Paper and Stickease Only!

Tonight I wanted to make a layout using a picture of my kids that I cherish. The photo is B&W and for some reason it has been hard for me to select a paper that "goes" with it in my mind. I also have a son and a daughter so sometimes choosing the right themed paper is hard as well.

I wanted to show you that pictures of little boys look just as good on "girly" paper and that B&W photos really do go with pretty much any paper design. I also wanted to show you how very little product one needs to create something like this.

I used CTMH's paper pack called Bella which has a floral/garden theme. The deep purples and rich yellows make this the perfect paper to showcase how my kids have "grown". The only other product I used was the Bella My Stickease collection.

CTMH's Stickease are a high quality, high detail cardstock sticker. They are repositional until rubbed on with your fingers. They always match your paper 100% and there are often times enough leftovers to make cards to match your layouts! At just 8.95 for two sheets these are a steal!

I am a big fan of journaling and a persons handwriting. However, in this layout I did not feel it necessary to have much journaling. I let the title tell the story, along with the picture and simply stated my kids names, their age and the month and year the photo was taken. I hope you enjoy this layout and let me know if you need any of the items mentioned above!

MoJo Monday Sketch 116

Every Monday I try and complete a sketch from the MoJo Monday website. Each week they give you a sketch and then you create a card or layout with that sketch and then post it to your blog and then upload it to their site. This week there will be several winners and the prizes are Verve Stamps! How much fun is that?

By doing these sketches I have gone outside my comfort zone and created things I otherwise would not have thought of and may have missed out on. I mostly use my CTMH products but on this card I used punches both from Marvy Uchida and Martha Stewart and dollar bin ribbon and stick on snow flakes from Michael's.

The paper pack that I used is from CTMH and it is called Rustic Trail. It is very masculine paper and is more often used for fishing or camping layouts and cards. I do think it reminds me of winter and snowmen so it goes well with this theme. I just love the Martha Stewart snowflake punch!

This ribbon adds some texture and character to the card because it has that little pop of red mixed in there. Not all winter/holiday layouts and cards have to have your traditional red and green combo to go with the season. So try and step outside the lines and use different color combos on your artwork whenever you get the chance.

The stamp set that I used is called December Word Puzzle and is still available with CTMH until the end of the year I believe. It has several fun images on it and several different wording options for anything for this time of year.

So why dont you try a MoJo Monday sketch and send me the link to your blog and I will check it out. One lucky designer will win a CTMH grab bag that is sure to make your holiday projects sparkle this season!

Thanks for looking!!!

Ten Tags In A Tin (say that 10 times fast!)

I did this project last week with my customers and friends. Another consultant on my CTMH Bulletin Boards gave me the idea and I customized it to fit the supplies I had on hand. I purchased the tins in the wedding section at Michael's. Everything else is CTMH product.

For the tags I used a 2 inch and 1 inch circular punch and a 1.5 inch scallop punch. I sponge daubbed the scallop punch to match my paper and punched the 1 inch circles out of CTMH background and Texture paper.

The nest step was stamping my images. I used a CTMH stamp set called Christmas Greetings and for this tree I used the Ponderosa Pine ink. The other ink colors used were Cranberry and Desert Sand.

Using the same stamp set on the back of each tag I stamped To: and From: so that I do not have to write on the front of the gift tag. I then punched a hole with my Crop-A-Dile to string my hemp through so i can tie it to the package.

The final step was to use glue dots around the base of the tin and adhere ribbon to the tin so that it can be hung on the tree. I keep mine there so that in case of last minute gift wrapping needs I am not fumbling around in the closet looking for a tag.

Merry Christmas to everyone and if you need any of the supplies to make this project please do not hesitate to contact me and I will hook you up!!

You're A Hoot!

This is the layout I have planned for my friend Amy's birthday show coming up in December. Amy is a member of my birthday club where she is the hostess of the day. She will invite all of her friends to the show where they will each create this layout to take home. They each have a chance to purchase products for Amy or for themseleves. And Amy gets all of the rewards! I have had several shows with her in the past and they ALWAYS turn out to be wonderful and exciting shows! Thanks Amy!!

