Christmas Cards featuring CTMH White Pines

I made some holiday greeting cards with the CTMH White Pines collection.  All the cards are 4-1/4 x 5-1/2. I used an card workshop pattern from a previous card kit called Cloud Nine, so be sure to reuse those patterns.

Remember when we used to score everything? I still love the technique.

Supplies:
X7200B White Pines Paper Packet
Z3077 White Pines Assortment - matte badge buttons
Z3090 Red Enamel Gems
Z3087 Green Shimmer Trim
Z2116 Cranberry Exclusive Inks
Z2650 Fern Exclusive Inks
D1657 Holly Jolly Christmas stamp set
Z3167 Cricut Artistry cartridge
X1410 Colonial White cards & envelopes

Happy holidays,

Sheila

Gobble Gobble Gift Bag

Here's a cute gift bag you can make for a teacher or special friend for Thanksgiving using the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  I filled the bag with candy corn and yummy chocolate popcorn I found in the candy aisle at Walmart.  I really want to make these pumpkin snickerdoodles for the next one.

Here are the dimensions, supplies and assembly instructions:

·        Chocolate Bag – 6 ½” Gift Bag  [font layer + shift < 3 >]

·        Chocolate Body* – 4” Scalloped Oval [fourth row, second from left]

·        Desert Sand Collar* – 2 ¾” Scalloped Oval [fourth row, second from left]

·        Chocolate Head* – 3” Egg [fourth row, fourth from right]

·        White Daisy Eyes – cut 2, ½” Ovals [second row, second from left]

·        Goldrush Beak – 1” Banner [third row, second from right]

·        Cranberry Waddle – 1 ½” Uneven Heart [bottom row, second from right + Shift]

·        Honey Feet – cut 2, 1” Skinny Heart [second row, fourth from right + Shift]

·        Feathers – One in each color, 1 ¾” Skinny Oval [top row, second from left]                                            Suggestions: Barn Red, Smokey Plum, New England Ivy, Honey, Autumn Terracota.

Also need

·        2 black Bigger Brads

·        6” Baker’s Twine

·        Liquid Glass, or other adhesive (I like this because it dries quickly)

·        Piercing Tool

·        Chocolate Ink

·        Sponge

Assembly: 

Sponge (*) pieces in Chocolate Ink.  Assemble turkey using Liquid Glass or similar adhesive.  Cut about 1/2" off bottom of Turkey body before attaching to the assembled gift bag, otherwise he won't sit up.

 

 

Enjoy,
Sheila

Fall Harvest

Halloween...check. The Fall festivities are in full swing.  I love the cooler nights and crisp mornings this time of year in Arizona.  Today I'm taking down all the gobblins, ghosts and pumpkin decorations and replacing them with cozier items like this Harvest banner I made with Close To My Heart products.  When I saw this on page 86 of the Idea Book I knew I had to make one for my home. I've included a tutorial video showing our new alcohol based markers which I used to make these beautiful blended fall leaves.  Now, how many days till Christmas?  :\

 I used  the Cricut Artiste cartridge (Z1790) to create the banner (4"), border (1.25") and title (2"). 



These leaves are made from paper.  I stamped the images from the Fall Harvest stamp set (item C1504) on colonial white cardstock and then colored them using our new markers.  Finish off with some brads, hemp and new burlap ribbon (item Z1760).  Now I need to get to the craft store and purchase some garland to finish off the mantle.

Have a memorable day,
Sheila

See the New Idea Book for Fall/Winter 2012

You've waited and it's finally here, the much anticipated 2012 Fall/Winter Idea Book from Close To My Heart.  This unveils the newest CTMH Cricut cartridge - Artiste.  Like our wildly popular Art Philosophy cartridge, Artiste is packed with 700 images to boost your creativity.  Click here to browse the pages of our new Idea Book.

If you'd like to host a gathering to earn free products, contact me.

