Year >> Noted: It's Hop Time!

Hi All! Welcome to the Rose Blossom Blog Hop featuring Close To My Heart's Limited Edition Year >> Noted Kit. If you've just hopped over from the lovely and creative Shelly Nemitz's blog, you're in the right place. 

To celebrate National Papercrafting Month, Close To My Heart has released this fun year-in-review kit that can be yours for $5 with any $50 purchase. For $5 more, you can also add a My Creations Kraft Mini Book. Pretty cool, huh?

So let's take a look at my project:

I decided to go with a little flip album that I can keep on my desk using the Designed Decor Flip Stand. The cover page was made from Year >> Noted cardstock and layered with a re-sized journaling card from the Hopscotch Picture My Life program. The gold stickers are from Year >> Noted and the year is cut from Teal Glitter Paper using the Artbooking Cricut cartridge.

I created page one using the stamps from the Year >> Noted kit. The title is stamped in Sunset Exclusive Ink and the flags are stamped with Whisper Exclusive Ink. The page itself is another Hopscotch PML card that I resized.

The monthly pages are made from the Year >> Noted paper, which I cut apart. Each page has a little circle tab with the month on it. I cut the letters for each month using the Artiste Cricut cartridge. The letters are sized at 1/4-inch high and are cut from Teal Glitter Paper.

Here's a look at the monthly pages:

Here's another look at the front. The glitter paper and gold foil just makes me happy!

Now hop on over and see what the ever-so-talented Cathy Arbuckle has for you to inspire your creativity today! And if you get lost along the way, here is a list of the creative Rose Blossoms involved in this hop:

Brenda

Lynn

Marg

Barbara

Shelly

Kim {You're Here}

Cathy

Don't forget, Year >> Noted is only available through the month of January, so you'll want to order yours soon!

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!

Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share: Give Thanks (part 2)

Hi All! Welcome to day 2 of the Kraft-y Hearts November Blog Share. Today I'm sharing more pages from my gratitude mini album. For those just joining in today, this album was made using Close To My Heart's Flip Stand Album, the Artiste Cricut cartridge, and the Huntington Collection. (You can see the first part of the album here.) 

The fourth page of the mini is a bracket page cut from Artiste. I used Huntington paper instead of cardstock for the base and then layered Barn Red cardstock onto Kraft cardstock to create a little Polaroid-style photo mat. The sentiment is from the retired You Are My Happy stamp set and is stamped in Cocoa Exlcusive ink. The embellishment is a combination of a wooden element from the Huntington Assortment and an antique copper brad from my stash.

For the back of the page, I used a little glassine treat bag from my stash to create a tag pocket, which I layered over a doily (also from my stash) that I had inked with Autumn Terracotta Exclusive ink. I then created a tag from Kraft cardstock and embellished it with a bit of Huntington zip strip, hemp twine and  two more copper brads that hold the twine together. (To do this, I clipped the prongs of the brads and used mini glue dots to hold them together. I gently squeezed them together with pliers to make sure the glue had a nice strong grip. Liquid glass would be a good alternative adhesive.) I stamped the tag with numbers from the retired Trinity Alphabet stamp set and a sentiment from Count Your Blessings. The stamping and inking around the edges were all done with Autumn Terracotta Exclusive ink. I added canvas and wooden elements from the Huntington Assortment and finished it off with a little hemp bow.

I used Kraft cardstock for the base of the fifth page. (Confession: the orientation of this page makes it look like a toilet seat cover to me. I thought about changing it but it struck me as too funny, so I left it in.) I used another doily inked in Barn Red to anchor the little mini photo album to the front. This little album, which was made from Cocoa and Kraft cardstocks, will hold four Instagram-type photos. I decorated the front with a little strip of Huntington and some Brown & Tan Sparkles. The sentiment, stamped in Barn Red, is from You Are My Happy. Somehow I missed taking a picture of the back of this page. However, all I did was add a very simple photo mat.

I hope you're enjoying the album. (If you are interested in making your own flip stand album, visit me here.) We'll wrap up the album tomorrow. Until then, make sure you go over and see the beautiful creations that Lynn has for you at From My Bungalow.

Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share: Give Thanks (part 1)

Hi All! Welcome to the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share for the month of November. This month, I decided to make a mini gratitude album using Close To My Heart's Flip Stand Album. Because there's so much to this fun little project, I'll be featuring it all three days of the blog share. So let's take a look!

For all but the cover page in this little album, I used Kraft cardstock and patterned paper from the Huntington Collection by Close To My Heart.

One of the things that I really like about the flip stand is that you can easily remove the hardware in order to slide a piece of patterned paper between the plexiglass frame to customize your stand. It's such a simple way to create a very professional looking project.

Now, let's take a look at the pages:

The first page, above, is cut from vellum that I happened to have in my stash. (I thought it made a nice cover page.) This page, and all of the other base pages featured in this album, are cut from the Artiste Cricut cartridge. The "gratitude" sentiment is from a retired CTMH set and is stamped in Autumn Terracotta Exclusive ink on Kraft cardstock. The "give thanks" embellishment is cut at 3 inches, using Artiste cartridge and Huntington paper. I added tan bitty sparkles and hemp twine for a little accent.

To add interest to this little album, I cut the pages in a variety of shapes and sizes using the mini album page cuts on the Artiste cartridge. The page above is a shorter page with a postage stamp edge. The front has a little picture folder that ties close, and the back is a simple photo mat. The stamped images and sentiment on the front of the page are from a retired stamp set. The pumpkin image on the back of the page is from the Count Your Blessings stamp set and "give thanks" is from the Perfect Fit--Thanksgiving stamp set. I used Autumn Terracotta, Cocoa, and Desert Sand Exclusive inks for the stamping, and Slate Exclusive ink to ink around the edges of the pages throughout the album.

This next page is a very plain base page cut from Kraft cardstock. I added a little album of cardstock and patterned paper for photos. The album is sewn together with hemp twine. I staggered the page lengths and added different edges for interest. The "blessed" sentiment is also from the Count Your Blessings stamp set and is stamped in Autumn Terracotta Exclusive ink. I used a little foam tape between the layers to give the embellishment dimension. A wooden clothes pin from the Mini Medley Wooden Accents does double duty as a closure and cute embellishment.

I added another photo folder on the back of the page. The front is a little poem from one of the zip strips on the Huntington paper. The leaves are punched from Huntington paper. The background layer is Chocolate cardstock, on which I stamped leaves in Cocoa Exclusive ink using the Fall Harvest stamp set (a personal fave). I purposely adhered the folder so that it opened to the right. That way the clothes pin on the front could also act as a closure for is little folder. The inside photo mats are made with Barn Red cardstock and a Huntington zip strip. I used a fancy corner punch on the photo mats to add a little visual interest.

I hope you are enjoying this fun little project. I can't wait to show you more of it tomorrow! For more inspiration today, don't forget to stop over at From My Bungalow and see what the super talented Lynn Darda has in store!