Golden Christmas Card

I created another Christmas card to play along with week 3 (3rd of 4 challenges for November) of Verve's Viva La Verve challenge, which includes a sketch and inspiration:

I used the cream, gold, books (script), and flourishes as inspirations for my card:

Verve's Diva Dare for November challenges you to use vellum.  I've used 3 types of vellum in my card:  The large doily was embossed on gold vellum, the smaller doily on white vellum, and the vertical strip on the left side of the card is a script-patterned piece of vellum.  I also ended up punching out snowflakes from vellum for the centre of the doilies as a finishing touch.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Paper: CTMH Colonial White; Recollections vellum, gold

Stamps: Verve 'Ornamental Christmas'; CTMH 'Simple Memories'             

Ink: CTMH Cocoa

Other:  Cuttlebug; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Versamark; CTMH gold embossing powder, Rosewood embellishment; Recollections gold embellishment, 'Glitter on a Roll'; Martha Stewart snowflake punch; Liquid Pearls

Viva La Verve Holiday Cheer

I had so much fun with last week's Viva La Verve challenge, that I'm participating again for week 2 (I just may get ambitious enough to play along with all 4!)  I'm still in Christmas card mode and it's no wonder, considering it's been snowing here the last couple of days.  

I again used traditional red & green colours.  I interpreted the circular elements in the sketch as ornaments, using Verve's 'Ornamental Christmas' set for the smaller one, and used a CTMH Poster Tidings stamp for the rectangular panel:

Have a great weekend!

Supplies Used:

Paper: All CTMH

Ink: CTMH Holiday Red, White Daisy

Stamps: Verve 'Ornamental Christmas'; CTMH ' Poster TIdings'; Gelatins 'Sewing Kit'

Other: Versamark, Recollections Snow embossing powder; Cuttlebug; Goose Bumpz Zig Zag embossing folder; Martha Stewart Garnet glitter; Momenta metal embellishments; Fiskars Circle Cutter

Baby Onesie Card

I've always wanted to make a 'baby onesie' card, and I finally got the chance when I heard that my son's teacher had a baby boy.  I CASE'd this card that I came across on Pinterest, and added some more dimension & detail, including a cute embellishment in the pocket :o)

Here's the inside:

Thanks for looking!

Paper: Recollections patterned, white

Other:  Versamark; chalk; Copics; K & Company embellishment; Recollections brads; CTMH clear buttons

Christmas Ornament Shaker Card

I love the colours that Julee chose for this month's Viva La Verve contest-and her latest cards are just gorgeous!  She inspired me to play along with both the Diva Dare and the Viva La Verve November challenges.  I decided to have a go at making a shaker card.  I was aiming to make a frosted ornament using vellum (the theme for the Diva Dare) using one of the ornaments from Verve's 'Ornamental Christmas' stamp set.  I didn't follow any specific instructions, just sort of winged it, and was happy with how it turned out.  The background and the sentiment were both created using the same stamp set.

As I was browsing some of my favourite challenge blogs, I was happy to see that my card also qualifies for The Paper Players colour challenge this week:

Thanks for stopping by :)

Supplies Used:
Paper: All CTMH; Recollections vellum
Stamps: Verve 'Ornamental Christmas'
Inks: CTMH New England Ivy, Bamboo, Holiday Red
Other: Verve 'Shine Bright' sequins; green & red sequins unknown; Cuttlebug; The Paper Studio Woodgrain embossing folder; Stickles; 3-d foam tape; ribbon & gem unknown

Quilled Birthday Wishes

I created this 4 layered quilled flower to include in a quilled floral design to place in a frame that I plan to display in my home, but instead, decided to use it for this birthday card (now I have an excuse to make another one):

I'm entering it in this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge:

Thanks for stopping by :)

Supplies Used:
Paper: CTMH Patterned, Colonial White, Cocoa, Barn Red; Quilling strips
Stamps: Verve Amazing Wishes
Ink: CTMH Cocoa
Other: CTMH Artisan Studs; Poppy Stamps Lorelai Leaf Die; Verve Charming Ovals Die Set; Cuttlebug; Cuttlebug flourishes embossing folder

Warmest Thanks

How can you not be inspired by the gorgeous fall colours at this time of year?

