Create Something Special - From The Heart!

My apologies for not having posted to this blog for SO long. Sometimes life just takes over and gets away from you. But I wanted to make sure that I shared this new card kit with you, because I enjoyed it so much. I wanted to make sure that you saw it and had the opportunity to get a set of your own! I am sorry for it being last-minute, but you still have 5 more days to order!

What I am talking about is the "From the Heart" Card Kit - September's Special from Close To My Heart. What I liked most about this kit was the E-sized stamp set:

There are so many different options and layers of flowers, leaves and greenery, the possibilities are endless. Just wait and see what beautiful arrangements you can create!

Originally, I was just going to purchase the stamp set (that is an option for $29.95), but when I saw that purchasing the whole kit - stamp set, card bases and envelopes - was only $5 more, that was a no-brainer! So in purchasing the entire kit for 20% off at $34.95, this is what you will get:

All of the card pieces need to be punched out (they are all perforated - it only took a few minutes). After punching out all of the pieces, this is what you will have:

The piece with the gold foil is the card base (top in image above). Then, on the bottom from left to right, you have the thin strip, the card front, and the card insert. The first thing you will have to do is assemble the card base. This is as easy as folding the two outside flaps in, applying adhesive, and closing the front of the base on top of the flaps:

Once the flaps are adhered, you'll want to fold the die-cut front of the base as shown:

Next, apply adhesive to the underside of the small bottom fold. Take a card insert and slide it into the card base from the notched top. Keeping the insert centered side-to-side in the card base, adhere the small bottom fold of the card base front to the bottom edge of the card insert, keeping the two flush with one another:

Now you will add adhesive to the top side of that same small bottom fold, right on top of the gold foil:

This is where you will adhere the thin strip, keeping it flush with the fold crease and centered side-to-side (the thin strip will extend a little further than the bottom of the card base front):

Congratulations - you have completed your entire interactive card base! I found it easiest to assemble all of the card bases before I went on to the next step. Now comes the FUN part - stamping your card front! As I said - the possibilities are endless. The first one I stamped, I tried to reproduce what was pictured in the full-color instructions that come with the kit. However, after that one, I just made up my own - one design I did multiples of, then in different colors. Here is the first one:

I already stamped the sentiment, but afterward decided that I would leave all of the sentiments until I knew what card I was going to need - that way, if I need a "Thank You" card, I can just pull one of the pre-stamped cards and add the "Thank You" to the front and inside - easy-peasy! So I stamped the remainder of my cards assembly-line style - it went MUCH faster than just doing one at a time!

After all of your card fronts are stamped, it's time to adhere them to the card base. Apply adhesive to the fold just above the thin strip ONLY. The entire card front will not be adhered to the card base. Align the bottom of the card front to the top of the thin strip and adhere:

Now when you pull the card insert up from the notched top...

Your inside sentiment (which you can stamp after the card has been assembled) is revealed! Push the insert back down into the card base to "close" the card. Here are the other variations of card fronts that I stamped:

Now whenever I need a card for "Thank You", "Happy Birthday", "Thinking of You", or "Congrats", all I have to do is stamp my sentiment. I had so much fun with these cards - I wish that there were more! But 12 cards should be enough to last me quite some time. I hope you enjoy yours, too!

Just Because - Challenge 5

It's time once again to pick a challenge from my "Just Because" canister. Today I drew this slip: "Use a color scheme for a card or page taken from a Pinterest board about clothing." Well, that sounds like fun! Now all I have to do is NOT get sucked into spending all day browsing Pinterest (so hard to do)!

