and cardstock (Pixie) and the design papers were from Pebbles.  

There is no place like HOME!

 These bicycle cards were inspired by a recent trip that included wandering through a Paper Source store.  The inspiration card was a CAS design with a single bicycle.  I used all CTMH stamps, ink, and paper and added just a little more detail.  I love this card!

The title of my post?  Steve's daughter Melissa and her husband Jim gave birth to Thomas James (TJ) on July 2nd.  Today, nearly 4 weeks later, TJ was discharged from the neonatal ICU to go home!  What a blessing!  

It is good to be home!
Hugs!

Wedding Card!

This card was for my new hair stylist in the North.  She is getting married this week and I thought that was a good excuse to make a wedding card!  I had fun - and sorta copied the second card from this post by Melissa Phillips.  I find her cards way over my head, but sometimes I try them anyway!  *giggle*

Amanda was pleased!  

The papers, inks, and stamps were all Close-to-My-Heart.  The bag/envelope was embossed in the Cuttlebug and the cool doily that holds the glassine envelope bag closed is actually a drip-collar for candles used in church!  ( I found a bag of them in a drawer and my Beloved said I could have them for scrapping!!  :-D )  

We may be starting our travels tomorrow!  We've both been putting things into the suitcases all day and asking each other, did you pack the "xyz"?  It's really quite entertaining!  I'm fiddling around on the computer now while he naps.  Only fair since I slept in late when he got up for Rotary at 6 am.  

Hugs!!