Bit-tea Boutique

This week's challenge at H2H is an ABC challenge (Anything But a Card).   Being pressed for time with so many other custom orders coming in, I came up with something very simple, yet very useful and too cute. 



I called this post Bit-tea Boutique becuase the color combination just reminds me of a boutique and I use these little treat bags all the time to give small tea tins as Thank You gifts.

One little tip I will share when making projects with a window of some sort.  When using a punch or die, I punch out my border and then attach it to my project BEFORE I punch out the center window portion.  By punching out the window section through all the layers it ensures a perfect window and border.

Supplies:

Paper:  Patterned paper from  Cherry-O paper pack, vellum

Inks:  Tulip

Stamps:  Tiny Tags (Papertrey Ink)

Embellishments:  Metal Rimmed Tags (CTMH), Wrinkle ribbon from my etsy shop

Tools:  Sizzix treat bag die used with my Cuttlebug, scalloped oval and plain oval paper punch

H2H Bunny Hop

Welcome to the first Heart 2 Heart blog Bunny Hop!  Here are a few details, first, create something Easter or Spring inspired, then on Monday, April 18th, visit the H2H blog here and post your link on the Mister Linky.  You can ONLY post your artwork between 8 a.m. EST and 8 p.m. EST.  After 8 p.m. the link list will close.  Your project MUST contain Close To My Heart products.  Then you can bunny hop through all the links to see all the wonderful creations!

My project for the H2H Bunny Hop is an Easter door hanging.  I used papers from 5 different CTMH paper packs and the adorable March Stamp of the Month, Sensational Season.  I also used Sky, Sorbet and New Leaf wrinkle ribbon from my Etsy shop as well as several soft shades of mulberry paper roses.

Supplies:

Paper:  Patterned paper from Magnifique, Sweetheart, Sophia, Mayberry and Lucky.  Paper doily from Wal-Mart.

Inks:  Olive ink pad for sentiment

Copics:  E31, E33 and E35 for bunnies fur

              R20 and R22 for Miss Bunnies shirt and present

              YG91 and YG93 for Jr. bunnies jacket

              Y17 for ribbon on present

              W00 and W1 for shading

Stamps:  Sensational Season (D1454) and sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

Embellishments:  Cotton Candy crochet ribbon from CTMH Designer Pink collection, pink baker's twine, mulberry paper roses from Wild Orchid crafts, Wrinkle ribbon from my Etsy shop.

Other:  Chipboard base is from Melissa Frances, Tiny Tag die from Papertrey Ink, scallop paper punch from Stampin' Up and leaf paper punch from Martha Stewart.

Thanks for hopping on over and don't forget to hop back over to H2H to check out the DT creations and visit all the links!

H2H Sketch Challenge

A sketch is the challenge this week for H2H. 

This week I chose to use the new Mayberry paper pack.  I really liked this paper once I seen it in person.

My card base is a 6" circle which I covered the front with the large quilt pattern paper from Mayberry.

I made the inside of the card similar to the front, just toned down some with the omission of the large pattern paper.

Supplies:

Paper:  White Daisy Cardstock, White Daisy Textured Cardstock and Cocoa Cardstock, Mayberry Paper Pack

Ink:  Cocoa

Stamps:  TLC (C1364)

Embellishments:  Flower is cut from Mayberry pattern paper, CTMH Pink button assortment, CTMH chocolate flower buttons, Chocolate baker's twine.

Tools:  Papertrey Ink Limitless Layers die (for scallop circle and plain circle), Cuttlebug Butterfly die and Cuttlebug tiny dots embossing folder, Cuttlebug.

Thanks for looking, and be sure to stop by the H2H challenge blog to see what the design team created using this sketch.

OH BABY!

The theme this week at H2H is Babies.  How sweet!  As sad as this sounds, this is the first time I have ever made a baby card.  It was tons of fun and as usual, I got in over my head with details.  I must be in a mood for patchwork lately as I have continued that scheme here as well.

