Elephant Layout

Another layout from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.  It will be in the midst of other zoo layouts, so I didn't include a title.  Everything except the orange bling is CTMH.  The colors are CTMH's Barn Red and Sorbet with just a little Bamboo.  The patterned paper is from CTMH's Felicity Collection.

The chipboard flowers were colored with Sorbet ink.

The little elephant at the top right is a CTMH stamp from the set Life's a Jungle, and "Unforgettable" is from Picture Perfect.  The two pictures on the right are Jess 14 years earlier in the same spots at the zoo.

365-Day Project

My 365-day project is finally done!  I can't believe a year has gone by already.

Flamingos Layout

First of all the color in these photos is horrible!  Too cloudy of a day, and I didn't get out extra lighting before I took the picture.  The layout is actually on Citrus Leaf (now retired) CTMH cs.  The pinkish paper is from the Caboodle paper pack.  The black squiggly borders are from Bazzil.  The Just Blooms white and pink flowers and buttons are all CTMH.

At least the background in this pic looks green instead of yellow.

Put the Lime in the Coconut

Trying to use up some of my retired CTMH CS.  The blue is Ocean, the green is Citrus Leaf, and the pink is Bubblegum.  The tan is Desert Sand (still available).  The pink stamping on the right card is from the CTMH stamp set called Paradise, and the other blender image and words are from Unity Stamp Co.

Jingle Thank You Cards

My last Christmas project is done!  My house is officially put back in order, and now I can put away my Christmas papers and stamps for another year.  This is a very simple thank you card using the CTMH Jingle paper pack and the stamp sets Tannenbaum (tree) and Annotations ("thank you").  The colors are CTMH's Tulip and Juniper.  The inner Tulip ink in the tree is second-generation stamping.

Disney Album

I made this Disney album for Jess as a Christmas gift, so I couldn't post pictures until today.  Great instructions are on Tresa Black's blog,  Check out her blog if you haven't already.  She is amazing. 

It started as a plain, white Close to My Heart My Creations 3-Ring Binder.  I embellished it with stamps, CTMH's Zippidee papers, ribbon, and a few stickers I had leftover from our last Disney trip.  I edge distressed every edge with CTMH Desert Sand ink.  The title is enclosed in a CTMH bookplate.

Here's how it looks when open.

  I added a space for a photo or journaling inside the front cover.  The tag is a sticker.

The first page.  A nice place for a photo.

The back side of the first page has a pocket with an insert for extra photos or journaling.  The swirls are stamped.  The star is a piece of chipboard with a punch heart glued on top.  The handle to the insert is a ribbon stapled twice in an "x" shape.

This page is one long pocket with three tags poking out.

Here are the individual tags ready for little photos or keepsakes.  The stars on the back of the pocket page were stamped.

The back of the tag pocket page.

This page is one big pocket with the insert showing out the right side.

Here's the insert pulled all the way out of the pocket.  The black circles were stamped.  They remind me of 101 Dalmations, one of my favorite Disney movies.

Here's the back of the insert.  The polka dots remind me of Minnie Mouse.  The flower was made by layering a punch and adding an adhesive pearl.

Here's the back side of the pocket, with the "Minnie Mouse" insert peeking out from the left.  The flower just overlaps the pocket when pushed inside.

The next page is a mini album within the album.  The blue label is a punch.

This is the mini album page opened.  "Certified Mickey" is a sticker.  I made the mouse ears tab from three round black punches.  From this side it looks like a Disney mouse ears hat.

And finally, the back of that page.  From this side, Mickey's whole sillouette shows.

The last page of the album has a flap.

The flap open.  The stars are punches.

The back of the last page.  The cluster of embellishments to the left are punches, and the flourish, journaling lines, and "My favorites" are all stamped.  The Mickey tag is a sticker with added ribbon.

View of the album from the back and the back inside cover.

The back cover of the album.

Thanks for looking.  Let me know if you have any questions about making this album yourself, or again, look at Tresa Black's blog.  She has a video tutorial that goes step-by-step.

New Look!

I figured out how to add my own picture as my blog background, so I chose a pic of my studio in its usual mess.  What do you think?!  Does it make the blog too busy?

Family Christmas Cards

This year I used copies of old family photos for cards for my mom and my siblings.  Most of the papers are from CTMH's Jingle paper collection.

This is my mom's card--that's me in the late 1960s.

This is my sister.  I made the trees on my Cuttlebug.

  All the card's edges are ink distressed.

This is my sister and brother.  The flourish of snow is embossed.

These are my two brothers in the lane of the farm.  The worn edges around the pink paper on the last two cards were made by wetting the edges with water then "squishing" them before they dry.

Vintage Photo Christmas Tags

Some tags I made with vintage photos.  That's my Grandma Maude again on the far right next to her Christmas Dinner table, her mother (my Great-Grandma Kain) and her sister in the middle, and then me on the left.  The left two tags were covered with CTMH's Evensong papers.  All the tags were distressed and also embellished with stamps, punches, glitter, etc. 

Tim Holtz inspired Christmas card

A Tim Holtz inspired card.  The old photo is my Grandma Maude, just before Christmas dinner 1955.

Peace on Earth

This super simple card is made with CTMH's New England Ivy cardstock and ink.  The leaves are from the stamp set One of a Kind, and the sentiment is from Snow Flurries.  I added red sparkles, rounded two of the corners, and that's it.