Four Fabulous Years!!!!

Today is my 4th Anniversary as a Close to My Heart Independent Consultant!!!! 

I have no idea how the time has flown since I picked up my first My Acrylix Stamp set and Exclusive Ink Pad. 

This was my first Idea Book back in the Spring of 2012...

Remember?  Stella was my FAVORITE paper packet!  Which was yours?  Pemberley?  Typeset?  How about Footloose?

Just for giggles, here is that first post I made on my blog about it--the big announcement, lol.

Can you believe they had not even invented Shimmer Trim yet back in the day?  The horror!  ;)

If you are still with me on my little stroll down memory keeping lane, thank you for humoring me.  My customers and blog followers have been amazing along my journey.  I quite frankly could not have come this far without you guys.  And I would be talking to MYSELF for goodness sake!

To my friends near and far who have supported and buoyed me as I navigated the sea of planning crafty classes, THANK YOU for filling my sparkle bucket day after day...I reflect your kindness, your optimism, and your encouragement that you so selflessly have given.  I love you all more than glitter.  And that's a LOT!

Now!  DON'T forget to take advantage of the fantastic sale going on right now on my Close to My Heart Website...

 
And this sunny Stamp of the Month is only here for March, too!

Throwback Scrabble Card for Moms

You just never can tell when inspiration will strike...and last night it hit me hard!

I was cranking out projects for not only Mother's Day, but also for Teacher Appreciation Week.  First, let me show you this super-easy, super-cute card I made with the retired Typeset Paper Packet from CTMH.  It has long been a fave of mine for school themed paper crafts--this one just happens to be for Mother's Day.

I have been telling my kiddos for YEARS that MOM, spelled upside down and backwards is WOW.  If you don't get the connection, try it again until your mom is synonymous with all the wow feelings you can muster, lol.  ;)  This is actually called an Asymmetrical Ambigram in our crazy English language--now you REALLY learned something today! 

All the adorable puffy stickers not only make me nostalgic for my 80's style sticker album, but they are also a perfectly simple addition to the scrabble letters that were found in the now retired Footloose Paper Packet.

A strip of teal shimmer trim was REQUIRED as per my design manual.  ;)

I'll be back to share the rest of my inspiration tomorrow!  Don't forget to make the MOM in your life say WOW this weekend!  :)

Taste of Summer is only available in May! 

Stamp of the Month for May only!

Tag (You're It!) Tuesday Heads to the Beach in Protest

THAT'S IT!!!  I cannot take another second of winter, so I am protesting with a beachy themed post.

*crosses arms over chest and stomps foot*

Who wants to join me in warm thoughts?  Let's go!

I created this little package for a pair of earrings my daughter and her friends are giving a classmate who is moving to Florida...and I am so jealous!  ;)

I took one of our retired paper pouches, and covered it with the retired Footloose Paper.  Yes, there is another theme her...retired people go to FL, and I used a lot of retired products because I want to go too!  ;)  (Yes, I am pouting, and if you are stuck in an endless winter like Anna, then you would too.)

Here is the tag!  This is one of my favorite shapes from the Artiste Cricut collection!  It is thankfully NOT retired, lol.  The stamp I used for the swirly outline is actually from the Artbooking Cricut Collection, though, and I just love how it fits this shape!  The To and From are found on the Holiday Tags My Acrylix.

I attached the Sunset button with a glue dot to the flap, and strung the Paradise Baker's Twine through two holes punched to the back to keep the pouch closed in a neat and tidy way.

 The Footloose Workshop on the Go My Acrylix set was perfect to complete my beachy theme.  I used the rock and roll technique to ink my stamps with the lighter color all over and then rolling the edges in the darker color before stamping...LOVE the result!  I used Creme Brulee rolled in Sunset  for the starfish and Sweet Leaf rolled in Lagoon for the seahorse.  There is a strip of Teal Shimmer Trim sparkling behind them...

Now, don't we feel better after that refreshing visual trip to the beach?  ;)

Sigh.  Spring break cannot come fast enough...

Just Beat the Buzzer!

I almost forgot my post today!  I have been working on my Degrees in the Close to My Heart Training Academy, and got completely carried away tonight!  I have a quick scrapbook layout to share with you tonight.   This is a fun beach layout using Footloose, Elemental, and Dotty papers.  I also used Outdoor Denim, New England Ivy, and Desert Sand cardstock.

 I like how the orange Dotty paper brings out the orange in the other elements.   A bit of baker's twine finished off the orange.  The flip flops are from the Just Chillin' My Acrylix Set.  The word "sunset" is stamped with letters in the Keepsake Alphabet.

My favorite part of the layout is the palm tree that I fashioned with cardstock.  I love to use and abuse the paper to make it look like something entirely different!

Tearing this water boarder added some texture and a pop of white for contrast.

I used the sea shell and the sun from the Footloose Complements as well as a metal tag from the Sunset Mini Medley.  Behind this tag, I used a length of the Outdoor Denim ribbon from that color mini medley.

Thanks for looking!

NOTE:  Alright, so the post was at midnight!  I will just have to double up today!  ;)

Color Dare Challenge #6

Alright, so the sneak peak is just going to have to wait...I already finished my project for the Color Dare Challenge this week!  I had purchased the Footloose Workshop Kit to use with many of my beach pictures, and this was the perfect opportunity to start! 

EDIT:  I am linking this oldie but goodie up to Heart 2 Heart's National Scrapbooking Month Challenge!  This is one of my favorite layouts because of not only the subject, but also the way the elements were MADE for these pics!  :)

The challenge this week is to add a color to one of the current paper packs in your project.  I chose to add an analagous color.  Footloose features the CTMH colors of Creme Brulee, Lagoon, New England Ivy, Pear, Smoothie, Sweet Leaf, and White Daisy.  I added Sunset, which would be next to Creme Brulee and Smoothie on the color wheel, making it analagous to them for a pleasing effect.  Here is my layout:

It is definitely difficult to photograph a double-page layout, so here are the individual pics to see the details a bit better.

I wanted it to feel clean and crisp, so there are no inked edges on this layout.  I did, however try a new technique to me from a video tutorial made by Gloria Rogers that you can see HERE.  Thanks, Gloria!  Love how it turned out:

 Needed some bling, of course!

 This is one stamp that is so super-easy to trim out.  Popped it up with a little foam tape.

 More bling!  The bitty sparkles are easy to get carried away with--be careful!  ;)

 Here is a list of the CTMH products that I used for this layout:

Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge
Footloose Workshop on the Go Kit
Footloose Compliments
White Daisy and Sunset Cardstock
Smoothie and Creme Brulee Ink Pads
Sunset Mini Medley
Bitty Sparkles
Sparkles Blue/Green Assortment
Clear Sparkles
Imagine layout: Double Take (my interpretation of it, anyway!)

I LOVE these pics and the way it turned out.  Thanks for taking a look!