I Can Do That!

I am excited because I got a bunch of new (well, new to me) "special issues" of Paper Crafts Magazine for Christmas. I LOVE looking at cards and getting new ideas. I especially love it when I come across a card, and right away think to myself, "I can do that!" It doesn't happen as often as you think! So today I am going to walk you through how I recreated a card I saw on page 103 of the Paper Crafts special issue, "Handmade Cards", designed by Heather Campbell. Here is the original card:

The chevron patterned paper that Heather used on the right-side of her card screamed "washi tape" to me. Since I just happen to have some gorgeous, 1"-wide, Juniper washi tape from Close To My Heart, I knew I had to use it to make this card. So I gathered my supplies:

I didn't have a hexagon background or the yellow "dots", so I used a background stamp from my "All The Details" stamp set and Durables Artisan Studs instead. As you can see, I have already trimmed my Whisper cardstock to 1/4" smaller than my card base (for a 1/8" border all the way around), and rounded the top left corner. Next, I wrapped a strip of Juniper washi tape around the right edge of the Whisper cardstock:

I just love how this looks! Admittedly, I should have stamped the background before putting the washi tape on (my bad), but this was easily remedied by using a sticky-note to cover the tape that I would have stamped behind. I stamped my background in second-generation Juniper ink (I felt that first-generation would have been too overpowering). Stamping an image in second-generation simply means that before stamping your image onto your project, you first stamp once onto a piece of scrap paper, then onto your project. This gives you a lighter, more subtle impression:

Next, I cut my sentiment on the Cricut using CTMH's "Artbooking" cartridge. I found a cute "Hello" on page 59 of the booklet. Since the "hello" in the original card is wood, I decided to cut my sentiment multiple times so that I could glue them all on top of one another to create depth. I cut it five times:

Once I glued them all together, it had a little bit of substance:

Now it was just a matter of putting everything together:

I used a thin, black pen to run along the outline of "Hello" to make it "pop" a bit more. I also trimmed off the period that was at the end.


I hope this inspires you to recreate something you see - in a magazine, online, on Pinterest, or anywhere! Just remember - you can do that!

Happy National Papercrafting Month - and New Year!

As if starting off a brand new year wasn't enough cause for celebration - it's also National Papercrafting Month! So when you're a company that specializes in papercrafting, you know they're going to do something great to celebrate! This year, Close To My Heart is offering a fantastic, exclusive card kit that I know you are going to want to get your hands on. Introducing the "Cloud Nine Cardmaking Kit". With this all-inclusive kit, you will be able to make 10 adorable cards (2 each of 5 designs) using three sneak-peek accessories from the upcoming Idea Book (yea!), a new D-size stamp set, and exclusive papers. What's more - when you acquire this exclusive kit for just $15 with a $35 purchase from the Autumn-Winter 2013 Idea Book, you automatically qualify for the January Stamp of the Month for just $5! That's $63.95 worth of product for only $20 - a savings of $43.95! What's not to love?! But wait, there's more! Sign up as a new CTMH Consultant in January and submit a total in sales of $300 or more before June (easy!), and receive the "Cloud Nine" kit for FREE. Check out these sneak peeks:

A peek at the five card designs you will create from the kit (see more on my website at funforyou.ctmh.com).

The D-size stamp set that comes with the kit. How fun!!

The January Stamp of the Month, "Cross-Stitch Wishes", images (set of 13).

I can't wait to put my card kit together! In that spirit, I am holding an exclusive Card-Making Workshop for just THREE PEOPLE, during which we will be making the FIVE cards from the "Cloud Nine" Kit.

The Date:  Sunday, January 12 from 1-4pm.
The Place: my house
The Cost:  $10
PLUS, one lucky winner will be taking home the fun stamp set that comes with the kit - simply place an order that day and be entered to win!
The first three people to respond WITH payment will have their place secured! I look forward to seeing you there!

Happy New Year!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!  :-)