Animal Pals Friendship Card

This card is a sneak peak of some of the fall paper (Falling for You)  that will be available on Friday. I made a friendship card. by random stamping some of the cute animals included in this year's CTMH stamp set, Operation Smile Punny Pals,  that made to help support Operation Smile. For each stamp set purchased, CTMH donates $7.00 to help a child get surgery to repair cleft palate/lips or facial deformities around the world. The dedicated doctors do amazing work helping them find social acceptance and much improved appearance and health.

I chose four woodland animals that would coordinate well with fall leaves. The leaves and the front sentiment are from a new stamp set soon to be revealed on Friday, Falling for You-Cardmaking. I colored the leaves and animals with Copic Markers to match the new fall paper. The inside was stamped with sentiments of two retired sets from my Thanks/Friendship box of stamps, A Friend Like You and Candlelight Garden SOTM.  When combined together they say:

When I count my blessings

I count you first.

YOUR FRIENDSHIP

means everything.

I'm sharing this card with the August Heart 2 Heart Challenge: Friends ;  Color Inspiration Monday : anything with hand-colored image; Incy Wincy Designs - go wild

Here's a closer look at the Operation Smile Punny Pals stamp set available now.  I hope you'll be sure to get yours to help this worthy non-profit organization.

Camping in Yellowstone - Be Still My Soul

This summer my hubby went camping in Yellowstone National Park in an area with no electrical hookups, etc. It's the area close to the bear population so he decided not to take any food of any type so he wouldn't attract attention from hungry bears.  Before he left I started reading a Kindle book, The 1959 Yellowstone Earthquake. I thought he might want to read it since it was in the area where he planned to stay and since this there were nearly 900 earthquakes in the area from June 12 to the end of the month. There was even a larger earthquake in early July on the Montana side. Of course, none of those details impressed him like they did me. I was the one who took two geology classes in college and visited Alaska to see the results of their biggest earthquake in 1964. I think hubby was mainly concerned about bears.

Bears, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters, like the flooding this week in Houston, can certainly steal our joy in this life. I'm thankful that I can lean on God and His Word when worries or fears threaten my peace. I frequently lean on the verse that says, " You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3. I chose the card sentiment, be still my soul, which echoes the words of a lovely old hymn, because it simply expresses this truth. In addition, in the woods I always found a sense of calm and being close to God in His lovely creation.

The Heart 2 Heart Challenge initially inspired me to make a card depicting camping. I used the new CTMH Cricut You Are Here cartridge. If you have that cartridge, you may use my cut file here. I sized the images to fit a 5.5" x 4.25" card so I could use a sizzix embossing folder that was that size.  I used a brayer and juniper ink to thoroughly ink the side where the spaces between the trees is raised. When you emboss, the trees stand out and stay white, like aspens, although the proportion to my cricut elements is not realistic since aspens are thinner, smaller trees. I embossed the sentiment from the new CTMH stamp set, Inspired Words. I matted the finished scene on black then mounted it on a 6.5" x 5" card base. I plan to send it tomorrow to Jerry and Judy Worthley, an evangelist and former missionaries, who've had a camping ministry across the country and at their own place in the Colorado Rockies.

I'm also sharing this card with the challenge at Dragonfly Dreams (animals), Challenge Up Your Life (summer), Craft for the Craic ( include triangle shape), and Cards 4 Guys (beginning with a D-deer)

Thank you for visiting! When outward circumstances come to steal your peace, may the knowledge of God's presence and His working for your benefit bring you confidence, calmness,  and joy during your trials.

I must end my post with the words of the sentiment's hymn because I've been humming it the entire time I made the card and wrote this post.

1 Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide,
who through all changes faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2 Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
to guide the future surely as the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
his voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

New Baby - A Borrowed Bit of Heaven Cards

I was inspired to make these cards when I saw the "New Baby" challenge at Scrap and Craft.  They made me think of a Cricut Artiste cut I had never tried with a cute little diaper shape. They also made me think how important it is to pray for new mothers and fathers as well as new babies. I found some amazing resources for mothers of babies and young children including 14 Scriptures to Pray Over Your Unborn Baby at The Purposeful Mom. I know some new moms would be pleased to have some of these resources included with a card or gift.

I made three baby girl cards using part of my large stash of retired CTMH Lucy patterned paper. I was only going to make one, but it went together so quickly using this Cricut cut that I had to make more!

I made a set of blue gingham diaper cards, too. Instead of having lace, they have white ricrac.

Here's a look at the inside sentiment and back of the envelope.

The main sentiment is from a new CTMH stamp set for many occasions, Many Congratulations.  I also stamped a couple of  small verses on the lace bow on front. and at the bottom the inside card. They say, "BABY a borrowed bit of heaven" and "A baby fills a hole in your heart you never knew was there." Both of those are from a retired CTMH stamp set, New Arrival. I also decorated the back of each envelope with two baby footprints and the sentiment, "An entire world of possibilities waiting to be discovered," both from one of my oldest retired CTMH baby stamp sets, Baby Impressions.

