Cyber Monday 20% OFF plus Cutie Pie SOTM

Today, December 1st, is an amazing day to shop on my website.

First, we are having a never seen before Cyber Monday Special for 24 hours only....Receive 20% OFF any or all Close To My Heart Exclusive Cricut Cartridge Collections!

Then, we have the kick off of, Deal of the Decade! With any $50 purchase, you can choose as many "D" and "C" sized stamp sets from our Annual Inspirations Idea Book for just $10!

Today is also the launch of our NEW Seasonal Expressions. It is packed with all NEW products for you to feast upon.

If that isn't enough, we have a really sweet Stamp of the Month for December, Cutie Pie, for just $5 with your $50 purchase!

Here is a card for my January Wokshop featuring December's Stamp of the Month, Cutie Pie.

I used some lovely Dotty For You retired patterned paper with Lagoon; Sweet Leaf; and Black cardstock. I coloured the cupcake with our wonderful Shin Han Alcohol Markers. I used the Colorless Blender to create the stripes in the icing. The Alphabet is one that comes with the NEW Artfully Sent Cricut Collection.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.
Stamp: Cutie Pie, December Stamp of The Month
Paper: retired Dotty For You
Ink: Shin Han Alcohol Markers; Black ink
Cardstock: White Daisy; Lagoon; Sweet Leaf; Black
Tools: Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge; Scallop Border Punch

It's The Little Things......for Christmas cards!

First, let me say "Happy Thanksgiving" to all of my U.S. friends. I hope you have a wonderful and blessing filled day!

I don't normally show more than 1 or 2 cards per day, but wanted to share what I created for a last minute class I'm holding this Sunday. I used our wonderful November Stamp of the Month, It's The Little Things, to create some unique Christmas cards.

This first one is my favourite! I used the leaves to create poinsettia looking flowers, to go along with my random stamped sheet.

The cardstock colours for this one are Lagoon and Juniper. I stamped the leaves with Flaxen and Ruby ink on White Daisy cardstock. The sentiment is stamped with Ruby ink and I added some Turquoise Shimmer Trim, along with Aqua Dots.

Next, are two more of the cards I made with my random stamped sheet, created with It's The Little Things. This card has Cranberry cardstock with Gold Shimmer Trim accent. I also stamped and cut out shapes that have some Stardust Glitz on the center, but you cannot really see it. I stamped the sentiment with Lagoon ink.

The next card has Ruby cardstock and Red Shimmer Trim. You can sort of see the Stardust Glitz on this one, because it makes the ink bleed slightly. I stamped the sentiment in Juniper ink. For the last card and this one, I stamped the leaves with Flaxen and used my stylus to add a vein to make the leaves look more realistic.

Finally, here is a larger piece showing what the random stamped sheet looks like. I used Cranberry ink (that was swiped on the stamp before stamping); Ruby; Juniper; Glacier; Flaxen and Lagoon ink. I do love how this turned out and are my slightly unconventional Christmas cards. 

 All supplies are Close To My Heart.
Stamp: It's The Little Things - November Stamp of the Month
Ink: Cranberry; ruby; Juniper; Glacier; Flaxen; Lagoon
Cardstock: Juniper; Lagoon; Ruby; Cranberry; White Daisy
Embellishments: Gold, Red & Turquoise Shimmer Trim; Stardust Glitz

Supeer fast Christmas cards

It has been a crazy past couple of weeks for me, as I was getting product ready for sale at an annual craft fair I vendor at. That one ran this past Saturday, but I managed to get a spot at another fair this coming Saturday, so I am hunkered down preparing for that one.

I needed some quick Christmas cards and found that one beautiful patterned paper in Yuletide Carol and coordinating Complements, make for some wonderful quick cards.

I added Cranberry and Topiary cardstock for matting. Some Ruby Baker's Twine, then Stardust Glitz to the holly Complements. It really doesn't get much quicker than this, to put together a vintage looking card.

Here is second card utilizing another section of this one piece of patterned paper. I stamped the sentiment with Cranberry pigment ink, from Merry Merry. I added Cranberry striped ribbon and Ruby Baker's Twine, along with a Topiary mat. I also used some Desert Sand ink to distress the edges of the pieces of this card.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.

Stamp: Merry, Merry

Paper: Yuletide Carol

Cardstock: Cranberry; Topiary; Colonial White

Ink: Desert Sand; Cranberry; Cranberry Pigment

Embellishments: Cranberry Striped Twill Ribbon; Ruby Baker's Twine; Stardust Glitz

Makin' It Merry with Snowhaven

When I was at Close To My Heart's annual convention in Disneyland, this past July....a big perk is all of the amazing product that is included. We received this stamp set, Make It Merry, and I sort of wondered if I would keep it or not. After deciding it was time to put some Christmas cards together, I realized this large sentiment piece would be a huge reason I would keep this set.

