.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Disney Layout



This Disney double (thanks Alissa!) shows how a simple layout can be terrific with just a few extra embellishments. When you're visiting different places this holiday season, make sure you pick up a brochure and save tickets as well. Pieces of these can make great decorations on your page and are totally safe as long as they don't overlap your pictures at all. (Make sure you use acid-free and lignin-free paper and make sure it's buffered so that no acid can spread from any of your embellishments.)

Friday, December 12, 2008

Double Flap Card

This card is set up sort of wierd. I cut the base 4 1/4 inches wide, but only 9 inches wide. The fold is 3 1/4 in from the left edge of the front. You can barely make out the edge of the card in this first picture. I cut a piece of the Everlasting B&T 6 x 3 and folded it in half to make the second flap of the card. I adhered that folded card on the inside of the base so that the 3 x 3 "mat" would be in the center of the card and the fold was on the right.
The artwork is on a 2 inch square card, mounted on Cranberry 1/4 inch larger (square), on White 1/2 inch larger, and Cranberry again 3/4 inch larger. So the measurements are, respectively, 2 1/4 square, 2 1/2 square, and 2 3/4 square.
The main artwork is a montage of stamps on a 2 x 2 block. I used Christmas Scripts, December Word Puzzle, Ho Ho Ho, Holiday Jubilee, and Shining Star and my final of this card actually had a much fuller look to the main artwork as I kept adding stamps. The sentiment inside is from Peace On Earth. If I had it to do again, I think I would put the first part of the sentiment on the white flap under the artwork flap and then add the rest of it, as is, on the inside of the second flap.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008


This card was also inspired by some I saw on a bulletin board, but there were several that looked the same so I couldn't pinpoint just one person as the originator. Frankly, I think it is an Originals design. Have you used that? They make directions easier to follow than mine and offer diagrams so you can see exactly what you are cutting and what you're going to do with it!
For this card, I used Aspen paper (LOVE IT!) along with some words from the "December Word Puzzle" (stamped in Outdoor Denim with the cards distressed in the same.) The background for it was stamped using one of the "Jingle Borders" in Juniper and I love the way those colors go together!
This card goes together quick and easy!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Stinkin' Cute Snowman Card!

This card was inspired by one created by CTMH consultant Laurel Seabrook, but mine turned out totally different from hers by the time I was through. First I started with the Christmas Memories snow man which is a "two-step" or "base-n-shade" stamp set. First I stamped the shadow of the image, then I added his scarf and hat fill-in. No I didn't match up the gaps perfectly, but it didn't end up mattering. Once I have the shadow and the fill in, (in Juniper and Moonstruck, respectively) I stamped the outline of the snowman in Outdoor Denim. I also stamped the "White Christmas" from the Holiday Jubilee Stamp Set in Juniper. After I finished this stamping, I cut out the snowman (making his arms a little thicker than the single lines that they are) and cut the "White Christmas" in a square.

Once I finished the main artwork, I began working on the background. I stamped the trees on a white 3 1/4 x 2 3/4 card, using the 3 trees from the December Word Puzzle stamp set. On my block, I put 2 together and 1 off to the side. I stamped them all in Juniper.



I used the same basic idea with the snowflake background on the Twilight paper. I put the snowflakes on the block in a non-patterned manner and turned it with every impression (in Juniper) to give it a fully random look. Since I'm covering the center, there was no need to stamp there.

The Twilight 5 x 3 3/4 cardstock covers the 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 base. I layered a 1 x 3 3/4 Outdoor Denim strip across the Twilight.
I stacked a 3 3/4 x 3 1/4 piece of Moonstruck Cardstock and then put the white tree stamped card centered on that. I mounted my sentiment on a Twilight piece just a little bigger than the sentiment, and adhered my snowman using 3d foam squares. Once he was set where I wanted him, I trimmed off the extra bit of him at the bottom, but some of the gals at my workshop left him whole. I used a snowflake punch from the Martha Stewart collection at Walmart and some glitter foam paint that I found at Hobby Lobby for the final embellishments.






Monday, December 8, 2008

Unique Christmas Tree Card



This card looks so elegant, but it was SO simple to make. I can't take credit for it as I found the exact design on a CTMH consultant board, but I don't have the name of the consultant in my file. That's not like me and I'll try to update this posting with the proper credit if I can.

Just a note here: I love the way the consultants in this company are so willing to share their ideas and inspiration with each other. I've gotten SO much from my CTMH sisters, especially in my often non-creative times. I find I can brainstorm variations, but can seldom dream up a design from scratch. The best way to thank those who have inspired me is to give them full credit for their creations. Sort of like virtual applause! So even though this card is mine, the brainchild belonged to someone else and I'll tell you who as soon as I can!


Evensong is the paper pack I used. The green mat for the artwork is actually the Evensong Creative Basics, but since that is no longer available, the green print from the regular Evensong pack works just as well. This card starts out as paper punches. I used a circle punch from the Martha Stewart collection. (Walmart) I punched 5 from the red along with one of the stars, and 3 from the green print. I used them all upside down except for 3 of the greens and the star on top. I only used one stamp set with this card - the December Word Puzzle. LOVE THAT SET! I stamped the Noel in Chocolate. I stacked the circles above the Noel on a 3 x 4 card which I stacked on a Creative Basics green paper measuring 3 1/4 x 4 1/4. I covered the entire cardbase with a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 piece of the red print. Then I embellished with a few sparkles, a Holiday red bigger brad, and the circles (also from the December Word Puzzle) stamped in Tulip.