New Cricut Cartridge Announced

I just returned from Dallas, Texas where over 1,200 women and 3 men were kickin' up their heals after Close To My Heart revealed their new Cricut cartridge, Artiste, which will be available August 1.  Every year CTMH holds a convention to celebrate the new product Idea Book.  This is three exciting days of product reveals, business classes and hands-on cropping. Oh my, there are so many great things coming your way beginning August 1st, and I can hardly wait to get my hands on that new Cricut cartridge.  Just like Art Philosophy, this cartridge offers 700 images - yes that is SEVEN HUNDRED, not a typo. But Artiste is a Cricut cartridge on steroids.  These new die cuts focus on themed projects, interactive cards, 3D artwork and more.  Robots, spooks, valentines, babies and more. There's even a step by step assembly book so you don't go crazy trying to figure out what goes where. 

Just like the Art Philosophy Cricut collection, the Artiste cartridge is available only as a bundle exclusively from Close To My Heart consultants.  The collection includes:

• 1 cartridge with 700 images of themed projects, cards, font & 3D items
• 3 My Acrylix D-size stamps sets that coordinate with Artiste die cuts
• 3 coordinating 12" x 9" Dimensional Elements sheets (chipboard) of awards, quotes & mini album pages

The entire collection - with a retail value of $125 - is just $99.  Contact me to order this amazing collection or click here to shop online. (Remember it's not available until August 1st.)

Created by Tamara Pope

Be sure to tell your friends - something this good is worth sharing!

Have a memorable day,
Sheila

Live Out Loud - July Stamp of the Month

The July Stamp of the Month is called Live Out Loud and includes images of positive phrases with hip, lively designs.  My daughter was doing a little posing for a fun event at our church and I thought these phrases captured the moment perfectly.  I jazzed it up further with flowers and butterflies using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge exclusively available from Close To My Heart consultants, like me.  The paper is from the Lucy collection. Oh and a little bling never hurts.

This stamp set is great for cards and gift bags too, as you can see below in the artwork generously shared by some of my talented friends.


Created by Judy Faye Gardner

created by Melissa Robinson

Have a memorable day,

Sheila

Bunny Bags

I saw these posted on another blog and couldn't wait to try them myself.  Aren't they cute?  I'd like to give Tracey Sanders recognition for her darling little bunny bag creation.  The shapes are all cut from the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, which I absolutely love.

"Hoppy" Easter,
Sheila

Cricut Expression Machine On Sale

This week Hobby Lobby is offering the Cricut Expression machine for $149.99.  That's a pretty good price for a brand new machine.  And if you have a store near you, no shipping charges.  Partner your new machine with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge exclusively from Close To My Heart to create artwork like the card below.

Hooray Bouquet & Cricut

Here is another card I created with the new Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge from Close To My Heart. I used Hooray Bouquet (D1491), another Cricut-compatible My Acrylix stamp set.  This is just one of the many stamp sets in the new Idea Book that is compatible with the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.  The image size of the stamp is cleverly printed on the carrying sheet so you know exactly what settings to use with your Cricut for a perfect fit.  The paper is Elemental (X7141B).

These flowers were a snap to create, since I didn't need to cut them by hand.  The flowers, green circle,sentiment tag and the watermelon were all cut with the CTMH Cricut cartridge, even the seeds.





 

CTMH's Cricut Art Philosophy Collection

The geniuses at Close To My Heart have teamed up with Cricut to bring you an amazing Art Philosophy cartridge that pairs with CTMH clear My Acrylix stamps and Dimensional Elements chipboard. Simply plug the cartridge into your Cricut and you’re ready to cut any of the 700 shapes, ranging from elegant roses to trendy gift boxes and banners! There's even an alphabet.  You’ll also receive three stamp sets (valued at $53.85) as well as three sets of 9" × 12" Dimensional Elements chipboard (valued at $14.85) that work in tandem with the cartridge. On top of that, numerous My Acrylix stamp sets in the new CTMH Idea Book pair wonderfully with images on the Cricut® cartridge. When looking through the Idea Book, you’ll see red lines around the images that coordinate with the cartridge, and the cutting size setting is right on the stamp's carrying sheet (how smart is that?).  Click here to purchase your Art Philosophy collection today.

Dream of the possibilities you could create with the new Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and coordinating products from Close To My Heart.  I used the new Sonoma paper (Item X7143B) to create this banner with my cartridge.