 I decided it would make a great class to use one stamp set with our 2 Christmas patterned papers, Yuletide Carol and Snowhaven. For the top card with Snowhaven, I used Cranberry and Glacier ink, along with Black Shimmer Trim. I should note, I cut the shapes 1/4" larger than suggested, from Artfully Sent, for the top card.

Once I got going, I realized I didn't need Yuletide Carol paper to get my red card. I just used the backside of the Glacier patterned paper from the top card and VIOLA......red it is! I added Gold Shimmer Trim and Topiary cardstock to the Cranberry here. For the stamped piece I cut the white shape from Artiste, rather than Artbooking. It is almost the same shape, except for at the points where the dips are a bit deeper before coming up to the point. (I hope that made sense!)

Another thing I have been using on my cards, is my new favourite, Thin 3-D Foam Tape. I could be the spokesperson for a commercial that says, "I use that s@*t on EVERYTHING!" I cannot keep enough of it in my possession!

All supplies are Close To My Heart.
Paper: Snowhaven
Stamp: Make It Merry
Cardstock: Glacier; Topiary; White Daisy; Cranberry
Ink: Cranberry; Topiary; Glacier
Embellishments: Black & Gold Shimmer Trim; Stardust Glitz; Thin 3-D Foam Tape
Tools: Scallop Punch; Artiste & Artbooking Cricut cartridge

Get It Done and Use it Up!

Okay, so my good intentions of posting all of my cupcake cards using Dec's Cutie Pie Stamp of the Month.....FAIL!

I am hunkered down getting projects prepared for 2 upcoming craft fairs, that I sell at. My brain is focused on just getting everything done.....so here is a card I created while in the same mind thought, when I needed cards to sell at my friend's coffee shop. "Get It Done" and I thought I would also add the "Use It Up" mantra, too!

This is Skylark patterned paper with a wee bit of, Dotty For You. All of the mats are Lagoon, as is the sentiment stamping. The celebrate image is from, Puppy Party. I added some retired Polka Dot Ribbon and my favourite Slate Baker's Twine. The Whisper stamped piece is stamped with an image from retired Noted Backgrounds.

All supplies are Close To  My Heart.
Stamps: Puppy Party; retired Noted Backgrounds
Paper: retired Skylark & Dotty For You
Ink: Lagoon; Whisper
Cardstock: Colonial White; Lagoon; Whisper
Embellishments: Slate Baker's Twine; retired Slate Polka Dot ribbon
Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

December's Cutie Pie

I just got back from my 4 day shopping extravaganza in Portland. Traffic was crazy and so was the wind. On our way from Portland to the Port Angeles ferry terminal, for the last ferry of the day at 2pm...we encountered a very large tree across the road. It was so long that the broken off part was sitting in the oncoming traffic lane and the rest of the tree was across our lane, with its top resting high up the side of a rock face.

The gap between the tree and the highway, on our lane, was great enough a truck before us drove underneath. With adrenaline pumping, my husband suggested we try driving under too. I was thinking "try...what do you mean try....!" I was also a bit scared because there was a lot of mud on the shoulder of the road and I feared we would get stuck underneath the balancing tree.

Thankfully, we made it through safely although when I think back I realize it was probably a really stupid thing to drive underneath the tree! Had we missed that ferry, we would've had to stay the night in Port Angeles or Sequim and my husband would have likely missed work yesterday. Neither of those were solutions we wanted to face.

So, today I am starting a 3 day show of card I have made using December's Stamp of the Month, Cutie Pie. I am hosting a class in January with these cards and stamp set, so wanted to get pics of the cards out there.

I have used retired Dotty For You paper along with other retired CTMH products. I paired them with our wonderful NEW Shin Han markers I used to colour the cupcakes. This card has Slate and Cotton Candy cardstock and inks. I coloured the cupcake then used the Colorless Blender to remove colour on the sprinkles. Stay tuned for the next 2 days to see the other cards that will be featured in my January 2015 workshop.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.
Paper: retired Dotty For You
Stamp: Cutie Pie Dec SOTM
Cardstock: Slate; Cotton Candy; Colonial White
Ink: Slate; Cotton Candy; Shin Han Alcohol Markers
Embellishments: retired Hollyhock Stitched grosgrain ribbon

I "CASEd" this card!

