made by m

In conclusion ...

2010-01-03T02:01:00.001-05:00

This may be my final post for a bit, as the Christmas holiday break is over and reality starts on Monday. I'd like to say "I'll make time for crafting", but I know that that could be a lie. I am the type of person who has difficulty juggling being a wife, mom, full time teacher, and crafter ... and when something has to "give", that something is crafting. Anyhow, that being said ... here's my cards to show you today:

It's Five for Friday at 365 Cards. During the cleaning of my craft room, I discovered a baggie of flowers and buttons, obviously from some swap long forgotten. Well, the baggie of goodies came in handy as I created a card for this challenge.

Five for Friday means things should appear on the card in fives...

So, here's my take on that challenge:

1 - five pink flowers with five pink buttons
2 - five green flowers
3 - five stamped flourishes
4 - five rhinestones embellishing the flourishes
5 - five letters in the word SMILE
6 - five stamped "smile" sentiments
7 - five small rhinestones amidst the flourishes
Supplies - All embellishments from the stash, unknown sources. CTMH Playful Flourishes stamp set.

Then, it's Stamping Saturday at 365 Cards. The challenge is to stamp on ribbon. I stamped on twill for this challenge. Now that I look at it, I think I will add some small rhinestones onto the ribbon between the stamped words.

Supplies: All CTMH. Embellishments - clear sparkles. Twill ribbon. Stamp sets - Solo W, It's Your Day. Colors - Hydrangea, Sunny yellow, Star spangled blue, Clover meadow, Holiday red.

Look at this yummy blog candy offered by Janet at Pink Gem. Be sure to click on the link and visit to sign up to win the goodies!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T09:10:00.008-05:00

I used the sketch from Mojo Mondays to create this card. Surprisingly, I had a difficult time putting together the elements for this card. There was something "challenging" to me about the rectangular element and the circle element being so close in size. I guess that's why it's a challenge, though - right?

At 365 Cards, the challenge was to pull something deep from the stash. I found a pack of Colorbok adhesive metal words from long long ago. I think they were "finds" in the Michaels dollar spot. I also discovered some Making Memories molding strips from years ago, so I added that too.

Here is the final product:

Supplies: CTMH Sarsparilla paper, Colorbok metal word, Making Memories strip, CTMH edge distresser, CTMH clear sparkles, EKSuccess scallop circle punch, CTMH Just Blooms, Prima flower, unknown big rhinestone, CTMH Playful flourishes stamp set, CTMH black ink.

CTMH Blog Hop: January 2010 Stamp of the Month

2009-12-31T20:00:00.006-05:00

Welcome to this month's blog hop!

You're in for a special treat today. Lots of CTMH consultants are part of this blog hop to showcase our January Stamp of the Month called True Friends, a set of eleven stamps. {If you're interested in purchasing this set, contact me or your own CTMH consultant.}

If you got here from Nancy's blog, you're going in the correct direction. If I'm your first stop on the hop, keep reading. From here, you'll go to Nona's blog and you'll circle back around and eventually, you'll end up back here (and then you'll know you're done hopping!). Just keep following the links on the consultants' blogs! {The link for Nona's is at the end of this post!}

I used the sketch at ICS to help create this card.

It was fun to find elements to match the sketch:

I used a photo corner (from the new Connection Club sets) in place of the circle element on the sentiment piece.
I used clear sparkles in place of the circle elements in the bottom right.
The layered flower makes the other element (with the bling flower from an old Connection Club set).

I dolled up the white daisy Just Blooms by stamping flourishes on it. I love that our flowers are so easy to work with!

Is anyone else addicted to edge distressing? I can't help but distress ...

And -- tah dah! -- here's my card:

Supplies used: All CTMH (unless otherwise noted). Paper - Sasparilla. Ink - black, cocoa. Embellishments - chocolate ribbon, clear sparkles, twilight photo corner. Stamp set - True Friends & Playful Flourishes. Tools - edge distresser, sponge dauber, SU flower punch, Fiskars border punch.

From here, you're headed to Nona's blog to see another use of this month's stamp of the month!

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the hop!

Quadrants?

2009-12-30T05:54:00.006-05:00

The challenge on 365 Cards today was quite the challenge:

It's about dividing your card into quadrants - there should be 4 equal parts and each quadrant should contain one of the following:1 stamped sentiment,1 punched out item, 1 floral embellishment, 1 rhinestone.

