Caprice Thought Away

Well, there's a mixed reaction around here with this card.  Some like and others don't.  So I'll post it and let you dear reader decide.  I used the retired Close to my Heart Caprice Level II paper pack for this one.  I couldn't find this paper anywhere on Ebay and just happen to mention on a forum that I was looking and within days had a full AND a half pack of it.  I really like the distressed Polynesian feel to this pack.

This card is for my sister-in-law Eileen who is in Florida undergoing chemotherapy treatments for her third bout with leukemia in a little over a year.  Eileen was originally diagnosed with breast cancer and is one of the rare cases who developed leukemia after treatment.  She is a strong woman who has been through a lot in her life and it's tough to know what she's going through.  I know this card won't alleviate much in the big picture but perhaps for one brief moment she will know that we're here in Connecticut thinking about her.

Caprice Thought Away

Details:
Paper: Close to my Heart Caprice
Cardstock:  Close to my Heart Bamboo

Stamps:  Close to my Heart Togetherness, Stampin' UP! Whimsical Words

Ink:  Close to my Heart Chocolate
Embellishments:   Basic Grey Buttons (Unknown Collection), Stampin' UP! Linen Thread

Punches:  Stampin' UP! Scallop Trim Border Punch, Curly Label, Trio Flower

Diecuts:  Making Memories Slide Design Basics 1, Spellbinders Nestabilities Petite Scallop Circles LgDesign:  PaperCrafts magazine, March/April 2010 issue, Go-to Sketches, pg. 20

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Swingin'

Here's another page for my grand-baby Caroline.  She is so adorable and looks so bright and awake in these pictures.  After my own heart she is holding on tight to that swing -- swings were never my favorite things growing up, particularly if some jerk got behind me and decided to push.  Unfortunately, I am having a bit of an issue with my Kodak EasyShare printer dock and color selections.  Since these printer docks have disappeared from the Kodak web store I am assuming they have been discontinued so it's day are numbered.  Technology just changes far too fast to keep up.

Just Swingin'

Details
Paper: Making Memories Animal Crackers Ella, Basic Grey Granola Collection
Cardstock: Bazzill Textured Basics Orange, Stampin' UP! Pink Pirouette, Unknown Mfg. White

Inks:  Close to my Heart Colonial White

Embellishments:  Recollections Pearl White
Diecuts: Making Memories Slice Basics 2 Design Disc, Music & Dance Design Disc

Design:  Imagine, Jeanette R. Lynton, Right Layout, Double Take - pg. 102 - 103

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Another Veranda Card

This card is based on the Card Sketch Challenge #271 from SCS.  I specifically CASEd this card from Life Happens afraid my CAS-ing is spot on.  This time I used more of the Close to my Heart Veranda Paper Packet, I can't recommend these papers enough.  I just bought the Creative Basics set which is an add-on and it has two other awesome papers for the Veranda collection.  Definitely, give it a look and if you need a CTMH consultant drop my friend Denise Ramo a line or visit her CTMH website.

A Veranda Thanks

Details
Paper: Close to my Heart Veranda
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Mellow Moss, Barely Banana

Stamps:  Basic Grey Pom Stamp, Verve Stamps Thanks

Ink:  Close to my Heart Garden Green, Juniper, Stampin' UP! Bordering Blue
Embellishments:   Stampin' UP! Scallop Trim Border Punch, Round Tab Punch
Design:  SCS, Card Sketch Challenge #271

As always thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

So what have I been up to?

It's been awhile since I did any blogging.  I've been a bit busy doing some long overdue scrapbooking and along the way met a great bunch of people on SCS in the Close To My Heart forum.  If you've any interest in the products of CTMH I wholeheartedly recommend you check it out - there are some wonderfully knowledgeable CTMH centric people there.  Now for the "stuff" I have been up to. Please do accept my apologies for these pix, capturing scapbook pages is new to me and lighting is yet a mystery!

Welcome Caroline pg. 2

Details
Paper: Making Memories Animal Crackers Ella
Cardstock: Bazzill Chablis

Embellishments:  Various Making Memories Animal Crackers Ella 
Ribbon: Making Memories Animal Crackers Ella Trims

Punch:  Marvy Uchida Circle Punch 2"
Design:  Scrapbooks Etc. 