Okay, now that I've finished the instructions, I searched through the CTMH bulletin board and found the consultant who created the design. She is Lisa Aquino, a Canadian CTMH consultant.




Sunday, December 7, 2008

Snow Guy Double-Flap Card

This cute little card is worth the effort! I had never thought of stamping on design paper, but it turned out great! Use the "All Decked Out" Stamp Set. To make this, you will need to stamp all of these parts onto white paper, except the hat and scarf. Stamp the medium circle about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of a 3 x 4 card. You'll stamp the swirly stamp along the bottom of the medium circle, all the way across to either side of the snowguy bottom. Fill in with the swirly, but make sure you turn the stamp from time to time so all the swirls won't look exactly the same.


When you stamp the scarf and hat on the design paper, cut it out, removing all the extra swirly stuff. (I don't want to spend all that extra time cutting, do you?) Stamp the smallest circle on an edge of the white paper and add the face in black. Cut it out completely. Cut the medium circle out, too, only cut the circle up to the swirlys and then along the top of them. (See the card for the full look.) I started the card with a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card base, and centered it with a 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 plaid piece. I cut a white cardstock piece that measured 6 x 4 and folded it in half to make it 3 x 4. This piece I centered on the plaid, closer to the top edge. I covered it with a Twilight cardstock piece that measured 3 x 4. The cut snowman bottom and swirlys go at the bottom of this Twilight piece. The snowman head will go above the body, with about 1/4 inch of margin between the two circles. Put the scarf and hat in good positions over the head.

At this point you will want to add your sentiments. I used the "Peace on Earth" stamps. I actually cut the sentiment into pieces to make it fit this way. I stamped this section inside the 3 x 4 card that is sitting on top of the plaid paper. The second part of the sentiment was left in tact and I stamped it on the inside of the cardbase.

I finished the card off with a Autumn Terracotta photoclip that holds the 3 x 4 flap closed.

Friday, December 5, 2008

A Moment of Your Time - Please expand this list!

Okay, business aside, have you taken a break today? I know, I live it too! Transporting kids, work, errands, shopping, grocery stores, cooking, cleaning, family needs, friends . . . shall I continue? As women, we get the lion's share of the details of the season and it can really be a load on our heads. I don't need to tell you that it's not how it should be. You already know that, but you're still a mom/wife/daughter/sister/aunt/neighbor/friend!
Still, it's hard to really experience the joy of this blessed season when you're stressed, hurried, and trying desperately to keep all your "ends" tied together. May I make a suggestion?

Please, make a priority of taking some time every day (even if it is just 5 minutes) and do something to bring you joy.
Look through your scrapbook.
Watch part of a Christmas movie.
Sing some carols with your kids.
Read the Christmas story in Luke 2.
Read a chapter of a good book.
Take a lovely smelling bath.
Build a fire and enjoy it with a cup of cocoa.
Sit and gaze at your beautiful tree.
Write a note about a special ornament and what it means to you.

I put these here for a reason. I'd like to expand this list! Would you all (yes, I actually asking you to do something else - LOL) leave an idea of your own in the comment or email it to me? I want to include as many other ideas for "a moment of your time" as I can!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008


What a simple card. Special thanks to consultant Tiffani Hughson for sharing this design! The red is stamped using White Daisy with the "Jingle Borders" stamp set. The green and red cardstock start out as 5 1/2 x 3 1/4. I created a template with another scrap of cardstock and then cut both the red and green at the same time with one stacked on top of the other. That way, even if my curve wasn't perfect, it would still have a parallel look to it. I used the two ornaments from the December Word Puzzle stamp set and embellished them with chocolate Waxy Flax and free-hand black lines. Would love to see your take on this card! Please post it in the comments!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Star Challenge Layout - Christy


This layout was contributed by Christy Land. [[Thanks!]]
This turned out so great! We used some of the Game On paper pack along with the "Shining Star" stamp set. The colors for the Game On pack are black, colonial white, bamboo and desert sand. I challenged the gals to add another color or two depending on the photos they wanted to put with it. Here, Christy added the school color of Sunny Yellow with mat paper as well as stamping accents.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Whoops-A-Daisy Layout


This layout was contributed by Alissa Shirah. [[Thanks!]]
Alissa has become a great fan of "Clear Bags" envelopes! She used Whoops-a-Daisy paper to create this simple layout, but gave it a real pop with her stack of pictures on the edge of the layout.
The Clear Bags envelopes are acid and lignin free and work great when you have more pictures than you can fit on one double layout. Using these, you can stack the envelopes, adhering them to each other and the page itself; cover the adhesive flaps with some decoration and insert 2 pictures into each envelope.
Once you slip your page into your page protector, you cut a slit in the protector just large enough to pull the photo flaps through.
These are generally called interactive pages and there are all sorts of variations on it. If you've never tried one, now is a great time and I'd love to see your take on it!