Close to My Heart Animal Greetings Thank You Card

It DEFINITELY feels like Hump-Day today!  No matter how draining it can be at times, I simply love my job working as a paraprofessional in a gen-ed classroom.  One of the BEST parts of my job is making thank you cards for the kiddos when they give me something special.  Here is my latest that I made with the Close to My Heart Animal Greetings My Acrylix Stamp using a pattern from Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 (pattern 28.)

I used the zip strip from the Kaleidoscope Paper Pack, Purple Glitter Paper, and the Limeade Washi Pack.  The CS is embossed with the Dot Folder in my Big Shot to match the strip of dots in the pattern.

That little strip of grass is leftover from THIS project!

The sentiment that goes with this adorable puppy is my favorite one in the set...but there are SO many sweet punnies that you just have to see them all HERE.

I couldn't resist adding a bit of bling to her bow with the Bitty Sparkles!  I used ShinHan Markers and Watercolor Pencils to add color to the stamped image.

It is tons of fun to color in these images in any way you like to match your paper projects!  If only I knew when I was 5 just how long my love for coloring would last!  :)

Animal Greetings is not only a great little sentiment collection with pics to color, it's also the Operation Smile Fundraiser Stamp set!  $7 of every set sold will go to providing surgeries to repair cleft lips and palates in children that could otherwise not have the surgery.  Now that's what I call a winning combination!  :)

Just a few days left to grab this super Stamp of the Month!

Cuttin' Up Blog Hop!

Hello!  Welcome to the latest hop from a group of crafty ladies we like to call, Blog Hops with Heart!

This hop has been in the works for QUITE some time, and I happened to use the Close to My Heart Springtime Wishes Thin Cuts Dies in a MOST unusual way for my project...

I just LOVE using my crafty products in unexpected ways!  Totally corny, I KNOW!  But when I first saw this shape cut before I stamped on it, I saw ears of corn, lol.  I just used the die in my Big Shot on Canary CS, then drew in a bunch of kernels with the Golden Yellow ShinHan Marker.  I used the very springy Kaleidoscope Paper Pack along with the Jennifer's Hand Alphabet to create my own sentiment.  A bit of retired Green Glitter Paper and a couple Triangular Enamel Duos finish it off nicely.

Well, would you believe  in a million years that the dies I used are completely sold out???  YEP!  There are none left in stock....BUT, I plan on selling mine to make room for new supplies, so it just might be your lucky day! Shoot me a message if you would like to buy my gently used Springtime Wishes stamp and die set so we can arrange a PayPal transaction.  Here is a pic!

Your next stop to Cut It Up is Kelly Janes who will undoubtedly have you shouting, "CUT IT OUT!!!"  Enjoy!  :)

Here is a list of all the ladies Cuttin' It Up today!

Amie (that's ME!)

Kelly

Becca

Stephanie

Amy

Jayma

Only in April!

Sparkle and Shine Volleyball Themed Birthday Card

Thanks so much for stopping in today!  I had a few minutes to myself this weekend in between keeping an eye on my hubs (recovering from hernia surgery) and enjoying the fantabulous weather! I decided to play along with the current Sparkle and Shine Challenge while creating a birthday card for my volleyball-playing niece. 

I used the beautiful watercolor-like purple paper from the Close to My Heart Kaleidoscope Paper Pack.  The Play Hard--Volleyball images were just what I needed to make a personalized card.  This Wish sentiment is always one of my favorites...
 

See the silver #6?  I embossed my niece's uniform number in silver to go with the inspiration theme!

I stamped the volleyball image in second-generation Black Exclusive Ink--which is actually stamping the image two times without re-inking...I usually do a lot of practice stamping to see which way I want to use my stamps and inks...

I think the sentiments on the Birthday Funnies Hostess Reward My Acrylix stamp are hilarious...so I picked one for the inside of her card.

 

 Remember to conserve your glitter paper by only using what actually shows!  Look at all that I saved!!!  ;)

My Jamberry nails accidentally matched my glitter paper!

