The Close to My Heart special for the month of March 2012 is for new consultants.  If you have been drooling over the new Art Philosophy Cricut Collection and debating becoming a consultant, now is the time to join!

New Consultants who sign up in March will receive a fabulous Cricut^® Art Philosophy Collection FREE! Or you can choose to receive $100 in select product credit* instead.  The collection, which retails for $99, is actually valued at over $124, adding incredible value to the New Consultant Kit.  It’s time for everyone to embrace the philosophy of fun—Consultant and Cricut^® fun!  Special is good March  1-31, 2012.  Start today!

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In this latest Love Your Layout episode you’ll learn how to  create your own patterned paper, crop My Stickease  accents between pages, and learn a fun new way to use text boxes.

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S1202 Thoughtful Tidings is the current Stamp of the Month so it is only available through February 29, 2012.  This is a great stamp set to use for gifts and thank you cards but I wanted to show you how to use it in another way with some of the stamps from the set.  I created this school layout:

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Supplies used are all CTMH unless noted: You Rock Paper Packet, Rockin’ Top Coats, Thoughtful Tidings stamp set, Bronze Glitter Glitz, and 10 Things Pocket by Deja Views.

You can see in the picture that I added the Glitter Glitz to the transparency, however once it dried it came right off.  I was disappointed but now I know.  As an alternative sparkles would work or possibly embossing.

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Here’s another layout I created using some of the papers I had leftover from the Pemberley Workshop Kit and the Card Word Puzzle stamp set.

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I also used Bronze Glitter Glitz to add some sparkle.  I love how adding small touches like this can add so much to my stamped images.  Here are a couple closeups:

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The Pemberley Workshop Kit includes:
My Reflections Pemberley Paper Packet
My Acrylix Pemberley Workshop Stamp Set (stamp set is exclusive to this workshop kit)
Colonial White Cardstock (2 sheets)
Bouquet Assortment
Bitty Opaques Pearl Adhesive Gems
Instructional Brochure

Bonus Project:

Add these items to your order to create the workshop bonus project:
X5913 Light Neutral Cardstock Shade Pack
Z1718 Color-Ready Garden Wooden Shapes

Scroll down to Wednesday’s post to see the scrapbook pages that coordinate with this workshop.

Would you like to attend my Pemberley Workshop on March 23?  Order by March 9 to save on shipping.

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I have to say, the colors really got to me…bold and bright and I immediately thought Lagoon and Black.  Here is the layout that I came up with:

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Supplies used are all CTMH unless otherwise noted: Black, White, and Lagoon cardstock, Paper Packet, Sparkle Flourishes, Clear Sparkles, Bitty Sparkles, Just Blooms Paper Shapes – Flutter, Damask Tiles stamp set, Boutique Borders stamp set, Black ink, Art Philosophy Cricut Collection, and Making Memories Heidi White Rubon Letters.

I started with a Page Map from November 2011.  I knew the colors I wanted to use and paper with those colors was not coming to mind so I figured I would be stamping some patterns.  Then, I ran across a pack of Veranda paper.  Now I never, ever, ever would have thought I would be using Juniper and Lagoon on the same layout but somehow this works out and is completely inspired by the top photo!

I REALLY wanted to stamp/emboss my title in white with the Bohemian Alphabet but it was the last thing I added to my layout and I chickened out and ended up using white rubons instead.

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The Pemberley Workshop Kit includes:
My Reflections Pemberley Paper Packet
My Acrylix Pemberley Workshop Stamp Set (stamp set is exclusive to this workshop kit)
Colonial White Cardstock (2 sheets)
Bouquet Assortment
Bitty Opaques Pearl Adhesive Gems
Instructional Brochure

Here are my pages:

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Come back Friday to see the bonus project that coordinates with this workshop.

Would you like to attend my Pemberley Workshop on March 23?  Order by March 9 to save on shipping.

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WELCOME!  I’m so glad you are joining us for our “Use Your Stash Blog Hop”.  If you have already started, you should be coming from Tabbi Fritz’s Blog.  If this is your first stop, continue through until you make your way back here.

This month we are featuring buttons and flowers.

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Supplies used: Let’s Get Together Paper Packet, Colonial White Waxy Flax, Just Blooms Flowers (link to similar product), Red Assortment Buttons, Color Ready Alphabet – Hodge Podge (link to similar products), Irresistibles Eclectic Die-Cuts, Cranberry Ink, Hooray Bouquet stamp set, and Art Philosophy Cricut Collection.

This is one of my favorite paper packs from “back when”  When I looked at my stash of buttons I had a lot of red and thought of this paper.  I used a sketch from Page Maps March 2011.  I discovered that it is fun when I am able combine old supplies with new ones.  Most of the products I used are fairly old but then I used the Hooray Bouquet stamp set with my Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge and those are both newer supplies.  I am learning that this is so easy to do with stamps!

I was also reminded with this layout why I love waxy flax so much.  It is so easy to thread buttons and stays in place.  I attached my buttons to the layout, poked holes with my Piercing Tool, and threaded the waxy flax through – no needle needed!

