Artiste card

  For July's card class I decided to cut my card base and the inside pop-up using Close To My Heart's "Artiste" Cricut cartridge. I hadn't cut one of those yet. I used the card on page 51. It turned out really cute and is very quick. I set the measurement dial at 5.5" and let the machine do the work. I used Pear cardstock for the base and I stamped with the new cat's eye background stamp ( D1559 Geometric Backgrounds) with Pear ink to create the band across the front. My label was cut with Close To My Heart's "Art Philosophy" Cricut cartridge and we also have a stamp set that coordinates with that cut. ( D1524 Frame It Up.) Very handy I say. I used Smoothie ink. The flower I created using another cut from the "Artiste" cartridge. On page 44, Accent 1, shift. I started with a 2.5" cut and then kept going down in quarter inch segments. I cut 4-5 layers of one paper and then cut 2 smaller in a yellow paper for the center. Both papers are from the Dotty For You paper pack. I ink distressed the edges of all the flower pieces and then laid them out on my Versa Mat and misted them a little and crumpled them up into a ball. Then uncrumpled them some and left them to dry. Once they were dry I took the largest one and put a dab of Liquid Glass in the center and laid the next smaller one on top making sure the petals were staggered. I continued that process until all petals were glued together. You can then ruffle up the petals and get the look you want. Next I threaded some Bakers Twine in Smoothie through the button. I was shown by a friend a really cool trick to threading twine or other threads, especially if they are thicker and the holes are small.
   The blue thing is for cleaning teeth (found in the toothpaste, floss isle.)

   Thread twine through the blue cleaner thingy. Then thread blue thingy through one of the holes of the button.

Pull twine through the hole making sure you don't pull it all the way through or you start over. Pull only one end of the twine all the way through. Loop that end through the blue loop again and thread the blue thingy down through the next hole.

   Is that not the coolest?!
 

  Here is what the front of the card looks like. Oh, and I added some Glitter Glitz Stardust to the flower after I had it glued  on the card front and when I had the inside complete. You could also add the Glitz to the flower and set it aside to dry and then attach it to the card when it is dry. 

  The inside pop-up part was cut with the fantabulous embossed cardstock from the Dream Pop papers. I love that paper pack! I would hoard this paper, but I got more than one so that I can cut up parts and pieces of one pack and the other I can save to use for bigger cuts and whole page layouts. I am trying to get past saving paper cause I like it so well and don't want it to be gone. I tell myself that there is always paper coming  out that I like as well or better! No need to worry that I will run out of paper that I like and have to quit scrapbooking and card making. LOL

I added a strip of the patterned paper  to the top of the pop-up to add some dimension/texture. I used my corner rounder to create a scalloped border. This is a pretty quick simple card, but cute.
I am entering this in the Anything Goes Challenge.
                                 Have a blessed day,   Polly

Experimenting with Pop-up cards

    Drats! I've gone and done it again! I am so ashamed and apologize to those who may be following me. You sure haven't had much to follow lately. I have been busy and haven't even had the time to craft like I would like to. And then what I have made I haven't posted. I am going to start my resolutions early and resolve to make posting a higher priority.
With that said, my card ladies have been wanting to do a pop-up card and here's what we did this last month for class. I will have to say that I was definitely winging this one. But I am pleased with the results. Making a decision as to  how many pop-outs you want and the depth and height of them is the first decision. I recommend you Google pop up cards and get some ideas from out in Google land, because there are so many ways you can do them.
On this card I made 3 pop-outs. The two outside ones stand out 3/4" and the inside only 1/2".
I used a lot of cuts from the Art Philosophy and Artiste Cricut cartridges. We did alot of piecing. The turkey was cut 3 times with different papers each time. One was a shadow layer and then the actual body and head part I just cut off the wings. The middle layer I used Close To My Heart Clementine paper. I really like the dimensional effect. The pumpkin I cut 5 ovals and then layered them. It didn't look so much like a pumpkin until I put the leaves and vines on. All the leaves were cut on plain cardstock and them stamped and ink distressed get the texture. I used a Close To My Heart stamp for this technique. Stamp set B1355 Timeless, which I believe is retired now.
On the outside, the background paper is from the retired pack Passages. I used the over stamping technique with the leaves and acorn and used the same stamp set as listed above. I will post a video showing how to do this technique next.
Thanksgiving was cut from the Artiste cartridge and "celebrate" is from the Say It In Style stamp set D1283.

