Stylin' then and now

Vintage stickease and papers... in the hoard! are getting put to excellent use here in the Studio.

I still LOVE the look of these pert dresses. The long pink one is a bridal card and the short black and white one is a birthday card. The third silhouette of the girl is a friendship card!

I also put the cuttlebug to good use, as well as my sentiment stamps, and baby pink textured cardstock . The dresses and flowers feature bitty sparkles and clear sparkles , from Close to my Heart.

Growing Older Gracefully

Phew. A long hiatus with no posts in March!

I was back to work on creating layouts this past week, and finished 3 quite quickly that I will share here on the blog.

The first is called:

Grow Deeper as you Grow Older...

I interpret that to mean, be spiritual, and always remain True to your inner self.

And I like the image the words create, that of a tree growing deeper and stronger roots the older it grows.

I turned 50 in October, which was cause for celebration. I know myself better than ever before, and in spite of that, like myself very much! (humour)

It is a new period in my life, which brings strength of conviction, clarity, and even more passion than ever. I am so proud of my family and all that we have done together.

I started this beautiful fall layout back in October 09 as a class that I taught, using the Grace workshop on the go from Close to my Heart. I earmarked it to use for my 50th birthday layout. I had over 35 guests at my birthday, held at the Brights Grove Golf Club (aka Crabbies) and narrowing the photos down for a 2 page layout was difficult. I couldn't decide just how to do it, until I selected a sepia 5x7 of myself for the left hand photo. Then I was able to print lots of 2x3 photos of everyone there and put them into 4x6 flip flap photo protectors, on top of the page protector. Problem solved.

The embellishments are clear buttons backed with Grace floral paper, and metal edge anchors in autumn colours. I used a tiny bit of very arty Japanese paper in an eggplant colour, that I tore, and it really looks great with the golden yellow , rust and teal blue.

Piece of Cake

This lovely cake is one of 6 included in the February stamp of the month. It looks so dimensional pop dotted onto the embossed cardstock. If you look closely, you can see just a little Its a Party Random Stamping on the Moonstruck background and texture paper . It was enough to make a celebratory backdrop with punch for the beautiful tiered cake! I used watermelon, citrus leaf and ocean ctmh markers to colour in the cake, and light green rhinestone flowers and white daisy organdy ribbon to finish off the look! All products are Close to my Heart.

Surprises

I found a treat and flower pot on my desk for my birthday, last week on Oct. 16 left by a mystery friend.
Thank you Phebe for the beautiful red gerbera daisies and chocolate dessert! I could not for the life of me find out who brought it on my birthday until I read your post.

This card design was a big hit at the Birthday Bash Class. All papers and stamps are CTMH. The tiny green flowers were a gift from Phebe.

It is made from a 5 1/2 by 12 inch piece of cardstock scored at 2" , 4", 8" and 10" . Slits are cut 1 1/2 " from the top and bottom edge between the 2" and 10" fold. Then it is folded m/v/m, v/m/v, m/v/ m ( m = mountain fold, v = valley fold )

You can google the template for this fun, interactive card. It begs for add ons and dangling features.

Birthday Bash

More Bracket Cards... These 2 are from our Birthday Bash class on October 14 last week.

The ladies attending were fabulous! I could hardly keep up with them. We did heat embossing, cuttlebug embossing, and 2 tri-shutter cards .

These 2 are masculine and feminine versions of the bracket card. All products are CTMH.

Milestones

My 18 year old daughter and I at Crabbies, for my birthday party October 16, 2009

I turned 50 this past Friday and I had a party! It was a ball. I danced, sang , and enjoyed myself. I want to thank ALL of my friends for the wonderful wishes...

Of course, being 50 has many advantages, one of which is you are finally entitled to speak your mind (tempered by tact). Of course I received a few funny cards about turning older. My favorite of this type was:

Dont worry about your age, celebrate your birthday like a teenager...

Get a wrinkle pierced!

Design Element: the Curly Bracket

Most scrapbookers would agree that we are artistically inclined in more than one area. But there is also a connection to math in scrapbooking that works its way in over and over. Estimating measurements and lining up paper edges and centering shapes takes good mental math.

Along comes the latest trend : the bracket! It is found both in math, music, and language (and is great for conversational asides). A bracket in architecture supports or carries weight!

according to Wikipedia:

Curly brackets (also called braces, or "squiggly brackets") are sometimes used in prose to indicate a series of equal choices: “Select your animal {goat, sheep, cow, horse} and follow me”. They are used in specialized ways in poetry and music (to mark repeats or joined lines). The musical terms for this mark joining staves are accolade and “brace”, and connect two or more lines of music that are played simultaneously.[9] In mathematics they delimit sets. In many programming languages, they enclose groups of statements. Such languages (C being one of the best-known examples) are therefore called curly bracket languages. Some people use a curly brace to signify movement in a particular direction.

Julia sent me some beautiful Key to my Heart papers which I used on these cards that feature a stitched bracket stamp by Close to my Heart. We will be making some of these bracket cards at my Birthday Bash Class October 14.

