10 Minute or Less Holiday Card for Cas-ual Friday CFC83 and 10 Minute Craft Dash #9

Most of my Christmas cards this year were done with this idea. The challenge this week at Cas-ual Fridays and 10 minute Craft Dash #9 is to make a holiday themed card in 10 minutes or less and this card qualifies. Last year I purchased some glittery poinsettia 12 x 12 scrapbook paper (Recollections brand) on sale at Michaels after the holidays and knew I would use it for something!

 It was too pretty to cover with photos so I cut around the flowers and then glued them on to card bases, added a background silver metallic stripe and a greeting from Close To My Heart stamp set "Wonderful Season', a dot of Buttercup Liquid Pearls and I was done!  Once I had all the supplies out I started the timer and found that it took me only 4 minutes and 19 seconds to make this card from start to finish!

Inside the card reads "a Merry Little Christmas".  Because there are so many different sized poinsettias on this paper I was able to make a variety of different cards.

     


Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you a wonderful new year filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Ellie's Birthday Card Using Try Stampin' on Tuesday Sketch

My wonderful niece Ellie turns 14 on Thursday, January 3rd and I made her a special card.  I followed the Try Stampin' on Tuesday sketch and used some new and old Close To My Heart products and a Cuttlebug folder. After the Cotton Candy CS was embossed it was distressed with a sanding block from the CTMH Sanding Kit.  I used the Artiste cartridge to cut the numbers from the new Glitter paper available February 1st or in the December--January Who's Your Valentine special promotion available now.  The paper is from Close To My Heart Sweetheart paper packet (retired).  I also used the Artiste cartridge to cut the Accent 4 frame from page 60 at 3".  The edges of the frame were lightly distressed with Slate ink and a Round Sponge.  3D Foam Tape was used to raise the frame up from the rest of the card.  The silver stripe on the bottom is Silver Shimmer Trim which is backed with adhesive to make it really easy to apply.

The sketch from Try Stampin' on Tuesday:

 
 Ellie likes to play in my craft room when she comes to visit and I think she will like this card.
Thanks for stopping by!   Have a wonderful new year filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Color Dare #23--Sky and Gypsy--A Tribute to Toby

This week I have the honor of being a guest designer for Color My Heart Color Dare #23--Sky and Gypsy.  (You can view my winning entry that earned me this spot here.)  Last week my local quilt store closed it's doors forever and I wanted to do something special for it's owner, Toby, who has decided to retire and enjoy her new grandchild.  I have been wanting to make a card with a quilting theme for a long time and thought these colors would work together nicely in this format.  The CTMH patterned paper that I used was from Believe (blue with dots), Hooligans (darker purple--Gypsy and outside lighter purple scalloped edged border) and Magnifique (light blue squares in the center).  I also created my own "fabrics" by stamping images from the Love Life set with Sky and Gypsy inks.  The light purple center squares were made with a sponge and Gypsy ink.  I chose this particular quilt pattern because it was very similar to a pattern made by the quilt store owner called "Namchee Bazaar"--there were even smaller 1/2 square triangles and squares that I eliminated to make it easier to do.   Here is a helpful hint--when assembling these small pieces--glue them on to a piece of grid paper.  (The grid paper I used had 1/2" squares).   After I had all my pieces glued down I used a dry embossing folder by Darice (Plaid) and my Cuttlebug machine to add some texture.  The greeting is from the For Every Occasion set and was stamped in Versamark ink and Gypsy ink and then clear embossed.

This card truly was a labor of love and appreciation for all the wonderful times I spent sharing my love of quilting at Toby's store and all the inspiration I found there with all the people who worked there.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please consider joining in on the challenge this week at Color My Heart.  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Color Dare #22 Twilight and Sweet Leaf

Twilight is one of my favorite Close To My Heart colors and it is featured in this week's Color My Heart Color Dare paired with Sweet Leaf.  The Twilight strips on my card are from the Florentine paper pack (retiring Jan.31).  The stamp is from the December Stamp of the Month called Year Round Cheer.  I used a 2.25" circle punch to cut into the Twilight paper and then stamped the image in Twilight ink onto the Sweet Leaf base.  Embellishments I used are Silver Shimmer Trim, Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel and a Silver Metallic pen. All products are available on my website through links provided here.

