Rainbow of Ice Cream

Have you ordered a rainbow of crafting goodness yet? May I tempt you with some ice cream?

I used some older papers and stamps to create these delicious cards, but you can easily create these cards with an array of colorful cardstocks. Paper bundles are all on sale this month.

I had a lot of fun coloring these images with the Shinhan Touch markers. Why not add a ton of color to all of your summer projects!

See all of the sale offers online here. Happy crafting!

Feel So Blessed

Every once in awhile a Stamp of the Month comes along that I really, really like. The September stamp set Feel So Blessed (S1709) was definitely one of those! This discounted stamp set will be leaving soon though. If you want to have hours of playing in your craft room and creating gorgeous cards with it, order it now! Let me inspire you with two last creations~

First card was made out of finding inspiration for it in the strangest place! I'm a big fan of the home scents of Bath & Body Works. The Leaves scent has been a favorite of mine every since its introduction. Every year they tend to mix up their designs and make you hunt around the store finding the scent you love. This years design on the room spray was fairly clean and had an eye appealing combination of color and pattern. One day it all of a sudden hit me that I could use the design in a card using the Feel So Blessed stamp of the month. It worked pretty well!

I realize that on the spray bottle there was brown leaves, but I had to use that awesome feather from the stamp set. The sentiment was stamped in white daisy on black cardstock making it really pop!

Finally, I also found inspiration on Instagram this week for another card. I was reunited with the retired Prickly Pear papers. With some more watercoloring I was able to make this simple, open sentiment become the focus of my card. I love the colors with black lining, how soft, yet striking!

You really don't want this one to pass you by! You can purchase this stamp set online here. Now

Stuck on You!

I'm stuck on craft challenges lately. They help to launch my creativity with an idea or a sketch. This card is the result of 2 challenges this week. The first is a sketch challenge found on Freshly Made Sketches. It's pretty straight forward resulting in a clean and easy card. The other challenge comes from Heart 2 Heart Challenges which is a stitching theme. I chose to go faux!

I love the bright whimsical colors of the Prickly Pear papers, but I wanted to create more authentic looking cactus. For this I reached for an older stamp set called, Stuck on You. This is one of those sets that came with coordinating Thin Cuts making it all too easy. The more difficult part is coloring in the cactus, however I find this to be relaxing. The faux stitching is made by using some wavy Lawn Fawn Die Cuts.

Pretty clean, simple and cute! Be sure to check out these blogs for some challenges and inspiration!

Stampaganza in July!

Woo~Hoo! It's that time of year when Close To My Heart offers the innovative and amazing MyAcrylix stamp sets on sale! It is almost like Christmas in July for those lovers of inky stamping!

For this sale Close To My Heart has also decided to bring back some older stamp sets previously taken away into retirement. Go online to see a list of those special sets and get all the details!

Stamp of the month ~ Storybook Alphabet

You can never have too many alphabets! This set can be stamped as is or you can color them in with whatever medium you like. Plus, this month you can get it for only $5 with a qualifying purchase!

Finally, I want to leave you with this image from the website carousel. It features a variety of projects using the Prickly Pear paper collection. I think the artwork is beautiful and makes me love this collection even more that when I originally saw it in the Seasonal Expressions book. I must warn you that July is the last month that this collection will be available, as the other collections too. Don't let it pass you by!

Hello Foxy will soon say Goodbye!

The Hello Foxy stamp of the month will soon be saying goodbye! With a qualifying purchase you can get this stamp for only $5. The fox in this set are just too cute! Take a look at some cards I created using the different fox with some of the clever sayings!

These fox look great paired with the Prickly Pear papers, making it look more like a desert fox!

If you take advantage of the other promotions going on this month, ie. the albums BOGO and 25% off cardstock, you will easily qualify for this stamp set. Be sure to go online to see what is available on special still and place an order. Thank you for stopping by and say hello to Foxy!

It's a Fiesta with Prickly Pear!

The BIG grad party has come and gone! There was a ton of preparation for the party itself, but I managed to find some time to create a few layouts that would work for the party pics to come. I wanted to use the fun Prickly Pear papers as I liked the bright colors and the cactus would work well with our backyard decor where the activity would happen.

The included PML cards can act as titles on your page or you can use the card and add the complements chipboard letter die-cuts for a big title!

This page worked well to showcase some of the areas that my daughter and I decorated inside the house.

We used several areas in our house to show her memorabilia, photographs and to set up a "One Smart Cookie Bar". For this reason I decided to add a flip flap to the layout to show more pictures and not crowd the page.

Take a closer look at these fun titles and complements that can be added to your Prickly Pear pages!

Remember that this collection is available now in the Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book which will expire in August.

Prickly Pear with Cactus and a Llama

Hello! Have you been browsing the newest Idea Book? I always love turning each page back and seeing all of the newest collections and projects. I am always pleasantly surprised with the creativity and cleverness that CTMH comes up with each season. Now of course I like all of the new papers, but sometimes there is one collection that captures my interest first. In the new book it was the Prickly Pear collection and that adorable Llama stamp set.

The Prickly Pear cardmaking stamp comes with coordinating thin cuts in the Llama and Cactus shapes. This makes the cutting and stamping super easy. These cards were made in no time at all and the papers are really awesome too!

We created this Llama card at my Open House. It was a llama fun to make! Do you llama make one too?

You can get the paper collection and stamp set with thin cuts online now. Just think of the creations on both your scrapbooking pages and cards!

Celebrating May!

So many wonderful things to celebrate this month! For me personally it is the last month of this school year, then I am on Summer Break! My daughter graduates High School and we get to party! It is also time to celebrate our Moms and all that they do!

As for Close To My Heart, there are some great events to celebrate as well! May is National Scrapbooking month. A month to reflect on all those memories we are making, like graduations & mothers, and ask ourselves how we are preserving those moments. As always Close To My Heart is offering a wonderful collection of papers, embellishments and even albums to help you preserve your memories and tell your stories. The collection is called Live Beautifully!

During the month of May, 

Close To My Heart is offering three exclusive new products to celebrate National Scrapbooking Month: 

The Live Beautifully paper packet, the My Acrylix® Live Beautifully stamp set, and the Cut Above™ Live Beautifully layout kit, which helps you create five complete scrapbook layouts in half the time! 

Buy these exclusive products separately, or buy an album bundle with the new Cut Above

layout kit to save 20% — you can also just buy it all!

Let me just tell you that I have already made my daughter's graduation announcements with the papers and used the Cut Above layouts to showcase the gorgeous photographs we captured for her invitations. It is a stunning collection of colors and patterns, the floral papers are beautiful and the layouts come together so quickly and easily! You won't want to miss the opportunity to celebrate NSM this May!

If that is not enough to get you excited...I have more news for you! May 1st is the day that a brand new Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book goes live! Think Summer, fun, colorful and oh so trendy! This Idea Book will have your creativity sparks flying. Please welcome the new collections~

Jack

Little Dreamer

No Worries

Prickly Pear

 I honestly flipped through the pages of this book the first time smiling, then giggling. You will undoubtedly find something that makes you happy in this book. You can view it online or even better get one in person from me.

Finally, as each month rolls around so does a new Stamp of the Month that can be purchased at a discounted price. Live, Laugh, Love will be perfect for those of you that enjoy coloring and big, bold page titles.

To see more images and find details on any of these specials please go to my online website. Enjoy these offerings this month and definitely any other celebrations that you are personally celebrating in May. Don't forget to preserve those memories!