Weekend Project

 My Weekend Project

It may not look like it, but this is a project I did using my Cricut!

  
I bought the bookshelf on the Hwy 80 garage sale. The backing is press board and was an ugly brown when I bought it. I slide the shelves out and painted the back the same shade of blue as the walls of the room. While it was drying I cut my stencil using one of the medallions in the Damask Decor Cricut Cartridge. I just used a heavy cardstock so I cut out two. I figured one would get to soggy before I could finish all of my designs. I probably should have cut 3, but 2 worked alright. 
I taped my stencil in place with blue painters tape, then using some white paint and a small foam brush I loaded my brush lightly with the paint and dabbed it on. I was careful to dab straight up and down along the edges so the paint wouldn't seep beyond them and would leave a crisp line. I placed the design in a random pattern. I wish I had put at least one design lower so you could see it on the bottom shelf better, but books will be going there and cover up the lower area.
I thought I would share my project with a couple of Anything Goes type challenges.
PDE Linky Party Challenge 145
Bitten by the Bug 2: Flourishes Challenge

Trick or Treat

TRICK OR TREAT
SMELL MY FEET
GIVE ME SOMETHING
GOOD TO EAT!

It’s almost time for goblins, witches, and ghosts to haunt the streets begging for candy. I remember taking my then 3 year (she’s 33 now) old daughter trick or treating for the first time. She was a cowgirl with a pink swirly skirt, pink cowgirl boots and a denim jacket. We stopped at the first house and as I handed her the treat bag I said, “O.K., now go up to the door, ring the doorbell, and when someone opens the door shout Trick or Treat! and then hold out your bag and they will put candy in it.” She turned to me with a shocked expression and said, “NO! They are strangers!” At least she had been listening when we lectured her about not speaking to strangers or not to take candy from people you don’t know. Don’t worry, after she watched one group of kids do it, she joined a second group of kids and after that I had to run to keep up. 

I made this Halloween layout because I always enjoyed going trick or treating when I was a kid and then taking my kids and their friends through the neighborhood to trick or treat. Now it’s my grandchildren’s turn to trapeze from house to house dressed up as rock stars and princesses, armed with a treat sack demanding candy so they don’t play tricks.

Close up of the 3D fence

 I used the Artbooking Cricut Cartridge for sale through Close to my Heart. and Autumn Celebrations for the trick or treaters. The paper is Jeepers Creepers from CloseToMyHeart. The ink can be found HERE.
I'm going to enter my haunted house layout at the following fun blogs. CHECK THEM OUT!

MY SHERI CRAFTS CHALLENGE #193 - Creepy....Crawly!

PDE Linky Party Ch# 144 Anything but a Car  

FantabulousCricutChallenge #288-Fright Night 

DiecuttinDivas Challenge #289 ~ Halloween 

Simon Says: Anything Goes 

The Sisterhood of CraftersPumpkins OR the color Orange . . .

Uncle Jerry

This is my Uncle Jerry. 

If you've ever met him you will remember him. If you haven't, I'm sorry. 

I wish you could have.  He was a wonderful man. 

He was soft spoken and gentle. He was courageous and a leader that led by example. 

He was a spiritual man. He was a brother, a husband, a father, a Poppa, and a doctor.  

He wasn't perfect, but he came darn close in my eyes. 

He is going to be missed.

Dr. Gerald Herrin

1936-2016

RIP

Creating Kindness

 It's National Stamping Month:Create Kindness

Check it out! This month Close to My Heart is offering the Create Kindness Card Kit, it has everything you see above for the special price of only $46.95!
You will get:

24 – 3" × 3" pre-printed card bases with envelopes
24 – Pre-cut 1 ¾" white circles
8 – Exclusive M-size stamp sets
1 – Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ mini stamp pad
1 – 2" × 2" My Acrylix® block
1 – My Acrylix® mini stamp organizer to put all your goodies in!

Go HERE to order yours from me and I will spread the kindness even further by making a donation of a portion of my commission from every Create Kindness card kit I sell through my site, to Operation Smile™. 

I LOVE my kit! I can grab it and go and have everything to make a card at my fingertips so when I'm waiting in carpool or at the doctors office or any of the countless other places I have to wait around for hours, I can be productive instead of killing time checking FaceBook. I even bring along my ShinHan markers to color my stamped images.

National Stamping Month

What a month! Not only is September National Stamping Month, but Close to my Heart is kicking off a campaign to help spread kindness, and who couldn't use a little kindness?

 The Create Kindness card kit (CC1145) includes 24 pre-printed card bases with envelopes, 8 exclusive M-size stamp sets, a 2″ × 2″ My Acrylix^® block, and an Archival Black mini pigment ink pad, all packed snugly in the My Acrylix^® Mini Stamp Organizer. Go HERE to order your kit from me and I will spread the kindness even further by making a donation of a portion of my commission from every Create Kindness card kit I sell through my site, to Operation Smile™.

