Time is Running Out!

This is your LAST CHANCE to grab January's Stamp of the Month, "Adore You"! It will only be available until 11:59pm tomorrow, and you won't want to miss this one! If you haven't seen it already, here are the images:

I just made the prettiest card using this set and my "Some Kinda Wonderful" paper pack. Check it out:

It was so fun and simple to make. I can't wait to use this set more!

The Stamp of the Month is available for purchase for $17.95...but who wants to pay full price?!? Place an order for $50 in qualifying CTMH products, and you can get your "Adore You" set for JUST $5! Hop on over to my website now for all of the details!

Go PATS!

So Long 2016!

Wow - here it is - the last evening of 2016. It has been a CRAZY year. The holidays went by way too fast, and here we are, about to embark on a whole new year. I wanted to do one last "Christmasy" card before saying goodbye to this year:

I used a flower from this month's Stamp of the Month, "Thoughtful Flowers", as my focal point. The flower from the set may or may not be a poinsettia, but I thought it looked like one, so I colored it as such with my ShinHan Markers. I actually used brown in order to make the red darker - I love these markers! Here's the rest of the set:

I love this set because there are so many different flowers, you can color them, and there are sentiments besides. And, of course, I used my new favorite paper pack, "City Sidewalks", for the patterned paper:

I'm sad to see the holidays go, but even more sad to see these products go!! The December Stamp of the Month and the "City Sidewalks" paper pack are only available for a FEW MORE HOURS! If you want to pick them up, dash over to my website at http://funforyou.ctmh.com and order now! Seasonal Expressions and everything contained within will be gone with 2016, so don't miss out on these fantastic products!

Have a safe, healthy, and Happy New Year!

Get Exclusive Hostess Stamp Sets in July - Without Being A Hostess!

Did you know that Close To My Heart has Exclusive Hostess Reward Stamp Sets that are available ONLY to hostesses with qualifying gatherings? There are some spectacular sets available at deep discounts for Hostesses. If only these incredible stamp sets were available to purchase without having to host a gathering....

Jump on It in July! This month you actually CAN get your hands on Exclusive Hostess Stamp Sets from the Annual Inspirations AND Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Books - without being a Hostess!

During the month of July, when you purchase $25 in current, retail-priced stamps, you qualify to receive either the July Stamp of the Month, My Acrylix^® "Life Is Wonderful", FREE or any one of the Hostess Rewards stamp sets featured in Annual Inspirations 2014–2015 or Seasonal Expressions 2 for only $5! (All of the qualifying stamp sets are pictured above.) That is a savings of up to $17.95!

The July Stamp of the Month is a lovely, versatile stamp set that is a great match for your cards and layouts that celebrate all the wonderful things—big and small—that life has to offer. Additionally, the Hostess Rewards stamp sets have previously only been available as part of the Hostess Rewards program, which means now is the perfect opportunity to get those special stamp sets you’ve had your eye on!Remember - this offer is only good THIS MONTH, so take advantage - you won't find a better deal!

I absolutely LOVE these Hostess Stamp Sets! Here are a few of the cards that I have created using them:

(Uses "Tagged With Love" stamp set and Blossom Paper Pack)

(Uses "Paper Bird" stamp set and Brushed Paper Pack.)

(Uses "Sweet as Sugar" stamp set.)

(Use the "Cuddly Salutations" stamp set.)

And that's just a few of the stamp sets that are available this month for only $5 with a qualifying purchase. These sets are so fun! You can order anytime on my website at funforyou.ctmh.com. I'd love to see what YOU create!

Artfully Sent – Exploring the “W” Key – Part 5

Well, here it is! The last installment of "Exploring the 'W' Key". The final feature on the "Artfully Sent" Cricut cartridge is "Pocket Card".

Like the two previous features, the Pocket Card allows you to cut two different cards - one that is 4" x 6" and one that is 3" x 4". These were designed specifically for Close To My Heart's "Picture My Life" Scrapbooking Program - a pocket scrapbooking program with specially designed Memory Protectors which have 4" x 6" and 3" x 4" pockets for photos, sentiments, journaling, and embellishments. Being a card-maker at heart, though, I chose to use these two pocket cards to make cards!