And here is a look at the inside.

The sentiment on the inside is from A Little Thanks D1444.

I am also going to use this for a challenge over on Word Art Wednesday a blog I just found.
Hope you enjoy. If you are interested in purchasing some of these products or don't know what Close To My Heart is all about, look to the right for the "shop with me" button.
                           Blessings,   Polly

More paper flowers and a color challenge

This card sketch comes from Mojo Monday #256 and a color challenge from Heart 2 Heart challenges that I admit I had some trouble with. Just wasn't sure how to use Pear and Lagoon together. I used two of the wonderful papers from the Dotty For You paper pack and then the Lagoon flower is from the Stella paper pack. The sunset flowers are cut from the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge white cardstock and my waterbrush. The Lagoon flower was cut from the newest Close To My Heart Artiste Cricut cartridge. I used the flower on pg 54 using Accent 3 and shift key. I cut several at different sizes and then added the stamens. The green chevron banner is stamped using our National Stamping Month special stamp set. "It's Your Day" This is a double stamp set and a super deal. Order $35 in product and get this set for $5 more!

 If you would like to take advantage of this awesome deal just hit the "shop with me" button on the right. You won't be sorry!
Our color-ready seam binding that I spritzed with water and scrunched up and let dry like that and a stick pin from our Bling Assortment completed the flower cluster.
So here is my card

and a close up of the flowers

and I even decorated the  inside

This card was made for a special friend who has a birthday tomorrow!
Blessings,    Polly

Playing with ink distress technique

I have been wanting to play around with the ink distress technique that you see Tim Holtz and others doing. I wanted to see if I could get this effect using Close To My Heart products. So here is my rendition.
I dropped a drop of Crystal Blue reinker on a sheet of wax paper and then a drop of Sky reinker next to the first drop. Next I spritzed over the drops with some water. I took a paintbrush and mixed the colors some, but left some areas with the original colors. I had previously used this same piece of wax paper to apply some gold Pearl Ex mica powder (not a CTMH product)  to some other project and I had put these drops of reinker right over the remaining Pearl Ex. So when I spritzed on the water it reactivated the Pearl Ex too. I then took a piece of Colonial White cardstock and drug it through the mixed reinkers until I had the piece covered in ink. I then let my piece air dry, only because I had to go attend some other chore that was calling me (bum). It could be dried with our craft heater if you were wanting to use the piece immediately.
I was really pleased with the color mix and the gold mica powder added a super touch, I thought. I then cut the circle shape and stamped the bird image.
The patterned papers I used are an older retired CTMH paper pack-Life Delights, but I thought the colors worked well together.
My card sketch came from Mojo Monday challenge #251.

Here is a close-up of just the circle part to show the ink distress technique a little better.

I even decorated the inside. I used the June stamp of the month - Life Is Tweet-and it worked beautifully to use part of the sentiment on the outside and the rest inside.

I will definitely be messing with this ink distress technique in the near future, mixing different colors and not just using monochromatic colors.
Hope you enjoy.                               Blessings,    Polly

Starlets layout

Here is one of the layouts I did for an entry in the Close To My Heart Convention album contest this month. This was a fun LO to do. Everything on these two pages is product from CTMH.  I will just list some of the main products used.
Lucy paper pack
Dotty For You paper pack
Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge: the paper flowers, the title letters and the L & H, a couple of the butterfly shapes
Lucy Complements Glittery Rub-ons: the crown, some of the flowers

Having scrapbooked for our three sons and 5 grandsons, its a ton of fun to have a couple little princesses to scrapbook now! The picture of them in their pink and zebra vests are their one yr pictures. And the others are pics that were taken just a few weeks earlier when we were up there visiting. Yes, they live over 1,000 miles away from us.That's sad, but we sure love every minute that we get to spend with them when we're there. Modern technology makes it a little easier to not feel so far away and keep up on their progress. I hope soon to be able to Skype and then we can really feel like we are seeing them more often.
So here is page one and I am putting in this first page in pagemaps embellishments sketch contest.

