Friday, December 18, 2015

It's a BLOG HOP to celebrate the birthday of a great 16-year old!

Welcome to the very special celebration of the birthday of a VERY sweet 16-year old young woman. Her name is Emily (like my own daughter) and she is the daughter of my friend, Beth.

Over my 5-year (!!) course of blogging, I've met many, many crafting colleagues who I now consider friends.

Several of these are women who joined me in "Banner Hops" where we made special occasion banners -- Halloween, Christmas, and Spring -- for children at a long-term care facility where I used to work.
One of those women, Beth McGee and her young daughter, Emily, made beautiful banners many times, and generously donated them to the kids in need of special love. 
So when Beth asked if I would join with her in celebrating Emily's 16th birthday with a surprise card hop, I am all in.  I decided to make one of my favorite cards, a pop-up, to mark this special occasion and special girl.  Here is the card (front view, at top; side view next; and the back is the third image, below.)
If you're a long-time follower of my blog, you know I've made several of these cards. They're spectacular to receive, and often become real keepsakes. And they're really not that hard to make. If you'd like to see the template I've developed for them, just scroll down to the word-cloud (index) at the bottom of my blog and look for "pop-up cards". Click there, and you'll be taken to other examples, as well as the template.




WIN BLOG CANDY!!!

So now what's a blog hop without blog candy, right?

Last week, I taught a really fun class in which students made 7 Christmas cards using the beautiful CTMH White Pines Scrapbooking Program cards, CTMH Poppy Twine and CTMH Red Enamel gems.  One of the cards was a pop-up. If you'll be so kind as to leave a comment here on this post, and follow my blog if you'd like, one winner will receive the detailed printed instructions for the pop-up card, pictures of some of the pop-ups I've made, and the Close To My Heart products (mentioned above) I gave to my students to make the set!  The products have a value of about $15, and the directions are ... priceless, of course.

Again, the only requirement for my blog candy is to leave a comment on this blog post; follow my blog only if you'd like to.

It's time to move on in the Hop...

You should have arrived here from THIA's blog so your next stop is at JANIS's blogCLICK HERE to be taken directly to Janis's blog post.

If you came to my blog just to see what's up and would like to see more cute cards for Emily's 16th birthday, go back to Beth's blog at the start of the hop.  Beth (Emily's Mom) has GRAND PRIZE blog candy that you'll not want to miss!

Here is the full list of those celebrating this very special occasion:
  1. Beth - http://thecraftyscrapyard.blogspot.com
  2. Mary - http://cardztv.blogspot.com
  3. Shawnee - http://sunshinycards.blogspot.com
  4. Thia - http://bluemooncreation.blogspot.com
  5. Ellen- http://www.cardmonkeyspaperjungle.com
  6. Janis-http://pausedreamenjoy.blogspot.com
  7. Jennifer R- http://www.craftycardgallery.blogspot.com
  8. Rachelle-http://rachellescreativeplace.blogspot.com
  9. Krystal - http://krystalklearcreations.blogspot.com
  10. Cathie-http://mimiscraftcorner.blogspot.com
  11. Connie- http://conniecancrop.blogspot.com
  12. Maria - http://maria-linacreativedesigns.blogspot.com
  13. Jessica D. - http://craftinandstampin.blogspot.com
  14. Georgia-  http://www.geritolgal2.blogspot.com
  15. Julie - http://muddypawsinkyfingers.BlogSpot.com
  16. Barbara - http://www.spotofsanity.BlogSpot.com
  17. Jessica P - http://kissinkrafts.BlogSpot.com

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Trending Colors # 3 - Hot Pink, Gold and Black

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!  We had a wonderful time with my daughter Emily, her hubby Josh and their kids Charlotte and Evan. I overdid it on dinner -- whew, so many sides, so many pies! -- but we're now enjoying leftovers, yum!!

Today, I was supposed to go to a Christmas card workshop at my friend Anita's house, but really, I just need time in my own craft room to focus on cards I need to make.  Of course, I got few done because the mess is distracting. But maybe tomorrow .... if buying a new washer and dryer doesn't interfere. There's always something, isn't there??

