Be still my heart Close to My Heart! Totes To Go . . . DREAM totes!

OMG I LOVE these!!!

Close to My Heart Stamp of the Month & Freshly Made Sketches 165

Low & behold a post two days in a row!  I made this to show the Close to My Heart Stamp of the Month for this month and play over at Freshly Made Sketches #165.  

Budget Paper Storage!

Well, let's just not mention that it's been TWO months since I have posted.  OMG!  A week ago on the 30th of November I thought I HAVE to post tonight because I have zero posts for the entire month....now here I am finally a week later.  Oh well, somethings you just have to let go of - it seems like I've been doing that a lot lately; letting go of things.

This is one of only two projects that I did over the past month.  It's something that I've had on my mind to try for quite some time and I finally did it.  Let me know if you think it's good or goofy!!  

I Mod-Podged patterned paper to a Close to My Heart shipping box.  When I get orders in this size box, for a while I have been saving and using these for paper storage.  You can really do this with any box that fits paper well but this one I like because it holds a ton and I wouldn't want it any bigger because then it would be too heavy - much smaller and I would need too many of them.  I had a Cheez-Its box from Costco that was smaller but a good size also but I don't want to buy that many Cheez-Its! 

I was going to just use up old paper but choose this Yuletide Carol paper because it's a neutral color with a subtle design so when I change up the colors in my scrap room these boxes will go with pretty much anything. Also, since I'm a CTMH Consultant I can buy this particular paper in bulk.  I figured if I'm going to take the time to do this I might as well do it up as nice as possible.  

Again, I would love to know if you think it's a good or goofy idea?

Thanks bunches and I hope to be posting much more this month :o)

Here's the before:

Here's the after:

And the in-between:

I used 5 sheets of paper, one for each side and then one cut in four 3 x 12 pieces for the corners.

I folded the paper so it wrapped a little on the inside and a little on the bottom.  Used a cheap practically disposable paint brush, a plastic table cloth to protect my counter and gloves so I could do some bubble smoothing out by hand.  I had a sampler of small bottles of various types of Mod Podge and so I actually used three different kinds, my favorite was just the regular gloss finish one. 

Thanks so much for visiting!

CTMH Seaside & Nursery Charms stamp + American Crafts etc.

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM, that's what life is all about these days.

I had so much fun making this while I still had the stuff out from when I made the card in my 9/26 post.  I used CTMH Seaside paper & Nursery Charms stamp set + American Crafts Happy Birthday brads (I think the Washi tape is AC also) and other embellishments.  Embellishments - any and all - that's my guilty pleasure so I'm entering this in the Heart 2 Heart challenge "Guilty Pleasures" for this week. 

Mojo Monday 365 and Color Dare 113

Well my ride on mower wouldn't start and I was really frustrated so decided to make a card instead of be too mad.  I made this for Mojo Monday 365 and Color Dare #113.  I'm sure I'll be using this great sketch a lot more.  

I used Close to My Heart Confetti Wishes and Seaside paper packs and You're Own Kind of Wonderful stamp set.  Note that I sort of followed the "Gallon, Quart, Ounce" rule of thumb when using the colors.  At first I thought I didn't like the combo but I figured it's a "Dare" right so it shouldn't necessarily be easy - lol.  

I tried my mower after I finished the card and it started - yay (I think)!!  I got a lot done but also really enjoyed my little break.  

Needed a FUN fix - FAST! MOJO 364 & CTD 311

Gosh it's been way too long since I've played along with a challenge and I really needed some fun to balance out the not so fun stuff I've been dealing with lately.  I realized that skipping fun is like skipping sleep, neither one helps you get more done with the extra time, it just makes all the time you do have LESS productive.  

So while this isn't the best card I've ever made I'm still putting it in the Mojo Monday 364  and the Color Throwdown 311 challenges.  When I saw the CT colors I immediately knew I would use CTMH Seaside paper the stamp I used is CTMH Nursery Charms, it's the best You're My Sunshine stamp around!  

I also made a two page layout - so I had a ton of fun tonight.  I'm excited to show you that tomorrow...just too tired to try and take any more photos right now.  

I think I'll move the little Glacier tab over a bit, but I'm not going to redo the pic.

Happy September!!

It's going to be an amazing month - I just feel it!!  One good reason I think that is because September is National Stamping Month, and Close To My Heart is ready to celebrate all month long! 