Happy 18th to my little girl

Chloe's 3 good friends came over to celebrate her 18th birthday at our home, all wearing matching floral tops and bringing her one to wear as well! I had fun taking some crazy photos of them and fed them Mexican fare: Nachos, tacos, and gooey dip. It was a very nice time.

I wanted a simple, modern look for the layout , with a little "edge" to it. I had copied a template for the scallops some time ago . It looked like an easy and colourful way to showcase the 4 photos. I traced the scallops onto cardstock and cut out both layers at once to save time and it actually worked ! ( I don't recommend you try cutting two layers of anything detailed at once unless you want uneven results) . The black die cuts were done at Peggy N's home on one of her many machines... I added CTMH corduroy brads from the Autumn Garden mini-medley accents collection ... colours olive, hollyhock and goldrush accent the Blush, Tulip and Creme Brulee cardstock perfectly. More black and white accents as in the prom layout. The black capital letters and brackets are from a promo set of CTMH alpha diecuts. I hadn't used any of them at all, so figured an eighteenth birthday was well nigh time to break into the fresh set of alphas. Peggy also showed me how to make the chipboard frame in soft green at her home. The colours look much warmer and richer in true light.

We went shopping for college today and I splurged and bought her a funky purse, heeled boots, and stretchy heel shoes at Aldo. Spoiling her for the last time? Making us both feel better about her not living with me anymore? Getting the hugs and hearing "I love you Mom" felt great.

Happy Birdy Card

Okay, I remade this lovely 6 x 6 card that I posted in February http://cuttingedgestudio.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html

with new bling, stickles, and tiny paper flowers on the heart and I think it is nicer this time! the inside says, Happy Birdy.

I stamped the scalloped border using the Serendipity stamp set on Twilight Cardstock and cut it out. It fit perfectly around the 5 x 4 background piece, a bit of luck in hindsight.

The bird wing has been stamped on blush paper and added.

I really dont mind doing all the cutting , I find it relaxing and I think it makes the card extra special to have all that rich textural detail.

The papers are from Sassaparillia and the Acrylix Stamp set for the five inch heart and bird is Love Language, all by Close to My Heart.

The new fall winter catalogues have arrived at Driftwood Ave... if you want one, let me know and I will deliver it to you!

Boom di Ada

Boom di Ada papers are fun and bright : great for summer birthdays... and I have two very important ones coming up in our family. I used the large Pharmacy font acrylix to stamp the word Happy for this trio of cards in bloom.

The ribbon is ctmh; the bling is island blossom dew drops from Phebe M at the Town Scrapper, more of my new Kaiser rhinestones , and some ctmh floral rhinestones. These 3 cards were pretty straightforward to create, other than all the cutting I did on the lettering.

My brother and his two kids have left today after a 10 day visit, and the house is quieter. Not quiet, just quieter. Chloe and Laura are watching TV and recuperating from a Bayfest weekend. I have lots to look forward to , visits with and from friends are planned all week here on Driftwood Ave. and I have Karine coming for a class on Wednesday night.

I am so grateful for my friends.

BE BAD on your Birthday

For my son Colton's 16th birthday, he recieved a huge card that read... be bad ... on your birthday... very bad! When you open the card , it plays Bad to the Bone by George Thoroughgood. It just happened to go with the ridiculous expressions I caught on camera from Colton and his sister posing on the day of his birthday. Can I have just one "nice" , "normal" picture please guys?

It is getting worse the older they get, because they know I scrapbook they have a perverse pleasure in "ruining" their photos with hideous grimaces and foolish poses. Sigh.

Teenagers are a mixed blessing. For those of you with younger kids, take your pictures while you can!!

Anyways, he enjoyed the cake I baked... and did give me a good shot or two for the record.

I used ctmh Free Spirit Level 1 pages... preprinted... with some stickease... they capture the essence of teen boy without being overdone. Colours are cocoa, indian corn blue, and a touch of honey. http://www.closetomyheart.com/Ideabooks/Spring09CANMyCTMH.aspx

the big 40 in TO

My lovely Sister in Law turned 40 and we celebrated in Toronto with family.

First, I had to show off the acrylix I used to stamp and cut out the title.

Again, I used chocolate base pages and this time Caprice co-ordinating papers from CTMH , as well as some floral die cuts, and brads. The 40 was outlined with blue gel pen, then mounted on yellow CS and then brown pattern paper, and finally a coat of liquid glass was applied to the stamped image. I sprinkled prisma glitter over the liquid glass.

I realise some people dont want to take the time to stamp and cut out alphas, neither do I usually! but my stickease alphas and my chipboard were all out of the letters I wanted.. isnt that always the way it is?

My Big Year ... all Year !

2009 will be the year that I turn 50.

I decided when I turned 49 last October that I would use turning 50 as a reason to celebrate all aspects of life all year long. A trip for myself and my 2 teens has already been booked . Life is short and I may not get a chance to do this with my kids for some time, so why not. I have also been thinking of going out west this summer to BC to visit my scrapping friend Julia and her little boy in Kelowna.

