Easter Box from Artiste Cricut Collection

How about this adorable Easter box?  Would you like to make this for your kids, friends, coworkers, and neighbors?  It's simple... let me show you how I did it.

 Like the title says, this comes from the Artiste Cricut Collection.  It can be found on page 73 of the book (the "Spring" key).

This guy is 9.5" high.  I cut it out with White Daisy for the bunny to be white.

The pink, purple, and green tape you see is from the Limeade Washi Pack (Z3198).  That is a three pack with 1/4" Thistle, 1/4" Pixie, and 1" Pear striped pattern.

The Pear polka dots are from February's Stamp of the Month (believe it or not).  And the "Happy Easter" is from the Artistry Cricut Collection (that one has lots of words), and is stamped in Canary ink.

After my Cricut cut out the piece (it's one piece), I folded along the score marks.  The Thistle washi tape was placed just under the scored part of the side (see above picture).  Under the Thistle, I added the Pixie washi tape, butting them next to each other.  I then folded the sides of the box and trimmed the excess washi tape.  I repeated the process for the other side.

Next, I folded the curved flaps up and placed a post-it note across the flap to mark where the Pixie washi tape hit.  I kept the note there while I stamped the dots in Pear (the dots would show up under the washi tape if I hadn't masked the area with the post-it note).  After I removed the post-it note, I had a line for where I could add the Pixie (and subsequently Thistle) tape.  The two colors wrap around the whole box. Repeat for the other side.

The Pear washi tape started where the Thistle washi tape ended, but I applied it perpendicular to the Thistle tape (it will make sense if you look at the direction of the stripes).  There is a slit in the flap for the bunny to fit, and I chose the size of the box so that there would be 1" on either side of the slit.  That way I didn't mess with another strip of washi tape.  (This isn't to say you can't make the bunny larger and just line up more tape.  I just didn't want to do it.)

Being me, I lined up the stripes of the washi tape when I layed the second side of tape.  The last part to finish the flaps was to turn over the flap and cut off the excess washi tape.

Last thing I did was add a Pixie nose to the bunny by inking up the same dot stamp.  Most of the stamp is off the bunny.  I had added an eye with the same method but it was out of proportion so didn't do it again.

That's it!!  Fill the box with little goodies (chocolate is a favorite) and then nudge the bunny through the slits.

For this, I put the nose and ears through first (the tail wants to take cuts).  I found this the easiest (and less frustrating) way to do it.


I hope your try making one today!

Thoughtful Thursday 2/25/2016

Trying something new doesn't have to be difficult or icky.  February is my month to try one new recipe per week.  to honor Girl Scout cookies (available until March 6th in San Diego), I made these banana muffins three ways.  Traditionally, with Samoas, and with Do Si Dos.

There are some crumbled Do Si Dos and Samoas lower in the dough too.

Once they were baked, they looked like this.











The banana bread lovers tried them out.  I can honestly say there wasn't a clear winner.  Of course I usually make the traditional ones the most, because cookies aren't around all year.  But there were several people who like the peanut butter and banana flavor with the Do Si Dos, while others preferred the chocolate, coconut, banana taste of the Samoa ones.

What are you going to try this week?!

Don't Panic, Just Create

Bam! A card holder to give as a gift. : )

After a successful Science Olympiad season, Lindsey's Anatomy class was having a party to celebrate.  I had met her three teachers during the event on Feb. 6th.  To thank them for their time - the class met for 3 hours a week for the past month (1.5 hours per week since October) - I wanted to give them cards.  I created the card I showed you last week, and I pulled two other cards I had on hand.

Sometimes it's not the cards I struggle with, but how to give them.  For my marketing teacher, I just wrapped the cards with ribbon and called it a day.  I was okay with that, but I thought there has to be a better way to present the cards.