I especially love seeing all the fall-themed cards online, which always end up inspiring me to make one myself.  This week, I'm playing along with Verve's Inspiration Challenge, where the theme/inspiration is fall:

Here's my fall-inspired card. I wish you could see just how sparkly it is IRL with the shiny sequins from Verve (which I just LOVE), the sparkly gem on the bow, and the sheen from the leaves: 

 One thing we love to do as a family is discover and explore nature trails, especially during this time of year.  We had a particularly fun time on this trail we found in Stouffville, Ontario last week :)

My son and brother-in-law are avid amateur photographers:

My son was super excited about finding this tree frog, which is kind of like find a needle in a haystack, since it's the size of a thumb:

He also found this bullfrog:

And what a nice surprise it was to come across these horses!

Finally, here's Bailey, my nephew's new puppy, who joined us on the trail.

Isn't he just adorable?!!!

~Thanks for stopping by~

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Supplies Used:

Paper: CTMH White Daisy & Kraft

Stamps: Verve's Artful Elegance

Ink: CTMH Creme Brulee, Autumn Terracotta, Cranberry

Other: Verve's Charming Oval Die; Verve's Shine Bright Sequin Mix; Jolee's Boutique Brass Leaves; The Crafter's Workshop Mini Bricks stencil; sponge; Cuttlebug; Memory Box Bramble Circle die; ribbon and gemstone from my stash.

Halloween Birthday Card

Here I go again taking The Diva Dare from Verve!  My Terrific Trios this time are the 3 inks I chose to sponge on the card, more specifically, on the cupcake (the background used four).  I had never intended to use this cute cupcake stamp set (one of Verve's latest releases) for a masculine card when I ordered it, but hey, boys love cupcakes too!  My nephew's birthday falls on Halloween and this year he's turning the big one-oh.  

I used the emboss/resist technique to create the background and the cupcake frosting:  The background was made using a chevron stencil - I heat embossed with Versamark & black embossing powder, then sponged on the different colours.  The cupcake was stamped with Versamark, then also sponged using the 3 inks. 

I added some glitter to the cupcake as well as to the number '10', which I drew in with a black Sharpie.

As a finishing touch, I thought it would be cute to incorporate a little spider (a digistamp) hanging by its web from the flag :o)

This card also qualifies for the Show Us Your Verve challenge, using 2 of Verve's August releases.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:
Paper: CTMH White Daisy, Black
Stamps: Verve's Small Packages; MyGrafico Digistamp
Ink: Rangers Broken China Distressed Ink; CTMH Creme Brulee; SU Lovely Lilac & Only Orange
Other: Verve's Cupcake Frame Die Set; Cuttlebug; Color Box Chevrons stencil; Versamark; Stampendous Black embossing powder; Sponge; Martha Stewart Onyx & Turquoise glitter; Black Sharpie; silver thread from stash; 3-d foam tape

Quilled Teddy Bear

It's time to take the Dare! Verve's Diva Dare, that is!  My Terrific Trios are the 3 quilled balloons.  
Addicted to Stamps and More has a CAS challenge and Addicted to CAS has a 'Cuddly' theme this week (my 1st CAS challenges ever!) that I'm also playing along with.  
I haven't quilled in a while, and thought it would be fun to make this card for my husband's colleague, who just had a baby boy.  This little teddy bear gave me quite a challenge, though-I couldn't seem to make him quite 'cute enough'.  It wasn't until I got some advice from my wonderfully creative cartoonist husband :0) on how to make and position his nose and eyes that I was satisfied.  Prior to his facial reconstruction, the poor teddy looked 'freaky', as my son put it!
(Wish I had a before-and-after shot)

Have a wonderful day!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Verve's Small Phrases
Embellishments: Verve's Shine Bright Sequins
Other: Verve's Charming Banner Die; Cuttlebug; Cuttlebug Polka Dot embossing folder; twine; quilling strips

Fall Festive Card

It's my favourite time of the year-there's an abundance of inspiration all around, from the colours nature's offering to the delicious food (pumpkin and apple pie, oh my!)  Addicted to Stamps and More has a 'Holiday' challenge this week, and being in the fall festive mood I'm in, I decided to have some fun and play along using some of my 'Thanksgiving goodies'.
I particularly love this stamp set that I used from CTMH because of how versatile it is.  I've used the cute images for Valentine's Day, Easter, and now Thanksgiving (love the sentiments that go along with it, too!)

