It's About Time!!

So this is a non-CTMH post, but it's the easiest way to share a whole lot of pictures, so I'm going with it.  :-)  It's a very long post, with lots of pix, so you might want to grab your coffee and settle in for awhile.  :-)

 Right before Labor Day weekend, my husband says to me "Hey, We've got a long weekend ahead of us, why don't we re-do the kids' bathroom?"  Now, I've been talking about this exact project for quite a long time, but we've just never gotten around to actually deciding on doing it.  Luckily I've been researching what I wanted to do in there, so when he suggested actually doing it, I jumped right on that bandwagon!!

Here are a couple of pictures of the before:

 

 

 

Totally uninspired.  And messy.  And just plain gross  When we were building this house, my children were ages 7 and 4, so we purposefully did not add any upgrades to their shared bathroom.  We figured that to do so, we would essentially be throwing money out the window, since there was no doubt that our small tornadoes....er, I mean children...would destroy the tiny space.  And we were right.  But now that we've been here almost 8 years, I was really itching to make it start looking a bit more sophisticated.  About time, right??

The first thing to do was to pick out a color scheme.  I started by picking out the shower curtain, and the teal blue color in the shower curtain really drew me in.

I love color on my walls, so I decided that the walls would mirror the teal.  In fact, the wall color I chose is called Venus Teal.  And I love the crisp contrast of white accents, so I knew that I wanted to work that in somehow too.  One of the projects I've been researching for months was how to paint bathroom cabinets, so I was excited to take our old, drab-looking, builder's grade oak cabinet and paint it a clean, simple white. 

I was so nervous, but after seeing so many great tutorials, I figured I really had nothing to lose.  I started by removing the drawers and doors, as well as the faceplates on the front (and learned how simple those are to remove!!  Who knew?). 

After sanding everything down to remove the varnish that protected the wood stain, I then primed it all with an oil-based primer.  I had read that oil-based would cover the wood grain a bit better than a water-based primer.  I primed one side, let it dry, then turned it over and primed the other side.  I lightly sanded everything again, with fine-grit sandpaper, then painted with a white semi-gloss latex paint (repeating the "paint-one-side-let-it-dry-flip-it-over-then-paint-the other-side" routine).  I should note that I used a high-quality brush to cut in the paint in the crevices, but I used a foam roller for everything else, so I wouldn't have brush stroke lines.

 

Here is the finished project:

 

 

 Hubby was busy painting the walls while I was painting the cabinets.  That went fairly quickly, but then we had to accessorize.  We happened to have a white vanity we brought with us from our previous house, but had not yet used it in this house.  After cleaning it up (think 8 years of dust here people), we decided it would look perfect!

A quick trip to Home Depot to get some new knobs, as well as a trip to Target for the sink accessories and new linens, and things were coming together.

 Then we got to the towel holder.  My kids are notorious for not using the towel rod that the builder installed.  Too much trouble to actually fold the towel, and place it over the bar.  Much easier to just shove it in there.  So I figured we would go with something that had hooks.  Home Depot had some really pretty hooks, which were an epic fail, as the towels just slid right off of them (there was a big round ball at the end, and the towel just couldn't "grab").  I really had something specific in mind, and no matter how hard I looked, and how many stores I went to, I just couldn't find what I wanted.  So I just decided I would make it.  After trolling the aisles at Home Depot (AGAIN!!...I was there 5 different times in the space of three days, LOL), I found these things near the crown molding section.  They are called plinthes, and are meant to go at the bottom of a door frame to finish off molding, so one end is unfinished and one end is sanded and routed. In this picture, they are placed unfinished end to unfinished end.

I thought I could glue them together, paint them white, and use some hat hooks.  I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the final results.

 Long post, but here's the before and after pix.  I know the lighting is terrible, sorry!

 

 Thanks for stopping by!

Operation Smile Auction....

