Happy Anniversary Card

If you've been to my blog much, you know that my three favorite stamp companies are Close To My Heart (CTMH), Altenew, and My Favorite Things (MFT). I've made several cards combining products from all three of them, and today's card is one of them.

All paper is from CTMH. Some of it is retired, but the current colors are used are Sugarplum, Eggplant, Pansy Purple, and Sage. The retired, super-dark purple on the bottom layer is Majestic Mountain which retired a long time ago. The pattered paper is also from CTMH. It's in the "Feels Like Home" paper suite which retires at midnight today. I cut it, as well as the two stitched frames, using CTMH die cuts. The "happy" die cut is from MFT. The flower and leaves die cuts are from the 3-D Roses set made by Altenew. The small "anniversary" stamp is retired CTMH stamped in Eggplant ink.

I host a "Bring Your Own Craft" night at Ft. Lee once a month. In March, I brought my die cutting machine, a bunch of colored cardstock, and the 3-D Roses. I cut and assembled a bunch of flowers in various colors. Here's a card I made using almost the exact same set of supplies. If you really like the patterned paper on this card and the other one, here's a link to the Feels Like Home suite on my CTMH consultant website. Again, this paper retires at midnight tonight, so act quickly!

Until next time,
Becca

A Simple Thank You Card

Here's my final exclusively CTMH Seasonal Expressions 2 project. This card features a Hostess Only set that I simply had to have called "Let's Celebrate." It's primarily designed to create invitations, which I love to do, but here I altered it to make a straightforward thank you card.

I started by white embossing the floral image onto blue paper from the Something Fierce paper suite. I then stamped the flower centers in Bluebird ink. I wasn't worried about making them fit exactly, as you can see. I don't think the off-center stamping takes away from the prettiness in any way. To color the small buds and flower centers with yellow, I used an alcohol based marker like the ShinHans we sell. The sentiment comes from the January Stamp of the Month which is unavailable now. See...this is why you need to get what you want when it's available.

The final step was to run my image through the die-cutting machine using the Rectangular Stitched Thin Cuts. I use this set of Thin Cuts more than all the other combined. Fortunately, they are part of the new catalog coming out on May 1. And be sure to check out the April Stamp of the Month (see sidebar). It's an incredibly beautiful and versatile set.

Until next time,
Becca

Love Always Card

I'm trying to post all the cards I made prior to my big, cross-country trip before the stamps used retire at the end of the month. This one falls into the "there's always a way to fix the majority of your mistakes" category.

This stamp set comes in layers with strategically placed spaces for all the images to be stamped in various colors and not overlap. I would normally use my MISTI stamp placement tool for this, but I wanted to try it without the added help to see how I did. Well...it was mostly okay. And where it wasn't okay, I added extra stamping to cover it. Notice the small dark blue flower in the bottom of the "O." It's covering some pink stamping that shouldn't be there. And the "always" is covering where the bottom of the "E" has color  that doesn't belong. Then there's the white gel pen which I used to put veins in the leaves and highlight the "always." With all that going on, the places where the stamping isn't perfect is hardly noticeable. Works for me!!

I don't have the colors in front of me, but to the best of my recollection they are: Sapphire, New England Ivy, Raspberry, Pixie, and Ballerina. The paper is from the Mix-Ins suite, and the stitched panel is from the Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts.

Remember, the current catalog with this stamp set retires at midnight MST on April 30. May 1 there's an entirely new (FABULOUS) catalog releasing. As much as I'm looking forward to sharing the joy of the new, I don't want you to miss out on the loveliness of the current.

Until next time,
Becca

Heart and Home Hello

Today's card is quick and simple. The Heart & Home stamp set images have so much going on that they require very little coloring. I intentionally left some areas white to add visual interest.

I stamped all the images in Espresso ink, colored them, then fussy cut them using Micro-tip scissors. I didn't bother cutting out the centers of the wreaths but did use an x-acto knife to cut out the center of the sign so it looked like it was hanging. I tied a knot into White Twine and adhered it to the top of the sign with Liquid Glass. (NOTE: I didn't tie the twine around the stamped sign hanger. I wouldn't have been able to get my knot that small and would have damaged the paper.) The bottom strip of paper is from the Feels Like Home paper suite.

I always try to have a number of "blank" cards available to be modified into whatever I need. I'm using this one as a thank you for someone who opened their home to me and my friend as we drove from one coast to the other during the second week of April.

If you like this stamp set, be sure to order right away. The current catalog retires in a few days...as does the amazing April Stamp of the Month: Love So Sweet.

Until next time,
Becca

Dandelion Wishes

I've been on the road since March 23, so my blog has suffered from inattention. I was smart enough to take some pictures ahead of time hoping I'd have a chance to post once I landed somewhere long enough to finish. Today, I got a couple of minutes so here ya go...

Because acrylic stamps bend easily, I was able to make all three of these dandelions with the same stamp. The natural bend is the one on the far right. I stamped all three plus "Birthday" in Versamark ink before adding White Embossing Powder. "wishes" was stamped in Pewter which I also used to sponge the centers of the dandelions. It's difficult to see, but I added clear shimmer to the dandelion centers for added interest. The paper, except for the black glitter, is from the Feels Like Home suite. The strip of glitter paper could be done two ways: by trimming down the black shimmer trim or by cutting a strip from the 12x12 black glitter paper. I chose to do the latter.

In other news, I went house-hunting last week in preparation for our move to Washington state in a couple months. I found a fabulous house. Now we just have to see what the inspector says. But isn't this welcoming?

There were only two homes available to look at the day I went house hunting. This was the first one I looked at. I offered and the current owner accepted within about six hours. Yep...the houses in this area go that fast. The amazing thing is, this is the EXACT house I would have picked if I had a hundred homes to look out.

And did I tell you the best part?...Washington is HOME! It makes our third move in two years bearable.

Until next time,
Becca

April SOM Blog Hop - Love So Sweet

Welcome to the April Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. You should have come from Gina's blog. As always, the hop is a circle so keep going until you get back to your first stop to take advantage of all the great inspiration.

This was my favorite SOM in the catalog. I loved everything - absolutely EVERYTHING - about it. So I made two cards for the hop, one featuring the butterflies and one featuring the flowers.

I layered the largest butterfly (in Sapphire ink) with the medium butterfly (in Lemon ink). So quick and easy! And that small diagonally striped line...LOVE it! You can't tell from the picture, but the background piece of Lemon was stamped with the branch and leaves in the center of the pictured set. It shows up better in real life.

Who says leaves have to be green? I forget when I first saw someone use an alternative color for leaves, but it's been a technique I've used over and over again. The only other technique I employed here was sponging Nectarine ink in the centers of the Lemon inked flowers. I really liked how that addition of color made the centers pop. I adore the fresh, vibrant colors of the So Much Happy paper.

Here's the supply list with shopping links for your convenience:

• Love So Sweet stamp set
• So Much Happy paper
• White Daisy Cardstock
• Sapphire Cardstock
• Lemon Cardstock
• Lemon ink
• Nectarine ink
• Sapphire ink
• Lagoon ink
• Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts (backordered, link unavailable)
• 3-D Foam Tape
• Micro-tip Scissors
• Sponge Daubers

Next up is Haley's blog. Remember that this fabulous stamp set is only available this month, and that all the papers and most of the stamps from the current catalog are retiring at the end of April. There's a new, gorgeous catalog headed your way, but I wouldn't want you to regret not getting the items that are available now.

Until next time (which could be a while because I'm at a writer's conference for the next week then on the road to do house-hunting for our next military move--the third in two years),
Becca