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Showing posts from April, 2013

May Stamp of the Month - Pinwheel

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Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  This month we are featuring Pinwheel, a set of 10 stamps.  If you have come here from Michelle's Blog you are on the right path!  The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way around.   If you get lost along the way, you'll find the complete list of participating consultant's HERE   We have over 60 consultants participating in the hop. Following the hop is easy, just click on the link at the end of the post and it will hop you right over to the next blog! I created two cards with this set.  For my first card I created a ferris wheel of pinwheels.  The Artiste Cartridge has the perfect ferris wheel image.   My second card is a fun graduation/celebration card.  I used the coordinating pinwheel image from the Artiste cartridge to cut out the pinwheels.  Then I layered them for a fun look.  Remember! The Pinwheel Stamp of the month is available ONLY during the month of M

Dream Pop Special Preview Blog Hop

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May is National Scrapbooking Month and once again Close To My Heart has KNOCKED it out of the park for another HOMERUN winner!  Go into most any store and you will see bright colors of  Banana, Mint, Raspberry, Strawberry and Tangerine.  These yummy colors are featured in our exclusive DREAM POP paper packet which includes 12 cardstock sheets as well as 12 B&T Duos® papers that were specifically designed for this promotion only—you can’t get these sweet colors and patterns anywhere else! Today, we have 35 consultants giving you a special preview of our new DREAM POP paper that will only be available during the month of May.   This hop is great big circle so you can start here and click the link to next blog near the end of each post to hop to the next great piece of art!  You will know you have made the complete circle when you get back to me!  If you came from Elizabeth's blog you are on the right track! When I got my paper pack in hand I knew I wanted to created

Cupcakes and Dream Pop

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WOW!  Two cards in two days!  I guess I'm trying to make up for missed creative time the last few days.   I created another card with the special Dream Pop Paper that will be available beginning May 1 until May 31 (or until supplies last).  This paper is so much fun I'll be REALLY surprised if there is any left at the end of May! This morning when I checked the blog challenges I got an idea to combine the Mojo Monday sketch with the Heart 2 Heart Challenge (create something with a cake or cupcakes and twine).  I couldn't wait to get home and put my idea to an actual card! Here is what I came up with: I used some Dream Pop pattern paper for the bottom portion of the card and the rest is cardstock from the Dream Pop pack. The cardstock is so cool because it has a resist pattern on it.  Each color has a different pattern.  I used the cupcake stamp from Pun Fun (C1501) - one of my favorite sets!  I used Black Pigment ink for my stamping because this is resist c

Sneak Peak of Dream Pop

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Next month is National Scrapbooking Month and Close To My Heart always has an AWESOME paper pack to celebrate.  Close To My Heart consultants get a one month preview BEFORE the paper is released. (Just one of the perks to being a consultant!) I absolutely LOVE this paper!  The colors are vibrant and right on trend.   I couldn't wait to play with it.  But, I had to wait a bit due to a busy softball schedule. I spent Thursday through VERY late last night at a softball tournament.  I'm happy to say, my daughter's team won the Championship!  It took me a while to get going today.  (I'm still feeling effects of the windy weather and loud screaming that I did! I nearly lost my voice!) I combined the colors from Playdate Cafe with Sketch #98 from Deconstructed Sketches for this card -  Hopefully this large picture shows the resist that is on the cardstock included in this paper pack.  There are 6 different colors (2 each) of cardstock each with a different resist

Beautiful Day Layout

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Today I wanted to share with you the 2nd layout I created for my application to teach at this year's Close To My Heart convention.   Due to a new format, they cut the field of teachers back from 32 to just 18.  I was not selected this year but I will try again next year! My oldest daughter traveled to Louisville, KY with a couple of friends back in February to run in a race on her 23rd birthday.  My sister lives in Louisville and she has a daughter Kirsti's age so all got together the evening after the race and celebrated her birthday.  My sister even made her a cake.  It was a special day so I wanted to be sure to capture the memory for her. For this layout, I used our Claire paper pack, chevron ribbon, burlap ribbon, wooden mini medley accents and lots of wooden trinkets shapes!   I had not used the wooden trinket shapes yet so I had a lot of fun using them on this layout.  This layout is Sketch #1 from the Make It From Your Heart Book.  On the right page I used the

