Typed Note Valentines Day Projects

I used up every tiny scrap from the Heartstrings kit. Of all the cards I created with this kit, this one is my favorite. I found inspiration in the Seasonal Expressions book.

But I didn't stop there; I ended up making a layout with this stamp set, too.

I even managed to use up all but one sticker from the matching Heartstrings complements. 

Recipe:

Paper: Heartstrings, Hopscotch, Whisper CS, White Daisy CS, Hollyhock CS, Cranberry CS (CTMH)

Stamps: Love Ya Silly, Typed Note (CTMH)

Inks: Cranberry, Whisper, Lagoon (CTMH)

Tools: Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH)

Other: White Glitter Trim, Stuck On You glitter puffies, Slate Ribbon, Heartstrings Complements (CTMH)

Hope you like my projects. Don't forget: Typed Note is only available for the month of April. 

Casandra

Inspired Card

Last weekend, I was getting my craft on. Sometimes, cards are really easy, and other times they may take a while to come to fruition.

I was inspired by the artwork on the back of Close To My Heart's Seasonal Expressions 1 book. I used different stamp sets to create my version.

Recipe:
Paper: Heartstrings, Hopscotch, White Daisy CS, Glacier CS, Flaxen CS (CTMH)
Stamps: It's Your Day (retired), Have a Happy Day, A Bunch of Thanks (CTMH)
Inks: Glacier, Smoothie, Lagoon, Black (CTMH)
Tools: Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH)
Other: Gold Sequins, White Embroidery Floss (CTMH)

I hand-stitched this card while my daughter watched Disney and snuggled with her Daddy on the couch. It was a rather sweet moment, and I ended up not finishing this card until the following day so I could just enjoy being in the moment. Having a good night's sleep also gave me clarity on what stamps I ultimately ended up using. 

Since it's Friday, I have some crafty plans for the day. Hope you can find some time to get your craft on, too. Have a great weekend.

Casandra

Heartstrings Valentines Day Layout

I have had this Scrapbook Generation sketch sitting on my desk for a year now. It was just waiting for the right moment to be used. I had a 9" piece of paper left from my Heartstrings pack and knew it would be perfect with this sketch.

Recipe:
Paper: Heartstrings, Hollyhock CS, Whisper CS, White Daisy CS (CTMH)
Stamp: Love Ya Silly (CTMH)
Inks: Lagoon, Cranberry (CTMH)
Tools: Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH)
Other: Stuck On You glitter puffies, Pink Embroidery Floss, Heartstrings Complements (CTMH)

Isn't it cute? Perfect for my daughter's scrapbook. Best part is that it went together really fast.

I am entering this into this week's H2H Challenge: Think Pink.

Casandra

Mini Valentines Day Cards

This past weekend, I spent probably about 8 hours working on 55 mini Valentine's Day cards for my kids. My son needed 32 and my daughter needed 23. I made several different designs, but thought it might be a little wonky to post 55 pictures of them here for you, so I took just a few pictures instead.

Recipe:
Paper: Hopscotch, Heartstrings, Chalk ItUp, Whisper CS, Slate CS, Black CS, Sorbet CS, Hollyhock CS, Lagoon CS, White Daisy CS (CTMH)
Stamps: Love Ya Silly, Typed Note (CTMH)
Inks: Lagoon, Hollyhock, Whisper, Slate, Black (CTMH)
Tools: Paper-Piercer, Journal Pen (CTMH)
Other: Stuck On You glitter puffies, Chalk It Up Assortment (CTMH)

I love how they turned out. The Wishes How-To-Book made it so easy to come up with patterns and dimensions. I "wish" I'd thought of it sooner. Yeah, I know...I'm rolling my eyes, too. Teehee.

The kids were really excited about them. Izzy helped me make one just for Daddy, but she couldn't wait until Valentine's Day to give it away. Jack made sure to include both teachers when counting out how many were needed for his class. And Izzy even made sure to use an acid free pen when writing "Frum Izzy". :)

I am entering this into this week's Color My Heart: Color Dare #129. Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you are spending it with those you love.

Casandra

Love Ya Silly Card

Good afternoon. I made this next Valentine's Day card for my son. He thinks the monsters are cool. I am entering this card into the Use Your Stuff Challenge #172: Love Theme.

