New Foal Pictures

Today is the first day she and her mom have been out to play.  I love these days!  The sun is shining and it's so much fun watching the baby realize how much room she has to run.  She started kicking and jump off all four feet.  LOL!  Here are some cute photos.  Enjoy!

Magic Monday

This week's layout was created using a Studio J® only paper packet.  It's called Wishes and Fishes Baby Boy.  CTMH's Studio J® has a number of cute papers that are only available in Studio J®.  Plus, don't forget, all of the retired paper packets are also available in Studio J®

 

The layout pattern is called Out of the Hat.  The cute little embellishments are part of the My Stickease® that coordinates with the paper pack.

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There's just two days left to join Close To My Heart and get four FREE stamp sets along with your consultant kit...all for $49!!

Sign up and Celebrate!

If you've been giving thought to becoming a Close To My Heart consultant, April is the month!  Not only can you get the Essentials Kit for only $49,

but, you can get four Stamps of the Month for free!  That's a $71.80 value!

The Essentials Kit is valued at $155, so you will be receiving $226 worth of product for only $49!  What an opportunity! 

Whether you are local or across the country, you will receive the training, support, and encouragement to help you grow your business. I am always available by email, phone, or postal mail. You will have all the knowledge you need to make your business grow without ever leaving your home. I offer Personal Business Coaching for those on my team who are excited about their business. I also offer "NO PRESSURE" team support for those interested in discounts only.

Close To My Heart allows you to work as a hobbyist or create a successful business. You will have the opportunity to purchase our wonderful products at a discount or earn a very generous commission. You will be part of the cutting edge in stamping and scrapping products! Close To My Heart does not require you to carry any inventory and they supply all the hostess gifts at no charge to you.

For more information, visit my Join my Team page or drop me an email.  I'd love to have you join the Inky Fingers Gang!  Ready to sign up, hop on over to my website!

Stamp a Stack Club Cards

These are the cards the Stamp a Stack club created in March.

The stamp set we used is from CTMH.  It's C1539 Scrapbook Statements - Poets.  The papers used come from two different Close To My Heart Reflections kits.  The top cards were created using X7163B Chantilly and the bottom cards are from X7155B Avonlea.

 Each month in the Stamp a Stack Club, one creates 10 unique cards designed by me.  In your Stamp a Stack Club package, you receive a stamp set, and all the paper and embellishments to create these cards for only $27!  If you'd like to join the club, whether you are near or far, please email me and I'll get you set up.

Creatively Cricut®

This video has tips and tricks for using die-cut pieces from Close To My Heart's Cricut® Artiste and Art Philosophy collections. Stamp on Cricut®-cut pieces, change the size using special features, and more!

Magic Club

This is one of the layouts that the Magic Club did for the month of March.

The CTMH My Reflections kit that we used is X7164B Buzz and Bumble.  The colors used are Chocolate and Sunset.  The accessories come from Z1831 Buzz and Bumble Assortment.

Create a Card

It's Create a Card Wednesday!  This is another card that our Stamp a Stack Club made using Close To My Heart's C1533 Fabulous You stamp set.  The papers are retired papers from the Notebook My Reflections Kit.

Here are the instructions.

4 ¼” x 5 ½” top fold card base

4 ¼” x 5 ½” Black card stock

1 ½” x 4” Black card stock

1 ½” x 3 ¼” Black card stock (2)

1 1/8” x 3 ¼” Black card stock

3 ¾” x 5” Black Dot Background and Texture Paper

1 ¼” x 3” Black Dot Background and Texture Paper (2)

1” x 3” Black Dot Background and Texture Paper

1 ¼” x 3 ¾” Notebook Background and Texture Paper (cut from section with punched holes)

Stamp sentiment with black on Notebook Background and Texture Paper.  Attach to 1 ½” x 4” black card stock  piece.

Attach Black Dot Background and Texture Paper to Black card stock card front.

Attach the three Black Dot Background and Texture Paper pieces to their black card stock pieces.  Attach to card front as shown.  Attach matted sentiment 1 ¼” from top of card front.

Insert Tiny black brads in corners, as shown.

Tie knot in black ribbon and attach to card front.  Insert three Hollyhock brads through ribbon as shown.

Would you like to join our Stamp a Stack Club? Whether near or far, you can join.  Each month you will receive a stamp set, all the papers and embellishments used, plus full color instructions for only $27 a month!  Email me if you'd like more info.

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 April Promotion:

Sign up and Celebrate!

