Moon Phases on Monday

Hi everyone!  I wanted to share a quick project that showcases one of the reasons being a crafty mom with a Cricut cutting machine ROCKS!!!  ;)

My youngest needed to make a model of the moon phases, and one of the choices was to make a mobile.  Now, I am NOT the mom that DOES my kiddos homework for them (good golly I already had to go through school once, I've done my time!)  I just showed her how to put the images on the mat on the iPad and size them, and away she went!!!  I hardly had to give her any direction after that except to supervise proper mat insertion (seriously, these kids have a built-in iChromosome these days!)  Here is her finished project!

The entire mobile hangs from a tube hanger...

 She colored in each dark side of the moon...

She chose Topiary and Pacifica CTMH CS

The Earth is found on the Close to My Heart Artistry Cartridge, while the Moon and Sun are found on my CTMH Art Philosophy Cartridge.

Canary CTMH CS

I wish I could tell you the mobile made it to school tangle-free, but that is a strory for another day!

Raise your hand if YOUR kiddos have helped create a school project with a Cricut cutting machine!
This was not our first, and I am SURE it won't be the last!  ;)

Thanks for stopping in today!  Have a STELLAR week! 

A Special Little Thank You

I had my first Close to My Heart Gathering in a looooong time on Saturday, and oh my goodness, was it a wake up!  I forgot how easy it was to go on and on and on and on and on...(I think you get it) about the fantastic quality of the products I use and sell.  Thanks so much for opening your home, and Facebook page, Heather!

We made a cute little thank you card with one of the Hostess Rewards Stamp sets to kick things off...

We used the Confetti Wishes Paper Packet along with the Cuddly Salutations My Acrylix.  The sentiment is stamped on a simple shape from the Art Philosophy Cricut Collection and a couple little Purple Glitter Gems (retiring next month, gasp) finish it off nicely indeed.  It always makes me smile when my customers and guests like my designs, and this one was a hit!  :)

Don't forget!  You don't have to be a hostess to earn the Hostess Rewards Stamps this month!  Just purchase $25 in My Acrylix stamps in July and you can choose ANY of them for just $5 more!!!

Color Dare #42 Meets My Close to My Heart Kraft Container!

Hi everyone!  Come on in for another Color Dare from Color My Heart.  This week we are in the pink.  ;)  Get out your Hollyhock, Cotton Candy, and Blush colors from Close to My Heart and whip something up.  If you don't have these exact colors, just find some that are similar.  You can link it up with us HERE.

My project was kind of a design-as-you-go process this time.  I pulled everything out that I thought I might use and started in head first!  ;)

I started off with one of Close to My Heart's new My Creations Kraft Containers.  They are awesome with a capital A!  At only $3.95, they are also a huge deal when you consider the quality of this adorable canister.

I used this pink pattern paper from the retired Lucy Paper Packet and an ATG/liquid glass combo to secure it to the container.  Then I cut a lacy border on my E2 Cricut Cutting Machine from the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge.  It is on page 65 of the handbook, and I cut it at 1.75 inches.  It wasn't too difficult to use the Bonding Memories glue pen to adhere it little by little as I rolled it onto the container.  I just needed to cut the paper a bit where it overlapped, so I decided to hide that part behind my embellishments. 

I used some 1/16 inch thick foam squares to add dimension to the flowers I was going to add, and they stayed put rather nicely with the brand I used.  Not all foam squares have great sticking power, so please make sure they are really sticky.  You want the end product to be functional, not just pretty.  ;)

The rest of the flowers are added with liquid glass and a touch of foam tape underneath where I wanted it to stand out more.  These images are stamped in the three pinks for our challenge on Colonial White Cardstock using the Happy Thoughts My Acrylix Stamp Set.  I layered them up for added dimension and stamped the leaves in Black Ink on Kraft Cardstock for drama.  Pink Glitter Gems add just the right amount of bling.  Single rosettes that I cut from the Colonial White Rosette Ribbon are tucked in the sides to soften everything up.

The sentiment at the bottom was an absolutely perfect addition to my flowery theme.  It happened to be out on my desk since I had used it for a set of cards yesterday--the My Acrylix Classmate Alphabet.  Wouldn't this be a stunning addition to a wedding shower display, or even to hold the pen for guests to sign the guest book at a wedding?  I will probably use it as a gift box for one of the weddings we will be attending this summer.  :)

Now for the lid.  I had a very difficult decision to make for this part.  I really wanted to add some Black Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, but I didn't want it to overpower the floral design or make the lid so dolled up that it would be impossible to remove without damaging the beautiful embellishments.  Function was key here, so I decided to go without it.  The doily cut on page 31 of the Art Philosophy cartridge fit perfectly cut at 2.5 inches from Colonial White Cardstock.  I backed it with some Blush Cardstock and added a circle of Colonial White with a Monogram K stamped on it.  I can easily change it to the recipient's monogram when I use it later.  :)

Guess what???  Then I decided to add the ribbon, lol!

