Some Great News and a New Project

I am SO VERY EXCITED to tell you that I am joining the brand new Cut it Up Challenges Design Team!

Cut it Up Challenges is a brand new challenge blog that focuses on using die cuts in your paper crafting.    Challenges will be starting September 7th, will run for two weeks, and there will be prizes!  You know me well enough to know that you will be seeing a lot of work coming from my Cricut.  But when you participate in our challenges, you can use absolutely any die cuts!  Don't you think this is going to be a fun?!  I can't wait when we start our challenges next Friday, so be sure to stay tuned!

To get you in the mood, I've created a pretty little project using the Cricut Artiste cartridge.

I used the Artiste cartridge to cut the box, the bows, and the rolled flowers.  You could use the box for a gift, but as you can see, I turned it into an exploding photo album.  What do you think of the new Colonial White Rosette Ribbon?  I love it, and I simply add some pearls to the center to give it even more of a feminine look.

I am really excited to be inspired by all of you when you participate in the Cut it Up Challenges!!

Free Bag - Just One Day Left!

Don't you think this bag is super cute?  We received these bags at Convention, and I fell in love with it right away!  I can carry it on my shoulder or wear it as a backpack.  Don't you want one, too?

Tomorrow, August 31st,  is the last day to join Close To My Heart and receive this bag free!  There are limited quantities available, so you might want to hurry to join.

I want to tell you some more specifics about about the new Consultant Special.  (Be sure to read to the bottom because I have a bonus for you!)

The cost is just $49, and this is what it includes:

• Read Me First Letter
• Current Idea Book (qty. 3)
• Hostess Order Forms (qty. 5)
• Customer Order Forms (qty. 5)
• Close To My Heart Color Swatches 
• Autumn/Winter 2012 B&T Duos^® Sampler
• My Acrylix^® Nature's Delight Petite Perks™ Stamp Set
• Workshops on the Go™ Avonlea Kit 
• Avonlea Complements Canvas Shapes
• My Creations^®Recipe/Photo Box 
• Color-Ready Canvas Alphabet 
• Chocolate Exclusive Inks^® Pad 
• Slate Exclusive Inks^® Pad
• My Acrylix^®Glamour Lowercase Stamp set 
• My Acrylix^® Perfect Fit--Frames Stamp Set 
• 3" x 3" My Acrylix^® Block 
• 2" x 3 1/2" My Acrylix^®Block 

Now how crazy wonderful is this?  You would have everything you need in this kit to host your first Gathering.  I LOVE that this is so affordable for you!!

I have to sideline here, and tell you just how blessed I feel every single day that I get to do what I love.  There is nothing better than sitting at my craft desk and pulling out new paper and stamps!  What I love even more is that the product I purchase from Close To My Heart is generously discounted because I am a consultant.  

I love my team!  They are about the most creative, generous, faith-filled, and caring women in all of Close To My Heart.  Yes, I know I am extremely biased, but truly they are all of those things!  I have a private Facebook group for my team, and even though many of us have never met in person, we are like best friends that would help each other with anything.  Let's see, what states do we encompass?  Well, there's Minnesota, of course, along with California, Maryland, Washington DC, Indiana, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and Texas.  How awesome is that?  (If you stay tuned, you are going to meet several of these lovely ladies on a Rose Blossom Blog Hop at the end of the month.)  I'll tell you a little about my team members:

• Some of my team members are hobbiest consultants.  That means that they LOVE Close To My Heart products, they love being a part of the team, and they love the discount.  With Close To My Heart's low quarterly minimums, it's easy to to be a hobbiest!  
• Some of my other team members are part-time consultants.  They love all the same things as my hobbiest consultants, but they also work their business into their already busy lives so that they make a little money.  Who doesn't like a little extra money to take the family out to dinner, buy those little extras, or contribute to the household income?
• I also have some business builders on my team.  They recognize that Close To My Heart can provide a good steady income just by sharing what they love through classes and Gatherings!  In case you haven't been a reader for long and don't know, Close To My Heart is my full-time job.  I get to do what I love every single day!

I also want to tell you a little about what I offer my team.

• Guidance - I never want anyone to feel like they are in the dark about something, so I work personally with team members and on the Facebook group to help guide them on their journey with CTMH.
• No matter what type of Consultant, I treat everyone the same.  It is terribly important to me that everyone feel valued no matter what type of consultant they choose to be.  The great thing about CTMH is that your goals can change according to what is going on in your life.
• Monthly Challenges - I pose an optional monthly challenge, and it's a fun way for me to teach my team.  The rewards are different every month.
• Experience - In total, I have been with CTMH over 5 years.  I have also been paper crafting for over 20 years!  To read about me, just click on my Resume tab at the top of the page.
• Private Facebook group - This is a great place - and a safe place - to share artwork and to ask questions.

I promised you a BONUS, so here it is.  When you join my team and submit your first $300 in orders within your first month, I will give you $25 in your choice of product!  Close To My Heart also rewards you with $25 in product when you reach that goal, so how awesome is that? 

You can click on the "Join My Team" tab to learn a little more about me or you can click on my "Resume" to review my experience.  I'd like to answer any questions you may have about joining my team and would love to talk about the Close To My Heart opportunity with you!  My e-mail is girlygirlrose43@msn.com and my telephone number for calls and texts is 763-227-0583.  If you are ready to jump right in, visit my website for the online application!

Alcohol Marker Coloring Class

Have you heard?  Close To My Heart carries alcohol markers now!  They come in 40 colors (wow!), and let me tell you a few things about them.

• 40 colors
• Each color comes in a set of 2 markers in coordinating base and shade
• Each marker is dual-tipped; one end is a brush marker and one end is a bullet tip.
• Set of 2 markers is just $5.95

I am having two classes in September to teach how to color with these wonderful markers!  Here are the four cards we will be making:

Each card uses a little different technique, and I am super excited to show you!  Here are the details:

Dates & Times:

• Sunday, September 16 at 4:00 pm, or
• Tuesday, September 18 at 6:30 pm

Location:

• My home

Cost:

• $20

Includes:

• Set of Olive Markers
• Alcohol Blending Pen
• All pre-cut paper and necessary supplies to make 4 cards

Bring:

• Yourself and a bottled beverage - that's it!

Class size is limited to 8 people per class.  This class will sell out quickly (and is already filling!) so be sure to sign up as soon as possible! 

Memory Miser

My projects are being shown on the Memory Miser blog today, so be sure to head over there!  I'd love for you to head over and check it out!

September Card Kit

It's time to bring you the September Card Kit!

September's kit is filled with delightful Cricut Artiste cuts and stamps from It's Your Day, the National Stamping Month special.  You can order this kit now through September 15th for the cost of $6.00 (price includes shipping directly to you).  All kits will be mailed on September 16th.

Card kits come to you pre-cut, pre-stamped, and all the pieces are tucked in the card base that is safe in it's envelope.  Instructions come with the kit to make your crafting time easy and fun!

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you have a great day!

Rose Blossom Blop Hop Winner!

Thank you so much to everyone that shared in the blog hop with me and some of my Rose Blossom team members!  We all had so much fun creating for you, and even more fun reading your comments.  It means the world to all of us that you took the time to go through our artwork and leave such lovely words on our blogs.

The winner of the blog hop is Latoya!  Latoya please let me know how I can reach you so that I can send these wonderful stamp sets to you.

We'll be back in late November with a Christmas blog hop for you, so stay tuned!

Cricut Collections Blog Hop

I am so glad that you stopped into my blog today!  It's time for another Rose Blossom team blog hop, and the party starts right here!  Along this hop some of my team members and I are going to show you some fabulous 3-D items that you can make using your Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge or your Cricut Artiste cartridge.  Everyone is super excited to show you some new artwork!  Of course, there are prizes along the way, so stayed tuned until the end of this post to see how you can qualify to win!

First of all , let me tell you that it was not easy to decide what artwork I would create for you!  I thought maybe a movie night themed project or puzzle pieces.  In the end, I decided to make one of the 3-d bags for you.  This can be found on the "H" key of the Cricut Artiste.

It is our wedding anniversary today, so I wanted to use La Belle Vie and create something soft and romantic.  (Have I told you lately how much I love La Belle Vie?)  Of course, what is La Belle Vie without a little black tulle and some bling? 

Finally, I used the Bonjour stamp set on one of the Artiste tags.  The delicacy of the stamp is just so pretty!  The border is actually two of the same cuts layered at the bottom of the bag.

If you've been following me long enough, you know that I love the Cricut cartridge collections that are exclusive to Close To My Heart.  Two cartridges = 1398 unique cuts.  WOW - I work with them every day, and I still can't get over it!