If you've been giving thought to becoming a Close To My Heart consultant, April is the month!  Not only can you get the Essentials Kit for only $49,

but, you can get four Stamps of the Month for free!  That's a $71.80 value!

The Essentials Kit is valued at $155, so you will be receiving $226 worth of product for only $49!  What an opportunity! 

Whether you are local or across the country, you will receive the training, support, and encouragement to help you grow your business. I am always available by email, phone, or postal mail. You will have all the knowledge you need to make your business grow without ever leaving your home. I offer Personal Business Coaching for those on my team who are excited about their business. I also offer "NO PRESSURE" team support for those interested in discounts only.

Close To My Heart allows you to work as a hobbyist or create a successful business. You will have the opportunity to purchase our wonderful products at a discount or earn a very generous commission. You will be part of the cutting edge in stamping and scrapping products! Close To My Heart does not require you to carry any inventory and they supply all the hostess gifts at no charge to you.

For more information, visit my Join my Team page or drop me an email.  I'd love to have you join the Inky Fingers Gang!  Ready to sign up, hop on over to my website!

 

Come join us!! 

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Have a wonderful day, everyone!  It's going to be close to 70 here today and I'm headed out to wash my car!  It's still carrying the remnants of the winter on it and looks horrible!  Then, I need to clean up the back yard where all the firewood has been dumped.  What a mess!  LOL!

Enjoy your day! 

Technique Tuesday

Mini Album

For a fun way to use up an eclectic array of papers, stamped images, and Cricut® shapes, a mini album is the perfect choice! Learn how to make an 8" × 5" mini album from start to finish for a cute little scrapbook full of variety and personality!

Magic Monday

This Monday's layout is a sketch from Close To My Heart's Magic How-To book.  The pattern is called Backstage.

It was created using CTMH's Studio J® digital program.  The papers used are from the Tommy My Reflections kit.  There are a lot of great boating My Stickease®.  You can check them out here, as they're the same ones available for both traditional scrapping and digital scrapping.

Congratulations!

I just want to send out a huge congratulations for a job well done to all the officers involved in hunting down the bombers.  My deepest sympathy to the family of the officer and the victims of Monday's bomb attack that were killed.  I also wish a speedy recovery to the injured officer and those injured at the Marathon.

Also, such sadness this week with the plant explosion in TX.  My thoughts and prayers are with you, also.

Cute Party Favors

Whether you use one Cricut^®-cut piece or several, you can create cute party favors and decorations using your CTMH Artiste cartridge. Combine your Cricut^® pieces with unique stamping techniques and you have projects that will knock your guests’ socks off! Want some recipes and tips for how to make this adorable artwork? Below are instructions for creating two pieces from the “Clearly the Best: How to kiss—with stamps” episode. Combine the Cricut^®-cut pieces for these projects with the kissing stamping technique taught in the video, and you have a stellar 3-D item! Want to learn more about the kissing stamping technique?  Check out this video.



Recipes and Tips

Party Banner

Stamp set of your choice

X5668 Honey Cardstock
X5764 Pear Cardstock
1272 Cranberry Cardstock
Z2197 Pear Exclusive Inks® Pad
Z2163 White Daisy Exclusive Inks® Pad
Z1751 Baker’s Twine Harvest Assortment
Z1311 1¼" Circle Punch

All products used are from Close To My Heart


Cricut® Shapes:
Artiste
1" Shift+3D Object (cut 56, p. 57)



Art Tip! This banner only uses one type of Cricut^® shape, but the finished product is still stunning. Use stamp kissing to randomly stamp across the pieces using the stamp set of your choice. Score with the help of the Cricut^®-cut score lines on the shape and piece together to create little globes. Tie together with baker’s twine and voila!


Owl Miss You Bag

1385 White Daisy Card stock
1292 Crystal Blue Card stock
X5668 Honey Card stock
X5930 Slate Card stock
Z2162 Honey Exclusive Inks^® Pad
Z2117 Crystal Blue Exclusive Inks^® Pad
Z1349 Shimmer Designer Brads
Z1752 Sparkles Clear Assortment
Z1311 1¼" Circle Punch
Twist Ties
Thread
Cricut^® Shapes:
Artiste
4½" 3D Object (p. 77)
4½" Shift+3D Object (cut 2, p. 77)
1" Shift+Accent 2 (p. 51)






Art Tip! This project uses many Cricut® shapes and all the pieces coordinate so nicely for an adorable finished product. Use the Artiste assembly booklet to put the bag together and then add the embellishments. The feathers are created with punched circles that are stamped using the kissing technique; however, if you don’t have the circle punch, you can easily make these using the Cricut as well. The eyes were created using Shimmer designer brads, but you can use any large brad or button to create the same look. Finish with the “owl miss you sentiment” for a special touch.