Here is the next card I've made to focus on "trending colors" as shown in HGTV Magazine's December 2015 issue:

The trending colors are: Hot Pink, Gold and Black.  For this card, I used Close To My Heart's "Blessings of Peace" stamp set for the dove and sentiment. I stamped the dove on White Daisy CTMH cardstock in Versamark and sprinkled it with gold embossing powder. I then embossed it by warming the powder with my heat crafting gun. The hot pink paper is from my stash, and the black/white striped is from CTMH's new La-Vie En Rose paper line. The bling is also from CTMH, as is the gold adhesive stripe across the middle (that doesn't photograph well).

These trending colors are shown in the magazine like this:

Monday, November 23, 2015

Trending Colors # 2 - Green, Navy and Light Blue

Hello, CardMonkey Followers!

I'm back today with another trending color combination that caught my eye in the December 2015 issue of HGTV Magazine.  Here is the Christmas card I made today, using the "mint green, navy and light blue" combination the magazine suggests.

And here is a picture of the pages from the HGTV Magazine that inspired this pretty combination:

My card uses Close To My Heart's (CTMH) "Festive Trees" stamp set (#B1493), along with Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Pacifica (large tree), Pear (middle) and Lagoon (right).  I also used a small pieces of blue Glitter Trim and fern Thick Twine.  The images were stamped on White Daisy CTMH paper, stitched onto Sweet Leaf cardstock and mounted with Foam Tape onto Pacifica card-stock. I also embossed the silver star atop the large tree, and applied Wink of Stella Silver glitter to the tree on the right.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Pretty Blue Holly -- with pink? Christmas Card

Often, many of those who make cards too where I get inspiration for my designs. Honestly, the answer is "everywhere I look!"  I'm active on Facebook where cardmakers post their work for "scraplifting", and there's Pinterest too. 

I also subscribe to HGTV Magazine, and I just love many of the shows on that network too.  I look to this magazine to see what is trending, as I'm an older dog who until recently never used the term "trending."  (And funny enough, my 85-year old Mom gave me my first HGTV subscription, proving once again there is no such thing as too old to be trending!)

This picture caught my eye in the December 2015 issue:


I'd never otherwise think of pairing these colors together (and grew up thinking pink and red clashed!). But using this as inspiration, I made this Christmas card:

Untraditionally, I used the holly leaf and berries stamps from The Ton Stamps to form flowers on a solid white cardstock.  I stamped using Memento ink ("London Fog" color) and colored using an assortment of Copic markers. This photo makes the berries and ribbon look red, but they're really hot pink. I dabbed the flowers using "Wink of Stella" in silver to pick up on the silver edging on the ribbon by Really Reasonable Ribbon. I matted the card on hot pink and black cardstock and mounted it onto a white A2 card. The sentiment is on the same stamp set as the holly berries and leaves, from The Ton.


Thursday, November 19, 2015

Christmas Card Class Using White Pines PML cards

Updated:  What a fun class we had on Saturday, November 21!  We're taking a holiday break over December, but will be back at the Scatter Joy Center for the Arts in January, 2016. Happy Holidays and a Joyous New Year to all!
 
Three of my card class students helped each other
during another wonderful session at the Scatter Joy
Center for the Arts in Horsham, Pennsylvania.
Thank you (from left) Felicia, Pam and Anna!
 
 
Attendees of the CardMonkey's Holiday Card Class made the seven cards shown above, using Close To My Heart's White Pines Scrapbooking Program cards and White Pines paper.  All of the materials necessary to make these cards were provided to the class students. They also walked away with even more White Pines Scrapbooking Program cards, to design more cards or gift tags using the leftovers!

Don't live local to my classes?  Feel free to comment or leave a message if you're interested in buying a kit, which includes the necessary products as well as cut papers and embellishments, and instructions, to make these cards.  I can be reached at cardmonkey@comcast.net.

If you are a Close To My Heart consultant yourself and would prefer to buy your own White Pines Scrapbooking Program cards, card blanks, paper packs and twine, I will also provide the instructions and photograph for each, for a nominal fee.  Wouldn't this make a great class in December for your groups?  Just let me know how I can help.




Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Give Thanks -- for Thanksgiving!

As we head into the week in which we celebrate our gratitude, allow me to share a very personal bit of my life with you.
 
