Butterfly Mobile

Do you, or someone you know, have a young girl?  If so, maybe the Butterfly Mobile bundle is right for you.

Have a girl or boy who likes other colors?  Use the instructions to create any color butterflies flowers, creating your own mobile!

Heck, cut any shape you'd like out for other types of mobiles!  Oh, no, my brain is starting to cramp with all the possibilities!

Close to my Heart has made ordering this project a breeze by bundling it together - and at a discount.  All the supplies (except adhesive) to create this project is 30% off.  There's a bundle with the stamp set too.

Here's the video on how to assemble the mobile.  : )



Need more help putting it together?  I'm here to help.

I'm full of questions today, aren't I?!

Handmade, Hand Stamped Wedding Invitation

Want to see the wedding invitations I made for my niece?!  Of course you do.  : )

She got married at a historical park.  She likes Sea Glass and had succulents as wedding favors. Woodgrain came to mind for the invites.

Closed Invitation

 The word Buckle is a cut from Artistry Cricut Collection (page 11).  The top layer is the word Love which was cut from Colonial White cardstock.  The background is Sea Glass.

Here it is opened.  I hand stamped each invite with the swirl (I still LOVE that retired stamp set) and heart in Sea Glass.  I also edge distressed the invite with Sea Glass.  The reply and guest information went into the pocket to the right.

As you can see, I kept the same motif with the information card and reply.









I had created each base piece in Word after some designs I found on Pinterest.  I was able to get two invites from one 8.5" x 11" piece of light cardstock, and four of the Guest Information and Reply cards.  Unfortunately I couldn't get the margins to work out correctly, so when I brought the job to Staples for them to print and cut, I had some weird cutting instructions for them.  The Staples employee was able to follow along so everything was cut the way I wanted.  : )

To assemble the cards, I used a small bead of Liquid Glass around the edges.  I knew everything was going to be thrown away (*sigh*) so I wanted the cards to be economical.  I thought about using glue stick, but felt parts would dry before I had an opportunity to glue it down.  Plus it would be more labor (I know, I put a lot of time into the cards anyway) intensive with the stick.  The Liquid Glass was quick, easy, and cost effective (I didn't come close to using a bottle - maybe half a bottle).

You might be asking how much?  The raw materials was the most expensive part of the project (okay, if I were charging to make these invitations, raw materials wouldn't be the most expensive part) - about $350.  I made 100 tri-fold invitations.  So you have the tri-fold part, the envelopes for those, and the envelopes for the replies.  So about $245 for those.  Then the Sea Glasss cardstock; about $50 for three packs, and the few bucks for cardstock, ScoreTape, and other odds and ends.  Printing and cutting were another $40.  I didn't keep track of the time it took me.  I started early enough that I was able to edge distress while watching TV.  Assembling I did at the table so I could focus on that... I hate crooked cards.

Then I handed everything over to my sister.  I had cut and scored the belly band for the front.  And put ScoreTape on the edges so it would be easy for my sister and niece to secure the invite closed.  My niece really liked them, so that's what matters!

I made matching Thank You cards for her shower gift too.  : )

Seven Things to do with Watercolor

I used my watercolor pencils on my February Stamp of the Month sample card and my March sample (I'm into the look!!).  Jill from Close to my Heart shows us seven ways to use watercolor paint.  What she shows is just the tip of the iceberg for watercolor paints!

Jill mentions using the paintbrush set.  You might prefer to use our line of waterbrushes instead.  Those work too.  Think ideas rather than specific projects as you watch.  Some product is retired, but the ideas are still good!


