A Dynamic Duo Indeed!

Have you ever tried one card, two ways?  That is what I did for this next challenge post!

I love to try and combine challenges when able because, quite frankly, it is a super time saver!  I also enjoy the added challenge to combine challenges!  ;)

The first version of this card is for the Dynamic Duos Challenge this week to combine Black with a Kraft color--I used Desert Sand from Close to My Heart.  You are allowed to use any neutrals for the challenge along with these colors.

I used a gorgeous fall themed stamp set from Close to My Heart called Harvest Happiness.  They are clear, acrylic stamps, so you can see through them to stamp on the shapes that coordinate.  These shapes can be cut with your Cricut cutting machine from Provo Craft with the exclusive Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge.  I used the rock-and-roll technique to make the leaves all sorts of brown shades with my Cocoa, Saddle, Bamboo, and Desert Sand Inks.

You can see how I mimicked the shapes on the front on the inside below.  I just cut out two of these card shapes out with the Cricut Artiste Cartridge from Close to My Heart as well--one in Black and one in Desert Sand.  Then I just used the Black one as my card base, and cut up the other one to use the different parts on the inside so it would not be all Black.

For the second challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays, I added some color to the leaves.  They are having a fall colors challenge and you must use at least one leaf on your clean and simple card.  I was quite happy to add some color!  ;)

I really do like how the Colonial White CS makes the leaves pop out from the black background.  That cute little tag is cut from the Art Philosophy Cartridge as well, and I used two different stamp sets to create the sentiment:  Perfect Fit Thanksgiving and Holiday Tags.  A couple of Black Opaques complete the tag.   I fashioned a frayed bundle of Hemp to "attach" the tag to the leaf cluster.

Well, what do you think?  Which do you prefer?  Color or neutral?  Would you like to win your favorite of the two?  All you have to do is 

1.  Leave me a comment telling me which is your favorite and why.

2.  Become a follower here on my blog, Mimi, Myself, and I.

3.  Like me on Facebook.  

I will pick a winner from all the eligible US entries who will receive the card of their choice!  :)  You have until the end of September to comment, and I will announce the winner here on my blog.  Good luck, and thanks for popping in to see what I made today!  :)

Five Faves #3: Don't Make Me Choose!

I am soooooo torn with this one!  I suppose since it is my blog series, I make the rules, though.

WHEW!  ;)  

So, with that decision, my #3 Five Fave CTMH Embellies are Sparkles AND Opaques.  Hee, hee.  I just could not decide which would come first!  OK, you know I would have had to go with Sparkles first, but I love them both for bringing life to any project.

Take this fab little card for example...

You might not be able to see much in the picture above except that AMAZING Avonlea paper.  No worries, here is another shot...see all the little bling on the wreath?  Totally drool-worthy in my opinion.   Together, the sparkles and opaques are a stunning duo!  :)

One more?  OK!  {swoon}

These tiny bits of bling come in four sizes in each of the following assortments, and take a look at all the colors available!  :)  Um, you have a little bit of drool on your chin...

Sparkles Pink, Red. and Purple Assortment

 Sparkles Blue and Green Assortment

 Sparkles Clear Assortment

 Sparkles Brown and Tan Assortment

 Sparkles Black and Grey Assortment

 Opaques Pearl Adhesive Gems

 Opaques Mocha Adhesive Gems

 Opaques Liquorice Adhesive Gems

Thinking Warm Thoughts in Layout Form

Hello everyone!  It has been a fast and furious few days in my life.  In case I haven't said it lately, thanks so very much for stopping in to read my blog and see what I have been up to in my craft room.

Today I wanted to share this layout I made by using the first book in the new series by the amazing founder of Close to My Heart, Jeanette Lynton.  Make It From Your Heart, Volume 1 contains the instructions for making 18 layouts and 12 cards with easy-to-follow pictures and cutting guides.  At just $7.95, this publication is a wonderfully affordable way to boost your creativity.

