Letting Go

It has come to my attention in the past year that I am incredibly stubborn and that there are certain things in life that I am unwilling to let go of - to my own detriment.

It has been over a year now from the time I began truly fighting for things I believe in; things I want most in the world. These ideals include a household that works as a team, a household that provides a safe and secure environment for all, a household with parents who set a good example for their children and assist them to become happy, well-adjusted individuals, a household full of love!

Through standing up for these strong values which I have held so dear for years and years, I lost other things I truly and deeply wanted, such as my first genuinely great love, my first family, and my biggest dream (see above paragraph and add, "getting it right the first time"). Now, I know I did what I had to do and I know I did what was right. Logically, I have complete understanding that if I had to lose so much, it was never actually there in the first place. BUT emotionally this remains untrue.

There were days where I truly was living my dream! It maybe wasn't completely perfect, but it was enough for me. I was content. I was happy. I was with the man I love, I had our beautiful baby that I always wanted, and I even had his daughter whom I took in and loved as my own - as all children should be. So I had my family and I had my career. I had my dream.

Dreams aren't always what they seem I suppose. Or perhaps they simply fade when you're caught up in the busy-ness of life and fail to notice what's slipping through your fingers. Or maybe it's that you want it so incredibly badly that you refuse to notice what's not really there afterall.

In any case, I don't want to start placing blame here. I know I did everything I possibly could to make things work the way I wanted them to be. Maybe that was my downfall; I couldn't just let things be, but I had my reasons (again, see early paragraph). There was a lot of love, but there was also a lot of fear and a lot of dysfunction; things I wouldn't want any child to see and use as an example as a way of going about life.

Suffice to say, love isn't everything and from Marilyn Monroe: "Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together." Now if only I can let go of that first dream that fell apart so I can be open to better things falling together...

Challenges Galore

It was so crazy how most of the challenge blogs I follow all had a similar theme this week. Orange, pink and green seems to be IN. I got the sketch from Mojo Monday (seen below) for the challenge there this week but I have to give credit to my upline, Nancy Ball for the awesome card that she made with the new Dotty For You paper pack, as she gave me the idea for my card. Click her name to see it!

I am also entering the Heart 2 Heart challenge for their photo inspiration challenge (shown below).

And finally the Just Us Girls for their colour challenge this week (shown below). See how it's all so similar!

And here's my interpertation of the three! I popped up some of the little squares with foam tape to add a little more dimension and did some faux stitching around each to make them a bit more defined. Hope you like it!

All products are CTMH unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: White Daisy, Sunset
Pattern Paper: Boom-Di-Ada
Stamp Set: Playful Flourishes
Ink: Pear
Embellishments: Hollyhock and Sweet Leaf Ribbon, Just Blooms flower, Sparkles, Brad.

Spring Butterflies

I keep seeing butterflies on a lot of the craft projects lately and I finally decided to jump on the butterfly bandwagon. The challenge over at H2H this week is to create a spring project, and I'm finally putting something in at the Play Date Cafe for the first time as well, using the colours from the image below for inspiration. I'm not too sure about all the grey but it suits the spring weather here in BC perfectly so far, with a few minutes of sunshine thrown in to tease us every now and again. :)

All products are CTMH unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: White Daisy, Grey Wool, Crystal Blue
Pattern Paper: Miracle
Ink: Pear, Crystal Blue
Stamp Set: Playful Flourishes, Dainty Thoughts
Embellishments: Sweet Leaf Ribbon, Opaque Gems, Liquid Glass, Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge

Embossing Practice

The challenge over at H2H this week was to use some form of embossing technique. I really love the look of heat embossing although I'm not that great at it yet. This gave me a chance to practice! The idea for my card actually came from Nancy Ball, as I did another version of this a long time ago during one of my old club classes in which she designed the scrapbook layout for us. I embossed the black flowers first and then sponged my Pear ink all over the background. Then I stamped some more flowers using Lagoon in first and second generation. It makes for a great effect!

