Sparkle and Shine with Heart 2 Heart Challenges

Hi everyone!  It is a bittersweet post today as I share my final creation with you for Heart 2 Heart Challenges.  I am taking some time off from DT duties in order to devote some time to other things.  It was a really hard decision to make, but I know it is the right one for me right now.  I will be popping in often to check on all your amazing creations, and maybe even get to play along, though!

This week, we want you to get creative with the colors from the new Close to My Heart Sparkle and Shine Papers.  Also, as an added "challenge" show us your SPARKLE!

I decided to decorate a My Creations Clear Pillow Box with my Sparkle and Shine Paper Packet, Sparkle and Shine Complements, and my trusty Silver Shimmer Trim!  :)

I am completely in love with how easily this came together!  I stamped the ivy leaves in Juniper Ink using the large leaf in the Close to My Heart A Holiday My Acrylix Stamp Set.  The fabulous glittery red button I added is found in the Mini-Medley Accents Ruby Collection.  I tied it on with the Grey Baker's Twine that is currently in the Retiring Section of my website, so won't be available much longer.

I just LOVE the complements that coordinate with these papers!  There are even actual gift tags included for some super-easy embellishing.  :)

I thank you all for the lovely comments you leave (really, I adore hearing from you guys) and for always popping in to see what I have to share with you on my blog.  Join us over at Heart 2 Heart for this one last challenge of the year, and remember to never, ever let anyone dull your sparkle!  :)

See you soon!

Halloween Puppy Treats!

Hello my sparkly friends!  It is a double post kind of day again...what can I say, I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of crafter.  You just never know when I will be inspired or find a great challenge to try!  ;)

This project is for the Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge that ends tonight.  Egads!  We are to create a 3D project with a pet theme.  Before I started, I found out that My Craft Spot's Monday Challenge 109 was a 3D challenge as well!  I was super-excited since I JUST received some stamps from Kimberly to play with!  Woot-woot a two-fer! 

Most of my Peachy stamps are faces, so I knew I wouldn't be stamping a pet.  I browsed my Cricut handbooks for a change instead...and saw a bone!  Inspiration struck, and here is what I put together...

It is a treat pouch for canine trick-or-treaters!  I used the Sarita Paper Packet from Close to My Heart for the background paper.  The black CS scalloped trim is made with the NEW Scallop Border Punch. 

How cute is that little doggie bone wearing a witch hat?  One of my favorite things about Peachy faces is that you can bring any item to life instantly.  :)  I cut this bone at 1.25 inches on Champagne CS from the Create a Critter Cartridge.  Then I used face parts from both Everyday Character Face Parts and Basic Paper Doll Faces to bring it to life.  To accentuate the Halloween theme, I added this adorable witch's hat!

The hat is from a retired Close to My Heart My Acrylix called Wicked.  It usually looks like this:

I changed it up a bit to be more simple and cheery (read: no spider, lol.)  My favorite addition is the green glitter paper band!  Save your scraps--you never know WHAT you might use them for!

Anyhow, I really wanted to play with my new Stampin' Around Fall stamps and the dies that go along with it.  I used my White Daisy, Black, and Sunset CS to add this little sentiment to the pouch. I added the white circle after tying on the button with twine and popped it up with foam squares.  :)

See that doggie bone pattern paper behind it?  I don't own a single piece of dog themed paper (no dog!), but I made it all my myself with the retired A Bowwow from CTMH.  It is SO easy to make your own pattern paper!  Have you ever tried it?

Thanks for stopping in to see my latest creation!   If you know some pooches that would like a treat pouch like this one, email me at mimimyselfandi@outlook.com and I will hook you up!

Babycakes Birthday Card and a New Twist on Washi!

Hi everyone!  I am so excited to share this with you!  I was making a card to show off our amazing Liquid Glass when I ran full speed into a wall.  Oooops.

BUT...I am happy to report that I not only overcame, I blew that wall into smithereens!!!  Oh, yeah!

I discovered a brand new way to use our Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape, which is, by the way, one of my FAVORITE new products this month!  :)

Here is the idea...wrap it around the new Slate Striped Twist Ties!

I just LOVE the new look and color it adds!  What about you?  Suddenly your Twist Ties can be any color washi you have!  :)  They still twist up nicely and hold their shape.

