And the WINNER is....

Hi All! Thanks so much for joining me during the Kraft-y Hearts 12 Days blog share. Your comments were very encouraging and much appreciated.

So today is the day I get to give away a stamp set and ink. According to random.org, the winner is.....

MARG VAN PATTEN!

WOO HOO! Congratulations, Marg. I'll send you an email for your particulars so I can ship your candy to you ASAP.

Thanks, again, everyone for your comments. I'll see you soon with another little piece of crafty inspiration. 

12 Days of Christmas: Day 12

Wow! This is the last day for the Kraft-y Hearts 12 Days Blog Share, which means it is also 12/12/12!
The blog candy winner will be drawn tonight, so make sure to leave a comment on this post or any of the past 12 days to be entered to win a Capture the Date stamp set and a Chocolate Exclusive Ink dye ink pad. Even bigger than that, though, (yes, it's possible) my niece Molly turns 18 today! Happy Birthday, Molly!

Now onto our final 12 Days project.

The frame is from the dollar bin at my local craft store. I covered the front of it using patterned paper from the Avonlea collection, and the back is covered in Slate cardstock.  I sanded down the edges and inked them in Slate Exclusive ink. I then applied a layer of Silver Shimmer Trim to finish it off.

The paper is so beautiful, it really didn't need much embellishing. I simply clustered some elements together from the Mini Medley Accents (slate) collection, along with Satin Slate Polka Dot ribbon and a little bit of Black Tulle ribbon. I added a large pearl to the center of the ribbon and various sizes of Opaques Licorice Adhesive Gems around the edges. (And though it will be covered by a picture, I went ahead and covered the photo insert just to make it a little more complete.)

Here are some close-ups:

And here is one last photo of the whole frame:

I hope you've enjoyed the last 12 days with the Kraft-y Hearts. We've had a lot of fun sharing with you. Don't forget to stop by From My Bungalow for some beautiful inspiration (and more blog candy) by my über-Kraft-y friend, Lynn Darda.

12 Days of Christmas: Day 11

Hello Everyone! Welcome to DAY 11 of the Kraft-y Hearts 12 Days Blog Share. I can't believe we have only one more day left! (You know this means there's only 13 shopping days left until Christmas, but let's not dwell on that.)

Today's little project is the second part of the teachers gifts we'll be giving this year. It's a tea bag tag.

The tag is actually a library pocket that I cut at 4 inches from Kraft cardstock using the Artiste Cricut cartridge. (That cartridge has certainly earned its keep this season!) I inked around the edges with Cocoa Exclusive ink to give the tag a bit more depth. The border stamp is from the Pear & Partridge Workshop On The Go stamp set and is stamped in Olive Exclusive ink. The tea cup (stamped in Cocoa Exclusive ink) and sentiment (stamped in Cranberry Exclusive ink) are from Close To My Heart's Cup of Cheer stamp set. I added Christmas Red Stickles to the border for some sparkle (I still don't have my Red Glitz Glitter Gel, but it's on my list). "To" and "From" are stamped in Cocoa Exclusive ink using the Very Merry stamp set.

Here's a couple of close-ups:

I added bakers twine to the tag and double-knotted it. I tucked the knotted in into the box and closed the lid. The knot anchors the tag to the box! I thought that was pretty spiffy.

Hope you enjoyed my tea bag tags. I thought I would use them to play along in the Heart 2 Heart Challenge this week. Leave me a comment to be entered in my give away that I'll be conducting on 12/12/12. (The winner will receive a Capture the Date stamp set and a Chocolate Exclusive Ink dye ink pad!)

Make sure you hop on over to From My Bungalow and see the super cute projects created by my talented friend, Lynn Darda.

http://krmhill.ctmh.com/Retail/Product.aspx?ItemID=738

12 Days of Christmas: Day 10

Hello Everyone! Happy Monday! Today is DAY 10 of the Kraft-y Hearts 12 Days Blog Share. I hope you're enjoying your visits so far. 

I'm not sure what the technical name for today's project is, but I'm calling them Pop Up Treat Boxes.

These little treat boxes were cut using Close To My Heart's Artiste Cricut cartridge. They are cut at 3 1/2 inches, which is the size the end up being after you put them together. I love the little pop-up mechanism that allows the lid and box to be one piece. Here's a picture of them opened:

CUTE! The boxes were cut from Cranberry and Cocoa cardstocks. I inked around the edges using matching inks. I matted each box with paper from the Pear & Partridge collection, and inked the edges of the paper with Cashmere Exclusive ink. The treat embellishment was made using a stamp from the Very Merry stamp set. I punched out the middle of the stamp using a 1-inch paper punch and popped it up on a 1 1/4-inch circle with dimensional adhesive. I popped the two circles up on a scalloped circle with dimensional adhesive and glued the whole thing down with strong double-sided tape.

Here's a couple of close-ups:

I ended up making 11 of these boxes for the kids' teachers. They are just the right size for cookies and fudge.

