Monthly Archives: February 2014

Hearts Galore!

Did you know that today is Send a Card day? I would love to help you build a stash of cards to have on hand to be able to send out to friends or family! This would be such a fun card to send off! I went with a sketch from Fusion Card Challenge, and made a few changes, but I did pull from the sketch!

I used the Artbooking Cricut Cartridge for the hearts that travel up the right side. The flower that the fox is holding is cut from the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge.

I stamped the fox in saddle ink and fussy cut it so that I could pop it up off the front of the card.

Isn’t he cute? I think he is quite adorable!

Oh, an update on the snow. This morning, at about 8:30, we had just short of 7 inches!

I took another measurement when I got home from picking up my oldest from work. There is about 7 1/2″ in the same spot that I measured in the earlier picture. We measured in a couple of other spots, and they vary from 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 inches! That’s a lot of snow! And, in case you were wondering, yes, it is *still* snowing!

Those local, be safe in this snowy mess! Those not local, be safe, stay in and craft!!

~Michelle

All products used are CTMH:

Balloon Ride Paper Pack
Cardstock: Colonial white,  Sorbet
Inks: Saddle
Embellishments: Bitty Sparkles
Tools: Paper Trimmer, Paper Piercing Tool Kit, Tombow, Clear Blocks, Microtip Scissors, Artbooking Cricut Cartridge, Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, Liquid Glass

It’s a Banner Day!

With how cute this card is, you would think it was spring and sunshine outside!!

However, it snowed, and it snowed and it snowed today!! If I were in Colorado or Montana or something, I would expect it, however, here in the great Pacific Northwest, we generally don’t get snow “in town”. It’s up on the mountain, where we can go visit it any time we want. LOL!! This is what my neighborhood looked like when I got home at about 3pm this afternoon. I didn’t measure right then, but it was about 3 inches.

Aaaaaaaanyway . . . back to the card! I had fun making it! I used the Balloon Ride papers (have you seen the theme for the week yet?) and some twine. It came together so quickly! This card would be great for just a ‘hi’ or even a baby shower invite!

I used some foam tape to bring the banners up off of the card front, and then used my bone folder to give them a little flip.

When I checked at about 5pm, this was where the snow levels were:

It hasn’t stopped snowing since then. It has gotten lighter, but it’s still going. We are supposed to be getting more tomorrow too, so we shall see.

Check back tomorrow for another fun card, and a blog hop!

Be Crafty, my Friends!

~Michelle

All products used were CTMH:

Balloon Ride Paper Pack
Cardstock: Colonial white, White Daisy
Embellishments: Paradise Assortment Bakers Twine
Tools: Paper Trimmer, Tombow, Microtip Scissors, Foam Tape, Liquid Glass, Cricut Artiste Cartridge

Fabulous You

Today, we are going to focus on some fabulous cards all made with the stamp set Fabulous You. This set is just $13.95, and you can make some BEAUTIFUL cards with it!

This set has 2 bird images, 2 sentiments, and 1 distressed diamond pattern.

This first card was inspired by Jody’s brown card (shown below). I did change the placement of the image, but that is where I started.

I used my blending pen and watercolor pencils to give some slight shading to the bird, branch, and flowers.

This card was very much inspired by Aarons card (also shown below). I thought hers was so beautiful, that I couldn’t help but to make the same style with these beautiful Balloon papers.

To give a bit more dimension to the card, I stamped a second image, colored the flowers, again with the watercolor pencils and blending pen, and then cut them out and popped them up with a bit of foam tape.

Take a look at some cards made by some other fabulous ladies!


By Jody Gustafson


By Aaron Brown


By Cindy Leek


By Karen Pederson


By Tamytha Jenkins


By Jody Gustafson

Aren’t they all great cards? These ladies have some great artwork! I hope you have enjoyed this little showcase of this fabulous stamp set! It is really one of my favorites!!

Have a crafty day!
~Michelle

Here are all of the supplies that I used to make these cards.