For this layout I used the popular paper pack called Twitterpated. It has very versatile colors that can be used for Fall pictures, New Baby layouts (girl or boy) and even Christmas cards! I also love that the patterned papers have the same design on the back only in a different color scheme. This helps not to have to cut into every paper in the pack just to put more color or design on the page.

I used my new alphabet stamp called Posterboard for the lettering. I love that these letters are easy to cut out and adhere to your page. I also used a newer stamp set for the cute little owls called You're A Hoot. I just love all the different looks this one stamp set can give your page. the colors used for this project are: Chocolate, Colonial White, Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf and Sorbet. They all look so great together don't you think? Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Jingle All The Way

I wanted to share my layout design for my good friend Brooke's upcoming CTMH show. Brooke is a member of my birthday club and will be having a home show in December for all of her girlfriends. They will each make this layout and have the chance to purchase products for the birthday girl or for themselves.

For this layout I chose the popular Jingle paper pack. It has beautiful, vibrant colors that really pop against the White Daisy Cardstock. I also used the Shining Star stamp set. I stamped the images in Olive ink and Creme Brule' ink. This paper can be used for Christmas or a Birthday Celebration and look good in either setting.

I recently purchased a new alphabet stamp set called Posterboard. This is the stamp set I used to make these letters for the Fa-La-La. The beauty of this stamp set is that you can spell any word or name. No matter the complexity. Last but not least the letters are easy to cut out and adhere to your page. I added a few of our Holiday Buttons to the window sill but they look just as good on the page. I hope you enjoy this layout!!

Time Saver Cards

I have two jobs, two children, a husband and my love for all things artsy. I have very little time for anything else after cleaning, chauffeuring, mothering, loving and everything else a multi-tasker Mom does. Often times friends and customers ask me how I have time to come up with the creations I make. These two cards would be the perfect example!

First of all these cards only took a total of about 10 minutes to make! Close To My Hearts paper packs are already color coordinated for you, so all you do us cut, paste, and stick on embellishments. Even those items are pretty much done for you. I usually make up several of these cards and keep them on hand for last minute gift giving or note writing. I am a big fan of handwritten letters and cards. I don't care how messy your handwriting is, it is unique unto you and is something you should be proud of.

I used the paper packs called More To Adore and Simple Pleasures. Both of these sets are older sets in the CTMH product line, but they are still available and have been best sellers for quite some time.

Each card uses a pattern from our How To Guide called Wishes. It is a must for every cardmaker. I simply cut the paper according to the guidelines and glued it on. I added the coordinated My Stickease stickers and some ribbon and brads. It was that easy! I inked around the edges of both cards mostly because I like the distressed look. But this totally optional. I hope you enjoy these cards and if you need any of the items listed please drop me an email and I can hook you up!

Two Cards In Ten Minutes

I had these papers laying around my craft room and decided to use them on these two little cards. The Hippo stamp has an argyle background to it and the paper just begged to be used with the hippo.

I chose a very basic design out of my CTMH Wishes book and then just went crazy cutting. There are only 3 small pieces you have to cut for this card. The Wishes book makes it so easy to do this I swear I made both of these in about 10 minutes.

Both of these stamps are from the dollar bin at my local Michael's store. I prefer Acrylic stamps, but for small cards like these the rubber ones work fine. On the porcupine stamp I added a little bling to the flowers by using stick on rhinestones.

I think buttons and ribbon are a nice touch to any card and just make it a little more interesting to look at. I used CTMH ink colors in Orange and Chocolate for both of these cards.

If you have never made a card or your cards often tend to look the same I would recommend the Wishes book for you. It is filled with many, many different styles of card and also comes with a template CD in the back so you can print out templates for round cards or circles that you can add as an embellishment.

You may purchase this book anytime on my personal website at http://www.inkyfingerz.myctmh.com

Votive Cards

Supplies for this project: (1) piece of 8.5 x 11 card stock
(1) piece of Vellum
(2) pieces of patterned paper for the frames around the vellum
Any stamps or inks that you want to
Any other regular crafting supplies (paper trimmer, scissors etc)


For this votive card I used CTMH's paper called Jingle. I also used our newest stamp set called Stocking Style. It is so versitile because it allows you to stamp any name or phrase on the stocking and then piece everything together. This paper pack features the colors: Tulip, Juniper, Olive and Creme Brule' but I often use it with White Daisy instead.


