Damask Divas Laughing Lola Blog Hop!

Welcome to my blog!  I know you have been waiting for this!  It is finally time for another Damask Divas Blog Hop!  Be sure to tune in I am sure you are all enjoying the fantastic paper creations of my teammates by now, so let's get down to business...

(If any links aren't live yet, just check out the hop Oct. 1 when it will be free of kinks!)
If you hopped over from Traci's Blog then you are in the right place!  If not, you can find the lineup  HERE at the Damask Divas Blog. (Or you can just go back to Mandy's since hers is the first stop!)  ;)

The Laughing Lola Paper Packet is certainly a new favorite of mine from Close to My Heart's Autumn/Winter Idea Book.  I thought I would add a pop of Sunset CS to see if I could make her Halloween friendly, and I think it worked like a charm!  ;)

This fab little treat box cracker cut is on the Cricut Artiste Collection.  I used my ATG to put it together nice and tightly, then filled it with a Bath and Body PocketBac, decorated Hershey's Chocolate Nuggets, and Kisses! 

The Black Shimmer Trim is one of my all-time favorite embellishments to use for some serious bling.  Isn't the scallop cut on the ends of the box a great detail?!

Check out these Twist Ties I used to decorate the ends where the box gets tied shut...would you believe I was able to color them with my alcohol ink markers?  YEP!  I have also used my ink daubers to color them up as well!  :)

These Nugget candies are so fun to decorate with a simple scrap of 1 x 3 inch paper or cardstock.  I added this awesome spiderweb border found on the Artiste Cricut Cartridge to these as well.  SO easy!  The Dark Chocolate Kisses are are already the perfect color to go with my box!

I am going to give this nice little package to my kiddo's teacher to keep her happy and germ free for the Fall!  ;)

Thanks so much for hopping in today!  Your next stop on the hop (giggle) is Teri's Blog!  If you ever get lost, you can always check out the entire line-up over on the Damask Divas Blog.  Have a great time checking out all the creations and hope to see you here again soon!  :)

Going Au Naturale at Heart 2 Heart with the Close to My Heart Kraft Container

Hi everyone!  I probably say this a lot, but isn't the time just FLYING by?  It is already Team Sunset's turn to wow you with our projects and get your creative juices flowing for the first Heart 2 Heart Challenge for the month of October!!!

After a good, hearty giggle among the DT members, the "Au Naturale" theme for this month took my mind to mother nature and all things Kraft.  Very soon I was raking my way down the leafy path of creating something for Thanksgiving with the My Creations Kraft Container.  I would like to share with you my Blessings Bank.

I used the Close to My Heart Always Grateful My Acrylix Stamp Set to make the tree shape and the "always grateful" bands along the top and bottom of the container.  I stamped the leaves in first and second generation Goldrush, Autumn Terracotta, and Ruby Inks with the "leaves" stamp from the Cityscape My Acrylix.

Both the shape that the tree is stamped on and the background woodgrain shape are cut from the Cricut Artiste Cartridge exclusively from Close to My Heart.  The gorgeous little woodgrain is a  pattern in the Universal Backgrounds My Acrylix set.  I simply stamped it in Chocolate Ink on Chocolate CS.

The Dark Chocolate Striped Grosgrain ribbon encircles the container behind the focal shapes.  Mocha Opaques stud the wood and trim pieces.

I wanted the lid to be very basic with minimal decoration to get in the way of opening and closing the Bank.  Each day in November, I want my family to write one blessing on a leaf I cut with the Artiste Cartridge and "deposit" it inside.  In the future, when we might not be feeling very blessed, we can "make a withdrawal" and read them to remind ourselves how many things we have to thank God for each day that we tend to take for granted.  :)

I thought this sentiment from the Always Grateful stamps was JUST the perfect one for the lid...

Gratitude...may you always know your blessings!

We would feel SO blessed if you would make up your own project for our theme, Au Naturale, and link up with us over at the Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog!  You have the entire month of October to play along.  God bless YOU until we meet back here again!  :)

Since today is the last day of September and National Stamping Month, don't forget to order the September Stamp of the Month:

and the Triple Stamp Set, You Are My Happy!

TODAY is the LAST day to get them!!!

A Freshly Made Sketch for Christmas!

