Happy Thanksgiving Card

We've already had a couple of days that had a hint of fall in the air and I'm so excited about the eminent arrival of fall.  It is my absolutely, hands down favorite time of the year.  Not too hot, not too cold, just perfect and I love it!

I also love the fall colors and CTMH has so many beautiful colors to help me celebrate my love of this time of year in both my scrapbooking and my card making.  Today, I'm sharing a card I made to give to my Grandmother for Thanksgiving.  I love it and I'm sure she will, too.

I cut two rectangles measuring 2 3/4 by 4 1/4 inches, one from Olive cardstock and one from Autumn Terracotta cardstock.  I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the Olive cardstock with the "Script" embossing folder and used Slate and a sponge dauber to ink the edges of these two pieces.  I then adhered them  to my card base.

I used a scrap piece of Colonial White cardstock and cut it to 2 by 3 1/4 inches and then inked the edges of it using Slate again.  I also used a small scrap of Daisy White cardstock and stamped the pumpkin from So Grateful stamp set using Goldrush and then cut it out.  I used Desert Sand to stamp the Script overlay, Olive for the leaf and Chocolate for the stem.  I cut the leaf and stem out and glued them onto my pumpkin and then glued the pumpkin to my Colonial White card stock rectangle.  I then used the 3-D Foam Tape to attach it to my card base and the final touch was to stamp "happy Thanksgiving" using Chocolate . For the word "happy" I used a mask so that only the word happy would be stamped onto my card and used the "so happy together" sentiment from the Avonlea WOTG Scrapbooking Kit stamp set.  The word "Thanksgiving" was from the So Grateful stamp set. 

Avonlea Card #3

Today I'm showing a slightly different card.  It was made using the Avonlea Green card stock which I cut to 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches.  I used a technique that was beautifully described by a fellow blogger and can be viewed at Tresa Black's Fabulously Artsy Blog.  It involved dry embossing a faux stitch line and then sanding the raised image to reveal the white core of the card stock.  Once this is completed, you use the ruler and the paper piercing tool to punch holes along the white line.  The result is what looks like stitching, but is much faster and, in my opinion, more fun!

I then used the August SOTM to stamp an image using Olive ink.  The tone and tone color is quite beautiful and of course, I inked the edges of my card stock with the same Olive ink because, quite frankly, I just can't help myself :-) - I LOVE inking the edges of everything!

I wanted the card to be versatile, so I stamped two additional sentiments. I am keeping all three sentiments with the card and when I am ready to use it, I'll just pick the one that suits the occasion and will adhere it with the 3-D Foam tape.  Below are pictures of the two additional sentiments that I stamped using Olive ink and the Casual Expressions Stamp Set.

Avonlea Card #2

This is another quick card made using supplies from the WOTG Avonlea Scrapbooking Kit.

My background patterned paper was cut at 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches and adhered to my card base.  I then cut a half inch strip from a complementary avonlea patterened paper and applied it across the middle of the card.  I stamped a frame from Perfect Fit - Frames using Slate Ink and then cut it out with scissors.  This frame could have been cut first using the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge and then stamped, but I demonstrated that these stamps still provide wonderful results without the Art Philosophy Cartridge.  Next, I cut a 1 1/2 inch circle and stamped the "Thinking of you" sentiment from Casual Expressions Stamp Set in slate and adhered it to the center of the frame.

This card used basic supplies:  paper, adhesive, stamps and ink.  It was extremely quick to make and it is ready from the next time I need a quick note to let someone know that they have been in my thoughts. 

Avonlea Card #1

After making both Avonlea WOTG scrapbook page layouts, the bonus project and an additional scrapbook page layout, I still had an amazing amount of supplies left over.  So it was time to play a bit and see what additional fun projects I could make from the remaining supplies.

I decided to make a few cards, which are always useful to have on hand when needed.  I tried to keep them simple and quick.  I'll share them over the next few days.

This is the first card I made.  It is so simple, but I just love it.  I cut the teal patterned paper at 5 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches and inked the edges using Slate Ink and then adhered it to my Card Base.  I cut the other piece of patterned paper at 4 1/4 by 3 inches and also inked the edges using Slate Ink and centered it on the teal paper.  I then stamped the "Thanks" sentiment from Casual Expressions Stamp Set, and cut it out.  Of course, this could have been cut first using the Cricut Artiste Cartridge and then stamped, but I wanted to show that this stamp set still works for those who do not own the Artiste Cartridge.  I them adhered it to my card using 3-D Foam Tape for added dimension and interest.  It came together very quickly and it is ready for the next time I need a Thank-You card! 