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to spend time with some other Close To My Heart Consultants in New Jersey, at a training conference called Leadershare.  What a fantastic trip!  We were lucky enough to have three of the Corporate Vice-Presidents there with us which just amazed me since the training was a relatively small group of consultants (about 120 of us).  Seriously, what company sends 3 of their top executives cross-country for such a small group?  For me, that just solidified the idea that Corporate CTMH really does care about the consultants, and is commited to making sure we have the best training available.

In addition to all the wonderful training (and awesome stamping goodies!!!) we received, one other hightlight of the weekend was the auction to raise funds for one of the charities CTMH supports, Operation Smile.  I was honored to be asked to donate a project for the auction.  After initially freaking out about what I was going to make, and having major self-doubt about whether I could create something that others would actually want to spend money for, I decided to create a home decor project.  I ended up making a canvas that can be used as a wall hanging.  Here is a picture (click on the picture to make it larger):

I was so humbled to have my artwork featured next to some other truly amazing art.  There are some seriously talented paper artists in Close To My Heart, y'all!!!! 

We went non-stop all weekend, and I came home and just crashed on the couch, but it was such a fun get-away.  Why don't you join me next time??  :-)

I'm baaaaaaack!!!!

Wow!  Has it really been almost 3 months since I've posted?  Time sure goes fast.  And a big huge apology to my followers.  My life has been so very crazy for the past 3 months, and that's all I'm going to say about that.  Let's just say everything is good now!

I had to come out of hiding to share a fantastic new customer special this month.  If you've ever thought about becoming a Close To My Heart consultant, NOW is the time!!  For this month only, new consultants will have the option of choosing a FREE Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, or $100 in product credit with the purchase of a new consultant kit.  Now, the kit alone is valued at almost $300, but is available for purchase for only $99.  When you add in the value of the Cricut cartridge, or $100 free product, that means you receive almost $400 in products and supplies for only $99.  What a deal!!  Plus, as a consultant you are eligible for a discount on all CTMH products, as well as a built-in network of friends who also are addicted....ahem, I mean who love papercrafting as much as you.  :-)

Watch the video below for more information. 



I would love to add new friends to my team, and help you get your business started.  Please contact me if you have any questions!

So long, farewell.....

This is a sad post for me this week.....this post marks my last project and blog post as a member of the Heart2Heart Challenges design team.  I have had such a great time the past six months, using the challenges to really stretch my creative borders.  The other design team members have been wonderful to work with, and they are truly amazing (and TALENTED!!) women.

So this will be the last challenge of this year.  The new design team will ring in the New Year in January, and let me tell you, I can't WAIT to see what they have in store for us!  This week our challenge is to create a Holiday Wish for you, our blog readers.  I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Merry Kwanza (I'm not sure what they say, so please forgive me!), and in general, a very HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  Thank you for being part of my life for the past 6 months, and please stop by often! 

Materials used: (all products are CTMH, unless noted otherwise):



-paper: Mistletoe Level 2 paper pack, Topiary cs, Sweet Leaf cs
-ink: Cranberry
-stamps:  Trinity alphabet stamp set
-embellishments: Color-Ready Alphabets Cork, Red Sparkles, Colonial White Waxy Flax, Art Philosphy Cricut Cartridge; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder/Cuttlebug machine

Photo inspiration week!

This week we have an inspiration challenge for you at H2H.  Here is the inspiration photo: 
                                                
One of the things that jumped out at me when I saw this photo was the glittery lime green ornament.  I love to make these myself, and they are soooo easy to create, so I thought I would show you how.

The picture just doesn't do the ornament's glittery goodness justice, but if you click on it, you can see the shimmer a bit better (and also my reflection in the glass! LOL).

There are a million and one tutorials all over the internet that show you how to make these, so I'm just going to show you the basic steps.  Here is what you will need:

-re-inker in whatever color you choose
-clear glass ornaments
-ultra fine glitter (I used CTMH's prisma glitter)
-disposable rubber gloves
-small Dixie cups

I usually use the clear glass ornaments you can purchase pretty cheaply at any big box craft store.  Remove the top, and set aside.  Pour 20-30 drops of re-inker into the ornaments, and gently swirl so that the ink covers the entire ornament. 