This will also be my first entry to The Shabby Tea Room challenge blog.  The theme was to use 3 in a row, which I was able to accomplish with the tiny quilt blocks which were made using a punch.  There are the buttons too, but they are 4 in a row.

I made two cards, one for a boy and one for a girl.  They are both the same design, I just changed the colors slightly.



To make the patchwork, I cut 1/2" squares from 4 different patterns, all from the Sweet Pea paper pack.  I glued them onto cardstock making sure I made a section large enough to accomodate the stamp I would be using.  For the smaller squares I just glued the squares in groups of 4.

The elephant stamp I chose was not an outline stamp but a solid, so I stamped him onto the back of my cardstock in the area where my patchwork was.  He just ended up being backwards which for this project did not matter.  If I were using an outline stamp, I would have stamped the image directly onto the patchwork in a coordinating ink color.

After being sure that my project was entirely dried, I cut out the elephant and turned him over so the patchwork was facing up.  I estimated where his eye and mouth should be and drew them on using the Blush (one shade darker than Baby Pink) marker for the girl and Heavenly Blue for the boy.  I again stamped the elephant onto coordinating paper and cut out the ear portion to attach to the front of the elephant.

For the four-squares I just used a square paper punch and punched them out ensuring that all edges were even.

I used a Copic Multi-Liner pen and a ruler to hand draw stitches around each square and just hand drew the stitches around the elephant and his ear.

I finished each card off by adding buttons, ribbon and a tag with the sentiment.

Supplies (all CTMH unless noted)

Paper:  White Daisy Textured cardstock, Baby Pink and Heavenly Blue Cardstock, Pattern Paper from Sweet Pea paper pack.

Stamps:  It's A Zoo (C1360), Miracle (D1140)

Inks:  Heavenly Blue and Baby Pink ink pads, Heavenly Blue and Blush markers, Copic multi-liner

Embellishments:  Pink buttons (CTMH pink button assortment), Blue bottons (CTMH blue button assortment), Baby Pink and Heavenly Blue safety pins (CTMH, retired), Heavenly Blue Designer Ribbon (CTMH) and Sweet Blush ribbon (PTI), small tags are from my stash.

Tools:  Spellbinders square scalloped lace die, Papertrey Ink large scalloped border die, Cuttlebug.

From Your Heart to Ours

I am a big fan of the "From Your Heart to Ours" challenges at H2H.  It gives us more than just a project to think about.
This week for the "From Your Heart to Ours" challenge,  we are to feature a Home Decor item along with a little story or information about us and our artwork.

So, just a little info about myself.  Hmm, where to start?  Well, I am a fanatic about ancient history.  Yep, that's right.  When I am not in my scraproom you can almost always find me with my nose in a history book of some kind.  I am particularly fond of ancient Celtic folklore and traditions but I also love the Greek and Roman civilizations and culture.  Not only do I read about these subjects on a regular basis, but I am compelled to take notes as well, so I have notebooks full of information that is useful to me for later reference.  I know that it seems a bit odd, but I just can't help it, I'm a history nut!  I have a niece who rather enjoys my stories about faeries and the summerlands,  which of course I have read about since I was probably her age, so at least I have one family member who shares my passion.  I also enjoy playing the violin and piano and obviously I love paper crafting as well.  ;-)  I try to incorparate my interests into my artwork when it is possible, so that is why you often see faeries somewhere in my artwork.  (Even in todays project there is a wee bit of whimsy, can you find it?)

My project for this week is a wall hanging with a monogram.  I just completed it this afternoon, so it is something I made new, however,  I based it from a previous wall hanging I created this past fall.  Click here to see my original.

I used Silhouette paper which has the black and creamy bamboo colors.

The rosette is made from pleated Vineyard Berry and Black Ribbon with a black corduroy brad as the center.

The monogram "M" is cut from Black and Bamboo cardstock using my Cricut and then I dressed it up with Pink Paislee rub-ons, as I did on my original.  The vintage postcard pattern is from the Once Upon A Springtime collection by Graphic 45.  I mounted it onto black cardstock and then used a "stamp" edge cutter.

