CTMH Cruisin' Artist/Art Layout for Heart2Heart Challenges Photo Challenge

The Heart2Heart Challenge this week is a photo challenge - use a photo on any type of project (layout, card, home decor, etc.) and tell us what the photo is about!  How easy is that?  

This challenge was a great excuse to use some recent snap shots of my middle child at an all-school art show.  I have to confess - these pictures are actually print outs as I didn't have time to get the photos sent to  Costco so these will be replaced with higher quality photos soon.

I used the "Trap Door" layout from our Magic book and did hidden journaling under the 2012 scalloped shape.  The journaling reads:  "We were so proud of you when we found out a piece of your art was chosen for the all school art show.  I was completely blown away when I saw your self-portrait.  I had no idea you could paint like that!  I'm so proud of my artist!  Love, Mom"

Left Side 

Right Side

 

I wanted my paper selections to reflect the gray tone self-portrait so I kepts to the greens, gray and blacks from the pictures.  The black paper with the funky shapes doodled on it is from our new Crusin' paper pack - I thought it had kind of an artsy painter's palette feel to it.  The Juniper grid paper is from Typeset and most of the rest is cardstock and retired items (trying to use up some stash before the next Idea Book comes out!).

I can't wait to see all the fun projects people come up with to enter for this challenge!  I do hope you'll join in by making a project with some CTMH products and a photo and sharing with us at the Heart2Heart Challenges blog!

Thanks for stopping by!

Paige

CTMH Dotty for You and Beautiful Friendship Card

This was my first time inking up my Beautiful Friendship stamp set.  I love the intricate medallion from this set and am looking forward to playing around with the lovely sentiments as well as the butterfly image.  This card design is pretty funky - I found the layout on a card out at Pinterest and wanted to copy using the scalloped banner from the AP cart.

For the button I threaded some Baker's twine through the button and slipped the folded ribbon inside.  I tightened it up to make the bow tying a knot on the back of the button.  Its a fairly flat treatment for mailing as there is no knot on the ribbon and I like how clean it looks.

Follow these links to my online shopping area and purchase these materials:

Dotty for You Paper

Beautiful Friendship Stamp

Lagoon Ink

Color Ready Seam Binding

Neutral Baker's Twine

Green Assortment Buttons

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fabulous weekend full for fun and sunshine!

Paige

Tiger Lily Card with CTMH Dotty for You

We're in the last week of the Dotty four You promotion.  If you haven't picked up a package of this fabulous paper yet, you only have a week left to get it (the promotion ends on May 31st).  I'm having so much fun playing with all the funky trendy patterned papers in this set!

The flowers have been rock and rolled in a mix of Sunset and Smoothie inks - the two tones are pretty similar so the shading is subtle.  I added a dash of Bronze Glitz to the stamens to give some pop.  This card puts me in the mood for SUMMER!

Click on the links below to visit my online shopping area and get your supplies:

Dotty for You Paper

Chocolate Cardstock

Dreams Come True Stamp Set (retired)

Smoothie Ink, Sunset Ink, Sweet Leaf Ink

Bronze Glitz Glitter Gel

Sweet Leaf Ribbon  (here is a different set of green ribbons)

Sweet Hedgehog card with CTMH Dotty for You

I've always loved this very sweet hedgehog from an old Stamp of the Month set called Happy Forever.  Isn't he just adorable flying through the air with his balloons?  

To make his balloons fly off the edge I simply stamped him in the center with his balloons mostly off the edge.  Then I stamped just the balloons in Lagoon and Sunny Yellow, trimmed, pop dotted and liquid glassed them to give some dimension.  I used our watercolor pencils and blending pen to color the hedgehog and sponged the blue sky on afterwards.  I kept this one flat and simple as I need some easy to mail cards without bulk.

Click the links below to visit my online shopping area and purchase these supplies:

Dotty for You Paper Special

Happy Forever Stamp (retired)

Watercolor Pencils

Blending Pen

Liquid Glass

Sky Ink

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Paige

Kindness Card with CTMH Dotty For You and State of Mind

I'm totally loving the Dotty for You paper pack that is this month's special from CTMH - just $5 for 24 sheets (2 each of 12 patterns).  So much paper to play with that I've only made a dent in my pack!  This offer is good through the end of May so if you haven't had a chance to pick up a set for yourself then make sure you pop over to my website (click here) to get one before the end of the month!

This card was so easy to make using the AP cartridge!  I added a bit of Stardust Glitz to the butterfly and Liquid Glass to the flower center to spiff things up a bit.  The stamp set is retired now but I just love the saying.  This card is based on one I found on Pinterest by Kristi Lockheart.

