SCS Challenge 143

I really look forward to the card sketch challenges on Splitcoaststampers now. It is one of the first sites I look at on Wednesday morning. That way, I can think of what I want to create while dropping the boys off to school, making lunch, and housework. By the time I sit down to create, the card just comes together.

My mom made a comment to me that she really liked the fall card I made about a week ago. She loves fall colors, so I thought I would make another one for her to see. I used my new stamp set Nature's Vein and the paper pack Abundance. The colors I used are autumn terracotta, new england ivy, cocoa, goldrush and colonial white. The thankful sentiment is from the solo "t" stamp set.

Here is the sketch for today:











I won't be blogging until Tuesday, because I am going to my parents. They live in the country and have dial up internet. Talk about snail mail. I will post again for Technique Tuesday. Have a great weekend!

Take time to create!

ADORABLE

I finished another layout that I created in August by finally printing pictures. This layout is from the Cherish idea book from CTMH. I haven't played with the new Imagine idea book yet. This is the first layout I have completed with all black and white photos. It is hard for not to print color photos, but the pictures I chose had too many contrasting colors to the soft pastels.

Here is Tanner with his Great Grandma Medsker and his admiring big brother. This little boy has been kissed so much by his big brother that he should be chapped. LOL! See picture lower right corner.


Here is Tanner with his Grandpa Burmeister, big brother and mom. The colors in this two page layout are: heavenly blue, sunkiss yellow, white daisy, sweet leaf and blush.

Thanks for stopping by!

Secret Blog Candy

I have been keeping track of comments made since the last blog candy. I want to thank those of you who take the time, sometimes daily, to comment on something I have created. I have so many cards or paper crafts made from me and other CTMH consultants that my basket is overflowing. SOOOO...I am sending cards to those of you who have left comments for me, since the last blog candy give-away. They will be ready to use for many different occasions. I am sending you the number of cards for as many comments you left to a maximum of five. Sorry, I didn't have enough to send some people 10+ cards. I do love reading your comments, so keep them coming. Please send your snail mail to stampfest@cox.net, if you see you name on the list below. Here is the list and number of cards or paper crafts you will receive:

Wendy 5
Jeanne 5
Jo 5
Dasimonds 5
Connie 5
Denise 2
Cindy Vernon 2
Belinda 2
Debby Winters 2
Ijsbeer 2
Maria 3
Dana 1
Shadowcatcher 1
Beth 3
Sherry Cheever 1
Erica 1
Beli 1
Christi 1
Jean 1

Again, thanks for all the comments and keep them coming! The cards or paper crafts will be randomly disbursed.

Happy Stamping!

Technique Tuesday - Liquid Glass

I don't have a 6 x 6 layout for liquid glass, so I took a picture of the bottle of liquid glass that CTMH sells. As you can see, mine is very worn. I haven't used it recently and after looking at the cards I have pulled from my archives, I need to use it soon!

You can Use liquid glass to accent, brighten, magnify, and add dimension to embellishments and designs. Here are the directions:

• Turn bottle upside down and let liquid flow to tip (do not shake).
  
• Remove cap and gently squeeze bottle to establish flow onto your project.
• Drying time will vary according to amount of product applied, ranging from 15 minutes to one hour.
• After use, rinse applicator tip with warm water and replace cap.
• If needed, clear tip with pin before using.

Here is a card created by Sandy Havens, CTMH Independent Consultant. She used liquid glass on the letters in thanks to make them look like tiles. Great job!


Here are two Easter cards I made about two years ago. I used liquid glass for the detail on the Easter eggs.



Now, it is your turn!

Happy Stamping!

Enchanted Anniversary

Okay, I am stuck on the new Enchanted paper pack, edge anchors, twill ribbon and 6 x 6 cards. I just love the colors in this paper pack. All the pattern paper is from this new pack. I don't send out too many anniversary cards, but that is because I usually don't have any made. I am ready for all the anniversaries coming now! I created the pattern on the pansy purple cardstock by stamping the image in versamark and then sanding the paper. I learned this technique from Chris Shouse. Any time you want a watermark image to really pop, just sand the paper and it is amazing how the image starts to appear. These are the colors I used: cranberry, purple pansy, and sunflower. The colors from the enchanted paper pack are autumn terracotta, garden green, smokey plum and sunflower. Great colors!

Take time to create!

