More of So Much Happy

Sometimes when I get out a paper collection, I just sort-of get on a role! After creating a scrapbook layout, I kept making beautiful things with this cute collection. My next endeavor were some more cards using more of those adorable Complements, cut-apart pieces and lovely papers.

This first card is kind-a cute and the second card is for a kind friend! Don't you just love this bird hitching a ride on this stretched out pooch. I just tied a balloon on and set them in some thin-cut grass! Any animal lover will appreciate receiving this card on their "Bird-day"!
 

As if this floral paper in the collection wasn't enough, I've added a bold yellow sentiment from the cut-apart papers. It is centered on an embossed circle and raised up on 3D foam. The 'friend' sentiment comes from the itty bitty alphabet stickers on the Complements sheet. Super simple to add just about any sentiment you wish. Instead of 'friend' I could have said 'nose picker'. It makes me think of that old saying, "You can pick your nose and you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your friends' nose!" or Something like that!

Hope you liked these cards and had a laugh! Hope your day is filled with So Much Happy!

Hello Unicorns

Despite my lack in posts here on the Blog, I must reassure you that I am making time to play in my craft room. Especially now with the big Stampaganza sale happening! Some of my favorite stamps are simply sayings or sentiments. They can convey your message on a card or show emotion to a scrapbooking page. Close To My Heart has several stamp sets with some traditional sentiments and some very trending, popular sayings. This month is the perfect time to stock up on your favorites! Here is just a cute card I created using the Dreamin' Big papers, a few embellishments and a thin cut. The perfect sentiment can be found on the inside of the card.

This greeting on the inside was made up of 2 different sentiment stamps, so go ahead and mix it up!

I posted the front of this card on Instagram a few days ago. If you are not on Instagram, I recommend that you join, its a ton of inspiration. If not, you can always click on the camera/Instagram logo on the right of my blog just under my profile. It will take you to my page. There you will find more artwork posted regularly and in most cases before I get it on my Blog.

 go check it out now ----------->

Don't forget to save big this month on the stamp sale. Buy 2 Get One FREE! shop online

September Card Club & a Surprise!

Crate Card Club made its 'mini' return this month. Not all of my members have returned yet, but we still had fun creating! Here is the card I created again and remember I told you that I had a surprise for the girls!

On my card I did some background stamping on the base of the card. I used a 'Best Day' sentiment from the Zoe WOTG kit. That was the only stamping for this card! All the other details were cut on my Cricut from mostly the Artistry cartridge and the Artbooking cartridge. I used some Fundamental Papers for a little shine and added in some new aqua shimmer trim for even more sparkle!

My surprise for the ladies is a new idea I wanted to try. A monthly add-on kit that will coordinate with my card. As much as we all love to exchange cards, I still have some scrapbooker's in my group. I love that this idea reflects the direction of Close To My Heart's Annual Inspirations Book which is to focus on memory keeping! After making cards I will show my customers the two page layout. If they like it they can add the kit to their order for $10. They will get everything they need, pre-cut and pre-stamped with instructions to create the layout for themselves. So far it is a success!

 Here are the other cards that the ladies created for our exchange. As always we had a great mix of themes and products.

 Thank you for stopping by, have a great week crafters!

Card Club Returns

Today my Crate Card Club returns. We took a little break over the Summer, but now we are ready to start back up! With all the new products from the Annual Inspiration just being released it is exciting to imagine all the possibilities. For my card I've incorporated lots of cuts from the brand new Artistry Cricut cartridge. I gave a little sneak peek of it on Instagram, but the ladies attending don't know that I have another little surprise in store for them! Here is your sneak peek too, but you will have to come back to see the surprise for yourself.

You...Make Me Smile

For the Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week I created 2 totally different style cards. The first one is what I first imagined in my mind. I wanted to mix some soft colorful flowers with bold black & white and just a touch of gold! Maybe it was a little better in my mind, but its still pretty!

Then, just for fun I saw a card on Pinterest that inspired me to get out the Confetti Wishes paper and the Operation Smile, Happy Everything stamp. After coloring the balloons I realized that I didn't have sequins that perfectly matched. No problem, I just colored some white sequin with the Shin-Han Twin Touch Markers! I finished with 3 MyStickease gift packages that were pop dotted.

