Personalized Cups

Next month, my family and I are heading to Key Largo with some dear friends. As a thank you for getting the place, I made these fun cups for the adults.

I found the Contigo cups at Target. They have a super tight lid so you can shake up drinks in it. And, they're insulated, which will be awesome in the Florida heat. The main reason I chose them though, is that they're smooth and just begging for some decorative vinyl!

I used my Cricut Explore to design the vinyl, which I'd purchased in a pack from Pick Your Plum.

Now, all I need to do is choose a favorite beverage!

New Product Blog Hop

Thanks for hopping over from the fabulously talented Dana Kessler's blog.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! No silly, not Christmas, it's time for the new Annual Inspirations Idea Book and Catalog from Close To My Heart! And, as 50+ consultants are participating in this New Product Blog Hop, you'll find an art explosion sure to satisfy your creative sweet tooth.

I'm always surprised at how few decorations I have for Thanksgiving. So, I decided to create this Give Thanks box to display between my favorite holidays (Halloween and Christmas). It's filled with little cards to be sent to people I'm especially thankful for and I can't wait to share my appreciation for them in November.

Give Thanks Card Box

I used the new Score Board (LOVE IT!) from Close To My Heart to score my paper to fit around the box. Cut a strip at the desired width. Then, score at 1", 2 5/8", 9 1/8" and 10 3/4". Then, you just need a strip about 6" to cover the back of the box. Bonding Memories Glue is by far the best adhesive to get your paper to adhere to the box!

Card 1

Card 2

Cards 3 and 4

Did you recognize some new products? A few of my favorites are the Paper Fundamentals in the Adventure Assortment (see the texture of the Sunset paper in Card 2!) and the Teal Glitter Paper in Card 1. Here's a complete supply list:

•  My Creations Journaling Cards Box, Z1953
• Bonding Memories Glue, 1512
• New Pathfinding Paper Packet, X7186B
• New Pathfinding Complements, X7186C
• New Pathfinding Assortment, Z3012
• New Neutral Metallic Baker's Twine, Z1921
• New Paper Fundamentals Adventure Assortment, Z2032
• New Teal Glitter Paper, Z1991
• New Season of Thanks My Acrylix Stamp Set, D1604
• New Lifetime of Happiness My Acrylix Stamp Set, C1589
• New Have a Happy Day My Acrylix Stamp Set, D1616
• Sunset Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2191
• Chocolate Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2111
• Bamboo Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2103
• New Glacier Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2641
• And last but not least...the new CTMH Score Board, Z1937

The new Score Board also scores paper on an angle!!!

Now, hop over to see the fun creations in store for you at Dawn Ross's blog! If you got lost along the way, Melinda has a complete list of participating consultants.

Holiday Photo Card Display Album

Don't you just love looking through Christmas cards? It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy receiving cards from new and old friends, sharing what's happening in their lives today. I especially love to see photos of them and their children.

The phenomenally talented Melissa Laverty has designed a couple of these adorable Holiday Photo Card Display Binders. I scraplifted her first design and have enjoyed using it all season!

Holiday Guide Blog Hop

Welcome to the Holiday Guide Blog Hop! Here, you'll be taken on a holiday journey through Close To My Heart's Winter 2013 Holidays from the Heart Gift Guide.  If you get lost along the way, you'll find a full list of consultants participating in this blog hop on Melinda Everitt's blog, If You Bling It.

Thanks for coming from Maria Myers' Stamp Momma's blog.

I'm in the midst of planning and teaching several kids' classes right now. They are just loving washi tape (okay, so am I), so I decided to use the new Sparkle & Shine Washi Tape 3-Pack (Z1907) and simply cover ornaments cut out from my Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge (Z1686) in various sizes. Then, I stamped images from the My Acrlyix Santa Clause Stamp Set (C1567) and popped them up with a bit of 3-D Foam Tape. This is an easy project that my youngest crafters can do as there's no right or wrong way to add washi tape!

Since my Christmas tree isn't up yet, I decided to showcase my ornaments on the Designed Decor Black Frame (Z1880) and attached them using the ruby mini painted clothes pins from the Mini-Medley Accents Ruby Collection (Z1861).

If you don't have your own copy of the Holiday Guide, contact your local consultant, request a FREE one from me here or visit my Close To My Heart website to view it online.

Now, it's time to head to Karen Fullam's Enriching Memories blog to see what amazing artwork she's created for you!

Teacher Appreciation Week

Teacher Appreciation Week is officially celebrated this first week of May.  My boys' school, BBES, celebrated last week due to state testing this week.  Talk about a celebration!  One of my dearest friends coordinated the week with the theme of Team.  Every day the teachers came to school to enjoy a themed meal, gifts, goodies and well wishes.  The entire school was decorated in blow up sports balls, pennants, balloons and streamers.  The week ended with a pep rally featuring our school's mascot, Mr. T (Tiger), a parade of staff members and gifts galore for all teachers.