I love the new sketch for this week on Freshly Made Sketches...it is by fellow Close to My Heart Consultant Allisa Chilton!  :)  I am a huge fan of Allisa's, and adore the clean lines in her cards.  I especially love her knack for matting...which this great sketch is all about!  :)

What a great opportunity to get to work on some Christmas cards!  I made my 6 x 6 card base out of Black CS.  Then I matted my heart out with White Daisy, Ruby, and a paper from the For Always Paper Packet.  Since I haven't quite been able to get my hands on our Close to My Heart Sparkle and Shine papers due out soon (exciting!) I decided to leave the Christmas portion of my card to the Green Glitter Paper!  I just KNEW it would do the trick! 

I traced this ornament from a set of retired ornament chipboard shapes.  The hook connector is made with our Silver Glitter Paper.  The beautiful script word, JOY, is cut from our brand new Cricut Artbooking Cartridge onto White Daisy CS and attached with glue dots for strength on the glitter. 

I didn't stop there, though!  I also added a bit of shimmery metallic tinsel-laced twine and a poinsettia embellishment from the Mini Medley Accents Ruby collection. 

On the inside, I used the gorgeous silhouette of the nativity from Glory to God  and a beautiful sentiment to tie the JOY ornament to the rest of the card from Merry and Bright.

Now I am starting to get ahead of myself in the seasonal celebrations, so I better slow down!  Maybe I should just start my Christmas shopping instead?  ;)

Cardholder for St. Louis Regional Cards

Hi there!  On Thursday, I shared the cards that I was able to make from the Close to My Heart St. Louis Regional Celebration in 2012.  If you missed it, you can see them HERE.  Today, on the anniversary of that amazing experience, I'm sharing the cardholder that I designed to coordinate!  :)

I really couldn't put this set in a box because of all the different sizes, one being a 3 x 8!  But I needed to have something since I was donating the set for an auction.  I came up with a great solution, and decorated a 3D item from the CTMH Artiste Collection to go with any kind of decor.

The retired Dakota Woodgrain pattern was such a versatile paper.  Just add Burlap Ribbon and Durables for a great decor piece that you won't want to hide in the desk!  ;)

The auction is tomorrow, and I can't wait to see how things turn out!  :)

Double-Dare for Color Dare 62!

It is Friday!  I have been waiting ever so patiently for this day to come so that I could share this card with you guys!  Maybe not patiently, but definitely waiting, right?

This week at the Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge, we want to double-dare you to use TWO greens from Close to My Heart--Sweet Leaf and Olive.  You are welcome to add your choice of neutrals.  I was making glittered up cards for a challenge, when I realized I could add a little bit of Sweet Leaf to this one for the Challenge and it would be LOVELY!

The wonderful Autumn feel of the Huntington Papers were putty in my hands as I trimmed them and inked up the edges with Cashmere Ink. (I think Cashmere should be spelled "caxhmere" btw...because that is how I keep spelling it, lol!)

I created the flower with the Brown and Tan Glitter Papers and the Just For You My Acrylix which has always been one of my favorites.  I simply stamped the images on the BACKside of the glitter paper and trimmed them out.  Be careful when you try this as the ink dries very slowly for some reason on the backing material.  Can you say, "inkyfingers?"  ;)

The leaves and sentiment are stamped in Olive and Caxhmere, respectively, using images from the Happy Autumn My Acrylix stamps.  ;)

Rosewood Mini Medley Accents add some great texture and strength to the feel of the card.  Below, I used a zip strip from the Huntington Paper Packet--don't forget about these awesome 1/2 inch strips of paper that come on the patterns!

The inside of the card got the Bronze Shimmer Trim treatment...as well as a cut from the Artbooking Cartridge that mimics the pattern in the Huntington papers nicely. 

I am SOOOOO ready for Autumn now!  ;)

How about you?  Show us your creations with these two shades of green (or similar) by linking up with us over at the Color My Heart Color Dare!  We can't wait to see what you make!  :)

Throwback Thursday: Meet Me in St. Louie

I am absolutely stunned that it has been almost a year since I traveled to St. Louis for the Close to My Heart Regional Celebration.  The memories are still so fresh, and it really hammered home how amazing it is to represent this fantastic company.  Maybe it is because of all the fabulous new friendships I made during the trip?  :)  What better way to celebrate, than to finally finish one of the projects we got to take part in?  Sure wish I had planned it that way!  ;)

Remember that I promised to show you some cards that mix and match patterns from different paper packets?  Cards 2 and 4 below do just that!  Here are the four cards that feature the retired Close to My Heart papers from Avonlea, Flirty, Dakota, and Scholastic.  They all use images from the Casual Expressions My Acylix and the wonderful Burlap Ribbon.

