H2H Scrapbooking Challenge for December

It's time to celebrate! ...I am talking about your favorite holiday!  While I am sure that many of you love Christmas, that is not one of my favorite holidays! Actually it is Halloween but I decided to scrapbook Thanksgiving for this post because this holiday is rapidly becoming one of my most favorite holidays!

I love cooking for my small family and celebrating all that is blessed and wonderful about our life.  I am thrilled that I am able to finish a scrapbook layout before the 1st of December.  Thanks to the Close to My Heart November special, I was able to print a few layouts for only $5.00!

Here is my layout using the Studio J Pathfinding paper pack.  This paper pack is a brand new addition to Studio J and I am so grateful they decided to add several of the new paper packs to the program.

As you can see the Brill family includes a son and daughter-in-law plus two dogs!  My husband, and 'kids' had a relaxing weekend while I worked at the Bernina Sewing Center in Tampa, Fl.  Not to worry - I have several days off while they are at work!

Please join us and scrapbook your favorite holiday!  Add your linky here so we can all share your memories as well!

H2H Challenge - NO ..embellishments!

Now this challenge is a hardship!  One of the reasons I started scrapbooking is because I love buttons, lace, trims and 'stuff'!

So I decided to dig out last year's Sparkle and Shine from Close to My Heart and find any of the paper scraps that I could.  I love the Herringbone technique and I first learned of this through the Club Scrap forum.

What an easy technique!  1/2" strips to form a herringbone shape on a card front - EZPZ!

So I started creating my card front and it went together very quickly!  I added a few strips of scraps and a snip from one of the zip strips!  I wanted to add a brad, a button or SOMETHING to the top left.  But I settled on a small strip of paper to look like a staple!

enjoy!....

Please join us this week for a NO-embellishment challenge with H2H here!

H2H NO-vember Challenge

ah ha! ......It is the second NO-vember challenge of the month.  Can you guess what it is?....  It is NO Stamping!  Now THIS is a crisis to me!

I started in 2005 with Close to My Heart because I love to stamp!  I have purchased many stamps throughout the 'almost 10 years' with the company.

SO this week is a real challenge!  But I was able to create my second page to the wedding layout with NO stamping AND scraps of paper and embellishments - an additional bonus!

I love the Picture My Life cards and I knew that I could create my own with scraps of B & T paper, zip strips and small pieces of leftovers! Plus I will be able to complete a page for the wedding album in NO time!

So here the second half of the layout from the previous post. I realized after I posted this pic that I have two of the same photos on this page.  NOT to worry - because the next post will 'fix' that issue...

I hope you will join us for this week's challenge of NO-stamping!  Let me know if you need any therapy to assist you through the "NO-stamping Challenge"!  Just add your artwork with this link.

H2H Challenge and Midnight

Day 7 of FRIGHTFULLY Creative Halloween FUN!

Today's post was inspired by the theme "Midnight" for this week's H2H Challenge. The word  Midnight does conjure up images of dark, scary nights.... but I knew right away what I wanted to do when I saw this bottle of wine sitting on my Target shelf!

One of my FAV-orite wines ...

I wanted to make some wine charms but not the traditional ones with a wire but a paper version.  I found these as I was 'googling' wine charms.  Have you noticed how that word has turned into a verb rather than an noun?  OK- you didn't pay attention in English class!

So I created this quick and easy Cricut Design Space file you can find here.  The circle in the middle is .5" and you may have to change it to fit your wine glass stem.

It is a simple 3.5 circle with a 3.0 circle center. The center circle varies from .5 to .65 to accommodate the width of the stem. Easy!

Did you notice that the one charm has a decorative edge to it?  I created that wine charm in the Pazzles Inspiration Pro 2014 software using the Decorative Tools option - the lesson today with the amazing Klo!

I love the 'notes' function in this new software - I can add my own comments or add where I found the file.

You can find the files here..

Wine Charms wpc file here

Wine Charms pvg file here

Wine Charms svg file here

Since I never sell a Halloween stamp set, I have two retired stamp sets featured here- sorry!

