A Head Start on Christmas 2013!

The weeks before Christmas I didn't have a lot of crafting time and all the good intentions I had at making Christmas cards fell threw. One of those things was making the Pear & Partridge Workshop on the Go Card Kit (pictured above). I did make the cards this weekend. I changed the design a bit by using other stamps like Merry & Bright and the Pear & Partridge Rub-Ons. If you want to get a head start on Christmas 2013 these items are available until January 31 or while supplies last.

Anniversary Twisted Greeting Card

December 22 my parents are celebrating their 48th wedding anniversary! I wanted to give the gift card to one of their favorite restaurants to celebrate. I'm always on the look out for presenting cash and gift cards in unique ways. My friend Nancy introduced me to making the Twisted Greeting Card that worked perfectly for this.

Materials:
La Belle Vie Paper Pack (Close To My Heart)
Memo Assortment (Close To My Heart)
Various Flower Embellishments (retired Close To My Heart)
Silk Ribbon (May Arts)

Gift of Love

Each year I like to do an ornament craft with my students that they can give their parents as a gift. Last year we did the snowman hand print ornaments. As a Montessori teacher I have students for several years. So each year I look for something new. I had this poem in mind from a Valentine's project I did years ago. I think it works perfectly as a box ornament.

To make these ornaments I had the children whisper a "message of love" to the My Creations block. Then they covered it with Pear & Partridge paper. Next the children tied a ribbon bow. Lastly, they added curling ribbon with the poem. Their signature is on the back with the date. I think this will be a cherished ornament!

Rolo Snowman Treat

Today is the last day of school before the holidays. So the last few days I've been working on crafting things to give my students and coworkers as gifts. I saw these snowmen made by another Close To My Heart Consultant and knew right away I would make them. The body is a Rolo Candy covered in white cardstock. The snowman features were stamped with "All Decked Out" (retired stamp). The hat is the finger of an inexpensive pair of gloves I bought. Final touches are a pom pom and sassy strands (retired). These are almost too cute to eat!

Rudolph 3 x 3 Card

I made 9 of these 3 x 3 cards for gift tags. I'm really happy with the way the coloring turned out using my Copic markers. I think I'm getting the hang of the shading! The stamp, patterned paper, and red gem are from the Simon Says Stamp Card Kit FESTIVE HOLIDAY 2012 Limited Edition. The baker's twine, cardstock, and 3 x 3 envelopes are from Close To My Heart.

FSS Snow Lady Card

Fred, She Said released many design this month and I enjoy playing with them. Since the Snow Lady is holding a rainbow of colored lights I wanted this to be a bright and cheery card. For a little pizzazz I used Sakura Metallic pens to highlight the lights.

Other Uses for Scrapbooking Paper

This week I had dinner with my coworkers. We do this every year and then exchange gifts. I had a beautiful scarf as my gift and was wondering how to "wrap" it. I found a box that was the perfect size but as you can see by the one corner it was pink and black stripes. I took scraps of my Pear & Partridge paper and covered the box. It was a great way to put recycle, reuse, and reduce into practice. It also made an attractive package!

Money Holder Cards

It was a productive day for me as I worked on several crafting projects with my friends and fellow CTMH consultants Jolene and Nancy. These money holder cards are easy to make. You can find the directions on this blog. I made 10 of these using the Pear & Partridge paper and the Dimensional Elements In Color—Holiday.

Super Easy Christmas Invites

I have the job of being the social coordinator for the school I work at. I try to organize a few events during the year for the staff. Our Christmas dinner is one we anticipate yearly. I made close to twenty invitations in 5 minutes thank to Fred, She Said's Naughty or Nice Elf. Not only was this a quick project but it was cheaper then going out to buy a pack of invitations too!

Special Close To My Heart Sale

Everyone enjoys shopping the deals this time of year, and you’ll be tickled to learn that Close To My Heart is making fabulous deals available to you. At 12:00 AM (MST) on December 1, new items will be added to the “While Supplies Last” section of my web site's shopping page. Among the new additions you will find a wide variety of paper and coordinating accessories, all with a substantial markdown. You will also find that most of the items that are currently available will also see a further markdown at this time.

