Christmas Blessings Special

My daughter tells me that “You can never get enough Christmas!” If it were her choice, we would have Christmas all year long and every gift would be a puppy.  If you are one who is already prepping for Christmas (or thinking that you really should) you will be as excited as I am about this amazing Christmas Blessings Bundle.

For a limited time, we are offering this discounted workshop bundle with an exclusive stamp set that gives you materials to create TWELVE cards, four each of three designs, using the rich, festive colors of Eggplant, Peacock, Sage, and Sugarplum. Silver glitter paper and gems and ♥silver embellishing thread♥ provide the perfect shimmery additions to these cards.

I recommend that you take take advantage of the Christmas Blessing workshop kit at 25% off the retail price! There is an easy-to-follow guide on my website that is available free for you to download so that you can create these all of these spectacular cards.

As an avid Nativity collector, I am ♥LOVING♥ this Christmas Blessings stamp set which you can purchase separately to create some of your own personalized Christmas projects. Wouldn’t these make some amazing scrapbook page titles?!

Many of you may have noticed that one of the cards does require the use of our Season of Joy Cricut™ Collection. Those of you who are Cricut™ users, will adore this new collection full of three-dimensional projects, beautifully designed cards, and delightful titles and icons.

If you are not a Cricut™ user ….well you need to just call me and we need to talk (just kidding)… you can easy exchange that one cut for another stamped image or use one of our new Holiday Thin Cuts in it’s place.

I can’t wait until my order arrives and I can get a head start on some of my Christmas projects.  This Christmas Blessings Bundle and Stamp Set are only available October 15–December 31 while supplies last on my website. ‘Tis the season for things to sell quickly and I would hate for you to miss out on this amazing special. I can’t wait to see what you create!

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Masculine Color Dare Card

Have you ever had one of those days where no matter how much you try to get something to work, it refuses to cooperate and becomes the bane of your existence?! Well, that is exactly how I felt when I was trying to create a card for this week’s Color My Heart Dare Challenge.

This week’s theme is a Twisted Tic-Tac-Toe and normally, I would have tossed out the card, cried a little, maybe curled in a ball in the corner, ate a little chocolate, then returned to the drawing board. In all honesty though, I really wanted you to see that sometimes the cards I create don’t exactly turn out how I envisioned them.

After much angst over this design, I am still in a debate with myself over which is the better card. I do like the look of the Nutmeg Argyle pattern on the Pacifica background, and the overall structure of the card isn’t horrible, but I am still torn as to which card has a better overall look.

 

I would love to hear what you think.  We have until September 20th to enter our creations into this week’s challenge and HOPEFULLY by then I will have decided which one I prefer.  I would love to see your creations entered into this week’s challenge and can’t wait to see what you create!

Dreams Stamp Set	12″ x 12″ Pacifica Cardstock	12″ x 12″ Nutmeg Cardstock	12″ x 12″ Flaxen Cardstock	12″ x 12″ Crystal Blue Cardstock
Decorative Borders Thin Cuts	White Burlap Ribbon	12″ x 12″ White Daisy Cardstock	Fern Stitched Ribbon	Gold Glitter Gems
Basic Circle Thin Cuts	Nutmeg Exclusive Inks	My Acrylix Block Starter Set	Pacifica Exclusive Inks	Stitched Circle Thin Cuts
Thin 3D Foam Dots	Tombow Adhesive	Paper Trimmer	Micro-Tip Scissors	3D Foam Tape

 

 

 

Holiday Expressions Blog Hop

Welcome to the Holiday Expressions Blog Hop where we will be featuring products from our New Holiday Expressions catalog which chock-full of spectacular papers, exclusive stamp sets, workshop kits, new tools, and organizers.  If you have come here from Kimberly Bower’s blog, you are on the right path! When you are finished reading my post, you can click on the link at the end to move to the next blog.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.

