Lighthouse Card

When the new Annual Inspirations Idea Book was unveiled to consultants at the end of June, one stamp set hit me as a must have right this moment stamp. That was the Seaside Greetings stamp set. I fell in love with the sailboat and the lighthouse. There was just something about those images that struck a cord with me. Since I was able to acquire the stamp set, I have made several cards with it. This one is my latest which I made a set of these cards for a card swap. Nothing fancy about this card. No new techniques. Just simple and elegant. 

I used one of the sheets in the Seaside paper pack as a base, cutting the paper at 5 1/2 by 8 1/2. The lighthouse is stamped using desert sand ink on colonial white paper. 

And of course, I had to add a little something inside the card. After all, you can't really write your note on the polka dots. 

Products:

Seaside Greeting Stamp Set

Seaside Paper Pack

Desert Sand Ink

Glacier Ink

Bakers Twine

Sparkles 

3-D Foam Tape

Just a reminder-- make a purchase from my website (cathryn.ctmh.com) in August and be entered to win $25 in products! 

Enjoying Older Photos

Yesterday afternoon I was preparing to go out with friends to a crop at Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley. I had been planning all week that I was going to work on a My Crush book documenting a recent trip. But as I was packing, I realized that I didn't have the pictures! I never picked them up! So what was I going to work on?

I tend to only print pictures when I have a plan for them. But before I went digital, I printed pictures every time I finished a roll of film (and there were a lot of rolls!). I have never scrapped all those old pictures and have several boxes of photos printed and waiting for me. With no pictures to scrap, I went for one of the boxes and hit 1998.

In 1998, we were a family of four- not five. My middle child was born that year. I loved looking at the old photos and spent some time with my memories. It took some time before I could actually pull myself away from the box.

I finally picked some pictures and some paper and headed off to meet my friends.

I chose some Halloween week photos from 1998. I was surprised to see that we went to three Halloween parties that year! Seeing us in costume made me laugh so hard. We called my oldest (then two years old) the Wild Thing. My mom made us all costumes from Where the Wild Things Are with Caitlyn as Max.

One thing that was nice about scrapbooking these photos so long after the events was that I was able to let go of a lot of photos. If I scrapped this layout right away, I probably would have taken all three events and trick or treating and put them all on different pages. With time, I was able to distance myself from the photos and be a bit choosy on which photos to use. I didn't need them all-- just a sampling. 

Once I was able to cut down the photos, the layout came easy. I used Scaredy Cat paper pack and complements along with black shimmer trim. That's it! The paper pack and complements made it so easy!

I'm planning to continue working on 1998. I don't have much left to finish off that year. How wonderful it will be when I have the entire year in the albums.



Products used:

 Scaredy Cat Complements and Paper Pack

Black Shimmer Trim

Bonding Memories

3-D Foam Tape

Pinterest Inspiration

I think Glacier is my newest favorite color in our color palette.  That light blue is just gorgeous. I saw a pin on Pinterest this morning with glacier colored flowers and knew that I had to make it! The pin sent me back to Alyson Mayo's blog where I found so many lovely, glacier flowers. I was in heaven. So, I made one. Here is my result (with which I am quite happy!).

And the inside:

I used the Cricut Artiste Cartridge to cut the flowers and the leaves. The paper used is Pathfinding, chocolate, glacier, and daisy white. The stamp set is Your Own Kind of Wonderful. I used the gold dots from the Yuletide Carol Assortment for the flower centers. But the flower inside the card has a different center. I want the card to close flat. So, I punched a circle from the gold shimmer trim to make the center of that flower.

You can find everything to create this card on your own on my website. Enjoy!

The New Annual Inspirations is LIVE! This book is filled with new products and ideas.  Take a look at the online version of the book by clicking here. You can order an Annual Inspirations when you place an order or give me a call and I'll get one to you.  Remember, while looking through the book, if you see a project you want to create, take  a look at the recipes index at that same link.  

I made this card using all new products! Take a look at the Brushed Paper Pack!

Such beautiful paper! The yellow is the new Canary color cardstock which comes with the Brushed Paper Pack or as part of the newly improved Whimsy Paper pack.

The stamp in the middle is a mini stamp called the Blooming Heart. I inked it with Archival Black ink instead of the usual water based black ink so that the black would not bleed as I colored it. I colored the image using the new ShinHan Touch Twin markers.

These markers are easy to use and fun to play with.

The "Hello" comes from the Have a Happy Day stamp set. This is a great set. I can see that I will be using this one a lot.

And lastly I used some shimmer trim. One of the new shimmer trim colors is gold. I love my shimmer trim and was very excited to get the gold.

This card was one of the projects at my New Products workshop last weekend. We had a lot of fun trying out all the new stuff. I recommend coming to a class once in a while. I do. It really helps stir up the creativity and gets me started on new projects (and finishing up old ones).

Hope you are able to have fun with paper today!

Products Retiring!

Laughing Lola Paper
Design by Deanna Cave

Tomorrow is the last day to order a lot of fabulous items. Following is the list of products being retired on July 31. If the item is crossed out, it is already out of stock! Go to my website to order NOW before it is too late.