To sweeten the deal even more, from December 1–31, all orders placed on my web site that reach or exceed $50 will also include a free Bonding Memories® glue pen (Z553)—a $4.50 value! Shop early, because these deals are only available while supplies last.

Shop through my online gathering and you could also earn the hostess rewards! Just click join!

Grinch Card using Cricut

I was looking through my stamps today, making plans for my Christmas cards. I found a retired Close To My Heart set with the sentiment "What if Christmas doesn't come from a store." "What if Christmas means a little bit more. - The Grinch." After reading that I knew I wanted to make a Grinch! Instead of spending hours playing with Design Studio, I searched the Internet to see if someone had a Grinch tutorial. My search led me to many punch art designs. I liked this one the best. I bought the tutorial even though I don't have the punches needed. Instead I used it to guide me through finding shapes to cut on the Cricut that matched the punches. I found all the shapes on the Art Philosophy cartridge. If you're on my Christmas card list you may be getting this in the mail!

FSS Pointy Poinsettia Flowers

Now that Thanksgiving is over I feel ready to listen to Christmas music and make my cards! This card uses the Pointy Poinsettia Flowers Pre-Colored design from Fred, She Said. Head on over to Fred, She Said for a Black Friday sale until Monday!

"Just a Note" Card

I've been wanting to subscribe to the Simon Says Stamp Monthly Card Kit for awhile. I decided to make it a Christmas present to myself! My first kits, November and Holiday, arrived a week ago. I'm still not ready to make holiday cards so I'm using the November kit to make some general note cards.

Fred, She Said Winter 2012 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Fred, She Said Winter 2012 Blog Hop! The flakes will be flying in earnest soon...grab yourself a cuppa something warm and spend a while checking out the new Fred, She Said Winter images!    

If you have arrived from Zehra’s blog, you are right on track. If you are just happening by, you will want to start on the FSS Blog. 

Collect a secret word on each blog along the way, leave us some love on our posts and follow the directions at the end of the hop for your chance to win this FABULOUS PRIZE! One winner will receive ALL of this:

Bearly Mine Designs - £15 gift voucher

$25 GC to CropStop (provided by Fred She Said)

$25 GC to Fred She Said Store

I choose to use the Pine Cone Spray Precolored Set for this clean and simple card. The image has the look of snow that I highlighted with a Gelly Roll Stardust pen. It doesn't photograph well, but it is really sparkly! This is such an easy card to mass produce that it makes sending handmade cards feasible for anyone! That's why I love Fred, She Said!  

Your secret word on my blog is: a

Your next stop on the hop is Donna's blog.  

Winners will be selected on November 23, 2012 at 12:01 EST.

Thanksgiving Card

Close To My Heart recently pinned the picture "Flirt with Autumn" to Pinterest. It gave me the idea for a card. Paper piecing on the stamped image gives an interesting effect to the cornucopia  I can't believe Thanksgiving is one week away! 

Supplies

Flirty Paper Packet

Abundance Stamp Set

Adhesive

Pumpkin Bouquet Card

Autumn is my favorite season so I've been making a few seasonal projects before the Christmas crafting projects take over! I created my card using sketch #183 from Unscripted Sketches. The focal image is a Fred, She Said Design Pumpkin Bouquet. It was colored with Close To My Heart alcohol markers.

Other Supplies
Flirty Paper Packet
Antique Gold Button from the Mini Medley Collection
Autumn Lane Assortment 
Baker's Twine Harvest Assortment

I'm grateful for...

I've been using this paper pack for lots of projects and it is quickly becoming a favorite! This card was inspired from Close To My Heart's Idea Book and Catalog.

Supplies

Flirty Paper Packet

A Friend Like You Stamp Set

Color-Ready Arbor Wooden Shapes

Sparkles Brown & Tan Assortment
Liquid Glass and other Adhesives

Autumn Blooms Layout

Right Page

Left Page

This layout was started in July 2012 at Close To My Heart's convention. I don't remember the number of circles we had to punch but it was a lot. It made a great background page element. I love this paper packet for autumn.

Supplies

Flirty Paper Packet

Flirty Complements Dimensional Elements

Circle Punch

Corner Punch (to make scallop)

FSS Fall Blue Jay Card

I haven't made a scrapbook page or layout in awhile. Now that fall Parent/ Teacher Conferences are over I'm not as busy after school or in the evenings. This evening I wanted to make a thank you card for a parent volunteer.

