Cozy Teacher Gifts

One of my children has 9 teachers, and buying gift cards or presents for all of them would get pretty expensive. But I want to show them we appreciate them and give them some holiday cheer. I've made up these Slide Cards for them. It's all in the presentation, right?  These will be easy for my daughter to take to school rather than 9 tins of popcorn. LOL

I really like these Slide Cards. When you pull up on the ribbon a nice surprise appears. We chose a gourmet hot chocolate mix. You can also use apple cider mix.

I used CTMH stamp "A Sip" (A1109) and Wonderland paper (X7146B)

Happy Holidays,
Sheila

Technique Blog Hop - Glitz Glitter Gel

Gold and Silver and Rubies - Oh My! The Glitz Glitter Gel is probably my most favorite new product in the Close To My Heart Fall Winter 2011 Idea Book. And it's only $2.75 each! Thanks for visiting our Technique Blog Hop. If you came from Tabbi's blog, you're on the right track. To see a complete listing of this month's participants, click here. You can move through the hop and see how this group of talented artists used this to add some bling-bling to spice up their creations.

I love the Silver Glitz the most...it looks like diamonds, and diamonds are a girl's best friend. See how they make the snowflakes pop on the following cards. This ornament-shaped card and snowflake border were made using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.

One more example of flashy snowflakes on a 12 x 12 layout...

Thanks for stopping by. Now hop on over to Tracey's blog to see more creations. Have a memorable day.
Sheila

Studio J-Poloosa

I like to work with Studio J (On Line "Digital" scrapbooking from Close To My Heart) when I'm catching up on movies on the DVR.  All I need is my laptop; no card table, no Ott light, no adhesive, paper trimmer, box of photos...you get the picture. I'm at least two years behind in archiving my memories, so I decided to do all of my 2010 photos using Studio J, and I made quite a dent last month when I created these pages:

This is a "members only" paper kit that is themed around tools and building, perfect for those masculine layouts.  In addition to members only paper kits, there are members only patterns as well.  If you're interested in a Studio J membership, contact me.  There are additional perks like free shipping and page protectors.

Notice the stitching around the title in this layout. No blood was shed in creating this stitching. LOL  In Studio J, there are options for stitched hearts, circles, and squares.  You can even zig-zag.  LOVE IT!

One of my favorite things about Studio J is the ability to click and drag my photos into the photo wells and watch them resize to fit the space, whether its 2x2 or 8x10.  I don't have to worry about cropping photos.  This feature is great for deleting people out of a shot too.  Another great thing is nothing is crooked, unless it's supposed to be.

Another favorite thing about Studio J is how easy it is to make these collage-type layouts.  I was able tell the story of our trip to Disneyland with one layout.  This wasn't our first trip to the happiest place on earth, so I didn't feel like it was necessary to scrapbook every single moment.  But if I wanted to I could with Studio J.  Oh and notice the captions right on top of the photos, I like that too.

I've already got a few more layouts in my Studio J cue.  My goal is to cue up 4-10 layouts a month and then place my order.  If you'd like a personal demo of Studio J, let me know.

Have a memorable day,

Sheila

December Stamp of the Month Hop

Is it too early to think about Valentine's Day in December? Not when you can get this adorable stamp for just $5* from Close To My Heart. Mad About You is the Stamp of the Month available through December 31st. And the images are compatible with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. (*$5 with a minimum $50 purchase, or $17.95. Shipping & handling applies.)

This is a blog hop featuring artwork using this exclusive stamp set.  If you came here from Melissa's blog, your're on the right track.

 

 

Thanks for looking.  Now hop on over to Judyfaye's blog to see more inspiring artwork.

Sheila

Technique Hop - Ghosting

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop. This month we are showing examples of Ghosting, as seen in the Close To My Heart 2011 Autumn/Winter Idea Book on page 45. If you've come from Michelle's blog, your heading in the right direction. Click here to see a list of all participants in this hop.