Last Year's Christmas

I received a little static from sister about not posting the other day and I told her I just had to take a day off. I was planning for my Open House and crop and just didn't have the time to make anything new. Well, today I just don't feel like sitting at my scrap table and creating. I have been playing outside with the boys and watching Alfred Hitchcock movies. So I am sharing one of the Christmas cards I made and sent out last year. I usually make about three designs, because we send so many that I get bored reproducing the same one.


Thanks for stopping by today and hopefully I will be rejuvenated tomorrow!

Open House Create-N-Take

Does this card design look familiar? Well, it is from the Legendary Goodness card my upline, Chris, designed for us at one of our team meetings. I used this design, because I was pressed for time to make something for my Open House/Crop Friday night. I didn't start this one until 2:30 p.m. Friday and the Open House started at 7:00 p.m. and still had cleaning to do. My sister didn't help by saying, "You don't have that done yet!".

I wanted to make a birthday card, because everyone uses those, and I wanted to use a new paper pack. I like it, because it could be used for men and women. You should click on the card to see the details. Here is the recipe:

Paper - Enchanted Level 2 paper pack; smokey plum, autumn terracotta, and colonial white cardstock.

Stamp sets - It's a Party and Happy Birthday

Ink - smokey plum, cranberry and autumn terracotta

Accessories - sanding block, foundry plates (sanded), natural twill ribbon, cranberry edge anchor, autumn terracotta photo clips, sponge daubers, black stubble tool

Happy Stamping!

Sketch Challenge 142

I guess I am in the mood for fall colors and themes. I wanted to use twill and each time I see twill I think of the Harvest Memories stamp set. I took a peek at the sketch challenge this morning and thought about what I might create most of the day. I think this helped me when I sat down to start stamping, because I made this card in about 15-20 minutes. I stamped the pumpkin in goldrush ink and used watercolor pencils to color and shade. Here is the recipe (all products are CTMH):


Paper - chocolate, ponderosa pine, autumn terracotta cardstock and adhesive backed twill

Stamp sets - Give Thanks and Harvest Memories

Ink - chocolate, ponderosa pine, goldrush

Accessories - sanding block, chocolate marker, chocolate distressing ink, watercolor pencils (olive, goldrush, autumn terracotta), chocolate bigger brads, goldrush and orange organdy ribbon. I love how the orange ribbon looks more like autumn terracotta when tied with goldrush ribbon.

Here is the sketch:











Happy Stamping!

Happy Fall

Okay, I have to admit last night when I posted I wrote that I didn't like the other background I created with the alcohol inks. Well, I was wrong....I love it! I was sitting at my scrap desk today and I looked at it and saw fall colors, which are my favorite and started from there. Our CTMH cardstock barn red, goldrush, chocolate and colonial white went perfect with this background. I decided to use a leaf stamp set that I have been neglecting. Autumn Blessings in one of my favorites and I haven't used it all year. Now, is the time!


This is one of my favorite cards I have made in awhile. I like the other cards, but I really like this one. I was talking to my sister on the phone when I finished it and I couldn't quit saying how I liked it. Here is the recipe:

Paper - glossy, barn red, goldrush, autumn terracotta, colonial white, chocolate cardstock.

Stamp sets - Autumn Blessings and Season of Color

Ink - barn red, cranberry, goldrush, autumn terracotta, chocolate, brown bag, chocolate distressing ink

Embellishments - vineyard berry ribbon, CTMH distressing tool, pewter brads, pewter photo hanger, natural hemp, autumn terracotta small spiral, concave punch

Thanks for stopping by and take time to create!

Technique Tuesday - Polished Stone with Alcohol Inks

I haven't forgotten about the techniques many of you listed in a past blog candy post. I finally got around to using Tim Holtz alcohol inks. Both Pink Heather and Katelyn mentioned them as a technique they either like or would like to see.

At Archivers last Friday that just happened to be the product they were showing, so I got to see a demonstration before playing with them myself. I am so glad I did, because I didn't know I needed an applicator or blending solution. I got to play around with their alcohol inks after the demonstration. The first time I used three inks and blended them. I didn't like that effect as much as when I used just two of them. Here are the directions and my card with the background made with this fun technique:

Supplies needed:

• Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool
• Alcohol Ink Applicator Pads
• Alcohol Inks
• Blending Solution
• Glossy Cardstock or Acetate (I used glossy cardstock.)