Clementine Paper Packet

Scholastic and Dakota Paper Packets

Flirty Paper Packet

Avonlea and Dakota Paper Packet

So, tell me, do YOU like to stay current with all the new products and ideas from Close to My Heart?  Do you like to be the first to get your hands on newly released items, like our amazing Cricut cartridges?  Would YOU like to travel to a Regional Celebration or even CONVENTION in Disneyland next summer?

Guess what I am doing today?  As a consultant, I am pre-ordering the FABULOUS new products in our soon to be released Holiday Gift Guide!!!!  Guess what else?  I am getting them at a discount!!!  You can do the same thing when you join my team!  Do you need to rediscover YOUR creative side?  That is just what happened to me when I signed up to be a hobbyist a year and a half ago!  Little did I know how my business would grow in the months to come!  ;)  Click HERE to find out more about joining Team Been There, Blinged That, and invest in YOURSELF. 

Project Inspirations: Mixed Papers

Today I also have a video to share that shows how easy it can be to mix papers from different paper packets from Close to My Heart.  Have a peek, and tomorrow I will show you some examples!  :)

A Huntington Mojo With Meaning

Hello, my crafty friends. 

What is your least favorite card to make?  I am torn when it comes to answering this question.  I most dread needing to make sympathy cards because of the very nature of the situation that caused the need for a card in the first place.  However, I love the very opportunity to provide a word of comfort to anyone that is in need of it.

My friends recently lost their father suddenly, and I while I dreaded heading into my room to make them, I could not wait to send them a hug in the form of a handmade card.  For inspiration, I turned to Mojo Monday's latest sketch, and the soft hues of Close to My Heart's Huntington Paper.

The sketch gave me a great starting point to finally pull out my verve die cuts and matching stamps.  When I can't find what I need in my Close to My Heart My Acrylix, my Verve collection is one of my first stops.  I used the Bloom and Grow set with coordinating dies to stamp this flower in Autumn Terracotta, Barn Red, and Olive.  They were perfect for the overall theme.   I also added some Mocha Opaques to draw out the Champagne color from the Huntington zip strips I used for the banners.  The "heartfelt sympathy" is stamped in Slate Ink from the Verve Blessings set. 

The second card is quite similar using the same supplies except Cocoa Ink for the sentiment...

It will be a long process of saying goodbye for my friends this week.  I pray that God holds them tightly in his loving arms so that they know in their hearts it is really a matter of "until we meet again." 

Muse Challenge #36 with Cityscape

I am so sorry for all the double daily posts lately!  Thanks bunches if you subscribe to me via email--I promise there won't be so many after this daily card challenge is over.  :)

I have been looking for new challenges to try, and I happened to find two of them that worked out perfectly together.  The first is called the Muse Challenge.  Each challenge uses a different card creation as inspiration for yours.  They can explain it much better than I can over on their blog, so head on over and check them out!  The second challenge I found is a sketch challenge called CAS(E) this Sketch!  I have been really enjoying the Clean and Simple style, so wanted to give it another go.

Here is my card...I am absolutely THRILLED with how it turned out!!!

Alright, so the Muse card is by Karen M. and is gorgeous!  Take a peek...

Muse Inspiration Card by Karen M.

I knew immediately which parts of the card inspired me--the embossed resist technique she used and the fantastic colors of the background!   I also knew what my scene would look like!  I grabbed my Close to My Heart Cityscape My Acrylix stamps and got straight to work.

I used my black pigment mini ink to stamp the buildings, and then quickly sprinkled them with clear detail embossing powder before shooting it with my heating tool.  With these juicy pigment inks, you only need to have clear powder on hand to emboss in any color (and we have 40!)  LOVE that shine!