We had a wonderful evening out with some dear friends last week, so I'm planning to mail this card out to them :)  Hopefully they'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it!


Supplies Used
Stamps:  CTMH 'You Are My Happy'
Paper: Recollections Autumn Designer Paper Pad; CTMH Black, Kraft
Ink: CTMH Cocoa, White Daisy
Embellishments: My Mind's Eye Enamal Dots; CTMH Canvas Buttons; Jolee's Boutique Brass Leaves; twine
Other: Versamark; Recollections Snow Embossing Powder; Cuttlebug; The Paper Studio Woodgrain embossing folder

Wtf?

Well, it's been a while since I had the chance to make a card, and with our busy summer schedule, I'm surprised that this card actually came into fruition.  I couldn't not make a birthday card for my sister, though.  She's turning fifty and not too pleased about it, so I thought I'd aim for a card that would at least get her to smile :)  

I used this week's fun sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

(It's hard to see in the photo, but IRL the background paper is a pretty shimmering blue)

Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies Used:
Paper: Recollections
Stamps: For the Birds TiddlyInks digistamp; CTMH Large Chocolate Alphabet
Ink: CTMH Black, Chocolate
Other: Cuttlebug; The Paper Studio Woodgrain embossing folder; Copics; Fiskars cloud punch; 3d foam tape; sponge

Dance-themed Thank You Card

Freshly Made Sketches has a great sketch this week by Linda C.

When I saw the diagonal stripes, I knew a music bar would fit the theme, and I had just recently made some girly dance-themed tags for party favours, and that's where I ended up getting most of my inspiration from.

I cut strips of white paper and glued them to Recollections pink cardstock. The stars were stamped using CTMH's You Are and You Are My Happy stamp sets with Memento Black ink, 'stickled', and cut out. The musical notes were computer generated, fussy cut, and sparkled up with Martha Stewart black glitter.  The sentiment was also computer generated: I stamped around it using Verve's scroll stamp and glued it to the black scroll matching die cut.

The background white paper was embossed with Goose Bumpz ZigZag embossing folder.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Hope you have a great day!

Freshly Made Sketches #138

Spring is finally in full bloom here, and yet I resorted to a winter paper pack for this card. The pretty 'spring' blue shade instantly caught my eye, as did the complementary patterned paper.

I used this week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches, which I turned on its side:

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Paper: CTMH Frosted, Kraft, Vellum
Stamps: CTMH For A Friend Occasions

Embellishments: CTMH Twill Ribbon, pearl; Recollections Burlap Flowers, twine

Other: Versamark, Recollections Snow embossing powder; heat gun; Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Confirmation Invitations

Here's a photo of the invitations I put together for my son's Confirmation.  Funny, I had initially made a sample using red (which is symbolic for a Confirmation), as well as a different layout, which I thought was lovely, but when I showed my son, he strongly disapproved! So instead of taking a chance and creating another card for him to possibly nix, I asked him to design it himself.  His version turned out much better than mine :o)  

Looks like card-making runs in the family :)

If you look closely, you can see that there's a symbolic dove on the metallic cross:

Here are the favours...The tag was designed using CTMH's Beloved stamp set. 

I added 7 berries with Stickles to represent the gifts of the Holy Spirit:

Thanks for stopping by!

Deconstructed Sketch 143

Just got back from our roadtrip to beautiful Florida :)  Never thought the day would come where I would agree to travel over 22 hours(!) in a car with our 2 boys, but I'm so glad we did-and we survived! We had a such a fun trip, and the drive down, with a stop-over in Chattanooga, Tennessee, made the trip that much more fun and adventurous!

Here's a photo of my boys on the Tennessee River Gorge Mountain Trail:

Overlooking the Tennessee River:

We truly enjoyed all the southern hospitality (and bbq!) while staying there.  

