My Brothers Wedding~ A Layout

I wanted to use these black and white photos for awhile now. They were taken at my brothers wedding in 2008. I have been into mixing paper packs lately and thought since the pics were not colored this would be a great time to experiment. I am happy with the way it turned out for sure.

I used several different papers for this layout. The sweet leaf green paper is from a retired pack called Life Delights. The blue colored paper is from a newer set called Sweet Home and the purple colored paper is from a set called Enchanted and it was very much used for Thanksgiving and Halloween. I added a piece of Desert Sand cardstock as my neutral background and Viola' it all comes together.

The white letters are stickers that I have with CTMH. They can be colored with inks, glittered with glitter or left alone like I have done here. I chose the word Adore because both of my kids adore their new Aunt Angie and she adores them too. The flowers are paper and are from CTMH they are an autumn mix that we sell by the tube and I really like them. I pierced each one with a garden green brad from CTMH and was very pleased with the outcome and balance of the layout.

I think this is going to look great in a shadow box frame hanging in my crop space. Eventually I am going to run out of wall room with all these kids and events and awesome product from CTMH!!! Thanks for looking!!

Birthday Card For Kim

Here is the newest birthday card for my co-worker Kim. Her birthday is may 31st but we are having her party tomorrow at work. For this card I used a paper pack called Key To My Heart. This was a specialty paper that was available only for a short time with CTMH. I have had it sitting there for awhile and didnt know what to do with it. I think this is perfect!

The card design came out of one of our How To books called Originals. I simply took the dimensions right out of the book and added a few of my own personal touches such as the sanding and the inking and glued it together. It was very easy to make and not time consuming at all.

The flowers are chipboard covered in paper and glued to the card. The Creme Brule flowers are paper and to top it off is a Tulip colored button with Chocolate Waxy Flax threaded through it. The leaves of the flowers are chipboard and have been inked all over with Juniper and then around the edges with Creme Brule. Using the elements really makes the card have texture and layers and is way more interesting to the eye.

The inside of the card is stamped with Juniper and Tulip ink and uses my newest alphabet purchase called Cocktail. It comes with both an upper and lower case set of alphas and thats something that is well worth it to me.

I am having a great time with all these birthday cards. I am pretty sure we do not have any June birthdays. But we do have 2 in July. One of them is a doctor and it will be interesting to see how I do a card for a man. He loves fly fishin... so maybe I will go with that. Be sure to check back often, new things are happening every day around here!! Thanks for looking!!

A Card For My Boss

My boss Debbie's birthday was May 16th. The cool thing about this is that my work has offered to pay me to make everyone in our Dept a birthday card!! I am honored that they asked and thrilled to show off my creativity. So, this was the first one.

I used the CTMH paper pack called Bella and paired it with the July Stamp Of The Month! Is this little Hedgehog not the cutest thing you have ever seen? I paper pieced him so that he would have different colors and not be so flat on the page. This is also the first window card I have ever made. I have to say I am happy about the way it turned out.

The main ink colors used were Olive, Hollyhock, Pansy Purple and Creme' Brule. I am very much into mixing paper packs with stamp sets not specifically noted to "match" that paper. Most of the CTMH collection is easy to do this with. It just takes a little imagination and not being afraid to try something new.

The outside of the card says Happy Birthday and the inside reads... You deserve to have a great day! My boss was very happy with the card and knew right away that it was handmade. It made me feel good that it was more special to her. The reason I know it was: She said she is "actually going to SAVE this card" Pretty cool! Thanks for looking!!

Teacher's Gifts!

My good friend needed some quick and easy teachers gifts for her kids to give out the other day. I decided to make 5 cards, 5 post it notes covers and 5 pens. It was super easy and quick. I tried my hand at random stamping my cardstock because I wanted a heavy paper for the post it note covers. I used a stamp set called Star Power and really like the way it looks. I dont think I took a picture of the inside of these but I stamped on each post it note the sentiment "You're A Star".

Here is a close up of the card using the same stamp set. The paper is from the You Rock collection at CTMH. I pop dotted the wings with the heart and it stands out from the card a bit. I like the colors because it can be for either a male or female teacher and what teacher isnt always looking for a pen and paper??

