Going Au Naturale at Heart 2 Heart with the Close to My Heart Kraft Container

Hi everyone!  I probably say this a lot, but isn't the time just FLYING by?  It is already Team Sunset's turn to wow you with our projects and get your creative juices flowing for the first Heart 2 Heart Challenge for the month of October!!!

After a good, hearty giggle among the DT members, the "Au Naturale" theme for this month took my mind to mother nature and all things Kraft.  Very soon I was raking my way down the leafy path of creating something for Thanksgiving with the My Creations Kraft Container.  I would like to share with you my Blessings Bank.

I used the Close to My Heart Always Grateful My Acrylix Stamp Set to make the tree shape and the "always grateful" bands along the top and bottom of the container.  I stamped the leaves in first and second generation Goldrush, Autumn Terracotta, and Ruby Inks with the "leaves" stamp from the Cityscape My Acrylix.

Both the shape that the tree is stamped on and the background woodgrain shape are cut from the Cricut Artiste Cartridge exclusively from Close to My Heart.  The gorgeous little woodgrain is a  pattern in the Universal Backgrounds My Acrylix set.  I simply stamped it in Chocolate Ink on Chocolate CS.

The Dark Chocolate Striped Grosgrain ribbon encircles the container behind the focal shapes.  Mocha Opaques stud the wood and trim pieces.

I wanted the lid to be very basic with minimal decoration to get in the way of opening and closing the Bank.  Each day in November, I want my family to write one blessing on a leaf I cut with the Artiste Cartridge and "deposit" it inside.  In the future, when we might not be feeling very blessed, we can "make a withdrawal" and read them to remind ourselves how many things we have to thank God for each day that we tend to take for granted.  :)

I thought this sentiment from the Always Grateful stamps was JUST the perfect one for the lid...

Gratitude...may you always know your blessings!

We would feel SO blessed if you would make up your own project for our theme, Au Naturale, and link up with us over at the Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog!  You have the entire month of October to play along.  God bless YOU until we meet back here again!  :)

Since today is the last day of September and National Stamping Month, don't forget to order the September Stamp of the Month:

and the Triple Stamp Set, You Are My Happy!

TODAY is the LAST day to get them!!!

Heart 2 Heart Color Dare!!! Huh?

Happy Labor Day from Team Sunset!

I had a bit of an identity crisis going on last week when making my project for the new Heart 2 Heart Challenge today.  You see, I am a member of both the Color My Heart Color Dare Design Team AND the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Design Team.  The first challenge this month at Heart 2 Heart is a Color Dare!  Are you still with me?  ;)  I kept asking myself, "wait, what challenge am I working on?"

It all finally worked out in the end, and this post is taking all my concentration to get it linked up just right, lol.  The colors for the first challenge of September over at Heart 2 Heart Challenges are Sunset, Barn Red, Gypsy, and Cashmere.  (Take a deep breath, it will be OK!)

My gut reaction to the color combination was "Fall."  but that bit of Gypsy pulled me over to "Halloween."  Here is the card I was able to make the color combo work with...

I even have a lesson for you!  Bonus!  See the web at the top right?  You can see it looks a bit "foggy" in the inside in the picture below because I used my powder pouch on the paper before I stamped the ink.  Powder pouches are great for keeping embossing powder contained and not spreading due to static.  However, I changed plans midstream (yeah, it happens) and decided to sprinkle Prisma Glitter on the pigment inked webs instead of embossing them white.  That led to a little problem...I couldn't safely clear the powder residue from the black paper!  It would have been easy to wipe it off if the webs were solid, embossed lines, but in this case, it would have just taken the glitter right off.  Lesson learned!

I easily colored the CTMH Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon with my Sunset Alcohol Ink Marker to match the colors...

The background pattern is created with all four challenge colors and my favorite chevron stamp on the In the Background My Acrylix from Close to My Heart.  This large stamp is soooo easy to line up using our clear blocks!

Here is another awesome, yet amazingly easy trick I learned...using a black sharpie to change the wood color on this round badge from the Babycakes Assortment!  The wood color just didn't fit with my color theme, so I made it black!  :)

The inside of the card was super-easy to accent with the spider web stamp from the retired Spellbound Workshop on the Go from Close to My Heart.  I am sorry to say I used this set for all the Halloween themed images on this card...

