5 Years Ago!

Yep---I still have pictures from 2008 to scrap. In fact--I haven't even finished scrapping pictures from our trip to California---and that was in 2005! oh my. Anyway--it sure feels good to get it done, even if it is a pretty simple layout!

Thanks to Let's Scrap, I found the inspiration to get it done. I'm in a group called "Let's Scrap Our Stash" over there, and it sure does help me use items I have hoarded! This challenge called for 1 piece of cardstock, 1 piece of patterned paper, sticker letters, glimmer mist and 6 eyelets or brads. I replaced the eyelets/brads with black sequins. Just needed to add that pizzaz to the layout. AND talking about using up stash, I wasn't sure I would be able to add rub-ons to this layout, I didn't think I had anything that would go. Then I found some "Tapestry Rub-Ons" from Close To My Heart that I forgot I even had! I was thrilled to use them! 

So there you have it! My first layout completed in MONTHS! Kind of boring--but isn't that one handsome boy in the pictures? THAT boy turns 15 on Saturday. 

Mom's feeling a little sentimental!

Thanks for checking in today!

♥

National Scrapbooking Month

Yay! May is here! Actually, around here, winter is still hanging on.

This picture of my backyard was taken yesterday, May 1st! 

The sound of birds chirping made for a brighter day!

I know I have been a hit or miss blogger lately, but National Scrapbooking Day/Month, usually gets me into a scrapping mood! National Scrapbooking Day is this Saturday, May 4th. At Close To My Heart it is called National Scrapbooking Month! They are celebrating the month with a unique paper packet at a bargain price. Watch the video to get your creative juices flowing! 

And here are some close up shots of projects made with the paper pack.

Click HERE to place an order. 

And here is a look at the stamp of the month that was mentioned in the video.

This is one of those stamp sets you will pull out for all different kinds projects!

Thanks for looking in today. I hope to play along with some challenges taking place this weekend. Then I'll have some layouts to show you next week!

Studio J Layouts

Thanks to Studio J, I was able to get some layouts completed in February.

I'm really a traditional scrap booking kind of girl,

but you got to love how fast and easy it is to do layouts in Studio J!

I just loved this kit selection that is exclusive to Studio J. It was perfect for this summer pool party!

You receive a JPG file of your layouts right away from Studio J.

To protect the identity of my son's friends, I distorted their faces in FotoFlexer.

A pretty cool place to mess with pictures.

I've also been using PicMonkey a lot lately.

It hardly took me any time at all to complete these four, 2-page layouts of my son's 11th birthday. Um-yea, that was three and a half years ago! It's about time I got them done. Thank you Studio J!

Do you have some pictures that have been waiting to make it into an album? Why don't you give Studio J a try? You can play there all you want and not have to order anything! Have fun!

NOTE: This is the second post for today! If you are looking for doodles--please keep scrolling!

Grown with Love and Chantilly

OK, I already broke the rules of my self imposed challenge

on making cards for mom! 

(see rules here)

But Chantilly was just calling to me to be used!

I used a retired stamp set called, Grown with Love. This stamp set was introduced in the 2009 Autumn/Winter Idea Book and I always loved the card that was created to showcase it. I CASED that card to make this one with Chantilly.

That's all for now!
Thanks for stopping by.
♥

Later Sk8r and Surf's Up

Back again with two more new paper packs from

Close To My Heart's 2013 Spring/Summer Idea Book/Catalog.

Dude! The paper pack called Later Sk8tr 

will work great with photos of your active boy! 

 Don't you just love those colors? Outdoor Denim, Pear, Lagoon,

with two shades of gray; Slate and Whisper.

 Check out the coordinating My Stickease Adhesive sheets. 

 And I love this new stamp set called Fast and Furious.

  Now I would like to introduce you to the

summery paper pack called Surf's Up.

  Creating layouts to showcase your summer fun in the sun

will be so easy with these papers!  

 

A storm is brewing outside, but this Surf's Up paper pack has me dreaming of summer!