Supplies:

Black and White Daisy cardstock

Scaredy Cat B & T paper

Lola B & T paper

Ink colors - Slate, Black, Gypsy,Honey

Stamp sets:

B1281 Hallow-Scream (retired)

C1512 Moonlight Scrapbooking Workshop (retired)

D1605 Halloween Greetings

B1453 Frightfully Fun

B1429 Eek & Shriek

Why don't you play along with us this week and use the theme- "midnight".  I would love to see what you come up with!

Here is the linky so you can link up your artwork.

H2H Challenge Blog Color Inspiration

This weeks challenge is a color challenge using Goldrush, Lagoon, Cranberry and Desert Sand.

Sometimes these color challenges are very difficult for me to do because I can not visualize the color combo.  But this one had tons of possibilities and I selected a card design from the CTMH Artfully Sent cartridge to work with.  I used the color palette from Design Space ( I wish they had RGB codes ) to what I thought would be the closest color match.

If you would like the Design Space file it can be found here.

The front was rather naked so I added some stamping to a colonial white mat. I stamped the "hello" from the included stamp set and the flower is from D1550 Happy Autumn.  I also used one of my favorite techniques of tissue inking to combine the Goldrush and Cranberry inks in the flower. The leaves are using another technique called Rock and Roll. 

Here is a video from CTMH featuring the Rock and Roll technique.

Card Front -  cut at 3.5 x 5.0"

This card is sized 3 .75 x 5.25.  I am still trying to find the correct sizing in DS.

 I hope you will participate this month and add your design to the linky found here.

H2H challenge - My FAV -orite tool

Well I must admit that this is tough one!   But the battle lines have been drawn and the tool is....

The sponge dauber!

Yep!  All of you are scratching your head BUT think of all of the times you have reached for this small little tool, the not too expensive one and used it!  So for me, that entitles it to my FAV-orite tool!

But alas, I must admit I have a close second, not CTMH either..  "Oh, no" , one exclaims!

Yes- I love my Pazzles!!  The digital paper cutter that I can design and cut any type of design that I desire!  But that's Ok because here is a fall card that I created using my TWO FAV-orite tools and life is good...

I used the"Print and Cut" feature of the machine to create the canning jar. Then I stamped the images, cut them up and sponged them a bit and glued them to the card.  This card is perfect for any fall occasion- right?!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a bit of fall in your hometown- ME?  not so much...

Please join us here and share a design with your favorite tool!

H2H Challenge - Favorite Technique

Wow - It has been a long time since I posted anything!  But I have been on vacation and it is soooo hard to get back into the groove again!

This week's challenge on the H2H blog is our 'Favorite Technique'.  I must admit that my VERY first technique ever was "Random Stamping". Back in 2005 it was popular to create a random stamped page and then cut it up into a number of different pieces and make multiple cards from one sheet of paper a.k.a. One-Sheet Wonder.

Well, nine years later I find myself going back to this same technique more than once!  I started working on a very cute flip stand book - thanks to Justine Hovey's  great project idea here!  ( great project girl!)

This will be one of the flip pages of the book.  I will post additional photos in the upcoming weeks as I continue to add to the pages of my flip stand project.  I have had this sitting in my craft room for a long time but it took Justine's artwork to inspire me to 'get it done!'

Here is one of my pages - a random stamped page using two different stamps sets.

Stamp pad colors used were honey, sunset and black.  I sponged the page with thistle and one of our daubers to get the effects that I created on this flip page.

Then I added a photo mat and a few accents for the photo.  The strip is the zip strip from the "Scaredy Cat" paper pack and then I stamped the image twice - once with thistle and once with black.  I added dimension with foam tape and the page is now ready for this years' pics!

The stamp sets that I used today were from D1605 Halloween Greetings and the bat is from C1522 Creepy Creatures.

Please join us this month as we celebrate all of our favorites!  check out this week's blog post here.

Studio J Snippet #8

Well it is almost the end of August and sadly I did not meet my Studio J Challenge of 30 layouts.  But I have used Studio J more in the last two months than I have in the last two years!  I am so pleased with how some of my layouts have turned out and I look back at some of my previous layouts and see how much I have improved!