Which card is your favorite?!!

Typed Note Surprise

Time is running out to get the fabulous Typed Note Stamp of the Month! I had so much fun playing with this stamp all month long. One final project I made is a creative card for my son's Birthday. This was an idea that I talked about at the Crate Card Club, but had not tried it yet. I wanted to take the paper in the typewriter and make it a functional message that would be revealed when pulled out of the typewriter. It was super easy to create.

I used paper left over from my Crate Cards. The card was left basically with the same template, I just added some extra stamping, distressing and embellishments. Then I altered the typewriter to accommodate the pull-up message.

To achieve this effect I bubble cut the typewriter making sure to cut off the paper at the top. Then I cut a smaller strip of white cardstock {1x 2.75} to stamp the messages. I made certain that this piece would slide between some 3D foam tape that was mounted underneath the typewriter. The puffy star makes it easier to pull out the paper.

With just a few tweaks this card goes from flat, to fun and interactive!! Be sure to get this stamp set before it's no longer available!

Just a few more days to grab your Deal of the Day too! Order online here.

Happy Everything

Seasonal Expressions 1 book had a great stamp set on the back cover called You're the Bomb. A portion of the proceeds from any sales of the stamp went to Operation Smile. It quickly became a favorite stamp, very versatile and just fun to play with! The same is true for the latest Operation Smile stamp in the Seasonal Expressions 2 book. It's called Happy Everything and it is a fun stamp set too. Take a look at some of the mini cards I've made with it!

Happy Everything

Item number D1653

Price $17.95

Set of 13
Recommended My Acrylix® Blocks:
1" × 1" (Y1000), 1" × 3½" (Y1002), 2" × 3½" (Y1009), 2" × 6½" (Y1010)

Remember to check out the Deal of the Day after you add the Happy Everything stamp set to your cart online.

Birthday Themed Card Exchange

What a busy month this has been! Earlier this month I posted about my upcoming card exchange with a Birthday theme seeing how my family has celebrated many Birthday's this March! Participants could create anything with a Birthday theme...young or old, feminine or masculine, serious or hilarious! There was a wide variety as usual, but all done beautifully with the help of gorgeous Close To My Heart products!

First off is my card. I think it turned it out to be one of my favorites in a long while.

One of the girls remarked that the black tulle was her favorite part of the whole card!

Next is Barbie~ She is new to our exchange and would you believe new to paper crafting?!! What a gorgeous card and that butterfly is amazing!

Janet's card is full of amazing cut outs from the Cricut cartridges. Her card could be used for both feminine or masculine I think!

Tommie shows off her dry embossing skills and great distressing techniques.

I love the black and yellow color theme that Pat chose for her card. She surprised us with an unexpected Cricut shape for the flower vase! Can you guess what it is?

Julie's cards travel many miles to reach me every year. How fitting that her vellum envelopes should be post marked with a Birthday sentiment!

Her card also featured a fun split opening behind the cute party hat!

Nanette's card is simply sweet with just a bit of pearls and lace to give it a soft, vintage feel!

 

 

 and finally... A bright and fun card from Stacie. The pops of color and dry embossing really make you want to celebrate!

A big thank you to all the ladies that participated in the exchange. I truly enjoy sharing all of your creations and seeing the wonderful artwork you design.

RCC6 "Get Sketchy"

It's a sketch challenge this week on Ribbon Carousel Challenges Blog. Go to the blog for all the details and to see what the other talented designers created!

My card uses the Splendor papers and My Stickease from Close To My Heart. There is hardly any stamping, only the "Happy Birthday" title, the Stickease does all the rest of the work for me! How awesome is that? I used some Heavenly Blue ribbon {CTMH} and orange twine {The Twinery} as my "spool" items.

Clean & Simple {RCC3 challenge}

I recently discovered another challenge blog called Ribbon Carousel Challenge Blogspot. I missed the first couple of challenges, but that's o.k.! The basic rule is to create anything that comes on a spool, such as: ribbon, twine, jute, lace etc.

This week's challenge is to keep is Clean & Simple. I left some white space for you eyes to rest, while incorporating interesting embellishments and colorful twine.

You can practically hear the music! Take a closer look and you'll see that I've stamped the music notes behind the clear buttons.