MS Crop Layouts

I am participating in an MS Benefit Crop next weekend, so I thought I would share the layouts I will be teaching.  I have a 30-minute slot for teaching each class, so I had to make the layouts simple but fun.  I think it will be great fun again this year!!

April Card Kit

I wanted to make a bright, cheerful and floral card kit for the month of April!

All cards come to you pre-stamped, pre-cut, and with instructions.  As you can see, there are cards for different occasions in this kit.  You will be able to sit down and put these cards together easily!

I will create 40 kits, and that's when they will be sold out!  You can pay easily and directly with a check, debit card, or credit card by using the PayPal button below.  If you would like to send a physical check, contact me at girlygirlrose43@msn.com.  These kits will be available until April 15th, and they will be mailed out on April 16th.

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Quick Little Easter Basket and a Good Book

I am teaching a class tonight, so I wanted something festive for the center of the table.  Naturally, I turned to the Artiste cartridge to make this cute little basket.

Maybe this took 15 minutes to make - really!  I had scraps of Chantilly, and I used the Spring/Easter key to make all the cuts.  Let's see, that would be the basket, handle, grass, and flowers.  I used red super tape to hold it all together so that it's good and strong for these jelly beans.  I had been hoarding saving some discontinued blush brads, and they worked nicely for the handle and center of flowers.  What a fun little piece for your Easter table or to set on a co-workers desk!

I have been reading a wonderful book called "I Declare" by Joel Osteen.  What a wonderfully uplifting book!    The book is divided into 31 small chapters somewhat like a monthly devotional.  These bite-sized nuggets are just enough for one day because there is so much to ponder.  If you are looking for a thought-provoking book that will surely strengthen your faith, I would recommend this one!

Thanks for stopping by today!

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Have You Heard?

The Rose Blossom Garden Challenge Blog is opening soon!  We will be sharing our first official reveal and challenge on Monday, April 1st!

Want to know what it's all about?  Our challenges will be based on specific keys from one of the Close To My Heart Cricut cartridges - either Art Philosophy or Artiste.  You have to tune in to find out which key and from what cartridge on the 1st and 15th of each month.  We will have a Top 3 for each challenge, and a monthly Top Blossom!  The Top Blossom will receive a Cricut-compatible stamp set from Close To My Heart!

Doesn't this sound like fun?  A lot of you have the Art Philosophy and/or the Artiste, so I know that you are going to love this!  If you don't have the cartridges, you can click here to order!

Best of all, we are giving away a NEW FOLLOWER prize on Sunday, March 31st!  It is this marvelous stamp set that coordinates with several Cricut cuts!

Want to hear something fun?  We are at 78 followers right now, and if we reach 100 followers by March 31st, we will give away TWO stamp sets!  So come and join us, follow along, and share the news!!

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Spring

So the calendar says it's Spring.  But we are really stuck in winter here in Minnesota.  So I went looking forward a Spring challenge, and I found Laurel's photo challenge at Inspired By:

Those of you that know me well, know that I am not a "pink girl."  But I loved the base of pink and rolled flowers in this photo.

This is what I came up with up using a My Creations Block.  I love these little cubes!  They measure 3x3 and are fast and easy to decorate.  I use Bonding Memories Broad Tip Glue Pen to adhere the paper to the block, and then I use Liquid Glass to attach the embellishments.  It makes a nice piece of decor for your desk, shelf, or kitchen cupboard.

Other items I used are Dark Chocolate Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Hollyhock Zipper Lace, Pink Glitter Gems, Chantilly Paper, Chantilly Dimensional Elements, Chantilly Fabric Buttons, and the Artiste cartridge to cut the flowers.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope this little piece brought some Spring into your day!

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Follow Your Dreams

I wanted to use the sketch over at Get Creative, so I put together a masculine card this morning.

I used two background stamps to create the squares within this card.  I matted the map stamp from the Tommy Workshop on the Go with the grid stamped pieces from Universal Backgrounds.  The center tag was cut from the Art Philosophy cartridge, and I used a sentiment from the Tommy WOTG set.  I embellished this card with chevron ribbon and epoxy bubbles.  This would make a good Graduation card, don't you think?

