Project Inspiration 2012 Autumn/Winter Idea Book: Patterns From The Heart

Here's a video showcasing the new CTMH "How To" book, Make It From Your Heart.


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Cricut Artiste Easy Instruction

Here is a helpful video which describes the handbooks that come with the Cricut Artiste cartridge.


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Cricut Artiste: One Size Fits All

This video explains a bit about sizing when you use the Cricut Artiste cartridge.


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Project Inspiration 2012 Autumn/Winter Idea Book: Harvest Banner

One of the great new offerings in the latest Close To My Heart catalog has to be the alcohol markers. This video describes how they are listed in the catalog, demonstrates how to color with the markers, and tells you how to store the markers.

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September Constant Campaign - National Stamping Month

To celebrate National Stamping Month in September, we are bringing back our popular double stamp set promotion! You can get the exclusive, new My Acrylix^® It’s Your Day double stamp set for just $5 when you place a minimum order of $35 in full retail products from August 15 through September 30, 2012. You’ll love this double set—two D-size sets in one envelope—which includes nearly 50 trendy images that makes it easy to capture the everyday moments in your life. The double set has a retail value of $35.90, which drastically increases the value of your qualifying purchase! Have twice the fun stamping during National Stamping Month with our new, exclusive It’s Your Day double stamp set!

Dates: Offer valid August 15 (9:00 am MDT) – September 30, 2012 (11:59 pm MDT)

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Avonlea Card Box

Here's the beautiful new Avonlea paper pack on another card box. After cutting so many pieces of Roxie for the girls' to put on their boxes last week for art camp, I decided to make one of my own.

Here's a close up of the roses and some bling. All of the shaped cuts here, including the roses, were made with new Cricut Artiste cartridge. With the latest catalog, CTMH has gone to offering some colors which are exclusive to certain paper packs, meaning that they can't be bought separately. The Avonlea paper pack is one of those which has some exclusive colors andI used the elegant Avonlea Off White for the cardstock for the roses. 

I love this box. It's a great size to hold not only cards but other trinkets or jewelry. I think a decorated box would make a great unique gift. I also love its magnetic closure.

Supplies used--

Paper: (X7155B) Avonlea

Embellishments: (Z1466) Bling Assortment, (Z1263) Bitty Sparkles

Other: (Z1647) Card Box, (Z1790) Cricut Artiste Cartridge

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Busy, Busy, Busy!

The second session of my Kids' Scramping Art Camp is well under way. It is a lot of work but really fun! The girls are busy, busy, busy and doing a wonderful job on their various projects.

Do these look familiar? We started off with card boxes again on Monday. I love how they all put their own creative slant on them. I had precut some elements like rose spirals with the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge. Even though rolling up the roses isn't necessarily easy for little hands, they did a great job with it. Liquid Glass was also a big hit. I showed them how to use it to make dew drops on their roses. They used it for that and to put other details in, such as the veins on the leaves or just extra dimension here and there.

It was cute that they all happened to wear flip flops on Tuesday. I couldn't resist taking a picture!

On Tuesday, we worked on making jewelry. Blogger is automatically turning my picture around, sorry!

Wednesday was all about painting and monograms! We painted and decorated large monograms.

We also made a framed chipboard monogram collage--the girls either stamped, sponged, glittered, or did some sort of combo on each of their chipboard monograms and then they put them on some cardstock. This was eventually put into a frame they had painted.

One thing the girls enjoyed was finding out that you could use a pencil eraser as a stamp to make polka dots!

 

Our last technique today was to use the waterbrush. I showed them how to stamp with a lined image and then how to squeeze a closed stamp pad and use the open stamp pad as a palette to pick up some color.

Whew! I just love it that they are all interested and absorbed by the activities we are doing!
I am also going to be a vendor at the Tri Delta Crop for a Cure coming up this Saturday! I love this crop. It's a fun group and a great cause. I guess it's busy season again!

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Display Tray

One of my must haves from the new Close To My Heart catalog was the display tray. I was so excited to see it in the catalog and it was one of the first things I played with when my new items arrived. Here's what I ended up doing with it.

Believe it or not, every item I used on the tray is CTMH (except that I embossed the Sweet Leaf rectangle with a Cuttlebug folder) although some of it is very old. It's as if my hoarding had a purpose...somehow I knew I would use those little doodads on this display tray eventually!

I left my chipboard letter F unadorned but I'm still wondering if I should stamp it or cover it with paper. I do kind of like that your eye has a place to rest. What do you think?

Here are some close ups of a few of the compartments. I used both the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and the new Cricut Artiste cartridge throughout my project. The upside down triangle banners (Art Philosophy) are on chipboard die cut shapes to make them more sturdy.

The "Family" sentiment is on some shapes cut with the Art Philosophy cart and adhered to a chipboard die cut and popped up with foam tape. Remember the Canvas Badge Buttons? I used one in the collage below to make the stamped circle "Love This" pop up a bit. I used our old peated ribbon to make a flower (just wrapped aound itself, glued it with Tacky Glue and stuck a brad through the middle). The "leaf" is one of our old Foundry embellishments (originally meant to be a photo corner, I think).

 The main banner below is another chipboard element (paper is cut out with the Artiste cartridge).

Supplies used (I'm not listing unavailable products)

(Z1750) Display Tray,

Paper: (X7156B) Clementine Paper Packet, Sweet Leaf Cardstock, Chocolate

Cricut Cartridges: (Z1790) Artiste, (Z1686) Art Philosophy

Stamp sets: (D1482) Love Life

Embellishments: (Z1127) Designer Ribbon Rounds™ Chocolate Collection, (Z1371) Buttons Blue Assortment, (Z1410) Antiqued Copper Designer Brads, (Z1333) Opaques Mocha Adhesive Gems, (Z1269) Filigree Charms, (Z1336) Opaques Pearl Adhesive Gems, (Z1466) Bling Assortment, (Z1685) Dimensional Elements Banners, (Z1683) Dimensional Elements Mixed Shapes, (Z1659) Dimensional Elements Monograms "F", (Z1276) Mini-Medley Accents Colonial White, (Z1096) Embroidery Floss Neutral Assortment

Stamp pads: (Z2114) Cocoa, (Z2167) Créme Brulee, (44751) Archival Black, (Z1296) Distressing Inks

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