Note To Self(y): Go Big...

Hi All! Welcome to the mid-month Rose Blossom Blog Hop featuring artwork from some of Close To My Heart's retiring Cricut Cartridges. If you just hopped over from the fabulous Shelly Nemitz' blog, One Pretty Piece, you are in the right place.

Today is the last day of school for my kids. Woo HOO! (We're all a bit ready for summer.) So last Friday we hosted an end of the year selfy party for the girls in our art club. All good selfy parties need props, and this is where my Cricut came to the rescue. Let's take a look:

(You gotta do the whole Polaroid thing when you're talking about selfies!) So I went through the icons in all of the CTMH cartridges and came up with the above images from Artiste (retiring [insert heartbroken wail here]), Artistry, and Artbooking. I then sized them REALLY BIG and cut them from  a variety of glitter papers, many of which are also retiring. I then attached them to bamboo skewers (my 1/4-inch wooden dowls went AWOL) and they were ready to go. (I also added an extra cardstock layer to both pairs of glasses to make them a little sturdier since the frames were relatively thin.)

Here's a look at the party set up. (I left the "Polaroid" filter on the pictures for fun.):

The top hat, lips, and bouffant hair are Cricut images. I added an Artistry bow to the hair that matches the hat band.

And that's it! 

The girls had a ball! We had made mini albums in one of the art classes for the party and by the end of Friday they were full of pictures and memories. It was a fantastic ending to a semester of art, and a great beginning for a summer full of adventures.

Now hop on over and see what the lovely Morgan Vogt has for your inspiration at Tweetscraps. And if you get lost along the way, here's a list of the hop participants:

Lynn

Marg

Shelly 

Kim {that's ME}

Morgan

Kristine

Have a happy and creative week!

CTMH Cricut Artistry Collection (with cartridge)	CTMH Cricut Artistry Collection (digital images)	CTMH Cricut Artbooking Collection	CTMH Cricut Artiste Cartridge Collection
CTMH Gold Glitter Paper	CTMH Black & Grey Glitter Paper	CTMH Red Glitter Paper	CTMH Pink Glitter Paper
CTMH Teal Glitter Paper	CTMH Purple Glitter Paper	Sookwang Double-sided Tape	Bamboo Skewers

InLinkz.com

SaveSave

CYBER MONDAY!

Hi All! We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog share for this FABULOUS, NEVER BEFORE SEEN Cyber Monday Special from Close To My Heart!

Today only, ALL CRICUT COLLECTIONS are 20% OFF!!! Yep, it's true! From now until 11:59 PM MST (Mountain Standard Time), you can get any of the fantastic Close To My Heart Cricut collections for 20% off. Been wanting to make some boxes and bags to package your Holiday goodies? You'll be wanting the Artiste Collection then. Hoping to create spectacular 3 dimensional cards for every occasion? Pick up the Artfully Sent Collection. Are mini albums and brag books on your to-make list? The Artbooking Collection is for you. And if you need a general cartridge that can be used to embellish any or all of the above and more, then grab the Art Philosophy Collection. 

These collections make the perfect gift for the Cricut crafter on your list! And remember, pumpkin hour is 11:59 PM MST tonight! 

That is all.

We now return you to your blog share already in progress....

Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share: Hello Spring!

Hi Gang! It's day two of the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share celebrating spring! Spring is absolutely the loveliest time to be in Washington, DC. The trees and flowers are blooming and the temperatures are warm, but not the sweltering heat that is our summer. It is hands down my favorite season here.

Today's project is my little tribute to the DC spring:

I picked up this unfinished little tray at my local craft store a while back and thought it would be perfect for a home decor piece. I really like the way it turned out. To begin with, I painted the tray white with basic acrylic paint. After letting it dry, I added a coat of Close To My Heart's Create-a-Shade pearl paint to add just a bit of shimmer. Next, I covered the inside bottom of the tray with paper from the Ariana Paper Pack. I added a coat of Mod Podge to seal it. Then I cut out "Hello" and "Spring" using the Artiste Cricut cartridge. I cut the words from Outdoor Denim cardstock and Ariana Paper. (This might be my favorite pattern from that pack. If you look closely at the stripes they look like Oxford cloth.) I layered the two to give the sentiment a shadow so it would pop against the patterned paper. I adhered the words to the tray with Mod Podge. Next, I cut flowers and leaves from Ariana Paper using the Artbooking Cricut cartridge. I inked around the edges of the leaves with Saddle Exclusive ink and then used Liquid Glass to adhere them and the flowers to the tray (dry adhesives do not stick to Mod Podge very well.) I then added some Sparkle flourishes and pearls for a little bling.

Here are a couple of close ups:

So spring-y! And the Cricut cartridges really did make the project a breeze. Remember, this month you can get your choice of Cricut Collections when you become a Consultant with Close To My Heart.

If you would like to join my team or purchase any of the Close To My Heart products used in this project, come on by and see me here.

Now, hop on over and see what the always fabulous Lynn Darda has in store for you at her Bungalow.

Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share: No Place Like Home

Hi All! Welcome to day 2 of the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share for the month of March, celebrating Close To My Heart's March Stamp Of The Month: Happy Place.

Today's project was made in honor of Spring, which seems to be slow in coming to the DC area. Let's take a look:

This project was made using the CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge. The vase is the popcorn box cut (p. 67). Using Cricut Craft Room, I cut it at 11.15 inches high from Sorbet Cardstock. I then cut the same shape at 10 inches from Lollydoodle paper to add some colorful panels to it.

