A Tip for Tuesday: Paper Savers Anonymous

I was making a card last week with the Taste of Summer Paper Packet when a great little tip occurred to me that I needed to share.

Now, I don't know about you, but I am a big time paper saver--I get the most out of my cuts--especially when it comes to my CTMH Glitter Paper!  I LOVE to use it as a mat on pictures and cards, but I don't like how much of the paper ends up unseen.  There is a simple way to use your paper AND save it too!

All you need is a paper cutter that isn't guillotine style so you can cut out the middle.  But you can still enjoy the look of matting without any waste!  :)

Sometimes, if you are a hard-core paper saver, you can even cut the middles out of round shapes! 

Last Day to get a Taste of Summer!

Hey everyone!  I realized I have two more cards to share using the Taste of Summer Paper Packet and the Taste of Summer My Acrylix stamps that are ONLY still available TODAY(May 31st!)  Yikes!  Here you go..

Excellent use of zip strips!

Glitter anyone?

Another zip strip, of course!

Such a sweet sentiment!

Love this juicy slice stamp!

Did I mention the fact that I am also giving away a free stamp set with orders right now?  Yep!  Just order through my website or contact me to place your order and I will get in touch with you to choose your free stamp!  :)

Freshly Made For My Little Friend

School is OUT for the summer!  While that is super news for my crafting time, it also means I am going to be missing my little school friends.  I took advantage of the adorable sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week to make a little card for one of them...

When I saw the release of this set from Mama Elephant, I realized right away that my pockets would be a bit lighter, lol.  The sentiment and elephant are just perfect together!  I added a banner and balloon from my MCT stitched dies with some playful color provided by the Taste of Summer Paper Packet from CTMH.  The awesome green pattern is found in the Blossom Paper Packet.

CTMH Whisper Ink and CS for the elephant and Taste of Summer paper for the balloon.

MCT banner die using CTMH Taste of Summer papers (including my fave zip strip!)

 I know my little friend is going to love it!  Can't wait to get more inky fingers this summer!

Just two more days to get YOUR Taste of Summer coordinating paper and stamps AND to play along with Freshly Made Sketches!  :)

Taste of Summer My Acrylix with coordinating juicy sentiments!

Throwback to Close to My Heart Convention

The time is getting closer for the annual Close to My Heart Convention--this year being held again at Disneyland!  I am certainly going to miss the celebration this year.  Here is one of the fantastic projects we were spoiled with at creative sessions last year...I have had it completed for a while, but haven't been able to get it posted up here yet.

We used both the Wanderful and Seaside Paper Packets for this versatile layout along with Flaxen, Glacier, and Black inks.

The Handwritten Alphabet is a fabulous font for scrapbook layout titles...

Some of the other My Acrylix stamp sets featured here are Glitter Glam,   Happy Birds,  and Here We Go.

Even though I won't be there, I still cannot wait to see what new products and ideas Convention holds this year!

Taste of Summer is almost GONE!

The Bokeh Technique Tastes Summer

I was super-stoked to try this new technique called Bokeh (NO idea how to say it, hahaha,) so lets get right to the details!  It was much easier than I anticipated, so I hope you give it a try too!  I have a quick little picture tutorial showing you how I did mine...but there are tons of ways to do this technique if you google it.  :)

I grabbed three colors of my pigment ink squares--Pixie, Smoothie, and Hollyhock.  I cut up a handy dandy little round sponge, and used them to swirl on the inks from lightest to darkest...

The white really looks yellow in my picture thanks to my lighting in the craft cave!

Now, just so you all know, my very professional circle stencil was simply a piece of vellum with different sized holes punched out, lol.  You don't need anything fancy at all!  :)

See, it isn't really yellow!  ;)

Here I go on my zip strip soap box again!  I LOVE these strips of coordinating pattern that run along one edge of our different pattern papers.  ALL Close to My Heart My Reflections paper packets have them!  I used this one from the Taste of Summer limited edition paper packet to add a bit of contrast, along with the Juniper CS and ink on the strawberry leaves.  The juicy fruit is stamped in Hollyhock.

I love the Taste of Summer My Acrylix fruity sentiments!   This one is just right for one of the many teachers in our lives!  Can you say, "LAST THREE DAYS OF SCHOOL!!!"  Yep!

