Close to My Heart Winter Shadow Box

This week Close to my Heart shared this video on the Flower Market Collection and they key found on page 49.  They labeled it as a Christmas Shadow Box, but I don't see Christmas in it.  I see Winter!




Unfortunately they don't give the sizes of the cuts.  I would say the picture is 8" x 8".  Enjoy!

The background paper is from the Rustic Home Fundamentals - I'm in love with that paper!

Thoughtful Thursday December 15, 2016

I thought this was a great thought for today.  : )



I didn't write this, but it is oh so true for me and imagine it is for many of my friends who are mothers! Enjoy!
*********
My children each year ask me the same question. After thinking about it, I decided I'd give them my real answer:

What do I want for Christmas? I want you. I want you to keep coming around, I want you to bring your kids around,(when you have some! lol) I want you to ask me questions, ask my advice, tell me your problems, ask for my opinion, ask for my help. I want you to come over and rant about your problems, rant about life, whatever.

Tell me about your job, your worries, your spouses,( or girlfriends lol) your kids, your fur babies. I want you to continue sharing your life with me. Come over and laugh with me, or laugh at me, I don't care. Hearing you laugh is music to me.

I spent the better part of my life raising you the best way I knew how, and I'm not bragging, but i did a pretty darn good job. Now, give me time to sit back and admire my work, I'm pretty proud of it.
Raid my refrigerator, help yourself, I really don't mind. In fact, I wouldn't want it any other way.

I want you to spend your money making a better life for you and your family, I have the things I need. I want to see you happy and healthy. When you ask me what I want for Christmas, I say "nothing" because you've already been giving me my gift all year. I want you.

Love, Mom

Flower Market 3D Poinsettia Wreath

Flower Market Cricut Collection (Z3285) also has the 3D poinsettia.  The 2D wreath I made was similar to the Artiste wreath from 2015.  Now it was time to go for gold with the 3D poinsettia.

Again on Design Space, I pulled in the poinsettia.  When it comes in, each layer is separate but GROUPed.  I, again, tried making this the same size as the 2D wreath and thought a total width of 5.41" would be the correct size for the bottom leafed layer (I would be mistaken.  This turned out much bigger - the circle it's mounted on is 5" -  than the other one - no worries though!).

The other "improvement" I wanted to make was to have a saying going across the opening of the wreath.  That eventually led me to make a ring without a backing.  It took 9 flowers to complete this wreath.

Because I put a bow on top of the wreath, I didn't want to add a loop like I did with the previous wreaths.  You might be wondering how I will hang this up without a loop.  To achieve it, I cut a piece of extra thick twine and adhered it to the back of the ring with Liquid Glass (Z679) (I love that stuff!).

Because I turned the leaves downwards, I mounted each flower with 3D foam (Z1151).

Colors I used were New England Ivy (1282) for the leaves, Ruby (X5927) for the back layer, two layers of Cranberry (1272), Poppy (X5779) for just behind the yellow centers, Lemon (X5785) for the larger yellow center, and Canary (X5772) for the smallest center.  The Canary helped "calm" down the Lemon.  Once I glued the flowers together, I took my Quilling Tool (Z1795) and turned the ends of each petal up (as I mentioned earlier, the leaves I turned down).

"Noel" is cut from our White Glitter Paper (Z3237) using the Flower Market cartridge.   I adhered "Noel" with Liquid Glass.   Finally, the bow is cut from Pomegranate cardstock (X5780), again from the Flower Market cartridge.  The edges of the bow were sponged with Pomegranate ink ((Z2854), glued together, and then got a coating of Clear Shimmer Brush (Z3293).  Once that dried, the bowed was adhered to the wreath with, none other, Liquid Glass!

Large Paper Flower Tutorial

Close to my Heart posted this video on how the large paper flowers - found on page 14 of the 2016 Holiday Expressions and pictured after the video - are easily made.



As Gina explained, the petal is found on the Artistry cartridge and on page 27 of the booklet.  You'll need 6 petals at the following sizes: 3", 4", 5", and 6".

Changing the paper changes the look.  The picture to the right was made from Swan Lake papers.

Why not make some for a birthday party, bridal shower, baby shower, or just because?!

Watercolor Happy Birthday

Another pinterest card that inspired me... This time it didn't work out the way I was hoping - I tried making an embossable image.   I cut out several images from a sheet, wanting the negative space.  When I glued them together, they were off slightly so it didn't work to emboss the paper like the pinterest card was.