OK, there were so many different color schemes to choose from, I decided to pick one that was "outside my box" (more of a challenge!). Here is the pin that I chose:

To me, this ensemble says Close To My Heart's "Buttercup, Chocolate, and Sky". I decided to use a brand new stamp set from CTMH's Autumn-Winter 2013 Idea Book, "All The Details", because I've been dying to use it! I flipped through the Idea Book for inspiration on a card design, and came upon one of the cards from the "Workshops on the Go Frosted Cardmaking Kit" on page 69. Here is what I came up with:

Cute! The only things I added were a Sky "stamp" of "Washi tape" from the "Washi Wonder" stamp set (a Hostess Exclusive!), two "Sparkles", and some hand-drawn stitching.

Coincidentally enough, the projects posted on Jeanette Lynton's blog today also feature the "All The Details" stamp set! You can check them out here: www.jeanettelynton.com

How have you challenged yourself today?

Facebook Artwork

Hello Friends!

It has occurred to me that some of you may follow my blog and not follow me on Facebook, and vice versa. So for those of you who may not have seen the artwork I have been posting lately to my Facebook Page, I decided I would post it here (this way I can also pin it to my Pinterest Board!) If anyone has any questions as to what products were used for any of the artwork, please contact me and I will be happy to let you know - or just head on over to my Facebook Page and check them out there! Enjoy!

Just Because - Challenge 4

I hope everyone is enjoying doing their own challenges! I am having a blast with these. If you still haven't downloaded your list of challenges, you can do so HERE.

My next challenge was this: "Go to www.jeanettelynton.com and recreate the first thing you see using what you have on hand." Well, the first thing I saw was a long list of photos taken from CTMH events in Austrailia, so I kept going. Then there was a video, then there was this:

This is a card submitted to CTMH by Consultant Carolyn Stout. This is cool, because I have the stamp set she used for the background strips ("Distressed Backgrounds"), and I was pretty sure the tag and "ticket" cuts were from the "Art Philosophy" cartridge, which I also have. Ok then - let's get to work!

I decided that I wanted to brighten things up a bit, so where I did recreate the background pattern, I did it with a rainbow of colors instead (Cranberry, Sunset, Honey, and Pear). The tag I cut from Pacifica cardstock.

Now all there was left to do was stamp and assemble. I ended up using the "Thank You" Mini stamp (which I stamped in Black) and a stamp from "Love Life" (which I stamped in Pacifica) for my focal point. I did not have the stamp that Carolyn used. Voila!

Since my sentiment didn't fit across the width of the ticket, I also changed the orientation of the card from portrait to landscape. Nice.

You could also challenge yourself to jump onto Pinterest or your favorite craft blog and recreate the first thing you see - how fun! Until next time!

"Dream Pop" Rocks!

I can't wait to do more with this "Dream Pop" Paper Pack! I went on a "Dream Pop" blog hop and got LOTS of cool ideas. Last weekend, I did a card workshop birthday party for eleven 8 to 9-year-olds...it was a blast! One of the cards we did used the "Dream Pop" paper pack. It is an adorable dress card, which uses a cut from the Cricut "Artiste" cartridge, along with some manipulating in the Cricut Craft Room. Here's what it looked like:

We also used the "Perfect Fit - Mom" stamp set to put a "decal" on the t-shirt. Since I had one card and "skirt" left over from the workshop, I used the opposite side of this paper to make this card:

I love it! Again, I used the "Perfect Fit - Mom" stamp set for the t-shirt. What a perfect Mother's Day card this would make!

If you would like the .ccr files that I created, in order to make these cards yourself, just comment on this post and I will be happy to send them to you! You will need the Cricut "Artiste" cartridge (CTMH) and a Cricut machine that can cut a width of 12". Let me know!

The "Dream Pop" Paper Pack is available NOW - WHILE SUPPLIES LAST! It's only $10 with a $35 order. Get yours now at http://funforyou.ctmh.com!

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.

Valentine Flair

As promised, here is a look at the fun & elegant valentines we created at my last card-making workshop!