It's important to do this slowly and gently.  Shaking the ornament results in air bubbles and uneven coverage.

When you've covered the entire inside with re-inker, place the ornament upside down in a Dixie cup.  This allows the excess re-inker to drain out, so that it doesn't puddle up at the bottom of the ornament.  Let it dry for about 10 minutes.  Remove the ornament, and wipe off the mouth of the top...sometimes ink likes to puddle here.  If you're not happy with your ink coverage at this point, you can simply rinse the whole thing out with water, and start again!

Once you're satisfied with the ink coverage, and have cleaned up the mouth, pour several tablespoons of glitter into the ornament.  Put on your rubber gloves, place a finger over the opening of the ornament, and shake, shake, shake, until the glitter covers the entire inside.  It's OK to add more if you need to.  Pour out any excess....warning:  the glitter will be dyed whatever color your re-inker is, so don't pour the excess directly back in to your glitter jar!  :-)

Put the top back on, and there you have it.  Blinged out ornaments!  These are really pretty all on their own, or you can jazz them up by adding vinyl to the outside, or using Staz-On ink to stamp an image.  I decided to make mine a Christmas gift for my daughter's Sunday School teacher, so I made this awesome little basket for it to sit in.  You can see Liza Stenz's fabulous video tutorial here -----> awesome basket tutorial.

So what inpsires you about that gorgeous picture up top?  We'd love to know!  Be sure to link it up at H2H's blog, and earn a chance to win some blog candy.  Make it a great week, and Happy Crafting!!

Sketch time!!

My post this week is going to be very, very brief.  Many of you know that I have had back issues, and had surgery in February.  I've recovered well, but I twisted wrong or something a few days ago, and it really really hurts to sit at a computer (don't know what I'm going to do at work this week!).  So, brief blog entry it is (it will make up for all the other posts where I tend to ramble on.....).

We have a sketch challenge at H2H this week.  Here is the sketch:
                                                

And here is my interpretation:

The stitches were hand stitched, using the amazing new Ruler to make guide holes.  I popped up the sentiment with some dimensional tape.  And of course I had to add some bling.  Here is a closer look:

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope all my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that everyone has a fantastic week this week!  My son plays in his first high school basketball game tonight, so I'm excited to see that.  Go Vikings!  :-)

Materials list (all products are CTMH, except where noted):

paper:  Mistletoe Level 2 (retired), Chocolate cardstock, Cranberry cardstock, Colonial White cardstock.

stamp set: Just for the Holidays

ink: Chocolate

embellishments and tools: Dark Chocolate Striped Grosgrain, Mocha Opaques, Colonial White Embroidery Floss, Ruler, Scalloped Punch,

In Time....

Last week I saw the movie "In Time", starring Justin Timberlake (man, I love him!).  The premise of the movie is that everyone stops aging at the age of 25, and only have one more year to live, unless they can "buy" more time.  It was an interesting concept, and I enjoyed the movie (but hey, really....JT on a big screen for 90 minutes?  What's not to enjoy?). 

Anyway, it got me thinking about time.  I recently returned to the work force, after being a stay-at-home mom for many years.  It has been a HUGE adjustment for all of us, and I sometimes think it would be great if we could just "buy" time, since I never seem to have enough!  This week's challenge at H2H is to create something using a "time" motif...you can use a clock, a saying about time, or anything else "time" related.  I chose to make a little desk calendar for my new desk.  The company I work for deals with an industry dominated by men, and there are definitely not a whole lot of frilly things in my office.  So I thought I'd make a little "pretty" for my desk.  Just something to look at and make me smile.  Here is how it turned out:

I used a simple 5x7 acrylic frame for my base (one of those little cheapie ones you can buy at Staples, to display flyers and things), and cut patterned paper to fit inside.  I then decorated the top of the frame with the calendar, an image cut out of Colonial White cardstock, and some bling.  I put the decorative paper clip on just to hold down the pages of the calendar.

This picture might give you a  better idea of how I layered it....

