Saturday, December 28, 2013

Become a Close To My Heart Consultant TODAY!

Close to my Heart has announced some changes for New Consultants who sign up after January 1st, 2014. I wanted to share these upcoming changes with you now in case you would rather sign up before the changes take effect. This way you can choose whether you'd like to sign up now or after January 1st.

The first change is that CTMH will no longer be offering two kit options. Currently there is a $49 kit option and a $99 kit option. The new kit will be offered at $99 and will include over $300 worth of products and business supplies.

The second change is with the Straight to the Top Program. This is an exciting change because with the new program, you can earn back the $99 you spent on your kit! With the new program, if you have $1,200 in sales (including your own orders) within the first 90 days, you will receive your $99 back, ultimately making your kit FREE! (The current Straight to the Top program allows you to earn $25 in Select Product Credit when you reach $300 in orders in your first 30 days and an additional $75 in SPC when you reach a total of $1,200 in your first 90 days. So the main difference is that instead of earning product credit that can be used to get certain items, the new program will allow you to earn $99 cash back that can be used for whatever you like.)

Here are the current Consultant Kit options:

$49 Kit (valued at $155) available through 12/31/2013
$99 Kit available through 12/31/2013
includes everything in the $49 kit plus these extras...

$99 New Consultant Kit (valued at $309) available January 1, 2014:


Be sure to visit my website at funforyou.ctmh.com to sign up!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday today! Since it is late and I am exhausted, I am simply going to post a CTMH video on Christmas layouts - it's "Artbooking Made Easy"! Enjoy watching and have a very merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The Frosting on the Cake

Anything frosted sounds pretty good, don't you think? Even things that don't involve actual icing, like frosted glass, are quite attractive. Well, now I've got one more thing to add to the wonderfully frosted list - it's the "Frosted Workshops on the Go Cardmaking Kit" from Close To My Heart. I was finally able to break mine out and complete the cards (fifteen of them - five each of three different designs), and I LOVE them!

The kit comes with everything you need, including an exclusive D-size stamp set:
I absolutely love these images and sentiments. I used them on all of my Christmas cards! Here, however, are the three designs that you will make from this kit:
(This card actually calls for stamping the trees in Cocoa ink, but I preferred mine to be Olive.)

I wish my photos were better - they look really bright white, but they are actually on Colonial White cardstock (not that there's a really big difference).

In addition, I also stamped the envelopes with coordinating images:
This is just one of the fun and beautiful card kits you can find in the Autumn-Winter Idea Book. You can order your kit online anytime on my website (funforyou.ctmh.com) for $24.95. Happy stamping!



Thursday, November 21, 2013

Fun Patterns With Everyday Items

I'm Baaaaaack! Sorry for the missing blog post last week. I was kicking back and relaxing on an incredible Disney Cruise to the Western Caribbean. Ahhh. Now...back to reality! Today I'm going to show you three different ways that you can use items you have around your house to create cool patterns for your papercrafting projects. Let's get started....

1) A Pencil Eraser: This is the simplest way to create a fun polka-dot pattern. Simply tap the end of a NEW pencil eraser into your ink pad, then press onto your project. Easy and fun!


Isn't that adorable?!

2) Bubble Wrap: First, ink up a section of bubble wrap, bubble-side up, that is large enough to cover your entire piece of paper or cardstock.
Next, lay your paper face-down on top of the inked portion:
At this point, you can do a couple of different things. You can press it with your hands, or do as I did and roll across the top of it with a rubber brayer. In either case, be sure to place a scrap piece of paper over the top of your project so your hands and/or brayer don't get covered in the surrounding ink. Then turn your piece over to see your results!
Cool, huh?! Here's the card I made with that:
By the way, the stamp set that I used for the last two cards is CTMH's "Candyland". And adorable set of images!

3) Rubber Bands on a Rubber Brayer: This is a very easy technique that yields some very cool results. Simply remove the rubber roller part of your brayer and wrap it randomly with rubber bands. Use different thicknesses for an even more varied effect. Then, simply roll the brayer in your ink (after reassembling it, of course!):
Next, roll the brayer across your project:
Voila! Instant pattern!
Cool, right? Here's the card I made with that piece, using the stamp set that comes with the "Workshop on the Go Frosted Card Making Kit":
I also thew in a few green Sparkles on the center tree to bling it up a bit.