I chose the RSVP pens by Pentel... they write very good and last a long time. They also have easy to open barrels and the rolled paper fits in there nicely. Again, this was a quick project and a unique gift for Andrew and Loryn to give their teachers! Thanks for looking!!

My Very First Baby

I love to tell Alexis in a silly voice that she was "my very first baby" I was scared and nervous and thought i knew everything up until the moment they handed her to me and I was supossed to do this "on my own". I had no clue and suddenly realized just how valuable my parents and my husbands parents were to me. In those early days of 1999 I realized just what being a Mother is all about and I am so glad I have a baby girl who taught me that!

Have I mentioned that she is going to be an awesome big sister? At 11 years old she is going to be such a big help to me. I have seen her in action with my friends 7 month old daughter and it blows me away how nurturing and loving and gentle she is. one day she is going to make a fine Mother herself, I just know it!! In this picture she is with my brother Andrew. We gathered Sunday at O'Charley's for dinner with my Mom.

Here are the two loves of my life. Alexis is wonderful with Jake. She is starting to want her privacy and doesn't always want him in her room. But in my opinion she tolerates him better than most 11 year old sisters would and plays very well with him despite the age difference. every now and then we have to get onto someone, but they do not like to be apart for long periods of time.

This is how I normally find Alexis.... making some silly face with Jake. Sometimes they play a game that me and my siblings played when we were young. We called it "faces" and "make me laugh". We usually had my brother Darrick as the one who had to make us laugh... he is the funniest one of all of us for sure.

This Mothers Day was the best. I got to just watch my kids be themselves and take candid pictures of them doing candid things. I love both of them with everything that I have and all that I am and just want the whole world to know about it!!

Mommy's Pal

Did I tell you we are expecting again? Did I mention that Mommy's Pal is going to have issues sharing his Mommy? Did I mention that I am doing everything I can to make sure he knows he will always be my pal? Did I also mention that he wants a sister so that he can be my ONLY pal?

He had a blast in the tub tonight. I was a cool mom and let him pour in his own bubble bath. his best friend Andrew gave it to him for his birthday and he was very thankful tonight that he has a good friend like that! So sweet... this is why he is a Mommy's Pal.

He had more bubbles in the tub than water! It took forever to wash the soap out of his hair and then took forever to actually get all the bubbles off of him. He told me that he has a bubble shirt and socks on! Again, this is why he is Mommy's Pal.

He loves to wear this pirate hat and pretend that he is anything but a pirate. On this day he was a dinosaur with a pirate hat and a ray gun. I told him he looked more like an Alien in a pirate hat and he told me that he was on Earth so thats not possible..... Mommy's Pal!

This pirate/Alien/Dinosaur/Mommy's Pal makes the best smiles and hugs and kisses. He keeps me going even when I am down and out and I love every ounce of this kid.

Thanks for looking and sharing in my joy!!

May Workshop Cherry-O

This is a fabulous new paper that CTMH has come out with for summer. It is called Cherry-O and I love it!! The colors are clever and the paper once again can be used for anything. And the stamp set can make other kinds of fruit by simply changing the ink color for an Orange, or a bunch of Grapes so on and so forth! I chose some pictures of us bowling last Fall. My husbands old roomate from college came to visit from New Mexico and stayed with us for a week. It was right after we lost our baby and it was great to actually get out of the house and do something in all of my sadness.

This is a close up showing you some of the embellishments that I used. I used the Colonial White Brads and the My Accents pack in Tulip. I tied a piece of Chocolate Waxy Flax to the button. I love the mini embelly kit that comes with your workshop kit!!

This picture shows a close up of the title and stamping that I did. I used one of CTMH newest alphabet stamps called Cocktail Alphabet and it is so cool because it comes in both upper and lower case letters. I then used the workshop kit stamp set, A Bowl Of Cherries, to complete the title.

This close up shows how stamping and embelly's work together to vreate textured artwork that really makes a layout stand out from the rest. I love the way the Tulip brads were used in the bowl to look like cherries.

