Plumped Up Bird Ornament from Art Philosophy

My Grandma Irene was always a fan of birds, and Cardinals were her favorite.  When I saw the bird image included in the Art Philosophy cartridge, I immediately knew that I had to make some kind of a .bird ornament for the holidays with it.  I used the red plaid B&T Duos paper from the Believe paper packet.  I cut out one bird at 4" and its flipped image also at 4".  I did the same for the wings, but just used the reverse side of the paper.  (There is a button on my expression that says flip, and it produces the mirror image for those of you that have never tried it :)   

Next, I used a paper piercer to poke holes along the outside of the bird's body.

Using a large needle and some baker's twine, I just stitched the bird almost all of the way closed.  I used some stuffing and plumped up my bird before finishing off my stitches.  I used that simple stitch that you learn in elementary school.

My bird was easy to finish.  I glued the wings on, added some Opaques Adhesive Gems for the eyes and glittered the tail with some Red Glitz Glitter Gel.  I added a little more baker's twine that I stitched through one of the pierced holes to form a hanger, and hung the bird from the tree.

Joy and Noel Blocks

It feels like forever since I have been able to post, and I guess it has.  It all started a few weekends ago when our scenic little ski town was hit with 19" of snow.  Really, that is not that much snow for us, but we usually don't get snow when all of the leaves are still on the trees.  Have you ever tried Trick or Treating with that much snow???  We went days without power, but we were lucky enough to be taken in by my sister and her family.  Once the power finally came back it was time to play catch up on the laundry and housework!  Then came all of the end of the season sports and marching band festivities, two of the kids' birthdays, and well, it is now November 19th!!!

 

I was in HomeGoods this past week and found 2 sets of 5 wooden blocks for only $2 per set.  No wonder they were so cheap...they had the word HOUSE on them in an ugly blue font with an even uglier background.  I gave them a makeover by recovering them with paper from the Close To My Heart Believe paper packet.  Using the Art Philosophy cartridge, I cut out my desired letters at 2.75" with the real dial size selected.  I embellished with some of the pretty snowflakes 1.5" and some holly leaves 1.25" cut with my Cricut and the Art Philosophy as well.  I added some bling and baker's twine for the finishing touches.  I ended up with 3 sets of words and they were so easy to put together with the Art Philosophy cartridge.

I think that they would be perfect gifts for teachers or neighbors.  Remember to always look beyond the obvious and visualize what some "ugly" blocks might become!

 

Art Philosophy Christmas Poinsettias

Did you notice the little poinsettias on my gift card holders?  They were made from that six sided flower shape on the Art Philosophy cartridge.  Boy, how I love that shape!  From pumpkin toppers, to Christmas trees to poinsettias, it really is the most versatile shape.  Here is one of the poinsettias that I have turned into a cute little pin.  I spent the afternoon making 24 of these beauties into pins, and I have twelve that I might turn into hair accessories.  Of course, they are all going to be for the craft show.  They would even make really cute tags for packages, strung with some bakers twine, which I am patiently waiting to arrive.  The two layers of red petals were cut at 1.75" and stamped with the corresponding AP Bundle stamp, and the green petal layer was cut at 2.25", just in case you want to make your own.

Craft Show Gift Card Holders

I have finally started working on some projects for a craft show that I am doing on November 5, 2011, at the Sparta Ambulance Building in Sparta, NJ.  I have a couple of friends also participating in the show and it sounded like fun.  Then the reality set in that I would need to find more time to make what I planned on selling!  Here is my first idea.  Of course, it is created entirely from shapes on the CTMH Art cartridge.  The stamping was created from the My Acrylix Stamp Set called "December 25th".  I could not resist that set when I first saw it, and I plan on making many a tag with it.  You can purchase December 25th, the Believe Paper Packet, and the Art Philosophy bundle by clicking here.

 If you would like to make your own, here is a photo of the pieces that I cut out, minus the embellishments.  I cut the scalloped circle at 4", and the plain circle pieces at 3.7" (I cut each of these plain circles in half.)  I embossed the solid piece using my Cuttlebug and glued it completely to the scalloped circle.  I only glued the patterned B&T Duo paper carefully around the rounded edges, to create a pocket for my gift card.  The last step is to embellish as desired.

