Yuletide Carol

I know, Christmas was a couple of days ago; but we'll be celebrating through the 1st over here!  I'm sure many families need multiple days to fully enjoy the holiday with family and friends!  I have to say I'm glad we start celebrating on Christmas Day and continue on through early January.  That gives me time to play longer with my holiday papers and stamps!

This card is the actually the gift card holder on page 55 of the Artiste Cartridge Handbook.  The poinsettia is from SVG cuts.  All the paper and gem is from the Yuletide Carol Workshop on the Go.  

I further embellished with some lace left over from......you guessed it, Katie's wedding -  (I'm going to have that stuff around for years!) - and some gold raffia.  

I have to say, the Yuletide Carol papers and the Christmas Post Stamp set are definitely my favorite CTMH has ever done for the holidays!  I am loving this combo!  

My little poinsettia is off to Color My Heart for the last color challenge of the year!  

If you are in love with this paper, you can find it at KatiesCorner!  There are lots of other beautiful papers, embellishments, and great offers there!

Happy Winter Solstice!

It's a lovely Sunday here, full of sunshine; but I think we may have some snow on the way in the forecast.  Winter is so wonderful when I can stay inside by the fire drinking white hot chocolate topped with whipped cream -- yum.  However, with winter comes lots of extra work in the barn:  carrying buckets of water to troughs, cleaning stalls all the time, and carting the hay out to the pastures.  Just thinking about it makes me want to grab a hot cup of coffee/cocoa!

This card is made from scraps of all retired papers from CTMH.  I believe they are Forever, Skylark, and last year's Christmas papers.  There is also a retired button, silver shimmer trim,  jingle bells and ribbon from Katie's wedding!

The snowflakes are cut from Art Philosophy and the sentiment is from CTMH Blessings of Peace stamp set.

These little snowflakes are flying off to:

Heart 2 Heart:  Use Lagoon, Silver, and Black
613 Avenue Create:  Use a snowflake/Winter Solstice
Pile it On:  Anything Goes Holiday Christmas

Candy Cane Bear!

The CTMH stamp of the month for November had this cute little bear and candy cane in it!  I couldn't resist adding some shimmer trim and snowflakes for a card for my grand girl!

The tickets are from the stamp set included in the Yuletide Workshop on the Go.  I really like the ticket trend!  These coordinate with the ticket cuts from Artbooking.  I believe the stamp and snowflake cuts were also from Artbooking.

Quick post today, hope everyone is moving along quickly with their last minute holiday preparations!

This little guy is going off to the Candy Cane challenge at Curtain Call!

Victorian Country Christmas

This is definitely a mash-up of my favorites:  country and Victorian.  I was inspired by the stamp set Christmas Post from CTMH.  It has to be my favorite of all my Christmas stamps right now.  I can't stop making cards with it!

I started with 3 shades of blue:  Sky, Crystal Blue and Twilight.  I stamped the pads directly on my mat, sprayed them with some alcohol, swirled the colors together and dropped the Champagne CS on it.  Then using the Twilight ink, I stamped the trees and house scened in the background.

I stamped the Post Card in Slate and the horse (an old stamp from who knows where?).  Merry Christmas was stamped in Archival Black.

The swirl embossing was done with a Cuttlebug folder on Outdoor Denim CS.  I then went over it in Slate.

Embellishments topped it off -- a little Victorian lace and pearls with some country burlap and a tulle bow.

You can find this amazing stamp over at KatiesCorner.

Challenges:

Take Heart Ideas:  Anything Goes Use CTMH
Pile it On:  Anything Goes Christmas
Sentimental Sundays:  Anything Goes

Inside the Window at Christmas

It seems there is something magical about windows at Christmas.  It seems there is something so inviting about them whether you are in the city looking at the lovely displays or driving in the country seeing the warm glow radiating from within homes and barns.  There's something about being out at dusk and seeing the lights of the tree through the window.  It's just so,,,,,,,well, it's simply family, love, joy,,,,,,Christmas!  

I started with the window cut from Christmas.  I cut the window shape from Colonial White CS.  I then used a stencil cut from Artbooking and stenciled the bricks with texture paste.  I glued together my other window pieces and glued them to the front of the card.  I adhered acetate alternative on the inside of the window.  

