Makeover Monday!

I hope my peeps from the USA had a fabulous 4th over the weekend!

I have been a bit occupied the past few days with a family trip, a luxury which I quickly learned to cherish after my oldest left for her first year of college.  These days are going by fast while she is home, and I want to enjoy each little chance our family has to hang out together.  Here is a peek at us all rocking out to old Disney movie soundtracks in the van on the way home from TN...

It was GREAT!!!

Alright, back to a layout that I showed you a sneak bit of in May...because I finished it!  :)

That little heart splatter stamp is found on the Documenting Memories My Acrylix.

I used a layout in the last Close to My Heart Idea Book as the inspiration for my makeover...

You might have noticed this picture on the CTMH website in the Specialty Papers category, too!

I will hit some of the product highlights for you...

I used the Paper Fundamentals Basic Assortment for the bold background of the layout.  Enamel Dots, Sequins, and some stitching using the Stitch Guide and Piercing Tool round out this cluster.

I cut the letters from the Cricut Artiste Cartridge on my Explore from Lagoon, Topiary, White Daisy, Smoothie, and Honey CS.

The next two pics show all the different washi tapes I was able to coordinate into the layout...

I hope you use your copy of the Close to My Heart Idea Book to transform the amazing ideas into YOUR creations too!  :)

Some of these products I used are retiring in August and running out of stock quickly if you are interested in a makeover of your own!  You can check them out using the links up above.

If you also happen to fill your cart with just $25 in stamps, remember to add a FREE Stamp of the Month OR a $5 Hostess Only My Acrylix stamp set this month!  :)

Back to the Seaside

Here are some more pics I scrapped using Close to My Heart's subtle Seaside colors.  I used the Seaside Workshop on the Go Scrapbooking Kit for this one.

Aqua Dots are a great bubbly addition to beachy layouts.

The Seaside Assortment metal shapes are beautiful.

LOVE the fence zip strip that comes on the patterned papers!

You can pick this kit up NOW and enter my March Madness Mystery Hostess giveaway until April 7th!  Don't miss your chance to win $25 or MORE of FREE Close to My Heart products without even having a party!  :)  Click HERE for all the details and links!  :)

Makeover Monday for Operation Write Home

It might be Monday, but we GOT this you guys!  :)

Today is a special Monday because it is MAKEOVER Monday!  To day I will show you a card re-do for my Operation Write Home Card Workshop coming up on July 18th and 19th.

Glitter is NOT allowed on any of the cards I donate to OWH.  It is just plain DANGEROUS for our servicemen and women to get anywhere near any flaked-off glitter since they can possibly be seen through night vision goggles.  At the end of my post I will link you to the LONG explanation for this rule...but trust me, it is important.  This means some serious re-thinking of all my instincts when making cards!  I reworked this card from the Lollydoodle Cardmaking Workshop on the Go in order to eliminate the shimmer trim--GASP!  Anything for the men and women who protect my freedom!

Now, I am not sure about sequins, so I opted to forgo those as well...

These Aqua and Flamingo Dots are the PERFECT substitute for the sequins!  

How about that!?  I am rather fond of the non-glittery version myself.  I think this sentiment will be JUST the thing someone is looking to send a loved one back home.  :)

I will have a tab up soon for my OWH Card Workshop! 

See how to get it for just $5 HERE!

NOW!  Here is that link over to Operation Write Home so you can read up on the NO GLITTER rule, and actually watch a pretty darn funny video by Sandy Allnock!  :)

The Pure Joy of Washi Wednesday!

Happy Washi Wednesday!

Today, I actually have an awesome video that shows one of my favorite layouts in the Spring and Summer 2014 Close to My Heart Idea Book.  Remember, you can absolutely USE your idea books to make your favorite projects you see in them!  Close to My Heart not only has a YouTube Channel, but they also list the recipes for the gorgeous projects you see in the pages of the book.  Just click HERE to go to my website page that displays the two current Idea Books and scroll down to find the "Recipe" clicky right underneath the photo of the Idea Book.  If you need any help finding these, please let me know.  :)

Without further adieu...here is that gorgeous layout!

