Another Card Buffet Design

You know how I'm always referring to my Close to My Heart catalog as an Idea Book?  That's because it IS!!!  I take ideas from it all the time, including this new design for my card buffet using the BRAND NEW CTMH Fundamentals patterns available next month...

This one is on page 64 of the New Annual Inspirations Idea Book that goes live to customers on August 1st.  I changed it up just a bit for my workshop  with the supplies I have on hand, but it's the same basic design.  It uses the Heartfelt Thoughts My Acrylix, Black, Fern, and Eggplant Inks, and papers from the Enchantment and Whimsy Fundamentals Papers.  I added Bitty Sparkles and Black Dots as embellishments.

Lucky for you I even made a little boo-boo on this one that I can use as a "teachable moment!"  ;)

That's not quite where I wanted to have a smudge of black ink...

So I grabbed this handy little tool called a "sand eraser" by Tombow.  It actually sands away a layer of the paper, so its a great way to correct ink smudges on white cardstock...

Since it also took away a bit of the greenery, I popped the stamp onto my handy dandy little Misty stamping tool to give it another layer of ink...

Buy any 2, get a third free!!!

Check it out soon!

Use It, or Lose It!

It is time!!!  Time I finally used THAT paper...THAT embellishment...THAT frame.  You know what I'm talking about...it's time to use your crafty stash!  Do you even remember what you bought that roll of ribbon FOR???

Today my crafty friends and I are hopping to use our stash (see what I did there?)  ;)

You may have hopped over from Jayma's Blog, but if not, be sure to catch her post by hopping around our short circle.  Just click the next name at the bottom of each post.

Heeeeeeeeeere's my project!

This qualifies as one of those "difficult to capture on camera" projects, but don't worry!  I took a bunch of pics to help you get the feel of it...(now channel your inner Maui as you sing this...) you're welcome!  ;)

The following sentiment would be the entire reason I fell head over heals for the Stationery Noted paper line from Teresa Collins back when it came out...in (gulp) 2013!!!  What can I say, a girl sometimes needs a while to get the nerve to cut up ponder beautiful paper! 

I attached my very favorite saying via red shimmer trim to a background of Close to My Heart's Uptown Fundamentals vellum paper with gold dots...

I apologize in advance for the long post!  This project has just been soooooo long in the making that I am swoooooning with joy about it all coming together so seamlessly!  Now, THIS little saying just about wraps up my baby girl--she marches to her own beat no matter what anyone else thinks.

The gold foil embellishments in the Springtime Complements were PERFECT for my project!

Cue the tears...sorry!  I have no less than ten shots of her pulling this wagon with reckless abandon through the sprinkler at our old house last summer...oh to be so happy-go-lucky about just having the BEST time of your life in the sprinkler!

Now this one is for me.  The picture below this statement shows us standing alongside a ravine in TN while we were hiking...and I'm absolutely beyond terrified.  But I did it.  With a smile.
 

The final motivational sentiment would take FAR too long to explain it's family meaning around here...just suffice it to say that when I most feel like controlling a situation I need to extend grace.  To my girlies.  And let's just say I am always practicing.  :)

I used the red Prickly Pear Sequins for a bit more bling!

Thank you sooooooo much for sticking with me here...and even if you didn't, lol.  The next stop on our hop is Kelly, so get on out while you can before I start talking again!

WAIT!  (what did I tell you!?) Here is a list of all the crafty ladies on our hop today in case you need it...

Jayma

Amie (that's me!)

Kelly

Becca

Stephanie

 ENJOY!!!

Close to My Heart Animal Greetings Thank You Card

It DEFINITELY feels like Hump-Day today!  No matter how draining it can be at times, I simply love my job working as a paraprofessional in a gen-ed classroom.  One of the BEST parts of my job is making thank you cards for the kiddos when they give me something special.  Here is my latest that I made with the Close to My Heart Animal Greetings My Acrylix Stamp using a pattern from Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 (pattern 28.)

I used the zip strip from the Kaleidoscope Paper Pack, Purple Glitter Paper, and the Limeade Washi Pack.  The CS is embossed with the Dot Folder in my Big Shot to match the strip of dots in the pattern.

