ABC Challenge!

Happy Victoria Day!

If you live in Canada you get today off,  yay for long weekends!  I had to google it to learn that it was originally a holiday in honor of Queen Victoria's birthday (duh), but we now continue to celebrate our current Monarch's birthday on this day as well.  It is also the unofficial end of the winter social season and start of the summer social calendar.  I'm all over that. Notify my personal valet to bring 'round the WHITE town car, as I must consult Yves for a couture fitting  for the summer wardrobe as well as several new hats....um, not.

Guess how I spent my long weekend?  We had a pipe leading to an outside faucet burst, and got a minor flood in the basement.  It could have been much worse. At least it was clean water and we were home to catch it before it did any major damage, but the carpet and couch got soaked and there is some damage to the ceiling.   Best part? My 10 yr old son was sitting on the dry side of the couch playing on the xbox, totally oblivious to the sagging dripping ceiling or the splish splash of water dripping onto the soaked couch and carpet.  Seriously.  Yeah, color me impressed.  It's nothing we can't clean and repair ourselves, but not how I was planning to spend my long weekend! (And right at the start of the summer social season!  How will I ever explain this at the country club?  Oh my heavens, I feel positively faint, someone please pass me the smelling salts!)

I did make some time to create something for the
 Heart 2 Heart challenge this week,

which is an ABC or Anything But a Card challenge! 

Crafting really is a good way to de-stress :)

I made a mini journal. 

The finished size of this cute little notepad is just 3.5"x 4.5",

perfect size to keep in my purse or throw into the beach bag!

(I won't tell you the choice words I used this weekend

 to express myself! 

 Let's just say I threw 10 bucks in the swear jar.) 

The cover is made from one piece of cardstock, with a fancy fold to make a place to keep a matching pen. I fancied the front up with  some stamping, layering, and a bit of hand stitching:

I decorated the inside of the cover too:

Between the spring cleanup yard work and the stupid water leak in the basement, I didn't get a chance to make a template or a tutorial for this cute little notebook. I promise to get one done soon to share with you!

For some more Anything-But-a-Card inspiration, check out what the rest of the H2H design team has whipped up for you this week!  Then go and create you own project that isn't a card, and link it up at H2H so we can all admire it:)  Remember, to be eligible for prizes you must use some CTMH product on your project, and you have until this Saturday to play along with all of the challenges from this month! 

Thanks for popping by today!

May your basement be dry and your social calendar be full :)

Lorrinda

Recipe:

All product CTMH unless noted.

Paper: Z1375 Kraft Cardstock, X7137B Lucky Level 2

Stamps: B1376 Wings WOTG, D1477 Universal Backgrounds, D1495 You and Me (May promo)

Inks: Z2140 Outdoor Denim, Z2118 Desert Sand

Button Assortments: Z1371 Blue, Z1372 Green, Z1387 Wood

Z280 Natural Hemp

DMC Floss #3750

Techniques: piercing, stitching, distressing

Sweet Baby Cake

And now for something completely different...

A friend asked me to make a cake for her co-worker's last day before she left to have her baby.  She didn't give me any instructions other than "Can you make a cake for a boy baby shower/goodbye we'll miss you party?"  No problem! LOL..I had to think about it for a while, and came up with this:

The cake is devil's food, filled with crushed Oreo cookie filling.

 The frosting, fence and grass are vanilla buttercream frosting.

The rolled roses, sign, mama and baby sheep are made of fondant and sugar paste with royal icing accents.  I used an edible food writer marker for the eyes. Here's a closeup:

This is the first time I got to try sugar paste figures, and I am really happy with how they turned out :) Just have to make them a few days in advance so they harden enough to handle.

I hope they like it! 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Lorrinda

What's YOUR Favorite Technique?

It's Monday again!  Is it just me or does time move faster as you get older?  I was so busy last week, spring cleaning and getting the yard ready for summer and cleaning out the camper...whew!  The weather has been warm but very windy, so I was glad to retreat into my craft room to create my project for this week's Heart 2 Heart challenge....which is show us your favorite technique!

I love to use fun and interesting techniques on my paper crafts, there are so many it was tough to choose just one, but if I have to pick I'd say embossing!  I love dry embossing to give a raised texture, and I love to watch embossing powder melt with a heat gun.

Here's my card featuring these 2 embossing techniques:

I had planned to do a tutorial for you, but the week just got away from me!  So I'll tell you what I did:

The background layer is embossed using my Cuttlebug and Oval (from Heritage Set) embossing folder.  I then sanded the raised image to reveal the white core of the CTMH cardstock.  I cut out another oval to fit so the center panel could be popped up.  I then stamped the image from CTMH D1455 Blessed stamp set using Versamark ink, used white embossing powder, and heat set it.  The sentiment from D1476 Card Chatter-Sympathy set was done the same way.  I thought it need a little wash of color, so I colored the bird and flowers using CTMH markers. Added white grosgrain ribbon and some half pearls to dress it up a bit.  So, this card is only 2 layers, but the embossing adds so much texture and dimension!

This week, we want to know what YOUR favorite techniques are!  Need some ideas?  Check out what the talented gals on the DT have to share with you.  They are always full of great ideas! 

Don't forget you must use some CTMH product on your creation. Link up your project to H2H for a chance at some great prizes from our generous sposors, Angel and Sharon at the end of the month, or possibly a spot on our Top 10, where you may get chosen to join us as a future Guest Designer!

Thanks for popping by today!

Lorrinda

Recipe:

All product CTMH

stamps: D1455 Blessed and D1476 Card Chatter-Sympathy

cardstock in White Daisy and Garden Green
Z1294 Sanding kit
Z673 White Daisy embossing powder
Z555 Craft heater
Z270 White Daisy Grosgrain ribbon
markers in Baby Pink, White Daisy and Desert Sand

Other product:
Provocraft Cuttlebug and embossing folder (Heritage Set-Oval)

Bling on the Buttons!

It's Monday again, where did last week go?

I hope all you Moms got spoiled yesterday.  For a funny look at what my Mother's Day usually is like, check out my post from yesterday.  No Hallmark commercial soundtrack, just...Real. Life. Wouldn't want it any other way.  You Moms know what I'm talking about :)
I got to spend the afternoon/evening with my Mom, the gang took us out for supper. Always a treat! She lives just 20 minutes away, so we get to see each other often. As a teenager, I never thought I'd enjoy spending extra time with my Mom, but the older I get, the smarter she is. Funny how that happens...


Today Heart 2 Heart has a new challenge for you...use BUTTONS on your project! 

I love buttons for paper crafting, but I have a problem with naked buttons (you know, where there is no thread or string in the button holes?) Is it just me?...I love looking at all the pretty projects with buttons on them, but when I go to make one I just can't leave the holes empty.  I'm obsessed, and that is why my simple card today took longer than 10 minutes to make:

See what I mean?  I had to compulsively fill all the button holes with something, and I'm glad I had CTMH waxy flax to match.  If you've never used waxy flax, you must try it! It is like a fine hemp string, but it has a waxy coating on it to make it sort of stiff and moldable. It is stiff enough to poke through button holes easily, and the waxy coating means you can just tie it once and it won't come undone.  Love this stuff so much I have it in every color:)  After I had all the buttons threaded, I just stuck them to the image with mini glue dots.  So, except for threading all of the buttons, this card would have taken just 5 min to make.  Doesn't this image just make you wish it was SUMMER already?

For some more fabulous ideas to use buttons on your projects, please check out what the talented gals on the H2H DT have for you this week!  I just love being on a design team with these gals, they blow me away every week!

We'd love you to play along with our button challenge :)  Just create something with buttons on it, post it to your blog or an online gallery where we can leave comments, and link it up at H2H!  You have until the end of the month to play along, and we have some awesome prizes up for grabs this month from our sponsors Angel of Angel's Moments and Sharon of Tucker Lover. Please take a moment to visit their blogs and leave them some love for offering up such wonderful prizes!

Important: This is a Close To My Heart challenge blog, so your project must include some CTMH products to be eligible for prizes. (It does not have to be 100% CTMH) Recently we've had several entries with no CTMH on it whatsoever, which is not following the rules, so they have been deleted.  We hate doing that, but it's only fair to those players who ARE following the challenge rules. 

If you have been living under a rock and don't know what CTMH is, you can view our current Idea Book online to see all that CTMH has to offer.  If you are Canadian, feel free to shop on my website.  (If you are American, or want to find a consultant in your area, please go here and click on 'Consultant Locator' at the top of the page. )  Presently, CTMH products are only available in North America through independent consultants.

Want to become a CTMH Consultant? (If you sign up in May, you get the new consultant kit for 50% off!) Kit details are on my website under your opportunities or on page 128 of the Idea Book.  For more info, contact me through my website.

Thank you for visiting my blog!
Lorrinda

Recipe:
All product CTMH unless noted:
Stamp Set: D1467 Trees & Things
Pattern paper: X7134B Sweetheart Level 2 paper pack
Cardstock: Black and White Daisy
Inks: Desert Sand, Black, Garden Green and Topiary
Waxy Flax in Z1089 Black and Z1086 Cranberry
Red buttons from CTMH retired
Black button from my stash/unknown
Green plaid ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon

Happy Mother's Day!

No mushy Hallmark commercial Mother's Day for me...

Except for the 5 o'clock shadow, this is exactly how Mother's Day looks at my house :)
(Oh, and I never shop for cards anymore..:) :) 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY  to all the wonderful Mother's, Grandmothers and Mother figures out there!

Lorrinda

H2H #54 Mother's Day!

Happy Monday!

Time for another Heart 2 Heart challenge...this time it is Mother's Day! 

If you're like me, you wait until the night before you need the card, then scramble to get it done.  This challenge will get you motivated to have your Mother's Day cards done with time to spare this year!

For the border, I stamped the roses in Vineyard Berry ink.  The dark ones are 1st generation stamped, and the lighter ones are just stamped a second time without reinking. I trimmed them with micro-scissors, then glued them to the card base.  Then I trimmed around the roses and the base together to get the pretty cut out edge, allowing the inside edge of the card to show through when it's closed.  Leaves were 1st and 2nd generation stamped with Juniper ink.  A bit of fussy cutting on this card, but other than that it is pretty simple.

Pop on over to H2H to see what the rest of the Design Team has created to inspire you this week! 

Sadly, this is the last challenge that Lisa and Corina will be on the DT for...but they have a really good excuse for leaving...they were both chosen to be Extravaganza instructors at the CTMH Convention this summer!!! Corina and Lisa, I will sure miss having you both on the team, but hope to catch you playing along with us once in a while.  I'll be keeping up with you on your blogs, so I won't say goodbye:) 

I want to welcome our new DT members, Jody Gustafson and Haley Dyer, and our Guest Designer joining us for May is Joelle H.  You may recognize these names as they are all super talented and are frequent H2H challenge players. Be sure to check out their blogs and leave them a warm welcome.

We also have 2 new prize sponsors this month, Sharon Holmes and Angel Shifflett.  Link up your Mother's Day card to H2H this week, and be sure to play along all month for more chances to win yourself a fabulous prize!  You could also end up in the Top 10 for a shot at a future Guest Designer spot on our DT.

Thanks for popping by today!

Lorrinda

Recipe:

All products CTMH unless noted:

Stamps: D1470 Dreams Come True, E1019 Bohemian Alphabet

Paper: Colonial White and Juniper cs

Inks: Vineyard Berry, Juniper

Z1336 Pearl Opaques

Spellbinders Nestabilities petites scalloped ovals large dies