Topstitch Scrapbooking Pages

I just finished the Scrapbooking portion of our Workshop. I had so much fun with this one. The pictures don't do it justice!!! I still have a few workshop guides available so if it looks like something you would like to create send me an e-mail!!!

Paper Crafting with Buttons.

This week I thought I would share some tips for using buttons in your paper crafting projects. I have been fascinated with buttons since I was a little girl. I can remember playing with all of the treasures I found in my Grandmas Button jar. Here are a few of my favorite things do do with buttons and some that I’ve learned by taking an Accessory class exclusively for Close to My Heart Consultants.

In the center of a flower or snowflake.
In a Line or cluster to fill in a spot that needs a little something extra.
I love tying waxy flax, embroidery floss or hemp through the button holes to give them a sewn on effect.
You can change the look of buttons by sanding or stamping them with stays on ink.
Use the rub ons to add a little something unexpected to your buttons.
I love layering buttons for a dimensional look.
Use them with hemp or Waxy Flax to close Items and make your cards or journaling interactive
Use them in place of a letter or punctuation.
Group a few of them in a corner to create a beautiful one of a kind photo corner.
Use brads through the center of button holes to give your accent a layered effect.

Close To My Heart offers buttons conveniently packaged according to season. There are 100 buttons in each pack. I have out together a slideshow of projects i’ve created using buttons. There are more on the art page of my website.

Christmas Cards

I thought that this week I would combine Technique Tuesday with Pictures of Mondays card Workshop. We had such a good time and the girls seemed to love the cards. I thought I would Highlight some of my favorite Stamping techniques for you.

Using a Stamped Image as an accent piece is one of my favorite. I love how you can chose ANY stamp, cut out your stamped image and adhere it with a Piece of 3D foam Tape. It is a great way to highlight your theme in our favorite color.

Another of my favorites is using a stamp that has a pattern to it as a border to your card or layout that little something extra. I used a stamp that has 15 or so dots in a line, repeated stamping lining up the dots to create a border.

The third technique I used was background stamping. By stamping an image in 2nd or 3rd generation you can create a subtle back ground. You can also create a background by stamping one to a few images repeatedly creating a pattern. I love to use it to highlight a title or fill in an empty space.

Here are a few examples of how we used these techniques in our latest workshop.

Disappearing Ink

This week's technique can be found on the NEW webisode of Art and Soul. All you do is Stamp your desired image in Bamboo using the exclusive Inks stamp pad (Z2103 $5.95). Then you color in your image with our Watercolor Pencils ( 3505 $22.95) and blend using our Blending pen (3174 $3.95). Thats it!!! Don't forget you can learn how to do this and many other wonderful techniques on CTMHTV and Art and Soul.

Horsey Time...

So I went down to play with Sassy yesterday. I hadn't been to see her for two weeks(I was sick then hubby had surgery). I came home feeling somewhat defeated. Sassy charge at me as a punishment for my neglect. Not only that but about every ten steps she would come to a complete stop as I would pull and pull on her halter she would just stand there and look at me like, you created this with your lack of caring for my needs. The only good thing that came out of it is that I got her to turn around without facing her butt to me on her bad side in the round pen. I have been trying to get her to do this since I got her in June. Today I went back newly inspired by her giving me what I've been asking for months. She was great. She didn't stop once while I led her around, she did exactly what I asked of her when I asked it, and she didn't charge at me. What a great feeling. I even asked her to bend her head for me and stay when I tell her whoa. She is relentlessly in my space. But she did every thing I asked without fussing. Lets see how tomorrow goes.

My Calendar Update!!!

I had a few extra minutes today so I decided to update the calender on my Website. I added and changed some events for November and December. Let me know what you think and if you might be interested in joining me in any of these events.

Jingle Layouts

I have been working on the Scrapbooking protion of the Jingle WOTG while Derric recovers from his surgery. I just wanted to share some pictures of how it turned out. I am so much more excited about this workshop now that I've seen it in person. I hope my photos will do it justice.

Soccer has officially begun!!!

Well, the Silver Stars (Jennifer's Soccer Team) had their first game tonight. They didn't win, not that we keep track ;) Besides losses build character. Jennifer did great. She protected that goal (she was the fullback) and wasn't afraid to get in there and KICK THAT BALL!!! Her and a little boy butted heads she, of course, cried and was pulled out of the game for a while. As soon as she felt better she got right back in there and went right after that ball. I am so proud of her.