I'm not entirely sure what it is but I totally LOVE the stark, dramatic look of using black on my cards! Still loving my greens as you can see (can't ever seem to stray from green for too long - such a versatile colour) but black is where it's at for me at the moment. The black flowers are what I attempted to emboss. Those who can tell, will probably be able to notice that a few of them worked, and one not so much. I will have to spend some more time with this technique. Thanks for checking it out!  :)

All products are CTMH unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: White Daisy, Black
Pattern Paper: Wings
Ink: Black, Lagoon, Pear
Stamp Set: Treasure Life, For Every Occassion
Embellishments: Black Brads, Lagoon Baker's Twine, Art Philosophy Tag
Embossing powder and 3D black paint (on tag) not CTMH

Birthday Cards

I had an order for a couple of birthday cards which was great because it gave me a kick in the creative pants! The only guideline was to make one of them fish themed. I used Liquid Glass to create the bubble-type effect on the happy birthday sentiment as well as to add a bit of shine to my fish. And so here it is...

All products are CTMH unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: White Daisy, Lagoon, Creme Brulee
Pattern Paper: Footloose
Stamp Set: Hot Diggity, Dainty Thoughts
Ink: Lagoon, Sunset, Goldrush
Embellishments: Creme Brulee Baker's Twine, Liquid Glass
Googly eyes from Walmart

I finally managed to use my Remarkable Wreath stamp set here that I have been eyeing up forever but hadn't got around to using yet. Love it! Sorry about the picture cut-off on this one (it's late). I popped up my sentiment here with 3D foam tape and added a little bling here and there for some extra pizazz. Thanks for looking. Enjoy!

All products CTMH unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: White Daisy, Indian Corn Blue
Pattern Paper: Pemberley
Stamp Set: Remarkable Wreath, Dainty Thoughts
Ink: Outdoor Denim, Indian Corn Blue, Desert Sand
Embellishments: Bling Assortment, Sparkles, Designer Ribbon
Stickles not CTMH.

Sunshine Please!

The less sunshine we have, the more I realize how much the weather affects me. When the sun is out I feel fresh, somewhat energetic, and happy! When it's overcast and cloudy and rainy like it has been pretty much since October-ish (minus a few random days), I am tired and generally just grouchy, sad, or any of those negative emotions. Take your pick. So yesterday when it was cloudy once again (and even snowed on the first day of spring!) I decided I was going to brighten up my own day and create something sunny and bright. This is my tribute to the sun card! Haha.

I used the new CTMH Footloose paper pack as there is no way I can wait until summer to get here to use it. Love it! The paper in this package includes some Creme Brulee cardstock but I didn't have any ink to match so what I ended up doing was stamping the sun in Sunset ink and then going over it with Liquid Glass. I'm not sure if you can see it in the photos but I really love the effect it gave - kind of a 3D shine - so I used it on my little flip-flops as well.

Thanks to Mojo Monday for providing the sketch for this card (shown below).

All products are CTMH unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: Creme Brulee, Lagoon, White Daisy
Pattern Paper: Footloose
Stamp Set: Just Chillin', Dainty Thoughts
Ink: Sunset, Lagoon, Chocolate
Embellishments: Creme Brulee twine, Yellow Button, Liquid Glass

Carter is Turning 1!

My good friend Shannon sent me a message the other day saying she needed to make some invitations for her son Carter's first birthday coming up in April. So she came over that very evening and we worked for a couple hours to make five each of these two types of invites. Yay for Create a Critter and the Cricut Cartridge! Aren't they cute?

Materials used.
Random paper from who knows where.
Create-a-Critter Cricut Cartridge
CTMH stamp set Little Reminder and inks Indian Corn Blue and Sunset

Spring Card

On time with a fun Spring card for this week's Heart 2 Heart and Mojo Monday challenges. Heart 2 Heart called for Spring colours (yellow, sky, and sweet leaf) and here is the sketch for MM. Was nice to do something with such bright, cheerful colours! Thanks for stopping by!