I am off to Portland for Christmas shopping. I had another crazy, all night session, making cards to sell at the coffee shop. I had dropped off 39 cards last Friday, including 20 Christmas cards. I stopped by yesterday and much to my surprise, there were only 5 Christmas cards and 7 all occasion cards left! So last night I created another 19 Christmas cards and pulled some all occasion cards from my stash. I dropped off 36 cards today and will check the supply when I get back from Portland.

Now, this card is a CASE from my pal, Karen Day. I used patterned paper from Yuletide Carol and 2 retired Christmas stamp sets. I stamped the snowflakes; trees and snow with Cashmere ink on Colonial White cardstock. I matted the sentiment piece with Black and Kraft cardstock. The patterned paper is matted on Colonial White cardstock and is on a Kraft card base.

I have added retired Burlap Ribbon; Natural Hemp and Stardust Glitz to this card, also.


All supplies are Close To My Heart.
Paper: Yuletide Carol
Cardstock: Colonial White; Black; Kraft
Ink: Cashmere; Black
Embellishments: Burlap Ribbon; Natural Hemp

How about a "Meowy Christmas"?

I was in a desperate need for some Christmas cards, so I grabbed some coloured images I had sitting on my work table. How about a "Meowy Christmas"?

I used this lovely snowflake patterned paper from Snowhaven, with a Whisper mat. I stamped a snowflake from a retired set on another piece of Whisper cardstock, then used "Christmas" from an image from, Merriest Christmas. I used the alphabet included with our Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge to stamp the "meowy". Both sentiments were stamped in Black ink and I flanked this piece with Silver Shimmer Trim.

The girl image is a Pure Innocence image from My Favorite Things. I coloured her with our Shin Han Alcohol markers on Colonial White cardstock and matted on Chocolate cardstock. I added some  Red Glitter Gems to complete this card.

All supplies are Close To My Heart, unless noted.
Paper: Snowhaven
Stamps: Merriest Christmas; Artfully Sent Alphabet
Cardstock: Whisper; Colonial White; Chocolate; White Daisy
Ink: Black; Shin Han Alcohol Markers
Embellishments: Silver Shimmer Trim; Red Glitter Gems
Tools: Artiste Cricut cartridge
Other: MFT Pure Innocence; Memento Black ink

Picture My Life with cards!

Okay, I'm getting mentally ready for a 4 day Christmas shopping getaway in Portland, this coming weekend. My husband, daughters and I will travel and shop without my son, again. He is starting a reading break from his Engineering program, but has projects and homework that still need to be completed. So, I guess we'll have to once again pick up the shopping slack....'cause that is hard to do....ha!

Other than that, I have been trying to stay on top of keeping my card supply, at the coffee shop, on a more level basis. Here is a quick card I made with a Picture My Life kit card, for the coffee shop.

This lovely card centerpiece is from, Chalk It Up Picture My Life. I mounted it on Flaxen cardstock then added accents of Lagoon and Black cardstock. The patterned paper is from Chalk It Up. I added a puffy arrow from the Chalk It Up Assortment, along with some Black Baker's Twine and called it done.


All supplies are Close To My Heart.
Paper: Chalk It Up; Chalk It Up Picture My Life
Cardstock: White Daisy; Flaxen; Lagoon; Black
Embellishments: Black Baker's Twine; Chalk It Up Assortment

Happy November!

We had a very quiet Hallowe'en this year......the kids and I watched tv and ate most of the candy! We are lucky to get 20 kids at our door and we might have actually made it to 30 this year. That did, however, leave lots and lots of candy for the 4 of us!

My husband brought home 2 Hallowe'en sized boxes of chocolates and one of chips. I told him he had better take out whatever portion of each treat he wanted, as there was going to be a pig out session, while he was at work.

He was shocked when he got home to see that there were a mere 10ish mini chocolate bars left. We had a good night eating and enjoying the kids that came to the door. We even had a group of my youngest daughter's classmates, who all came dressed as Disney princesses with 1 prince! (Lucky boy!)

Since our weather is still in the teens, here is beautiful Victoria, BC...... I am still making a few Fall inspired cards. Here is a quick one.

I added Pathfinding patterned paper with some Olive cardstock to a Colonial White card base. I stamped the tree with second generation Barn Red ink, then added the sentiment with Lagoon ink, both from set, Always Grateful. I matted the stamped piece with Lagoon and Barn Red cardstock. I added a strip of our Cranberry striped twill ribbon and Gold Sequins.

All supplies are Close To My Heart.
Paper: Pathfinding
Stamp: Always Grateful
Cardstock: Colonial White; Olive; Barn Red; Lagoon
Ink: Barn REd; Lagoon
Embellishments: Cranberry Striped Twill ribbon; Gold Sequins