Fall Cards

I am loving the Artbooking cricut cartridge! I made two cards this past weekend for my fall card workshop featuring cuts made with this cartridge.

I just love this cat. When I saw the stamp set, I knew I had to have it. Then when I saw it coordinated with the Artbooking cartridge, I was in heaven!

This is the Eek & Shriek set. Just $9.95 and perfect for your Halloween cards and layouts. 

The cat is the only stamping on this project. The patterned paper in the background is Laughing Lola. Other paper is goldrush and slate. I added some bitty sparkles to the cats eyes. The cat is stamped in black ink. I also sponged the fence with a little black ink to give it some dimension. Don't ink it up too much or you will lose the fence in the background.  Lastly, I used 3-D foam tape on the cat. 

This Thanksgiving card also features cuts from the Artbooking cartridge. I am a sucker for leaves. I don't know why, but fall leaves make me so happy. Maybe since I live in the Bay Area and never really have to rake leaves, I don't get sick of them. I do tend to do a lot of projects with fall leaves on them this time of year. 

The paper is Huntington with goldrush and barn red. I also used a strip of bronze shimmer trim. The stamp set is Holiday Tags which I think is a must for any card maker. The shapes of the tags on this set match up with the Artiste Cricut Collection. 

These are just two of the cards which will be featured at my Fall Card Workshop on September 20 at 7:00. I have two more spots available. If you can't make it, you may want to host a workshop. I will bring the card kits to you and your friends. 

Have fun with paper today!

Remembering the Details

Today is the first day of school for my three. It is my last first day of school with all three of them starting at once. Weird to think about. My oldest is a Senior in high school. She will have a first day of school next year but not at the same time as her brothers. College will have a different start date and she probably will not be leaving from my front door as she has the past 13 years. This is my last first day of school picture with all three.

Every year, every transition brings some sort of excitement. I am not one of those moms who wishes her kids were still small. I loved them when they were babies. But I love them now even more. I love talking to them about their plans, hopes, and dreams. I love helping them with their challenges. Yes, they are teenagers and sometimes I want to strangle them. But hey, that is life. I am just one who believes we should not look back but embrace each moment.

This is one reason I love scrapbooking. With my albums I can embrace that moment and remember it. I can move on without worrying about forgetting those cherished times. It is more than the pictures. There is a story behind the picture and I need to capture it.

Yesterday, I took the kids to Fenton's for ice cream as a celebration of the new school year.

I always make the new year a celebration instead of a wake (as a friend of mine tends to do). Sure I'm not ready for the homework and the projects, but I think the kids need to feel that this is a great opportunity. Getting a good education means a good future. Not everyone has such an opportunity- do not take it for granted.

At our celebration, we talked about the coming year. I asked each a few questions:

1. What are your hopes for the new year?
2. What are you looking forward to this years?
3. What are you dreading this year?

Yes, they rolled their eyes at me. They are teenagers after all. But they did give me answers and we had a fabulous conversation about school. I wrote down the answers and will add it to the album. One more piece of who they are today to remember. If I ask those same questions two months from now they will be different.

Every once in a while we need to interview family members. Where they are today is different from where they will be next year. Remember those details. Write them down. And scrapbook them.

Quick Sarita Layout

The orange in the Sarita paper pack is a great complement to the colors of the Grand Canyon. Nothing fancy on this page- just quick and easy. I am pleased with the end result. It will be the beginning of the pages highlighting my son's Grand Canyon trip.

Hope you are taking time to have fun with paper today.

What's New!

Take a look at some of the changes we have made in the new Idea Book.  Be sure to give me a call if you need a  new Idea Book. Or just click on the Idea Book box on the right to see the online copy.

Be sure to have fun with paper today!

Another Sarita Card

Here's another card using the Sarita paper. No stamping involved. I just used a copy of the Sarita Stickease for the sentiment and added some bakers twine. Quick, easy, and cute.

Sarita Card

Here is one of my favorite cards I have made this week. I actually scraplifted the idea from a pinterest board. It was based on a card designed by Gina Brandsetter (http://gmbscrapper.blogspot.com/2013/07/sneak-peek-sarita.html). I made a few changes-- but really not many.

Supplies:
Sarita Paper Pack
Jute Ribbon
Sarita Assortment
You Only Live Once Stamp set - Hostess Rewards set, not available for individual purchase
Ink- Outdoor Denim and Goldrush

Christmas Layout Using Artbooking

This beautiful layout was created by fellow consultant, Mary Wood, using the Artbooking Cricut cartridge. It is amazing what this cartridge can do with its over 700 cuts. The Frosted paper is cut at 11 inches-- including the photo mats and title. The cartridge automatically scales everything to the perfect size for that page. To make this layout for a 6x6 album, set the size for 6 inches and not worry about it. All will be the same as above, just smaller. But you need to be careful if you are making individual elements. Cutting an 11 inch photo mat, would mean turning on the real size function on your Cricut.

Your scrapbooking pages will be brought to a new level with Artbooking. And it is so quick and easy!

Another Great Expo!

The Santa Clara Expo is now in the books. I had a great time. A few years back when I started my Close To My Heart business, Expo scared me. I stood in the corner of the booth wondering what I should do. At this Expo, I was so excited to see so many people I knew. I was greeting people, talking about projects, laughing with other vendors. At the end of the day, I was tired-- really tired-- but really happy too. I was wonderful to see all my friends and customers. I enjoy my Close To My Heart business. I get to play with paper and ink and visit with so many friends. Expo is just one part of it.

Our booth had three great make and takes over the two days of Expo.

For my make and take, we made a 4 1/4 square card.  I cut the goldrush paper using the new Artbooking cricut cartridge at 4 1/4 inches. The strips of paper under the overlay is the Sarita paper and I used the All In the Details stamp set. The flower accent is an acrylic flower from the Base and Bling Teal Jewels set.  Other items used are outdoor denim and colonial white paper and cotton candy and lagoon inks. This card was really quite easy to put together. The part that took the longest was cutting the overlay. The Cricut takes a few minutes to cut out such intricate cuts. Make sure that you have a sharp blade and turn your speed down to the slowest setting when cutting something like this. 

This gift tag was Mary Wood's  make and take. She used the Cricut Artiste Cartridge to cut out this tag out of the new Frosted paper pack. The stamp set is the Perfect Fit- holidays and the accent is a small flourish.

Jeanette Matthews made a fun treat card for her make and take. This uses the Pro Player paper pack and the stamp set in the ProPlyer Scrapbooking kit. Jeanette added a treat cup with a pull tab to reach those treats without destroying the card.  This is the card opened. 

Such a fun card. I will be trying this with a card soon.

All in all, Expo was a great success. I wish I had the energy to attend the crop last night but I really just needed to go home, see my kids, and go to bed. Today, I am up and ready to play with paper.

Ombre Technique

This is a fabulous technique. I must try it!