I also made sure to sneak in some shopping at Hobby Lobby (which we don't have up here), where I stocked up on some card making supplies that I can't wait to use :o)

Since we've been back, I've only had time to create one card. In a couple of weeks I'll be going to a bridal shower. It's been years since I've been to one, and come to think of it, I don't think I've ever made a bridal shower card before. I seem to be gravitating towards The Deconstructed Sketch time and again - I just love the inspiration I find there :)  Thanks for this great sketch, Jen!

Thanks for stopping by

Supplies Used:

Paper: Floral Bunches, blue, white, vellum: all Recollections

Other: Sentiment computer generated; Michael's gemstone; scoring tool on Fiskar's cutter used for embossing & scoring pattern for umbrella

Hello, Sunshine!

The Deconstructed Sketch has a fun, circular card sketch this week and I decided to play along using some MME 6x6 paper pads that I can't seem to get enough of lately. I've also been getting a lot of use out of the cute CTMH 'You Are My Happy' stamp set.  For this card, I used the sun stamp that I stamped twice, fussy cut (I ended up cutting out the dotted rays altogether), and paper pieced.  I coloured it with Copics and gave the sun some extra shine with Liquid Glass.  The clouds were punched out using a Fiskars cloud punch and layered with 3D foam tape.  The sentiment is from Verve's 'Artful Elegance'.  I had paper pierced the kraft layer, but thought it looked a little plain, so I decided to hand stitch it with some hemp twine.

Hope it's sunny where you are!
Thanks for looking :)

Supplies Used:

Paper: CTMH Dotty for You, Colonial White, Black, Kraft; My Mind's Eye Springtime, Stella & Rose 

Stamps: CTMH You Are My Happy; Verve Artful Elegance

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black; SU Only Orange

Other:  Fiskars cloud punch; Fiskars circle cutter; CTMH Liquid Glass; hemp twine; Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circles; Cuttlebug

Thinking Spring with the Deconstructed Sketch 139

I'm quite fed up with the seamingly never ending winter we've been drudging through, so to help make it a little more bearable, I've decided to start 'thinking Spring' - and as a reminder, I created this card :)

The Deconstructed Sketch 139

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Paper: CTMH Dotty For You, Colonial White; My Mind's Eye Springtime Paper Pad; Vellum Paper

Stamps: CTMH You Are My Happy Icons & Sentiments AND Alphabet

Other: Cuttlebug; Cuttlebug Polka Dots embossing folder; Versamark; Recollections Snow embossing powder; heat gun; CTMH Corner Rounder; Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circles dies; Cuttlebug flower dies; Recollections rhinestone

The Deconstructed Sketch 137

I've been loving the Deconstructed Sketch site ever since I discovered it a couple of months ago - so much inspiration and great sketches!  Here's the current sketch:

 

And here's my take on it:

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

Paper: My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose 6x6 paper pad; CTMH Colonial White

Stamps:  CTMH You Are My Happy, Simple Stitches; TiddlyInks 'Awww Thanks' digistamp

Inks: CTMH Cocoa

Embellishments: CTMH Lagoon & Spring Blossom Mini Medley collections

Other: Copics; Paper Piercing tool; Liquid Pearls; Cuttlebug; Spellbinder Classic Scalloped Circles Nestabilities 

Deconstructed Sketch #133

I came across The Deconstructed Sketch challenge and fell in love with the current sketch, and so decided to play along for the first time :)  I had a birthday card in mind, but when I went through my stamps, I thought that the 'Home Sweet Home' stamp set from CTMH suited the layout more. I also ended up using the Avonlea paper packet, which happens to be one of my all-time favourites.  I ended up quilling 2 flowers with the teal paper included in the pack that I cut into 1/4 inch strips.  
I had so much fun with the sketch that I just may end up creating that birthday card with it as well :)

Supplies from CTMH: Avonlea Paper Packet; Home Sweet Home stamp set; Twilight Ink; Embellishments: Rosewood & Slate Mini-Medley Accents, Brocade Assortment, Satin Polkadot Ribbon

Other: Quilling tool and quilling board; circle punch; sheer ribbon & mini pearls unknown

Thanks for stopping by!