Graduation Rehearsal: Senior Year

I'm tiptoeing into this one...

Yesterday was the last day.  Mandatory school is a thing of the past for baby #1.  Seems like only yesterday that we were singing about getting a letter with Blue's Clues before this crazy thing called school even entered the picture!

In my Artbooking mini-album we have come to senior year.  Words cannot describe.

Vellum is such a great accent to add a delicate, feminine touch to these pages.  Sparkles with vellum is even better!  I used the School Years My Acrylix to stamp the year on this one in White Daisy Pigment Ink.

I  do so love this Keyboard Uppercase Alphabet My Acrylix from Close to My Heart.  It is one of those, "I don't have to be too careful to line these up" sets.  :)  It worked perfectly alongside one of my faves in the Ariana Complements chipboard shapes.

The very last page is this darling envelope.  I decided to add the rest of the wallet-sized pics that didn't have a place in this album.

Tomorrow is the big day...ready or not!  My heart will never be quite ready, but my girl is certainly running to cross the finish line...

Crazy May Continues with Confirmation

Welcome back to my little corner of the blog world!  I have a super-easy card today to give you a little inspiration.

The May crazies are crazier than usual this year when you throw in my niece's confirmation last week.  It is tricky to find a card for this kind of occasion without a visit to some specialty store...UNLESS you have some wonderful cardmaking supplies handy!  ;)

I used one of my all time favorite bible verses from Verve Stamps as the sentiment and possibly my favorite pattern paper from the Close to My Heart Ariana Paper Packet...

The grey CS is also included in the Ariana packet.  I stamped the verse and edged all the pattern paper in Slate ink that matched nicely.

See the embossed pattern in the background?  I used my Sizzix Big Shot machine and Damask Embossing Folder on a sheet of packaging from a frame I bought, lol.  I even used it in the layers of the die cut flower from MCT!  LOVE how that worked out!

Shop 24/7 for these super deals and amazing stamps and scrapbook products on my CTMH website!

Counting Down to Graduation with Ariana and Artbooking

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating a special mother in your life.  Time to turn things over to celebrating a fabulous daughter in my life this week!  My oldest is graduating, and it totally sneaked up on me...

Reminiscing is something that I can easily do with this sweet mini-album I made with my Cricut Artbooking Cartridge on my Expression Machine.  Here are a few more looks inside!

I don't think the Polaroid trend will ever leave my pages...I just love the look!  This particular cut is a great way to use the Close to My Heart Glitter Paper.  Again, one of my go-to products, I just love how these Marquee White Enamel Shapes POP off the Outdoor Denim CS.

I completely adore this combination of stripes and floral in the Ariana Paper Packet!

The beautiful patterns and blooms are wonderful to use in conjunction with vellum and sparkles to make it even more feminine.  I added these Bitty Sparkles to the chipboard flower from the Ariana Complements--see what a difference just a little bit of embellishment can make?  The tiny little bows in the Ariana Assortment are also perfect!

Simple pages in mini-albums are a quick way to add photos without taking a big chunk of time out of your scrapping.  I used just a bit of Silver Shimmer Trim and an Artbooking cut to dress this one up.

I just love this trio from Junior High! 

I made more simple embellishments using patterned papers, Enamel Shapes, and Shimmer Trim.  :) 

Why does it seem like time is flying JUST as fast as the pages in this album are turning?  I will show you more later this week!  :)

More Stitched Flowers for Mother's Day!

What can I say...I just could not stop myself!  Once I started cranking out these gorgeous flowers, the ideas came fast.  Here are two more Mother's Day creations I have to show you!

I used my FAVORITE paper packet for this one...Ariana!  That beautiful floral print was BEGGING me to make these flowers with it. 

I used two different My Acrylix stamp sets:  Holiday Tags for the sentiment, and Perfect Fit Mom for the little accent around the flowers...

I had some gorgeous Teresa Collins sequins and Rosewood Accents to add for the flower centers.  Can you see the amazing, deep color of the glitter paper I used?  This is a dark brown/bronze and it plays sooooo nicely with Ariana! 

One mom down, and one to go!   I used more elements from the Rosewood Accents Mini-Medley Collection...

Perfect Fit Mom again, too...

 Loving that stitched label die for these sentiments!  Thanks, Emma!  :)

I am linking this up with the MCT Designer's Challenge, so go check it out!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!!!  BIG HUGS to you all!  :)

Ariana Meets Artbooking...Again!

I have many more pages to show you from my Cricut Artbooking mini-album that I made featuring the Ariana Paper Packet from Close to My Heart.  No more one-page-at-a-time, ok?  ;)  Today you get to see FOUR!

Have I mentioned how much I love these White Marquee Enamel Shapes?  Only once?  Maybe twice?  ;)

I absolutely HAD to include some of the generational icons on the LOL My Acrylix stamp set.  Can I get a LIKE for throwing in this arrow cut from Artiste?  ;)

This pair of glasses has got to me by favorite shape in the Ariana Complements...

I didn't have to do a single thing but load these papers into my Cricut Expression 2 set at 11 inches and push the corresponding key.  The Artbooking Cartridge cuts it the perfect size for this album, no matter what the shape...even this great doily!

Tune in again next week when I reveal a few more page...all leading up to her actual graduation on Saturday, the 17th!  *faints*

More Beautiful Ariana Artbooking Mini-Album Pages

Happy Hump Day!

This week is flying by so fast, and I just want to hit pause!  Anyone else feeling like that?

Here is the next page in my Cricut Artbooking Mini-Album that I made to chronicle my daughter's yearly pics up to graduation.  You can see the first two posts HERE and HERE if you missed them.  I used the Love Mini-Album elements on the Cricut Artbooking Cartridge from Close to My Heart.