Both of the cards I created use two of my favorite things - Washi tape and the "Forever in My Heart" stamp set. Let's see the 4" x 6" card first:

I cut the 4" x 6" Pocket card from Lagoon cardstock. It simply has the arrow shape cut out of it. Next, I backed the card with a piece of white cardstock stamped with the striped "In The Background" stamp in Thistle ink. Using a 5" x 7" white cardstock base, I adhered a piece of Lagoon Hearts Washi Tape through the center, then my 4" x 6" Pocket Card on top of that. The rest is simply stamping and cutting out a couple of hearts from the "Forever in My Heart" stamp set, and a sentiment from the "This Moment" stamp set (no longer available).

Now for the 3" x 4":

My finished card is 4.25" x 5.5" Hollyhock cardstock with several strips of Ruby Chevron Washi Tape run through the center. I random-stamped the 3" x 4" Pocket Card, which I cut from Cranberry cardstock, with Cranberry ink and the small hearts image from the "Forever in My Heart" stamp set. I then backed it with white cardstock and embellished it with more stamped heart cut-outs and a sentiment.

Seriously, did you ever think you could get so many different cards from just one key on this "Artfully Sent" Cricut cartridge?! This thing is truly amazing. I am going to try and do a card workshop that focuses on another one of the keys - I hope to see you there!

Thanks for joining me in my "Exploration of the 'W' Key". Hope you'll come back real soon!

Artfully Sent – Exploring the “W” Key – Part 4

We’re heading into the home stretch! Only two more styles left to explore – that’s four more cards – all on this one key! This second-to-last style of card/function from the “Artfully Sent” Cricut™ Cartridge again contains two different cards. Today we’ll be looking at the Sleeve cards.

The Sleeve function has both a 4” x 6” and a 5” x 7” card – the former of which was designed to hold a 4” x 6” photograph. Both sizes will have the same pattern cut into the front of them – the 4” x 6” card, though, will fold into an actual sleeve, or pocket, whereas the 5” x 7” folds into a standard card.

Let’s look at the 4” x 6” card on the “W” key. I absolutely love the wood-grain pattern! After cutting the card from Chocolate cardstock, I folded on the score lines, glued the bottom and side pieces, and cut a piece of patterned paper to slip into the inside.

The back of this piece (not shown) has a bunch of journaling lines on it with the caption, “This Year’s Highlights”. After tying a piece of ribbon around the center, this would be the perfect addition to a scrapbook page! Or use it as a stand-alone card with a photo, invitation, or special message on the inside.

The 5” x 7” card was so simple. After cutting the card on the Cricut from Saddle cardstock, I simply backed the front of the card with Cashmere cardstock and embellished the front with stamped images from this past January’s Stamp of the Month set, “This Moment”.

How cute is that? There are SO MANY fun patterns throughout this cartridge – you will have such a blast discovering all of them.

Next week – the last function on the “W” key – the Pocket Card! Don’t miss it!

Artfully Sent – Exploring the “W” Key – Part 3

This next style of card/function from the “Artfully Sent” Cricut™ Cartridge actually contains two different cards. Today we’ll be looking at the Sentiment cards.

The Sentiment function has both a 5” x 7” and a 4.25” x 5.5” card within it. When you think of the sheer number of cards that this function alone allows you to cut from this cartridge, it’s mind-boggling! Let’s look at the first sentiment card – the 5” x 7” – on the “W” key. Many of the Sentiment cards on the cartridge cut a sentiment and an icon into the front of the card. This key happens to cut a sentiment only. You could simply back this with a piece of patterned paper or colored cardstock. But I wanted to go just a little bit further.

After cutting the card from black cardstock on my Cricut, I folded it and slipped a second piece of black cardstock, about 1/8” smaller on each side than the card front, into the middle of the card. I then took a pencil and lightly traced around the insides of the cut letters, so that my sentiment would be transferred onto my black cardstock insert. This allowed me to block out each word with a different patterned paper/color on the insert:

I continued covering the traced words with paper (for one I used shimmer trim!) until I had everything covered. I could then go back to my card and adhere the paper-covered insert to the inside front, thereby allowing the color blocks to show through the cut letters – and you see none of it on the inside of the card!

This is a fun and easy technique to really make your cards one-of-a-kind.

