Rediscover Happy Banners

There is a new free printable download on the Close To My Heart website. These are part of the Rediscover series and will be available all month long. This one is on trend and really fun to play with. Printable banner pieces in an assortment of colors and patterns. Here is what you print out at home.

 

 

Now that you have your banner pieces printed out, here are a few ideas on how to use them~



Use them to dress up a scrapbooking page. This design was inspired by the Make It from Your Heart Volume 1 how-to book.

Make your boring straws more fancy for a party! You can also wrap the banners around a toothpick to decorate some cupcakes or candies!

Use the banner behind some Perfect Fit Frames and "trick-or-treat" sentiment for some festive Halloween cards!

What will you do with your free printable this month? Download it here then create something that makes you happy!

FMS Peace and Joy Snowflake

I'm skipping from Fall to Winter today with a lovely card for Freshly Made Sketches. The new Frosted papers don't scream traditional red & green Christmas, but they are perfect for winter cards and projects. With this card I have captured the calm, cool season with some "frosted" blues and neutrals. The Rosewood mini medley accent in the center of the snowflake is gorgeous and adds an elegant touch to the card. I think that the FMS sketch was the perfect base to showcase that wreath and snowflake!

Inspired By Fall {my favorite!}

It has been some time since I played along with an Inspired By challenge! The picture was very inspiring and showcased my favorite season of all....Fall! I am also playing along with the "favorite things" challenge at Heart 2 Heart Blog. Yes, Fall is my favorite season, however my favorite scrapbooking product currently has to be the Artbooking Cricut cartridge.

{inspiration photo}

 



Celebrating the Little Things

I have combined some Buzz and Bumble papers with the new Sarita papers for the sketch this week on Freshly Made Sketches. I have also been patiently waiting to play with the new irresistibles hexagons chipboard. These are so cool and easy to add to just about any project!

Artbooking Back to School

This Close To My Heart video inspired me to get those back to school pictures scrapped! I wanted to try some of the school images found on the Cricut Artbooking keys, but knew that I would not follow the layout designs. I also wanted to use the new Framework Alphabet, it is the coolest and right on trend!

Artbooking Route 66

Creating this Artbooking page was fun and easy! Originally it was a class taught as the Pajama Party that I mentioned in an earlier post. I put my own spin on it for some pictures I took this Summer.

The layover pieces, photo mats and most of the embellishment pieces were all cut at 11" using just two keys on the cartridge. (The Road66Trip title was chipboard purchased at a local Arizona scrapbook store.)

Some tips: The layover pieces take some time to cut on your Cricut machine! While it's chirping, print out your photo's, do the dishes or change over your laundry! Also, don't use a fresh, virgin cutting mat. They are too sticky and it will be very difficult to remove the delicate layover in one piece.

Kraft, Twine and a Sketch

Today's card is clean, simple and Merry! I decided to play along with two challenges for this card. A simple sketch at Freshly Made Sketches and a sing-along musical twist at Heart 2 Heart Challenges!

At Heart 2 Heart Challenges they asked us to interpret the ever popular song "Brown paper packages, tied up with string....", you know the one! So I chose Kraft cardstock and some sparkly twine from the Frosted Workshop on the Go card kit.

I noticed that one of the card designs in the Frosted kit was very similar to the Freshly Made Sketch this week. Just a bit of adjusting and a pop of Twilight blue (inspired by Vicki Wizniuk) I was able to get the exact card I wanted!

 

 

Be sure to visit these challenge blogs and play along! If your curious how you can put a twist on the Frosted Card Kit place an order with me or online here.



Hello Artbooking

Frosted Card Kit

I shared the Laughing Lola Workshop on the Go Card Kit with you earlier. We talked about the great value of these kits and how easy it is to create 15 beautiful handmade cards. I don't know about you, but I make the most cards in the littlest amount of time for the Holidays. Trying to beat the deadline of sending all those Christmas cards is always a challenge. With the Frosted Card Kit it will be easy and quick!

I'm not going to show all the cards with variations like I did with the Laughing Lola cards. Instead I want to show you how easily you can use the stamp set included in the kit to create completely different Holiday cards. Think outside of the brochure!!

These are the cards as instructed in the brochure~

Here are a few ideas using that stamp set with different colors and papers.~

You will notice some fun stamping techniques and recognize some papers that are not "holiday" themed. That's part of the fun! My card designs all came from the new Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 book. (this book is awesome and a must have!)

You can order the Laughing Lola and Frosted Card Kits with me or online here. Experience the fun of creating these cards and the value of the kits!

Laughing Lola Card Kit

Let's talk about card kits! The Autumn/Winter Idea Book offers two Workshop on the Go card kits. The first is Laughing Lola that works perfectly for a variety of occasions. The second is the Frosted kit that is great for the Holiday season. These card kits come with just about everything you need to create 15 beautiful cards. You will need the recommended inks and some basic tools to complete them. Everything else is provided including: D-size stamp set, B&T duos papers, cardstock, card base and envelopes, embellishments and a how-to instructional brochure.

With everything provided you simply cut, stamp and assemble! You can create your cards exactly as instructed in the brochure or feel free to add your own touches to the cards to personalize each one. That is what I did here with the Laughing Lola kit.