Well, that's it! I hope you will try these techniques on your next project and see what you come up with. Thank you for being patient while I come back down to Earth! Until next week - happy stamping!







Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Mix It Up!

I believe that it is coded into our DNA that "mixing things up" is "bad". I mean, why else would it be so hard for us papercrafters to use papers from more than one "collection" in our projects? Well, today I'm here to tell you that it is ok. The world as we know it will not come to an end if you mix patterns and colors on the same project. In fact, you may find it quite liberating. You may also find yourself using up a lot more of your scraps!

Luckily, Close To My Heart makes mixing easy and stress-free. Each of their gorgeous paper packs has what's referred to as a "hero" pattern - the bold, dominant pattern in the pack. However, each paper pack also has a more subtle, smaller pattern which is a lot more versatile - and easier to mix! For the card that I decided to make, I used Pattern #19 from CTMH's "Make It From Your Heart - Volume 1". It features four "banners" perfect for showcasing four different patterns of paper. First, I'll show you the paper packs that I chose to use. They are:

"Laughing Lola"
"Surf's Up":
"Tommy":
and "Chantilly"
Now, seen together like this, one would cringe at the thought of ever using them together on the same project. However, here is the card that I created:
Cute, right? I used a strip of CTMH's Slate Washi Tape down the center of each banner and tied it all up with a bow. Ooo, I'm thinking of all the scrap pieces I can use this way!

So let this be a lesson to you - we may be pre-programmed to resist "mixing", but fear not! It can be done - and can be cute, too!  :-)





Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Halloween Inspiration!

Tomorrow is Halloween! It's my favorite holiday! Therefore, I thought for my blog post this week that I would post Halloween cards and projects I have done in the past few years. All of this artwork was done for my annual Open Houses, so you may have seen them before (I always post the artwork after the Open House). However, I thought it was worth a second look! (Note: Because some of this artwork is a few years old, the supplies used to complete them may not presently be available.) Let's get inspired!

From Open House 2010:




From Open House 2011:



From Open House 2012:


(The above projects were created using the Cricut "Artiste" cartridge - still available!!)

Oh, I just LOVE Halloween! I've got to get on some cool NEW projects to show you! Trick or Treat!



Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Up, Up, and Away!



I received my Close To My Heart order the other day, which included products from the new “Holidays from the Heart Gift Guide”. My “star” item (the item that I got for FREE with a $100 order) was a stamp set called “Lifting Spirits”:
I love the stamps, but off the top of my head, I couldn’t think of what to do with them. So I asked my 9-year-old daughter if she could sketch me a card that uses the images in the set. This is what she came up with:
Now that you’ve seen the inspiration behind the card, let’s see how I went about creating it. What I’d like to show you with this card is the technique of masking. This stamp set has some really cute cloud images in it, which I wanted to make sure I used. But rather than space them out on the front of my card, I wanted to create a layered effect, where one or more clouds appeared to be in front of or behind others. You can do this by masking.

Here’s how: Start by stamping the clouds you want to be IN FRONT. Stamp that image again on a thin piece of scrap paper (I use Post It notes). Cut the scrap-paper image out. (Note: depending on where you are stamping your remaining clouds, you may want to cut out multiple “scrap” images, as I did below.) Put a small amount of removable adhesive onto the back of your trimmed-out image(s) and stick them directly on top of your original stamped image(s). Once you’ve done that, you can stamp the next cloud or clouds right on top of the “masked” ones:
Remove the masks, and here is what you’ll have:
I wanted to go one step further and put another cloud behind all of these, so I re-used my first two masks and created a third for the new cloud. Then I stamped again:
Here’s the final cloud cluster:
I love the dimension this technique creates! So, remember the original sketch? Here is the finished card:
I think it came out great! The color on the balloon was done by simply stamping the balloon image in black on the card, then stamping it again on two different patterned papers. Cut the pieces that you'd like from the patterned paper, and adhere to the original stamped image on the card. I used the "Chantilly" paper pack for mine. I also stamped and cut out several of the tiny cloud images and adhered them, along with the banner, with 3D foam tape. I love it. A great, big thanks to my daughter for the wonderful sketch!