The calendar was stamped using the Month by Month stamp set.  I started with December 2011, and stamped a page for the next 12 months.  I then glued them all together, using this tutorial I found on Pinterest (can I just say how much I LOVE Pinterest!).  I used a different glue than the one suggested in the tutorial, though (I used Elmer's Craft Bond Tacky Glue, but I think any thick, white glue that dries clear would work).  It was super easy, and I can think of 101 ways to use my own note pads!  :-)

Once the calendar was stamped, I simply adhered it to the top of the frame using some red-line tape (in this case, Terrifically Tacky Tape).  Added the image and the bling, and Voila!  Desk calendar!  I can't wait to bring it in to the office, although I'm sure my boss will think I'm crazy.  :-)

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope all my American friends have a blessed Thanksgiving this week.  Be sure to take some time for yourself, and get a little crafting done, using a "time" theme.  Then link it on up at Heart2Heart Challenges!  We love to see what you create!

Materials used (all products CTMH, unless noted otherwise):
-paper:  Perfect Day Level 2 paper pack (retired), Colonial White cs, Tulip cs
-ink: Tulip, Juniper
-stamp sets: Month by Month, Key Moments
-embellishments: Perfect Day My Stickease, Clear Sparkles, Martha Stewart Scoring Board, sanding block, decorative paper clip from my home office desk drawer....

I am so grateful....

Thanksgiving is coming up, and this week for H2H Challenges we are asked to create a project for someone we are thankful for. Knowing that shortly behind Thanksgiving comes Christmas, I decided to create a gift to give away. The recipient of this gift is not on the internet all that much, and I would be surprised if she knew how to navigate to my blog even if she was on the internet, so I feel pretty confident posting it here. :-0)

One of the people I am most thankful for in my life is my mom. You can read a blog post ---> here to see how she inspires me. I am thankful every day that I still have my mom around, and that God chose her to be my mother. We live over 12 hours away from each other, but she is my best friend.

My mom loves to drink iced tea, and she is rarely seen at home without a tall glass, filled with lots of ice and her favorite tea. I decided to make her some coasters to use (those iced tea glasses sweat a lot!!). Here is a picture of my tiles:

I created a little box to put them in, and wrapped them up in some pretty ribbon. Read on for a quick tutorial on how to make your own. Here is what you need:

First, start with some unfinished tiles. I got mine at Home Depot, and the box says Travertine 4x4 tiles.  I found them in the do-it-yourself tiling section.  I think they cost around $5.50, for 9 tiles.  You will also need some Staz-On ink, and whatever stamps you'd like to create with.

Wipe any excess dust off of your tiles with a damp paper towel. Then, simply stamp your images directly on the tile, using Staz-On ink. This ink is specifically formulated to use on non-porous surfaces (tile, glass, metal), and is great to have around if you plan on doing any altered art projects. It will definitely stain your acrylic stamps, but they will still work, so don't be alarmed! I do keep some Staz-On cleaner on my craft table, so I can wipe off my stamps after I use them. That minimizes some of the staining.

(I don't know why my picture is loading sideways...it looks normal when I try to upload it, but it shows up sideways. Sorry. I'll try and go back and fix it later.)

Once I've stamped my tiles, I like to give them a quick shot of hot air with my heat gun. Some people like to put them in the oven and bake them for a few minutes, but I'm too lazy to go downstairs to the kitchen. :-) I've never had any problems with the ink smearing after I've set it with the heat gun, so I guess I'll continue to do it that way....

You will want to put some sort of protective covering on the back of the tile once it's stamped. I use plain old fun foam (available at any big box craft store...for cheap!), but you can also use felt pads, or cork. I cut my fun foam a little smaller than my tile and use Liquid Glass to adhere it to the back.

