HAPPY (late) FATHER'S DAY!

Well, it's a little past Father's Day, but here is the card my Father, Father-in-law, and husband all received:

 

The paper and stamps are all Close To My Heart. I also used my little Tiny Attacher stapler from Tim Holtz. I thought it added a touch of manly-ness. But what I like most is:

My Duct Tape rosette! 

It ended up being a bigger pain to make than I planned... but I love how it turned out! Big touch of manly-ness!

Since I consider Duct Tape a very basic and essential "tool", I am entering this card in the Heart2Heart "Tool Time" challenge. Go HERE to see what other people consider tools!

Happy Father's Day!

...2 days ago...

"Thanksgiving" tree...

..ha ha! Psych! It's a Halloween tree:

I found this awesome little wood-cutting store just around the corner with really good prices! Visit their cute blog HERE and make your own stuff :) 

In the store this tree was labeled "Thanksgiving Tree" and the sample was all done up in fall colors with leaves and hearts... but I thought painting it black and sticking bats out of the top would be better! Never been much of a cutesy-heart person.

The tree part I painted silver and crackled black over the top. If you have never used the "weathered wood crackling medium" at your local store, now is the time to get some and play. 

The bats are glued to hanger wire and stuck into holes kindly drilled by my husband into the top of the tree. I learned that fine glitter does not do well when sealed with ModPodge! Spray it with a shiny finishing spray instead. And then add googly eyes. Everything is better with glitter and googly eyes!

I gave this to my mother-in-law for her birthday. Yes, she did actually request a Halloween tree decoration! And yes, she liked it. 

Since I ended up using all neutral colors (black and grey) I can enter my tree in Heart2Heart's neutral challenge! Go visit their blog HERE to enter the fun weekly challenges. 

Happy 2 days after Halloween!

H2H Halloween

It's a Halloween challenge over at Heart 2 Heart Challenges this week!!! Of course I had to participate! Here is the card I made:

I have a thing for Halloween trees, so this whole card was designed around the tree poking out the back :) All the black is heat embossed and the haunted house is colored with the Close To My Heart blending pen and inks. 

Here it is all opened up:

And from the side:

The actual folds of this card are easy to do, it's all the planning about what will peek out where that takes some time!

Check out everyone else's cute ideas at the Heart 2 Heart blog HERE.

Have a spooky night!

Baby Cards

My friend is FINALLY getting her baby from Africa!!!

This called for baby cards!
She is getting a boy:

But I made a girl version too:

The center squares are popped up to add a bit of dimension and I happened to have matching tulle for both!

These cards are also my interpretation of the Heart2Heart challenge for the week: line, line, circle, square. Do you see it? Usually I avoid the more geometric challenges... but I really like how this one turned out! Check out their blog HERE to see other ideas or to participate.

On a more depressing note, it's my birthday.

Ugh.

I am turning a rather undesirable number this time...

But at least my Dahlias bloomed!

Happy 4th of July!!!

BOOM!

I know you are supposed to outgrow it, but I still love fireworks!

That being said, here is a slightly more grown-up card for the Heart 2 Heart Patriotism Challenge:

I really wanted this card clean and composed. All I used was the red Glitz Glitter Gel on the stars to add a little bling.

I love sponging in 2 different colors! 

If you have never participated in Heart 2 Heart's challenges, visit their blog HERE to give it a try. Tons of great ideas!

Now if you will excuse me, my brother is lighting more fireworks...

Happy Father's Day... yesterday

Here is what we gave our Dads for Father's Day yesterday:

A bunch of bullets and a card! They liked it. It was my husband's idea to tie it all up with Duct Tape "ribbon". Lovely and manly ;)

This card is based on the one in the Victory Workshop On The Go from Close To My Heart. Love the workshops! 

I am entering this in the Heart 2 Heart Father's Day challenge. Go to their blog HERE to see lots of creative ideas and enter something dad-ish of your own!

Happy Father's Day! 

...yesterday...

April Layout

Happy (really late) Easter!

Here is the layout my scrapbooking group is going to make on Saturday:

We are using the Stella Paper Packet, Sunset Mini-Medley Accents, and the Paradise Blooms Paper Flowers...

...and my Martha Stewart fringe scissors! Perfect "grass" for our colored stamped eggs to hide in.

I made a flower banner for my title using a very retired alphabet set:

There are a lot of brads at play here, so this is what I do to the back:

Yes, it's ugly. But it's just the back. And covering your brads (ribbon, stitching, etc..) with good old inexpensive tape from the junk drawer helps your page slide into the protector SOOOOO much easier!

I am entering this layout into the super-fun Close To My Heart, Heart2Heart Challenge: Easter! Check out their blog HERE to play along every week. The best part is that you have until the end of the month to enter! 

So people like me that get to Easter 2 weeks late can still have a chance ;)

Teacher Appreciation

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at my kids' school. Since I actually do like their teachers this year, hee hee, We made cookies and a cute card:

I was disturbed to find that I own exactly 4 sheets of school-themed paper! Now I know what to shop for next... 

So I decided to raid the backpacks and use REAL school paper! Between the staples, paper clip, and file folder, this card probably cost a whopping ten cents to make. I did use some ink and embossing powder... maybe eleven cents ;) 

I am also entering this card into Heart 2 Heart's challenge this week: emboss! (visit their blog HERE to participate) 

I know it's not a ton of embossing; but as my son said, "Wow Mom! I like that shiny stuff!"

So do I!

H2H Photo Challenge

Heart 2 Heart is a Close To My Heart challenge blog and it is AWESOME! If you ever need a kick in the pants to create, visit HERE. 

This week is a photo challenge. Since I figured out how to transport the inspiration photo (all by myself! I'm so proud!) here it is: 

And here is what I came up with:

I could not get the fabric draping out of my head, so I just went with it! I used a similar color scheme (Sorbet, Dutch Blue, Kraft) and obviously stuck with the striped hot air balloon.

Yes, it took forever to make my balloon. 

And shade my clouds. 

And hand-stitch my string.

And yes, it was worth it!

Happy February!

It seems that Valentine's Day kinda dies after you get married. Maybe that's why my husband was so "thrilled" when I created this:

Ok, he didn't really hate it; he is just less than excited that paper covers over half our house! But this is a topiary... 

In making this I found out that Styrofoam balls are surprisingly expensive! So I used a paper mache ball and painted it white. My husband was kind enough to drill a hole in the bottom for the "stem". (see, he doesn't completely hate it) Then I covered it in about a million little punched flowers out of my favorite, but discontinued, Close To My Heart Sweetheart paper. 

 

I like it! Now I have a whopping TWO valentine decorations! 

I am also entering this in Heart 2 Heart's challange for the week: make a 3D item; so wish me luck! 

H2H Challenge

There is a Close To My Heart challenge blog that posts challenges every Monday. This is my first time ever playing along! This weeks challenge is to create something using cardstock ONLY; no patterned paper. I just happened to be working on a card that fit the criteria perfectly:

Before you think I am cheating, let me say that the green polka-dot was created with white cardstock and a circle punch! No patterned paper! This is also my favorite color combo of the moment. If you want to know what my baby's nursery looks like, this card is a good clue!