A Whole Lotta Craftin' Going On

Hello, everyone!  So I am spending a little time crafting on this beautiful afternoon.  What's not to love?  The sun is shining, it's in the low 80s here today, my scrappin' kitty, Ella, is by my side

and I have NEW paper to play with!!!!  What gets better than that?  Back to the NEW paper.  Close To My Heart will be running a special in May for customers but I wanted to give you all a sneak peak.  We have an exclusive paper pack called "Dream Pop" that has a total of 24 sheets of paper:  12 pieces of cardstock and 12 pieces of B&T Duos.  The colors in this pack are very bright...colors like tangerine, raspberry, mint, and banana yellow to name a few.  Take a look as some of the patterns.

so I started creating and so far I designed a couple of cards. Here is the first one..

With the help of some baker's twine, pop dots, April's stamp of the month from CTMH, and my Cricut Artiste cartridge, I was able to create this and easily at that.  Notice the textured dots on  the cardstock!  One side of the cardstock has this texture and the other side is plain.  So you choose if you would like the to add some "POP" to your project or not.  Take a look at another design...

The hearts were cut out using Artiste and again, notice the texture to the cardstock :).  Now instead of using basic envelopes to package these, I decided to use CTMH's glassine treat sacks. 

So that is your teaser...stay tuned as it gets closer to the time where you can buy this paper yourself for more ideas.  Until then, happy crafting!





  

Elegance Made Simple

One thing I love about what I do as a Close To My Heart consultant is the network of people I am blessed to interact with on a daily basis.  Other CTMH consultants, consultants from other paper craft companies, crafters who just love what they do.....just a plethora of inspiration.  This morning I sat down to combine ideas from various contacts and came up with a simple card that I just adore it's sense of elegance.

I used two colors (Saddle Exclusive Inks by CTMH and Cocoa cardstock, also from CTMH) in addition to the card base which was Colonial White.  OK, so how did I do this?  Well this is what you do:

Take your 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" card base and pressure emboss it using  a Sissix embossing folder.  I used my Sissix Texture Boutique

Then roll a rubber brayer in ink color of your choice ( you might not want to use a pigment ink with this project).   Now here is the fun part.  You can either roll the brayer over the inside of your embossing folder OR directly over the raised portion of the embossed card.  Be gentle and be sure to clean your folder with a baby wipe when you are done.

Then embellish...done!!!!!  See?  Told you it was easy.....I would like to make note that I got this idea from Sharon Cline who is an awesome Stampin' Up rep I know from my area and who taught us this technique at a crop we were at in February.  I couldn't wait to try it !!!!

OK, now you try it and have fun!

~Danielle

Happy Color Challenge Tuesday!

Hey, everyone, happy Tuesday!  I am so excited to play along with Leslie Germain over at The Memory Nest along with her team and many other paper crafting peeps as we took the "color challenge".  This is the card I created using the color scheme given.

Here I used some retired CTMH patterned paper AND some current as well (Miracle and Chantilly).  The stamped sentiment is from the April Stamp of the Month and says "You're Tweet".

I love the way the colors flow together. With Topiary Green, Chocolate, Sweet Leaf, and Crystal Blue, whatever you create is sure to be a hit!

Thanks, girls, for having me play along. It was big fun and I look forward to the next challenge!

~Danielle

Where is Spring? Using This Time Wisely!

So today is my first day off from work (I am a teacher) as we are supposed to be enjoying Spring break.  This is what I woke up to.......

Ummmmm....not very Springy (just sayin').  So I decided to look at the glass as being half full and got to catching up on my scrapping.  I must say, I got quite a bit done.  Take a look at two of the layouts I did.  They are already to adhere my Easter pics!

Even if the weather outside is just plain stinky...the beautiful "Chantilly" paper brings me hope that Spring weather will arrive soon.  For your very own pack of Chantilly go here.  You will even find coordinating stamp sets, fabrics and embellishments.  Let me know if I can help you.

~Danielle

April Classes Posted! Giveaway!

Happy Saturday!!!  Day #1 of Spring break and I couldn't be happier....I am posting April's scrapbook and card classes today that way all who may want to join us have time to plan.  April is a big month-lots going on including the "Cropical Paradise" scrapbook event at Loudoun Valley Community Center on April 20th.  I am so looking forward to hanging with some great girls and cropping the day away!  Ok, so here goes.....

Our featured paper this month is "Buzz and Bumble".  Here is what our pages will look like for the scrapbooking classes

All you need to purchase is the "Buzz and Bumble" paper pack ($9.95) and the "Buzz and Bumble" My Stickease Assortment ($4.95).  Both can be purchased here.  Please allow 10 days for delivery.  Now here are the dates and times of classes:

Thursday, April 4th @ 6:30p
Thursday, April 11th @ 6:30p
Monday, April 15th @ 6:30p
Thursday, April 25th @ 6:30p

Please email me and let me know what day you would like to join us.  Are you long distance and would still like to complete these pages?  That is totally OK!!!!  I can send you your very own kit with paper pre-cut and instructions for $25 (which includes the cost of shipping and tax)  Just contact me and we will get you all hooked up.

Now for card classes....pics will be posted soon so keep your eyes peeled, but in the meantime, here are the dates for classes:

Tuesday, April 9th @ 6:30p
Thursday, April 18th @ 6:30
Tuesday, April 23rd @ 6:30p

With all that said and done...I have a giveaway going on as well!!!!  The first 10 people who make a comment to this post get entered to win this adorable "Quick Cards-Bumble Bee" stamp!  It is absolutely PERFECT for creating your very own handmade cards.  You have to comment to qualify!  Winner will be announced March 31st! 

So there you have it....let me know if you have any questions at all.  Hope you can join us.  Let's create together!

~Danielle