When you spend $30 on any current retail-priced stamps during the month of September, you qualify to receive the exclusive C-sized stamp set #30yearsofhappy for FREE! This special offer is part of our celebration of National Stamping Month and in honor of our ongoing celebration of our founder and CEO Jeanette Lynton’s 30-year anniversary in the scrapbooking and stamping industry. The exclusive stamp set features 30 mini images and sentiments perfectly suited for 30 days of happy stamping! Plus, make sure you check out Close To My Heart’s Facebook page and Instagram during September to follow all the ways we’re celebrating #30yearsofhappy for a full 30 days!

Also we have a great Stamp of the Month -  "Family is Forever" - so true.  You can purchase the set on my website pattir.ctmh.com  for just $5 with a $50 purchase or $17.95 with no minimum purchase.  

That's all for now, it's time for this girl to go collapse and get some sleep.

Your Own Kind of Wonderful from Close to My Heart 2014-2015 Annual Inspirations

Ok, here they are my very first two cards made with new 2014-2015 CTMH Annual Inspirations products.  I could hardly wait to try out the new colors, so here I stamped 4 out of 5 of them - Glacier, Thistle, Pixie and Canary.  The stamp sets I used were Your Own Kind of Wonderful available to customers now and Better with a Friend a set that's only available to hostesses. 

The first one is 5 x 7 -

I decided to make these for a swap so I recreated it as 4.25 X 5.5 and I switched to Thistle for the larger butterfly.  

"Stuffed" heart card.

I skipped on to this card that's made with a "stuffed" heart.  I water colored the heart and with the paper still wet from that I pressed from the back to ease out a raised area on the front, put some tissue in the raised area, added adhesive around the edges of the heart and backed it with another piece of card stock.  It's really hard to tell from the photos but it looks really neat in real life.  

Tuesday and twos more days till new goodies!

What day is it??  Yes it's already one of "those" weeks, not just for me either, I've been hearing it over and over.  I will have just two more 10 year pile cards after this.  I'm saving my favorite for last and it's made using a technique that I'm pretty excited to teach in one of my clubs again soon.  

But for now here's a cute little card - it was part of a campaign I think, and the sketches/instructions were included with the set.  I think she's pretty cute and because of that she reminds me of a couple of my friends named Cindy with her dog.  My friend Cindy if you stop by let me know!

3rd Blast from the Past and 3 to go..

Just a few more days until I can share artwork made with new products.  For now here's another card from the 10  year old pile.  It's so cute, I didn't make it and I feel bad I can't remember who did.  This original rubber stamp little bear set did make a comeback recently as a My Acrylix.

Remember this CTMH set?

Here's another card from days gone by....

I'm here with a blast from the past!

I feel like a little Who now on Horton Hears a Who, trying to get attention "I am here, I am here, I am here!"  Boy is it good to be back.  I finished my class this week and made tons of progress on the house.  My studio however, is another story, I can't really even use my desk right now!  I thought about just piling up what's on it and moving it to the floor but I'm trying to swear off doing counter productivity.  

But nevertheless I think what I have to share EVERYDAY this week will be entertaining.  When cleaning out my attic I came across a box of cards and pages that I made when we lived in our other house - yep, it's been up there 10 years as of last month.  At first I thought "well this is all trash now but maybe I'll keep a couple things just for ol' times sake."  Much to my surprise, I STILL really like a lot of it.

I thought now was a perfect time to share these because our new catalog goes live next week so what a perfect time to "go retro"  I see so many of the techniques that were popular then coming back, and I LOVE that so I think I'll plan some back to the future techniques for my clubs.  

Let me know if you would like any info about techniques and materials that I've used.   Here's my pretty glitter butterfly.

CTMH Ariana & Cricut Artiste Collection Kudos - 4 Tuesday Morning Sketches

Holy cow!  I would say I'm surprised that a month has flown since I posted last, but actually I'm not surprised at all.  You see, we've been preparing our home to sell plus I'm taking an accelerated summer Excel 2013 class and I'll tell you what I've had zero, nada, NO time to play!!

I just had to take a break for a bit today - there's only so many consecutive hours you can spend doing something like that before you go bonkers.

Next week I'm the sponsor over at Tuesday Morning Sketches #256 so I thought I would make something for their challenge this week. I'm quite excited to see what Melissa & Co. have planned because we've all been so busy that anything could happen lol.  They're a great bunch over there and I'm just sorry that my sponsor week snuck up on me so quick and I didn't have a chance to send them anything to play with.

