Whooo's Your Valentine Kit Video

The Whooo’s Your Valentine kit is the key to creating your own goody-filled valentines with sneak-peek products such as the My Creations™ treat tubes and glitter paper. Watch the video to learn how to create your own valentines that everyone is sure to love!  The Cricut Artiste cartrdige is highly recommended for this kit.  The stamp set coordinates with it perfectly  Also, a slate/grey stamp pad, ribbon and liquid glass.

 

**HOT TIP:  The heart images on this stamp set REQUIRE using the "Real Dial Size" setting on your Cricut to cut the correct size :-)

 

Current remaining inventory of this kit is below 50%!  Please email me at amw1020@hotmail.com for a link to my my online sales event.  January is also the last month of the current catalog so many items won't beavailable after January 31st. Get your orders in now!

 

 

 

CTMH AMAZING $10 December Campaign! So cute!

Starting December 13th, CTMH is offering the "Whooo's Your Valentine" kit (a $40 retail value) for just $10 with any $35 or more purchase from the current catalog.  Below are all the details of what's included.  The D-size stamp set alone has a retail value of $17.95!  Included are (2) NEW items from the upcoming Spring/Summer catalog- Treat Tubes and Silver Glitter Paper.  These cute treat tubes will great gifts for teachers, kids, friends, or anyone whose day you want to brighten!  Please be sure to contact me directly to place your order.  These will go fast. 

***As my gift to you, with any order of $100 or more during the months of December and January, I am including a copy of the NEW Spring/Summer 2013 Catalog! ($4.95 value)

CTMH Pear & Partridge Card Workshop - Completed Cards :-)

On Saturday I decided it was time to get a jump start on my Christams cards.  So I picked up my Close To My Heart Pear & Partridge Holiday Cards Workshop kit (Item G1043). 

I had a lot of fun making these and they were very easy.  The included instruction guide lays out all the steps for you.  The set makes 5 each of 3 different designs, so 15 cards in all.  Everything is included except for the 3 colors of stamp pads recommended-cocoa, cranberry and olive.  I also used the Chocolate Distressing Ink pad to ink the edges of every cut piece.

The card below uses the second pass technique.  The card base is stamped with the Merry christmas stamp fromt he included C-size stamp set.  You ink the stamp, stamp first on scrap paper and then onto your card base.  This makes for a muted background image.

The Have Yourself a Merry Little Chistmas card adds dimension by masking off a portion of the stamp and stamping it onto a separate piece of cardstock.  You then use pop dots to attach it on top of the original words below.  I just love the penant cuts on one end too.

 

I love the simple approach to the Happy Holidays card.  The branch and ornament stamps are classic.  you could also stamp the ornaments on scraps of the cream cardstock, cut them out and pop dot them on top of the ornmanets stamped on the base piece.  It is an easy way to get dimension.

 

The Pear & Partridge kit (Item G1043) is just $29.95. It includes everything you need except the stamp pads and pop dots if you want to do the additional dimensional suggestions.  I would love to help you get your jump start on your Christmas cards.  Contact me today to place your order or visit my CTMH website at www.scraparazzi.ctmh.com

 





All Boy page instructions

Want to create a border that spans the entire length of your 12" page? It’s easy!

1. In Craft Room, change the mat size to 12" x 24" under Machine & Mat tab on the left of the screen.
2. Drag your selected border to the mat and rotate it so it is vertical.
3. Change the height of the border to 12". It will automatically change the width proportionally unless you click the aspect ratio button between the width and height measurements.
4. Whether you have a 12" × 24" mat or a 12" × 12" mat, you can use this function with a 12" × 12" piece of paper. Simply place the border as close to the top of the Craft Room mat as possible, but not exactly flush with the top.

5. Cut the piece following the prompts on the computer screen and Cricut^® machine.

To create the title with the letters joined together to form one piece instead of individually cut letters…

1. Drag your letters to the mat
2. Overlap portions of each letter to connect them
3. Use the Weld feature to join the letters together seamlessly.
4. Cut the piece following the prompts on the computer screen and Cricut^® machine.

There are so many possibilities to explore in the Cricut^® Craft Room using the versatile Art Philosophy and Artiste cartridges from Close To My Heart!

