Artbooking Made Easy: Festive Mini Albums (S01E09)

With the Cricut® Artbooking cartridge from Close To My Heart, your photos will find a cozy home on the pages of a dazzling holiday mini album. Watch the video to gather your own ideas on how to use its themed keys to create merry and bright holiday projects that last.

Artbooking Made Easy (S01E05): Halloween Mini Albums

Close To My Heart will bring your projects back to life with the Cricut® Artbooking cartridge. Watch this video to learn how to use it while making your own fun Halloween mini albums.

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: December - Year-Round Cheer

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This time we're featuring the December set Year-Round Cheer, a set of 12 stamps.

 

 

If you have come here from Karen Fullam’s blog, you’re in the right place! There are more than 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their artwork made using the Stamp of the Month and other great CTMH products. Hopping is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one. The Blog Hop is a great big circle. Start here and work your way around. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here.

Here we go!

 

I was really happy that my assigned paper pack for this swap was La Belle Vie. Why? Because I thought the purples and the black would make a great Halloween card. I knew immediately that I wanted to use the cat.

 

 

I cut the stamp set apart to make it easier to treat the image and the sentiment differently. The cat is heat embossed and the “trick-or-treat” is stamped in Slate ink. I also used Slate to sponge the edges of the Whisper card base and squares. All the other pieces are edge distressed with scissors.

Supply list:

S1212 Year Round Cheer stamp set

X7158B La Belle Vie Level 2 Paper Packet

X5929 Whisper cardstock

Z2173 Slate Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2503 Exclusive Inks Mini Pigment Pad Set (Black)

Z821 Clear Detail Embossing Powder

Z1781 Black Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

Z1799 Silver Shimmer Trim

Z1741 Haunted Assortment

I made this card a month ago, and as I sit here looking at it again, I realize how much I love the design. I’m inspired to make a whole set of cards with this stamp set!

 

Here are the rest of the cards from the swap. The Price of Paper Group:

 

 

The Monumental Moments Group:

 

 

 

Now "Hop" on over to Jean McNulty’s blog to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant's blog to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don't forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available thru December 31st. Contact me to get yours today!

 

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - November: Capture the Date

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This time around we're featuring the November set Capture the Date, a set of 72 stamps. If you have come here from Karen Fullam’s blog, you’re in the right place. The Blog Hop is a great big circle. Just start here and work your way around. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here.

There are over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their artwork using the November Stamp of the Month and other great CTMH products on their blogs. Hopping is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one. Here we go!

 

I love our great variety of embellishments. I definitely feel like I have to have one of everything, even if I don’t have a specific use in mind right away or at all. That being said, my goal for this swap was to use the Binder Clips after I was inspired by one of the cards shown in the artwork samples for the stamp set at the back of the Idea Book.

 

Stamp sets that include numbers and other calendar-type images can be challenging to use on a card. After playing around with a few ideas on what kind of card I wanted to make, I decided on Thanksgiving cards. I also wanted to find a way to use another stamp, so I used one of the number 2 stamps to create a pattern on the Sorbet strip (just above the blue arrow). You can't see much of it, but if you look closely, you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

Supply list:

S1211 Capture the Date stamp set

X7156B Clementine Level 2 Paper Packet

1388 Colonial White cardstock

D1444 A Little Thanks stamp set

Z2171 Saddle Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2175 Cashmere Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2164 Sorbet Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2167 Crème Brulee Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z1336 Mocha Opaques Adhesive Gems

Z1711 Foundry Metal Accessories Binder Clips

Z1686 Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge

 

The other ladies in my group came up with some great ideas, too! I’m sure the recipients will enjoy getting one of these in the mail!

 

 

Now "Hop" on over to Jean McNulty’s blog to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant's blog to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don't forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available thru November 30th! Contact me to get yours today!*

 

*This month there is an even better reason to purchase the Stamp of the Month. To show our support of Red Cross relief efforts for those areas of the US severely affected by Hurricane Sandy, Close To My Heart will donate $1 for every Stamp of the Month set sold as a part of this promotion during November.
 