There will be some prizes at the individual blogs, and I have a grand prize for you! I will be giving away three Close To My Heart stamp sets to one lucky winner!  (Due to copyright laws, I cannot show photos of the sets, but click on each stamp set name to see them.)  All three of these stamp sets coordinate with the Cricut Artiste.  I don't have to tell you that matching stamps and diecuts are just awesome!

• Outta This World
• Love
• Frame It Up 

This almost $40 worth of brand new Close To My Heart stamps!!  Isn't this exciting?!

I bet you want to know the details!  Here are the rules to be eligible to win these stamp sets:

• You must follow and comment each blog on the hop!

• To get one extra ticket in the drawing, let people know that we are having a blog hop.  Simply share a few lines letting people know that there are prizes to be won by visiting our blogs.  Come back and post a second time on my blog to let me know that you have done that!

The blog hop goes through Sunday, August 26th at 11:59 pm.  I will be drawing a random winner on Monday and posting on my blog.

Now it's time to hop over to Sara's blog to see her lovely work!  Should you get lost along the way, come on back here to find the blogs:

Brenda

Sara

Kim

Marg

Crystal

Lynn 

Tammie

Have fun on the hop!  I know you'll find loads of inspiration!!

A Little Studio J

I found some photos of my nephew by googling him.  I suppose we could all find pictures of ourselves that way, but these are the types of photos that I always try to capture when I watch my nephews play baseball.

The newspaper photographers did a great job, don't you think?  There are a couple of reasons I chose to do this layout in Studio J.

1. I couldn't find the right paper to match his uniform.  But in Studio J, I can change the color of the paper to anything I want!  The star patterned paper was originally black, but I changed it to smokey plum.   It still wasn't quite the right color but I changed the intensity of the color to make it match just right.  All the while, I was able to keep the star pattern!  I also added honey (the yellow color) to the layout because their colors are purple and gold.  The grey in the embellishments matches the uniform pants, so it all coordinates just the way I like it!
2. I know that as soon as this arrives and I see her, I will be giving this layout to my sister.  But I am going to want a copy for myself, too!  In Studio J, I can make as many copies as I'd like!

Have you tried Studio J yet?  I'd love for you to hop over there, and set up a free account.  It is free to try - you can even upload photos and play around with it for absolutely nothing.  There is no need to download anything as this is online software.  Close To My Heart has made this so easy to use that I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised.  Do you see the stitched stars?  Those are an embellishment - finally I am stitching on my layouts!!

Have I told you about the Express Collections?  You've got to pop in and see them!  They are pages all ready to go!  How easy is that?!  All you need to do is pop in your photos and do some journaling.  What a great idea!

One last thing - are you sad when a paper packet discontinues?  I know I was sad to see Sonoma go!  But it lives on in Studio J.  I can go in there and use the paper, matching stickease, and embellishments. Take a look, and as always, let me know if you have any questions!  I'd love to show you how to use this fabulous program!

Cricut Artiste Video and a Project

This is a fabulous video that does a great job of showing you the technicalities of the Cricut Artiste cartridge!

 

Now I wanted to show you something I put together this afternoon using all of the new 3-D rolled flowers.  I love flowers you know, and I think that this little box fits piles and piles of flowers together perfectly!

Don't you think this would make nice centerpieces on a bridal shower table?  I've used the Clementine paper along with some Rhinestone Brads, Bohemian Doily, Color Ready Ribbon (inked with Creme Brulee), and pieces of Colonial White Rosette Ribbon.

Now I'd like you to stay tuned for Saturday.  My team is having a blog hop!  We will be focusing on the Cricut collections and showing you some great 3-D projects, and of course, there will be prizes involved!!

Roses

Every once in awhile, I just need some time for myself with my paper, inks, and stamps.  I think you probably know what I mean.  Just for the pure love of paper crafting, I need to sit down and create something pretty.  It is our 22nd wedding anniversary on Saturday, so I was thinking of my husband when I created this card.

I so enjoy working with the new CTMH alcohol markers.  They are easy to color with and because there are two in a set (base and shade), coloring is fun and easy.  It took me longer to cut the flowers out than it did to color them!  For this card I used the upcoming January 2013 Stamp of the Month which is called Happy Valentine's.  Those roses are just so lovely, and I think Ruby and Olive markers were a good color combination.  This is La Belle Vie paper embellished with black tulle and black striped grosgrain.  I finished the card off with some bling.  If you click on the photo, you might be able to see that I have dew drops of Liquid Glass on the rose petals.

