Hello Zoe!

It's time to welcome a new girl to the block! Hello Zoe! She is Close To My Heart's newest paper pack - a pre-release from the 2015-2016 Annual Inspirations book that comes out September 1st. Let me just say that Zoe is a perfect sampling of many wonderful things to come! Here are a couple of things I made at our last play date:

This card was SO SIMPLE! Not only does it use the playful Zoe paper, but also the newest Cricut cartridge Artistry, and Framed, the August Stamp of the Month.

This layout is for our sweet black lab who passed away last week after being a member of our family for 13 years. It also uses the Zoe paper and features the Artistry Cricut cartridge for the sweet little dog, lettering and paw background. The "sweet & happy" stickers are part of the Zoe compliments pack.

I can't wait for you to play with these papers at my Reveal party on August 29th, or you can see it sooner at the August 21st crop night.

Shin Han Marker Blog Hop

Welcome to our Shin Han Marker Blog Hop!  We will be featuring one of our favorite new CLose To My Heart products - Shin Han Markers!  If you have come here from Brenda's blog at http://centralnyscrapper.blogspot.com, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog:  http://ifyoublingit.blogspot.com/p/stamp-of-month-blog-hop-list.html.

I used just 2 markers to create this cute little cupcake card.  The cupcake wrapper is colored with Leaf Green (Z2454) and the frosting is Barely Beige (Z2445).  The beauty of these markers is that each time a layer of ink is added, the color gets darker, allowing different shades from just one marker as demonstrated in the wrapper.

The cupcake is cut from the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and stamped a coordinating stamp set that comes with the cartridge.  The stamping was done with versamark ink and then embossed with clear embossing.  The Happy Birthday sentiment is stamped with White Daisy ink and pink polka dot Washi Tape is added for a final touch.  These are all Close To My Heart products except for the pink button cherry which came from my sewing box.

These versatile markers are available at www.aprilnourse.ctmh.com.

Now "Hop" on over to Jaime's Blog at http://jaimellewellyn.blogspot.com to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! 

It's My Birthday So Here's Your Gift

Yes, you read that right.  Every year I like to do something for my customers during my birthday month.  This is definitely the best gift ever.

When you buy any Cricut bundle at www.aprilnourse.ctmh.com, you get a bundle of free product worth $300!  There are no strings attached.  And it gets better. 

This bundle comes with many added bonuses:

• 22-35% discount on all orders
• eligible for free product every month
• incredible creativity and business training classes from Close To My Heart
• free members-only project six times a year
• the inside scoop on everything Close To My Heart
• get the latest Close To My Heart products before anyone else
• access to our team page on Facebook

What are you waiting for?  Here's how you get your bundle ($400 of product for $99):

 

1. Go to www.aprinlnourse.ctmh.com.  
2. Click "What We Do"
3. Click "Be A Consultant" from the drop down box
4. Click "Let's get started"

I promise...there are no strings attached.  If you want to start selling (and earn that $99 right back so your entire kit is free), I'll help you!  If you never want to buy another thing, that's fine too!  You still get everything listed above for only $99!

 

October's My Cricut Craft Room's Blog Hop

October's My Cricut Craft Room's Blog Hop 

Welcome!  If you are here from http://queenbeepapercrafts.blogspot.com/ then you are in the right place!  If you'd like to start at the beginning, head to http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com. 

Welcome to My Cricut Craft Room's October's Blog Hop 

Collectively the design team and guest designers have made some amazing and special projects to share with you... over 60 projects are on this hop, but it is in less than 20 stops. .  

 

My first project is a simple photo holder.   The frame was made using the Artiste cartridge and the embellishments were cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge.  I attached a magnet on the back for hanging.












My second project is a baby album.  Everything in the album was cut using one key on the Artbooking cartridge.  The papers and coordinating Stickease are from the Babycakes collection by Close To My Heart.

 

All of these cartridges and supplies are available at www.aprilnourse.ctmh.com.  A portion of every sale at my site this weekend will be donated to Operation Write Home, a non-profit organization that sends handmade cards to troops overseas. 

Thank you for passing through! 

Your next stop is http://www.disneygirlcrafts.com/. 

Have a lovely day!

