Georgie Snowman Cards

Yes; I really did make cards with a baby paper pack. They happen to be my favorite cards, too. I actually created these a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. I was watching "Saints and Strangers" on TV, while I heat embossed and colored.

Recipe:
Paper: Georgie, Bamboo CS, White Daisy CS (CTMH)
Stamps: Flakey Friends (retired), Festival of Trees (CTMH)
Inks: Black (Tsuniko)
Tools: Craft Heater, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, ShinHan Alcohol Markers, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH)
Other: Coral Reef Sequins, Stardust Glitz Glue (retired), White Shimmer Trim (CTMH)

Georgie isn't just for baby-related crafts. This paper happens to tie with my other favorite right now, "Urban". Funny that they both and blues and yellows. Hmm....

Do you have fun plans for New Year's Eve? I think we are staying in, but may go out this weekend. Happy New Year!

Casandra

Snowhaven Up To Snow Good Layout

Last night, I started working on my latest project. I was excited to receive my Shutterfly print order in the mail and itching to create a scrapbook layout with some of the photos. I had this layout idea spinning circles in my brain and felt the mojo magic to create it.

Recipe:
Paper: Snowhaven, Glacier Paper Fundamentals, Hollyhock CS, Smokey Plum CS, White Daisy CS (CTMH)
Stamps: Frosty Fun, Keyboard Uppercase Alphabet, Year: Noted (CTMH)
Inks: Smokey Plum, Hollyhock, Black (CTMH)
Tools: Sponge, Cricut Art Philosophy, Cricut Artbooking, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors, Craft Heater, Craft Tray, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, ShinHan Alcohol Markers, Stitch Guide Ruler (CTMH)
Other: White Daisy Embroidery Floss (retired), Red Enamel Hearts, Silver Sequins, Clear Sparkles (CTMH)

The "snow" title pieces were negatives from a cricut title piece I used on another layout. They were cut out on white cardstock, but I thought the white felt flat against the picture, so I used my smokey plum ink pad and a sponge to color them purple. Tomorrow, they will probably look lighter (more purple) than they do now, since that's the way ink seems to work as it dries. If I had a white gel pen, I would have outlined them to make them pop more. I must remember to add it to my next order. 

People often ask me if I use a machine to stitch, but the answer is no. I hand-stitch. Call me crazy, but I like it. Oh, and that title was something I saw today on Pinterest. How's that for timing? I couldn't resist using it since it paired so well with my mischievous children and last January's photos.

Thanks so much for stopping in today. Hope your weekend is crafty!

Casandra

Snowhaven Snow Fun Layout

I'm back again today with my next Snowhaven layout. This one makes me happy every time I see it. It was a labor of love. I used all three of my Close To My Heart cricut cartridges, and pre-cut enough pieces for my workshop attendees. Don't you just love the ink spattered "snow" effect? Eek. It's the first time I've tried it with the white pigment re-inker. I will warn you that it's addictive. I wanted to spray everything, and had to be quick to clean up my counters with a wet cloth. I can never spray without making a mess, but it's a fun mess, and totally worth it.

Recipe:
Paper: Snowhaven, Glacier CS, Bamboo CS, Whisper CS, Outdoor Denim CS, Cranberry CS, White Daisy CS, Teal Glitter Paper (CTMH)
Stamp: Frosty Fun (CTMH)
Inks: Black (VersaFine)
Tools: Craft Heater, Craft Tray, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, ShinHan Alcohol Markers, White Pigment Re-Inker, Spray Pen, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors, Cricut Art Philosophy, Cricut Artiste, Cricut Artbooking (CTMH)
Other: Silver Sequins, Red Enamel Hearts (CTMH)

I used MIFYH Volume 2: Sketch #6 with a few alterations as inspired by the Annual Inspirations 2014-2015 Idea Book. I heat embossed all stamped images for easy coloring, and as stated above, used all 3 cricut cartridges for embellishment and title pieces.

I would like to enter this into H2H's Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge. I would also like to enter this into Stuck On U Sketches "Snow" Challenge.

And of course, no post would be complete without a funny side note. Last week, as I was dropping my children off at school, Jack went to take his boot off and exclaimed "Now I know what was stuck in my boot. It was a tic tac!" I quickly responded "And 5 toes!" Let's just say that at 8 1/2 years of age, mom isn't always funny anymore. Sigh. I tried. ;)

Have a great week!