My advice to you is simple.  When you are feeling the need to go and make something beautiful, just do it.  In the end, it will make you feel much better and you'll renew your energy!

Pirouette

Happy Sunday to you!  I hope that you are finding your day blessed!

I used this Pirouette stamp on another card, and I just couldn't resist bringing it out again.

I created my own background paper for this card using the script stamp from Universal Backgrounds and Champagne ink.  The pirouette image and sentiment (Words of Comfort set) are stamped in Slate ink.  I added a little Slate Satin Polka Dotted Ribbon, a couple of grey sparkles, and the card was finished.

I was out in the sun a little too long yesterday.  My fair skin is looking a little red today even though I was under a sun umbrella most of the day.  My husband and I spent the day at my two nephews' baseball game.  Do you ever have those days where you are so relaxed that you realize that you wouldn't want to be anywhere else?  That's how I felt yesterday watching some great baseball, catching up with my sister, and enjoying the beautiful day!  Today I am going to one of my team members' first Gathering, and I am really excited for her!  It should be a fun day - any time Close To My Heart is involved, it's a good day!

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you are all enjoying the day!

Thanks

This is another of the lovely card bases from the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  Don't you love that "thanks" is a part of the card?  It makes a really special card!  The paper I've used is Flirty, and the rich color lends itself well to the New England Ivy card base.  Go ahead and click on the image to see the flowers a little better.  They are stamped and cut from the Love Blooms stamp set.  I stacked the smaller flower on the larger one to give them dimension and sponged them with Goldrush ink.  I think the Burlap ribbon is so fun!  (I just know that when CTMH was creating it they said, "Brenda Rose is going to use a lot of this so let's bring it to the CTMH product line."  LOL!!  Well, even if they didn't, I will be using a lot of it!!)  The banner stamp is from one of the Cricut Artiste stamps, and the sentiment "blessings abound" is from the Abundance set.  Which by the way is so very pretty that I have to show you:

I wanted to show you this set because we will be utilizing it in an Alcohol Markers coloring class in September!  So watch for those details in the next couple of weeks!

Ok, today is the day to get the card kits in the mail, so I'd better hop to it!  I hope you have a stamp, ink, and paper-filled day!

New ScrapFIT Challenge and a Stamp Set for $5!

Hey, we've got a sketch for you this week at ScrapFIT!

I had to step completely out of my comfort zone and clean lines to create this one for you!

If you click on the photo, you'll be able to see this layout larger.  Take a look at the center photo where my nephew is talking to his son.  I simply love this photo.

When you play along with us at ScrapFIT this week, you have the opportunity to win the Last Summer Romance Kit from Paper Issues!

I did a lot of stamping on this layout.  In fact, the stamping is the embellishment here - and what fun embellishment it is!  All of those stamps are on one double stamp set called "It's Your Day."

Perfect for card making and scrapbooking, this is the Close To My Heart special for National Stamping Month.  When you purchase $35 in Close To My Heart product, you can receive this double stamp set for just $5.  How awesome is that?!  I don't know any other place you can go to get that many stamps for that price.  Think of what an awesome gift this would be, too!

Shop now through September 30th on my website to get this crazy awesome special!!

New Clearance Items!!

Oh my goodness - run to my website to get some amazing deals!!  I can't believe all the items that were added today!!  Here's a little idea of what you will find:

$1.00 will get you Cruisin' Foil Images!

What about a 12x12 Quick Pic Album for just $2.00?!

With the shipping option of 4.95% or $4.95, it more affordable than ever to shop on my website.  Happy shopping!!

Happy Halloween...

...in August!  We had such hot weather for so long that I have been finding myself wishing for fall.  Fall weather and fall colors are my absolute favorite!  So  today I have a Halloween card for you using the exclusive stamp set in the Spellbound Workshop on the Go.

The argyle is one of the stamps in the set - isn't it fun?  The spider web and sentiment bases were cut with the  Artiste cartridge.  So. Much. Fun.  I am loving the black tulle, and I could easily find a place for it on everything I create.  (I hope that we see more colors of it in the future!)

The Crazy Challenge is looking for cards with black, white, and one other color.  This fits that requirement!