If you get lost along the way here is the entire line up

1. Start http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/

2.  Vivi J http://www.vivijdesigns.blogspot.com/

3.  Cindy M http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/

4. Shawn Mosch - http://craftychicsblog.blogspot.com/

5. Liliana Umpierre - http://www.likidesigns.com/blog

6. Leslie Wrege McGrath - http://scrapnlifeaway.blogspot.com/

7. Roberta Swisher - http://queenbeepapercrafts.blogspot.com/

8.  April Nourse www.curlsandgrins.blogspot.com

9. Brenda Knapik -  http://www.disneygirlcrafts.com/

10. Lourdes - http://creativecraftsniche.blogspot.com/ 

11. Vicki Glenn - http://www.vickiscraftroom.blogspot.com/      

12. Erica http://EricasProjects.blogspot.com/

13. Connie Walsh - http://www.ConnieCreates2.blogspot.com/

14. Tracey  http://www.thecroppingcanuck.blogspot.com/

15. Oh Kissa http://www.ohkissa.com/

16. Sandy- http://www.scrapbookblessings.blogspot.com/

17. Kris Dietz -- http://http://kreationsbykrisdietz.blogspot.com/

18. Mayra- http://mayrasdesigns.blogspot.com/

19. Cheryl www.Cricutobessed.blogspot.com

20. Crafting Blog Events http://craftingblogevents.blogspot.com/

October Events

5th 10 am - 1 pm Operation Write Home: Christmas Edition - Our heroes overseas need Christmas cards to send to their loved ones at home! Please join us for an hour or two to make cards for them. Even if you don't want to make cards, you can stuff envelopes, stop by to sign our Christmas card to them or make a donation to cover postage. There will be door prizes and refreshments to get your creativity flowing! Please invite your friends!

7th 9 - 11:30 am Crop & Chat @ Harrisonville Library  - Bring your crafty projects to work.  I will bring my idea books and supplies to help you create lovely works of art.  If there's something specific you'd like, please let me know by commenting below.

7th 5:30 pm Card-Making @ Garden City Library - We will create 2  Halloween cards and 1 goody box for $5.  They're a perfect treat for anyone!

16th 5 pm Teen Craft @ Garden City Library - We will create a treat box full of Halloween candy.

18th 6:30 - 11 pm Free Crop Night & Huntington Card Workshop @ My Craft Room -  Bring your crafty projects to work and a snack to share.  All of my supplies and tools are available for you to use, including my Cricut.  The Huntington Card Workshop is $20 for 15 cards (does not include a stamp set).  Friends are always welcome!

21st 9 - 11:30 am Crop & Chat @ Harrisonville Library  - Bring your crafty projects to work.  I will bring my idea books and supplies to help you create lovely works of art.  If there's something specific you'd like, please let me know by commenting below.

21st 5:30 pm Necklace-Making @ Garden City Library - Make a teal, purple, pink, red or black necklace using fabric and embellishments for $15.

28th  9 - 11:30 am Crop & Chat @ Creighton Methodist Church  - Bring your crafty projects to work.  I will bring my idea books and supplies to help you create lovely works of art.  If there's something specific you'd like, please let me know by commenting below.

 
  

Pre-Order the New Cricut® Artbooking Collection Today!

Order your Cricut® Artbooking Collection here for only $99 through July 31, 2013 and pay no shipping!  The August Stamp of the Month is also included free!  Orders will ship directly from Close To My Heart beginning August 1, 2013.

The new Cricut® Artbooking collection will take your scrapbooking to levels you never imagined with over 700 images including15 layout themes, accents, borders, titles, overlays, photo mats and more! Using just two keys and one dial size, you will be able to create several coordinating pages for each theme. Creating 12″ x 12″ pages will be fast and simple! This cartridge  is perfect for birthdays, new baby, vacations, friends, sports, Halloween, Christmas, and more. Send your projects over the top with 3 coordinating stamp sets and chipboard elements!

            

Priced at just $99, the Cricut Artbooking Collection has a retail value of nearly $125 and includes:

• CTMH Exclusive Artbooking Cartridge (Over 700 images - Fonts, Mini Books, & Layouts)
• 3-My Acrylix stamp sets
• 3-Coordinating chipboard Dimensional Elements sheets

As a bonus, you will receive:

• FREE August Stamp of the Month, “A Chocolate Affair” — A $17.95 value! (pictured at left)
• FREE shipping on your entire order!

This offer is available only through April Nourse. Orders will begin shipping August 1, 2013.

What if you have to be the first on your block to get your own Cricut® Artbooking Collection?  Sign up for the no-obligation consultant kit and you can order the Cricut® Artbooking Collection at a discounted price today! Click here to get started!

Be the First to Get the New Autumn Products!

How would you like to be one of the first people with a collection of papers, stamps, embellishments and supplies from the Autumn/Winter Idea Book?  The book doesn't come out until August 1st, but during the month of July, you can purchase this collection at the discounted price of $49!  If that's not enough, once you purchase this kit, you have the opportunity to purchase anything else from the new book (including Artbooking - the newest Cricut Cartridge) at a 20% discount!  What are you waiting for!  Get it now at aprilnourse.ctmh.com!