I finally got down to printing and organising the rest of my pictures from 2008. I scrapped my 49th birthday in deep barn red to match the fall bouquet Rick sent me. My kids really spoiled me this year. Colton bought me a set of matching amber pillar candles and then surprised me the morning of my birthdy by taping La Vida Loca by Coldplay to my steering wheel before work.

I have been playing it ever since. Chloe who is 17 took me to Snapdragon Tatoo parlour where we obtained matching mother and daughter star tatoos in a most unusual and hidden place. No one at work can see my stars, but they remind me of my daughter's special love for me . I was not a big fan of inking prior to this event . I felt really touched , despite all the ups and downs these past 3 years, she wanted to get a matching tatoo to symbolise our eternal bond.

The title was done using Chipboard letters and the E sized alpha from Septembers promo. It is the same as the Pharmacy font CTMH uses on their publications and I have always liked its simplicity.

Sing along card

a card for Natasha... my niece... just kind of jazzed up some pattern paper with Simple Stitches stamps and some CTMH white rubons and some more of Phebes great floral bling... man I am getting mileage from her little gift to me in September!

The card doesnt sing, but you could sing along with the verse as you read it... lol

Liquid Glass on Dimensional Elements

Christopher is celebrating a birthday in November.

Its always a challenge to make a guy card, but I am happy with the results.

Its all about the name.

I really like the thick glossy look I get with Liquid Glass on top of Dimensional Elements.

I covered the capital C with patterned paper before adding one coat of Liquid Glass.

I used the Delightful alpha for the rest of the name.

I love those Western fonts .

Black Glass.. B Yourself

I used Liquid Glass to accentuate the swirls and to give a coating to the letter B ...

B is for Bernadette, my SIL (Sister In Law, for the acronym-challenged)

and B is for Birthday

and.....I really liked this feminine paper .

B unique

B creative

B original

B true

B honest

B yourself

One Year Old Boy Birthday Card

I made this card with Sunny Yellow and Breeze CTMH papers and the July : Life's a Jungle Stamp of the Month. It was my nephew's first birthday. The lettering is from the Delightful alphabet. I love the funky look. I just outlined the letters in spring iris marker with tiny dots to give it some substance. I added the sunflower yellow sassy strands behind the face piece before glueing on top of the lion stamp. Got the idea for the lion's mane on the CTMH artwork bulletin board.

Sent this stamp set off to Julia H. in Kelowna on Friday . Kind of sorry to see it go! BUT... Julia has done some huge favours for me lately and wanted the stamp. You got it , girl!

Chloe turned 17

Chloe ended up having 3 friends over for pizza and Dairy Queen ice cream cake on her birthday.
She posed for a few pictures with her friends, and with me.

I wanted her birthday layout to match the card I made her , and added lots of bling to it : charms, clear buttons, mini buttons, jewels, sassy strands , Stickles, gel pen.

Oh, and... I got to use Peggy N.'s cuttlebug.... thanks Peggy!

I hope and pray that Seventeen is a good year.

Happy Birthday to my Daughter Chloe

Chloe is turning 17 on Monday... going on 7 or 27 depending on her viewpoint. Certainly this has been a challenging year in parenting but I see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. She is doing her final year of high school . If she can get a scholarship and get into Fanshawe College I will be so happy for her.

I made up this card using Be True (ctmh acrylix) : U R smart caring generous special kind beautiful. I used metallic silver CS to matt the Bazill papers . I stamped U R in chocolate and outlined it with a black marker and added clear Stickles. The flowers were cut out from a glossy pattern paper and highlighted with stickles . The rhinestone brads were a gift from Julia H. (part of my seriously good stuff hoard) On the inside it says Happy Birthday . I may add a few more tiny silver rhinestones. This card is all about the bling, not the artwork.

I hope she likes it!

She is thinking of inviting people over to the pool tomorrow afternoon. She doesnt want to have a "birthday party" since she is an older teen. We have a firepit here they are welcome to use since I stocked up on wood on purpose. We will see!

Boom - di - Ada!

The Boom- Di - Ada purse/card caddy! Random stamped with Goldrush and Hollyhock florals from With Love (CTMH June stamp of the month)

anything is possible.... the power is already within you.

Do I LOVE that squiggly floral stitching???? ---CHYA!

images are copyright Close to My Heart .... With Love, June Stamp of the Month.

Isn't it delectable?!

We made the 2 bottom cards at Barb F.'s party today for her daughter Kelley who was celebrating a birthday!

I couldnt be happier with this colour combo... buttercup, garden green, goldrush, hollyhock, cocoa. I could play with this June set endlessly... so many stems, swirls, leaves, flowers.

The boom-di-ada paper features florals and "ric-rac" stripes. For those of you who can remember that ric-rac ribbon Mom used on your hand-made outfits in the 60's, this paper pack will give you a sense of happy nostalgia.