The entire center circle is attached using two layers of foam tape to give it some height.  All the edges were distressed using Vanilla Cream pigment ink except for the center circle where I used black ink.

Supplies (All CTMH except where noted):

Paper:  Silhouette pattern paper, Black and Bamboo cardstock, postcard paper is from Graphic 45 - Once Upon A Springtime

Inks:  Black and Vanilla Cream pigment ink

Embellishments:  Vineyard Berry and Black pleated ribbon, Black grosgrain ribbon, ivory crocheted trim (from stash), white lace trim (from stash), Black corduroy brad from the black Mini-Medley, rub-ons are from Pink Paislee.

Tools:  nail file used to sand edges even and smooth, Cricut to cut "M", Bonding Memories glue pen and rubber brayer to get an air-bubble free bond.

Thanks for stopping in!

Making A Scene

This week the H2H challenge is to use at least 3 different stamps to create a scene.  This was so much fun! 

But first, exciting news for me this week!  I have been asked to be a Guest Designer for H2H during the month of April.  I am so honored and excited.

More good news, my upline and team leader, Mary Gunn is the Guest Designer at H2H for March!  Check out her amazing creations and all of the talented DT's creations here.

And the best news, I am celebrating my 5 year anniversary with CTMH this month.  I can't believe it has been that long, but it has been such a wonderful time for me and I look forward to many more years to come.

Ok, on to my entry this week.  I made a 6" x 6" wall hanging and went a little crazy with the masking.  The photo does not show it so well, but the fairies wings are glittered with Prisma Glitter.

Supplies:

Paper:  White Daisy cardstock, Petal textured cardstock, patterned papers are from Paper Garden (All CTMH)

Stamps:  Flower Fairies (CTMH), Fairy Dust (CTMH), background stamp is from Magnolia and sentiment stamp is from Lili of the Valley

Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Copics:  Skin: YR0000, E000

         Sun, Butterflies: Y00

         Clouds: B000

         Pink Flowers: RV11, RV34

         Grass, Leaves: G20, G21

         Violet flowers,fairy dresses: V15,V95

Embellishments:  Sweet Leaf stitched ribbon for hanger (CTMH), mulberry paper roses (I Am Roses), Prisma Glitter for wings 

Other:  Spellbinders die (corner accent), Papertrey Ink Limitless Layers dies (circle, scalloped circle)

A Color Challenge

March is kicking off over at H2H with a color challenge.

These colors at first sight may remind some of Fall, specifically Halloween, but I used the colors to come up with a more spring-y project.

 



I used Creme Brulee cardstock as my base and then created the polka-dot pattern using Colonial White cardstock, Creme Brulee ink, a pencil eraser and a ruler.  Super easy and such a fun pattern.



I stamped the butterfly (B1210-Flutter) onto black cardstock and then again onto the Gypsy polka-dot pattern paper and cut out only the wing sections then pasted them onto the black butterfly.

I folded up his wings a bit for some dimension.  The buttons are from my stash and I used a copic marker to color the Colonial White ric-rac to match.

My card is inspired by Stephanie Day.

Supplies:

Paper:  Creme Brulee, Colonial White and Black cardstock.  Patterned paper (Gypsy dot) from Hooligans.  Manila parcel tag.

Inks:  Bamboo for distressing, Gypsy to stamp butterfly, Copic V17

Stamps:  TLC (C1364 sentiment), Flutter (B1210)

Embellishments:  Paper doily from Walmart, buttons and lace ribbon from my stash, Colonial White ric-rac, Natural hemp.

Show Your Heart

This week at H2H it's all about hearts.  My project uses the new CTMH Sweetheart papers and the adorable pom-pom ribbon.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Paper:  Baby Pink cardstock, Sweetheart patterned paper, paper heart doily(supply house)

Stamps:  Hodgepodge Alphabet, In My Heart

Inks:  Cotton Candy, White Daisy Pigment(for distressing edges)

Embellishments:  Pom-pom ribbon from Designer Ribbon Pink Collection, rayon seam binding, CTMH chipboard heart

Other:  Vintage angel image is a free printable found online (google "free vintage printables"

Tools:  Mat stack 3 die and banner borders die from Papertrey Ink, sewing machine

Pucker Up

"Kissing" is the technique at H2H this week!  Yes, I am going to show you how I "kiss".  For those who are not familiar with "kissing" in the papercrafting world, it is a stamping technique, really.  Basically it is inking up a stamp and touching it to another stamp to transfer the image from one to the other then stamping the image onto the project.

