CTMH Alcohol Markers

Things are finally beginning to return to normal for me...notice I said "for me?"  :o)  I'm still crazy busy, but I at lease have a few moments to breathe.  Yesterday, I had a good friend to my home to work on cards for her upcoming Craft Fair.  She realized that she didn't have enough Easter Cards to sell, so that is what we set out to do.

 

 

 

This is one of my all time favorite CTMH Heart Stamp Sets.  It is called Sensational Season and it is a former Stamp of the Month.  Isn't that little bunny just to cute!  I stamped him using the CTMH Black Archival Ink, let it dry and then colored him with the CTMH Alcohol Markers. 

 











 

This is an image that I've had in my stash for several years.  It is from a company called Outline Rubber Stamps that unfortunately is no longer in business.  I did the same thing with this stamp that I did with the last...I stamped with the CTMH Black Archival Ink, let it dry and then colored with the CTMH Alcohol Markers.

 

I am really pleased the the CTMH Alcohol Markers.  When you purchase them, you get two in a set for $5.95.  One in a lighter shade and one in a darker shade of the master CTMH color.  It really takes all of the guess work out of shading for the beginner.  And, if you want to blend multiple colors, you can very easily with terrific results. 

 

"Coloring" is one of the hottest trends right now.  It is relaxing and with the CTMH Alcohol Markers remarkable easy.  Stop by my website and grab a couple sets and start having fun.  For Now, Happy Crafting! 

CTMH Bracket Frame

Well, I haven't been around much lately as I've been working on some special projects.  I thought it was finally time to share some of my work.

Awhile back, I bought one of CTMH's Bracket Frames (Z1797.)  I had seen so many lovely projects made using it.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it but one day, out of the blue, I got the idea to make a 3D Flower Cart.  So off I went with my planning and production and a week later, here are the results.

 

I am not afraid to say that this was quite the endeavor.  Every piece is cut from either the Art Philosophy or Artiste Cricut Cartridge.  For example, the wheels are from the Ferris Wheel key and the actual cart is a box envelope that I folded differently to form the cart.
 





One of the most difficult things I found in trying to complete this project was getting the proportions and sizes of the individual piece correct.  The opening of the frame is only 7 x 7 inches!  Trust me when I say that I went though an entire package of "stock" card stock as I didn't want to waste my good CTMH paper as I was making the pro-type.  Some of the flowers are only 1/4 of an inch! 

 



 

 

As I was planning and working, I realized that in order to make this project look realistic, I had to pay very close attention to the details.  For example, the actual cart was sanded, sponged and then "painted" with Liquid Glass (Z679).  Before it dried, I used a comb and added texture because I wanted to create a wood look.  I cut the edge off of the burlap ribbon (Z1760) to finish off the top of the cart.  Several of the flowers are tone on tone stamped to add texture and I even made a "chalkboard" to advertise the flowers.

 





 

Because I wanted to make this a "3D" project, I had to ensure that it had a realistic look.  Look closely, I built a shelf into the inside of the cart to hold the flower pots.  The umbrella is made from a scalloped circle cut from Artiste and folded it to "stand up" on the project.  The "dracaena spike" was actually cut using the comb on the Artiste cartridge and rolled.  And, those are sparkles and bitty sparkles added to all the centers of the flowers.

 



 

Last but not least, I wanted to decorate the sides of the frame to coordinate with the cart.  The flourishes, leaves and flowers were cut using the Cricut Cartridges.  I hand dyed CTMH embroidery floss with Cotton Candy re-inker to wrap my Spirelli.  Whew....

 

After seeing this, I hope that you can forgive me for not being around for a while.  :o)  Now it's time to continue to work on my monthly card workshop featuring Chantilly.  For Now, Happy Crafting!



CTMH Chantilly and a Handmade Card

Well, all of my projects are done and I am back to posting again!  Whew, I have been busy and actually this will just be a short post as I need to head out and teach a class. 

One of the really pretty new paper packets is called Chantilly.  It features fun spring colors and I think we all can look forward to spring!  I made this card with a twist.  I wanted to play with the terrific Polka Dot Satin Ribbon and needed a way to tie it into the card.  So, I added a Black base. 





The Polka Dot Satin Ribbon comes in Slate and works wonderfully with the Twilight in the pattern paper.  So that the bow didn't overwhelm the card, I made it on a 5 x 7 base.  I also did some scoring and sanding for another fun touch.

Oops, I just looked at the clock and I must head out.  I hope to get back to normal with all of my postings.  For Now, Happy Crafting!

Welcome Stars and Stamps Friends

I want to say hello to my new friends from Stars and Stamps.  For those of you who don't know, Stars and Stamps is a blog branch of the terrific Operation Write Home organization.  OWH collects and distributes handmade cards to our troops so they can have wonderful cards to send home to their loved ones.

My dear friend Nancy asked if she could share my recent tutorial on Spirelli.  Spirelli is the art of wrapping thread around an scalloped shape in order to add texture and dimension to you projects.  Here is what I mean...

This is a flower embellishment on a corner of a project that I will be posting a little later.  The link to post on how to complete the work is here.  And, last but not least, this is the card that goes along with the tutorial.

I hope you'll give Spirelli a try.  Thanks to all of the good work the Operation Write Home does and For Now, Happy Crafting!

CTMH Alcohol Markers

I can't believe that today is March 1st!  Is it like a lamb or lion where you are?  The sun is out here but for some reason I just can't get warm today.  Two o'clock in the afternoon and I'm headed off for a cup of coffee. 

I've been busy working on several different projects in the last week.  Some for Michaels and some that I will post later.  I did want to take a moment to post a card that I have gotten done in the past few days.

 

If this card looks familiar, well, it should.  It is a re-make of a card I showed a few posts ago.  I wanted to "play" with color so I came up with this variety.  The pattern paper is from 2 different CTMH paper packets...Clementine and Chantilly.  CTMH makes it so easy to mix and match papers.  This two paper packets both feature Twilight. 

 



Have I mentioned before how much I love to color images?  heeheehee  I really like the CTMH alcohol markers.  Yes, there have been some reported problems and not all of the colors are available, but I've not experienced any issues with them at all!  They are easy to work with because when you order a color, you actually get 2 markers!  One light and one dark in the same color family.  Once again, CTMH makes things so easy.

 

Take a moment to stop by my website and check out Clementine, Chantilly and the fun alcohol markers.  For Now, Happy Crafting!