So, now is the tough part.  What would you craft show veterans say that I should price these at?  I want to sell them, and not take them home, but the details make them a little time consuming.  I  really look forward to your comments...thanks!

Winter Wonderland Tree from Art Philosophy Cartridge

Please see Sparkle and Shine Christmas Tree Kit post dated 12/08/13 for new updates!

Have you been wondering what I have been up to recently?  Well, I have been busy creating a Winter Wonderland Tree courtesy of my Art Philosophy Cartridge.  I started by choosing some paper from the CTMH Believe Paper Packet.  I choose the pretty green patterned B&T Duo cardstock with stars, along with the Topiary cardstock for a traditional looking tree.  I threw in a few sheets of Daisy White cardstock for the snowy tips of my branches.  Here is the Believe Paper Packet, well almost - it is missing its Sweet Leaf cardstock...

 

 All supplies for this project, including the Art Philosophy cartridge can be purchased by shopping with me and clicking here.  Still don't have the Art Philosophy cartridge?  Remember, the holidays are right around the corner.  Tell your loved ones to visit my blog if the cartridge bundle is on your wish list this year! 

Really Inexpensive Gift Tags

 Have you checked out the "While Supplies Last" section of my CTMH website?  There are some really great deals to be had there. Like this Winter Cheer Glitter Rub-On set.  It is 78% off right now, making it only

 $3.  It comes with two full sheets of 6" x 12" rub-ons, and three full 6" x12" glitter sheets, so that you get to customize your rub-ons.

  I recently received my set in my order and I had a plan in mind.

 Using the Close to my Heart Art Philosophy cartridge, I cut two corresponding  stars out of our CTMH Crystal Blue and White Daisy Cardstock.

Then I pulled out my "While Supplies Last" Twinkle Brads.  They are a steal at $1.

I layered the two stars, inking the edges of the smaller one, of course.  I then used one of the many Glitter Rub-ons.  I used a  Twinkle Brad for a little embellishment, and it can also be used to loop a hanger around.

I couldn't stop at just one, so I cut out two Art Philosophy Christmas trees.  I trimmed the bottom of the white layer, so my Sweet Leaf Cardstock peaked out a little more.  Again, I added one of the larger Twinkle Brads.  You can make many dozens of these tags in no time with a few packages of the Twinkle Brads and the Winter Cheer Glitter Rub-ons.  You could use these as gift tags or even pretty ornaments.  Sell them at craft shows this holiday season.  Box them up and give a set for a teacher gift they can really use! 

Do not hesitate to pick these goodies up quickly.  They will be going fast at such a great price!  Click here to shop the entire line of CTMH products currently available.

Holiday Magic - The October CTMH Stamp of the Month

Fall is upon us now, and the holidays are fast approaching.  What better way to get prepared for Christmas than with a little Holiday Magic?

This stamp set can be yours for only $5 with a $50 purchase during this month only.  I love that several of the images can be cut out with the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge for Cricut.  What magical holiday splendor you will be able to create when you receive your very own Holiday Magic stamp set!

Don't miss out...to place your online order, please click here.

CTMH Art Philosophy Meets Word Collage

I found myself in the aisle of my favorite craft store debating on whether or not I should by the Cricut Word Collage cartridge.  After deciding that I could use it to make several Christmas gifts, it came home with me.  I was pleasantly surprised when I opened it to find 50 word collages in it.  I have wanted to make a collage to fill one of the several picture frames that I acquired at a garage sale this summer for only 50 cents a piece.  Although I like the results of the collage, it was very time consuming to hand place all of the A and O (and many more) centers of all the letters onto my background cardstock.  Of course, I could not stop with the collage, the frame looked so bare...so I added some coordinating flowers and branches made with none other than the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy cartridge which is available here.  Oh yeah, the big rose took a trip through my Cuttlebug where it picked up the embossed polka dots.  I like the extra texture it gave the rose.  Here are some photos...

