Toronto Maple Leaf

Yes, yes, I'll admit it.  I'm a true blue Toronto Maple Leaf fan!!  I love my team even if they haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967.  My husband and I try to get to a game each season which isn't always easy.  This year we were so fortunate to be able to attend on Canadian Forces Night.  Wow!!!  This was a spectacular game and I'm not necessarily talking about the score.  The game started with paratroopers from Trenton Air Force Base rappelling down from the rafters - one of them was right in front of me - I was so mesmerized I almost forgot to snap a picture.

Still cleaning out my stash I had some Toronto Maple Leaf paper which I used up.  I matted my photos on outdoor denim and grey flannel.  I have an old stamp set called Goal that I stamped the jersey, sticks, goalie,  and skates and coloured and cut out. 

 I used some star dimension chipboards and covered with the bitty scraps of paper I had left.  I also covered the letters with the camo paper from Victory.  Fun, fun, fun.  Of course, I used foam tape to pop up the stars.  I also used a cranberry decor journaling spot and pewter round durable studs for some bling. 





 I was so moved by the number of members of the Canadian Armed Forces in attendance,  the beautiful videos of our soldiers and their families.  I especially loved the stories of our top commanders of the Armed Forces who missed important events in their children's lives attend with their child.  It was so special to see one of our big tough strong military guys walk out with their  daughter dressed up like Snow White.  The audience had one big "awhhh".
  
Our true stars of the night were the members of the Armed Forces and their family.

Oh and the Leafs lost and the New York Rangers are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs - the life of a Leaf fan!!

Happy creating,


Jennifer

Baby Album

Traditions - what do they mean to you?  For me it is maintaining from one generation to another an activity or an action.  One long continuous thread so to say.  One of the traditions I started with my nieces and nephews is a baby album for their beautiful children, and their first Toronto Maple Leaf hockey jersey for  their first Christmas.  (not always well received!)  A young lady at my office is expecting her first baby in July.  She is only a few years older than my oldest (yikes) so of course I would treat her as family and continue on the tradition.  This is the baby album I created for her beautiful baby girl.  I can't wait to see the photos on the pages.

I used a retired paper package called Topstitch which was one of my favourites and still in my stash.  The chocolate cardstock is dry embossed and sanded to show the embossed lines.  I used the retired stamp set Stitched Alphabet to create the letters - stamp, punch and baby pink floss to embroider.  Baby pink embellishments, colonial white ribbon, eyelet edge punch and some chocolate flowers with pink button centres finish off the page.

 Baby love - is there anything better.  The letters are from Topstitch my stickease and backed onto baby pink cardstock.  The cute little babies are popped off the page with foam tape and are from a retired stamp set Flower Child   It is still one of my favourites, and reminds me of Anne Geddes .  I used the stickease for the ribbon scalloped border and stamped "tiny fingers tiny toes heaven sent" with one of my alphabet stamp set.  





 

 

 I love the little verse that is part of the "A Garden" stamp set.
 "There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again." 
Doesn't this just describe the innocence of babies. 
All photo mats and each page are edge distressed with chocolate ink to add some dimension and continue with the distressed look of the paper.  

The stickease was backed and then popped off the page with foam tape.  Pink brads, bling and chocolate ribbon continue on these pages.   On the page above I added some soft suede pinwheels with a baby pink brad centre.  These were also from my stash of retired product.   

 

 I love how this page and the one above came together.  I liked using the stickease embellishments and then adding some pink bling, brads, ribbon, all the girly things to take them over the top.    

 Banners are really hot in scrapbooking right now so I was able to use my Art Philosphy cartridge to cut out the banner, attach to the Banners dimensional element chipboard and string together with ribbon.  The letters were also cut with Art Philosopy.  

 Flowers and buttons and ribbon - what could be more girly - all in a cluster it makes a great embellishment - topped with a ribbon bow of chocolate grosgrain. 

 

The final page in the book is of course for Mommy, Daddy & Me!!  Baby girl is so lucky to have such wonderful parents!!!

I hope the book has enough pink in it for Daddy!!

These albums really are a labour of love and I love being able to pass on my traditions to another new family.  Julie & Jim I wish you all the best with your baby girl and can't wait to finally meet her!!!

Happy crafting everyone and I hope you start your own Paper Traditions.

Jennifer


 

 

Cards for the Guys

This month's card class will feature cards for the guys - more on the masculine side for colour, paper,  and stamps.  I also decided to add a technique to the class - embossing. 



  

This card features the emboss resist technique which provides a nice focus on the buildings.  The Superman image is stamped, coloured, cut out and foam tape used to "pop" him off the page.

Supplies:  Superhero Paper Package, Holiday Red Cardstock, Card Word Puzzle and Super Powers My Acrylix, Grey Wool Ink, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, foam tape (all CTMH).

I love the wonderful blues/greens/chocolate colours in the card.  The sentiment is just perfect for the man in your life.  The clock is stamped and cut out.  The man on the bike is embossed with cocoa embossing power, and then popped  with foam tape. 

Supplies:  Victory Paper Package, Outdoor Denim, Kraft, Colonial White Cardstock, Olive and Cocoa Ink, Foam Tape,Cocoa embossing powder,  Olive Mini-Medlies (all CTMH) 



And finally, for this card I sponged the background and then stamped the sentiment and embossed the tree images.  The moon was masked with 1" circle cut from a post-it-note.  I liked how it turned out. 

Supplies:  Whyite Daisy cardstock, Beautiful Things My Acrylix, Sunflower, Autumn Terracotta, Black and New England Ivy inks and Black embossing powder.  (all CTMH)   

I hope you enjoy these cards and they give you some inspiration to create some masculine cards for the guys in your life.

Happy crafting.

Jennifer



Fun with Copics Part II

I have a few more cards I made with images coloured with my Copics.  This is the last of the images I had stamped.  I was also trying to use some "old" from my stash with some new to see what I could come up with. 

Bye Bye Girl is a Mo Manning stamp and I used my Art Philosphy Cartridge to cut the shape, foam tape to pop her off the page.  I also used some "old" sassy strands to add the fringes from her bike.  The background paper is from the Pemberley paper package.

Gramma by Lacey Designs is also popped off the background paper with foam tape.  The background paper is from the paper package Florentine, and more "old" product from my stash of Sassy Strands in Indian Corn Blue.

Last up is Heart Seeds.  I have lost the packaging so can't tell you who the stamp is from.  This little girl is popped with foam tape, and the background is from Cruisin paper package.  The watermelon cardstock is from my "old" product stash.  Sentiment is from Card Chatter Sympathy.


I'm also working on some other projects which I will share later since they are a gift!!! 

Happy crafting.

Jennifer
 

Pemberley & Lace

Have you ever received a gift so precious that you're not sure you want to use it?  Or you want to be sure you use it just the right way?  Don't know what I'm talking about?  Well I'll try to explain.  My sister-in-law gave me a box full of lace which her grandmother had  hand tatted before she passed away.  She asked that I use it and not simply save it as she had done.  Wow - what an amazing gift she entrusted to me.

I saw a card posted by a fellow consultant Carolyn Crowe which she had created using lace.  I knew exactly what I was going to do with the lace.

I used the basics of her card - I ran the buttercup yellow cardstock through my Cuttlebug and used the Pemberley flowered paper from CTMH.  The flowers are from my stash and are centred with a bling button and pin from the Bling Assortment and sparkles from the Clear Assortment.  I was still very timid cutting the lace, but took a deep breath and cut away very gently. 

All products are CTMH with the exception of the flowers and lace.

I hope she loves the final product as much as I do. 



      

Fun Cards - Colouring with Copics

When I was a little girl one of my favourite activities was colouring.  I had lots of colouring books and was so excited when I got the box of new 24 crayons.   Just imagine, 24 colours to choose from.  Now I have over 300 colours to choose from with Copic markers.  I still love to sit and colour and took some time this past weekend to make a few fun cards.

This is "Game On"  a Mo Manning stamp image, and reminds me of my son as he plays his video games.  The card base is Kraft cardstock, and the patterned paper is from a retired paper package called Dreamin (CTMH).  The sentiment is from a retired My Acrylix called Princess (CTMH), and stamped on a cut out from my cricut from the Art Philosophy cartridge, exclusive to CTMH, and popped with foam tape. 

As you might know my husband & I have two labs and this image is from Cornish Heritage Farms.  I love the little guy - the inside sentiment says "Inside every older person is a younger person... wondering what happened!" (CTMH)    Isn't that the truth.  The image is coloured with Copics, matted on a Holiday Red (CTMH) cardstock shape, again cut with the Art Philosphy cartridge.  A little bit of bling from the blude/green sparkles (CTMH) adds a bit of interest.  .  The patterned paper is from the paper package Superhero (CTMH).  I like the larger sizeof this card (6 X 6)

And last but not least is the cute image called "Oh the Places We'll Go", also from Mo Manning.  The image is mounted on Holiday red cardstock (CTMH)  with the sentiment "Over the Hill?  What Hill?  Where?  When?" The inside says "I don't remember any hill." (CTMH)  The patterned paper is also from the Superhero paper package.  Highlighted with yellow brads in the corner.

Happy crafting and enjoy some colouring. 

Jennifer

Kick Back & Be Footloose

One of my favourite stamp sets from the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book is Kick Back D1511 - 14 images just right for summer/vacation photos.  Of course, Footloose would be the perfect paper package to create the perfect summer scene.  For the past two summers, I have attended the Close to My Heart convention and this July is no exception.  I'm headed to Dallas, Texas with my yeehaw ready.  Consultants like to "swap" cards with each other at convention, and this is my creation for swap.

  
I love the summer feel of this card - all images are CTMH - the flip flops and sand pail are from one of the first reward sets I received as a new customer from my consultant, now upline.  I stamped each image, cut out, paper pieced the shovel and sun and used the rock & roll stamping technique for the shell.   The flip flops are second generation Lagoon stamping.  The paper is ripped to show the white core to make it look like sand dunes.  I wanted to pack lots of techniques into one card, can you believe this one has four (paper piecing, second generation stamping, rock and roll stamping, paper tearing and patience if you count that as a technique).   I realize all this cutting and paper piecing isn't for everyone, but I just stamp a number of images, and cut them out in front of the TV, then put my cards together in an assembly line.  I can't wait for convention and to share my card with my fellow consultants.

Happy creating everyone.

Jennifer