I really hope that you have taken some time to peruse the new Holiday Expressions. If you haven’t, then something must be wrong with you because you are missing out on all the amazing new products that Close to My Heart has created this season. 😉 Two of my favorites are the New Boutique products and the Fancy Tags Thin Cuts which I used to create this Insta-Album.

 

This album was designed to display an array of photos taken from an Insta-camera (those little tiny Polaroids). By using the Fancy Tag Thin Cuts on a variety of papers from the Boutique collection, I was able to create a fun little album for recording those memorable moments.

 

This little Insta-album could be created from any paper pack. Wouldn’t it be adorable using our new OH! What Fun products? A perfect way to record some winter memories.

 

You can continue through the blog hop and see more ideas from a few other Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using products from our New Holiday Expressions catalog.

Now ‘Hop” on over to Katy Taylor’s blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting tips and other fun ideas. Remember, you receive a FREE Holiday Expressions catalog with your first September order. Contact your CTMH Consultant, or visit the WHAT’S NEW section of my website to see all of the products available in this delightful catalog.  I can’t wait to see what you create!

Color Dare Create Card

Hello, my friends! As you know, I truly enjoy the weekly challenges from the Color My Heart Dare blog and this week we were challenged to a Tic-Tac-Toe where we were to choose three colors in a row/diagonal from this color palette.

 

 

 

I chose to use Peacock, Eggplant, and Saffron for my card since this choice of colors felt like it would go together really well and had a nice warm autumn feel. At first, designing the card was quite the challenge.  I knew my color palette and I knew that I wanted to use the Dreams stamp set, but I was baffled at how to put it all together.  I am not sure if I was suffering from lack of sleep or too little coffee, which is why I am so grateful that Close to My Heart has created some amazing idea books that we can look through and be inspired by.

 

 

 

I so surprised how cute this card turned out!  I love all the textures from the Decorative Borders Thin Cuts and how that white argyle stamp just pops on the Eggplant cardstock. I even added a little Gold Shimmer behind the sentiment just for a little ✨bling✨.

I would love for you to join in this week’s Color My Heart dare challenge.  You don’t even have to have a blog to join, just simply upload your photo onto their Facebook page and they will add you to the challenge.  They are fun to join and really help push your creative brain to new challenges. I can’t wait to see what you create!

Dreams Stamp Set	12″ x 12″ Eggplant Cardstock	12″ x 12″ Peacock Cardstock	12″ x 12″ Saffron Cardstock	12″ x 12″ White Daisy Cardstock
Decorative Borders Thin Cuts	White & Gold Skinny Ribbon	Watercolor Pencils	Gold Glitter Gems	Small Round Watercolor Brush
Basic Circle Thin Cuts	Saffron Exclusive Inks	Gold Shimmer Brush	Eggplant Exclusive Inks	Stitched Circle Thin Cuts
Thin 3D Foam Dots	Tombow Adhesive	Paper Trimmer	Micro-Tip Scissors	3D Foam Tape

 

Fall Moments

It is finally starting to look like Fall around here! I just returned from my annual Fall Crafting Retreat that I host each year, and noticed and many of the leaves are starting to turn, the weather is cooling, and I am ready for some pumpkin bread.  To get you in the “mood” for fall,  I showing you one of pages I created for this year’s Extravaganza using a few of our amazing new products from the Holiday Expressions.

The first thing you might notice is that gorgeous paper pattern.  Did you know that the Saffron paper comes from our Boutique collection?

 

Isn’t it just beautiful? I also chose to use Boutique Complements to add a few additional details to the layout. I just love that saying “Live for moments you can’t put into words”. This truly describes how we were feeling as we peered at the spectacular fall shades of trees and bushes against the cool waters of the Rocky Mountains.

 

As you can see I used those little “Washi” sticker strips and the Boutique Cardmaking Stamp Set to add a few more details onto the layout.

