My Favorite Things - Part 2

Hello! I am having fun will all of my new product from Close To My Heart's new Annual Inspirations and Holiday Expressions catalogs! Last week I showed you one of my favorite new stamp sets - "Emojis". This week, I have just a couple of cards to show you that I made using the "Woodland Critters" stamp set from the Holiday Expressions 2016 catalog. Here is the stamp set:

I am in LOVE with foxes, so I HAD to have this stamp set! :-) See those thin, red lines around the speech bubbles? That means that those shapes can be cut with one of our exclusive Cricut cartridges! These in particular can be cut with the "Artistry" Cartridge. So without further ado, here is the first card I made using this set:

In addition to "Woodland Critters", I had fun using the "Little Leaves" M-sized stamp set for the background, then coloring in random single leaves with my Vivid Green ShinHan marker. I also used the dots embossing folder on the Saffron cardstock to add even more texture. The speech bubble allowed me to add a pop of Peacock blue to my earthy color palate.

I love how this card came out. I focused on a neutral background with a pop of Lagoon blue to perfectly compliment and offset the deep Goldrush orange of the fox. The wood-grain paper comes from the "Rustic Home Fundamentals" paper pack, and the other two grey patterns are from the "Jeepers Creepers" paper pack. The fun leafy pattern that I stamped on the strip in the background is from one of the eight background stamps that comes with the "Flower Market" Cricut Collection.

I hope you enjoyed this small sampling of "Woodland Critters". I'm not exactly sure what my next "favorite thing" will be - I have a lot to choose from! See you next time!

A Rainbow of New Colors!

The brand-new Close To My Heart Annual Inspirations Idea Book is in full swing – and it is my favorite so far to date. Two of the brand-new products that I am going to focus on today are the Cricut “Artistry” Cartridge and the seven incredible new colors in the color palette!

One of my fellow CTMH Consultants, Susan Williams, is an incredible artist. She creates such inspirational artwork, that it is her designs that I re-created for the following four cards. They are only slightly different from her originals, due to my not having the exact same supplies, but the end result is the same – gorgeous! These were done with the specific goal of showcasing the seven new colors in the 2015-2016 Annual Inspirations Idea Book, so they are VERY colorful! For your reference each card is 4 ¼ ” x 5 ½ ”, if, like me, you’d like to re-create them! Let’s begin…

“The Good Life” banner is one of the cuts from the new “Artistry” Cricut Cartridge (pg. 16). I cut it at 4 ¾” from black cardstock (CS). The words “the” and “Life” were then backed with white CS, while the word “Good” was backed with silver glitter paper. The card base is Whisper CS, the top and bottom strips on the front are White Shimmer Trim, and each strip of colored CS is ½” wide. The brand-new colors are as follows (from top to bottom): Eggplant, Sapphire, Peacock, Fern, Saffron, Poppy, and Pomegranate. Gorgeous, right?! The banner is adhered with 3-D foam tape, and then embellished with Sparkles.

The “Eat Cake!!!” card uses an “Artistry” cut from pg. 18, cut from Whisper CS at 2 ¼”. The cut was then backed with white CS and embellished with Sparkles. Each colored CS strip is 1” wide and cut at a length of between 3 ½” and 3 ¾”. I notched the ends and inked the edges of each with its coordinating color of ink. A strip of 1” black CS and Black Shimmer Trim across the front, and a few more Sparkles for bling…and voila - you’re done!

The “Lucky” card uses two “Artistry cuts – “Lucky” from page 36, cut from Whisper CS at 1 ¾” and backed with black CS, and the cloud from page 38, cut at 2” from white CS and dry embossed with the Chevron Embossing Folder. The CS on top of the black base is Slate, and each of the colored strips is ¼” wide. Add some Extra Thick Pixie Twine and – of course! – more Sparkles, and we’re down to one last card!

I saved the best (in my opinion) for last! This was also the most time-consuming, due to having to trim all of the colored CS to back the openings in the “Artistry” cut from page 42. This was cut from black CS at 3”. The banner was also cut from the “Artistry” cartridge (pg. 15) – the outline from Whisper CS at 1 ¼” and its backing from white CS, also at 1 ¼”. The card base is Slate CS, then black, then white embossed with the Quatrefoil Embossing Folder. A sentiment from the “Artfully Sent” Cricut Collection (Hello), a little bit of White Shimmer Trim, and a spattering of Sparkles, and our set of very colorful cards is complete!