 

Sorry the lighting wasn't very good. Here is the second page of the LO

 

And here a couple of close-ups to show the details a little better. These really are much prettier and brighter in life.

Have a blessed day,   Polly

Clean and Simple Wedding card

I have seen a lot of monochromatic cards especially in white and cream lately on Pinterest. They are so elegant and classy looking. Just right for wedding and anniversary cards. So this was the card we made in my monthly card class this month. I am entering this in the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #149. Their challenge happens to be a C.A.S, (clean and simple) card and in the Sweet Stampin' Challenge monochromatic challenge. I will have to say that it was very difficult for me not to ink distress. And as you can see, I didn't quite get it pulled off. LOL I ink distressed very lightly the sentiment label. I thought it added just the right amount of pop. I used the Timeless embossing folder from Cuddlebug, a 5 x 7 size. The label and the flower were cut from shapes on the Art Philosopy Cricut cartridge. The flower is actually a couple layers of different sizes of a snowflake and a couple of layers of one of the flower shapes on that cartridge. I misted each layer with water and  crumpled it up. Unfolded them somewhat and took a stylus and with each individual layer laid on a mousepad, I ran the stylus around the center to make the flower cup up. And then I let them dry. Glued each layer together one on top of the other, making sure to stagger the petals. I then added some Glitter Glitz around in various places. A clear sparkle in the center finished the flower. It was so hard not to do some ink distressing on those petals. I created a border using a Fiskars border punch and some sheer cream ribbon. A Rhinestone Designer Brad in the center of the ribbon bow was the finishing touch.

 

Sorry the lighting wasn't real great. Doesn't do the card justice. Here is a closer view of the flower.

Close To My Heart products used:
Cardstock: Colonial White and Black
Ink: Black
Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge
Glitz Glitter Gel-Stardust
Clear Sparkles
Rhinestone Designer Brad
D1192 Now and Forever stamp set (retired) for the sentiment
  you can find these products when you click on the "shop with me" button over on the right

Thanks for stopping by,    Polly

Footloose- at the Beach

For our May scrapbook class we did the LOs on page 39 and pg 42. Both of these pages have lots of details and were alot of fun to put together.  The LO on page 42 I altered to suit the photo that I had and this is what I ended up with.

and then I had more pictures that went with our day at Cocoa Beach so I created this LO using Frosted Designs Sketch Along Tuesday #41for the second page of this 2 page LO. Here is the sketch outline.

and because I wanted this to be the right page of a two page LO, I flip flopped the orientation of the elements on the page.

I will post the other 2 page LO later this week.
Enjoy!       Polly

Feminine card and new technique I tried

As I said before, I have a bunch of birthdays in March, so here is another card. This one for a friend of mine. I used Frosted Designs card sketch #14 for this card. And The Shabby Tea Room is celebrating its second birthday this week with lots of prizes and inspiration going on. Go on over there and check it all out. Their weekly challenge "Spring Is Near" has a photo for inspiration. We need to use three of the colors in the photo and dry embossing. We were to use our imaginations for the dry embossing and I remembered I'd just seen someone showing how to emboss using acrylic packaging. I'm sorry I don't recall where I saw it and so I can't give credit where its due. I used a piece of acrylic packaging and ran it through Sizzex Texture Boutique. Then I cut my flower shape using my Cricut and the Art Philosophy cartridge. Next I swiped Stazon Timber Brown ink over the flowers. I cut three sizes. 1 1/2", 1", and 3/4". Then I heated with craft heater to shape and dry the ink. You need to be very careful here. It doesn't take much heat to soften enough to bend the petals. To much heat melts the texture right out. I know! But, it was fun and easy to do and I really like how they look. Another great way to reuse and recycle!
I cut my circle card shape, the little flowers, and the sentiment label using the same Cricut cartridge. The seam binding I dyed to match the Sweet Leaf cardstock strip that I laced through a Color Ready Self Adhesive Border from CTMH. The paper is an old paper pack: Notebook. The card base is Desert Sand cardstock and I used D1477 Universal Backgrounds stamp set to get  the woodgrain texture. The ink is Desert Sand for a tone on tone look. Here is the sketch:

 

 And here is my creation-

 

An inside peek-

 

And a close-up of the acrylic flower-  

 

I will definitely be using this technique more. 

