In the last book, Close to my Heart came out with a line called “Base & Bling”. This line contained a statement type necklace base, a ring, a headband, a cuff bracelet, and some clip on-able bases as well. With all of those bases, they had . . . bling! (bet you were going with cabbage, huh?) The bling has super strong adhesive already on it, but they also came out with some dots and strips of super strong adhesive.

With this new book, there are new necklaces, pendants in both square and circles, in both antiqued silver and antiqued gold. All of the pieces are separate, so you can build your own. There are 4 different sticker sheets to fill in your pendant, if you would like. (Or, you can create your own with papers and whatnots. To top it off, there are also charms that you can add to your necklace!

I used the Craft Queen Style Sheet to get this fun sticker. One of the things that I like best about this necklace, is that the chain is long enough for it to NOT be a choker on me! I’m not a small girl, and most “included” chains sit very high on me, and just plain don’t work well. These chains are long! {The pendant hangs down with the ‘girls’.} So it will be perfect for any crafter of any age or size!

After you put your sticker into your pendant, you then put a small layer of Liquid Glass on top of the sticker, and then add one of the glass covers on top. The liquid glass dries clear, so you can still see every detail of your sticker! I used the silver key from the Free Thinker Charm Set. These are the ones that are left from that one package.

Lots of fun ones, right??

Here you can see all of what is left after I made my necklace. Lots of fun stickers to use in my other pendants (or maybe even on some cards or scrapbooks!), 2 more bases and 2 more glass covers. Of course, I have plenty of Liquid Glass (not shown) left to attach them! This would make for a GREAT party for a teen! Instead of party favors, have each girl make her own necklace!

Now for the snowmageddon update!

We only got a light dusting overnight, so it really wasn’t measurable. However, it started snowing again about 9:30 this morning. This photo was taken (while stopped, as you can see) while on my way to take one of my girls some lunch (since she forgot to pack it). LOTS of snow still! You can see, when looking at the darker trucks, that it is snowing in that photo, and it has not stopped since! I will have another measurement update for you tomorrow!

I hope you are able to have lots of ‘play time’ this weekend to be crafty! Thinking you might need some time away soon? Come to my Beach Retreat in March! I still have spaces available!

~Michelle

All products used are CTMH:

Base & Bling: Chain, Square Pendant, Square Glass Cover, Craft Queen Sticker Sheet, Free Thinker Charm
Liquid Glass

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

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

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

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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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

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!

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

It’s that time again! This month we have more than 50 ladies in the hop to show you some fabulous creations! Wild About Love is a set that includes 4 different foxes, 3 sentiments, 2 hearts, and an adorable tree stump! This is such a cute set, and so in with now! I know you will want to have it!

If you arrived here from Vicki’s blog, then you are on the right track! If you get lost along the way, you can always find your way over at Melinda’s blog, as she has the whole hop list posted with easy links!

This month, I had to be a bit creative with what I used for my card. I could have used just plain cardstock, and done some random stamping, but it just wasn’t what I wanted to do. My new papers are on the way, but they aren’t here yet. (soon!!) So, I did get creative! Leave a comment and let me know what you think I used {before scrolling to the bottom to find out} and everyone that guesses correctly will be put into a drawing to have this card sent to them! {blank, so that you can use it!}

Isn’t it cute!? For the red hearts, I put some rows of the red shimmer trim down onto some white cardstock. Then I stamped the back of the cardstock with the hearts that are in this set. Then all I had to do was to trim them out with our micro-tip scissors!

Just look at how glittery they are!! Then, I took a tip from Kristina Werner and Wendy Coffman, and used some fun sparkly nail polish on the bow of the girl fox, and to make some splatter dots under the larger heart. It’s great nail polish for that!!

Originally, I stamped the foxes on the kraft cardstock, but I didn’t think they stood out enough, so then I stamped them with chocolate ink on white cardstock and fussy cut them. I used our Bonding Memories glue to attach them . . . super simple! I decided that the guy needed some ‘bling’ too, but I tested the nail polish on him, and it was just a bit too close to his fur color, so instead, I went with the silver metallic marker that CTMH carries! Now they are silver and gold! (Just have to keep my GS history going!)

Have you guessed yet what I used for the background of this great card? If not, make sure you guess before you keep reading!!

This great stamp set is ONLY available through the end of February! So you will want to make sure to place an order to get it! You know you want it! (and, I promise, I won’t sing the fox song!!)

Ok, last warning! The list of what I used is below, everything except the nail polish was CTMH!

Base: White Daisy Cardstock
Paper & stickers: My Crush Besties Assortment
Ink: Chocolate
Embellishments: Red Shimmer Trim, Silver Metallic Marker, Gold Nail Polish

I’m so happy you stopped by! I hope to see you again really soon! Your next stop on the Blog Hop is Alyson, so make sure to hop on over to her blog!

I hope you have a super crafty day!
~Michelle

CHA is this weekend and that means the industry is putting out all kinds of fabulous new product. So what better time to kick off Practical Scrappers’ new monthly series of Scrapping our Stash! A special shout out to the sponsor of today’s hop: Kiwi Lane Designs!

For this hop, you should have come from Wendy’s blog (doesn’t she have the cutest stuff?). If you happen to get lost along the way, you can find the whole list over at Practical Scrappers blog. Make sure you get your entry in for the prize!

Like most any scrapper, whether they do cards or layouts, there are always some things left over, or some things that were purchased and have never been used. My ladies are using Laughing Lola papers this month in the workshops, and so, I had some leftovers. I decided to pair them with the hinged display tray from Close to my Heart, and I think it turned out Fabulously!

One of my daughters will be going to Europe this summer, and I thought that this would be PERFECT for her to put a few of her photos in and have it displayed in her room. So, please excuse me for not having any photos in there!

This was such a fun little project to put together!! I am sure that she will love it! Want to make one of your own? Well, for anyone that purchases the tray and the Laughing Lola Compliments, just email me, and I will send you the paper pieces that you will need, for FREE! Yup, absolutely free!

I hope you are enjoying your hop! Next, you should head on over to Lee-Ann’s blog. (WOWZERS! Isn’t her layout fabulous??)

Have a crafty day!!
~Michelle

Products used:
5×7 Hinged Display Tray
Laughing Lola Paper Packet
Laughing Lola Compliments Dimensional Elements
3-d Foam Tape
Bonding Memories Glue Pen
Surecut Deluxe Paper Trimmer
Bone Folder
Mini Glue Dots