General Supplies for these projects:
Z2045  All-Purpose Mat (love this!  Makes clean up a snap.)
Z3188  Paintbrush Set (you could go with the line of waterbrushes if you prefer
OR
Z3224  Small Round
Z3225  Medium Round
Z3226  Medium Flat
Z3132  Watercolor Paper (regular White Daisy doesn't absorb quite as well, but it is an alternative)
Z3167  Cricut Artistry Collection

Project 1: Striped Card
Z3167  Artistry Collection page 13 for the diamonds, cut at two sizes, page 1 for speaker bubble
retired stamp set

Project 2: Feel Better Soon Card
Z3167  Artistry Collection page 34 for the banner, page 43 for the circle
retired stamp set - could use B1543 Get Better

Project 3:
Z3167  Artistry Collection page 8

Project 4:  Heart Background Layout  (pause the video at 5:24 to get a good view of the layout)
Z3167  Artistry Collection page 27 for the heart.  Jill was mistaken saying the hearts was an overlay.  The heart overlay was created by adding enough hearts to fit the 10.5" x 10.5" paper.
retired stamp sets

Project 5: Be happy and Bright Card
Z3167  Artistry Collection page 21 for the flower, 27 for the leaves, 34 for the banner (cut two different sizes - see the carrier sheet for the size of the saying), and 46 for the background.

Project 6: Happy Layout
Z3167  Artistry Collection page 20 for the background
D1660  Ink Blot stamp set

Project 7: Tu Tu Cute Card
Z899  Black Memento Ink Pad
OR
Z3271  Archival Black Exclusive Ink
A1180  Safari Ballet stamp set

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!

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.  : )

Gift Card Holders - coffee and softball

As neat as it was making the coaches thank you cards, I think I had more fun making holders for the coach gifts and helper gifts.

This first gift holder was for our team photographer.  Yup, it's a coffee gift card.  At first I was going to make this a card that opened upward, and I'd have the gift card on the inside.  Instead, I cut the top off, added adhesive along the three sides, and inserted the gift card.  I added some grey to the left side to add shadowing.

The cup is from the Artistry Cricut Collection.  Anne has a heart of gold, so that's why the heart got gold glitter paper.

Here I took the pillow box (from Art Philosophy) and added the coffee cup.  Why, because Ken LOVES his coffee.  Inside the pillow box is his gift card. Silver and Black Shimmer Trim are behind the cup.

Coach Dom found his sports store gift card inside this softball themed pillow box.







Remember that the next time you give a gift card, it can be given in something fun.  : )

Color My Heart Color Dare #188

I didn't think I'd do the challenge this week, but I was inspired by a pinterest card and ran with it.
The challenge this week was to use ALL and ONLY colors from the Regatta paper packet.
                                      

I'd been eyeing a hexagon pattern from pinterest that I thought I'd try the challenge with.  As it turns out, the card I pinned was a CAS(E) card -  sketch #37.  I was pleased with how my card turned out. : )  Anyway, here's my card...

I bought Hexagonal Patterns (C1626) when the Annual Inspirations first came out last August.  I love the patterns and the size differences within the stamp set (these are all the same size hexagon).  The stamp set is even compatible with the Cricut Artisty Collection.

I used the Say it All (C1632) stamp set for "celebrate" because it is an AWESOMELY versatile stamp set (that you can purchase if you host a gathering and reach the minimum purchase point).

The Glacier hexagon is raised with 3D Foam Tape, and the Sapphire Dots and Pomegranate Tooth-hound hexagons are raised with Thin 3D Foam Tape.

The frayed Flaxen Extra Thick Twine (Z3036) is adhered with Liquid Glass completes the look of this card.

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!

Dog Treat Tag

After losing my second pup (Ray) on December 13, 2015 I contemplated time (I lost Belle on July 3, 2015).  I had been wanting to make dog treats to give out for years, but kept putting it off.  This was the year that I wasn't going to put it off again.  The most unfortunate part of the process is I no longer had any taste testers!  But I wanted to honor Belle and Ray with moving forward and celebrating them with the treats.

I wrote a blurb up about time being my enemy because I had procrastinated so long and glued it onto the back of this tag:

The dogs came from the Artistry Cricut Collection (see page 9) as did the paws.  I once again went to Design Space to create the tag.  With the Explore machine, I was able to write the paw prints onto the tag.  I took the paw layer and hid the outside line contour.  That left me just the paw print.  Then I clicked and changed the cut to a drawn image.  I copied and pasted it to put on top of the tag.  Once I had the prints positioned on the tag where I wanted them, I grouped the three images and then attached the paw prints to the tag.  Their orientation and drawing was then fixed.