I inked the greens cut from Home for the Holidays, Winter Frolic and SVG Cuts.  The little bird is from Art Philosophy.  The tree is decorated with some scrap sequins and it is adhered to a scrap of Ariana paper.  The card front is adhered over the tree with 3-D tape from CTMH.  

The inside is decorated using a Cuttlebug embossing folder and a kitty from A Child's Year.  The sentiment is from CTMH.

Great deals from CTMH this month!  If you have had your eye on the stamp sets, now is the time!  Check out the Deal of the Decade at KatiesCorner!

Off to these challenges:

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge:  Anything Goes
613 Avenue Create:  Anything Goes with opt gift packaging
Pile it On:  Anything Goes/Holidays

No red, No green!

No sun for pics today!  Should've taken the photo yesterday,
but I was taking advantage of the weather and working
in the barn with some other horses!  

Cricut Print and Cut........I remember thinking, 'That's a feature I won't use.'  

Ok, I was wrong!  

I decided to make the cards again for the families in my PATCH by Design program (therapeutic horsemanship) and I fell in love with this image from A Quilted Christmas.  I knew I'd never have time to piece that image for so many cards.  Then I remembered......Print and Cut!  That's the answer!

I chose the filigree card base from A Quilted Christmas, also.  

I selected the horse and changed the colors.  Then I flattened him and attached him to the filigreed card.  Easy!  Yay!!  

On the inside I inked paper with CTMH Sky ink and stamped in CTMH Lagoon and used shimmer trim to attach it.  The sentiment is from the CTMH Christmas Post.  Ribbon and gems are still left over from Katie's wedding!  

Since I chose a blue color palette, I'm sending this handsome guy off to the Beyond Red and Green Challenge at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog.

Seasonal Expressions I just came out at CTMH!  You can see all the new items at KatiesCorner!  While you're there, check out the Deal of the Decade!  This is a great opportunity to get all those beautiful stamp sets you've been eyeing!

Guest Designer: Lucy

Hi, my name is Lucy.  I am a guest designer today at ScrappyHorses!  I love making crafts and when I come over to Gram's house I like to play with the Cricut!  I am in Kindergarten; I'm 6 years old.  I like to work with sparkly things.  I like to stamp.  That stamp is in pink because I like pink.

My daddy married Miss Katie and she sells CTMH.  We have lots of CTMH paper!  This paper is from Lollydoodle.

This is a tree with a face!  I saw it on the computer and picked it because it was my favorite tree.  It is red and the back is light purple.  I like purple, too.

I sewed it.  Gram helped me with that!  I couldn't reach the thing you step on to make it go.  I did get to push it through.

I found a bag of sequins to decorate the tree.  I got to use the camera to take a picture!  That was fun!  I hope you think it's beautiful.

Lucy

A few facts:  The tree cut is from Create a Critter 2.  The stamp is from the CTMH Scandinavian Wishes.  Silver Shimmer Trim is also CTMH.  All sequins are from my stash--I think I've had them around for over 20 years!  ........and yes, the sewing was very closely supervised! hahaha  

Katrina (Gram)

This tree is going off to the following challenges for Lucy!

Bitten by the Bug 2 - Christmas tree cut from Cricut
Take Heart Ideas - Anything Goes using at least 1 CTMH product
Craft Hoarders Anonymous - Celebrate the season

Victorian Christmas

This has to be my most favorite of the new Christmas Stamps from CTMH.  Christmas Post is so pretty.....love, love, love!  It coordinates beautifully with the Yuletide Carol Collection.  This set also includes an adorable little snowman shown here.  

The background paper comes with the swirls so it was a cut and tape!  The snowflakes were left over from another project.  They were cut from Artbooking.  I inked them, sprayed them with adhesive and glittered!  

That sweet little snow girl was stamped with Colonial White pigment ink and heat embossed in gold. I set the tension on my machine a little loose to get the 'wonky' stitching.  I then inked the edges and distressed them.  

I embellished with some lace and raffia from my stash and some retired gems from CTMH.  The bow is made from color ready seam binding.  I sprayed chocolate and blush reinker/water on my mat and picked it up with the seam binding.  I colored the lace the same way.  

This little lady is taking her tree off to the following challenges:

Craft Hoarders Anonymous - Celebrate the Season

Pile it On - Sprinkle it On (glitter and embossing powder)

Take Heart Ideas - Anything Goes with at least one CTMH product

613 Avenue Create - Anything goes optional calendar twist this month

  

Ah, Which One Do I Lift?

