Holiday Decor with Instructions

I think by now you've all noticed the trees on the cover of the Holidays from the Heart Gift Guide.  

They are so beautiful, and I've been wanting to make at least one for myself.  My favorite piece of paper in the Sparkle and Shine packet is the silver houndstooth, so I decided to go with a silver tree.

This paper is so shiny in itself that I wish I could have photographed that shine for you.    Now let me tell you what I did so that you can make your own tree. 

You will need 5 sheets of paper and your Artiste cartridge to cut the yo-yos.  You can actually choose any one of the several yo-yos on the cartridge, but my "go to" yo-yos are always two on page 55 of the handbook.  They are accent 4 or 3-D object + shift.  I used the one on the 3-D object key for this tree.  You will have to cut two of each to make the yo-yo, so there is a total of 22  die-cuts.  

CUTS

1"

1-1/4"

1-1/2"

1-1/2"

1-3/4"

1-3/4"

1-3/4"

2

2-1/4"

2-1/4"

2-1/2"

Punch twenty-two 1-1/4" circles.  Once you've got the pieces accordion folded, form them into yo-yo by adhering two together with Liquid Glass.  Put a dollop of Liquid Glass on one of the circles so that you have a solid base for your yo-yo.  Then put Liquid Glass in the center of the yo-yo and add a circle to the top.  You may have to hold it for a second or two, but this is going to be an extremely strong yo-yo!

Stack all the yo-yos to create a tree.  Simply use Liquid Glass to hold them together.  When this was done, I added some Stardust glitz gel to the edges of each yo-yo.  Again, I wish you could see how shiny my tree is!  You'll need your Artiste cartridge again to cut the snowflakes.  I used silver glitter paper (cuts beautifully in the Cricut!), and cut the snowflake on page 79 of the handbook at 1-1/4".  I have 18 snowflakes on my tree, and I adhered them with Liquid Glass. 

I went back and forth on what to use for the topper, but I love the bow on 55 of the handbook (Accent 2).  I put two bows back to back on my own tree, so I couldn't imagine why it couldn't be done on this one.  I cut two bows and ribbons at 1-1/4".  Of course, I used Liquid Glass to put them on the tree, and then I searched my stash for some big bling buttons.

The tree took about 3-1/2 hours to make.  Because of materials and time, I think this is the only one I'll make this year, but it was a super fun project!  I think all the glitteriness (yes, I did just make up that word!) will really be pretty in the shimmering lights that we put up for Christmas!

Thanks for stopping in today, and I hope that you are having a most blessed Sunday!

50

I need a 50th birthday card for a surprise party tomorrow for one of Jerry's friends.  Black and white with a little bit of shiny seemed the way to go!  I love cutting CTMH glitter paper with the Cricut.  It cuts so beautifully!  I made the yo-yo with For Always and the sentiment is from Just a Number.

I hope you're looking forward to a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping in to visit me!

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Blessed

I was so excited to work on the new Cardabilities sketch!  

There was something about this one that really inspired me to stamp and play with paper.

This sketch was so well constructed that it was easy to follow this one closely.  I made the banner and accordion-fold flowers using the Artiste cartridge.  I simply loved the idea of a cluster of these flowers!  I've used Huntington paper, antiqued gold embellishments, and some bronze shimmer trim.  The stamp set is a new fall stamp called Count Your Blessings.

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

Cardabilities - sketch

ABC Challenges - Fall

Bitten by the Bug 2 - Fall Theme

My Time To Craft - Autumnal Colors

{Pin}spirational Challenges -Autumn Colors

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God Bless You

It's my turn to reveal at Rose Blossom Garden today.  Have you visited us over there?  I can't tell you how fun it is to work with my team in this way.  I hope you'll go and visit us - we love to bring our followers new artwork!

This is what I created for the Artiste "K" key challenge using the card image:

I love the card base, the butterfly, and the flower on this key, so I found a way to combine all three with Avonlea paper.  This is such beautiful paper, and I am sorry to say that it is gone.  (I do have one left to sell, so if you need it, please let me know!)  I think the interest on this card is the ribbon cluster.  I used color ready and rosette ribbon coloring both of them with a whisper marker.  The slate trinket pin and grey sparkle finished off the card.

Thank you so much for stopping by on this wonderful Friday!  I hope that you have a most blessed weekend!

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Father's Day Milk Carton

One of my memories from when I was a little girl is what sparked this creation today, so bear with me while I tell you the story.  When my Mom and Dad stopped by K-Mart (that was the BIG store forty years ago), he would always come home with Whoppers.  He brought home orange slices and circus peanuts, too, but I think he loved the Whoppers the most.  Well, actually, he loved anything sweet.  He would eat light at dinner because he always said he needed to "take a diet."  But half an hour later, there he was having ice cream and graham crackers!