Thanks for visiting, and I hope you are finding many blessings already this week!

Monthly Scrapbook Club

It's time for me to tell you about Monthly Scrapbook Club starting in September!  I LOVE club, and I so enjoy teaching my club members little details about our product.  Whether you are near or far, club is something that you can participate in!  Well, first let me show you the pages for September, and then I will give you all the info!

In September, we are working with Scholastic.  Now Scholastic is a wonderful back to school paper.  Because I love the vintage feel of it, I wanted to show how it can be used for other photos as well.  So using the Scholastic WOTG as a springboard, that is how I created these pages! (You can see the WOTG examples on page 47 of your Fall/Winter Idea Book.)  Let me tell you how I'd like to use these pages.  The top layout was designed with my son in mind.  He is starting college at the end of the month, and what I'd like to do is put his first day of Kindergarten photo on one side and the first day of college on the other.  I've got plenty of journaling to do about education from all those in between years.  Cross your fingers for me that he will let me take that photo!!

I am using the second layout to do a layout about why I read, why I love to read, my favorite books.  It will go in my "All About Me" book.  (Do you have one of those?  We'll talk about that in another post because I'd really like to get you started on that!)

As you can see, there are plenty of new Cricut Artiste cuts - notebook paper, argyle, file folder, paper clips, and buttons.  Let me tell you how club works:

• Club goes from September 2012 through May 2012.
• Cost is $20 per month for two 2-page layouts (long distance club add $5 for shipping)
• Papers are pre-cut and sorted so that your time is enjoyable and fun!
• Each month you work with different embellishments and techniques to complete your pages, and I teach each page so that you aren't just coming and putting pages together.  It wouldn't be any fun for me if I didn't get to instruct you!  (Long distance club members get full color photos with pertinent instructions.)
• This is a Hostess Club!  This means that during one of the club months, you are a hostess and will receive at least $25 in Hostess Rewards.  Club hostesses can increase their rewards by bringing in outside orders or holding a Home Gathering.  This is a great way to get that new Cricut Artiste cartridge half-price!!

Club is easy and fun!  I've seen so many people develop friendships through monthly club, and I love that!  All you will need each month is a standard supply kit - tape runner, glue dots, foam dots, ruler, and paper piercing tool.  If anything special is needed, I'll let you know or I'll have it available for your use.

I have space available on the second Tuesday and third Monday of each month.  Class time is always 6:30 pm.  Please contact me at 763.227.0583 or e-mail me at girlygirlrose43@msn.com if you are interested in joining.

Long distance - I try to make everything as easy and fun for you as I do for those that attend in my home.  My goal is to teach and share Close To My Heart product in as many ways as possible, so please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions!

Are you a Consultant? - You are welcome to join monthly club.  Just contact me for further details on how I include consultants in club!

Love Begins

This is the beautiful and exclusive teal that is in Avonlea.  I cut the card base, layer, wrap, and flowers with the Artiste cartridge.  The random medallions are the stamp Pirouette.  To give you an idea of the size of the stamp, this is a 6x6 card.  Truly just a lovely stamp to match this paper.  The vines and sentiment are Avonlea canvas shapes.

Thanks for visiting, and I hope that you have a great weekend planned!

Peace and Comfort

I am working my way through all the paper packets to create cards for my display boards.  Today I am working with the warm autumn colors of Flirty.

I made the card base and slide using the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  Let me tell you, I will not get tired of this cartridge any time soon! The goldrush paper and burlap ribbon really work well together.  The colors are very soothing to me, and I thought this would make a good sympathy card, so I chose a sentiment from the Words of Comfort set.  The challenge this week at Heart 2 Heart is to make a sympathy card, so I am entering this into that challenge.

Let me tell you about the leaves.  This is a new stamp set called Fall Harvest.  I really like the rustic look of the leaves in this set, and what I did was stamp one of them with New England Ivy ink.  From there, I sponged the center quite heavily with goldrush ink.  Using a lighter touch, I did the outsides of the leaves.  This  is the first time I've played with this set, and I am quite certain you will see it again and again!

Birthday Girl

The paper on the cover of the Fall/Winter Idea Book is called Avonlea, and I decided to play with it today.