Thirty-two years ago, on Thanksgiving, I suffered a miscarriage, losing my first baby suddenly. It was heartbreaking, and for years, it was very hard for me to show my gratitude for much of anything. I'd lost hopes and dreams.  The first loss even made it hard to invest a piece of my heart into my pregnancy a year later. I was so worried! 
 
I still remembered that loss and linked it to Thanksgiving every year for more than a decade. Then in 1994, just a few months after I left my husband of 17 years, my entire feeling about Thanksgiving changed forever...
 
My husband had my daughter for visitation that Thanksgiving, and I could have been in the dumps as a result. Instead, there was a guy I had just started talking to, on the phone, for hours. We met online (yes! In 1994!! Before cyber-dating, Google, eBay, or Match.com) in September. And he wanted to know if I'd meet him for dinner on Thanksgiving Eve, our first date, our first meeting. That's John. We met, and it was kismet....we've been together ever since -- 21 years! 
 
I am forever filled with gratitude for so much! Thanksgiving is now "my" holiday. May yours next week be as stuffed.

"Cupcake Wars" at St. Mary Medical Center, Langhorne PA.  My daughter Emily is pictured at left, along with the fellow members of the "Swirls and Pearls" ER Night staff.  The team took 3rd place out of 33 competitors!
 
 
I made the banner above using my Cricut Explore and a Cricut subscription for it. For the base, I used cereal box cardboard. I covered it in Close To My Heart cardstocks (Whisper and Blush), and cut the letters from Bazzill silver metallic cardstock. The banner is to decorate a table full of cupcakes at my daughter Emily's workplace -- there's "Cupcake Wars" later this week, and Emily is using my family's Carrot Cake recipe in cupcakes as one of her entries. Her team name is "Swirls and Pearls" so this banner is heavily embellished in rhinestone swirls and adhesive pearls. The banner in the middle is stamped (using CTMH's new "Jennifer's Hand" stamps) with the competition's slogan. It's all tied together with grey organza ribbon from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Birthday Card Mojo

Hi CardMonkey Fans!

Yes, I said spine surgery. I had a discectomy at C5-C6 with
a fusion (plate/screws). To access the spine, the orthopedic
surgeon made an incision in the front right of my neck with
just a few stitches necessary. "Minimally invasive" surgery
is so much safer (no spinal cord involvement) and it's easier
to recuperate. The redness around the Steri-Strips is from an
allergy to bandage adhesives.  I DO feel much better now!
I had a "wee bit" of spine surgery last week which has knocked me for a loop. It has taken a lot of determination to get up the steps to visit The Paper Jungle and try to find some creative mojo. I'm doing fine ... though I'm in the "sleepy and weepy" stage that makes me just want to sleep the day away.

Luckily, I have many resources and machines that make my cardmaking easy. I owed a few birthday cards to a Birthday Card Club I'm in.  I found this sweet cut on the Silhouette Online Studio; cut out of CTMH "Smoothie" cardstock, I coupled it with some light seafoam green in a cardstock pack from Kathy Davis Studios.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Autumn: A Watercolored Festival of Fallen Leaves

Brrrrrr!  A wet, cold front has moved into the East Coast, thanks to the whipping winds of Hurricane Joacquin that fortunately turned out to sea. But what had been temperatures in the 80s suddenly dropped into the 50's and maybe lower, with the wind making the air feel even colder.
 
Yup, Mr. Monkey had me move the kid toys out of from in front of the fireplace and he kicked it on for some quick warmth in the living room. I thought I could suffer through the chill at night, but I caved, and turned on the heat. And broke out jackets. And shoes!  I miss warm weather already!!
 
But Autumn is in fact here, and the trees have turned colors and are dropping their leaves. I saw piles of them blown onto the walk and became inspired:
 
 
 
And I'd like to issue a challenge to my readers:  Play Mother Nature and stamp and color up your own leaves, and let me see how you'll use them. Will they be on a card, a scrapbooking layout, a wreath, a home décor item?
 
I'm coming back here in a week or so to see if you will leave a comment with a link to your blog, where you will post your leaf-oriented project....
 