Studio J snippet #8 - Create a totally different look by changing the colors of a paper pack and creating a matching embellishment by mixing up the My Stickease elements.

Here is a layout I did for convention in 2012 in which I altered the colors of the paper pack and created a totally different design using the My Stickease.

Here is the example I used to create the layout using the Mischief paper pack in Studio J.

I changed the color of the paper on the left from black to Lagoon and the color on the right from black to Cotton Candy.  I turned the lollipops stickers upside down and added a tag and a brad for the frosting and cherry!

I have also entered this layout in the H2H Challenge for this week "Inspired by ...Food!"  You can find the linky here.  Please join us - I am sure that you will find something to scrap about using a food theme!

H2H Challenge ...Inspired by

Inspired by a book...

I have been driving myself crazy with this theme and then I had a breakthrough!  I have been working on a Halloween table runner all week and then I realized, was not use this book title as my inspiration?!

Inspired by the book "Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West"

The book was originally published in September of 2007, but I did not start reading it until 2008.  It was a perfect read for an airplane trip to WNY and I became absorbed into the book throughout the entire flight.

I like to read the books before I see the movie or in this case, the play.  My friend Cherie and I went to the play in 2010 at the theater in Tampa and we both loved it!  Then Elizabeth and I went again in 2013 and we had great seats - front row balcony!

I created this layout using the remainder of my Scaredy Cat paper ( I guess I have to buy some more...) and a few pics from my October 2013 workshop.

The cuts are from the Cricut "Mini Monsters" cartridge and this is the first time I have actually used this cartridge.  Normally I use the CTMH cartridges but these images were perfect for this page!

I also created this broom card because this also fits perfectly with my book theme.

Colors used are thistle, pear, black, white daisy, honey, kraft and slate.  The stamp set is D1605 Halloween Greetings.  What a fun stamp set!

Come join us this week and show us your inspiration idea from a book!  You have until August 31st to participate in the August theme "Inspired by.."

You can find the link here.

Studio J snippet #6

This week I combined my Studio J snippet with the H2H challenge of the week! This week's challenge is Inspired ...by a song.  I actually took this challenge literally and created a Studio J layout for another page in my son's wedding album.  My goal is to have this album completed by Christmas!

Studio J snippet #6 -when you have multiple pictures of one event, select a layout that features them in a sequence .

The "Stars Above" layout is perfect for this type pf layout.

Very little journaling is needed for this layout and so I selected the title of the song and a few lines of the lyrics.  An interesting tidbit I have to add is this child knew the names of all four of the Beatles by the time he was 3 years old!  SO it comes as no surprise that this song was selected for their wedding dance.

Please join in the fun with the H2H Challenge this month.  You can find the linky here.

Inspired by... a movie!

The H2H Challenge this week was Inspired by a movie.  Well, that was easy! The theme for Cropmania 2014 was a movie theme.  Naturally my favorite movie is the Wizard of Oz and so I HAD to dress up!

This is the layout that I had created for the event and this challenge was the catalyst to get it finished! Since the cost of a photo booth was pricey, we built our own movie set!

This event was a fundraiser for Joshua House we held in May at the Fair Grounds in Tampa, Fl. (Only I now realize I wrote the wrong date- duh!) We all had a great time no matter what the date was!  We are now working on our next event for October 2015!

Come join us for this challenge!  You will find the link here.

Just click on it to join the fun...

Inspired by Nature

In August we have a new theme for the entire month on the H2H Challenge Blog. Inspiration is a huge part of our creativity.   It may be the event we scrapbook or the outfit that helps to select the paper pack.  The month long scrapbooking inspiration is nature.

My design is pretty straight forward.  We  are traveling to Alaska at the end of the month and so I started a few pages because I know I will have tons of pictures! Since it is a scrapbook cruise, I will take them with me to start planning the finished pages immediately!

The layout is from Sketches for Scrapbooking  Volume 7 by Scrapbook Generation.

Since I didn't know the exact location for the pictures, I left a large enough space for the title.

You have an entire month to participate in this challenge.  Please join us and add your linky below.

