March SOM Blog Hop: Winged Masterpiece

Welcome to the March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring Winged Masterpiece. You should have come from Haley's blog, but don't worry if you started here. The hop is a circle. Keep going until you get back where you started so you see all the fabulous inspiration. If you get lost along the way. head to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants.

Here's a look at this beautiful set.

I made two cards for this hop, one is fairly straightforward for the included images and one is...let's just say it's a little outside of the box. 

Here's card one:

I started by cutting apart the sentiment that says "forever wouldn't have been long enough." I am a huge fan of cutting apart stamps, particularly sentiments. It really stretches their usefulness. I then cut my panel using one of the Fancy Border thin cuts. 

I stamped my dragonfly and "forever" in Toffee ink. I also stamped the Toffee background paper with the small flower from the stamp set. The paper is from the March-April Mix-In collection. 

My final touch was to use Moon Dust Glitter gel through a stencil I created with the CTMH USA Cricut Collection. I angled the stencil over my dragonfly and the added the gel, making sure I didn't go to the edges. That gave it a more organic feel.

For my second card, I used the CTMH Flower Market Cricut Cartridge. I also stole a couple ideas from other CTMH Makers, namely Trina Wirihana and Jean Johnson. This one features the Garden Gnomes stamp set, which is in the Core Catalog.

Cute, right? I just love these gnomes!! 

The sentiment is from Winged Masterpieces. That's it. The paper is from the same Mix-In collection as the first card, this time in Canary and Fern colors. I did some paper piecing on the gnome's hat an clothes, using plain Fern cardstock stamped with the new Charming Backgrounds stamp set. I surgically removed a few of the lines in the Multi Square Window thin cut (also part of the Core Catalog). It changes up the look in a really fun way.

When the card was done, I went back in with some of the Moon Dust gel. I added it to the sentiment, behind the gnome, and a couple other places. I thought it gave my card a bit of leprechaun magic.

Now you're off to Kim's blog. I can't wait to see what she and the other talented Makers have created for us!

Until next time,

Becca

Bold Declaration of Love

 It's been a while since I participated in some of my favorite challenges, so I decided to check them out before making my husband's Valentine's Day card. Let's hear it for the Color My Heart: Shades of Pink + One and Heart2Heart: All You Need is Love challenges.

I completely copied this idea from someone else. Unfortunately, there was no information on the inspiration picture for me to find a link for you. To create it, I started by cutting 1/4 inch strips of cardstock in Candy Apple, Flamingo, Ballerina, and Mint. Then I die cut the sentiment and heart shape. The "you" was stamped in Candy Apple (which I'm counting as a shade of pink for the Color My Heart challenge). The final touch was adding two white enamel dots. For the sake of design, I did line up the top and bottom Candy Apple strips, but otherwise, I kept it random. 

I hope the hubby likes his card!

Until next time,

Becca

Bring Back My Pack - Blossom Blog Hop

 

Welcome to the Bring Back My Pack Blog Hop. You should have come from Gina's blog. The hop is a circle, so just keep going. If you get lost along the way, head to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants.

I used Shower Flowers with the Hexagon thin cuts. I also pulled out the banner from the Waterfall thin cuts set for the sentiment. The blue rectangular frame is from the Stitched Rectangular thin cuts. I love my thin cuts!

Now you're off to Kathy's blog. I can't wait to see what she and all the other talented CTMH Makers have created.

Until next time,

Becca

February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Doodled Borders

 

Welcome to the February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring Doodled Borders. You should have come from Gina's blog. The hop is a circle, though, so it doesn't matter where you started. Just keep going until you've seen all the posts. If you get lost along the way, head to Melinda's blog where she has a list of all the participants.

Here's a look at this set. 

Oh my goodness, I cannot tell you how much I love these kinds of sets. They allow me to dress up die cuts, create backgrounds, add fun elements, or - as the name suggests - make borders. If you've been to my blog much, you know that I'm a huge fan of tags on cards. These borders fit the Tags and Tabs Thin Cuts perfectly! Yes, the stamp images are designed so you can make looooong borders if you want, but sometimes I need a "one and done" thing. 

 

I used four images from the Doodled Border set on this card, three of them to create the bottom border along the tag, but I also "kissed" my pink flower with the circle of dots to get a little bit of pattern on my petals. The floral images and sentiment come from Stitched Flowers, which was the first stamp set that went in my cart with the Core Catalog was released back in August. 

My colors here and for the next card are Blue Belle, Flamingo, Nectarine, and Green Apple. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Spring! I added small dots of Liquid Pearls to the centers of the flowers in Ballerina and White Opal.

For my second card, I used the exact same layout. I have several "go to" card designs because I often need a card in a hurry. It saves me SO MUCH TIME if I already have a basic layout.

The background panel is Ballerina (dark side) stamped with Flamingo. For my tag, I deliberately chose the bold, graphic arrow to contrast with the soft hydrangea image (it comes from the Rewards Your Way program which you can only get through your CTMH Maker). I added a touch of color using pencils before cutting it out and foam mounting over the tag. The sentiment comes from the Seasonal Borders stamp set, which was the second thing that went into my cart when the Core Catalog released. I also used Liquid Pearls on the flower centers, this time in Sage. I thought about using Bisque but didn't want to add a new color to my palette, especially when I didn't have yellow anywhere else.

One of the great things about this card design is that I can substitute the icon (floral images) for anything I want. Think animals, gnomes, cupcakes, or hearts. The possibilities are limitless. Plus you can leave off the sentiment for a completely generic card. I try to keep at least five cards without sentiment in my stash so I can quickly stamp one to fit the occasion. Saves me a great deal of stress.

Now you're off to Maureen's blog. Again, the hop is a circle so keep going. You don't want to miss a single project from these incredibly talented Makers.

