CPS challenge

Another great sketch from Tami at http://www.cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/ this week.

I needed a birthday card for my siser-in-law, so naturally I went for my Japanese stamps! Also some of the Kodomo papers I got at CHA, along with some of the Washi Tape I got at their booth. The background random Kanji I stamped using CTMH Wisdom stamp set and Sorbet ink. The images are all colored using my Prisma watercolor pencils and Gamsol and are pop-dotted for visual interest.

CardPatterns challenge

Another fabulous sketch this week at CardPatterns!

I pulled out my sun brass stencil and ran it thru my Cuttlebug to raise the edges, then with the stencil still in place, sponged on CTMH Sunny Yellow ink. I used my Basic Grey Wisteria pad for the background papers. The ribbon is unknown from my stash and to give it just a bit more visual interest I gathered and stapled it. Sentiment is from CTMH Treasure stamp set.

Grace

This is my take on the CTMH Grace Workshop On The Go cards. I made 6 cards, using only parts of four of the 18 sheets of B&T and cardstock that are included in the kit. There's lots of paper left to make more cards and scrapbook layouts as well. I changed the sentiments up a bit, knowing that the sentiments that are included in the stamp set you get with the papers would not be used by the person these cards will go to.

OCC challenge

The gang at Our Creative Corner challenged us to make a fall card. Now I've said before that living in Florida, fall will arrive.............ohhhhh.........around Thanksgiving or so!

I'm always up for a challenge, so I pulled out CTMH Grown With Love stamp set, stamped and cut out the tree then pop dotted it on one of the new t!m Holtz tags I got at the Scrapbook Shoppe last week. (I KNEW I'd find a use for them!) Then I stamped leaves in various fall colors, rolling some and not others. Some still on the tree, some falling and some on the ground. A piece of American Crafts ribbon from my stash and this is a nice alternative to a card to send someone!

And as an aside, this is post number 500. Looks like I might just have to give something away! Haven't done that in a while! Stay tuned!!

FREE Carvel Ice Cream

I think I've passed this link on to everyone in my address book, but in case I missed someone or I've got phantom blog-lurking readers!

Carvel Ice Cream

CardPatterns challenge

Another great sketch this week at CardPatterns.

Needing an anniversary card for next week, that was the direction I took. I used CTMH Twitterpated paper pack, along with Bird Basics and Say it In Style stamp sets. Along the side are three of the new Dimensional Elements-In Color-Organics with hemp and Crystal Blue Waxy Flax tied on them. I also used my Fiskars Threading Water punch and doodled on it using my white pen.

CPS challenge

Tami designed another winner this week at http://www.cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/!

I decided to use two more of my new Nestabilities for this challenge; Pumpkins and Ribbon Tag Trio 2. For the pumpkins, I used Coredinations and layered two of the pumpkins, then used pop dots for dimension. The background DP is some K & Co that was in my stash. I used my MS Drippy Goo punch with some purple Coredinations CS. The black and white ribbon along the bottom is unknown from my stash.

For Debbie!

Gonna tell a tale out of school on Deb! She was reading my post about the new schtuff I got at Whim So Doodle the other day and she said she was looking and looking and looking at the picture of the Martha Stewart Drippy Goo punch actually LOOKING for Drippy Goo!!! Evan had to tell her, "No mom. It's a PUNCH!" Gotta love it when your kid gets smarter than you!

So just for you Deb...a card. Made with the MS Drippy Goo PUNCH! And some of the letters from my new t!m masks. And yes, that is a "Y" at the end of "spooky" and not a "G". I think I may end up cutting that top part off because it DOES look like a G. But really, this one was cut from between the letters, X and Z, so I KNOW it's a Y!!!

New Toys

So here's the new toys I got at Whim So Doodle the other day.

New Zing! Embossing Powders. My Scrapbooks, Etc magazine that came the other day said these are more vibrant and true to life than other ep's. Well see! Also the ever elusive Martha Stewart Drippy Goo punch! I hunted high and low for it last year to no avail, so when I saw it, I knew I had to have it! And Silver Glimmer Mist. W-S-D is one of the first local stores to carry Glimmer Mist. I plan to use it for a more subtle effect on flowers and such than Stickles or Prisma Glitter.