I used the CTMH Ariana paper kit & assortment and the Cricut Artiste collection stamp set Kudos plus Indian Corn Blue and Outdoor Denim Ink Pads.  I'm so proud of myself I've already put everything away too...so unlike me :o)
 

Tuesday Morning Sketches #252 - CTMH Words of Comfort & other Products

I used a CTMH Oldie (Journaling Card) and Newie (well current anyway) Words of Comfort Stamp Set, Quick Kutz Die, Pebbles Cardstock Sticker and DCWV Baby Boy Stack to make this card for Tuesday Morning Sketches #252.  I hope I'm not jinxing myself but woooowhooo this  is my 3rd day in a row to play and post!  I was actually going to post to Color Throwdown but I was too late.  Oh well I'm second to post on Tuesday  Morning Sketches #252 so that's not too shabby.  Not that I'm competing with anyone but myself, it's just that I rarely have the time to play or the right timing to even get things posted in time.  

MOJO Monday 348 - CTMH Ariana Paper - Be Still

What could be more fun on this Monday evening than playing along with MOJO Monday 348?  I made this with the CTMH Ariana paper kit and Be Still (discontinued-oops) stamp set and other little goodies I've had for years…I'm trying to use up some of my old along with the new.  

No play makes you DULL!! H2H June SB Challenge

Well I suppose I can't really say that I have had "no play" but I truly haven't had a chance to have any paper crafting fun.  I rarely get sick but I was sick for 3 weeks!  Bleh!  Then I did have a ton of fun with my daughter and her little family visiting us for almost a week.  On top of it all we pretty much think we're going to put our house up for sale in order to downsize, something I didn't think would happen for another 20 or so  years.  Goes to show you just never know! 

I guess it was the narcissist in me that was all over the Heart2Heart scrapbooking challenge.  Plus it looks as though I will be the first to post on it and that just never happens with me.  So, I kept this really simple kind of because it feels funny making a fuss about a pic of myself. I will probably change out the journaling, just not for the www. 

I used Close to My Heart Arianna Paper Kit and Assortment, discontinued Waxy Flax, a little Pebbles sticky label, Dear Lizzy roller date stamp and buttons that I had in my stash.

Update: here's how I ended up finishing the two page layout…

CTMH Free to Be Me & MOJO Monday Challenge #343

Here's what I made for MOJO Monday Challenge #343 - I used this month's Close to My Heart special Free to Be Me paper collection and the May Stamp of the Month. 

During National Scrapbooking Month in May, you can get the Free to Be Me paper collection for just $5 with your qualifying purchase of $50 click here to order. The paper collection features exclusive printed cardstocks, vellums, and B&T Duos™ and, with a retail value of $11.95, is a fantastic deal for products you can’t get anywhere else. Plus, with your $50 qualifying purchase, you will also qualify for the May Stamp of the Month for an additional $5 (retail value $17.95)! This means May is the perfect month to double up on promotions, getting the paper collection for $5 and the May Stamp of the Month for $5—that is a savings of nearly $20! So make sure to get your Free to Be Me paper collection in May for just $5 and let your creativity take flight!

You will be able to create 2 gorgeous layouts and 3 beautiful cards using the materials in the paper collection, the online workshop guide, the May Stamp of the Month, and some basic supplies. 

The paper collection includes:

• 6 – Free to Be Me B&T Duos™ Paper
• 2 – UV-Coated, Designed Teal Cardstock Sheets
• 2 – UV-Coated, Designed Red Cardstock Sheets
• 2 – UV-Coated, Designed Gold Cardstock Sheets
• 1 – White Feather Print Vellum Sheet
• 1 – Gold Foil Polka-dotted Vellum Sheet
• 1 – Access to Online Workshop Guide

Featured colors: Gold, Mint, Peach, Red, Teal, Tan, White Daisy

You're Amazing - you really are!

Well, you are amazing because you stopped by to visit, thank you very much!!  Here is a little (Mini) Mini Album or I was calling it a Calbum, that is a cross between a card and a mini album.  How's that for an invention?  We made these in my workshops this month.  
This is a scaled down version (only one inserted envelope page) of the mini album created by Sarah Wills and  pinned by my friend Penny. The paper and the stamps are from the CTMH Ivy Lane Card Making Workshop on the Go. 

And just where in the world have I been?  I went on a CRUISE!  It was our 20 year wedding anniversary celebration. 

Tuesday Morning Sketches #244

Played two nights in a row WAHOO!!  Made this for Tuesday Morning Sketches #244.

CTMH Creme Brûlée & Pear Cardstock Tiny Type, Inspiration Flourishes & May SOM + MOJO Monday

Ok so I've had a bit of a "meh" attitude lately. Thankfully I don't get this way very often. Figured that some playtime would help and it DID!!  

