Tips & Tricks From Studio J!

I just watched a really cool new video on CTMH TV. It gives some really fun and innovative ideas for customizing your Studio J layouts - and it's even Halloween-themed! And don't forget - there's still time to take advantage of this month's Studio J Special - purchase 9 layouts, and get the 10th FREE! Check out the video right here:

Just For Fun - Part 1

Every year, my Close To My Heart Annual Open House has a distinctly "holiday" feel. However this year, I ended up with a lot more "everyday" projects than I did holiday projects...not that that's a bad thing! I just had so much fun creating with the new "Artiste" Cricut cartridge and our newest stamp sets...I may have gone a little overboard. Therefore, the "just for fun" everyday artwork that I created will come to you in three different posts (there's a LOT!), and I'll save the best for last! Let's jump right in!

What a fun, cute card this is - especially for a child's birthday. The stamp set used for this and all of the cards I will be showing you in this post is "Pun Fun". It's a very cute and versatile set. The grass was freehand cut from green cardstock, and the clouds were created by using the negative space of a cloud Cricut cut as a stencil. I then used a sponge dauber and Sky ink to form the clouds. Pretty cool, huh?

These next cards were all completed as a project we did while I was at this year's Convention in Dallas. A lot of them use "Pun Fun", along with the "Flirty", "La Belle Vie" and "Dakota" paper packs (they really mixed things up!). Notice the dress here was created by stamping once on the tag, then once on patterned paper from "La Belle Vie". The dress was trimmed out of the patterned paper, then adhered to it's "place" on the tag. Black Sparkles were added along the waistline for a little flair!

This card in the series doesn't use the "Pun Fun" stamp set - but it does use "Dakota" & "La Belle Vie" patterned paper! It also uses those adorable rose stick pins from the new "Slate Mini-Medley Accents Collection"...along with some Sparkles for shine!

Here's that cute turtle again! This time we've used the actual cut cloud shapes and edged them with Slate ink for pop. The cool silver sparkly ribbon below the pink patterned paper is the new "Silver Shimmer Trim". What makes it so cool is that it's self-adhesive! LOVE that!

This card uses cuts from the "Artiste" Cricut cartridge to create a cool, one-of-a-kind background! The cut pieces were also stamped in second-generation Slate ink with the library card image from the "Approved" stamp set - just to give it some added visual interest and texture.

Wow - this card uses a multitude of different products! I spy the Slate Mini-Medley Accents Collection, Sparkles, Silver Shimmer Trim, "Approved" stamp set, and the "Flirty" paper pack. The flowers were cut directly from one of the pieces of patterned paper and used as the focal point of the card! Great idea!

Ah, yes - what a wonderful way to use up all of those little paper scraps you have laying around! All of these hearts were cut with the Cricut, as well as the "Love You" - but look how we used the negative of the cut instead of the actual cut letters...way to stretch your paper usage!

Lastly, this card was the one that we created as a Make & Take at my Open House. OK, it was a little ambitious for a Make & Take, but everyone who took the time to do it did an awesome job! This uses the "Pun Fun" stamp set, as well "Perfect Fit - Frames", "Love Life", and "Merry & Bright".

Whew! And this has only been part one! There's LOTS more fun artwork to come, so please check back for the next installment of "Just For Fun"!

Spooky Artwork!

I has occurred to me just recently that I have yet to post my Close To My Heart Open House artwork from the end of August! How I could have overlooked this is beyond me. So, let's start now by showing you the artwork that I had done with a Halloween theme.

This adorable coffin treat box was created using the Cricut "Artiste" cartridge - available exclusively from Close To My Heart. I don't know if you can tell, but there is a tiny black Sparkle at the bottom of the exclamation point, and a Licorice Opaque for the spider's body - it's the little things, you know? How cool would these be for your child's class party?! You could put stickers or tattoos or vampire teeth in them in lieu of candy - fun!

Here's another really fun project - not only great for holding candy sticks, but would make a great gift card holder, too. This project used the Cricut Artiste cartridge as well, along with one of my favorite new stamp sets, "Magic Potions". There's also some black Sparkles on the left one, and some adorable brads from the "Haunted Assortment" dressing up the two of them (yes, the tiny little skulls are brads!). You could use this stamp set for all sorts of fun Halloween-themed projects, from cards to apothecary jars. And the best part is that every image in the set has a coordinating cut on the Cricut Artiste cartridge! Whoohoo! Put away those scissors!

Here's a fun treat bag using the "Perfect Fit - Halloween" stamp set. The bag was cut with the Cricut Artiste cartridge, then I "fussy cut" the top edge of it to better fit the theme. What a terrific way to use up your paper scraps! The banners were created using the "Moonlight" paper pack - such fun and versatile patterns! (I just love Halloween!)

The last Halloween-themed project I did was to create the "Spellbound" Workshop-on-The-Go:

This thing was awesome! And I had SO much fun doing it! This WOTG is specifically designed to use with the Cricut Artiste cartridge - you cut just about EVERYTHING with it. All of the paper is provided - including six patterns that are exclusive to this kit:

Well, that ends the spooky artwork that was featured at this year's Open House, but...I have one more really cool, spooky card to share. This wasn't at my Open House, but it will be the Make & Take project we do at my next Gathering this month (if you haven't RSVP'd yet, what are you waiting for?! We're going to have a BLAST!)

This card uses paper from the "Moonlight" paper pack, and images from the "All Hallows Eve" stamp set (another very cool spooky set). I stamped the spider web in Whisper ink, and the crow/candelabra in Black.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this spooky inspiration! For more fun project inspiration, tune into "Clearly The Best" on MyCraftChannel.com! Here's a link to the latest episode: Clearly The Best! Enjoy!