I hope you have a chance to play along with us this month over at Heart 2 Heart Challenges with this challenging color combination.  You have ALL month to play with us!

Don't link up to the Color Dare with this one, lol!  If you want to play with us over at the Color My Heart Color Dare, then check out the colors for this week HERE!  ;)

Throwback Thursday!

Hi everyone!  Do any of you guys remember this card I made a while back?

I had created it for Heart 2 Heart Challenges All That Glitters Challenge in January...and won Top Chic!  I had no idea then that I would be on the design team in another 6 months!  ;)

Well, I posted it up in my Etsy Shop, and made my first sale recently!  My customer wanted hers with a black ribbon, so I wanted to show you what it looked like!  :)

The beautiful For Always paper packet that I used is still available for purchase on my website if you like the looks of it...and the Close to My Heart Artiste Cartridge I created the sentiment with is still amazing!

I could make this one over and over again!  Thanks for stopping in today for a trip down memory lane with me!  :)

Baby You A Song...Cruise Meets Artbooking for Heart 2 Heart Challenges

Welcome back to another Heart 2 Heart Challenge for the month of August!  My kiddos head back to school today, and I am torn between pushing them out the door and hanging on to them for dear life.  Sigh.  Anyone feel me there?

Anyhow, this new challenge is an amazing one!  We are calling it With a Song in My Heart.  What is the song in YOUR heart right now?  We want you to be inspired by it for this challenge and use that song, along with your Close to My Heart products, to create a project of your own!

MY song is one that I have heard two versions of over and over and over, and over, do you catch my drift here???  It is called Cruise, and my country heart prefers the original version by Florida Georgia Line.  My teenager, on the other hand, is rockin' out to the remix featuring Nelly, lol.  I have grown accustomed to both this summer, and it has sort of become our theme song around here.  :)  If you haven't heard it before, take a peek HERE (G country version) and HERE (PG remix.) 

Anyhow, let me tell you about the PROJECT now!  My teen finally got her driver's licsense (am I the ONLY one who misspells that word every time I write it???) license this summer.  To celebrate the fact that she gets to drive to school instead of riding the bus, I made her a little folder to hold her insurance card and registration papers in her car!  :)

I used the new Close to My Heart Artbooking Cartridge to simply cut out the folder shape on page 43 of the handbook with my Laughing Lola Paper Packet.  This is what it looked like before and after simply folding along the score lines and applying a bit of adhesive.

This is my daughter's little white Toyota!  :)  It is a cute little car stamped in White Daisy Pigment Ink from the Fast and Furious My Acrylix.  I know she doesn't drive with the music too loud, so it is a bit of an exaggeration, lol.  I could not find any musical embellishments, so I made my own with these little black sequins from the Mini Medley Accents Black collection.  I just drew the lines on with a black marker.  :)  The puffs of dust behind her car are so cute with these Striped Slate Twist Ties!

I love this little word bubble stamp from the Laughing Lola Workshop on the Go Scrapbooking Kit.

I blinged it up with some tiny sparkles of all colors present and past.  The large black swoosh of sparkles is from the Sparkles Flourishes Black.  The purple bow on the paper clip is from the Laughing Lola Assortment--isn't that brilliant!  Little fish-tail flags from the zip strip and tan glitter paper finish it off.

Inside the folder, I added some cute details as well with the Lola workshop My Acrylix and All the Details.

The adorable file folder is on page 42 of the Artbooking handbook.  I cut it out of Laughing Lola Gold...it has a bit more of a greenish tinge than the pictures show...ah, lighting how you taunt me!  ;)
The cute stoplight is from the Cricut Artiste Cartridge, and the keys are from the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection (I didn't want them to feel left out!)  ;)

Can you guess the three kinds of glittery products I used in this stoplight?  :)  I'll reveal it at the bottom of my post, so hang with me a sec!

Well, the folder was an absolute hit, complete with squeals of glee, so I am one happy Momma right now!