Thank you for stopping by today!

Cards

I want to send mom a card every couple of days, so over the weekend I made a few. These are super plain and simple. They have to be that way if I'm going to get anything accomplished! I've given myself a challenge of using up old stuff for these cards! I also won't cut a full size sheet of paper to make the cards! Everything has to be from scraps. Here are two of the three I made, then there is one that still needs to be finished up.

Another way for me to get cards done fast is to go through the

Close To My Heart Idea Book and lift designs.

Hey---what ever works!!!

I paper pieced the owl on this card. (click on the picture to see detail)

 I think he turned out pretty cute!

I can't get a good picture of the third card I made, but hope to get another card posted tomorrow.

Thank you for visiting!

For Always and Claire

Here are two more paper packs from Close To My Heart's new

Spring/Summer 2013 Idea Book & Catalog.

First up is For Always

This paper pack has a classic black and white

look that will be fun to complement with a pop of color. 

I can think of so many themes this paper pack can be used for.

It is always good to have a classic black and white pattern paper around for card making too.

Next up is the sweet paper pack, Claire. This is another pack that is just bursting with beautiful color! Blush, Hollyhock, Sunset and Outdoor Denim blend together beautifully.

 

With the double sided cardstock, this is one of those paper packs

that could be all girl, or all boy. I love it!

 

 Look at this pretty canvas arrangement that was made with Claire.

I've pinned in Pinterest how to transfer pictures onto a canvas.

Now I really want to try it!

I hope you are enjoying seeing the new paper packs from the Close To My Heart Catalog. Like I said in my last post, this catalog is full of new items and great ideas. You can view the catalog here to see for yourself! Have fun!

New Idea Book!

I've been a Close To My Heart consultant for nine years and I haven't been this excited about a new Idea Book in a LONG time. I mean it. This Idea Book/Catalog is beautiful, refreshing and bursting with colorful projects. I want every one of the eight new paper packs. Over the next few days, I'm going to show some layouts that the talented designers from Close To My Heart have created from these new papers.

 First, my absolute favorite, Chantilly.

HELLO Spring!

Chantilly is bursting with the latest trend in spring colors.

I usually don't gravitate towards the "girly" papers but I just about drool every time I look at this beautiful paper pack! I haven't even started using the pack I got, but think I need to order another one! (can you say horder?)

The next paper pack I'm showing is called Buzz and Bumble. The colors in this pack will be perfect for summer layouts. I love all the options we have with the double sided cardstock.

Giving us six patterns to create with.

The Buzz and Bumble paper pack has two coordinating stamps that are super cute, and only cost $6.95. See the Dragonfly here and the Bumble Bee here.

Thanks for stopping by.
Have a happy, crafty kind of day!
♥

Help Those Affected by Huricane Sandy

To show our support of Red Cross relief efforts for those areas of the US severely affected by Hurricane Sandy, Close To My Heart will donate $1 for every Stamp of the Month set sold as a part of this promotion during November.

Available only in November, Capture the Date is an awesome stamp set that contains 72 pieces! 
Get this stamp set for only $5 when you place an order of $50 or more in Close to My Heart products. Retail for this 72 piece set is $17.95, which is a bargain in itself!

Capture the Savings

Save 50% off any stamp set* of your choice when you qualify for and buy the November Stamp of the Month set for $5!

In case you were interested in the supplies needed for the card in the above photo, here is a list for you!

Dakota Paper PacketSlate Exclusive Inks® Pad
Sparkles Clear Assortment
Baker’s Twine Neutral Assortment
Cricut® Artiste Collection 
Foundry Metal Accessories (pewter)

RECOMMENDED BLOCKS: 1” , 2” ,  3½”

*Shipping/handling may apply. Offer valid November 1–30, 2012. Offer valid for A, B, C, D, and E size stamp sets only; K-size, Workshops on the Go^®, Cricut^® collection, and Stamp of the Month stamp sets are not eligible for this promotion. Maximum of one 50% off stamp set per order.