If you linked over from the Damask Divas Blog, then you read about how I used my liquid glass to make faux enamel dots.  They are still drying in this picture, and a bit "foggy" still...

...but here they are completely dry and clear!  LOVE!

Here is a list of the Close to My Heart products I used with links to my website.  Remember, the August Stamp of the Month is FREE this month with a $50 order!  Don't wait until August is over or it will be too late!

Babycakes Paper Packet
Chocolate CS
Colonial White Card Base
Lagoon Dye Ink
D1560 Holiday Tags
Baker's Twine Neutral Assortment
Slate Striped Twist Ties
Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape
Aqua Dots
Liquid Glass

What's Black and White and Stamped All Over?

My latest card!!!  Hee, hee! 

I was so inspired by THIS amazing card by fellow consultant Wendy Coffman, that I just had to get my butt moving and make one similar, but with a whole new spin on the sentiment! 

I have always been intrigued by the way the letters H and I fall next to each other in the alphabet...

I am linking this version of my card up with the My Creative Time Black and White Challenge.

The sentiment is ABSOLUTELY the focus of this card.  I stamped it using the Close to My Heart Framework Alphabet My Acrylix set in White Daisy Pigment Ink on Black CS.  I adore this new alphabet that mimics the chalkboard look perfectly.  It also coordinates with our new M size stamps as well.  The polka-dot trim at the top and bottom is made from a zip strip in the For Always Paper Packet.  Then, whammo, this sparkly glitter button from the Mini Medley Accents Black Collection catches your eye!  

To add some interest inside, I stamped the main sentiment again in black for the opposite effect...

Now to re-focus on that sparkly "HI" sentitment.  Did you think we finally had white glitter paper from CTMH?  NOPE!  Not yet anyway, lol.  I tried to choose between chalking it in and filling it with glitter, and settled for BOTH!  I used my White Chalk Marker to color in my Silver Glitter Paper!  :)  I wanted to stay true to the black and white challenge, so this option was both innovative, sparkly, AND allowed!  ;)

FYI--it is hard to take a pic of yourself coloring!  ;)

OK, so just for fun, I used some leftover cuts and my Peachy Keen faces to transform my card into a FANTASTIC welcome card to give my daughter's teacher when we visit her classroom tomorrow night.  What do you think?

I think it will be a hit!  :)  THIS version of my card is linking up with the the Heart 2 Heart Sentimant-ally Yours Challenge for August.  It was my DT's week off, but I could not resist playing along!

Late Night Crafting Craziness!

I am a bit worried about my ability to ever correct my sleeping pattern at this point.  After our family vacation out to WA state, I never really got back into the CST groove, lol.  The upside to this apparent change in my bedtime has been all the late night crafting I have managed!  Can't very well vacuum when the rest of the house is sleeping soundly, no?

SOoooooo I have stumbled upon still more new challenges to try out, the first of which practically had my name on it...Addicted to CAS Code Word: GLITTER!!! 

 
Can you even believe it!?  I did the happy dance in my craft room, then got down to work.  I could not believe that I hadn't played with one of the new Close to My Heart Autumn/Winter products:  Bronze Shimmer Trim!!!  For.  Real.
It was time to correct that little oversight...

For this clean card, I opened up my new Babycakes Scrapbook Kit.  The patterns in this packet are super-versatile, so don't be deterred by the baby theme card, lol.  I LOVE the way the Lagoon CS looks with them.  These little reverse scalloped edges were the negative scraps from some Cricut cuts I made from the stunning new ARTBOOKING Cartridge.  You will definitely want to check out that link after you read this post!

I also used this sketch over at another new blog for me to play along with, Freshly Made Sketches.

This adorable sentiment is included in the D size stamp set in the brand new Babycakes Scrapbooking Workshop on the Go and found in Close to My Heart's Autumn/Winter Idea Book that goes live August 1st on my website.  (Um, run-on sentence anyone?)  There is a design around it on the actual stamp, but I trimmed it off to use only the words.  The Bronze Shimmer Trim is actually included with this kit as well!  See how beautifully it picks up the light?

Would you believe these little bling things come with the kit too?  Yep!  The Babycakes Assortment is full of cute little blingy circles and enamels.

Well, the inside of this card deserved some bling too, don't you think?  After all, it IS a glitter challenge!  

I believe I just successfully created a boy baby card with bling!  Yeah, BABY(cakes)!  ;)