Happiness Card - My Time Made Easy Challenges

Today's card is from a new sketch blog that I have found - My Time Made Easy. I have been collecting their sketches on my Pinterest board as well. For this card, I decided to create my own ribbon using our Colour Ready Seam Binding so it would match the card. I also changed the oval shape to something a little more interesting and masked some of the flowers for interest while still keeping with the colour scheme of the card. I had to take the photo using my IPhone since my camera has disappeared for the day (I think my husband has it at work but I'm not certain of that...)  

Be sure to check the Retiring List Heading at the top of my blog as items are selling out every day. Don't wait until the last minute or some of your favourite items may be gone!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Clementine Paper Pack, Twilight Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock

Stamps: Love Blooms

Inks: Black Pigment Ink, Twilight Pigment Ink, Twilight Dye Ink, Sorbet Dye Ink

Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Boutique Assortment, Colour Ready Seam Binding, Sponge Daubers, Twilight and Sorbet Alcohol Markers, Alcohol Blending Pen, Paradise Assortment Baker's Twine, Liquid Glass

Happy Birthday Card - Freshly Made Sketches

Today's card is much different from those of the past two days. I am finished with the sympathy cards (thank goodness as they are not my strength and I do not enjoy creating cards like that...). So, I decided to pull out some much more cheerful paper for the Freshly Made Sketch Challenge today. I haven't used the Lucy paper pack in ages! 

When I checked out the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop yesterday, one participant had used a corner rounder to create scallops on the shimmer trim. I decided to try that today but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. The rounder doesn't cut through the plastic and it's hard to get it to go through the trim as well. You have to go back afterwards and cut the plastic part off by hand. It does give a nice effect, though. My ribbon is in two pieces - the large piece fit just fine until I realized I needed a smaller piece peeking out below... That took some work to cut, fold and adhere a piece that narrow and make it look like it was attached to the top part! And embossing Cotton Candy ink turns it an orangy colour as I discovered here... The small flower is actually Blush and the large one is Cotton Candy, believe it or not! I learned some new things today!

So, here is the final product: 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Products are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Lucy Paper Pack (ret.), Sweet Leaf Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock

Stamps: Lucy WOTG (ret.), Happy Birthday (ret.)

Inks: Cotton Candy, Blush, Creme Brulee, Sweet Leaf, Versamark

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Artiste Cartridge, Silver Shimmer Trim, Pink Ribbon (not CTMH), Bling Assortment , Prisma Glitter, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Foam Tape, Alcohol Markers - Cotton Candy and Creme Brulee

With Heartfelt Sympathy Card - Waltzing Mouse Challenge

Today's card is the second of the sympathy cards that I am creating for the woman at my church who sends cards to families in need of spiritual uplifting. I used the current Waltzing Mouse sketch for this one. I just happened to read the Waltzing Mouse blog and found out that this is their last sketch and they are shutting down their blog... so I guess this card is kind of a dual sympathy card - for the staff at Waltzing Mouse as well. I just found out about them and now this is the only challenge I ended up doing and they are disappearing on me! How's that for irony? I will certainly continue to use their older sketches, though, as I really like their style. 

So here is my second sympathy card - not too busy, a little understated, but just enough, I think, to get the message across. 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Supplies used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise noted: 

Paper: Avonlea Paper Pack, Slate Cardstock
Stamps: Words of Comfort
Inks: Slate
Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Art Philosophy Cartridge, Green Mesh Ribbon (not CTMH), Slate Mini-Medley Collection, Foam Tape

Sympathy Card - old Waltzing Mouse Sketch

I create cards for a woman at my church who is responsible for sending cards to people who cannot make it to services due to illness, etc. and she asked me to make her some sympathy cards as well. Sympathy cards have always been difficult for me and I always turn to sketches for guidance and this one is no exception. The sketch is a past one but that doesn't mean it isn't usable! 

Avonlea was my paper of choice and I made four of this particular card and will make four of another type for her as well (I just haven't made it that far today with trying to wrap up end of the year stuff, etc.)

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Supplies used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Avonlea Paper Pack, Colonial White Cardstock
Stamps: Words of Comfort
Inks: Colonial White Pigment Ink
Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Slate Polka Dotted Ribbon, Neutral Baker's Twine Collection, Slate Mini-Medley Collection, Heat Tool

Flirty Birthday - Can you Say PINK?

Boy, I am going to miss this paper pack when it retires at the end of January! Good thing I have stocked up on my supply and have lots of it in my stash. 

I found a card similar to this one on Pinterest and thought it would be an interesting card to make. I chose to random stamp my own background as I didn't want the multiple colours in the Flirty paper.  I wanted it to remain pink. I found this gorgeous ribbon at a ribbon store in an artsy section of Toronto - had my colour wheel with me and made sure it matched the Raspberry colour in this paper pack. It has a beautiful floral pattern on it that is a bit difficult to see in the photo. Several stamp sets were used as well. I love the way it turned out!

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise noted:  

Paper: Flirty Paper Pack incl. Raspberry Cardstock, Bamboo Cardstock
Stamps: Scroll Album Workshop, Love Blooms, Happy Birthday (ret.), Bless This Nest (ret.) 
Inks: Razzberry Pigment Ink (not CTMH), Black Pigment Ink, Black Dye Ink
Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Art Philosophy Cartridge, Fuschia Satin Ribbon (not CTMH), Blush Alcohol Markers, Cotton Candy Alcohol Markers, Sparkles, Pearl Opaque Adhesive Gems, Foam Tape

Thinking of You Card and MERRY CHRISTMAS WISHES!

