March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. This is one of the "happiest" places  this month.. (sorry, Disney...)

Over 50 ladies are participating in this month's hop and if you get lost along the way, you can always go back to Melinda's blog here.. You will not want to miss any of the inspiring work this month! If you have been hopping with us, then you have arrived from Kim's Schnoor's blog here

The stamp set this month is S1403 Happy Place and it is available for $5.00 with a minimum purchase of $50.00.

Let's start with the artwork from the CTMH artists.  I was trying to wrap my head around this stamp set when I noticed a set of these dolls sitting in my dining room hutch...mmmmm

I must have inherited them from my mother-in-law and so I decided to open them up and see what was inside...Six little ladies with a snowman at the end!  How cute!  It was quite interesting to read the history of these carved dolls.

I envisioned the set on a card and I created my first Bendi-Fold card on my Pazzles machine.  It was definitely a challenge to play with this WPC files and tweak it to create exactly what I wanted!

I spent all day designing this card but I was very happy with the results.  This is probably not the last time you will see the house surface in the artwork - it fit the theme of the stamp set perfectly.  I cut multiple layers and then "paper-pieced" it together.  Both of my machines were busy cutting furiously to keep up with my design I had in my head!

Supplies:

S1403 Happy Place

X7179 Ariana paper pack including Kraft cardstock

Pazzles WPC files include the bendi-fold card, and stamp set outlines.

CTMH Art Philosophy

CTMH Artiste

Colors- both ink and markers include Honey, Sky, Sorbet, Ruby, SweetLeaf and Outdoor Denim.

If you are ready to hop along, then check out Pam Ellison's artwork here

Great News! I 'm Expecting!

In the Spring of 2014!!......A NEW BABY!

Ok...I am tooo old to have children, so this baby will have to do!  Pazzles announced yesterday that the NEW Inspiration Vue will be arriving late Spring of 2014.

Here are the new features for this baby!

• Precision print and cut with new optical eye..can you say?- AWESOME!!
• Slide out tray extension
• Shorter waiting time for large projects
• Tray tabs for improved mat feeding
• Mac compatible software
• Compatibility with existing Inspiration tools, mats and accessories- no need to buy all new tools!
• New colors - do you think they will have RED?
• New lower price

Many of you have seen my blogwork using the Cricut Expression 2 BUT this machine is truly my machine of choice!

Here is WHY you should purchase a Pazzles and NOT that other machine (keep it if you own the Close to My Heart cartridges, though..)

*This company is a Family-run Business ,(and may I add that they all are a wonderful, caring family).....  You can check out the staff here...

* Chris and Simon designed and marketed the machine in the 2006. More history of the company can be found here...

* Great Customer Support!  Check it out here!

* Outstanding Educational Support...

                                    

*Sunday classes - 3 different times!

*Videos and free files

* Offering the Pazzles Craft Room with a huge library of designs..

 and more....

I created this M & M train using my Pazzles cutter and nightly "how-to" classes from Klo

No cartridges...Only $$ investment was the paper and glue!  I am beyond excited!!

Disclaimer:  I do not work for Pazzles...just a very satisfied customer

Close to My Heart New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the SOTM Blog Hop groups' NEW Product Blog Hop!  There are over 25 consultants participating in this hop and so I am sure you will find many ideas for inspiration.

Close to My Heart Spring and Summer Idea Book is HERE!

It is always so exciting to see what new products CTMH will be featuring each season. I bet many of you are ready for spring!!  It has been cold and nasty here the last two weeks except for one day!  Not normal Florida weather but I am guessing that nothing is normal around the country this winter!


If you have been hopping with us, then you have come from Pamela Ellison's blog here.  Such a cute card! The stamp set from the WOTG Ivy Lane paper pack is now at the top of my list!  

If you get lost along the way, not to worry.. the complete list of hoppers is on Melinda's site here

I am a lucky lady! Since I have retired I actually have free time to play around with both of my hobbies.  Some of you have already seen my love of sewing in my posted artwork but if you would like to see more, I started a blog for just my sewing projects here.

I used to wear a lot of jewelry to match the clothing I was wearing BUT those days are over!  Just a gold necklace and gold earrings for me...  But I ordered the Base & Bling necklace because I liked the charms and matching style sheets.