I liked being "forced" to meet requirements, and I'm actually happy with the end result.
In the top left quadrant, I tried to make a flower using three crumpled circles. I saw it on someone else's blog, and it looked more "flowery" than mine ... but c'est la vie.

In the bottom right quadrant, I punched the black cardstock and layered it over patterned paper. Punching the stem and leaves was harder than I thought. Again, c'est la vie.

Supplies: CTMH Sasparilla, SU punches, CTMH clear sparkles and brad, CTMH Treasures stamp set, black and CTMH cocoa ink.

From trash to treasure

2009-12-30T03:29:00.002-05:00

The challenge at Get Sketchy was to take something that would usually be trashed and transform it. I had saved two of these containers long ago - and I'm happy that I have finally used one of them to make something! There's nothing like a blog challenge to get me going!

This was before.

This was after. I made a mini flower arrangement to brighten up my craft room during the winter time. This is a close up of the vase part.

I like the cheery colors. I like using up the stash. I like my creation! :)

Supplies: All paper from unknown sources. Doodlebug ribbon. Maya Roads poms. SU oval and circle punches.

Flowers, flourishes, ink - oh my!

2009-12-28T04:35:00.000-05:00

On Practical Scrappers, there was an inspiring sketch (which I turned 90 degrees counter clockwise). The inspiration on 365 Cards forced me to find my flourishes stamp set. The Belli challenge led me to dig through an embellishment baggie and find this "reminisce" tag floating amidst a sea of flowers and buttons,

Supplies: Stamp set - CTMH Playful Fluorishes; Ink - CTMH Grey Wool; Embellishments - CTMH Clear sparkles, CTMH Flower sparkles, CTMH hemp, unknown flowers and buttons.

I had fun using up things from the stash.

Inspired by Glee

2009-12-29T08:12:00.005-05:00

The challenge at 365 Cards today was to use this CD cover as inspiration. I was struck by the large white outlined number and the color palette. Yellow and red - what a bright and cheery combination in the middle of winter.

So, this is what I created:

Supplies: Colors - CTMH Holiday red, CTMH sunny yellow, CTMH black. Stamp sets - CTMH Floral elements, CTMH Treasures. Tools - EKSuccess border punch, EK square punch. Embellishments - (unknown source) flower, rhinestone

Sketches

2009-12-27T19:31:00.006-05:00

It is Sketchy Sunday at 365 Cards. I was un-inspired until I saw Vicky's card - which is the last one of the DT cards on today's 365 Cards post.

Here is my creation:

Supplies: All CTMH. Ink - Lilac mist, Orchid, Grey wool. Stamp set - Butterfly wings. Embellishments - Prisma glitter.

I'm not sure if you can see it in the pictures, but there is prisma glitter on the butterflies' wings. I love some sparkle!

I did the rolling technique to ink the edges of the wings a little darker than the rest. I'm not sure if you can tell that either.

There's a lot of white space on this card, but I think it all works. I like the way it turned out.

Have I mentioned how much I have enjoyed crafting this week? School resumes on January 4 ... only 7 more days of vacation remain ...

Feeling blue

2009-12-26T07:43:00.005-05:00

I bought me a treat from WalMart. While unsuccessfully shopping for photo frames (why did I wait until Christmas Eve?), I stumbled across a cute mini easel for $7. It's mine! Hopefully, it adds some 'class' to my card photos!

Yesterday, at 365 Cards, the challenge was to create a snowflake. Ok, so I must admit it has been for-evah since I last cut out a snowflake. What fun I had ... although I have little bitty pieces of paper on the floor now!

Supplies: Everything is from my stash, all from unknown sources.

Today's challenge at 365 Cards was to tear paper. I combined that with Bizzy Becs challenge. The stamp image had never seen ink until today. The ricrac is from a swap from CKU 2005.

Supplies: Stamp sets - CTMH Spunky Greetings, CTMH Heartthrob. Ink - CTMH Moonstruck. Paper - Carolee's Creations (so very old!). Embellishments: Doodlebug ricrac, CTMH clear sparkles.

Almost 2010

2009-12-25T06:00:00.003-05:00

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?

2009-12-24T08:08:00.002-05:00

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

2009-12-24T05:25:00.004-05:00

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

2009-12-23T07:56:00.005-05:00

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!

