January SOM: Frosty Friends

The minute I saw this Stamp of the Month (SOM) from CTMH, I added it to my cart. The lack of sentiments doesn't bother me one bit. For these cards I pulled out a bunch of retired sentiments. Just because they're gone, it doesn't mean they're no longer adorable.

Everything except the sentiments is current. I used both Copic markers and colored pencils. 

I'm really pleased with how these turned out. A link to this set is on the sidebar. It's only available until January 31, 2023. As always, stamps of the month are $5 with a $50 purchase or FREE with a $50 purchase for VIPs.

Until next time,
Becca

Playing with New Products in the Jan-March CTMH Seasonal Catalog

 A new catalog launched January 1, and I've been having a blast playing with the new products. My personal favorite is the "Are We There Yet" (AWTY) collection. I have a TON of travel pictures to scrapbook, so I purchased almost everything in the collection. Let me show you the products in the line before I get to what I've done with them.

This layout shows off all of the paper patterns and some of the embellishments.

These cards feature the AWTY-Borders stamps and coordinating thin cuts. Pay attention to the thin cuts, in particular, because I've used them in several ways, as you'll soon see.

I love tags, and this little beauties will be showing up a lot in just a moment. 

And here's the scrapbooking workshop including exclusive paper and embellishments just for this workshop.

Now hang on, because I've gone wild with these. First up is a scrapbook page. I used the AWTY-Borders stamp set, the cardmaking workshop, and Picture My Life cards in addition to the paper and stickers.

Next up, a card made with the AWTY-Borders stamp set to create my own background as a compliment to the Floral Blooms stamp set featured in the Core Catalog. To finish off this card, I splattered White Acrylic paint and Mist Shimmer Brush over my floral cluster then added Crisp Air Enamel Dots.

I used the same AWTY-Borders set, but this time just the thin cuts which I accented with a White Gel pen. The sentiment and swoosh come from the Sending Smiles stamp set in the Core Catalog. I simply adore the clean and simple feel of this Pinterest inspired card!

For this next card, it's a different thin cut from the AWTY-Borders set along with AWTY patterned paper behind the tags from the AWTY Cardmaking Workshop. The little animals and stamped sentiments are from the Love Mail stamp set which is also in the Jan-March Seasonal Catalog.

Here's the same border and Love Mail stamp set this time paired with some retired black and white check paper. The little black tag and large round tag are from the All-purpose Tags Thin Cuts in the Core Catalog. The little heart is from the Love Mail set with coordinating thin cuts. I cut in in Honey Butter cardstock and then accented it with the Honey Butter Shimmer Brush.

And finally, here are the little tags from the AWTY Cardmaking Workshop behind images from the Eating Chocolate stamp set with coordinating thin cuts. 

The "Chocolate" thin cut is from a different company which has gone out of business. I don't normally feature things you can't purchase, but this was too perfect.

Whew! It's been a busy few days in the craft room. Here's a link to the Are We There Yet suite of products. Now it's off to do laundry 'cause it's sortof piled up in the last few days. LOL!

Until next time,

Becca

Now and Forever Overload

 Hello friends! It's a cold, snowy day here in Central NY. There's not much to do except craft (oh, darn!), and with my Christmas cards done, I've turned my attention to Valentine's day. Close to my Heart is running a promotion called "Now and Forever." (Click here for shopping link.)

I went a little crazy because I love it so much. Get ready for an overload...

This is the only one that uses the paper included in the bundle. I haven't decided how much scrapbooking I'm going to do with this kit which means I'm conserving paper for the time being.

The next two are the same card but with different embellishments. I couldn't decide which I liked better. What do you think?

Here's the simplified version:

I think this next one is my favorite of them all. The scallop die cut border isn't available until January 1, but I couldn't resist adding it in here. I also used the retired Rectangle Stitched Thin Cut. Just because it's retired doesn't mean it stopped working. 

This next one also uses a retired product called Hello Pumpkin Washi tape. I used two strips and lined them up so they look like one continuous piece of striped pattern. I smudged black ink when stamping my sentiment, so out came the little black enamel heart embellishments to cover it up. I had planned to give this to the hubby for our upcoming anniversary, but he walked into my craft room as I was finishing it up. Grr!

Truck Full of Pumpkins

 It's been a hot minute since I last posted here. I've still been creating, but I'm sharing almost exclusively on my Facebook Group called "Crafty Friends." I wanted to share this particular card because I'm just so stinkin' proud of how it turned out.