Happy Birthday

To my husband!
His Father's Day card was store bought--gasp!! When he opened it up--the sweetest words came out of his mouth, "You didn't make me a card?" I felt bad and good at the same time!
Inspiration for this card came from Karen's Creations and she used a sketch from the Deconstructed Sketch blog.

Sketch #72

My Card 

All products are from Close to My Heart, unfortunately the paper pack Dreamin' and the stamp set The Present are no longer available. I am on a use it up mission--and can I tell you--I have gotten so many projects from that Dreamin' paper pack--I don't see an end! But really, just look at all the beautiful paper packs we have right now. Cards like this are so easy to pull together when you have coordinating papers that come all together in a packet. Love that!!

The Fleur-de lis was cut with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge and the brad is from the Shimmer Designer Brad collection.

Doin' a Happy Dance cuz I made my hubby a card!!!!!
Cheers
♥

Moonlight Paper Pack

Do you have the paper you need for your Halloween layouts? Check out the Moonlight Paper Pack from Close To My Heart.

This paper pack has all the right colors for Halloween, but it isn't so Halloween specific that you couldn't use it for any other layout. Love that!

I admit, I don't have this paper pack yet either, but look at this awesome layout that is on page 56 of the Idea Book. (the link I have highlight to see that "awesome layout" didn't take you directly to the page like I wanted. PLEASE go find this layout--here is what you will have to do: the link takes you to the Idea Book, click on the expand button that shows in the middle of the book. The layout is actually on page 56 of the Idea Book, but when you scroll the pages at the bottom, it appears as pages 58-59-so click on 58-59, and I'm talking about the layout that is at the top of left hand page. Only layout shown here.) (now--aren't you glad you went through the trouble to see it!!) They have used pieces from the Moonlight Complements Dimensional Elements pack for the Halloween accents.

I have to say again--Love that! But take away those Halloween pieces, and the layout with this paper could be used for a different story. The paper in this pack is just simply beautiful! Not too cutesy or trendy like so many Halloween papers can be.

The Moonlight paper pack shown above comes with (6) 12" x 12" Background & Texture (B&T) Duos-- {(2) each of 3 double-sided designs}. And (6) 12" x 12" Cardstock sheets. {(2) Black, (2) Goldrush, (1) Slate, and (1) Smokey Plum} The cost of this pack is only $9.95.

Or there is the option of purchasing the Workshop on the Go Moonlight Scrapbooking Kit. In this kit you will receive the Moonlight paper pack, a My Acrylix Stamp Set, (2) sheets of Colonial White Cardstock, Sparkles Black & Grey Assortment,  the Haunted Assortment embellishments and an instructional brochure to create two beautiful 2-page layouts. All this for $29.95!

OK--there is another set of Halloween papers available from Close to My Heart, but it is only available in a kit. This kit is called the Workshop On the Go Spellbound Cricut Kit. The paper here is a little more on the trendy side for Halloween, but I love the colors and patterns they have come up with!
You've got to enlarge the picture to the right so you can see the adorable stamp set that is included in this kit! This pack gives you instructions for Halloween Party projects and requires the Cricut Artiste Collection. 
I know-money has been tight, and I don't have the newest Cricut cartridge yet either, but I'm not going to let that stop me from getting this kit with all the goodies that are included:
1- the Spellbound Paper Packet
1- My Acrylix Stamp Set
1- Sunset Baker's Twine (10 yards)
1- Foundry Clips
6- Jump rings (to make a banner with)
1- Instructional Brochure
The cost of this kit is $32.95.

I'd say Close to My Heart has you covered for Halloween this year!
Happy Crafing!
♥

Studio J Sunday

Have you tried Close To My Heart's digital scrapbooking yet? My first priority is to have that beautiful paper in my hands and have fun with placing embellishments, but Studio J is a great way to get caught up if your feeling overwhelmed. My favorite part of Studio J is being able to size pictures as you are creating. I was going through some albums the other day and stopped at a layout that I just love- it was one that was done in Studio J. I really encourage you to try it out sometime!
Here is a quick video to show you just how easy it is to start and finish a layout in Studio J.