We began with this card which uses January's Stamp of the Month, suitably named "Happy Valentine's". This card was fun for two reasons: we used the large roses stamp to create a tone-on-tone background for the top section of the card and we used CTMH's new alcohol-based markers to color and shade the stamped roses that we used for the focal point. Very cool. This stamp set is so gorgeous - I had to resist using it for every card we did that day! The patterned paper, for those of you who are dying to know, is from the "Clementine" paper pack.

This next card is kind of fun & whimsical. My favorite part of this card is the flower. It was created using the "Just For You" stamp set. You start by stamping the stitched outline (here in gray) onto your precut flower piece from the Cricut "Art Philosophy" cartridge. On a separate piece of Blush cardstock, stamp six of the "petals" in Hollyhock ink and cut out. Adhere them into the spaces on the stitched flower cutout. Add a punched circle of Silver Glitter Paper (sneak peek!) and a button, and you've got yourself one gorgeous flower! The wood-grain patterned paper is from the "Dakota" paper pack, and the strips of glitter in the background are the self-adhesive Silver Shimmer Trim. The sentiment on this card could be anything!

This is a very pretty card which uses several of my favorite products. The first of which is the Cricut "Artiste" cartridge which was used to cut the heart-shaped card and the heart for the sentiment. My second favorite product is the gorgeous Colonial White Rosette Ribbon - what a quick and simple way to add texture, dimension and elegance to your projects! My third favorite product is the Spray Pen. It was used with brown reinker and water to tone down the bright white of the sentiment heart, as well as add that "aged" look - love it. The sentiment is the "Love" stamp, and the patterned paper is from the "Pear & Partridge" paper pack - yes, you can use "Christmas" paper for other things!

Lastly, we put together and embellished one of the treat tubes from the National Papercrafting Month's special, "Whoo's Your Valentine?" Kit. The cute little boxes come pre-cut & scored - all you have to do is stamp it (if you choose), fold it up, and glue it together. Then you can embellish any way you'd like! The kit comes with it's own D-sized stamp set with plenty of options for spicing up your treats! We had a lot of fun - then we filled them with Valentine candy corn and/or Cherry M 'n M's...yum.

I hope this inspires you to create a special valentine for your special someone! Come back next Wednesday when I'll be sharing...well, I don't know yet, so it'll be a surprise! I LOVE surprises! :-)

Holiday Card Workshop - Plus a Makeover!

Well, the holidays are behind us for another year. Last November, the attendees of my Holiday Card Workshop and I had a lot of fun creating some cool cards - which you have yet to see! So, I will show you the cards we made, but then give the last one a simple makeover so that we can use it for a completely different occasion. Yea! Here they are:

This is a very simple, yet striking card which uses the "Pear & Partridge" paper pack, along with a gorgeous Designer Rhinestone Brad. Interestingly enough, we used this same patterned paper on a card we did this week at my workshop for Valentine's Day. The sentiment is from the "Merry & Bright" stamp set. An incredibly versatile design - adaptable to any occasion!

You wouldn't know it from the outside, but this festive card is actually a gift card holder. Here's the inside:

This card was cut using the Cricut "Artiste" cartridge - it creates the pocket for you and everything! The front is decked out with a wreath from the "Merry & Bright" stamp set, a couple of patterns from the "Pear & Partridge" paper pack, and a flower from the "Just Blooms Floret Paper Flowers" pack. I also accented with a red brad, red Sparkle, and metallic silver pen.

This is a card you've seen before (if you follow my blog!) - it's from the "Pear & Partridge Workshop on the Go Card-Making Kit". The paper, stamps, ribbon & Sparkles are all included in the kit. This is a very easy card to recreate, which is why I've done it so many times!

This was the last card we created - very wintery, don't you think?! It's very appropriate for today, as I sit looking out my window at the wet, snowy mess outside. This card uses a Provo Craft Cuttlebug embossing folder (Snowflakes) for the background, CTMH's "Perfect Fit - Holidays" stamp set, and "Slate Satin Polka-Dot Ribbon" across the middle. Again, a very simple design to duplicate...so let's do that right now and use this design for a different card:

Oh how fun! This time I used "Perfect Fit - Birthday" (sneak peek!), the "Designer Ribbon - Red Collection", and the Cuttlebug Dots embossing folder. Instead of a cool blue & gray, I warmed it up with Cranberry & Honey. Fast & easy!

