Jackson with a girlie touch

Hi folks,

While I wait for it to dry up a little more outside so I can start this year's garden planting, I decided to pop in and share another creation (or two) using the Jackson papers from Close To My Heart.

I figure this first card can work for either a guy or a gal.

For these next three, I wanted to show that you COULD dress up the Jackson papers a little differently and make them a little more feminine. The teal zipper ribbon that I got during last year's Ribbon Revelry promo was perfect for the task. The little eyelet accents in the zipper are great.

And, let's not forget, the flowers from the Junebug puffies!

Yippee! Four more cards for the stash!

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, white card base
• patterned papers: CTMH Jackson
• stamps: CTMH Happy Everything - Operation Smile (D1653)
• embellishments: teal zipper ribbon, CTMH Junebug Puffies

Challenges for these cards:

• Sister Act Card Challenge #108: Anything Goes
• Seize the Birthday: Anything Goes Birthday

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Jackson and Dizzy Circles

Hi folks!

Back again to share a couple more cards I made using the Jackson papers from Close To My Heart - again with my favourite style of card - CAS (Clean And Simple).

Clean. Simple. Pretty. Same layout - just changed the orientation. Two more for the stash.

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, white card base
• patterned papers: CTMH Jackson
• stamps: CTMH Dizzy Circles (C1610)
• embellishments: Glacier Extra Thick Twine

Challenges for these cards

• Simply Create Too: Keep it Simple

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Playing with the CTMH Jackson papers

Hi everyone,

If you are a regular follower of the blog, then you know I sometimes get a little carried away when I start playing with some new papers.

That was DEFINITELY the case during a recent crafty play date with my pal Tanya.

All I'm going to say is that these are the FIRST ten cards that I made (I'm saving the rest to post later).

There's five each of two different designs (from a card workshop for the Close To My Heart Jackson papers). You know me though - no two cards can be the same so I played around with the orientation, embellies, and stamps so they were all a little different. A great way to quickly build a stash of cards.

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, CTMH White Card Base
• patterned papers: CTMH Jackson
• stamps: CTMH "Finding the Words" (D1646) - yep, just one stamp set for all of these cards. Awesome don't you think? 
• embellishments: CTMH Oceanside Sequins, Glacier Extra Thick Twine, Teal Shimmer Trim, Brave Enamel Shapes, Resin Flowers

Challenges for these cards:

• Seize the Birthday: Anything goes birthday
• Simon Says: Anything Goes
• Tuesday Throwdown: Anything Goes

As always, thanks for stopping by!

And the GIU winners are

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! If you stopped by to see who the lucky two winners are of the twenty five stamps from Unity Stamp Company then I won't make you wait. The winners are:

From the Day 4 post: heidiscoll
From the Day 1 post: Teresa Doyle

You both have two weeks to send me your snail mail details (there's an email link in my sidebar) so I can pass it along to the fine folks at Unity.

I figured I'd wind up the GIU winners announcement post with a few more cards featuring stamps from Unity.

I'm playing along with the current Unity {Be Inspired}Challenge with these.

Here's the photo for the colour inspiration challenge:

And here's my card:

Here's the card sketch challenge:

And here's my card:

card #1 details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, white card stock base
• stamp: "Happiness will find you", flowers coloured with Copic YG21, YG23, V000, V01, V04, V06
• patterned paper: My Mind's Eye "Up and Away"
• card stock: CTMH "Thistle"
• embellishment: fabric butterfly from my stash
• layout: Freshly Made Sketches #187
• tools: Stampin' Up Ticket Corner Punch

card #2 details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, white card stock base
• stamp: "You make me ... mushy". I paper pieced the mushrooms.
• patterned papers and embellishment: Basic Grey "Herbs & Honey" (a perfect paper collection to go with these stamps. Thanks Tanya!)

As always, thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon!

Growing in Unity - Day 5

Hi Everybody!

Welcome back to the last of my week long posts as the Growing in Unity Gal.

The hardest thing about doing the posts this week has been CHOOSING which stamps to use! As I've said earlier this week, Unity has so many delightful stamps for your card-making (or scrap-booking or art-journaling or mixed media) projects you are bound to find something that suits your taste.

Since my tastes are varied, my collection is also varied. From the cheeky and snarky to the make you giggle to the make you pause, I have them all.

One of my favourites - that really sums up my life philosophy is "Whiskey than Tea". I used it on this card for my sweetie to celebrate fifteen years of us.

I partnered it with an appropriate present - new whiskey tasting glasses and a really nice bottle of bourbon. He seemed to really like it.

I also came across the "I like it dirty" stamp in my collection. I'm pretty sure I picked this one up because a friend of ours is a BIG fan of martinis (me, not so much).