Precious Little One

Details
Paper: Making Memories Animal Crackers Ella, Basic Grey Granola Collection
Cardstock: Bazzill Chablis
Embellishments:  Various Making Memories Animal Crackers Ella 

Ribbon/Fibers: DMC Craft Thread

Die Cuts:  Making Memories Slice Animal Crackers Design Card,  Stampin' UP! Sizzix Top Note Die

Punch:  Stampin' UP! Scallop Circle
Design:  Scrapbooks Etc. Owl I'll Love You Sketch, February 2010 Issue

Happy Birthday Jasey

Details
Paper: Stampin' UP! Good Morning Sunshine, Basic Grey Urban Prairie Collection
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point
Stamps:  Close to my Heart My Acrylix It's Your Day D1352 

Embellishments: Paper Reflections Creative Tags, Joann's Pewter Eyelets
Ribbon: Michaaels Christmas Trims

Die Cuts:  Making Memories Slice Music & Dance Design Card

Punch:  Stampin' UP! Word Window Punch, Oval Punch Large
Design:  Reflections Scrapbook Program, Jeanette R. Lynton, Layouts 1e & 8b

Kammie is 4!

Details
Paper: Close to my Heart Topstitch
Cardstock: Close to my Heart Baby Pink, Colonial White, Vineyard Berry

Stamps:  Close to my Heart My Acrylix Love is in the Air B1339, Hampton Art g Studio Unnamed Sentiment 

Embellishments:  Close to my Heart Sparkles, Soft Suede Pinwheels, Mini Medley Colonial White
Ribbon: Close to my Heart Mini Medley

Die Cuts:  Close to my Heart Dimensional Elements Hearts

Design:  Imagine, Jeanette R. Lynton, Layouts Understudy - Left & Right

A Christmas Mini Album

So, when I discovered mini albums awhile back I thought they were the living end.  Small canvas, specific theme, totally control the number of pages ... seemed the perfect answer for a procrastinating former scrapbooker like me.  But surprise, surprise I find these mini albums as challenging as the full-size 12 x 12 ones.  It's hard to walk that fine line between photos being small enough to fit the page and still recognizable by the reader.  The same is true with embellishments - full-size embellishments take up far too much space.  But I found this was a great place to break out my Slice machine - with the ability to cut dies in different sizes using such wonderful discs was just great (pardon me, while I gush about Making Memories and Slice here.)  So for better or worse here they are, photoing the little album was a tough one but I hope you get the idea of "it" all.

Christmas 2009

Details
Paper: Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses
Cardstock: SU Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Bravo Burgundy, Kiwi Kisses (Retired), and Whisper White
Ink: SU Real Red and Basic Black.

Markers:  SU Pumpkin Pie and Bashful Blue
Embellishments:  Making Memories Slice Mistletoe Disc and let's just say lots of stuff :-)
Ribbon: SU Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon 3/8", Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain, 5/8" (Retired), Whisper White Satin 5/8", American Crafts Light Blue Grosgrain 3/8", and Marcella K Fresh Paint Ribbon Blue 3/8"
Stamps:  SU Mr. Twigster and Cute & Curly
Design: I would say my own but I am sure I "saw" it somewhere.


Thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

A challenge

So, I've really been enjoying the sketch challenges on the Lord Have Mercy! blog. Not sure if my "stuff" is up to the level of the other entries but I'm going to keep trying. For the current challenge I decided to use some paper that I have had in my stash for quite sometime and a stamp that I just purchased last week.

Sketch Challenge #56



Details:
Paper: Bo Bunny Back to Basics Collection
Cardstock: SU Old Olive, So Saffron, and Whisper White
Ink: SU Craft Old Olive
Markers: SU So Saffron
Ribbon: Michaels Celebrate It Holiday Ribbon 1/8" Old Olive
Stamps: Basic Grey Ltd Edition BETA SERIES STAMPS #1 Flower Bug
Design: Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #55

Thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

A Treasures thank you

Awhile back, I decided to give Close To My Heart stamps another try ... you see in the past I bought some USED CTMH stamps on Ebay only to discover they were not properly cared for. I ended up throwing a good portion of the stamps away. Lesson learned do not buy USED clear stamps!

The stamp set used for this card is Treasures (D1375) and I really like this one. Unfortunately, at times some of the images included in CTMH stamp sets are too large for a A4 card and fit better on a scrapbook page so the card making buyer must be conscious of this detail. A detail that I was not thinking about when I bought this particular set. Nonetheless, here's the card I made using other images in the set.

Treasures Thank You



Details:
Paper: Basic Grey Wisteria Collection
Cardstock: Whisper White, Certainly Celery and Elegant Eggplant.
Ink: SU Craft Certainly Celery and Elegant Eggplant, Versamark Pad.
Ribbon: SU Retired Certainly Celery 1/2" Organza
Stamps: Close To My Heart Treasures (D1375)
Miscellaneous: SU Emboss Powder White
Design: PaperCrafts magazine Jan/Feb 2010, Go-To Sketches.

Thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Valentine Post #1

Happy New Year! I hope that 2010 is everything you need it to be!! As for this house we are in the throws of preparing for a visit from a close friend. It's amazing the things you let go, pile up to put away later and just generally forget about. The children had Christmas all over again when long forgotten toys suddenly reappeared. Unbelievably I also began work on Valentine cards.