Recipe:
Paper: Heartstrings, White Daisy CS, Whisper CS, Lagoon CS (CTMH)
Stamp: Love Ya Silly, Distressed Backgrounds (CTMH)
Inks: Lagoon, Glacier, Cranberry (CTMH)
Tools: Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH)
Other: Stuck On You glitter puffies (CTMH)

What do you think? This is one stamp set I don't think I can part with. It's just too cute!

Casandra

Heartstrings Goat Time Layout

The Heartstrings paper pack is full of vibrant color, in fact, 2 of my favorites: Lagoon and Hollyhock. My favorite thing about it is that even though it is meant for love-themed projects, it is versatile enough to be used with other themes, such as I did with my following layout. This paper pack is definitely one of my new favorites, and I used up every scrap of it. I would like to enter this layout into this week's Heart2Heart Challenge: Share the Love, the CTMH Way. I know...too many favorites...but all of them, CTMH.

Recipe:
Paper: Heartstrings, Glacier CS, White Daisy CS, Whisper CS (CTMH)
Stamps: Thrill Ride (retired), Ticket to Ride (retired), Marquee Uppercase Alphabet, Keyboard Uppercase Alphabet (CTMH)
Inks: Blush, Hollyhock, Slate, Lagoon (CTMH)
Tools: Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH)
Other: Stuck On You Glitter Puffies, Bitty Sparkles, Heartstrings Complements, Foam Tape, Embroidery Floss (CTMH)

I used a Scrapbook Generation sketch, and retired Thrill Ride and Ticket To Ride stamp sets. In case the title piqued your curiousity, my daughter was being super silly on the way to the fair this past Summer. She kept talking about goats, and when I told the kids "It's go-time, people.", Izzy quickly asked "Goat time?" I hope I will always remember her giggles and how fun she was at this age. It was such a funny moment, that I quickly wrote the dialogue down and put it in a safe place for her scrapbook.

Hope I've inspired you to look at the Heartstrings paper pack in a new light. Thanks for stopping by.

Casandra

FMS172 Valentine Card

I have been busy all week finishing up love-themed projects. Today's card is for my husband.

Recipe:
Paper: Heartstrings, Hollyhock CS, Whisper CS, White Daisy CS (CTMH)
Stamps: #30yearsofhappy (retired), Distressed Backgrounds (CTMH)
Inks: Hollyhock, Black, Cranberry (CTMH)
Tools: Journal Pen, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors, Glue Pen, Cricut Art Philosophy (CTMH), Fancy Flourish Die (MFT)
Other: Stuck On You glitter puffies, Bitty Sparkles (CTMH)

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
1) Freshly Made Sketches FMS172 Challenge
2) The Friday Mashup FM196 Challenge
3) Stampin' Royalty #265 Challenge

I recommend adhering the flourish with a glue pen. Happy Valentine's Day.

Casandra

FM196 Heartstrings Layout

I made it a mission to try and use up as much of the Heartstrings paper pack and matching complements as I can. Often, leftover scraps get tucked away with plans to reuse them. However, the next paper pack looks sparkly and exciting and those leftover scraps quickly become a thing of the past. 

Recipe:
Paper: Heartstrings, Hollyhock CS, Whisper CS, White Daisy CS (CTMH)
Other: Heartstrings Complements, Stuck On You Puffies (CTMH)

I would like to enter this into The Friday Mashup FM196 Challenge: Love is in the air. I plan to use this layout for next week's Valentine's Day pictures.

I spent some time looking at the stickers I had left before finally attaching them to the page. The close-up of the layout shows you how I clustered them and added dimension with the puffy stickers. Feel free to scraplift for your own use.

Casandra

Heartstrings Love These Moments Layout

I am so happy to be creating layouts that aren't winter-themed. LOL I look outside and I see snow, so much white; playing with vibrant colored papers makes me feel happy.

I created a second layout with Heartstrings. After much deliberation, I finally decided on 2 sketches from our Reflections book. I taylored this layout after one that was featured in the Annual Inspirations book with Chalk It Up papers.

