Birthday and Anniversary Calendar

I'm the most unorganized person I know! Sometimes I make a card for someone, for some occasion and I can't remember where I put it. I made these perpetual calendars for people who like to give cards to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries and have the cards in the same pocket as the listed birthday. I adhered each calendar to CTMH patterned paper and to a white envelope large enough to hold cards and envelopes. I had this idea a couple of years ago and posted photos of some I sold at another craft fair in 2012.

I used this Doodle Pantry digi set called "Calendar Minis."

This stamp set is perfect for any project that needs an image for every month!

Here's the cover and first six pages.If the papers are current, I'll give you their name and link. The cover has Skylark paper and a title I typed, then cut out with Spellbinder's dies. A stacked flower and three butterflies with bronze glitter gel were the finishing touches:

Each month's name is stamped with a very old CTMH stamp set.

 

February has paper from the beautiful CTMH Ivy Lane paper packet.

April's bunny images perfectly matched the CTMH Balloon Ride paper.

 

I hope that the first six envelopes give you an idea of this project. I definitely need to make one for myself so my cards will be more organized! Thank you for visiting. 

I'm sharing this project with the following challenges:

613 Avenue Create - anything goes / birds option (cover)

All Crafts Challenge Feb./March - anything but a card

Aurora Wings Challenge March - anything goes

Brown Sugar #86 - anything goes

Challenges 4 Everybody - anything goes

Digi Galore - anything goes with a digi

My Craft Creations - anything goes

 Robyn's Fetish #204 - anything but a card

Scribble and Scrap #14 - anything goes

 

Skylark Altered Journal

God has blessed us where we live with beautiful sunny days and the obvious evidence that SPRING HAS ARRIVED. I'm busy making altered items for two upcoming craft fairs. In our area many ladies' groups at local churches put on fund raising craft fairs. I'm always happy to help their efforts. I've really been so busy crafting that I've been negligent about blogging. Here is one of today's efforts.

Some papers are so beautiful they simply scream to be shown off in their entirety. I find it difficult to cut or cover those papers with any embellishments for risk of covering their beauty. I felt this way when I saw one of the new Close To My Heart "Skylark" papers. I used one piece to cover the front and the back of a composition book. By making the first cut at 9 3/4" and cutting that piece in half at 6," I had a long scrap left. I cut that in half at 1 1/8" for the edge of the black binding on both sides.

A few banner strips, including one from a bronze glitter cardstock, some Prima flowers and butterflies and ribbon and voila! This paper had a 1/2" strip on top with the multi-colored "arrow thingy" that I used on the top left and the bottom. The far left banner strip on top is actually from CTMH "Ivy Lane" paper. Inside I made triangular pockets which I stitched on my sewing machine for durability. I stamped a couple of favorite sayings from American poets (from a retired CTMH stamp set) on the front and back inside covers:

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."  -- Maya Angelou

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

I kept the back unadorned since the paper was already a great composition - and it looks like a great idea for the front of another project!  Here are the newest CTMH projects I used:

Skylark paper pack

Dreamer  stamp set

I was so glad to make this discovery on how to cut one sheet of paper to use most of an attractive page to cover both the front and the back that I plan to make more this way!

Thank you for visiting and may God bless and keep you in His care!

 I'm sharing this project with the following challenges:
All Crafts Challenge Feb/Mar. - anything but a card
Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes
Crafty Hazelnuts Pattened Paper March Challenge - anything goes
Crafty Ribbons Challenge #81 - anything goes with ribbon
Word Art Wednesday #124 - anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Cricut Art Philosophy "Praying for You" Card Tutorial

Life is made of times of joy and times of problems. No one is exempt. Hopefully, the joys outweigh the problems and we find solutions for the problems as we mature. However, many times the problems can be overwhelming and we struggle to make it through. God wants us to lean on Him and seek Him for the answers. I made several of this card to encourage friends that I will be praying for them in their times of difficulty. Even Scripture reminds us that we will always have problems, but I cling to the promise in this verse that the Lord will help us when difficulties arise:

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 

Here are the steps I used to make this card that was cut using Cricut Art Philosophy, page 54, Card, Shift <vase.> I set the size at 5.5" which made the finished width 4.25." 

I used 3 thin strips of paper from the CTMH "Jubilee" paper pack. I embossed the red and cut the yellow with a scalloped punch. I wanted to use three colors behind the cut-out design, so I tried something new. First I adhered a small rectangle of the yellow pattern behind the vase. The back side of that paper was green so I decided to paperclip a long strip of the two-sided paper on the opposite inside page that would show through the stems. The back yellow side would look nice in the card.

I held small squares of red cardstock behind the flowers. They already had adhesive on the back. I pressed them down in the right place on the paperclipped green paper one at a time.

Last, I added adhesive along the edges of green patterned paper inside, removed the paperclips, and pressed the front down over it. The final photo shows the finished inside with a lovely strip of paper on the left. The final touches on front were some brown pearls and a small knot of red baker's twine.