Flowers in wintertime

2009-12-23T05:56:00.005-05:00

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.

One more for the morning

2009-12-23T07:00:00.002-05:00

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.

Holiday creation time - Let it begin!

2009-12-23T05:47:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-30T19:00:00.001-05:00

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

2009-11-02T05:37:00.003-05:00

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!

*****************************

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

2009-10-01T19:54:00.005-04:00

[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!

Every teacher needs a calendar

2009-09-02T05:51:00.004-04:00

Finding the perfect calendar.

It's such a daunting task for me.

Not enough space to write. Too much space to write.

Ugly or boring cover.

Too big. Too little.

Too expensive.

AHHHH!

But then I stumbled upon this at the Dollar Tree. So ugly, but for one dollar - even if I mess it up, I wouldn't feel too badly if I gave it to Bekah for doodling paper.

And, so the ugly and boring planner was mine. And, I came home and tried to work some papercrafting magic.

Here's my planner for this academic year:

Supplies: Bazzill cardstock. Doodlebug ribbon. CTMH stamps - Faith. CTMH sparkles.

September Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

2009-09-01T05:17:00.005-04:00

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring Septembers's SOTM, which is Treasures, a set of 13 stamps. If you have come here from Michelle'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 we go!

For those of you who don't know me, I returned to the full time work force two weeks ago as a middle school science teacher. After crafting most of the summer, my free time has come to a screeching halt. Disappointingly, that means that my time to craft is severly limited these days. I know that once I get "into the groove" things will be better and I will be able to make time to craft. This is my first post in two weeks. Don't worry - I'll be back!

My card follows a sketch I saw somewhere in Blogland. I tried to find the sketch to link it here, but no such luck. (If someone recognizes it, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!)

Supplies: All CTMH. Stamp set - Treasures. Colors - Topiary, Outdoor denim, Barn red, Cocoa. Embellishments - Chocolate ribbon. Tools - Edge distresser.

Now, hop on over to Antoinette's blog to see her work!

Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the September SOTM is only available until the end of the month! Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

If you get lost on the hop or find links that aren't working, click here for a complete list of participating blogs.

Thanks for stopping by!

Attempting (poorly) to juggle

2009-08-24T21:21:00.002-04:00

Ugh.
I wish I had something to show you ... but I don't.

Instead of being buried in buttons, ribbon and paper, I am being engulfed by school books and lesson plans. It seems I don't have it "all together" yet, but I am slowly getting there. I hope.

Last week was filled with in service meetings and classroom reorganization. My Cricut came in handy as I created bulletin boards!

Today was the first day back for students, so this week will be incredibly crazy. I'm struggling with juggling - wife, mom, teacher, crafter, cook, maid ... you know the list. I need to determine the "happy balance" and then all will be good again!

So, bear with me -- I will be back.

Felt galore

2009-08-18T20:50:00.000-04:00

I received a bunch of felt flowers in a swap long, long ago. As I was cleaning up the other day, these were laying on my workspace, and I saw a card in the making. Here's what I made:

Supplies: Stamps - CTMH Thank You. Everything else is from the stash, unknown source.

Faith

2009-08-17T07:17:00.006-04:00

Call me the master of procrastination ... but instead of preparing for my first inservice day, I utilized my spare thirty minutes to blog hop, find a sketch, and create a card. I have to leave for school in 40 minutes, so once I post, it's off to shower, dress, grab a cup of coffee and be on my way. As much as I already miss the idea of leisurely morning cups of coffee on the deck (Did I mention how crisp the air is today? It is so so wonderful outside!), I am looking forward to starting a new school year. A new beginning.

Anyhow, before I get all sentimental, here's my sweet and simple card that follows the sketch on Card Patterns:

Supplies: Paper - unknown (another dinosaur old paper); Stamps - all CTMH, Faith, Hope, Charity and Delight in Everything; Embellishments - all from Michaels, ribbon, rhinestone; Ink - CTMH black

Now, off to start my life as a middle school science teacher. Bring on the day!

Flowers for you

2009-08-16T10:09:00.000-04:00

As I was cleaning today, I stumbled across a half (or more than half) used scrapbook kit. Most of it was just scraps and leftover stickease, but I was able to put some pieces together to create this:

Supplies: Stamp set - CTMH Dream Big. Everything else is from the stash.