Another Gift Card Holder from Artiste

Hi again, everyone! 

I am almost caught up on all the GREAT projects I have to show you in my stash.  In case you are out browsing for gift card holder ideas, I have one for you!  The Close to My Heart Artiste Cartridge has two wonderful gift card cuts to choose from.  I used the Laughing Lola Paper Packet to whip up a beautiful example for you to see!

I want the recipient of this gift to feel very special indeed, so it resembles an award ribbon.  :)  It also features one of my favorite ribbons, the Slate Satin Polka Dot Ribbon.  Get your hands on this gorgeous 1.5 inch wide ribbon before it disappears...they just added it to the retiring list!  Gasp!  The items on this list are only available while supplies last--except for the My Acrylix Stamps which are available until January 31st. 

I used black and silver shimmer trim and the slate striped twist ties to make these accents...yep, I inked one side of the twist ties in Gypsy!   I used the My Acrylix sets from the Artiste Collection and the Frame Flair My Acrylix to stamp the different elements of the sentiment in Black, Crystal Blue, and Gypsy.  Each of the shapes is cut out on my Cricut to match the stamps!  This is one of my favorite features of our three Cricut collections!

The inside panels of the card are simply matted CS rectangles.  The Black really sets off the pop of white.  I used a sentiment from the Perfect Fit Thanksgiving My Acrylix on the bottom corner.  I adore the font in this set!

I spent my gift card, so had to use CS to show where it goes, lol!

Not too long ago, I posted up a cute Christmas themed gift card holder. using this same cut.  In case you missed it, check it out HERE!  :)  There are so many ways to dress this one up!

And now, let me share a secret with you!  Get ready for some awesome deals!!!

Creature Feature and a Sketch

Hi everyone!  The pics keep piling up on my hard drive, so I best get posting, lol.

I made this card intending to enter it into two different contests.  The first is Heart 2 Heart's Creature Feature Challenge for May.  The second was Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #4, but I missed it over the weekend with all our business, oh well!  So many deadlines, so little time!  I still like the sketch.  :)

I used Close to My Heart's April Stamp of the Month to make the little "creature" to sit atop my sentiment.  I am really loving the whole puddle-pad craze.  I made this one way back when I was stamping those hot air balloons from the same stamp set and the pinwheels from this month's!  You can reminisce HERE for details. 

A bit of Stardust Glitter Glitz Gel on the wing gave him just a touch of sparkle.  :)  The Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon adds a touch of softness to the hard angles in this card.  Do you like the way I matted this one?  Instead of using an entire piece of Lagoon CS, I used strips of it to line the edges of the Kraft paper!  Awesome use of scraps!  ;)

Another touch of softness that I added is this swirly frame I stamped in Lagoon from My Acrylix D1546 Frame Flair.  I ended up popping the sentiment out a bit from the framed image...

...because I didn't like how it looked all squished on the original sized space.  I cut out a tiny bit bigger rectangle for the sentiment from C1525 Words of Comfort and now I love it! 

Have you ever worked around a space issue like this?  What did you do?  I would love to hear your solutions!

Hug Somebody! Five Faves #4

Hi everyone!  I have an assignment for you today.  Think of a person you know who might be going through a rough spot with their health, work, or relationship.  Come on, I know you know someone.  Now, make them a card.  Support them and lift up their spirits.  Put a smile on their face for a moment.  You just never know when that human touch will be pivotal.  Here is a card that I sent to my mom last month.  I just so happened to use one of my Five Fave CTMH Embellies on it!

Mom has been going through some health changes lately and things have been rough to say the least.  But she is tough...she has been strong as far back as I can remember.  She had been so strong lately, in fact, that I hardly put too much thought to what she was dealing with--until she broke down on the phone with me one day.  It opened my eyes to the fact that even seemingly emotionally strong people are only so strong by themselves for so long.  I made this card to let her know I am here for her always to support her, and try to bring a smile to her face again.  It did.  :)

I love tying My Five Fave Embellie #4,  Black Tulle Ribbon on cards and other projects.  I have experimented with several ways to use it.  These frames on D1546 Frame Flair are awesome for covering it where I tie it in the middle with a small piece of twine, because it doesn't look all that pretty there.  Here is a pic of the super-versatile four-stamp set...

 I stamped this one in Cotton Candy Ink.  The Love and Hugs sentiment is found on C1524 Words of Comfort.  I like the way the black elements really contrast with the Chantilly papers. 

God won't give us more to bear than He will help us bear.  Who is God asking you to help through that time?   I'm willing to bet that you just thought of them at the beginning of my post.  ;)  Go spread some sparkle, my friends! 

Want to see other projects that I used this tulle on?  Click HERE!

