Spring babies

Has it been almost a month since my last post? Wow, time flies.

My coworker has been expecting a new grandbaby this month, so I whipped up a couple of cards to have ready. Used up some retired papers in my stash...

One using retired CTMH Dayream papers for a girl:





And one using retired CTMH Stardust papers for a boy:

The card front sentiments are printed onto cardstock with my computer, then I cut the shapes with the Cricut CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge, using the center point button to center the blade on the sentiment and cut the shape around it.

I love spring babies!  Now if spring would just get here already....


We got another foot of snow yesterday, this is turning into the winter that won't end. 

This photo was taken this evening, standing on the driveway on my tippy toes to be able to see my husband's dirty work truck over the snow. 

 

Now, we live in town, with regular snow removal. The country folk are way worse off, I've seen roads plowed where the snow in the ditches is higher than the school buses this year. For all my long distance followers...No, snow in Canada is nothing new. However, I live on the prairies!  By the end of March most of our snow is usually gone. Plus, snow like this usually only happens in the mountains. Or in Inuvik. Or in Alaska.

 

Stay tuned for "the big melt"

At this rate it will be in July.

Lorrinda

 

 

HAS December Card

I am finally able to post my card from the December Humble Artists Swap!

 

The guidelines were:

Create a Winter themed card

May NOT use any Green, Red or Blue

Must use 5 embellishments

Add some sparkle and shine

Must emboss something

Must have 8 layers stacked somewhere on the card

 

The cards I received in the mail from my fellow swappers were FABULOUS!  You can check out their talent over in my sidebar under Humble Artists.

 

 

Recipe:

All products CTMH

Cardstock: White Daisy, Slate and Whisper

Ink: Slate and Whisper

Stamps: D1480 Snowflakes, D1512 Holiday Wishes

Silver embossing powder Z669

Slate polka dot ribbon Z1802

Silver shimmer trim Z1799

Bitty pearls Z1707

Bitty sparkles Z1263

Clear sparkles Z1752

Vellum paper

 

I can't believe I haven't posted since before Christmas!  I did get into my craft room in January, just haven't had time to photograph anything.  Will try to get some new crafty things posted soon.  Thanks for stopping by today!

 

Lorrinda



 

 

3D Interactive Pop-Up Cash Card!

Who doesn't like cash? 
I have 2 teens on my Christmas list this year, and they are saving their money for some big-ticket items, so I was happy to contribute cash as their gift this year (saves me shopping stress!)
But as nice as it is to get cash, it's kind of a downer not to get a gift to open. 
So I made these:



 

 

 

So fun!

And I feel good that I put a little bit of effort into their gifts. 

 

Should at least earn me some "Coolest Auntie Ever!" votes :)

 

 

Here's a close-up of the pop-up part for those of you who want to make one yourself:

 

• Sorry, I don't have a template for the pop-up part, I just "winged it". 
• There are basically 2 pop up tabs cut out of the center of the card, with snowbanks glued to them. 
• Instructions for money origami can be found HERE. 
• I used glue dots to adhere the cash to the card, easy to rub off without damaging the money.

 

Note: the new Canadian bills that are sort of plastic don't work well for origami folds, make sure to use the older paper bills for this.

 

I wish everyone a wonderful Christmas!

Lorrinda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My 2012 Christmas Cards

In all the holiday chaos, I forgot to post my Christmas cards I sent out this year:

Inspired by Lisa Stenz, check out her blog and you will be inspired too!

Inspired by my friend Vicki (and not the first time either, she has the best ideas!)

Inspired my many starburst cards I found on Pinterest

Direct CASE from a card found on Pinterest by Monica

I kept these all very simple and non-bulky because I hate having to pay extra postage when I'm mailing out a bunch of cards. 

I have a couple more "Gift" cards to work on today, which are definitely more bulky and not simple at all...I will post them for you soon.  I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and not getting stressed out with a bunch of last-minute things to do!