*By purchasing this kit, you are signing up to become a Close To My Heart Consultant.  There is no obligation to purchase anything more at any time.

The Philosophy of Fun

NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO JOIN CLOSE TO MY HEART because when you sign up as a new Consultant between March 1–31, you'll receive a FREE Cricut® Art Philosophy collection*! The collection's retail price of $99 adds incredible value to your New Consultant Kit and will give you hours of creative fun with the included exclusive Cricut® cartridge, three coordinating My Acrylix® D-size stamp sets, and three sheets of matching Dimensional Elements shapes. Already own the collection? You can always give your free one as a gift or choose to receive $100 in select product credit** instead. Now is the time to embrace the philosophy of fun—Consultant and Cricut® fun!

Chinese New Year Blog Hop Day 1

Ni hao and welcome to the Chinese New Year Blog Hop! This hop is in honor of Guan, the little boy our family is adopting from Taiwan. If you'd like to read more about his incredible story, you can go to www.mamacurls.blogspot.com. To celebrate Guan's culture, we want to share some Chinese-inspired projects with you! 

I am so excited for you to see everyone's amazingly creative projects!

For my project, I created a goody box inspired by Chinese take out boxes.

I created the box by using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, available exclusively from Close to my Heart.  It is inked with Sweet Leaf and Crystal Blue inks, a flourish is stamped on the cardstock, then the box is assembled with decorative brads and embroidery floss.  The final touch is a butterfly gracing the outside of the box.  All supplies and materials are available from Close to my Heart. The sales from my page go towards our adoption expenses.

PSA Essentials and I have put together some great blog candy for our grand prize winner. To be eligible, you must simply comment on each blog on each day's post. We'd love for you to become a follower of each of our blogs too.  I'd also love to meet you on Facebook at Curls & Grins Creations!

Thanks for stopping by! Your next stop is Lynne at slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com

Make sure to come back tomorrow for more great projects!
April - http://curlsandgrins.blogspot.com
Lynne K. - http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/
Ashley - http://theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com/
Amy - http://www.lovetocrop.com/
Jearise - http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com/
Shannon - http://www.purplelionpaper.com/blog
Inga - http://mommahobbit.blogspot.com/
Maria - http://www.mdcraftcorner.blogspot.com/
Janet- http://www.createatdreamscrapbooks.blogspot.com/
Dena - http://missdjones.blogspot.com/
Jennifer - http://jenrubio.blogspot.com/
Theresa- http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com/
Ellen - http://cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com/
PSA Essentials - www.psastampcamp.blogspot.com/

The Great Pumpkin Hop Day 1

Hello, and WELCOME to the The GREAT PUMPKIN Blog Hop!! We're so excited that you could join us for this WONDERFUL two-day hop!! Please be sure to visit BOTH days for maximum ideas, maximum FUN, and maximum chances to WIN!! Our hostess, Amy at www.lovetocrop.com has some SUPER prizes for a few hoppers, so be sure to check out all of those details on her blog!!

If you have hopped here from  Lisa at http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com, then you have arrived at the perfect spot in the pumpkin patch!! If you are just popping in to visit, please take a trip back to Amy at www.lovetocrop.com to start at the beginning -- with all the pumpkins in the patch, you'll want to be sure to see them all!!

In our family, we are about fun and happy days, not scary and spooky ones.  My pumpkin creation represents my three happy daughters with a simple reminder for you...

To make this standard card, I used two Cricut cartridges (Paper Doll Dress Up for the pumpkins and Potpourri Basket for the sentiment).  The paper and bronze glitter are from Close to my Heart, as well as the Chocolate and Sunset inks used for distressing the cardstock.

We would love for you to become a follower of our blog and "like" us at www.facebook.com/curlsandgrins!

Thank you again for visiting, for the next stop in the Pumpkin Patch, please hop to Theresa ~ www.thescrapbookingqueen.com!

100 Cricut Cartridges Blog Hop

Welcome to the 100 Cricut Cartridges Blog Hop!  If you just got here, please go to http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com to start at the beginning and see all of the wonderful projects!  I am so excited to be a part of this blog hop and use my new Close to my Heart Art Philosophy cartridge.


Our family gives lots of handmade goodies for the holidays, so I made a little goody box using the Mistletoe papers, New England Ivy ink and Cranberry cardstock, also from Close to my Heart.

 

All items were cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge.  The pillow box was cut using Cranberry cardstock at 8", the holly leaves and berries were cut at 3", and the tag was cut at 2 1/2".  The leaves and tag were brushed with New England Ivy ink.  The box was tied shut using two strands of ribbon.

