Friday, February 26, 2016

Wedding Love Jar

I used the Freshly Made Sketches design and the colors of a wedding invitation as inspiration for a wedding card I need this weekend. I love the soft gray & yellow colors together, plus that little Cricut cut jar is so pretty!




You can recreate this card with some Georgie papers and cuts from the Artbooking and Artistry cartridges.  Check out the FMS Blog for more ideas using this sketch!

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Share the Love ~ Hello

Have you answered the call to Share the Love this month?

Just a reminder that Close To My Heart has a special stamp set available this month only. The D-size Share the Love stamp set (CC1060) is filled with adorable icons and loveable sentiments. Not only will you be getting 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. You will see more of my own artwork on Instagram that I have not posted here on my Blog.

Here is one last card that I will share here on my Blog. Please keep in mind that time is running out to make a cute card like this one.



For my card I cut a heart overlay out of the polk-a-dot La Vie En Rose paper on my Cricut using the Artbooking cartridge. Before adhering it to my card base I did just a bit of water coloring with the Pixie ink. I stamped the little telephone in Pixie ink also then stamped in black and cut out just the rotary circle piece. I also cut the stamped cord off completely and replaced it with some black and white twine.



Order this adorable stamp set soon online here. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out Instagram for more inspiration!

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

April's Inspiration (and more calendar pages)

I have been working on the last few pages for a 12x12 calendar using the PML cards that were a part of the Live Your Day promotion in January. Inspiration struck one day while scrolling through my Instagram feed. Close To My Heart posted a page using the gorgeous Charlotte papers in a very visual graphic design. I just loved it and knew I wanted to recreate it for my April page using some Zoe papers. As it was starting to come together I quickly knew which photo to use as my son's Birthday is in April and this picture fit the sentiment on the Zoe complements. Take a look~


Here are all the pages laid out before I added photo's on them. Each month is very differently themed and designed.

 Just a few more pages I'd like to share with you~


The July page uses the new Regatta papers and the Beach Days stamp set. You may have noticed how much I've been using this stamp set, its really a fun set and the stamping is so easy as the images can be cut out on your Cricut!
This is my brother's family that we got to visit last summer in Lake Tahoe. Very fitting with the Regatta papers wouldn't you say?!!


The June page uses a rainbow assortment of the lovely fundamentals papers. It's bright and fun, but mostly I wanted to show you what you can essentially create with leftover strips of paper. Sometimes my 'scraps bag' tends to overflow, so I need to clean those out and use them up!


Here you can see that I used some of the strips showing the matte side and others have the shiny side showing.



If you would like to create your own 12x12 calendar its lots of fun and makes a great gift too! You can order the calendar online here.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Make a Splash!

This little crab is making a splash on the Freshly Make Sketches Blog and the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Blog this week. I have used the adorable crab from the Beach Days stamp set (D1684) for the sketch on FMS this week and used the colors for the color challenge on H2H. The colors were black, white and red so Mr. Crab was just perfect for the color scheme as were the La Vie En Rose papers. I liked that the sketch was pretty open for playing with images in the space at the upper left side of the card. I also liked the little piece of chevron paper to fill in that little peek-a-boo space in the sketch.






Be sure to check out the FMS and H2H blogs for more information! Have a fun weekend!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Polka Dot Party Animal

Can you believe that we are already half way through February? That means that we are getting closer to the deadline to purchase the Stamp of the Month at a discounted price of only $5! This is such an adorable stamp set too. I have been enjoying making cards and scrapbook pages with it.

On this card I used the iconic dog balloon image as the focus on the bold, black and white polka dot paper. This paper comes from the La Vie En Rose paper collection. A simple birthday sentiment and some yellow twine completes this party ready card!




Get the Balloon Animals stamp set for just $5 with a qualifying order. Shop online here.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Share the Love & Smile

Share the love this February by purchasing the exclusive My Acrylix® Share the Love D-size stamp set. Filled with adorable icons and loveable sentiments, this stamp set will be a beautiful addition to your collection. Not only will you be getting 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 CTMH social media channels all month long to see this stamp set in action, search hashtag #ctmhsharethelove to help bring attention to a wonderful and worthy cause.

I'm still incorporating last month's promotion, Live Your Day PML cards into a calendar project. I combined both the promotions for my January page.