A Paper Flowers Thank You

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I created this card using the Mojo Monday sketch to show at a mini card workshop tomorrow. The hostess asked me to demonstrate how to make paper flowers so I made this card for my finished example using the Claire Paper (X7166B) .  I cut the paper flowers with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge in three different sizes - 3", 2 1/2" and 1 1/2".  Rolling them is easy with Close to My Heart's Quilling Tool (Z1795) .   I also cut a flourish to accent the flowers like leaves.  The flourish was long so I cut the flourish in half and then put both ends behind the flowers.  "Thank you" is from the stampset Casual Expressions (D1525). Mojo Monday Sketch 288:                                              

Lookin' Good

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Here is a quick card I made last night.  I'm still working on getting the hang of 'clean and simple'.  I used the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch and the colors from Playdate Cafe .  When I saw both challenges I just knew they had to go together!  I used In the Background (D1540)  stamp because I can't get enough of the chevrons! My tropical flowers are from another new set - Tropical Paradise (C1531) .  For a little pizzazz to the card I added Glitz Glitter Gel - Stardust (Z1313) so I'm also entering this card into CAS-ual Friday's Challenge. I used Close To My Heart's colors of Sunset, Outdoor Denim and Crystal Blue. Challenges:                                                        

Adding Fabric to Your Layout

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I wanted to share a layout I created using the For Always paper and textiles.  I created this layout a few months ago as part of my application to teach at this year's Extravaganza at Close To My Heart's Convention.  I had the wonderful the privilege to teach last year and had hoped to get another opportunity again this year.   I got word on Monday that I was not selected this year.  They have changed the teaching format this year and only chose 18 teachers as opposed to 32 that they had last year.   I know the competition was stiff.  I've seen the artwork by other consultants and they just blow me away with their creativity. I had mixed feelings about not being chosen.  Yes, I was disappointed but I have to admit there was a part of me that was relieved.  This May my youngest daughter graduates from High School so this is beginning to be very hectic for me as I prepare for her graduation and party.   Those that are chosen to teach will only have about two weeks to get th

Wonderful Fabulous You

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I think I'm getting my mojo back after missing out of an entire week of creating.  Tonight I created this card while watching the season premiere of Mad Men.  Being born in the 60's (I won't tell you which year), I've always been fascinated with that era.  I love seeing the fashion trends of that time.  One time, a long time ago, I remember thinking I'd like to be in the world of advertising.  I guess that is another reason the show fascinates me. So - here is my Mad Men premiere card..... The stamp is from Fabulous You (C1533) .  I used the other bird stamp from this set recently for a Birthday card for my mom.  You can see it HERE .   I stamped the image and sentiment in cocoa ink and used our new Alcohol markers to color the bird and flowers.  The crochet flower and button are from the Antiqued Gold Mini Medley (Z1786). I used Sketch #235 from Clean and Simple Stamping for this card.                                       

Fun with Chevrons

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Oh boy, what a week I've had.  We've been going through our Fiscal Year End at work so I've been working long (VERY long) hours this past week.   I would leave the house before my hubby even stirred in bed and came home long after he'd already gone BACK to bed.  My dog missed me so much that in the morning he'd come hang out in the bathroom with me as I got ready for another long day at work.  We finished up Friday night and I was anxious to get back in my 'Little Corner of Stampinheaven' to play. Even though I knew I wouldn't be able to create until today, I still checked out my favorite blog challenges everyday.   So today, I revisited a few that I wanted to participate in. Today, I created a card that I could enter into three of my favorite challenges - Unscripted Sketches (sketch), CAS-ual Fridays (Chevron and Flowers) and Dynamic Duos (colors). The colors I used for this card are Close To My Heart's color Juniper and Ruby.  I love the

Fabulous You - Happy Birthday to My Mom

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When I received the new Close To My Heart Spring Summer Idea Book and saw the Fabulous You stamp (C1533) I immediately knew I had to have this set for my mom.  She loves birds and flowers. My Mother's birthday was on Sunday and I've been saving this stamp to make a special Birthday card for her. I used the Chantilly paper for my card.  I cut the doily with my Artiste Cricut Cartridge using the Accent 1 <1> key.  Then I stamped the image in the center.   I used a combination of blending pen and ink pad along with our alcohol markers (Olive and Creme Brulee) to color the bird and flowers. I sponged the edges with Cashmere ink.  My favorite accent - Pearl Flourishes add a beautiful touch the card. I used Sketch #21 from CAS(E) this Sketch . I'm also entering this card into Paper Player's Tic Tac Toe Challenge #39 .   My Tic Tac Toe could be either Spring / Yellow & Green / Pearls or  Pearls / Birthday / Pink & Green !