Fred, She Said released this beautiful Blue Jay image last month. I love that there is a Blue Jay for every season! I used Moonlight scraps of paper, burlap ribbon, and baker's twine from Close To My Heart to make this quick card.

One Fine Day Layout

This is a layout featuring pictures of me with Close To My Heart consultant friends. Any day papercrafting with friends is "One Fine Day"! Last week I posted cards that were projects from July 2012's Close To My Heart Convention. This layout is also a make and take project from convention. It's a great feeling finally completing these projects. This new Slate Satin Polka-Dot Ribbon is a beautiful finishing touch to this layout.

Z1802 Slate Satin Polka-Dot Ribbon 5 yards 1 1/2 " wide $4.95

FSS Raking

This is a newer set from Fred, She Said called Raking. It's such a fun fall design! I used some old and a scrap of burlap ribbon on it. Otherwise I kept the design simple so the bright fall colors of the pre colored image pop. The set comes with two colored version, a black and white version you can color yourself, and another black and white without the dog.

First October Birthday Card

This is the first of four birthday cards I'll be making this month! This card is being sent in the mail so I didn't want to over embellish. However, after I took this picture I did add some gems to the centers of the flowers. The paper and canvas stickers are from the Clementine collection. The stick pin is from the Autumn Lane Assortment. The sentiment is from stamp set Card Chatter - Birthday.

These three cards are part of a make and take from July's Convention in Dallas. I just finished putting them together this past weekend. I'm not sure why, but I often omit embellishments on my papercrafting projects. These cards taught me how effective a little embellishing can be! I love the Slate Mini Medley Collection that adds the finishing touches to each  of these cards.

Z1787 Mini Medley Accents Slate Collection (37 different pieces) $5.95

FSS Hollyhocks Card

This card features the design Hollyhocks from Fred, She Said. For this card I think you can see how some of the blooms look like they are popping up. That's because they are!

Here is a quick technique to add some dimension to your focal point.  Print the image twice and hand cut some of the blooms. Then attached those blooms to the card with foam dots. The last finishing touch I did was a dot of liquid glass in the center of each bloom. I think these quick and easy details make a difference.

Pun Fun Cards

One of my favorite new stamps from the Close To My Heart Catalog is Pun Fun. These three cards were part of a make and take at Convention in July. I attended a business class and didn't have time to finish them. I pulled them out this weekend to finish, because I want to give a coworker the "You Rock" card. My car went in for inspection on Friday. Randi picked me up in the morning and took me after work to the shop to get me car. A perfect thank you card!

C1505 Pun Fun Stamp Set of 6 for $13.95

FSS Early Autumn Blog Hop

Welcome to the Fred, She Said Early Autumn Blog Hop!  Summer has ended and memories remain!  The FSS team wants to share with you the newly released FSS images! If you have arrived from Patty’s blog, you are right on track. If you are just happening by, you will want to start on the Fred, She Said Blog. 

Collect a secret word on each blog along the way, leave us some love on our posts and follow the directions at the end of the hop for your chance to win this FABULOUS PRIZE!

One winner will receive ALL of this:

$25 GC to CropStop (provided by Fred She Said)

$25 GC to Fred She Said Store

Hop ends Friday, October 5, midnight EST.

The Showstopper on this card is the beautiful Fred, She Said pre-colored Cosmos. This file was released last week and I just love it! The pre-colored fuchsia image coordinates well with items I have from Close To My Heart, the Flirty Paper Packet and Flirty Complements Dimensional Elements.

Your secret word on my blog is speaks.

Your next stop on the hop is Janet Kay’s blog.

FSS Poppies card

I love the way this card turned out and it was so easy! First I started with this stunning Fred, She Said image Poppies (pre-colored). Next I chose a card pattern form Close To My Heart's Make It From Your Heart booklet. I used scraps of paper from the Stella paper packet, doesn't it match so well? I love when that happens. My niece turns 20 years old today and this is her birthday card.

Christmas Card Ideas

Seven of the eight cards made at yesterday's Christmas Card Extravaganza.