Bracket Frame using Cricut Craftroom

 

Here’s how to create the bracket frame as shown in this Birthday Greetings card:

1. Drag a card base from Art Philosophy cartridge and size it to be 9" wide and 4½" high.
2. Add a 1½" bracket frame (from the Basic tab) to the center of the right side of the card. So far, all of the shapes have been placed in Layer 1. You can add additional layers using the Layer feature located toward the top of the screen, directly above the mat. Each Layer will be cut from a separate sheet of paper and is indicated by a different color on the screen. Using the Layer feature allows you to fully design your Cricut^® shapes before cutting any pieces.
3. Add a second Layer by clicking the plus sign. Click and hold the Layer 2 tab and drag the tab to the left so it is first in the row. This allows you to see the second Layer on top of the first so you can visualize your finished project. Drag a 3" bracket frame to the card base and position it over the 1½" frame. Then, still using Layer 2, add a 1½" bracket frame in the center of the 3" frame.
4. Maneuver the Layer 2 frames so that they perfectly line up with the Layer 1 frame. Use your keyboard arrows for exactness.
5. Cut the pieces following the prompts on the computer screen and Cricut^® machine. Layer 2 will be cut first, so be sure to load that paper first. Then load a new sheet of paper for the Layer 1 pieces.
6. Embellish the card as desired.

Cheer Up card with Cricut Craft room instructions

Follow these steps to create the negative space on a card base, like you see on this Cheer Up card, featuring images from the Art Philosophy cartridge:

1. Select the “Card” tab in the Art Philosophy images. Find the card base you prefer and drag it onto the mat. (We used Square 1 for the Cheer Up card.) The image will be cut in the exact direction and location that you place it on the virtual mat. At the top of the screen, or at the left under the “Shape Properties” tab, you’ll see size boxes. Enter the width and height for your shape. This is the size it will be cut on the machine, regardless of what size your machine indicates on the flip screen.

2. Choose an image to cut out of your card front. We have chosen a butterfly by going to the Basics tab, clicking the “Show Shift/Lock Images” at the bottom, and then selecting the butterfly. Drag the image to the right side of the card base, position it, and alter the size, as desired. Once the image is in place, you will see a cut-out image in its place. This Weld feature is automatically on unless you disable it, and allows you to see how the card base will look with your images cut out.

3. Select another image, drag it to the card base, and position it how you’d like it. Continue adding images to the card base, if desired.

4. To cut your finished artwork, load the mat into your Cricut^® machine and insert the corresponding cartridge. Next, press the green Cut button at the top of the computer screen and follow the prompts. The machine will cut the shapes as you have prepared them in Craft Room. If more than one cartridge shape has been added to the project, the machine and screen will prompt you with instructions.

Cricut Craft Room and CTMH Exclusive carts....go together perfectly!

 If you love your Cricut^® machine, then you are going to adore all of the fabulous things you can do with Close To My Heart Cricut^® cartridges in the Cricut^® Craft Room. Create layers, cut negative space in the shape of your choice, make borders, and link elements together for a connected look. It’s easy! We’ll show you how.
Here is how to get started with Cricut^® Craft Room:

1. Create a FREE account in a few easy steps.
2. Download and run the application for PC or MAC, depending on the type of computer you use.
3. Connect your Cricut^® machine to your computer using a Type B USB cable. (Note: For more info on this type of cable, see your Cricut^® user’s guide or your local electronics store.) Once you have connected your computer to your Cricut^® machine, the “Load Mat” button is the only button you will ever need to push on your machine in the entire process. Cricut^® Craft Room will do everything else for you.
4. Once inside the application, choose the type of Cricut^® machine you own.
5. Insert your Close To My Heart Art Philosophy or Artiste cartridge into your Cricut^® machine.
6. In the lower left portion of the application there is a tab that is labeled “Images/Cartridges.” Select “All Cartridges” from the dropdown menu. (Note: You must choose a cartridge that you own. You can also purchase individual images from the Cricut^® store.)
7. Scroll to find the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy or Close To My Heart Artiste cartridges you own.
8. The virtual mat in Cricut^® Craft Room is just like the mat you’ll load into your machine. And, it is oriented the same way that you will load your mat into the machine, with the arrow at the top.
9. To drag an image to the mat, simply click on the image in the image selection tool box and move it to the mat.
10. Once the image is on the virtual mat, you can adjust the placement by clicking on the image and moving it to any location on the mat.
11. Now that you know the basics, you can start creating and exploring the possibilities!

Great posts tonight every hour starting at 5:00 PM PST!

I will be publishing a new post every hour tonight starting at 5:00 PM PST.  The posts will show step by step how to make some great projects using your CTMH exclusive Cricut cartridges and Cricut Craftroom free software! 

Here is a sneak peek...

New Workshop on the Go Card Making Kits!

You’ll love the new Avonlea and Pear & Partridge Workshops on the Go^® cardmaking kits. Get together as a group or make the cards on your own—either way, you’ll love the end result: gorgeous cards you'll be delighted to give!