You know the drill by now, right?  It is YOUR turn to listen to the song in YOUR heart to join in our fun!  Come and link up with us over at Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog and you could be the top chick this month!  I can't wait to see you sparkle and shine!  Hey, is there a song about that???  :)

Speaking of sparkle....those three kinds of sparkle I used on the stop light are RED shimmer trim, green glitter paper, and tan glitter paper!  You just can't have too much glitter! 

What's Black and White and Stamped All Over?

My latest card!!!  Hee, hee! 

I was so inspired by THIS amazing card by fellow consultant Wendy Coffman, that I just had to get my butt moving and make one similar, but with a whole new spin on the sentiment! 

I have always been intrigued by the way the letters H and I fall next to each other in the alphabet...

I am linking this version of my card up with the My Creative Time Black and White Challenge.

The sentiment is ABSOLUTELY the focus of this card.  I stamped it using the Close to My Heart Framework Alphabet My Acrylix set in White Daisy Pigment Ink on Black CS.  I adore this new alphabet that mimics the chalkboard look perfectly.  It also coordinates with our new M size stamps as well.  The polka-dot trim at the top and bottom is made from a zip strip in the For Always Paper Packet.  Then, whammo, this sparkly glitter button from the Mini Medley Accents Black Collection catches your eye!  

To add some interest inside, I stamped the main sentiment again in black for the opposite effect...

Now to re-focus on that sparkly "HI" sentitment.  Did you think we finally had white glitter paper from CTMH?  NOPE!  Not yet anyway, lol.  I tried to choose between chalking it in and filling it with glitter, and settled for BOTH!  I used my White Chalk Marker to color in my Silver Glitter Paper!  :)  I wanted to stay true to the black and white challenge, so this option was both innovative, sparkly, AND allowed!  ;)

FYI--it is hard to take a pic of yourself coloring!  ;)

OK, so just for fun, I used some leftover cuts and my Peachy Keen faces to transform my card into a FANTASTIC welcome card to give my daughter's teacher when we visit her classroom tomorrow night.  What do you think?

I think it will be a hit!  :)  THIS version of my card is linking up with the the Heart 2 Heart Sentimant-ally Yours Challenge for August.  It was my DT's week off, but I could not resist playing along!

Wrap It Up With Ribbon this Time!

Wow, I almost confused my self right out of entering a contest!  I didn't realize until I was making my project that there were TWO current Wrap It Up contests going on!

On Monday I posted a simple, yet awesome pillowbox gift card holder.  Today, I made another box that has a "thanks" rather than a birthday theme for the Peachy Keen Wrap It With Ribbon Challenge.  This one also pays tribute to one of my favorite summertime treats--ICE CREAM!  Heart 2 Heart has posted their third July challenge, I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for ICE CREAM, so I am linking up there too!  :)

Guess what!?  Another challenge to play!  Thanks to L.B. for pointing me to the Die Cuttin Divas Challenge Blog where they are having an Ice Cream Challenge too!  :)

I used two retired Close to My Heart My Acrylix sets for this project, Fanfare and Thank You.  The colors are super-yummy together in Cotton Candy and Pear!  I had to make the little guy with the face into a chip mint scoop, my kiddos' favorite!!!  His adorable face is from the Peachy Keen January 2013 Kit.  I used my black stickles for the little chocolate chips.  The cone is stamped in Cashmere Ink to keep things light and refreshing.

The White Daisy base of my box is stamped with first and second generation images of Cotton Candy Ink.  One ink pad=two or more different shades of that color, did you know?  I added that adorable little strip of Lagoon Houndstooth washi just like I did on the box I posted Monday.

Don't you think a great way to say thank you is with a gift card for your favorite ice cream shoppe?  I do!  :D

You have the rest of July to play along over at H2H for their Ice Cream challenge, so go ahead and use your CTMH products to join in on the fun! 

Now, all this talk about ice cream makes me want to go EAT some ice cream!  What is your favorite flavor?  Mine is either cherry amaretto at Culver's or Cake Batter at Cold Stone!  YUMMO!!!

Color Me Happy!