Not to worry, I improvised!  I used the balloons that were cut out of the sheet and glued them onto the base card, thus giving the impression of an embossed paper.  Now that I went back to reference the card, it wasn't embossed.  She did it the same method I did!






I cut the saying out of watercolor paper to... water color it!  The saying is from our Artistry Cricut Collection (retired).

The stars are colored with #3 and #4.
"Happy is colored with #28 and #29.
"Birthday" is colored with #19, and "Day" is colored with #16 and #17.

The saying was then mounted with Thin 3D Foam.

Too fun!

Flower Market Wedding Card

I had just made my samples for my watercolor workshop. I had extra watercolor PML cards to explore with.  My friend was getting married.  And I wanted to play with the Flower Market Cricut Collection.  Time to make a wedding card!

A little background on the wedding... It was a rustic wedding.  The bride had made the center pieces from succulents, as was her bouquet.  There was a dash of sparkle, because that's the kind of gal Bren is.  And we wore cowboy boots to the wedding - she had them on.  These were the things in my mind when I set out to make a wedding card.  I hope you like what I came up with:

Let me talk you through the card...

The base goes with the theme - woodgrain from our Rustic paper packet, and bling from the white glitter paper.  The next layer is the watercolor PML card.  I painted this 4" x 6" card with colors #33, #34, #32, then back to #34, and #33.  "Mr." and "Mrs." were cut from Juniper paper and sponged with Smokey Plum (retired) ink.  Those words were mounted with Thin 3D foam.

The flowers are next.  Three different flowers are shown in the below table with the color cardstock from the largest cut to the smallest cut.  The flowers are inserted as a group.  The number after the name of the flower corresponds to the group width (No, I didn't pay attention to the size.  I went with what I thought would look good which is why the widths are odd sized.).

Ranunculus - 4.18"	Succulent (star) - 2.15"	Succulent (tri petal) - 3.47"
Eggplant	Fern	New England Ivy
Smokey Plum	Juniper	Fern
Pansy	Sweet Leaf	Juniper
Pansy	Glacier	Glacier
Thistle	Sea Glass	Sea Glass
Juniper
Sea Glass

All the flowers were glued together in the center and then the edges were curled.  The Gold Sequins finish the card off with a little more bling (that matches the "&") and adds interest to the card.









The star succulent is the top flower.  The tri petal is the lower flower.

This is the Ranunculus flower.  It's a accidentally a little off centered.









This card was definitely outside of my comfort zone.  That being said, I think I did a good job with the colors of the wedding.  I hope Bren and Tim liked it.  The wedding was a blast, basically a jam session of families and friends.  And you couldn't have asked for a better day.  It was a bit warm out, but under the trees of the ceremony and reception, it was the perfect temperature.  May they live happily ever after!

Thoughtful Thursday November 24, 2016

May we say thank you to all and remember that we are all working toward the same goal - happiness.  I appreciate you letting me lay out my work and thoughts here week after week.  I hope I inspire you sometimes.

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Heather!!  Today is the day, my friends.  May you have no candles on your turkey this year.

Let's Celebrate Balloon

I really liked these Pinterest inspired cards.  Lindsey's birthday is right before school gets out, and with Amber playing softball, we have tended not to have a birthday party in June.  Because we didn't have a party this year, we decided to have a half birthday party instead, making this the perfect opportunity to make the card.

Most of the products used has been retired, but I think they fill the purpose too well.  It's one reason why you can never have too many/much stamping stuff.  : )

The paper is the Fundamental paper - Enchantment colors: Thistle, Olive, Goldrush, Autumn Terracotta, Hollyhock, and Indian Corn Blue.  The ink color corresponds to the balloon color with the saying from the A Little of Everything set.  The balloon strings are from the Metallic Twine - neutrals, Autumn Terracotta Twine, and Olive Twine.  They are attached to the card with Liquid Glass, once the twine was knotted around the stem of the balloons.

Okay, so the meat of the card is the balloon.  I chose to use the balloon from the Artistry Cricut Collection and is 4.5" wide.  While I held the balloon down where I wanted it on the card, I cut the overhanging parts of the image.  Then I tied the string onto the balloon, and mounted it with Thin 3D Foam.  I changed up the bend of the string, and tada!

This card doesn't only have to be a birthday card.  It can be used for any celebration.  : )

Updated Poinsettia Wreath

On November 13th, I showed you how I made last year's poinsettia wreath.  I made poinsettias from a non-poinsettia flower.  I'm excited to share that the Flower Market Cricut Collection has 2 poinsettia flowers! So I'm re-visiting my wreath.  First, let me show you the 2 dimensional poinsettia.