If you want to play along with this challenge, here is the challenge inspiration photo badge and the link!

Sparkle and Shine Challenge!

 Here are some of the other sport-themed Play Hard stamps from Close to My Heart that will retire after July...there are also sets for gymnastics, swimming/diving, and cheerleading!

Only available in April!

Mixing and Matching Magic Part 2

I apologize for the delay in getting this layout posted!  I took my hubs to have a hernia repaired today, and didn't quite get this written up before we left.  He is doing great, and I just might have a crafty day tomorrow while he heals up!  :)

Here is my Easter layout featuring not 1, not 2, but THREE different Close to My Heart My Reflections paper packs! Mixing and matching papers is a bit intimidating at first, but once you start, the possibilities are endless!

I started off interestingly enough, with the title word, "happy" in the Penelope Complements.

I cut this half of my title on my Cricut Explore with the Artistry Cartridge.  I love the little patterns in the Fundamentals Papers...this one is Canary in the Whimsy Collection.

I colored my silver sequins with the ShinHan Alcohol ink markers to match!

I had a couple of obstacles to overcome when putting this layout together...one of those being my complete lack of knowledge as to when this particular egg hunt took place, lol.  That was easy enough to remedy by using the Fundamentals Stickers for the year...I just left the last number off for when I can find the date...and a blank journaling box.

These eggs were cut on my Cricut in a pattern from the Kaleidoscope Paper Pack.

The second issue I dealt with was my kiddo's choice of "Easter" egg hunt clothing, lol.  She is a die-hard Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks Fan, so her wardrobe is HEAVILY red.  My Penelope Paper is PERFECT for this with that touch of red in the PML card sheet, but I needed to pull in a strip of Ruby from the Regatta Paper Pack to add a bit more...

LOVE these glittery Playful Puffies!

I adore how this grass turned out!  I used the Limeade Washi stuck to White Daisy CS and my Fiskars grass border punch to create a little border on two photos...

Did you notice one of my favorite features of CTMH paper packs?  That yellow woodgrain pattern is a ZIP strip! What is a zip strip?  It is a 1/2 inch strip of paper along the side of each of our 12 x 12 pattern papers--once you cut it off there is a true 12 x 12 paper left, plus you have another embellishment that coordinates with your papers!  :)

Many of the supplies I used are available in the Workshops Your Way Penelope Scrapbooking Kit.
This makes it super-easy to have embellishments that coordinate with your papers.  It also provides you with a download that gives you directions for making three layouts and even some cards!  Most of the products I used are not available after April, so be sure to check them out soon!

Only in April!

PLUS, earn a FREE Cricut Collection!  Only in April!

Happy Easter!

 I just wanted to pop in and wish you a very Happy Easter today!

Kaleidoscope Paper Packet
Penelope Paper Packet
Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge
Paper Fundamentals Whimsey
Spring Critters My Acrylix
Spring Critters Thin Cuts 
ShinHan Markers 

Mojo Monday Sunshine with Artistry

What better way to start off the new week than with some sunshine and a little Mojo! 

The first Monday of the month is always contest week over at the Mojo Monday Sketch Blog.  This week, I used a great shape from the Close to My Heart Artistry Cartridge along with one of my favorite Verve stamps to make a cheery card.

I mixed and matched from three different new CTMH paper packs for this one:  Zoe, Georgie, and Kaleidoscope.  Then I added a mix of patterns from the new Paper Fundamentals too!  

You can't see it in the pics, but the pattern on the Canary Yellow is a shiny embossed cross hatch.

The sentiment stamp from Verve works just perfectly with the image from Artistry.  I wanted to stamp the "SUN" in Sunset (oh, yeah) so after a few trials masking, I just decided to add a layer instead.  That worked much better for me...

A few carefully placed sequins, and I was finished.

I love the Bokeh paper in the background, how about you?

Only in September for National Stamping Month!

September Stamp of the Month!