Balloon Ride Paper Pack
Cardstock: Colonial white, Cashmere, Saddle, Sorbet
Inks: Saddle
Embellishments: Bitty Sparkles
Tools: Paper Trimmer, sponge, Watercolor Pencils, Blending Pen, Paper Piercing Tool Kit, Tombow, Clear Blocks

Quick Card Set Tutorial

Hey Crafters!!

Today I have a tutorial for you! AND, it’s even in video form! It’s my first tutorial video, so don’t be too harsh on me! I even figured out how to stitch together 2 videos, since it cut off right in the middle.

With this tutorial, you will see how to make 16 cards, quickly and easily!

Ooops! Looks like one card played hookey when it was time for the class photo!

This card set uses 4 sheets of B&T papers, just over 1 sheet of cardstock (for the mats), and 16 card bases. Plus ink and the stamps, of course!

Here are some closer shots of the class photo.

As you can see, I kept these cards simple so they can easily be mailed. If you would like, you could easily add a little bit of bling to the cards.

As I said, this is a video tutorial, so enjoy the video! Click subscribe while you are watching, I will have videos for you each week with a new tip or trick or tutorial!


{If you are getting the blog post through email, you may have to click through to watch the video.}

Supplies used for this card set are all CTMH:

Balloon Ride Paper Pack
Cardstock: Saddle, Colonial White
Ink: Saddle
Stamp Sets: Happy Autumn, Casual Expressions, Give a Lift, For a Friend
Tools: Paper Trimmer, Bone Folder, Versamat, Clear Blocks

{Tutorial inspired by Patty Bennett’s photo tutorial}

My Sunshine

This week, I will be showing you some fun and fabulous artwork made with the new paper kit, Balloon Ride. This paper is a fabulously vintagey paper with hot air balloons and fun patterns. It is a very soft paper, and I KNOW you will love working with it too! Each Monday, I will have a layout for you made with a different, new paper pack from the new Idea Book! So make sure to come and see what is new! Today I have a fun layout, titled My Sunshine.

This layout has spots for 4 photos, or 3 photos and some journaling. I’ve used the 4 inch by 4 inch flip flap, from the Small Assortment package to be able to add these extra photos. This is a great way to add that photo that you love, but might be a bit blurry, or even have the journaling about your day/event, but have it hidden, so that it isn’t the first thing seen.

I’ve cut the title with my Artbooking Cricut Cartridge. I cut one from Saddle and one from Cashmere cardstocks to create a shadowed effect.

Planning on working on a lot of layouts at a crop, retreat, or even at home? Check out the new express collections photo pages! If you are needing a bunch of photos, or even large sized photos (like the 5×7 on this page), This is a GREAT way to do them, and have it shipped directly to your door! Check out the pre-made options that they have set up.

But, you can create your own with the No Boundries layout style. I have a whole post dedicated to it, with some price comparisons as well! Check it out here!

Want to make this layout yourself? Check out the supplies list below!

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

~Michelle


Paper Kit: Balloon Ride paper pack
Cardstock: Colonial White, Saddle, Cashmere
Inks: Saddle
Embellishments: Small Assortment Flip Flaps, Bitty Sparkles, Sparkles Clear Assortment
Glue: Tombow, Liquid Glass
Tools: Paper Trimmer, VersaMat, Round Sponge, Cricut Machine, Artbooking Cartridge

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During the month of February, there is a GREAT special! When you purchase 2 packs of cardstock, you will get your choice of an embossing folder, FREE! Most packs qualify, however white daisy, colonial white, and kraft do not qualify for this special.

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Always & Forever

Did you attend the Pajama party at the end of January? Don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, CTMH has paired up with Stacey Julian & Big Picture Classes and they offer Pajama Parties every couple of months. The last one was January 30th. I registered, but ended up not being able to participate. It’s all online, and they have some great projects that you can make.

This is the layout that they made at the PJ party

Pretty cute, right?

Well, I didn’t have the Sarita WOTG, so I thought it would be fun to re-create it with another stamp set. This is the one that I came up with.