Casandra

Snowhaven Winter Layout

Hello. I'm so happy it's Sunday. It is always my favorite day of the entire week. Not only is it a day to rejoice in the life that God has provided us, but it is also the one day that we are all at home and enjoying each other's company. Of course, right now as I type this, the kids are in their bedrooms playing on kindles and my husband is relaxing in front of the tv.

So today I finally found time to complete my journaling for this next layout. It required a bit of research to locate snowfall totals for the 2013-2014 Winter season. Our closest town ranked 9th in the state for most snow at 183.1" last year. Wow! Apparently, we set a record.

Recipe:

Paper: Snowhaven, Whisper CS, White Daisy CS, Glacier CS, Cranberry CS (CTMH)

Stamps: #30yearsofhappy (retired), All Decked Out (retired), Trinity Alphabet (retired) (CTMH)

Inks: Crystal Blue, Glacier, Slate, Black (CTMH)

Tools: Craft Heater, Craft Tray, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Prisma Glitter (retired), Glue Pen, Shinhan Alcohol Markers, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors, Journal Pen (CTMH), Snowflake Dies (MFT)

Other: Clear Sparkles, Aqua Dots, White Embroidery Floss (CTMH)

This past Wednesday, Let's Scrap posted their weekly sketch, and I really liked the clean lines of the squares. Plus it looked  like a pretty straight forward sketch to interpret. I would also like to enter this into H2H's Challenge "Old is New". I used a favorite snowman stamp set (old) and combined it with this year's Snowhaven paper pack. For anyone trying to interpret the paper sizes, they are 3" squares, and the background paper is 6"x12", with 1/2" zip strips bordering above and below the background paper. Psst. Did you notice the title was outlined with our journal pen? I love how it makes my title pop.

If I have a recommendation for today's layout, it would be to take the time to capture the story in journaling. It will be fun to read years from now.

Happy Sunday to you!

Casandra

Aspen Winter Layout

I am home today with a sick princess. After being up since 3am, she is finally resting. 

I thought I would post a layout I completed, last week, using the retired Aspen kit.

This layout was inspired by Scrap with Sue. I made some minor modifications to my layout. What I like most about Sue's layout is the photo placement and sizes. 

I have just a couple more layouts to share from my baby album before I send it to its final destination. If you just checking in for the first time here, please be sure to look back through the past 5 weeks or so blog posts. They are dedicated to a baby album I created as a gift for cousins.

Recipe:
Paper: Aspen (retired), Outdoor Denim CS, Colonial White CS, Flaxen Paper Fundamentals (Whimsy Collection) (CTMH)
Stamps: Snow Flurries, One of a Kind (retired) (CTMH)
Inks: Glacier, Flaxen (CTMH)
Tools: Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH), Snowflake Punch (Martha Stewart)
Other: Aspen Stickease, Clear Sparkles, Aqua Dots (CTMH)

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope to get the rest of my posts done this week. 

Casandra

MFTWSC102 Snow Angel Card

Hello. Since Friday, I have been in such a state of grief and shock over the loss of so many young lives in Newtown. Really, it could have been here in my school district...where my 6-year-old son attends elementary school. To think of so many beautiful lives cut short by such a senseless act of violence...it has been absolutely devastating to my sense of security for my children. I have been praying for the families that were affected by this tragedy.

This morning, I saw this on Facebook and wanted to take a moment to share it with all of you.

"CNN just shared a mailing address that the USPS has set up for the Connecticut School Shooting if you would like to send a sympathy card to them. It is... 

Messages of Condolence, P.O. Box 3700, Newton, CT 06470"

Now, on to the artwork part of my post.

Recipe:

Paper: Sophia, White Daisy CS (CTMH), Kraft CS (MFT)

Stamp: PI-Snow Angel (MFT)

Inks: Chocolate, Hollyhock, Pear, Desert Sand, Heavenly Blue (CTMH)

Tools: Paper-Piercer, Glue Pen, Blending Pen, Watercolor Pencils, Embossing Stylus, Sponge Dauber (CTMH), Icicle Border Die-Namics, Jumbo Snowflake Die-Namics (MFT)

Other: Prisma Glitter, Stardust Glitz Glue, Pearl Opaques (CTMH)

I created this card for the following challenges.

1) My Favorite Things MFTWSC102 Challenge

2) Black Friday's Challenge #13
3) The Paper Players PPP126 Challenge

Thanks for stopping by. Please be safe, my friends.