Until next time,

Becca

Perfect Match Blog Hop

 

Welcome to the Perfect Match Blog Hop. You should have come from Lauren's blog, but don't worry if you started here. The hop is a circle, so just keep going until you've seen all the amazing inspiration from our talented CTMH Makers. If you get lost while hopping, head to Melinda's blog for a complete list of participants.

I've been creating almost non-stop with these products: the paper, the stickers, the stamps...all of it! For my post here, I decided to shamelessly copy a layout idea I found on Pinterest. I was going to give you the link to the original post but it didn't work. I got that nasty "oops" screen. I hope my version is as inspiring for you as the original one was for me.

I wish my stitching was better, but I was relatively successful at covering the worst of my blunders with stickers.

I started by sketching a swirl with pencil on my paper. I then stamped the LOVE, we're a Perfect Match and red arrows, the envelope, a couple of other bordering lines, and the large heart behind the HAPPY sticker. I then did my stitching, breaking in places over the things I'd stamped. When I was done and had pulled my loose threads through to the back side, I erased my pencil line and started adding stickers and a few more stamped things, notably the small pink hearts. On the floral stickers, I trimmed off the blue leaves and then used a black marker to cover up any of the blue still showing before sticking them down. 

The only thing I used that doesn't come from the Perfect Match collection is the "love joy happiness xo" stamp. It's from the upcoming Stamp of the Month called "Doodled Borders." It will be available on February 1. 

This is my favorite picture ever of my husband and me...including wedding pictures! It was taken about ten years ago in Colorado Springs at Garden of the Gods. In a few years, I won't mind my wonky stitching, and this might end up being my favorite layout with my favorite picture.

Now you're off to Michelle's blog. I'm following right behind you because I still have some paper and a few stickers left to go with my stamp set. I can't wait to see what everyone has made!

Until next time,

Becca

January/February 2021 New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the Jan.-Feb. 2021 Seasonal Catalog Blog Hop! We're so glad you're here. Every two months, CTMH releases a mini catalog filled with beautiful products and we do a hop to show them off. You should have come from Lauren's blog. The hop is a circle, so don't worry about where you started. Just keep going until you've seen all the inspiring projects. If you get lost along the way, head to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants.

There weren't a huge number of things I needed from this mini-catalog. The last four have generated page-long lists of must haves, so it was nice to whittle down to just a couple things I wanted and then make use of things I'd already purchased out of the Core Catalog. 

For this first card, I used the new Letter Tiles Stamp and Thin Cuts set. I've wanted to play with Scrabble tile art for a long time, so this was perfect. I used the current Mix-In paper (bottom, Canary with white polka dots pattern) with Lovely paper from the Core Catalog. I die cut each piece of paper individually with the Stitched Rectangular Frame Thin Cuts, stacked them together, then cut both at the same time. I pieced these two together and covered the seam with a piece of Ballerina cardstock that I just cut the long edge of the very outside part of the largest rectangular stitched thin cut. I also cut tile pieces from Ballerina and offset them slightly with the tile pieces (Toffee cardstock stamped with Espresso ink) before foam mounting them to the card. I accented with a sticker from the Lovely paper collection, then jazzed it up using White Opal and Rose Gold Liquid Pearls.

As a fun side note, my husband came into my craft room and glanced over at my light box where this card was sitting. He started to laugh and said, "I misread that at first. I saw 'HARPY.'" Not too many women in my life I could send a Harpy card to, but now he's got me thinking...

My next card uses the same Mix-In paper plus Ballerina cardstock.

This new mini catalog features a set called Sweet Safari. It's a darling baby-themed set, but I'd already purchased Nursery Days from the Core Catalog, which has similar icons. I decided to make my own version of a card in the Sweet Safari card workshop...with one adjustment made because I messed up. 

Here's the original card. It features three pieces of paper - the stripe, the blue, and the red polka dot - then has some stamped flags and a sentiment. To mimic the flags, I decided to use a goodly amount of Ballerina Liquid Pearls. Except, once I squeezed it out, I decided I didn't like it. 

So I cut it off!

Look closely, and you'll see that the Ballerina border on the right side (cut with one of the Fancy Border Thin Cuts) isn't flush with the white card base. Now, I do really like how this looks, but I don't recommend the process by which I went about it.

I had already foam mounted the banner and giraffe, so I had to carefully cut  along the line of Toffee patterned paper, cut around the banner and giraffe, and then continue cutting straight to the top of the card. I then glued my piece of Ballerina border behind where I cut. It looks fine from the front but is a little ragged on the back side.  The final touches were some much smaller dots of Ballerina Liquid Pearls

Your next stop is Michelle's blog. I'm excited to see what she and the other Makers have created. Who knows, I might just find a "must have" I didn't know I needed.

Until next time,

Becca

January SOTM Blog Hop: Every Thank You

Welcome to the new year...which means a new stamp of the month and a new seasonal catalog! Our blog hop features the Every Thank You stamp set. You should have come from Lauren's blog. There are eighteen of us this month, so if you get lost along the way, hop over the Melinda's blog for a full list of the participants. 

Here's a look at the fabulous stamp set...so many ways to combine the various fonts.

Here's my first card. I used three different colors of cardstock: Blue Belle, Peach, and Desert Rose. I combined it with White Embossing Powder, the Stitched Rectangle and Stitched Square Thin Cuts. 

For this second card, I used the left over pieces from the thin cuts on the first one.

I dressed this one up with splatters from my Black Shimmer Brush and some Blue Belle Sequins. I love how the Stitched Square and Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts give you both panels and frames. 

Now you're off to Darly's blog. I can't wait to see what she and all the other CTMH Makers have for us.

Until next time,

Becca