Well this is a bittersweet week over at Heart 2 Heart.  This is the final week for the current Design Team, so we are going to miss the amazing creations these fabulous ladies share with us each month!  I want to thank them each for their inspiration and for all the tips, tricks, and tutorials they have shared. I also want to let them know that I WILL be checking in on them from time to time.  ;)

The wonderful news is that there will be a brand new DT announced later this week which we are all patiently (of course) waiting for...NOT!!!  About as patiently as I am waiting for the new Autumn/Winter Idea Book that is revealed at convention tomorrow!!!!  YES!  You heard me right...tomorrow, the CTMH consultants at convention get to see all the new products and goodies in the super-secret new cattie!!!!  Oh the suspense is crazy-intense, so I had to take a break from VBS planning this week and squeeze in some time for crafting to take my mind off of it...yeah right!  ;)

The last challenge at H2H this month is to use our favorite CTMH color in a project!  HOW AWESOME is that?  NOT at all, would be the annoying answer, lol...as I see repeated in the DT's blog posts, we seem to love ALL colors equally, lol, so choosing just one is torture almost impossible!  Now, my official favorite color is SPARKLE, so I am not sure that would count (but you bet it will be in there!)  I finally was able to settle on my favorite of each color and used them in the same design to see what I liked!  I cannot believe I haven't shown you a pic yet!  Sorry!

Ok, you cannot see all the great details without more pics!  You really need to see these at more than one angle...This first card features my favorite CTMH purple and blue--Smokey Plum and Crystal Blue!  I added some black shimmer trim for my sparkle.  ;)  The edge of the card is trimmed with a Martha Stewart Edge Punch.

Inside the card, I used the Chantilly Cardmaking WOTG My Acrylix set to stamp the two little banners that say, "Happy Birthday."

All of these card variations feature one of my FAVORITE CTMH images ever, and one of my FAVORITE people gave it to me!  It is a retired My Acrylix set called Find Your Style.  This butterfly image is simply gorgeous.

This next card shows off my two favorite warm tones from Close to My Heart, Hollyhock and Buttercup.  What can I say, I like syllables!  ;)

Do you alter your stamps?  I have done this to MANY!  I love this font and the sentiment of this one from Card Chatter--Sympathy, but I certainly didn't need the period at the end.  Easy solution--I chopped it off!  

Here it is on the inside of the card...

Finally, my most favorite two colors from CTMH (I think) right now...Lagoon and Sweet Leaf!

I really LOVE the butterfly in these two colors!  I need to use this combo more often!

 Another sentiment from Card Chatter--Sympathy finishes it off.

So, there you have it, my most favorite Close to My Heart Colors (of the moment.)  Which of my combos do you like the best?  What is your favorite CTMH color?  What's wrong?  Can't pick just one, you say?  JOIN the CLUB!!!  lol...

I Like Pina Coladas!

Hi everyone!  Welcome to my blog today!  I really DO like Pina Coladas, but I don't have any to share right now, because this post is all about Heart 2 Heart's Tropical challenge.  Awwww shucks!  ;)

Tonight I was able to squeeze in some crafty time after a crazy day playing taxi mom--I'm not complaining one little bit because that is my first calling--but I am always happy to give in to my second calling of playing with paper!  I had an idea just POP into my head, so away I ran after the kiddos were in bed.  Here is my entry!!!

I used a few different Close to My Heart embellishments including the Outdoor Denim Chevron Ribbon, Mini Medley Wooden Collection, Hemp Baker's Twine, and the retired March 2013 Stamp of the Month, Floral Happiness.  I also used White Daisy, Black, Outdoor Denim, Kraft, and Buttercup CS.

The sentiment is stamped in Desert Sand Ink.  I cut the shape on Black Cardstock from the Cricut Artiste Cartridge and trimmed it to fit my card.

I popped up the black frame with foam squares.  The kind I use for cards are only 1.5 mm thick, and I love the dimension they give without a whole lot of bulk.

The beautiful sunset is stamped with sponge daubers in Ruby, Autumn Terracotta, Goldrush, Sunset, and Buttercup inks.  Then I spritzed the CS with the stamp cleaner a few times to blend the colors a bit.  I folded it up in a paper towel to dry underneath my dauber case before using it on the card.

The twine fits nicely around the frame to hold the button.  :)  (Thank you, Shelly for the pretty nails!)