The next step is to make something pretty to put them in.  I designed a box that uses a 12x12 sheet of cardstock or patterned paper.  First, score it at 2", 4", 8" and 10".  Then turn it 90 degrees, and score it again at 2", 4", 8" and 10".  Then use the following picture to cut it:  the solid lines are cut lines, and the dotted lines are score lines:

Once you've cut the cardstock, this is what it should look like (I've added some patterned paper for decoration):

Flip your cardstock over so that your patterned paper is face down.  It would be so much easier to describe the next few steps if I had remembered to label the flaps, but I'll do the best I can.  Stay with me here, folks.  :-)

The longer piece at the bottom of this picture (the one my thumb is on) is going to be folded over the skinnier piece in the middle.

This picture was taken after I had folded two sides.  You can see on the third side how the skinny flap gets folded at a 90 degree angle.  The score line on the longer flap will go over the top of that skinny flap when it it is folded.

And here is the finished product.  Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.  I know these directions are less than stellar.  But it really is an easy box to make, and believe it or not, there is no adhesive involved!  :-)

Now it's your turn to show us who you are grateful for right now.  Use your creativity (and your Close To My Heart products!) and make something special just for that person.  Don't forget to link it up at the H2H blog for your chance to win some awesome prizes!

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Crafting!

Cookie Sheet Advent Calendar

This week's challenge over at H2H is to add some metal to your project.  Aren't the design team creations gorgeous??  Debi and Haley's jewelry is beautiful, and Jody and Pam's cards are simply stunning.  And then there is my project.  Hmmmm.... one of these things is not like the other.  :-)  At first glance, it doesn't appear that my project uses any metal at all.  But look closer.....do you see it??

The metal on my project is the base itself....I made an Advent Calendar out a cookie sheet!! 

I've wanted to do this for quite awhile, but have just never sat down to do it.  That's why I love challenges...they give me a reason to start and FINISH a project!!  To start, I purchased a metal cookie sheet at the Dollar Store.  It measured 9 x 13.  I then used spray paint primer and regular spray paint to make it white (I've been on a crazy spray painting streak lately...nothing is safe!).  The papers are from the Believe paper pack, cut to size and Mod-Podged directly on to the cookie sheet.  The letters were cut from the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  Man, I love that cartridge......

I used a word processing program to create my calendar grid, and printed it out on regualar copy paper, so the layers of paper the magnet had to stick through wouldn't be so thick.  I used my Cricut again to cut out the scalloped circles, and stamped the numbers directly onto the circles.  I knew that I needed something a little sturdier than just plain cardstock for my magnets, so I reinforced them with some thin chipboard.  Here's a little tip for some cheap chipboard...use a food box!  It's the perfect thickness to run through the Cricut, plus it's a great way to re-use something that would otherwise be thrown away.  The best part, though?  It's FREE!!

I backed each cardstock circle with two chipboard circles, and adhered some magnet tape behind each piece.  Here's where this project can get a bit pricey...I originally intended to use magnet circles for the back of each cardstock circle.  I didn't have any on hand, so off I trotted to my local crafts store.  I could only find the extra-strength magnets in a pack of 6, for $2.99 a pack.  I would have needed 5 packs, at a cost of $14.95.  That seemed a little steep to me!  I saw a roll of magnet tape on the bottom shelf, for $1.49/roll.  I decided to try that instead.  So far it's working.  :-)

Here is a close-up of the chipboard circles with the cardstock circle on top.

As each circle is removed, I didn't want to just look at a boring empty space, so I decided to jazz it up a little:

I stamped images so that they are hidden until each piece is removed.  This way the calendar will be pretty all month long!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope I've encouraged you to try your own Advent Calendar.  I also hope you play along with us at H2H this week, and think of your own spin on using metal.  Don't forget to link it up for a chance to win some fabulous prizes!

Have a great week, and be sure to visit again really soon!  And, as always, Happy Crafting!!

Color challenge....