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April Promotion:

Sign up and Celebrate!

If you've been giving thought to becoming a Close To My Heart consultant, April is the month!  Not only can you get the Essentials Kit for only $49,

but, you can get four Stamps of the Month for free!  That's a $71.80 value!

The Essentials Kit is valued at $155, so you will be receiving $226 worth of product for only $49!  What an opportunity! 

Whether you are local or across the country, you will receive the training, support, and encouragement to help you grow your business. I am always available by email, phone, or postal mail. You will have all the knowledge you need to make your business grow without ever leaving your home. I offer Personal Business Coaching for those on my team who are excited about their business. I also offer "NO PRESSURE" team support for those interested in discounts only.

Close To My Heart allows you to work as a hobbyist or create a successful business. You will have the opportunity to purchase our wonderful products at a discount or earn a very generous commission. You will be part of the cutting edge in stamping and scrapping products! Close To My Heart does not require you to carry any inventory and they supply all the hostess gifts at no charge to you.

For more information, visit my Join my Team page or drop me an email.  I'd love to have you join the Inky Fingers Gang!  Ready to sign up, hop on over to my website!

 

Come join us!!

Magic Club

I learned something new the other day!!  I didn't know you could add text in Paint without a white background on a layout.  I'm excited because now I can list what the photo sizes are on the layouts I post and where the Title and Journaling go.  See...it doesn't take much to excite me!  LOL!

Here's the other layout that the Magic Club did in February.

This layout was created using Close To My Heart's X7166B Claire Paper Packet.  The pattern is called Ta-Da and comes from CTMH's Magic sketch book.  The white card stock on the upper part of the left page is only there so that you can see the shape of the Title spot.  You'd actually have the Sunset mat for your photo.

Create a Card

Today's card is created using the Close To My Heart stamp set C1533 Fabulous You.

The papers used are from a retired CTMH paper packet called Notebook.

Here are the measurements if you'd like to create a similar card.

4 ¼” x 5 ½” side fold card base

4 ¼” x 5 ½” Black card stock

3” x 4” Black card stock

3 ¾” x 5” Black Dot Background and Texture paper

2 ¾” x 3 ¾” Notebook Background and Texture paper

Distress the edges of all papers.  Ink all edges with Desert Sand ink.  Stamp image with Desert Sand and sentiment with Hollyhock ink.  Color image.  Attach Notebook Background and Texture paper to Black card stock.

Attach Black Dot Background and Texture paper to Black card stock.  Attach matted image to card front ¾” from bottom and ½” from left side.

Wrap Black Waxy Flax around card front twice and tie in bow.  Ink butterfly in Hollyhock and attach.  Attach three black brads.

If you haven't tried CTMH's Edge Distresser, it a fabulous tool!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 April Promotion:

Sign up and Celebrate!

If you've been giving thought to becoming a Close To My Heart consultant, April is the month!  Not only can you get the Essentials Kit for only $49,

but, you can get four Stamps of the Month for free!  That's a $71.80 value!

The Essentials Kit is valued at $155, so you will be receiving $226 worth of product for only $49!  What an opportunity! 

Whether you are local or across the country, you will receive the training, support, and encouragement to help you grow your business. I am always available by email, phone, or postal mail. You will have all the knowledge you need to make your business grow without ever leaving your home. I offer Personal Business Coaching for those on my team who are excited about their business. I also offer "NO PRESSURE" team support for those interested in discounts only.

Close To My Heart allows you to work as a hobbyist or create a successful business. You will have the opportunity to purchase our wonderful products at a discount or earn a very generous commission. You will be part of the cutting edge in stamping and scrapping products! Close To My Heart does not require you to carry any inventory and they supply all the hostess gifts at no charge to you.

For more information, visit my Join my Team page or drop me an email.  I'd love to have you join the Inky Fingers Gang!  Ready to sign up, hop on over to my website!

Technique Tuesday

My thoughts and prayers are with those injured in Boston and with all of America as we try to grasp the horror and the terror that one or more persons has inflicted upon us.



 Cricut® Foldables

Learn how to create foldable Cricut®-cut pieces that you can add to a scrapbook page, card, or home décor item for extra dimension!
From yo-yos to bows, embellishments cut with the Cricut® Art Philosophy and Artiste cartridges add something special to your artwork.