My layout is made with pictures from one of our family trips to Florida.  It is a bit chilly here in the midwest as of late, so I needed to feel some warmth with these beautiful beach pics to keep me holding on until spring break finally arrives.  I used pattern number 12 on page 28.

The gray spotted paper is from a special paper packet Close to My Heart had a while back called Dotty for You.  The shades of blue are Sky, Dutch Blue (retired), and Outdoor Denim.

I used two different My Acrylix sets for this layout, the retired Footloose Workshop on the Go (shell and sand dollar) and the currently available Just Chillin' (bucket.)  A few Opaques added some pretty pearls to my beachy scene.

These wooden shapes are also no longer available, but were just the perfect touch for my layout.  

I did add some extra photos to my layout, so it is a bit different from Jeanette's layout, but that is the beauty of our How-To books!  You get all of the design ideas without handcuffs!  ;)

I wanted to also let you know that two of our previously discontinued How-To books are back with our Spring and Summer Idea Book and more affordable than EVER!  They are now in a softcover edition for only $14.95 each!

 Reflections contains 100 scrapbook layouts.

 Originals gives you 100 card patterns to choose from!

Check them out by clicking on the links above.  Jeanette is brilliant, and they have truly become indispensable tools in my craft room.  :)

Mojo Monday 249

Today I am participating in the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge for the first time.  I really loved the sketch and used it to create a card for my sister.   Mollie, if you are reading this, turn back NOW!  ;)

Here is the sketch:

 Mollie, seriously, this is your last chance to not see your card early, lol...

Here is my card:

 I used the Pemberley Papers for this as well as Vanilla Creme and Bamboo Cardstock. 

For the banner/flag I stamped in Outdoor Denim Ink and adhered it to one of the cricut dimensional elements chipboard shapes.  The sentiment is from the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection.  The rope stamp is from the Pemberley Workshop stamp set, and let me tell you, I LOVE this set!  (it is only available for a couple more weeks if you are interested.)  The background is stamped with the rose from Card Word Puzzle in the same ink using first and second generation images.  (Also only available for a short time longer!)  I added some Opaques from the Licorice selection for bling.  I love to dress up this image with the bitty pearls as well, but these took on the Pemberley blues so well I just had to use them.

Now, a funny thing happened while I was putting on the pearls.  One of them shot out of the tweezers and I could not find it.  This is hardly unusual since they are tricky to grip.  It is actually a regular occurrence around here.  They do turn up eventually.  THIS particular pearl, however, I found while I was putting the card away until it needs to be mailed.  It was at the top of the card on the dark blue Pemberley paper!  If you look closely, you can see it in the picture since I had no idea at the time that it was there, lol! 

I loved trying my hand at a sketch for a change and hope to do more in the future.  Thanks for looking!  Unless you are Mollie, then you should not be reading this!  ;)

Chevron Inspiration

Serious readers may have the day off, because this is sort of silly.  ;)

I was really wanting to use chevrons in a card for my next workshop since they are all the rage right now.  While I didn't get inspired that direction, I WAS inspired to make another card.  Many of you will get the connection right away, lol...so here it is!

I haven't thought of Charlie Brown's shirt in ages, so the fact that this popped into my head just helps me believe that I really haven't forgotten as much as I thought.  I hope you have a good laugh with me over this one!   So fun!

I also learned a valuable lesson while making this card--don't delete pics too quickly!  You see, I wasn't crazy about the way I wrote the words, "Good Grief," at first.  I decided to use a little trick to cover it up by placing a piece of cardstock right on top of the mistake.  I used to have a picture of what it looked like before, but erased it too quickly--could have used it as a before/after mistake picture.  Oh well, you still get the idea.  That is really just one of the many ways you can correct a mistake on a card you are making.  Maybe I can do a series of posts on how to cover up mistakes?   Hmmmmm....

Everlasting Rose Brooch

You may have seen this post of mine in the Damask Divas Blog, but you might not have!  So for those who haven't, be sure to go check out our team blog that my Senior Director, Mandy Leahy put together. I have a whole back-log of posts from when I was knee-deep in getting my CTMH business up and running and this is one of them.