I think, by far, that these are the coolest cards I’ve made to date – thanks again, Sue! All of the incredible supplies used to make each of these cards can be found in the new “Annual Inspirations” Idea Book for 2015-2016. You can page through the entire thing on my website at funforyou.ctmh.com. Be sure to contact me for any help you need – that’s what I’m here for! Happy creating!

A Brand-New "Annual Inspirations" Idea Book!

It’s September 1^st and the moment you’ve all been waiting for is finally here! Introducing the NEW Close To My Heart “Annual Inspirations” Idea Book! You will be able to enjoy this Idea Book from now through August of 2016!

The NEW "Annual Inspirations” 2015-2016 features: 

-    Six New My Reflections™ Paper Packs with coordinating Complements, Assortments & stamp sets – most with a coordinating Workshop on the Go or a Workshop on the Go Card-Making Kit 

-    A NEW Cricut® Cartridge – “Artistry” – which is yet another can’t-do-without addition to the CTMH Cricut line. Over 700 new images and three incredible new stamp sets included!

-    Seven brand New COLORS! 

-    New Hostess Rewards Stamp Sets and Stamps of the Month. 

-    Two New “Cut Above™” card kits – kits have all of the pieces pre-cut for you and are ready to stamp & assemble. 

-    NEW “Instalife™” Line – Designed specifically to preserve your Instagram photos and memories!. 

-    Seven New “Picture My Life™” programs – including two overlay sets! 

-    A New “Fundamentals” line that will make you go “Mmmmmm”. 

-    New storage and organization pieces 

-    Brand New additions to the “Base & Bling” line 

-    New Trim, New Twine & New Tape – Oh My!

If you hadn’t already guessed, there’s a lot that’s NEW! I don’t know how they do it, but each new Idea Book is better than the last. The Paper Packs alone are SO gorgeous! The patterns are spectacular and incredibly versatile.

And this month’s Stamp of the Month – beautiful. It’s called “Paper Garden”, and here’s what you get:

$17.95 Regular price – ONLY $5.00 with a $50 purchase!

But WAIT! There’s MORE! IN ADDITION, today also starts a BRAND NEW “Holiday Expressions” book, which runs from September 2015 through December 2015 – with EVEN MORE BRAND NEW PRODUCT to fulfill your dreams! Additional “Hostess Reward Stamp Sets”, Holiday-themed Paper Packs, Compliments, Assortments, and Stamp Sets. Additional “Picture My Life”, “Designer Creations”, and “Cut Above” Card Kits. And even more “Base & Bling”. 

I can’t tell you how excited I am! I am so anxious to start creating with all my new goodies! I will be posting my favorite new products and new artwork soon, so stay tuned! Get right over to MY WEBSITE to view both of these new Idea Books online!

NEW PRODUCTS Available from Close To My Heart!

I just LOVE new stuff - especially when it comes from Close To My Heart! CTMH has switched up it's Idea Book release dates a little bit. The new Annual Inspirations 2015-2016 Idea Book won't officially begin until September 1st instead of August 1st as originally planned. So, to bridge the gap, during the month of August, you can get your hands on select new products from the 2015-2016 Annual Inspirations Idea Book! The new products available for customer purchase now are:

• Cricut® Artistry Collection (Z3167) - WHOOHOO!!

• My Reflections™ Zoe Paper Packet (X7197B)

• Zoe Complements (X7197C) 
• Zoe Assortment (Z3082) 
• Coral Shimmer Trim (Z3088) 
• Enamel & Glitter Duos Green Triangles (Z3123) 
• Workshops on the Go® Zoe Scrapbooking Kit (G1096)

• Framed – August Stamp of the Month (S1508) 

• Zoe Studio J® Kit 
• Zoe Studio J® Limited Edition Express Collection (Live until September 30, 2015)

• Marker Roll-Up (Z3120) and Accessory Roll-Up (Z3121) as part of the "August Get Organized" Campaign

Where can you get a hold of these incredible new products? My website, of course! Just enter any of the above item numbers or descriptions into the "search for products" spot at http://funforyou.ctmh.com. And while you are there, be sure to catch up on all the latest specials and promotions going on this month - you'll be glad you did!

Oh, and don't forget - there's only one month left to shop the "Retiring Items" list on my website as well - don't miss out on your favorites! Grab them BEFORE they're gone! (Hint - there will be seven NEW colors in the new Idea Book...which means the following are going away: Smokey Plum, Outdoor Denim, Indian Corn Blue, Ponderosa Pine, Olive, Autumn Terracotta, and Barn Red.)

I can't wait to start playing with all of my new products!!