Accessories:
Z1789 Chalkboard 12" x 12" Sheet, Adhesive Backed
Z1832 Spinner
Z1843 Irresistibles Frames
Z1844  Color-Ready Trinkets, Wooden Shapes
Z1858  Irresistibles Hexagons
Z1863 Color-Ready Midtown Cork Shapes
Z1039 Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint
Z1825 Keyboard Kraft Alphabet
Z1961 Marqee Enamel Shapes - White
Z1891 Base & Bling Teal Jewels
Z1892 Base & Bling Black Jewels
Z1893 Base & Bling Red Jewels
Z1894 Base & Bling Pink Jewels
Z18895 Base & Bling Purple Jewels
Z1837 Mini-Medley Accents Wood Collection
Z1702 Baker's Twine Paradise Assortment
Z1751  Harvest Baker's Twine
Z1760 Burlap Ribbon
Z1808 Outdoor Denim Chevron Ribbon
Z1817 Slate Polka-Dot Washi Tape
Z1867 Jute Ribbon
Z1917 Lagoon Zipper Lace
Z1930 Chocolate Woodgrain Washi Tape
Z1911 Designed Decor Frame Kit
Z1874 Base & Bling Necklace
Z1875 Base & Bling Cuff
Z1876 Base & Bling Hair Clips
Z1877 Base & Bling Rings
Z1878 Base & Bling Headband
Z1195 My Creations Memory Showcase 6" x 6"
Z1647 My Creations Card Box
Z1797 My Creations Bracket Frame
Z1868 My Creations Ring Box
Z1870 My Creations Kraft Pocket Album
X1404 TrueFit Folios
Z1820 For Always Textiles
Z1885 Sarita Textiles
Z1970 Skylark Textiles
Z1971 Jubilee Textiles
1514 Tombow Adhesive
1515 Tombow Adhesive Refill
Z1311 Circle Punch (1 1/4")
Z338 Euro Personal Trimmer
Z1114 Piercing Tool Kit

12" x 12" Albums:
Z1343 12" x 12" Post Bound Cranberry
Z1244 12" x 12" Post Bound Hollyhock
Z1345 12" x 12" Post Bound Black
Z1348 Work In Progress Album  Chocolate

My Reflections Papers, Complements and Workshops:
Z3002 Ariana Assortment
X7179C Ariana Dimensional Elements
G1074  Ariana Workshop on the Go
X7179B Ariana Paper Packet
Z1869 Babycakes Assortment
X7173C Babycakes Complements MyStickease
X7173B Babycakes Paper Packet
Z3003 Balloon Ride Assortment
X7180C Balloon Ride Dimensional Elements
G1075 Ballon Ride Workshop on the Go
X7180B Balloon Ride Paper Packet
Z3001 Ivy Lane Assortment
G1073 Ivy Lane Workshop on the Go
X7178C Ivy Lane Complements MyStickease
X7178B  Ivy Lane Paper Packet
G1079  Ivy Lane Workshop on the Go 
Z3004 Jubilee Assortment
X7181C Jubilee Dimensional Elements
G1076 Jubilee Workshop on the Go
X7181B Jubilee Paper Packet
Z1854 Laughing Lola Assortment
X7170C Laughing Lola Dimensional Elements
X7170B Laughing Lola Paper Packet
Z3006 Lollydoodle Assortment
X7183B Lollydoodle Paper Packet 
X7183C Lollydoodle Complements
G1078 Lollydoodle Workshop on the Go
G1080 Lollydoodle Cardmaking Workshop on the Go 
Z1879 ProPlayer Assortment
X7172B ProPlayer Paper Packet
X7172C ProPlayer MyStickease
Z1873 Sarita Assortment
X7171C Sarita MyStickease
X7171B Sarita Paper Packet
Z3000 Skylark Assortment
X7177C Skylark Dimensional Elements
G1072 Skylark Workshop on the Go
X7177B Skylark Paper Packet
Z3005 Timberline Assortment
G1077 Timberline Workshop on the Go
X7182C Timberline MyStickease
X7182B Timberline Paper Packet

Exclusive Colors:  Cardstock, Stamp Pads, Re-Inkers, Markers
Twilight
Blush
Buttercup
Creme Brulee
Sky 

Exclusive Colors Markers:
ALL Current Alcohol Markers are being retired
Z2500 Whimsy Mini Pigment Set
Z4133 Marker Tower
X5936 Whimsy Cardstock Combo
Z1801 Alcohol Blending Marker

Stamp Sets:
A1130  Quick Cards - Bountiful Season
A1143 Teddy Bear Birthday
A1144 Birthday Cheer
A1145 Flowering Thanks
A1158 Doodle Signs
A1160 This Is Good
B1407 School is Here
B1411 Greek Alphabet
B1425 Stitched with Love
B1426 Pick a Posy
B1446 Some Bunny
B1447 A Mother's Love
B1448 My Hero
B1451  Enjoy the Little Things
C1473 Remarkable Wreath
C1510 Merry & Bright
C1524 Words of Comfort
C1555 Count Your Blessings
C1563 Cityscape
D1483 Glory To God
D1514 Just a Number
D1551 Swirls Around
D1557 Candyland
D1564 Maximum Power
D1583 Unicorn Dreams

9 New Paper Packs Coming Soon

On August 1, our new catalog, Annual Inspirations, goes live. It is filled with a ton of new products including 9 new paper packs. You are going to love them all!

This one is Scaredy Cat. 

And Yuletide Carol.

Get a paper pack for free by heading over to my online store. Purchase $50 or more in products. Then in August, I will have you choose one of the 9 new paper packs for you to receive for free!

Here's the fine print: purchase must be made in one purchase of over $50 (tax and shipping not included). Purchase must be made by July 31. 

New Stamp of the Month!

Take a look at this video which demonstrates this month's stamp of the month.