I checked out MOJO Monday #340 and used their great sketch for inspiration.  Next…big technical step - I perused my desk and most everything I used just "happened" to be on it.  LOL - no kidding.  I literally just swept aside stuff to  clear my Versamat so I could work.  Well, at least two of the three stamp sets I used were put away where they belong and the card stock was too. But, all the flowers, the butterfly, ribbon, one of the stamp sets and journaling card were on my desk! 

So here it is…. I kind of love it, although it may just be the "fun" talking. ;o)

The inside:

So what do you think?  I think I need to make a kid version, a masculine version and more and send this message to all the AMAZING  people in my life!

I used and available on my website:

CTMH White Daisy Cardstock, Pear and Creme Brûlée Cardstock & Ink

CTMH Stamp Sets: Inspiration Flourishes, upcoming May Stamp of the Month and Tiny Type alphabet (I just love that set).  

Studio Savings- Guilty as Charged!

I feel just terrible that I haven't told you about Studio Savings yet!!  I'm so guilty of hoping, wishing & dreaming of something - getting it; and then NOT using it!  Studio J is one of example.  It is an AMAZING scrapbooking tool on it's own or to supplement your traditional scrapbooking.

I for one will finally take advantage of the benefits of Studio J this month - I'll try to do it within the next couple of days so that I can share my success story with you before the sale is over.  In the mean time here's Carly from Close to My Heart to  let you know about the great savings on Studio J this month.

Babushka Dolls - CTMH Happy Place - Studio J

I have lots to tell you about but first here's some cards I made for the Color Dare # 83 and for Retro Sketches #104.

Next, there is a lot going on in March!  Where to start…what I will do is just tell you real quick today and then elaborate in the next few days.

#1 The CTMH special for March is great savings on Studio J.  You can visit my site to try it out absolutely free.  Not only can you make beautiful layouts; you can also adjust and print photos just the way you want them in the popular sizes that are perfect for scrapbooking.  Like I said I'll elaborate on that more in a near future post.

#2 March SOM Happy Place is a cute set of homey sayings and Babushka Dolls - now that (thanks to the Olympics) Russia has been on your mind it's time to have some fun with their cultural art.  I have a knitting book "Itty Bitty Toys" by Susan Anderson (I LOVE her books and have most of them)  that has a cute pattern for Matryoshka dolls, that I so naively thought I may knit some day (yeah right) well anyway this SOM made me do a little looking up of Babushka designs.

I haven't made a card yet but for now I will share with you some other lovely creations from other artists that I have pinned click here for CARDS and here for the DOLLS.

Close to My Heart Chantilly Paper and

Here's another one of my challenge creations that never made it to the challenge lol. Oh well!  It was a JOY to make this with our beautiful but unfortunately discontinued Chantilly paper, thankfully this gorgeous little "Love This" stamp set is still available - it coordinates beautifully with the My Crush Blue bird products. 

CTMH Artiste Hexagon Card for Friday Mashup 148 & Dynamic Duos

Hey, I just LOVE die cuts anyway you cut them, but the CTMH Cricut Cartridges are such an AMAZING deal you just have to take a look at them.  They each boast at least 700 images so that ends up being just pennies (or less!) for each image because you ALSO get three exclusive coordinating stamp sets AND chipboard elements when you purchase the $99 bundle!!  Believe it or not you can also get the bundle HALF off if you hostess an in person OR ONLINE gathering that reaches $250 in sales.  Please, please contact me or your existing CTMH consultant to earn yours - you will be so glad you did!! 

This CTMH Artiste Hexagon Card that I made for Friday Mashup 148 & Dynamic Duos #91 was created using the stop sign image in Cricut Craft Room.  I cut 5 "thanks" from the same cartridge and stamped with our "One Way Borders" stamp set.  I also added a few CTMH Epoxy Bubbles as well as a couple from Heidi Grace.

FUN FUN!!

CTMH Skylark, Sarita + Lollydoodle Cardmaking Workshop on the Go

Here again just being real quick….I'm not going into detail much - I figure that's ok because if you would like to know more you can easily just comment or email me.  These two cards are for Tuesday Morning Sketches #237 and Color My Heart #82.  It's so fun playing along with challenges and it helps me make my mind up about what to create next!



You can get a look at or purchase the complete CTMH Skylark, Sarita Paper packs and the Lollydoodle Cardmaking Workshop on the Go from my site.

Obviously they're both made using the Tuesday Morning Sketch.  It's a real time saver to just go ahead and make two cards at once.  Finally, I'm getting my entry in on time, I've made cards but then got busy and didn't upload them several times lately.