Oh, Happy Day!

The wedding is still weeks away, but I have been having so much fun with the two stamp sets offered dirt cheap this month from Close To My Heart. This is another card from a pattern in Jeannette Lynton's new publication, Make It from Your Heart. You can see the other one I made earlier this week here.

In the close-up you can see the embossing detail on the lady's heart (or click on this or any image to see it larger) and the lift CTMH's 3-D Foam Tape gives to your art. I got the hearts idea from a pal, here, and gave it my own twist using Baroque Borders, the August Stamp of the Month, and a little of my favorite mix of embossing powder which you can learn about here. Top it off with a simple banner from It's Your Day to give the sentiment and we're rarin' to go (to the church on time..) I love how this turned out and how simply adding some stamps I was able to incorporate her colors of purple and turquoise.

 I just had to share these last few photos with you before I let you go. My sweet brother-in-law, Steve, helped my boys make this lovely bouquet of handmade flowers to surprise me with when I got home from work.

 They took some scratch paper and colored on origami flowers to make a fun and vibrant display! This is Aidan's with a bright red and turquoise "A" (his current favorite colors) on the flower to decorate his bloom.

Garrett got into the act going for a more Impressionist look, here. They each took time to personalize it and it sounds like they had a great time with Uncle Steve, too! Then we enjoyed the evening, dining al fresco on the back patio. (If you'd like to see more of these Life Pictures, "Like" my Facebook Business page and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter.)

Hope you all enjoy these last lazy summer days and see you this afternoon at the open house!

Warm wishes,





Card Supplies: Standard Card, White Daisy; 7/8" Black Grosgrain Ribbon; black and white stitched ribbon; Custom Embossing Powder Mix; Black Bitty Brads; Bitty Pearl Opaques; Cardstocks: White Daisy and Black; Stamps: Baroque Borders (Aug SOTM), It's Your Day (National Stamping Month Promotion); Inks: Gypsy; Papers: Magnifique Peacock Teal Tonal; Cricut, Artiste - 1 Black and 1 White Daisy Heart at 2"; one White Daisy Heart cut at 1 1/2"; one Black Scalloped Heart cut at 1 1/2".

The Mr. and Mrs {Bridal Shower}

As I told you yesterday, this is the second card I made for my niece, Paige's, bridal shower. You can not believe how dang easy this card was! As a mom of four, I am all about the time-saving now and this card won't let you down - if you have the secret ingredient! I won't keep you hanging *much*, but watch this video first. It tells you all about the August Love Your Layout in Studio J.

Wow, I just love Avonlea more and more every day! And Studio J is such a lifesaver, too, especially for those of us who may be, um, a little *behind*.

Ok, enough blather. The secret ingredient? Cricut Artiste! Here's the deets. I cut the Mr&Mrs in black cardstock at 4 1/4" (that's the height, not the width). Now, I need to make the base fit, so I measured and then cut the card at 5 1/2" out of White Daisy cardstock. Adhere the black to the white, then tie a cranberry ribbon in a bow and secure with a dab of Liquid Glass to mimic the "tux" on the "Mr." Then grab your Bitty Pearl Opaques and add 5 self-adhesive pearl "buttons" to the "Mrs." for the "dress". To attach the card to the basket I punched a hole in the corner and tied some Cranberry Twine to turn it into a cute tag, complete with my best wishes on the back. Oh, Snap! Baby, it doesn't get any easier than this! (You can slap me now for calling you baby.)

Artiste has plenty of fun sentiments for all your occasions, too, so don't let a lil' ol' bridal shower slow you down. There's baby, holiday and everyday sentiments among the almost 700 images on the cartridge. You ain't seen nothin' yet. Come to my Open House, this Saturday, August 25th from 1p - 4p and play around with the Cricut. You'll never look back.

Paige's Card {Bridal Shower}

Paige's Bridal Shower card, featuring Avonlea,
Baroque Borders and It's Your Day

I was priviledged to go to my niece, Paige's, bridal shower this past weekend and spend some time with the girls "showering" her with gifts and best wishes. My sister-in-law and her girls threw a fantastic party and my mom and I had a great time, though we missed having my sister there (she's in California). We gave Paige, Zac and Berklee a silverware set and then a separate laundry basket with lots of kitchen gadgets thrown in so I made her two cards; one for each gift. I haven't spent much craft time lately and it felt great to get out the ol' Tombow and paper trimmer!

Close up of the embossing detail

This card features our new Close To My Heart Avonlea papers and both the August Stamp of the Month (Baroque Borders) and the National Stamping Month Campaign (It's Your Day) stamp sets. The pattern is featured in Jeanette Lynton's new pattern publication, Make It from Your Heart. I cut the dress form and pattern from Cricut Artiste and then stamped Baroque Borders over the dress and heat embossed with a mix of white embossing powder and silver glitter (I love this custom mix!) to make the lace on the "wedding dress". Ink a Just Blooms Paper Flower with Smokey Plum and add a silver pearl from the Licorice Opaque collection to the center. Then I added a little Liquid Glass to the back and front of the burlap ribbon to hold it firmly in place on the card and make sure my dress form stayed where I put it. There was enough loft from the ribbon to "pop" the dress off the card base without adding any 3D Foam Tape, but I did use it under the sentiment to make it stand out. Super simple and easy, but it packs a lot of PUNCH!

Baroque Borders, August Stamp of the Month

The Stamp of the Month is only available through the end of the month at only FIVE BUCKS! It's exclusive and that means it goes away at the end of the month, so get it quick! You can get this set with any order totaling $50, including your Play Date purchases! And if you think that's hot, read a little more...

The double stamp set, It's Your Day, with almost 50 stamps,
is available now for National Stamping Month in September.

National Stamping Month is in September every year, and Close To My Heart throws a great celebration each year with an over-the-top giftie! This set is perfect for Project Life or any of your 12/365 scrapbook projects. You can get this early, from now until the end of September with any purchase totaling only $35! And guess what? You can combine these deals and get BOTH with your $50 order for only $10 more!! So if you got Cricut Artiste and, say, a new alcohol marker set, you could get two Stamps of the Month and two It's Your Day sets! The good times just keep rollin'!

Amazing things are afoot, here. You can see the other card I made for the second gift tomorrow on the blog, so come on back. In the meantime, stay safe and look for the Silver Lining!