In Design Space, chose the poinsettia.  All 4 pieces come into the work surface grouped, so you just need to resize the group instead of each piece separately.  These images also come stacked.  I sized the group to be 2.11" wide (height was locked to width).  Why the extra 0.11"?  I wanted to create the same size as last year's Artiste wreath and I thought this was the correct size.  As it turns out, this wreath is larger than last year's.  That's okay though, because I like it!

I sponged around the Cranberry petals with White Daisy Pigment ink.  I put those aside to dry.  You can always speed dry them with the Craft Heater.  While they were drying, I glued the center Lemon on top of the Canary background for the centers.  I also went and curled the New England Ivy leaves downward.  I did this with a large balled stylus.  When the petals were dried, I glued them onto each leaf and the center was added on top of each petal.

A 4" circle was cut from White Daisy cardstock.  The poinsettia flowers were added to the edge with Thin Foam Tape.  I realized afterward that I should have cut a ring of New England Ivy to adhere the flowers to so the white behind them wouldn't show.  Too bad.  The saying was stamped in New England Ivy and is from the October Stamp of the Month, but any nice saying would work.

Finally, the hanging ribbon and bow were from the White and Gold ribbon.  I cut a second 4" circle and sandwiched the hanging ribbon between the two for a finished look.

That's it for this one!!  I've been enjoying the Flower Market Collection.  I'll be posting more samples from it (my Holiday Workshop has several items that used cuts from there) soon.

Thoughtful Thursday November 17, 2016

It's one of those days to be happy and silly!

I saw a house decorated for Christmas on my morning walk.  A little too early for my taste.  I'm still thankful for the wonderful life and opportunities.  : )

Artiste Cartridge Poinsettia Wreath

For our November 2015 gathering, my Cardaholics group exchanged ornaments.  Here is the ornament I made and exchanged:

I created the wreath using Design Space and one flower from the Artiste cartridge (retired).  Okay, the circle was a second image from the cartridge.

The flower is from page 80 and is on <Accent1> of the leaf.  There are three layers:
Small flower is 1.43" wide
Medium flower is 1.69" wide
Leaf flower is 2" wide

The easy way to create was to take one flower - the leaf.  I added a hole in each flower (it doesn't exist on the image).  Either ATTACH or WELD the two images together once you place the circle in the middle of the flower.  Copy the image.  Reduce the copied flower a little - that becomes the medium flower.  Paste the image again and reduce the size more to make the small flower layer.  I layered them and sized them until I liked the proportions (which is why I have odd sizes for the medium and small layers).  Then I GROUPed the three flowers together, copied and pasted the group 8 times (for a total of 9 poinsettias).  You can apply  9 on the cutting page, but I prefer to put the number of images within one wreath.  Then I adjust the number of wreaths I was making on the cutting page (hopefully that makes sense), that way I can cut my ring (see below), and white circle, at the same time.  I need 9 poinsettias but only 1 ring and 1 circle per wreath.

Once everything was cut out, I sponged the edges of the Cranberry cardstock (flowers) with White Daisy pigment ink.  Set these aside for some time to allow the pigment ink to dry.

After the ink dried, I used a large balled stylist to curve each petal.  I curved the New England Ivy leaf the opposite direction of the Cranberry flowers.

Assembly of Poinsettias:  I took a yellow chenille and curved the very tip just a little with some needle nosed pliers.  Then I put the flowers on from the smallest to the largest.  I bent the chenille a little underneath to keep the flower in place and clipped the chenille with wire cutters.  Repeat that 8 more times.

Creating the Wreath: I wanted the poinsettias to sit on a New England Ivy ring.  To make a ring, I made a 3.9" circle and a 2.9" circle.  I overlaid the small circle in the middle of the large circle and GROUPED  and then ATTACHED the two circles.  The inner 2.9" circle would be recycled.

The saying was stamped in New England Ivy on a 3.9" White Daisy circle.  Red Striped Twine creating a loop was taped onto the back of the New England Ivy ring so that when the stamped circle was glued to the New England Ivy ring the ends of the twine wouldn't show.

Each poinsettia got a 3D foam piece on the back and placed onto the New England Ivy ring.  And finally, the red striped twine was made into a bow and Liquid Glass adhered under the saying.

Pretty cool, huh?!

Thoughtful Thursday November 10, 2016

I am so appreciative to those individuals who sacrificed for me and my children.  I'd also like to thank the families of all who served.  I can't imagine my life without having my husband come home every night.  To go it alone for months at a time - incredible!  Thank you for sharing your loved one with the country so we can remain free.