Well, let me bring you back to the present now.  Last weekend, Jerry and I were at the Mall of America with Shane.  (Sidenote:  What a fun day!)  We went into Caribou Coffee, and I saw this new ceramic mug they carry:

Adorable, right?  I picked it up and was thinking about my Dad's Whoppers when Shane told me that I could make it with my Cricut.  And he was right!

The milk carton and moustache are cuts on the Artiste cartridge.  How fun is that?  This is Later Sk8r paper, and I've simply rolled paper to make the straw.  The sentiment and moustache stamps are from Perfect Fit-Dad, and the twine made a good finishing touch.

My dad passed away in 1993, but isn't it wonderful that the good memories can come to the surface just by walking into a coffee shop?  On Father's Day weekend, you'll find this milk carton in our house filled with Whoppers!

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Brand Spankin' New

I needed a congratulations card for one of my nephews as they are expecting.  I was horrified to discover that I had not one baby stamp set.  This is a new generation of nieces and nephews coming up, and I haven't had to have a baby card in a very long time!  So guess what I'll be ordering on my next order?!

What I do have is the Artiste cartridge, so I was able to make this diaper card.

The diaper liner and diaper were cut with the Artiste.  The celebrate sentiment on the front is from the For Always card-making workshop on the go.  I found the "brand spankin' new" sentiment on the Graphically Speaking cartridge, and I thought it worked nicely.  I am so excited for these two...and I can already envision all kinds of baby shower things!!

Thanks for stopping in, and I hope you have a great rest of the week!

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Don't Forget Your Retired Stamps!

I don't know if you've noticed, but I have been sharing cards that I have created with stamps.  I want you to utilize the stamps you buy.  They aren't just great accent pieces, but they can make a whole card!  One of my favorite sets is It's Your Day.  It was a double set and the September special last year.  I know many of you have it!  It's one of the trendiest sets and works great for any type of paper crafting.  Today I combined it with the April stamp of the month My Sunshine (which I also know many of you have!) to make this accordion card.

You can find the pattern for this card fold HERE.  Really, it's so simple, but so genius!  I love the way the fold creates a scene for the card.  Here's another view:

It fold flat, but I've used some wooden embellishments and foam tape so it's going to take an extra 20 cents to mail.  I love when I find a pattern that makes the card a gift in itself!  The sun, cloud (Surf's Up paper), and banner were cut with the Artiste cartridge, and I've added a little washi tape.  The colors I've used for stamping are Slate, Creme Brulee, and Ruby.

I am going to enter this card into the Colour Q color challenge, Card Mania spots and/or stripes challenge, and the Inkspirational anything goes challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today - and dig out those favorite retired stamps!!

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Mother

I truly had a wonderful day of scrapping yesterday!  I had so much fun seeing what the challenges were and participating in many of them.  I showed you a couple, but you would have been on overload had I shared them all!  On thing that Stacy Julian said in her opening video for the Big Picture Classes Creative Crop was that scrapbooking is "fantabulous memory-making coolness."  Don't you agree?  Gosh, I love all that I have learned from her!

The last project I made yesterday was actually a Mother's Day gift for my mother.  I had the pieces out all day, and I just kept thinking about how I wanted to put it together.  This is what I came up with...

I purchased this shadow box frame at Michael's a couple of years ago.  It has a brown tone to it, so I knew I wanted to use Buzz & Bumble paper.  I cut two sheets of flowers from the Artiste cartridge, and sponged them with yummy creme brulee ink before I rolled them.  Once I had them on the frame, I really had fun adding this and that - butterflies (from the Artiste and Art Philosophy), cocoa buttons, trinket pins, bling gems, dark chocolate striped grosgrain, and some little wooden bees.  I like the way it turned out, so I hope my mother likes it!

This is going into a few challenges:

• Cut it Up - Mother's Day
• StuckOnUSketches Die-cut Challenge -  The word Mother
• Pile it On - April Showers Bring May Flowers

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you have a most blessed Sunday!

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Stamp of the Month - Pinwheel

When I was a little girl, we always had pinwheels at birthday parties.  I'll tell you, it was hours of fun, wasn't it?  Simple fun  - and that's why I like this month's stamp of the month simply called Pinwheel.  I'll be showing you many examples of ways to use this set this month, but I wanted to show you a good use for a boy card first.

This is also the card that I sent to my downline for completing the April challenge I sent their way.  I had such fun creating these cards for them!

This is a tent topper card using Later Sk8r paper packet with a few embellishments.  I cut the circles and scalloped borders with the Art Philosophy cartridge, and I cut the pinwheels with the Artiste.

