'Tis the season!

I've been a terrible blogger the past several weeks! Getting back into the swing of school was a bit of a challenge for me. I also have a little one growing inside who likes to steal all my energy! ;) Anyhow, on to the goodness!

I have to say that I absolutely LOVE the October Stamp of the Month from CTMH (S1110)! The card I made today uses the tree image from the set so you can see how beautiful the set really is!

To start, I cut a piece of Colonial White cardstock (1388) down to 5 1/2" x 4 1/4". I decided I wanted to make a postcard style card today to save on paper since the number of Christmas cards that I need to send out seems to grow each year! I then stamped the tree images using what's called generational stamping with Olive ink (Z2137). The two trees to the left and right were stamped in 2nd generation. To do this, I inked the image up, then stamped it once onto a scrap piece of paper. I then stamped it a 2nd time directly onto the card giving me the faded appearance I was looking for. I wanted the two side trees to look like they were farther away. The middle tree was stamped in 1st generation. I just inked it up then stamped it directly onto my card. I did this same process for the Chocolate (Z2111) trunks on the base of the trees, using both 1st and 2nd generation stamping.

I then added a few finishing touches to complete the card. I added some Cranberry Grosgrain ribbon (Z1103) around the base of the trees and added a little sparkle (Z1104)! Next, I distressed the edges using a sponge dauber (Z726) and Chocolate distressing ink (Z1296). I would suggest doing this BEFORE you add the ribbon as it's much easier when you don't have to avoid the ribbon! To finish the tree's I topped them with Bitty Sparkles (Z1263). The "'Tis the season to..." sentiment is also from the October SOTM (S1110). It is stamped in Cranberry ink (Z2116) to match the ribbon. The back of the card is stamped with "celebrate" from the same stamp set. I love how this card turned out and it was very quick and simple to make! :)

You can only purchase the October Stamp of the Month from Close to My Heart in October! Don't miss your opportunity to purchase your own today! With a $50 purchase, this gorgeous stamp set can be yours for only $5!!! Check out the remainder of the images this set has to offer below and contact me to purchase yours today!

Unbelievable Deals!!!

Hello crafting world! If you love great deals as much as I do and receiving FREE items, then you're in for a treat! This month, CTMH is running some fantastic promotions to showcase the new products. The last project I posted used images from the Art Philosophy cricut cartridge, exclusively sold through CTMH. The collection comes with not only the cricut cartridge that has over 700 images, but also 3 D-size stamp sets (whose images coordinate with images on the cartridge), along with 3 packs of dimensional elements all for only $99! All of the items that you receive for the great price of $99 are shown in the image above. I absolutely LOVE this collection and can't say enough good things about it! If you're thinking of ordering this collection, August is the month to do so! This month, if you spend $50 or more, AND purchase the August Stamp of the Month, Wicked, for $5 (valued at $17.95), you will receive the adorable typeset alphabet set (valued at $6.95) for FREE! On top of that, if you spend $75 or more you will receive the first ever double stamp set from CTMH for FREE (valued at $35.90, shown below)! WHAT A FANTASTIC DEAL!!!! Here's the scenario in abbreviated terms:

- Purchase the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge for $99

- Add the August SOM, Wicked, for $5 ($17.95 value)

- Receive the typeset stamp set for FREE ($6.95 value)

- Receive the Pair-a-Phrase double stamp set for FREE ($35.90 value shown below)

This would be a GREAT Christmas gift for a family member, friend, or even for yourself!!! Contact me at handcraftedwh@gmail.com or message me to place your order! But don't delay as you'll only be able to take advantage of all of the free products outlined above until August 31!!! :)

Pillow Box Project

Hello crafty friends! I am very excited to show you my first project created using Close my My Heart's Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge! I was ecstatic when CTMH released it in the Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book! There are over 700 images on this cartridge and the project I am going to show you today uses only three of those! Are you excited yet?!? Well, here it is!

This adorable pillow box is just one of the many favor boxes on the Art Philosophy cartridge. All products used in this project are from CTMH. The pillow box was cut at 6" using B&T Duos paper from the Typeset paper packet. There are little score lines that are cut for you making the folding super easy! I then cut the three flowers at 3 1/2", 3", and 2 1/2" using Vineyard Berry and Creme Brulee cardstock. When you cut the flowers, they are just flat spirals. You have to curl them around something skinny like a piercing tool and glue them into place. I had to mess with mine a bit before I got them to the shape I wanted. I will do a seperate post on the 3D flowers as they can be a bit tricky at first! The little gems inside the flowers are Adhesive Mocha Opaques. I knew I wanted some sort of generic saying to include on the outside. I cut the ribbon slide tag at 1" in Juniper. I then stamped the "Celebrate" in Desert Sand ink. The "Celebrate" is from the Art Philosophy Celebration stamp set. I then slide the tag onto a piece of Colonial White ribbon and tied it around the box into a loose bow so the pillow box is easy to open!

I just love, love, LOVE how this project turned out! I was honestly surprised how easy and non-time consuming this project was to put together! August is the absolute perfect month to purchase the Art Philosophy cartridge as CTMH is running TONS of specials! Contact me at handcraftedwh@gmail.com to purchase your own today! I will be showing you more projects using the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge very soon!