I used the Reel Life stamp set on the hollyhock cardstock, and the white strip on the left. The very best thing about CTMH’s clear stamps, is that white piece was stamped 4 different times. They line up PERFECTLY!

Would you like to make this layout for yourself? I have a few extra sets available. Just $5 for the page, unstamped. Add the stamp set for just $9.95. Would you like me to do the stamping for you? Just add $1 more! Contact me to get your page now! If you are local, I can meet up with you, and if you aren’t local, I’d be more than willing to mail this out to you!

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During the month of February, there is a GREAT special! When you purchase 2 packs of cardstock, you will get your choice of an embossing folder, FREE! Most packs qualify, however white daisy, colonial white, and kraft do not qualify for this special.

I hope you have a crafty day!
~Michelle

Happy New Year!

Ok, so, it isn’t the new year, but it’s the new Idea Book from Close to my Heart! There are so many GREAT new items in this book, I can’t wait to show them off to you!

What’s new in the new book? Well, let’s take a look!

  • 7 Paper packs

    ~~with matching compliments and assortments

  • 9 Workshop on the Go Kits

    ~~There are 7 WOTG scrapbooking kits, and 2 WOTG card making kits.

  • 2 Textile collections

    ~~that match 2 new paper packs (Jubilee & Skylark)

  • 9 Picture My Life styles

    ~~Have you wanted to try the Project Life? Well, now you can, CTMH style!

  • 2 My Legacy Albums

    ~~They will be available in both D ring and Post bound styles

  • 5 Page Protectors

    ~~That makes a total of 8 different styles. Including strap style and side loading!

  • Base & Bling items

    ~~We now have chains, 2 styles of pendants, many different charms, and 4 sheets of stickers. Talk about making it your own!

  • 5 Embossing folders

    ~~Now you can add some more great dimension to your paper crafts without having to add another layer!

  • 2 Washi tapes

    ~~This brings our total up to 8!

  • Paper Fundamentals

    ~~This great line of neutral papers is the perfect add on to any paper pack!

  • 2 My Creations products

    ~~These are great compliments to the items we have already! They are white to allow you to add color to match any papers you are using.

  • Pink Glitter Paper

    ~~Who doesn’t need pink glitter??

  • 2 Shimmer tapes

    ~~The Teal and Purple are a great add on to the tapes we already have! Self adhesive and ready to go with no loss of glitter, sign me up!

  • 2 bulk ribbons

    ~~I don’t know about you, but I can always use more ribbon! Now a Mini Topiary chevron and a Lagoon Zipper lace have joined our family.

  • Neutral Metallic Assortment Baker’s Twine

    ~~Our same great neutral baker’s twine, now with just a bit of shimmer!

  • Sponge Dauber Value Pack

    ~~Now it’s even easier to have a different dauber for every ink color.

  • 1 Journaling pen

    ~~This will make adding your journaling to your pages super simple.

  • 41 Stamps

    ~~Of course there are new stamps! They go great with the new paper packs!

  • 6 Embellishment sets

    ~~including sparkles, enamel, dots, gems, and triangle studs!

  • 7 Hostess Stamps

    ~~These are available only to the ladies and gents that host a party! Make sure to contact me to get one scheduled!

  • That’s a lot of new stuff! Plus there are some things that stuck around, so there are lots of things to play with! Let’s take a quick look at some fabulous artwork that corporate put together to show off some of the many, many things that you can do with these great papers!

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    Skylark papers

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    Ivy Lane papers

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    Ariana papers

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    Balloon Ride papers

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    Jubilee papers

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    Timberline papers

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    Lollydoodle papers

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    Base and Bling Necklaces and Charms

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    Picture My Life Scrapbooking

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    When you sign up to be a new consultant during this Idea Book, you will get a LOOOOT of stuff! Just take a look at everything that you get for just $99!

    Watch all this month as I bring you samples of fun and fabulous things that you can do with these great papers, embellishments, and everything in between!

    Have a Crafty Day!
    ~Michelle