Directions:

1. Cut a piece of glossy cardstock to the desired size
2. Attach an applicator pad to the applicator tool. This is easy, because the tool has velcro on it. The pads fit right against the applicator.
3. Squeeze a little of the different color of inks on the pad. This does on have to be in any particular pattern.
4. Daub the applicator on the glossy cardstock in various places. You can leave as much white showing as you want. On this one, I didn't leave a lot of white space.
   
5. Put blending solution on the applicator and daub this on the cardstock. You will see the colors starting to blend. You can use a new pad or the same one with ink on it.
6. Repeat step 5 until you get the desired result.
   

Again, I only used two colors on this card. I have heard you can use two colors and then add a third if you want to. I am going to use my 50% off coupons this week at Michaels to get the blending solution and tool. I didn't have these in order to play more at home. Once I get them, I will play with my inks and let you see what I come up with. I like how this one turned out. Click on the card to see the background for a better look at this technique.

Products used:

Paper - glossy, bubblegum, baby pink, goldrush, honey and white daisy cardstock.

Stamp sets - Sweet Flowers and Happy Day

Ink - bubblegum, baby pink, goldrush and honey

Embellishments - baby pink grosgrain ribbon, baby pink large spiral, white daisy beads, Dress It Up flowers

Now, it's your turn!

WISH

Tonight (Sunday) I wasn't going to post at all, then I thought I could throw together a card in 15 minutes. I looked through my Papercrafts Magazine and picked a card I had the page marked. I keep these handy for when I need to make a card quickly. I wasn't going to post, because my cold has gotten the best of me. I even skipped a football party on Saturday night, because I wasn't feeling the best and didn't want to spread my germs to all the guests. I had a coughing fit in mass tonight. You know the ones that make you cough so much you are crying. YEAH! It was nice. I had to walk from the front of the church to the cry room, then the bathroom. I finally got it under control and went back to my seat, except someone took my seat. In church is when I decided not to post. After dinner I knew I could make something to show you.

This a very simple birthday card. The only non-CTMH products are the background paper and star. I have had this pattern paper for a long time and when I saw it I thought this card would be perfect for it. The yellow star is CTMH cardstock, but a sizzix die cut.

Happy Stamping!

Monthly Calendar

I got a lot done at Archivers last night stamping with Terese. We had so much fun! I worked on a monthly calendar that I might hold a workshop on in November. I held one last year and designed a calendar that was too detailed. It took the participants four hours to complete. So I had to design one this year that could be completed in about one hour. I only wanted to use one or two stamp sets and one pattern paper packet. For these calendar toppers, I used So Sweet Seasons stamp set and Days To Cherish B&T Duos Combo pack. Both of these are from CTMH.

This calendar does not have a year on it, so it can be used year after year to keep track of birthdays and anniversaries.

Here are some of the months I got done last night.

Thanks for stopping by and take time to create!

RAK from Jeanne

Boy, what a great trip I had to the mailbox today! I opened it up expecting junk mail and bills and I got a little package from my good friend, Jeanne. We email each other almost every day and she has surprised me with this beautiful card and a Cuttlebug embossing folder tiny bubbles. Jeanne is a master at digital scrapbooking and if you haven't visited her blog lately, she has been working hard on some layouts...you should visit Creative Bliss.

Thanks, Jeanne for the gorgeous card and little surprise! You are too kind!

Not Your Ordinary Christmas Colors

I am posting early today, since I will be out this evening!

I saw on a post the other day a card where she used not your ordinary Christmas colors and I liked it. As I was watching, CSI, I decided to design another Christmas card option for this year.

I wanted to use my Let Us Adore Him set and baby Jesus just didn't say traditional colors to me. For such an extraordinary little man, I needed to use a different color combination other than red and green. I really like the striped paper from the Sonata paper pack, so I started off with that as the background. I ran another piece of the striped paper through my Cuttlebug with the textile embossing plate, but I used the back side, which is chocolate. I stamped baby Jesus in Lilac Mist and daubed the edges in the same color. To dress up the cards to the standard of a king, I used gold vellum paper and gold square brads. I added lilac mist organdy ribbon to tie is all together.

Since I am stamping at Archiver's tonight, I should have something new to show you tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Batty For You

This card is a little different than the usual flower cards I have been making lately. This is why...

At our house, we like bats. We have a bat house in our backyard to attract them, because we know how many bugs they eat. So our hatred of bugs, make us welcome bats to our yard. Well, this year two bats died in our pool. Those were sad days for us, because now we might not have any bats living in our bat house. Hopefully, others will know it is vacant and establish it as their home. My son, Tate, is fascinated with them. He likes to check out bat books from the library and even has a little stuffed one from the children's book...Stellaluna. If you have kids, it is a cute book.

