So much NEW Close to My Heart!

Hi guys!  There was SO much new happening with Close to My Heart this month I could hardly digest all the information myself, let alone pass it along to you! Now that I have had a chance to sort it all out, take a minute to see what is NEW!  In order to celebrate all the NEWness, I opened up a MYSTERY HOSTESS party on my website for you to order through.  One lucky customer will win $25 or more of FREE CTMH products!!!  You will receive one entry for every $25 in product you order!  Good luck!

First off there are NEW papers! Hawthorn and Every Little Thing are available for two months before we feature other seasonal papers.

Next, some NEW penmanship products for learning lettering from Melissa Esplin!  See a video to explain this new product HERE!

Want a NEW Halloween layout option?  We have that too with the Spooktacular products! Be sure to go download the FREE layout directions here too!

Ready for the NEW Stamp of the Month?  Random Acts of Cardness is waiting for my carmaker friends in September!!!

Also NEW is the relationship Close to My Heart has with Cricut.  You can now find CTMH Cricut products on the Cricut website by using my affiliate link here OR by clicking on the little Cricut symbol on my Consultant Website. Please don't hesitate to ask me if you have any questions about the new digital Cricut process.

There is a brand new collections of CTMH Cricut cuts waiting for you!  Introducing, Complete Creativity!  Click on my affiliate link above to grab it!

One more NEW thing to share before I hop off today...NEW Album colors, sizes, and digital art for album covers!!!!  WOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!

CYBER Makeover MONDAY!!!!

Sooooooo, if you have your eyes on a Close to My Heart Cricut Collection today is your day!  When you spend $30 on my website, you can take 30% off any Cricut Collection of your choice! 

That's like buying a Cricut Collection and adding another $30 of product for nothing!!!  What a great time to add to your image options!  As an added bonus, make a purchase on my website today and I will send you a special thank you for supporting my small business!  :)

Flower Market

Artistry

Artbooking

City Sidewalks

Now on to the makeover part of Cyber Monday in which I used two of our Cricut collections!

You might know I am a HUGE fan of the CTMH Cut Above Kits.  I also LOVE to add my own little touches to the beautiful designs when I have the time.  I did this using just the red card base included in the 'Tis the Season Card Kit recently for my workshop.  Check this out...

My stunningly talented friend, Katy, used this great little wreath on the City Sidewalks digital Cricut Collection as the 'O' in JOY which I stumbled upon HERE on her Instagram. I loved it so much, I used it in another way...

And then I added a twist of my own!  I used the White Glitter Paper and Snowflake Thin Cuts like this...

Which one do you like better?

Still available!!!

Only in November!

Close to My Heart Retiring Products

Well, it is THAT time of year again...the Close to My Heart retiring products list has been revealed and let me tell you there ARE some surprises.  Here are some of my favorites.  If you want any of these products, they are only available while supplies last...

Rolling Tote

Shadow Box Frame in both colors

Display Tray

Hinged Display Tray

Extra Thick Twine in all 4 colors

Pink, Teal, Blue, Purple, and Bronze Shimmer Trim (waaaaaah!)

Cricut Art Philosophy Collection

Cricut Artfully Sent Collection

Cricut Artiste Collection

Well, that was a difficult revelation...but it just makes room for MORE amazing products to create with in the future!  :)  As I said, these (and many other products) are only available while supplies last now so when they are gone, they are GONE!  If you would like a complete list of retiring products, just comment with your email address and I will send it to you.  I won't publish your information for all to see, no worries!

ALL the albums are retiring to make way for new!

FREE paper in May only!

Only available in May!

A Little Mermaid Birthday Card

I always LOVE when a customer returns for another one of my card creations.  You know what is even BETTER though?  When the card you are asked to make is for one of your BFFs!

Yesterday was my friend, Beth's birthday, and I am finally able to share the special shaker card I was able to create.  :)

There just isn't an easy way to capture a card with so much bling going on, lol.  The light bounces every which way.  I used my Close to My Heart Teal Glitter Paper, Lagoon, Glacier, Sweet Leaf, and Champagne CS, and Kraft paper for this one, as well as some clear acetate packaging and misc. loose sequins.

