A Little Mermaid Birthday Card

I always LOVE when a customer returns for another one of my card creations.  You know what is even BETTER though?  When the card you are asked to make is for one of your BFFs!

Yesterday was my friend, Beth's birthday, and I am finally able to share the special shaker card I was able to create.  :)

There just isn't an easy way to capture a card with so much bling going on, lol.  The light bounces every which way.  I used my Close to My Heart Teal Glitter Paper, Lagoon, Glacier, Sweet Leaf, and Champagne CS, and Kraft paper for this one, as well as some clear acetate packaging and misc. loose sequins.

The little mermaid is found on the Cricut Life's a Beach Cartridge.  Let me tell you I haven't touched a cartridge other than my CTMH carts in FOREVER!  I used the coordinating card cut feature as well (seriously, who knew THAT was on there?) to create an adorable shaker feature.

The happy birthday sentiment is found on the Joyful Birthday My Acrylix.

Here is a peek at some of the details of the cut...

It was relatively easy to line everything up size-wise on the free Cricut Explore Design Space software, but I was reeeeeeeally missing my Relative Size button.  I still have a lot of learning to do on my machine!  :)

I hope this card inspires you to try out some of YOUR Cricut cartridges collecting dust!

The Close to My Heart Lollydoodle WOTG Cardmaking Kit

OH my goodness, do I ever love this stamp!!!  Do you have one of those?  A stamp that says something in JUST the right way so you just have to go back to it time and again?  THIS is that stamp for me!

AND this is where you can find it!  Meet the Lollydoodle Workshop on the Go Cardmaking Kit...

This FANTASTIC new WOTG contains the following products for the INCREDIBLE bargain price of just $24.95!!!

1 – My Acrylix™ Lollydoodle Cardmaking Workshop Stamp Set (D-size)
2 – Lollydoodle B&T Duos™ Papers
4 – Cardstock Sheets (1 kraft, 1 Lagoon, 1 Sky, 1 White Daisy)
15 – White Daisy Cards & Envelopes
1 – Sequin Dot Assortment (24 each of 4 colors)
1 – Silver Shimmer Trim
1 – Instructional Brochure

You want to see the adhesive-backed sequins up close and personal, don't you?  I KNEW you would!  ;)

I adore these colors so much!  Take a look at the three cards you can make by following the instructions included in this kit...

Do you like that splash of color on the Kraft paper?  I sure DO!!!

Whooooo likes this sweet owl???

Did I mention this kit comes with Silver Shimmer Trim?  :)

Last, but definitely not least!

This kit is such a huge value, and soooo versatile!  Did I mention it has SEQUINS!?  ;)

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for my SECOND ANNIVERSARY special announcement!  ;)

Bwahahahahahaaaaa! 

Bring on the Bling!

Well, there are two things I love about my crafty hobby--entering challenges and BLING!  Of course I love a lot more about it than that, but we would be here all day, lol.  Anyhow, the Lawnscaping Challenge Blog is doing a "Bling It" Challenge, so you better believe I got my bling on!  :)

I just received my new Lawn Fawn supplies toys the other day and I was super excited to use this word bubble border die!  Would you believe I used the packaging and freebie papers included in my order?  :)

Are you ready for the bling?  These sequins are from various LF assortments over the seasons.  I thought a little stitched edge was just the right addition.

Instead of putting him front and center, I decided to add an element of surprise to the inside of the card by adding the cutie-pie turtle there.  :)

Thanks for stopping in to see me today, and while we are on the topic of bling, remember, never let anyone steal YOUR sparkle!  :)

New Close to My Heart Idea Book Sneak Peeks!

Happy Friday!  I am so completely excited that I just completed three challenges in one sitting!  Do you even know how crazy that sounds?!  Let's get right down to it because this one has some going ON!  ;)

The first thing you might have noticed is that I used the awesome sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches this week.  Yes, I did flip it on it's side...the card is kinda wild like that.  ;)

OK, the SECOND thing you might have noticed is that I used a technique that is totally NEW to me! (Since the codeword over at Addicted to CAS is NEW, I am linking up over there with this one, too!)

I have never used a stencil before...or spritzed my paper with anything except water.  It was SO much fun that I just might try it more often!  You won't believe what I used for the stencil...

This is the remnant left after I punched out all the chipboard hearts from the Close to My Heart Dimensional Elements Hearts that coordinate with the cuts from the Art Philosophy Collection!  I cannot believe we have to say good-bye to these at the end of the month!  And to think I JUST figured out to do THIS with it!  Sigh...

Really, it was super-easy to combine just a bit of Isopropyl Alcohol with my Ruby Re-Inker in one of my Spray Pens.  I sprayed it just three times so it would not cover it completely...and I love the result!

Alright, moving along...the My Acrylix Stamp set that I used for this card is actually a sneak peek of the Stamp of the Month for February!  Since that is NEW as well, I am also linking up over at Heart to Heart Challenges for their New Year, New Beginnings Challenge.

I adore this sentiment!  It coordinates with the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection, so matching up the stamp was easy-peasy.  I cut the little heart out of Ruby CS and added a touch of Liquid Glass to make it look like a little enamel sticker!  Super-cute!  A little once-over with my Wink of Stella glitter brush never hurt anyone either.  ;)

Behind the sentiment, you can see the retiring Dark Chocolate Striped Grosgrain Ribbon which I love and will miss.  Better pick some up while you can.  Also, some sequins seem to have gotten away from me and somehow flung themselves onto the card!  I guess they wanted to bling it up a bit!  The large ones are new from Teresa Collins' You are My Happy Collection (totally adorbs!) and the littler brownish ones are also a sneak peek at some of the new embellies coming in the CTMH Spring and Summer Idea Book!  I sure cannot wait!

Thanks for stopping in today, and come back anytime!  :)

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!  :)

Chevrons, and Sequins, and Snowmen, OH MY!

Happy World Cardmaking Day!

Today was an absolute blur...so by the time I sat down in my crafty spot, I managed to put together just one card, lol!  To top it off, my photo stream is on the blink again!  I am at a total loss on that one, but until I get it figured out, I will just need cords, sigh. 

Alright, on with the CARD!   I combined a couple of challenges for this one, and I think it's pretty cute!

When I saw the sketch for CAS(E) this Sketch this week, I thought I could pull it off nicely with  a snowman, and by flipping it upside down, I did!  :)

Then I saw that the gals over at CAS-ual Fridays wanted to see chevrons and sequins in our creations.  No problem!  I used a Darice embossing folder for the clean white background.  Some miscellaneous sequins sparkle up the fringe of the snowman's sweet scarf, and black sequins from the Close to My Heart Mini Medley Accents Black Collection make his merry buttons.

I used the Close to My Heart Countdown and All Decked Out (retired) My Acrylix clear stamps to make this jolly little man.  The papers are all CTMH as well:  White Daisy, Cranberry, and a great green pattern in the Chantilly Paper Packet!  Bet you never thought the Spring flavors of Chantilly could be used for Christmas!  ;)

Thanks for popping in here today!  Go spread your sparkle!  :)

Sequins Keep It Simple!

I am back again to get a closer look at this simple card I made with my new sequin stash! 

I have seen tons of examples of these "explosion envelope" cards on Pinterest, and I was dying to try one!  The splatter of sequins is actually the trickiest part.  That little baby envelope is a cinch to make with my We R Memory Keepers envelope punch board!  Loving that new toy!  ;)

I used the retired Close to My Heart Chantilly WOTG Cardmaking Kit My Acrylix again, because is was still on my desk!  ;)

See you again soon!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! Bazinga!

Hi there!  I have a fun and trendy birthday card to share with you today!  I apologize profusely for not knowing any better, but my father LOVES the show Big Bang Theory.  I, however, have never even seen it!  Oooops!  I googled his favorite character, Sheldon, and all I could find was this word-- BAZINGA!

Well, there was only one thing to do!  Phone a friend!  Hahaha, I did, and thankfully she is a fan of the show too, so sent me the link to a great little Bazinga-fest on YouTube.  Thank you, Beth!

I decided I had only one choice....go BAZINGAS!  ;)  Here is the final crazy card I made for my daddi-o's birthday...

Lots of hip and happening stuff going on here!  Arrows are hot right now, so I had to use them.  One of the trendsetting new My Acrylix in the Autumn/Winter Close to My Heart Idea Book is One Way Borders.  I stamped one of the arrow themed borders in Whisper in both on the front of the card and on the inside to tie them together.  Also, I had recently invested in some sequins to expand my sparkle inventory--SO excited to use them!!!

Here is a quick tip for lining up your lettering...use a sticky note!  This totally works, trust me!

There is a pretty nifty "dirty" stamp in the Laughing Lola Workshop on the Go Cardmaking Kit.  I really like the added grunge to this card when I stamped it in Whisper Ink.

How do you like my Twist Tie lightning zig-zags?  I loved combining all the different elements into a totally new look for me!  The cork shapes are in the Color Ready Midtown Cork Shapes.   I just left them cork color.  ;)

  Just as I did on the front of the card, I used the Kraft Keyboard Alphabet to make the sentiment on the inside.

I hope he had one BAZINGA of a day!  :)