I made my card large enough to fit a 5.25" x 7.25" envelope. Here is my cut file in Cricut Design Space if you'd like to use it.

Thank you for visiting. May God bless you and your crafting for the little ones in your life.

I'm sharing these cards with the following challenges:

Alphabet Challenge - L for Lovely Lace
Crafty Calendar August Challenge - Shaped card
Inkspirational Challenge #142 - Oldie but Goodie (very old stamps on envelope)
Scrap and Craft Challenge #6 - New Baby
Southern Girls - Retro Challenge - smash your stash
Word Art Wednesday #296-297 - anything goes, (positive and uplifting scripture art available)

Reach for the Stars

This week one of my sons-in-law graduated from a long program to become a web developer/computer programmer. I've been so proud of the way he continued to work full time while he attended school. I'm also proud of the way he set a positive example for his four kids. Now I'm praying that God will lead him to the right job and help him achieve his dreams.

I made a couple of versions of this masculine card to celebrate his accomplishment and encourage his dream. I was inspired by inky chicks to add stars, which I cut with CTMH star dies:

I white embossed stars and the Big Dipper using the new CTMH Constellations stamp set. The Gray dotted paper panel is from the new Basic Fundamentals paper pack. The front sentiment is from the new CTMH A New Adventure stamp set. I had some Lagoon glittery stars left from a set of Fundamentals embellishments from a previous catalog.

I combined two sentiment stamp sets for the inside, the first part is retired and the "go where your dreams take you" is part of the Cricut Pack Your Bags bundle.

Thank you for visiting! May you also find ways to encourage people to reach their dreams.

I'm sharing these cards with the following challenges:
Addicted to Stamps or More #256 -anything goes
Crafting with the Dragonflies Challenge #87 - Embossing wet or dry
Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #137 - punches and/or dies
heARTful stamping challenge - anything goes + stamping
Inky Chicks #87 - stars
Paperminutes #500 -  anything goes

Snowflakes and Sparkle Christmas Card

I'm really late getting started on Christmas cards. When the local schools started, it suddenly seems that fall is just around the corner, then Christmas!

This was a quick, simple Christmas card with lots of sparkle and texture. I used two CTMH Thin Cuts Snowflake dies with Indian Corn Blue and Juniper cardstock and a Martha Stewart punch on  silver glitter paper. The blue snowflakes were also "painted" with a shimmer brush with clear glittery shine. I used an old Cuttlebug embossing folder for the additional texture. Here's another look at the glitter. The iridescent sequins have a slight pink tint that I really liked as a pale contrast to the blue.

Thanks for visiting!

A Snowflake's Promise Challenge #43 - Anything Goes
Christmas at Sweet Stampin' August Challenge - Anything Goes
Christmas Card Thowdown August Technique - Embossing, dry or heat
Crafting with Dragonflies #87 - Embossing/ wet or dry
Crafty Gals Corner #137 - Punches or Dies
Creative Knockouts #208 - Sparkle and Shine
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #13 - Anything Christmas Goes

More Back to School Cards with Chalk It Up

By the end of the week my eight grandkids were now all back in school, ranging from fourth grade to ninth grade. As a retired reading teacher I still get excited about the beginning of school. When they were younger they used to read to me, but they all think they're too old for that now! But I can still send them messages of encouragement. Here are five cards all made from either the retired CTMH paper pack, Chalk It Up, and their related Picture My Life cards. The first two use retired CTMH stamps that I've collected for quite a few years.

I love the retired CTMH silhouette stamp of the kids walking to school. I stamped it on a 3"x4" PML card, matted it with the star background paper and mounted it on the 4"x6" PML alphabet card.

The last three are simple using sentiments that are part of the PML cards with a few embellishments-quick and easy!

This last one has a sentiment that's my favorite of the three:

Thank you for visiting! I hope you'll also encourage the students and the teachers in your life as they begin the learning adventures of another year!


I'm sharing this project with the following challenges:

Cute as a Button #37 - Back to School
Hiding in My Craft Room #314 - Back to School
Pink and Main Challenge #24 - School

Annual Inspirations New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to our blog hop featuring new products from our CTMH Annual Inspirations catalog. It's always exciting to see a new idea book and all the new artwork! You may have just come from the lovely artwork of  Brenda Lapp. If so, you're on the right path. If you'd like to see the entire list of participants, Melinda Everitt has the list here.

 

The new Idea Book has a Cut Above Golden Moments Card Kit. It's ideal for someone who wants a quick, gold embossed, beautiful card. They're  quick and easy to make.

I decided to take some of mine up a notch by coloring the gold outlined image using alcohol ink markers.** I also added Bashful Glitter Paper strip and Gold Sequins so they looked like my style. I made the first one vertical with the enclosed die cut sentiment banner stamped with one of the inexpensive M stamps, M1187 Thinking of You,  that fits the shape, like the examples given.

 The second one I changed to a horizontal card with a different sentiment shape.