All products CTMH unless otherwise posted.
Cardstock: Sky Blue, Sweet Leaf, (yellow not CTMH)
Pattern Paper: Miracle
Ink: Crystal Blue, Pear
Stamp Set: Life Is Tweet
Embellishments: Opaque gems, Sweet Leaf ribbon, Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

H2H, Mojo Monday & B's Birthday

Well I did manage to make this card on time for my step-daughter Bailey's 9th birthday luckily, even if I'm a little late for the challenges of the week. Heart 2 Heart was an inspiration challenge to be drawn from the picture below, and I co-ordinated it with Mojo Monday's sketch, also shown below.

I love the colours and although it may not be quite old enough for a 9-year-old... she is turning into such a kind, caring, independant little lady that I thought it suited her well enough. Happy Birthday B!

All products CTMH unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: White Daisy, Crystal Blue
Pattern Paper: Magnifique
Ink: Pacifica
Stamp Set: Celebration
Embellishments: Brown brads, Kraft Borders, Blue flowers

Heart 2 Heart Sketch

I managed to make another card for this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog. It was a sketch challenge which I love because of the so many different interpertations we get to see. Click on the link to see what everyone else did! I thought this card was different from my usual style just with the colour coordinations and whatnot, and it was nice to branch out a little bit with it. So here is the sketch and then my card. Cheers!

All products are CTMH unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: Vanilla Cream
Pattern Paper: Florentine
Ink: Twilight
Stamp Set: Frames Tags & Borders
Cricut Cartridge: Art Philosophy
Embellishments: Hemp, Mocha Opaques, Flower Chipboard
Gold Stickles not CTMH

For the Ones I Love!

So it's not quite Valentine's Day yet but I wanted to put a shout out to all those I love... and get in on the Heart 2 Heart Challenge for this week!

As far as having amazing family and friends goes, I truly believe that I won the lottery. I have SO many people in my life that I really love and appreciate and I sure hope they know it. But just in case, I made a card to illustrate it a bit better. I really wanted to make a card that could be for anyone and everyone's taste, not simply red, pink and white with hearts. It's not a complex card but for some reason I really love it - maybe because I put all my love into it. So here's to all of you that are in my life, and THANK YOU! xo

All products are CTMH unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: Vineyard Berry
Pattern Paper: Wings
Embellishments: Colonial White Hemp, Olive Marker, Opaques Gems
Letter "u" not CTMH.

Catch Up Time

Well now that's it's January, a new year, and almost three months since I've posted something, so I thought I better get to it!! Definitely feeling a bit lazy though so I'm not going to go into every detail about every card. Plus I made most of them a while ago and can't remember my recipe! This first one was a birthday card I made for a special friend of mine.

I'll just let you know that this was made using my Create a Critter Cricut cartridge, Close To My Heart's Lucky paper, and then some hemp, glitter and a googly eye. Pretty cute for a simple card eh?

This next card was made for my daughter's birthday, again using the Cricut cutter and some retired CTMH papers as well as CTMH ribbons. Another card with no stamps! Lots of sparkle though. :)

And then I promised Bailey I'd show off the card she made for her sister as well so here it is:

Not bad for an eight year old! She made it using all her own scrapbook goodies.

So I made four Christmas cards this year and was intending to make them in multiples but never quite got around to it. It has been busy around here! JOY seems to be the theme for these.

Except for the gingerbread men, the ribbons, the red beads and the words JOY, all these cards were made with Close To My Heart products. The last two are my personal favourites. So at least I have four recipes ready to go for making these again next year!

For Lynn

I finally got a Cricut!!!

This card I made for my Mama3 (I consider myself to have 3 moms). Her birthday was Oct 19th and while I had this card made in time for the occassion, I haven't managed to get it to her or get it up on here until now. Did you know I'm a huge procrastinator?! My Mama3 loves fall and all the colours of the season so this card was made just for her. It was a stroke of luck that I procrastinated though because now I can enter it in this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge which was to make something halloween or autumn themed.