If you are as eager to replicate this layout as I am, here are the products you will want to pick up from my Close to My Heart online shopping website, or your own Close to My Heart consultant if you already have one! 

Paper Fundamentals Basic Assortment Z1939
Stitch Guide Z1852
Foam Mat Z1859
Piercing Tool Kit Z1114 (Tip:  I just use the smaller foam mat in this kit instead of the large one listed above.)
Smoothie Striped Washi Tape Z1923
Ruby Chevron Washi Tape Z1933
Honey Triangles Washi Tape Z1931
Chocolate Woodgrain Washi Tape Z1930
Gold Polka-Dot Washi Tape Z1920
Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape Z1850
Slate Polka-Dot Washi Tape Z1817 or Silver Geometric Washi Tape Z1932
Teal Shimmer Trim Z1918
Aqua Dots Z1853
Flamingo Dots Z1934
The letters in the title are cut using the Artiste Cricut Collection with a Cricut Machine
White Daisy, Smoothie, Honey, Goldrush, and Lagoon Cardstock
White embroidery floss or other threading material

If you happen to stock up on these supplies in March, you will qualify for more than one entry in my Mystery Hostess Drawing!!!  This drawing is my own personal giveaway this month in celebration of my second year with Close to My Heart!  :)

AND you will be able to order the Stamp of the Month for JUST $5!!!

Heart 2 Heart Shaped Card Challenge!

Here we go!  It is already time for the next Heart 2 Heart Challenge for October.  This month, we want you to show us your amazing shaped card creations!  No squares or rectangles, but something else, something different for a change!

What better thing to celebrate with a fun shaped card than an October birthday!?  My youngest just turned 10 last week, so I put on my thinking cap and went to work.  I decided on a party hat design with her favorite color from the Babycakes Paper Packet!

There is quite a bit going on here, so I will hit the high points, lol.  My favorite parts are the Striped Slate Twist Ties and the free printable download of a chevron flag/banner!  You can get them free on my Close to My Heart website until the end of October right HERE!  I just printed them out on white CS, cut it out, and folded it around this stick pin from the For Always Assortment.  Easy as cake!  ;) 

I added a glittered up #10 from the Glamor Glitter Alphabet that I easily trimmed the middle out of to fit the flag.  ;)

The pom-pom atop the hat is made by cutting two of the little burst shape from the Artiste Cartridge, one in Lagoon and one in Pear.  Then I layered over top those with pieces of twine tied in the middle.  It is topped off with another piece from the For Always Assortment.

The wonderful sentiment is stamped with my clear acrylic Joyful Birthday stamp.  I just can't get enough of this font!

Some Lagoon Houndstooth Washi, Aqua Dots, and Black Sequins dot the corners, and a strip of green glitter paper is all it took to ground the bottom of the hat.

I lined the inside with two smaller White Daisy CS triangles than I used to make the card in the Cricut Craft Room.

Have you played in CCR yet?  It is amazing what you can do in there!  You can make a shaped card, for instance!  I chose the pennant banner shape on the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge to start and sized it to fit in a standard size A2 envelope.

Then I copied that triangle, and flipped it using the little clicky below...

After lining it up the triangles, just slightly overlap them so that you can choose to WELD them together!  SO easy! 

Now that you know how to make a shaped card--it's YOUR turn!  Link your creation up with us to play along over at the H2H Challenge Blog!  :)

Chevron Card #2

I am back with the second of those two chevron cards I made the other day...so let's get to it!

My chevrons are found in the beautiful Sarita Paper Packet.  I again used my Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 guide to find a pattern to use.  Did you know the patterns give you all the dimensions as well?  Yep!  They are so user friendly!  They are only $7.95, and Close to My Heart has two volumes so far.  Love them BOTH!

I used the Heartfelt Birthday Wish to stamp the sentiment in Goldrush Pigment Ink for this one.  At only $2.95, this stamp is a MUST have.  The cutie-pie giraffe is from a retired CTMH My Acrylix set called Nursery Bash.  

I love these Aqua Dots!  They are a great way to bling up a card if you are not a big fan of glitter and sparkle (gasp!)  OR if you just need to make a neutral gender card (whew!)

See how nice and shiny the clear embossing powder gets when you heat it up?  I really love the finished look this gives!

This is card one of ten for an order I am putting together...I can't wait to get busy on the rest!

Babycakes Birthday Card and a New Twist on Washi!

Hi everyone!  I am so excited to share this with you!  I was making a card to show off our amazing Liquid Glass when I ran full speed into a wall.  Oooops.

BUT...I am happy to report that I not only overcame, I blew that wall into smithereens!!!  Oh, yeah!

I discovered a brand new way to use our Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape, which is, by the way, one of my FAVORITE new products this month!  :)

Here is the idea...wrap it around the new Slate Striped Twist Ties!

I just LOVE the new look and color it adds!  What about you?  Suddenly your Twist Ties can be any color washi you have!  :)  They still twist up nicely and hold their shape.

If you linked over from the Damask Divas Blog, then you read about how I used my liquid glass to make faux enamel dots.  They are still drying in this picture, and a bit "foggy" still...

...but here they are completely dry and clear!  LOVE!

Here is a list of the Close to My Heart products I used with links to my website.  Remember, the August Stamp of the Month is FREE this month with a $50 order!  Don't wait until August is over or it will be too late!

Babycakes Paper Packet
Chocolate CS
Colonial White Card Base
Lagoon Dye Ink
D1560 Holiday Tags
Baker's Twine Neutral Assortment
Slate Striped Twist Ties
Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape
Aqua Dots
Liquid Glass

Color Dare #56 An Analogus Lesson

Happy Color Dare!  It is Friday finally, and you know what that means around here--a new challenge over at the Color My Heart Color Dare!!!  This week we have an analogous color challenge using the Close to My Heart Colors Buttercup, Pear, and Lagoon.

According to Wikipedia, "Analogous colors are groups of colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel." These colors tend to be pleasing to the eye when grouped together.

For my sample project on the Color My Heart Design Team, I decided to make a little gift box that I haven't been able to try yet from the Close to My Heart Cricut Artiste Cartridge. 

You can find the nesting sides of this little box on page 74 of the Artiste Handbook, on the Mother's Day Key.  I cut it out at 1 inch on a B&T Pattern from the Chantilly Paper Packet with my Cricut Expression 2 cutting machine.  There is a perfectly adorable shape to use for the top and bottom of the box, but I decided to use a different one that is found on page 53 of the Art Philosophy Cartridge instead.  I cut it out of White Daisy CS at 3 inches.  See how versatile this little box can be?  So many possibilities!  :)

The sentiment is one of our brand new size M My Acrylix stamps called Heartfelt Birthday Wish.  I stamped in Pear Pigment Mini from the Adventure Pigment Inks Mini Tower.  Then I dusted it with Clear embossing powder and gave it a shot of my heating tool to turn it into a shiny, raised outline.  It was perfect for coloring in with my Pear Alcohol Ink Marker now!  I just used layers of strokes to create an ombre effect in no time!  :)  A tiny little Lagoon colored Aqua Dot finishes off the "i" nicely.

Embellishing the side of this box was super-fun!  First, I colored my Color-Ready Seam Binding Ribbon with the Buttercup Alcohol Ink Marker.  After tying that on, I added fishtail banners of the Green Glitter Paper and one that I made with White Daisy Cardstock and my Lagoon Houndstooth Washi!  The twisty Slate Striped Twist Ties add JUST the perfect amount of fun!  LOVE it!

If you want to put one of these little boxes together, it is super-easy.  I used glue dots to attach the top and bottom like this...see how the top and bottom nest?  It is a great little box for a jewelry gift!

I showed you mine...now YOU show us YOURS!  We want to see your creations with the Close to My Heart colors Pear, Lagoon, and Buttercup.  You can add any neutrals that you like, just not other colors.  If you don't have CTMH products, feel free to substitute the colors for some that are similar.   Just link up with us at Color My Heart for your chance to win one of the coveted Color Dare gem badges.  Did you know we have FOUR now?  :)

Can't wait to see what you make!  :)