 

Don’t you just love those little sticker strips? I have used them for quite a few accents on my cards and layouts, along with our new Thin Cuts. We have TWO new sets for you this season that you will ♥LOVE♥.

 

I am adoring all the new TAGS we have available for you in the Fancy Tags Thin Cuts Bundle. On my layout, I chose to cut one in half and use it as an accent. The stitching on the Circle matched perfectly with the stitching that I created with the Decorative Borders Thin Cuts Bundle on other parts of the layout.

You can view all of these new products along with many others on my website. When you place an order during the month of September, you will receive a FREE Holiday Expressions with your order. It’s defiantly something you want to get your hands on – just keep some tissue near by to catch all the drool. 😉 I can’t wait to see what you create with all these amazing new products!

Documented Color Dare Card

This week’s Color My Heart Dare challenge requires us to use Blossom, Bashful, and Eggplant, so I chose to use up some more of my Documented papers to create this Double Triangle Fold card. These cards are super cute and simple to make.  I would love to see you try to make one using the instructions below and post it to the Color My Heart Dare challenge this week. 

Paper Needed: 8½” x 11″ Bashful Cardstock, 5½” x 4¼” Eggplant B&T (Documented)

Assembly Instructions:
1. Place the 8½” x 11″ Bashful Cardstock onto a score board or paper cutter in the “landscape” (horizontal) position and score at 5½”.
2. Place the 8½” x 11″ Bashful Cardstock onto a score board or paper cutter in the “portrait” (vertical) position, and score at 4¼”.
3. Position the Bashful cardstock in the paper trimmer diagonally, lining up the upper right corner and the lower left corner to the cutting “groove” and cut. This will give you TWO card bases.
4. Fold the right side over then fold the top down. Use a Bone Folder to burnish each fold.
5. Cut  5½” x 4¼” Eggplant B&T paper diagonally, upper right corner to lower left corner.  Adhere to the lower right corner of each card base.

From here, you can decorate the cards anyway you wish. I chose to use Blossom Ink, and the Documented Cardmaking stamp set to randomly stamp the card base, then after masking off the upper right triangle, I splattered “Shimmer” onto the card base using the Bashful Shimmer Brush. (THIS IS CURRENTLY ONLY $2.00!).  To finish the card base, I added a decorative border using the Scallop Border Thin Cut and Eggplant cardstock.

To create my sentiment I used the large Basic Circle Thin Cut to cut out a circle from the Floral PML card, added a few loops of White Ribbon behind it, and attached it using Thin 3D Foam Tape. (Only add adhesive to the top right side so the card still opens.) I cut another circle out of White Daisy cardstock using a large Stitch Circle Thin Cut, added a few swishes of Bashful Shimmer, and stamped the Documented Cardmaking sentiment in Black Memento Ink.  Attach with 3D Foam tape, add a few Documented Dots and it’s all done.

You can even choose to decorate the inside of the card, like I did, using additional Documented papers, White Daisy cardstock, and images stamped in Eggplant Ink. Add a little shimmer, write a note, and send it off. How simple is that?

Don’t forget, the Documented papers and Bashful products are available while supplies last through August 31st. Make sure to visit my website and snag them before they are gone for good.  I can’t wait to see what you create!

 

Small Stuff Spinning Card

Our August For the Love of Crafting stamp of the month is a must have for all crafters.  I personally enjoy all the crafty sayings especially “Enjoy the small Stuff”.  It’s the “small stuff” that makes us realize how blessed we are each day. Like when you come up with a cool card idea and it actually turns out the way you envisioned it or when you end up with an extra peanut in your M&M.  It’s those little things that you make you feel all happy inside.

This card was actually rather simple to create using the “Camera” image from the stamp set, our Thin Cuts, and some of our Documented products. I honestly wasn’t expecting the combination of Bashful and Peacock to go so well together, and am gratefully surprised by the outcome.

I will be creating more projects throughout the month using the For the Love of Crafting stamp set, so make sure to visit my blog, Instagram, and Facebook for more inspiration.  (I might even throw in a live class or two showing you how to make a few of them.)