I'd Rather Be at the Beach Blog Hop - Day 5

Welcome to the "I'd Rather Be At The Beach" Blog Hop. This blog hop runs from May 18-22. If you are coming from Dana's blog, you’re on the right track. If you just joined us, you can go back to the beginning HERE and hop along with us. We’ve had so much fun creating this hop, and we have a wonderful line up with some oh-so-talented crafters. You will find loads of projects with a beachy theme throughout this hop! If you love the beach as much as I do, then you won't want to miss this one! We have LOTS of blog candy to offer! Please check back daily for your chance to win!

Here's the lineup:

Emily: http://www.createserendipity.net/

Dawn: http://dawnsdesignsthatdelight.blogspot.com/

Tricia: http://lshdesigns.blogspot.com/

Margaret: http://auntmargaretdesigns.blogspot.com/

Janet: http://www.createatdreamscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

Lisa: http://honeybearzdesigns2011.blogspot.com/

Theresa: http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com/

Lisa: http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/

Elsa: http://justafewdesigns.blogspot.com/

Martha: http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/

Dana: http://danascraftycorner.blogspot.com/

April: http://www.curlsngrins.blogspot.com/ You are here

Kim: http://kimmarieskorner.blogspot.com/ - Your next stop

Gill: http://www.creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/

Jackie: http://jackrabbitscrappin.blogspot.com/

For my last day at the beach, I went under the sea.  My little mermaid is happily floating with her friends.  She is from the Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge.  The background is dry embossed and sponged with blue ink.  Everyone is adorned with Liquid Glass and Martha Stewart glitter.

To win my blog candy, please leave a comment on this post AND become a follower of this blog.  For a bonus entry, become a fan of Curls & Grins on Facebook and comment here that you have done so. Winner will be announced June 1st, so come back here to see if you've won!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Make sure you hop along and see what Kim has in store for you!

I'd Rather Be at the Beach Blog Hop - Day 3

Welcome to the "I'd Rather Be At The Beach" Blog Hop. This blog hop runs from May 18-22. If you are coming from Dana's blog, you’re on the right track. If you just joined us, you can go back to the beginning HERE and hop along with us. We’ve had so much fun creating this hop, and we have a wonderful line up with some oh-so-talented crafters. You will find loads of projects with a beachy theme throughout this hop! If you love the beach as much as I do, then you won't want to miss this one! We have LOTS of blog candy to offer! Please check back daily for your chance to win!

Here's the lineup:

Emily: http://www.createserendipity.net/

Dawn: http://dawnsdesignsthatdelight.blogspot.com/

Tricia: http://lshdesigns.blogspot.com/

Margaret: http://auntmargaretdesigns.blogspot.com/

Janet: http://www.createatdreamscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

Lisa: http://honeybearzdesigns2011.blogspot.com/

Theresa: http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com/

Lisa: http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/

Elsa: http://justafewdesigns.blogspot.com/

Martha: http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/

Dana: http://danascraftycorner.blogspot.com/

April: http://www.curlsngrins.blogspot.com/ You are here

Kim: http://kimmarieskorner.blogspot.com/ - Your next stop

Gill: http://www.creationsbygillm.blogspot.com/

Jackie: http://jackrabbitscrappin.blogspot.com/

  

My inspiration for this card came from my Close to my Heart Moon Doggie papers.  These tropical papers are from a couple of summers ago and I still LOVE them.  To give the trunk of my palm tree a little texture, I dry embossed it and then sanded it.  It now has a fuzzy feeling.  The picture isn't so great, but the embossed sentiment on the basket is "Life's a Picnic."

To create this card, I used the Moon Doggie papers as I already said.  I also used the Campin' Fever stamp set from Close to my Heart, the Potpourri Basket cartridge for my Cricut to create my fun palm tree and some rick rack from my stash.

To win my blog candy, please leave a comment on this post AND become a follower of this blog.  For a bonus entry, become a fan of Curls & Grins on Facebook and comment here that you have done so. Winner will be announced June 1st, so come back here to see if you've won!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Make sure you hop along and see what Kim has in store for you!

A Surprise in My Mailbox

My grandma made cards for everyone's birthdays, anniversaries, and other special events.  When she passed away, my grandpa asked me to make an assortment of cards for him to send to family and friends.  I made about thirty cards, including this one:

The papers are from Close to my Heart, as well as the stamp set.  I sanded the cardstock used for the tree trunk, making it look more rugged.  The trunk and leaves were cut using my Cricut.  The most time-consuming part of this card was gluing the leaves on to the tree.  I love the simplicity of this card and it ended up being one of my favorites of the cards I made for Grandpa.  I was pleasantly surprised to receive it in the mail when my husband and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary.