Christmas Ornament

Can you believe it is time for Challenge #6 at Take Heart Ideas, and we have a fabulous prize waiting for the winner, so get out your CTMH products and start playing. Remember, Take Heart Ideas requires you use products from Close to My Heart, and you can include CTMH Cricut cartridges as products if you would like. Like last time, anything goes. Need some new supplies, shop here: http://scrapbookerphd.ctmh.com.

It is the day before Thanksgiving, and all of my cards and decorations are finished. So I took a moment out of my day to create a Christmas card. I went directly to my CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge for this gorgeous ornament. I welded a white base together to create the card, and I set it at 5 inches tall, so that I could fit it into a square envelope. Next, I cut a layer of silver and put the decorate layer of red on top. I inked the red with a little bit of White Daisy ink.

To further create the mood of Christmas winter, I added two leaves in shades of green with White Daisy ink on top for a snowy effect. On the inside of the card, I stayed a sentiment from the Snowhaven stamp set (D1625) and inked the edges with Ponderosa Pine ink. 

One tip that I use when I stamp sentiments is to emboss with clear powder. I do this to even out and and deepen the ink color. I like to use clear in case the powder sticks to the sides around the stamp. 

(Need supplies? Get them HERE)

Follow my blog for more CTMH inspiration. 

Challenges Entered

Crafting for all Seasons: Tis' the Season

Die Cuttin' Divas: Shaped Cards

Try it on Tuesday: Christmas is Coming

Heart 2 Heart Challenges: No Rules

Love to Scrap Challenge Blog: Say it in Color

Come and Get it Challenges: Winter

Think, Grow, Learn

Where did the summer go? It's mid-September, and I miss everything from the pool to the lighter summer traffic. The kids have been back to school here in Georgia since the beginning of August, and hopefully they are adjusted and enjoying it (kids enjoying school - am I kidding myself). 

I decided I wanted to send a family friend in college a little pick-me-up, and made this "Think, Grow, Learn" card using the CTMH Chalk it Up paper and embellishments. The sentiment is from the CTMH Cricut Artbooking cartridge. This was a dream to put together. I love the chalk embellishments and the variety of color. This paper reminds me of my old school notebooks and locker. Now, it could be a laptop skin or more. I love the font on the word History and the green globe just above it. 

Chalk it Up is extremely versatile with lively colors and great patterns. I have one more piece of the graffiti style paper, but the flip side is a gorgeous gray/black colored with small multi-colored stars. I plan to take advantage of that. I can almost envision that as a back drop for a Halloween card.... 

Challenges Entered:
Freshly Brewed Challenges: School
Through the Craft Room Door: Anything Goes
The Paper Girls Challenge: School
Crafting At the Weekend: Anything Goes
Kitty Bee Designs: School

Take Ideas Challenge 3

Can you believe it is time for Challenge 3 at Take Heart Ideas, and we have a fabulous prize waiting for the winner, so get out your CTMH products and start playing. Remember, Take Heart Ideas requires you use products from Close to My Heart, and you can include CTMH Cricut cartridges as products if you would like. We are going Back to School for this one. The challenge starts today, August 27, and ends on September 21th.

For this challenge, I used the new Chalk It Up kit with matching embellishments (X7184B) and the the stamp set LOL. Everyday Life (A1159). The paper made me think of decorating a locker, both inside and outside, or decorating a notebook... and then moving along to social media. I stamped in and around the background, which go with the theme and mix in really well. Then, I added one more element, the base of the card is folded so the card stands on its own, and "star student" is the focus. (Dimensions at the bottom)

I've been playing with this folded card technique since I learned it from Mary at Cardz TV. She has a fantastic video on her site. Here are the basic directions for this fold. 

Start with a base of 8 x 5 1/2.

Next, score at the 2 inch, 3, 5, and 6 inch.

Now, fold using a valley/mountain fold where you scored. 

Your base is complete!

Challenges Entered
Scrap Creations - Back To School
Creative Crew - Chalkboard
Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes
Crafting When we Can - Oodles or Doodles

Hello Wonderful

It's that time for me...  realizing that some of my favorite papers from Close to My Heart are being discontinued. I have some papers left from the Skylark collection and the Ivy Lane collection. 

These papers are just gorgeous, and I didn't realize how well they worked together. Immediately, I knew I wanted to make a card for my husband. I like to sneak cards into his briefcase every now and then. 

My inspiration came from this fantastically versatile sketch from the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog. The cupid die cut in the center of the circle is from the CTMH Cricut cartridge, Artbooking. These beautiful glossy 3D flowers are also from the Ivy Lane kit. I used the CTMH stamp set, Hello Wonderful Flair, B1443. Get it HERE.

This design is easily recreated with any papers.
Want the Cricut Design Space file for this design? Just follow my blog and leave me a note in the comments section. 


Challenges
Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog: Sketch
Glitter and Sparkle: Love or Wedding
Pals Paper Arts: Color Challenge
My Craft Spot: 3D flowers
The Crazy Challenge: Love and Marriage

In Minutes

Do You Have It?

USE IT!

CTMH kits make it so easy to put together a project in minutes. I wanted to make my husband a card to put in his briefcase as a cute surprise. We've had some great fun this summer, and I want to remember this summer forever. Being so busy, I had very little time to put something together. No problem. I took out my Skylark kit** and went to work. It doesn't hurt that I know my CTMH Cricut cartridges by heart. This cut file of a couple holding hands was definitely my focal point, but everything else snapped together in minutes because the kit is designed to work together. 

The stamped sentiment is from the CTMH Take Note Cricut Bundle set (D1574) in Ponderosa Pine ink. 

**The Skylark kit is now retired, but you could use any number of different styles and patterns to achieve the same effect. 

