Heart2Heart Challenges - Calypso Colors!

Heart2Heart Challenges is featuring a Calypso challenge this week - use either the paper pack or the colors in your project.  This paper pack is a tropical delight featuring trendy flamingos and pineapples in bright fun summer colors! 

I paired Calypso paper up with our Tickled Pink stamp set that features two adorable Flamingos for a pair of fun cards.  I scattered a few of the Calypso Sequins on for a splash of extra color.

I had so much fun I just couldn't stop!  Here are a few more cards featuring the PML cards sheet from the Calypso Paper Pack!

This paper pack was made for summer crafting!  To pick up your set, visit my shopping site below!

www.Paige.CTMH.com

Thanks for stopping by today and remember, you can join in the fun at Heart2Heart Challenges all month long!  Just be sure to use mostly CTMH product on your project and use the linky for a thumbnail of your project to post to the site!

Stay crafty my friends!

Paige

Happy Birthday Oragami Bouquet Card with CTMH Salutation Seals and Blessed

A couple of weeks ago I signed up for the daily craft e-mail from Martha Stewart and in one of the messages there were directions for an oragami flower bouquet card.  Can it get any better than combining my favorite things - card and flowers?!? 

The nice thing about this style of card is that it lets you use up a whole lot of scraps.  I went through all my papers looking for pinks, yellows and oranges on the reverse to give the flowers some texture and pop.  I really think you need B&T paper for these as cardstock would be way too heavy and not allow you to open them up as effectively.  I stamped a flower center from an older set to the center of my squares before folding and trimming and then added a bit of Glitz inside each flower after the card was all assembled.  If you follow the link to Martha's directions (at the bottom of this post) then you'll see my petals are a little different - I cut a V out of the tip to give the petals a more defined shape.

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

Paper:  B&T papers in various color schemes - here I used Hooligans, Bella, Unforgettable and Zippidee

Stamps:  Salutation Seals, Blessed (April SOTM), Tickled Pink (retired)

Inks:  Chocolate, Gypsy

Other:  Small flower punch (Marvy Uchida), 2" CTMH Scallop Punch, 3" Scallop punch, Glitz Glitter Gel, Score Tape or Tombow Power Bond for holding the flowers together, Hollyhock ribbon

If you'd like to check out Martha's directions for making the pop up bouquet (it works best in a 5x7 card by the way - I tried it in a smaller size but the flowers didn't open up enough) then visit this link:

http://thecraftsdept.marthastewart.com/2011/05/pop-up-card.html

Faith, Hope, Love card with CTMH Grace Paper, Everyday Celebrations and Tickled Pink stamp sets

Sorry for the gap in posting artwork.  We've been on a celebration binge for the past couple of weeks - between summer vacation, my middle child turning 12 and my husband finding a job (YAY!!!!) we've been on a happy high note for the past several weeks!  After a year of watching every penny (thank goodness for COBRA and unemployment insurance) one of my customers (hi Tanya!) referred my husband to her husband for a resume hook up - a couple of rounds of interviews later and Mark is now working for a local company!  

I've always said the biggest blessing of my business is making connections with wonderful women I probably wouldn't have met otherwise - this is just one more instance of the kindess and support I've received from all my wonderful friends and customers over the past couple of years.  My family always says I have the nicest friends ever and I just couldn't agree more!  I can't tell you how thrilled I am that we didn't have to move - not only do I hate the process, I just couldn't imagine moving away from all the friends I've made here and the fabulous medical care we get at Children's Hospital.  

Anyways - now that I'm getting back into the swing of being the main parent on duty during the work day - I finally found some time to take pictures of THREE MONTHS worth of Stamp Camp projects!  These babies have just been crying out to be shared with the bigger world so I should be a much better blogger for the next couple of weeks!

Materials Used:

Paper:  Grace Level 2, New England Ivy Textured Cardstock, Twilight Cardstock

Stamps:  Everyday Celebrations (card kit special last year), I Am (from Tickled Pink special), The Simple Things (retired)

Inks:  Barn Red, Creme Brulee

Other:  Sponge Dauber, Microtip Scissors (I only use ours for detailed cutting - they ROCK!)

CTMH Customized Pillow Box for a friend using CTMH Tickled Pink Stamp Set, Argyle Backgrounds, Buttoned Together, Framed Moments, Heartfelt Whimsy

One of the things I love the very best about being a papercrafter is the ability to whip up cute customized packaging for small gifts. This little pillow box holds some dark chocolates inside - not a huge gift but a little treat for a wonderful person who needs a bit of pampering. What makes this gift special is that I've customized the packaging with the colors of her business - purple, red and yellow.

Before I get into the details - a quick reminder! Stampaganza is going on from now until November 30th. This is a fabulous Buy 2, Get 1 FREE deal that comes around once in a blue moon so if you enjoy stamping this is a great time to stock up. Get yourself the holiday gift you'd really like to have in your stocking this year!