Next time, tune in to see the incredible Valentine cards we made this past week. We even made a treat tube from the "Whoo's Your Valentine?" Kit - it was a lot of fun. Until next week - stay warm!

Just For Fun - Part 4

Happy New Year! I have made but one new-year's resolution this year - to try and be better at updating my blog! Time always seems to have a way of getting away from me, but I am going to do my best to make the time to update my blog once a week. There is a new Spring-Summer 2013 Idea book from Close To My Heart on the horizon, so there will be lots of new products, artwork and techniques to show you! I can't wait! So be sure to check back every week for new artwork & inspiration (I will be trying for the same day each week - when I know what day that will be, I will let you know!)

For now, let's check out some more artwork using CTMH products from the current Autumn-Winter 2012 Idea Book! First up - a terrific way to use up those scraps:

The patterned paper used on this card is from the "Clementine" Paper Pack. The paper was cut into leaf shapes using the Cricut "Art Philosophy" cartridge. The butterflies were also cut from the "Art Philosophy" cartridge. The sentiment is from the "Casual Expressions" stamp set. I love this stamp set because seven of the eleven sentiments have coordinating cuts on the Cricut "Artiste" cartridge - I just love not having to use my scissors!

This beautiful card was created with the Cricut "Artiste" cartridge - it's what's referred to as a "swing card". The Cricut cuts the card itself, with the "swinging" heart - all I did was stamp the "Love" stamp onto two cardstock hearts (also cut from the "Artiste" cartridge), and attach them to either side of the swinging heart. I then embellished the card with cardstock strips & pennants, a paper flower, and a button. So simple and so pretty!

In keeping with the love theme, let's move on to this adorable gift bag - also created with (you guessed it!) the Cricut "Artiste" cartridge. The scalloped borders were created using paper from the "Dakota" paper pack. The stamped images, from the "Cup of Cheer" stamp set, were stamped, colored, cut out, and adhered to the inside and outside of the bag's window. It's so cute!

The "Dakota" paper pack is a lot of fun to work with. I used it again on this gift box (cut from the Cricut "Artiste"), along with Blue Designer Ribbon, an Antiqued Gold button, and Square Durables Studs. The box has a window cut into the front which can be covered from the back with a clear or colored plastic, or you could place the contents of the box in a clear bag or tissue paper. But wait...there's more!

It's the "Dakota" paper pack again, only this time used to cover the "My Creations Memory Game". This item is a chipboard box, with a magnetic-closure top, which contains 24 3" x 3" chipboard squares. After covering the box with patterned paper and Durables Studs, I covered each of the interior squares (front & back) with 3" x 3" versions of my Studio J layouts! Can this get any cuter?! What a fantastic gift idea for grandparents! I got this idea from Convention last year - as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to do my own. It's easy since Studio J provides you with JPEG files of your layouts for you to print at any size you'd like! Love it!   OK, just one more little one....

I call this "tiny purse", mainly because that's exactly what it is. I didn't even bother to stamp or embellish these beyond the "pearl button" because I thought they were adorable just the way they were. I made these with the "Artiste" cartridge (surprise!) and used them as little incentives for booking a party with me. If you booked a party, you got to choose a "purse" which contains a slip of paper with a free gift written on it. The "latch" of the purse closes with Mini Hook & Loop Dots. I made larger versions of this purse for my daughter's book club members - they were pink or purple with black scissors on the front (cut from "Artiste") and contained barrettes, hair elastics, and a travel brush (the book was hair-salon themed). It's such a great idea for party goodie bags or gift bags to your best girlfriends (these mini-versions are perfect for those with American Girl dolls, too!)