The truck, pumpkins, leaves, and fence type thing holding the pumpkins in the truck bed (don't you love my technical terminology) are from the stamp set called "Seasonal Haul." I colored all of them with colored pencils. The woodgrain sentiment panel was created by running French Vanilla cardstock through the Slimline Stitched Card Front and Background die then trimming it down to 3" by 4.25." My original plan was to center it on my card base, but this looked better. The sentiment comes from the stamp set called "Crisp Air-Cardmaking."

The card base was created using a direct to paper swiping technique. I literally slid my ink pad across the paper. I used both Pine and Paprika colors. FYI, you need to let that dry before adhering anything over the top of it. Just sayin'.

I didn't originally plan for my truck to be green. I colored it in oranges and browns before deciding there wasn't enough contract between it and the pumpkins. I grabbed a green colored pencil and went right over the top of my orange truck. It resulted in that very cool patina look. I might just have to try that again...this time on purpose. LOL!

Until next time,

Becca

Backyard Bliss meets Layered Flowers

One of my favorite products from the CTMH 2021-2022 Core Catalog is retiring soon. Layered Flowers has become my "go-to" set of die cuts. 

Here I paired the flowers cut in White Daisy, Peach, and Mocha and leaves cut in Harbour and New England Ivy with patterned paper from the new Backyard Bliss collection and the As You Grow collection.

And here's another card using this same paper and basic layout but with a retired Stamp of the Month which was hugely popular and the small doily from the recent Hope and Kindness promotion. 

Those little bunnies are so stinkin' CUTE! I used colored pencils then cut it out and added it to the doily before adhering the whole thing to the card. This also uses retired Blue Belle cardstock, but like the bunnies, it was a very popular color of the year, so I'm assuming many of you still have some in your stash. I love combining old with new!

Click here to shop the new Backyard Bliss collection.

Until next time,
Becca

June Stamp of the Month: I Heart Summer

 

Is it wrong of me that I DON'T (Heart) Summer??? I'm a fall girl. Give me cool days, chilly nights, and colored leaves any day! But I do have some lovely summer traditions and memories - as well as a best friend who LOVES summer - so this adorable stamp set went in my cart as soon as possible. Besides, I can see myself using these images for so much more than just summer. Travel. Coffee. Sailing. Reading...just to name a few.

For this card, I stamped the border images then cut them out individually to create a shaker card.

I did glue down the beach ball and basket so they were always in place but left everything else to shake. It's a fun way to dress up your shaker cards so they aren't always just glitter, sequins, or beads. I decided that I will most often use the sentiments individually, so I cut them apart with my Microtip Scissors. I can put them back together again if I want, which is the beauty of clear stamps. I could even rearrange the order or mix and match. So many possibilities.

Until next time,

Becca

May 2022 Stamp of the Month: You Can Do Anything

It's a beautiful day to go after your dreams. Don't you just love that sentiment? It's my favorite part of the new stamp of the month offering from Close to my Heart. Here's the card I made featuring that lovely sentiment.

Several months ago I saw a few people alter the largest flower in our Layered Floral Thin Cuts to create this daisy-like floral. I've wanted to try it and decided now was the perfect time. I cut two out of white cardstock, sponged one lightly with Ballerina and then Flamingo ink, then sponged the other one a little more heavily. I cut one of the leaves in white and sponged it with Sage ink. The center was cut in white, sponged with Lemonade and Sundance then stamped with Espresso ink using one of the images from the Perfectly Imperfect stamp set.

Here's a closer look at the flower. I curled some of the leaves up and some down to give it extra dimension. I adhered the bottom layer directly to the card and the top layer with some foam tape. 

For the card base, I cut the largest of the new Postage Frames Thin Cuts from the May/June 2022 Mix-in Paper collection. I took advantage of the dual sided paper to have the frame in the more solid Lemonade color with the inside in the less solid stripe. I stamped the sentiment in Espresso to match the flower center, then accented with Rose Gold Liquid Pearls after everything was adhered.

I love how this turned out. I'll be using this technique of cutting and layering that flower many, many more times.

Before you go, be sure to check out the full image of this fabulous stamp of the month by checking out the sidebar image with a link. Remember, this stamp set is only available May 1-31. It's available for only $5 with a $50 purchase or, if you've signed up as my VIP member, it's free with a $50 purchase.

If you want to see more inspiration using this lovely set, please join the CTMH Artwork Showcase Facebook group. This is taking the place of the blog hops to allow for greater participation. Hope to see you there.

Until next time,

Becca