Here are the main supplies used:

Jubilee Paper Pack:                                              

Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge Collection (cartridge, 3 stamp sets, 3 chipboard sets):

I hope this brief explaination helped you if you use this Cricut cart to make cards! May God bless you as you share your crafts to bless others!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:


Allways Something Creative #71 - Anything goes
Crafts and Me Challenge #146 - Anything goes
Creating in Faith, Hope, and Love #3 - Anything Goes with Scripture
Everybody Art Challenge #270 - Non-cute
Love to Create #107 - CAS
Scribble and Scrap #14 - Anything Goes
The Crafting Café March Challenge - CAS
Word Art Wednesday #124 - anything goes with uplifting verse

Fabulous You Card with a Cardinal

This winter we've had a lot of snow. I have a bird feeder outside my kitchen window. My favorite visitors have been a blue jay and a pair of cardinals. I am always amazed by the variety of birds, animals, trees, and flowers that God created. He is the master of all artists. The beautiful red of the male cardinal contrasts beautifully with the white snow in winter. Seeing that cardinal at my bird feeder provided the inspiration for this card.

I used paper from the new Close To My Heart Ivy Lane paper pack. The CTMH stamp I used is called Fabulous You.

I colored it with alcohol ink markers. This is my favorite coloring medium because of the way colors can be blended and layered. I combine CTMH alcohol ink markers with Copic markers. The CTMH markers perfectly match their corresponding paper colors and I have a large variety of Copic markers.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More #86 - Anything goes

As You Like It Challenge - Favorite Coloring Medium and Why

Aud Sentiments #102 - anything goes with a sentiment
Crafting for all Seasons #72 - Spring
Crafty Blogger's Network March Challenge - Nature
Crafty Little Fairies - Things with Wings
Fab 'n' Funky #207 - Animals

For a Fabulous "Purse'n"

I have a dear friend who always has amazing purses. She even gave me a fuchsia pink purse one time that has lasted forever. I immediately thought of her when I saw this new stamp set, Purse Parfait, from Doodle Pantry. I knew it was perfect for her. Here's the card I made and the stamp set.  I used a monochromatic color scheme with tints and shades of red and pink which always seem to be her favorite colors. I changed the colors of the purse and papers using Photoshop features - Hue and Saturation and Color Balance. I added red and pink sparkles and glitter buttons for accents. My new chevron embossing folder from CTMH makes a deep impression.

I used this lovely sketch from Sketch Saturday this week:



I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Alphabet Challenge -- B for Buttons and Bows
Brown Sugar Challenge #84 - Make it sparkle
Creative Corner - Button up
Kitty Bee Designs Aloha Friday Challenge #18 - Monochrome
Little Claire's #42 - Monotone/monochrome
My Creative Moments Word Play Saturday - Anything goes
My Sheri Crafts #128 - Bling It On
Sketch Saturday #300 - Sketch above
Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge #19 - Buttons and Bows

Art Philosophy Birthday Card

I have several birthdays coming up among family and friends. I think it's so important to let them know how special they are by sharing some love with a card. This one was fun and simple to make thanks to the inspiration on the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.

The Art Philosophy Cartridge (only sold by Close To My Heart consultants) has two cards associated with each key. Some of them are shape cards and some of them have cut-outs, like the flowers above. If you cut the card at 5.5", the matching dimension is 4.25" that perfectly fits standard envelopes. You can see the shape index of all the cards here.  I used the shift card on page 65:

This was a design that was dressed up with the simple addition of Cotton Candy cardstock on the back of the front cut-outs. I used a thin embossing strip for the top, a strip of CTMH Lollydoodle paper and an older CTMH "Bubblegum" organdy and the sentiment (from the set shown below) stamped with Slate ink. Some enamel flamingo dots and aqua dots in the centers to match the Lollydoodle dots are the final addition.

B1442 $9.95  

This was a fun, easy card to make so I quickly made four. You can cut two out of a white 12" x 12" sheet of cardstock.  If you have the Art Philosophy cartridge and haven't tried this you should consider making one. If you don't have the cartridge yet, feel free to check out the details on my ctmh website and see the stamp sets and chipboard sets that come with it. I will be sharing more Cricut cards in the next two weeks.  Thank you for visiting!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Craft-Dee-BowZ March Challenge - anything goes with handmade bow
Crafting From the Heart Challenge #9 - Anything goes/favorite colors (mine are bright and pretty combos)
Craft It Up Link It Up  -  Birthday linky party
Crafty Creations #258 - Happy Birthday
Crafty Ribbons #79 - Anything goes with ribbon
Digistamps4joy #87 - add a Birthday Sentiment

Love to Create Challenge #106 - anything goes
Make It Monday - Anything goes
Melonheadz Friends Challenge - Bright colors
Whoopsi Daisy - Birthday challenge

Resurrection Celebration

Yesterday the warmer weather arrived in the central part of the United States and with it, the promise that Spring is coming soon! Just last week we had record low temperatures, below 0 F. and most schools were closed. Yesterday the warmth prompted me to look for signs of bulbs coming up. What a blessing to see little sprouts of green!  The extreme cold has delayed their sprouting.