Hope you enjoyed my little pop-up treat boxes. Leave me a comment to be entered in my give away that I'll be conducting on 12/12/12. (The winner will receive a Capture the Date stamp set and a Chocolate Exclusive Ink dye ink pad!)

Hop on over to From My Bungalow and see the lovely project created by my talented friend, Lynn Darda.

12 Days of Christmas: Day 8

 Welcome to DAY 8 of the Kraft-y Hearts 12 Days Blog Share. I hope you're having a great weekend!

Today's crafty goodness was made from a little tin I found at my local craft store (I think it was $1) that is used for gift cards. I thought it would make a nice mini album, so here's what I came up with:

I covered the front and back with patterned paper from the Clementine collection by Close To My Heart. Before adhering the paper, I inked the edges with Cashmere Exclusive ink. (I used Cashmere to ink all of the pages and to do some background stamping inside as well.) The chocolate swirl and sorbet flower with the chocolate button are from the Scroll Album Workshop On The Go. The sorbet flower with the creme brûlée button is from the Cottage Assortment embellishment set. I used the border and sentiments stamps from the Pear & Partridge Workshop On The Go, and stamped them in Cashmere and Chocolate Exclusive inks, respectively. I then added some rhinestones from the Brown & Tan Assortment for a little bit of sparkle. I used Colonial White grosgrain ribbon around the top edge of the tin to give it a more finished look.

 Here's a look at the inside:

The album is cut from Colonial White cardstock. I stamped the backgrounds of each page using stamps from the Scroll Album Workshop and inked the edges all with Cashmere Exclusive ink. I cut down some photo mats from the Clementine paper pack and added them to the pages. I adhered the first and last pages to the inside front and back covers of the tin and then covered them with matching pattern paper. The last photo mat was getting a little lost on the pattern paper so I popped it up using dimensional adhesive.

Here's a couple of close-ups of the cover:

Hope you enjoyed my little memory tin. Leave me a comment to be entered in my give away that I'll be conducting on 12/12/12. (The winner will receive a Capture the Date stamp set and a Chocolate Exclusive Ink dye ink pad!)

Hop on over to From My Bungalow and see the beautiful project created by the lovely and talented Lynn Darda.

12 Days of Christmas: Day 7

Happy Friday! It's Day 7 of the 12 Days Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share. (It's also Pearl Harbor Day, so please don't forget your veterans.)

Today I'm sharing a little tag project that is similar to one I did earlier. You can see it here. This time, however, I thought I would live up to the Kraft in Kraft-y Hearts!

For all of the cutting and scoring dimensions, click here. For this set I used the Dakota collection. I wanted to be able to use some of the tags for non-Christmas holiday gifts, so I kept the theme neutral. The wallet is made with Barn Red cardstock. I layered the top with pattern paper that I stamped using snowflakes and sentiments from the "Snow Flurries" stamp set [retired] by Close To My Heart. The snowflakes are stamped in Sky Exclusive pigment ink and the sentiment is stamped over those using Black Exclusive dye ink. The snowflake is cut from Kraft cardstock at 2 1/2 inches using the Artiste Cricut cartridge. I used Whisper Exclusive pigment ink to stamp a few snowflakes on the snowflake and inked the edges with the same ink. I added some Opaque Pearl adhesive gems and popped the snowflake up using dimensional adhesive. I tied it all together with some bakers twine.

Here are the inside pockets:

And here's a picture with the tags.  I used some of the images from the Very Merry stamp set (October Stamp Of The Month), and used a combination of dye- and pigment-based inks. "Peace" is from the Snow Flurries stamp set and "Joy" is from a set that is part of the Art Philosophy Cricut collection. I inked around the edges of the tags using Barn Red Exclusive dye ink.

So what do you think? Leave me a comment to be entered in my give away that I'll be conducting on 12/12/12. (The winner will receive a Capture the Date stamp set and a Chocolate Exclusive Ink dye ink pad!)

Hop on over to From My Bungalow and grab a little inspiration for the weekend from my oh-so-talented friend, Lynn Darda.

12 Days of Christmas: Day 6

 Hello Everyone! Welcome to DAY 6 of the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share. I hope you're enjoying the projects and getting inspired to make your own holiday goodies!

Today's project is the final card that I made using Close To My Heart's Pear & Partridge Card kit.

I changed this card up a little from the instructions in the kit. I'm not a big fan of covering the entire front of a card with single piece of paper. I like the layered look. So I cut the Cocoa cardstock to 5 1/4 x 4 inches to use as the base. I liked the Cranberry cardstock hanging over the edges of the Cocoa base a bit, so it is cut at 5 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches. The pattern paper is cut  at 4 x 2 inches, I believe. The stamp is my favorite part of this card. I love the graphics! (Confession: I initially bought the kit for this stamp!) It's stamped in Cocoa ink and given some extra sparkle with the red gems that are included in the kit. (In fact everything you seen on this card is included in the kit except the ink, acrylic blocks used in stamping and the adhesive. It's a fantastic kit!) I stamped the sentiment again in Cranberry ink and cut out the "A Merry Little" flag and popped it up using dimensional adhesive. Before putting it all together, I inked around the edges of all the paper with a little more Cocoa ink.