Here's what I used to make the leaves above:
 
I used Close To My Heart's brand new watercolor palette, shown at left.

The pigments in these paints are unusually superior with great coverage.  You can get them on my CTMH website (cardmonkey.ctmh.com) by referencing #Z3132, or using this LINK.
 
Next, I put a drop of water (FREE!) in the middle of a CTMH All-purpose mat on the smooth, non-adhesive side. Here's what the mat looks like in the catalog. It is #Z2045 and is handy for so many uses, that you really do NEED this mat.
I used CTMH's paint brush set (Z3188), which is a terrific set for a great price. Color the water on your mat by dabbing your paint palette with color, picking up some color and dropping some onto the mat and into the puddled water.  Swirl it, play with it! 
 
I stamped an assortment of these lovely stamps from CTMH (B1492 "Fallen Leaves"), using Ranger Archival (Waterproof Ink) onto Watercolor Paper.  Here is where I will be honest: I used to watercolor in my teens and I have a LOT of water color paper, and I could not tell you what brand I used. CTMH does carry some watercolor paper, that I have not yet tried. I want a paper that will hold and blend the water/paint, so this was just some that I had handy. I cut the leaves out ("fussy cut") with scissors and dunked them onto my craft mat with paint.  If I wanted to add more intense colors, I did so, using my paint brush.
 
I totally love that Close To My Heart is on trend with watercolor paints and using them with stamps on cards and memory keeping products. And what better time than to play with the miracles of color than Autumn?  
 
 



Wednesday, September 30, 2015

A Sophisticated Thank You Card, in Sangria

The reasons for which I am eternally grateful, and thankful on a daily basis, are too many to count. While I try to always thank the person who holds the door open for me, who helps me with a retreat, or just makes my day better, I have not been as good about expressing thank in the way I do best: with a card.

I'm trying to better with that. So I've made a few of these cards to keep handy in my stash to send to those who just brighten my day in some way:


This card was mostly scrap-lifted from a design on Close To My Heart's Creative Insider, plans that help consultants come up with projects for their workshops. I made a few modifications to it -- really, not enough to call my own -- but let's talk about it.

First, using CTMH's "A Thousand Thanks" (C1625) stamp set and Eggplant Exclusive Ink Stamp pad (Z2647), I stamped the words "Thank You" at the top of my cut Daisy White card piece. 

Next, I lined up all of those itty-bitty lines of expressions for stamping. Here, I'll let you in on a secret discovery I recently made. You're going to hate me and love me at the same time for telling you about this tool:

I used a stamp positioning tool called a "MISTI", which stands for the Most Incredible Stamping Tool Invented. OK, not so humble, but maybe right. It's changed how I stamp and made my life so much easier!

This is what MISTI looks like: It is the size of your Galaxy Samsung Tablet, but it has a magnetic bottom, a layer of foam, positioning grids on the bottom and on the lid. To work a MISTI, you arrange your stamps (stamping side down, or exposed) along the lines of the grid so you can center the lines as well as keep them straight. 

What I do is put my A2 card onto the MISTI and decide where I want my stamps to be on the card, generally. I put the lid down on top of the stamps, and the lid will left up the acrylic to be generally where you want them. Then you can rearrange them to be straight/centered, etc.   You ink up the stamps right on the acrylic lid and fold (hinges) the lid down onto your paper. 

Miss a bit of inking? You can re-ink and re-strike, with nearly perfect alignment most of the time. Have several cards to make at a time of the same design?  Just insert a new A2 paper, reink and drop the lid. Easy-peasy. Here is a video that the makers of MISTI have on their website: 


MISTI is not inexpensive: $50 base price, and you'll need add-ons like magnets, grid paper, and cleaner. You can buy it from the inventor/manufacturer, My Sweet Petunia, at the link provided. Trust me on this one: This is my favorite tool of 2015 so far!

Back to the card:  I lined up the 3 sentiments on the MISTI and finished off the white card using Eggplant. Then I decided to stamp the word FRIEND using Versamark (glue) pad, and sprinkled the stamped word with Princess Gold embossing powder. I then heat set the embossed word, waving my warmed CTMH Craft Heater tool about 3/4" above the word until the embossing powder melted to a nice shine.