So last week I said that Fall had finally arrived here in Virginia.  Well, this week, I think Old Man Winter wanted to join the party.  We had a whole heck of a lot of that white stuff on Saturday.  Yes, folks, it SNOWED in Virginia...in October!  What in the the world is happening?  The last time it snowed in the Old Dominion, the year was 1979.  So now we've had a tornado, a hurricane, an earthquake and a blizzard, all in one year.  I think I want 2012 to get here as soon as possible!  :-)

But I digress.  You're here to see the newest H2H challenge, not to read a weather lesson.  :-)  This week's challenge is to use the colors Autumn Terracotta, Juniper, and Bamboo.  I love color challenges, because these are three colors I would have probably never thought to put together.  Here is what I came up with:

The card design is based on a sketch in the Wishes book, Sundial on page 14.  The stamp set is a new set in the current Idea Book, called Remarkable Wreath.  I love this set!  Sooooo pretty!

It's probably hard to see in this picture, but I added some Liquid Glas to the berries and to the bow, to add alittle dimension.  The white lines on the Autumn Terracotta cardstock were made by scoring the cardstock every 1/4 inch, then using the sanding block to expose the white core (one of the reasons I love CTMH cardstock so much!!). 

Since tomorrow starts a new month, we have a new Guest Design Team member: Allisa Chilton.  Please give her a warm welcome, and be sure to visit her at http://rockymtnpapercrafts.blogspot.com/.  We will also have some new prize sponsors, so be sure to visit the H2H blog and see what goodies you might win.  Thanks for stopping by!  Happy crafting!!

Supplies (all materials CTMH, unless noted otherwise):

-cardstock: Autumn Terracotta, Juniper, Bamboo, Colonial White

-ink: Juniper, Chocolate

-Stamp set: Remarkable Wreath

-embellishments: Juniper ribbon (from the Wings Creative Basics collection, retired), Liquid Glass

-other: sanding block, edge distresser, Martha Stewart Scoreboard

Fall is finally here in Virgina....the leaves are turning glorious shades of red, oranges, and yellows, and there is a bit of a cool nip in the air.  My very FAVORITE time of year!!  Plus, it means the arrival of one of my very favorite holidays (second only to Christmas!)....Halloween.  The challenge this week at H2H is to create something Fall of Halloween themed.  So many choices!!

I decided on a simple card.  I found this tutorial from another CTMH consultant, Mandy Leahy, and knew I had to try it.  It's brilliant!  Go check out her blog for more awesome ideas...http://www.mypassionforscrapbooking.com/.

This is the card I made.  I like that it has just a bit of sass! 

You can check out Mandy's tutorial below:

Once again, thanks for stopping by!  I've been busy making things for some vendor shows coming up which I will post soon.  In the meantime, grab those pumpkin, ghost or leaf stamps, and make something fun!

Supplies used (all products CTMH, except where noted):

-paper: Mischief Level 2

-stamps: Mischief Workshop on the Go

-inks: Sunset

-embellishments: Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge (scallop circle and flower), Pearl Opaques, orange ribbon from my stash (maybe SU?)

1,2,3,4.....

This week at H2H, the challenge is to use a number on your project.  I was surprised to find how many of my stamp sets have numbers on them!!  Anything from "You're #1", to Bingo cards with numbers, to Christmas sets.  Wow!  I love when we can look at our stamp sets with a new perspective!

I decided to go with the "Dec. 25th" theme, since that wonderful holiday is fast approaching.  I used two new stamp sets...The sentiment is from December 25th, and there is another stamp from the set Countdown.  Can you find it?

Once again, I put my Cricut to work with the Art Philosophy cartridge.  This adorable circle card looks just like an ornament!  I used some Prisma glitter at the top to give it a little sparkle.

Have you figured ot what else was stamped, yet??  It is the ric-rac ribbon!!  I used the teeny-tiny Christmas tree from the Countdown set to stamp diretly on the ribbon.  Cute, huh?  A great way to customize boring old white ribbon....

I think I might add a small pocket to the inside of this card, so I can add a gift card.  Wouldn't it make a cute little present?

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you join us at H2H this week.  Our guest designer, Deb is playing along this week, too, so come check out all the inspiration!  Happy crafting!!

