Stamptacular Sale

Close to my Heart is continuing their 35^th Anniversary celebration with another special sale this weekend that you won’t want to miss! The Stamp-tacular sale will begin at 3:00 pm (MDT) on Friday, June 28, and will end on June 30, 11:59 pm (MDT)!  This sale is only available on my website.

Check out my website for this special offer!

Joyful Stars June Blog Hop

Welcome to the Joyful Stars June Blog Hop. If you have come from  Joyce's Blog, then you are on the right track.  It is a circular hop so you can start anywhere.  You will know you have seen all the projects when arrive back at the first blog you viewed.  Today, I have a simple treat holder to show you.

These are made using the Sweet Girl paper and decorated with the Thin Cuts Stitched Flowers.

These were made using the True Love papers and Eggplant and Sugarplum Cardstock.

I mentioned that they are "simple" because they are simply two tags with either a "box" in the middle or a belly band around the outside.  You have probably seen similar items on Pinterest. 

This is a view from the side of the treat holder.

Now it is time to hop on over to Krista's Blog to see her creation.  Thanks so much for joining us this month and be sure to stop by again next month for more inspiration.

Grateful For You Cards for the May Joyful Stars Blog Hop

 Welcome to the Joyful Stars May Blog Hop.  We are happy that you can join us today.  If you have come from Joyce's Blog, then you are on the right track.  In case you have not heard, Close to my Heart introduced a new Seasonal Expressions Idea Book on May 1.  You can view it HERE online.  There are tons of all new stamping and scrapbooking products including four new cardmaking workshops.  Today, I have cards made using the Grateful for You cardmaking workshop.
The first card is made following the instructions in the kit.  The instructions are very easy to follow and the kit includes all supplies needed to complete 12 cards except ink and glue.

The second card was made using some of the pieces from the card instruction, but I added a border using the scallop thin cut and a fabulous flower made using one of the Stitched Flower Thin Cuts.  Sometimes it is fun to change the cards up a bit!

The next card is similar to the second card however, I did not have a "bold" thinking of you stamp so I added a border of Mink cardstock so my sentiment would stand out.  This card uses a different Stitched Flower Thin Cut.  The sentiment is a retired stamp . 

Now it is time to HOP on over to my friend, Krista's Blog to see her extra special creation!

Products used:

G1183 Grateful For You Cardmaking Workshop

Z2831 Charcoal Exclusive Ink

Z2835 New England Ivy Exclusive Ink

Z6502 Peach Exclusive Ink

Z2848 Sapphire Exclusive Ink

Z4064 Stitched Flower Thin Cuts

Z4242 Decorative Border Thin Cuts 

X6010 Mink Cardstock

X6021 Sapphire Cardstock

 

Easter Treats for the Joyful Stars April Blog Hop

Happy Spring and welcome to the Joyful Stars April Blog Hop.  If you have come from Joyce Gough's Blog, then you are on the right path.  It is a circular hop so you can start anywhere and you will know you are finished when you get back to the first blog you saw.  You can find a complete list of participants on Joyce Houck's Blog.  I would like to share a little Easter favor I made for the girls that attend my monthly crop and for our Easter breakfast.  I just LOVE the little chocolate animals!  What could be cuter than little bunnies, chicks, ducks and sheep?

 The pink stripe and dotted paper is from the Something Fierce paper pack and the multicolored stripe paper is from the I Heart Us paper pack.  The banners are from the Close To My Heart Flower Market Cricut Collection.

 Here is the pattern for the treat holders.  I found them on Pinterest a few years ago, however, I can not find the link to the original blog post right now.  I will update my post as soon as I find it so I can give credit to the original designer.  The candy is from Lindt and I purchased a large pack at BJ's.

Happy Easter!

Products used:

X7240B Something Fierce Paper Pack

X7242B I Heart Us Paper Pack

Z3501 Flower Market Cricut Collection

Z1979 Journaling Pen 

Z1912 Corner Rounder

Z679 Liquid Glass

Now it is time to hop on over to Andrea's Blog to see her crafty creation.

Double Trouble Challenge 24 - Transportation

Time for another challenge from the Double Trouble Blog. I am back as the guest designer again - also known as the Crazy Cousin.

THING 1: Trouble Maker 

is singing, "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold." Link to Song. 

Your challenge is simply to use something metallic (gold, silver, copper, etc.) such as an embellishment, paper or technique.  

THING 3: Twisted Sister
says, "I'm rich! During the last challenge I found the pot of gold and now it's time to travel. Let's adventure! Show us what mode of transportation you enjoy when on vacation (surfboarding, aircraft, boats, trains, autos, etc.)."

THING 2: Double Dare
dares you to join in the Brown Sugar Challenge #288 "Transportation Theme". If you have used Twisted Sister's Optional Twist, it's more than likely you will be able to skip on over to enter your project. Make sure if you are visiting from Brown Sugar your blog post stays within the dates of the Double Trouble challenge or you may get in trouble.

So here is my card:

The silver is the bike rim - sorry for the reflection, but it is a holographic silver paper so it was difficult to photograph.  Unfortunately, I did not find the pot of gold like Twisted Sister, but we did have some beautiful weather recently, so I jumped on my bike - which is my favorite mode of transportation!

You may consider me CRAZY because I'm sure most people would not think riding a bike as an adventure or a mode of transportation to travel to an adventure.  But I am a simple gal and I absolutely feel like I am on vacation every time I go for a ride - it is truly "my happy place."   Whenever the weather is nice, I try to carve out some time to go for a ride.  My family enjoys riding as well, and some of our favorite family vacations included bringing our bikes along and riding them while we were away.