I decided to try and recreate something a little different   I don't have a ton of money invested in this jewelry so it's OK to experiment. (IMHO)

I haven't glued on the glass cover because I still may change my mind on the bottom bling!  But when I do I will glue it on with Z679 Liquid Glass.

Here is a close up of my sticker selections.

I must admit after the table runner that I worked on all week, I am ready to scrapbook something....anything!!

Supplies:

Z1940 Faux Silver Chain

Z1958 Craft Queen Charms

Z1962 Square Pendant

Z1697 Square Glass Covers

Z1975 Craft Queen Style Sheet

Now it is off to Lori's blog here and see how she uses the NEW Picture My Life paper pack!

Cricut Craft Room Basics 101

Come join me for this lecture/demo class this Friday!  Even though Provo Craft is introducing a new cutter and software this month on HSN, many of us will still take advantage of the FREE software download called Cricut Craft Room.  It is a pretty basic software class but there are many useful tips that you will receive when you join us.

Here is one of the cards that I will be demonstrating the "Hide Contour" tool function...

This card was a copy from an issue of Papercraft magazine and it is all designed in CCR using Close to My Heart's Artiste cartridge.  You will receive all of the files for the projects so you can go home and cut them out yourself!  Here is what the file looks like!

Be sure to RSVP by February 6th!!

When:  February 7th
Where:  My home
Time: 6-8:00 p.m.
Cost: $10.00
What to bring?:  a USB stick for all of your free designs  ...you do not need to bring your Cricut!


Please email me your RSVP by Feb. 6th!

February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

It's All About L-O-V-E!!  If you have been hopping with us, then you have come from Kami's blog here and checked out her awesome project. Don't worry if you get lost you can always got to Melinda's blog list here


 This month's stamp set includes these lovable foxes, hearts and "love' sayings!

I was having a hard time trying to create a scrapbook page using this stamp set but I started with the artwork that corp provided in the new Spring/Summer Idea Book!  It is pattern #18 ....a single page layout is found on page 41.  I used that design to create the blog badge for the hop. 

Every time I looked at this stamp set, a song came to mind...hmmm.  Do you remember what group made it famous?

Sorry... I couldn't resist!
                    

I finally decided on TWO different Valentine Mini-Albums (with a little help from Corp..) They were SUPER cutting intensive and I did add additional embellishments after I took the pictures.. sorry!!

Supplies:

Z1906 Cricut^® Artbooking Collection

S1401 Cross-Stitch wishes

S1402 Wild about Love

C1575 True to Life
Whoo's Your Valentine (retired)

Colors – Blush, Hollyhock, Ruby, Cotton Candy, Slate, Cocoa, Vineyard Berry and Black

**Ivy Lane B & T Paper Packet and Zip strip

**Lollydoodle B & T Paper Packet and Zip strip

Z1933 Ruby Chevron Washi Tape

Z1799 Silver Shimmer Trim

Z1921 Baker’s Twine Cranberry OR 3 1” binder rings and assorted ribbons

CCR files included….

"I Love You" Version.. I cut apart the stamp set and created a WPC cutting file to make my life easier.... 

If you own a Pazzles cutter, then you can find the files here..

Here  are inside pages 1 & 2...

Here are inside pages 3 & 4

Here are inside pages 5 & 6

Here are inside pages 7 & 8

Here is the cover of the  "You and Me" Version

Inside pages of the "You and Me" Mini Album - similar but slightly different...

Now it is time to bounce over to Sarita's blog here.  

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Enjoy!

Artbooking Made Easy: Love, Love, Love

L-O-V-E  is coming to Lutz, Fl!!  My Valentine Mini- Album workshop is happening on January 31st from 6-9:00 p.m.!

Here is a video clip from Close to My Heart that will give you an insight into what we will be doing at this Mini-Album class...


                    

But wait - there's more....

You will will be using some of the NEW paper packs from the Spring/Summer Idea book!...............

AND ....... this month's SOTM S1401 Cross- Stitch Wishes!

AND...... February's SOTM S1402 Wild About Love!

My new paper arrived yesterday...so look for a some sneak peeks coming your way soon!!