Whooo's Your Valentine?

There are only three more days (unless supplies run out before then) of the adorable Whooo's Your Valentine promotion from CTMH.  Here's what my peeps who joined me at my Open House this past Friday made with the kit:

With a $35 purchase of product from the Fall/Winter 2012 Idea Book, you can get this great kit to make 12 Valentine treat tubes.  It includes the most adorable stamp set you've ever seen!  Don't forget, you only have three more days to order Pear & Partridge, Moonlight, Flirty and La Belle Vie before they're gone forever!!!

It was simple!  Those familiar with stamping, those new to stamping, those who'd had a couple glasses of wine...everyone was able to easily and quickly put together a treat tube for a Valentine's Day gift.  I suggested they give it to their husbands now and tell them to fill it with something special...I think a couple of Pandora beads would look lovely in there, right?

Be Mine Vinyl Plate

Company's coming in the morning, it's midnight and you need something for that corner in your kitchen.  What's a girl to do?  Whip out her CTMH Artiste cartridge and her Cricut machine of course!

I needed a little Valentine's decor so found an inexpensive red charger at my local craft store (with some fab bling surrounding the edge).  I used the "Be Mine" button on my Cricut Artiste cartridge to cut out the sentiment and hearts (3 inches for Be Mine and 1.5 for the hearts).  Seriously, this project took me five minutes to complete and I'm happy with the cheer it adds to my kitchen.

What's your favorite quick decorating tip?

"Met You" Heart Picture

Give your valentine a canvas of how he freed your heart this February 14th!  Just use a little blue painters' tape to create lines along a 5x7 canvas and use black acrylic paint to create stripes.  Then, I used Ruby cardstock and CTMH's new glitter paper to create the hearts on the canvas.  The sentiment, "Met You," tells him that HIS love set you free!

Pinterest is one of my favorite places to find inspiration.  I found this basic design pinned from www.uncommondesignsonline.com.  They have some adorable ideas.  Go check them out!

Heart Candles

I love the LED candles you can find lately at local home stores.  They still have a waxy outside that smells faintly of vanilla, but there's none of that wax mess and waste you get from regular candles.  However, they're just so plain and screaming for some color.  So, I answered by dressing some up and giving them a little "love."

For a little Valentine's Day flair, I added a red vinyl heart, a strip of Black Striped Grosgrain Ribbon and some cranberry twine from the Baker's Twine Harvest Assortment to my LED candle.  I found the glass candle holder at a local craft store and spray painted it in a black gloss.  I love how the project turned out!

You can find these candles and holders at On a Whim Boutique in Lucketts, Virginia, where I'm selling a few pieces in a friend's booth.  

Love is in the Air!

I'm always a bit depressed taking down Christmas decorations.  But, this year, I've decided to focus on creating some new Valentine's Day decor to fill the empty corners and doors.

This photo really doesn't do this little wall hanging justice due to the bright white door.  But, here's how I created it:

1. I bought an 8x10 canvas from my local craft store and "painted" it with Red Glitz Glitter Glue.  Then, I set it aside to dry for about an hour.
2. While it was drying, I cut out several hearts and the word Love with my CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, using a retired CTMH paper pack, Roxie.
3. I used some Bonding Memories Glue to adhere the hearts and letters to the glittered canvas.
4. Then, I "painted" Mod Podge over the entire surface of the canvas.  At first, your art will look very dull and cloudy.  After the Mod Podge dries, you have a beautiful, protected piece of art!
5. Finally, I used my CTMH Stapler to attach two pieces of Black Tulle Ribbon to the back of the canvas frame and tied a sweet little bow to hang the picture.

How are you decorating for Valentine's Day?

Happy Valentines - January's SOTM Blog Hop

The glow from my Christmas tree is lighting my computer as I write this and I've got food in the oven for tonight's New Years' Eve party...but with crafting, it's always time to look ahead, so let's talk Valentine's Day!

Thanks for hopping over from Inky Georgia's blog!  Happy Valentines, Close To My Heart's January Stamp of the Month, is available only from January 1-31 and can be yours for just $5 with a $50 product order!

I have to admit I was a bit worried about working with this stamp set at first as I don't feel very confident in my "coloring" abilities.  But, the roses really grew on me as I used CTMH's new alcohol markers to add color.  I love the mini pigment inks to stamp the image before adding color with the alcohol markers.  Here's what I created:

My adorable husband sent me on a "treasure" hunt with clues that led me to one of those little families on the back of my minivan window (complete with a "scrapbooking" mom...and yes, that's hard to show on a mini-figure).  So, I thought I'd do the same for him by placing a clue (and a few chocolates) inside this cracker.

 

I made this card with "Smitten" sentiment to complement the cracker.

 

I hope you have fun making something with this stamp set for your Valentine!  Now, head on over and check out what Lori Brown has created for you!

Whooo's Your Valentine

This is just the cutest promotion CTMH has had in a while!  When you place an order for $35 or more from the Fall/Winter 2012 Idea Book, you can get this $40 kit for just $10.  What's included? 

You’ll receive 12 die-cut boxes, 3 cardstock sheets, 1 sheet of silver glitter paper, 12 treat tubes and an exclusive D-size stamp set created specifically for the kit:

While I didn't particpate in the blog hop for this set, you can check out some amazing artwork from the hop, starting with Melissa Laverty's adorable treat tubes and card.

Be Mine

Teaching a group of 15 young women about scrapbooking has been such a joy. The girls, grades 1-5, are so full of enthusiasm and creative energy that I think I learn more from them than they do from me.  Each week, I demonstrate a new technique.  This week, I introduced the girls to Close To My Heart's Spray Pen as we completed a Valentine's Day layout.

I had to refill the pen several times as they decided to spray just about everything, not just the heart title!  But, what a great example of how to take a few tools (water, CTMH re-inker and Pearl Paint) and combine them in the spray pen for a cool effect.

If you don't have a Spray Pen yet, you need to add it to your "must have" tools list.  Contact me today to order one and I'll give you a free "mixture" of product to try it for yourself.