A crop party is a modern quilting bee. A group of friends gather to have girl friend time, sharing joys and sorrows while preserving memories and creating a special keepsake.

Monday, October 29, 2012

I Hate Cancer!

I hate cancer!  But don't we all?  The husband of one of my scrappin' friends was diagnosed with cancer a few days before their wedding a little over a year ago.  Then came surgery and chemo with all it's side effects.  Six months after he finished it has reared its ugly head again.  I made this for them.


I have seen this layout in a number of places with no attribute, but the first one I saw and my favorite is on Angel Shifflet's blog, Happy Scrapin' & Stampin'.  This is done in one of my favorite  papers, Florentine, distressed with Cocoa.  The bird is from the "Find Your Style" set stamped in Twilight and Cocoa and attached with foam tape.  The sentiment is from "Card Chatter - Sympathy."  A few adhesives from the Mocha set finishes it off.  All materials are from Close to My Heart.


Inside I left plenty of room to write a personal note.  I am sorry that they have to fight another battle and hope this card brings them some comfort.

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time, Hansi

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Monday Mojo #264

At Stamp Group Monday, we made cards with stacked poinsettias cut from the new Close to My Heart cartridge, Artiste.  I thought it might be fun to make a flower using the same technique and, lo and behold, this week's Mojo Monday sketch is the perfect layout to use:

 
Can you believe this paper, Moonlight, is Close to My Heart's Halloween paper?
 
 
 
Using the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, I cut five <flower 8> in sizes ranging from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches, curled the petals, distressed them with Petal and Grey Flannel inks, stacked them and attached the completed flower with two pieces of foam tape stacked on each other.  I used the masking technique to stamp the sentiment from the Love Life set and finished with a frame from the pewter mini medley accents, some opaque pearls and a piece of ribbon.  All are from Close to My Heart.
 
 
 
 
This card is for Tim, who brings me roses for no reason.  Sometimes I wonder if the folks at the Fresh Market think we fight a lot.  Thank you for stopping by.  Until next time, Hansi

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Cruisin' for Sympathy

Cruisin' was not my favorite paper in the Close to My Heart spring/summer catalog, but the Scrabble tile paper was perfect for a Father's Day card for my Scrabble/Words With Friends loving husband, so I ordered it anyway.  The flip side of the paper is an argyle which works well on a sympathy card that I made for a friend whose 14 year old dog crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  If you are not familiar with the Rainbow Bridge, you can read the poem here:  http://www.rainbowbridge.com/Poem.htm

 
The butterfly is one of my favorites from an old Close to My Heart set, Say It in Style.  I inked it in twilight and then dabbed black around the edges before stamping.  Black opaques make up his body.  I love to use butterflies and usually only glue the body, so that the wings can "flap."  Sometimes I stamp on the background to make a shadow.
 
 
I hope this card brings some comfort to my friend.  Thank you for stopping by.  Until next time, Hansi
 


Saturday, October 20, 2012

Mojo Monday 263

No, you did not sleep though the weekend!  It is indeed Saturday. Mojo Monday is a challenge blog.  On Mondays, Julee Tilman or one of her designers posts a sketch of a layout, challenges you to interpret it and then post a link to your blog to show everyone what you came up with.  It is really interesting (and inspiring) to see what other people have made.  To make myself stretch, I am going to play along each week which is one reason I have started this blog.  Here is the sketch from last Monday:

 
 
Here is my card:
 
 
 
For my first attempt at piecing, I used the flower in the Card Word Puzzle from Close to My Heart, with Indian corn blue, honey, and vanilla cream inks on vanilla cream paper, .  I used the Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the butterflies and tab.   I also used Pemberly paper, outdoor denim and desert sand inks and brown opaques, all from CTMH.
 
I like this layout so much that I will definitely keep it in my regular rotation.  Now go see what others have done.   http://www.mojomonday.blogspot.com/  Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time, Hansi


Friday, October 19, 2012

Has It Really Been That Long?!

It is hard to believe Tim and I have been married for 34 years.  Of course I was a child bride...  When I saw the La Belle Vie paper in the new Close to My Heart catalog, I knew that it was the paper I wanted to use to make an anniversary card. It has a romantic feel and a French theme which is perfect for my husband who loves Paris.

 
 
Although the paper is two sided, I wanted to preserve as much of it as possible for other uses, so I used the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the card from colonial white card stock and then cut a rectangle and traced the edge to make the cover.  Then I glued a small strip of the back side of the paper to the inside:
 
 
 
I used the same cartridge to cut the text box and flowers and embellished with the sparkle flourish, also from CTMH, and some ribbon.  My one complaint about the new papers is that some feature colors that are not available as ink.  For La Belle Vie, the only colors that are available as ink are black, bamboo, and sweet leaf.  Fortunately, vineyard berry, a recently retired color, co-ordinates well.  I am pretty happy with this card.  It looks like me.
 
Thank you for stopping by my new blog!  Until next time, Hansi