In this scrapbook layout I used the Wonderland paper from CTMH. The stamped image is from the Snow Flurries stamp set. I stamped the snowy flourish with Versamark Ink then sprinkled clear detail embossing powder over the image. After setting the embossing powder with a heat tool, I sponged Twilight Ink over the area. The embossed image resists the Twilight ink and creates a negative image. After that I used a clean white piece of copy paper and covered the embossed/sponged area, and then pressed a hot iron on top to remove the shine of the set embossing powder and leave behind a white matte finish.

Thanks for looking, now hop on over to Debi's blog for more artwork featuring Ghosting.

Have a memorable day,
Sheila

Finally, The Camping Layouts

I'm a little behind in my scrapbooking, okay almost two years behind.  I had so much fun creating these four layouts of my men on their annual "boys camp" as my littlest man calls it (he's 4 in these pics).  The paper is Back Country from Close To My Heart and I'm sad to say it is no longer available.  I sure hope there's another awesome outdoorsy paper collection in the upcoming Spring Summer Idea Book, due out in February 2012.  As you'll notice in the layouts below, I haven't journaled yet, so technically I'm not done; but I wanted to share them with you.  I used a few different Cricut cartridges along with the Bank Country Stickease for embellishments.  Enjoy...

November Stamp of the Month: Cherish The Day

This month's featured stamp set is a collection of tickets celebrating each month of the year.  But as you can see from the artwork above, you don't have to use the images exclusively for tickets.  I love the tags and labels as well.  Have fun with it and think outside the box or 'ticket'.

Below is more artwork created by me and a few of my Close To My Heart Sistahs.  We used the Dreamin paper collection: 

Created by Sheila Wilkerson

Created by Sharryl Hales

Created by Eileen Windsor

Created by Melissa Robinson

I hope these inspire you to create something today.

Sheila

Santa Claus is Comin...

Have you started thinking about Christmas; presents, travel, baking for the neighbors?  I'm not even ready for Halloween, but I created these two layouts for my scrapbook playgroup in November.  We are using Believe Level 2 paper and Holdiay Pockets.  The titles were made with Noteworthy Dimensional Elements.  I added a bit of sparkle with my favorite new product, Glitz Silver glitter gel.  This stuff is so easy to apply and it looks like diamonds when it dries. I love it!

Thanks for stopping by, have a memorable day!

Sheila

Dreamin' of Fall

These colors remind me of Indian Summer and cooler nights.  In Arizona we have to be very patient for Indian Summer...Its the middle of October and the temps are still in the 90s.

These layouts were created using Dreamin Level 2 paper and Level 2 Stickease.  The inspiration came right from the back of the stickers.  Sometimes its okay to cheat, right?

I used the Art Philosophy cricut cartridge to create athe scallop (1.25") on the "Family" layout, and the chocolate colored mat (6") underneath the journaling square on the "Dreams" layout.

Have a memorable day,

Sheila

October Stamp of the Month Artwork

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring this month's stamp set, Holiday Magic. We are thrilled to showcase some fun uses for this gorgeous stamp set!


This hop is one big circle so feel free to start here and move through the entire loop. You can also find a complete listing of all 13 participants by visiting this blog.  If you have arrived here from MELISSA'S blog, you are on the right track! So... let's get started!

I made this is a 6x6 inch card using Elemental paper and the Mistle Toe stamp set.  The oval was cut using the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.  The sparkle is Broze Glitz Glitter Glue.  I love it.

Thank you for stopping by.  Now hop on over to NEELY'S blog where you will find another inspirational use of this stamp set!

Have a memorable day,

Sheila

Cricut Expression Machine On Sale

This week Hobby Lobby is offering the Cricut Expression machine for $149.99.  That's a pretty good price for a brand new machine.  And if you have a store near you, no shipping charges.  Partner your new machine with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge exclusively from Close To My Heart to create artwork like the card below.