The challenge over at Scrap & Play is to lift one of the DT's layouts!  Wow, this was hard since they are all so creative and inspirational!  I couldn't choose just one!  It's like going to a yummy dessert buffet and saying they are all there for you to see, but you can only choose one!  Yee gads!  Who can do that?

I started by finding a picture I've had "hanging in the wings" for quite some time waiting for just the right LO.  I love this picture; yes, the idea was lifted from Pinterest.  I would give credit to the original if I knew who that was!  hahaha

 I loved the reels in Kylie's LO.  I just got a new stamp set from CTMH with the Reel Life stamp.  I lifted Rachelle's LO pattern.  This was a perfect pattern to highlight the retired Lollydoodle paper.

Cuts:  Close to My Heart Artbooking- frames, reel, and tickets; Graphically Speaking- priceless tag, flower, and remember; CTMH Art Philosophy- note tag.

Paper:  CTMH Lollydoodle- retired.

Embellishments:  CTMH - Baker's Twine, Shimmer Trim, bow, and ribbon.  Stash- embroidery thread and gems.



CTMH Stamps:  Reel Life, Yuletide Carol, Take Note and Universal Background.

Background textures:  Texture paste and Pigment ink.

Thanks for stopping by today!

All CTMH from KatiesCorner.

Full of Thanks!

I'm sure many of us are thankful for so many blessings this holiday season.  I know I'm thankful I live in a country where we can celebrate in the manner we choose - whether it be secular or religious.  I'm thankful for those who defend that right for me.  It seems I turn on the news every day to see yet another sect of people attacked viciously for their beliefs.  Our country may have some issues needing resolution, but I am still thankful I'm here as I'm sure many of you are thankful you live in countries where you have similar rights.

Now, on to the card!  All cardstock/paper is CTMH.  The blue gems and button are from my stash.  I believe the folder is an Embossabilities folder.

Those gems, oh those little blue gems, are STILL left over from Katie's wedding.  They've been married a year and a half now.  I think those gems are multiplying!

The Baker's Twine is also from CTMH.  I had a question recently about how I keep the CTMH Baker's Twine stiff.  Ok an old candle is the secret!  Simply run the string over the candle and it gives it stiffness to keep the shape you intend.

Now, that mesh is from Menards; it is a drywall mesh.  I inked it over a piece of thin veneer and now it has the pattern on it.  That was set aside for another project.  The mesh is very flat and fold-able, so you can manipulate it how you like.

The leaf, half doily, and tags are from Art Philosophy.

The pattern on the Olive cardstock is made using the stamp below.  I used this stamp set for the sentiment as well.  The set is in the Pathfinding Cardmaking Workshop.  You can also find the pretty background paper along with other fun goodies in there!  I like this pattern because it incorporates so many beautiful colors!

All CTMH is from KatiesCorner!  Keep an eye out for some exciting additions coming soon to the CTMH line!  You'll be thankful you did!  ; )

This card is going off to the following challenges:

Bitten by the Bug 2:  Thanksgiving
Color My Heart:  See the pic at the right!
Fantabulous Cricut:  Give Thanks
Heart 2 Heart:  No Rules -- Yay!
Mixed Media Mojo:  Thankful
Pile it On:  Upcycle/Recycle -- Old button &  leftover drywall mesh
Sentimental Sundays:  Heartfelt Thanks


 As we begin our week of Thanksgiving and move into Advent and Christmas, I'm sure many of us reflect on our families, holidays past and dreams of those in the future.  My wish for all of you is beautiful memories that drive your crafting to a joyous level!

Pure as Snow

Yes, my friends this card is as pure as snow!  There are no dyes, perfumes or inks used in this little gift card!  Possibly it is hypoallergenic, but I'm not guaranteeing that!  ; )

Ok, this lovely little snowflake is going off to Heart 2 Heart for the NOvember challenge:  NO ink!  I think it's very safe to say there is absolutely NO ink on this card.

My Cricut cut is from Art Philosophy.  I sprayed the cut with glue and sprinkled it with glitter.  I embellished with a CTMH Clear Epoxy Bubble and adhered my finished snowflake with 3-D Tape.  The background is embossed with a swirls folder.  Oh, yeah, the CS is White Daisy!  hahahaha

Hey, they say No ink and I take it to Heart!  (Did you like that play on words?  Are you groaning at this point?)

Maybe I should be sent to my room for being so cheeky in this post!  Actually, I could use a nap today!

All these CTMH items (CS, Art Philosophy Cartridge, 3-D Tape and Epoxy Bubble) are from KatiesCorner!  In all seriousness, I really love my CTMH cartridges.  I use them more than any others!

Poster Tidings ~ Fall!

I love fall......I miss fall......I feel cheated out of fall when I look outside the past week!  I guess I just need to create fall in my craft room since we have gone right into winter.  It seems the retail industry forgets all about Thanksgiving as we start preparing for Christmas in September, but does the weather have to follow suit?  Next year will we have inches of snow and single digit readings in October and the following year September?  Yee gads!  I certainly hope Mother Nature doesn't take its cue from commercials on tv!  ;  )

Ok, I'll stop gritching about the weather and move on to "fall in my craft room" and describe the card!  I started with a piece of Crystal Blue CS.  I ran it through the embosser in the Cuttlebug folder Paisley.  I inked the raised portion with Champagne Pigment Ink.  

The patterned paper is from the CTMH Pathfinding collection.  To color my lace from my stash, I sprayed some of my homemade glimmer mist onto the CTMH All Purpose Mat and wiped it up with the lace.  (This bottle of glimmer mist is made of water, CTMH Chocolate Re-inker and CTMH Create a Shade Pearl Paint - sadly retired.)  

I cut leaves from Art Philosophy in various colors.  I inked them, curled them, and spritzed them!  I further embellished my leaf cluster with a bow made from CTMH Baker's Twine, CTMH Burlap, and a button from my jar of miscellaneous buttons!  The little blue gems are STILL left over from Katie's wedding!  I'll be using those for a long time to come!  The Bronze Shimmer Trim adds a little sparkle behind the sentiment.  

The sentiment is from Poster Tidings.  I cut off the top portion in case you're familiar with this stamp and wondering about it!  The ink colors are Crystal Blue, Topiary, and Autumn Terra Cotta.  

This card is going off to the following challenges:

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge - Use 3 embellishments & Cricut cut(s)

Sentimental Sundays - Brads, buttons and/or bows

Take Heart Ideas - Anything Goes use at least one CTMH item

Have a wonderful day.  Here's hoping you have some fall weather in the very near future where you live!

All CTMH is from Katiescorner.  Keep an eye on things over there, there are some wonderful new ideas, goodies, and deals coming!!  Yay!!

Boots for Wet Weather....and wow do we have that!

This card is oh, so appropriate for us here in the midwest!  It has snowed and been really cold, but we have a huge weather shift coming with warm weather and rain!  It's going to be a mess here!

However, this card is really a get well card for a couple who were in an accident this past weekend.  They are ok, but suffering from broken bones and lots of bruises.  So, the boots are sort of a coincidence!

 Heart 2 Heart has challenged us this "NO"vember by telling us things we cannot use!  First it was no pattern paper.  Next no stamping, then no ink and now no embellishments!  Yee gads, this is making me crazy!  I have yet to do my project with no ink.........I'm just not sure I can do that.  I LOVE inking everything!

This card has NO embellishments.  That was hard, but I did it!  I just kept thinking, 'Ooooh, maybe a button on those boots,' or 'hmm......I'd like some ribbon across there!'  Ah, but I resisted and stuck with the plan.

I used four card stocks:  Daisy White, Hollyhock, Olive, and Smokey Plum.  The latter three are the colors over at Color My Heart this week.
The card itself is cut from the newest CTMH Cricut Cartridge, Artfully Sent.  I've had it for awhile, but I haven't played with it too much.  Since I couldn't use embellishments for my entertainment, I decided to do a pop-up card!

I sized up the boots and cut two of them in white.  I stamped the large boots (on the front of the card) with the CTMH Whooo's Your Valentine stamp (retired) with 2nd generation Smokey Plum.  The "HELLO" is from the Just to Say... set and is heat embossed with white powder.

For the inside, I cut the boots in all four colors to use the flowers; I adhered them and went over some of the white petals with a white pen just to give them some shine.  I added stripes to the boots for fun.  Nobody likes plain boots, right?

This card is off to these challenges:

Heart 2 Heart - No embellishments

Color My Heart - Smokey Plum, Hollyhock, and Olive

Bitten by the Bug 2 - Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes with optional Hello

Fall Tidings

This is a simple card using scraps from CTMH Jubilee.

I started by importing a scan of my wreath stamp into Cricut Design Space.  I then "erased" a center and around the edges leaving room to include leaves, berries, or flowers that could be stamped over the actual wreath from the Remarkable Wreath stamp.  Once I had the cut the way I wanted it, I saved it and cut it from Colonial White CS.  The pumpkin is from Damask Decor.

Once I got the cuts, the card was easy.  The wood looking paper was pulled from my stash - not sure of the maker on that.  I simply adhered the papers, distressed some edges, stamped, inked and tied a bow!  It really was that easy!

Ok, there were a couple of other steps!  I cut a square of drywall mesh and stuck on some Mocha Gems and CTMH Bronze Glimmer Tape!

This is off to Bitten by the Bug where the challenge is to use a pumpkin.

All CTMH is from KatiesCorner.

Hopes and Dreams

My little grand-girl is at the hospital today to have here eardrum repaired.  Obviously, Nana needed a card for her.  The colors at Color My Heart seemed very cheery, so I went with those!

 I used the CTMH markers in Smoothie, Olive, and Honey to make my plaid background.  I alternated thick and thin lines and the light and dark colors.  Then I used Daisy White Pigment Ink to stamp the unicorn from Unicorn Dreams.  The unicorn is heat embossed with silver powder.

I added some sparkles to the stars around her horn!  She is backed with Smoothie Fundamental CS and a piece of Honey CS.  It's all tied up with some Baker's Twine.


Here's the inside!  The top border is a piece cut from the front.  The sentiment is from Unicorn Dreams as well as the little unicorn.




I'm hoping she feels better very soon!


All CTMH is from KatiesCorner.

No B&T!

 No B&T (patterned) papers were harmed in the making of this layout!  Everyday in craft rooms across our globe, beautiful patterned papers are cut, stamped, crumpled, torn, pierced, and/or glued all for our artistic pleasure.  But today, my friends, not one patterned paper was touched!  No, they are all safe in their packages and drawers to see yet another day of peace.

If you feel these lovely papers need to be saved for another day, you need to check out Heart 2 Heart's No B&T Paper Challenge.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I'm told I can't do something, I just want to do it all the more!  I kept reaching for patterned pieces the entire time I was creating this LO.  I resisted the temptation and found other ways to add dimension and interest.

First I started with Colonial White CS and created my own patterned piece.  I used stamps from Sweet & Lovely and Pick a Posey.  * Sidenote:  Anyone else note the spelling on that Stamp Set?  Anyway, back to the paper.  I stamped with Cashmere, Champagne, Flaxen and Colonial White.  

Next I went into Cricut DS and used the ornament background from Artbooking.  I cut that out of Colonial White, also.  I painted over it with white gesso mixed with Blush re-inker.  

 Ornament cuts are from Artbooking, Art Philosophy, and Celebrate with Flourish.  They are embellished with CTMH gems.  Glitter and heat embossing were also used to decorate these ornaments.

I used the CTMH Quatrefoil embossing folder as well as a Cuttlebug Swirls folder on the Pear and Ruby card stocks.  CTMH Blue Epoxy Bubbles adorn the lace from my stash.  The raffia ribbon was also laying about!

You have all month to play at Heart 2 Heart.  Please save your B&T for another day and join the challenge!

All CTMH is from KatiesCorner.

Ode to Joy

I was so inspired by the musical freestyle my PATCH students were practicing, I've made them all canvases to commemorate and thank them for sharing their performances.  This particular one is for a young man who chose "Ode to Joy" and "Fur Elise" by Beethoven.  Great choices of music, but a little difficult to put together with a miniature horse running around the arena doing his chosen maneuvers!  We finally found a piece by a blue grass band that worked perfectly for the occasion!
 

Prince, fuzzy and ready for winter,
and his leader at the show!

Now, if you're thoroughly confused at this point, that's understandable.  Let me explain, PATCH is a therapeutic horsemanship program geared towards kids with life challenges of all types.  We just had a show where they competed in different classes.  It was great fun!  Now, you're caught up and we can return to the regularly scheduled blog post!  ; )

I started by going to the internet and pulling some pics of Beethoven's music.  Being an oboist, I don't have much Beethoven in my personal repertoire!  The large sheet is "Ode to Joy"; the music on the stand is "Fur Elise."  Then I found a letter signed by Beethoven.  I made copies, distressed, inked, and sprayed these papers.

 I had an idea the cuts I wanted from Cricut Design Space.  My horse, shoe and saddle are from Old West.

Now, the fence was a bit of a challenge.  I knew I wanted a 5 board fence to replicate a staff.  My student plays trombone, so I chose a bass clef for the first fence post.  I basically just imported a rectangle and copied it 5 times.  I changed the size to make my post and the boards.  Then I welded them together.  I then added the bass clef and welded it.  For some reason I had trouble getting it to work; but somehow it finally did.  I'm not really sure what we did to get it to work.  My son-in-law saw my frustration and jumped in to help.  He's not sure what he did either!  hahaha

I ran the fence through the CTMH Woodgrain Embossing Folder and inked over it with chocolate.

I made stencils from Acetate Alternative for my dots and bricks.  The bricks were cut from the CTMH Artbooking cartridge and the dots are from the new CTMH Artfully Sent; although, dots are also in Artbooking.  The bricks were put in with homemade texture paste.

Before adding my elements, I sprayed with homemade glimmer mist:  water, CTMH Chocolate re-inker and CTMH Create a Shade Paint (retired).

All CS is from CTMH.  CTMH inks include:  Barn Red, Chocolate, Slate, Archival Black.

CTMH embellishments include:  Mocha Gems (retired), Antiqued Gold Mini-Medley brad (retired).

All CTMH products are from KatiesCorner.

My Classical Cowboy is going off to these challenges:

Scrap and Play
THANKFUL
T Tone on tone stenciling and ink, texture paste
H Horseshoe, homemade shimmer mist
A Acetate Alternative
N No Stamping on this!
K Katrina original design (bass clef fence)
F Filly (the horse is a filly)
U Uppercase letters in Title
L Letter from Beethoven (Copy-not an original - hahaha)

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge - Anything Goes
Heart 2 Heart - No Stamping!
Take Heart Ideas - Anything Goes with CTMH products
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes: optional twist is holiday thankful/hostess gift

Orange!

Choose your orange!  Yep, that's the color dare at Color My Heart and I was so quick on this one, you still have all week to play!  So, jump on over there -- after you read my blog, of course -- and check it out!

I started with Kraft CS and braided the card edge.  Ok, I didn't really braid it!  It's much easier than that.  You can find directions for this technique on Youtube.  The template is found here.  I saw the idea for this at Such a Pretty Mess; to see her card go here!

Ok, now that you have seen how easy this is, I'm sure you'll want to try it.  I have an idea to change the size and use it in other ways.  More on that after some experimentation!

Oranges:  I chose Autumn Terracotta, Sunset, and Goldrush for my fall card.  I embellished with Mocha Gems, Burlap Ribbon scraps, and Baker's Twine.  There's a little piece of Bronze Shimmer Tape behind the backing peeking out.  I backed the sentiment with Scaredy Cat stamped with Family is Forever and What a Hoot.  The sentiment is from Poster Tidings.

All CTMH is from KatiesCorner.

Colorful Birthday!

Heart 2 Heart had a color challenge to throw our way this month!  The colors included:  Desert Sand, Cranberry, Lagoon, and Goldrush.

I struggled with what I wanted to do with this challenge.  Then I got in a time crunch to get a card ready and this is what came of it!  Sometimes time restraints can make decisions for me and that is what happened here.

I looked at the stamp from Pick a Posy and started stamping a background in the 4 colors.  I backed it with Cranberry.  The sentiment is from Joyful Birthday.  I added a few of the dark Aqua Dots and Lagoon Baker's Twine and a card is born!

I hadn't used that stamp set, but I think I like this stamp as a background!  I'll probably return to this for another piece!

All CTMH from KatiesCorner.

Speaking of time crunches……off to work!  Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Happy Birthday Halloween Girl!

I have a student who celebrates a Halloween birthday.  This little cutie witch is going to be perfect for her!

I was inspired by several challenges for this one.

Heart 2 Heart  - Midnight challenge
Color My Heart - Thistle and Sunset
Fantabulous Cricut - Halloween
Retrosketches - Sketch

I turned to the CTMH Scaredy Cat papers for this one; have I mentioned how much I love those papers?  Those papers with the "Halloween Greetings" stamp set is a 'spooktacular' match!  The little witch is stamped, heat embossed and colored with markers.

Now I have to say I hate fussy cutting, so I scanned in the images from the stamp sheet and imported them into my Cricut Design Space!  Then the Cricut cut it for me and I stamped the cuts!  The little curlycues on the watch didn't work well for me, so I cut those off.  There were some areas that didn't ink due to my being off a bit, but it was easy enough to just black them out with ink.  I love the new cut features on the Cricut!

The pocket watch is from "Key Moments" stamp set.  Something about the midnight hour and the look on the little witch's face tells something is up!  I added a few little gems, sequins, and ribbon from my stash and the card is complete.

All CTMH is from KatiesCorner.

Hey! Those are my boots!

Ok, I'm playing catch up today!  I love to participate in the Heart 2 Heart challenges, but this past month has been a busy one getting ready for the PPFC this past Saturday at my barn.  You'll be hearing more about it in the next few days as I scrap pics and share some of the fun and frivolity!

Ah, but I have digressed from this post.........uh, back to playing catch up........oh, yes...the very first challenge this month in scrapbooking was "Show us your selfies!"  Yee gads, I hate selfies!  I know they're all the trend, but I truly can't, and don't, take pictures of myself!  I went to my photo program to see if I had any.........no, none there.  I went to my phone, no......wait!  Those are my boots taken with my phone!  I must have taken those pics!  Yes, I remember; it was during the spring flood of 2011 just weeks before Keith's graduation party!  

UGH, it was terrible out here!  Horses were in for weeks and we were digging trenches to get the water to drain from our property.  I'll not soon forget waking up to geese swimming in our pasture and the water just inches from the house!  I remember walking out further and further wondering how far I could venture before the water would be over my rain boots.  

So, here it is; my selfie!  I know, this isn't what you had in mind, but there's a great story here and I lived it making it worthy of note in My Crush Book!  ; )

Here are a few of the CTMH details:

Lollydoodle papers
Hollyhock Zipper Lace
Color Ready Canvas Alphabet
Flamingo Dots
Lagoon Shimmer Tape
My Crush Book
Wildwood Assortment

The raindrops were done with a stencil I cut from Cricut Creative Bug which is free in DS.  I cut the stencil and used homemade texture paste tinted with Sky re-inker.  I did gesso the page with clear gesso before using the paste.  No worries using gesso or paint on these pages because they are thick!  Paint them, sand them, gesso them, put brads through them, possibilities are endless with these durable pages!

The boots were cut from Cricut Paisley Cartridge.

Check out the My Crush Book products at KatiesCorner!  I really love my book.  It's such a fun place to document my memories, art journal, glue in a few pics, or just "goof around" with some new ideas.  I was nervous about using it....silly, I know.....but I truly enjoy it now!  Here are some other Crush Book entries:  Indulge Me, Please, It's Always a Good Day......, and My Crush Books.  My book happens to be the Wildwood Book and as you can see, many of the CTMH papers compliment it really well!  I'm sure that is true of all the My Crush Books.

Oh, by the way, I had nominated Miss Katie to do an All About Me sort of page and it's up at Katie's Corner!  Check it out!

Interestingly enough, it's raining here!  So, I better get out to the barn and feed again.  Hope it's sunny in your world!

The Season to Layer!

I love the new stamp "Christmas Post" from CTMH.  It looks so vintage and has such a Victorian air about it.  When I saw the sketch challenge over at Heart 2 Heart I knew I wanted to get that set out of the envelope!  When I saw the challenge over at 613 Avenue I was inspired to use it as a tag!  I layered this one, so it's going over to Craft Hoarders Anonymous as well!

I cut the tag free hand from Daisy White and Indian Corn Blue.  I stamped little snowflakes from the "Flakey Friends" stamp set.   I glued a scrap of lace on the blue CS and layered the CTMH Shimmer Trim over it.

That sweet snowman is from "Christmas Post" and he is stamped on a piece of scrap paper from the retired Balloon Ride paper.  After stamping with White Daisy I heat embossed it with white powder.  I distressed the edges and inked them a bit.

The sentiment is from "Very Merry Christmas" stamp set.  The Blue Epoxy Bubbles and Baker's Twine are also from CTMH.  The tulle ribbon is still left over from Katie's wedding!  Wow, will I ever run out of that?

All CTMH is from KatiesCorner.  Oh, by the way, I had nominated Miss Katie to do an All About Me sort of page and it's up at Katie's Corner!  Check it out!