I'm thinking I should make her a set of cards with all of the sentiments in this set.


card #1 details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamps: "Whiskey than Tea"
• patterned paper: CTMH "Jackson"
• embellishments: CTMH Glacier Extra Thick Twine
• layout: Viva La Verve May 2015 Week 1

card #2 details:

• finished size: 6 x 6 inches, black card stock base
• stamps: "I like it dirty", martini glass coloured with Copic E31, YG93, YG95, W00, W0, W1
• patterned paper: Graphic 45 "Couture"
• embellishments: CTMH "Stuck on You" Puffies, black sparkly ric rac from my stash
• layout: Splitcoaststampers SC539

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget to leave a comment below to be entered into the draw for 25 stamps from Unity Stamp Company. I moderate the comments so you won't see your comment below until I approve it. I'll announce the two lucky winners on Monday.

And I can't forget a BIG THANK YOU to the folks at Unity Stamp Company for the wonderful opportunity this week to get crafty and share some of my creations with their delightful stamps.

Growing in Unity - Day 4

Hi Everybody!

Welcome back for the fourth of my week long posts as the Growing in Unity Gal.

Another big part of my Unity stamp collection revolves around sentiments that would make cute/romantic cards for my sweetie. In some respects though, my definition of cute/romantic might differ from what other people think of as a lovey dovey card.

In my house, we are both BIG geeks/nerds (see the picture in the left sidebar? The Whovians among you will understand). Anyways, when I saw "Talk Nerdy" I knew it was another stamp that had to be added to my collection (I had the perfect papers to pair with it hoarded in my collection just waiting for the perfect stamp).

card details:

• finished size: 6 x 6 inches, CTMH Chocolate card stock base
• stamps: "Talk Nerdy". Glasses are coloured with Copic BG11, Y35, YG23 and B01
• patterned paper: Jillibean Soup "Atomic Soup" (just the names of each of the patterns makes the geek in me squee with delight)
• embellishments: Basic Grey "Jovial" buttons, CTMH Colonial White Waxy Flax

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget to leave a comment below to be entered into the draw at the end of the week for 25 stamps from Unity Stamp Company. There will be two winners chosen from all of the comments left this week. I moderate the comments so you won't see your comment below until I approve it. And be sure to stop back tomorrow for my final post as the Growing In Unity Gal!

Growing in Unity - Day 3

Hi Everybody!

Welcome back for the third of my week long posts as the Growing in Unity Gal.

Another of the things I LOVE about Unity Stamp Company are the punny sentiments and the cute little images that go with most of them. They just make me smile and giggle.

Today I'm sharing just a few of the punny stamps from my collection.

One of my many hobbies is canning (both water bath and pressure canning) so when I saw "Pun in the Kitchen" I had to have it.

And aren't I lucky to have had the perfect papers to pair with this set? Of course, once I got started playing with those papers, I had to pull out the rest of my punny, fruity Unity stamps and have a little more fun.

Here's a card featuring "Lemon Squeeze"

and last, but not least, a card featuring "When life gives you limes..."

Though, in our house, we more often reach for the mint and rum to make mojitos! But I wouldn't turn down a margarita!

card details:

• finished size: (card #1) 4.25 x 5.5
• stamps: (card #1) "Pun in the Kitchen" coloured with Copic R81, R35, R37, G24, "Lemon Squeeze" leaves coloured with Copic G24 and the lemon is paper pieced,  "When life gives you limes..." the margaritas are coloured with Copic G21 and G07 with a little bit of Diamond Stickles around the rim.
• patterned paper: CTMH Taste Of Summer
• embellishments: (card #1) CTMH Stuck on You Puffies, (card #2) CTMH Sunny Yellow brads from my stash, (card #3) ribbon from my stash
• tools: ticket corner punch (card #3)

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget to leave a comment below to be entered into the draw at the end of the week for 25 stamps from Unity Stamp Company. Remember, there will be TWO winners selected from all of the comments left this week! I moderate the comments so you won't see your comment below until I approve it. And be sure to stop back tomorrow for my Day 4 post as the Growing In Unity Gal!

Growing in Unity - Day 2

Hi Everybody!

Welcome back for the second of my week long posts as the Growing in Unity Gal.