I like to use my blog to thank the people in my life that I make the cards for or just let everyone know how special they are to me. Lynn has been my Mama3 since I was 15. She has always been there for me. She is so supportive of everything I have done and often gives me a different perspective in life. I'm so glad to have her in my life. Thanks Lynn! And happy birthday!

All products are Close To My Heart unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: Pacifica, Colonial White
Pattern Paper: Dreamin'
Stamps: For Every Occassion
Ink: Autumn Teracotta
Cricut Cartridge: Art Philosophy
Embellishments: Chocolate Ribbon

Blog Award!

Yay, my first blog award! I feel special. Thanks to my favourite Upline, Nancy Ball! Please make sure to check out her awesome blog.

This award recognizes inspiring blogs with less than 200 followers. Go me! It's also a way for new bloggers to become more recognized for their amazing talents. Liebster means "favourite" in German.

I'd like to recognize and thank the following five bloggers (in no particular order) for their wonderful talents and for always giving me so much inspiration! Please check them out by clicking on their names below.

Notes by Nina - a fellow British Columbian and a fantastic card maker!

Danielle G - all the way from the east coast with tons of artistic talent.

Violet B - always enjoying the great cards here.

Jen Rubio - love her work!

Suzi Davis - a great author (for something different than art) who needs to attend to her blog more but is forgiven due to things like having a toddler and a new baby...


If you would like to pass this blog award on to others, simply follow the directions below:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blog who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award onto your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
5. And most of all, HAVE FUN!

Another Challenge

This week's challenge over at the Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog  is simply that there is to be no use of patterned paper and one must use at least three different colours. My three colour choices were Purple, Olive, and Colonial White. So happy to use some purple!! Obviously still can't get away from the green though... This card is for my Nana who's 82nd birthday is coming up at the end of the month. Thanks for checking it out. :)

All products CTMH unless otherwise posted.
Cardstock: Smokey Plum, Olive, Colonial White
Stamps: Mayberry, You and Me, With Love, Delight, For Every Occassion
Ink: Pansy Purple, Olive
Embellishments: Opaques, Purple Fiber
Green ribbon not CTMH.

Baby Boy

I totally couldn't wait to delve into one of the new paper packs from CTMH and I think the colours of Dreamin' are awesome! I had to make a card for a brand new little guy who came into this world a few days ago, and this is what I came up with. I know it's not your typical baby looking card but I think it works. Besides, he's pretty close to being a fall baby and those are probably the first colours he will properly be able to see anyway. See how I put a circle around the month he was born?? I thought it was rather clever... Please ignore the imperfections of my circle cutting (I distressed the edges of the blue circle to hide it better) as the Cricut Expressions machine is still only on my wish list for now. I'm saving up though!

All products are CTMH unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: Colonial White, Pacifica, Sky
Pattern Paper: Dreamin'
Stamps: Little Reminder (stamp of the month for January), Dreamin' Workshop
Ink: Pacifica, Goldrush, Autumn Terracotta
Embellishments: Colonial White ribbon, Brown button

For My Sis

It's my sister's 27th birthday today and so I wanted to do a special birthday card for her. I started it at the beginning of the week with Heart 2 Heart's colour challenge (using the colours Pear, Cocoa & Sorbet) as well as Mojo Monday's weekly sketch challenge (shown below) but it's taken me this long to get the time to finish it. I would like to acknowledge a fellow blogger here, as without her H2H prize winning goodies, I wouldn't have had anything Sorbet to add to this card! Thanks Romaine!

I'd like to think this card is cheery, sociable, elegant and refined, soft but strong, and beautiful in generally every way without being overdone by tons of details - just like my sister! My sister is probably my most favourite person on earth and has always been there for me in my life. She's younger than me but she's still someone I look up to a lot of the time. I don't think I could have survived this life without her! Love you sis!

All products CTMH unless otherwise noted.
Cardstock: Colonial White, Cocoa
Pattern Paper: Miracle, Perfect Day
Stamps: For Every Occassion, Delight, You and Me
Ink: Chocolate, Pear, Sorbet
Embellishments: Adhesive Gems, Sorbet Ribbon
Embroidery thread from my stash.