I am so pleased with how this title came out.  Again, I mixed old product with new.  I opened my package of Irresistible letters and used up more of my Color-Ready Alphabet.  It turned out to be a great combination!

Now hop on over to Ann Marie’s Blog for more ideas on using up your button and flower stash.

If you get lost along the way you can see the entire list of hoppers on my previous post.

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Rachel Ventura

Bethany Harlan

Joy McHargue

Tonya Whitehurst

Judy Faye

Shirley Ross

Tabbi Fritz

Wendy Kessler  <– You are here.

Ann-Marie Trammell

Cherri Hardcastle

Michelle West

Debi Barber

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This is one of the exclusive scrapbook kits that you will be able to chose from as a Studio J member.  Try it today!

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Today’s stamp set is Field Trip Alphabet:

I used an old paper packet called Cherry-O for this layout.  The Field Trip Alphabet that I chose is a great one!  It is a large set and comes with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and punctuation!  I picked an alphabet this week to go along with the February Spotlight Blog Hop featuring Alphabet stamp sets.

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Another Close to My Heart consultant swap layout.  I’m determined to use all these up this year.  This one is by Donna Proshwitz.

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Christine thought it was neat that Miranda fit on her American Girl scooter.  It was a fun ride.  This layout was from a Close to My Heart consultant swap but it doesn’t have a name so I don’t know who to give the credit to.

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This layout is by Larissa Ward from a Close to My Heart consultant swap.

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This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique.  So if you are starting here, just continue until you make your way back.  If you have already started, you should be coming from Debi’s Blog.  If you get lost along the way, go to my previous post for a list of all participants.

I made this card for you today:

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Supplies used: Look Who’s… stamp set, Animal Cracker paper pack, blending pen, Waxy Flax, and Bitty Sparkles, Sparkles – Red, Pink, Purple Assortment, Tulip, Dutch Blue & Sunflower inks.

I had some help from this card on pinterest.  I liked the design and I even ended up using primary colors which I don’t choose very often.  I like them paired with kraft but I was using up my scraps so decided on the yellow.  I used paper from an old CTMH pack.  The scalloped oval is cut with the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and then stamped with the coordinating image.  The cupcake is cut by hand.  I like how the waxy flax on the card remind me of balloons.

Variation: I wanted to share a variation with you, however I did not have a new stamp set that fit so I will try to explain it as best I can.  Take the Hooray Bouquet stamp set for example with all the flowers.  If you don’t like the border around the edge of the image, you could cut your flowers smaller than the size indicated on the carrier sheet so that when you stamp the image it will cover the entire cutout.  You could also cut a small flower and use a larger image (even a background stamp that is not specific to a cut on the cricut) and stamp it over the top to give your cut image a stamped design that is unique.

Now you can take what you’ve learned from our technique blog hops and share it with us!  We would love to see what you’ve created using this month’s technique.  Please visit Technically Terrific where you can share your project and be entered in a chance to win great prizes.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please continue on to LISA’S BLOG where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique!

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This blog hop is a circle so if you are just starting, continue until you make your way back here.  If you are coming from Elizabeth’s Blog, you are on the right track!

I chose the new Keepsake Alphabet stamp set for this hop.  When I saw this set in the book, I fell in love with it immediately.  Now that I have it in my hands, I love it even more.

Here is my layout:

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Supplies used: Stella Paper Packet, Stella Complements Canvas Shapes, Keepsake Alphabet, Cocoa & Olive inks.

The best part about this stamp set is all the small words that come with it.  You can see some of them in the closeup below.  When using the letters, you will want to stamp each letter individually in order to line them up and they will look best if you overlap each letter onto the one before it so that it’s a smooth flow.  You can see what I mean below.  This was my first time using this set so some letters are stamped better than others – side by side.

Thanks for stopping by!  Your next stop is LUISA’S BLOG!

For a list of all the blog hop participants and the alphabets they are using, go to the previous post.

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Wendy K. (Keepsake)  <--- You are here.
Luisa (Pennant)
Carol (Polka Dot)
Nikka Geers (Trinity)
Haley D. (Old World)
Elizabeth (Large Chocolate)

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Here are the measurements for what we used (all in inches):
Patterned paper = 1.25 x 3 (this is pretty easy to see from the picture)
Cardstock = 1.75 x 3 (the patterned paper is matted on this piece)
Cardstock (rounded) = 1 x 3.75 (use a corner rounder for all four corners and use for the bottom, back, and open door)
Flag post = 1/8 x 1.5
Flag = heart cut with Art Philosophy at 1/2″

We really struggled to get them to stay together.  First, she used an ATG gun and they didn’t hold (due to the rounding of the paper).  She ended up using scotch tape around the bottom to hold the sides and around the back of the mailbox as well.  We should have just did this from the beginning.  It would have saved a lot of time and adhesive.  It also would have been easier for the kids because she said many of the kids liked her valentines but they had a hard time opening them.  I thought that was funny.  She also used double-sided tape to hold the 3 pieces of candy together.

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