As new life arrives in my yard, I'm reminded of the new life we have in Jesus because he came to take our place in death, paying for our sins.  He rose from the dead to show us that we will have new life after death if we believe, receive His gift, and follow Him.  My heart is filled with overwhelming thankfulness when I think about the awesome gift of self-sacrifice that Christ made for me.  Here is my first card this year celebrating Easter.

This card is 6.5" x 5."  I was able to emboss the background with a new 5" x 7" embossing folder from Close To My Heart called "Quatrefoil." I'm so glad it's the larger size because I usually make larger cards. The purple sparkles are also from CTMH.  I used Spring colors: Sweet Leaf, Buttercup yellow, Spring Iris and Lilac. The stamp set, "The Lord Has Risen," is from Our Daily Bread Designs. I stamped it twice, colored it with Copic markers, fussy cut the images and layered them for a larger group. The ribbon from my stash has rows of sparkling threads.

Thank you for visiting today. May God bless you with His love and help you see the ways He's helping you and working in your life to draw you closer to Him!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Come and Get It - Ribbons and Bows
Crafting for All Seasons - Spring into Spring
Created with Love #77 - Think Spring
Glitter n Sparkle #75 - anything goes
Great Impressions March - Spring Celebrations
Lacy Sunshine #28 - Use Spring Colors
Pile It On #10 - Easter Joys
Stamp and Create March - Ready for Spring
Word Art Wednesday #122 - anything goes with uplifting sentiment or scripture

Two Anniversary Cards

I saw the challenge theme at Incy Wincy Designs and Ooh La La Creations this week to make anniversary cards. After making valentines and love cards in February, I still wanted to use the loving images and sentiments I still had out. I also realized I should really make more anniversary cards. I've missed some anniversaries that I should have helped my friends and family celebrate. I thought for quite a while about an inside message that I wanted to write, so I'm sharing first the message I typed for the inside of these cards. I wanted to convey the truth that as we grow closer to the Lord together, we grow closer to each other.

Another challenge I saw was to use swirls and pearls which I thought was perfect for an anniversary card. This card has swirls in the stamped image:

My second card used a random stamped panel that I started long ago and set aside. I really procrastinated on this one, but I thought it would make a great anniversary card with some additions. I especially liked the swirly die cut using the gold glitter paper. The prima and ribbon flowers were the perfect addition to a stamped panel I didn't know how to finish.

Thank you for visiting. May God bless you as you share your cards and your love with friends and family.

I'm sharing these cards with the following challenges:

Creative Moments #37 - anything goes/swirls and pearls
Incy Wincy Designs - Anniversary
Inklings and Yarns #46 - anything goes
Love to Scrap #25 - make your own background (my 2nd card)
Ooh La La Creations #151 - Happy Anniversary
Whimsy Inspirations #68 - Love is in the Air
Word Art Wednesday #122 - anything goes with uplifting verse

New March Release at Doodle Pantry

My computer finally returned home this evening after seeing the "virus doctor" for four days. I missed the official release on March 1st of the new Doodle Pantry images, but maybe you haven't seen them yet. Better late than never.


With a hubby who loves the wilderness and the mountains, a son and two son-in-laws who love camping, and five grandsons, I chose two great images to work with. I used the four Grunge Wood Papers for the background and the moose image and frames from the North Woods SVG set. This image brings back great memories of moose we've seen up close in the Tetons in Wyoming. Now I just have to decide which of the outdoorsmen in the family will get this one.

Here are the previews and links to these two sets at Doodle Pantry. Grunge Wood:

:

I used the png files shown below in photoshop to print my images and cut out manually. That's easy to do with this set. I changed the colors using Color Balance. I  flipped the moose horizontally so he faced the right side opening of my card.  (I typed the sentiment in Word. The triangle studs and jute ribbon are from CTMH.)  Here's the link:

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This month, March 1st - 24th, you can get the following set, Critter Tales, free with any purchase:

In addition, if you enter the Doodle Pantry challenge this month using a Doodle Pantry image, you will receive the following set of Carousel Pig free.

Thank you for visiting. I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Anyone for Anya March Challenge - Masculine or grungy
The Corrosive Challenge #194 - Animals
Craftin' Desert Diva's  Craft It Up Link It Up Party #26- Birthday theme
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper March Challenge - anything goes with patterned paper
Craft Your Passion Challenge  #203- Birthday theme
Papercrafting Journey - manly or boyish
Suzy Bee's Bloomin Challenge #18 - Masculine
The Pink Elephant Theme Challenge #240 - Birthdays
Through the Purple Haze #31 - use a digi
Totally Gorjus Challenge #225 - Happy Birthday