The flowers are cut at various sizes (no larger than 2 1/2 inches) from the Artist cartridge as well (see pages 35 and 54). In addition to Lollydoodle paper, I used Sunset, Hollyhock, and Cotton Candy Cardstock to quite down the riot of patterns a bit. For the stems, I wrapped plastics straws in Sweet Leaf Cardstock and attached them to the flowers with glue dots. For the center of the flowers, I used buttons from the Rosewood Mini Medley Accents and from my stash. I attached them to the center of the flowers with Liquid Glass and then added a bow made from bakers twine (from my stash). I also added curled 1/8 x 12 inch strips of Sweet Leaf to the vase to fill it out a little more. 

The sentiment is stamped in Twilight Exclusive Ink on White Daisy Cardstock. I attached it to a skewer and added a piece of White Daisy Cardstock to the back and then wrapped the all of the back and the edges of the front with Smoothie Striped Washi Tape.

Here are some close-ups:

I hope you enjoyed my bit of spring, and this month's Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share. Don't forget to hop on over to From My Bungalow and see what the fabulous Lynn Darda has in store for your inspiration.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas….

Hi All! This is a bit of a bittersweet post because it's the last time I get to play in the Rose Blossom Garden. Head gardener, Brenda Rose, has decided to change things up a bit and the Rose Blossom Garden will be closing down at the end of the year. On the bright side, Brenda and all the gardeners will still be providing lots of inspiration on their blogs, so I'm providing a list for you at the end of this post in case you want to start following any or all of them.

Now on with the project. It's December so that can only mean…BEACH THEME! Okay, just kidding…It's CHRISTMAS TIME! Bring on the tinsel and flurries! So, in keeping with the theme, I pulled out my Cricut, popped in the Artbooking cartridge and created a (sort of) mini album. (It's 10 inches high, so I'm not sure it counts as a mini….) Anyway, let's take a look:

I cut the album at 10 inches (as recommended in the cutting guide). As usual, the cartridge did all the math for me. (Love that!) The covers are cut from chipboard and covered with Close To My Heart's Frosted paper. I cut the covers from chipboard as standard pages and then cut four pages to cover them--one for each side of the chipboard. Super easy! I inked around the edges of the covers pretty heavily using Saddle Exclusive ink. To decorate the cover, I cut 2 snowflakes cut from Colonial White cardstock using the Artbooking cartridge (I left my setting at 10-inches), and then used my favorite snowflake punch to punch out Frosted and tan glitter flakes. I used more glitter paper, a scrap from Frosted, and part of a sticker from the Frosted Stickease assortment for banners, and then cut out "Merry Christmas" twice at three inches using the Artiste cartridge. "2013" is cut at one inch using the font on Artbooking. I used Colonial White cardstock and Frosted paper for both parts of the title. I also added Almond Glitz Glitter Gel to "Merry Christmas" to make it sparkle. (It matches the tan glitter paper perfectly!)

I used bookbinding rings to bind the book and added Slate Satin Polka Dot Ribbon to each ring to make them a little more fun. To make the rings even more festive, I added some jingle bells from my stash.

Here are some close-ups:

And here, again, is the cover:

I also used Artbooking to cut the inner pages of the book, but more on those tomorrow. 

I hope you enjoyed a peek at my Christmas Album for 2013! And I hope you've had a ball playing with us in the Rose Blossom Garden. We sure had fun hosting you! Remember, for more inspiration and just plain fun, visit my über-talented and slightly wacky (in a fantastically fun way!) fellow design team members:

Brenda Rose

Kim S

Kristine

Lynn

Marg

Sara

Tammie

See you tomorrow with more of the mini!

Merry Christmas!

Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share: Give Thanks (part 3)

Hi All! Welcome to day 3 of the Kraft-y Hearts November Blog Share. I can't believe how quickly it has come and gone! Today we'll look at the last three pages of the gratitude mini album I created using the Close To My Heart Flip Stand Album, Artiste Cricut cartridge and the Huntington collection. 

The next page is cut from Huntington paper. I created a little library pocket from Cocoa cardstock and added a little journaling tag. The library pocket is held together with mini copper brads from my stash. I matted it with Huntington paper and added a little twill ribbon and metal slider for interest. The love sentiment is from the Remarkable Wreath stamp set and is stamped in Autumn Terracotta Exclusive ink. The journaling tag is embellished with Huntington paper, mini copper brads and a little hemp twine.

I left the back of the page very plain, adding only a Cocoa cardstock photo mat and a little tag of Huntington paper.

I love this next page because I'm a big fan of creating with file folders. This Kraft cardstock page, however, is not supposed to be a folder. The Artiste cut is actually for a longer mini album. However, since I am hanging this on a flip stand, I could fold it like a file and it worked perfectly. I matted the front with Huntington and added a little Color Ready Seam Binding, copper brad and sentiment tag for interest. The sentiment is from the retired You Are My Happy stamp set. I used a little library binder clip to hold the folder close. The inside is simply matted with Huntington paper to keep it from being too bulky.

For the back of the page, I added a little Huntington paper for interest. The sentiment tag is actually a little anchor for tucking in photos or ephemera. The sentiment (stamped in Slate Exclusive ink) is from You Are My Happy. (Big Dr. Seuss fan here!)

Finally, for the las page, I used another of the longer Artiste pages and folded about a third of it up to create a pocket. I used hemp twine to tie the pocket together. (The double-sided Huntington papers are perfect for this type of page. I tucked a little photo folder made of Kraft cardstock in the pocket that I dressed up with a bit of Huntington paper and Color Ready Seam Binding. I left the back of the page completely blank. The gray patterned paper will make a nice backdrop for a photo.

So that's it! I hope you enjoyed my little flip stand album. Don't forget to hop over and see what crafty goodness Lynn has in store for you at From My Bungalow. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!