 

Don’t forget, our For the Love of Crafting stamp set as well as the Documented products and Bashful Glitter Paper I used on this project are only available through August 31st.   In fact, almost all of our products Seasonal Expressions 2 and Annual Idea Book will be gone at the end of the month.  Make sure you grab them before they are gone. I can’t wait to see what you create!

 

 

Live Tutorials Coming Soon

I enjoy writing each weekly Tuesday Tutorial as much as you enjoy reading them, but sometimes it would be so much easier to show them to you. So, I have decided to start a Facebook Group called “Create with Miss. Carrie’s Creations” where you can view a few of my tutorials “Live” and enroll in some of my online workshops. Don’t panic! I will still be writing a few tutorials on my blog here and there, but I would love the chance to show you HOW I make some of my paper crafting projects.  Are you ready to find out what the first tutorial will be? 

My first “Live” class will show you how to create the amazing Inked Background on this Big Thank You card. Many of you have commented on my inked backgrounds and have asked me “HOW ” I make them. Well, here is your chance to learn!

Date: August 23rd
Time: 10:00am (MST)

You can come in your comfy clothes and learn how to create this card in my online class that will take place on my private Facebook group. To join the class, simply use this link to sign-up and I will send you an invite to the private class group, email you a supply list and a $5.00 invoice for the cost of the class. How easy is that?

What if you are working, or on vacation, or the kids start the house on fire during the class? You can still sign-up! Once you have paid for your class, you will be invited to the private group and will be able to view the live class for up to 30 days after the day of the event.  So grab a cup of coffee (or tea if you must), relax in your comfy clothes, and enjoy some crafting time with Miss. Carrie’s Creations.  I can’t wait to see what you create!

 

Here’s To You Blog Hop

Welcome to the Here’s To You Blog Hop where we will be featuring various products from the Here’s to You collection.  The products in this collection are designed to help you celebrate the everyday moments in your life.  If you have come here from Alyson Mayo’s blog, you are on the right path! When you are finished reading my post, you can click on the link at the end to move to the next blog. This blog hop is designed to allow you to start here and work your way around. It’s simple, fun, and full of ideas using the the Here’s To You products. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.

As a member of the “live in the middle of nowhere” club, I often do not get my packages in a timely fashion. Even though I had ordered my “Here’s To You” Workshop kit weeks ago for this blog hop, it has still not arrived. Since I choose to “celebrate joy in all things”, I decided to create a layout using components I had on hand that come in the workshop kit to create this layout.

The Here’s to You Workshop kit comes with four Stamp sets, a variety of Cardstock, Silver Glitter paper, White Pearls, and the Rose Embossing Folder.  As I searched for ideas for this blog hop, I read one of the quotes hanging in my craft room – “Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.” So that is what I did.  I didn’t have the stamps, but I used what I had to create this layout. It is perfect for celebrating any joyous occasion in your life.

Here are a few techniques I used on this layout:

• The top and bottom border were created by dry embossing Linen cardstock with the Rose Embossing Folder.
• The Bashful Cardstock was also embossed with the Rose Embossing Folder, then I used a Sponge to apply White Daisy Ink, and splattered shimmer using a Clear Shimmer Brush.
• The border at the top of the Bashful Cardstock was created using the Scallop Border Thin Cuts. I made sure to partially cut the border so that only the scallop portion was cut from the cardstock.
• Light Grey Ribbon was attached and a decorative knot created below the Scallop Border.
• The Joy title was created using the Banner Thin Cuts along with text from the Cricut® You Are Here collection.
• The flowers were created using various cuts from the Cricut® Flower Market collection, shimmer was added, and White Pearls set in the centers.
• The stitching was created using Stitch Guide, Piercing & Embossing Tool Kit, and Grey thread.