Banners!

Banners are all the rage! Close To My Heart makes it super easy to help you create a custom banner for any occasion.

My Creations Mini Banner (Z1736)
Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge (Z1686)
Just click on the Idea Book at the top of my sidebar if you would like to order.
Hope your finding time to get crafty!
Thanks for stopping by today.

NSD Challenge #7

Well--I didn't get my last two Frosted Design challenges posted in time. The cut off was midnight on Monday--but I didn't look to find out midnight where? LOL Oh well, that is ok, I'm just having fun getting layouts done in a fast way!

This one was Jennifer's Recipe Challenge. I loved what she wrote for her guidelines:

begin with1 piece of patterned paper as your recipe base

add some texture and character to your recipe with some distressing of any kind

  add in 2 piece's of cardstock for good measure

 everybody loves something sweet, add 1-2 photo's

add a secret ingredient (hidden journaling)

no need to measure just grab a handful of flowers to taste and toss them onto your recipe

spice it up with a little bling 

stir in your choice(s) of lace, ribbon or a doilie or 2

before serving, top it off with a special title to make your creation extra memorable

let it set, and serve on our Frosted Designs blog in the correct challenge link up!!

It's prettier in-real-life (IRL). I had trouble taking a picture that made the paper flowers show better.

 I spent awhile trying to figure out how to make a sliding piece that would stop and not come out all the way, then I remembered that CTMH's 

Magic- Interactive Scrapbook Program had instructions on how to do it.

I just love the little bobble I have for the tab of the hidden journaling, it is from Close To My Heart's Heirloom Assortment. I'll cut a slit in the page protector and have the tab sticking out.

Ok--so not the most exciting hidden journaling, but it was getting late, and I was hoping to get the layout entered for the challenge. I may go back and put something different.

The glittery leaves, hearts and "love" sticker are things I have had in my stash for years! 

Now I hope to complete some of the challenges for Scrapbook and Cards Today, their challenges aren't due until midnight Thursday.

This time I'm going to find out what time zone that midnight is! 

Thank you for surfing through today!

Hope your day is a beautiful one.

NSD Challenge #3 Complete!

I'm back! I'm having so much fun, another layout done! 

This is another one for Big Picture Classes; it is Challenge #12. For this particular challenge you were to use Kraft paper in two different ways.

I love Close To My Heart's Kraft paper; it takes ink color so nicely. For my layout I tore strips of paper, inked the edges with Chocolate, sprayed them with a Ranger Color Wash, and layered them to try to get a mountain look. (click on picture to see more detail) On the base piece of Kraft, I sprayed with Sapphire Glimmer Mist and stamped it with white acrylic paint and bubble-wrap. The pictures are tucked into the layers and brads were added to hold down the paper and/or to appear like rocks!
The second piece of Kraft I used in this layout is the black chevron strip at the bottom of the page. These are from Close To My Heart's Kraft Color-Ready Border collection. I used a brayer to roll black ink on them. I think they are the perfect touch to the page.

It feels so good getting this layout done: one, because they are pictures from 2007 and two, I've had those stickers you see on the layout for probably 7 years or more!

Scrapbook Page Pops with Flowers

Here is a quick little video from Close To My Heart that shows you how easy it is to pop your page with flowers.

Cricut Art Philosophy (Z1686)
Hooray Bouquet stamp set (D1491)
Can be ordered here!
As always--thanks for looking in today!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

The May Challenge over at Scrap It Girl is "May Flowers". Use flowers on your creations, cards, layouts, home decor--just pile on the flowers! Make sure you stop by Scrap It Girl and link up your creation! The prize package will be from me and it is shown at the bottom of this post.

I've been so anxious to share my project that I made for this challenge. 

It is a Mixed Media Canvas piece.  