This last closeup just shows a little more detailed stamping and embellishment use. The stamp technique is called Rock and Roll and is a great way to give dimension to your stamps so they dont look like they are flat on the page.

I hope you enjoyed these creations and I plan on bringing many more your way soon!! Have a great week!!

Folded and Scored Card Using April Stamp of the Month

I tried this card style out for the first time tonight. It was so simple to make I even surprised myself! You take a piece of cardstock that is cut at 4 1/4" x 10 1/4". Then you score it at 5 1/2" and again at 8 1/4". Then you simply embellish it to your liking!!

I am really into watercolor pencils lately. I enjoy using the water brush and watching my pencil marks turn into a water color painting. I am going to teach a class on this technique in early June so look for a mass email soon! By the way... if you want to be included in my emails please let me know. Just send me your email address at mwogan@att.net. For the flowers on this card I paper pieced them. This is something that takes some time but really makes your stamping take on a new look when complete. As you can see I am still learning how to cut in the smallest of places with my new bumblebee scissors!!

The finished product stands nice and neat all alone. I love this style and think I will try out a few more cards like this and maybe add some more buttons and ribbon and flower petals!! I am dying to use my new Cherry-O paper pack.... that just might be next!! Thanks for looking!!

Post It Note Cover

Here is a nifty little invention! A cover for your post it notes!! Have you ever been carrying one of these in your purse or back pack only to dig it out and it has hair and crumbs and fuzz and who knows what else trapped all over the adhesive? I know this happens to me. Now I can carry this in my purse and have a handy little pad of paper for all those important lists and phone numbers that come up when I least expect it.

This is the first one I made and I used some cheap dollar bin paper from a local scrapbook supply store. I didn't want to invest too much in case it didn't turn out to be what I invisioned. I think next time I will use a heavier cardstock that maybe has a double print on it. I also thought about random stamping on the inside of the paper if I didn't want it to be white, but then the brads would still show that hold the outside punched circles on.... so all in all it turned out ok!

After scoring the paper and adhearing the post it note I then personalized it for my friend Brooke. Her initials are BNB and we use a million of these things a day at the office where we work. Last thing I did was use brads to put on the two punched circles. I had already tied my embroidery floss to one of the brads. Then you just circle around each circle with the string and cut it off where ever you think it should be.

I plan on doing a workshop with my customers so they can learn how to make these neat and VERY inexpensive gifts. I think the total cost of the workshop would be about $5.00 depending on how cheap I can find post it notes.

Last weekend my city (Nashville Tn.) was devastated by a HUGE flood. The loss of revenue and tourism and peoples lives and homes is just something you wouldn't be able to fathom unless you were here to see it. I would like to make these as a fundraiser and give the money collected to The American Red Cross!! So if you are reading this post and know of anyone who would like to donate please send me an email at mwogan@att.net if they would like to place an order for Post It Note Covers I will send 100% of the profits to The American Red Cross. Again, all I need is an email!!

Dino-Roooooar!!

My son loves Dinosaurs! He always has them being mean to each other and biting each other and wrestling each other to the ground. As his mommy I want him to be loving and sweet and have a Momma Dino, a Daddy Dino and a baby. He tells me this is not how it is. I love little boys and I love this paper.

In my last post I used this paper for a baby shower card. Today I used it for a card celebrating a Birthday Party. On the inside it says, "And so do you, please come to a party for......" I think I may use these for my sons next birthday. Well, as long as he still loves Dinos!

This paper is called Caboodle. The stamp I used is called Dino Roar and is available through CTMH only. The color inks that I used are Sweet Leaf, Crystal Blue, Sorbet, Buttercup and Grey Flannel. I stamped the image and then colored it with water color pencils. I then used a waterbrush to merge the colors of the pencils together. I really like the effect this gives. To top it off I added some ribbon and buttons, cause you gotta have texture!

This is such a fun project to make. The card is little, it stands at 4& 3/4" x 3" and barely uses any paper at all. You could make a whole bunch of these in no time!! I am pretty sure my son is going to like all the Rooooaring at his next birthday party!