Casandra

Merry Monday #42 Winter Wonderland Card

This morning, I spent more time trying to clean up photo's from my Picasa Web Album than I did creating the following card. It appears that I exceeded my file upload size. I might add that this was not nearly as fun as creating my card. LOL

Recipe:
Paper: Winter Twig (Little Yellow Bicycle), Outdoor Denim CS, White Daisy CS (CTMH)
Stamps: Believe WOTG (CTMH), Lovely As A Tree (SU!)
Inks: Versamark, Outdoor Denim (CTMH)
Tools: Craft Heater, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)
Other: Silver Embossing Powder, Clear Detail Embossing Folder, Foam Tape (CTMH)

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
1. Friday Mashup! FM86 Challenge
2. Dynamic Duos DD#30 Navy & Silver Challenge
3. Merry Monday #42 Sketch Challenge

Happy Holidays!

Casandra

MFTWSC98 Snow Day Card

I rarely create 6x6 cards, mainly due to postage rates. However, this next card would have missed some great detail if I had chose to work with a standard size.

I was inspired by another awesome sketch over at My Favorite Things.

Recipe:
Paper: Wonderland, Smokey Plum CS, White Daisy CS (CTMH), Silver Pearls CS (Jo-Ann's), Winter Twig (Little Yellow Bicycle), Purple Snowflake Sentiments (The Paper Company Studio)
Stamps: Pure Innocence-Snow Day (MFT), Card Chatter-Christmas (CTMH)
Inks: Black Pigment Ink (Tsuniko), Twilight, Heavenly Blue, Crystal Blue, Smokey Plum, Black (CTMH)
Tools: Floral Doily Motifs Shapeabilities (Spellbinders), Icicle Die (MFT), Snowflakes Dies (MFT), Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge, Cricut Artiste Cartridge, Glue Pen, Blending Pen, Watercolor Pencils, Sponge Dauber, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH)
Other: Licorice Opaques, Foam Tape, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Prisma Glitter (CTMH)

I used a crazy amount of techniques on this card. I wanted the apparel to have lots of texture, like that shiny fabric that is often used in little girl's winter coats, so I decided to use pigment ink for added depth and embossed it. I then colored it in with my blending pen and our dye-based inks. I used watercolor pencils for the face and then used the blending pen again. I wasn't completely satisfied with it and decided to add some prisma glitter with my glue pen. I filled in the background with our pretty Heavenly Blue ink and a sponge dauber. To add yet more depth, I decided to add some bitty licorice pearls. I admit that there was a moment of panic as I was nearing the deadline and couldn't find my extra pack of licorice pearls. LOL

If you've had a chance to study up at all on our fabulous Cricut Artiste cartridge, you're probably trying to figure out exactly where it was used on this card. Well, that silver sentiment paper behind the stamped image is actually a mitten shape. I trimmed one side off to create the shape that was needed behind the circle in the sketch. 

Hope you like. My lighting is a little off today; wish you could see this card in person. Have a fabulous day!

Casandra

FMS58 Winter Card

I am having so much fun playing along with sketch challenges. 

Today's card was inspired by an amazing sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.

Recipe:
Paper: S'More Love (Cosmo Cricket), White Daisy CS, Saddle CS (CTMH); Stamp: A Sip (CTMH); Inks: Saddle, Cranberry (CTMH); Tools: Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug); Other: Antique Copper Brads (CTMH), Green/White Baker's Twine (Studio G), Foam Tape

The more I look at this card, the more I love it. Hope you're able to get some crafty time in today, too!

Casandra

MFTWSC94 Snow Day Card

Good evening! I'm back with my second post; trying to squeeze in under the deadline.

When I saw this next sketch, I immediately thought of my new Snow Day stamp set. All paper crafters know the best happy mail you can receive is new craft supplies. Last Thursday, I did my happy dance. :)

I was inspired by the latest sketch at My Favorite Things Blog.

Recipe:
Paper: Wonderland, Chocolate CS, White Daisy CS (CTMH), Snowflake Sentiments (The Paper Company Studio); Stamp: Pure Innocence-Snow Day (MFT); Ink: Chocolate (CTMH); Tools: Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors, Watercolor Pencils, Blending Pen, Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge, Sanding Kit (CTMH), Icicle Border Die (MFT), Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft); Other: Antique Copper Brads (CTMH)

Hope you have a happy, crafty week!

Casandra