If you want to see other examples of these two colors together please check out these links:  Baroque Borders, and  Rock the Block sympathy card,



Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fun week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Artiste Cut Gift Card Holder Using Freshly Made Sketch #65

I've been making cards that will hold gift cards for my teenaged nieces and nephews for Christmas and have been having fun using the Close To My Heart Artiste cartridge to do so. I followed the Freshly Made Sketch #65--love their sketches!  The scalloped edged card was cut at 5" and can be found on page 55 of the Artiste handbook.  I used a double sided paper that was given to me as a gift many years ago.  The patterned paper is old CTMH Holiday Red B&T paper.  The tree is from Christmas Love and was stamped onto Sunny Yellow CS (now retired) in Topiary ink and embellished with my favorite accent--Stardust Glitz Glitter gel.  The Merry Christmas greeting is also from Christmas Love and stamped in Topiary ink.  A strip of Topiary CS goes under the tree.  I used Buttercup Liquid Pearls to color in the yellow star at the top of the tree.

It was very easy to assemble this card.  Here are pictures of the inside including the bank gift card.

This greeting is from a very old rubber mounted CTMH greeting set called Christmas Fun Set.

This greeting is from the October 2012 Stamp of the Month set called Very Merry Christmas.
I'm also entering this card into the Forever Friends Fortnightly Challenge (Christmas theme), Exploring Cricut "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and Top Tip Tuesday (Anything Christmas theme with special rules).

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Dynamic Duos #33 Black, Gold with a Music Option

I was intrigued by the Dynamic Duos #33 challenge to combine black and gold with a music option so I made this card.  I used Close To My Heart products 4 My Friend and Universal Backgrounds stamp sets, Gold Embossing powder, Metallic papers (retired) and Black and White Daisy papers and Black ink   The hearts were made with a small punch.

  I am also entering this card into the following challenges :
 Seize the Birthday Linky Party #1

and Black Tie Fridays #13 to use glitter. (I think metallic papers and gold embossing powder qualify).








Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Color Dare #21 and Try Stampin' on Tuesday #95

I'm combining a color challenge--Color My Heart Color Dare #21 Buttercup--with a sketch challenge by Try Stampin' on Tuesday #95.  Along with the Close To My Heart color, Buttercup, I used Black CS, Black ink and white ribbon.  The greeting is from Card Chatter--Sympathy and the dragonfly image is from the Pemberly Workshop on the Go stamp set.  I randomly stamped the dragonfly stamp and then outlined the images with one of my favorite embellishments--Stardust Glitz Glitter gel--to add some "texture" to the Buttercup CS.

The card:

The sketch:

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Tealight Snowman Ornament Placecard for FCCB# 140

Karen Day, a fellow Close To My Heart consultant, posted tealight snowman ornaments on her blog last week and that's where I got the inspiration to make these adorable tealight snowman ornament placecards for my holiday table. (According to her blog post her inspiration came from Pinterest).  I just thought that these snowman tealight ornaments were so cute and envisioned personalizing them and using them to assign seats at my holiday table and for my guests to keep.  The theme for Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Board #140 involves snow or snowflakes and this project qualifies.  I used various 3/8' ribbons, 1/8' ribbons, an orange alcohol marker to color the flame tip for the snowman's nose, black CS, a black sharpie marker, a CTMH gold metallic marker, white uniball signo pen and glue dots to adhere the hat and ribbon hanger. The placecard ornaments sit on top of a cap from an old 35 mm film canister with some polyfil stuffing on top of them to look like snow.  (I think that other bottle caps would work just as well).  I used the hat from the Bonus 3 Home Decor & Vinyl overlay from the Ultimate Creative Sampler Cricut cartridge cut at 1.25" to cut out the hats.

Thank you, Karen Day, for inspiring me to create these cute little gifts!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Paper Players #124 and Freshly Made Sketches #64

I love snowmen which is the theme for Paper Players #124 and I like how this snowman fit into the current Freshly Made Sketches #64.   The snowman is from the retired Close To My Heart set called Share the Magic and the greeting is from the retired CTMH set called Holiday Wishes.  I also used a snowflake cuttlebug embossing folder and silver metallic paper from CTMH (retired).  The patterned paper is from the Wonderland Paper pack (retired CTMH).  The bottom edge of the white paper was edged with a Martha Stewart punch called Drippy Goo and embellished with Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel. The bottom card layer is Outdoor Denim from CTMH.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful week filled with creativity and fun!
:) Marie

Color Dare #20--Smoothie, Cranberry, Olive and New England Ivy

I've recently become a fan of Pinterest and got my inspiration for this card from here.  This card features the colors from Close To My Heart Pear and Partridge paper and was made for Color My Heart Color Dare #20.  The colors from top to bottom are Smoothie, Cranberry, Olive and New England Ivy.  These paper strips were dry embossed with the Cuttlebug Musical Flourish folder.  The Pear and Partridge paper was glitzed up with Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel--one of my favorite quick techniques for adding a little extra sparkle.  The greeting was stamped in Black ink and is from A Timber (retired CTMH).