In November, you’ll get something extra when you buy the Stamp of the Month—50% off another stamp set! When you qualify for and buy the November Stamp of the Month set, Capture the Date, you’ll receive another stamp set* of your choice for 50% off—it’s like two promotions in one! The versatile Capture the Date stamp set is great for any layout, card, invitation, or calendar, and now you can choose another stamp set at half-off for more wonderful papercrafting. Get Capture the Date and then capture the savings today!
 

*Offer valid for A-E and M size stamp sets only; K-size, Workshops on the Go®, Cricut® collection, and Stamp of the Month stamp sets are not eligible for this promotion. Maximum of one 50% off stamp set per order.

Dates: Offer valid November 1–30, 2012

Black Friday Sale!

Have you been good this year and gotten your name on the Nice list?

If so, have Santa* email me an order anytime Friday, November 25^th through midnight Sunday, November 27^th for the

Cricut® Art Philosophy Collection

(or any order totaling $99 or more**)

Santa* will receive a 10% discount off his order

plus free gift wrapping and delivery from my house to under your tree!

This offer is only available through Vicki Price, Close to My Heart Independent Consultant. Valid Friday, November 25^th through midnight Sunday, November 27^th. All orders must be paid in full no later than November 28^th. Cash, check, and credit cards accepted. Not valid with online orders. *Santa can be a significant other, friend, relative, or even yourself. **$99 total before shipping and taxes.

Email me at priceofpaper@gmail.com to order!

Holiday Wishes

I'm so excited to get this deal for myself! This is one of the prettiest Christmas trees I've ever seen. Here are the details:

When you place a minimum order of $25 in My Acrylix® Stamp Sets* between November 1–30, you can add a new D-size Holiday Wishes stamp set for only $5! That’s a significant savings of $12.95. You may buy one Holiday Wishes stamp set for every $25 in qualifying stamp sets you purchase. As a creative bonus, many of the images in the set coordinate with our Cricut® Art Philosophy cartridge for added cutting and stamping fun!

Happy Halloween!

I'm so excited! My favorite holiday is here! I made this banner last year, but I love it so much that I had to post it again. It's truly one of the best things I've ever made. Those little Hooligans monsters were so adorable, and this project wouldn't have been the same without them.

I'm looking forward to dressing up later to pass out candy to the neighborhood kids. It's something I do every year. Generally I wear my renaissance costume, but I thought I'd do something different today. I spent a small amount of money to get a fun wig, a witch's hat, and some false eyelashes. I'm going to pull some things from my closet and be my own kind of witch. Who cares if I look like a traditional witch as long as I get to be someone else for a few hours?

I will share pictures from today's festivities later in the week. Happy Halloween!

Holiday Magic - October Stamp of the Month Swap

Here is my card for the October Stamp of the Month swap. I didn't want to have to cut out all the stockings by hand, so I cut them out using the Close to My Heart Art Philosophy cartridge, but slightly smaller than what the stamp image size is. The image still covers all of the shape, but I didn't have to worry as much about it lining up.

These are the cards made by our entire swap group. The designers are from top left (with the paper packet they used in parentheses): LeAnne Dudley (Typeset), Jodi Frank (Dreamin'), Randa Wacaster (Elemental), Julie Nilsson (Roxie), Angie Petersen (Wonderland), Vicki Price (Believe), Bertha MacMillan (Sonoma), Cathlene Burk (Mischief), and Krista Staton (Roxie). (I have to note here that Bertha actually put ink on her lips and kissed the rim of that adorable coffee cup!)

Which Came First?

What inspires you when creating a new layout? Do you take a must-scrap photo of your kids and choose paper to go with it? Do you find paper that you fall madly in love with and then find photos to go with it? Maybe you see a layout in a design book or magazine that you really like and want to recreate it? I think I've used all of these as inspiration. I've also "staged" photos to go along with a paper pack!