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a great day!

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Everlasting Life

I found a lovely sketch at Sketchbook Saturday, and I decided to put together an Easter card.

Let me tell you a little bit about how I put this together.  First of all, the three colors I've used for this card are Slate, Buttercup, and Colonial White.  There is no patterned paper as I've stamped Colonial White to create the patterns.  I've used the floral stamp from a discontinued set (Intrinsic Backgrounds) to stamp the bottom half of the card as well as the butterflies.  The rolled flowers added just the right amount of balance for the butterflies, and I was able to tuck them around the sentiment which is from Everlasting Life.  The bracket, flowers, and butterflies were cut with the Artiste cartridge.  I've added grey sparkles, washi tape, and grey wool twine to finish off the card.

I'll also be entering this card into:

• Twist of Faith - Easter
• ABC Challenges - Flowers

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Canvas Art Workshop on the Go

We have a wonderful new Canvas Art Workshop on the Go in the Spring/Summer Idea Book.

I made this at a retreat this weekend, and I quickly hung it on the wall as soon as I got home.  This is a fabulous piece of home decor!  It comes with:

• C-Sized Canvas Art Workshop Stamp Set (boy, is this a versatile set!)
• 12x12 Chevron-Printed Canvas
• 2 sheets of Dimensional Elements (you have many choices so that this canvas fits your decor!)
• Cashmere Baker's Twine
• Large Clear Sparkles
• Sparkle Flourish
• Instruction Booklet

I am very, very happy with this project and so glad to be able to have this on my wall!

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Thank U

My friend and downline is on the Cardabilities Design Team, so I wanted to play along with her first challenge reveal.  The sketch is great:

and this is what I came up with using the Claire paper packet:

The "U" is a color resist letter from the Houndstooth Alphabet, and I used the Artiste cartridge to cut the flowers.  Color ready seam binding is always a favorite of mine, and I colored this peace using a sorbet alcohol marker.  The banners are from the Noted Canvas Shapes, and the flower is from the Wooden Mini Medleys.

Thanks for stopping by again today!  I am getting a lot of fun stuff done this retreat weekend!!

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Hinged Display Tray

One of the things I wanted to complete while I am here on retreat is this 5x7 Hinged Display Tray.

These are a few of the pictures I took while we on the beach in Grenada.  I used Tommy and the Tommy Canvas Shapes to decorate the tray.  This was our favorite port on the cruise, so I didn't want to over-do it and take away from the photos.  CTMH gave us a stamp with all the port names, so I stamped Grenada with outdoor denim pigment ink.

Now I brought home a water bottle full of sand from the Grenada, and I thought one of our clear treat tubes would hold some of it perfectly.  I squeezed a little Liquid Glass in the top of the tube so that it will be secure.  I also used Liquid Glass to secure the tube to the tray.

I know that Jerry will love this, and that makes me very, very happy to have finished it!

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Studio J Special Ends Today!

Today is your last day to get Studio J layouts for $5!  Do you have some that you'd like to pop into an Express Layout?  In the Express Collections, all you need to do is drop/drag photos and journal.

The only thing I did with this layout was add photos, and add a little journaling.  So fast and easy!!  I love that my photos re-sized to exactly the dimensions necessary!  

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Tommy

I am leaving to go on a 4-day scrapbooking retreat, and I am so excited!  Bags are packed, and tomorrow I'll leave in the morning.  It's going to be so much fun!  But I wanted to make sure that I shared a new layout with you before I left.

This is Tommy (sorry about the glare on the left page).  Because we spend so much time exploring the state and all it's beautiful lakes, this paper is perfect for my scrapbooking.  All of the stamping you see is from the Tommy WOTG and Sail Away stamp sets. The banner stamp is great!  This is just a super fun set of pages.  I love looking at my husband's smiling face!

Thanks for stopping by!  I am going to have a lot to show you after this weekend!!