And to those who served, THANK YOU!!  I can't even imagine the horrors you saw and went through.

Happy Veterans Day tomorrow!! Virtual hugs!!!!  OOOOOOOO

Swan Lake Hooked on You Card

Yesterday Mr. Fox was the star.  Today it's Mr. Fish.  I'm not sold that this is a masculine card.   Mind you, it's not frilly like a feminine card could be characterized - but I digress.   It's just that I think women like to fish too.  I like this stamp set - Hooked on You (B1535) - because it can be used for multiple things.  The banner "it's your day" is outlined, meaning there is a Cricut cut that corresponds with it.  In this case, it's the Flower Market Cricut Collection (Z3285 or digitally Z3290 for Design Space abled machines).

Mr. Fish is about to get hooked on this pattern #29 from Make it From Your Heart Volume 2.  Let's talk paper.  The background is White Daisy cardstock that has been embossed with the Wood Slats Embossing Folder (Z3248).  It's hard (if not impossible) to see in the picture, but the wood grain was sponged with Champagne ink (Z2874) to highlight the wood grain.  On top of the White Daisy is a strip of Poppy cardstock (X5779), then Swan Lake B&T (7212B), followed by Glacier cardstock (X5770) all following the pattern's dimensions.

The next layer is a Dotted Whisper B&T from Swan Lake that was stamped in Black (Z2105) with "happy birthday" (I'll add that any of the sayings would be good here).  Black cardstock (1386) mats the White Daisy focal point.  Before the focal point was mounted with Thin 3D foam, it was stamped in Archival Black ink (Z3271), colored with Watercolor Pencils (3505) and blended with the Blending Pen (3174).  I used archival ink because of the blending.  Water based ink would have bled.



Here is a closeup look at my coloring.  There aren't really distinct lines because of the blending.  That's why I like to use that method.  I also like the blending pen over water because of the control, as well as the convenience of pulling the pen out and putting it away without any clean up.  Now, if the area that needed to be blended was larger, then I'd use water.

Originals Swan Lake Thanks

How about Swan Lake paper?  What do you think of it?  Fall, masculine, and versatile comes to my mind.  Today and tomorrow I'm going to share two cards I made recently.

I wanted to make a card with Woodland Critters (C1657).  I really like the samples on page 23 in the Holiday Expressions 2016 supplement, with another critter.  Here is what came out:

Mr. Fox, stamped in Poppy (Z2652), cut out, and mounted with  Thin 3D foam, sits on top of a 4.75" x 3" card from Originals  - Diamond Duo.  The paper on the left is from Swan Lake (X7212B) Packet.  "Thanks" comes from the stamp set and was stamped first in Black (Z2105) for placement, and then in Whisper (Z2172) for fill in.  The edge of the White Daisy center diamond and the card edge was sponged in Whisper ink.  The center mat is Glacier cardstock (X5770).

If you're curious, here is the stamp set. It's available until Decembr 31, 2016.  See the outlined stamps?  Those correspond to the Artistry cartridge (retired).

What will you create?

Flower Market Sunflower Birthday Card

My Cardaholics group card challenge was birthday cards.  Since I got my new cartridge, I thought I'd make my card using it.  And I thought I'd make one a little more masculine.  This is what came out:

Colors of this card:

Sapphire - background.  Sanded.

Saffron - flower base

Goldrush - flower outline

New England Ivy - stems

Crystal Blue - background to banner

Chocolate - banner outline and flower center backgrounds

Saddle - center of flower

White Daisy - card base

The center flower's stem is two stems glued together.  If I were to have elongated the stem, it would have been out of proportion.  

The banner is mounted with Thin 3D Foam.  And the flower centers have been "painted" with the Shimmer Glitter pen.  I have to say that the pen barfed a little too much for my taste.  This was the first card I made using the pen.  Subsequent cards didn't have quite so much.  : )

So, where did the sunflowers come from?  Take a look at page 7.  These were cut in three different sizes (although the two smaller ones are close to the same size).

And the title comes from page 39.

The nice thing about using Design Space is that the images come grouped so that when you size the image, everything associated with it stays in proportion.  :)  That and saving the file for later use.

2017 Planner is Here, Get It While You Can

Are you a paper planner person (try saying that fast three times!)?  You need to get your bundle TODAY because these babies won't last too long.  They are available while supplies last only...

