Art Attack - Everyday Embellishing

Things are CRAZY busy for me this week as I prepare for my darling daughter's 17th birthday party!  My daughter is hard working, artistic, witty, sarcastic (in a funny way), intelligent, beautiful and grounded - basically she is an absolute gem so we are going with a Tiffany Blue party theme to celebrate the diamond that she is.  My Circut E2 has been humming for days with cuts from Artiste and Art Philosophy for party decor and some crafts to make with the girls.  I will take pictures as I finish things off and share here after the party but in the mean time I'll share a wonderful article put together by Close to my Heart Corporate Art Department full of beautiful artwork and tips for you on embellishing!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Paige

Everyday Embellishing

Categories: ART ATTACK

It’s easy to incorporate chalk, metallics, and bling into your artwork with a few embellishments you can use on your everyday papercrafting projects. Let us show you how!

This Merry & Bright page uses dots created with the gold metallic marker to add extra sparkle around the edges of the page. Notice the scalloped accents with outlines in gold marker which adds dimension and draws your eye. Our metallics markers will make your artwork sparkle!

Add heart to your art with an extra touch of bling—cover your Dimensional Elements with silver Glitz™ glitter gel, a clear Sparkle or two, or a touch of silver from the metallics marker! Your heartfelt messages will bedazzle your loved ones.

The chalk marker and 12" × 12" chalkboard sheet are a perfect pair for creating a unique project. Journal and embellish your memories with the quaint look of a chalkboard—minus the dust—and a lot of freehand fun, perfect to display in your albums or on your walls!

If you haven’t had a chance to scrapbook your Halloween photos yet, here’s a great idea for a spooky page. The Haunted assortment with its cute skull brads, spider badge buttons, and more, is the perfect go-to for scary Halloween memories. It also coordinates nicely with the Moonlight paper packet and Moonlight Complements Dimensional Elements.

Tell your story with papers and accents that complement your unique tale. The Memo assortment’s little note tags are great for embellishing and journaling all in one, and the tiny epoxy numbers mimic old typewriter keys. Pair the Memo assortment with our Scholastic paper packet and My Stickease^® assortment for your school-themed memories and more!

This elegant layout is tied together by antique elements from the Baroque assortment, Avonlea Complements canvas shapes, and the beautiful Avonlea papers. Add a timeless quality to your memories with graceful keys, broaches, and buttons from the Baroque assortment.
Whatever your project, embellishing will bring your artwork to life. 

Heart2Heart Challenge - Hot Cocoa

This week's challenge at Heart2Heart Challenges is to create a "Hot Cocoa" themed project to warm us up in the chilly winter!  You can interpret the challenge any way you want - create a hot chocolate themed project OR to use the CTMH colors Cocoa or Chocolate.  I did a bit of both!

I've had the stamp set "Cup of Cheer" for a while now and hadn't had an opportunity to ink it up.  This challenge gave me just the right project for it - a tri fold card cut from our Artiste Cricut cartridge using Cocoa cardstock.  I was thinking about Fiesta Ware because of the flower on the pot so I made my card using some fun and funky colors - not my usual softer pairing with Cocoa but I like the vibrant pop.

Here is the card flat as you would pull it out from the envelope:

And here is what it looks like when its standing and the tri-fold part opens up a bit.  I like how the pot looks like its just finished pouring into the cup!

I think this will be a fun card to send to my parents this winter to give them a long-distance hug.

Click this link to join the fun at Heart2Heart Challenges!  Just remember to use some CTMH product in your project and link up to us using our new thumbnail photo linking tool!  If you need to pick up some CTMH products then visit my website at www.Paige.CTMH.com and shop our wonderful lines!  I can't wait to visit you and see what you create!

Products Used:

Stamp:  Cup of Cheer, Perfect Fit-Frames

Cardstock colors:  Cocoa, Honey, Gypsy, White Daisy

Inks:  Cocoa Pigment Ink, Cocoa Dye Ink

Other:  Watercolor Pencils, Liquid Glass, Neutral Baker's Twine, Topiary Button (retired), Chocolate Waxy Flax, Edge Distresser

Playing with new CTMH Alcohol Markers

I made this card a little while ago using a REALLY old retired CTMH stamp set that I think is called Groovy.  I love the shape of the flower - retro and it reminds me of doodling in my notebooks at school.  I stamped in our new Cocoa pigment ink and then used the Sweet Leaf marker set to fill in the flower.  You can see there is a lighter rim around the outside of the flower and the darker inside.  This was my first attempt at the alcohol markers so its nothing to write home about but I am enjoying the blending aspects of these little beauties.

