Big as a Cow

I'm entering this post into the Heart 2 Heart Scrapbooking challenge for April.  This photo makes me smile every time.  I've been saving the photo for just the right paper and the CTMH packs of Jubilee and Timberline are perfect.  The wood paper from Timberline is like an old barn, and the cow from the Jubilee pack adds just the right touch.  The ribbon is cut from the Artiste cartridge, with some Outdoor Denim chevron ribbon.  Baker's twine for a mini lasso and a few small brads for nail heads and dotting the I's and my masterpiece is done!

 

Cardinal Card

My goal for this week is to finish up a new paper pack and an old one.  There is always new stuff to buy, and the storage space doesn't seem to grow with my collection!

Here's a card from Ariana - minus the corals.  The top is from a zip strip that blends perfectly into the paper.  The back ground is from Universal Backgrounds (retired), the main graphic is from Fabulous You (C1533).

The color by the YOU is just a shadow!

Color Dare #91

I love this coral color in the Ariana kit.  To incorporate the additional color for the Color My Heart Dare of the week, I stamped the title in Outdoor Denim, with the Vogue Alphabet (E1026).  One of the greatest things about the CTMH stamp sets is that they are clear and you can see through them for proper placement.  That feature lets you hook this script up for a connected title.

The zip strips in this one add great dimension.  I lucked up with the background in the diagonally cut picture.  The triangle piece I cut from the left side could be flipped and added to the right side, letting me put the zip strip at a greater angle.

The Ariana green in this pack is a great match for the greens of spring, letting the colors from your page co-ordinate with background colors in your pictures.

Free Alphabet

Close to My Hearts free download of the month is a great alphabet.  You can get yours by going here. Print your own before the download is gone, you have until April 30.  I used mine to try for that steam punk look with the Balloon Ride paper pack.  It didn't turn out quite like I had in my head, but that's why I make my living as an accountant and not an artist.  But part of the joy of scrapbooking is that it's yours and it doesn't have to perfect - you just need to have fun doing it.

  Side note: I put my date in the banner on the Balloon Ride paper.

Another great idea is to use them as a monogram.  Check out Jody's samples.

Wonderful husband

Many moons ago, we visited Constitution Village in Huntsville, AL. In one of the buildings was an old typeset desk, with a lot of shallow drawers for holding all the metal alphabets.  I said, "Ohh, that would be great for all my scrapping stuff!"

This weekend, my wonderful husband finished a smaller version of it for me.  21 shallow drawers perfect for holding a single layer of the old wood stamps, a new kit from CTMH or a page in progress I can't finish at the moment.

Lots of lovely storage space!  Thanks, Honey!!

Paper Pansies

I've been seeing paper pansies on some of the blog sites I visit, and wanted to come up with a version using our great CTMH Cricut cartridges.  I flower designed I liked best is on the Artiste cartridge, page 54, accent 3, shift F.  I made my pansies two layers, one cut at 1.5" and the smaller one cut at 1".

 

 

I stamped the middle of the smaller flower with a half starburst from the April 2013 SOTM kit.  I found I liked just a cross stamp better than trying to fill all five points of the flower.  If you don't have this stamp or something compatible, you can draw some lines coming out from the center of your flower.

Stamp set I used.

Stamp the half starburst through 2 of the petals.

Then stamp again, crossways, to create and X.

Place you smaller flower in the center of the larger flower and attach with a brad.  You can mix and match your colors.

This is one I tried to put spikes in each of the petals.

I used Gypsy in the middle of my yellows and black in the middle of the Gypsy paper.  Black faces definitely had more pop. 

April Workshop

For our workshop we'll be making a small gift bag that looks like a purse.  This idea is from Kristin Wilson and  you can find her tutorial here.  My sample:

The papers I'm using at the workshop are all retired, so you will have some new colors to play with.  There will be a selection of paper choices.  Workshop is from 5:30-7:30 pm, on Thursday, April 17.  Cost of workshop is $3.