Lorrinda

December birthdays don't always suck...

Most people born in December seem to get shorted for their birthdays, or forgotten in all the holiday hubbub...not my BFF Rene!  She just celebrated a special birthday this weekend. Here's the keepsake card I made for her:

You can click on the photos to see a larger view

 

 

 

 

 

And of course I made her a cake!

My recipe "White Russian" Cake, there's Kahlua in this cake! Used it in the cake, the filling and the frosting, YUM!
 

She's going to kill me for posting this on the internet, but Happy Birthday girlfriend!

 

If you want the recipe for this cake, you can find it HERE

See, December birthdays are AWESOME!
Lorrinda

 

 

 

 

HAS October card

I'm a little late posting the Humble Artists Swap card from October. Better late than never.

 

I'm not crazy about how this card turned out, but I had limited supplies to work with.

 

Of course, we are to use all CTMH products.  The guidelines we had to follow were tough:

• Use at least 1 new ink color >I used slate
• Use at least 2 new ribbons >Burlap ribbon, Harvest Baker's Twine...took some liberties here, but it's the only new product I had on hand:)
• Use at least 3 new patterned papers >Avonlea papers
• Use at least 4 new cardstock >Avonlea Green, Avonlea Teal, Avonlea Offwhite, Slate
• Use at least 5 embellishments (including the 2 ribbons) >Chocolate flower button, paper flower, brown sparkle, liquid glass and ribbons
• Use at least 6 stamped images >coffee bean border strip, spoon, cup, pot, steam, fleur de les border strip  (stamps from B1404 Cup of Cheer and C1488 Victory WOTG)
• Use at least a 7 word sentiment >from B1404 Cup of Cheer
• Use at least 8 layers >check

I used a Mojo Monday card sketch, and the images are colored with a mix of watercolor pencils, ink and markers.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lorrinda



August HAS card

I finally got a chance to post my Humble Artist Swap card for August! I have had a crazy month, and today is the first day that I am at home since school started.  Hubby went hunting, kids are at school, and I am enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee in my jammies and finally updating my blog.  For all of  my followers, a big apology for my lack of new content! Thank you for not "unfollowing" me! Now that kids are back in school and life is sort of getting back to "normal", I will try to post more regularly.

 

 

The over-the-top guidelines for our August swap cards were:

• CTMH products (no problem, all I ever use! check)
• Minimum 8 layers (see point at dress form shoulder? check)
• Use ONLY neutrals and one color (black, white daisy and grey wool, plus sorbet. check)
• Use one stamp set with the work "background" in it (see houndstooth pattern? check)
• Use one stamp set with the work "borders" on it (see sorbet scalloped cs strip? check)
• Have at least 3 Art Philosophy shapes (sorbet scallop border, large scallop circle, small sentiment circle. check)
• Have at least 2 other stamped images (dress form and sentiment. check)
• Minimum 3 embellishments (buttons, ribbon, hat pin. check)
• Card must be at least 4.25" x 5.5" (check)

And the swap cards I received in the mail from my talented swap buddies? FABULOUS! I love swapping with these gals, check out their blogs in my sidebar and you'll see why!

Thanks for popping in today!
Lorrinda

June Humble Artists Swap

Here is my card from our last swap in June.

The strict guidelines were:

• Must have a min. of 8 layers stacked
• Do not use any patterned paper
• Do not use any neutral cardstock (except for card base)
• Do not use non-paper embellishments such as ribbon, brads etc
• Do not use stamp sets with "border" or "background" in their name
• Use at least 6 different stamped images
• Create a paper embellishment that can count for at least 2 of the layers
• Card must be at least 4.25x5.5"

I must say that I really struggled with this one! I scrapped a couple of designs before I settled on this one (mostly because I was running out of time).  I had difficulty not using neutral colors, and I reeeeally wanted to add some ribbon or at least a button...but managed to create them with paper. That's what I like about these swap challenges, they force me to step out of my box and think. No patterned paper allowed? Emboss and stamp!
The cards I received form the other swap gals are stunning as usual, they make it seem so easy! You can find the links to their blogs in my sidebar, go check them out.