Cricut Chirp Spotlight Customer

So, I guess the news might be out, since I have been fortunate enough to have gained some new followers since yesterday.  I learned last week that I was chosen to be the Cricut Chirp Spotlight Customer for this week.  If you would like to view this week's Chirp, you can do so by clicking here.  The weekly projects can be a great inspiration for your creativity.  I am so honored that all of you like what I have created...so far.  More is on the way! 

Can you believe it?

I won a Sweet Treats cartridge from Cricut today.  I simply entered a comment on the message boards, and half an hour later, they announced the winner.  Guess what, it was me!  So look forward to maybe seeing a few "sweet" projects in the near future.  And stay tuned, tomorrow I have some more good news to share!  Thank you Cricut!

Easel Card

As I promised, here is my take on the easel card made with an Art Philosophy card shape.  I started by cutting Square4 at 4.25", and its card counterpoint at 4". 

Then, I folded the card along its score lines, and folded the front back over itself.

  Spread plenty of glue over that newly created flap.

Attach the 4.25" Square4 to the glued flap.  Be careful that the main part of the card is not visible from behind the newly attached shape, as seen below.  This is a view from behind.

 Cut your B&T Duos paper into a 4" Square4.  I then cut it down the middle, so that I could use both sides on my card front.

Like this...

Glue it onto the front of your card.  I also cut a piece of the border strip and created two tiny flowers.

Here is the finished  easel card.  I have stamped the front with the black cat, added some embellishment and put that border strip down behind it all.  Most importantly, I added a piece of the B&T Duos inside the card to "catch" the card front and make it stand.  (And I simply used the negative piece left behind when I cut the 4.25" Square4, and just trimmed it to make it fit.  I believe in using just about every scrap if I can!)  Remember, you can adapt this idea for just about all of the card shapes on the Art Philosophy cartridge.

Autumn Arrangement and Retirement Card

My mom and I spent Monday cutting out flowers and card pieces from the Art Philosophy cartridge.  We wanted to make a retirement gift for a dear friend, Vi, who will have more time to craft with her Cricut now that she has retired!  We used the My Acrylix Art Philosophy stamp sets for the card sentiment and to embellish the leaves.  My mom brought it home and finished the assembly.  Isn't it beautiful?  Enjoy your flowers and retirement Vi!

Meet My Art Philosophy Turkey

So, I had an idea to create a 3D Turkey out of shapes found on the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge.  This blog post will highlight how to create him, so I thought that I would start out by introducing him...

He is quite simple to create.  First, I cut 6 - 3" scalloped circles, scored and folded them in half.  I glued each half completely to the next, but did not join the last two.

I then moved on to creating the feathers.  Setting my size dial to 3", I cut 7 of each the Petal2 and its layer.  I glued the petals and layers together, and arranged and glued them as seen below.

The next step is to make the head by cutting out 6, scalloped ovals at 1".  Repeat same scoring, folding, and gluing as with the body, but glue the last two halves closed.

Next, I made the beak by cutting out 2 Petal1 at .75".  I inked them and folded them slightly before attaching them together.

I then cut out the shift font layer of Banner5 at 1" for the waddle.

The last pieces that I cut out were for the top hat.  I cut  two circles at .75 and 1" and two 1" rectangles.  I rolled the rectangles to give them dimension. 

Glue the two now rounded rectangles onto the smaller circle.

Flip it and glue onto the bigger circle.  Voila!  Tophat complete.

To finish, I glued the open part of the body to the feathers, the head to the body and the tophat to the head.  I then added two .25" circles for eyes, and added the beak and the waddle.  Remember, if you would like to purchase the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge or any of the supplies for making the Turkey, you can click here to shop at MyCTMH website.

 

While Supplies Last...

Close To My Heart is offering many "while supplies last" items.  There are some great items to be had at wonderful discounts.  In fact, I just ordered a few things to put away for presents.  If you would like to take a peek, you may do so by clicking here.  The items are going fast, so please order quickly if there are items that you would really like to have. 

Is That a SPIDER in my Hair???