The little mermaid is found on the Cricut Life's a Beach Cartridge.  Let me tell you I haven't touched a cartridge other than my CTMH carts in FOREVER!  I used the coordinating card cut feature as well (seriously, who knew THAT was on there?) to create an adorable shaker feature.

The happy birthday sentiment is found on the Joyful Birthday My Acrylix.

Here is a peek at some of the details of the cut...

It was relatively easy to line everything up size-wise on the free Cricut Explore Design Space software, but I was reeeeeeeally missing my Relative Size button.  I still have a lot of learning to do on my machine!  :)

I hope this card inspires you to try out some of YOUR Cricut cartridges collecting dust!

Guess that Cricut Cartridge!

SO, I started a fun little game over on my Facebook Page this week.  I post up a pic of an image I cut using one of Close to My Heart's four amazing Cricut Collections, and you guess which one it is from.  It's THAT easy to play along, so lets get to it!

Did you have any idea we had this adorable little guy on one of our cartridges???  I KNOW!  SO, tell me which one he is on, and you could win a prize!  You can do your research on my website HERE.  Just leave a comment with your answer and a way for me to contact you if you are the winner.  I will pick one winner from all the correct responses.  You have until midnight tonight to play along!  Good luck, and see you soon!

FREE Shoulder Tote just for joining my team!

Cricut Tips for Close to My Heart White Daisy Cardstock

Hello, my crafty peeps!  I am popping in today to let you all in on some new information I have available from corporate today.  JUST as the title of this post states, it is all about cutting that pesky White Daisy CS that comes with your new Cricut Artfully Sent Collection...

This cutting information is useful if you are using ANY of the Cricut machines or cartridges with our White Daisy CS.  Here is the word on the street from CTMH:

"The White Daisy cardstock included as part of this collection makes a great base for the beautiful cards you will be creating using the Cricut® Artfully Sent cartridge from Close To My Heart. If you plan to cut one of our designed card bases or other shapes from the White Daisy cardstock using your Cricut® machine, there are a few things you should be aware of in order to get the best results.

Our White Daisy cardstock is a bright white paper that has been milled, not dyed, which leaves the cardstock more fibrous than our other cardstocks. This can cause the paper to adhere more stubbornly to the Cricut® cutting mats.

When cutting the White Daisy cardstock, we encourage you to:

• Use a less sticky mat, whether that is a mat that has seen a lot of use or the LightGrip mat available from Cricut®.
• Change your blade pressure to medium.
• Double-cut the image using the “repeat last” function."

Now, I have been cutting the White Daisy for as long as I have been a consultant (two and a half YEARS!) and I have a few tips as well.

1.  Just like they said--use a good and seasoned mat--NOT a new or very tacky one!  Trust me on this one, you do not want to find out the hard way.  I find that an older mat that has been re-stickified with the Bonding Memories Glue is your BEST bet.  (That is a term I made up--like it?)  :)

2.  I currently use my Cricut Expression 2 with the settings on medium speed, HIGH pressure, single cut, and the blade depth at a 6.  As soon as my new Explore comes, and I have time to play, I will update my post.  For now, I get pretty good results most of the time this way as long as my blade is not nearing the end of its usefulness.  White Daisy CS does NOT play nicely with a dull blade. 

3.  I use a "rock and roll" method to remove my cuts from the mat.  I bend my cutting mat over backwards with the CS still attached after cutting and rolllll those shapes so they are practically popping off the mat before I even think about using a spatula.  I made up that term too...and it totally works!  :)

Let me know how these go for you! 

Halloween Birthday Bash!

Alright, yes, I have not been posting much lately because I have been prepping for a certain girlie's Halloween-Style Birthday Party.  Here are some quick shots of what I did, and can I just say, "I {heart} Pintrest!"


Mummy Bars

M&M Tubes with a tag I made with the Mini Monsters Cricut Cartridge.

Back of the tag has a little "thank boo."

Making Mummy Dogs

Yummo!

Pumpkin Bowling

 Rice Krispie Treats!

The birthday girl as Benny the Bull

 Me.  Lost my Cruella wig and had to improvise.  Yikes!

Better go hide the puppies!!!