Heart 2 Heart Takes on Daylight Savings Time

Happy MONDAY!  Wait, what am I saying?!?!  Actually, I really do mean it--this is my first Monday as Guest Designer for the Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog, so I am super-excited to show you the project that I gave you this teeny tiny peak of yesterday.  I have to say that I was quite impressed with my iPhone pic!  ;)

Are you ready for the first challenge of March Madness?  Here it is:  Daylight Savings Time!

Now, when I think of coming to the end of Daylight Savings Time, I think...more sunshine, baby!  That means winter is about to make a final exit and usher in some warmer days.  In anticipation of many warm, sunny, sparkly days ahead, here is the card I made.

Can't you feel the warmth of this sunshine?  I used the round frame from the Frame Flair My Acrylix Stamps to make this beaming sun breaking out from behind the cloud.  This is one of my FAVORITE new stamp sets in the Spring and Summer Idea Book.  The stamp set that comes with the Chantilly Scrapbook Workshop on the Go completes the center of the sun.  I love how the rays of tan glitter paper add even more warmth to the card.  The sunbeams are created with stamps from the Patterned Pennants My Acrylix stamps using Honey, Buttercup, and Goldrush Exclusive Inks on White Daisy and Buttercup Cardstock.  Here is a peek at how I laid out the paper on the card...and then just snipped off the ends so they were even with edge of the card.

The bottom blue patterned paper is from the Surf's Up Paper Packet.

This gorgeous ribbon is the Close to My Heart Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon (For those of you who have seen my Hot Cocoa Tutorial, I can say it now, lol!!!)  I used our Goldrush Reinker, a ziplock baggie, and a spray of stamp cleaner to color it up and crinkle it.  I love this look and the subtle variation this method gives the color.  I tied up the double bow with some white bakers twine and added a little antique gold button to top it off.  I also added some tiny sparkles from the Sparkles Brown and Tan Assortment around the frame of the sun.

All of the shapes that I used for the sun and cloud are cut from the Cricut Artiste and Art Philosophy Cartridges.  I absolutely love how easy they make it to create shapes to match our stamps!

I hope you will share your interpretation of Daylight Savings Time with us over on the Heart 2 Heart Challenges this month.  You have the whole month to create something and link it up!  I can't wait to see what you make!  This month, for March Madness, you just might win a prize!!!  Thanks so much to the DT at H2H for having me along for the ride!  :)

Heart 2 Heart Challenge #2 Hot Cocoa

Brrrrrrr!  Well, it did finally decide to turn into winter in the midwest, so I was completely ready to embrace Heart 2 Heart's second Challenge for the month of January, "Hot Cocoa."

I am definitely kicking myself for not picking up the perfectly matched My Acrylix set, A Sip, when it was available, but not having it forced me into some creative thinking.  I am not sure when or how it hit me, but I used one of the new treat tubes from the Whooo's Your Valentine Kit to make a sweet little hot chocolate gift.  I also made an important discovery! 

The tiny, dehydrated marshmallows were the absolute perfect companion for this easy to make set.  Inside the folder-style package is a packet of hot cocoa.  The colors of the Wonderland Paper and Whisper Cardstock I used even chill me to the bone!  The snowflake border is from the Art Philosophy Cartridge.  The sentiment is from the My Acrylix Snowflakes Stamp set.

Our new glitter paper was also clamoring to get in on the action, so I cut a snowflake from the Art Philosophy cartridge to bling up the tube, give it some more depth, and help keep it in place.  A couple of discreetly placed glue dots help too.  I love the shimmer trim as a border around the tube!

Next up is the very first thing I made for the project.  I stamped the Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon with our awesome Mini Pigment Inks.   But I didn't do it that way entirely the first try!

Unfortunately, I first attempted to use the Dye ink pad for the Chocolate ink on the ribbon.  When I looked at it the next day, this is what I found:

Houston, we have a problem!  BUT, not a problem, because the snowflakes I had used the pigment ink for had not bled at all.  I redid the ribbon using all pigment inks, and was good to go with a gorgeous ribbon and a lesson to share.  :)    The "hot cocoa" sentiment is found on the retired January Word Puzzle My Acrylix.

Here is the inside of the folder.  I carefully sized a pocket for the cocoa and created a label type cut with the soon to debut Frame Flair My Acrylix set.  I LOVE this set!!!  It coordinates with cuts from the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge. 

Another snowflake cut from Art Philosophy and adorned with a crystal blue snowflake image and bitty sparkles rounded the project out.

I do have plans to post a video of how to make this easy gift, so keep checking back on my blog or leave a comment so I can let you know when it is ready!  Thanks for stopping in today!

UPDATE!!!!  Here is the tutorial!  :)