Happy Mother's Day!

Well, I should have no trouble staying in my craft room today--I can do what I want for Mother's Day!  Too bad it is also gorgeous outside!  Oh well--it will be gorgeous again.  I have much to do in preparation for my Kick-off Extravaganza! 

Since my cards have been received, I can now post more detailed pics of a mother's day card I made this week.  You might recognize this one from my recent post, Tip of the Day. I used the two flowers and a butterfly from the Card Word Puzzle Acrylix Stamp Set.  This is one of my favorite sets and perfect for the occasion too!  I also used a sentiment from Wonderful You and a circle from Countdown.  The inks are Outdoor Denim, Indian Corn Blue, and Colonial White.

 I wanted to add some sparkle, so I heat embossed the butterfly with a powder that I have had forever from Stamp-n Suff.  Sorry, but I have no idea if it is still available, lol.  I love the effect!

Celebrate you mom!  Big hugs to everyone that cannot celebrate it with her today.

We Interrupt This Craft Blog...

OK, so this isn't a post about a cool craft I made or anything.  This is a post about a mission.  A little, actually no--A BIG voice spoke to me yesterday afternoon and you just don't ignore that BIG voice, because it is always right.  So I took action.

I recently scheduled my Close to My Heart Kick-Off Extravaganza Gathering and sent out the Evites to as many friends as I had emails, lol.  I posted on my FB business page and continued merrily browsing away.  The VERY first post I saw was from a friend that is participating in the 2012 Relay For Life Oswego/Montgomery and was asking for donations. * Enter THE BIG voice * Yep--it told me that I should donate half of my commissions from my kick-off to sponsor her.  What???  I helplessly replied.  But it was useless to question my own thinking at that point because I LOVED THE IDEA!!!  I was absolutely consumed with it by two seconds after it popped into my head.  I made the big announcement on my FB page later that evening, actually yesterday to be exact, lol.  After a bit of hilarious confusion on the part of my wonderful target, who is walking/running in memory of her friend who just recently lost her battle with the horrid beast that is cancer, she realized what was going on.  Oh the JOY of that moment.  It was fabulous.  And I want this donation to be fabulous too.  I want it to be three figures of fabulous.

Here is the link to my Kick-Off Extravaganza Event.  If you feel so inclined, use it to place your order by the date of the actual event, May 26th.  All orders to be counted toward this goal must be placed by that date--I can't get them in later because of the computer system.  You may also contact me by leaving a comment here with your contact information to place an order.  If you go directly to my website without this link, then make sure you choose to join the Kick-Off Extravaganza before checking out, or on the home page first.  Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Just a couple of ordering thoughts.  We have two specials going on.  In May, with a $35 order of Spring/Summer items you can add the Dotty for You paper pack of 24 fun double-sided papers for only $5.   Also, we always have a Stamp-of-the-Month set available one month at a special price of $5 with a $50 purchase.

Cancer sucks any way you slice it.  I am also donating in memory of many I know that have lost their battles with cancer and those who still struggle with it daily.  Hopefully with continued support and research we can give it the knock-out punch soon.

Tip of the Day!

I had an absolutely fantastic time on my scrapbook retreat this past weekend, and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate National Scrapbook Day!  Now I am back to work with a quick tip I just used while making Mother's Day cards.  Have you ever signed a card that has a window on the front in the wrong place?  It has happened to me many times, and it is frustrating to say the least!  I just came up with a fab solution!

First, with your card closed, slip in a piece of lightweight or see-through paper or other material.  I used the backing that comes with our CTMH My Acrylix stamp sets.  Line it up with the top or bottom edge of the card window to cover the part you will NOT be writing on.  In the example below, I want to put a word at the top, so I line it up like this:

 

When you open the card, hold this sheet in place as a guide.  I now know how far down I can safely write and not infringe on the window opening.  Whew!

I did the same thing when writing at the bottom of the window, just lining it up with the bottom of the window instead.  Hope this tip saves you from revealing a bit too much too soon.  Now I have to tell my sister not to read my blog before IT reveals too much, too soon!  ;)  Later, gators!

OH!  Before I forget, I am entering a contest to win a Cricut Expression so here is a pic of me in my scrapbook room in the midst of crafty CHAOS!!!!  *sigh*

Happy National Scrapbook Day!!!

I am super-excited to be cropping today...are you?  Just wanted to pop in here and share one of the pages from the album I am working on.  These are some of my favorite pics from a trip to Washington State with two of my friends.  It was the trip of a lifetime and deserves a fabulous layout, so I pulled out my Cherish CTMH How-to book and found the perfect one--Visual Texture.  These books are selling out quickly because of how easy they are to find a layout by the number of pics you have to use.   You can still catch a few of the volumes if you hurry over to my CTMH website HERE.

 I love this stamp set called Code It.  I do wish I had printed out the word, "priceless" though.

Here is a list of my supplies, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Papers/Cardstock: 2 Desert Sand (page background), Olive, Pacifica, Chocolate, Colonial White, Elemental B&T Level 2 pack,  Wings B&T Bulk
Inks: Tulip, Chocolate
Mini Medley Pacifica
Durables Round Gold
Code-It My Acrylix Stamp Set (Retired)
Art Philosophy Cartridge
Provocraft Cricut Expression 2

The Box--Take Two!

I couldn't wait to try my hands at another box makeover, and I had the perfect reason to do so...we needed a gift box for a sweet sixteen celebration!  With some input from my daughter on colors and patterns, I got to work.  Here it is!

 We both agreed that it HAD to be zebra print, and what better place than the lid?  It is the perfect backdrop for the beautiful flowers that I cut out on my Cricut with my Art Philosophy Cartridge from Close to My Heart. 

The beautiful bling on top is also from Close to My Heart and is one of the Sparkles Flourishes.  I wanted to add some class with the pearl brads and even added more glitz with my Sakura Gelly Roll stardust pen to the flowers.  I think the finished product says "teenage girl" all over it!  :)

One Giant Leap...

...for Mimi, Myself, and I!  I set out to turn a plain kraft chipboard box into a beautiful container for a set of cards, and I did it!  I am so thrilled with how this came together--you have no idea how nervous I was to ruin my materials and have to start over.  I am planning on making more of these and selling card sets, so I am not going to share the details like I usually do, but I will take special requests, and I will post the card set that I make to go inside this box which is a gift for my daughter's speech therapist.  Here are some pics.

I added this tag to the box after I had already taken the rest of the pics--I was a tad bit excited:

I will say that I used the Wings paper and many other embellishments from Close to My Heart.  I am starting work on box #2 right now!  Already have received a special request!  I love it when a plan comes together!  ;)  Am I showing my age?

End of the school year countdown!

Yep...there is only one month of school left for my kiddos, and yours too I bet!  Have you thought about it yet?  How do you thank that special teacher in your child's life for a wonderful year of growing and learning and wiping oreo cookies up off the floor?  ;)  Here is an idea for you.  I made these adorable pillow boxes with the help of my trusty Cricut Expression 2 and the Close to My Heart Art Philosophy Cartridge.  They were sooooooo easy!

 

This one was a cinch with a little ribbon tied around it and a brad to attach the tag to the ribbon.  Cut the pillow boxes out at 5.5 inches if you would like to add a gift card inside.  My Senior Director, Mandy Leahy made a tutorial you can view HERE about how it is made.  You can see that there are an endless variety of ways to dress them up!

 For this one, I used some paper, hemp, and a button to give it an entirely different look!   What would you do to embellish a pillow box?  I will be hosting a gathering next month at my house to kick off my business, and you can try it there!  Soooo much fun!  More details to come!