So many fun ideas to try! If you have any questions about how to make any of these projects, don't hesitate to call or email me! Better yet, come to my next Card-Making Workshop on Sunday, January 13th from 1-4pm. The class fee of $7.50 is due by January 5th in order to reserve your spot! As an added incentive, attendees of this workshop will be the first to receive copies of the NEW CTMH Spring-Summer 2013 Idea Book, as well as creating on of the adorable treat tubes from this month's "Whoo's Your Valentine" National Papercrafting Month special kit! Call or email me ASAP to reserve your spot!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Just For Fun - Part 3

Well, I definitely couldn't let today go by without some sort of mention - we won't see another 12/12/12 in our lifetimes, so I hope everyone enjoyed theirs! I had plans to get TONS of stuff done today - the last of my Christmas shopping, grocery shopping for all of the yummy baking I plan on doing, maybe a little wrapping - because this was my only day off from work this week. Well, wouldn't you know, my daughter ended up staying home sick from school today - for the third day in a row. So much for best-laid plans. So given that both my daughter and my husband are sick, and I am still recovering from a sprained ankle from last week, the best I could think to do to celebrate the day was order pizza & breadsticks for dinner, and make Shirley Temples to wash it all down. I must admit, it was a tasty dinner (and drink), but not at all what I had envisioned.

Anyway, I thought one more little thing I could do would be to post the Christmas/Winter artwork that I had done for my Open House...being that Christmas is a mere13 days away! So sit back, relax, grab yourself a "special drink", enjoy the artwork inspiration, and toast 12/12/12!

Let's start with the Advent Calendar (better late than never!). This project is actually a Close To My Heart Workshop on the Go - it comes complete with everything you need, except the Cricut, and our Exclusive Artiste Cricut cartridge. The Artiste cartridge has the cut for the boxes that slide into the cubbies. The only other thing you need is black ink and adhesive (and little goodies to fill the boxes!).

This cheerful card uses the "Merry & Bright" stamp set, along with the "Pear & Partridge" patterned paper (wow - say that five times fast!). The pearlized "Opaques" really add to the texture and dimension of this card.

Looking for an adorable little gift bag to bring to your neighbor or teacher filled with treats? Look no further! This festive bag uses the "Pear & Partridge" paper, as well as cuts from the Cricut Artiste cartridge (the bag and the topper). The red polka-dot frame is from the "Perfect Fit - Frames" stamp set, and "Warmest Wishes" is from the "Perfect Fit - Holiday" stamp set.

Here's another fun way to use both of the above-mentioned "Perfect Fit" stamp sets. The cute baskets were made from a cut on the Cricut Artiste - I cut it twice for each basket - once in red, and once in white. I then glued them together, scored the fold lines really well, and assembled the baskets. This way, the top scalloped edges that fold over the top show white and not red. The "flowers" were made with stamped images from the "Perfect Fit" stamp sets adhered to drinking straws that I painted with white craft paint, then wrapped with thin, gray cardstock strips. These would be super-cute wrapped with red cardstock to look like candy canes!

These three gorgeous cards were also made using a Workshop on the Go, just as the Advent Calendar was. These are from the "Pear & Partridge WOTG Card Kit". It makes five of each of these three designs. The paper, cardstock, stamp set, ribbon, and red bling all come with the kit - just cut, stamp, adhere and send! Whoohoo! One-quarter of my Christmas cards are done!

Lastly, but certainly not least, is this adorable card, made with the "Flakey Friends" stamp set. How fun!! The card is only 3" x 3", which makes it even cuter (if that's even possible!). You could emboss the snowflake background with white embossing powder, or use our White Daisy pigment ink to achieve this custom effect. I just love the bright colors!

Well, this has been a fun way to end my didn't-go-as-planned day. I hope this has inspired you to drag out those dusty, old stamp sets and create something fun & festive this holiday season - there's still time!! And HAPPY 12/12/12!