Catching Up With the Card-A-Day Challenge!

I really cannot keep up the blog posts with this card a day challenge, lol!  Along with the cards, I still have that LIFE thing every day too!  ;)

Here are a couple of cards from this week to catch up on.  First is Day 14: Woodgrain...

I used the retired Dakota papers that I have been using all month!  Love that woodgrain pattern paper.  I also used the Laughing Lola WOTG Cardmaking Kit My Acrylic Stamps.

Day 16:  Use hearts...do NOT laugh, I know this picture is sideways!  But I could not for the life of me get it to load the right way, lol!  :)

Red shimmer trim and hearts just naturally go together.  :)  The black and white papers are from the For Always Paper Packet.  The adorable little "i <3 u" is a leftover cut from the Artbooking layout I made HERE.  I save these things for a reason, people!  ;)

Finally, Day 18:  masculine card...

OF COURSE I used the Dakota!  ;)

I also used natural hemp, the Chantilly WOTG Cardmaking Kit My Acrylix Stamps, and Durables Round Studs.

I am WIPED!  See you back here again soon! 

Sequins Keep It Simple!

I am back again to get a closer look at this simple card I made with my new sequin stash! 

I have seen tons of examples of these "explosion envelope" cards on Pinterest, and I was dying to try one!  The splatter of sequins is actually the trickiest part.  That little baby envelope is a cinch to make with my We R Memory Keepers envelope punch board!  Loving that new toy!  ;)

I used the retired Close to My Heart Chantilly WOTG Cardmaking Kit My Acrylix again, because is was still on my desk!  ;)

See you again soon!

Color Me Happy!

Well this is a bittersweet week over at Heart 2 Heart.  This is the final week for the current Design Team, so we are going to miss the amazing creations these fabulous ladies share with us each month!  I want to thank them each for their inspiration and for all the tips, tricks, and tutorials they have shared. I also want to let them know that I WILL be checking in on them from time to time.  ;)

The wonderful news is that there will be a brand new DT announced later this week which we are all patiently (of course) waiting for...NOT!!!  About as patiently as I am waiting for the new Autumn/Winter Idea Book that is revealed at convention tomorrow!!!!  YES!  You heard me right...tomorrow, the CTMH consultants at convention get to see all the new products and goodies in the super-secret new cattie!!!!  Oh the suspense is crazy-intense, so I had to take a break from VBS planning this week and squeeze in some time for crafting to take my mind off of it...yeah right!  ;)

The last challenge at H2H this month is to use our favorite CTMH color in a project!  HOW AWESOME is that?  NOT at all, would be the annoying answer, lol...as I see repeated in the DT's blog posts, we seem to love ALL colors equally, lol, so choosing just one is torture almost impossible!  Now, my official favorite color is SPARKLE, so I am not sure that would count (but you bet it will be in there!)  I finally was able to settle on my favorite of each color and used them in the same design to see what I liked!  I cannot believe I haven't shown you a pic yet!  Sorry!

Ok, you cannot see all the great details without more pics!  You really need to see these at more than one angle...This first card features my favorite CTMH purple and blue--Smokey Plum and Crystal Blue!  I added some black shimmer trim for my sparkle.  ;)  The edge of the card is trimmed with a Martha Stewart Edge Punch.

Inside the card, I used the Chantilly Cardmaking WOTG My Acrylix set to stamp the two little banners that say, "Happy Birthday."

All of these card variations feature one of my FAVORITE CTMH images ever, and one of my FAVORITE people gave it to me!  It is a retired My Acrylix set called Find Your Style.  This butterfly image is simply gorgeous.

This next card shows off my two favorite warm tones from Close to My Heart, Hollyhock and Buttercup.  What can I say, I like syllables!  ;)

Do you alter your stamps?  I have done this to MANY!  I love this font and the sentiment of this one from Card Chatter--Sympathy, but I certainly didn't need the period at the end.  Easy solution--I chopped it off!  

Here it is on the inside of the card...

Finally, my most favorite two colors from CTMH (I think) right now...Lagoon and Sweet Leaf!

I really LOVE the butterfly in these two colors!  I need to use this combo more often!

 Another sentiment from Card Chatter--Sympathy finishes it off.

So, there you have it, my most favorite Close to My Heart Colors (of the moment.)  Which of my combos do you like the best?  What is your favorite CTMH color?  What's wrong?  Can't pick just one, you say?  JOIN the CLUB!!!  lol...

Five Faves #2 and Rainy Days of Spring

Hi everyone!  How are you coming along with that assignment I gave you yesterday?  Still thinking about it?  ;)  Well, we have three down, and only two of my favorite Close to My Heart embellishments left to share with you this week!  Ready?  Here we go!

It is actually storming as I write this, and the grey skies that come with spring are one of the first signs of nature brightening up--ironic, no?  Without the rain we could not expect to see green grass or brightly colored springtime flowers.  I absolutely love sentiments that use this concept as inspiration, and I found the perfect one to use on this card I made for Heart 2 Heart's latest challenge to make something with a rainy day theme. 

I used the Chantilly Scrapbooking Kit My Acrylix set to make this rainbow colored umbrella.   I used my Five Faves #2 to add a sparkly little scallop border and handle....Glitter Paper!!!  I had to add some sparkle as a reminder on this one that in the gloom of rainy days there is the promise of hope for things to come.  :)

I stamped these little raindrops using a teeny tiny stamp from the Chantilly Cardmaking Kit with Sky Pigment Ink from the Whimsey Exclusive Inks Mini Pigment Pads Set.  These pigment inks sit on top of the paper so show up a bit brighter on colored cardstock.  Dye inks soak into the paper, thus loosing just a bit of its own color in the process.  Look at the difference below when stamped on Whisper CS...

pigment ink on the left with glitter glitz, dye ink on the right

I added some Glitter Glitz to the raindrops after they dried.

I decided to give the inside of the card the royal treatment too...

 This card came together just as I imagined it, so major WIN for me today!  :)

Now, I realize this sentiment I chose isn't available any longer, but one of our newest Close to My Heart My Acrylix stamps has JUST the perfect expression included...B1421 Scrapbook Statements--Women.  It is the one on its side, of course, lol!  The only reason that I didn't use this one, is that I don't have it yet!  ;)