Wednesday, April 24, 2013

A Gift Box For Mom

With Mother's Day just around the corner, here's a cute, little gift box that can be made using Close To My Heart's Cricut cartridges, stamp sets, and ink. I've included the entire list of instructions below! You, of course, can use any colors and stamps that you'd like - be creative! You may want to customize it for your special Mom, or make it larger in order to accommodate a larger gift or sweets. It's up to you - have fun with it!


INSTRUCTIONS:


Step 1) Cut box from Whisper cardstock (CS) using the CTMH Cricut “Artiste” cartridge - 3” 3D Object (pg. 45) (NOTE: Make sure “Real Dial Size” is NOT selected).

Step 2) Cut flower bow and topper from Honey CS and Hollyhock CS, respectively, from the Cricut “Artiste” cartridge – 5” Accent 1 and 5” Shift-Accent 1 (pg. 55) (NOTE: Make sure “Real Dial Size” is NOT selected).

Step 3) Cut a circle from White CS using the Cricut “Artiste” cartridge – 1¼” Card (pg. 48) or a 1 ¼” circle punch. Stamp the “MOM” circle image from the “Perfect Fit – Mom” stamp set onto the circle using Whisper ink.

Step 4) Cut scalloped circle from White CS using the CTMH Cricut “Art Philosophy” cartridge – 2 ¼” (pg. 31). Stamp the scallop circle frame from the “Perfect Fit – Frames” stamp set in Hollyhock ink onto the cut piece.

Step 5) Stamp Heart image from the “Perfect Fit – Mom” stamp set onto a scrap piece of White CS using Lagoon ink and cut out.

Step 6) Cut a 1” x 12” strip of Honey CS and random-stamp it with the flower image from the “Perfect Fit – Mom” stamp set using Honey ink.

Step 7) Trim four ¾” pieces of Silver Shimmer Trim and adhere to the Hollyhock scallop circle frame in an overlapping fan pattern as shown. Using 3-D Foam Tape, adhere the “MOM” circle to the center of the Hollyhock frame. Embellish “MOM” image with two Bitty Sparkles as shown.

Step 8) Assemble box (pg. 16 of the Artiste Assembly Instructions booklet). Assemble flower bow (pg. 30 of the Artiste Assembly Instructions booklet). Attach a silver Bigger Brad through the center of the flower bow. Attach entire bow assembly to the top cover of the box.

Step 9) Apply glue to the back of the Honey CS strip and wrap it around the center of the box horizontally, starting in the middle of the back of the box (pinch the CS around the corners as you go).

Step 10) Using 3-D Foam Tape, adhere the Hollyhock frame to the center of the front of the box. Using 3-D Foam Tape, adhere the Lagoon heart to the lower-left corner of the Hollyhock frame.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Creatively Cricut®

I've been working hard on the 3-D projects for my next Workshop - they're looking great! I only have one left to do. I will post them all next time - I promise! In the meantime, I just viewed this great video from Close To My Heart that I'd love to share with you. It's called "Creatively Cricut®". In it, Kristine Widtfeldt shares some very helpful tips and tricks on using the Cricut with our "Artiste" and "Art Philosophy" cartridges. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Create Custom Home Decor!

OK, my bad! I was sick yesterday (and today), so I never got around to posting my Wednesday post! And I was on a roll! So today, I am posting a video from Close To My Heart on adding a photo to our "My Creations 6" x 6" Canvas Display". It's really cool, and a great way to create your own personalized home decor!  I promise to be back next Wednesday! Be sure to stop by my new Close To My Heart Facebook page as well (I'll be working more on that tomorrow!) - find it HERE. Thanks so much!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Glitter Glam!

Adding glitter to your projects is a fun way to add sparkle and shine, but did you realize just how many different ways there were to add it? I may have missed a few, but today I'll show you several different ways that you can use glitter to make your projects shimmer.

First and foremost, there's your glue pen or glue stick. Use the glue to outline, draw, or write, then sprinkle on the glitter, or rub the glitter onto the glue with your finger. Easy enough, but can get a little messy.





Besides your glue pen, you can experiment with other adhesives you might have in your stash. I tried 2 sizes of Glue Dots, my Tombow adhesive, and my Herma removable adhesive (the dots). This is a fun & easy way to add small circles or strips of glitter to your projects. I rubbed the glitter into the adhesive with my finger to insure a strong hold. This can also get a bit messy!

Hmmm...I feel like there's an adhesive I'm forgetting...Oh, yes - the Xyron! Here's yet another way to glitter-up your die-cuts. Send your cut shapes through the Xyron. I used the Sticker Maker, because I had a very small zig-zag border I wanted to try:
After peeling the shape off the backing, place it adhesive-side down into your glitter:

Press the shape into the glitter and voila! Instant bling!
Another way you can spice up your stamp images with glitter is to use a glue pad. I used Tsukineko's "The Essential Glue Pad" (which I've had forever, so I'm not sure if they still sell it!). You use it as you would an ink pad, only you're stamping glue instead of ink. After stamping, sprinkle the glitter onto the glue, then tap off the excess. Use a soft brush to brush off the remaining excess after the glue dries.


A similar technique for applying glitter is to use glitter rub-ons. I happen to have some that Close To My Heart produced a while back. All you do is cut out the image you'd like to use and rub it onto your paper - just like a regular rub-on.
After peeling up the plastic backing, you will have a sticky image on your paper. Simply lay the included glitter sheet down on top of your image (glitter side down), and rub with the stylus. Presto! Still easy, and a little less messy than the aforementioned methods.



Want even less mess? You can also use a glitter glue or gel to apply your sparkle. This is an adhesive or gel with the glitter mixed right in. With a ton of different brands (like CTMH's "Glitz" and Ranger's "Stickles") and colors to choose from, it's an easy, no-mess way to glam up your projects - and have the glitter stay put!





Lastly, you can now buy glitter in a roll! Oh, yes - it's glitter tape, and it comes in MANY different colors!
This stuff is great because it's self-adhesive! You can use it to border your photos, decorate frames, make tiny pennants or flags - the list goes on & on. I used the tape to create this fun card:
How fun is that?! And it took me no time to do - with no mess!

I hope I have inspired you to break out your glitter and experiment. Comment on this post with your creative ways of using glitter - I'd love to hear them! Have a sparkling day!