Thanks for stopping in today!
Lorrinda

Cruisin to Father's Day

It's been a while since I've had a chance to play along with the challenges at Heart 2 Heart, I've missed these ladies!  This week's challenge is to create something for Father's Day. 

I happened to be working on Father's Day cards, so this gave me the push to finish them early (Yay, I won't be scrambling the night before for a change!). I made 2 similar cards:

Why don't you join the fun at H2H?  Create a card for Dad using CTMH products, and link it up!

Have a great day!

Lorrinda

Supplies used:

CTMH Cruisin WOTG kit G1039

CTMH stamps: Born to Ride C1483

Stars, letters and shapes cut with CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge  Z1686

Jute ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon

Butterfly

My Mom asked me to make a birthday card for her to give to her sister. (Fun fact: they have birthdays on the SAME day!  Isn't that cool?) They have always been close, probably because they had to share birthday cakes growing up :) 

Well, my aunt likes butterflies, so this is what I came up with:

I used some retired papers and stamps on this one.  The verse inside was found online and just printed onto white cs.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lorrinda

Recipe:

Paper: X7135B Wings Level 2 Paper Pack

Stamps: D1452 Find Your Style, C1257 Happy Birthday

Inks: Vineyard Berry, Juniper, Sweet Leaf, Black

Z1398 Pleated Ribbon

Z1335 Licorice Opaques

Black Embossing Powder

Heat gun

Nestabilities Labels One Die

Cuttlebug

Humble Artists Swap Card

As promised last month, here's another HAS card from previous swaps:

October 2011

October 2011 requirements:

• Must use new papers and a new stamp set from CTMH 2011 Fall/Winter idea book
• Must have at least 7 layers stacked
• Must use at least 2 embellishments, one from the new idea book
• must be at least 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"

Thanks for popping by!

Lorrinda

Sweet Baby

When my kids were very little, I had a young nanny named Brandy who came in every day while I went to work. We grew to love her, and were heartbroken when she had to leave us. That was 10 years ago, and we've kept in touch with her and her family. This past Mother's Day, Brandy had a baby girl and they named her Sage.  We got to meet little Sage today, so of course I made her a card:






The center panel is popped up on 3D dots.  I tried to get a better pic, but they all look like the center piece is hanging over the edge of the card, but IRL it doesn't. I just bugs me on the picture.

Inside is a pop-up gift card. The big blur at the bottom is because I wrote in the card before I took a picture of it, and that is the extent of my Photoshop skills :)



Little Sage is a beautiful baby, and she smelled so good!  Almost made me want another one. I know first hand that Brandy will be a great Mom, Sage is a lucky little girl.  Don't you just love it when nice things happen to nice people? And to have a baby on Mother's Day makes it extra special, don't you think?

For this card I used up some of my hoarded paper stash that has been long retired.

Thanks for popping by!
Lorrinda

Humble Artists Swap April 2012

The ridiculously talented swap group had some over-the-top requirements for our April cards:

CTMH products of course:)
- at least 8 layers
- use patterned paper from 2 different paper packs
- use 3 different colours of cardstock (not counting neutrals)
- use at least 3 different embellishments
- tie it up (use hemp, twine or waxy flax)
- use an Art Philosophy shape
- be at least 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

I made my card 5x7" to fit in all the requirements:

You should check out the Humble Artists Swap blogs in my sidebar, I just love swapping with this talented bunch!  We split into 2 groups, so we have to make 4 identical cards, and each get 4 cards in the mail every 2 months. Thanks to these ladies, I have a fantastic selection of cards in my stash!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Lorrinda

Medallions Challenge

Say that 10 times fast!