I used a Martha Steward button punch with Lagoon cardstock and then dosed the whole thing with some Liquid Glass to give it some shine. 

Here is a funny, I have no idea which CTMH set the sentiment is from.  I've looked through the sets on my desk and I must have already put it away.  I just finished looking through about 8 books and wasn't able to find it so its driving me crazy!  Anybody know which set this sentiment is from???

Thanks for stopping by today!  Stay crafty my friends!

Paige

Clear Acrylic Dry Embossed Winter Card

I made this card for this week's Snow Much Fun challenge at Heart2Heart Challenges.   There were so many beautiful samples from Team A that I just had to play along even though its not my Design Team week!  Go check it out by visiting Heart2HeartChallenges.blogspot.com.

I used one of our recently retired acrylic cards and put it through my Cuttlebug to give it some swirls of snow.  After I embossed it, I put some Silver Glitz Glitter Gel on the inside of the swirls and backed that with some of our retired Wonderland paper, the reverse side of the paper is the blue I used for the snow drift.  The trees were cut from the old Jingle paper pack using my new Winter Woodland Cricut cartridge that my kids gave me for Christmas.   A bit of cheery red baker's twine and some Stardust Glitz on the tree tops and snowy hill tops this one off.

I had so much fun using these acrylic cards!  I picked up several packs when they were in the clearance section on my website at www.Paige.CTMH.com because I wanted to play around with embossing on them.  

Thanks for stopping by today!  Stay crafty my friends!

Paige

Heart2Heart Challenges Design Team!

I'm so excited to announce that I am back in the saddle again over at the Heart2Heart Challenges blog as a Design Team member!  I was offered the opportunity to join in again and I jumped on it because there is nothing like a Design Team on a challenge blog to stretch you and focus your creative energies.  Not only that, the blog is all about Close to my Heart products and you KNOW how much I love CTMH!

I'll be part of an All-Star Alumni design team - these girls are so super talented that I'm completely pumped to join the fun and I'm sure we are all going to get loads of inspiration each week!  Stop on over and check Heart2Heart Challenges out, bookmark the site and get ready to play along with us!

What a great way to start 2013!

Stay crafty my friends,

Paige

Blue Ribbon Scholastic card with School Rocks and

Going through my photos folder I realized I had a couple of projects I hadn't posted yet.  This clean and simple one was created way back in August for my Idea Book release art boards. The layered book paper in this set is one of my favorites which probably stems from my first job working at a library.  I also worked at a book store and I was an English major in college.  Yeah, I'm a bit of a bookworm...

I used black embossing powder on the image of the kids walking to school.  I needed something really dark as I was stamping on patterned paper and wanted the image to pop against it.  Now that I have our new mini Pigment Ink Pads, I would use those instead as the ink has almost a raised appearance and has fabulous coverage.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Paige

Cutie Purse with Artiste and Clementine

The different bags, boxes and treat holders (along with the hundreds of other images and coordinating stamps) make Artiste a winner in my book.  I love this sweet little purse that even has a separate pocket for the front you can cut - too adorable!

I used a couple of the Durables metal self-adhesive studs to make the front look even more like a purse and put a bit of Liquid Glass on the center flower medallion to cowgirl glam this up a bit!

Hope you had a craft-tastic day!

Paige

Clementine Thanks Card

Love this Artiste cut card!  Great for a quick Thank you card.  I cut my card in black CS and then added a panel to the back and some decorative paper to the front.

Thanks for stopping by today and stay crafty my friends!

Paige

Merry Christmas! Plus a little Artiste Tree Treat Box

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

 Enjoy the peace and good will of the season, the blessing of family and the joy of giving and receiving from those we love. 

I hope you all had fun opening your presents today!

My Cricut is a happy little bug today because I received a bunch of new products to play with for Christmas!  Fresh mats, a couple of cool cartridges I've had my eye on and the consultant preview copy of the new Idea Book that goes live on February 1st!  