New Annual Inspiration

I'm so excited! The new Close to my Heart Annual Inspirations catalog came out this month! You can download or preview it HERE. It's full of colorful papers, embellishments, ink pads, and more!  

ANNUAL INSPIRATIONS AUG 2016-JULY 2017

A few highlights are: Cricut Flower Market Collection

                                  Workspace Wonder-organization units

                                  Newly designed ink pads that are easier to open

                                  Fundamentals Collections with new designs and colors

                                  and of course the acrylix stamp sets that we are so well known for

                                

 

Calypso Summer

 CALYPSO

It's a Flamingo Party and what better paper to use to save my granddaughters photos than Close to My Heart's Calypso Workshop my Way paper packet. All those flamingos were perfect for this project. After all, if you are going to have a huge flamingo float you have to use a few flamingos to record the moments. I think this vibrant paper shouts out Summer Fun!
 

I cut out the mermaid using the Cricut cartridge, Life's a Beach and instead of using the mermaid cut, I decided to use the relief instead and then backed it with pink.

I'm entering this layout in:
@ Cut It Up 100th challenge- Congratulations ladies in reaching the 100 mark!
@ 4 Crafty Chicks #306 Summer Challenge
@ Little Red Wagon #349 Summertime

Summer Time

Sorry for the non-existent posts last month. We just got back from vacation. and I'm trying to catch up.
Summer is fast approaching and I'm having so much fun playing with this cute paper by Close to My Heart.

 It's called Calypso. If you like flamingos, you'll love this paper.You can order it from HERE.
Check out some of the projects people have done using this paper packet. 

 

I just love the diamond shapes they used for a background on the scrapbook page.

The card on the left is adorable. 

If you are crazy for flamingos, 

check out all the offerings

CTMH has HERE.

  

Not super fond of flamingos? 

No worries. This paper is designed 

on both sides. You can use the other

side of the paper.

It's covered in luscious pineapples,

the sign of hospitality and warmth.

If you're to busy to scrapbook

but still want to preserve your 

memories in a fun way, check out the Picture My Life program. 

All you need are PML cards, pocket album pages and your pictures. For more information check out 

Picture My Life through the Years Scrapbooking program

Looking for a fun and easy 

summer home decorating project?

Look no farther.

Pineapples are the universal symbol 

for welcome, warmth, 

friendship, and 

hospitality.

 

Happy Mother's Day

April Showers Bring May Flowers

and Happy Times!

 Ah, May, the month we shed the last vestiges of winter and get a glimpse of spring as we head towards summer. 

It's also NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING MONTH!!! Whoopie!  Happy Dance!

  To celebrate scrapbookers everywhere Close To My Heart is offering the Happy Times paper packet for the month of May only. It can be yours FREE with a qualifying purchase of $60.00, or you may purchase it separately for $14.95. Either way you will love this
gorgeous double-sided paper with it's colorful floral designs, gold accents and more! The coordinating D-size stamp set, Happy Times is $17.95. The sentiments and flowers will be just what you need for your beautiful layouts. To order, CLICK HERE to go to my website and check out all paper-crafting goodies.


 

Be Your Own Boss

Have you ever thought about starting your own home business but weren’t sure where to start or how? Do you need some direction in what to sell, where to get it, and how to advertise it? Do you wish you had a mentor that could show you the ropes for beginning your business adventure, encourage you along the way, and be available to answer newbie questions? How about a whole team of mentors? If you find yourself nodding in agreement then being a Close to My Heart independent consultant might be just right for you.

Come join the Close To My Heart team of Independent consultants for ONLY $75.00 dollars! But you only have until 11:59PM (MDT) APRIL 30, 2016 to SIGN UP, so what are you waiting for? You will receive everything below which includes a $50.00 gift certificate for Select Product to get your business up and running.
Medium Organizer (Z4139)
2" × 6½" My Acrylix® Block (Y1010)
1" × 3½" My Acrylix® Block (Y1002)
2" × 2" My Acrylix® Block (Y1003)
Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors (Z1836)
My Acrylix® Stamp Scrubber (Z1782)
My Acrylix® Spritz Cleaner (1778)
Bonding Memories™ Glue (1512)
3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)
Round Sponge (Z697)
Customer Order Form (qty. 25, W101)
Annual Inspirations Idea Book (qty. 5, WC1161)
Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book (qty. 5, WCS1163)
Cardstock Sampler (W1136)
Paper Fundamentals Sampler (W1137)
Annual Inspirations B&T Duos™ Sampler (W1138)
Seasonal Expressions 2 B&T Duos™ Sampler (W1144)
My Acrylix® Artful Textiles—Petite Perks (qty. 3, W2034)
Idea Book Postcard (W1129)
Desk Pad (W1140)
$50.00 of Select Product Credit
(Some items may not be shown. Contents are subject to change without notice.)

Not only do you get your beautiful New Consultant Kit at a new, lower price, but when you submit $350 in personal sales within your first 30 days**, you get your choice of either a FREE Cricut® collection or $100 in Select Product Credit—and that’s in addition to the Straight To The Top start-up bonus that you’ll earn along the way!
Offer valid April 1, 2016 (9:00 am MDT) – April 30, 2016 (11:59 pm MDT).**The 30-day period begins five days after the New Consultant Kit has been shipped.  
Even if you don’t think you are the most creative person you know, that’s alright. With the on-line training and the workshop guides that Close To My Heart provides you will be creating beautiful cards and scrapbook pages in no time.

Political Animal Balloons

Spring Fever

All of this lovely warm weather has me ready for spring. So, I did something to celebrate the nice weather. I created a Spring Card. This is for my dear SIL who just had major surgery and isn’t able to get out and enjoy the sunshine right now. I hope this lifts her spirits. Please send prayers and healing vibes her way. 

I stepped back into childhood memories while making this card. I used watercolors to paint the background (How long has it been since you used a set of water colors? Try it! Your inner child will be glad you did.) Once the card dried I used Close to my Heart’s stamp of the month, Sunshine Birdies, and stamped the sun directly onto the background. I then stamped the bird and butterfly onto a piece of cardstock with StazOn black ink, colored them in with Shin-Han markers, fussy-cut them and glued them onto the background. I only glued the body of the butterfly so its wings could be up off of the page like it was getting ready to fly away. I love the way the card turned out. It’s so bright and cheerful I thought I would share the cheer. I've entered this card in:

Little Miss Muffet Challenges #132

PDE Linky Party  #113 anything goes

Crafty Girl Creations #15

TerrificTuesday Challenge - Cute as a Bug!

Pop Star

I love children's birthday parties. They are full of fun, laughter and excitement. The themes are endless and as long as there is cake and games the kids have a great time. My Granddaughter just celebrated her sixth Birthday. She had a Pop Star Diva Party. This is the Box Card I sent her in keeping with her theme.

This was a really fun card to make. I used some great glitter accented paper I picked up at a garage sale for the box and I used Cricut's Rock Princess cut to make my Pop Star Diva. The stars are from Create a Critter, cut in various sizes and I used some candle shaped buttons that I had been hoarding and happened to be the same colors I was using. I taped my cut out objects to thin strips of clear plastic then used Red Tape to attach the strips to the box. I cut slits in two plastic strips and inserted the button shanks into the slits and then taped them in place so they wouldn't 'unbutton' themselves. When collapsed, the box fit easily into a 5"x7" envelope.

Tip: Save some of the larger clear plastic packaging that nearly everything seems to be sealed in. You can use it for lots of craft projects. I used some cut into strips 1/4 inch wide and various lengths for this project. They are sturdy enough to hold things up, but flexible enough to give them some movement.

Share the Love

 

 One of the great things about working with my CloseToMyHeart community is all of the positive vibes from all the people that are a part of it. Everyone reaches out to help one another succeed, whether it is learning new crafting techniques, finding a retired stamp, or building their business. It’s no wonder that CTMH extends that love to help children around the world through Operation Smile™. This month you can help out too!

 Share the love this February by purchasing the

exclusive My Acrylix® Share the Love D-size stamp set (CC1060). 

Filled with adorable icons and loveable sentiments, this stamp set will be a beautiful addition to your collection—but there is more to this stamp set than meets the eye! Not only will you get a high-quality, swoon-worthy stamp set by taking part in this promotion, but Close To My Heart will also donate $7 USD* of the proceeds from this stamp set to Operation Smile™, an amazing organization that provides surgeries to repair cleft lips and palates for children all over the world! Check out our social media channels all month long to see this stamp set in action, and remember to post your own artwork using the hashtag #ctmhsharethelove to help bring attention to a wonderful and worthy cause.

Please note, however, that product purchases in US states Alabama and

Massachusetts are excluded from the donation due to registration requirements.

All other direct donations, including round ups on purchase totals, will still count

toward donation totals in these states  

 

Classic Red

Not into stamping? That's okay. We have T-shirts too!  

Heathered Nickel

100% cotton. Heathered nickel or Classic Red.  To view a sizing chart, please clickhere. For every t-shirt you purchase, we will donate $10* of the proceeds to Operation Smile™.

*Donation is $10 USD. T-shirts purchased in US states AL and MA excluded from donation due to state registration requirements.

Happy 2016

Stamp of the Month for January

  
Isn't it pretty? It's not my usual cup of tea but I thought, "hey, I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone here. I'm going to try using this stamp."

I stamped my yellow rose of Texas on yellow cardstock using CTMH's Goldenrod ink. After stamping the flowers and leaf, I fussy cut around them and glued them on the background I built up on a card. I thought it needed a little bling so I added gold shimmer trim from CTMH and some embellishments I got from Megan Elizabeth at Above Rubies Studio.