Nevermore, like Never Before!

I absolutely love Halloween! I love the colors, the weather, pumpkin picking and of course, last but NOT least, ALL of the papers in our Nevermore collection!

Nevermore is the perfect paper to create Halloween gifts and layouts. One of the best things about these papers is there versatility! You can use these papers to create gifts, cards and layouts that are NOT Halloween themed specific!

A couple of months ago our team did a layout swap to prepare for the release of our new Annual Inspirations and Holiday Expressions.  I choose to do Nevermore (can you guess why?)! It would have been easy to create some Halloween themed layouts BUT where's the challenge in that! Besides some of my teammates wouldn't have a use for Halloween themed layouts!

Click on the pictures to view bigger :)

Layout taken from Cherish Scrapbooking Program pages 70-71, Designers Eye

September was a huge month! Not only did we release our new Annual Inspirations AND Holiday Expressions catalogs but it was also National Stamping Month! Close To My Heart offered 3 different C-size stamp sets.  Each stamp set was designed to fit with a specific type of paper-crafting, whether that’s scrapbooking, cardmaking, or pocket scrapbooking. All the stamp sets coordinate with each other and can be used together to create dynamic artwork. These stamp sets also coordinate with shapes from the new Cricut® Artistry collection!  I choose to use all 3 stamp sets in my layout! Can you tell me how many stamps I used from the 3 sets?

Heat embossed using silver embossing powder

Embellishments used on this layout: Green Shimmer Trim, Silver Foil Tape, Whisper Thick Twine, Silver Sequins Assortment, and Grey Enamel Gems. 
Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad used on this layout: Whisper, Eggplant, Sunset, and Slate

I created a "matching" second layout, cause hey why not right! I made my layouts Birthday Themed but some what generic (and left off any titles) so that they could be used for any age Birthday or even Halloween if the recipient really wanted to (that's why I stuck with the Nevermore color palette). I wanted to give the recipient a chance to add their own personal touches as well.

I attended a Reveal Retreat for CTMH Consultants in July.  One of the projects we made was a Birthday Cake flip flap layout. I used this layout with some modifications for my Birthday Flip Flap layout. 

 

 Flip flaps are closed in the above picture. The 'cake stand' is a cut from the New Artistry Cricut Collection.

 Here you can see they are all 'open' showing the rest of the layout.  I wasn't sure if I wanted a title on the steampunk paper or a picture so I left the embellishments off the page.

I kept this page pretty simple as well.  I used some Green Shimmer Trim {Z3087}, Silver Foil Tape {Z3130} and Whisper Thick Twine {Z3095}.  The balloons are a cricut cut from the Artiste Collection.  Once I decide what pictures I want to use I can then further embellish the layout.  

Here is a video from Close To My Heart.  You can see all the artwork created that is Halloween themed as well as all the wonderful cards and layouts that are NOT Halloween themed! 

Jump on It July!

Jump on It July! 

July Constant Campaign

During the month of July, when you purchase $25 in current, retail priced stamps, you qualify to receive either the July Stamp of the Month, My Acrylix^® Life Is Wonderful, FREE 

or any one of the Hostess Rewards stamp sets featured in Annual Inspirations 2014–2015 or Seasonal Expressions 2 for only $5! That is a savings of up to $17.95! 
 

 

The July Stamp of the Month is a lovely, versatile stamp set that is a great match for your cards and layouts that celebrate all the wonderful things—big and small—that life has to offer. 

Additionally, the Hostess Rewards stamp sets have previously only been available as part of the Hostess Rewards program, which means now is the perfect opportunity to get those special stamp sets you’ve had your eye on!



To get your FREE stamp set or your $5 Hostess Rewards stamp set, simply place an order for $25 of any current, retail priced stamps. This offer is available only during the month of July and applies only to the July Stamp of the Month and current Hostess rewards stamp sets, so spring into action and jump on this deal before it’s gone!

Father's Day :)

I was wasting time on Pinterest the other day when I came across a cute Father's Day card that Laurie Varner had created.  She used one of my favorite stamp sets, C1571 You're the Best (retired).

 Here is my take on Laurie's card.  I used CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge to cut the shirt, tie, pocket and banner.  I cut the shirt in half to get two pieces for two cards.  I did use retired paper, Timberline, but our NEW Jackson paper would look just as good if not better! I stamped the first tool (the hand drill) with Desert Sand ink.  The second tool (a hand saw) with Chocolate ink.I kept the card rather simple compared to Laurie's.  She had more embellishments and another Cricut Cut. Her card was very lovely but I was going for a "less is more" kind of card.

 I used CTMH Thin 3-D Foam Tape(Z2060) to pop up the collar, tie and pocket. 

I used the same foam tape to pop up the banner, but this time I used two pieces stacked on each other on the ends.  This raised the ends of the banner making it look more wavy. 

I used this same shirt cut out to make more cards (in the shape of a shirt!) Will post more about that another day with pictures.  I used the Jackson paper {X7195B} for those cards!

'Picture My Life' Cards in a Non-Traditional Way!

As they say better late then never! I had every intention of posting several times in the month of December, as you can see that didn't happen. lol

I had signed up to do a craft fair on 6 Dec.  My goal was to have handmade Christmas cards (at least 200 of them) to sell.  I figured out what kind of cards I wanted to make, made the list of supplies and ordered what I needed.  I was so excited to be making Christmas cards this year.  My kids were equally excited. I was surprised that even my 11 year old son WANTED to help make cards.  Over the week of Thanksgiving, Monday - Friday we made 242 cards.  About 40 of those cards were non-Christmas cards (see picture below). Even though I was finished making the Christmas cards I couldn't stop! It was so easy to make these cards, and with my kids helping (with the adhesive) it went even faster!!

Here are some pictures of the Christmas cards we made.

Christmas cards using A la Carte Picture My Life Pear & Partridge Scrapbooking Program

Larger Christmas cards using A la Carte Picture My Life Pear & Partridge Scrapbooking Program

Non-Christmas cards using other Picture My Life Scrapbook Programs.

I made two different size Christmas cards, one for the smaller (3x4) PML cards and one for the larger (4x6) PML cards. Even if I hadn't been making these for the craft fair it would have been a great way to make a large number of Christmas cards without breaking the piggy bank.

I used white (Z3024), red (Z1848), and silver (Z1799) shimmer trim.  I only need the 3 rolls, 1 of each color and still had plenty left over! I used silver geometric washi tape (Z1932), silver sequins (Z2013), and bling gems gold assortment (Z2023).  Several sheets of cardstock in 6 different colors (from full packs of cardstock). One can never have too much cardstock!!! The A la Carte Picture My Life™ Pear & Partridge Scrapbooking Program (Z3064) and of course card base/envelopes.

If you haven't given the Picture My Life Scrapbooking program a try, well all I can say is all aboard!  There are so many ways to use these versatile cards! Mini albums, our Display Tray (Z1750), traditional scrapbooking, pocket scrapbooking and SOOO many more ways to use these cards. Check out the picture below for a complete list of A la Carte PML programs, item numbers and price!