Grab yourself a Taste of Summer before the end of May!  :)

Taste of Summer for Freshly Squeezed Sketches

It has been a loooooong while since I had a chance to link up to a challenge, so I am super-excited to get this one in tonight!  A quirky little blog post title always seems to get my sparkle back up, know what I mean?  :)

Freshly Made Sketches has a wonderfully simple challenge this week, and I had a few minutes (or forty) tonight to play along.  Check it out...

Orange you glad I didn't say banana?  LOL!  I saw the circle in this week's sketch in my email and KNEW that this juicy slice from the Taste of Summer My Acrylix would end up on my card.  Now, I like simple, who doesn't, and goodness do I ever have time for just simple right now.  But it looked terribly plain and simple all by itself if you can imagine...

SOOOOO, I remembered that time looooong ago when my daughter rolled up my glitter paper scraps...and went for my tweezers and Green Glitter Paper!  It was JUST the thing to brighten it up!

These oranges on the Taste of Summer Paper Packet were the perfect backdrop for the white panels...

I finished the card off with the sweet little sentiment.  Just in time to link up to Freshly Squeezed (Made, lol) Sketches and give it away tomorrow!  :)

Don't wait to get your hands on the Taste of Summer specials this month--they are only here in May, and I can send you lots of FREE cutting guides for great cards and layouts to use them for!  :)

Only available THIS month for National Scrapbook Month!  Get the STAMP SET or the PAPER PACKET, or BOTH!

FREE Taste of Summer Scrapbook Layout and Greeting Card Files

It doesn't get much better than FREE, right?  Well, this month, when you purchase the Taste of Summer Paper Packet and My Acrylix stamp set from my website, you can get FREE Scrapbook Layout and Cardmaking guides complete with instructions!

Here is one of the layouts designed by consultant Lisa Stenz that I made on National Scrapbook Day...

There are two pages to this one, and I'll post more when I finish them up!

Don't wait to get your hands on this juicy paper!  It is only available in May while supplies last.  I just LOVE the bright colors!  I cannot get enough of those orange slices either!  :)

You get 12 sheets of double-sided pattern papers for just $8.95!

Get the coordinating size D stamp for just $17.95!

I cut the letters out from the Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge on my Expression--all the sizes and directions are included with the FREE file!  :)  Just purchase the paper and/or stamp set, and I will email you the files!  :)

Just make sure you don't loose a letter like I did for a while...it makes a BIG difference!  Lol!!!

Here are some of the other layouts and cards you will be able to make...

Makeover Monday with the Blossom WOTG Cardmaking Kit

It was a cozy workshop this weekend with a lot of laughing while we created--my favorite way to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day!

This is the last card I had available for my customers to create.  I tweaked one of the patterns from the Blossom Workshop on the Go (WOTG) Cardmaking Kit...

I added the Smoothie Striped Washi, tweaked the sentiment, and knotted the Extra Thick Glacier Twine instead of tying a bow.  (You are quite welcome, Beth!)

Here is a peek at the original patterns and supplies included in the kit...

YES!!!  It really does come with a full package of the Coral Reef sequins!  :)

But don't forget, you also get this super-adorable stamp set!

It is an amazing value at just $24.95, so you might want to push this one to the TOP of your wish list!

Have a fantastic week!

Get your hands on the Taste of Summer collection this month only!

Just Sayin' you will LOVE this versatile Stamp of the Month!

Friday the First!

Happy May the 1st!  This day marks so many things like the last month of school (cry, cry, cry), the spring FINALLY feeling like spring (yes, yes, yes), and...

...the kick off to National Scrapbooking Month with the Close to My Heart Taste of Summer Campaign!  

Fruity fun for your summer layouts and cards!

The fun JUST begins when you order your Taste of Summer paper packet.  I have several card and layout patterns to share with you to USE these papers--and they are yours FREE!  I will send them to you via email after your purchase!  I will be showing them off in the weeks to come, so stay tuned!

Get this matching D sized My Acrylix for just $17.95!

I literally JUST got my hands on this coordinating stamp set, so stay tuned for more with that too!  :)

In case you were wondering, OF COURSE we still have a new Stamp of the Month to bring you for May...and it is PERFECT for pocket pages like the Picture My Life system of scrapbooking!

Just Sayin' you can get it HERE!  ;)

Looks like it's going to be a GREAT month!!!  :)