Here's a close-up:

So what do you think? Leave me a comment to be entered in my give away that I'll be conducting on 12/12/12. (The winner will receive a Capture the Date stamp set and a Chocolate Exclusive Ink dye ink pad!)

If you haven't been over there yet, you definitely want to go see what my hugely talented friend Lynn is up to at From My Bungalow! Prepare to be inspired!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 5

Hi All! Happy Wednesday and DAY 5 of the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share. Sorry for the late post, but I finished a project yesterday and decided I wanted to use it today instead of the post I already had. So, I'm changing it up a bit. 

Today's project was inspired by this little treat bag by the very talented Lisa Stenz. I thought the bag was a bit too small for cookies and fudge (the standard teachers' holiday gift at our house), so I created this box instead.

 Using Close To My Heart's Artiste Cricut Cartridge, I cut the box at 5 inches from Cranberry and Black cardstocks. I used the "Happy Holidays" sentiment from the Merry & Bright stamp set, and stamped it in black Stāz-On ink. I added a strip of White Daisy for button plaque, and cut out a heart to make the collar. (I have a punch for that, but you could use the Cricut. You'll want to cut it at about 1 1/4 inches.) After adhering the heart, I trimmed the edges to match the contour of the box. For the belt, I cut the buckle at 1 inch from Slate cardstock using the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge and then threaded a 5/8-inch wide strip of Black cardstock through. I glued the belt into place and then added the black button brads, spaced evenly between the collar and the belt. I folded everything on the score lines and adhered it with extra strong adhesive. Using Cranberry and Black Exclusive inks, I inked around the edges to cover up any white core that might be showing at the folds and seams. After it was all put together, I added silver stickles (you could use Silver Glitz instead), and let it dry.

Here's a close-up:

What do you think? I thought they came out pretty nifty. I made one for each of my daughter's teachers. (My son has 8 teachers this year. We're still trying to figure out what to do for them.)

I decided to link this up to the challenge over at Cut It Up. (There's some fantastic inspiration over there!) Don't forget to leave a comment below to be entered in the give-away! Now hop on over and visit the fabulously talented Lynn Darda at From My Bungalow to see the wonderful project she has in store.

12 Days Of Christmas: Day 3

Happy Monday! Are you ready for Day 3 of the Kraft-y Hearts 12 Days Blog Share? Be sure to visit the super talented Lynn Darda at From My Bungalow for more inspiration!
Today's project is a holiday card that I made using the Pear & Partridge Card Kit from Close To My Heart.




The stamps, pattern paper, cardstock, ribbon and bling are all included in the card kit. The background for the card was created using the second generation stamping technique. The background, holiday greeting and edges were all done in Cocoa Exculsive ink. The packages are in Cranberry and Olive Exclusive inks.

Here is a close-up:




I hope you enjoyed this little piece of Monday inspiration. Don't forget that we will be drawing a prize-winner for blog candy on 12-12-12! The winner will be chosen from among the commenters. What is the candy? (So glad you asked!)

The winner will receive a brand new Capture the Date Stamp Set along with a Chocolate Exclusive ink pad!





So please leave your comments! And don't forget to visit Lynn for more fun projects!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 2

Hello All! Welcome to Day 2 of the Kraft-y Hearts 12 Days of Christmas Blog Share. If you haven't stopped by Lynn Darda's Bungalow yet, be sure to do so. She has the cutest little gift idea!

I hope everyone is having a peaceful Advent Sunday. My family and I will begin decorating our Jesse Tree today. It's one of our favorite Christmas traditions. So in honor of that tradition, today's project is a little ornament I made from an accent cut using the Artiste Cricut Cartridge and a little Almond, Silver, and Stardust Glitz Glitter Gels. 

To make the ornament, I cut 5 shapes at 2 1/2 inches from Cranberry cardstock. (The more cutwork the shape has the more interesting the ornament will be.) To make it easier, I folded each shape in half and then unfolded it again and added the Almond and Silver Glitz. When the Glitz was dry (OH did that take patience!), I folded the shapes again, with the Glitz on the inside of the fold, and glued them together back to back. I then added Stardust Glitz to the very edges of the outside, working in sections so that it wouldn't smear. I added a little 1/8-inch ribbon from my stash to use as a hanger, and it was done!

Here's a close-up of the sparkle:

This little ornament can be made with any shape that is symmetrical. The Artiste and Art Philosophy Cricut cartridges are just full of possibilities! It's quite a simple process, you just want to make sure you give the Glitz time to dry. (Ask me how I know!)

To order any of the items used in this project, just click on the "Shop With Me" button to the right of the page. Now hop on over and see what wonderfully talented Lynn has in store at From My Bungalow!