August SOM Layout

Hello crafters! In my last post I talked quite a bit about Close to My Heart's August Stamp of the Month, Wicked! I have been working on a scrapbook for my niece and nephew and had yet to make the Halloween layout for little Olivia's book. I decided that this stamp set was perfect for the task! I took the photos on my i-phone, again, and during the evening, so the colors didn't show up very well. Keep reading for more details on the layout!

The title on this page was cut using the Mini Monsters cricut cartridge at 11" wide. I use my gypsy (cricut handheld design gadget) the majority of the time so I apologize that I didn't jot down the height measurement (the height is what you would enter if you were cutting directly on your cricut). It doesn't show well in this photo but the orange is actually the pearlescent paper from Wal-mart again (LOVE it)! All of the remainder of the cardstock is CTMH. The fun witch in the middle is from the Wicked stamp set (August SOM). I wet embossed it with gloss embossing powder (I'll add more details about wet emboss stamping at a later date) and love how it turned out! The border along the bottom was made using, you guessed it, a Martha Stewart Halloween punch! I believe if you click on the picture you can enlarge and zoom in if you'd like to see more detail.

Now onto the right side of the layout! Lets start in the top corner. The little witches hat and broom are also from the Wicked stamp set from CTMH stamped using black ink. To make the broom, I simply masked the bottom part of the stamp so I would only stamp the handle. I then cut several pieces of hemp and tied them together. I originally attached the bristles with a glue dot but it wouldn't hold so I used some liquid glass from CTMH and it stuck like cement! The little purple "goop" in the top and bottom corners opposite each other are actually the "trash" from where I punched the border on the previous page, I thought they worked out perfect! I use every little scrap I can when I paper craft! The "I want my Mummy" phrase was also cut using the Mini Monsters cricut cartridge at 3" high. The cute little mummy was cut with the same cartridge at 3 1/2". The purple (gypsy), green (pear), black, and teal (lagoon) are all CTMH cardstock colors.

I hope you enjoyed this layout as much as I do and found some creative inspiration! Don't forget that the only time you can order the CTMH August stamp set, wicked, is in August so don't delay, contact me to order today! 

August CTMH Stamp of the Month

I'll be honest, when I first got Close to My Heart's, CTMH, August Stamp of the Month, SOM, my first thought was, "what in the world am I going to do with this?!?" After looking at the set a little closer I realized that I could do a lot that wasn't necessarily "Halloween!" I thought the above card, which measures at 4" x 3 3/4", could be given as a motivational card. To stamp just the bottom half of the witch, I "masked" the image by placing a handy post-it note on only the top half of the stamp. I stamped the phrase on a small piece of sweet leaf cardstock from CTMH and "popped" the image up by placing foam tape under it. I also used a decorative corner rounder on the edges. The decorative border along the bottom and on the inside was also a stamp from this set.

The fun little accordion flower turned out oh-so-cute but was sort of a pain to make! I cut a strip of petal CTMH cardstock 3/8" wide by 7" long. I then used my Martha Stewart scoreboard to score the strip every 1/4 of an inch. You then fold the paper back and forth at the score lines and glue the ends together. Make sure you use a SUPER strong adhesive or it won't stay! The hard part is getting the flower to stay flat! You just have to mess with it for awhile to make sure it lays flat and sticks to the card. I then stuck a little bling in the center using a glue dot.

The purple (petal), green (sweet leaf), and blue (twilight) papers along with the stamp set and ink are CTMH products. If you are interested in ordering any of the products used in the above project, contact me via e-mail or facebook! I hope you enjoyed this project using the August SOM from CTMH!

Custom Name Frame

I'll start by apologizing for the photo quality. I don't have a good camera to take photos of my work with so this will have to do for now! Some of you have seen this project already but I wanted to add some more detail as to what I used to complete it. The above name frames were made for my niece, Olivia Nicole! I used the Create a Critter cricut cartridge for most of the "critters" and the Songbird cricut cartridge for all of the letters. On the Nicole frame, the caterpillar was made by punching five 1 1/4" circles and the butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch. The grass was made using a Friskars punch.

Most of the paper is a pearl paper that I got at Wal-mart. I'm not sure if Wal-mart still sells it but I LOVE it! One piece of advice, pearlescent paper does NOT stick well on cricut mats so it's best to use a newer mat that's still super sticky or your paper will move on you! I like to roll a rubber brayer over the pearlescent paper once it's on the mat to make sure that the paper really sticks. Also, pearl paper is typically very thick so make sure that you have your blade depth set to 6 and your pressure on either 4 or 5; I almost always keep my speed on 5 unless I'm cutting something very intricate. As you can see from the bottom picture, I chose colors that matched the bedding in the nursery. If you have any other questions about this project or about ordering your own custom frame, don't hesitate to contact me via e-mail, facebook, or leave a comment below! Thanks for viewing!

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Ah! First off, I want to apologize for my lack of posting this summer. I decided to focus on renovations in our home and spending time with friends and family this summer. Take a peek around the blog for all of the exciting new products/promotions CTMH has to offer! Very soon I will be posting a project made using the August stamp of the month, stay tuned! :)