The black dog is Belle who had a heart of gold.  For Ray, I trimmed the long cut tail to a stubby tail to match him.  Baking and passing out the treats was somewhat therapeutic for me.  Belle and Ray's friends got a tasty treat and I was able to share some joy during a rough time.

Here are my babies!!














Surprisingly, and an added bonus, some of my dog friends used the tag as a tree ornament

Fallen Leaves Stamp set with Saffron

How about the saying in another color?!  I made a few other tweaks to the card too.

I added some second generation Saffron leaves so that the saying would make more sense (to answer the question, "Why did she add another color?  That Saffron doen't show up anywhere else!").  The base background paper is from Sangria Paper Packet (X7199B).  Just like the other day's card, the leaves are layered on Black cardstock.  Here the Saffron saying is mounted with 3D Foam Tape and the Fern Thick Twine (Z3093) anchors the saying.  So that the ribbon doesn't move, I used a few drops of Liquid Glass to position the twine.

Happy fall!  Now if the weather would get with the program!  I'm tired of 90 degrees days.  I'll be happy if the temperature stays in the 70s.  - I know, those darn Californians!!

More Fallen Leaves Stamp Set Cards (Eggplant)

Now that Halloween is practically behind us, I thought I'd share another fall card featuring the Fallen Leaves stamp set (B1492).

 The colors here are Fern, Eggplant, and Sapphire.  The leaves are randomly stamped on the White Daisy cardstock and matted with Black cardstock.  Fern ink was used for the saying which was raised with Thin 3D Foam as the focal point.

Interest was added with the addition of the Enamel & Glitter Duos (Z3122 - 3 shades of blue) and the Woodgrain Embossing Folder (Z1996) with the Eggplant cardstock as the base of the card.

When stamping multiply images, you'll want to stamp with the largest image first.  Here it's the Eggplant Maple leaf.  Next comes the smaller sized leaf.  In this case it's the Sapphire elm(?) leaf.  Finally, work with the smallest stamp and fill in the gaps.  I didn't worry about overlapping the images - even if they were solid stamps - because it adds interest to the card.

I did sponge the edges of the base of card with Eggplant ink.

The saying comes from the Artistry Cricut Collection.  There are three D-sized stamp sets in collection, so don't forget to use them (with or without cutting it out on the Cricut first).  : )

Artistry Coffee Cup

Coffee cups are rather popular right now.  Rather than placing a coffee cup on a card or layout, I made a card in the shape of a coffee cup!  It's super simple with the Artistry Cricut Collection and Cricut Design Space.  You could accomplish the same thing in the Cricut Craft Room, but you'll need to add your own score line after the image has been cut (in the Design Space you can add score lines).

Too cool!  Let me explain how I did it.  

1. First, choose the coffee cup image.  Do not separate the sleeve from the cup yet.
2. Size the cup to the desired size.  I wanted mine to fit in a standard envelope, so I made it 5.25" high.
3. Once you are happy with the size of the cup, ungroup the sleeve from the cup, and move the sleeve aside.
4. Choose the cup, copy and paste it.  Invert the copy and overlap the two images slightly.
5. Weld the images together.  You now have the card.
6. If you're in Design Space, add a score line between the images.  Make sure you attach the score line to the image to associate the two together.

This is what it will look like once it's been cut out and folded.

The last step would be to decorate the front!  Here is mine...

I distressed around the cup with Slate ink - directly to the paper.  I cut the sleeve from Kraft paper and then distressed it with Thistle ink.  The saying is also stamped in Thistle.  Treats of Friendship (C1616) is where the saying came from.  Rather than backing the heart with contrasting paper, or leaving the white of the cup showing through, I decided to color the cut out with Lavender (Z2453) ShinHan Marker, and adhere directly to the cup.  I layed the sleeve down on the cup where I wanted it and then placed the heart (with adhesive on it) through the opening.

After figuring where I wanted the sleeve, I "wrapped" the sleeve with Extra Thick Thistle Twine (Z3040), mounted the sleeve with 3D foam tape (Z1151), and placed it over the heart.

