Almost 2010

Merry Christmas to those of you visiting today!

I woke up at my usual 4am and waited for the kids to wake up on this Christmas morning. I was able to create a single card before Bekah wandered in at 6am, ready to see what Santa had brought.

Cute Card Thursday had a challenge to use a New Year's theme which I mixed with Kazan's sketch at 2 sketches 4 you. I tried to use Penny's monochromatic challenge as I selected a series of blue papers, but I couldn't resist adding the red and white polka dot ribbon.

Supplies: Tools - SU spiral punch, SU scallop circle punch. Stamps - CTMH Spunky greetings, CTMH Today's date. Paper & ribbon from the stash. Colors - CTMH Holiday red, CTMH Outdoor denim. Foam tape for dimension.

Do you like Basic Grey?

Check out this offer at Get Sketchy if you are interested in winning a great Basic Grey treat set! Tell them I sent you ... and then go get your friends to check it out too.

Spreading Christmas cheer

Real quick post today - because it *is* Christmas Eve and there is much to do around here. :)

Day 299 at 365 Cards inspired to keep the holiday sentiment inside the card. LOL that this card I am posting is card #2. The first one, I finished and looked at - only to see that the border I used was a series of sentiments. Really. I obviously didn't have sufficient coffee intake before creating this morning!

Supplies: Stickles and ribbon. The rest, all CTMH - Stamp sets: Ms. Holiday Cheer, Jingle Borders. Colors: Black, Holiday Red, Goldrush, New England Ivy, Vanilla Creme.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas! Wishing you God's blessings in the coming year.

Busy but sincere

This is a stretch to fulfill today's ABC challenge, which is "K is for kissing". While the sample cards all used stamps sets with kissing images, I chose to use the technique of stamp kissing.

The result is a little busy, but - maybe due to my intense caffeine intake this morning - I like it. Some of the letters are raised with foam tape. I think I need to stamp off the paper in the top right corner, so I might add that - now that I see the picture of the card. Forever critquing ...

Supplies: All CTMH. Stamp sets: You've got flair, Headline alpha large, Spot on backgrounds. Ink: Grey wool, Heavenly blue, Outdoor denim.

Ok. So, it's 8am now and I need to "really" start my day. I must say, though, what a great way to begin a day, crafting and creating. I {heart} vacation!

One more for the morning

It's been so long since I've blog surfed or looked at challenge blogs. Oh, how I miss that! But -- with just a little more time this morning, I popped on over to Penny's challenge blog and found one more inspiration for my creative morning. Stars. Well, I still had the Star Struck stamp set out on my table - so without much "looking for stamp set" effort, I created this:

Supplies: All CTMH. Stamp set: Star struck, Thank you. Ink: Grey wool, Holiday red, Clover meadow. Foam adhesive.

Flowers in wintertime

As I challenge myself to stamp and use no other paper besides the card base, here's my creation for 365 Cards Day 297:

The challenge was to create a card with a non wintery theme - hence, the flowers. I went a little further with the "symbolism" in my card - but let me explain ... because otherwise you might not "get it". Hah. I chose grey wool as my ink color - a muted, grey color to symbolize winter. I chose the flower stamp - a sign of spring. I chose a turquoise button - a small burst of color like the first flower bud of springtime.

As I look at my sentiment that I chose earlier this morning, it is bittersweet. Between making this card and posting now, I found out that a friend of mine in Kansas City just passed away after a heart attack. "Through happy times and sad ... friend" takes new meaning now.

Supplies: All CTMH. Stamp set: Friendship word puzzle, Treasures of the heart. Ink: Grey wool. Embellishments: button, hemp.

Holiday creation time - Let it begin!

Oh my. I have had near no time to craft since the school year started, so today was especially blissful to get up at my usual time, to brew a pot of coffee, and then to seek refuge in the craft room. Amen for Christmas break!

Where did I go to seek inspiration? Well - to 365 Cards, of course! Today's inspiration was circles and here is my creation:

Supplies: All CTMH except Stickles (which are in the middle of a few circles). Stamp set: Star Struck, Thank You. Ink: Lilac mist, Sweet leaf, Blush.

SOTM blog hop - Dec 2009

Welcome to this month's blog hop! If you got here from Kristie's blog, you're going in the correct direction.

This month's stamp of the month is a set of 41 stamps called NOTICE THE DETAILS. I have been really busy these days, with the Thanksgiving trip to Disney with the family ... and when I am short on creating time, I love creating 3" x 3" cards. It's enough to feel creative for me ... :)

So, here's my card:

As we get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I think this card speaks volumes about enjoying the day God gives us ...

Supplies used: All CTMH - paper: Good times; twill ribbon; clear sparkles; stamp set - Notice the details.

From here, you're headed to Laurie's blog to see another use of this month's stamp of the month!
Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the hop!

November Stamp of the Month blog hop

A day late and a dollar short should be my motto these days ... I'm not sure where my post went that was scheduled to show yesterday. I don't even see it in my drafts when I click on edit posts. Ugh. Maybe I tried to post with too little coffee in my system ... Ugh. My apologies especially go to Jamia (and all those listed after her). I halted blog hop traffic with my lack of posting. (Thanks Dawn for letting me know that my post was missing. I wasn't online yesterday to confirm that my scheduled post posted. I now know better!)



Anyhow, I'm trying again ...



Welcome to November’s Stamp of the Month Blog Hop where we will be featuring the Around the Block stamp set from Close to My Heart. If you have come here from Dawn's blog, you are on the right path! This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!



With two houses near me awaiting new owners, I'm thinking this card will accompany a sweet batch of homebaked goodies when new neighbors arrive!



Supplies: All CTMH. Paper - Good times. Stamp - Around the block. Ink - Twilight, Sweet Leaf, Chocolate. Embellishments - ribbon. Tools - Fiskars scallop punch.




Now "Hop" on over to Jamia's blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting and other fun ideas! Remember, the Around the Block stamp set is only available until November 30th!

Contact your CTMH Consultant or email me at maricar@myctmh.com to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!



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NOTE: If you get lost on the hop or find links that aren't working, go to Jena's blog for a complete list of participating blogs.

October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

[If you came by earlier, I apologize for the halt to the hop. I had unexpected technical difficulties. (Are those ever expected?) Anyhow, the picture is a little grainy because I had to take it with my BlackBerry in order to post here. Somehow, I have misplaced my card reader. (If you saw the utter chaos of the craft room, you'd understand.) Anyhow, I was able to clear off just enough room to create one card to share. Enjoy!]

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring October's SOTM, which is "Holiday Warmth", a set of 11 stamps. If you have come here from Traci's blog, you are on the right path!

This month we have a lot of Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - CTMH Good Times. Stamps - CTMH Holiday Warmth. Tools - Crayola watercolor pencils, CTMH blending pen, CM and SU! punches. Ribbon - Michaels.

Off to see the next card, which is on Pam's blog. Happy hopping!