I used Bazzill Gold Foil paper (scrapbook.com) to line the sentiment (white) paper, then layered that atop a banner-trimmed piece of Eggplant paper. I topped the Eggplant piece with a strip of CTMH Sangria paper that I love, and topped that with a piece of CTMH Gold Shimmer trim. The accents are Bling Assortment in Gold from CTMH as well.   

Voila! Done!  Such a sophisticated card, on trend and heartfelt. 



Thursday, September 3, 2015

Another Custom Order -- Pop-Up Wedding Card

How I do love making pop-up cards, and it seems that these are the cards that sell consistently the best, and for the most amount of money compared to the time it takes to make one. Also, customers love that pop-ups lend themselves to a lot of customization, whether in colors, names, and other accents.

Here is a custom order I received this week from customer Pam (who had ordered previously).  This is a military (Marine) dress wedding, so Pam's instructions to me were to make it "red, white and blue, of course."  


I used a white base for the box, and as I traditionally do in a wedding card, I decorated the back/inside of the box with a highly reflective silver foil cardstock by Bazzil. It's hard to see the detail on the groom's uniform here, but he has on the single epaulette of a First Lieutenant, royal blue jacket with gold buttons, white belt over it, and lighter blue slacks trimmed in a red stripe. 

I used Close To My Heart's new "La Vie En Rose" beautiful rose-filled paper for the outside of the box, trimmed in silver shimmer trim. On the inside of the box, I decided to accent in stars. The white overlays are embossed using CTMH's newest embossing folder called "Star Confetti". Each "arm" of the box was trimmed in a quote from the paper zip-strip. 

On the back of the card, I made a slide-in card/envelope for the giver's check to the wedding couple.  These cards truly pack a punch -- beautiful to give and a keepsake to receive. Have you tried making one yourself, yet?



Tuesday, September 1, 2015

CTMH Consultants' NEVERMORE Blog Hop: September 1

It's my pleasure to participate in the Close To My Heart Consultants' NEVERMORE Blog Hop.  Nevermore is one of eight total papers being unveiled by CTMH today, September first.  Six of the papers are in the Annual Inspirations Idea Book, and two special holiday papers -- Nevermore and White Pines -- are included in the all-new Holiday Expressions Idea Book.

Here's the card I made for this Hop:





Nevermore has three double-sided Halloween-inspired designer papers.  The one that caught my eye in particular was this patterned pumpkin print shown in the background of this card that I made for the Hop.  Wondering how I got
those comical spiders for the card?  They're actually floral cuts (stamens) in the new Artistry Cricut cartridge, cut in black and turned on their heels, quite literally.  A circle cut to size tops for their heads.  I gave each arachnid a set of eyes -- two of the smaller have sparkly gems and the larger has watchful googly eyes. The EEK! sentiment -- also cut in the Artistry cartridge -- is inked and mounted on a CTMH Adhesive spring for a little more play.



Don't miss the other ghoulish projects made especially for this hop by five other CTMH Consultants from throughout the country.  Your next stop is with TONYA, whose project is sure to delight.  

UPDATE:  We have been very privileged to have this card and our September Hop featured on the Facebook page of our Corporate Home Office of Close To My Heart. What an honor!  But somehow during the month, Tonya's post got lost. So please skip ahead to Alexandria, using the link below -- and visit the others too with fantastic ways to use the Nevermore paper suite. 









Sunday, August 16, 2015

Ready to Get Your Scrap Life Organized?

Throughout the month of August, Close To My Heart is introducing two new products in their Organization line: a Marker Roll-Up (shown at left, bottom) and an Accessory Roll-Up. 

The Marker Roll-Up (which I just L-O-V-E) has 25 elastic loops -- perfect for holding your collection of 24 ShinHan Touch Twin markers and Blender Pen, available through CTMH separately.  These are bold alcohol markers that are terrific for coloring stamped images.  The Accessory Roll-Up is perfect for holding Base & Bling components (as shown), sticker gems, Pigment Inks (!!!) and even your make-up. 

With a purchase this month of the Marker Roll-Up (Z3120, $17.95), you'll receive the stamp set "Balloon Wishes" (D1667, $17.95) absolutely FREE!  When you purchase an Accessory Roll-Up (Z3121, $18.95), you'll receive two FREE Base & Bling Style Sheets -- perfect for making your own stylish necklaces or keychains.