I have "wrapped" in quotes because I doubled the width of the sleeve, added a little more, then folded the twine and taped it to the back.  By doing this, I saved about 2" of twine - doesn't seem like much, but adds up over time and projects!  : )  I cut another smaller piece - about 1.5" and tied a knot around the twine (I'm still saving twine because the length would have to have been long enough to tie the knot in).

That's it!  You could add a saying inside.  How cute would it be to add a coffee house gift card?

Artistry Typewriter

How about this one?  Zoe paper, Artistry Cricut Collection, and August Stamp of the Month.

The background paper is Zoe.  The typewriter was cut from the new Artistry Cricut with Daisy White, Whisper, Slate, and Black paper (a layer each).  I pulled the typewriter image into  Design Space so that I could remove the heart from the paper layer.  The typewriter is 3.25" in height.

"Happy Birthday" comes from August Stamp of the Month.  There are several other saying you could use instead such as "Happy Mother's Day", "Merry Christmas"... here, look again at the stamp set.  : )

 

Any of the sayings would work well because they are all sized about the same.  The background paper could be changed to accommodate the other sayings ("Happy Valentine's" for instance).  Oh, oh, how about embossing a background instead of background paper.  Or the Fundamental Papers (new patterns coming next month)!

Merry Christmas Card with August 2015 SOTM and Artistry

One of the great things about the August Stamp of the Month (SOTM) is the versatility!  I created my next card with the Merry Christmas saying in mind.

This card is 4.25" x 4.25", so my wreath is about the same.  I do my designing in Cricut Design Space or Cricut Craft Room.  That way I can save the file to use again later, and not have to reinvent it.  The holly berries are a separate image from the wreath, so I sized it to match the wreath leaves size.  Using the "hide contour" technique, I copied the holly berries twice to have three copies.  The first layer I hid the leaves so that jus the berries remained.  That way I could cut them out a different color (Ruby here).  On the second copy I removed the berries to make the Fern layer (lighter green).  To the third copy, I removed the berries and the lines from inside the leaves to create the New England Ivy layer (dark green).

Now, because I want three sets of holly berries per wreath, I copy and paste the three layers I created above.  That way, when I cut, I'll only have one wreath when I cut one copy of the file!

I layed the wreath down on Colonial White and then stamped in Ruby inside.  Once the leaves were glued together, I popped the leaves with Thin Foam and the berries with 3D foam (to be higher than the leaves).  Done!

This Stamp of the Month is only available through August 31, 2015, so don't wait to order it!  You will use this stamp throughout the year.  

August 2015 SOTM Inspired Card

I really like the white on white motif of the August 2015 Stamp of the Month shown here.  So much, I wanted to create a similar look.

Inspirational card!

I had also just gotten my new Artistry Cricut Collection and NEEDED to try that out.  The resulting card is here to the right.

There are three layers to this card.  A Fern layer (replaced Olive and are the leaves), a Canary layer (the flowers) and the White Daisy Layer.  I stamped "THANKS" in Slate.

I created this card within Cricut Design Space (software for Explore and Air).  You can replicate the look in Cricut Craft Room.  Use this simple technique to create this card:

For either platform, decide on the size of flower bunch you want.  Copy and paste the image twice.  The first copy you are going to leave alone - that's the White Daisy layer.  To the second copy, you are going to right click on the image and choose "hide contour".  Now your image should be purple and you can see the cut lines within the image.  Go ahead and carefully click on the lines for the flowers.  If you click on any other line, just click it again and it will come back.  Next, click away from the image.  You should now have an image that has the leaves lines and the outer lines.  That's the Canary layer.  Finally, with the third copy, you are going to repeat what you did for the Canary layer, except click on all the leaves and flower lines.  As you see from my card, I left the between cuts alone (between flowers/leaves - where air would be). 

To assemble, add adhesive to the White Daisy  back (so you don't add glue to what will show) and glue the Canary layer on.  Now add glue to the backside of the Canary paper and put the Fern paper on.  All three layers match up because of the first step of copying the correct sized image.  Next, stamp the saying in the bottom right corner.  And, finally, glue the flower bunch to the card, trimming the excess pieces off.