Firetruck Thank You Cards

To kindly thank all that attended my son's birthday party, I made the cute little Firetruck Thank You cards.  The truck was cut out from my Cricut and I used a white gel pen on black cardstock for the road.  I stamped with Sunny Yellow ink for the back and in Black ink stamped "Thanks".  Of course, I had to write the number "2" on the Firetruck for the age. 

Inside, I let my toddler write (really was a scribble) his appreciation to each person.  Everyone loved that part of the card :)  Best idea.

 

 

One Fine Day Layout

Using some of the newest CTMH colors (Slate, Whisper, Ruby, Champagne, and Cashmere) I put this layout together from the pattern found in the Make It from Your Heart that can be purchased from CTMH. 

I used White Daisy as my cardstock and added the other colors in varies shapes.  (1) The using Slate ink, I random stamped the small flower image (C1511 My Acrylix Love Blooms) on both 2" x 2" Whisper cardstock squares.  (2) Then Stamped a bracket shape on the cut White Daisy bracket that was cut from my Cricut.  (3) I colored the Irresistibles (Z1779 Houndstooth Alphabet) letters to spell "One Fine Day".  (4) To create a scalloped edge on both the Ruby cardstock, I used the corner rounder (Z578).  (5) By cutting a "V" on the Ruby cardstock and Champagne cardstock pieces, this created a ribbon edge finish.  (6) The of course, I sponged all cardstock with Slate ink.

A great way to only use 2 photos (3"x 4" and 4"x 6"). I had these two laying around from my son's first snow day. In my opinion, that was a Fine Day :) Or at least any day it snows is a fine day in my book! 

Harvest Banner

Check out this Close To My Heart Project Inspiration for making a Harvest Banner.
  

60 Sucks - Birthday Gift

This week my boss is turning 60 and to celebrate we are throwing her a small office party.  Thanks to Pintrest for the inspiration, I added 60 Dum Dum suckers to a red bucket bought at the local Dollar Store.  To keep the suckers in a floral arrangement, I used a green floral foam piece.  The yellow star was cut with the Cricut on yellow vinyl.  Then I wrote "60 Sucks" with a black marker.  For the final touch, I tied curly ribbon around various suckers.  Turned out cute!

Keep in mind, this could be recreated for any milestone... 30, 40, 50, 60, etc

 

Construction Truck Birthday Party

My best friend hosted a Construction Party for her son.  To go with the theme I made this little card for him.  I used some scraps I had laying around and the Cricut Everyday Paperdolls for the truck.  Turned out simple yet cute!

Hubby's Birthday Card

I was excited to use my motorcycle stamp for my hubby's birthday card.  He was just the person I had in mind when I made this.  The best part is that he really liked it too :)

I Love Getting Handmade Cards

it really does brighten my day when a friend sends me a card but it is more special when it is homemade.  here is one my friend April sent to me recently.

Monster Eyes

I found this recipe in a Halloween magazine last year and thought I'd give it a try.  Turns out these eyeballs are delicious.  And if you buy Reduced-Fat items, their not too bad and a few make a great breakfast.  In my weight loss journey, I've been trying a new breakfast recipe each week and thought this week I'd bring back a favorite.  So yummy I wanted to share.   Hope you make them and enjoy the recipe as much as I do.

Baby Treat Box

My first artwork using my CTMH Cricut Artiste cartridge!  My hubby came home today to tell me he had an office baby shower to go to the next day.  So this was my perfect chance to make something cute with my new toy.  We were not sure of the baby's gender so I found the gender-neutral bag in the closet and it led to the creativity for me.

So I made this box and had some cute pastel cardstock around.  The stamp set it also CTMH with the cute baby images and the letters are one of the new stamp sets from CTMH as well.  I used coordinating inks with the cardstock and here you go!  My very own creation all from a bag!  It was the perfect size to put a gift card inside and left a little extra room.

Here you can see how this measures out; although it did cut off a full 12 x 12 sheet of cardstock.

When I came home today I had to ask my hubby, "what did they think?" and was told they loved it.  So that makes me feel special.

Introducing Artiste, the new Cricut Cartridge exclusively from CTMH

I'm super excited that my new Cricut cartridge arrived today.  Looking forward to making many new layouts and crafts with it.

The Artiste Collection comes with the Cricut Cartridge that has 700 images.  And if that is not enough, 3 D-Sized Stamp Sets, and 3 Dimensional Elements.

New Colors Arrived!!!

My new colors just arrived today from CTMH.  Can't wait until I can start working with them in my next project.  Stay tuned!

• Champagne
• Cashmere
• Saddle
• Whisper
• Slate
• Ruby

Time Can't Stand Still, but You Can!

During Convention, Keynote Speaker, Stacy Julian, had a very touching message.  She shared her story and gave us words of wisdom in her speech.  Her message really touched my heart and I've taken away several important things. 

One, scrapbook the people and not the event.  We need to really remember to share the story of the event through the person we are scrapbooking.  Our pages will be more meaningful.

Two, make time and commit to our hobby at least once a week.  She told us we need this time to retreat and as a women to feel "cute".  After all, don't we just feel "cute" when we make that beautiful layout or paper craft!  I know I do.

Third, she reminded us to stand still, to savor everyday moments. She shared this touching video with music by her friend Hilary Weeks. You may want to grab a tissue or two…it was a waterfall for me.

Getting Ready for the Party

I'm having fun getting ready for the Firetruck Birthday Party.  First step, adding the letters to these red plastic buckets I picked up at a local dollar store. 

The yellow vinyl was bought at a recent scrapbooking convention.  So I used my Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge from CTMH for the letters.  I added a layer of clear (transparent) contact paper bought at Wal-Mart on my Cricut mat, then the layer of the yellow vinyl on top of the contact paper.  Then turned the blade to the highest setting (6) and it cut the letters beautifully!

I had so much fun, I then had to decorate the smaller buckets by adding a star and the number 2. 

When we are ready for the party, I plan to add colored tissue paper to each bucket before I put the food in them. 

Coming home from Convention

Today I returned home from the 2012 Close To My Heart Convention that was held here in Dallas, TX.  The past three days were an adventure and I left feeling more passionate and excited about Close To My Heart than ever before!  Stayed tuned as I share some exciting pictures and post some of the art work that will soon be available for purchase in the 2012 Fall/Winter Idea Book and Catalog. 

So many great new products in the new book with exclusive paper and cardstock, new colors, amazing home decor items and yes....A NEW CRICUT CARTRIDGE!!!  Oh yes they did; CTMH is bringing us another Cricut cartridge only available to purchase through CTMH. 

The new Cricut Artiste collection offers over 700 images that features themed projects, interactive cards, awards, and more!  From robots and spooks to weddings and Valentines, your cupcake liners, invitations, and party favors will coordinate and quickly come together for any celebration!