Couldn't go without getting some new t!m stuff!! Sprockets and Philosophy words and tags to use for something! Don't quite know what yet, but they WILL get used!

t!m Masks! Alphabet, swirly flourish and a gear that John threw in the basket because he loved it. He is my biggest champion and enabeler!

Coredinations Cardstock. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Love the idea of having a core that is a different color than white like our CTMH cardstock or the same color like Bazzill cardstock. If you look at the bottom strip, that is the core color. Imagine this torn and distressed! I've got all sorts of ideas to use this. W-S-D is the first local store to carry Coredinations as well. But you can find it online. http://www.coredinations.com/

New Spellbinders

The mailman brought a nice surprise! My pre-order on the latest releases of Spellbinders Nestabilities and Impressabilities. I'll be sharing some creations with all of them soon!

First up is the new Impressabilities. This is called Circles. I used CTMH Chocolate Textured cardstock, ran the template thru my Cuttlebug and then sanded the edges to give some definition. Then using my kraft knife, I cut out some of the circles. The dandelion is from Sept SOM, Treasures and I used one of the new Zing! Embossing powders I got the other day. This one is called Brown Sugar. It seemed to melt quicker and smoother for me. I then stamped the sentiment in Chocolate ink and adhered it to the dandelion.

Yummy Deliciousness!

John and I made a trip to Whim So Doodle scrapbook shop in downtown St Pete yesterday. Got some new goodies! More on that in a later post!

Driving down Central Ave, we spotted a cupcake shop. So on the way back, we stopped. Yummy deliciousness only begins to describe this shop! They probably had 20 varieties of cupcakes to choose from. Talk about a hard decision! And such cute names to go along with the cupcakes! This is one we didn't get. The Chocolate Elvis: A banana cupcake with rich peanut butter buttercream and a dollop of fudgy chocolate. Or how about S'Mores: Chocolate cake topped with marshmallow buttercream icing then dusted in graham cracker crumbs!

What we DID get was (top left to right) two Paint the Town Red Velvet: A Southern Delight-luxuriously moist red chocolate cake with traditional cream cheese frosting. The Cuppy: Strawberry cake topped with vanilla bean buttercream frosting and a sour cherry ball. Bunny Hop: A scrumptious blend of carrots, walnuts , nutmeg and cinnamon topped with traditional cream cheese frosting. Forget Love, I'd Rather Fall In Chocolate: Double the chocolate with an indulgent devil's food cake and chocolate icing. And last but not least! Better Than...: Deluxe chocolate chip cupcakes with cream cheese and chocolate chip icing.

They are so moist. Rich. Flavorful. It's a good thing the store is almost an hour away! It would not be a good thing if it were right around the corner from me!

New Food find

While perusing the grocery store aisles today waiting for my Antibiotic to be filled at the pharmacy for yet the latest round of skin baddies being cutting off, I came across this new cracker from Nabisco. Tuscan herb Flatbread. Yummmmmmmm! So of course I had to go get some Kaukauna spreadable cheese to go on said Tuscan herb Flatbread! I think I may be in love! According to the box, there is also a Garlic and Parsley flavor, but I swear I saw two other flavors! The Tuscan herb spoke to me!

I think this will be a huge hit during the holidays. So many ways to dress them up or down. One caveat. They are VERY crisp, so a gentle hand when spreading any goodness on top is wise. Otherwise, you end up with a bunch of pieces. Which, whilst eating for oneself is fine. Serving to guests is a horse of an entirely different color!

SheetLoad Sept challenge

Alicia's got another winner sketch up at SheetLoad of Cards - Free Monthly eZine this month. If you do card workshops and are looking for something new, fresh and fun, her cutting guides are a great tool.

I started with CTMH Back Country paper pack. I used CTMH Weathered Backgrounds stamp set for the wood look on the Barn Red B&T, then distressed the edges. The trees and sentiment are from CTMH Treetops stamp set. The little acorn is from the new CTMH Dimensional Elements, In Color - Organic chipboard circles.

CPS challenge

Taking care of another birthday card for Sept with the http://www.cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/ challenge for this week.

For this one I pulled out CTMH Grace paper pack and the stamp set for the current CTMH promotion called Everyday Celebrations. There is copper Stickles on the center image and Glossy Accents on the two side images for a little visual interest.