This is a sample of the cards exactly as directed per the brochure~

There are 3 different designs and you will make 5 of each, giving you a total of 15 cards. In the picture above I have shown the cards as they are in the brochure starting with card 1 on the left, card 2 in the middle and card 3 on the right. As you scroll down you will see how I changed each design just slightly giving it a different appearance. Perhaps I flipped  the B&T paper, substituted another color cardstock, stamped another color ink or varied the embellishment. Each one is unique and I can guarantee that not one recipient will get the same card!

Let's talk about value! Not only are you creating 15 cards with the best papers and embellishments provided in the kit, but you are also getting a D-size stamp set to keep and reuse for many more projects. The retail value of the kit is $36.78, but you pay only $24.95! That's a savings of $11.83!

Laughing Lola Kit G1064
Frosted Kit G1063

These kits can be ordered through me or on my website here.

Come back soon and I will show you some ideas I created with the Frosted Card Kit!

Great Specials to get you STAMPING this month!

Close To My Heart has some great specials this month to celebrate National Stamping Month!

 

The Poster Tidings Stamp of the Month for only $5 with a $50 purchase....PLUS...

 

... a trio of adorable stamps for only $10!!

Be sure to check out all the details of these promotions on the Current Specials tab at the top of my Blog.

I am also hosting an Artbooking two-page layout workshop on the 14th. Details will be in your newsletter arriving soon! If you do not receive your newsletter in your email, please let me know and I will forward the details to you! You won't want to miss this workshop if your new to the Artbooking Cricut cartridge and want to get started with scrapbooking your pictures the Artbooking way!

Chocolate is good for you!

I was suppose to be doing some family scrapbooking yesterday, but that didn't happen. The Stamp of the Month was still sitting there on my desk and was begging to be inked up some more. So I couldn't resist creating a sweet set of cards using a variety of images and sentiments. Plus, they looked so darling combined with some Chantilly paper and textiles.

{Mmmm. liquid applique and some glitter make a scrumptious frosting}

 

 

{A real mini cupcake foil liner works perfectly on this card.}

 

 

 

Please keep in mind that this stamp set will only be available until August 31st. It's a great deal, so don't miss out on the opportunity to create your own sweet cards!

 

Also, in case you were wondering, all of the designs for my cards came from the new Make It from Your Heart Volume 2 How-to book. This little book is filled with so many creative ideas and will inspire you to tackle your layout projects or cards. You can order the stamp of the month or how-to books online here.

 

Now on to some family scrapbooking... although these cards could use a darling little box now to store them in?!

 



Milk & Cookies

I put this month's Stamp of the Month to good use yesterday as a surprise for my children when they arrived home from their first day of school!

Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies were waiting for them in the kitchen. You bet that they dropped their backpacks, poured some milk and let the stress of the day roll off! Hey, it's tough to get back into the routine!

How cute is this stamped image? It's not too late to get your own and get it for free! Check out the Current Specials page to see all the details. Orders can be placed here before August 31st.

Perfect Wonderful You

My card was designed today specifically for Freshly Made Sketches. It is their 100th sketch challenge and it's a fun design.

I have used some unexpected items to decorate my card. Do the images look like a new paper packet or stamp set? If you said no then your right! They are actually pieces found in the assortment collections for the new My Crush spiral bound memory book. Similar to a Smash Book these new albums are perfect for recording your day to day memories. You can add small photo's, write little journaling notes or adhere keepsakes like tickets to the movies. However, the assortment pieces don't have to be used in the My Crush book. As you can see they work perfectly on a card or on a scrapbook page.

 

I chose the Bluebird assortment pieces for my card. There is a Memories assortment and a Favorites Assortment. Each come with 16 journal spots, 4 My Stickease sheets, 2 alphabet sticker sheets and 4 mini envelopes. I used one of the little envelopes to hide a sweet message! 

 

 

 

There are two different My Crush books. Bluebird, like I have used and Modville. They can be found in the new Idea Book on pages 63-67. There are also coordinating stamp set that you can use with them. You can order your own book here and start collecting your memories at home or even on the go!



Little Thank You's

I have always included a little thank you card in all my customer's orders. It was my way of showing gratitude for their loyalty and helping support my humble crafting business. I realized lately that I have a core of customers that have been loyal to me for a number of years now and I felt they deserved more than just a single note card of thanks. So I decided to include a set of thank you cards in their order. I create them with the latest products and lots of love!

I may not have a lot of customer's, but I have the BEST customer's!

 

Music {with} Humor

This week on Heart 2 Heart Challenges, we are challenged to create a project that is "musical". I was creating cards with my daughter and she had some ideas using up some older paper and a new title found on the Cricut Artbooking cartridge. She drew a picture a couple years ago with some iPod ear buds as if they were "buddies". After all you can hear the music better if you have a pair!

Lots of fun treats on this card including some other shapes cut from the Artiste cartridge and some polka dot washi tape. These were all papers found in my scrap bag and they came together so well using a template found in the new Make it From Your Heart Volume 2 how-to book.

Be sure to stop by the Heart 2 Heart Blog and see or {hear} the musical creations from the fabulous designers.

Love Mini Album

I have another mini album to share with you today. It was all created with the new Cricut Artbooking cartridge. It's amazing how simple it is to cut your album pages and all the embellishments with just one key! Set your size per the booklet instructions and start cutting! I can't wait to add my favorite photo's in this adorable mini album!

 

Get your Artbooking cartridge here and experience the fun!