Damask Divas Ivy Lane Blog Hop!

 Hello, my crafty peeps!  Welcome back for another edition of the Damask Divas Blog Hop!  This time, we are debuting the BRAND NEW Ivy Lane Paper Packet! Our entire hop goes live on February 1st, so all of the links will be working by then--please bear with us as we get the kinks out and help our newest Divas get the hang of this thing!  :)

If you came from Jessica's blog, then you are on the right path!  If not, feel free to start at the beginning over at the Damask Divas Blog where you can see the entire line-up of Divas participating!  :)

Since February is a month of love at our home for a variety of reasons (V-day and two anniversaries!), I wanted to focus on that for my theme.  I had never made the mailbox from the Close to My Heart Cricut Artiste Collection, so I figured it was about time!

This amazing paper project is found on page 51 of the Artiste handbook.  I LOVE how they color coordinated the parts in the pictures so you know just what you are cutting with each step.  It really makes choosing your papers a breeze!  Then, it even shows you how to put it together in the Assembly Guide.  Thank goodness, because I did NOT do it the right way at first!  ;)

I used Cocoa CS that is included in the Ivy Lane Workshop on the Go Cardmaking Kit for the main body of my mailbox.  The trim was cut on Kraft CS.

These gorgeous 3D flowers were JUST the thing to decorate my mailbox.  I used Kraft CS, Hollyhock CS from the Cardmaking Kit, and the double sided pattern paper included as well--one side for the leaves and the other for the flowers.  :)  These beautiful cuts are also found on Artiste...the leaf is right underneath the flower.

I attached a great little love banner that is found on the Remarkable Wreath My Acrylix.  This has long been one of my favorite stamp sets from CTMH, and I even bought it BEFORE I became an independent consultant.  I stamped it in Cocoa Ink and blinged the ends of the banner up a bit with a couple of the smallest gems in the Sparkles Brown and Tan Assortment.

Back to those flowers for a moment...I inked the edges with my Sweet Leaf Exclusive Ink Pad and dauber.  Then I folded them along a faux vein to give them some depth.

See the bit of glimmer on those inked edges?  I used my Wink of Stella glitter pen to easily add the pretty sparkle.  Super-easy and quick, PLUS I love the effect on the flowers!   I attached them to the mailbox with Liquid Glass--THE BEST go-to adhesive for bulky embellishments! 

Here is one product you won't find anywhere else in the NEW Spring and Summer Idea Book--GOLD Shimmer Trim!!!  It is exclusively available in the Ivy Lane Workshop on the Go Cardmaking Kit!  Let's just say it was on my FIRST order!  ;)  It matched really well with these Rolos candies that I decorated with a simple 3/4 inch scallop punch.  These were PERFECT to fill my mailbox!  I used the Almond Hershey Kisses that are wrapped in gold for another version of this box (and my friend adored it, BTW!)

I hope you found some mojo to take with you from my blog today! 

Your next stop is Brenda's blog!  Have a great time browsing all the fabulous creations on the rest of the hop, and never let ANYONE steal your sparkle!  :)

February Stamp of the Month!

Embossing is BOSS!!

This Color Dare is Dedicated to Mom :)

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare!  Every week we post a new color-related challenge for you to try with your Close to My Heart Color Pallet.  If you don't have the specific colors to participate, please feel free to substitute similar ones or you can see one of our fabulous CTMH consultants to get your hands on our amazing products for next time!  :)

This week, we have a second round of Buzz and Bumble colors:  Creme Brulee, Goldrush, and Sunset.  When I read the colors, I KNEW what I was going to make as an embellishment for whatever project I made, AND who it would be for!  I love instant inspiration like that!

A fantastically crafty fellow teammate, Cathy Derouche, has been sharing her method of making these darling flowers with just cardstock and our Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge daisy cuts.  You can see more HERE on her blog.  I have been wanting to make one, and knew this would be the perfect way to decorate a gift for my mother for Mother's Day.  She adores Black-Eyed Susan and Daisies! Thanks, Cathy!

This is a super-easy and fun gift to give!  I scoured the internet and Pinterest for the directions to make this particular box, but didn't find anything except the size for the papers around the candy pieces.  According to Pamela O'Connor's directions, they are 1 x 3 inches.  I found that if you cut the matchbox on the Cricut Artiste Cartridge at 4.5 inches in relative size, the box is the perfect size to hold 9 paper-wrapped Hershey's Nuggets candies.

I just love how the flowers Cathy makes have so much dimension!  There are three cuts each in three different sizes (2.75, 2.5, and 2) of the Daisy cut on page 28 of the Art Philosophy booklet.  I used the Creme Brulee Cardstock for the petals and the Cocoa Cardstock for the center.  The center is made with the 3D flower on page 69 cut at 2.5. 

This is a great time for me to introduce another of my Five Fave CTMH tools!  This one just missed the top 5, but is definitely in the top 10--the Quilling Tool.  It is perfect for rolling the 3D flower in the center, but it really came in handy for shaping these petals too...

I also used the My Acrylix Perfect Fit--Mom stamp set for this project.  The sentiment is stamped in Cocoa on a shape that I cut from the Artiste Cartridge with my Cricut on Champagne Cardstock.  I used the same color CS for the inside box of the slider.  The Buzz and Bumble B&T Duos were perfect to use for this project.  Bling?  Of COURSE!

This cleverly hidden message will be revealed as the candies disappear...

A word of advice on the candy.  Make sure you buy enough Nuggets.  Some of them are inevitably lost in the creative process...

 Here is a shot of the matchbox open with the candy inside.

I hope you have a chance to try this box sometime--it is a great gift to give in a pinch!  And you simply HAVE to try making one of these flowers--Cathy has me hooked on them!  :)

Hope to you see you over at this week's Color Dare!  :)