T
he Stamp of the Month is always just $5 with a $50 purchase.  I think you are going to love having this one in your collection!

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Sole Therapy

I have been working on a layout for a few days now.  I had the photo sitting out in my office for several days, and I just kept sitting back and thinking about the memories in this photo. After 23 years of scrapbooking, I've come to a place where I really want to think about the memory of the photo and scrapbook it accordingly.  I am in no way, shape, or form a power scrapbooker.  It's just so much more fulfilling for me to create the feeling along with the page.  I saw an awesome sketch at Sketchabilities that I wanted to work with, so I had the base of the page done with the photo on, but then I needed to think of a good title so that I could go about my embellishing.

The title was inspired by my husband.  I asked him what his feelings were when we were standing in the sand  on a Grenada beach, and his first word was therapeutic.  Perfect!  Don't ever be afraid to ask the other people involved in the photo what their feelings were because that's important to the story-telling, too.

Items used for this page that can be found on my website:

• X7168B  Surf's Up Paper Packet
• Z1841  Surf's Up Assortment
• Z1837  Wooden Mini Medley Accents
• Z1844  Wooden Trinket Shapes
• Z1753  Brown & Tan Sparkles
• Z1081  Colonial White Waxy Flax
• Z1701  Neutral Baker's Twine
• Z1686  Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (Banners, Scalloped Border, Scalloped Circle)
• Z1790  Artiste Cricut Cartridge (alphabet)

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April Stamp of the Month - My Sunshine

I wanted to show you the delightful April Stamp of the Month today.  With those hot air balloons and the brilliant sunshine, this stamp set is simply too much fun!  This is one of my April club layouts, and I love that it worked so perfectly with these pictures of us in St. Kitts.  I especially like that this paper was unexpected for the pictures.  Claire is a paper you may look at an think only girly.  But it's really so much more!!  This is really a very simple layout and that allows for the picture to pop off the page before the embellishments (something I think is very important).  But if you look closely, you'll see that I've used stamps for embellishments.  I want to teach my club members to use their stamps to create beautifully matched complements for a page.  Along with the stamp of the month, I used the Buttons, Bits, & Bobs stamp.  Aren't those stamped buttons fun?  The sentiment is from the Claire WOTG stamp set, and the letters are from Keyboard Kraft Alphabet.  Now, I used the Artiste cartridge to cut the balloon, sunshine, buttons, and "LIVE."  So as you can imagine, that made my crafting even simpler!!

Here's a scanned image of the April Stamp of the Month  It is just $5 with a $50 purchase!  But of course, remember that during the month of April, you can get it free with the New Consultant Kit!

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1st Rose Blossom Garden Challenge

I am so excited!!  It's time for the inaugural challenge at the Rose Blossom Challenge Blog!!  Here is my reveal using the Happy Birthday key (page 70) on the Artiste cartridge.

This is the pie-shaped gift box and is the 3-D item on the key.  Now, of course, you give your bestie a piece of pie in this box, but it would also be lovely filled with chocolate, coffee bean, jewelry, paper crafting embellishments - absolutely anything!  I've chosen these colors to look like a little bit of warm sunshine!

Other items I've used to complete the box are:

• Surf's Up paper
• Sparkle Flourishes
• Opaque Pearls
• Wooden Garden Shapes
• Mini Medley Wooden Shapes
• Burlap Ribbon
• Foundry Pin

I hope you'll head over there to see the fabulous artwork from the other design team members!!   There is are Top 3 winners, a Top Blossom, and a monthly prize.  I think you'll have so much fun!!

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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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Avonlea Beauty

I don't know what it is about this time year, but I always start digging through my stash to see what treasures I can find.  I start thinking about how blessed I am to be a paper crafter and that I need to use things up - most likely so that I can buy more!!

Well I found this unique shaped box in my "big box of stuff," and I decided to cover it with Avonlea.

I started out by painting the edges of the bare wood with grey acrylic paint.  I used Liquid Glass for the rest of the project (I really should have stock in Liquid Glass!).  It works well for adhering paper to wood surfaces, and it worked extremely well to bond the pieces together.    From there, I was able to decorate this in whatever way I wanted!

Avonlea lends itself well to a vintage look, so of course that called for rolled flowers from the Artiste cartridge and loads of bling!  This would be pretty to hold cards, mini albums (I am always looking for a place for those!), or letters.

What have you found in your "big box of stuff" lately?  Thanks for visiting, and I hope you  have a blessed day!

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Christmas Treat Pails

One of my favorite things to do during the Christmas season is to find unique ways to package that special gift under the tree.