My "kissing" technique is used on the inside of my card on the TOKEN ticket.  I used the back of the cross-hatch pattern stamp from Tasty Treats as a base and from the same stamp set, I inked up the polka-dot square with Pear ink, stamped the polka-dot onto the back of the other stamp, then used the base stamp and stamped onto cardstock.  A very subtle polka-dot pattern in the shape of a ticket.

On the front of the card I used an "A-Door-Ables" which I modified slightly to make the frame. 

Supplies~

Paper:  Pear, Tulip, Hollyhock and White Daisy textured cardstock, pattern paper from Sophia.

Inks:  Blush, Hollyhock, Tulip and Pear stamp pads and Hollyhock marker.

Stamps:  Tasty Treats (TOKEN Ticket), Priceless Love Word Puzzle, Polka Dot Alphabet and Storytime Caps

Embellishments:  CTMH pink button assortment, Pear brad and button from mini-medley, Blush ric-rac and mint baker's twine.

Other:  CTMH 1 1/4" circle punch, Just Blooms II die (papertrey ink), Fillable Frames 1 (papertrey ink) and an EK flower punch (I cut petals apart for the leaves).

Inspired by: My Mind's Eye

~Shari

H2H Sketch Challenge

Over at H2H we have been given a sketch challenge for this week.  And yes, I am running a bit late in getting my project posted, but I was being extremely indecisive in what I wanted to create.  Alas, my brain was finally able to produce something.  Below is the sketch provided by H2H.

I rotated the sketch so the circles are along the bottom.













I used the pattern paper from the CTMH Bliss paper pack and the January Stamp of the Month for my project. I stamped the dress form stamp onto Bamboo Cardstock using Desert Sand Ink.

 
I used my water brush directly on the Desert Sand Ink pad to pick up the color and then "painted" around the entire image.  It makes it look very aged, like it was cut from an old advertisement in a newspaper. The water brush did make my cardstock warp some, but that is the look I was going for.

I used Spellbinders dies to cut the scalloped circles from cork, the regular circles from Bliss patterned paper and hearts from felt.  I attached CTMH chocolate buttons using chocolate baker's twine and also used the twine to attach the "Love" sentiment (also from the January SOTM).  The sentiment is stamped onto a tag shaped piece of chipboard that CTMH made years ago.

SUPPLIES:

Paper:  Colonial White and Bamboo cardstock, Bliss patterned papers.

Inks:  Desert Sand and Chocolate

Stamps:  Find Your Style (D1452)

Embellishments:  Chocolate buttons, chocolate baker's twine, chipboard tag

Tools:  Spellbinders Nestabilities -scallop circle, plain circle, heart and Cuttlebug

Misc:  Fine Linen felt from Papertrey Ink and cork from my own stash.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Shari

From My Heart To Yours

I was really excited when I read the Heart 2 Heart Challenge this week.  It is called "From Your Heart to Ours" and the concept behind it is to share something that is not artwork.  To start the new feature off, the theme for this week is Organization. 

Ok, some of you will call me crazy, but organization is one of my most favorite things to do, I don't know where I picked up the idea, but according to most anyone in my family, I started organizing at a very young age and my mom often reminds me how she was amazed that she never had to ask me to clean my room.  Now I will fully admit to being an organizing fanatic, but I never mentioned that I was an awesome duster, so please forgive the dust in the following pictures.

First is a shelving unit that my husband made for me out of cheap plywood. I painted it black and actually use painted metal flower planters to store my stamps in. I organize my stamps by category, then by size, then alphabetically. I have scanned all my stamp sets and put the copies into a 3 ring binder for a reference.