Merry Christmas to all and to all a crafty night!

Paige - Stampologist

Noel Christmas Card with Cricut Artiste and CTMH Pear and Partridge

This card is pretty much all Cricut Artiste - the Noel and the fun bow were all cut with the cartridge and I just added a bit of Glitz and some bling.  Gotta love how easy the Cricut makes crafting!

What went into this card:

Cricut Artiste

Pear and Partridge Paper

Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel

Rhinestone Designer Brads

Are you getting excited for Christmas?  I can't believe we are just a few days away!  The kids are all on break now and I've still got all my wrapping to do but at least I'm finally done with my shopping.  My husband and I have to take out two of the kiddos separately so they can shop for their siblings.  My youngest and arguably the best planner of the bunch, has completed his shopping but the two teens still need to hit the stores for their sibling presents.  I have a couple of ideas for good low-cost gifts they can give to each other so hopefully it won't take us long to finish up.

How about you?  Are you all done with shopping, wrapping and cards?  Are you like my MIL who gets it all done by the day after Thanksgiving (hers is ALWAYS my first card of the year) or are you like me and get things done in the nick of time?

Huge Clearance Sale start Friday 11/30 at 11PM PT

Just in time for your holiday shopping!  Close to my Heart just gave me a heads up that starting tonight 11/30 at 11PM Pacific Time there will be a huge "While Supplies Last" Clearance sale on our websites!

To get in on the goodies visit my site at www.Paige.CTMH.com and join the "December Holiday Sale" online party in the right lower corner.  This will take you to the shopping page and all the way at the bottom of the left hand column there is a "While Supplies Last" link.  Click that and have some fun!

When you spend $50 or more you'll get a FREE Bonding Memories Glue Pen (love these for small Cricut cutouts) added to your order!  Break up your order into $50 increments and use our $4.95 USPS shipping option and you'll offset most of your shipping costs!


What is going to be on sale?  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 see a further markdown!

To sweeten the deal even more, from December 1-31, all orders placed on my website which reach or exceed $50 will also include the FREE Bonding Memories Glue Pen ($4.50 value)! 

SHOP EARLY because things sell out FAST!  It always seems like the paper and compliments go the fastest so you know where I'll be at 11PM tonight! 

Home Decor with Close to my Heart

Close to my Heart corporate office just shared this awesome article with me and I had to share with YOU because how fabulous are these projects?  I've done a display tray and today I'm getting started on my advent calendar for Christmas!  Love our new decor items!

Paige - www.Stampologist.com

More out of Home Décor

Categories: ART ATTACK

There are so many creative ways to use hand-crafted 3-D items. Use our great products to create home décor that will bring a fun and unique accent in your home. It’s easy to use Close To My Heart products you already know and love—with a different twist!

This festive thankful countdown uses the My Creations^® cubby to celebrate Thanksgiving. Fill the Cricut^®-cut boxes with reminders of things you are thankful for, and share the grateful fun with your family. Use it to countdown to your favorite holiday, like Thanksgiving, or use different embellishments and countdown to a loved one’s birthday to show them how much you love them.

This adorable star was made from Collection Two of the Hostess Collections, available through Hostess Rewards in the Autumn Winter 2012 Idea Book. Show your hostesses this spunky star so they have an idea of what they can create from this particular Hostess Collection. While the Dakota paper packet, Casual Expressions stamp set, and Dakota Complements Foil Images have a country feel, you and your customers can use all of these same materials to make a welcoming star for your front door.

Everyday household items can also be combined with Close To My Heart products to create dazzling home décor. Use the Flirty paper packet and your Cricut^® machine, along with everyday household items such as a flower pot and Styrofoam ball, to create a papercrafted tree. Or add a few Dimensional Elements to the autumn colors of the Flirty papers to create a desk calendar using two My Creations blocks. You can even use cute Cricut^®-cut flowers and leaves to make a festive banner!

For displaying precious memories, the display tray is a perfect fit! Display photos, stamped sentiments, Dimensional Elements, and other embellishments for a prized layout that you can proudly hang anywhere in your home. The display tray is easy to personalize, too; cover up several windows with cardstock for larger photos!

Re-branding in process...welcome www.Stampologist.com

Hi my crafty friends!