Tate saw a bat card in one of my technique books and has been asking me to make him one ever since. While shopping with my sister, I finally found a chipboard bat that I could trace to work for the card I wanted to make. This is the finished product.
I started with a 6 x 6 black cardbase and then layered a 5.75 x 5.75 piece of pansy purple cardstock on top. I sanded the purple cardstock with a sandpaper block. Then I brushed the new Delta Ceramcoat paint from CTMH on the front. It comes in white and I used that color. In addition, I put a small amount in a little jar and added citrus leaf re-inker to it and mixed it up. I brushed some of that color on the front too. It dried a little lighter green than I wanted it to, but it worked okay. I was hoping for a bright green. I didn't have a stamp that read "I'm Batty For You", so I printed this off from Microsoft Word and daubed the edges with citrus leaf and pansy purple ink. I matted the saying on citrus leaf cardstock that I punched it with my concave punch.

The circle in the upper left hand corner is supposed to be a moon. I ran the white daisy cardstock through my cuttlebug to make the bumps. Now, looking at it I should have reversed the moon to make them craters. Oh, well! It is glued down already. The ribbon is from American Crafts and the black bigger brads are CTMH.

I made two of these...one for Tate and one for my hubby! I put cards in his lunch box sometimes to brighten his day. I might have to wait for October to give them these, so it will be closer to Halloween.

Tomorrow, I will have to stamp and post early, because I am going to Archivers to crop for the night. YAY! I can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by!

SCS Challenge 141

This is the second week in a row that I participated in the Splitcoaststampers card sketch challenge. This is much harder than designing my own from scratch. I think this week was easier than last week, so I must be getting a little better at following their sketches. I made a mistake on this card and it turned out better from the mistake than if I wouldn't have made it. On the background of the card, I accidentally dropped the flower stamp on the pattern paper. I didn't want to start over, so I just kept random stamping the flower in cranberry over all the pattern paper. This is the flower that I added bling to the center. I like how it turned out after I made my mistake, so it goes to show that you can always cover up a mistake and make it work. LOL!


Here is the sketch I had to use for Wednesday's card sketch challenge. I started off with a piece of 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 of cranberry cardstock on a white daisy card base. I added a strip of buttercup striped paper from the Let's Get Together Level 2 paper pack for #1. Then I added the flower pattern paper from Let's Get Together for #2-a and #2-b.

The middle diamond is layered with white daisy cardstock, Let's Get Together pattern paper and breeze cardstock. I used Delight In Everything stamp set in breeze and cranberry ink. To finish off the card, I used cranberry grosgrain ribbon and a dimensional element daubed with breeze ink. All the products are CTMH, except the bling. My CTMH bling is on order and should arrive some time next week. I can't wait to get my hands on all the new products I ordered from the fall idea book.

Take time to create!

KID POWER

I took the time to finish this layout I started over two months ago. I had all the paper cut and glued down and finished the title at my sister's about a month ago. I printed the pictures off earlier this week and took advantage of Tanner falling asleep watching CARS in the afternoon.

This layout is for Tate's album. He learned how to ride his bike without training wheels almost three years ago and hasn't slowed down since. Can't you tell how proud he is from that great big smile? I got the stop light idea from the 2007 CTMH summer idea book that showcased this paper pack. I punched 1 1/4 inch circles of cranberry, sunflower and clover meadow cardstock and applied them to metal rimmed paper tags. I like how this mimics the polka dot paper on page two and goes with the paper motif of Route 66.


Today, I stamped the boy image and colored him in with CTMH markers and water color pencils. I added "go Dude" as a tag to go with the boy image. I remember yelling, "Go! Go! Go!", when Tate was learning to ride on his own, and this image just screamed "go Dude" to me. I used the same paper combination for the journaling box as I did for the go Dude tag. All products used for this layout are CTMH, except for the words on the stop sign.

For the stop sign, I used Karen Foster Designs Snap-Stamps that I won on Cindy's blog Creating with the Heart. She does a great job...check her blog out. I had never heard of these until Cindy posted them on her blog. These are tiny letters that snap together, so the word possibilities are endless. They are easy to use and I am so glad I won them! Thanks, Cindy!