I'm not a big valentine person. David and I usually exchange a small gift and a card so I'm not sure who these cards will make there way to. Anyway, here are three that I created this past New Year Holiday weekend.

Love of a Lifetime



Details:
Paper: Memory Box Stamps Gossamer
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery and Close to Cocoa.
Ink: SU Craft Close to Cocoa
Punches: Martha Stewart border punch and SU Word Window.
Dies: various Spellbinders Nestabilitie.
Stamps: Inkadinkadoo Flourishes and SU So Many Sayings.
Design: Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge.

Kindred Spirits



Details:
Paper: Basic Grey Bittersweet Collection
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Ruby Red and Chocolate Chip.
Ink: SU Classic Basic Black, SU Pretty in Pink and Bashful Blue markers
Punches: Martha Stewart border punch and SU Word Window.
Dies: various Spellbinders Nestabilities Ovals.
Stamps: Pretty Petticoat Chirp UP digital stamp, SU So Many Sayings.
Design: Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge.


Valentine's Heart #1



Details:
Paper: Basic Grey Urban Prairie Collection
Cardstock: Whisper White and Ruby Red.
Ink: SU Craft Ruby Red
Ribbon: Hand dyed Ruby Red Michaels Brand 1/4" Organza
Stamps: Autumn Leaves Hearts and Stars
Miscellaneous: SU Mat Pack, Paper Piercing
Design: Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge #SC261.

Thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Birthday Wishes

This card was created for my partner David's birthday. I finally dipped into the Basic Grey Marrakesh paper pad. The papers in this collection are so rich in blues that it was easy to find matches in the Stampin' UP! cardstock. As for the matches I picked the retired Soft Sky and Night of Navy (ink and ribbon as well.) The stamp was one of those "I've used all my birthday stamps too many times and I must have a new one!" Which resulted in a last minute jaunt to the AC Moore and is from Inkadinkado.

The card design is from one of the Card Sketch challenges on SCS. Unfortunately, I don't remember which number and trying to find it again is beyond my patience. I'll just say again that SCS is a wonderful resource and if you haven't checked it out you're missing out.

Thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Tri-Shutter Card ... take two

Here we go again, a second try at the tri-shutter card that's been featured on SCS! This time I had a scoring board the new one by Martha Stewart in fact and it helped out tremendously (and with a coupon was so affordable!)


So, I recently had a phone conversation with my cousin Tammie for the first time in months and months. Tammie and I have always been extremely close but with my move up north all those years ago time and space just gets in the way. I wanted to show her how much she means to me without clobbering her over the head with sentimentality. So I struggled with this card for just about a week. With a drawer full of Basic Grey paper pads that part was simple but the image was a bear. And then I stumbled upon Paper Makeup Stamps, found a wonderful WordArt Digital Stamp and then everything just fell into place.

Now I won't claim for even one second that this card contains the superior stamping or design work that so many stampers seem to possess and display with great pride. But this card has heart and for that reason I am pleased with it.

I stepped out of my comfort zone with this one using the clear Nurture You set by MSE and Broken China Distress Ink by Tim Holtz (based on the recommendation of my stamping guru Beate Johns.) I thought the paper pack Marrakesh by Basic Grey had a few pages that looked remarkably like quilting it worked great on the card. I got the ribbon at Michael's in the Christmas section and it matches almost perfectly to Old Olive. And that's about it.

Thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!

Tub Soak

This card has had a rough time seeing the light of day. For some reason every obstacle that could get in the way came up. But not one to give up easily (wink, wink, nod, nod) it has finally been completed.

I made this card for my partner's sister who has been extremely ill. After chemo treatment for breast cancer a rare disease has struck. She recently went through an experimental procedure that I won't even go into -- you wouldn't believe me.

My new SU friends will have to forgive the inclusion of so much non-SU products.  At the point that I did the majority of the work on the card I had not made a definite decision about joining the demonstrator program at SU.   My goal for the future is to feature SU products exclusively whenever possible.

As for the specifics of the card, I used a blender pen with markers by Close To My Heart.  The cool tub soak stamp is from the retired La Dee Da set by Stampin' UP!, all inks by Close To My Heart, cardstock by Bazzill and patterned paper is from the Sugared collection of Basic Grey.   Most importantly, the entire card is based on last week's Card Sketch on SplitCoastStampers. Apologies for the white-washed look of the picture, the pink appeared to be a wonderful shade of Pepto Bismol which made PhotoShop the only answer.  Well, that's about it, I'm off to inventory all my non-SU products and start the Ebay thing.

Thanks for looking and yes HE stamps!