Seasonal Expressions Blog Hop

Welcome to our Seasonal Expressions Blog Hop!  Today we have almost 40 CTMH Consultants featuring new products from our very first Seasonal Expressions Holiday Mini Catalog!  If you've come here from Krista's Blog you are on the right track!  If you get lost along the way the complete listing of hop participants can be found by clicking HERE.

Since we are just 19 days away from Christmas I thought a gift item would be perfect for today's hop! I've finally finished getting all my projects ready for the big Si View Holiday Bazaar on Saturday including these adorable Sock Cupcakes.  This one features our new Hopscotch paper pack and cuts from our Artiste and Art Philosophy cartridges. 

This paper is full of bright fun colors and patterns - perfect for spring time and Easter projects.

You can order from the fabulous Seasonal Expressions mini starting on December 1st through March 31st 2015.  Be aware that all the papers and kits can ONLY be ordered during those months - once this Seasonal Expression is over anything with the little clock symbol next to it will no longer be available!  To see the new booklet online CLICK HERE and it will take you to my online site to view it or download the PDF!

Now hop on over to Pam's Blog and see what she has created with our fun new seasonal items!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Stay crafty my friends!

Paige

November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - It's the Little Things

Welcome to our November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! 

We will be featuring November's SOTM, It's the Little Things.  If you have come here from  Haley's Blog, 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, click HERE to find the complete blog hop list!

When I saw this group of stamps I thought how fun it would be to random stamp an entire sheet and then cut a gift ensemble from it!

I used analogous color families like blues and greens, yellows and oranges, and purples and pinks to layer inks while keeping them from looking muddy.

To give things a bit of sparkle I added dots from our Silver Metallic Marker on all the tiny orange flowers and the centers of the purple and pink flowers before cutting with my Cricut.

Our thin Thistle Diagonal Striped Ribbon was perfect to tie up the gift card holder and add the tag to the bag.  I did use a small velcro dot on the bag to keep it closed as well.

Here is the Explore Design Space file for this ensemble.  It uses one 12x12 random stamped or patterned paper and one 8.5x11" sheet of white cardstock.   

https://us.cricut.com/design/#/canvas/project/21658059

Here is the list of colors and stamping order I used:

Blue Flowers:  Glacier, Juniper and Topiary

Purple Flower:  Thistle and Gypsy

Pink Flower:  Pixie and Thistle

Yellow Flower:  Canary and Goldrush

Leaves:  First and 2nd Generation Pear

Orange Flower:  First and 2nd Generation Goldrush

To purchase the SOTM for just $5 with $50 purchase or any of the other items needed to make this project, visit my shopping site!

www.Paige.CTMH.com

Now hop on over to Jilena's Blog here and see what she has created!

 

Rose Tote Box with CTMH Avonlea and Cricut Artiste

I know I've said it before but I seriously adore making the 3-D bags, boxes and flowers from our two Cricut cartridges - Art Philosophy had a bunch but Artiste has TONS of these cuts.  Here I've used our gorgeous Avonlea paper mixed up again with Smokey Plum to create a beautiful box perfect for gift giving.

This is the adorable gable tote box was cut to fit a page so the overall dimensions are about 4 7/8" wide x 2 1/4" deep x 4" high.

The rose and leaves were also cut with Artiste.  When I roll up my roses I'll often glue them, lightly spritz them with water and then take a heavy acrylic block and smoosh them down a bit.  This flattens the flowers out and helps curl some of the edges.  Its a fast way to get them looking more natural without fiddling with the individual petals.

I took a sanding block to the edges of the leaves and also ran a score line down the middle in order to sand a vein into the leaf.

If you'd like to make this project, click on the links below to purchase these products:

Avonlea Paper

Smokey Plum Cardstock

Artiste Cartridge

Bronze Glitz Glitter Gel (center of rose)

Sanding Block

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you have a fabulous Monday to kick off a new week!

Paige

Masculine Milk Carton with new Artiste Cricut Cartridge

I think milk cartons are the bomb-diggity for cool treat packaging.  I loved them when CTMH came out with their pre-cut ones and I was totally pumped when I saw the image on the Artiste Cartridge!  Perfect for party favors, gift giving or packaging up a special treat for your kid's lunch box.  The best thing about it being on the Cricut is that you can make everything from tiny ones for a handful of M&Ms or a big one like this to hold a gift sized amount.

On a smaller one-time use package I glue the whole top shut but on a larger sized package its nice to glue just a portion and use a paper clip or small binder clip to close up the lip.

During the Stampganza promotion I grabbed two sets I had my eye on "Country Life" and "Enjoy!".  I love how nicely they work together and give this project almost a French Country feel.