CardPatterns challenge

Guess the gals at CardPatterns are up north since they were talking about cooler weather starting the first of Sept on this weeks challenge! It's still summer here in the Tampa area! Heck, we've still got two full months of hurricane season left! Hopefully we'll see our first cold front before Thanksgiving!! They do come up with some really cool Card Patterns though, so I'll cut them some slack!

Since it's a new month, I've got birthday cards to make, so this challenge filled another of those slots. I'm really loving the CTMH Sweet Home paper pack. It lends itself well to masculine or feminine cards. I used the CTMH stamp set from the current promotion, Everyday Celebrations kit for my image and sentiment. The balloons have Glossy Accents on them for some shine and I hand-cut the candle and "flame" which is covered in Ranger Fruit Punch Stickles. The felt flourish is from the CTMH Heartfelt Whimsy collection.

OCC challenge

Great challenge this week at Our Creative Corner! Use stars and stripes, and not necessarily in a patriotic theme. I needed a birthday card, so that was the direction I took.

I started with some t!m Holtz Grungepaper and my Cuttlebug. Using my distressed lines folder, I added some dimension to the Grungepaper then I distressed the lines with Ranger Distress Ink Weathered Wood ink. Then I pulled out some chipboard and double stamped stars using CTMH Shining Star and You're A Star stamp sets on both the chipboard and different B&T's from CTMH Sweet Home paper pack. After cutting out the stars and adhering the B&T to the chipboard, I used my edge distresser and roughed up the edges of some of the stars. I have a new-found affection for common household string, so after adhering the Grungepaper to my background B&T, I used eyelets in the corners and strung some string thru the holes. The Happy Birthday sentiment is from CTMH It's Your Day stamp set. The three star brads are unknown from my stash. Some of the stars are pop-dotted for added visual interest and the largest star has Ranger Distress Stickles Scattered Straw on the outside edges for a little bling!

From the heart

Got an email from sister Kathy this morning. Our double-second cousin Nona is in the hospital. Yes, double-second cousin! Back in the good old days when Florida was a wild and open place, there weren't many folks here. 'Cept for my crazy family. My maternal grandparents met and started courtin'. And since this was in the early 1920's, those who were a' courtin' usually had to have chaperones. So my grandfather's younger brother was sent along to make sure that no hanky-panky took place! My grandmother had a younger sister, so she too was sent along. Well, to make a long story short. Grandpa's brother, Gene ended up falling in love with Grandma's sister Bertha. Grandpa and Grandma fell in love. Uncle Gene and Aunt Bertha got married and so did Grandpa and Grandma. And they set up housekeeping less than a mile apart. A few years later, both started having kids. So my mom, her sister and brother are double-first cousins to Uncle Gene and Aunt Bertha's two kids. So that makes them my double-second cousins. Nona is in her 80's now and her health isn't what it used to be. She's been in Intensive Care, but is now in a regular room, so we're all hoping that her next move gets to be back to home. Which is what inspired this card! It uses the Oct CTMH SOM, Around The Block and CTMH Sweet Home paper pack. I used lots of masking on the card so I could get the bricks on the house. The window on the front door has Prisma Glitter. And I also masked out the "a" in heart on the sentiment and added a heart where the "a" should be!

This is also my take on this weeks CardPatterns challenge. Love it when I can combine a challenge with a card I need to make!

Sept SOM

This was my contribution for our team Stamp of The Month swap. And because I didn't write anything down, I don't even remember what colors I used! I think the yellow is Honey and the blue may be Star Spangled Blue. The random stamped stars are from Shining Star and of course the dandelions and sentiments are from the Sept SOM, Treasures. There's some Stickles on there too as the flower centers.

CPS challenge

I'm surprised Jill's not been on my ass! Almost a week with no blogging! I've been busy doing non-crafty crap. Working in the yard a bit, cleaning house. All that boring stuff that you just don't blog about!

http://www.cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/ got me back into crafting mode this morning with their sketch for this week. I pulled out another new CTMH paper pack, Sweet Home to do this card with. All new products are available TODAY from your favorite CTMH Consultant, so get those orders in now! I had tea-dyed some cheesecloth for another project and had a bit left over, so I used it on this card as well as a felt bird from CTMH Heartfelt Whimsy collection. The buttons are stamps, from CTMH Buttoned Together stamp set.