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Try Stampin' on Tuesday #94

Here is a quick card I made on tuesday morning, 3 hours before the challenge ends, for Try Stampin' on Tuesday #94 sketch challenge.  I used Close To My Heart Sweetheart paper (retired) and CTMH Love Life stamp set with Cotton Candy Ink.  The greeting is from the Card Chatter-Sympathy stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Color Dare #19 and Try Stamping on Tuesday #93

The Color My Heart Color Dare #19 has been extended for a week due to the Thanksgiving holiday which gave me a chance to participate.  The colors are from Close To My Heart--Hollyhock, Cranberry and Sweet Leaf.  I followed the sketch from Try Stamping on Tuesday #93.  The swing card was cut using the Artiste cricut cartridge at 5.5" from page 52 (Accent 3 Shift).  I started with White Daisy cardstock as my base and then added the Sweet Leaf patterned paper from the retired Miracle paper packet. The top part of the card was texturized using a wadded up piece of plastic wrap and Hollyhock ink--a faux marbling technique I used to use almost 20 years ago!  The rose stamp is from Card Word Puzzle and the inside greeting is from Card Chatter--Birthday.  I used Cranberry Ink over Hollyhock CS to stamp the images.

Have you ever nearly finished a project and then smudged it up? (look at the right side of card) This is very frustrating for a Virgo like me!  How could I fix it?

I used 2 ribbon pieces instead of 1 so I could cover it up. The stripes were retired ribbons from Close To My Heart--White Daisy and Cranberry and the ribbon is red twine (unknown source).  Here is the completed inside of the card:

Thanks for stopping by to visit my blog.  Please consider sharing your artwork on these 2 fabulous blogs.  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Black Tie Friday #10 and Sunday Stamps #24

Several of my fellow Close To My Heart consultants are promoting this relatively new challenge blog site called Black Tie Fridays.  This is the 10th challenge and they are hoping to have 10 players this week.  The challenge is to use black and a diecut--neutral shades of beige are also allowed.  I followed the Sunday Stamps #24 sketch this week which I really like.  The patterned paper is retired Silhouette from Close To My Heart.  The medallion was cut with the Artiste cartridge--accent 3, page 56 at 2.25".  The stamp is from Salutation Seals.  A piece of Silver Shimmer Trim goes underneath the center panel with a thin strip of the Silhouette paper.  Licorice Opaque Adhesive Gems adorn the top left and bottom right corners.

A second version of this card has a silver metallic ribbon punch with the licorice gems.  Which do you like better?

Here is the Sunday Stamps sketch #24:

Thanks for stopping by!  Please consider playing along with these 2 challenge sites.  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Friday Mashup #85 and Fantabulous Cricut #138

This week's Friday Mashup #85 challenge is to use leaves and/or a thank you theme.  I immediately thought of the Olivia paper (retired Close To My Heart) that was sitting in my stash and the cricut Artiste cartridge to make a quick card.  "Give Thanks" was cut at 2" and can be found on page 78 of the Artiste handbook.  I also used Barn Red CS and Honey CS.  The ribbon is a gold metallic curling ribbon that I bought last holiday season at Walmart.  The challenge at Fantabulous Cricut this week is "Be Ye Thankful" which the card also fits.

 
I'm also entering this card into two other challenges that I recently found and liked:
pause,dream and enjoy challenges #46--thank you projects
Card Makin' Mamas--Thanksgiving/Thank you
Use it Tuesday--Be Thankful

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week filled with creativity and fun!
:) Marie

Freshly Made Sketch #61, Dynamic Duos #29 and Cas-ual Fridays #79

Here is my card using Freshly Made Sketch #61 with the Dynamic Duos #29 colors of Marina Mist and Black--the dessert option to use a snowman.  I substituted the Close To My Heart color Crystal Blue and used CTMH Wonderland paper (retired) as the background.  The snowman is a very old wooden stamp by CTMH.  The silver strip is Silver Shimmer Trim and it is topped with black and white twine from the Bakers Twine Neutrals Assortment also from CTMH.  The patterned paper and snowman image have been dotted with Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel which has to be my very favorite embellishment!