Both of the Roll-Ups match Close To My Heart's terrific Rolling Tote, which is now back in stock and available to order. Please contact me at cardmonkey@comcast.net with questions, or shop at cardmonkey.ctmh.com. 

But WAIT, before you go -- I have a super-duper special that's exclusive to those who buy their rolling tote from my CTMH business address.

You see, I'm a packer ... an overloader ... a crazy gotta-have-it-all-with-me sort of cropper.  And that Rolling Tote is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, but if you load it as much as our Corporate office shows you can (in this picture, at left), you're going to need some assistance to lift that pretty bag. I've found the perfect solution, and it's called a Strap-A-Handle. I've bought them by the dozen, and I will send you one TOTALLY FREE if you buy your CTMH Rolling Tote through my website. Yup, I'll see that you've ordered it, and the next thing you know, you'll be getting a free strap in the mail to make your using the tote even easier.  How does that sound?  Great, ehhh?  

Check it out -- this handle (strapped either top to bottom or around the tote's middle) truly does help reduce strain on your back because YOU KNOW you pack as much as I do, and helps to lift this bag into the trunk of your car. And YES, it fits beautifully in the trunk of a sedan. I drive a Honda Accord (and when I go to a crop, I WISH I drove an SUV!), and this bag makes my life SOOOO much easier!  You need one. You know you do!

Here's the link to buy your Rolling Tote -- and you'll be getting the free Strap-A-Handle directly from me, in a separate mailing, a CardMonkey special!  



Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Make It A Party: Christening Decorations Done on Commission

Recently, I was contacted by the grandmother of Ari Michael to make these very special decorations for the celebration of her grandson's christening.  She had found similar decorations on Etsy, and had contacted the seller to do a rush order, but the seller was unable to do the project in time. I stepped in and was able to complete this project in just a few days.


I put a little bit of my own spin on the Etsy seller's designs to make this precious banner, flower inserts and door sign. 

Directions:  To make the banner, I cut chipboard pennants using a album scoreboard die by Sizzix and my Big Shot machine.  The background paper is by American Crafts from A.C. Moore; the light blue and white solid cardstock is A.C. Moore's open stock (on sale last week for just $1.00 for 8 sheets!)  I cut the flower inserts (they're like cupcake toppers, on lollipop sticks) and the sign's scalloped square background using my Cricut Explore.

I cut the letters in the inside of a white doily by "attaching" the letters to a Cricut Design Space doily file.  The crosses in the banner and on the top flower insert are cut using Sizzix dies. The other two are printed on my computer. 

If you have a special project that you need help executing -- with or without your own involvement in my craft room -- please don't hesitate to contact me.  I'm happy to help!  Let me help YOU make your next event a little extra special, by doing, brainstorming or helping you make your projects.  I can be reached by e-mailing me at cardmonkey@Comcast.net.

UPDATE:
 
The Christening Party was a lovely event, and Ari's grandmom said that "everyone loved your decorations."  She shared this picture:
 


Sunday, August 2, 2015

Introducing ZOE Blog Hop: Close To My Heart's Newest Designer Paper Suite

It is my pleasure to participate in this blog hop with several of my fellow Close To My Heart (CTMH) independent consultants. If you've come from Emily Evertz's super cute BLOG, you're in the right place.  Or, if you're just landing here and finding the Hop, I encourage you to go to the start at our Hostess Andrea Sherman's BLOG and see all the SWEEEEET projects we've come up with to Celebrate ZOE, and hop along!

We are excited that the day has finally come to release CTMH's newest paper suite, called "Zoe."

Zoe is fun, vibrant and colorful, with a sweet combination of cardstock colors such as Glacier, Whisper, Sorbet and Sweet Leaf. The paper is versatile for both scrapbookers and cardmakers alike.