Instead of just ribbon, I was going to wrap the cards in tissue paper and wrap that with ribbon.  It seemed too cheesy for me though.  Then the light bulb turned on!  Why not use our Designer Creations Slate Paper Bags?!  Sure enough, they are large enough to hold three cards and envelopes.  Happy dance!  Wait, I should put something on the bag, shouldn't I?

Something quick and something simple is all I had time for.  I thought, "what about some ribbon and a focal point?"  I grabbed my Banner Wishes (B1438) stamp set because I don't use it as much as I'd like.  I stamped out the Banner and "Thank You" on the banner. "Thank You" is only an outline and I didn't think it showed up well enough so I colored the letters in with Turquoise Shin Han Marker (Z2465).  I also added some color to the banner.

Ribbon was next on the agenda.  I didn't have any I was happy with.  But I did have some Teal Glitter Paper (Z1991) that would match.  I did have Teal Shimmer Trim (Z1918), but at 0.5", I didn't think it was wide enough.  I cut the Teal Glitter paper at 0.75" and was happy with that.

Last thing I added was the bird from Junebug Puffies (on the clearance list for $1.34 right now), and mounted the banner.

All said and done - all three - thirty minutes!

Lisa Stenz's pinterest post I found some time ago was my inspiration for these cards.  I started with the blue flowered card as a card exchange.  However, unlike Lisa's card (plain white front), my card exchange challenge was to add embossing to the card.

Shortly after the card exchange, I made some for my marketing class I took.  I thought it would be a perfect example to the class how to passively market myself (Heather, you would be proud!).  That lead to the red flowered card.


However, I wanted to give a few to my instructor as a thank you, but wanted to make each card unique.  That's how the Orange and Yellow cards came about.

The cards are constructed in the same manner.  The background paper is from various paper packets.  The red and orange are from Sangria, the blue is retired, but you could use paper from Regatta, and the yellow is from Penelope.  The stamps I used came from Wavy Blooms (D1651) - these are the three sayings within the set, but there are three other flowers. And, as you can see, I used three different embossing folders for the cards (my bright idea to change the envelopes was after I embossed all but a few).  All of the ribbons I used have been discontinued.



Embossing Folders:

Dot - Z1924

Chevron - Z1925

Diamond - Z3020





I colored the flowers with our Watercolor Pencils (3505) and then blended them with our Blender Pen (3174).  Since I had a lot to color, I stamped them ahead of time and then colored them in front of the TV.  Cutting them out was done in front of the TV too (bonus!)  The watercolor pencil lends itself to subtle and soft flowers.  Each flower is from two tones of the same color.  The red flower's leaves are only Olive pencil, I colored darker in some areas to get the two tone affect.

Oh, let me tell you how I lined up my embossed and non-embossed paper so well!  I didn't!!  I cut the paper for the entire area (3.75" x 5") and then only embossed the top part of it.  I need the ribbon to cover the seam from the end of the embossing folder.  Hee Hee!

Thoughtful Thursday 2/18/2016

Being up in Mammoth with family on a ski vacation brought this quote to mind.  I can no longer ski because of my knee, so I bring my scrapbooking things with me.  While the rest of the family is out on the slopes, I'm inside working on what excites me!  I can't wait to show you what I finished during our trip.

Change Those Papers and Colors!

Last week was my Charlotte Card Workshop.  I liked the pattern of this card...

I made this card after the workshop.  The "Happy Birthday" was inspired by my friends who wanted to make those instead of "Congrats".

I used Zoe paper with the colors Glacier, Sweet Leaf, and Whisper.  The dotted Zoe B&T paper is 0.75" x 5.5" while the Whisper cardstock is 0.25" x 5.5".  Unlike the card above, I didn't put anything between the two papers - not that I didn't try!  I was going to use Clear Shimmer Trim, but it was too wide for the papers.  I even thought about cutting it in half, but thought better of it (I don't think I could have cut it in half straight!!).  What I need to do is order some Gold Glitter Paper (Z3076) and cut that to 0.25".  But, I like the card without anything anyway, so phew!