Recipe:
Paper: Heartstrings, Lagoon CS, White Daisy CS, Cranberry CS (CTMH)
Tools: Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors, Sanding Kit (CTMH)
Other: Stuck On You Glitter Puffies, White Shimmer Trim (CTMH)

It may be hard to see, but I sanded the edges of my papers. It takes a little extra time, but I think it is worth it. Because there was so much color going on, I decided to print my pictures in black and white (again). This also helped unify the color since my photo subjects were all dressed in different colors. 
I would like to enter this into the current challenge at Heart 2 Heart: Home Is Where The Heart Is. 

Thank you for stopping by. Have a great day!

Casandra

Heartstrings Layout

Over the weekend, I carved out some official "me" time to play in my craft room. I had this idea to use non-romance theme photos on my layout. 

Recipe:

Paper: Heartstrings, Hollyhock CS, Whisper CS (CTMH)

Tools: Sanding Kit, Paper-Piercer, Micro-Tip Scissors (CTMH)

Other: Stuck On You Glitter Puffies, White Shimmer Trim, Heartstrings Complements (CTMH)

I was inspired by Close To My Heart's artwork design and decided not to switch it up much. Only change I think I really made was to leave off the badge buttons. In their place, I added some of the Stuck On You glitter puffies. Here's a little confession: The washi tape strips were lightly placed down because I wasn't sure I was truly committed to them (at first). The more I looked at them, the more I liked the whimsy of them. Trend or not, I think they are just right.

I lightly sanded the edges of my papers to help my photos pop. That typewriter sticker is so stinkin' cute, and it renewed my search for an uber fun vintage typewriter in seafoam green. But alas, I can't seem to make myself purchase the one I really want when it costs more than the computer I use. However, my husband is in on the search now...who knows? Maybe.... :)

Oh, something else I wanted to mention real quick. Photos: For the 6x8 size photo, I simply opened up Microsoft Word, inserted my picture, edited the photo size to 8" height, 6" width. Then, I went into printer options and changed my paper to HP Premium Plus Photo Paper. After making that change, it automatically adjusted my print option to "Best". Clicked print, and waited for my printer to do its magic. It's the easiest way I know to do it myself. I got lucky with my other photos because I could print them on 4x6 papers and trim them down to size. 

My latest style is CAS, meaning Clean and Simple. This fits well with this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge. I love clean lines, and almost never ink distress white edges anymore. Hope you like my layout as much as I do. 

Have a great night!

Casandra

FMS167 Birthday Card with Heart

Good morning. I finally found time to play along with a sketch, this year (haha). I recommend when you aren't feeling the crafty mojo, that you ease gently back into things with some tried and true sketches. Then, it's much easier to design a project when you've played with stamping and cutting. 

I've been looking at this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches for the past 2 weeks. I knew I was inspired, but it was hard to narrow down what paper and stamp I wanted to use. After having a friend over to play scrap this past Friday, I saw her excitement at her recent purchase of the Cutie Pie stamp set. It was contagious.

So, this card is for a special person...my daughter's first grade teacher. She is truly one of the sweetest people I know. Add to that, I happen to know that her mom makes handmade cards, so I knew this would be perfect for her.

Recipe:
Paper: Heartstrings, Black CS, Lagoon CS, White Daisy CS, Black Paper Fundamentals CS (CTMH)
Stamps: Card Word Puzzle (retired), Cutie Pie (retired) (CTMH)
Inks: Cranberry, Blush (retired), Lagoon (CTMH), Black (VersaFine)
Tools: Paper-Piercer, Shinhan Alcohol Markers, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Craft Tray, Craft Heater, Liquid Glass, Heart Embossing Folder (CTMH), Circle Die (MFT)
Other: Bitty Sparkles (CTMH)

Please Note: "Never Before Used Schtuff" - Heart Embossing Folder, Heartstrings paper, Cutie Pie stamp set. Ms. Darnell, I'm so happy I finally found time to play along with your super fun challenge. I encourage others to follow Darnell's blog. She's as sweet as she is talented.

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

1) Freshly Made Sketches FMS167 Challenge
2) NBUS Challenge #3

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope your Monday is fantabulous.

Casandra