That little strip of grass is leftover from THIS project!

The sentiment that goes with this adorable puppy is my favorite one in the set...but there are SO many sweet punnies that you just have to see them all HERE.

I couldn't resist adding a bit of bling to her bow with the Bitty Sparkles!  I used ShinHan Markers and Watercolor Pencils to add color to the stamped image.

It is tons of fun to color in these images in any way you like to match your paper projects!  If only I knew when I was 5 just how long my love for coloring would last!  :)

Animal Greetings is not only a great little sentiment collection with pics to color, it's also the Operation Smile Fundraiser Stamp set!  $7 of every set sold will go to providing surgeries to repair cleft lips and palates in children that could otherwise not have the surgery.  Now that's what I call a winning combination!  :)

Just a few days left to grab this super Stamp of the Month!

Everything Christmas Gift Card Holder

Ready for the great news???  I have finally scheduled my Everything Christmas Workshop!  Come to my craft cave in less than two weeks on Saturday, November 14th at 6:00pm (eat a bit of dinner first!)  For just $15 we will make four cards and a set of gift tags. 

I will also have a very special cash and carry Base and Bling Buffet set up for you to create the perfect jewels to give as a gift!

So are you ready to see what we will make?  Here we go! 

Card number one for my Everything Christmas Workshop is a versatile gift card holder featuring the La Vie En Rose Paper Packet!

This is one of my favorite cuts on the Cricut Artiste Cartridge.  I use it quite a bit--and even at a workshop or two!  :)  The stamped image can be found on the new seasonal Holly Jolly Christmas My Acrylix set.  I used a few of my favorite blingy products: Silver Embossing Powder, Bitty Sparkles, and Silver Shimmer Trim!  :)

Thanks for popping in today!  Please RSVP for my workshop by FRIDAY!!!  Yep, I said Friday--the 6th...this week!  ;)

November brings a NEW exclusive stamp set!

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.

Illuminate that Nose, Rudolph!

I just LOVE this time of year!  I love the gift planning, the crafting, the music, and the movies!  It really takes me back to my childhood each year as the television stations show the traditional Christmas movies.  My favorite of these has always been Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  I knew that this beautiful reindeer cut would end up having a shiny red nose at some point in my crafting...but I never dreamed there would be an entire stamp set of sentiments just begging to go with it!

The November Stamp of the Month from Close to My Heart is a dream come true!  Check out all these shiny, sparkly sentiments!

Any of them would be BRILLIANT on this card, so here is just one possibility!

Check out that shiny nose!  I used a teeny little "shine" stamp from the same set to set his nose aglow.  I colored a Bitty Sparkle with a red sharpie to make his red nose.

Rudolph has such a warm and loving heart even though his appearance was scoffed by the others, so I love this sentiment to go along with this card.

I hope you will consider adding this beautiful stamp set to your collection.  It is truly my favorite stamp set of this Idea Book!  Just remember, it is only available during the Month of  November, so get it before it is gone!  :)  This versatile set is only $17.95 at regular price, but you can even get it for $5 with a $50 purchase from my Close to My Heart website!  Just add $50 worth of CTMH goodies to your basket and you will be prompted to add the Stamp of the Month when you get to that amount.  Have fun shopping!  :)  Here are some other projects made with it to get your juices flowing.

I am linking this card up with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog which is having a CAS week!  :)

Throwback Thursday! The Chantilly Textiles Flower is BACK!

Hey there!  Who's feeling sparkly today?  I have a great throwback for you today, so hold on to your hat!

Remember when the Chantilly Textiles first came out and I made THIS little flower?  The video shows me making a little pink flower that I JUST now finally attached to a card, lol!  Here it is!

Poor little guy had to wait all this time on my desk to make an appearance here!  I can't believe he didn't run away!  ;) 

I used the Chantilly Paper Packet that is still available and the retired Dotty For You yellow polk-a-dot paper as well.   The Bitty Sparkles were just the right bit of brightness on this one!  :)

Guess what?  I didn't use any stamps on this card!  The sentiment is cut from one of the zip strips on the Pattern Papers in Chantilly, so it was easy-peasy!  How sweet it is! 