Want the exact circle sizes and the couple cut. Follow my blog and click on the link below. https://us.cricut.com/design#/canvas/project/19163718

Need Supplies, Just follow this LINK.

Challenges
Alphabet Challenge: M is for Men
Aud Sentiments Challenge: Type of Thinking of You sentiment.
DRS Designs Rubber Stamps: Chevrons

Just a POP of color

If you are following along with me, you know that I'm enjoying the geometric patterns in the CTMH Skylark kit. The color palette is subtle and muted, but there are some fabulous pops of colors. I'm taking advantage of ever little bit of color to make my work POP as well. Follow my blog and get my simple Cricut file that goes along with this design.

  

When I saw this pattern with the birds perched along the top, I was instantly inspired because I knew that the Cricut CTMH cartridge Artbooking had a similar cut. I took advantage of this to create interest by making the birds blue and adding adding dimension to them as they are lifted off of the perch. I also used the blue as a mat between the kraft card and the patterned paper. The rest of the embellishments came right out of the Skylark kit. The stamp is from the Believe in Yourself Everyday Life (C1574) with Desert Sand ink. The ink is so perfect; the sentiment blends in exactly how I wanted.

Here is a link to the bird cutting file all sized and ready to be cut in Cricut Design Studio.
https://us.cricut.com/design/#/canvas/project/19156453 

 Need Supplies, Just follow this LINK.

Take Heart Ideas Challenge 2

Wow - We had quite the turn out for our first challenge. The projects were fantastic, and now it is time for Challenge 2, and we have a fabulous prize waiting for the winner, so get out your CTMH products and start playing. Remember, Take Heart Ideas requires you use some products from Close to My Heart, and you can include CTMH Cricut cartridges as products if you would like. You can make anything you want in any style or theme. The challenge starts today, July 30, and ends on August 24th.

***Chance to win Blog Candy... read until the end!

Even though the theme of the challenge is anything goes, the Design Team used this sketch for our sample projects. I love sketch challenges, but I end up getting way too inspired and deviate from the sketch - but isn't that the beauty of a sketch!

I immediately went to my Skylark stash because I find the geometric patterns so versatile. The only problem was, once I started, I found two colors that I wanted to work with... and ONLY those two. I felt the yellow pattern was gorgeous with the teal-ish blue. The embellishments were made to work together. I started with the frames, then added embellishments for the journaling box, and added a sentiment where a title would be. Then I added different circle embellishments - all from the Skylark kit around the frames. 

The base sketch gave me the inspiration that started the entire project, but once I had everything ready to go, I realized that something else was needed. The embellishment title was a little too light. While I loved the two toned colors, I need something darker - brown maybe - to break it up and give the work a direction. I liked the way the two die cut "titles" had a blockish feel to them, especially against the frames, and I loved the inadvertent rhyming. 

All of the elements used were from the Skylark kit. The die cuts are from CTMH Cricut Artbooking. Want to buy these supplies, click HERE.

WAIT, there is more... Follow my blog, and leave a comment letting me know you followed, and I will pick a random follower to win a stamp set from CTMH!!! Winner will be announced when the challenge ends.  (US residents only.)

Ready, Set... Scraps

Running out of Skylark supplies? Good thing I saved my scraps. Most of us crafters safe our scraps. We're trained to remember that a piece of 4x4 cardstock could save the day in a month or a year. We can't waste it. The same goes for patterned paper; it is harder to find a use for a piece of bold patterned paper that is 2x3. It tends to sit around longer. 

Not this time! I decided I wanted to use my patterned paper scraps from my Skylark kit before they became faded by the sun or wrinkled sitting with the other scraps or forgotten. That's why I turned to my Cricut (follow my blog and get a free cutting file). I used my CTMH Artbooking cartridge to make a summertime themed card for my husband. 

Instead of using cardstock for the sunny sky, I used the scraps of this great geometric pattern. For the tree - I truly did use a 2x3 stash of the green chevron-style pattern. The bird from the Skylark kit was so perfect because it also had a geometric pattern to it, and fit perfectly into the style. The sentiment stamp is from the Skylark set, and I used Cocoa ink. This soft brown blends in so seamlessly. 

The shapes from these particular Cricut cuts were so unique, and the patterned paper from the Skylark kit only enhanced the design. Want to try it yourself. Follow my blog, and click on the link before. It's for Cricut Design Space. Everything is sized for you. 

https://us.cricut.com/design/#/canvas/project/19057308 

Need Supplies, Just follow this LINK.

Welcome, Stay and Join Me.

When did your Close to My Heart (CTMH) obsession begin? When did you know this was the fit for you? Ready to be rejuvenated? Maybe you haven't discovered the magic of CTMH. Goodness, we have to rectify that right now. CTMH literally meets all of your crafting needs no matter what you are working on — cards, scrapbook layouts, boxes... you name it.

Why did I join CTMH, it started with my obsession for Cricut cartridges. CTMH has three cartridges.  To my surprise, they came with CTMH stamps that I could use with my Cricut. Soon, I discovered there were MORE sets that could work with my Cricut. Now, I was buying more and more stamp sets, and then ink, and then I fell in love with kits. The kits were amazing because I had all in one: patterned paper, cardstock, and embellishments. There were so many stamp sets to choose from that would fit my kit. Now, crafting was faster because I had everything at my finger tips.

My main focus is integrating CTMH products with Cricut cartridges. (Did you know a new cartridge is coming out!!!) I'll be providing you with free links to Cricut designs, refreshing your memories about why you fell in love with CTMH, hosting fun challenges and swaps in conjunction with Take Heart Ideas.

Please follow me and my adventures with CTMH.

Need Supplies, Just follow this LINK.