Click on the links below and head to my online shopping area to get your supplies:

Dotty for You Paper
State of Mind Stamp Set (retired)
Black Inkpad
Liquid Glass
Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel
Art Philosophy Cartridge

You are Amazing Martial Arts card with CTMH Superhero, You Are

Ever heard that old saying when it rains, it pours?  That was my week last week.  The transmission on one of the cars died leaving us with a huge repair bill plus some inconvenience with switching cars.  Then my hubby had a large incredibly painful kidney stone requiring doctors appointments, scans and finally surgery.  He's doing better now but still recuperating and needing TLC.  On top of that I began mentoring 3 people at the dojo going for their Black Belts in November.  So, this week I'm hoping for some calmer waters, less trauma and hopefully fewer bills!  Yikes!

On to the fun stuff - the art!  This is the congratulatory card I made for all the people who received their Black Belts with me.  There were 9 of us in total and most of them guys so I wanted a simple card that was easy to mass produce and fairly masculine in feel.

Click on the links to visit my online shopping area and get the products to make this card:

Paper:  Superhero, White Daisy CS

Stamps:  You Are (April SOTM, retired), Just for Kicks (Martial Arts stamp - retired)

Ink:  Cranberry, Black, Moonstruck

Other:  Neutral Baker's Twine Assortment, Milepost Shapes (star)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Paige

Polka Dots and Stripes Challenge for Heart2Heart Challenges!

This week's challenge at Heart2Heart Challenges is a salute to trendy polka dots and stripes!  Get your spotty polka dotty fun on and create a project to share with us this week.  Want to step it up a design notch?  Add some stripes for flair and pizazz!

This week's challenge works perfectly with the new Close to my Heart special "Dotty for You" papers.  So perfectly our entire design team independently chose to work with these papers this week!  To get your set of 24 papers (2 each of 12 double sided patterns) for just $5 click this link to visit my online store! 

While you don't have to use this particular paper, you do need to use Close to my Heart products and mention the challenge site in your post.  Have fun playing this week and head on over to Heart2Heart Challenges blog to post your project using our Mr. Linky!

With the exception of the Milk Carton and the scallops on the roof, everything was cut with the AP cartridge - love that thing!  The roof was three layers of paper scalloped with our corner rounder.  I cut the Milk Carton with my new Bags, Tags, Boxes and More 2 cartridge so mine is slightly smaller (2.5" square at the base) than the CTMH ready to decorate Milk Carton which is 3" square at the base.

Enabler's List of Products to Purchase - click on the links to go directly to my online shopping area:

Paper:  Dotty for You (special - ends May 31 so hurry and get your 24 sheets for $5!), Kraft Cardstock

Other:  Color Ready Seam Binding, Bronze Glitz Glitter Gel, Corner Rounder (for roof scallops), Art Philosophy Cartridge

Thanks for stopping by today!

Paige

Black Belt

I've been training in Tae-Kwon-Do for almost 4 years now.  For the past 18 months I've been actively pursuing my Black Belt.  It has been a long, hard, physically brutal but rewarding time for me.  What people see during the Black Belt test is the physical training that goes into earning a belt - the push ups, crunches, weapons forms, forms, self-defense, sparring and other physical pieces of being a Black Belt.  What they don't see during a test is the extremely emotional journey each candidate endures throughout this process. They don't see the extraordinary camaraderie, the deep friendships or the personal growth each candidate receives by pursuing this goal or the soul searching, insecurity and fears each candidate must get past in order to achieve this goal.  

This has been a huge part of my life for so long and since this blog is about my art AND my life, I'd like to share with you the first part of my Black Belt acceptance speech and the closing section (the center parts were sincere thanks to the many people who helped me achieve my goal).  I hope it conveys to you just how proud I am to have achieved this goal and how life changing the act of pursuing it has been for me.  

"In my life I have three things that keep me balanced – my family, martial arts and my creative side.  Many of you have probably heard me say that martial arts is my stress relief but really its more than that, it is an integral part of who I am.  I’ve put literally hundreds of hours of training into getting my black belt and while I am incredibly proud of this achievement and have worked harder at this than anything else in my life apart from raising my family, in a certain sense my belt level will never matter.  What you get from achieving your goals isn’t nearly as important as who you become by achieving your goals.  The amount of work I have put into this will never come close to what I have received back from this journey.  Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself and I am so proud to be standing before you today as something new – a black belt. 