Have a blessed day.                               Polly

 

Paper Doll card and H2H challenge

This week at  Heart2Heart we have a sketch.

And over at Paper Craft Planet-group: All Things Vintage for February we were to make a card using a paper doll image. I chose to use a Betsy McCall paper doll. What a fun project. I haven't played with paper dolls for many years. I thought this paper from CTMH's Mayberry paper pack had a very vintage look and went well with Betsy's dress.

and a close up.

After inking the tips and some of the surface area of the roses, I dipped a brush in some glue that I diluted with water and then dipped my wet brush in Pearl Ex Aztec Gold and brushed in on the flowers. You can't see it very well in the photo, but I love the shimmery look. I also, stamped Celebrate using Encore gold ink and then restamped almost on top with Staz-0n Jet Black.
This card meets two other challenges for this week.
The Shabby Tea Room has a photo to use for inspiration.

I took the colors, roses and gold trim from the photo. I used Gold leafing around the edges of all the papers. That is the first time I've ever used gold leafing, I like it a lot. And one of the trendy things right now is doilies, which we were to include in our creation. And last, but not least, at Frosted Designs for Fab Friday we are to take a geometric shape and use it 3 times. I have 3 squares.
Go check out all these places and get inspired to make some gorgeous cards yourself!
                                                         Blessings to you,     Polly

H2H Challenge and Mojo Monday

This weeks H2H Challenge is a 1 2 3 Challenge. Use 1 stamp, 2 patterned papers, and 3 embellishments. Doesn't sound to hard, but it was more of a challenge than I thought. I have a hard time using only 1 stamp!
I did enjoy using one of our new paper packs, Pemberly. It reminds me of vintage wallpapers. I love it and really liked the look of the card when it was done.
I cut some of the hexagons for one of the papers. Used some of our new color ready seam binding (I was so excited to see this in our new catalog). I put about 3 drops of Indian Corn Blue reinker in a small baggie and spritzed in some water and added the ribbon, which is a cream color. Smooshed that around, took it out and laid it on some paper and dried it with the craft heater. You can see I have some varigation, but i liked the look so I left if that way. Of course I had to use the Art Philosophy cart, that's the label. Therein lay the one stamp problem, I wanted to use the stamp that goes with the label, it's so pretty, but then I wouldn't be able to stamp a sentiment. So I cut the label from Desert Sand cs and stamped the sentiment. I think I actually like this way better.
I used Mojo Monday 228 sketch.

And this is my creation.

Go on over to H2H and Mojo Monday to see everyone else's creations.
Like this paper or other products that I used? Go click on the "shop with me" button to the right.
Thanks for stopping by and blessings to you.

You and Me Love card

Here's some love from me. I created this card for a class that I held. I cut the card shape,  all the hearts, and the tags from the Art Philosophy Cricut cart. Textured the front of the card using my new Sizzex Texture Boutique. That little thing is so cute! Added some seam binding and bakers twine and some bling.

 

Sorry the lighting wasn't real great, we've had several cloudy days.

This card also meets the H2H Challenge this week.

Feminine, vintagey card

I am finding that participating in challenges and using sketches has really challenged me to get more done in a shorter amount of time. Mainly I'm not getting a project all planned out in my head before I actually start putting together something. I'm learning to start and build as I go, most things can be changed or adapted. This is really a fun process.
So I started this card with a sketch challenge from Let's Scrap and then the H2H challenge for last week was to use color (Close To My Heart color of course) and glitter.  It was easy to work these two challenges together.
I misted the textured piece of cardstock on the left with clear glitter mist, which you can't really see in the photo. And then added just a touch of Glitz Glitter gel on the tips of some of the rose petals. I am also loving the seam binding and all the ways you can color it. You'll definitely be seeing more of that here. 

