Love...for all Teachers!

When you have five kids, you get to know many, many teachers in the community over the years and we have been so blessed to have so many GREAT teachers!! Many of my best friends are teachers and WE just L-O-V-E all teachers. My husband has been a high-school math teacher for the past 20 years...this year is his first year as an AP (Assistant Principal) at our high-school, so if you were wondering what an AP is,
that card is for him...the "World's Greatest AP"!

 

I made these 8"x 3.5" Teacher Appreciation cards using the Colonial White Die-Cut Cards & Envelopes pack (Z1738). I love the little wrap-around flap that can be covered with paper and embellished (shown at the bottom of these cards). Papers I used include Buzz & Bumble (X7164B) for the striped pattern and retired bulk Typeset (Juniper) papers (X7139B). Colors I used include Cocoa, Colonial White, Juniper, and Sunset. Stamp sets I used include Perfect Fit-Dad (C1542) for the "World's Greatest" image, For Every Occasion (D1187) for the "Thanks" sentiment, A Typeface (A1117) for the letters "ap", and the Cricut Artiste Collection "Kudos" (D1530)
stamp set for the medallion part of the ribbon.

These cards also fit the Heart 2 Heart Challenge for this week...to share something created to show "Teacher Appreciation." I hope you will visit the Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog now for more creative ideas and inspiration!

Holiday Magic (October SOTM) Blog Hop!!

WELCOME to my blog and thank you for joining us for our October Stamp of the Month blog hop!! If you've just joined me from Haley's Blog,
then you are the right path!

First up, is a 3.5"x8" card design inspired by Wishes - Right Design (p. 42). This card features the Roxie paper pack X7140B and all it's colors (Black, Colonial White, Desert Sand, Smoothie, and Tulip), plus I added New England Ivy for stamping the tree and sponged all of the card elements with Cocoa ink. The banner is inspired by the banner shown on the Typeset layout on the front of our current Idea book! Each pennant was created by stamping the ribbon tail from the "ribbon award" stamp in the Blue Ribbon C1464 stamp set shown on page 17 with Desert Sand ink and cutting each one out by hand (something I haven't done much of at all since I started using our Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge a few months ago, lol)! The letters are stamped with the A Typeface A1117 stamp set (August 2011 promotion) in black ink. The tree is topped with a Bling Assortment Z1466 button with Black Waxy Flax Z1089 tied through it. The banner hangs from Black Hemp Z282.

By the way, all of our blog hop artwork today features the October SOTM - Holiday Magic. This festive stamp set includes 18 images for $17.95 (OR just $5 with a $50 or more CTMH purchase!) and it is available for a limited time (during October 2011 only)! Here is a view of all of the images included in this set:

Next, I have a another "Tree" card that features the Believe paper pack X7145B. This one is standard size and inspired by the Wishes Greetings Card Workshop - Card 2 (p. 112). To create the tree I used "stamp rolling" technique, by inking the tree in Sweet Leaf ink first, then "rolling" the outside edges with Topiary ink.

Lastly, here's another simple standard size card inspired by the Wishes Greetings Card Workshop - Card 4 (p. 113). I've used the Believe papers again, and the "Star" was super easy to make. I simply stamped the white surface of a Dimensional Elements Star Z1680 with the leaf stamp from this set and Desert Sand ink to make it look like a giant snowflake inside the star. Then I used my piercing tool to poke a hole through the center for my sparkley brad. The "Celebrate the Season" sentiment comes from the Glory to God D1483 stamp set (p. 83).

Now you can continue on with the rest of our Blog Hop to see many more beautiful creations using the "Holiday Magic" stamp set
by visiting Teresa's Blog next! Enjoy!!

July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

Welcome to our July Stamp of the Month blog hop featuring this month's new SOTM - American Celebration D1458! If you've just joined me from Angel's blog, then you are on the right path!
Here's a view of all of the images included in this lively patriotic stamp set (below):

All of my artwork today also features the Fanfare paper pack X7138B (colors include Black, Cranberry, Pacifica, Sky, Sunny Yellow, and White Daisy). First, I'm sharing a standard size card inspired by Wishes - Gallery (p. 119).Next, I'm sharing an 8 x 3.5" card inspired by Originals - Pocket Greeting Tag (p. 54). Remember, you can click on any of my photos to see them up close!

Here's another view of the pull-out tag that fits in the pocket on the front of the card (below). This tag could also be used as a bookmark (so fun and EASY to make!):

Now you can continue on with the rest of this SOTM blog hop and see more creative ways to use this stamp set by visiting Doreen's blog next! Enjoy!!

"Blessed" Stamp of the Month blog hop!

Welcome to our April Stamp of the Month blog hop featuring this month's new SOTM - Blessed D1455! If you've just joined me from Haley's blog then you are on the right path!

One of the most fun things about this stamp set is that you get solid image stamps that you can stamp inside the outline images to add a pop of color inside the outlines (and save some time coloring in with markers). With our clear stamps it's easy to see exactly where to line them up so you can stamp one image perfectly inside another image each and every time (you can't do that so easily with wood stamps)! I used 2nd generation stamp-rolling technique with the solid images to achieve the shaded look I have on my flower, bird, and butterflies below. Then I colored the stems and leaves with a Sweet Leaf marker and even added a little bit of green to the swirl inside the butterfly wings as well.