Close up of my paperclip tag.

I've only just begun using my Artiste Cricut cartridge and all I can say is that it is a MUST HAVE if you like to create gift items, host parties or decorate for the holidays.  There are some super sweet card bases, gift card holders (with the notches for the gift cards pre-cut) as well as lots of detailed images but the 3-D items are what make me swoon.  I'll be back tomorrow with some fun Strawberry Boxes I made for my daughter!

You can order your own exclusive Artiste Cricut Cartridge from me starting August 1st! 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Paige

Polka Dots and Stripes Challenge for Heart2Heart Challenges!

This week's challenge at Heart2Heart Challenges is a salute to trendy polka dots and stripes!  Get your spotty polka dotty fun on and create a project to share with us this week.  Want to step it up a design notch?  Add some stripes for flair and pizazz!

This week's challenge works perfectly with the new Close to my Heart special "Dotty for You" papers.  So perfectly our entire design team independently chose to work with these papers this week!  To get your set of 24 papers (2 each of 12 double sided patterns) for just $5 click this link to visit my online store! 

While you don't have to use this particular paper, you do need to use Close to my Heart products and mention the challenge site in your post.  Have fun playing this week and head on over to Heart2Heart Challenges blog to post your project using our Mr. Linky!

With the exception of the Milk Carton and the scallops on the roof, everything was cut with the AP cartridge - love that thing!  The roof was three layers of paper scalloped with our corner rounder.  I cut the Milk Carton with my new Bags, Tags, Boxes and More 2 cartridge so mine is slightly smaller (2.5" square at the base) than the CTMH ready to decorate Milk Carton which is 3" square at the base.

Enabler's List of Products to Purchase - click on the links to go directly to my online shopping area:

Paper:  Dotty for You (special - ends May 31 so hurry and get your 24 sheets for $5!), Kraft Cardstock

Other:  Color Ready Seam Binding, Bronze Glitz Glitter Gel, Corner Rounder (for roof scallops), Art Philosophy Cartridge

Thanks for stopping by today!

Paige

Champagne and Chocolate for Valentine's Day

Champagne, chocolate and Valentine's Day - they just seem to go together!  This year I probably won't be indulging in the champagne because I've been on Ibuprophen for the aches and pains of training for my black belt but I still wanted to give my husband a treat in celebration of the love we share (not to mention thanking him for all the massages he gives to my sore muscles).  I whipped up a door hanger from the Art Philosophy cartridge which is perfect to hang from a bottle of champagne or sparkling cider and fill with some chocolates.

I also made a couple of cute 4x4" heart cutout cards from the AP cartridge with Black cardstock and filled the openings with our cute Roxie paper.  I'm thinking I'll slip one inside of his computer bag telling him to hurry home on Valentine's night!

After 23 years of having him as my Valentine, I'm still over the moon in love with my husband Mark!  Here's to you babe!

I hope you've been inspired to create something for your special Valentine! 

If you'd like to make this project, get these supplies:

Paper:  Roxie, Kraft Cardstock

Stamp:  Mad About You (December SOTM)

Ink:  Black, Tulip

Other:  Art Philosophy Cartridge, Signo Uni-ball White Gel Pen, Ribbon (retired Organdy but our new Seam Binding would be perfect), Red Baker's Twine (Paper Source)

Journal and Card Gift Set with CTMH "A Tweet" and Bliss

A very dear friend of mine had something sad happen and I wanted to give her a card to tell her I care and a journal so she can write her feelings down. I've found at times in my life that writing things down can be very theraputic. Speaking the words of sorrow can break your heart all over again but somehow writing them helps me heal.

I inked up our new seam binding with Gray Wool ink - it takes color beautifully and ties gorgeous bows!

This project is also for our Heart2Heart Challenge this week - to create a 3-D object.  To play along with the challenge, include CTMH products in your project and post your link to this week's challenge at:

http://heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com/2012/01/3-d-projects.html

If you'd like to make this project, get these materials:

Paper:  Bliss (retired but our upcoming Florentine paper with soft colors would be a good subsitute)

Ink:  Gray Wool, Chocolate

Stamps:  A Tweet, True Friends (retired)

Other:  Art Philosophy, My Creations Journal, Color Ready Seam Binding, Bronze Glitz Glitter Gel

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,

Paige

Altered Journal and Pen set - a great holiday gift!

This is a set I put together for my son to give a friend for her birthday.  It went together fairly quickly as the basic layout of the front with the black stems and roses was based on a project I made a couple of months back.  I love covering composition books for a personalized gift - who doesn't love getting something beautiful with their name on it?

Here is the inspiration piece found on this blog post.

If you'd like to make an altered journal like the one above, get these supplies:

Paper:  Roxie

Other:  Art Philosophy, Silver Glitz Glitter Gel

Mini Scrapbook in a Frame with Roxie, Limited Edition and Art Philosophy

Welcome to the September Stamp of the Month Blog hop featuring "Limited Edition". If you have come here from Cindy's Blog, 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 just by clicking on the links at the end of the post.

This project came to me in a flash of inspiration, which was good as I was really struggling with what to make with this set!  I love the projects they showed in the Idea Book but didn't want to make something too similar so I really had to think about what I could make that was a little more out of the box for this set.  I think I achieved "out of the box" but now I'm in a frame!  This is actually one of those $1 cheapie wooden picture frames from Michael's Crafts that I've painted and faced with Roxie paper but here is the surprise - inside the opening is a pull out mini-book!

Here is a close up of the front of the accordian album.  The tag is stamped with several images from the set and I thought the clock made the perfect bird belly.

You can either untie the ribbon or simply pull the flap from under it and here comes the accordian album!

The pages are size just right for the wallet or wallet minis that you get from school pictures. This will be a lovely way to display my three kids photos when they get their Fall school pictures taken.  I also have two journaling areas for the year and the kid's grade levels to be written.

Here are the last two pages closer up so you can see the stamped journaling tag and the sweet little heart surprise at the end.  The heart is attached to the backing black cardstock on the flip side of the frame.

If you'd like to make this project, get these supplies:

Paper:  Roxie, Kraft Cardstock

Stamps:  Limited Edition (September SOTM)

Inks:  Desert Sand, Black

Other:  Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge, Silver Glitz, Black Grosgrain Ribbon, White Hemp, Black Paint, $1 frame at Michael's (this one has a 3.5"x3.5" opening)

Now "Hop" on over to Angela's Blog to see her work!

Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the September SOTM is only available until the 30th!  You can purchase this set outright for $17.95 or get it for just $5 with a $50 purchase by clicking here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Paige

Mini Shopping Totes with Roxie and Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge w/ cutting guide

I am so in love with my new Cricut Expression 2 machine and the Art Philosophy CTMH cartridge!  All the pieces for these two adorable Roxie shopping totes were cut using my AP cartridge and they were a snap to put together and sized perfectly for something small like a pair of earrings.

Materials and Cut List:

Paper:  Roxie, Key Lime CS (Bright Green Shade Pack), Colonial White CS

Stamps:  Magic Tabs

Ink:  Black

Cricut:  Art Philosophy Cricut Bundle

Other:  Clear Sparkles (center of rose), Paper Crimper for leaf texture

AP Cricut Cutting Shapes and Dimensions: 

(numerical directions such as Font Layer 1,3 refer to the 5 rows of keys and the ten columns of keys to 1,3 is the first row, third key over using Font Layer )

Bags:  (2 Shopping Tote) Font Layer 1,3  cut at 5.5" or use fit to page

Topper:  (1 Rectangle8) 5,5 Cut at 2" (after Cricut cutting, slice the piece in half to make two bag toppers)

Rose:  (2 Roses) Font Layer 5,8 cut at 1.5"

Leaves (4 Leaf4) 4,6 cut at 1.25"

Tag (2 Tag3) 3,10 cut at 1"

And the winners are...

This post is going out to my local Open House ladies who signed up for e-mail delivery of my posts and sent me a note to let me know!  E-mail delivery is the BEST way to keep up with all my events, classes and current artwork.  You don't have to remember to visit, all my latest information will be auto-delivered to your inbox in the morning if I've posted anything new.

As promised, two of you have won a FREE Pinks Rose Pens with Vase class!  And the winners are....

Christine S. and Tamara F.!  See you girls on Friday!

There are still spots open in this class if you'd like to attend this Friday, 26th August from 7-9PM.  Cost is $7 for the first workshop and $5 for additional workshops.  Color choices are Pinks/Reds (shown), Yellows or Purples.  To have a kit(s) mailed to you, postage is $4.95 for a flat rate USPS shipping envelope.  Contact me at paigedolecki@yahoo.com or via phone at (425) 260-6965 to signup or order a kit.  Thanks!

This class was originally designed by fellow CTMH consultant Lisa Stenz. Lisa very generously shared instructions on the consultant BB and I've only made slight changes to her awesome project. Thanks Lisa!

Spa Sock "Cupcake"

This is the final piece of the end-of-year teacher gifts - a spa sock cupcake!  I found these wonderful socks that are shea butter infused and vanilla scented and feel AMAZING on your feet.  They even have a pink toe to look like a cherry top top!

