Magical Birthday!

A friend and instructor of spin classes at our YMCA had a special birthday this summer and I was commissioned to create a card for her that many people could sign.  I took my inspiration from the accordion Father's Day card shown in the video below. 

Of course I had to start with a bike stamp, Enjoy the Ride, the celebration wishes begin.

From there, I used the Magical Paper packet and other bike stamps to continue the special wishes. 

Oh and don't forget the stamp set Jennifer's Hand to add personal sentiment. 

I love how it turned out and I hope it carried with it wishes for more fabulous birthday's to come. 

And now here is the video that will help you to put together an accordion card for someone special.



Enjoy the ride,
Michele

February Stamp of the Month: Balloon Animal

Welcome to the stamp of the month blog hop.  Can you believe it is already February and we have a fun new stamp set to play with? 

You are going to love all the creative ideas you will see with these sweet stamps, Balloon Animals.  When I saw them, I knew they would be so much fun to play with.

If you have arrived here from Jacquelin's Blog, you are on the right track.  When you are finished here, you will hop right along to Jean's blog.  Now this is a great big circle so just keep on moving through and you will have at least 40 great ideas on what you can create with this stamp set. 

I thought these stamps went great with the Penelope paper packet featured in the Spring Expressions mini catalog that went live in January.  And they fit great with the cards that are created in the Workshops Your Way kit using the Little Critters stamp set.  So, I used the same card patterns, did a little rotating on some of the designs and created another set of cards with this set.  Here they are!

Now remember, hop on over to Jean's Blog and see what she has created with these Balloon Animals.  Remember, this set is only available through the month of February.  You can purchase this set from your Close to My Heart Consultant or, if you do not have a consultant, you can visit my website to purchase yours.  And when you have a $50 order, you get this set for just $5. 

Enjoy your creative time!
Michele

Birthday Layout with Confetti Wishes

Here's another FREE Friendzy project.  Did you see the card I posted earlier this week?  Here it is..

I am also offering this simple yet celebratory layout for your FREE Friendzy.  I used confetti wishes and the stamp set from the Artiste Cricut Cartridge as well as the Doodle Designs for the little details. 

Thanks for stopping by,
Michele

Confetti Wishes Scrapbook Kit

Here's my second kit, Confetti Wishes.  If you are like me, you have several birthdays to celebrate each year.  Get those memories in an album before the next birthday arrives with these pre-cut, pre-stamped kits.

This kit contains pre-cut pieces, pre-stamped papers, and complements to create six 12 x 12 layouts for $20.  Additional embellishments are available to add to your kit.

Here is one of the layouts that is included.  

Kit Options

Confetti Wishes Scrapbook Kit $20.00 USD Confetti Wishes Assortment $5.85 USD Purple Glitter Gem $4.65 USD Shipping if not local $5.95 USD

Additional embellishments include:

 

Confetti Wishes Assortment $5.85

 

Purple Glitter Gems $4.65

Please order your kit by March 1st 2015

Birthday wishes to you!

Michele

When stamps meet ink!

It feels so good to get creative!  I never know exactly what the result will be.  Sometimes I have an idea of what I am looking for and am not satisfied until I get it.  Other times, I am willing to just let the creativity flow.

I had some stamps that had yet to meet inks so I started with a couple of them.  I kept it simple both because I wanted a workshop card for first time stampers and I wanted to see if I could keep it simple...

Here is one result of my creative time this past weekend...and I am very satisfied.

Do you have stamps that need to meet some ink?  Give it a try today!
Michele

Supplies I used: 

• B1462 Lovely Birthday Stamp Set
• C1564 Stitch Wonder Stamp Set
• D1607 Bodacious Banners Stamp Set (Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge compatible)
• Z2173 Slate Ink
• Z2640 Thistle Ink
• Z2197 Pear Ink
• Z2004 Lagoon Heart Washi tape

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, that was a couple of weeks ago now.  I had a great week of birthday celebrations.  It started the night before at team time with fellow Close to My Heart consultants…who are also great friends. 
The next day, I flew to Las Vegas with my hubby, in search of summer.  We found it!  It was really nice to just soak up the sun by the pool for two days at Mandalay bay.  This was my view from where I lay, reading my booking and dipping into the pool when it got too hot!

After coming home from Vegas, the next day I met up with my friend Trish and we headed to our cabin for a mommy vacation.  We had a great time crafting together, catching up on our lives, and shopping in Leavenworth.  So much fun, so relaxing. 
The great thing about having so many talented friends in the paper craft arena is that you get the cutest birthday cards ever!  Here are the hand made cards I received!  I wanted to share so you can see the creative work of these friends.

From Trish M.

From Mary T.

From Diana G.

From Jessica B.

From Lalia H.
Thank you everyone for the extra special birthday greetings. 

Hers & Mine: A little secret

Many people comment on the ideas that I share in workshops and on my blog.  Where do they come from?  Well, I am going to share my secret with you. 

Close to My Heart is a generous community of fabulously creative people…including the founder of the company, Jeanette, herself.  As a consultant, I have access to an artwork bulletin board where people share their creations.  Close to My Heart also has these great “how to” books and the semi annual idea books, chalked full of wonderful artwork.  And, then there are blogs…and lots of them.  So many consultants share what they have created, their techniques, inspiration, and awesome artwork using the products we love.  I review many different blogs and of course have my favorite.  The secret is….I copy them.  Yes I said it, the secret is, I copy them! 

Jeanette, our company founder, has a blog and each week, she shares a creative technique.  This past week she shared the technique of tone on tone color.  You can see her blog here.  I loved her demo card knew it would make the perfect card for a special friend’s birthday, so I copied her! 

Now about copying.  Some call it scraplifting or stamplifting, others call it their “source of inspiration” but to take it down to the elementary level, lets just say…as a kid might….I am a copycat.  And I am proud of it!
A few important things you need to know about this secret.  First of all, when you do copy, it is a common courtesy to give credit to the person you copied from.  It is even better if you can link back to the source.  And, keep your copying to items for personal use.  Take your appreciation even further and leave a comment or email a note, letting the creator know you love their artwork! 

Now, drumroll please….
Hers
&
Mine