Since coloring is the big thing, Close to my Heart has provided you a monthly opportunity to color!  In this video you'll see LOTS of coloring options, because we're big kids and we can use more than just crayons.  :)

Everyday Life™ Sea Glass Album & Planner Pages Bundle CC1177 - $31.90

Everyday Life™ Stripes Album & Planner Pages Bundle CC1178 - $31.90

Everyday Life™ 2017 Planner Pages (no album) CC2017 - $16.95

Thoughtful Thursday November 3, 2016

I thought this quote appropriate moving toward election day on Tuesday November 8th.  It's telling of our presidental choices.  Whomever you think has good character, and will do right for the American people - rather than himself/herself - is who you should vote for.  This person needs to LEAD us and allow us to be better off when we vote for a new president in four years.

Our choices aren't the best, but we need to choose one.  If you don't vote, remember not to complain afterwards.  You might be thinking, "my vote wouldn't have mattered." Perhaps if everyone who thought that had voted, it would have mattered.

Vote Tuesday November 8th!

Halloween Treat not Trick

I had to bring dessert for the cross country's team dinner the other day.  I like making things, but thought cookies and cupcakes had been done already.  It was time to try something different.  Since Halloween was right around the corner, I looked for something festive and found the perfect dessert!

Jello Candy Corn

Since I needed 60 cups, I didn't follow the recipe I found which only added a fraction of the water so the colors would be intense. Instead, I followed the directions on the package for the regular making of Jello.

The bottom layer is Lemon Jello (you can use whatever brand you'd like).  I made it up in an 8 cup measuring glass so that I could easily pour the liquid into cups.  I also put the cups into and onto trays for easy moving into and out of the refrigerator (and I transported them in the trays too).

I let the Lemon cool in the frig for a couple of hours.

Then I made the Orange layer.  I made twice as much Orange as Lemon because if you look at candy corn, the orange layer is larger than the yellow.


What was neat, I think, was that the heat of the Orange layer, melted the top of the Lemon layer so that the two layers melted together.  A gradient was formed instead of having two distinct layers (a student even asked about how I did that!).



Right before I left for the dinner, I added whipped topping and the real candy corn.  I waited a little too long to do this so I had to rush.  The White layer wasn't, therefore, as pristine as I would have liked.  However, I decided the high schoolers wouldn't care - I was right!

Several of the students came back for a second cup.  A few came back to make sure their friend got one of the tasty treats.

The Jello treats were especially nice because the temperatures where in the high 80's.

I'll suggest this dessert any year, and it may even make another appearance next year at the cross country dinner.

Enjoy Halloween tonight!!

Thoughtful Thursday October 27, 2016

Happy Halloween!

May you be safe and have fun this weekend and Monday night!

Convention 2016 Roomie Gift

Would you like to receive this as a gift?  Making it is pretty simple, especially if you have Close to my Heart's Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (retired).  If you don't, you can make modifications.

First of all, these cards were inspired by Denice Park and Linda Case.  Years ago, they gave me a print out of the cards they made.

These cards are the same cut but different colors.  The colors are Pear, Honey, Hollyhock, and Lagoon.  The flowers, though two designs, are Sapphire and Champagne.  The card bases are Kraft paper.  Matching Kraft envelopes (not shown) were cut from the cartridge too.

The focal circle is raised with Thin 3D foam (it's kind of hard to tell from the pictures).





Before I get into the details of the sizes and such of the cards, let me show you the holder.

Cashmere ink was used to sponge edge distress all sides of the holder and the White Daisy belly band.  Sapphire ink was used to stamp the saying (Bitty Birthday - M1144 - retired).

Belly band is 1.5" x 9" and is scored at 2 3/8", 3", 6 5/8", and 7.25".  Be aware: the band will fit the holder in one direction and not the other.

Here is a close-up picture of the flowers.

These were cut from page 70.  Cut at 2.5" (honey), 2.25" (hollyhock), and 2" (lagoon).  The simple flowers can be found at <cupcake><font><shift>.

Once they are rolled, they are kept together by putting a blob of Liquid Glass on the bottom. Rather than holding it in place with my finger (the center tends to want to pop out), I put an  acrylix block on top each flower.

The leaves are from page 59 or <petal2><shift> and cut from Pear cardstock.


So, like I said, each card is the same.  I changed the background color, the flower types, and the sayings.

This flower is on the Lagoon and Honey card.  It is from page 29 <flower6><shift>.  The outline is from the same key but is <flower6><layer><shift>.  Sapphire is the base of the flower, as is the ink for the saying, Bitty Birthday(M1144 - retired).  Inkblot (D1660) stamped in Cashmere adds some more interest.