You can purchase this stamp set only in the month of February. However, you can contribute to Operation Smile by purchasing the Animal Greeting stamp set featured on the back cover of the Idea Book also. Visit my website for more details.


Friday, February 12, 2016

Under the Sea

This cute octopus is from the new Beach Days stamp set found in the Seasonal Expressions 1 Idea Book. He really stands out in a sea of watercolor blue and the nautical Regatta papers.


What I love about this card~ Can you see the embossed hearts in the ocean watercolor? I love the technique and think it looks so cool with the Cricut Cut octopus and Regatta papers. That "heart" Summer banner is also cut out on the Cricut and then quickly stamped. It all comes together with the awesome star and anchor papers and some denim blue twine!


All of the products on this card can be found in the Annual Inspirations Book as well as the Seasonal Expressions 1 Idea Book. Order online here.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Hug Some Watercolor Cactus

Watercolors wow me! I have recently been doing a lot of research and experimenting with watercolor. Here is a cool technique that I had to try. I have to say that it is a little strange at first to color outside the lines, but then it just flows and the result is amazing!





Look how the vivid colors just begin to spill into each other!
You can get the Stuck on You stamp set in the new Seasonal Expressions Idea Book now until the end of April. You can stamp them on their own or cut them out easily with the Thin Cuts. Order online here.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Pink Elephants

Heart 2 Heart Challenges Blog is asking what is our favorite paper collection. It's difficult to pick only one as each collection can serve a different purpose... holiday's, outdoor, big and small celebrations! Sometimes a paper pack can be versatile, fitting many different themes. I have to say that I fell in love with Charlotte at first sight. I love the soft color combination and how gorgeous it looks with pops of gold. I also love the floral print, but appreciate the modern and trendy prints too.

On this card I used those more trending prints to create a cute card with the Stamp of the Month Balloon Animals. It can be a playful Birthday card or even a baby card.


You can get the Balloon Animals for only $5 this month with qualifying order. Add the Charlotte paper pack in your cart too, you won't regret it!



Saturday, February 6, 2016

Plant a Kiss

I kept this card clean and simple for the Freshly Made Sketches this week. Using their sketch I layered some of the new cactus stamps with some older papers to be the focus of the card. Lately I've been cutting out the Thin Cuts cactus, stamping it, then using watercolors to fill them in. This time I simply cut them out on Juniper cardstock and stamped in the same ink. Done!



Be sure to check out the Seasonal Expressions Idea Book to see all of the brand new Thin Cuts!

Friday, February 5, 2016

Party On Balloon Animals!

I have a card for you today using the Stamp of the Month, Balloon Animals. This is a flash back to some old-school random stamping. The colorful balloons are the focus of this card, making it feel like a party!




Remember to use those zip strips! You can get this adorable stamp set for only $5 this month with a qualifying order. More details can be found here. Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Balloon Animals Layout

I paired up the February Stamp of the Month with the vibrant and fun Kaleidoscope papers for a two page layout. They are a perfect match for a party page!


Left Page

Right Page

Along with some quick Cricut cuts and stamping; this layout came together easily. It will be perfect to showcase Birthday pics or any crazy and fun occasion.


You can get this adorable Balloon Animals stamp set for just $5 this month with a qualifying order. Shop online here!




Monday, February 1, 2016

February Specials

It's hard to believe that we are already entering the second month of 2016! February is the month of love so at Close To My Heart they wish to Share The Love.



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 be getting 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.

For more information about Operation Smile and Close To My Heart’s relationship with this amazing organization, or details for this promotion, contact me.
*Offer valid February 1, 2016 (9:00 am MST – February 29, 2016 (11:59 pm MST) while supplies last. Shipping/handling is calculated based on the full retail price of the promotional stamp set. *Product purchases in US states Alabama and Massachusetts excluded from donation. 
 

Stamp of the Month ~ Balloon Animals



How adorable is the Stamp this month! I can recall many times eating out at a restaurant with my children when they were young and a balloon artist would walk around and make animals, swords and crowns for the younger patrons. This stamp is perfect for a greeting card and transitions beautifully to your mini or full-size scrapbooks also.


Be sure to get more details on this month's specials online here.