A Blessed Event!

Today was a day to celebrate!  A friend became a member of our church!  It was a long awaited event ~ 20 years in the making!  It was a beautiful service, called Chrismation, and afterwards we had a celebration with food and fellowship!  It is always a joy to see the Church family grow!

When I first started blogging, my focus was mainly on scrapbooking and cardmaking.  I am still actively doing both, although not as often as I would like.  So, here is the card I made for today's occasion.

I really love this new paper from Close To My Heart!  It is the Creative Basics Veranda Collection.  The cross was embossed on Vanilla Cream cardstock with clear embossing powder.  Then I used a sponge to add Juniper ink shading.  And I just can't use my Nestabilities die-cuts enough ~ LOVE 'em!

The card actually reminds me of vintage wallpaper!  And the ribbon a chair rail!  Of course I had to add distress ink along the edges to give it a bit of an aged look.

I hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

Look Ma ~ No Lace! Verve Oct Release Party

Tonight my dh had to work - someone called in sick - so I used the opportunity to play! Was able to finish a card I started last night, AND get 2 more cards done, too!!! I used 3 sketches from theVerve October Release Party.

First up: Retro Rover! Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

I wanted the bottom strip to look kinda like a dog collar with the tag hanging off. Hopefully that point gets across... The dog is cut out and popped, and the green portion is popped, but you can't see it too well in the pictures.

Recipe: Latte matstack (DCWV); Retro Rovers stamp (TAC); Brilliance Starlight Silver ink, Outdoor Denim ink (CTMH); watercolor pencils, Big Bite, Gamsol.

The next 2 cards are more my style - vintage.

Sketch:
My Card:

I got this picture from Vintage Stampers Freebies! Lots of cool pictures on this blog to use for papercrafting! I love to use vintage "findings" on my crafties! Here I used a stick pin that's been sitting in my stash for quite awhile - it's about time I used it!

The flowers were sprayed with Tattered Angels Pearl Glimmer Mist. I used a heat gun to speed up the dry time...but be careful! Don't whither the flowers (experience speaking here)! Charm and pearl button are also from my stash. I opted to leave out the journaling piece. Maybe I'll add it later when the card is needed for sending....maybe using a Nestabilities label! That would look nice! :)

Recipe: K&Co "Hannah", CDWV matstack papers; Old Paper distress ink; Pearl Glimmer Mist.

Next Up - Sketch:
My card:
I used a bit of creative license on this one...the little tab on the focal point just wouldn't work with what I had in mind, so I substituted a flower. Works for me! Lots of distressing on this one...almost wonder if it wasn't too much... But I'm happy with the end results so I'm not going to worry about it! :)

I found an old dictionary at a garage sale this summer so I used that for the "ribbon" across the bottom. The large butterflies are popped for dimension.

Recipe: K&Co "Ancestry paper; Vintage Postcard (CTMH), Travel (SeeD's), Postal (SeeD's), Collage Elements (SeeD's) stamps; Martha Stewart butterfly punch; "Bliss" Kaiser pearls.

OK - I'm done now! PHEW!!!! Long post! Productive night!

Verve Oct 09 Release Week Challange

Here's another card I put together last night for the Verve October 2009 Release Week Challenge. This one went together really fast since I had a good idea what I wanted to do with the sketch.

Flowers and leaves stamps are from Close To My Heart - Treasure Life set. Sentiment is from CTMH - Say It In Style.

MORE lace...MORE pearls!!!! Can't get enough!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks-A-Bration Starts Today!

CTMH's Thanks-A-Bration is now concluded. Be sure to check out what we have to offer for National Scrapbooking Month going on now until Sept 30th!

Just a reminder that Close To My Heart's Thanks-A-Bration starts TODAY. Click here for details. Give me a call or leave a comment if you are interested in placing an order!

To view the latest CTMH catty, click here!

To vew the August Stamp of the Month, "It's Your Day!" click here.

I am also available for 4-card workshops ($5 each participant) or 2-page lay-out workshops ($10 each participant) for you and your friends! Spend an enjoyable evening socializing, creating, and sharing in the joys of scrapbooking and stamping. Give me a call to schedule your workshop!

August THANKS-A-BRATION with CTMH!

Some exciting news from Close To My Heart!

From August 3–17, customers who place a minimum order of $100 will be rewarded with a number of extra perks!

YOU can receive the August Stamp of the Month ("It's Your Day") for FREE as well as a current, hand-selected My Reflections® Level 2 paper packet (a total retail value of $39.90)!

Plus, CTMH will cover tax and shipping/handling on BOTH of these free products, saving YOU even more! But this special Thanks-a-bration offer only lasts for 15 days!

National Scrapbooking Month is Coming!

September is National Stamping Month and Close To My Heart is celebrating early and in a big way, with something for everyone!

Between August 18–September 30 when you purchase a minimum of $60 in stamp sets (A, B, C, D, and E-size; some exclusions apply), you’ll receive a FREE Everyday Celebration card kit containing materials to handcraft 16 exquisite cards.

Join the stamping festivities by making a qualifying purchase, or buy the kit outright for just $39.95. Hostesses and new Consultants with CTMH can also get the card kit free during September. CTMH is also holding a drawing where CTMH will give away an Everyday Celebration card kit each day in September. Just check the Close To My Heart website every day during the promotion to see if YOU are a WINNER!

The Everyday Celebration Card Kit Includes:

1 – My Acrylix® Everyday Celebration Stamp Set (D-size) (Only available with this kit!)
16 – 4 W" * 5 V" Colonial White Card Bases
16 – 4 W” x 5 V” Colonial White Envelopes
1 – 12" * 12" Dutch Blue Cardstock
1 – 12" * 12" Colonial White Cardstock
4 – 12" * 12" B&T Duos® Paper
1 – Chocolate Distressing Ink
1 – Dutch Blue Distressing Ink
1 – Mini-Medley Accents Shades of Chocolate Collection
5' – Chocolate Ribbon with Colonial White Stitch
50 – 3-D Foam Squares
Sponge
1 – Full Color Step-by-Step Instructional Brochure
Featured Colors: Chocolate, Colonial White, Dutch Blue, Sweet Leaf