Chicago Cubs Fan Celebrates 100!

Oh my goodness, this is such an incredible post to make.  It was absolutely my pleasure to be asked to make this card for a fellow Cubbies fan...and not just any fan--a fan for her 100 years of living life!!!

I used my Cricut Explore to create a Cubs cut file pretty easily by using a chunky font.  Then I realized how fun it would be to incorporate the Cubs logo style "C" into the birthday sentiment!  It worked brilliantly!  The Sapphire striped paper from the Close to My Heart Enchantment Fundamentals was a great paper to use for this design, as well as the Red Shimmer Trim and Blue Enamel Dots.

I used a retired sentiment stamp that coordinated nicely stamped in the front and inside in Sapphire Ink.  100 candles should get her any wish her heart desires, don't you think...and I bet she wished for another Cubs World Series Win!!!!!  :)

Watercolor on Wednesday

Welcome back to my little crafty blog!

Yes, I have been MIA for a bit, and I have not one, but TWO very good reasons for that.  The first is the fact that I have been completely consumed with watching my CUBBIES win the World Series last week!!!! (photos courtesy of trolling Facebook)  ;)

In my lifetime, I have seen every Chicago team win a championship!!!

OH my word, do you even believe it!??  I am STILL pinching myself to be sure it really happened!

OK, so the second thing consuming my time is not nearly as fun...through NO fault of my own, my internet provider (AT&T, and I highly suggest dropping them after this experience) suspended my email account!!!!!!  I have had this account since approximately the year 2000, so just slightly less time since the Cubs won their last series, lol.  Long story shorter--I have since been spending all my evenings getting into ALL my online accounts and updating my email addresses.  You can imagine the headache--especially when I cannot for the life of me remember my passwords!  I am using only a gmail account now and I HIGHLY recommend you use one instead of any email address that you are essentially paying to use.  I do NOT want you to have to go through this experience.  Trust me!

Now, on to the crafts!

I recently used an amazing piece of watercoloring that my daughter painted with my CTMH Watercolor Paints with a dropper....and I used it as a scrapbook layout background in her baby book!

You should have seen her face when she saw the layout...she was SO proud.

I added some of the Baby Boy and Girl Complements for some easy-peasy interest...and also some Enamel and Glitter Duo buttons and Gypsy stamped letters from the Marker Alphabet My Acrylix.

I love that my girl loves it!

Only available in November!

New Thin Cuts!

Get your 2017 Planner pages!!!

Life in Pictures

I. Adore. These. Stamps.  Meet the Close to My Heart April Stamp of the Month, Life in Pictures...

SO many possibilities here, my crafty peeps!  Scrapbooks, cards, home decor, you name it!

My first creation was a birthday card for my brilliantly talented photographer niece.  These images were perfect.

I created a background paper of sorts by arranging the different camera images on a piece of Whisper Cardstock.  It was easy to lay out all the clear acrylic stamps to see how it would look...

I stamped the background in Whisper Ink for a nice tone on tone feel.  I added the words next in second generation Black Ink.  

The sentiment is retired, but is still a go-to for me.  You can just barely see the second generation old-style camera I stamped behind the words.  Three little glitter and enamel hearts were paired with a thick twine accent for a bit of beautiful tonal color before I popped it up on thin foam tape.

Love how this simple card captures the heart of the recipient!  :)

If you love this set as much as me, then don't wait too long to scoop it up--this Stamp of the Month is only here during April!  Available as always at full price for $17.95 OR for just $5 with a $50 order on my website!  :)

CTMH Perpetual Calendar: February (of course!)

Ready for another peek at my perpetual calendar?

That little glittery heart adds the perfect touch!

I found this latte/travel coffee cup on the CTMH Cricut Artistry Cartridge, and have LOVED it ever since!  This pretty pattern paper is from the Zoe Paper Packet.  The Glacier color combined with Thistle just screams "WINTER" to me, so it fit the month perfectly.  Another thing that gives me a little bit of a winter feel is this amazing thick twine...

I love all the colors this twine is available in now!

Continuing the wintery theme...check out these great little creations brought to you by the creative genius of the CTMH designers!  They used the Treats of Friendship My Acrylix stamp set along with Kraft CS and some clearanced Lagoon Hearts washi!

Check it out HERE!

Share a Smile HERE!

La Vie En Rose Layout with So Many Smiles

I have been waiting to share this layout...soooo long in fact that I can't even remember if I shared it yet.  The struggle is real, you guys.  There must be a slow leak in my brain since I turned 40, lol.

So here it is in case I haven't shown it to you, and if I actually HAVE, then Throwback Thursday it is!  ;)

This is one of my personal faves from my big girl's first year at college.  I practically survived her being so far away by stalking her on FB (seriously, I have no idea how my mother survived my college years without social media stalking) and stealing every last one of her pictures.  I have successfully compiled them into an album for her now, and by golly, I think Mikey likes it!  ;)

I discovered this FANTASTIC second use for my Picture My Life Overlay cards--in my regular layouts!  LOVE!  These Green Glitter and Enamel Duos triangles are super little bits of bling added to the other shapes from the stamped images of So Many Smiles on the page...

Oh my word, you just have to see this black and white paper from La Vie En Rose in person.  But trust me that it is actually dizzying to stare at too long!

Only available in January!

PML Cards only in January!

Close to My Heart Focus on Fundamentals: A Closer Look

Did I ever tell you how much I ADORE the new Close to My Heart Paper Fundamentals line of coordinating products???  Oh, yeah, I sure DID!!!

It is Fundamental Friday on my blog today, so I wanted to share my latest layout...

I really love to use the Fundamentals Papers as backgrounds for my layouts...

You can't see it terribly well in the pic, but the title starts with the word, LIFE on the left of the pic...

I used a variety of letters from the Fundamentals Stickers...AND this super-cute sparkly heart from the Purple Enamel and Glitter Duos.

These stickers are absolutely the BEST thing!

Take a better look at the entire line of Fundamentals Products in this video!  Check out that layout on the left when you watch the video--it's my daughter!  :)