Supplies (all products CTMH, unless otherwise noted):

-paper: Believe level 2 paper pack, White Daisy cardstock

-stamp sets: Countdown, December 25th

-ink: Topiary, Sweet Leaf

-embellishments: Sweet Leaf Stitched Grosgrain, white ric-rac ribbon (discontinued)

-other: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, Prisma Glitter, Bonding Memories glue stick, scallop circle punch

Oh, no! A scrapbook page!

I am going to let you all in on a little secret...  I am a really slow scrapbooker.  And by slow, I mean go-to-a-weekend-crop-and-maybe-get-three-or-four-layouts-done kind of slow.  You know what I'm talking about.  I mean, you have to pick the pictures.  Print the pictures.  Decide on paper.  Decide on a layout (although I will say, CTMH's "How-To" books make this step go way faster!).  Reprint pictures to fit the spaces on your layouts.  :-)  Decide on embellishments.  Cut the papers. Adhere the papers.  Adhere the pictures.  Add the embellishments.  Come up with cute title.  Journal.  Go back to the layout months (or even years!) later to complete the journaling.  Oy.  So many choices!  :-)  Now, don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't enjoy scrapbooking, it just takes me a really long time to decide what I want to do on a page.  I mean, a REALLY long time.  I'm not good with decisions.  :-)  Lucky for me, it's the PROCESS that I enjoy.  The colors.  The textures.  The design principles.  Love it!  The end result of a completed scrapbook page is simply icing on the cake for me. 

So, when I found out that the challenge this week at H2H was a layout WITH JOURNALING, I must admit I panicked just a tiny bit.  I mean, we only have a limited time to get our projects done, and posted for you, after all.  What was I to do??  And then it hit me...STUDIO J (it's in all caps so you can hear me yelling this brilliant idea out loud).  Studio J is Close To My Heart's absolutely incredible online digital scrapbooking program.  It took me all of about 45 minutes to complete this layout.  Uploaded the pictures, decided on what paper I wanted to use, chose a layout design, and customized to my little heart's desire.  Placed in shopping cart, hit "submit", and Ta-Da!  Completed layout in less than and hour!!  So fast and so simple.  I love it!  Click on the picture to see the layout in more detail.

So why don't you give it a try? It doesn't cost a single penny to play around and try it out.  Simply create a free account, upload some pictures, and give it a whirl!  Click this link ----> here  to go directly to my website to start.  If you like what you see, let me know, and I'll fill you in on how you can purchase the layouts you create. 

Whether you create layout pages traditionally, or digitally ( or a combination of both!), be sure to link up at the H2H Challenges blog for your chance to win some great prizes this month!  And thanks for stopping by!

It's sketch time!

We have a sketch for you this week at H2H Challenges...won't you play along with us?  Here is the sketch:

And here is my simple interpretation:

I had a tough time with this one this week.  Not sure why.  Just wasn't feeling it, I guess.  But that's the fun thing about challenges...you can look at the challenge, and make it your own!     :-) 

Please join in the challenge this week, and stop by and say hi to our Guest Design Team Member, Debra Almanza, and our two prize sponsors this month:  Nichole Lewno, and Jena DeVries.  They have some awesome gifts to send to some lucky winners this month.  But, you can't win if you don't play!!  :-) 

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!  I looooove comments, so feel free to leave one!   :-)  And, as always, Happy Crafting!  :-)

Materials (all products are CTMH, unless otherwise noted):
-paper:  Mischief Level 2
-stamp set: Mischief Workshop-on-the-Go
-ink: Black
-other: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Just one stamp???

Out challenge for you this week at Heart2Heart is to make something using only one sentiment stamp...not one stamp SET, one stamp.  Huh.  I was originally stumped, because I normally use at least 3-4 stamps on any given project.  But then I realized that I needed to make a congratulations card, and hey! congratulations is one word!    :-)  This is what I ended up with:

I created the focal image by using just the one stamp, but stamping it several times.  I stamped it once in Smoky Plum in the middle, and used 2nd generation stamping with Smoky Plum for the other words.  Makes the intensity of the first generation stamping stand out a bit.  The flower was cut with the Cricut (duh!  Is there any other way to do it, anymore?!), and a pearl opaque was placed in the center, as well as around the focal piece (which, by the way, was also cut using the Cricut!).  Sonoma papers, and cocoa ribbon finish it off.  Here is my favorite part of the card, though:

Do you see that little hanging thingy at the bottom of the circle??  They are from the new Heirloom Assortment, which includes 6 self-stick resin flowers, and 6 dangle-jewels with brad (in 2 different colors).  Soooooo cute.  Totally adds that "wow" factor!

