Hello Lovely Birthday Greetings

I'm making up for not blogging last week thanks to stomach flu. . . then a migraine. . .then working on my daughter's birthday scrapbook that I gave her Saturday. I think I was going through withdrawal and really needed to make cards, my favorite thing to do!

The Heart 2 Heart Challenge also had a challenge to make something using the Hello Lovely paper pack. I made a birthday card using one of the PML cards cut into a circle to fit inside a frame cut with Cricut Artbooking cartridge. I traced the inner circle cut by my Cricut but went around any leaf that was bigger than the circle.  I also wanted the flowered paper to be just a thin border behind a more solid paper, so here is the result.

The birthday greeting came from the retired stamp set, Just a Number. The Blush Shimmer Ribbon was the perfect accompaniment for this paper!

Thank you for visiting! May God bless your crafting!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Die Cuttin' Divas #306 - Ribbon and Bows
Heart 2 Heart Challenge - use Hello Lovely

Love Ya card

Have you read the Path of Positivity's post this week? I was deeply moved to see how the writer saw the many ways her hubby expressed love without even speaking the words. I usually write my own long notes inside cards that I give others. After Valentine's Day I decided it's OK to keep making cards to let others know how much I appreciate and love them.  Today I've been playing with retired papers. Seeing the growing collection always reminds me that I need to make a lot more cards, gifts, and layouts if I'm to whittle down the collections before I die!! I made these cards using CTMH Sweetheart papers (and very old stamps that I also love to horde) for the challenge at Heart to Heart, "Falling in Love."

I heat embossed the sentiment using Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder. I love the XOXO ribbon but never know how to keep it "upright" after tying. If you have a trick, let me know!

While I had the measurements in mind, I decided to make another one. This one is similar with a different paper from the same pack and a different stamp set. I'm writing a message in this one for hubby!

You can see the similarities and differences in this photo.

Thanks for visiting.

I'm sharing this first card with the following challenges:
A Snowflake's Promise #37 - winter theme/Valentine option
Heart 2 Heart  challenge - Falling in Love
Path of Positivity #46 - Expressions of Love

A Tea-rrific Teaser

Everyone close to me knows I drink my morning teas in a very large cup!  I learned to drink milk in my tea the English way when I was nine years old at a mother-daughter missions banquet at church. If it wouldn't keep me awake, I'd probably be drinking it all through the day! My tea time came in handy when my hubby and I had a friend from England's Lake District who would visit nearly every year. We both drank tea with milk! One of my friends has a son working in Great Britain so when she went to visit she brought me three tins of English tea. She deserves to have the card I made today! She's a tea-rrific friend!

When I saw today's challenge at Try It On Tuesday, Time for Tea, I knew I needed to share this card which introduces a new stamp set that becomes available tomorrow as the Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month. I invite you to come back and see my four cards that are part of the blog hop that starts late Wednesday evening.

 I grabbed some retired papers (CTMH Zoe) and Petaloo flowers to make this card. The blue Glacier paper was embossed with CTMH Dots and lined on each side with white glitter paper. The doily has a 2.25" circle of Glacier colored hounds tooth plaid. I stamped the cup and the sentiment with Slate then sponged the edges of the cup with Sorbet after it was cut out. One of my favorite finishing touches is the shiny Blush Shimmer Ribbon. The butterfly and flowers are in memory of the times I've had tea on my patio by the garden!

Thanks for visiting! I hope you'll come back Wednesday night or Thursday morning to enjoy everyone's cards using this Tea-rrific stamp set. May God bless your crafting and the recipients of your lovely work!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Ooh la la Creations #223 - embossing wet or dry
Ribbon Girls - any image, include ribbon
Try It On Tuesday - Time for Tea
Tuesday Throwdown #332 - Things with Wings

CAS Butterfly Birthday Card

I'm usually glad my daughter doesn't read my blog. Having a busy job, four kids, sports, and school activity chauffering doesn't leave much time for reading her mother's blog. So I can post the card I'll be giving her this month. I loved the soft color palette at the Color My Heart Color Dare. The colors gave me the idea of butterflies.

I used Cricut Design Space to cut the white embossed panel with the butterfly cutouts and matching butterflies. If you have the Cricut Explore and the Artbooking and Artistry cartridges you may use my cut file.  I love the Confetti dots embossing folder because you get fewer dots in one area which is great for stamped sentiments. I popped up the white panel but adhered the solid butterflies by pushing them down onto the base layer. The cut butterflies were adhered with the wings folded up a little and a rolled up glue dot under the main body part.