Mischief Isn't Just for Halloween

I created this festive Fall themed layout using the Mischief paper kit and Level 2 rub-ons from Close To My Heart. I love how much character the rub-on images add to the page. Oh and those Desert Sand shapes under my pumpkin rub-ons...I cut those with the Art Philosophy cricut cartridge. How did we get by for so long without that?

Let me explain the banana...my younger kids went to a pumpkin patch for a preschool fieldtrip and collected there tiny pumpkins. Our older daughter wanted to decorate something too, so I handed her a banana. We'll see if that catches on.

Have a memorable day,
Sheila

September Stamp of the Month Hop

Where is the time going? It's September already and that means new artwork with the Limited Edition Stamp of the Month set from Close To My Heart.  This set contains 21 images and can be yours for $5 with a qualifying $50 purchase.

Several wonderful consultants have joined me in sharing their Limited Edition artwork to inspire you.  So "hop" on through and get some great ideas.  Feel free to leave comments along the way.  You should have arrived here from LORUS's blog.

I created this card base and ticket shape with my Art Philosophy cricut cartridge (Z1686). The papers are from the Typeset level 2 paper kit (X 7139B). The coorugated star is from the Milepost Shapes (Z1464).

Click here to continue to LISA's blog and see more delicious ideas for this stamp set.

Have a memorable day,
Sheila

Back to School Layout

I'm pretty excited to get my back to school photos off my SD card and onto this cute scrapbook page.  I copied the page right out of the new CTMH Idea Book (pg. 97).  I changed up the paper to Dreamin' (X7142B).  The stamp set is School Rocks (B1396).

Notice the pattern behind "days"?  I cut a border with the Art Philosophy cricut cartridge and used it as a stencil.  I sponged Desert Sand ink over the die cut, and then removed it.  I love the look.  That came from the Idea Book too.

Oh, and the word SCHOOL is made with our new CORK Color Ready Alphabets (Z1450).  They're adhesive backed and ready to add to your page.  I used a Chocolate Marker to add a little color to them.

Have a memorable day,
Sheila

Hostess Goodie Bag

My friend Jena had a home gathering, and as a thank you gift I gave her this adorable bag of goodies (if I do say so myself).  The bag and cards were made using the Blue Ribbon stamp set which coordinates with the CTMH exclusive Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  The gift bag was also cut with the cricut cartridge.  The paper is from the Lucky paper collection.

Technique Hop - Glossy Dimension

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop! This month there are 13 of us highlighting the GLOSSY DIMENSION technique as shown on page 23 in the Close To My Heart Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book. 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. If you would like to start from the beginning, please visit this link. While there you will also find a listing of all participants and their blog addresses if you should get lost or want to reference a blog along the way. Let’s get started!

If you are coming from NEELY'S blog, you are on the right track!

Continue reading for instructions on how I made the P-u-m-p-k-i-n letters glossy.  Thanks for stopping by! Please continue to BECCA'S blog where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my variation and happy hopping!

Tutorial:
I created this Pumpkin Fun layout using Mischief  level 2 paper kit (X7144B) and the On with the Show template in the Magic how-to book from Close To My Heart.  I adhered my Dimensional Elements chipboard letters to my layout first so I wouldn't have to handle them after making them glossy. This was a little risky because I could have made a mess with my product, so you may want to apply your chipboard after applying the "glossy." 

You will need Liquid Glass (Item Z679) and reinker of your choice, I used black.  I like to cover a bowl with tinfoil for the mixing of the Liquid Glass and reinker.  A toothpick or Embossing stylus works well for mixing and applying the gloss.
 

I cover a bowl with tinfoil for easy clean up once the project is done



Add Liquid Glass and a few drops of reinker until you have the desired color.



Mix with a toothpick or Embossing Tool



Apply the Liquid Glass/Ink mixture to the Dimensional Elements chipboard.  Allow to dry for several hours.
Clean up is a snap.  Toss the tinfoil and rinse off your Embossing Tool.



 Have a memorable day,

Sheila