I have always adored this picture.  I only have it in a small size, so it is perfect for this album!  If you have a lot of school photos in a wallet size, then a mini-album is definitely a fun way to capture these memories!  I used a border cut to accent the side of this page.  

DO you see the "LOVE" cut on the side?  It is automatically attached to the page when your Cricut machine cuts it out.  I cut it on a second color cardstock to offset it a bit for interest.  I love adding these Bitty Sparkles to lettering...

The Close to My Heart Marquee White Enamel Shapes have become a staple in my crafting.  I added a bit of liquid glass to this one to back it with Tan Glitter Paper.  In fact, all of the embellishments on my pages of this album have Liquid Glass added to give them staying power. 

If you like this mimi-album and want to check out more images on the Cricut Artbooking Collection, click HERE.  The Close to My Heart Cricut Collections each have at least 700 images and include both chipboard shapes and coordinating stamps, making them the BEST value of all the cartridges Cricut offers.  They are available exclusively through your Independent Consultant.  If you don't have a Close to My Heart Consultant, I would love to help you out with anything you need!  You can contact me through my website HERE.

Hello, You Wonderful Sketch!

Happy WEEEEEKEND!!!  In case you are NOT a scrapbooker, today is National Scrapbooking Day, so I will be celebrating quite a bit in my craft cave with my papers and pictures.  :)

Before I get all down to serious scrappin' though, I wanted to share my latest entry for the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge Blog.  It has been quite a while since I had time to play along!  This gorgeous sketch was JUST perfect to jump in on!

I was soooo ready to break out the Hello Wonderful My Acrylix for the round element of this sketch--and I have reeeeeealy been wanting to stamp it in White Daisy Pigment Ink--on Kraft!  I thought the Ariana Paper Packet had just the right floral pattern to go along with...and JUST happened to have a left-over border from a mini album to use!  (Pssst...always save those extra cuts!)

I embossed the Ariana Green CS in my Sizzix Big Shot using one of the new Embossing folders from Close to My Heart--a beautiful Damask to match the pattern on the stamp.

I have been playing with vellum quite a bit lately, and I think it added the perfect softness to the lines in the sketch...

Now, I decided after the fact to add some Bronze Shimmer Trim to this one...I cannot believe how wishy-washy I have been lately about what to add or not to my projects...

I think it is safe to say that a little bit of shimmer trim never hurt anything!  ;)

Have a great time celebrating National Scrapbooking Day!  There are TONS of online events today.  Are you going to be playing along with any? 

Here is the paper packet that Close to My Heart is celebrating with this month--it is called Free to Be Me, and you can pick one up for just $5 in May!

Another Page in My Cricut Artbooking Ariana Mini Album

Welcome back!  I hope you stopped back in today to see more of my Ariana Mini Album that I made with the awesome Artbooking Cartridge from Close to My Heart.  This one uses my favorite pattern in the pack!  :)

This page was so fun to embellish!  I started with the title cuts found on Artbooking.  The fishtail flag cuts just like this from the cartridge, and I backed it with Tan Glitter Paper with a thin layer of Liquid Glass. 

The single chevron Marquee Enamel Shape is a great addition since it pops off the pattern paper.  Some Sparkles and the tiny bow from the Ariana Assortment are wonderful feminine touches.

If you want to play along with us at the Color Dare this week, click HERE!  

What if I told you that until the end of the month you can actually get the Artbooking Collection for FREE???   It's true!!!  Anyone who purchases the New Consultant Kit in April can choose a FREE Cricut Collection!  Whether you have your sights set on starting a business, or just starting up a collection of products at a great discount, you are welcome to join Close to My Heart this month.  There has never been a better time to join!  There are only THREE days left to take advantage of this amazing offer, so READ HERE if you have any questions!  If you already know you want to take advantage of this offer, then CLICK HERE to become a part of team Been There, Blinged That!  :)

Here is everything that comes in the New Consultant Kit (over $300 value!):

Read Me First Letter, Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Books (qty. 10), Hostess Order Forms (qty. 25), Customer Order Forms (qty. 25), Close To My Heart Color Swatches (W471), Spring/Summer 2014 B&T Duos™ Sampler (W1127), Petite Perks Delicate Wings Incentive Stamp Set (qty. 5) (W2028), Reflections Scrapbook Program (9037), Originals Card Confidence Program™ (9036), Workshops on the Go™ Skylark Scrapbooking Kit (G1072), Skylark Complements Dimensional Elements (X7177C), Skylark B&T Duos™ Bulk Paper (BULK322), Skylark Bulk Resin Flowers (BULK340), Durables Triangle Studs (Z1928), Teal Shimmer Trim (Z1918), Lagoon Exclusive Inks™Pad (Z2195), Desert Sand Exclusive Inks™Pad (Z2118), Slate Exclusive Inks™Pad (Z2173), My Acrylix™Hopscotch Alphabet Stamp Set(E1028), My Acrylix™True to Life Stamp Set (C1575), My Acrylix™Believe in Yourself Stamp Set (C1574),3" x 3" My Acrylix™Block (Y1006), 4" x 5" My Acrylix™Block (Y1012), 2" x 6 ½" My Acrylix™Block (Y1010), Non-Stick Micro-Tip Scissors (Z1836), My Acrylix™Stamp Scrubber (Z1782), My Acrylix™Spritz Cleaner (1778), Bonding Memories™Glue (1512), Sponge (Z697), Liquid Glass (Z679), and Cello Bags (qty. 25) (W1152)