H2H Challenge

Another Monday and it is time for another H2H challenge.  One of the problems of taking a vacation is being able to create a layout or card without your paper crafting supplies BUT" ta...dah" - enter Studio J to the rescue!

The challenge is to use the Picture My Life collections or the My Crush collections for our artwork.  Well I was unable to be at home to finish my project (look for a post later this week) but I was able to create it in Studio J!  

Here is my PML collection using the Jubilee paper pack along with the "No Limits" layout in Studio J.

Once I received the printed layouts, I can cut them and put them in the appropriate Memory Protectors.

Here is the Memory Protectors Design 3 - 4 vertical photos and 4 horizontal photos or cards.

Memory Protectors Design 5 - 3 vertical photos  and 6 horizontal photos or cards.

Perfect to finish the pages for the "Summer Theme" of the layouts.

Some Like it HOT!

This week's post on the H2H challenge blog is "Some Like it Hot"!  But not ME! It is too darn hot for me at this time of the year in Tampa, Fl.  But it was so fun to create this Studio J layout using the pictures from our Easter vacation to Florida in 1986.

The best part about this layout is - it is DONE!  I scanned the 28 year old photos into my PSE 12 software, cleaned them up a bit and then inserted them into my Studio J layout. I then created the layout using one of the 'special' paper packs from Studio J and now it is ready to print and add to my scrapbook.

You can find some ideas to jumpstart your creativity here.

Here are the rules for all of our challenges.

*Our challenges are open to everyone!

*To enter, use the challenge of the week to inspire you and post your results to your personal blog or other online gallery.

*Be sure to come back here and use a direct link* to your challenge post so we can see your artwork!

*In order to enter a challenge, you must use CTMH products but your project does not have to be 100% CTMH.

*If you use something from another company, please consider including details in your project's description.

* You MUST mention H2H challenges in your blog post (and a link back to us would be appreciated).

*Spread the word about our challenge blog by including our badge on your blog.

*Most importantly, have fun creating - the Close To My Heartway!

Any entries not following the above rules are subject to having their link removed.

(*To direct link, please leave a link that takes us directly to your blog/gallery page that includes your challenge post - not to your blog home page. To do this, after you've published your post, click on the title. That URL in your browser window is the one that you want to copy & paste into Mr. Linky.)

Please join us in celebrating - "Some Like It Hot" - hot weather, hot foods, hot chicks.. OK....anything hot!

H2H Challenge for this week is Up, Up and Away!

Well I have had a hard time NOT singing the song by the 5th Dimension,  so I thought I would share it for all of you out there!


                 

So I know I am dating myself but that's half the fun!  During the winter months there are many mornings when the ' Big Red Balloon' drifts over my house.  Some mornings i wave at them while I am drinking my coffee!  As soon as I hear them I run out with my camera and start shooting my pictures.

This weeks challenge is to create a design focusing on a something in the air!  So I had to create a one page layout with my February pics of the Big Red Balloon!

My colors are pretty basic - Cranberry, White Daisy, Black and Sky...good-bye Sky - I really liked you :(

The Design Space layout is adapted from Make It From Your Heart - Volume 2 Pattern 18.  I love to design my layouts in DS and then cut out only the pieces I can't cut easily without my cutter.  Here is my design idea.

As you can see it looks exactly the same but with a few minor additions, such as chalking the clouds and some black Bakers Twine for the basket. I decided I had better add a month and day, so I would remember when I took the picture!  You can find the Design Space file here.

As always if you have any problems just email and I will see what I can do to help you out.

Enjoy and come joins us for this week's  challenge!

H2H Challenge Blog Design Team member

July 1st brought some exciting news!  I am a Design Team member for the H2H Challenge Blog.  You can find the information in the post here.  But if you have been following my blog then you already know all there is to know about me! :)

                     

This challenge blog is to inspire you to 'amp' up your creativity!  For me, I hope it gets the scrapbook pages finished and in the book!

You can find all of the information and my one page layout for the Red and White Daisy challenge here.  Please join us for the first scrapbook challenge of July!

Tomorrow I will bring you another one page layout!  See you then!