Avonlea is one of three paper packets that contains exclusive colors that can only be purchased within the paper packet.  For this card, I used the Avonlea Teal print.  This is one of the lovely card base envelopes from the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  Yep, this is an envelope!  I decorated it as a card because it really is nice for holding a gift card.  The tiara is part of the envelope diecut, and in order to make it look like a real tiara I covered it with silver glitz gel.  I also used the Cricut Artiste cartridge to diecut "birthday girl."  The ribbon is our beautiful Slate Satin  - don't you love the subtle polka dots?  A button and a couple of hat pins finished off this card perfectly!

Rose Blossoms

Although I love them, in this post, I am not talking about flowers.  I am talking about Rose Blossoms of another kind - my fabulous team members!

Let me start out by asking you to think back to the last time you spent $49 on paper crafting supplies.  Wouldn't it have been nice to get a fabulous discount on all of those supplies knowing that if you forgot to pick something up that the discount would always be there?

Well, that's what you get when you join Close To My Heart!  The new consultant kit is just $49, and it is filled with loads of great product.

As a bonus in August, you also receive a beautiful Damask tote bag when you join Close To My Heart!

Now on to my Rose Blossoms team.  I love my team!  They are about the most creative, generous, faith-filled, and caring women in all of Close To My Heart.  Yes, I know I am extremely biased, but truly they are all of those things!  I have a private Facebook group for my team, and even though many of us have never met in person, we are like best friends that would help each other with anything.  Let's see, what states do we encompass?  Well, there's Minnesota, of course, along with California, Maryland, Washington DC, Indiana, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and Texas.  How awesome is that?  (If you stay tuned, you are going to meet several of these lovely ladies on a Rose Blossom Blog Hop at the end of the month.)  I'll tell you a little about my team members:

• Some of my team members are hobbiest consultants.  That means that they LOVE Close To My Heart products, they love being a part of the team, and they love the discount.  With Close To My Heart's low quarterly minimums, it's easy to to be a hobbiest!  
• Some of my other team members are part-time consultants.  They love all the same things as my hobbiest consultants, but they also work their business into their already busy lives so that they make a little money.  Who doesn't like a little extra money to take the family out to dinner, buy those little extras, or contribute to the household income?
• I also have some business builders on my team.  They recognize that Close To My Heart can provide a good steady income just by sharing what they love through classes and Gatherings!  In case you haven't been a reader for long and don't know, Close To My Heart is my full-time job.  I get to do what I love every single day!

I also want to tell you a little about what I offer my team.

• Guidance - I never want anyone to feel like they are in the dark about something, so I work personally with team members and on the Facebook group to help guide them on their journey with CTMH.
• No matter what type of Consultant, I treat everyone the same.  It is terribly important to me that everyone feel valued no matter what type of consultant they choose to be.  The great thing about CTMH is that your goals can change according to what is going on in your life.
• Monthly Challenges - I pose an optional monthly challenge, and it's a fun way for me to teach my team.  The rewards are different every month.
• Experience - In total, I have been with CTMH over 5 years.  I have also been paper crafting for over 20 years!  To read about me, just click on my Resume tab at the top of the page.
• Private Facebook group - This is a great place - and a safe place - to share artwork and to ask questions.

Do you have questions about the Close To My Heart opportunity?  I would love to answer them for you!  You can telephone (763.227.0583) or e-mail me (girlygirlrose43@msn.com).  If you are ready to join, just go to my WEBSITE, and fill out the six-question form.  You'll have almost immediate access to the online office, your own personal (and free!) website, and you will have your kit and tote bag on your doorstep in the next week!

Very sincerely, I would love to call you a Rose Blossom!!

15-Minute Gift Bag

I wanted to show you just one of the pretty gift bags that you can create with the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  Truly this is a 15-minute project!  I've used La Belle Vie paper - my new favorite!  (Well, at least for now!)

The Artiste manual told me to cut this bag at 4.5", so I did just that.  To make things easy for yourself in creating this, don't remove your mat.  Go on then to cutting the two accordion folds at 2" for the medallion and the 4" flower for the center.  Before putting it all together, I quickly sponged the edges with Desert Sand pigment ink.  The 1x1 size of the pigment pad is perfect for doing edges quickly.

The Cricut scores the accordion fold lines and when that was together, I added a little black tulle (I love this product!) and rolled up the rose for the center.  Liquid Glass is the best adhesive for putting this altogether for a firm bond.  When it's all put together this bag measures about 4.5" tall and 5.5" wide.  It's just perfect for  gift of jewelry, gift card, or any other small item.  And what a pretty way to give a gift!