Can you guess where I got this wonderful card pattern?  You guessed it!  It is none other than pattern #28 in Make It From Your Heart Volume 2!  I highly recommend both volumes for loads of inspiration from Jeanette Lynton (founder of CTMH) in your cardmaking and scrapbooking!

The Perfect Pinterest Inspired Wedding Gift

I can't believe it has already been a week since I attended a very special wedding.  One of the "kids" I used to babysit for in college married his High School sweetheart, and it was such a beautiful sight!  After I was finally able to drown out the sound of my hubs whining about the start of college football that day (huh?), I was swept away into memories of days gone by...WAAAAAY BY!  ;)

Anyhow, as I prepared for this big event, I recalled a project that a friend had begged me to make that she had seen on Pinterest (thanks, Kate!)  I found lots of different versions to browse through, so I was able to locate a cute tree cut on my cricut carts and make a version of my own!

I am not quite sure what you would call this, but I refer to it as "the Wedding Tree" now.  The tree is cut on a beautiful script B&T Duo paper in the For Always Paper Packet with the Wall Decor and More Cricut Cartridge.  I altered the image in the Cricut Craft Room to make it just right.

I punched the hearts out on some beautifully textured Bazzill CS that was JUST the perfect shade of "madly in love" red.   The newlyweds' initials are printed on the hearts...

I hope Jon and Monica treasure this as a reminder of that special day in August when their two hearts officially became one (and my heart officially felt old!)  :)

I also grabbed my silver glitter paper, bitty sparkles, and Monogram C stamp from Close to My Heart and blinged up the ribbon on the package!

It is so great to have these supplies on hand at times like this!  No need to run anywhere but my scrap room!  ;)

Wrap It Up!

Hi everyone!

I stumbled upon a new blog challenge, well new to me anyway, when browsing some entries in other challenges.  It gets to be a lot to keep track of, so I try to knock it out right away if I can get to it, and I am really choosy about the challenges I participate in now.  This one is over at My Craft Spot.  There is a Monday Challenge, and this one is called Wrap It UP!  We are to create a project that holds a gift...super fun!

My next workshop will include making two gift card holders, so I knew what I would make right away!  This pillowbox cut from the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge is the perfect size for a giftcard...and super cute to boot!  (Dr. Seuss would be so proud of me right now!)  ;)  Would you believe the only paper I used is some White Daisy CS?  You bet!

Alright!  Can you believe I used mostly one stamp set for this one???  Yep!  I got out the Close to My Heart My Acrylix B1417 Perfect Fit Birthday set.  I stamped the "happy birthday" sentiment using first and second generation stamping on the pillowbox itself in Pear Ink.  That just means I inked the stamp, stamped it once(first generation), moved it, stamped it again(second generation), and then re-inked to repeat the process. 

I used my 2 inch scallop punch as well as the 1 1/4 inch circle punch to make the little tag.  A tiny loop of silver shimmer trim secures the tag to the ribbon.  It is attached underneath the circle that is popped up with foam squares.  That little circle design stamped in Cotton Candy Ink is found on the Artiste Collection Kudos stamp set.  Bitty sparkles bling up the sentiment, of course.

Here is the back view.  You can see the gorgeous ribbon matches the stamped words.  I used my Pear Alcohol Ink Marker to color Close to My Heart's Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon so they would be a perfect match!

See that little strip of washi?  SURPRISE!!!!  You can get your hands on it starting August 1st on my website!  It is one of the brand new products in the Close to My Heart Autumn/Winter Idea Book!  :)  I couldn't resist using a piece to hold the pillowbox closed at one end. 

Well, I hope you see how easy it can be to stamp up a beautiful homemade gift package for that special someone.  The lasting impression on the recipient is worth more than money can buy!  :)

Here is a pic with all the super CTMH products, besides the Cricut Cartridges and adhesives, that are available on my website to make this project.

You can find them all in the links in my post!  Now go out and get your craft on!  :)

REMEMBER!!!  If you want to PRE-ORDER the new Close to My Heart Cricut Artbooking Collection from me with FREE shipping and be entered to win $25 in products, only available with this offer from ME, GO HERE!!!