The final product is pretty much the vision I had in my head earlier today, so I am a happy crafter tonight!  :)  I hope I inspired you to try your own sponged sunset with your inks!  You can even make your own tropical project and link up any time until the end of June with Heart 2 Heart Challenges!   Come and play along!

Now for that Pina Colada....

Egg-cited for Easter at Heart 2 Heart!

I have had SUCH a fantastic time creating with the amazing DT over at Heart 2 Heart this month!  I hope you have had a chance to play along with at least one of the challenges.  If not, maybe this one will get your creative juices flowing...

There is a story behind this project, so if you like to read, grab your coffee and enjoy!  If not, feel free to skip down to the big reveal picture!  ;)

A few years ago, we were majorly spring cleaning the house.  My hubs was vacuuming out the crevices of an old mustard-color, wing back tweed chair in our front room.  Yep--it was a hand me down from Grandma!  ;)  Anyway, he stuck his hand down in the abyss to hear and feel a crunch.  What he pulled out were the remains of a petrified boiled egg!!!  I was seriously grateful at that point that it was his turn with the vacuum!!!  It was literally reduced to dust.  Our best guess is that it was an Easter egg lost in a hunt from YEARS ago.  SO. Gross!

To prevent this from reoccurring, (because seriously, can you imagine his grandparents looking all over the place for the STENCH that must have been present during some of that time?)  I came up with a deliciously cute idea--a chalkboard egg-count canvas!  This must have been the count on that fateful day many Easters ago...if only they had been able to keep track like this!  :)

For the base of my fun and functional decor, I started with the brand new Close to My Heart My Creations 6 x 6 Canvas Display.  I easily adhered the background paper with s thin layer of liquid glass, but you could also use Mod Podge.

This wonderful chalkboard vinyl was introduced to our Idea Book last Fall.  I haven't had too much of an opportunity to play with it until now, and I loved how easy it was to cut with my Cricut Expression 2.  I found this fun shape on the Cricut Artiste Cartridge.  I used the "kiss cut" settings on my E2:  Pressure-3, Speed-3, Blade Depth-3.  This allows the blade to cut through the vinyl, but not the backing sheet so you can easily remove the self-adhesive vinyl later. 

These eggs were cut using the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge, and the grass is from Artiste.  I selected several products to decorate the eggs--SO much fun!!!  I also used stamps from two of my favorite past CTMH promos, the Whooo's Your Valentine and It's Your Day My Acrylix sets.  Then I used Glitter Glitz Gel and Shimmer Trim to bling-a-bling-bling!  ;)  The little banner signs are hand-trimmed and adorned with bits of Slate Washi Tape and Pink Glitter Gems for interest.   The Silver Metallic Marker added just the right color for the text.  I propped them up on Foundry Pin Clips that are stuck in the foam behind the strip of grass.

Now, I wanted to share this little trick I discovered that I use on my baker's twine to get all the kinks out from storage.  It really is simple, just hold the twine between your thumbnail and forefinger like shown and apply pressure while you slide it over any creases or kinks.  It straightens them out in no time!  :)

My Easter banner uses the fabulously shimmery Silver Glitter Paper to make the letters from Artiste.  These gorgeous patterned papers are all from the Chantilly Paper Packet--perfect for any Easter project!  The chipboard frames around the numbers are from the new Irresistibles Frames.  You can ink them up in any color you choose!  SO versatile!  :)

Once you have your 6 x 6 canvas all decorated, just use chalk to write in your numbers to keep track!  You can try a little piece of cut-up sponge as an eraser (or quite frankly, a licked finger!)  Just DON'T use a chalk marker!!! While it would look lovely, it would unfortunately be permanent!  ;)

I am really going to miss designing with the rest of the Heart 2 Heart team next week, but I will undoubtedly be playing along with you instead!  I want to say a huge THANK YOU to the team for having me on board this month.  Thank you all so much for the many great comments you have left on my projects, and I will see you again sometime over at H2H!

God bless each of you in your Easter celebrations.   My family and I will be rejoicing as we remember the risen Savior who conquered death and banished our sins!  What great hope we can have because of His amazing sacrifice.  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!