Magic Monday

This Monday's layout is another layout from the Close To My Heart Magic™ Idea Book.  The name of the layout is Final Act.

The layout was created using Close To My Heart's Studio J® program.  The paper packet used is Surf's Up.  Do you have a mountain of pictures that need to be scrapbooked?  If so, Studio J® is the fast and easy way to get them scraped.  Whether you prefer traditional scrapbooks or if you're into digital scrapping, Studio J® offers you a quick way to get caught up.  If you'd like to print them digitally, that's great!  But, if you're strictly a paper person, Studio J® can help you plan your layout before you cut into your first piece of paper.

Ok...time to pull out those pictures from last summer and get them scrapped before you start taking this year's summer photos.  Have fun!

Magic Club Layout

This is one of the Magic Club layouts that club members created in February.  It was created using Close To My Heart paper X7166B, Claire.

The upper left picture mat holds a 5 1/4" x 7 3/4" photo.  On the bottom right of the layout, there is room for four 4" x 2 1/2" photos.  The flower embellishments are from Z1813 Claire Assortment.

New Foal

As promised yesterday, here are a couple of pictures of the new baby foal.  She's just about 24 hours old in them.

They're not the best pictures as the mama horse doesn't like anybody around the baby for a few days and she kept the baby going around in circles.  So, I had to snap them quickly.  LOL!

And, on my trip out to the barn, I noticed that it's like a scene in the 1963 movie, The Birds.  I have no idea how many are out there as they go from the hayfield on the left, all the way across our back yard and into the hay field on the right. I couldn't get them all in one shot!

Create a Card

 It's Wednesday, so it's Create a Card day!  As I write this post, I'm waiting oh so not patiently for our broodmare to have her baby.  It appears that it should be today, from the signs we're seeing, but, as with any child you really never know when they'll show up.  LOL!  Poor Mama is only 10 days away from being pregnant for one year.  Horses usually go between 11 and 12 months.  She's rather large and the foal is really active, so I think she'll be thrilled when it's over.  LOL!  This will be baby #5 from her.

 Well, I didn't get a chance to get this finished and posted before the mare delivered.  It's another girl.  Cute as can be and very strong.  She's going to grow into her ears.  LOL!  Check back tomorrow as I'll post a couple of pictures.

Now, here's today's Create a Card. :)

This is another card created using CTMH's Fabulous You stamp set.  The papers are from a variety of different paper packets.  The dot paper is from the retired Olivia paper packet.  The stripe is from the current Buzz and Bumble paper pack.  The one with the leaves is from the Flirty paper pack that was available in the Fall/Winter idea book.

4 ¼” x 5 ½” side fold card base

4 ¼” x 5 ½” Sunset card stock

2 ¼” x 3 ¼” Sunset card stock

3 ¾” x 5” Sunset Dot Background and Texture

1 ¼” x 4” Stripe Background and Texture

1 ¼” x 3 ¾” Sunset Leaf Background and Texture

2” x 3” Textured Bamboo card stock

Distress edges of the Dot Background and Texture papers.

Stamp design with Sunset Ink on Textured card stock.  Attach to Sunset card stock mat

Cut V in the end of the Stripe and Leaf Background and Texture pieces.

Attach Dot Background and Texture paper to Sunset card stock.

Attach Stripe Background and Texture ¾” from left side of card front and flush with the Dot Background and Texture at the top.

Attach Sunset Leaf piece ½” from left of Stripe Background and Texture paper and flush with Dot Background and Texture paper at top.

Attach matted image 2 ¼” from bottom of card front and ½” from left of card front.

Insert two brads as shown.  Tie bow in Baker’s Twine and attach as shown.

Technique Tuesday

Cricut® Craft Room

Discover how to use Cricut® Craft Room—the free online design software that makes it easier to create projects with your Cricut® machine—in this step-by-step tutorial.

Magic Monday

This week's layout is from the Close To My Heart Magic™ Idea Book.  The pattern is called Disappearing Act.  I created this layout using the Close To My Heart Claire papers, and the Studio J® program.

For those who would like to recreate the pages in paper, you'll find the Claire paper packet on my website.

My Two Favorite Apps!

I love to listen to music.  I don't usually have the TV on during the day, as I'm not usually in the same room long enough to know what's going on :)   I finally got around to doing a scan on our HDTVs to get those random digital stations.  Upon doing this, I found this great station with videos called The Country Network.  So, I've been listening to it pretty much all day, every day.  I have found some great artists that don't seem to get any airplay on traditional radio stations.  Turns out, they have an app!  The app covers lots of different music genres from Latin to Pop to Rock, Country and more.  The app is called Zuus.