These were extremely easy to make and are the perfect little gift for a teacher or neighbor. All you need to add are the battery operated tealights to put inside the opening of the card. I got mine in a 5 pack for about $10 at a local Arts and Crafts store.

This one uses one of my favorite CTMH stamp sets called Snow Friends. If you want to get this one hurry because it is scheduled to retire at the end of this year I believe.

I used the paper pack titled Aspen for this card. I like the winter like feel of Aspen. It can be used for a Holiday or just for Winter. I have also seen it used for New Baby cards for little boys and thought it was perfect. Thats what I love about CTMH's papers.

It is hard to see in the photo but I colored the snowman with our White Daisy marker and then added some Stickles Glitter Glue to the snow under him and to the snowflakes above him. Stickles is one of my favorite accessories.

I also stamped his hat on another piece of carstock and then colored it with the cranberry marker. I then cut it out and pop dotted it onto the card to give it a little more dimension.

If you would like directions on how to make these cards I am willing to email it to you. Just send me an email at mwogan@comcast.net and use "Votive Card Directions" as your subject and I will be sure to send it your way.

I hope you enjoy this special project and use it not just at the Holidays but all year round.

Jeanette's Color Me Monday Combo

Jeanette Lynton, President and CEO of Close To My Heart has a weekly blog that she does and often inspires me to make something using her Color Combos that she provides every week. This week the combo was a non-traditional one for Halloween that I LOVE! I wanted to share with you a project that Jeanette created and I copied, although I changed a few things. If you want to see more of Jeanette's weekly postings on the right side of my blog you will see a list of Blogs that I follow. Just follow the link to Jeanette's work, you won't be disappointed.

These are some dollar bin stamps that me and my girlfriend Amy found at Michael's. I am pretty much an acrylic stamping kind of girl, but for a dollar? I couldn't resist and the stamps actually gave clean images the first time I used them. Be sure and check them out. This is another creative way to keep stamping in a tight economy.

Here I used some chipboard letters from CTMH and wrapped the "O" in embroidery floss in black. I drew some of the web on the letter and then sponged the letters in black ink to give them a shadowy kind of look. The dollar store stamps went well with my letters. I love the happy little spider hanging off the web.

Here is the finished layout. I am using mine as a Halloween door hanging but you can use it as a layout in a scrapbook as well. Just add a few pictures to the squares and Viola'! Hope you enjoy this project and thank you for being patient with me about posting my artwork. I think my MoJo is coming back.

Sorry It's Been Awhile

Hello Everyone, I wanted to post a message to you as to why it has been so long since I have posted some artowrk. I found out I was pregnant in August and we were elated! This was my 3rd pregnancy and from the very beginning things didn't seem right. I bled slightly the whole time, which I never did with my other two pregnancies.

Time went on and we got to see our baby on ultrasound. Everything looked good and the baby had a heartbeat of 160 and was moving its arms on the ultrasound at 8 weeks! The following week I started bleeding heavily and knew in my heart something was wrong. I went back to the doctor and on the ultrasound we learned that our baby no longer had a heartbeat.

Needless to say we were devastated. I had to tell my kids which was the hardest thing of all. I was not sure if I wanted to let the miscarriage happen naturally or have a D&C but this past Thursday I woke up and had heavier bleeding and the cramping began. My body knew that my baby died and was trying to do what it needed to do.

I called my doctor and she encouraged me to come to the hospital to have a D&C that night. So I did that Thursday. It was scary to go into an operating room for the first time. But everything went well and I went home that night. I have just been recovering at home on the couch this weekend. I was 10 weeks along and the emotions have hit me today.

I have no appetite and dont feel like doing a damn thing. I am content to just be. Sometimes I want to yell and scream and other times just wail as loud as I can. I can't explain how this feels. I can tell you that my husband has been wonderful in every aspect of the word. Our 5 year anniversary is next week and I am sure it will be a special one for us. He is the best gift I have ever been given. I know with time things will get better, but for today they suck royally. Thanks for listening and wishing me well. I will post again when I feel like being crafty.

Meredith