September's Stamp of the Month (SOTM)

September marks the beginning of fall and this SOTM certainly celebrates fall with style.  Just place an order of $50 in CTMH products and then you can purchase Fall Favorites, a D-size stamp set that retails for $17.95, for only $5.  It's a great deal and it is only available until the end of this month.  Here are some projects made using this stamp set.

Click here to see the details of the images included in this set.

Family Ties Scrapbook Page

As a new CTMH consultant, I received the Avonlea WOTG Scrapbooking Kit, the My Creations Recipe/Photo Box , the Avonlea Complements Canvas Shapes, and the Color-Ready Canvas Alphabet.  So far I have completed both of the WOTG scrapbook layouts and the Photo Box.  I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of supplies I had remaining!  I have used the supplies to make another layout and 3 cards (which I will share later).  I still have plenty of supplies remaining to make additional cards and, if time permits, I will make a few more.

This layout did require two additional sheets of cardstock which weren't included in the WOTG kit and I chose Desert Sand for my page base and inked the edges in Chocolate.  My pictures are standard 4x6 prints, but, to keep things interesting I cropped one to 4x4.  I used three 4x4 squares of the Avonlea paper and inked the edges because I just love the effect.

I also used several pieces from the Avonlea Complements Canvas Shapes.  These canvas shapes were a bit challenging to remove from their carrier sheets.  They wanted to separate and I finally worked out a way to remove them that minimized, but didn't fully eliminate, the problem.  I laid the carrier sheet on my flat work surface and gently scooped my Cricut spatula under an edge of the item I wanted to remove.  I had to be careful, because it wanted to stick to my spatula, so I only used it to start the removal process. I then carefully and slowly pulled the item from the sheet.  There was certainly a learning curve associated with this process - so just be prepared to need some glue to adhere the canvas shape to your layout, because if you are like me, you will loose the adhesive backing of some of the shapes when removing them from the carrier sheet.  But not to worry, they glued wonderfully to my page and no one would ever know they were missing the adhesive layer.

Left side page

Right side page

Avonlea WOTG Scrapbooking Kit 2nd Layout

The layout was a bit simpler than the first so it went together faster.  I stayed true to the design with two exceptions...1) I altered both of the 5x7 pictures and the 4x7 picture to include two pictures each.  This gave me room for 7 pictures instead of just 4.  Since the size of the prints remained the same no additional space adjustments were needed; and 2)  I  used the Color-Ready Canvas Alphabet for my title and colored it with Chocolate Ink instead of stamping the title as suggested in the instructions.  

Left side page

Right side page

Avonlea WOTG Scrapbooking Kit Layout

I really loved this layout and wanted to follow the design as presented in the instructional guide - minimizing the modifications.  However, my pictures didn't lend themselves to square cropping, so I replaced the small 2x2 pictures with two 3x4 portraits on the left hand page and four 2x3 landscape images on the right hand page.  This replacement consumed the equivalent of a 4x6 image on each page which left me with less "white" space on the lower half of each page.  So I ended up adjusting the size of my title, accordingly.

I also don't have the ability to print on a 12x12 page, so I used a 4x6 journalling box because I had quite a bit of journalling.  I inked the edges of this box and was pleased with the results.

This was my first experience using Parlor Velvet Rub-Ons...and I was impressed.  They were just as easy to use as a regular rub-on but the velvet added nice texture and sophistication to my layout. I also loved the detail that inking the edges added and I also thought it was a fun technique to incorporate.

Since I don't have an Alphabet stamp set that is large enough to be used for my title I used my Cuttlebug and an alphabet die cut set that I have had for many years to cut my title from two of the Avonlea papers.  This was my very first layout made with a WOTG kit and I not only loved the results, I loved the process.

Left side page

Right side page

September is National Stamping Month

Yes, it's true, there is a National Stamping Month and to celebrate, CTMH is offering the It's Your Day stamp set for only $5, when you make a qualifying purchase of $35.  This stamp set includes two D-size stamps, so it is valued at $35.90 and includes almost 50 stamps, some of which coordinate with the Cricut Artiste Cartridge  So being able to buy it for only $5 is an amazing deal.  This stamp set is available now through September 30, 2012 so if you are interested in it, be sure to order it before that date.  Full details can be found here.