This is also a metal flower planter that sits inside a wire basket.  I thought my stamps would fit into them, but they didn't, so I use these for cards, and a lot of CTMH embellishments.

Above my desk is a shelving unit that I use the ribbon dowel to hang my stickease from using curtain hooks.  I also break all my Dimensional Elements from the large sheet and put them into smaller bags leftover from other products and have them hanging here as well.

This is a small shelf with small cubbies that I purchased at a garage sale for 25 cents.  I eventually plan on painting it white.  I use it for my acrylic blocks, PTI dies and random things I like within reach.  I use the glass jars to hold homeless ribbon and flowers and the cupcake tin has little things I like to have close.  I purchase nail files in bulk and then cut them in half to use as sanding blocks for myself and for classes.  They are washable too!

This area of my desk is my main work area.  I have everything I need within reach so I don't have to get up.  I have a bad habit of standing and scrapping for hours and then wonder why my back hurts, so I tried to arrange so that once I sat down, I wouldn't need to get up.  I keep all my CTMH and PTI cardstocks in the plastic drawers below my desk and have them organized by color family.  I would be lost if I didn't have the stamp pad organizer.

This is yet another shelving unit that holds most all of my Level 2 paper packs.  Once I have used them, I remove all the cardstock and put it away with the other cardstock then 

alphabetize the paper packs. I removed some of the metal planters from their wire baskets because I found out that my stamps do fit inside them, so more stamp storage, idea binders, pages to complete, extra adhesives, and photos to scrapbook are all stored in these shelves and drawers.

The little desk is for my nieces so they can scrapbook and do artwork when they come over and the table is for classes.  I really try to keep my table clear so I don't have to clean it off every week just before a class.  Easier said than done :).

Last but not least is my sewing machine that sits on top of an antique Singer.  It actually still works!  My Grandpa salvaged it for me and I really love it.




 Well, that is my tour.  I really enjoy my space but I sometimes wish I had all matching furniture as mine is really eclectic.  I am very thrifty though and all of the furniture I have collected has been the clearance stuff or the dented stuff that the store just wants to get rid of.  Some of it is hand-me-down and some of it was handmade, so I guess it is unique and hope you enjoyed me sharing with you.  Can't wait to go look at every one else's organizational tips and you can too, just click here to visit the H2H blog.

First H2H Challenge of 2011

H2H is starting the party with a color challenge.  As I have mentioned before, I really struggle with color challenges, but I love the combo that the H2H design team gave us to work with. 
Go here to find out more about the H2H Challenge Blog and to see the DT's awesome creations.

For the card I made, I wanted to experiment with a few ideas and techniques I have had bouncing around in my head to make it look a bit more vintage. 

The pear colored cardstock is where I tried a few of the techniques I had been planning.  First, I used the corner rounder with guide removed to create the scallop border.  I then used White Daisy pigment ink and swiped it directly onto the paper to tone the green down some.  I squeezed a small amount of Glitz Stardust glitter glue onto a scrap of paper and used a stiff bristle artist brush to brush it onto the pear cardstock.  I wanted a really light and random coverage.  After the glitter glue dried, I lightly sanded it to thin out the glitter even more.  I used copic markers to dye the seam binding to match the sky color and added a paper doily I purchased from Wal-mart in the wedding section of crafts.  I inked all the edges in Desert Sand ink.

Supplies:

Paper: Colonial White, Pear and Sorbet Cardstock, Sky patterned paper from Magnifique, White Paper Doily.

Inks: Desert Sand, Sorbet and White Daisy Pigment Ink.

Stamps: Heart to Heart (B1358) I used the polka dot border stamp.

Embellishments: Rayon seam binding dyed with Copics, Colonial White button, Dimensional Elements Hearts, Lace from stash, Flowers from stash and dyed with Copics.

Tools: McGill punches: 2 1/4" scallop and 1 11/16" circle, corner rounder.

Misc: Glitz Stardust Glitter Glue, Prisma Glitter, Copic Markers (R02, YR02, B12).

Hope you enjoy!

~Shari