I really wanted to see how it looked, and would love your feedback...do you like the canister WITH, or WITHOUT the striped ribbon?  Let me know in the comments!
 

Don't forget to let your pink side shine in the Color Dare this week and link up with us HERE!

Color Dare Meets Home Decor

Happy Valentine's Day!  Where in the world is the time going?  It is already halfway through February!  Yikes!  I have been doing a lot of multitasking lately, and this post is one of them!  I used my Color Dare DT assignment as a springboard for my Heart 2 Heart inspiration for their Home Decor Challenge.  :)  (Don't count the number of exclamations I used up there...)

The Color Dare this week is to use Pacifica (yay!)...........and.......Sorbet (gasp!)  I cringed when I read it.  (Sorry, Sarah!)  I know some of you just did too.  Now, take a breath.  Exhale.  Stay with me here--we each have certain colors that sort of turn us off.  Peachy shades kind of do that to me, so Sorbet is not a color I reach for when I am freestyling, lol.  BUT, I gave it a whirl and the more I thought about it, the more I lost myself in the design.  I hope you like it!

I finally got my little hands on one of Close to My Heart's new My Creations Canvas Journals.   Then I added Bamboo, Desert Sand, and Chocolate as my neutral colors, and WALLA!!!!!  Take a look at what I did to it...

The beautiful blue ribbon is from the retired Designer Ribbon Blue Collection.  Keep an eye out in my While Supplies Last section of my website, because you never know what awesome things will pop up in there!  The red ribbon is currently available at a crazy-cheap price!

The adorable bird, branches, and flowers are cut on my E2 using the Art Philosophy Cartridge.  The flowers were incredibly fun to play around with while I was trying to figure out how to make them.  I inked some with Sorbet Ink and my sponge dauber.   Bitty sparkles gave them just the right amount of bling.  The bluebird has a chocolate color Opaque for an eye.

These great embellishments are found in two of the fabulous Mini Medley Collections.  The button and flourish are in the Antiqued Gold Collection and the hemp baker's twine is found in the Wooden Collection.

 

This fancified paperclip was the perfect addition as a little place-keeper accent for my journal.  You can find it in the Mini Medley Accents Antiqued Gold Collection as well.   I added a bitty sparkle to tie it in with the blooms.

Can you see the faint script background image?  I used the Universal Backgrounds My Acrylix to stamp it in Bamboo all over the journal front.  The canvas on the journal gives all the inking a softer, distressed look that I just adore.  I used the Love Blooms My Acrylix stamp to stamp the sentiment in Chocolate at the bottom edge.  I think it is perfect for a journal!

Alright, now, I hope I convinced you to try out this week's Color Dare over at Color My Heart.  I cannot wait to see what you all make! 

All that Glitters is Fab!

Yes!  I did it!  I finished all four challenges on the Heart 2 Heart blog this month!  I didn't even need a resolution to do it, either!  This final challenge was sooooo up my alley.  Glitter, baby!  I decided to make a wedding card, because every bride sparkles at her wedding.  ;)

Did anyone else find their glittery projects hard to photograph?  The light was bouncing every which way, lol.  Anyway, I went with the For Always paper to give the card a classy feel.  The black and white patterns in this one are absolutely divine!

I LOVE this shape from the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge.  I would have to say it is my favorite even (or maybe one of them!)  I cut the one shape on White Daisy at 2.25 and the other one to mat it on our new glitter paper at 2.5.  Then I inked up the edges of the white one in black ink for a dramatic effect.  The Mr. & Mrs. sentiment is found on the Artiste Cricut Cartridge.  I cut it at 1.5 inches.

This bow was part of my older CTMH stash, but I simply needed to use organdy ribbon, and we just don't carry any currently.  I think it would be great to color coordinate it with the wedding colors if you know them!

A great product we DO carry, however, is waxy flax!  Oh how I love it for tying up buttons--no need to lick the flax to get it through!  ;)  These black glitter buttons are one of my favorite new embellishments for the Spring/Summer Idea Book.  Perfect for this card too!

Can you see the scalloped edge of the glitter paper?  I cut this edge from the Artiste Cricut Cartridge on my Expression 2.  If I remember correctly, it is cut at 1.25.  I attached it with my ATG and then used the Black Shimmer Trim to cover the edge.  :)

Here is a close up of the card closed.  You can see the back of the card peeking through the decorative edge.  I think it is a great look for a wedding card.  What do you think?

Thank you, Heart 2 Heart for all the fabulous challenges this month!