Yes, Emma, an Art Philosophy Spider it is.  Every single time that I look at the Halloween rosette that I created for my Spooky Banner, I see a spider web.  So I played around with several size rosettes, until I came up with my Spider, made once again exclusively with shapes from the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge and Black CTMH Cardstock.  Following the Halloween rosette instructions on my previous post, cut 3 borders - 2 at 1" and 1 and 1.5" in width.  Form the rosettes and layer them together as seen in the photo - layering one small rosette on top of the big one and attaching the second smaller one in the front of that body for the head.  I then cut 8 swirls at .75" in width.  I glued the fine points of the swirls  together into two bunches of four and attached them to the underside of the Spider's body between the large and small rosettes.  Add two green CTMH Sparkles for eyes and you too will have an Art Philosophy Spider.  Attach a clip for a cute hair accessory, turn it into a  Halloween pin or use it as a decoration on top of your pumpkins, cobwebs, package topper...you get the picture.  Just have fun.

R U Ready for Something SPOOKY?

Alright!  Then let's start here.  Get out your CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  You will need to use the rectangle8 font layer to cut out 6 borders out of Black CTMH cardstock.  Use the fit to page option to make them 2" wide.  I had no luck just setting the dial to 2", it does not work for me, so this is my work around.  Score through the middle of the straight vertical lines as well as the imaginary line beginning with the points along the top edge.  Pretend you are making a paper fan and fold back and forth along these score lines.  Use a thin bead of glue to join the two ends.  You should have something that looks like the photo below.  Let it dry completely.

Next, gently push down on the points that were at the top of your border image, which then creates the perfect Halloween rosette.  I carefully place a glue dot on both the top and bottom of my rosette center to keep it together.
 

Cut  out of Sunset CTMH cardstock six Circle 2 pieces at 1.5" each.  Cut out six Olive CTMH cardstock Circle 2 pieces at 1.75".  I prefer to ink my pieces, but that is my personal choice.  Layer these pieces together.

Cut the out the letters to spell the word "spooky".  I used the shift font layer option set at 1", and I knew that they had to be immediately dressed with CTMH Sparkles in light green.  I layered all of the pieces together, along with the Halloween rosette, as shown below. 

Using CTMH black hemp, I looped the rosettes together, hiding the knot in the back of the rosette.  Tie olive ribbon bows to dress up the hemp.

 And here you have the finished project all strung together.  You could even string yours horizontally if that fit your space better.  So, I have added another 3D element to your Art Philosophy cartridge that I bet you didn't even know that you had on it!!!  If you would like to purchase the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, or any of the supplies used in this project, you can shop with me by clicking here.

Art Philosophy Pumpkin Instructions

I decided to use a B&T Duos paper from CTMH My Reflections Mischief Kit for my newest pumpkin.  I started by cutting out 6 - 3.5" lacy scalloped circles, 1 - 3.5" flower, 2 - 2" leaves and 1 - 1" scalloped rectangle that I forgot to cut until the end.

 When you carefully remove your lacy scalloped circles, save the negatives - they are great for the pumpkin's curly vines.

 Score and fold each scalloped lacy circle in half.  There are an uneven amount of scallops, so you will be scoring through the middle of one scallop and between the opposite two.

 Fold all six in half and place glue on just about three of the scallops as seen below and glue the circles all together.

 When all six are glued together, it should look like the image below, if you have lined everything up correctly. 

 Take six pointed flower and score long point to opposite long point and valley to valley as seen below.

 Fold long points up and push valleys down until it looks like the photo below.

 Attach flower to the main pumpkin, carefully lining up.  I then lift the open bottom over an led candlelight that I purchased at the dollar tree.  (These are great, I actually tried to read by one of these during Hurricane Irene, since I prepared for a trip to CK Scrap and Play rather than the storm.  Big mistake!!!)

 Score your leaves and twirl your negative curls.  I actually should mention that on my first pumpkin I stamped the leaves and the six pointed flower topper with the Christmas tree from the Art Philosophy Seasons stamp set that is included with the purchase of the Art Philosophy cartridge.

Twirl your pumpkin stem.

 Add all of your detail pieces to the top of your pumpkin to complete.  Ink all of your pieces as desired along the way for a more finished look.  And the best part is that you only use one 12" x 12" sheet of cardstock!
Please become a follower of my blog to see what I design next!