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

H2H From Our Heart to Yours...Creating Background Paper for Dad

Hello there!

This week's Heart 2 Heart challenge is to create your own background paper for a Father's Day card.  The Design Team has made some fabulous cards with their own background techniques, and since this is a 'From Our Heart to Yours' challenge...we're sharing tutorials of what we did :)
Their links are over on my sidebar, or you can see all of their projects at once HERE.

I used a couple of different background techniques on my card this week:

Random Stamping on the Hawaiian shirt:

Started with a 4x6" piece of paper.

I stuck 4 small stamps on my block to keep the pattern uniform, and then just filled the paper with it:

To fold the shirt, just google origami shirt-fold and you'll get an assortment of tutorials to choose from.

Sponged Background Scene:

Start with your piece of blank cardstock. Mask off the sun with a circle of scrap paper and a temp bond tape that can be easily removed.  Then mask off the horizon with post-its, cover the bottom edge of the sun too.

Then I used a sponge and Sunny Yellow ink and dabbed and rubbed until it was even.

Next I used Smoothie ink, and filled in the rest of the sky.

Then I grabbed the Sunny Yellow again and went over the entire sky to blend them together.

Remove the post-its and you should have this. Leave the circle mask on for now.

Now use post-its to mask the horizon line, line them up right along the edge of the sky.

I sponged Sunset ink for the water, leaving a strip of white beneath the sun to look like a reflection.  Remove the post-its mask.

Then I sponged the edge of the reflection with Sunny Yellow, and blended the colors.  The trick with this sponging technique is to build up the color in layers so you don't get smears/blotches of ink.

To make the waves, I just cut a random wavy edge on a scrap of paper, and held it in place while I sponged with Smoothie Ink. Randomly move the edge and ink along it until you have a wave pattern.

Now you can remove the circle mask...

Cover the horizon line with the edge of scrap paper, and lightly sponge on Sunset ink to get the water line.

And there is your sunset scene!

The rest of the Design Team have more 'From Our Heart to Yours' goodness for you here.  Do go to each of their blogs to learn what they did, and leave them some love while you are there...we all love getting comments :)

We'd love to see what you can come up with!  Create your own background paper for a Father's Day project, and link it up at H2H so we can all see!  Each entry has a chance to win a prize from our June sponsors, and yours could make it into our Top 10 for a crack at a future Guest Designer spot.

Thanks for visiting today!

Lorrinda

All supplies used from CTMH unless noted:

Paper for shirt: from X7129B Hooligans Level2 paper pack

Cardstock: White Daisy, Black, Lagoon

Inks: Black, Sunny Yellow, Sunset, Smoothie

Stamps: D1470 Dreams Come True (flowers), B1376 Wings (leaves), D1423 Happy Forever and D1288 June Word Puzzle (Sentiments, both stamps retired)

Z1393 Black Mini-Medley (mini button brads)

Black hemp string

Sponges

Post-It notes and removable tape for masking.

The Three Bears Make a Scene

This week's Heart 2 Heart challenge is Times 3!  We are to use at least 3 stamp images to create a scene on our project. 

I've been staring out of the frosted up windows at the monster winter we've been having, longing for warm summer evenings around the campfire...that is what inspired my card:



Click pic for larger view

That would be me ("Mama Bear") with the flaming marshmallow on a stick, and the bear at the bottom reminds me of my outdoorsman hubby.  But, the inside of the card has the real scene:



click pic for larger view



When I saw the Times 3 challenge, I immediately thought of the Three Bears, and this adorable CTMH stamp set 'C1363 Beary Best', and decided to make a rather masculine card with it.   Not that many men I know will appreciate all the fussy cutting that went into this...it took me an entire episode of "Young and Restless" to cut out all these images using micro-tip scissors and a craft knife.  But hey, I had a vision! Isn't it annoying when you have a vision of the finished product but neglect to take into account how much work it'll be?  No matter, the kids will give it to hubby so it'll be displayed in my house for a long time.  Or maybe I'll do what my mother does...she's been giving my father the same 3 or 4 greeting cards for more than 30 years!  She just puts them away, and rotates them year after year, and he never notices. Ha!  (How many of you can actually recall the birthday card you got from your husband 2 years ago? 'Nuff said.) I, however, have a room full of paper and stamps, and I'm always looking for excuses to make cards, so that's unlikely to happen here.  My point is: Save these over-the-top cards for someone really special. We'll be putting a gift card in it, so actually this card IS the gift and the packaging, so I didn't mind the extra effort with the fussy cutting.

Want to play along with our TIMES 3 CHALLENGE?  The super talented DT sure made a scene this week :)  You have to check out their inspiring works of art HERE. Then, pull out at least 3 images and create a scene on a card or other project, and link it up to Heart 2 Heart so we can all have a peek! Remember you must use mostly CTMH products, and you have all month to play along.  Our prize sponsors this month are Lori Brown and Angela Parchey, and our Guest Designer for March is Mary Gunn!  Go ahead, make a scene!

Thanks for visiting my blog today,

Lorrinda

Recipe:

All products CTMH

Paper: X7137B Lucky Level 2 Paper Pack

Stamps: C1363 Beary Best, D1467 Trees and Things (lantern in the tent), D1311 Oct Word Puzzle (Retired, used the star and the moon).

Ink: Cocoa, Outdoor Denim, Desert Sand, WhiteDaisy

Various CTMH Markers and Watercolor Pencils

Blending Pen and Waterbrush

Z280 Natural Hemp

Z1387 Wood Buttons

Pewter brads

White Embossing Powder

Also used Cricut and Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge for letters and the tree silhouette border on the card inside.

First Challenge of the Year!

It's January! Not only is it a brand new year...it's time for the Paper Cubed Jan. 2011 challenge!
The first challenge of the new year is to create a 3D project with SPORTS as the theme. Pretty much rules out cards, but anything else is fair game! (did you catch the clever sports metaphor there?)

I don't know about you, but I always get a little rush putting out all the new calendars on New Year's Day.  It's like a fresh start, leaving all the baggage of last year behind and vowing to try harder, accomplish more and be better in the year ahead.  I don't make New Year's Resolutions anymore (they tend to fizzle out by the end of the week), but I always start the year with more motivation and focus. 

On that note, here is my SPORTS themed 3D project for January at P3:
I went with a handy dandy new desk calendar that features extreme sports.

(As always, you can click the pic for a detailed view)

I must thank my upline, Diane Fischer, for this idea. She made a stand up calendar in a workshop last year that I thought was so cute. There are 4 panels, 2 on one side, which can be flipped around mid-year to show the 2 on the other side. I fashioned a center support with a velcro tab to make this standing desk calendar stay up.  The finished calendar is 5"x10"x3", the supplies I used are listed in the recipe at the bottom of this post. I found the calendar printable at http://www.printfree.com/ 

And here are the close-ups of the other panels:

I'm not sure who is getting this yet, but it definitely isn't girly.

For more sports-inspired 3D crafts, head on over to Paper Cubed to see what the rest of the super-creative design team has come up with.  Get yourself all revved up to create some sporty crafts of your own, then link them up so we can all cheer!

I hope 2011 brings you health and happiness

and all the crafting time you want!

Lorrinda

Recipe:

Stamps: CTMH D1432 Extreme

             SU Extreme Skateboard and Extreme Snowboard

Papers: CTMH Aspen Level 2 Paper Kit 

            CTMH Simple Pleasure Level 2 Paper Kit

            CTMH You Rock Level 2 Paper Kit

            CTMH Zippidee Level 2 Paper Kit

Inks: CTMH Twilight, Cocoa, Desert Sand, Smokey Plum, Cranberry, Versamark

Brads:  CTMH Black, Cocoa, Outdoor Denim, Cranberry

Images and sentiments heat embossed with CTMH Black Embossing Powder

Tools:

CTMH Euro Paper Trimmer, Bone Folder, Piercing Tool Kit, Craft Heater

Other: Velcro dots, Printable Calendar from www.printfree.com

H2H ABC Challenge

I really wanted to play along with the ABC challenge at Heart 2 Heart this week.

The rules this week are:
A...use an ALPHABET stamp or stickers
B...it must be for a BOY
C...must have the color CHOCOLATE in it

I didn't think I'd have time, so I revived THIS old scrap project that fit with the requirements, and entered it.


Is that cheating? Submitting an old project that wasn't actually made for this challenge? It feels like it, so I found a few minutes to create this card for my nephew who has a birthday coming up:

Recipe:

All product CTMH

Pattern paper from Good Times paper pack

Cardstock in Chocolate, Twilight, White daisy

Stamps: D1432 X-treme

                                     C1263 Charm upper case alpha

                                   C1265 Charm lower case alpha

Inks in Chocolate, Twilight, Sweet Leaf and Buttercup

Techniques: Sponged background, 2nd generation stamping, torn edges

No embellishments! I tried ribbon and brads but they just looked funny on this boy card.

My conscience is clear now,

I've entered a new original project for this week's challenge, 

and got a card done that I actually need.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Lorrinda

Scrappy Father's Day!

I have been sooo busy the past couple of weeks, no time for crafts or blogging! Today I had some time to finally make a Father's Day card. I made it with the guidelines for the H2H challenge this week, "Scrappy of a Different Sort", we are supposed to use up scraps. All of these papers were in my scrap box except for the card base. It's raining and dreary out, so the lighting was very poor for the photo, the colors are much richer in real life.

Recipe:

all product CTMH

Cardstock in Colonial White, Cocoa, Garden Green

Inks in Cocoa and Barn Red

Pattern Paper from Passages Level 2 Paper Pack

Stamps D1067 Raccoon and Friends, D1288 June Word Puzzle(retired)

Pewter brads

Hemp twine

3D foam tape to pop up the stamped image

also used a scrap of brown paper bag, crumpled and inked as the background mat.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Lorrinda

H2H #8 Stamp Your Own Background

Yay me! It's Monday and I managed to get my card in early for a change! This week's challenge from Heart to Heart is to random stamp your own background. 

I random stamped a vellum overlay to created these cards:

Since I had stamped whole sheets of vellum, I was able to make a whole set in different colors.  The clocks just screamed pocket watch to me, so I made them in mascline colors. I never seem to have enough manly cards (I have 7 brother-in-laws!) I left the insides blank, as the outside sentiment could be suitable for a birthday, grad or thank you.

Here is what the card looks like spread open:

The card is standard size 5.5 x 4.25". I random stamped the vellum in Staz-On white ink, then cut 8 x 5" pieces to fit over the card, scoring them in the middle. Place the vellum inked side down, and adhere with mini glue dots at the fold and under the sentiment so they don't show. The sentiment was stamped in ink to match the cs used, and embellished with a matching button.

RECIPE:
CTMH card stock and Exclusive Inks in black, white daisy, outdoor denim, cocoa, garnet, grey wool and brown bag
My Acrylix Stamp Set D1257 Make It Count
White Staz-On ink
Vellum
Assorted buttons
White hemp
Mini Glue dots

There's a whole lot of creative random stamping techniques on display this week over at the Heart to Heart challenge blog. Go check it out for some inspiration!

Thanks for looking!
Lorrinda

H2H #7 Challenging Color Challenge!

The Heart to Heart challenge this week is a color challenge.
 
We are to use these colors, plus a neutral like black, cream or white:







I'll admit, I'm not crazy about this color combo, and I struggled with his one!

Here is what I finally came up with, I think it'll make a nice get well or sympathy card:

The main image was stamped onto white cs twice, and since I don't have many CTMH markers, I colored the scenes using only ink pads, sponges and a blending pen. I like the way it turned out.

After layering it on the card, I thought it looked a little bare, so I drew in the fine black outline to anchor it all, I think it helped.  I had a little oops in the bottom corner, so I covered it with the leaf stamp from the set, shh...don't tell. (If you could only see all the mistakes hidden under things on my cards... :)

All in, I think this was a very successful challenge...I never would have tried this color combo!

RECIPE:

CTMH cardstock in White Daisy, Ocean, Topiary and Desert Sand

CTMH  Exclusive Inks in Black, White Daisy, Ocean, Topiary and Desert Sand

CTMH My Acrylix Stamps: D1298 Beautiful Things, and C1366 Fringed Phrases

Blending pen

Sponges

Black satin ribbon

Black Brad

Fine Black Sharpie marker

Ruler

I apologize for the late post...it's already Saturday! Finished just in time for the next challenge! I have managed to play along with all 7 challenges so far, I'm really trying to keep up each week. I love these challenges, they really get the mojo going and push me out of my box.

For some CTMH inspiration, hop on over to the H2H blog and have a peek at all the creativity, then play along with the challenges!

Thanks for looking!

Lorrinda

H2H Challenge #6, Rockin' Birthday Card

The Heart to Heart Challenge this week is a "techie" challenge, meaning to use a technique on the project. You must check it out if you haven't already, this week's entries are full of new techniques and tutorials!

This also fits with the "masculine" challenge at TreehouseStamps.

I made a "Heavy Metal" Rock card for my son's upcoming birthday.
See if you can spot the techniques I used:

If you guessed 1) off-stamping, 2) embossing and 3) edge distressing, you'd be right.

1) Off-stamping is when you stamp the image several times without re-inking. In this case I stamped the rocker dude 4 times to imply motion. I think it turned out nice.

2) Embossing: I used a Sizzix texture plate with my Cuttlebug to emboss the silver metal in a "manly" way.

3) Edge distressing can be done several ways, here I used my scissors to distress the edges of the white cs, and inks to distress the edges of the orange cs.

I also layered the stamped images on the sentiment, but I'm not sure if that is a "technique" with a name.

RECIPE

My Acrylix Stamps:

D1432 X-Treme

C1257 Happy Birthday

D1320 Shining Star

X7122B You Rock Level 2 paper pack
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Outdoor Denim, Goldenrod, and Orange


Also, EK Success Silver Architexture Sheet Metal and Sizzix embossing plate

This card is for my baby's birthday on Monday, he'll be 9! (He likes Heavy Metal music when he works out with Dad)

Thanks for visiting my blog!
Lorrinda
*********************************************************************

My card was chosen for the Friday Five this week,
Thank you ladies!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY! (for the rest of you...A Cake, a Card and a Recipe!)

My husband is an avid hunter, and his birthday is tomorrow! (OK, you asked...he's 44) I was going to make one of those 3D deer head mount cakes, but I was a little pressed for time and I was trying to do this all on the sly while he was out. So, I made my very first FBCT cake! (Frozen Butter Cream Transfer for those who want to know...it took me forever to figure out what that meant on the cake sites) If you're wondering, it's an Elk to commemorate his first successful elk hunt this year.  For my first FBCT attempt, I think it turned out pretty good.  He requested a black forest cake, but I wanted to dress it up a bit more...! So I made this
3-layer German sour cream chocolate cake with Kirsch liquor-soaked cherries between each layer. Yum! The white part is real whipped cream, (Stabilized with gelatin and icing sugar so it doesn't go all runny).  Can't tell what's under all that frosting, but I think he'll be surprised when he cuts into it! Now I just have to keep him out of the pantry fridge until tomorrow...I want it to be a surprise. The kids made a "Dad, Keep Out" sign for it :)

Rich Chocolate Frosting

(All I want for my birthday is a bowl of this frosting. Yes, it's THAT good!)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (no substitutes!), softened

4 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted

1 1/4 cups baking cocoa, sifted

1 tsp real vanilla

1 tbsp Kahlua Liquor (I use 2 tbsp and reduce the cream :)

1/2 cup (give or take) cream or evaporated milk

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl (I use my stand mixer) cream butter until fluffy, add vanilla and Kahlua. Gradually add icing sugar and cocoa until all mixed in. (will be dry and stiff).  Gradually add cream (may need more or less) until it reaches soft spreading consistency. 

This isn't the best chocolate frosting for decorators, but it holds basic borders and decorations quite well,
and it's so yummy no one will care if the decorations aren't perfectly smooth. 
Keep iced cake in the fridge, but warm it to room temp before serving.

There is no lower calorie version of this.
It's frosting, it's supposed to be bad for you. 
 Have another glass of wine with it and you won't care.
Enjoy!

And...I just had to make a hunting-themed card to go with it. This card was inspired/CASEd (Copy And Share Everything in SCS lingo) by a card I found on SCS by labullard, I've had it in my faves forever to make one for my husband. All card supplies (except for the deer stamp, it's from SU, I've had it for a while:) are from CTMH.  The images were stamped in Cocoa ink, colored with chalks and watercolor pencils. The main image was stamped, cut in a circle, the rifle scope lines were done with a fine black marker, then the image was popped up with a 3D foam square. I tied hemp along the bottom for some "guy ribbon", then mounted it to a camo pattern background. He'll love this!

If you're curious, his gift is from Cabelas, of course. My 8 yr old son random stamped deer and bear images all over plain brown paper gift wrap. He had fun, and wants to "scrapbook" again with me.

I tried to tell him we were stamping, not scrapbooking, but he didn't care. According to him,"If it happens in the scrapbook room, then it's all scrapbooking!" 

Yeah, he's a little smart ass.

An inky one :)

I think it's time to send him hunting with Dad... 

Thanks for checking out my blog!

Man Made Card

Man Made Card

I just know all of my cardmaking friends will get a kick out of this!
OMG too funny!

Click on the link to watch a funny cardmaking video:
http://www.livevideo.com/video/537FF9DA20B44560845DEE157D1F9DD6/man-made-card.aspx