Products Used:
A1165 Capture the Day (retired)
S1603 Sunshine Birdies (retired)
CC1228 From the Heart (retired)
Lagoon Cardstock
Black Cardstock
Silver Holographic Paper (leftover from another project - from AC Moore)
Z1991Teal Glitter Cardstock (retired)
Z2454 Leaf Green Shin Han Marker
Z2455 Light Orange Shin Han Marker
Z2450 Cherry Pink Shin Han Marker
Z2565 Turquoise Blue  Shin Han Marker
Z2453 Peony Purple Shin Han Marker
Z1979 Marvy Journaling Pen
Z3501 Close To My Heart Flower Market Cricut Collection (bicycle)
Z3503 Close To My Heart Artbooking Cricut Collection (brick background)
Z2826 Heather Ink
Z4189 Intense Black Ink
Z697 Round Sponge

Under the Feather Card for the Joyful Stars March Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the Joyful Stars March Blog Hop.  I don't know about you, but I am really hoping that the groundhog was right and we will have an early Spring!  If you have come from Joyce Gough's Blog, then you are on the right track. If you get lost along the way, you can find a complete list of participants on Joyce Houck's Blog.
Today, I have a card to celebrate Spring.  It uses a stamp set called "Under the Feather".  I love the cheerful bird and the sentiments are great for all of your get well cards. 

Now it is time to hop on over to Andrea Sherman's Blog to see her wonderful creation.


 Products Used:
B1651 Under the Feather
Z4189 Intense Black Ink
Z3293 Clear Shimmer Brush
Z3123 Watercolor Paints
X9003 Mix-In Paper Pack
X77240B Something Fierce Paper Pack
X5994 Ballerina Cardstock
X6028 Black Cardstock
Z4305 Thin Cuts Fancy Tags
Z3318 Thin Cuts Basic Circles
Z4258 Stitched Quilt Shapes
Z4231 Playful Scallops Embossing Folder
Z4213 Silver Embellishing Thread

Double Trouble Challenge 23 Wearin' O' the Green

 I am so honored to be the guest designer, also known as "the crazy cousin", for the month of March at the Double Trouble Challenge Blog! 

Thanks to Sue Reynolds for creating the cousin image for me.  I think it is perfect!

 So what do you Think?  Do I look like "the crazy cousin?"

For the first challenge this month, we will also be linking up with the Heart2Heart Challenge Blog. You can play along with both and that will give you extra chances to win at Double Trouble.
So here is the challenge:

THING 1: Trouble Maker
says, Let's have some fun for St. Patrick's Day with the wearin' o' the green!" Make green the primary color of your project.
Don't stop here... consider Twisted Sister's optional twist

THING 3: Twisted Sister
says Thing 3: Good ole St. Paddy's day is all about finding the Pot o' Gold... be it in a pint o' beer or at the end of a rainbow. Include a "golden touch" on your project for an added chance at our random draw.

THING 2: Double Dare
says, "I'm proud of my Irish heritage and double dare you to play along by linking your green project at Heart2Heart Challenge." While Heart2Heart encourages the use of at least one CTMH product, for this partnership, this requirement will be waived. Heart2Heart has weekly theme challenges and you are able to enter up to the last day of the month; however, Double Trouble challenge closes on March 17th.
Enjoy a typical Irish tune HERE and as you link up with our partner for this challenge, Heart2Heart.

  

This just happens to be the perfect challenge for me since green is my favorite color! I love most shades of green, however, I am especially drawn to bright green, like the Close To My Heart color Willow.  Maybe because when I received my DNA results, I found out that I am 21% Irish which is way more Irish than I originally thought!   This is one of those $100 cards you hear about.  Or maybe you make those kinds of cards too?  I used many different dies and products on this card.  It was not my intent to do that, however, sometimes I get an idea and as I start working on it goes in a different direction.  I'm sure some of you can relate.  I am happy with the result, however, I can not say the same for my workspace!  It was completely covered by the time I was finished.

 All products are from Close To My Heart except the gold shimmer spray used on the card base - it is a product from Heidi Swapp called Color Shine.   The card is 5 x 7 - I decided to make a larger card to accommodate the large "clover flower."  It was cut using both the basic heart and stitched heart dies in bright green retired glitter paper.  There are two layers of hearts to make the large "clover".  The bitty hearts were cut using the Thin Cuts Shaker Window and Confetti Dies.  I also used the new Stitched Rectangle Frames and cut them twice - once in Gold Foil Paper and once in a pattern paper from Something Fierce Paper Packet.

Please be sure to stop by the Double Trouble Challenge Blog and also the Heart2Heart Challenge Blog to see all the wonderful creations.  There are so many talented artists that participate in these challenges!

Products Used in this Card:

Z4260 Stitched Rectangle Frames

Z4305 Fancy Tags

Z3317 Basic Heart 

Z4182 Stitched Hearts

Z4309 Thin Cuts Shaker Window and Confetti

Z3365 Gold Foil Paper

X7240B Something Fierce Paper Packet

X6027 White Daisy Cardstock

Z3189 White and Gold Ribbon

D1708 Sending Smiles from the Flower Market Cricut Bundle

Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

Retired CTMH Products:

Gold Metallic Marker

Bright Green Glitter Paper

Other:

Heidi Swapp Gold Color Shine

Actually, after compiling this product list, this may be a $200 card, but at least I  got good use out of my stuff!