Embossing Techniques and a Birthday Card

On my Isom Cre8tions facebook page, I have started sharing techniques that I am brushing up on (or learning for the first time) to use during workshops this summer. I thought I'd begin with embossing. My natural tendency is to make techniques work for me with what supplies I have on hand. (From a glance into my craft room, you wouldn't guess there ARE supplies I don't actually have...)  So when I first tried the "trapped emboss" technique, I did it without the recommended glossy cardstock and here is what I came up with:

Notice how there is still ink on the butterfly image in the first tag?  The next day I was at Jamba Juice...and since Archivers is next door, I decided to go ahead and purchase some glossy cardstock. The result:

Notice how cleanly the ink wiped off the clear embossed heart on the second tag? I guess that's why glossy paper is recommended   :/

Another embossing technique is to create your own background paper...and yes, for this one I used glossy paper.  First choose a background stamp and liberally apply versamark ink all over it. Stamp image on (glossy :)  ) cardstock and add a clear OR colored embossing powder. I opted for pewter for this one and used an old Cornish Heritage Farms music background stamp. Then rub distressing ink over the entire thing. Use a cloth to wipe off any excess ink:

It's difficult to show the beauty of embossing in a photo...it adds texture and a little "oomph" to a plain card:

For my card, I used some banners, a flower and tag cut out using the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. I sprayed the banner and flower them with Perfect Pearls and used an old CTMH background stamp for the tag:

And voila:

The finished project :) 

Wishing you a beautiful weekend,

Marie with a :)

PS There is a link to my facebook page on the left hand side of this blog...follow me on FB!

H2H challenge, Anniversary card and lotsa photos

Can't seem to eke out Craft Room Art Room time these days. BUT! This weekend the HH and I celebrated our 24th anniversary. Since it was also Homecoming weekend for a couple of our kids, we celebrated at home...I surprised him by clearing off part off a huge table in the, um, Art Room and designating it his spot (he told me we had to change the name of the room though 'cause craft room apparently wasn't masculine enough.) Friday night we enjoyed time in the craft room  Art Room (this is going to take some getting used to) while the oldest daughter and her fiance cooked dinner; Saturday night we went and saw Seven Days in Utopia and Sunday after church we went for a hike.  Today is officially our anniversary and here's the card I made for him:

Here's a photo of the HH and I taken yesterday:

 The following cards were created (mostly) using Typeset scraps and diecuts:

 This last photo is the invite I made for a CTMH open house:

 And finally: I think if Dr. Seuss was still around he'd be writing a book on the Art Philosophy cartridge: OH THE THINGS YOU CAN DO...

Thanks for stopping by,
Marie with a :)

OCC and ABC

At about 9 PM tonight,in typical Marie fashion, I decided to make my husband's birthday card...his 50th birthday is tomorrow! I used the ABC: H is for hidden challenge and the OCC challenge for the birthday card. You really should check out the creations on both of these sites - they are incredible!

The pirate card is a masculine birthday card to add to my stash.  Masculine cards are so challenging for me!

I made the pattern for this baby card while visiting my sister this summer but just now added the finishing touches to it!

One of my friends asked me yesterday if I was still keeping my craft room organized...she knows me too well!  I am pleased to say, despite making 20 cards this weekend, it is STILL ORGANIZED!  This friend also gave me a great tip - she has a "to be put away" bin where she puts all of the stuff she's using into and then when she's done she can just take the bin and put everything away. I so love that idea - ususally I have everything scattered all over the place.

Well, my pictures loaded in a very strange way tonight so I hope this posts okay.
Thanks for stopping by!
Marie with a :-)

CPS and a productive day

I had a very productive evening in my newly organized craft space - I made quite a number of cards, with the help of my daughter, Alyssa.I won't post them all, but here's a few. The first couple are using the quick and easy CPS Sketch. The inside of the first one reads: Wishing you loads of fun on your special day.

Same card with the tag out

For all those who commented on all the stuff in my craft room...there's almost TOO much in here but I haven't figured out how to downsize! Prior to the last few weeks, everything that I have made in card sales, and as a CTMH consultant, I have put right back into supplies. And my sister Samantha, who is no longer a CTMH consultant but abandoned ship for Stampin up! (love you, Sam!) passed on ALOT of her CTMH stuff to me.