If you'd like to pick up this great stamp set, or any of the fabulous NEW PRODUCTS from the "Holidays from the Heart Gift Guide", please contact me at aafaa@charter.net - or SHOP ONLINE at funforyou.ctmh.com. Let your imagination soar!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Fun Way With One-Way!

On page 27 of the Close To My Heart Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book, there is a really cool stamp set called "One-Way Borders". I love both border and background stamps, but I knew I had to have this set when I saw the fantastic artwork pictured above it in the Idea Book. Once I received my "One-Way Borders", I got straight to work recreating those fun cards. Here are the cards as pictured in the Idea Book:
Aren't they cute & trendy? I couldn't wait to make my own! Of course, there are some cool cuts thrown in there from the Cricut "Artbooking" cartridge. Let's start with the "hello world" card. I decided that I wanted to change mine up a little bit and make it an autumn-themed card, so I went with "Give Thanks":
I used patterned paper from the "Surf's Up" paper pack, and two different colors of Baker's Twine on the side. The colors are Goldrush, Sweet Leaf, and Outdoor Denim. Size - 4.25" x 4.25"

Next is the "Text Me, OK?" card. That speech bubble is actually part of a stamp set...that I don't have. So, I found a speech bubble on the "Artbooking" cartridge to use instead. I backed in with a scrap piece of cardstock so you wouldn't be able to see through the letters. I did the same thing for the arrow cut into the frame, then I filled the space with Stickles glitter gel. Colors - Gypsy, Lagoon & Outdoor Denim. Size - 4.25" x 5.5".
Lastly, I created a "Wishing You Well" card using Outdoor Denim cardstock for the base, and patterned paper from the Chantilly Paper Pack. Size - 2.5" x 3.5". I also used some Sunset cardstock and a piece of our brand new Sparkle & Shine Washi Tape - available for a LIMITED TIME in a set of three different designs from the NEW Holiday Guide:
This was fun! I love recreating stuff that I see & love - even if I don't have the exact same materials that were used in the original. I'd love to see your recreated cards or scrapbook layouts from the new Idea Book!



Wednesday, October 9, 2013

What Do You Do With That?

Have you ever been browsing your favorite store, seen something that looked really cool, purchased it, then put it in a drawer or closet never to be seen again? Yeah, I've got plenty of that stuff - in my craft room. Tons of cool, fun stuff that I just had to have, but have never used. Well, today I decided that I was going to do something about that. Today I brought out something I bought years ago, and never used - a box of Melissa Frances™ Mica Flakes.


What the heck do you do with that? Well, they're shiny, so they would be a great way to add some flash & bling to a project. My first thought was of the stamp set that comes with the "Laughing Lola" Card-making Kit from Close To My Heart. I just love that starburst background stamp, and I thought it would be cool to bling-up those rays. My first step was to stamp the image. I chose to stamp in white ink on black paper (figuring that flakes would show up better on a dark color).

Next, I applied Liquid Glass to the outsides of the rays (I knew I would be covering up the middle, so I didn't bother putting anything there).


Then I sprinkled the Mica Flakes onto the glue - just like glitter. I found, however, that when I did this and shook off the excess, the mica flakes were so big that the space between the rays got covered up. Hmmmm. I guess this was not the best image to work with when using the mica flakes.


Soooo...I decided to go a different route and use the mica as some sparkly snow. I pulled out my favorite "Flakey Friends" stamp set, stamped one of the snowmen, and applied the Liquid Glass and mica to the "snow".


This worked much better! I finished the scene off by adding some Stickles™ to the snowflakes (adding several of my own).




How fun! I went back to my original stamped image from "Laughing Lola" and "weeded" through the spaces in between the rays with a paper piercer. This ended up working pretty well for clearing out the spaces (except on the sides - the spaces there were just too thin to bother), so I finished the rays and this is the final card:


Flashy, huh? So the Mica Flakes experiment was a success. Just remember that if you are using them, they are much bigger than glitter, micro beads, or most anything else you would sprinkle onto your projects...just something to keep in mind when planning how to use them.