I also made a second cards with the opposite colors:

Thank you for visiting! May God bless your crafting and bless the recipients of your creations!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge #187 - add a butterfly

Color My Heart Color Dare #229 - Pixie, Saffron, Whisper, White Daisy
Inky Chicks #78 - CAS
Little Red Wagon Challenge #381 - companies whose products I love to use, mine are Close to my Heart and Cricut
Unicorn Challenge #18 - butterflies and/or hearts
Word Art Wednesday #270 - 271 - anything family friendly

The Greatest Treasures Friendship Card

I love sentiments and quotes that focus on profound words of wisdom, kindness, beauty, or love which reflect truths also found in the Bible. The one I'm using today is appropriate for Valentines Day or for a friendship card. It says, "The greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but found by the heart." To me, that can also mean "man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart."

When I was 9 or 10 I chose to follow that idea and made friends with a sweet girl who had been brain-injured at an early age when a bullet came through their house. She didn't walk or talk like most everyone else but I could tell she needed a friend. She was kind and gentle.  I played with her at the neighborhood playground and said hello to her in the hallway at school even though she was in a special class. I've tried to make that a life principal, which has led to rewarding friendships. I've seen  my children follow that example through life as well.

I used a sketch from Freshly Made Sketches (even though mine isn't CAS so I didn't enter it there) and the color challenge from Watercooler Wednesday along with the CTMH Sweetheart papers and embellishments I'm trying to use up.

I used the two shades of pink, purple, and the neutral is black. I made two versions.

The background paper has floral hearts that have a few tiny purple flowers. I added some purple sparkles to increase the appeal.

The one with only two purple flowers has some extra purple hearts around the sentiment.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you as you see the soul of others with the eyes of your heart!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Come and Get It - Love is in the air
Crafty Calendar February Challenge - Love is in the air
Dragonfly Journeys Challenge #85 - Love is in the air
International Art & Soul Challenge #1 - Love is in the air
Pile It On #126 - Hearts on Fire - I chose hearts
The Ribbon Girls February Challenge -  card with ribbon
Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #105 - colors above
Word Art Wednesday #268 - 269 - anything family friendly

Side by Side Sweetheart Cards

I had the flu this week because my egg allergy doesn't allow me to take the flu shot. I had to spend a lot of time in bed instead of crafting, but I had picked up an old 2011 CTMH Idea Book that was in a stack. I was inspired to use any extra Sweetheart papers to make more valentines and anniversary cards to send to my friends. When I finally felt well enough to come to my craft room, I found a complete unused package of Sweetheart papers. (I used to order extra packs of paper since I often had customers who would show up at the last minute wanting to join our workshops.)

I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch to make the first card, then I altered it a bit and made several more versions.

The words were stamped using CTMH Soul Mates Word Puzzle and the Cotton Candy hearts aned flourish were from Card Chatter-Love from 2011.  Here are the other slightly altered versions with the same paper but different embellishments. I didn't think the pink circle was as effective as the white so this was the only one with pink:

After making a double page scrapbook layout and 6 cards, I still have 15 1/2 patterned papers and  cardstock pages left of the 24 in this paper pack, (not counting my consultant pack with 7 more pieces of two patterns). More Sweetheart cards and pages to come!

Thank you for visiting. May God bless your crafting!

I'm sharing the first card with the following challenges:

Crafting By Designs - Love and Romance

House of Cards February Challenge - Love Theme and/or colors

Little Red Wagon - Color Challenge #380 -  red and/or pink and black

Love to Scrap #94 - Who Loves You, Baby

Mojo Monday #483 - sketch

The Crazy Challenge #241 - Romance

The Paper Girls Challenge #121 - with heart

Use Your Stuff #250 - Love is in the air

Card for Encouragement and Faith

Time Out challenge this week has a beautiful quote that connects to the sentiment that I chose for this card of encouragement.

'Friends are connected heart to heart, distance and time can't break them apart'

I have some friends who are always on my mind and in my prayers. Sometimes we are connected as sisters in Christ, other times by similar interests or needs. Here's the first one I made using  my old Basic Grey "Oh, Baby Girl" papers.

I stamped the flowers using a 2008 CTMH stamp, "With Love." I admit, I don't throw out paper, stamps, or embellishments. (My only hope is that I can use most of them in this lifetime then let my friends take all that they want!) Buttons are another one of my hoarded items. I was happy to add them to the large centers of the flowers thanks to the Southern Girls challenge.

I'm sorry I couldn't get my camera to focus on the words because of so much white space. I used the top strip to focus, but it didn't help the words, which are the important message: "The Lord will see you through this tough time!" Both sentiments are from the Our Daily Bread Designs Stamp set "Faith Card Sentiments." I surrounded it with a circle shape from Cricut Flower Market.