I found these cute little pails at Target in the dollar bins (I love the dollar bins!).  With a little Pear & Partridge paper, some twine, and buttons, they were transformed into a lovely way to give a gift. The yo-yo flowers were cut with the Artiste cartridge, so this project was not just super fun but really fast, too!

Christmas Cheer

You have just a couple more days to purchase the October Stamp of the Month!  It is such a wonderful set filled with so many good sentiments and shapes for your Christmas paper crafting.  I created a gift bag using Pear & Partridge paper and the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  What a pretty way to hand someone a special gift!  Five of the stamps on the set having matching Cricut cuts, so it also makes your crafting easy!

Cut it Up Gets Spooky!!

It's time for the 4th challenge at Cut It Up!  I am truly inspired by the other designers and all of you that enter in our challenges.  It's just great to see you play with us!   This week we want to see your Halloween creations.  The rules are simple - use a die-cut to give us one great project!

I made a treat box to show you.  This is the paper and one of thestamps from the Spellbound Workshop on the Go.  I used the Cricut Artiste to cut the box, yoyo flower, and the label.  What an easy box!!

Trendy Twine is sponsoring us this week, and one lucky winner is going to receive this great fall bundle.

Christmas Poinsettas

Yesterday, I had a 12-hour crop for my customers.  This is the first time I've had less than a full house, so it gave me the opportunity to talk with everyone, look at their work, and get some things done myself.  All in all, it was a great day!  I managed to get five cards made as I was really, really putzy and just took my time.   I managed to make two cards without flowers (which I will show you in the days ahead), but then I saw the Sketchbook Saturday sketch:

Don't you agree that this screamed for flowers?

So I pulled out my Pear & Partridge and went to work making some poinsettas with the Artiste cartridge and Almond glitz gel.  This paper and card are also perfect for the Moxie Fab Christmas Card Challenge!

If you look at this card closely, you will see that I used that grid stamp from Universal Backgrounds to stamp the background of the colonial white place on the card and the tag.  

Isn't that sentiment just wonderful?  It is from the October Stamp of the Month, Very Merry Christmas.  That set is available this month only for $5.00 with a $50 purchase from my website.  In my opinion, there are just never enough Christmas stamps!!  As far as the poinsetta goes, there are six diecuts used to make this flower.  I cut three at 2-1/2" and three at 1-1/2".  Then I outlined them with almond glitz gel.  It only take about 15 minutes to dry, and then you can stack them together.  The antiqued gold mini medley flourishes and button finished off this card nicely.

I will also be entering this card into the following challenges:

• Created with Love - Christmas
• Holly Jolly Christmas - Glitter and Bling
• Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - tag
• Pile it On - Vintage or Shabby Chic

Love and Hugs

I am on my way to St. Louis for the Regional Celebration today!  Yippee!!  Travelling to Corporate Events is one of my very favorite things to do.  I can't tell you how much I learn every single time I go to one of them!

This is the card that I made for my roommates in St. Louis.  I had so much fun making that criss-cross card last week, that I had to make another one!  This time I used Clementine paper with matching embellishments.  instead of placing a tab, I thought that the burlap ribbon gave the card a unique twist.  The sentiment is from the Words of Comfort set.

Of course, I cut the flowers from the Artiste cartridge and added a little color ready ribbon that I colored with a Creme Brulee alcohol marker.  Give me any excuse to roll some flowers, and I am a happy woman!

All of the items used to make this card can be found on my website.  Thanks for stopping in today!

Noel

It's been some time since I posted - I am so sorry about that!  I have been teaching classes, went on a weekend scrapbook retreat, and I have been getting ready for the Close To My Heart Regional Celebration in St. Louis.  Whew!  I have posts scheduled for the next few days, too, so keep checking back often!

Today, I am bringing you a Christmas card inspired by three different challenges:

• Cardz TV - Bling it Up!
• Got Sketch? - awesome sketch - be sure to check it out!
• Heart 2 Heart - Christmas Time

This card was created with Pear and Partridge paper and the Cricut Artiste cartridge.  I really enjoy making 6x6 cards, so when I saw Valerie's sketch at Got Sketch?, I knew I had to do a larger card.  These colors from the paper packet lend themselves well to the shabby chic look and old world Christmas.  Let's look a little closer:

I've got 6 layers of poinsetta cuts from the Artiste Christmas key.  I used Almond Glitz Gel to add sparkle to the leaves, and then I tucked in some metal flourishes and a button from the Antiqued Gold Mini Medleys collection.  

You will see more of the ornaments next month when I introduce the October Stamp of the Month.  So that's just a sneak peek!  I hope that you are having a great week and that you're having plenty of time to craft!