I think I'm going to be guilty of the latter again soon. You see, Halloween is my favorite holiday. I find it so much less stressful than other holidays, and I certainly think it's more fun. I'm one of those silly grown-ups who loves to dress up, and I do - every year. But what I love most is helping my son find just the right costume. Now normally I leave it completely up to him, and I'm always happy to invest in his costume because I know he'll wear it again and again until it either falls apart or no longer fits. This year, though, is an exception. The moment I saw Close to My Heart's new Mischief papers, I knew I wanted him to dress as a pirate. Sure, if you look at the layouts in the Idea Book you'll see vampires and seemingly scarier things than pirates, but I saw my son the pirate on those pages. So, when it came time to start deciding on a costume, I had to break out my best mom-negotiating skills. The first thing he said he wanted to be was a gangster because the catalog we were looking at had a costume with a toy machine gun, and he wanted that gun. (Boys!) Not so fast! "I think you should be a pirate," I told him. He wasn't convinced, but this is where my negotiating skills kicked in. "How about I'll only buy you that machine gun if you dress as a pirate." (Okay, maybe this wasn't actually negotiating. Perhaps it was more like blackmail or extortion, but we moms have to do what we have to do, right?) And you guessed it, he's going to be a pirate.


Halloween is pretty much the only thing that has me excited about it being fall. I can't wait to snap those pictures on All Hallow's Eve and then get them on my layout. (That should probably say "layouts" because I love the Mischief paper so much that I'll have to do at least two.) I'm definitely going to use the Mischief Workshop on the Go (below) for one of them. Happy Haunting!

Studio J Layout - New Year 2011

I am going to be completely honest. I was one of those people who had no interest in digital scrapbooking - I love the feel and the smell of paper. So, believe it or not, this is my first Studio J layout! I started it a while back and just hadn't gotten around to finishing it. Now that I have I am wondering why I waited so long to use this wonderful program! The options available are endless. I definitely see the benefits of using Studio J and will be using it more often in the future. Don't wait! Give it a try today!

August Stamp of the Month (Wicked) Swap Card

Every month our local unit does a card swap with the Stamp of the Month. This one is mine. I used the Dreamin' papers, added a touch of Smokey Plum, and cut my sentiment pieces with the new Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.

These are all the cards from the August swap. The talented artists are: Julie Nilsson (top), LeAnne Dudley, Angie Petersen, and Vicki Price (middle row), and Randa Wacaster, Jodi Frank, and Cathlene Burk (bottom row).

St. Patrick's Day 2011

Those mischievous leprechauns were at it again this year, so I captured some of their fun in this layout from Magic.

Valentine's Day 2011

Close to My Heart's Sweetheart paper was perfect for creating this fun and simple Valentine's Day layout.

Valentine Workshop 2011

Using five different card patterns from either our Workshops on the Go or one of our card design books, I created 8 Valentines using both the Sweetheart and Wings papers. I also used several different stamp sets, including A Game.

Christmas Card Workshop 2010

Since we now have circle cards, I thought it would be fun to use them to make Christmas cards this year. I also used the Mistletoe papers, the Mistletoe Level 2 accessories, and some Glitz Glitter Gel along with the A Timber and St. Nick stamp sets.

First Christmases

Here's another layout from a sketch challenge. This one was more difficult for me. The requirements were using paper you'd been hoarding for at least six months, use two photos from different events or times, and no cardstock except for the journaling. After I found the photos it came together pretty easily.

Christmas Cards

I needed a project for my open house last fall. I had never used this gorgeous this stamp set and thought it would go beautifully with this new paper, so I designed these fast and simple cards.

Cinco de Mayo Favors

I taught a workshop on Cinco de Mayo last year, so I thought it would be fun to have party-like favors. I love using discontinued papers to create gift bags.