For Always and Home Sweet Home February 2013 Stamp of the Month

I just love the new CTMH For Always paper pack.  You can pair it up with any color cardstock, making it the most versatile paper ever...I swear!   And when I saw the CTMH February 2013 Stamp of the Month, Home Sweet Home, I just knew the two were a perfect match.  Home Sweet Home can be yours for as little as $5 by making a qualifying purchase by February 28, 2013 on my website.

For each project I used the CTMH Artiste Cricut cartridge for the shapes upon which I stamped the sayings.  Did you notice the really trendy chalkboard look of those sayings?  If you look carefully, especially at the card, you will notice the "black" paper is part of the For Always paper pack as well.  I simply stamped with White Daisy ink and the look was complete.  All of my paper embellishments and 3-dimensional items including the top box itself were also cut with the Artiste Cartridge.  I have been tossing around the idea of offering a pre-stamped and pre-cut cardmaking kit for my followers that would include the card above.  Leave me a comment if that is something that you would be interested in.

Pemberley Purse - CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge

I have always loved those little paper purses that I have seen people making.  You might imagine how happy I was to have several available to me on the Artiste cartridge.  I decided to make one out of CTMH Pemberley paper set.  I cut the purse at 3".  Although I hand cut the light blue floral piece on the bottom of the purse, the top floral overlay, handle and 3D flower were all from Artiste as well.  Isn't it perfect to tuck some cash or a gift card into for a beautiful gift presentation?  And the best part was that the whole thing took under 5 minutes to make!  Remember to place your order for the cartridge early on August 1st, tomorrow, in order to be among the first to receive it!  You may shop with me by clicking here.  Thanks for looking!

A Spooky Coffin - CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge

My daughter, Isabella, wanted to make a 3D coffin box from the Artiste cartridge today.  We used a new My Reflections paper packet called Moonlight.  At the suggestion of the handbook, I set the size dial to 7.5", and it cut a coffin that turned out exactly that tall when completed.

Did I mention that Artiste comes with a second handbook, that details how to create each and every one of the 3D items on the cartridge?  Pretty cool, huh?

Here are my cut and folded coffin pieces.

 

Here they are glued, and it couldn't have been easier!

 

Using shapes and the word Spooky from Artiste, I created these cute embellishments.  The spider web shapes are actually a border that I cut to fit.  I also used some of the new Black Striped Grosgrain ribbon that will be available on August 1st along with the Moonlight paper.  The word "beware" was from a strip at the top of one of my Moonlight papers.

So, it would only be right to fill this little box up with sweet treats for Halloween, but Isabella wanted to create a little surprise under the treats, so we cut out the cute little skeleton and glued it inside the coffin!

Don't forget to shop with me on August 1, 2012 when all of these new must haves are available for sale.

CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge Baby Shoes

I arrived home yesterday to find that my Artiste cartridge had arrived.  Let me tell you...I did not think it would be possible to love a cartridge more than I do Art Philosophy, but CTMH really hit it out of the park with Artiste!  I simply did not know where to start, having sooooo many options available to me.  Although the schedules of the four kids don't leave me with very much free time, I found just enough time to play with the cute little baby shoe image.  We are going to have 4 new babies in our family very soon - one great niece and 3 new cousins!!!  I started out cutting the shoes tiny, at 2.5 inches, and out of CTMH Lucy paper.  I used the CTMH Love Life acrylic stamp set for the little words happiness and cherish.  I did not really know what to expect but I love them.   They might go into a flower corsage at some point in time.  Don't forget that Artiste will be available for sale on August 1st.  Until then, keep checking as I share more project inspiration with you.

CTMH Artiste Christmas Trees

I love Christmas projects, so when I saw this great Christmas tree project out of our new idea book, I thought that I would share it with you.  The trees are made with the new CTMH Artiste Cricut cartridge, which will be available as a bundle for $99 beginning on August 1, 2012.  I can't wait until I can make some of my own.  Aren't they super cute?

CTMH Art Philosophy Gift Boxes

I don't think that I will breaking any Expo rules by sharing my 8 little gift boxes that I made using the Art Philosophy Cartridge.  I hope to show the versatility of the cartridge.  All of the embellishments were made with the cartridge as well.  I will go into more detail about the stamp sets used if anyone should need me to...just as soon as I have returned from the Expo!  Here they are...

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.

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.

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!

Art Philosophy Pumpkin

 I can't help it...I have Autumn on my mind.  Three of our four children go back to school tomorrow.  So, today I decided to share a fall project with you.  My PUMPKIN was designed completely by using shapes cut from the the ART PHILOSOPHY cartridge.  I used CTMH Sunset and Olive Cardstock,  Desert Sand and Olive Exclusive Inks, and the My Acrylix Art Philosophy Seasons stamp set.  All of these items can be purchased by shopping with me on MyCTMH website.  Please note that the stamp set is one that is included with the Art Philosophy cartridge and by purchasing the cartridge you are eligible for the September Promotions as seen below.

The above photo shows in detail the top of my pumpkin.   Do you want step by step instructions?  Please follow my new blog, as I will be adding the instructions shortly.  I hope that you like my new creation!