As room mom for my kindergartner's class, I helped coordinate flowers for the teachers and goodie bags with treats.  On the last day, all of the kids brought in $5 gift cards for the teachers.  Additionally, I wanted to recognize all of the staff who support my kids, such as: the P.E. teachers, Music and Art teachers, office and clinic staff, guidance, technology and SEARCH specialists, etc.  Not wanting to completely break the bank, I had my two boys help stamp the bags below and then fill them with apples, nuts, candy and pretzels.

These bags are certainly not my best, most creative artwork.  However, it's the stamped messsage that I hope they take to heart: YOU MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE. 

Judy Cards

My mother-in-law, Judy, is classy and elegant.  She asked me to make a few sample cards for her that she may order for her friends as Christmas gifts.  So, I made these cards with clean, classic lines and handsome colors.  They just "looked" like her.

If you'd like personalized, custom cards, I'm happy to discuss options with you.  Contact me today for a sample.  Or, I'll share my recipes with you and help you order the products you need to make them yourself!

August Stamp of the Month, Wicked

Wicked is a teasingly mischievious name for this charming stamp set.  There are so many clever ways to use the set.  However, if you aren't feeling too creative, CTMH has directions to make the three below projects to put you in a spooky mood. 

You only have a few more days to get Wicked.  With a qualifying order of $50 or more, you'll get Wicked for just $5!  Shop on-line at: http://michellejonesva.myctmh.com/ to place an order.  Then, download the templates for the cards and treat box here.  You won't regret getting this stamp set!

Jenny's Stamps

My dear friend, Jenny Maresca, just had a birthday and I wanted to give her something special.  See, I've known her since her actual birth.  Her mom is my godmother and my dad is her godfather.  Jenny is a couple years younger than I am and has an older brother closer to my age.  He, another family friend, Michele, and I used to pal around together, with "little" Jenny trailing behind.  Then, as we got older and more focused on school friends, I lost touch with Jenny for a while.  She's recently back in my life and guess what...she loves to scrapbook and make cards!  So, this similar interest has really bonded us.

Okay, back to her birthday gift.  Jenny recently asked me about CTMH's My Acrylix Organizer as she's collected enough stamps to fill one.  So, I decided that would be part of her gift from me.  But I couldn't just give it to her plain.  I "Jennyfied" it, decorating it with lots of butterflies-her favorite!  I used the retired Wings paper some plain Sweet Leaf cardstock.  I used first and second generation stamping on the cardstock with butterflies from the Blessed stamp set and January's Stamp of the Month set, Find Your Style.  Finally, I cut out butterflies and "Jenny's Stamps" using the new Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge.  I put a few products inside that I knew she'd like (including the new Flutter Paper Shapes, natch), and voila, a custom gift.  I sure hope she likes it!

Gifts from Talented Scrapbooking Sistahs

You saw the Sticky Notepads and Paper Purses I made for my Let's Get Fancy teammates as gifts at CTMH's Convention.  I just had to share the amazing creations I received.  This first one, a gorgeous photo album from my roommate, Laura Petruso, is a frame made with the Zippiddee paper pack (no longer available) perfect for Disney photos.

Other team members were so creative with their gifts.  They made jewelry, mini albums, notebook holders, tags, candy purses, framed artwork, coasters, frames, cards and even a "prescription" for creator's block!  My upline, Melissa Laverty, who also doubles as a ThirtyOne consultant, gave me the beautiful lunch bag.  Each item was thoughtful and I treasure these gifts for the time and love that went into them.  Now, don't you want to join our team?!!!



Kraft Card Album

While in Anaheim for Convention, we had an evening crop on our last night.  My friends, also known as the Let's Get Fancy team, gathered around a couple of round tables and opened our bag filled with CTMH goodies and instructions to make this awesome album, made from...6" x 6" Kraft Die-Cut Cards, available in the new Idea Book.  At only $6.95 for 10 cards and envelopes, these cards are a multi-purpose steal!  I used three cards and attached them at the die-cut overlay to create this accordian album.

The shapes are cut with our new Cricut cartridge, the Philosophy Art Collection.  So awesome!  And I completely fell in love with Decor Journaling Spots.  Each pocket has a coordinating tag with string.  You could journal in them or put a hidden photo inside.  These are a favorite new product of mine!  And, the adorable stamp set is not in the new Autumn/Winter Idea Book but it's been rumored that it will be for sale.  If you're a Disney fan, make sure you order one of these!