The vast majority of the second sentiment cards on this cartridge cut a border into the bottom front. For this key, it cuts a fun leaf pattern. This was a very easy card to make. Once the card was cut, I simply backed the cut with a strip of Topiary cardstock, wrapped a piece of Topiary Mini Chevron ribbon around the front, and stamped and mounted the tree image from the “Country Born” stamp set. Simple, yet beautiful! 

The next two function keys we will explore with the “W” key also each have two different cards within them. Next week, it’s the Sleeve function – it’s a fun one!

Artfully Sent – Exploring the “W” Key – Part 2

OK. I like Pop-up cards a lot – I really do. But this next style of card from the “Artfully Sent” Cricut™ Cartridge is really incredible – the Scene card. When you see the expanse and variety of this type of card on this cartridge, you will be blown away. For this post’s purposes, however, we will be looking only at the Scene card on the “W” key.

The Scene card will have two pieces – the first will be the card base, and the second will be the “accent piece”, if you will. The Scene card on the “W” key is a tri-fold (dark aqua color in the booklet), and the accent piece is the light blue (cloud insert). I cut my base in white, but then added several other colors/pieces of cardstock to complete my “scene” (I cut the card again in green in order to make the front of the card green & not white). I actually cut the pop-up piece from last week’s card from brown cardstock and pasted it over the base-cut deer/rabbit piece – they were almost an exact fit! When the insert is adhered to the inside of the card, and it is folded up, this is what the outside looks like:

I added a little sentiment from the “Cuddly Salutations” stamp set and paper-pieced the tree branch and bird. Now the inside…

Instead of adhering the cloud accent piece to the inside of the card, I adhered it to the back of the front flap. This served two purposes – to make the card front more stable (it was pretty floppy with just the thin border to “hold it up”), and to give me more of the inside of the card for a sentiment/signature. I used a sentiment from the “You Mean The World To Me” stamp set, and the fun circles from the “Doodled Designs” stamp set.

I had a lot of fun with this card…but even more fun with the next card in the series – the Sentiment card! Tune in next week to see just how easy it is to make those designs your own!

Artfully Sent - Series Exploring the "W" Key

First, let me introduce you to the Cricut™ "Artfully Sent" Collection from Close To My Heart:

You get the Cricut Cartridge, with up to 700 images, three D-size stamp sets, and a full pack (24 sheets) of White Daisy 12" x 12" cardstock. Just as the "Artbooking" cartridge was designed for scrapbookers, the "Artfully Sent" cartridge is a dream-come-true for card-makers. There are five different types of cards that you can create: Pop-up, Scene, Sentiment, Sleeve, and Pocket (to compliment the "Picture My Life" scrapbooking system). I'm pretty sure that I will not get to all of these cards in my lifetime!

In the following series of blog posts that I will be doing, I will be showing you the five different card types by creating the cards using just one key - the "W" (and, yes, there is a full font included as well!). You will be blown away.

I will start with the first card on the page - the Pop-up card. Here is the "W" key page in the booklet:

For the Pop-up cards, you will use the entire top row - "Pop-up" and "Icon". The suggested cutting size is located in the lower-left corner of the image - for this card it's 5". The finished card will be 7" x 5". The fantastic thing about this cartridge is that you only have to set your dial size once - each coordinating piece will then be cut to the correct size for the card - unless you hit "Real Dial Size" on your machine.

The first panel is simply the card base (shown in dark orange). The second panel will have the "pop-up" box cut into it, and, in this case, a pretty branch and bird. This panel gets glued to the card base, save the "pop-up" box. The third panel is a sentiment for the inside of the card, and the fourth panel is the icon that will "pop-up" when you attach it to the "box" inside.

Since the front of this card is completely blank, I used the branch and bird shapes that were cut out of the inside panel to embellish the front, along with some washi tape, a sentiment, and "Puffies". Here is the front of my card:

And here is the inside:

Isn't this just the cutest thing?! I always loved pop-ups when I was a kid, so I am really loving being able to make cards that do the same thing - so fun & interactive! I used the "Pathfinding" Paper Packet from the Annual Inspirations Idea Book.

OK - that was just card number one! Wait until next week when we will look at the Scene card - you're going to love it!