I absolutely love these kits.  I will be putting together the Pear & Partridge kit this weekend. So check back for my post.  I would really like to have the opportunity to introduce you to all the Close To My Heart products.  Ask me how to get your FREE catalog and project idea book today.

Artbin Cartridge Storage Boxes

Here is what the Artbon Cartridge Storage Boxes look like on a shelf.  They are the flat ones with the purple lock tabs.  The 7 boxes you see there are holding 98 carts, booklets and overlays!

 

 

Got Comments???

I LOVE to read comments on my blog so please don't be shy!  I will answer questions , take requests for posts, etc.  So please SPEAK UP!

Studio J® Tips and Tricks! Try it out Today!

Studio J® Tricks to Add Flair to Your Layouts

 

Even though Studio J^® is fast and easy to use, it is helpful to know some great tricks that can make customizing your layouts even more exciting. Here are some Studio J tricks straight from our professional Close To My Heart artists:
1. Customize your background and texture paper. You can change the color and intensity of the background and texture paper included in whichever kit you choose. Simply select the piece of background and texture paper, change the color in the color selection tool, and increase or decrease the intensity of the color in that same popup box.
2. Crop My Stickease^® quotes, titles, and tags. The cropping feature on the My Stickease images allows you to select a section of a quote, title, or tag to use as a border or other embellishment.
3. Create a customized My Stickease image. If you have a specific image in mind to use as an embellishment on your page, you can create a customized My Stickease to fit your theme perfectly. Simply add a text box, photo hanger, ribbon, ribbon slides, and Stickease to create the little suitcase! So easy! Be sure to crop or send elements behind other elements when necessary, and add several elements together for a unique look!

4. Select more than one element at a time. If you want to move several elements of your layout at once, simply click and drag your mouse around the elements you would like to select. Let’s take buttons, for example. After the buttons have been selected, you can click the icons in the popup box to choose to align the buttons vertically or horizontally if you desire.
5. Make faux washi tape with vellum text boxes. To create the look of a piece of clear washi tape, make a small rectangular text box, filled with vellum background (this is the default color for text boxes). You can make the tape strips as large or small as you want, or even layer them for more emphasis.

6. Stretch one photo across multiple photo wells. If you have fewer photos than photo wells, instead of deleting the excess wells, try scaling the picture to a larger size and then copying the picture to other photo wells and matching the photos up until they align with an almost seamless image. This trick works best with photo wells that are adjacent to each other.
7. Create ruffled ribbon. Select “Ribbons” in the drop-down menu under the Embellishments toolset. Choose ribbon tab and rotate the tab so that it is vertical on the page. Then layer several tabs on top of one another, sending every other one to the back to create a ruffled look.

8. Create a jagged border with text boxes. You can create a jagged border simply by rotating multiple text boxes about 45 degrees and making them the same color as the background. Put these boxes on top of a long, rectangular box of another color, and you’ve got a jagged border!

9. Change the background of your layout. Sometimes you may like the photo and journal arrangement in a layout, and yet want to change the background colors. Because photos sit on top of everything else, this is easy to do. Simply pull a journaling box over the space you want for a different background and fill it with a color from the color selection tool or a patterned paper from the Papers toolset. Then, send it backwards until the photo wells are on top of your new background.
Bonus Trick! Use keyboard keys to make embellishments. Did you know that some of the best tools for creating custom embellishments are the basic keys on your keyboard? It’s as simple as typing into a journaling box with no background color. Use periods to make a polka dot pattern, angle brackets to create a trendy Chevron look, overlapping pound signs to make burlap, question marks to make rope, and so much more!

Organize Your Craft Supplies

Organizing is a breeze with the new sturdy, stackable organizers and craft boxes. You’ll always know where to find your supplies—safe and sound in these portable containers!

I own one of the Medium containers and I absolutely LOVE it.  It is a generous size and very versatile.  There is also a new LARGE size on its way in the new few months.  The large size will accomodate the A-D size stamp envelopes and will help eliminate so many individual organizers for those with large collections.  I am super excited for this item!

Base and Shade Stamping

Discover how to create a terrific two-tone look with the base and shade stamping technique. Give your images more life and layers and watch them pop off the page!

October SOTM is VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS...and it can be yours for FREE!!

The SOTM for October is Very Merry Christmas!  It is an amazing set.  All of the shape stamps coordinate with cutouts from the exclusive Artiste cartridge.  You can make all your own gift tags, etc in no time at all. 

You can find the full flyer along with the recipe for making this beautiful layout on my Facebook group page https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/310895482311147/ 

Contact me TODAY to place your order.  This set is just $5 with any purchase of $50 or more!  If you order the Artiste cartridge, I will include it for FREE! This offer is valid for the month of October or while SOTM supplies last.