Products used:

Paper - Route 66 Level 2 paper pack; cranberry, sunflower, clover meadow, moonstruck cardstock

Stamp sets - Dude, Essential Alphabet, Get A Way, Whimsy Lowercase, Karen Foster's Mini Formal

Ink - outdoor denim, cranberry, clover meadow, moonstruck

Accessories - metal rimmed paper tags, outdoor denim grosgrain ribbon, outdoor denim large spiral, clover meadow sassy strands, star spangled blue sassy strands, white daisy sassy strands, silver photo hanger, silver photo clips, sunkiss yellow marker, sunny yellow marker, honey marker, water color pencils, clover meadow bigger brads, concave punch

Hopefully, I will have a SCS sketch challenge for you next time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Technique Tuesday - Cracked Glass

I don't have a 6 x 6 layout for this technique. It is the first time I tried this one. Here are the directions:

Cracked Glass

1. Stamp your image on desired size of cardstock.
   
2. Apply Versamark over the entire piece of cardstock.
3. Cover cardstock with clear embossing powder.
4. Heat the embossing powder until melted.
   
5. Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 ... five to seven times (On mine, I repeated six times.).
6. You will have a thick coat of melted embossed powder over entire image.
7. Bend cardstock carefully until layers crack. Bend different parts of your cardstock until you like the look of it.
8. Optional - If you would like the cracks to show more, sponge with dark colored ink over the entire image. The ink will seep into the cracks. Wipe with paper towel to pick up any excess ink.

Here are a couple of enlarged images I used for the cracked glass technique. I had this image sitting on my scrap desk and is was not stamped on cardstock. I think this technique would work better with cardstock, because it is thicker.


I did not sponge dark colored ink over my image. Next time, I will try this.

I used Alfresco stamp set, Simple Pleasures paper pack and Simple Pleasures My Stickease. I finished the card off with cocoa ribbon, pewter photo hanger and pewter brad. All of these products are from CTMH.

Now, it is your turn!

The Giving Hand

I have two posts this time, so make sure you check both of them out!

This is the stamped image I made for the last card base in the post below. It just wasn't working. I used the same color scheme, but I like the pattern striped paper better than the swirls for this set. Again, I used just a slight color variation for each card.


This card base is cranberry; otherwise, the colors are the same.

This card base is garden green.

The other products I used:

Paper - Elegant Bouquet Level 2 paper pack; garden green, colonial white and cranberry cardstock.

Stamp set - The Giving Hand

Ink - cranberry, garden green, barn red, olive

Accessories - ivory organdy ribbon, CTMH connections club flowers


Happy Monday!

When In Doubt...Add Stickles

When I posted my Vintage Christmas cards yesterday, I thought they just needed something. I was talking to my sister about them and I told her I should have added stickles, so I DID! Here are the same cards with silver stickles added to the trees. The stickles look gold in the light, which is weird. When I was putting them on, they looked silver. Oh well, I like them A LOT better now!

Vintage Christmas

Finally, I got time to stamp today...YAY! When these cards started out I had a totally different stamped image for the focal point and the card just wasn't coming together. I had to regroup and I decided to make a Christmas card. Every time I looked at this paper combination, I thought of Christmas. I needed to start brainstorming for Christmas cards anyway.


I bought Vintage Christmas at the beginning of this year, because I saw so many beautiful cards with this stamp set. I made two different cards with just a slight variation in color.

I didn't use any pattern paper with these cards. I created my own pattern paper with Romantic Backgrounds. Here are the other products used:

Paper - colonial white, barn red, cranberry, garden green cardstock.

Stamp sets - Romantic Backgrounds, Vintage Christmas, Beauty of Christmas

Ink - barn red, olive, cranberry

Embellishments - ivory organdy ribbon, colonial white brads


Happy Stamping!

Busy Day

I'm sorry I don't have anything new for your today. I was busy getting ready for a gathering I had tonight (Friday), cleaning house for the guests and entering club orders. I hope to get time tomorrow to complete a layout or some cards.

Maria asked to see the sketch challenge that went with yesterday's card. I didn't realize that you might not be able to see it through the link. Here it is:

Have a great weekend!

Sketh Challenge 140

I made this card in about 15-20 minutes. That is all the time I had today to stamp. It is from the Splitcoaststampers sketch challenge from Wednesday. I used scraps and even scrap ribbon. I am not thrilled with it, but what do you do with two boys hanging over your shoulder asking to go outside to play with a toy Tanner got for his birthday.