I made the cupcake holder by adhering patterned paper on top of a cardstock base and then edging the top.  The tag is a punch by Marvy Uchida and the little lion is embossed on some Oliva paper, cut out and mounted.  The back of the tag says "No Lion, You're the Best"

We're having a very RAINY day today.  I rained so hard last night that two of my deep purple giant stalks of Bearded Iris broke at the base.  My son went out to grab them for me so we could bring them inside and enjoy their wonderful perfume.  I hope summer weather arrives soon in the Seattle area - I'm getting really tired of gray and raining.

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you sunshine and summer fun!

Paige

Crocodile Smile Card Set

I made this card set as part of an end-of-the-year gift for my son's 3rd Grade teacher.  She was an absolute gem - very fun, quirky and a great sense of humor so I thought this card set would suit her perfectly. 

I embossed the crocodile and smile in black embossing powder and colored this guy in using Olive re-inker.  And this is what I packaged the cards in - a sweet little box perfect for 6 notecards and envelopes:

Supplies Used:

Paper:  White Daisy CS, Olive CS, Wings Level 2

Stamps:  Life's a Jungle (retired), Take a Picture, A Little Thanks

Inks:  Versamark

Other:  Black Embossing Powder, Olive Re-inker, Waterbrush, Sweet Leaf Stitched Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope your summer is off to a fabulous start!

Hugs,

Paige

Customized Journal with hand-tinted flowers using CTMH rubons

One of the requirements for getting your Black Belt at our martial arts school is to keep a journal to show your development and progress in several areas - physical, mental, leadership, etc.  Well, if I'm going to lug something around for a year or more documenting all that I'm doing then it might as well be something cute!  This is what I came up with for my Black Belt journal...

I went to the local business supply store and picked up a lavender colored 3 ring binder - the kind with the clear pocket on the front that you can slip paper behind to decorate.  I pulled out a sheet of our clearanced Love Story Rubons (you can get them for just $2 for a set of 3 here) and put the big branches on a sheet of blue patterned paper.  Then I went to town putting the flower rubons on white daisy cardstock and hand tinting using our Waterbrush and ink pads in oranges, pinks and purples.  The leaves I tinted by applying Topiary ink directly to the B&T paper (patterned paper) inside the rubon shapes.

I added a name plate using our Old World Alphabet.  Don't you love that font?  It looks like caligraphy!  And then I added a sentiment that really rings true for me - Life isn't about finding yourself, its about creating yourself.  I think that has been central to my personal journey for the last couple of years.

Here's a close up of some more flowers - love our pink and purple sparkles for the bling centers on these!

If you'd like to make a journal like this, get these supplies:

Paper:  Gypsy Cardstock, Sophia (orange paper mat), Twitterpated (blue paper)

Stamps:  Old World Alphabet, Life's Creation (retired), January SOTM (butterfly)

Inks:  Gypsy, Pansy Purple, Sunset, Cotton Candy, Topiary, Brown Stazon (butterfly)

Other:  Love Story Rubons (get them while they are still available - and CHEAP!), Red, Pink, Purple Sparkles, Waterbrush, Sizzix Tim Holtz die cut (for name plate)

CTMH March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring Sensational Season

Who's ready to do the bunny hop?  The March Stamp of the Month is Sensational Season - a set of 10 stamps with a vintage bunny theme.  If you have come here from Nicole's Blog, you are on the right path! The bunny hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around by clicking on the links at the bottom of each post.

When I got this stamp set I immediately thought of making some carrot shaped Easter treat holders so I channeled my inner-Beatrix Potter and got to work making some of the CUTEST little bunny things for my kids this year!  Check out little Peter rabbit... don't you just want to squeeze his little bunny cheeks?  

I used our new 2" scallop punch on some White Daisy cardstock, embossed the images in Cocoa embossing powder and colored in using our ink pads and Waterbrush.  I just started using the Waterbrush a couple of weeks ago and I love the control and soft watercolor look you can achieve with this tool.  I also used our new 12" Kraft borders at the top of each box to help make each project unique for each kid.

Here is the top for each carrot box.

I was having so much fun with this stamp set I just couldn't stop - the Beatrix force was strong in me that day!  So I also made two 12x12 sheets of random stamp and Waterbrush colored paper to use later for more Easter projects.  On these larger sheets I stamped in Cocoa INK instead of doing the embossing - it was faster and gave an even softer vintage look to these papers.

Now "Hop" on over to Tonya's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the SOTM is only available until March 31, 2011 - to get this set at a discount or free visit my website at Paige.MyCTMH.com!