This is my last post before Christmas. And it's not even a Christmas card... All mine have been made, attached and/or sent! I am just working on cards for the fun of it now. 

However, I have been extremely busy the past while. There are 3 services at my church this evening - the first one at 6:30pm is a children's Nativity Pageant and I am accompanying our Junior Choir on my clarinet. The second one at 8:30pm is a service of lessons and carols and our choir is also singing a beautiful Cantata, which we have practiced for several weeks. We sang one song from it at yesterday's service and it was very well received so I expect there will be a full house there this evening. The final service at 10:30pm is a Communion Service.

It is such a magical time of year - everyone seems to be in such a good mood, with smiles and hugs, greeting one another. My wish for Christmas is that people would treat each other the same way all year round as they do at this time of the year. 

On that thought, I created this card - a Thinking of You card. I have no idea who will eventually receive it but I love the way it turned out.  

I wish you and your family all the best this Christmas and always. May the love of God fill your homes and each other as you celebrate together. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise noted: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock

Stamps: Card Word Puzzle, Casual Expressions

Inks: Pacifica Pigment Ink

Accessories: Alcohol Markers: Sky and Sky Light, Pacifica and Pacifica Light, Alcohol Blending Marker, Blue Ribbon (not CTMH), Blue Glitter  Strip (not CTMH), Baker's Twine Neutral Assortment, Sparkles - Blue and Green Assortment, Glitz Glitter Gel - Stardust and Silver

So Thankful For... Card (and a very frustrating day...)

Today did not start out as a good creative day... I decided to try a new type of card - a triple folding card. The preparation and everything went just fine. When I had finished the stamping (for which I had used the Pirouette stamp), my hand was killing me from the pressure needed to get a consistent image but the backside of the card had been laying on the foam pad and was covered in ink residue... not able to be rescued after about 2 hours of work as I needed the backside for my overall plan. Maybe I'll come back to this another day...

 

Then I went to work on the card below. All was good until I reached the point of using the Pirouette stamp again - it wasn't quite large enough for what I wanted. So, off to the Cricut to cut the doily for the size I did want. Then I found out that stamping over an uneven image was not successful - how to get around that? I thought about stamping the plants first, then laying the doily on top but I didn't like the look. Maybe vellum, but it was too overwhelming. Ahh... a transparency!But adhering a transparency is always so difficult and I didn't want any additional brads, etc. The adhesive I use is fine for a few days and then eventually loosens and falls off - it is ok for scrapbook pages where you can hide the adhesive with embellishments but not wonderful for cards that are handled. I decided to cut the transparency larger than the white cardstock and score it so I could tape it around the back - worked like a charm!

So, after a frustrating day when I thought I would make a few projects, I ended up getting just one card finished... Maybe more tomorrow. 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise noted: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Pear Cardstock
Stamps: A Friend Like You, Treasure Life (ret.) 
Inks: Black, Black Staz-On
Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (not CTMH), White Pleated Ribbon (not CTMH), Baker's Twine - Neutral Collection, Transparency (not CTMH) 

From the Heart Card - Cardabilities Sketch

I decided to try another new challenge today - Cardabilities. I really liked the design of this card although I wasn't able to match it exactly. I think I came pretty close. I am learning a lot about my new Cricut Expression 2 machine and how to make multiple cuts of the same image and things like that... all that takes time. What I really need to find is a clear copy of the image pages from the back of the Artiste booklet. I have tried to enlarge them from the booklet online but my copies are so blurred that they are useless. I need a full page copy of each layer (Accent 1, Accent 2, etc.) and am not sure how to go about getting them! 

Anyways, my card is created using the La Belle Vie paper pack along with some burlap. 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: La Belle Vie Paper Pack, Black Cardstock
Stamps: None
Inks: None
Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Artiste Cartridge, Burlap Ribbon, Pink and Purple Sparkles, Olive Alcohol Marker, Quilling Tool 

Thanks Card - Sketchbook Saturday Challenge

I love the sketches from the Sketchbook Saturday Challenge site but this is the first one I have ever tried. I guess they always seemed really intimidating to me. Once again I really felt like using Flirty paper today - maybe knowing that the paper is going to be gone shortly has something to do with it and I have a ton of it left! 

I loved the opportunity to cluster items on this card - that is one of my favourite techniques. I am always in need of thank you cards so this was a perfect time to add one more to my collection. 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise noted. 

Paper: Flirty Paper Pack, Colonial White Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock
Stamps: Love Blooms, Thank You (ret.) 
Inks: Black Pigment Ink, New England Ivy
Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Cotton Candy Markers, Alcohol Blending Pen, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (not CTMH), Silver Shimmer Trim, Slate Mini-Medley Accent Collection, Autumn Lane Assortment, Boutique Assortment, Floret Paper Shapes, Sparkles Flourishes, Bitty Sparkles, Foam Tape

Whoo's Your Valentine... Just One...

I have been so busy the past week with two things - trying to learn the ins and outs of a Cricut Expression 2 machine (wow- lots of differences!) and learning to use an I-Pad as well. The focus has been on the I-Pad so the E2 has only been turned on once - have to get to that this week! 

So, I only had time to make one of these little Whoo's Your Valentine creations before my daylight was totally gone and I had to photograph it on a table in my craft room. I love the idea of this kit but I am anxious to try different things with it as well. But they sure are adorable! 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Whoo's Your Valentine Kit
Stamps: Whoo's Your Valentine (comes with kit)
Inks: Ruby, Hollyhock, Slate
Accessories: Stylus, Pink Jellybeans