The recipient of this card has not received it yet, so I will let it be a surprise (although I think she reads this blog, so I probably just let the cat out of the bag.  Oh well).  Put on your thinking caps, make something using just ONE sentiment stamp (preferably a Close To My Heart stamp!), and link it up at H2H!  Happy Crafting!!

Materials: (all products are from CTMH, unless otherwise noted):
paper:  Sonoma level 2 pack, Olive cs, Smoky Plum cs, Colonial White cs
stamps: Limited Edition (this is the September stamp of the month...only 5 more days to purchase this stamp set for just $5!  Click the button on the right to see how.....)
ink: Smoky Plum
embellishments: Pearl Opaques, Heirloom Assortment, Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, Cocoa ribbon collection

Base and shade stamping.....

Watch this video to see just how easy it is to use a simple technique that will make your images POP!  Book a party in October, and we can make this card as a make-n-take!!  Contact me for more info....

Cardstock, cardstock, only cardstock....

This week at H2H, the challenge is to create a project sans patterned paper, using at least 3 colors of cardstock....what????!!!  I love my patterned paper so much, and it's almost painful to make something without it.  Now don't get me wrong, I love cardstock too, and with 60 different colors to choose from, there are a lot of choices.  But I like a little, ummm, I don't know... pizzazz.  That's it.  Some paper with pizzazz.  And plain ole cardstock just looks so, ummm...boring.  Luckily, Close To My Heart has some phenomenal stamps that steal the show, and that's what I used to add some pizzazz to the boring cardstock.  :-)

Once again, I just couldn't wait to use my Art Philosopy Cricut cartridge.  Are we seeing a theme, here??  LOL.  :-)  I chose the french fry box for this project.  After the base was cut, I used a new stamp set, called Love Life, to create the backgrond pattern.  I didn't realize until I pulled out the stamp set that the cut out at the bottom of the circle stamp perfectly fits the circles themselves, so it creates a layered look.  I was thrilled when I discovered this!  :-)  

The flowers were also cut from the Cricut, and then stamped with coordinating images from another new stamp set, Hooray Bouquet.  This set is quite possibly one of my very favorites.  Love it!  I used Lagoon and Creme Brulee cardstock, and stamped the images with White Daisy pigment ink.  I also added little Glitz to the top flower.  I attached them to the box with 3-D foam tape to give them some more "pop".

Since this is a "Michelle" original, of course it had to have some bling and sparkle.  This was done in the way of adding Glitz to the border piece, and also putting some Glitz in the middle of the circles.  I also add some prisma glitter to the butterfly tag (also cut out using the Cricut...I think my machine is going to blow up from overuse some day!).

My daughter's gymnastics team has a Big Sis/Lil Sis program, and I made this as a little "thinking-of-you" gift for Allie's little sis.  We filled it with her favorite candy.  Hope she likes it!!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you play along with us at Heart2Heart Challenges this week!  Whip up your favorite project using 3 different colors of cardstock (remember...NO patterned paper allowed this week!).  Please use mostly Close To My Heart supplies, and link it on up at H2H's blog for your chance to win some fabulous prizes!!  Have a great week!

Supplies (all products from Close To My Heart, unless noted otherwise):

paper:  Lagoon, Smoothie, Creme Brulee cardstock

stamps:  Hooray Bouquet, Love Life, Unity alphabet

embellishments:  Glitz Glitter Gel (stardust), Lagoon Mini-Medley (retired), colored hemp from my stash, Prisma glitter, Art Philospy Cricut cartridge