Keeping watching because I am busy discovering what this cartridge can do!

Moonlight

There is a new paper called Moonlight that is super cute for Halloween!  I have so many Halloween pictures to scrapbook from Shane's little years, so I am thrilled that this is such a fun paper.

Pretty Halloween-y, right?  I love the colors, and if you look close enough, you'll see that this is also great for fall photos and masculine paper crafting.  Let me show you a couple of things I've created with it!

This card is one that my guests created at my Open House last Saturday.  I used the Cricut Artiste cartridge to cut the web border, spiders, and boo.  The finishing touches were some edge distressing and the little eyes made with the new silver metallic pen.

Next, I've got a two page layout.  For those of you thinking about club, this will be one of the club layouts in October.  (More about club to come in the next couple of days.)

Don't you love that faux stitching?  I used my clear ruler for straight lines, and I "stitched" with the silver metallic marker.  I used the Artiste cartridge to cut EEK, the spider web, and spider. Such fun colors!

It finally cooled off a little here in Minnesota.  We had about a month of temperatures in the 90s with high humidity.  It feels good to have the windows open again!  Thanks for visiting, and I hope your days are blessed!

A Gift for ME!

One of my dear friends and downline gave me this gift yesterday.

Isn't this beautiful!  Sara created this topiary using the Art Philosophy cartridge, and she stamped the center flower with the Hooray Bouquet stamp set.  I would love for you to visit her blog (you are going to want to follow!).  She does incredible work!  Thank you so much, Sara - this is like a ray of sunshine in my living room!!

Dakota

Time to share some more new product!  Today, I am bringing you Dakota.  This is beautiful paper, and I wish that I would have had it when I scrapped my son's horse book.  It is perfect - and the colors combination is just fabulous.  It is dilled with Barn Red, Black, Pacifica, and our new Whisper.  Let me show you what I created with it!

The stamp set I used is a special stamp set that we received at the Dallas Convention.  I love it, and it goes perfectly with this paper.  I don't want you to think this all about horses, though, so let me show you a layout that was created by the Close To My Heart artists.

Woodgrain paper is so popular now, so to use it as the background is very trendy and fun!

Thanks so much for visiting, and I hope you are enjoying these sneak peeks into the Idea Book!

The Cricut Artiste Collection

If you love your Cricut, you've undoubtedly been wanting to know more about the Close To My Heart Artiste Collection.  With 700 images, you’ll find a themed project for any event, large or small, from Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Halloween, to occasions like birthdays and baby showers, plus clever motifs like signage, game night, gears, timepieces, awards, and more. There are three coordinating My Acrylix^® D-size stamp sets to jazz up your Cricut accents, then splash in some Dimensional Elements shapes from the three included sets for added flair! The Artiste cartridge makes it easy to create a charming, cohesive project, taking you from crafter to awesome artiste in a flash!


I will be showing you many projects in the days to come, so stay tuned!  In the meantime, here are all 700 images for you to look through!

A great way for you to get the Artiste cartridge at a lower price is to hold a Gathering!  For as little as $250 in orders, you can get $40 in Hostess Rewards and one half-price item.  That makes this awesome collection just $49.50!


If you are not local, we can set up an Online Gathering that is fast, simple, and easy for you!  Please contact me at (763) 227-0583  or at girlygirlrose43@msn.com, and I can get you started right away!

New Artwork!

Have you looked through the new Idea Book?  Are you as excited as I am?!  There's just so much goodness between those pages!  One of the things that I love are the new Workshops on the Go.  There are three home decor kits and two card-making kits.  Today I want to tell you about Spellbound.

This  an AWESOME Halloween workshop that really utilizes the new Cricut Artiste cartridge along with exclusive paper and an exclusive stamp set.  This is a complete party for 8, and it contains the instructions for cupcake wrappers & pins, a banner, drink wrappers, and treat bags.  It takes about 6 hours to complete and is so worth it!

I think it's so much fun to cut and customize bags.  I can't wait till October to cut a jack-o-lantern with the faces from the Artiste cartridge!

Yep. the Cricut Artiste cartridge makes the lovely banners and accordion-folded flowers.

I'll be using these spider web wrapper at a club night in October.  How cute are they?

What do you think?  I love the traditional black, orange, and white colors in this set with the fun design.  Let me know if you have any questions!  I would love to help!