Lots to Share - 88 Years Young + More Christmas

How has your week been?  Mine's been a busy week.  On Wednesday, my mother turned 88 years young.  I had asked family and friends as well as folks from work to give my mom a birthday card in the hopes of raising 88 cards.  My mom was elated with her cards.  Friends of friends from various parts of the country sent cards.  We both got pretty emotional.  My mom has macular degeneration so she wasn't able to read the cards.  She'd open one.  I'd read it and then I'd stand it up around her.  By the time we got done, she was in a sea of cards and was quite overwhelmed that so many people who didn't even know her took the time to send her a birthday greeting.  I snapped this picture as it all began to set in.  Thank you to all of you who helped make this birthday a special one for my mom.

I'm also trying to get all my cards together for the charity donations.  My cards for the Caring Hearts Card Drive were mailed Monday.  I finished all the cards for the Michaels Cares charity auction.  I thought my Frosted set of six cards needed a container of some sort.  So I fired up my Cricut and created this little holder and bow with the Close To My Heart Artiste cartridge (my favorite cartridge).  I think it adds a nice touch.

 

 

I never go to the mall on Black Friday.  I'm allergic to crowds!  But Michaels had a great sale which started Thanksgiving Day at 4pm.  We had finished our Thanksgiving Brunch and gone for a little drive when we just happened to be near Michaels just before 4!  Amazing how that worked out.  There were several cars but it didn't appear to be too crowded.  So in I went.  I had been wanting the Sizzix / Tim Holtz Victorian Carolers die for some time.  I got it for a great price and just had to use it.  What do you think?  I'm really happy with how it came out.

 

 

Supplies Used:

 

Card Base - CTMH Colonial White

Candy Cane and Music Paper - Melissa Francis

Holly and Sentiment - Anna Griffin

Carolers - Sizzix / Tim Holtz Victorian Carolers Die

Distressing - Silver Cat's Eye Pigment Ink

 

 

Babycakes Diaper Card

I had a new Close To My Heart customer order the Cricut Artiste cartridge in order to make this diaper card.  She said she was new to the whole Cricut experience so I thought I'd customize her thank you card a bit.  The card base is made from Whisper cardstock.  All the other patterned paper is from the Babycakes Collection.  I made the bow from white satin ribbon from Ellen Hutson.  The white paper is Smooth Bazzill that I buy in bulk from HSN.

The diaper card is on page 64 of the Artiste cartridge booklet.  Leave the proportions as linked and cut the base at a height of 5.26 inches and the card inserts at 5.10 inches and 4.85 inches. The diaper pins are cut at .75 inches.  (All of these sizes are the heights.) The little giraffe accent was made using various size punches I had available.  The diaper sides fold in and fit into slits that are part of the cut.  No adhesive is needed to hold it together.  There are also two teenie tiny cuts made as markers for each of the fold lines.  Sometimes they're hard to spot.  The completed card just makes it into a standard 5"x7" envelope.

I thought it came out pretty cute!  What do you think?

Operation Write Home Challenge - Sketch #190

I have two completely different styles of cards for you today.  Here's today's sketch for Operation Write home:

I didn't follow the sketch very closely since my stamped image needed more of a rectangular focal point.  But here's what I came up with:

This will be an "Any Hero" card.  The card looks simple and it is.  But you'd think a tornado had passed through my house.  I must have dragged out every tool I own for this.  One of the most difficult parts was the mitering of the corners on the washi tape around the sentiment.  Then the part that really caused me problems was getting everything stuck down.  I had originally used a polka dot embossing folder for the background.  Nothing would stick.  Glue was seeping out everywhere!  So the polka dot went into the trash and I turned to my beloved ATG gun for some bonding time.

I used my Cricut Artbooking cartridge, chevron embossing folder, Tim Holtz embossing folder (cracked glass maybe?), star washi tape, Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments (CL582 - OWH Fundraiser), silver brads, Spellbinders rectangle dies, Cats Eye Lipstick Red chalk ink and Stampin' Up Night of Navy ink spot.  The card base is from Papertrey Ink.


I also made a sympathy card this weekend for a dear friend who lost her brother.  He'd been ill for quite a while.  Still, I don't think you're ever prepared for the death of a loved one.  My thoughts and prayers are with her.

This card was made almost entirely of Anna Griffin product.  The exception is the gunmetal grey textured metallic paper in the middle layer (DCWV).  I embossed this paper with Anna's Circle Grid folder.  It came out great!  I almost hated to cover it with the top layer. (I have Melody Lane to thank for this idea.)  I also used Stampin' Up pearls and corner punch.  I think my friend liked it.  What do you think?



New Poppy Stamps Dies!

I happened upon the Poppy Stamps Blog Blitz last weekend and fell in love with their new dies.  I've long been a fan of their dies but have been a bit afraid to use them.  As it worked out, my new Sizzix magnetic platform arrived the same day as my new dies.  It appeared to be kismet, so away I went.  I just made a few cuts on scrap paper at first.  They were beautiful!  My little brain was whirling away designing a card.  This is the result.  I've also included a close up so you get a better look at these exquisite dies. 

 

I used the Diamond Background, Brittany Ornament, Eddington Ornament and the Pine Sprigs dies.  The "Joy" is cut from the Anna Griffin Winter Wonderland Cricut cartridge.  The paper is SEI Christmas paper I found in my stash.  The collection was called Holly Lane.  The tiny pearls are from Stampin' Up.  And of course, I used my beloved Sakura Stardust pen. 

 

I cut two sets of the pine sprigs.  I glued two of each together in the center only.  That way I could "fluff" the branches to give it more dimension.   I was going for a more subtle card with a good bit of tone on tone.  I think the ornament should have had a bolder color for its base.  The ornament and sentiment seem to be in competition to be the focal point.  I'll shrink the sentiment down for the next card - although I'm afraid my cut won't be as clean.  Any suggestions for a new color scheme?  The Poppy Stamps web site has a turquoise and green combo that is gorgeous. 

 

I'd love to see your creations with these great dies.

Laughing Lola Thanks You

I made some thank you cards for the wonderful people who placed Closed To My Heart (CTMH) orders with me this month.  These are my first customers and I'm so grateful for them.  I used the Laughing Lola paper and compliments (chipboard pieces).  The card bases were done with Colonial White cardstock. 

I love the tiny bows on these cards.  They are so simple to make with the CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge (see photos below).  They are made from one cut made at 1 inch.  Find the cut on page 55 of the Artiste booklet.  The sentiment is cut with the CTMH Art Philosophy circle 3 image on page 41 (cut at 2 inches and stamped using one of the accompanying stamps).  CTMH also has two great specials for September.  There's the Stamp of the Month and a National Stamping Month special.  A $50 purchase qualifies you for both items.  Click on my shopping cart if you're interested in any of these products.