Unscripted 30 and an Organized Craft Room!

Last night I decided to attack the Craft Room. Unlike my sister Samantha , I am NOT an organized crafter. (Remember my Where in the world? post?) Though not a fancy "studio" like many of my fellow bloggers have, I was pretty pleased with the results. And it was a very timely organizing, because this morning I got a message from one of my besties saying she had time for coffee...so we spent a few hours in the craft room, having a heart to heart and then making a card. Before she came, I completed a quick version of the Unscripted Challenge.

The inside of this reads "May your day bubble over with fun!"I haven't quite figured out the Picasso Photo program - even though this picture was cropped on the program, it's not showing up as cropped so you will need to click on the photo for details. I soo love the "Life is a Jungle" CTMH stamp set - it is so versatile!This is what my (basement) craft room looks like from the doorway. When I showed Scott how organized it was, he said "Yes, but how long will it last?" Then I showed Alyssa and she said "Better take some pictures!" Like Father Like Daughter? Gotta love 'em.
Computer desk with handmade desk set on top.
Shoe organizers are a trick I learned from my friend Theda.
Shelf where I store my hundreds of instock cards.
Largest punches and lots of embellies.
Old nail sorter of my hubbies makes a great craft room bin!

Large stamp sets hung on wall.


My "way-too-many" stamp stash.
Flowers, buttons and misc.

Thanks for stopping by!

Marie with a :-)

PS I have reached the "over $1K" in card sales since I began selling them in April. Happy Dance :-)

Challenging Lunch Break

The girls are watching some of Anne of Green Gables during their lunch break, so I thought I'd check out a couple card challenges. This card incorporates Penny's Challenge #7, which calls for a scallop and Color Dare 34 which calls for blush, chocolate and celery green. All products are Close To My Heart.

Marie with a :-)

CPS 129...and yet another gate fold card.

My daughters talked me into purchasing this Party Hoppers wooden stamp by Stampabilities several months ago, but they still haven't used it. I stamped it and then cut out the individual partiers to create a card using today's CPS Sketch .

Aren't these guys adorable? I went "old school" with chalks and paper tearing :-) .

I keep trying to get rid of the pile of paper scraps that I have on one of my tables, but no matter how many pieces I use - like for this card - the pile seems to grow overnight.

Thanks for taking time to peek at my work...I appreciate you!

CCT 60

Out of necessity, my modus operandi of late has been "as quickly as possible." It was a day filled with many emotions and happenings but I did want to spend an hour or so in some creative pursuit so I decided to take the CCT 60 challenge which was simply making a card using letters or numbers. You really ought to check out the elaborate cards over there! There's a link on my sidebar.
Today's events included a memorial service, a power outage, and a shopping trip for Alyssa to find a clutch purse for Prom. Now it's time for ice cream cones and a couple rounds of Scategories with Scott and the kids. Kinda like Lays potato chips...I couldn't make just one card...

Marie with a :-)

Shoulda Been Exercising....

A precious lady from church has the same birthday as I do...so I made a card to give to her tomorrow. I didn't think I'd have time to craft today since there was a lot on the schedule but I made three cards! I should have been exercising, though...Matthew swam his 100 laps (without stopping) for the swim-a-thon today and persuaded me (without much work) that we should get pizza for dinner to celebrate. ... I'm going to be sooooo bloated for pictures tomorrow :-(

I hope to have time in the very near future (Monday?) to post some pictures of the wonderful handmade cards and gifts I received today.

Have a wonderful day,

Marie with a :-)

Quick and Easy cards...

Remember when I wrote about "Many Maries?" Once again, I'm longing for that cloning ability as I really need to be in three different places at noon today!
Here are two VERY quick and easy cards that I made late last night and a previously made version of one.

This first card is a non CTMH version of a card I believe I saw in a card magazine.

Here's a CTMH version using Emporium paper, You Are Beautiful, various Solos sentiments and Code it.

And finally a very quick birthday card using Emporium, bitty brads, sparkles, June Word Puzzle and Happy Birthday stamp set.

Have a beautiful day,

Marie with a :-)