Mix&Match Monday

As I was watching the NEW Art & Soul episode, I was inspired. I loved how they were taking two different paper packs and creating a project that looked so amazing. While watching this I started to think about Jeannette Lynton's Blog and how on Mondays she choses four CTMH Exclusive colors and posts the projects she makes with them. That's how I came up with Mix & Match Monday. For those of you who know me well, you may be thinking WHAT!!! I am of course a self diagnosed borderline Obsessive Compulsive. I have to put the dishes in the dishwasher a specific way and when I take a shower I do the same things in the same order every time. I know logically that nothing bad will happen if I don't do this, but it bothers me if certain things aren't done a certain way. This is why I chose CTMH in the first place. It is my biggest enabler. All of the Ink pads, markers, Cardstock, and embellies coordinate. In the Idea Book they show you what Colors are used in each paper pack. They even create stamp sets that compliment each paper pack. Like I said Enabler. Well, since I am after all SELF diagnosed I can Self medicate. Prove to myself that the papers won't disintegrate as I am adhering them to papers from a different pack. I wont have a mental breakdown and my head will not explode. Maybe I won't HATE the project when it is done. So, last night I went into my so called craft room and sat on the floor next to the cubby I keep all of my left over paper from workshops past. I looked through each paper pack and spent about an hour trying to choose at least one paper from two different paper packs. I had already decided that I was going to start off small and make a bookmark. I settled on two papers from "That's Amore" and one from "perfect Day". After I had chosen witch papers I would use I scooted in front of my stamp drawer. I was going to choose a stamp set that, hold your breath, did NOT go with either of the papers I had chosen. I settled on my favorite stamp set, D1341 Butterfly Wings. I had not used it yet because it didn't come with a paper pack, at least not since I've been a Consultant. I added the stamp set to my papers making a little pile then scooted over to my drawer that I keep all of my embellies. This part was easy I just pulled out everything I had that was in the same colors as what was in my papers. Garden Green, Blush, and chocolate. I added that to my pile, picked it up and grabbed the markers and Ink pads in the same colors. I took it all to the dining room table and 20 minutes later I had made this...
I actually love it. I am so proud, not that I made this, but that I made it out of papers from different paper packs. I am so looking forward to the next Mix & Match Monday. Happy stamping and I hope you can try mixing and matching your papers. Let me know how it turn out.

Technique Tuesday!!!

This weeks technique is faux stitching. Using one of our coordinating Exclusive Inks Markers ($2.95 Pg 100&101 of the new Idea Book) and a My Acrylix block (Pg 35 of the new Idea Book) as your guide, draw dashed lines to simulate stitching. You can see this done on the scrapbooking pages of the Grace WOTG.

Finished Grace Workshop On The Go!!!

I just finished all the "Grace" Workshop On The Go projects. I made both of the 2 page 12x12 Scrapbooking layouts and all 9 card. I only had to pull one extra sheet of Barn Red Cardstock and one extra sheet of Coca Cardstock. I love how everything turned out. This is my new favorite paper pack witch is strange because these usually aren't my favorite colors.

Technique Tuesday

This is of course the 2nd Tuesday of the Month. It is also Art and Soul Tuesday as I like to call it. The new episode of Art and soul is now viewable on my website under CTMH TV. The featured project is an adorable Halloween card and the technique used is two color embossing. After watching the new episode of art and soul if you just love the featured project you can order the stamp at a special discounted price.

A Quick Up Date!!!

I am working on updating my calender on my website. Come and see what all is going on this month with my workshops and get a preview of what's going on in November!!! Another great way to stay updated is by subscribing to my email updates. Just send me an email letting me know you want to receive my newsletter and I'll add you to my list.

A Little Horsey Time...

Last Night we went down to Cattle call to give Sassy her supplements. We brought her some carrots and each had our chance to pet her and bond. I showed Derric how funny she is when I poor her pellets into her feeder. When you are looking through the top of the feeder you can see her teeth and tongue as she is trying to catch the pellets mid air while they are falling.

Being Lazzzy!!!

Today I wasn't feeling well so I decided to stay home and be lazy. Hubby is supposed to be resting his knee anyway so we did just that. The dog was even lazy today. He fell so dead asleep that he didn't even bark at the door when the mail lady came by.

A Day Date With Hubby.

Today I had A Day date with Hubby. We don't really go on dates at night. He has days off during the week and Jennifer is in school so we have our dates during the day.We went to lunch and hung out for the day. I LOVE Spending time with him.