Card 4 & 5 2011 Challenge

I had a fantastic weekend of "work" this weekend....met with my hostess club girls on Saturday for a wonderful afternoon of creativity, then taught a workshop class at home on Sunday with a wonderful bunch of gals. I had a bit of a "blond" moment (my apologies to all the blonds out there, me included!) at the beginning of the class and had everyone doing the wrong thing first, but it all worked out in the end! Glad these ladies were such good sports! The hostess club did these two cards on Saturday, along with a layout featuring CTMH 6x12" flip flaps which was our project from our cancelled January meeting. Mastering the ribbon flower proved to be a bit of a challenge, but every one's flowers turned out beautifully in the end! I am hooked on stamping those damask patterns with the February SOTM.....the possibilities are endless!

We used CTMH Stamp of the Month for January and February, Wings Level 2 Paper Pack, black grosgrain ribbon, bitty sparkles, MS Doily Lace edge punch, Fabritac glue for the ribbon flower and CTMH card stock.

Layouts - 8

Cards - 5

Helen O's - 1

Layouts # 5 -8 2011 Challenge ***Swap Spoiler***

I always participate is this fun little swap organized by Tina, one of my CTMH sisters. We build a double page layout, then make all the pieces for 5 more people. We send everything except the 12x12 base, making it more economical to mail....sometimes! My pieces for one of the layouts were 11x11 anyway! We have 6 categories this time and I participated in four of them. So in order, these are layouts for Spring (first two photos....one showing flip flap open) titled "Spring Rain", Male Child category titled "Party Animal(s)", Adult Male category titled "My Guy", and Home category (doing something at home) titled "Dinner Party". All material used are Close To My Heart with the exception of a couple of Martha Stewart punches and my Cricut.

Layouts - 8

Cards - 3

Helen O's - 1 (Party Animals - SC96 - Magic Backstage)

Card # 3 2011 Challenge

I have not been around for a little bit because my husband was doing an upgrade to my laptop....installed Windows 7 after wiping everything, so then had to re-install all my software. And now I have the dubious task of going through all my old files and moving them to new, permanent locations. It forces me to clean up and delete old stuff I no longer need. All this in hopes that my laptop will run a little faster.

I have finished up all my swap layouts and will be posting them next time, unless those of you who are participating in the swap don't want me to. For now, this is the card I made for Jim for Valentines day. That acrylic heart is from a dollar-store decoration (thanks Thelma!) and I rolled the edges in Versamark, then embossed with black embossing powder. Then I stamped the sentiment with Versamark and embossed with black. Attached bling and black key and then decided to back the heart with white card stock so the sentiment wouldn't be "lost" when mounted on the card. I am not sure, but I think the acrylic was reacting with the Liquid Glass because I could smell an ammonia-like smell when I used it to adhere the paper to the heart. I stamped the card base with our February Stamp of the Month, "Friendship" to create the damask pattern. Inked the edges with black ink, then punched the circle so the key would dangle. Ribbon is from my stash.

Mini Album with 12x12 Folio

I have been busy, like Kim, getting swap layouts ready and preparing this cute little mini-album for an upcoming class. It uses our CTMH 12 x 12 Folio Folders and the Olivia paper collection (there are other paper choices for the class) and has tons of room for pictures. I have made these at Christmas to send to grandparents, in-laws, and friends. They display like an accordion album nicely on an mantle and are a ton of fun to make. I still have room in the class, e-mail me if you are interested.

Also, I am sending in an order on my website for the "While Supplies Last" items (and regular items too). There are quite a few of us ordering on the one order to help alleviate the shipping cost and the more the merrier. Some items are up to 90% off so they are a great value! If there is something you want to add to the order, let me know before tomorrow (Tuesday) evening.