You may have noticed I've been a little out of commission lately - well, there are good reasons behind it!  About two weeks ago I had a leg injury while doing martial arts.  I managed to tear my calf muscle which put me out of martial arts commission for about 8 weeks.  Well, you know me and 8 weeks without doing martial arts is going to be an absolute killer for me.  So what to do?

Well, about the same time that happened I found out about a class that focuses on doing crafting online business.  I signed up and decided that since I'm going to be out of martial arts for a while I should re-work my online presence and learn some new practices while I'm laid up.

What does this all mean?  I'm starting to work on re-branding my site!  The first part you'll see is a new domain name for my blog but you don't have to worry about changing bookmarks or links.  Everything will work the same as before but my new domain name will be www.Stampologist.com.  Within a couple of days you'll probably see your RSS feeds and your e-mail delivery of my posts switch over to that name.

Why Stampologist.com?  Because when I became a Close to my Heart consultant 5 years ago it was because I fell in love with their stamps!  I have a huge and beloved collection of their stamps, have had that name on my business cards for years and really think of myself as primarily a stamper!  Plus, as my husband pointed out its a whole lot less for people to type!

As I learn new things in this class I'll be incorporating them into this site and hope you'll enjoy the enhancements as they come. Most things will be behind the scenes but I'm sure some (like a new name popping up) will catch your eye.

Thanks for being patient with me while I learn new things and heal up.  I promise to have artwork back this week as well as I'm finally able to get up and down stairs easily and visit my craft room more often!

Hugs,

Paige - Stampologist

Tutorial on Cricut Craft Room with Art Philosophy and Artiste Cartridges

Discover the Possibilities of Cricut® Craft Room

Categories: ART ATTACK

If you love your Cricut^® machine, then you are going to adore all of the fabulous things you can do with Close To My Heart Cricut^®cartridges in the Cricut^® Craft Room. Create layers, cut negative space in the shape of your choice, make borders, and link elements together for a connected look. It’s easy! We’ll show you how.
Here is how to get started with Cricut^® Craft Room:

1. Create a FREE account in a few easy steps.
2. Download and run the application for PC or MAC, depending on the type of computer you use.
3. Connect your Cricut^® machine to your computer using a Type B USB cable. (Note: For more info on this type of cable, see your Cricut^® user’s guide or your local electronics store.) Once you have connected your computer to your Cricut^® machine, the “Load Mat” button is the only button you will ever need to push on your machine in the entire process. Cricut^® Craft Room will do everything else for you.
4. Once inside the application, choose the type of Cricut^® machine you own.
5. Insert your Close To My Heart Art Philosophy or Artiste cartridge into your Cricut^® machine.
6. In the lower left portion of the application there is a tab that is labeled “Images/Cartridges.” Select “All Cartridges” from the dropdown menu. (Note: You must choose a cartridge that you own. You can also purchase individual images from the Cricut^®store.)
7. Scroll to find the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy or Close To My Heart Artiste cartridges you own.
8. The virtual mat in Cricut^® Craft Room is just like the mat you’ll load into your machine. And, it is oriented the same way that you will load your mat into the machine, with the arrow at the top.
9. To drag an image to the mat, simply click on the image in the image selection tool box and move it to the mat.
10. Once the image is on the virtual mat, you can adjust the placement by clicking on the image and moving it to any location on the mat.
11. Now that you know the basics, you can start creating and exploring the possibilities!

Follow these steps to create the negative space on a card base, like you see on this Cheer Up card, featuring images from the Art Philosophy cartridge:

1. Select the “Card” tab in the Art Philosophy images. Find the card base you prefer and drag it onto the mat. (We used Square 1 for the Cheer Up card.) The image will be cut in the exact direction and location that you place it on the virtual mat. At the top of the screen, or at the left under the “Shape Properties” tab, you’ll see size boxes. Enter the width and height for your shape. This is the size it will be cut on the machine, regardless of what size your machine indicates on the flip screen.

2. Choose an image to cut out of your card front. We have chosen a butterfly by going to the Basics tab, clicking the “Show Shift/Lock Images” at the bottom, and then selecting the butterfly. Drag the image to the right side of the card base, position it, and alter the size, as desired. Once the image is in place, you will see a cut-out image in its place. This Weld feature is automatically on unless you disable it, and allows you to see how the card base will look with your images cut out.