I'm also entering this card into Cas-ual Fridays #79 Winter Blues challenge.

Thanks for stopping by to look.  Have a wonderful week of fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Sunday Stamps Guest Designer for SSC23

I'm very excited to be a guest designer for Sunday Stamps this week--a site that I recently found and love!  It is a color challenge:

The closest colors that I have that match these are from Close To My Heart.  I used Cocoa, Autumn Terracotta and Goldrush.  It was a lot of fun to play with these fall colors which gave me so many wonderful ideas that I couldn't decide what I liked best so I made 3 cards.

Card #1--leaf cut is from Art Philosophy cartridge (page 43 branch 1 cut at 2.5") and the center panel is raised using 3M foam tape  as in the second photo.  The greeting is from Card Chatter--Sympathy and is embossed with Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder (retired CTMH)

Card #2 is a design from Jeanette Lynton's Wishes Book.  The stamps are from the Harvest Happiness set.

Card #3 has clear embossed leaves on the colored portion which adds some texture.  The greeting is also from Harvest Happiness by CTMH.

Do you have a favorite?  We would love to see what designs you come up with--please join us!
:) Marie

Mojo Monday #266 and Color My Heart Color Dare #18

Mojo Monday Sketches are always fun to do!  I like the combination of angular lines and round elements that they often present to us.  I'm combining this with the Color My Heart Color Dare #18 and using new exclusive colors available in selected paper packs from Close To My Heart.  The colors are Flirty Raspberry, La Belle Vie Pink and Avonlea Teal.  I jazzed up the papers with dots of Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel--this is one of my favorite embellishments!  I used Salutation Seals for the greeting, Kudos from the Artiste Bundle for the frame behind it and the star from Casual Expressions.  I used retired ink colors of True Teal and Wildflower which were also clear embossed.  The scalloped circle was cut with the Art Philosophy cricut cartridge. (circle 3 at 2.25")  If you just have to have these cool colors you can get them from my CTMH website here.

I'm also entering this card into Sweet Stamping Challenge--Anything Goes and Heart2Heart Challenge to say Thanks.

Thanks for stopping by to look at my artwork.  Have a wonderful week full of fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Top Tip Tuesday #89--We're All Heart

Just this week I made this card for my sister and her husband's 20th wedding anniversary which fits into this challenge by Top Tip Tuesday to use a heart on a project.  All products are from Close To My Heart and are available on my website here (although some have been retired from CTMH).  The jigsaw puzzle heart was cut from the Artiste cartridge on page 57 at 2.75" from Dotty for You paper and Colonial White CS.  The colors are Autumn Terracotta and Goldrush.  The anniversary greeting came from "Life is Tweet" which was a Stamp of the Month this past June.  I wrote in "20th" with a gel pen.

My Tip:
  To get a more intense color from dye based inks clear emboss the image.  First I ink my stamp with Versamark and then the chosen color ink.  Stamp your image onto the paper and then sprinkle clear embossing powder over it and heat set.  It is so easy to do and then you don't have to have all those jars of embossing powder and stray pieces of embossing powder are invisible!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Fall Card for Numerous Challenges

Happy Election Day!  I've had some fun playing in my craft room this morning and found a way to combine 4 challenges into 1 card. I started with the Close To My Heart colors selected by Color My Heart Color Dare which are Sunset, Smoky Plum and Sweet Leaf and followed The Sweet Stop Sketch. I also used a Cuttlebug folder.  The Sweet Leaf patterned paper is from an old CTMH Winter Cozy Background and Texture package.  I used both the CTMH Artiste cartridge (ribbon--accent 3 page 55 at .75" and leaves--3D object shift page 54 cut at 1") and CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge (Oval 4 cut at 2.25" and oval 4 layer cut at 2.25" from page 54).  The sparkle is provided by Almond Glitz Glitter Gel.  The only ink on this card was the edge of the inner oval was edged with Sunset ink and the ribbon was edged with Black ink.