Crafting When We Can Challenge #137 - flowers
Southern Girls Challenge-retro challenge - smash that stash - buttons and/or brads
Time Out Challenge #76 - Inspired by words
Word Art Wednesday #268-269 - anything family friendly

Easter Bunny SOTM Card

When I saw this week's Color My Heart Color Dare, I instantly pictured an Easter card, so I enjoyed playing with the  stamp of the month again. If you missed the earlier blog hop featuring this stamp set, you can find it here. 

The color dare featured silver, Black, White Daisy, Pansy, and Raspberry:

Most of the supplies used are from CTMH except the white ribbon. In addition, I used Cricut Art Philosophy and Artistry cartridges along with Cricut Design Space for the free scalloped background mat from Cricut Craftroom.  If you have those two cartridges you may use my cut files with Design Space. They are sized for a 5.5" x 4.25" card.

I paper pieced the bunny's ears and dress using Raspberry heart paper from Adventure Fundamentals collection. I used the Confetti embossing folder to add some texture.  (The silver flowers decorating the egg on the left are no longer available.)

Thank you for visiting!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
All Sorts Week #401 - Paper Piecing
Color My Heart Color Dare #229 - silver, Black, White Daisy, Pansy, Raspberry

Morgan's Art World #2 - Add Ribbon
PDE Linky Party #158 - anything goes
Stamping Sensations February Challenge - animals
The Ribbon Girls - anything goes with ribbon

I Woof You Valentine

I was thinking about my grandsons when I decided to make this valentine. Four of them definitely have had dogs all their lives. I think they'll get the punny sentiment. This fun image was a CTMH stamp last year. The paper is from last summer's Magic collection, but the hearts made it great for a boy's valentine. I colored the pet with Copics W1, W3, W5 and used a spellbinders die for the "hill."

Thanks for visiting! I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Cards und More #177 - pets and other furry friends

Crazy 4 Challenges #371 - animals
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Pets
Stampavie and More #279 -  animals

Take Heart Encouragement Card

News from around the world seems so negative sometimes that I know many people in many nations are facing problems that can be overwhelming. It's comforting to know that God is in control, in both good times and bad times, waiting for us to rely on His help, wanting to bless us through and after trials and troubles. Here's a verse to encourage someone who is troubled by the circumstances of life with this Scripture Series 3 stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs:

"In this world you will have trouble, Take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

A week or so ago I saw a challenge to use red and pink. While I've been making lots of scrapbook layouts this week trying to use up some of my Basic Grey collections, I pulled aside some of the red and pink scraps for cards. I added two thin strips of CTMH Raspberry with hearts from the Adventure Fundamentals. The black silhouette is from Cricut Flower Market cartridge.

Thank you for visiting! May you see God's direction and blessing through life's problems.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Come and Get It - 3 or more layers

Crafty Girls Creations #33 - anything goes

Crafty Sentiment Designs - Lace and/or Ribbon (my CTMH black flowered ribbon)

Die Cuttin Divas #302 - anything goes (Cricut cuts white sentiment shape and black fern)

Inspiration Destination #121 -  anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #268-269 - anything family friendly

February SOTM Blog Hop - Easter Bunny

Welcome to our CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. You may have just come from Donna Digby's blog.   You can find the entire list of bloggers at Melinda Everitt's blog. February's stamp of the month, "Easter Bunny," is definitely great for Easter stamping. It has some great sentiments that work for other occasions, too. I chose the female bunny and a friendship quote that would be great for Valentine's Day, birthday, or encouragement. I thought it went perfectly with the Hello Lovely flowered paper which I tied with Blush Shimmer Ribbon.

The sweet bunny image was stamped twice, once on white and once on the sorbet dotted pattern which I cut out for the ears and dress in order to paper piece. The bunny's hair and legs were lightly colored using a black watercolor pencil which looks gray when colored softly.  She was easy to fussy cut. I stamped the sentiment on a shape from Cricut Artistry (p.2) which I altered by unlocking the padlock shape to the left of the sizes and setting the size to 2.75" width and 2.25" height. I just backed the heart and cutouts with a scrap of the sorbet paper and made a Fern pattern mat that measured 3" width and 2.5" height. Lastly, I added some Pink Enamel Gems to highlight the message. Everything was attached to a white panel that I embossed with the Simple Chevron Embossing Folder.

Thank you for visiting. I was the last person on the hop, so you may be ready to go to the beginning to see what Wendy Kessler has to delight you!

Here is another card I made using this stamp set. It does have a link to bring you back here to the blog hop.