I sat on the sidelines watching my kids for a couple of years before I started class.  If you are sitting there wondering if you could do this, all I can say is that there is no more unlikely Black Belt candidate than I have been.  The first athletic thing I ever did in my life was when I walked through the dojo doors at the age of 37.  The hardest part is having the courage to imagine a whole new path in your life.  A black belt is a white belt who never gave up and I am a girl who would not quit."

While Martial Arts might not be everyone's cup of tea I think the biggest lesson I took to heart is the power of imagining a new path in your life.  I hope my story gives someone out there the courage and strength to try a new path - even if it seems crazy and improbable.  The most incredible things happen when you let go of your fears and just TRY.

Wishing you all an amazing Mother's Day!

Paige

Ice Cream Cone Happy Birthday with a Cherry on Top card

Wouldn't this be a sweet treat to get for your birthday?  A super duper triple decker waffle cone with a cherry on top!  Mmmmm...looks so yummy!

If you'd like to make this card, purchase the following products by clicking these links to my online shopping area:

Paper:  Cherry-O (retired, Lucy is a great alternative)

Stamps:  Fanfare WOTG Stamp (retired)

Ink:  Tulip

Other:  Neutral Baker's Twine, Color Ready Seam Binding, Kraft Ready Borders, Designer Pink Collection Ribbon, AP Cartridge for small tag

Don't forget about the wonderful special we have going this month in honor of National Scrapbooking day, our Dotty For You collection - 24 sheets of double sided heavy paper for just $5 with a $35 purchase!  Click here to purchase your set!

Mother's Day Card with Diagonal Banner and CTMH Dotty for You

It really pays to follow the original link to someone's blog from a Pinterest post!  The other day I followed the link from an adorable card so I could comment directly to the artist and found super directions for a short cut on making diagonal banner cards!  Click here to check our Laurie's original idea and post!

I had never made one of these before because in my head I was thinking it meant cutting a strip for the center and then matching the edges, getting the angles correct, etc. but instead she had the brilliant idea of simply using a square that matches the width of your card and cutting it on the diagonal for two pieces.  Totally brilliant, right?  Plus it lets you use smaller amounts of your gorgeous paper!  So here's what I made for Mother's Day using our fabby Dotty for You paper.

Hope this inspired you to try a diagonal card!  Now I need to make another copy of this one and get them in the mail this week!  I'm also entering this one in this week's Heart2Heart Challenge for flower cards!

If you'd like to make this project, get these supplies:

Paper:  Dotty for You ($5 with $35 purchase special), Kraft Cardstock

Stamp:  Old World Alphabet

Ink:  Lagoon

Other:  Pearl Opaques, Sweet Leaf Stitched Grosgrain, Liquid Glass, Stardust Glitz (in centers of flowers)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Paige

You Touch So Many Lives - Teacher Appreciation card

This card goes out to all the hard working teachers across the nation for Teacher Appreciation week!  Being a teacher isn't an easy job and the influence you have on the children in your class and school is lasting and deep. Thank you for the many extra hours you put in and the thought and care you have for our children!

I'm also entering this one in this week's Heart2Heart Challenge for flower cards!

If you'd like to make this card, get these supplies:

Paper:  White Daisy, Citrus Leaf (Pear is a very close substitute)

Stamps:  Thoughtful Tidings (Feb. SOTM)

Ink:  Gypsy

Other: AP Cartridge, Polka Dot Cuttlebug embossing folder, Sunny Yellow Watercolor Pencil, Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel

Thanks for stopping by today!

Paige

Friendship makes life colorful with CTMH Dotty for You

My "Dotty for You" paper pack special showed up at my house last week.  When I wiped all the drool off my chin I began cutting into this gorgeous bright and fun paper pack - 24 sheets (2 each of 12 double sided patters) for just $5 with a $35 purchase from the Idea Book.  Score!  Let's just say I didn't get just one pack.  Here is the link to my website if you'd like to get in on the action and grab a set or two for yourself - this special is good through the end of May!  I have an open party at the bottom right corner of the first screen that anyone can join.

I'm a color obsessed kind of girl so I love all colors but these cheery trendy prints just have me swooning and mooning over all the fun projects I can make with this paper.  This is the first one from my creative session.  Love this paper with this sentiment!  Once again I colored my sparkles with Sharpies.

If you'd like to make this project, get these supplies:

Paper:  Dotty for You, White Daisy

Ink:  Lagoon

Stamp:  Buttoned Together (retired)

Other:  Sparkles, Paradise Baker's Twine

Hope this put a smile on your face today!

Paige