Love is in the Air...

Hello Friends,

Happy Friday!! I heart Fridays!! And, I heart YOU!

Today my theme is love. And isnt that a wonderful theme? I have 3 cards to share with you today using copic markers, heat embossing, stamping....and even using up those scraps.

I hope you will spend some time visiting me, I truly love having company, especially lovely artistic, crafty friends like you.

Okay, Card no. 1~ I Heart You is a straight-up lift from the new Feb. Scrapbooks Etc. mag--I didnt do one thing different...except theirs is better. My pink flower and pink background paper is too close in color for my taste; my flower needed to be a darker pink for a bit more contrast. All the products used are CTMH ( green argyle pp is from Sweet Harmony, the pink is from Sugar and Spice) Nothing really to report on this card, it is self explanatory, simple, fast and easy. I just sponged Sweet Leaf ink on to the chipboard.

This next one, my Sending Warm Wishes card, was something I pictured in my mind as soon as I saw the bird nest stamp. I knew I was going to use a cloud and sun, and knew exactly how I wanted it to be. It came out pretty much how I wanted it. I used a lot of Copics (I will list the marker numbers below w/ the supply list), and lots of stickles and glitter. This card was not fast because of the cutting and the coloring, but it was easy & fun...and I just love it. Even though we got a little snow overnight, it makes me feel like spring is in the air, and the sun is shining.

* Remember, as always, you can click on the pictures and see them bigger and all the detail.

You cant tell in these (lousy) pictures, but everything is foam dotted up, so there is tons of dimension. The mushrooms have so many layers and look so good, but I didnt get a close up of it. I thought it would show up. *sigh* And when I finally downloaded them, I was out of daylight. (w/out daylight, my photos are even worse)

Okay, the grass, I used the icicles punch by Martha Stewart! Someone else probably already had that idea, and it may not be new to you, but I've never seen it done before and I felt pretty fancy & brilliant with my a-ha moment to use it upside down. (so dont burst my bubble if it's already been done--he he) And it used a long skinny SCRAP of green paper that I pulled from my trash can at my desk...BONUS! ( which I sponged on more green ink for texture, and to cover the argyle diamonds, since the green paper strip was from sweet harmony paper pack)

I used small pieces of white scrap CS to stamp the branch and bird nest and mushrooms. I colored them in with copic markers, cut them out and popped them up on foam.

Supplies ( all ctmh except the Copics and Stickles--love, LOVE my Stickles!):

I already talked about the grass...moving on...

Blue PP is from TopStitch paper pack

White Daisy CS (scraps)

Stamps:

Branch/Birds: Love You Forever; Cloud: Childhood; Sentiment: TLC

Copics: birds: Booo, B21, R20; Flower: R20, R83, y21; Leaves: YG11, G24, G28; Mushrooms, well, suffice it to say I used LOTS of colors. :o) Branch: E34, E37, E47; Nest: E33, E34, E37, E47

And plenty o'Stickles.

And lastly, a Tri-Fold card using...wait for it...BIRDS... again. I love them. This card didnt turn out as I saw it in my mind, but I know what I dont like and how I would make it better next time to get it the way I had first envisioned it. (I'll probably re-make it over the weekend, but I wont waste your time posting it.)

This is the inside. Sorry about the lousy pictures, I was out of light and using my desk lamp...nice glaring shadows. Oh well. You get the idea.

I used a Sharpie Gold paint pen and a ruler and framed everything in gold. The Somebirdy Loves you Stamps ( can you tell I love it too?) is heat embossed with gold powder.

Choc. CS, Veranda PP's. Copics to color in the stamped image are the same colors as above, except the nest , which I used: E00 and E33

I added the heart which I colored in with R20

No stickles or glitter. Just the gold for sparkle. Kinda sad about that. But it just didnt have a glitter vibe...and that is a rare thing in my world.

Okay, that's it for today.

I hope you have a wonderful and safe weekend.

~Cheryl

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Hi Friends!

I am SO sorry I have been away so very long. H1N1 went through my house, and then it was Thanksgiving, and then I had to take down fall decor, and decorate (and shop) for Christmas (which we are having here this year)...and so my story goes. But I am back baby!

Over the weekend I put the finishing touches on the tree(s) and the entire house, inside and out, is DONE. Most of the shopping...DONE! ( key word: most) Have I sent cards yet? Nope. Have I wrapped anything? Nada. Zip. Zilch. Still plenty o' time, right?

BUT, the good part is our home is a winter wonderland, sparkling with twinkle lights aplenty, and glittered within an inch of its life. ( I will take some photos and post in the next days or so). I really, REALLY love LOVE me some Christmastime! I think I may actually be a magpie...anything sparkles and I am all over it.

Speaking of glitter and yummy sparkliness: I finally, for the first time in over a month, got to play in my studio and create!! I didnt do as much as I wanted to...I had planned to do a 2 page LO using the new Rockstar papers, but when it came to sitting down to create, I really just wanted to put Christmas music on and play in the glitter. So, I made a few holiday cards instead.

(I'll get to the Rockstar pages this weekend and post.)

So, for my Mother In Law I made this swanky cocktail Holiday Cheers! card... it goes along with some of the gifts we bought her. I used all CTMH products (except the cocktail stamp, which I colored in with Copics); ctmh Jingle Papers and cardstock; the snowflakes are made using punches (mainly MS punches) on ctmh white cardstock; the sentiment is from Ms. Holiday stamp set. The red and silver glitter is from the retired glitter stack, but any fine red/silver glitter will work. The rest of the glitter is Prisma.

My Party Animal/Happy New Years Card is bright, festive and fun...oh, and sparkling, natch! The martini and sentiment stamp is from 'our craft lounge' (everything is colored in with copics)...everything else is ctmh, except the mad amounts of Stickles I used. The paper is ctmh Whoops A Daisy, and ctmh cardstock hydrangea, ocean and textured cardstock in Citrus Leaf. CTMH stamps used: Merry Monsters, Spot On Backgrounds, and Please Join Us. ( the icicles border punch is by MS and the google eyes are from craft store). Cheers! ( hmmm...seems I had a cocktail theme going for a bit there)

Lastly, I wanted to make a winter street scene with the houses from the Neighborhood Stampset by CTMH. This is what I came up with.

Products List:

Patterened paper: ctmh Aspen

Cardstock: (ctmh white daisy)

Stamps: (all ctmh) Festive Thoughts ( for the sentiment, which is heat embossed in Silver, but you cant tell that in these horrid pictures, sorry); most of the trees are from The Beauty Of Christmas; and then, yes, Neighborhood. The houses, the bit of fence, the lamposts and the car are all from the 'Hood.

I paperpieced a bit, foam-squared, and prisma'd my heart out. The car tires are stamped in black, black embossed and cut out. The wreaths, they were a bit of a pain. The scale of the houses/doors were so darn tiny...so my wreaths had to be tiny. So, I used a tiny hole punch for the middles ( on green cardstock) and regular sized hole punch around the little hole, viola wreath(s)! The tree on the car I just free cut out a triangle from green cardstock, and a little trunk. The same with the tree on the townhouse. It was a bush on the stamp, but I wanted a conical holiday tree shape, so I just free-hand cut one out.

As always, you can click on the photos and see it bigger/in more detail. And, feel free to ask any questions you may have, I promise to get back to you.

Happy Holidays!

~Cheryl