(click on picture to see larger)

All supplies are from Close To My Heart unless otherwise stated:

Simple Pleasures Paper Pack (retired)

Twilight, Desert Sand, Cocoa, Creme Brulee, Olive and Vanilla Cream cardstock

Flowers, leaves, flourish, letters, "lace" looking piece under family,

and the diamonds were all cut with the 

Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (Z1686)

Glitz Glitter Gel, Bronze (Z1485) and Stardust (Z1313)

Timeless Charms (Z1689)

Chocolate Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad (Z2111)

Garnet Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad (Z2121)

Sponge (Z697)

Edge Distresser (Z1297)

Embroidery Floss Neutral Assortment (Z1096)

Ruler, (Z1471) this ruler has guided holes for evenly spaced stiching.

Perfect Pearls Mist by Ranger

The red sprigs are from Joanne's floral department.

A small flower paper punch from Michaels that I have had forEVER--and had never used!!

The butterfly is a free download from Lisa Nazario-Gregory's blog What a Beautiful Mess. I've been a follower of Lisa's for quite sometime. Make sure you browse her blog, she has tons of flower tutorials and loads of inspiration!

Here is a close up of the floral cluster with butterfly.

Heart 2 Heart Challenges also has the flower theme for their May Challenge so I'm entering this over there. If you are using Close To My Heart product in your creation, you can enter over there too!

I also made a 4x4 card--just to show ya that your flowers don't have to be huge! These flowers were made with a regular hole punch and that little flower paper punch I mentioned above. Just add some bling to the centers and you have a real cute little flower!

 Supplies used for card:

Close To My Heart's Dotty For You Paper Pack

A Garden stamp set (A1119)

Black Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad (Z2105)

Tulip Exclusive Inks Marker (Z2366)

Heavenly Blue Exclusive Inks Marker (Z2326)

Lagoon Cardstock (X5762 or (X5904)

White Daisy Cardstock (1385)

Sparkles, Bitty (Z1263) and Red, Pink, Purple assortment (Z1326)
This card was CASED from a talented card maker at Inking Idaho.

Now for the prize package:

Prize package includes:

Close To My Heart’s May Special, the Dotty For You paper pack

Filigree Charms set

Soft Suede Pinwheels

Sparkles

An assortment of paper and crochet flowers

Nine sheets of Die Cuts

Close To My Heart’s May Stamp of the Month (not shown)

WoW--a lot of information!
If you want to go shopping click here!
Thanks for stopping by today,
hope you can make it a crafty one!

May is National Scrapbooking Month!

May 5th is National Scrapbooking Day!
I'm hoping to find some time on Saturday to do a layout or two. It seems as if I haven't done an actual layout for a long time!
There are a lot of online events to join on the 5th to help you get more done that day. I signed up for a free online class at Big Picture called Creative Crop. There will be creative challenges all day and giveaways!
Little Yellow Bicycle is also having an all day, online event. Visit their blog to find out how to win a $75 prize package!
Scrapbook dot com is also having an all day event--with 105 prizes to giveaway!

Close To My Heart celebrates all month. The bright, fun paper packet Dotty For You is only available this month. Visit this post that has all the information about Dotty For You. Here is a short video with more information about this special promotion.



Stay tuned, throughout the month, I'll be posting short videos from Close To My Heart to help inspire!
Thanks for stopping in today.

Fun with Dotty For You

This paper is so bright and cheery, I just love it!

I was in a real hurry when I made this first card--it is kind of plain, but the paper is so bright, it just makes the card! (horrible quality on the pictures, sorry about that)

 I've seen this card all over Pinterest and I cased it from the talented CTMH Consultant Melissa Laverty. You can see her card here, she also gives a link on how to make the sunburst.

I had a workshop Wednesday night--that was tons of fun I might add--and about an hour before people were to come I came up with this idea to hold some colorful Twizzlers! It made for a cute centerpiece on the work table!

 I have another card prepared with the Dotty For You paperpack--that one will be shown May 1st for the Scrap It Girl May challenge!

Find out how to get this fun paper pack here!
Thanks for looking in today.
Have a crafty, fun day!