Today two of my friends from high school are celebrating their 48th anniversary, so I chose a sentiment in honor of their years together from the new stamp set, Inspired Words, that includes 10 scriptural sentiments and 10 single words.

Here's an angle that highlights the beautiful gold embossing that it comes with. You can also see that I matted the sentiment with the new Gold Foil Paper. It's heavier than cardstock and makes a good mat. I also used a 3/8" strip of the new Bashful Glitter Paper since that's the new color of the year.

I hope you're getting lots of great ideas! Now you're ready to move on to Michelle Loncar's blog. Thank you for visiting!

**ShinHan Touch Twin Markers used: R140 Light Orange, RP198 Tender Pink, P282 Peony Purple, G46 Vivid Green, GY234 Leaf Green, Y49 Pastel Green, 0 Colorless Blender

New Products:

Bashful Glitter Paper, Gold Foil Paper,  Thinking of You , and Inspired Words:

Five Back to School Cards with Chalk It Up

Come back tomorrow and join our blog hop to see what's new at CTMH!

I retired from 30 years of teaching eleven years ago, but I still get excited about school this time of year. Today two of my oldest grandsons started back to school. By tomorrow all eight of them will be in school. According to one of the youngest grandsons, he's not ready to go back to school. It does seem to come earlier each year before some of us are even ready to let them go. Here are five of my cards I just made for back to school notes. I had some retired CTMH Chalk It Up paper and remembered I also had a set of  matching PML cards that can fit in scrapbook pockets that are 4"x6" or 3"x4." That helped my cardmaking go really fast! I think I've collected all of the CTMH school stamp sets since 2004, so I used quite a variety of them that I won't name.

Thanks for visiting! I'm sharing these cards with the following challenges:

Angie's Digital Stamps Challenge #12- anything goes, twist Back to School
Crafty Sentiments Designs - Back to School
heARTful Stamping August Challenge - Back to School plus stamping
Inky Chicks #86 - use a sentiment instead of an image

Under His Wings

I'm writing this post as I watch the news about protestors fighting, a car running over protestors, a man pushing a lady in front of a bus that managed to swerve and not hit her, and medical workers in Syria killed. This world can be such a dangerous place. Scripture always encourages me, so I'm sharing this set of cards that I made this week with this encouragement:

Under his wings you will find refuge.

I think I'll be trying to use up my CTMH Paper Fundamentals for a long time. I made four of these cards using an older Whimsy pastel design in Glacier. I combined it with a gray leaf pattern from the old Lollydoodle papers. I made three of them using the Glacier and White pattern and only one with the reverse side that has the same pattern with shiny clear embossing. Here are the two side by side.

May you find comfort and help for life's problems by taking them to the Lord. He loves you and wants to shelter you like a mother bird shelters her babies. Thank you for visiting!

I'm sharing this project with the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Galz #53 - Pretty Pastels
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper August Challenge - anything with patterned paper
Moving Along with the Times #51 - Things that fly
WordArt Wednesday #294-295 - anything - a great wordart verse this week!

5.5" x 4.25" Card Recipe:
Paper - Whimsy Paper Fundamentals, Lollydoodle dp, retired White Daisy Textured Cardstock
Stamps - CTMH retired C1600 Happy Birds; sentiment: Papertrey Ink's Walk by Faith
Ink - Lagoon, Memento Tuxedo Black
Copic Markers
Embellishments - Recollections flowers, retired CTMH yellow buttons, white crochet thread, paper doily,
Tool - Cricut for stitched circle

August Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - School Year

Welcome to our CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. Our group of 22 stampers are featuring the August Stamp of the Month, School Year. You may have come from Brenda Lapp.  If so, you're on the right path. To see the entire list of participating bloggers, visit Melinda Everitt's blog here. 

As a retired teacher, I know that people like to give teachers a note of appreciation or encouragement at the beginning or the end of school. I thought that the Atlantic  Hearts Sketch #223  was perfect for a school-related card. I used Cricut Artbooking, a new CTMH word die, and an embossing folder for my card.

Sometimes I want a different sentiment than the one in a stamp set so I have a quick trick for using elements from two different sentiments. You can see them here on the stamp set:

My easy trick is to use scotch tape to (1)cover the parts I don't want, (2)ink the stamp, (3)pull off the tape, and (4)stamp on the paper. I keep a heavy office tape dispenser on my work area so that the process is quick and easy.

Thank you for visiting! Now you're ready to see the next creation on  Brandi Robinson's blog.

5.5" x 4.25" Card Recipe (all CTMH supplies):
Paper - newest Adventure Fundamentals (Fern Alphabet), Ruby, Goldrush, Black, White Daisy Cardstocks
Stamp of the Month
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Markers - ShinHan Touch Twin WG4 Warm Gray, GY234 Leaf Green, BR99 Bronze
Tools - White super fine embossing powder, heat tool, Hi There Thin Cuts, Alphabet Embossing Folder, Cricut Artbooking and Cricut Explore (#M45CEE - apple, #M3DC3F torn notebook edge)