Smile! One More Day for Happy Times!

Oh my...there is only ONE more day left in May--but I have so much more to share with you from the Happy Times Paper Packet and My Acrylix stamp set.  I better get a moooooove on!

First, I made this sweet little watercolor card...

I used a small round waterbrush and my watercolor paints to practice some lettering and brushstrokes.  I added the Happy Times paper, Thistle CS, and Happy Times stamped images in Fern, Thistle and Gypsy as well as some Gold Foil Tape.

The little gold dots in the flower centers were easy to create with my hole punch...

Don't wait to get your hands on the Close to My Heart Happy Times Paper for FREE on my website!
Just add $60 in products to your cart and you will be prompted to add it!  Happy Shopping!  I will be right back tomorrow morning with a new layout using this gorgeous paper!

Flamingos for a Fabulous Graduation Day!

It's time for a fun little graduation card...this one happens to be a gift card holder turned money holder...

It just so happens that I used several "disappearing" products that Close to My Heart just announced would be retiring at the end of July...or whenever they sell out!  It is rather ironic, because I made the card days before they shared the list with consultants.

I used a Picture My Life Black Overlay on the front of this gift card holder that I cut from the Cricut Artiste Cartridge.  Both are favorites of mine that will soon disappear.  The Tickled Pink My Acrylix and Thin Cuts (back in stock around June 10th) make the CUTEST little flamingos! 

Mine was stamped in Cotton Candy and Pixie Exclusive Ink and then I added a sparkly black glitter paper cap cut with my Lawn Fawn steel dies.

That Pink Shimmer Trim will unfortunately not be returning, and neither will the Clear Sparkles I added to the Calypso Sequins...

 Here is a view of the inside of the card--you can add a gift card OR even cold, hard cash!

I can't wait to see my niece to give this card to her this weekend!  :)

Close to My Heart Retiring Products

Well, it is THAT time of year again...the Close to My Heart retiring products list has been revealed and let me tell you there ARE some surprises.  Here are some of my favorites.  If you want any of these products, they are only available while supplies last...

Rolling Tote

Shadow Box Frame in both colors

Display Tray

Hinged Display Tray

Extra Thick Twine in all 4 colors

Pink, Teal, Blue, Purple, and Bronze Shimmer Trim (waaaaaah!)

Cricut Art Philosophy Collection

Cricut Artfully Sent Collection

Cricut Artiste Collection

Well, that was a difficult revelation...but it just makes room for MORE amazing products to create with in the future!  :)  As I said, these (and many other products) are only available while supplies last now so when they are gone, they are GONE!  If you would like a complete list of retiring products, just comment with your email address and I will send it to you.  I won't publish your information for all to see, no worries!

ALL the albums are retiring to make way for new!

FREE paper in May only!

Only available in May!

Mermaid Monday

This post is a little late, but it IS still Monday (as I type), right?  Summer finally arrived today and the kids needed to eat, lol, so I was a bit distracted! 

I made this "do not disturb" sign as a request from a special customer for her daughter's birthday.  It was going to be hung on the birthday girl's front door to ward off any interruptions to her crafty time!  (What a GREAT MOM!!!!)  :)

Anyhow, I was absolutely tickled with how it came together--even better than I originally imagined!  I can finally share it since the day has passed, lol!

The Close to My Heart Zoe paper packet has a houndstooth pattern that worked beautifully as mermaid scales along with Glacier, Lagoon, and Crystal Blue CS, and some Teal Glitter Paper.  The Champagne CS is the best peachy flesh-tone I have found, so I cut the door hanger on it using the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge.

Now, a bit more about those scales...they were another PERFECT creation with the CTMH Thumb Notch Punch!   Remember the Minions I made HERE?  SO many uses for this bad boy...

I used my Cricut Explore to write the sign (my customer thought of the PERFECT wording!) and cut out the seashells...

I colored some retired Rosette Ribbon with my Peacock ShinHan Marker for a nice finish to her tail.

Yes, yes, that IS a little bellybutton, HAHAHAHAAAAA!  She needed to have one!  I just LOVE it when a plan comes together!  :)

While supplies last!

Only in May!

Only in May for National Scrapbook Month!

Fundamentally Happy Times Layout

On Fridays I just can't help but sing the praises of the Close to My Heart Fundamental Papers and coordinating products.  THIS Friday I also threw in a bit of Happy Times!

It has been a crazy week, so sorry for the lack of commentary!  Here are the Close to My Heart products I used for this simple and sweet layout:

Paper Fundamentals Adventure Assortment
La Vie En Rose Paper Packet 
Picture My Life Overlay Black 
Happy Times My Acrylix Stamp Set
Life in Pictures (April 2016 Stamp of the Month) retired
Black and Grey Glitter Paper
3D Foam Tape
Red Enamel Hearts
Black Exclusive Ink Pad 

Have a SUPER weekend!

 

Stick it in a Pocket Blog Hop

Hello hoppers!  Welcome to the Blog Hops with Heart Stick it in a Pocket Blog Hop!  Now THAT'S a mouthful!  :)

We are SO glad you are here, because Kelly came up with a SUPER-fun theme this month, and we hope you all have as much fun hopping as we did creating!  The hop runs in a circle, so make like a kangaroo and just keep going, and going, and going...you get the picture.  :)  

My particular project inspiration came in the spur of the moment as I was wrapping up a little birthday gift.  I was bored with tying on gift tags...so I made a pocket for it instead!

The pocket is cut from the Close to My Heart Cricut Artiste Cartridge and the tag is cut from the newest Cricut Cartridge from CTMH...Artistry.

I used a sentiment from the For Family My Acrylix and Fern and Whisper Thick Twine to thread the tag.  I separated the thick twine in order to use a strand to stitch on the pocket.  I will take this opportunity to remind you that stitching on paper is a tricky business...it does rip if you lose yourself in the moment while creating...ask me how I know.  ;)

I used a textured stamp and tone on tone ink/CS to create the pocket texture.

This adorable pineapple washi makes a cute little pocket trim.

Sequins are from the Calypso and Magical assortments.

That's all I have for you today, so you are off to Kelly's Blog to see what kind of pocket she's using today! Enjoy!

Here is a list of all the ladies on our hop today--I am THRILLED to have added a few new names this month!

Amie (that's ME!)

Kelly

Becca

Shelly

Stephanie

Jayma

Katy

Happy Times at LAST!!!

I finally got to sit down and chop up the new Happy Times Paper Pack from Close to My Heart this weekend!  This paper pack is offered this month as a celebration of National Scrapbook Month--and you can get it for FREE with a $60 purchase on my website! 

I paired the papers up with one of the Watercolor--Gold Picture My Life cards...

Ready to see it?  OK!  The ombre 12 x 12 paper matched my kiddo's Dora the Explorer costume SO perfectly.  I broke it up with that fabulous woodgrain and used a few of my favorite patterns from Happy times as banners. I even manages to slip in a leftover Cricut negative cut!  :)

Zip strips are SUCH a perfect addition to any page!  These half-inch wide strips of pattern come attached to each My Reflections Paper from Close to My Heart.  Just trim it off to use!  There are two in the layout below--yellow with white polka-dots, and pink with gold ones...

I didn't even think very hard while painting this...just brushed strokes of the three watercolor paints across the PML card.  Once it dried, I cut out the part I wanted to use as a banner...

These gold foil alpha stickers are in the Fundamentals Basic Stickers.

This awesome flower was attached to the packaging of some chocolate truffles I bought for Mother's Day--isn't it perfect!?  (Don't judge! I bought them for someone I didn't end up seeing--and won't see for a while, so had to take one for the team and eat them myself, lol! It WAS sort of meant to be, eh?)

Bling comes in all shapes and sizes!  Here I used the Florence Sequins and Gold Bling Gems.

Now, there is also a matching stamp set to go along with Happy Times...and you can snag it or the paper this month for HERE.  My next project uses some of these SWEET flowers.  Not sure when I can finish it up, so stay tuned!  Have a SUPER week!

Fundamental Friday Is SO PAWsome!

A while ago I shared a quick little sneak peek of these adorable thank you cards in progress over on my Facebook page...and I finally got them done and delivered!  These were TONS of fun to make for my kiddos at school...

I used the super-sweet Animal Greetings My Acrylix stamp set, which happens to be the current Operation Smile stamps available from Close to My Heart.

I cut up a variety of colors from the Whimsy Paper Fundamentals and made some colorful combinations.  It was SO easy to use the ShinHan Markers and Watercolor Pencils to add just the right matching colors to the image...

It was really easy to add this little flag detail with my Mini Stapler!

I adore how they turned out, and the kiddos sure loved them, too!!!