All the boys in our house are sick, even the cat is taking antibiotics. Tanner has an ear infection, Tate has a bad cold with a cough and Seth has something viral that is effecting his throat. Needless to say, I am not getting a lot of sleep, so I am not going to bed early tonight to watch my favorite show CSI:Vegas and then to sleep.

Here is the tally for favorite tools:

• Crop-a-dile - 4
• Sizzix - 3
• Cuttlebug - 3
• Perfect Layers - 2
• Paper Piercer - 2
• Paper Cutter - 2
• SU Mat Pack
  
• Scissors
• ATG gun
  
• Distressing ink
  
• CTMH Versa Mat
  
• Empressor Tool
• Bone Folder
  
• Heat gun
  
• Watercolor pencils and water color crayons
  
• Sand paper
  

Well, I have everything except SU Mat Pack, CTMH Versa Mat, and Watercolor crayons. These are all on my wish list. Thanks for playing along! Now, I want these items even more!

Happy Stamping!

And The Winner Is....

Number 21....Terese!

Terese wrote although I don't have it yet, I like the empressor tool. I love the lines it makes.

Congrats, Terese! I will get you the blog candy as soon as possible. Terese happens to live in Omaha, so I will drop it by some time this week.

On the last post...Happy Birthday Tanner! Dasimonds asked if the car from the birthday card is from CTMH. It is and it is retiring, so if you want it get it now. The retirement list is out and the products are going fast. The item number is A1053. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks for your comments about my story.

I was going to post birthday pictures; however, my computer and camera were not cooperating. After three attempts, I am going to try to download them another day.

One last birthday comment for today...the guest of honor, Tanner, fell asleep right before we got to McDonald's. He slept through his birthday meal. We finally got him to wake up, when we told him his brother was going to open his birthday presents. He ate his Happy Meal after his cake.

I hope I find time to stamp on Thursday. I am going through withdrawals, since I haven't stamped for two days.

Happy Stamping!

Happy Birthday Tanner!

I can't believe my baby is three already! I have to tell you a gross, but funny story that happened yesterday, Tuesday. My day started out very busy after waking up every hour, because Tanner has a bad cough. Well, I was cooking eggs on the stove, sausage in the microwave, and english muffins in the toaster oven. I was making my famous Egg McKim. My son, Tate needed his allergy medicine and Tanner was sitting at the kitchen table eating french toast sticks and hubby was taking a shower. Tanner gagged, because he was eating big bites and I asked him if he was okay and he said yes. Tate was crying, because he had to go to school after a long weekend and I was still juggling breakfast, when Tanner gagged again and threw up all over himself. That isn't the worst of it...I looked over and part of a french toast stick was hanging out of his mouth and he was sucking it back in to eat. I told him to spit it out and he shook his head no and continued to eat it. All this made Tate cry even more, so what did I do? I started laughing and told Tanner that was gross. I know that wasn't the correct perfect mom reaction, but I never claimed to be one of those. I couldn't help it! It was so gross and I couldn't believe he was eating what he just upchucked. My mom said it wouldn't be sour yet, so I guess that is a plus, right? ROFL!

Well, I turned off the stove and the toaster oven and whisked Tanner up and ran downstairs to have him take a shower with his dad. I told hubby what happened. As I ran back upstairs to clean up the mess, I heard him tell Tanner he shouldn't eat the food he throws up. I had to laugh again. Who would think we would ever have to tell our kids THAT.

I knew Tanner wouldn't eat the perfectly good french toast stick that was left on his plate, so I threw it away. I might not eat french toast for awhile. I wondered if I could eat breakfast and continued cooking my famous McKim. Once it was done, I was fine and had a great breakfast myself. LOL! If you ever had one of my breakfast sandwiches, you would have been able to also. I think I am going to have to write this one down for when he is older. Oh, Tate wondered if Tanner got out of going to school. I told him no, because he might try this himself if that is all it takes to stay home. Tanner did go to school. He wasn't sick just ate too much too fast.

I had another full day planned and didn't have time to stamp on Tuesday either, so I pulled a card from my card box. This is Tanner's birthday card. It was made by Sue Shade, a fellow CTMH Independent Consultant. I know, I know...I didn't make him a card. Well, I planned too and the day just flew by. I know he doesn't care about the cards yet, so I can get by with one from someone else. I really like the one Sue made, because Tanner loves cars.