3. Select another image, drag it to the card base, and position it how you’d like it. Continue adding images to the card base, if desired.

4. To cut your finished artwork, load the mat into your Cricut^®machine and insert the corresponding cartridge. Next, press the green Cut button at the top of the computer screen and follow the prompts. The machine will cut the shapes as you have prepared them in Craft Room. If more than one cartridge shape has been added to the project, the machine and screen will prompt you with instructions.

Here are so more artwork examples that have been made using Cricut^® Craft Room software. Follow the instructions below to learn some more fun tricks we used in creating this artwork.

Birthday Greetings card

Here’s how to create the bracket frame as shown in this Birthday Greetings card:

1. Drag a card base from Art Philosophy cartridge and size it to be 9" wide and 4½" high.
2. Add a 1½" bracket frame (from the Basic tab) to the center of the right side of the card. So far, all of the shapes have been placed in Layer 1. You can add additional layers using the Layer feature located toward the top of the screen, directly above the mat. Each Layer will be cut from a separate sheet of paper and is indicated by a different color on the screen. Using the Layer feature allows you to fully design your Cricut^® shapes before cutting any pieces.
3. Add a second Layer by clicking the plus sign. Click and hold the Layer 2 tab and drag the tab to the left so it is first in the row. This allows you to see the second Layer on top of the first so you can visualize your finished project. Drag a 3" bracket frame to the card base and position it over the 1½" frame. Then, still using Layer 2, add a 1½" bracket frame in the center of the 3" frame.
4. Maneuver the Layer 2 frames so that they perfectly line up with the Layer 1 frame. Use your keyboard arrows for exactness.
5. Cut the pieces following the prompts on the computer screen and Cricut^® machine. Layer 2 will be cut first, so be sure to load that paper first. Then load a new sheet of paper for the Layer 1 pieces.
6. Embellish the card as desired.

All Boy page

Want to create a border that spans the entire length of your 12" page? It’s easy!

1. In Craft Room, change the mat size to 12" x 24" under Machine & Mat tab on the left of the screen.
2. Drag your selected border to the mat and rotate it so it is vertical.
3. Change the height of the border to 12". It will automatically change the width proportionally unless you click the aspect ratio button between the width and height measurements.
4. Whether you have a 12" × 24" mat or a 12" × 12" mat, you can use this function with a 12" × 12" piece of paper. Simply place the border as close to the top of the Craft Room mat as possible, but not exactly flush with the top.

5. Cut the piece following the prompts on the computer screen and Cricut^® machine.

To create the title with the letters joined together to form one piece instead of individually cut letters…

1. Drag your letters to the mat
2. Overlap portions of each letter to connect them
3. Use the Weld feature to join the letters together seamlessly.
4. Cut the piece following the prompts on the computer screen and Cricut^® machine.

There are so many possibilities to explore in the Cricut^® Craft Room using the versatile Art Philosophy and Artiste cartridges from Close To My Heart! If you have any questions about using Cricut^® Craft Room, visit www.cricut.com where a Cricut^® employee will be glad to help you. Be sure to get your Art Philosophy and Artiste Cricut^®cartridges today in order to create with them in this new and exciting environment!

From Paris with Love card with CTMH Artiste and La Belle Vie

I like this card so much that after I'm done using it as a display item for the La Belle Vie paper pack, I think I'll frame it and use it as home decor.  I don't know if its the sparkly Eiffel Tower (isn't that Cricut Artiste cut awesome?) or the Designer Rhinestone Brad but this card is totally me.

Here is a close up of the embellishment cluster.  See that huge Designer Rhinestone brad?  You get 12 total - 6 big like this and 6 small - for $5.95.  They are one of my favorite accessories in our Idea Book because anything you put them on instantly looks fabulous dahling!

What's in this project?  Click the links below to check it out!

La Belle Vie Paper Pack

Artiste Cartridge

Designer Rhinestone Brads

Color Ready Seam Binding

Silver Glitz Glitter Gel

Hope you are having a good week!  I had my fair share of issues to deal with yesterday so I'm hoping for a smoother sailing day today.  We are doing a board breaking session in Tae-Kwon-Do today and I'm looking forward to getting some stress out!

Hugs,

Paige