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Quick and Fun Idea

I don't know if you've noticed, but on page 126 of the Idea Book, there is a great new product.  They are My Creations Paper Pouches.  They are food-safe paper bags, and there are 20 in each set.  They come in two sizes and are super affordable! The 3"x4" bags are $2.95, and the 5"x6" bags are $3.95.  I am showing you a 5"x6" bag today.

Pretty cute, right?  I've used the Girls Rock stamp set on this bag and chose to of random.  I've got just one flower popped up to balance the ribbon.

Don't you think these are great?  I love using these bags because they can be altered to use for any occasion.  Oh, how I wish I had had these years ago when we had parties for Shane and his friends.  We had parties for every holiday and every occasion for him when he was little.  How nice it would have been to have these bags and just stamp away!

Thanks for stopping by today!  If you haven't checked out the new Rose Blossom Garden Challenge Blog yet, I invite you to hop over there.  We will start challenges on April 1st, but during the next few weeks you'll get to me the design team members!

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A New Challenge Blog!

I am so OVER-THE-TOP excited to tell you about a new challenge blog - Rose Blossom Garden!  You have visited our blog hops and know just what kind of creativity there is when it comes to my Rose Blossom team!  Head over to the challenge blog and read what it's about!  We'd love for you to follow and play along with us!

P.S.  You'll need your Close To My Heart Cricut cartridges!  What fun we are going to have!!

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Simple Pleasures

Every month, I pose a challenge to my team members.  If they take the challenge, they get a handmade stamp of the month from me for the next month.  A great deal of fun stepping outside the box that yields a business building card!  Well, what kind of leader would I be if I didn't take the challenge?  So that's what I am bringing you today!

This month, I asked my team members to create any type of project using just four colors - Gypsy, Honey, Pear, and White Daisy.  Absolutely no other colors.  So this was a challenge - even for me - but it was fun!

This is a box cut from the "Be Mine" key on the Artiste cartridge (page 71).  I don't know if you can see it, but I've painted the box and white flowers with Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint.  Have you ever worked with that?  Every time I bring it out, I think of what a great (and affordable) product it is.  I've used it white, but you can mix any re-inker with it to make it any color you'd like!

Okay, back to the box.  The flowers and leaves are also cut from the Artiste using the "F" key (page 54).  I colored Color Ready Ribbon with with a Gypsy marker (oh, how easy is that?!).  The sentiment is from the Love life stamp set, and I've added some retired pear and honey embellishments.  Really, this box was very quick and easy!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a very special announcement!!

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A Card to Share and Why I Scrapbook

I have a photo and paper sitting on my desk waiting to scrapbook.  I've been looking at it for 3 days, and I just can't get started on it.  I will tell you about that after I share my card.  I saw a lovely sketch at Stuck On U Sketches, and I knew just what I wanted to do.

I haven't rolled flowers for awhile, and I knew I wanted to add them to the stamp and gem cluster on this card.  The paper is For Always, and I have really started to see the beauty of this paper.  It's not just fabulous in design, but it's also one of the few paper packets where you could add absolutely any color, and it would still be gorgeous.  I love that versatility!  The flourish stamp is from a very old set - Key to My Heart.  I've used ruby for stamping, and I used ruby for the flowers, too.  There are three ribbons - black grosgrain, tulle, and black shimmer trim.  Don't you love that glittered button?  Those are in the new black button collection.  Because I've used ribbon and a button, this also works for the Black Tie Challenge.

Now about that scrapbook page.  Maybe I should back up a bit and tell you why I scrapbook.  Yes, my books are for future generations.  I want my story told in my eye view to be passed along.  But my books are also for me.  When I am old, I want to look back and remember.  Perhaps my memory won't be so clear, and I want to be able to recall the days of my life.  Scrapbooking is also therapy for me.  When something difficult has happened, I yearn to scrapbook it because I think that is the way that I work things out.  Can you identify?  There is a wonderful book called "Imperfect Lives," and it has done a wonderful job of teaching me that scrapbooking is necessary for the good and the bad.