One of the things I LOVE about Unity Stamp Company is that there is something for everyone. As you saw in yesterday's post, if you like cheeky stamps - they've got you covered. Today, I'm sharing a couple of sympathy cards with simple, beautiful sentiments. I know none of us like to make cards for sad events but when you find yourself in need of just the right words for such an occasion, the folks at Unity have a wonderful array from which to choose.

card details:

• finished size: card #1 5.5 x 5.5 inches, card #2 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamps: Unity Stamp Company "Beautiful Life, Blessed Memories" {February 2015 Sentiment Kit}
• patterned paper: Prima "Firefly"
• card stock: CTMH Thistle
• embellishments: paper roses, ribbon and pearls from my stash
• layout card #1: Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #263
• layout card #2: just my own. I wanted it CAS to keep the focus on the beautiful rose and the lovely sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget to leave a comment below to be entered into the draw at the end of the week for 25 stamps from Unity Stamp Company. There will be TWO winners selected from all of the comments this week. I moderate the comments so you won't see your comment below until I approve it. And be sure to stop back tomorrow for my Day 3 post as the Growing In Unity Gal!

Growing in Unity - Day 1

Hi Everyone!


This is a special week on my blog - I get to be the Growing In Unity Gal this week!

Last year I discovered the always delightful, sometimes punny, sometimes irreverent stamps from Unity Stamp Company. To say that their stamps resonate with me on many levels would be VERY accurate.

From Monday through Friday this week, I'll be doing a daily post featuring a creation (or two) that uses some of the many stamps I have collected from Unity over the last year or so. Leave a comment on each of the daily posts and at the end of the week I will be announcing two winners of 25 stamps from the great folks at Unity.

Up first are a couple of cards using one of the many Unity wine-themed stamps I have in my collection. My spouse is a sommelier so I kind of HAVE to have every single wine related stamp that Unity makes. Because. Reasons.

When I first saw the "Drink & Cuss" stamp set that was part of the December 2014 release, I HAD to have it for a very special friend of mine for her birthday card this year. Every other week we get together for what we call our "wine and whine" session. It used to be lunch (with wine - so we could whine) followed by a movie. I introduced her to quilting a couple of months back and now our "wine and whine" takes place at my house. I make us lunch & dinner, my spouse does the wine pairing for us and we spend the day quilting.!

This is her birthday card.

I thought it was perfect - a wine related stamp, quilting related papers. A "perfect pairing" in sommelier-speak!

Of course, since I had the stamp set out ANYWAY, I couldn't help but put the other image in the set to use on this card:

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• patterned paper: Basic Grey "Clippings"
• stamps: Unity Stamp Company "Drink & Cuss", stamped in Memento Black on the first card, CTMH Garnet on the second card.
• embellishments: jute twine and wine glass charm from my stash on the second card
• layout for the first card: Unity {be inspired} challenge sketch 27
• layout for the second card: Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #268

Thanks for stopping by today. Don't forget to leave a comment below to be entered into the draw at the end of the week for 25 stamps from Unity Stamp Company. There will be TWO winners selected from all of the comments this week. I moderate the comments so you won't see your comment below until I approve it. And be sure to stop back tomorrow for my Day 2 post as the Growing In Unity Gal!

4 You - Blossom

Hi folks,

I'm back again to share another of my recent creations. As you may have guessed, I've been playing with my new Close To My Heart Blossom papers from the Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book.

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, white card stock base
• patterned paper: Close To My Heart "Blossom"
• stamps: CTMH "Blossom" Card Making WOTG, stamped in Smoothie, Pear, Glacier and Lagoon Ink.
• embellishments: CTMH Glacier Extra Thick Twine

Challenges for this card:

• Sister Act Card Challenge #106: Anything Goes
• Simon Says: Inspiration: Colour Swatch (I'd say the Blossom papers are a great match)
• Loves Rubber Stamps #151: Use a Sentiment

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Happy Mother's Day - Yuletide Carol

Hi folks,

I know what you're thinking? Odd title for post. But yes, for a couple of this year's Mother's Day cards I actually used papers from the CTMH Yuletide Collection - a Christmas themed paper pack!

I quite like these papers and thought they would make a nice choice for the cards that were sent to both mine and dearly beloved's Mom.

Yes - I'm cheating. Same stamp, same papers - just a different orientation on the layout. But I REALLY like them. In fact, there are going to be four other cards posted in the coming days which feature these same papers in the same basic layout.

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, black card stock base
• patterned papers: CTMH Yuletide Carol
• card stock: CTMH Black, Champagne
• stamps: CTMH "Flowers for Mom" (B1473) with the coordinating die cut shape cut from the CTMH Cricut Artfully Sent cartridge
• embellishments: CTMH Black Shimmer Trim, adhesive pearls and black paper rose from my stash
• layout inspired by a card on page 103 of the 2014-2015 CTMH Annual Inspirations Idea Book

Challenges for these cards:

• Sisterhood of Crafters: Mother's Day with a flower (in the stamp I used)

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Happy Mother's Day - Blossom

Hi folks,

Today I'm sharing another of the Mother's Day cards I made this year. This one is for my sister.