This flower is on the Pear and Hollyhock cards.  It can be found on page 50 <flower8><shift>.  Outline is <flower8><layer><shift>.

The mat is from <square7> found on page 39. The card base is <square7><card>, also found on page 39.  The envelopes, 4" in height,  for these four cards are back on page 29 <flower6><font layer><shift>.  Finally, the circle is 2.25" and is from page 21.



Did I miss anything?  Yes.  Each card has White Twine with a bow along the seam.  And here they are all together.  : )

Thoughtful Thursday October 20, 2016

Leave your comfort zone every once in a while.  You might find that you like where you are.  You might also find that you don't like where you are.  Both are okay.

Being a Girl Scout leader, the other leaders and I push the girls to try something different every once in a while.  This summer Amber's troop went tent camping and zip-lining in Big Bear.  It was soooo much fun!!  One girl and one mom were super nervous to go zip-lining, but they did!  They both did soooo well!!  Neither of them will ever do it again, I think.  But they tried it.  They got through it.  Now they know they will survive the next challenge that they face.

It's not the succeeding or failing part that's important, to me.  It's the trying.  With the zip-lining, the girls had to finish the course before they could "give up".  That was 8 runs they had to endure.

What you try doesn't have to be as "extreme".  I'm trying to reach more people with my passion of paper crafting.  That's one reason why I offered to teach through the adult school.  It's a little nerve wracking putting myself out in the public.  Will people be interested enough to sign up?  Only one of the three classes I offered were taught.  I had so much fun during the class!  I taught 40 techniques to 5.5 women (the half comes from the woman who only attended the first of two classes).  If nothing else, I inspired them to paper craft more.  I'll be offering more classes through the Poway Adult School.  Winter quarter class registration starts November 8th.  And I'll wonder, again, if people will like my project enough to come play.

November Workshop

November's workshop is all about the Picture my Life watercolor cards - gold.  Thanks to Tina Lovell's design, come make 6 cards that will start you loving this method of card making.

Workshop dates are November 15th or November 16th from 7pm to 9pm.  

You'll go home with 6 beautifully finished cards, the remaining 18 PML watercolor cards, and the knowledge and confidence of making more.

Cost is $30 to make the 6 cards.
If you want to add the paint, the cost will be $40, saving you almost 9%.
If you'd like to add the brushes as well as the paint, the cost will be $50.
And for $103, I'll have everything you need to keep creating at home.  Saving you over 10%, and the wait time for the supplies to come in.  That's 50 white cards/envelopes, the PML cards, watercolor paper, thin 3D foam, uptown ribbon, watercolor paint, watercolor brushes, heart thin cuts, gold embossing powder, gold sequins, and gold glitter paper.

Just indicate what option you'd like when you sign up by November1st, and I'll have everything for you the night of the workshop.  : )

Seaglass as Masculine?!

What do you get when you mix a light colors with a more masculine element?  A beautiful card!

This card features some new products too.  Bonus!

The ax is from the new Flower Market Cricut Collection (Z3285), cut from Chocolate (X5643) and Cashmere (X5932) cardstock.  I sanded the handles to make them look a little more weathered, and then raised them with Thin 3D Foam (Z2060).  The background is Seaglass Cardstock (X5789) dry embossed with Happy Thoughts Embossing Folder (Z3249).  I wanted to highlight "Be Happy" so I sanded it to reveal the white core.  Having all the different words is what I like about this embossing folder.  Using ink to highlight a word is another option.

The saying is one of the sayings that comes with the Flower Market Collection.  That was stamped with Chocolate ink (Z2811) on Slate (X5930) cardstock.  The card is finished off with Silver Assortment sequins (Z2013).

The pattern for this card came from CAS(E) This Sketch #180.  : )

Thoughtful Thursday October 13, 2016

Who's with me?!

Stamping Techniques Galore Cover

Here is the cover to my Stamping Techniques Galore class that I am teaching through the Poway Adult School.  This cover uses several techniques the students just learned.  Can you pick them out?

The cover is from Originals and originally measured 3.5" x 2.5".  The pattern is Double Duty and is on page 113.  I modified the pieces to fit my 4.25" x 2.75" front.  The black is 2.75" x 2.75" and the background texture paper is 2" x 2.75".   Colors are Lagoon and Peacock for the flower and Sweet Leaf for the stem.  Black was used for the word.  : )

During the first class, we covered 22 of 40 techniques.  Saturday we'll finish the remaining 18 techniques and make a card incorporating those.