I'm typically a cardmaker (otherwise I'd be known as "ScrapbookMonkey", I guess), but I have an upcoming papercrafting class in September* at the Scatter Joy Center for the Arts in Horsham, PA, and the students' wish is to have a scrapbooking class.  Here's what I'll be teaching:



One of my favorite classic "Flip Flap" layouts is the Birthday cake layout that several have done before -- but this may be the first one to use "Zoe."  A flip-flap is a mini-page protector; they are available in multi-packs in a variety of sizes from CTMH. The edge of the flip-flap is adhesive, and should be applied to the outside of your larger Memory Protector (page protector), to multiply the number of photographs your layout can hold. 

The cake (at far right) is a series of five 4"x6" stacked Flip Flaps. When each is opened, it reveals the finished page with "Make A Wish" underneath, like this:


I used several of the Close To My Heart/Cricut cartridges to cut the embellishments I used in this layout. I used "Artbooking" for the titles "celebrate" and "happy."  I used "Artfully Sent" for "Make a Wish". And I used "Artiste" to cut the banner at the top left. 

Speaking of Cricut (which has really been chirping a LOT here lately!), did you know that CTMH has issued a brand-new Cricut cartridge called "Artistry"??  With another 700 elements designed as icons, backgrounds and sentiments, Artistry is bound to be a crucial piece of my craft room arsenal. How about for you?  It would be my pleasure if you would purchase your Cricut "Artistry" from my site. The link, active starting in August, is HERE

"Zoe" has beautiful Complements and Accessories designed to match this bright new paper pack. All of the Zoe suite is available to purchase by our Customers in August -- one month ahead of our September release of the new "Annual Inspirations" and "Holiday Expressions" idea books.

You can shop for your Zoe by clicking HERE.

Hop on through this great blog hop to see the other fun projects consultants have made for you to show off Zoe's versatility.  Your next stop is with Julia Clendenen Hammond's blog (<< to "hop", CLICK JULIA's NAME) and her great blog "Create Teach Repeat". 

(* Stay tuned for more details on my scrapbooking class at SJCA.  For now, let me tease, that I'll be hosting monthly classes there on the third Tuesday of every month beginning in September, from 7 to 9 p.m.)

Thank you again for joining us today!
Now, go out and buy your own ZOE and party along.

If you've lost your way on the blog hop, or want to visit the posts after the day of the Hop (8/2/2015), here are links to the participants' posts:
 

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Create Custom Pop-Up Cards for Ooohs and Aaahhhs

For those looking for a custom card, or a greeting card that never fails to draw the "oohs and aaahhs" from a recipient, I've specialized in pop-up cards. And while they look difficult to make, they're really quite easy and addictive. Scroll below and I'll enclose here a template that I use to make my cards.


I was hired by a woman named Pam to make this gorgeous card for her niece, Corin. Pam's direction to me was only that the bride's colors were soft beige and grey, and that I could use any accent colors I chose.  

I used Close To My Heart's Whisper (grey) cardstock as the base, and cut doilies from Close To My Heart's Champagne (soft beige) to cover the base of the box.  The rose/blue designer papers are also from Close To My Heart -- a line called "Heartstrings" (now retired).  I used both paper and sticker "Complements". I added to the center strut the silhouette of the dancing couple, cut using a Silhouette Online Store file, using my Silhouette Cameo.  The image is reflected in the Bazill silver metallic cardstock adhered to the back panel of the card. 

To finish off the elegant box card, I added a customized name plate encircled with a beautiful circle rhinestone from The Buckle Boutique. The edge of the box at the fold also has a line of resin rhinestones cut from a sheet of The Buckle Boutique's Dazzling Diamonds clear resin rhinestone sheets. The man wears a boutonniere of a mini-rosebud trimmed down from a flower I had in my stash from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Let's take a look at another, similar card:

This card used the same basic template, but used a more classic black/white motif to celebrate the wedding of Megan and Robert. The paper used was another retired paper from Close To My Heart, called "Forever Yours."  The same silhouette was cut, this time using black and white to represent the groom and bride. The decorations here are simpler: a trellis of free form roses (also by Wild Orchid Crafts) was affixed to the center strut. I used a slightly larger rhinestone ring from The Buckle Boutique to highlight the wedding couple's names. 

Don't hesitate to try your hand at a Pop-Up Box Card. I promise you that they're so easy, you'll be wondering what took you so long to make your first one!  Here is my template: