Photographing White......Yikes!

 Ok, I had one stinkin' time photographing this layout!  Now, I realize this isn't a photo challenge, but this drove me batty!  I'm giving you a couple of different pics to see because the top one is really closer to the colors and such, but the bottom one shows you more of the heat embossing.  The interesting part of this is the embossing is all in white with clear powder, but it looks yellow in the picture.  I'm sure someone who knows more about photography and light could shed some ideas on how to get a better photo of this layout!  But for now, I'm giving up and writing the blog!  ; )

I was inspired by 3 challenges for this one.  I used the sketch from Stuck?! Sketches, colors from Color My Heart, and embellishments from Heart 2 Heart: use your favorite embellishment.

I heat embossed using Daisy White pigment ink and clear embossing powder images from the Love Life stamp set and the unicorn from Unicorn Dreams.  I then randomly stamped using slate and cotton candy.  The paper strips are from Lolly Doodle.

Crcut Cartridges:  Old West and CTMH Art Philosophy.

Sentiment is from Take Note.

Embellishments:  Sequins, Flamingo Dots, Baker's Twine and my all time favorite (sadly now retired) Mocha Gems!  Yes, if you go back to some of my earliest posts, you'll see Mocha Gems on everything!  I love them.  When I saw they were to be retired, I purchased several packages of them.  I use them on horseshoes, fence posts, for animal eyes, all my country layouts and cards, etc.

Ok, off to get some work done since I spent most of the day searching for the right angle, backdrop colors, lighting, etc to get this dag'gone picture!  Now, I know why I don't usually use white as a background!  Well, there are other reasons; it's hard to hide errors on white!  Sometimes, one can only strategically place so many embellishments!  hahaha

All CTMH from Katiescorner.

Frightfully Cute Card! ;)

This stamp set is waaaay toooo cute!  It is from CTMH and called Halloween Greetings!  When I saw that adorable little witch I couldn't help but think about Tabitha from Bewitched and all the mischief she created around her!  That's what makes this a great choice for the Pile it On Challenge where they want to see children/ Halloween/games.

I also enjoyed playing with some different mediums on this card, so I'm sending it off to Mixed Media Mojo where the theme is Fall and use paste.  My texture paste is up in the left hand corner.  I cut my own stencil with my cricut and some acetone alternative.  I colored the homemade pasted with CTMH Honey and Cranberry re-inker to get the orange color.  Before the paste was dry I sprinkled a little glitter onto it and quickly hit it with a heat too.

Before adding the texture paste, I cut the card from the CTMH Artiste cartridge.  The paper is CTMH Scaredy Cat.  I painted the front with some pearl paint mixed with a little gesso and lightly rubbed a little Sunset ink over it.  The pattern still clearly comes through, but it gives it a little different look than the inside of the card.

The web and bats were cut from Artbooking.  I heat embossed them with powder. I also heat embossed the little witch and colored with CTMH markers.  The sentiment is cut from Artbooking.

Further embellishments include Epoxy bubbles, Baker's Twine, Sunset Ribbon, tulle colored with ink.     All CTMH is from KatiesCorner!

I'm also sending my little witch off to these fun challenges!

Creative Card Crew -- Use Twine
Aud Sentiments -- Halloween Sentiment
Love to Create -- Fussy Cut  (Little Witch)
One Crazy Stamper -- Halloween or Christmas
Take Heart Ideas -- Anything Goes as long as you use at least 1 CTMH item......Let's see, Artbooking, Artfully Sent, Scaredy Cat, Baker's Twine, Epoxy Bubbles, Black gem, Markers, inks, card stock.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Good Day to Say Thanks!

Inspired by the Color My Heart Colors this week, I designed a TY card for my guy to send.  He always asks if there is something appropriate in 'the store' for him to send out to family or colleagues.  This time I needed to make one!

I started with Champagne CS and stamped the tree trunk from Huntington Workshop stamp set.  I stamped the Good and Day.  The I put in my brick pattern with Chocolate ink using a homemade stencil made from Artbooking.

I stamped the leaves in Chocolate and colored over them with Olive and a touch of Sorbet.  Some of the leaves are stamped in Cranberry Pigment ink.  I stamped the thank you (an old Studio G stamp) in Pacifica and then stamped over it in Archival Black to give it more depth and prominence.

I distressed the edges with scissors and inked it with Cocoa pigment ink.  I layered it on top of some olive patterned paper from Ivy Lane; that is on top of an embossed piece of Sorbet CS.  I used the CTMH Woodgrain folder and then rubbed my Chocolate stamp pad over the raised areas.  My card base is Olive.  I finished it off with a Baker's Twine Olive bow.

All CTMH from Katiescorner!

It's always a good day when you learn something about yourself!

Preface:  Lots of introspection here having not a lot to do with this entry in my Crush Book!  However, sometimes working on new techniques, using new tools, and breaking into new papers can be much like this trail discovery for me!  When you get down to the darker print, you'll be back in the scrapping zone!

 Sitting down at my craft table looking at my pics from my recent trip to Jamboree gives me time for reflection.  I can't believe how much I learned about myself and others during those 4 days.  It doesn't seem like much time to make such discoveries; but I suppose when one is immersed in things so out of the everyday zone, she picks up on a few things!

I went out full of great expectations to love trail riding.  I thought my horse and I would get out there and relax and enjoy nature.  Much to my dismay, I found we both seemed to hate it!  He started loping in place the second we hit the trail head!  I was holding him back the entire time and we were both exhausted and frustrated upon the return of the 2 and 1/2 hour ride.  I didn't think it was ever going to end!

The people around me were relaxed, laughing and having a great time.  It frustrated me to no end since I couldn't seem to enjoy that same feeling!  The following day when everyone was going out for another ride, I chose to stay behind and work in the round pens and out in the grassy area.  There, Jake and I had a wonderful time working on maneuvers and gait impulsion.  We were back in our working element and relaxed.

The third day we rode in a clinic and that was the best!  Yeah, I'm a strange one.  I'm more relaxed in a clinic riding and learning in front of people than I am on a "relaxing" trail ride.  Go figure!

Well it's good to know who I'm not ---- and currently I'm NOT a trail rider!  Who knows, one day I may get there.  For now I'm relating to the Dr. Seuss stamp from the Happy stamp set.

I am loving the freedom of creating in my Wildwood Crush Book.  I was a bit intimidated at first -- not sure why -- but now I'm loving using it as sort of a pictorial/art journal of my life events.  It's a great place to write down some sentiments, epiphanies, try new techniques, etc.  I really like using odds and ends from other larger layouts.  It also feels a bit indulgent because it's all about me!  I don't scrap much about me, so this is different.

Everything here is from CTMH except the buckle from my stash, the homemade texture paste on the sentiment tag, copper embossing powder, and the white gesso I used to cover the page on the left.  I didn't want the background to be quite so prominent.

Paper is from the Skylark and Ivy Lane.  The little orange flower is from the new Scaredy Cat.

CTMH Stamp Sets include Timberline Workshop, Huntington Workshop, Skylark Workshop and You are My Happy.

Embellishments:  Sparkle Gems Tan/Brown, Mini-Medley Accents, Mocha Gems, Wildwood Assortment, Bakers Twine, Brown Stripe Ribbon, and Timberline Assortment.

Cricut Cartridges:  CTMH Art Philosophy

All CTMH is from Katiescorner.

So, am I glad I went on that 2 1/2 hour trail of torture?  Yeah, I guess I am........actually, I know I'm glad I did it.  Why?  Because I did it!  I didn't fall off and I didn't throw up, so.........it was a good day!

My Crush book entry is going off to Heart 2 Heart challenge:  Favorite Tool.  This might sound strange, but the tool I use EVERY time a scrap is my All Purpose Mat!  I love inking, as you know from my favorite technique entry, and using texture paints, glimmer mists, etc.  Therefore, this mat is a must!  It cleans off like none other.  I keep it out laying over my up-side-down Versamat which is another of my favorite tools.  Using this layout of tools I'm always ready to stamp, glue, use paste, whatever!

No Limits at 50!

My post needs to be as speedy as this car today!  Busy, busy!

This is the card I made for my guy's 50th birthday!  He loves cars; he and our son went to the Mecum auction this past spring.  That was a dangerous thing!  You can see what my son brought home on Mecum Car Auction Comes to Indy....

Anyway, I must stay on task!  Back to the card; the background is CTMH Fundamentals.  It has has a fun arrow shape pattern.  The signs are from the CTMH Art Philosophy Cartridge.  The car is cut from the Father's Day Cartridge.

The signs were stamped with the CTMH Timberline Workshop Stamp Set and then heat embossed.  The tire tracks are from the same stamp set.  I also heat embossed the outline of the car with black embossing powder.

All CTMH is from KatiesCorner.

Zooming off to Sentimental Sundays where the theme is Vehicles!

Most Beautiful Pumpkin Baby!

As I was looking through some old photographs, I found this one and fell in love with it!  It is a picture of my grandma when she was Most Beautiful Baby in the Big Pumpkin Show 1912.

What better time to scrap this picture with it feeling so much like fall outside and so many of the challenges are being inspired by the crisp, cool air.

I started with the picture and ran with a fall / pumpkin theme.  (I almost always use this technique for my layouts.  They are usually inspired by the pictures I choose.)  I'm assuming this was some sort of festival or fair and found the Jubilee paper where there were tickets on the paper.  I cut those out and then went to the Cricut Design Space to find oak leaves, acorns, pumpkins, tickets, banners, etc.

Cricut Cartridges include:  Art Nouveau, Art Philosophy, October 31st, Pretty Pennants, Holiday Cakes, and Celebrate with Flourish.

 The bottom sentiment is part of the strip from CTMH Huntington paper.  This really fun background is from the CTMH Fundamentals.

 I used a couple of my favorite techniques on this layout.  One is I combined cuts from many different cartridges.  The second technique is inking.  I love to ink everything.  If my hands aren't stained by the end of the session, I haven't had enough fun!  I usually cut  all my images from 4-5 different colors and then vary them with inks and stamping.  I use sponges, daubers, my fingers, stamps, pieces of cloth, baby wipes, my shirt.......hahaha!  Whatever is laying close is fair game for inking!

I believe on this project I actually used around 7-8 different papers and/or card stocks for cutting in addition to the fundamentals I used as the background for my picture and the base of the LO.

Of course, then there are the mocha gems.  I love those; when I saw they were being discontinued, I bought several packages.  Other CTMH embellishments include:  Sparkle gems tan and Rosette Ribbon.  I colored the ribbon with homemade glimmer mist and tucked it under the flower and acorns in the upper right hand corner.  I also sprayed the right hand corner and the left edge with chocolate glimmer mist.

Stamp sets include:  CTMH Universal Backgrounds.

I had to leave the journaling banner empty for now.  I need to talk to my dad and see what he knows about this picture.  Someone else had written my grandma's name on the picture.  This was interesting since I had always known her as Kathryn.  I have to assume this was my great-grandmother's writing because it is not Grandma's penmanship.  Of course, it could have been one of her sister's writing.  She was the youngest of several girls.

Ok, enough speculation!

This is going off to the following challenges:
Heart 2 Heart - my favorite techniques
123 Get Scrappy - Tic, Tac, Toe  Grid (Leaves, Brown Background, Long Title)
Bitten by the Bug 2 - Use any Cricut cut

Leaves, Brown, Long Title

Exploring Cricut - Fall Cuts

All CTMH is from Katiescorner.

Vintage Cowboy/Cowgirl!

These vintage photographs from the late 1940's have been on my radar to scrap for awhile now.  I just couldn't figure out how I wanted to put them together.  The top left pic is my mom and her horse.  The photo on the bottom right is my dad in his cowboy gear.

Mom was a mid-western country girl; she lived on a farm with all kinds of animals including horses.  She loved her family vacation out west and came home loving that lifestyle and decor.

Dad lived in a small Indiana town.  He told me every Saturday he would walk to the movie theater to see the latest cowboy picture with Roy Rogers or Gene Autry.  The 30's, 40's and 50's were the decades of cowboys!  The silver screen was full of westerns to spark the imaginations of children.

I saw the sketch at Stuck?! Sketches and then remembered the paper with the Southwest theme from CTMH sitting in my stash.  I happened upon the challenge over at Sentimental Sundays where the theme is Touch of Vintage and here's the result!   I'm also sending these 'cow kids' off to Heart 2 Heart where the theme is favorite stamp.  **Note: I have the right to change my mind about my favorite stamp set at a moment's notice!  That is one unfair challenge theme!  I don't play favorites; however, I do reach for my background stamps for almost every piece.  When CTMH comes out with a new background stamp, I'm on it!  ;)

Ok, back to the 'cow kids'!  Everything here is CTMH except the circles.  The wire with jewels making the top circle is left over from Katie's wedding and the bottom circle is a stiff hemp/twine from my stash.  I made it even stiffer by rubbing it into candle wax.  This helped it hold its form to make the circle.  

The paper is from Free to be Me; it was a promotion a few months ago.  The background CS is from the Fundamentals!  This is really fun CS; as you can see, when you rub ink over it the design appears!  The more ink you put on there, the more you see it.  Very fun!

Stamp sets include:  Distressed Backgrounds, Universal Backgrounds (retired), and Timberline Scrapbooking Workshop (retired).  

Cricut cuts are from:  Southwest and CTMH Artbooking.  Stencil is from Artbooking.  I used the stencils made from Acetate Alternative to make the Sunset Arrow Bursts.  

CTMH Embellishments:  Durable Squares, Aqua Dots, Mocha Gems, and Sparkles Assortment Brown/Tan.  Homemade Glimmer Mist is made from CTMH Chocolate re-inker, water, and Create a Shade Pearl Paint (sadly retired!). 