I sponged the flowers with Glacier ink and then added Enamel and Glitter Duo Blue Dots (Z3122) to the center of the flowers.  I went with a combination of two types.

After the papers were adhered, I stamped "Happy Birthday" (B1419) in Whisper ink above the paper and slightly to the right of center.  The flowers were then stamped, followed by the leaves in Sweet Leaf.

I'm going to confess something now.  I didn't really like the Thin Cuts at first.  I thought they were more time consuming than just cutting out the images.  I no longer feel that way.  Even if you need to cut several of the same image, it saves time and paper to run the Thin Cuts through your embossing machine (I have the Cuttlebug).  The other thing I do, too, is run several of the images through and then keep them with the stamp set.  That way, if I am ever in a real rush, I just have to pull the cut image and stamp it!  Wham! Bam! Thank you Ma'am!

This Springtime Wishes Thin Cuts (Z3201) corresponds with the Springtime Wishes stamp set (C1641).  We offer three other Thin Cut/Stamp Set combination in our Seasonal Expressions Supplement.  I suspect there will be more in the future (don't quote me on that, though).

Thoughtful Thursday 2/11/16

Take time to enjoy the beauty around you!

These are the bulbs I planted in November in remembrance of Belle.  They are much smaller than I was anticipating, but am THRILLED to have them.  Although the flowers look delicate, they don't reflect Belle at all.  Belle was a hardy dog who loved life so much.  Like Belle, we humans are much stronger than we sometimes give (and allow) ourselves credit for.  Despite all the bad that can be happening around us, we must remind ourselves that "this too shall pass"... not that it will pass easily or painlessly.

I'm rambling...

Enjoy the beauty around you!!

Operation Share the Love

Share the love this February by purchasing the exclusive My Acrylix^® Share the Love D-size stamp set (CC1060) for $17.95. 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 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 Close to my Heart's (CTMH) 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.
*Product purchases in US states Alabama and Massachusetts excluded from donation

Don't forget that you can still earn a card kit from me with my own "My Birthday Party Goodie Cards" promotion.  When you order $35 worth of product from my website, I will send you a card kit and a mini stamp set as a thank you for coming to my party.  For every $15 above that, I'll send an additional card kit.  So, purchasing this stamp set will be a win (you)- win (children with cleft lips and palates) situation.  A bunch of product was added to the "clearance" section of the retail store, so you'll have even more to choose from.

You can join my party through February 16th (7pm Pacific), but you can purchase the Share the Love stamp set throughout the month.  Samples coming!!

Thoughtful Thursday 2/4/2016 on Friday 2/5/16

This is why I'm posting today...

I have a group of gals who get together every other month for dinner and to exchange cards.  It was my turn to host, and we laughed for two hours and were inspired by each other's creativity.

There are lots of other times where I get too involved with the moment to take my camera out.  I really enjoy being in the moment.  Of course it's down the road when I wish I'd taken more pictures.  Someday I'll strike a good balance of enjoying the time and snapping a few pictures.

What about you?  You must have a time where you didn't bother with the camera - even the phone camera.  Remember how much fun you had?!  Ahh, memories.  : )


Why not post earlier?  I HAD to get my hair colored and cut today.  Those of you who color understand what I'm talking about...

February 2016's Stamp of the Month

These Balloon Animals (S1602) will have your mind reeling with possibilities.  Here are a couple of my takes on the stamp set...











This little darling utilizes Kaleidoscope paper and colors.  Penelope's color scheme works right with Kaleidoscope colors too.  The pattern is from my February's Charlotte Workshop.  Colors are Canary, Pear, Pixie, Whisper, and Thistle.  I used Limeade Washi tape (Z3198) under the Gold Foil tape (Z3129).

This birthday or baby shower card comes from the Regatta paper and Make it From Your Heart Volume 1 (pattern #23).  Colors here are Sapphire, Pomegranate, Glacier, and Bamboo.

All of the cardstock pieces have been sponged with Bamboo ink.  The monkey is mounted with thin 3D foam.