Next, I used my Versamark Inkpad to stamp the snowflakes on the background.  I again used the clear embossing powder and heated it up.  Now for the inky fun!  I used my sponge daubers to randomly pat Outdoor Denim, Gypsy, and Indian Corn Blue over the top of the snowflakes.  To keep the windows of the buildings nice and brightly lit, I learned quickly to cover them with a piece of CS when I was stamping near them.  When I was happy with the ink coverage, I added Bitty Sparkles to some of the biggest snowflakes.

My banner with the word, "PEACE," was cut from my Close to My Heart Artiste Cartridge on White Daisy CS and backed with silver Shimmer Trim.  I thought it was the perfect sentiment to complement the scene, and a super addition for rounding out the CAS(E) sketch!

I think this makes a wonderful city-themed Christmas Card!   How about you?

WAIT!!!  Don't forget about my giveaway from earlier today HERE!  :)  

A Dynamic Duo Indeed!

Have you ever tried one card, two ways?  That is what I did for this next challenge post!

I love to try and combine challenges when able because, quite frankly, it is a super time saver!  I also enjoy the added challenge to combine challenges!  ;)

The first version of this card is for the Dynamic Duos Challenge this week to combine Black with a Kraft color--I used Desert Sand from Close to My Heart.  You are allowed to use any neutrals for the challenge along with these colors.

I used a gorgeous fall themed stamp set from Close to My Heart called Harvest Happiness.  They are clear, acrylic stamps, so you can see through them to stamp on the shapes that coordinate.  These shapes can be cut with your Cricut cutting machine from Provo Craft with the exclusive Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge.  I used the rock-and-roll technique to make the leaves all sorts of brown shades with my Cocoa, Saddle, Bamboo, and Desert Sand Inks.

You can see how I mimicked the shapes on the front on the inside below.  I just cut out two of these card shapes out with the Cricut Artiste Cartridge from Close to My Heart as well--one in Black and one in Desert Sand.  Then I just used the Black one as my card base, and cut up the other one to use the different parts on the inside so it would not be all Black.

For the second challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays, I added some color to the leaves.  They are having a fall colors challenge and you must use at least one leaf on your clean and simple card.  I was quite happy to add some color!  ;)

I really do like how the Colonial White CS makes the leaves pop out from the black background.  That cute little tag is cut from the Art Philosophy Cartridge as well, and I used two different stamp sets to create the sentiment:  Perfect Fit Thanksgiving and Holiday Tags.  A couple of Black Opaques complete the tag.   I fashioned a frayed bundle of Hemp to "attach" the tag to the leaf cluster.

Well, what do you think?  Which do you prefer?  Color or neutral?  Would you like to win your favorite of the two?  All you have to do is 

1.  Leave me a comment telling me which is your favorite and why.

2.  Become a follower here on my blog, Mimi, Myself, and I.

3.  Like me on Facebook.  

I will pick a winner from all the eligible US entries who will receive the card of their choice!  :)  You have until the end of September to comment, and I will announce the winner here on my blog.  Good luck, and thanks for popping in to see what I made today!  :)

Color Dare Reminder and a New Record!!!

Get your creations in for this week's Color Dare by Thursday the 26th at NOON!

I just whipped this little CAS card up in 40 minutes FLAT!!!!  If you know me, you realize this is a totally record-breaking moment, lol!  I am celebrating by linking it up to CAS-ual Fridays CFC115 and the Color My Heart Color Dare right NOW!  ;) 

I used two fantastic Close to My Heart My Acrylix stamp sets for this one:  Cityscape and Perfect Fit Thanksgiving.  I simply (no pun intended....ok, so yeah, it is intended) ADORE this sentiment--"give thanks" in that petite little font.  Isn't it amazing?  The Olive Twine is from the Harvest Baker's Twine Assortment, and I cut that tiny tag from the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge.  :)

Can you see the sparkle that I HAD to add to the tree leaves?  Gotta love that Glitter Glitz!  This color is the Almond variety.

I used the three challenge colors and then used the neutrals Champagne, Colonial White, and Cocoa.

I am sooooooo in love with the CAS style right now!

ALSO!!!  In case you read an earlier post about my Aunt who has been battling some health issues, I wanted to let you know that this card is for her--after so many weeks, she is HOME!!!!  The docs are optimistic that they removed all the cancer, and she is eating her way back to her old self!  Praise God for all He has given and provides...give thanks!  :)