All CTMH is from KatiesCorner.  Stamp of the month is so adorable this month; visit and check it out along with the great promotional offer!

Meow!

September is such the birthday month!  Lots of special days in my family!  Thank goodness for the inspirations at the blog sites!  This card was inspired by the sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge!  They always seem to have a fun idea over there!

This card was used making the CTMH Jubilee papers; sadly they're retired.  The cats were cut from the Cricut Meow cartridge and the Meow is from the Four Legged Friends Cartridge.

I used the Stripes embossing folder from CTMH and then heat embossed it with clear powder to get the shiny appearance.  The "meow" was also heat embossed with black powder.

The little flowers are stamped in Indian Corn Blue with What a Hoot Stamp of the month.  The card has a shiny look from dry brushing Create a Shade Pearl paint mixed with Sky re-inker.  The black ribbon was in my stash.

All CTMH is from KatiesCorner.

Ok, I have a couple of cards done now...........  Back to the work desk!  hahaha

Really?

 Ok, this layout is full of deception and truth all depending on how you look at it!  First off, I'm not sure I am a 'country girl'!  I grew up just outside the city limits, but the closest thing I had to livestock was a dog!  I lived a very 'town' life involved in music, church, Latin club (wow, what a nerdy thing!), 4-H (but only the crafts, sewing, foods, photography --no animals), etc.

If someone had told me when I left for college where I'd be now, I probably would have ended it right then and there!  My goal was to head off to a city and play oboe.

Ah, how life, love, and kids changed EVERYTHING I thought I wanted!

So, where are the truths and deceptions?

 Do I like birds?  Well, in the trees ~ yes.  In my barn?  NO!

Do I like flowers?  Yes.  Do I want to plant them and take care of them?  NO!

Do I like chicken wire?  It's ok, but I don't want a chicken unless it's fried and on my dinner plate!

Leaves on vine, Antique Gold Accent,
Background stamps and Burlap,
Old West cartridge, Ribbon

Do I love this color combo?  Yes!  That just happens to be the challenge over at Heart 2 Heart this week, but it lasts all month.  My favorite color is cornflower or periwinkle blue, but my favorite color combo is browns and blues/turquoises together.   I also like this sketch!  It's from Paper Secrets!  You have all month to play there, also!

Do I love this horse?  Yes!  This is Jake; he is a Bay Quarter Horse also registered with the Ranch Horse Assoc.  He's 8 years old and a sweetheart!  He works in my therapeutic riding program and is my own personal riding horse.

Ok, so am I a country girl?  Hmmmm........
Let me ponder this one.  I love to scrap country life.  I love to photograph country life.  I like to decorate in a country style.  ............ well, maybe I am a little bit country at heart, but to go as far as to say I'm a country girl?  Give me another 15 years and I'll let you know!

Everything you see in the LO is from CTMH KatiesCorner except the homemade glimmer mist and texture paste.

Cricut Cartridges used:  Art Philosophy, Old West, and Artbooking.

CTMH Stamp Sets:  In the Background, Universal Backgrounds, Distressed Backgrounds.

Side note:  I do have other shirts!  Really, I do...... All the pics of me on this site were taken the same day.  I don't have many pics of me, since I usually take the photos!  

Wow! What a Sentiment!

I received my new Halloween stamp set from CTMH a few weeks ago and was itching to try it!  The Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge seemed the perfect place.  Might seem a stretch from the demure young lady doing her cross-stitch / sewing project, but............

The papers are from the CTMH Scaredy Cat collection.  They are so hauntingly cute!  hee hee

My witch is from Cricut Wrap It Up and the bats are from CTMH Artbooking Cartridge.

The sentiment is from the new CTMH Halloween stamp set called Halloween Greetings.

The Pear green CS was embossed using the a bubble folder.  Reminded me of Shakespeare, "Double, double toil and trouble;  Fire burn, and caldron bubble." You know, MacBeth.....the scene with the three witches?  Ok, I didn't remember where that quote was from; I looked it up and then sort of remembered from a literature class a long time ago!    ; )  

Anyway, back to the card....

I had a piece of tulle on the desk, so I rubbed it in black ink and let it dry.  Then I tucked in in around the rectangle under the witch.  It sort of gives her a veiled effect.

The bats are heat embossed.  I mixed silver and black embossing powders with a tiny bit of sparkle glitter.  I'd not done that before, but thought it might give it a fun look!

Lots of fun inspiration at AHSC; check it out!


If you love this paper or stamp set and one want it for your very own, visit KatiesCorner!