Those layouts go into a personal book, and more often than not, the journaling is hidden.  I will be the first to admit that it is not a book that I look back on very often.  But when I do, I can see the way God has used the circumstance to make me a stronger and better person.  And for that, in the end, I rejoice.

So that is what I am working on - one of those tougher layouts.  Maybe it will be done tomorrow, and maybe it won't be done for months.  I am not a power scrapbooker, so it's okay with me if it sits.  When the words finally come, it will be real and it will be perfect.

Thanks for stopping in today and reading my ramblings!  I hope that you are having a wonderfully blessed weekend!

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God Bless You

I sure love making Easter cards.  They are so bright and cheery!

Clementine's sorbet is a lovely color for Spring.  The sentiment is from Card Chatter - Sympathy, and is one of my favorites.    Such a simple card to make!

Thank you for stopping by!

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Studio J

The $5 Studio J special goes through March 15th, and I wanted to make sure that I got some pages done.  Last night I brought my laptop to the family room, and within 2 hours, I had 5 layouts done!  I thought I'd share a couple of them with you today.  Both of these are Express Collection layouts, so the nice thing was that all I had to do was pop pictures in and journal.

Journaling reads:  We love getting away.  Together.  Alone.  Just the two of us.  We usually pick a cabin by the lake.  A place to put the boat in the water.  A place to listen to the loons.  As close to the water as possible.  And we are very happy.  And filled with peace.  And in love.

(Future generations will see that instead of "to" in a couple of places, I typed "ot."  That was me not looking closely enough when I approved the layouts.  BUT I am okay with mistakes on my layouts.  My grandchildren will know that I wasn't perfect!)

Did you notice the detailed embellishment in both of these layouts?  I LOVE that I didn't have to think about that last night.  Traditional scrapbooking will always be my first love, but I really like Studio J for pictures like these.

When you drag a picture into the photo well, Studio J automatically resizes it.  That is how I was able to get large and small photos in the second layout.  Isn't that a nice feature?

I invite you to give Studio J a try.  There is no cost to create an account.  There are no embellishments or paper to buy.  Studio J is one flat rate - for everything!  And right now through March 15th, that cost is just $5.00.

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact me!

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Wishing You Peace

It has been snowing here the last couple of days, so it's a good opportunity to sit in my craft room and create.  It looks like we've got about 9" of fresh snow so far, and it's still snowing.  I can't deny that it's awfully pretty!

It seems as though the Mojo Monday sketch always make me want to sit down and create something pretty.

I pulled out my creme brulee ink and realized that if CTMH ever discontinued this color I'd have to make a personal plea.  This shade of yellow really is so versatile and speaks to me in a way like no other color.  It matches almost every color, and it's just so plain beautiful!

There is no patterned paper on this card.  I've used Lovely Lily (B1401) and Universal Background (D1477) stamps to create the pattern.  The embellishments I've used are hemp baker's twine (Z1837), garden wooden shapes (Z1718), and pearl opaque gems (Z1336).

I'm also including this card in the following challenges:

• Dynamic Duos (color challenge)
• Heck of a Challenge (spring, butterflies, and pearls)
• Addicted to Stamps (bring on spring/flowers)
• Heart 2 Heart (Spring forward)

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Spring

One thing I consistently hear when I am teaching is that people are afraid to put flowers on their husband's or son's pages.  I don't have a hard time with this at all.  My husband, of course, loves the rustic outdoor pages I create for his book, but he also loved the colors on this page.  This is Chantilly, and it's matching dimensional elements.  Are you surprised?  .I sure am!  On first glance, I think when we see this paper packet we see the pinks, yellows, and greens.  But I created this layout to bring out the warm blues of twilight.  I used the Artiste cartridge to cut the title "spring."  The little treasure on these two pages is the use of the large rose from the March Stamp of the Month.  I tucked them behind the clusters.

So there are flowers, spring colors, and pink glitter gems.  I hope I've inspired you to step out of the "normal" colors and try something new with your pages!

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