I wanted to share this realistic looking rose brooch that I whipped up to decorate my CTMH apron.  I needed a bit of bling to dress it up, so decided to make one just the night before my first Gathering, lol!  The base is actually the circle of chipboard that I punched out of the center of one of the decorations in the My Originals Sweet Surprises Card Kit.   Yep–it really is!  I try to find a use for everything.  Then I used liquid glass to attach it to one of my girls’ old, plastic alligator hair clips.  With the base finished, I cut out a rose at 5″ from the Art Philosophy cartridge in Tulip and then inked the edges with black.  After rolling it up and adhering it with liquid glass, I added a large black Opaque in the center.  I layered it onto a large Just Blooms Paper Shape to make it pop a bit from the black apron.  The leaves are cut out of New England Ivy cardstock by hand.  Then I used my embossing tool to make a center vein on the leaves and inked the edges with New England Ivy Ink.  Everything was added to the chipboard base with liquid glass, so I don’t have to worry about it going anywhere!

Stella Gets Roses :)

Hi everyone!  Now that the hopping is over, I have a project to share that I made for my Kick-Off.  I wanted to use the My Creations Milk Carton as a vase somehow, just was not sure how until it all came together.  I experimented with different ways to make the roses too with our Art Philosophy Cartridge.  Here is the finished project all decked out with Stella papers:

 I added a Bling Button with this natural hemp to add some sparkle.

 FYI--I tried to stamp a heart on the metal tag, but it didn't work with my Ink.  Not sure if the Stayz On would have worked, but I might try that another time.  I used the Stella Compliments on this side.  Have I ever mentioned that this is my FAVORITE paper pack right now?  ;)

 It was not difficult to measure this up to paper the sides at all--very easy measurements.

 I had to use my favorite stamp set right now in this project too--Just For You.  The Pewter Badge Button adds exactly the right touch.

 These leaves were so much fun to make.  I used my stylus to make the veins and then inked them up really well around the edges and some in between dabbing.  I was not careful to keep the paper flat so that it would look more "handled."  The stems of the roses are sucker sticks from the local craft store that I rolled on my Olive Ink pad.

 Experimenting with the roses was super-fun.  For this one, I rolled two cuts at the same time.  You can see that it opened a bit more than I would have liked at the center.  Wish I had a larger Opaque to pop in there than this one.  This is the biggest there is, however.  I will just have to work the paper a bit more next time I try this technique.

 This might be my fave.  Colonial white tipped with hmmmmm...yep not sure!  My best guess is Hollyhock Ink.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I can almost smell it.  ;)

 This rose is cut out of Sunset cardstock and tipped with the same color ink.  Subtle, but I like that the white core is hidden.  Can you see the base of some of the roses?  I inked up one of the small pointed flowers from the Just Blooms Paper Shapes to thread them on the stem.  I really like the leaffy effect it gives and it also makes a nicer transition from the flower to the stem.

 This one is in Colonial White and just so elegant.

 My personal favorite side is this one...the bracket is from the Irresistibles Miracle Chipboard Die Cuts.

Which side or flower is your favorite?  :)

June Stampaganza!!!

June first is here, and with it comes STAMPAGANZA!  This month, for every two My Acrylix Stamp Sets you buy, you get a third FOR FREE!  Yep, you read that correctly!  You do NOT need an eye exam--unless you need bifocals, like I do and are putting it off, lol!  ;)

Speaking of My Acrylix, one of my favorite of these stamp sets right now is called Just for You.  I used it to design a set of cards that I like to call the Stella Trio:

This is my favorite of the three cards:

These cards use the current Stella papers, Colonial White Cardstock base, Sunset, Olive, Lagoon, Tulip, and Cocoa Inks, Cricut Art Philosophy Collection, Sunset Mini-Medley buttons, Colonial White Waxy Flax, and Cocoa Opaque Gems to create three 4 x 4 all occasion cards.  Isn't it amazing the variety you have with just a few products?  These are also the cards we will make at my very first Card Workshop!  More details to come!