Here are Tanner's presents for his birthday. He is getting an L-Max from his parents, L-Max cartridges from Tate and Grandma A and Grandpa A, t-ball from Grandma B and Grandpa B, The King remote control car from the movie CARS and a hooded cars towel. We get to go to McDonald's for supper...yeah! Notice yeah is not in caps, but the boys get to pick where they want to eat on their special day.

The blog candy winner will be posted tomorrow....I wonder who won!

Thanks for stopping by and reading a piece of our life.

Technique Tuesday - Sanding

Don't forget to go to the blog candy post below to post a comment about your favorite paper crafting tool to win some blog candy on Wednesday. Look at all the great tools everyone loves to use! I have some new tools on my wish list.


Sanding is an easy technique and is popular these days. It is all about distressing and this is a good one, especially with the new sanding tools that CTMH carries in their 2007 fall idea book. This 6 x 6 layout was created by Linda Shores, a fellow CTMH Independent Consultant. She did a great job showing the different ways to sand cardstock. Here are her directions:

Sanding

Give your piece a time worn look. Works best with white core cardstock. Lightly sand with sandpaper, wire brush, steel wool, sanding block or emery board.

Different sanding techniques

1. Sand edges
2. Sand all over in one direction
3. Sand all over in two directions for a linen look
4. Sand over textured items such as a spiral clip, screen, stamp or button
   

I used the sanding technique on both the cardstock and textured cardstock on this card. I really like the look of sanding textured cardstock.

My FIL's birthday is not until October, but I have his card made already. He loves fishing, so I always get to use my fishing stamp sets for him. I started out with a piece of 6 x 6 topiary cardstock and just kept adding layers. Here are the other products I used:

Paper - autumn terracotta and colonial white cardstock, autumn terracotta textured cardstock, and rustic trail paper pack.

Stamp sets - hook, line and sinker; solo r, solo f, and happy day.

Ink - desert sand, olive, autumn terracotta, cocoa, and topiary.

Accessories - designer ribbon rounds, pewter brads, pewter bigger brads, sanding block, and concave punch.

Edit to post: I checked the comments under the blog candy post and Beth just left a comment about sand paper being her favorite tool. Wow! Great minds think alike. I can't believe she just left that comment when I was posting this technique.

Sand your next project!

At The ZOO

First, don't forget to leave a comment about your favorite paper crafting tool to earn blog candy in the post below.

This layout is another one from Cherish I completed at my sister's in August. It is the Visual Texture layout on pages 34-35 of Cherish. When I saw it, I knew I had to reproduce it, because I had zoo pictures in sitting on my computer hard drive from May. Tanner and I went to the Omaha Doorly Zoo with Grandma Burmeister, my friend Christi, her daughter Alyssa, her son Joel (baby) and her mom Sandy. Alyssa is the cute little blonde in the pictures with Tanner.

I used the new Expedition paper pack from the CTMH summer idea book. I didn't like this paper pack at first, but it is going on me. Other supplies used are:

Paper - autumn terracotta, olive, sunflower and bamboo cardstock

Stamp sets - In The Wild, Beauty Seen, Small Sans Caps and Distressed Numbers

Ink - autumn terracotta, olive, sunflower

Accessories - designer ribbon rounds, autumn terracotta photo clips, white hemp,eyelet and tab punch.

Don't worry the alligator in the picture with Tanner is fake. My son, Tate, wondered how Tanner could get so close to an alligator. LOL! I am not a big fan of going to the zoo, but we had fun this day. I think I don't like it, because of all the people. It is hard to get around with a stroller. I think I might like it better, when the boys are older. Let's hope! Some of my friends really like going to the zoo and always tease me, because I usually never like to go. It helped that Christi suggested we take the grandmas with us. That way I could take pictures and Grandma B could be with Tanner.

Happy Labor Day!

Want Some Candy?

Both of my boys helped pick out the blog candy this time. Tanner's birthday is on Wednesday, September 5th, so I will be drawing a winner from random number generator that day. I will post the winner on Thursday.

If click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the candy much better!

I finally got my zoo layout finished and will post it next. I am a little busy tonight, because my hubby has a gig at Ameristar (casino boat). I have been summoned to watch Batman and Robin again. I found a Batman and Robin movie from the 70's and the boys love it. I want to watch the Sound of Music, but they think it is boring!

Just leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite scrapbooking, card making or stamping tool is and you will be in the drawing.

Happy Stamping!