The 8x3.5 card design (above) is inspired by Wishes - Right Design (p. 42) and features the Miracle papers (X7133B). I absolutely LOVE our new 1" wide Sweet Leaf Stitched Grosgrain ribbon (Z1383), so I just couldn't resist adding that wide bow (wide ribbon is very in-trend right now)! Finally, this 4.5" circle card (above) is inspired by Wishes - Simple Statement (p. 11) and it also features our Miracle papers (X7133B). Peeking out from behind the card is a white cd sleeve envelope that I stamped to match and put the card in when I give it away. When the card is inside the envelope, the center of it will peek through the clear window in front - too fun! I also used our paper edge distresser (Z1297) to scrape and rough up the edges of the colonial white cardstock that is then sponged with bamboo ink and a sponge dauber. For just $2.50, our little edge distresser tool is an easy and affordable way to add even more interesting details to our creations! You can click on my photos for a more close-up view of this distressing if you'd like. Now you can continue on the SOTM blog hop and see many other creative ideas for using this stamp set by visiting Kristie's blog next! Enjoy!!

May 1st Product Preview Workshop!!

6x6 card (above) featuring You're Sweet B1351 stamps,

Cherry-O papers X7123B, and Pizzazz Irresistibles

chipboard die-cuts Z1307

Standard size double-pocket card (above) featuring Wonderful Friend D1422 (June SOTM) stamps, Passages papers X7126B, and our new 1.25" circle punch Z1311

3.5x8" tall card (above) featuring A Little Buzz B1353 stamps
and Zippidee papers X7125B
Ghirardelli Chocolate holder card (yes, there's a sweet chocolate
surprise inside!) featuring Tasty Treats D1427 stamps
and Cherry-O Creative Basics papers X5810

• Here's a sneak peek at some of the items we'll be creating at the Summer Product Preview Workshop that is coming up this Saturday, May 1st! I'll share the rest of the projects we're creating in my next post!

My Humble Artists swap card for May!

Some of you know that I participate in a card swapping group known as the Humble Artists. The 9 members of this group take turns coming up with the challenge guidelines and then we all create our cards to mail to each other every other month. This time around Jamia Bankhead came up with our swap requirements and the cards were due to be mailed out by May 10th. Jamia did a great job coming up with some challenging guidelines. Here is what was required of everyone:

1. Create a tall card 4 X 9 1/4, must fit in a legal size envelope
2. Stitch or sew on the card
3. Use 3 different ribbons
4. Use buttons as an accent, may use floss, hemp or twine with buttons
5. Use at least 4-5 layers
6. incorporate a tag somewhere on the card
7. Make something on your card 3D
8. Have FUN!!

As you can see, I think I managed to meet all of the requirements! This was a great challenge for me, and after a few unsuccessful drafts that I decided to scrap, I am very pleased with the final result.

My card design is inspired by our new Wishes (card confidence program) - Top Band (p. 100). I stamped the clouds with white daisy ink on vellum and layered that over outdoor denim cardstock. I used our new Back Country Level 2 paper packet and two new stamp sets - C1368 Treetops and D1365 True Happiness. I liked my card design enough that I even mailed one to CTMH for the Make It from Your Heart contest (monthly consultant artwork contest), which is something that I used to enter all the time, but haven't been able to make time for more recently. I am really excited about this card and the fact that I finally came up with something I like enough to enter in a contest. I hope you like it too!

The rest of the November SOTM swaps!

Here are the rest of the swap items from my CTMH team's SOTM swap this time around. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Beautiful work everyone!!!

The first few October Stamp of the Month swaps!

I can't believe how quickly this month is flying by and that the next round of my consultant team Stamp of the Month swap is due again already! This time we are using Annotations (the October SOTM) with the "Notebook" papers and colors (Bamboo, Desert Sand, Hollyhock, Crystal Blue, and Black). I am getting some beautiful swaps in already - yaaay!! These are the first few items I have received in the order I have received them. Don't forget you can click on them to see the close-up details!

He's the Juan!

Well, I haven't kept up with adding to my blog at all like I had hoped to - LOL! That's the challenge of having so many kids and a new baby in the house though, I guess. I think I'll do better at keeping up with this once our daily routine gets a little more established and I don't feel so overwhelmed like I have been lately. Baby Juan Steven turned three months old just yesterday, December 12th, and it's amazing how quickly he is growing. I just love how chubby his soft little arms and legs are getting! He has an adorable smile and a giggle that will just melt your heart . He hasn't been sleeping as much as he used to at the beginning, so I find that he is awake and I am playing with him a lot during the day, and therefore can't get much else done around here (but who would want to? - he's just so much fun!)

I finally finished and mailed off all of my birth announcements and thank you cards last week! It was a project I had worked on very gradually (off and on for over a month) and I am just so thrilled to have finally finished them (even if he is three months old already now LOL!) I'm very proud of how they turned out, so I guess I'd better share them here with you as well. I hope you like our birth announcement as much as we do!

P.S. - If you click on the photo, you can see the details up close!