Sweet Stop Sketch #183:

Pile it on #45--Make it Sparkle
Sweet Stop Sketch #183--sketch
Fantabulous Cricut #136--leaves
Color My Heart Color Dare #17--Sunset, Smoky Plum, Sweet Leaf
Sweet Stampin Challenge--All that glitters

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with creativity and fun!
:) Marie

Challenge Me Monday #135 and Cut it Up--Give Thanks with a Twist #5

After birthday cards, thank you cards are the ones I send out the most.  This card came together very easily using last week's Sunday Stamps sketch.  I am submitting it for Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Me Monday #135--Seeing Dots and Cut it Up--Give Thanks with a Twist (must use a diecut).  The diecuts are from the Close To My Heart Artiste cartridge and the Thanks stamp is from the Casual Expressions Occasions stamp set which was made to coordinate with the Artiste cartridge.  The paper is Clementine also from Close To My Heart with a strip of Twilight with Smoothie ink.  The brownish diecut is actually the reverse side of the patterned paper.  The embossed dots are from a Cuttlebug folder.  Almond Glitz Glitter Gel was used to add some sparkle  to the Clementine paper and after marker coloring the tiny flowers I used Stardust Glitz  Glitter Gel on them. 

On the second card I used the zip strip from the Clementine paper instead of the Twilight strip.

I'm not sure which look I like better--what do you think?  Thanks for stopping by--have a great week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Color Dare #16 - Cranberry, Autumn Terracotta, Goldrush, & Honey

This week's  Color Dare Challenge is to use Close To My Heart colors Cranberry, Honey, Autumn Terracotta and Goldrush--I love these 4 colors together! I used a WeaverZ template by Fiber Scraps (purchased years ago and finally used) to make the background and used the Thanks stamp from Close To My Heart.  The woven background was inserted into the black background by using an old slot corner punch that Close To My Heart used to carry.

Thanks for stopping by to look!  Have a great week filled with fun and creativity!
:)

Freshly Made Sketch #58 and Cupcake Inspirations #184

Freshly Made Sketch is one of my favorite sketches to contribute to!  I really like their clean lines and how easy they are to use.  I'm also submitting this to Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #184 and there are pumpkins in the background and it follows a Halloween theme. Here is yet another Halloween card using Close To My Heart products and Freshly Made Sketch #58.

Supplies (most of which are available on my website here.)
Sunset CS
Bamboo CS
Pear and Partridge Paper
Gypsy CS
Thriller stamp set (retired)
Red Sparkle Gems
Licorice Opaque gems
Versamark Ink
Black Ink
Clear Embossing Powder
Ponderosa Pine Ink
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Eyeball ribbon

To color the Sunset background  paper I inked up the Cuttlebug Embossing Folder with Ponderosa Pine ink and then ran it through the Cuttlebug machine.

Here is the Freshly Made Sketch:

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week of fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Sunday Sketch #20 Get Well Card

I found this really great sketch at Sunday Sketch and decided to try it.  It came together really quickly with Florentine paper and the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge from Close To My Heart.  The background paper is CTMH Colonial White.  The Olive CS label  was cut at 2.5" from Shape 8, Decorative Layer from page 47 of the Art Philosophy handbook.  The greeting is from CTMH Say it in Style (retired) and was first stamped in Versamark ink and then in Twilight ink and then clear embossed.  The corners of the label were embellished with Silver Glitz Glitter Gel.

The card:

The sketch:

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend of fun and creativity!

:) Marie

"Wicked" Halloween for Numerous Challenges

I was initially inspired to use this sassy witch from Close To My Heart when I saw the latest Cupcake Inspirations photo of  witch decorated cupcakes--very cool!  The card is a little bit larger --6.5 x 5--so I could have the witch placed in the side panel and have room for the greeting. The witch and the greeting were clear embossed using versamark ink first and then black ink.  The products I used are all retired from Close To My Heart except for the Art Philosophy cut label and layer (page 55 rectangle 7 and layer cut at 2.25"). The stamps are from the Wicked stamp set which was a stamp of the month in 2011 and the papers are from Hooligans paper pack which was available in 2010. 

The adorable cupcakes that inspired me:





I am entering this card into the following challenges:
Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #183--Witch
Exploring Cricut--Happy Halloween
Heart 2 Heart--Halloween/Pumpkin
Fantabulous Cricut #134--Orange and Black
Top Tip Challenge #88--Halloween
Friday Favorite Things--Anything
Sweet Stampin'--Halloween
Crafty Mess Challenge #20--Halloween