Artbooking Made Easy: Fab Frames

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Ok, this video is another perfect example of why I love Close To My Heart.  CTMH knocked it out of the park again.  The pennant frame Jenna is showcasing is new in our current catalog.  But the Cricut Artbooking Cartridge is not.

CTMH in their infinite wisdom is all about helping us maximize usage of our tools.  The pennant frame can be easily cut out with the Cricut Artbooking using Real Dial Size 9.  No fussy cutting.  (My fingers always have indentations after I'm finished fussy cutting.)  No white edges to cover or ink.  (Unless, like me, you like the effect that the inking technique brings to your paper crafts.

Not only that, but Jenna shows three darling examples of the finished product to get our creative mojo flowing.

I can't say enough great things about this company.

To create one of these adorable projects, click here to order yours today.

It's all "Monkey" business...

I read an article once about the origin of nicknames.  It seems way back in the dark ages, parents would call their children by substitute names during their youth (and especially their babyhood) to keep ghouls and goblins from stealing them.  This is how nicknames came to be.

We call our youngest son Monkey.  He's always climbing on everything, constantly clinging to us, and he has those HUGE chubby cheeks when he smiles really big.  People always look at us like we're crazy for calling our son after an animal.  I think it's adorable.  And he answers to it.  He knows that nickname as well as he knows his own name - although he chooses not to answer to either of them when he's up to no good and he's about to get into trouble.

A couple years ago, I attended a name frame workshop.  It was a complete BLAST!  Then, I made a name frame for my oldest son using the nickname I've called him from birth - Chunk.  He was the fattest baby I'd ever seen.  I used to call him my "michelin-tire baby".  You'd never know it now, he's as thin as a rail and is all angles.  I loved cataloging some of my favorite pictures in an homage to my son.

When our current Idea Book came out and I saw the adorable Babycakes paper pack, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do with it - make a name frame for the baby.  So I sent all my favorite pictures from my cell phone over to Walgreens and started measuring.  Thankfully, I was able to find the same frame I'd gotten for his older brother.  The finished size I picked is 9 x 12.  I wanted the most space I could  to put as many pictures of my little monkey as possible.

Don't you love it??  I absolutely LOVE how stinkin' CUTE this name frame turned out!  His favorite things are eating, getting filthy and being cuddled - typical boy!  I totally captured his spirit in this name frame and it's going to look GREAT hanging on the wall right next to his older brother's.

It's a Banner Day!

I love the monthly campaigns that Close To My Heart comes out with!  I love getting product for free and seeing exclusively designed promotions.

Isn't this ADORABLE? 

Wanna get it for FREE??  (Who among us doesn't LOVE free product?)

Place an order in the month of June that's a minimum of $25, make sure that you have at least ONE qualifying stamp set, and you get this Mini-Banner for FREE!

The banner has 10 chipboard pennants in 4 different shapes and includes 9 jump rings for hanging.  This is a value of $5.95

Click here to place your order today!

Theresa

National ScrapBooking Month!

When I saw how bright and cheerful the patterns and colors for our National ScrapBooking Month promotion were, I was completely inspired to create this Milk Carton Flower Pot for Mother's Day.  I love how happy this little project turned out to be. 

Both the patterned papers and cardstock are from the Dream Pop Promotion.  The colors are so joyful, it just screamed "Celebrate Something" to me.  And since Mom's Day is right around the corner, what better to celebrate?

I used our Juniper Ink to color our Color Ready Seam Binding (if you've never done this before, it takes about a day to completely dry before you can play with it).  After I cut all the individual papers out, I edged them with the Juniper Ink, too.  I love inking edges, I think it adds dimension without the additional weight of more paper.  It's one of those techniques that allows you the versatility to determine how light or how dark you want the edges to be.  I usually start out pretty light-handed and wait for it to dry before deciding whether I want to add more.  I used Slate Ink to stamp the leaves and flowers with the Heartfelt Treasures stamp (they're on both sides of the milk carton).  Then I pulled out the bling!  I think it added just the right amount of pop and shine without being too over the top.  I used our Bitty Sparkles, our Blue/Green Sparkles Assortment and our Red/Pink/Purple Sparkles Assortment. 

I'm having so much fun playing with this paper pack!  The colors are so vivacious.

All you need to do to get this fantastic promotion is place a qualifying order of $35 here and you can order this for an additional $10!!  But place your order quickly.  Although this promotion is for the Month of May only, there are limited quantities.

Free, free, free!!

Do you still use a 35mm camera to capture all your family's memorable events or did you switch to a digital camera?  If you did, then you need to digitize your scrapbooking, too!!

During the month of October when you purchase 9 two page Studio J layouts, Close To My Heart will give you the tenth two page layout free! 

Studio J is how Close To My Heart does digital scrapbooking.  There's no software to download and no upfront fees.  In fact, you don't pay a cent until you're satisfied with your pages and ready to see them in an album on your coffee table. You just log onto the website here and start scrappin'! 

I used Studio J for the first time last week and I couldn't believe how easy the whole process was!  I just uploaded my pictures, chose my paper pack and layout from the dozens offered and embellished to my heart's content.  Because it was so easy, I'm working on a birthday album for my mom and I'm going to have the pages delivered right to her!  

Wanna try it for yourself?  Just log in and start your own pages.

Theresa
Collect. Create. Contribute.

October Stamp Of The Month - Very Merry Christmas

Aren't these tags ADORABLE???  Let me tell you how much I LOVED making these tags!  

First, I got to use a Cricut for the very first time making these tags!  Each of the shapes cuts out of our NEW Cricut Artiste cartridge.  I was so nervous, I had no idea what to expect.  OMG, it was so EASY!

The images stamped right onto the shapes (gotta love see-thru acrylic stamps!!).  And then onto my all-time favorite part of all...

The decorating!!  I wanted these tags to say "Happy Holidays" without throwing tinsel in your face.  And they do!  I used our Glitz gel to add some sparkle to them and they turned out so elegant.

This would make a great project for kids who are home on one of these up-coming school holidays between now and December.  And they'll be so proud passing out presents on Christmas morning while showing off their handiwork!

Hope you enjoy!!

Adorable Name Frame

This is as close to scrap booking as I get!  This was an ADORABLE name frame we did a few years ago.  I didn't really name my son 'Chunk'.  I've always called him that because he was such a fat baby!  Now he's all elbows and knees and he'll be 11 on Halloween!  They really do grow up fast!!

But I had to share this with you all because it's such a cute piece of wall art!

Enjoy!!