As you can guess from the picture, each technique gets it's own sample that is connected with the ring.  Students don't just hear me talk about the technique - they do the technique.  The sample has instructions on how it's done for future reference.

It's going to be offered again in late January if you're interested at all.  Sign up through powayadultschool.com starting November 8th.

Did you figure the techniques out?  They are traditional stamping, layered stamps, masking, stamping off the edge, and fading - generation stamping.

Thoughtful Thursday October 6, 2016

My brother-in-law Christopher is participating in the IronMan, Kona on Saturday.  When I say "participating", I don't mean it lightly.  What verb do you use when he'll be swimming over 2 miles, biking over 100 miles, and THEN running a marathon?  He's crazy, in my opinion!  Christopher believes this a small thing.  What is great about the event is that he's raised over $79,000 for research for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, represented by Team in Training.  And he's raised awareness.  : )

Over the 15 HOURS he'll be on the course, I bet he'll think about what the money will cure.  Leukemia and Lymphoma are cancers of the blood.  Some have high curable rates, while others have low rates

And how did he raise the money?  By caring people donating to his cause.  You may have donated to goteamtrent.org (can you put him over the $80K mark?!) or to your cause.  Together, in small amounts, we can do something great!  I love it!

Good luck, Christopher!!!

Boxes from Acetate Sheets Video from Dawn Heuft

One of our newer products are acetate overlays.  You wouldn't necessarily know they are acetate because in the Annual Expressions they are called "overlays".  But, we have 6 patterned overlays that are 12" x 12".  My CTMH sister consultant shows you how to make these overlays into decorative boxes with the overlays and cardstock.

Featured product: All About the Gold Fundamentals (Z3246).  The cool thing is that the back side of these overlays are silver bringing even more versatility to the game!



If you need help, I can do that!

Project Measurements:

Top/Bottom - Cardstock
4.25"x 4.25"
Score at 11/16" from each edge.


Acetate Middle
You can choose any height.
Samples are 4" x 11.5" and 6" x 11.5"
Score along 11" side at 2.75", 5.5", 8.25", and 11"

Thoughtful Thursday September 29, 2016

I think this is a good quote to end the month of September with.  Warm fuzzies are always a good thing.  Kind words, listening, a high five, a note.  You don't have to receive anything monetary to feel appreciated.  Cookies won't hurt though.  : )

To me, this also goes along with the adage of praise in public, criticize in private.

Big hugs for those at home!  

Beyond Blessed - I LOVE This!

I have to share this artwork from corporate using the September Stamp of the Month.  I haven't gotten around to duplicating it, but I want to make sure you see it...

It could be easily made into a card too.

The stamp set used to create the above:

All good things must come to an end.  This stamp set is only good through the end of the month.  Just one more thing you should seriously consider buying before Sept. 30, 2016 (10:59pm Pacific Time)

Thoughtful Thursday September 22, 2016

Most of the time I prefer not to be found out.

I just wish I would follow through with all of my intentions.  I have things I want to do, words to say to others.  They just don't happen.  How do I change that?!

Create Kindness Campaign 2016

The month is ending soon.  Here's a quick video on how our Create Kindness Card Kit can lift someone's spirits.




At the end of the video, it shows what comes in the kit.  It's a great deal at 15% off.  It includes everything you need to create cards - stamps, bases, ink, block.  The only things you need to add is your adhesive and if you want to color.

Order today, or before September 30, 2016 (10:59pm Pacific Time)!

And any order over $20 (subtotal) will put you in the running to be the hostess for this gathering!  Because all this month I'm celebrating my 20 years with Close to my Heart. : )

In June 2016, I created a card using the now retired Calypso paper packet. When I created that card, I also created another one and moved the saying.  Take a look...

You wouldn't really know I changed the saying without looking at the two cards side by side.  I also changed the accessories I used.  This card capitalized on the now retired sequins.

One other thing to note.  I masked the stars on the saying so that I could make them a different color than the rest of the saying.  I masked them with a post it note.  Inked the saying with Lagoon ink, removed the post it note, and stamped.  After cleaning the stamp, I used it post it notes to cover the words and inked the stars in Pear.  Upon removing the post it notes, I knew exactly where to put the stars.  Too cool!

Beyond Blessed - September 2016 Stamp of the Month Sample

Here is my latest creations using Beyond Blessed (S1609).  I was making cards for a team meeting swap.  I started with the simplest of the three.  It was okay for me, and for most people.  But, as I looked at it, I thought it was missing something.  I thought I'd add some vines.  That's my second (middle) card.  I was happy with that one!  And that's the card I made for my exchange.