 

Here is a close-up of the rolled flowers with Glitz Glitter gel added to some of the tips. The ribbon is the popular seam binding. It comes in many colors, but if you purchase white or cream, you can then color it to match whatever project you need it for. Saves on buying so many colors, and then maybe still not having the right color, plus then you have the money to purchase other NEEDS :) It comes flat, but you can get this cool scrunched look by misting it with some water and wadding it up. Let it wadded in a ball until dry. Love this stuff! 

 

Close To My Heart products used:

 Roxie paper pack

Art Philosophy cricut cartridge ( the bracket shape on the left edge and rolled flowers)

stamps

waxy flax

the pearl buttons are vintage and this seam binding is also, but Close To My Heart now carries the seam binding in off white

                              Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by. I love to see your comments too!     Polly               

Our Little Girls

I'm scrapbooking the first year of our twin granddaughters, at least that is all I'm committing to right now. It is so fun to be doing girly pages. We have a daughter and 3 sons and then our daughter had 5 boys, so I've done a lot of boy pages since I started scrapbooking.
This LO is for a challenge over at  Frosted Designs and a Winter Wonderland Blog Hop, so go check it out. For the challenge we were to use vellum, transparencies, and/or acrylic. I have vellum flowers the I cut from a vellum paper, a transparency over the two pictures on the left page near the bottom and also a transparency with the words "daddy" on it.
I also met the Let's Scrap challenge # 127. Often times we have more pictures than what we can find a sketch for. So we were to take a sketch and reduce the sizes of some of the pictures so that we could fit alot more on the LO.
I used Sketch 4-27-11

 

So here these sweethearts are, in their first few hours.

Here is a close-up of the transparencies I used.

I  used the new Lucy paper pack from our new Close To My Heart Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book and of course the Art Philosophy Cricut cart and also the Storybook cart..

                                                Hope you enjoy,      Polly

Another Winterish Card

 I created this card for two reasons: one was for Frosted Designs card sketch #9 and then for one of the ladies in my card class. She's just begun to attend and I told her she could pick out a card she liked and we could do her pick for the next class. I think she really liked the bird and I didn't have the one like she was looking at. It was also a window card.
I  wanted to cut the card from the Art Philosophy Cricut cart. There was a square card with rounded corners, but it didn't have the circle cut out of the center. So I went into the Cricut Craft Room and created it myself. This is a free program and you can manipulate designs and cut them if you have that particular cartridge. I haven't used it much so I can't tell you much about it yet. I then cut the circle scallop from the above cartridge. I had to guess at the size since I wanted it to work with the circle that was cut out of the center of the card. I had cut the center circle out of the card at 2", so I cut this layer at 3" and it worked almost perfect. If you were to look on the inside you would see a little of the layer circle there. But I was pleased with the results. I can fix the inside.
The brown flowers (or snowflakes, they kinda look like that to me) were made by cutting the zig-zag border that's on the same cartridge. It's the one with one straight edge. Again, I had to take it into the Cricut Craft Room so that I could set the width and length that I wanted. When I set it to cut at 1/2" just using my Cricut, I got about a 4" length cut, but in the Craft Room I could set the width and length. I then scored the length of this strip every 1/4" and accordian folded, joined the ends and squished together and stuck it on a small cardstock circle.  The bigger flower I did the same but cut it 3/4" wide.
The buttons are a stamp and then I covered them with Liquid Glass. I used Stardust glitter gel in each of the holes on the circle layer. I ink distressed edges of card, patterned paper and the inside of circle layer with Crystal Blue.

Supply List: Close To My Heart unless otherwise specified
  Paper pack- Wonderland
  cardstock - White Daisy
  paper flower - Spring Blossoms
  inks - Crystal Blue, Desert Sand
  stamp set: D1455 Blessed (retired)
  Glitz - Stardust Glitter Gel
other: Black Staz-on ink
          Martha Stewart ribbon

Sharing From the Heart December blog hop part 2

  Another card I created for Sharing from the Heart December blog hop.
  If you arrived here from Lela's blog, then you are on the right track.
  A New Year's card. I cannot stop using my Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. I cut the stars, tag and circle out with it. I used one of the stamp sets that comes with the AP cartridge for the star with the button on top of it. The tag is stamped with our Stamp of the Month for November. I stamped some texture background on the other two stars.