I'm considering doing this as a workshop, either Disney themed or any theme you want.  Let me know if you're interested.  It would also make a great Girls' Night Out activity!

Supplies Used:

Kraft Die-Cut Cards and Envelopes, Z1474

Dreams Stamp Set, D1500

Color-Ready Alphabets Cork, Z1450

Decor Journaling Spots, Z1461

Olive Mini-Medley Accents Collection, Z1489

Cranberry Cardstock, 1272

Elements Level 2 Paper Pack, X7141B

Cocoa Ink, X5642



Oh, and here's a photo of my scrapbooking sistah, Jill Perla, after inking the edges of the cards.  I think she had more ink on her fingers than on her project.  The sign of a true stamper!!!



Sticky Notepads

Okay, I'm not exactly sure how many notepads one person needs or can make.  With that being said, I found these on a favorite blog: Angie Juda's Chic'n Scratch: http://www.chicnscratch.typepad.com/.  She uses something called a bind-it-all to put the o-rings on them.  Thankfully her awesome demo also shows how to do it with a Crop-a-dile.  Don't have a Crop-a-dile?  You need to get one, they're amazing at punching holes and setting eyelets.  And, mine is hot pink so that's an added bonus for me!

I've been talking about gift giving at Convention and I made one of these for each of my 11 team members, personalized with their initial in Sweet Leaf ink and then clear embossed to make their initial pop.  I used CTMH's Miracle paper and Kraft cardstock.  I love the details of the paper piercer on the scallop punch.  It really adds some pizazz, don't ya think?  I hope they enjoy using them as much as I enjoyed making them! 

Then, I put each one in a plastic sleeve and added a personal note.  I'm so excited to spend four days with these awesome women!  I'll add details about the supplies I used when I get back from Anaheim.  I'm leaving at 4:45 tomorrow morning to make my flight out of Reagan National.  Yawn...better hit the hay!

Paper Purses

Gift giving for roommates and teammates is kind of a tradition at Close To My Heart Convention.  This year, I wanted to make something special for my awesomely fun roommate and for my amazingly generous upline.  I found this unique "Stationary Box Pocketbook" on Amy Celona's blog: http://www.ustamp4fun.com/.  While these make great card carriers, I plan to fill them with some snacks for those busy Convention days.  Since these purses require two-sided cardstock, I had to purchase the main paper from a local supply store.  I'm sincerely hoping CTMH has an announcement about two-sided, patterned cardstock for us next week!

Nifty Notepads

This winter and spring I had the privelege of being in a bible study with about 20 wonderful women from church.  I learned so much from them and was sad when our group met for the last time in June.  While many of us will resume our study in September, our large group split into two smaller groups.  So, I wanted to give a small gift of love and appreciation to these friends.  I decided to create a little notepad, kind of a "Blessings Journal" that the women could use to record anything from blessings to prayer lists to grocery lists.  Below you'll see the the front of the notepad and then it opened up.

I purchased 8"x5" notepads from Staples and had them cut them in half for me (Staples gets lots of my business these days!).  I used the following Close To My Heart products to create the folded notepads:

• Blush Cardstock, X5640
• White Daisy Cardstock, 1385
• Pear Cardstock, X5764
• Hollyhock Ink, Z2128
• Pear Ink, Z2197
• Sophia Level 2 Paper Packet, X7131B
•  Buttons, Pink Assortment, Z1370
• Colonial White Waxy Flax, Z1081
• 3-D Foam Tape, Z1151
• 2" Scallop Circle Punch, Z1392
• 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Z1311
• My Acrylix April Stamp of the Month: Blessed, D1455

When I finished these notepads, I was so happy with the results that I decided to make a special treat for the gals attending my monthly workshop.  Below is a notepad perfect as a summer hostess gift.  Hmmm...just might have to take this one to a friend hosting a Fourth of July party!

CTMH supplies used:

• Pacifica Cardstock, X5759
• Sunny Yellow Cardstock, 1225
• White Daisy Cardstock, 1385
• Cranberry Ink, Z2116
• Sunny Yellow Ink, Z2152
• Fanfare Level 2 Paper Packet, X7138B
• Blue Assortment Buttons, Z1371
• Sunflower Waxy Flax (no longer available)
• My Acrylix Just Be You, B1341
• My Acrylix Stamp of the Month July: American Celebration, D1458

As you can see, I used the large star from this month's stamp of the month set, American Celebration.  Ask me how you can get this $22.95 set discounted or even for FREE!

Thanks to my amazing upline, Melissa Laverty: http://www.fancymelissa.blogspot.com/ who gave me a similar notepad last year for this idea!  If you're not familiar with fancyMelissa's awesome blog, you need to be!