I made this card for the Championing Award Medallions Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

The challenge is to make something that incorporates a 3 dimensional medallion in an innovative way.  I was in Christmas card mode and I couldn't figure out how to use a medallion for Christmas other than on a tag...then it hit me to make a tree out of it!  What do you think?  I have a gazillion brads so I went all out with the silver mini brads.  I like to bling-bling my Christmas cards, don't you? 

This card will probably be attached to a gift, so I wasn't worried about the weight or the thickness, but it would probably require a padded envelope for mailing. 

Thanks for popping by today!
Lorrinda

Supplies used all CTMH unless noted otherwise:
Paper: Mistletoe Level 2 Pack
Sentiment Stamp: D1243 Peace on Earth
Red Sparkles Z1326
Bitty Brads-metal Z1368
Cranberry Ink

SU Silver elastic cord
SU Border punch
Create Impress snowflake brad

Moxie Fab World: Random Fun Challenge

I'm not missing....I've just taken an unintentional extended crafting/blogging break.  I was only planning to slack over the summer, but then life just sucked me in.  I'm sure you can understand the demands on a working Mom who decided she needed a new kitchen...'nuff said.  Plus, I am officially addicted to Pinterest. Don't know what Pinterest is? Trust me, you don't want to know! Seriously, don't look it up or you will be sucked in to your computer and will never get out.  Don't. Go. There. Consider yourself warned.

Even Pinterest couldn't keep me from following along with my favorite crafting blogs, and I came across the Moxie Fab World 365 Cards Week  .  The new Papercraft special issue 365 Cards celebrates a card for every day of the year, including some wacky holidays and silly celebrations. There's a whole week of challenges, just what I needed to get away from Pinterest my crafty mojo kick-started back into gear!

Did you know there is a National Margarita Day?? Me neither! It's February 22, which I think is perfect, because here in Canada that is getting to the end run of a very long winter and I know I could really enjoy a margarita about then (but I could really enjoy a margarita on any given day :)

I just happen to have the perfect card for Moxie Fab World's Random Fun Challenge:

 

I made this card back in January, but I haven't given it to anyone because it`s one of my favorites and it would cost a premium to mail with all those brads...it's sitting on my display shelf in my craftroom just waiting to be entered in a challenge celebrating National Margarita Day! (So if some of my followers recognize this card, please don`t slam me for case-ing myself!)

Winter is just starting here, and this relaxing beach scene along with some Jimmy Buffet on my ipod is just what I need to mentally escape the cold dark winter months ahead. I think I'm just going to keep this card for myself.  Anyone want to join me for a margarita?  I found some great cocktail recipes on Pinterest that I want to try...

Thanks for checking out my blog!

Lorrinda

Recipe:

All product CTMH

Stamps: D1228 Chillin' (sentiment), B1351 You're Sweet (lime)

Inks: Pear, Sky, Sorbet

Paper: cs in Sky, Sorbet, and Colonial White

Pear B&T duo paper from Olivia Level 2 pack

Vellum

Brads: Spring, Summer and Basic Assortments

Opaques in Pearl and Mocha

Liquid Glass

Prisma Glitter

Techniques: masking, brayer and sponge backgrounds, paper tearing, edge distressing 

Another one of those "special" birthdays...

I know, every birthday is special as long as we're around to celebrate it.  But some birthdays are just more special than others.  You know, those milestone birthdays...
We recently celebrated my Dad's 65th birthday in style...the entire family spent it together on a Vacation Houseboat on Shuswap Lake in BC.

Since 65 is one of those "special" birthdays, I really wanted to make my Dad a great cake, but it would have been too hard to take it on the 3 day road trip we took just getting to the lake.  So I made him this special card instead:

Some of you may recall seeing others like this that I've made. 

I have made several of these Birthday Year cards books for family members. 

I have a full tutorial with pics for you on THIS POST.

Here are the inside pages,

click the pics to enlarge them if you're interested in reading the text.  Some of these trivia tidbits were really interesting to research:)

Thanks for not un-following me as I have been a very lazy blogger this summer!

Lorrinda

 

Recipe:

(All product CTMH unless noted)

X7137B Lucky Level 2 Paper Pack

Cardstock in Cocoa, Outdoor Denim, Desert Sand

Inks in Cocoa, Outdoor Denim, Desert Sand

Stamps: C1439 Enjoy Life, D1495 You & Me

 Z1387 Wooden buttons

Z1371Blue buttons Assortment

Z280 natural Hemp

Retired Pewter accents medley

Ribbon scraps

Cricut and Plantin' Schoolbook Cartridge

If you can read this, THANK A TEACHER!

Today's post is sadly my last one as a member of the Heart 2 Heart Design Team :(

It has been such a great experience to be in the company of such fabulously talented ladies for the past 6 months.  Each week the challenges have pushed me out of my creative box, and being on a Design Team with these gals has motivated me to bring my A game!  We've all become friends through our little chats behind the scenes, and I really hope to get to meet them all face to face one day.  I feel so honored to have had this design team opportunity!  If you get a chance this week, pop in to their blogs for a visit, and sign up to be a follower if you aren't already:
Debbie: http://www.scrapmyheartout.blogspot.com/
Haley: http://inkyscrapper.blogspot.com/
Jessica: http://www.jessicaspaperpetals.blogspot.com/
Jody: http://cre8nmemories.blogspot.com/
Karen: http://www.kdaycreations.blogspot.com/
Mary: http://www.mbryt1.blogspot.com/
Melinda: http://www.ifyoublingittheywillcome.blogspot.com/

I will continue to stalk their blogs on a daily basis :), but I will really miss being a part of this team.  However, our term is up and it's time to pass the torch on to some new talent!  Keep your eye on the H2H challenge blog for the new Design Team introductions, and please give the new designers a warm welcome.

Before I get all choked up, I better share the details of  this week's challenge.

This week H2H has a color challenge for us:

My kids have had really great teachers again this year, and today is the last day of school (Yay!...? This used to be such a happy day for me, before I became a Mom... just kidding...I think...)

 I wanted to include a little something to thank them for being a part of my kids' lives.  I made them each this cute bookworm card to go with a little gift:

Recipe: All product CTMH:

Stamps: B1380 Mayberry WOTG, C1322 Gratitude (Retired), and D1290 August Word Puzzle (Retired)

Paper: Bamboo, Barn Red, Blue from X7137B Lucky Paper Pack

Inks: Barn Red, Indian Corn Blue, Desert Sand, Sunflower

Z1371 Blue Button Assortment

Z906 Bamboo Waxy Flax

Z1099 Twill Ribbon (Retired)

and googly eyes from my stash :) 

Want to play along with us?  Now it's your turn to use these fabulous colors on a project.  Don't forget you must use some CTMH products...then link it up at H2H so we can all pop by for a peek.  Each entry has a chance to win a fantastic prize from our lovely sponsors, and a place in our Top 10 at the end of the month.

One last thing:

I want to share the inside of my card with all of you today:

Summer is always so busy for us, the kids are home from school, the yard needs maintenance, weekends are spent in our camper (with no internet), and just to make it extra crazy around here we've decided to begin a complete kitchen renovation.  I have no idea when I will get a chance to get into my craft room for the next few weeks, so I may not be posting to my blog very much this summer.  I will keep checking in with some of my favorite blogs that are in my Google Reader, and will try to leave some comments along the way.  Don't worry, I'm not abandoning this little blog...I'm just taking it easy where I can this summer, and am giving you fair warning that I'm gonna be a lazy blogger for a couple of months. 

A big THANK YOU to all my followers and to everyone who has taken the time to leave me a comment here. 

HAVE  A  GREAT  SUMMER!

Lorrinda