   All products are Close To My Heart except the red jute tied on the button.
      Elemental paper pack
      Inks:  Cranberry, Olive, Creme Brulee, Chocolate
     Stamp sets:  Cherish the Day November Stamp of the Month
                         Rock the Block ( for texture on stars)
                         Enjoy Life
                         one of the sets that come bundled with the AP cartridge
     wooden button
  
  Continue on this hop to Patti's blog. And if you've lost your way go to Diana Solings blog and the complete list is there.                                                    Polly

Sharing From the Heart December blog hop

 Joining in on theSharing from the Heart  December blog hop and if you've come here from Lela's blog then you are on track. I am using the Wonderland paper pack again. I am just really enjoying creating with it. This is a 4.25" x 5.5" card. I tried a technique that I saw on Stamp with Tammi. I changed it up a bit to work for what I had. I dropped one drop of Create-a-shade paint on a plate and then dropped one drop of reinker (same color as I wanted to stamp with) on top of paint and mixed it up good. I then inked up my stamp in the color ink I was using, in this case Cocoa, and then took a sponge dauber and daubed  the paint/reinker mixture on top of the stamp that's inked up. I love the subtle almost embossed look that it gives. Its almost like using shimmer mist, but without the more splotchy look. I used this technique on the words of the cup and on the mittens. I hope you can see it in the close ups.
   Other Close To My Heart products:
     Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge- the scalloped circles, the tag, and the snowflakes
     Wonderland  WOTG stamp set
     Pair-a-phrase stamp set for the sentiment
     Inks:  Twilight, Cocoa
     Prisma  Glitter

This last picture really makes the words look like they are embossed, but they're not. Now you can head on over to Patti's blog and check out her artwork.
If you've lost your way go to Diana's blog and the complete list is there.

                                                              Polly

Holiday card

  I recently saw a card on Pinterest (yes, I'm addicted :( ) that I liked. I believe the card idea came from www. vervestamps.com. So here is my version. I completely changed up the the colors so that I could put this on http://dianasstampingchallenges.blogspot.com/ Color Dare #9. We were to use Pacifica, Sorbet, and/ or Cranberry. We could use all 3 or just 2 and we could add in neutrals. I really like blues for winter so Pacifica was my main color. I chose you use a little Cranberry and some Desert Sand for neutral. 
  Over at http://frosteddesigns.blogspot.com/ its all about Glitter on their Fabulous Friday Challenge. That's an easy thing to do when your doin a winter card. I sprayed my own white glimmer mist on the card base and then glittered up those cute little snowflakes. The ribbon has a metallic thread through it also.
  This weeks H2H Challenge is a virtual Holiday Card Exchange. And last, but not least, http://lisascreativecorner.blogspot.com/ has an Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge blog hop going on! I just can't resist using my AP cartridge for every project I do! I love this thing. On this card I cut the trees (both layers), the bracket, that teeny tiny tag, and those tiny little snowflakes. Is that not sweet?! I could have used it to cut every shape on this card!! Check out my other posts for lots more examples using the Art Philosophy cart. I am a fairly new blogger here so it won't take long to look at the rest. I think the card using the CTMH Sonoma paper is my favorite so far.

 If you haven't gotten your cards done yet and are still looking for ideas, here are some great places to find some.

Here is a close up, maybe you can see the glimmer mist and glitter on the snowflakes better.

                                                                                     



  Close To My Heart items- which can be ordered at my website:  pollylewis.myctmh.com

Cardstock: Pacifica, Desert Sand

Inks:  Pacifica, Desert Sand, Cranberry

Paperpacks: Dreamin, Elemental

Color Ready Borders

Stamp sets: Art Philosophy D1498,  Say It In Style D1283

Cricut cartridge: Art Philosophy

other:

Embossing folder: Swiss Dots

Glitter

my own glimmer mist

old sheet music

ribbon

                         May your day be blessed,     Polly