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, white card stock base
• patterned papers: CTMH "Blossom"
• stamps: CTMH "Happy to be Friends" (C1605) stamped in Lagoon Ink
• embellishments: CTMH Coral Reef Sequins and adhesive gems from my stash
• die cut: CTMH Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge

Challenges for this card:

• Craft your passion #261: Anything goes
• Come and get it: Got Flowers
• Sentimental Sundays: Mother's Day

As always, thanks for stopping by!

I love you the most

Hi folks,

Yesterday, dearly beloved and I celebrated fifteen years of "us".  This is one of the two cards I made to celebrate the occasion - just in time to share for Unity's Friends with Flair this week.

card details:

• finished size: 6 x 6 inches, CTMH Black card stock base
• patterned paper: CTMH Heartstrings (and CTMH Whsper card stock)
• stamps: Unity Stamp Company "Love You Most" Itty Bitty (the hearts on the tree are coloured with Copics BG45 and R35)
• layout: Mojo Monday 396 (I took some liberties and move the banners to the side)
• embellishments: black sparkly ric rac from my stash
• Spellbinders Classic Hearts (to cut the smallest heart - the layers had to be hand-cut.

challenges for this card:

• Sister Act Card Challenge #105: Anything Goes
• Graph'It Wk 19: Anything Square
• Simply Create Too: Favourite Colour Combo (I'm guilty of loving red and black)

As always, thanks for stopping by for a wee visit!!! Hope to see you again soon!

Worth Celebrating - Blossom

Hi folks,

Back today to share another of my Sunday afternoon creations.

You might have guessed that I am quite liking these new Blossom papers from CTMH.

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, white card stock base
• patterned paper: CTMH Blossom
• stamps: CTMH Blossom Card Making Workshop on the Go stamped in Lagoon and Sorbet Ink
• embellishments: CTMH Junebug Puffies
• diecut: CTMH Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge

challenges for this card:

• Craft Your Passion #260: Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly Challenge: Anything Goes

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Hello Friend

Hi folks,

I had a fabulous Sunday afternoon in my craft room this weekend so I have a bunch of cards that I'll be sharing this week.

Up first is this card using this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, White card stock base
• patterned paper: Close To My Heart Blossom 
• stamp: CTMH "Friendship Wreath" (M1055) stamped in Lagoon ink (Z2195) with flower details coloured with ShinHan Touch Twin Marker R140
• embellishments: CTMH Teal Shimmer Trim
• layout: Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 267

Challenges for this card:

• Naughty or Nice: Friends
• Simon Says: Anything Goes

As always, thanks for stopping by!

May deals from Close To My Heart

Hi folks,

Just thought that since it is a new month, I would share the details of the May promotions from Close To My Heart.

Did you know that May is National Scrapbooking Month? You betcha! In honour of the month that celebrates all things scrapbooking, Close To My Heart is releasing a specially priced paper pack and a coordinating stamp set  that is only available during the month of May.

If you can't picture yourself using these fruit inspired papers, take a quick look at the reverse sides. I quite like the non-fruity sides myself. Lots of fun vibrant colours for summer-time cards and scrapbook layouts. And there is no minimum purchase to order these - and no limit on how MANY you can order. Awesome! Want to see this limited time paper pack in action? Check out the video here.

And how about this cute stamp set?

I think this stamp set will actually get me to use the fruity sides of those papers.

And let's not forget the May Stamp of the Month - Just Sayin'

I'm hoping I'll find some time this month to share my own creations with these goodies. They are sitting in a pile in my craft room at the moment, just waiting to be used.

If you are interested in shopping or checking out more details on these deals, just stop by my online shop. In honour of National Scrapbooking Month, I'm hosting an online gathering and everyone who joins the gathering and places the order will be placed into a draw at the end of the month for the hostess rewards for that gathering IF the gathering total qualifies for hostess rewards. Have fun shopping!

Ivy Lane - Final Three

Happy Sunday Morning folks!

Just thought I would pop in and share the final three cards I made that were inspired by the (now retired) Ivy Lane Card Workshop from Close To My Heart.


On this one, I used the second generation stamping technique so that the flowers would have a slightly faded out look. I like how they came out.

And for these two I played around with which side of the paper to use and the layouts. It is always fun to experiment! Would you believe that both cards use the same core elements - with a few small variations using the leftovers from the kit? Two very different looks.

Card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches, CTMH Colonial White Card stock bases
• patterned papers and medallion stamps from the CTMH Ivy Lane Card Workshop
• additional stamp sets: CTMH Happy To Be Friends (C1605), Your Own Kind of Wonderful (D1627)
• CTMH Cricut Cartridge "Art Philosophy"

Challenges for these cards:

• Sister Act Card Challenge #104: Anything Goes

As always, thanks for stopping by!