I started off by stamping the smallest polka dot background stamp from Argyle Backgrounds (one of my favorite sets that is retiring at the end of the year) in a light Buttercup yellow - it shows up better in real life and helps bridge the areas between the flowers. Then I used the Tickled Pink stamp set (special a couple of months ago) to layer Hydrangea (big flower) with Cranberry (red center) and Honey Yellow (very center of the flower). I added a couple of cranberry tiny flowers in between to help tie in the ribbon and a good length of Cranberry Grosgrain wraps the whole thing up. The tag is made with a former hostess special - Framed Moments (everyone should have a nice tag set) and I then added one of the buttons from Buttoned Together at the tip and punched through the whole thing to make a hanger for the tag. The sentiment is from the same set. A sweet little felt flower from Heartfelt Whimsy adhered down with a bit of liquid glass and some sparkles are the finishing touch to a fun customized project.

Materials Used:
Paper: White Daisy Cardstock for the tag, White Pillow Box - from a bulk package at Target in the wedding section
Stamps: Argyle Backgrounds, Buttoned Together, Framed Moments, Tickled Pink
Inks: Hydrangea, Cranberry, Honey, Buttercup
Other: Heartfelt Whimsy Felt Diecuts, Sparkles, Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon

CTMH Flower Pot Card Tutorial with Tickled Pink Stamp Set and Boom Di Ada Creative Basics

This adorable flower pot card was made as a Mother's Day card at two of my home parties in May. I just love the way it came out! We made it with both a Hollyhock and a Sweet Leaf flower pot and both looked adorable but I gave away all my Sweet Leaf examples! I promised one of my dear friends/customer that I would post some directions so she could make some more at home.

Basic Directions: Pot is 3.5"x9" piece of Hollyhock Cardstock
- score at 2” and at 5.5” and fold like a Z (see picture)

- line up the 2” lip score in your paper trimmer so the trimmer blade hits right at the 2” score line and the folded bottom pot angles out to the .25” mark (you'll be cutting a tiny long triangle off each side of the bottom of the pot to shape it – see picture for pot shape).

- decorate the 2” lip of the flower pot. I used our corner rounder to make a scallop as is shown in our Spring 2009 Idea Book (page 27). Then I punched some holes using our long reach punch and added a little tag from our Post Marked set with a Garden Green Brad.

- There is a narrow .5" strip of Boom Di Ada Creative Basics striped paper on the top lip of the pot that just peeks out underneath the flowers.

- The base of the flower pot is stamped with one of my all-time favorite background stamps - Argyle! Lots of fun textures including polka dots! Best part is you can line them all up and make a full and complete argyle texture with these by layering the colors.

Flower insert card: 3”x4” Hollhock base and 2.75"x3.75" Colonial White inset.

- I rounded the corners on the TOP ONLY of the Colonial white and the Hollyhock CS. I did this so they wouldn't peek out behind the adhered flowers.

- Stamp a sentiment on the Colonial White CS and adhere to the Hollyhock backing.

- Put the card into the pot and attach the first center back flower directly to the insert card. The next two flowers attach on either side with some pop dots right where the insert hits the flower pot. This gives it a little lip that will help the flowers keep the card closed and make it easy for you to pull the insert card in and out.

- I stamped three flowers using the wonderful Tickled Pink set (available until the end of May 2009). This set is wonderful for ink layering by stamping the big flower in Blush, a small center in Olive and then the medium flower in Hollyhock it gave the flowers a 3-D look without cutting and popping each section.

Assemble:
- Tie a Colonial White Grosgrain ribbon around the whole thing - about 11"- 12" and then trim. There is NO ADHESIVE on the flower pot part - it is held together by the ribbon.

- Add bling as desired! I put some of our Sparkles on the center of each flower and the little tag on the cards I sent out to my Mom and MIL for Mother's Day.

- If you want to mail it in a standard size envelope just keep the height to under 5.5” or use a bigger envelope if your flowers go wild! If you are adding bling you might want to go to a bigger envelope and then put either a folded paper towel or a piece of cardboard in the envelope to keep the bling from poking through.

Materials List:
Paper: Hollyhock Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock, Boom Di Ada Creative Basics
Stamps: Tickled Pink, Post Marked, Argyle
Inks: Blush, Olive, Hollyhock
Other: Sponge Dauber, Garden Green Brad, Colonial White Grosgrain, Corner Rounder, Long Reach Hole Punch, 3-D Pop Dots, Tombow

CTMH Tickled Pink Layout with CTMH Boom Di Ada and random stamping

Here is a random stamped layout I created using the Tickled Pink stamp set from the upcoming April 15-May 31 National Scrapbooking Month promotion. I've used the colors from the Creative Basics Boom Di Ada (still available and comes with 8 yards of Hollyhock ricrac). This is a terrific set for random stamping as there are three sizes of the daisy-like flower plus that gorgeous giant zinnia. I'm having lots of fun with this kit! I finished the layouts as shown in the brochure you get with the kit (using the cool glitter paper that comes with) but haven't put pictures in yet (Spring Break has put a dent in my scrapping time!). Once I get the photos on I'll share! This kit is $34.95 to buy outright or free with a $60 My Acrylix stamps purchase (PLUS you get minimum half off the Stamp of the Month!). The Boom di Ada colors are up there for my all time favorite color combination - totally me colors! My family room was painted Sweet Leaf green about 3 years before I discovered Close to my Heart.