Once my Here’s to You kit arrives, I plan on replacing the 3″x 4″ photo with the “I wish you all the joy” stamped image from the kit. Many of the products I used on this layout will be retiring at the end of August, so make sure you snag them along with the Here’s to You workshop kit before they are gone.

You can continue through the blog hop and see more ideas from fifteen other Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the Here’s to You collection and other great Close to My Heart products on their blogs.

Now ‘Hop” on over to Michele Rowley’s blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting tips and other fun ideas. Remember, the Here’s to You Workshop Kit and stamp sets are only available until August 31st! Contact your CTMH Consultant, or visit the Promotions tab of my website to see all of the products available in this kit.  I can’t wait to see what you create!

Thankful Color Dare Card

In the midst of all that is going on, I am truly Thankful that God has blessed me with a home business that allows me to step back, focus on family, and make sure my priorities are in check. This week, in the midst of the madness, I wanted to create a card that expressed how Thankful I feel, so for this week’s Color My Heart Dare challenge I chose to use our exclusive Solo stamps to make this beautiful card using Bashful, Mink, and Pacifica.

I would love for you to take the time to recreate this card and let someone know how Thankful you are for them. It’s very easy to recreate using our exclusive Solo stamps, Central Park Paper Pack, and the assembly instructions below.

Paper Needed: 5½” x 4¼” White Card Base, 5 ³⁄8″ x 4¹⁄8″ Bashful Glitter Paper, 5¼” x 4″ Bashful Dotted B&T (Central Park), 2″ x 4″ Pacifica Dashed B&T (Central Park), 4″ Mink Zip-Strip (Central Park), 3″ x 1½” White Daisy Cardstock, ¾” x 2″ Bashful Glitter Paper, ½” x 2″ White Daisy Cardstock

Assembly Instructions:
1. Using the Basic Hearts Thin Cuts, cut out the two heart images from the 5¼” x 4″ Bashful Dotted B&T.
2. Adhere the 5¼” x 4″ Bashful Dotted B&T onto the 5 ³⁄8″ x 4¹⁄8″ Bashful Glitter Paper.
3. Using a Stitch Guide and Piercing & Embossing Tool, create a set of holes around the paper that you can stitch Grey thread through. Add the stitching around the card, then adhere to the White Card Base.
4. Using the Stitched Heart Thin Cuts, cut out the two heart images from the 2″ x 4″ Pacifica Dashed B&T. Adhere the Pacifica Hearts into the centers of the Bashful Heart cut-outs.
5. Adhere the 4″ Mink Zip-Strip across the base of the card.
6. Using Pacifica Ink, stamp the Solos “T” onto the 3″ x 1½” White Daisy Cardstock. (Don’t forget! This stamp set is only available until July 31st.)
7. Using VersaMark Ink, stamp the “Flower Thanks” image onto the “T”, sprinkle with White Embossing Powder, and Heat-Set with a Craft Heater. Cut out the “T” image and adhere to the card using 3D Foam Tape.
8. Using Pacifica Pigment Ink, stamp the “thankful” sentiment onto the  ½” x 2″ White Daisy Cardstock. Sprinkle the image with Clear Embossing Powder and Heat-Set with a Craft Heater.
9. Cut a Chevron to the right of the “thankful” sentiment and cut a Chevron onto the shorter end of the ¾” x 2″ Bashful Glitter Paper. Layer the two and adhere to the card using Thin 3D Foam Tape.
10. Add three Documented Dots, and stamp a sentiment inside the card.

Don’t forget that the Solo Stamps I used on this card are only available through July 31st. All of our stamp sets including the Solo Stamp are Buy Two Get One FREE during our July Stampaganza, so make sure you stock up on your favorites.

I am truly Thankful  to have each of you who continue to support my business. You, who patiently follow, even though my posts have been sporadic.  You, who, in the midst of your own madness, continue to pray for my family.  I am truly blessed and Thankful.

I can’t wait to see what you create!