I found this next app courtesy of a Pea at Two Peas in the Bucket on the NSBR board.  It's called Songza.  I like Pandora, but this app puts Pandora to shame!  Or, maybe it's just my Pandora it puts to shame, as it seems to play mostly older music and not the latest.  Songza gives you the option of different types of music, such as "wake up happy", "working out", "drinking gourmet coffee", "brand new music" and more.  Once you click on one of the categories, you can then choose from the music genre that you'd like, whether country, indie, Top 40 and more.

So, if you're looking for some new apps, be sure to check these out! 

Stamp a Stack Cards

I was just going through my photo files and noticed that I never posted this set of cards that we did for the Stamp a Stack cards.  The stamp set used was the retired Rosy Regards, but if you ordered the March 2013 Stamp of the Month, they are similar.

Love your Layout

Use Studio J®, Close To My Heart's online scrapbooking software, to create a beautiful layout in just minutes by watching this month's Love Your Layout(sm) video. You'll learn creative techniques on how to create paint-splattered accents, stack My Stickease® images, and add a date for a gnarly layout in the Later Sk8r kit. Log in to Studio J to create it yourself while you watch!



If you'd like to use these techniques scrapping tradtionally, the paper packet used is Later Sk8r.  Isn't this fun paper?!  Here's the Studio J layout that I using this paper.

Create a Card

This week's Create a Card uses Close To My Heart's Fabulous You stamp set.  The papers used are mostly retired papers, with the exception of the stripe paper from CTMH's Buzz and Bumble paper packet.

Here's the instructions to recreate the card.

4 ¼” x 5 ½” Side fold card base

4 ¼” x 5 ½” Sunset card stock

2 ½” x 3” Sunset card stock

4” x 5 ¼” Stripe Background and Texture paper

3 ¾” x 5” Sunset Leaf Background and Texture paper

1 ½” x 4 ¾” Textured card stock

2 ¼” x 2 ¾” Textured card stock

1” x 4 ½” Sunset Dot Background and Texture paper

3 ½” x 2 ¾” Notebook Background and Texture paper

Distress edges of all papers, except the Notebook Background and Texture paper .  Roll top right corner on the Stripe and Leaf Background and Texture pieces.

Stamp image with Sunset ink on Textured card stock.

Attach Stripe Background and Texture paper to Sunset card stock.  Attach Sunset Leaf Background and Texture paper to Stripe Background and Texture paper.  Attach Dot Background and Texture paper to Textured card stock.  Attach to card front ¾” from left side.

Attach stamped image to Sunset card stock. Attach to Notebook Background and Texture.  Attach to card front 1” from bottom.

Technique Tuesday

Canvas Art

Discover the versatility of the new Workshops on the Go® canvas art kit—complete with Dimensional Elements in two color schemes so that your artwork complements the space you display it in!

Magic Monday

Welcome to a new week!  It's getting closer and closer to summer!  I can't wait!

Here's the Magic Monday layout for this week.

The sketch is from the Close To My Heart Magic™ Idea Book.  The pattern is called Ta-Da and the pages were created using Studio J®.  The paper package used is Buzz and Bumble. 

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April Promotion:

Sign up and Celebrate!

If you've been giving thought to becoming a Close To My Heart consultant, April is the month!  Not only can you get the Essentials Kit for only $49,

but, you can get four Stamps of the Month for free!  That's a $71.80 value!

The Essentials Kit is valued at $155, so you will be receiving $226 worth of product for only $49!  What an opportunity! 

Whether you are local or across the country, you will receive the training, support, and encouragement to help you grow your business. I am always available by email, phone, or postal mail. You will have all the knowledge you need to make your business grow without ever leaving your home. I offer Personal Business Coaching for those on my team who are excited about their business. I also offer "NO PRESSURE" team support for those interested in discounts only.

Close To My Heart allows you to work as a hobbyist or create a successful business. You will have the opportunity to purchase our wonderful products at a discount or earn a very generous commission. You will be part of the cutting edge in stamping and scrapping products! Close To My Heart does not require you to carry any inventory and they supply all the hostess gifts at no charge to you.

For more information, visit my Join my Team page or drop me an email.  I'd love to have you join the Inky Fingers Gang!  Ready to sign up, hop on over to my website!