However, while I was assembling those cards, I thought how neat it would be to add some leaves.  I admit that the third card is a bit over the top - and I'm okay with that because I love the way it turned out!

Let me tell you a little more about each one.  The three cards have a few things in common.  First, the card pattern came from Make it From Your Heart volume #2 and is pattern #20.

The card bases background is from the Rustic Home Fundamental pack (Z3262).  You can see two different sheets were used, both equally pretty.  I embossed the saying in Gold embossing powder (Z2066) - VersaMark ink (Z891) to hold the powder - on New England Ivy cardstock (1282).  That was then sponged distressed with New England Ivy ink (Z2835).  The Colonial White(1388) mat was stamped in Saffron ink (Z2751) for the leaves and Goldrush ink (Z2223) for the berries.  The mat was then sponged distressed in Goldrush ink.

The accessories you see once were clear sparkles (Z3274 (middle sized), Z1263 (bitty sized), and retired for the large sparkle).  But I didn't want see through, bright accessories.  So I colored them.  I found that by first coloring them with Marigold ShinHam marker (Z2457) then the  Metallic Gold marker (Z1768), the Gold looked a little more rustic.

Each pumpkin was stamped twice.  The first time I used Saffron ink.  I waited a little bit (maybe 5 minutes) and then applied a rolled Goldrush ink layer.  I can do this because of the awesomely clear stamps and blocks!  I just lined up the image and pressed.  : )  Now, I rolled in Goldrush to give the pumpkin some dimension.  That was good.  I waited about 5 minutes because the Saffron and Goldrush are so close together that when I inked in Saffron and rolled in Goldrush, then stamped, the color difference was lost.  Not good.  By waiting the 5 minutes, it allowed the Saffron to dry and be absorbed into the Colonial White cardstock.

My simple card's pumpkin was cut out from Artbooking Cricut Collection (Z3169).  It's found on page 73 of the booklet or row 4 column 6 (R4C6) on the keypad.  It's also under the ICON key.

I colored the top of the cut out image with Sap Green (Z2463), using both the fine tip and broad tip of the ShinHam marker.

I added some Thin Foam Tape(Z2060) to the back of the pumpkin, and placed it on.

The background mat is Ruby from the Enchantment Fundamental pack (3254).  I love the versatility of the new papers in the Annual Inspirations book.

This card isn't too far off from the simple card.  I just wanted to add a little more to the pumpkin.  I found that inspiration from the page in the Artbooking booklet with the vine and leaves.  Page 72, BORDER, row 4 column 5.  Shift gets the leaves by themselves.

My first attempt, I just cut out the vine in New England Ivy.  My daughter didn't like how it disappeared into the "Thankful" (I had it on the other side originally).  That led me to cutting the vine in Fern cardstock (X5777) and the leaves in New England Ivy cardstock.  Since I cut the images out in Design Space, I removed the hearts from the vine's leaves.  I wanted (and did) to color the centers with Gold Metallic marker to incorporate more of the gold color.  It's hard to see in the picture, but each leaf has a gold heart.

To attach the small New England Ivy leaves, I use bonding memory glue (in this case the small tipped one - Z553) to the leaf and glue it onto the corresponding vine's leaf.

Like I mentioned, while I was putting the vines together, I thought "how cool would that be to have the pumpkin in a bed of fallen leaves?!"  The leaves are also from Artbooking and on page 72.  They are just one leaf, cut out multiple times.  This is the base of the leaf found under ICON.  They were cut from Colonial White cardstock.  I sponged each of the leaves with different colors.  Each got a Saffron base.  Some got just Goldrush.  Others got Goldrush and Ruby (Z2870).  Still others got Eggplant (Z2847).  Two I added Eggplant and a little bit of Sapphire (Z2848).  Then I glued some directly to the paper while others I used Thin Foam Tape to pop a little.

I used two vined leaves for this card too.  I cut one vine off just above the middle leaf as well as the connector from the small leaf to the middle leaf with scissors.


The pumpkin was hand cut.  The stem is New England Ivy ink.  The background mat is Pomegranate.  Honestly, I was going to use Pomegranate for all of my cards, but I accidentally cut the Ruby paper.  It was a nice mistake.  : )  And originally I was going to use Gold Sequins with this card.  But I forgot that.  I like the Gold Metallic colored sparkles though.

So, which is your favorite?!  And don't forget that this stamp set is only available until the end of the month.