The Best Is Yet To Be

I woke up this morning thinking butterflies.  Then I saw that Unity Stamp Co launched a new Facebook Group Weekly Challenge today and I decided to play a bit.  As soon as I looked at the last Kit of the Month that I have received and spotted a butterfly, I was stamping and cutting.  The sentiment is from a past Stamp of the Week and seemed to fit my mood of the day.  The Challenge this week is for a Sketch, and I kept it in mind as I put the pieces together.

I am very excited by this new challenge series, and already have a few other cards started with this same stamp and sketch.  Hopefully, they’ll get done and I’ll be sure to post them too.

Stamps – Unity Stamp Co. –  JAN Jan 2016 KOM Start Again(Butterfly), Past SOTW – Yet To Be (Sentiment)

Papers – Recollections (Cathy’s Stash)

Ink – CTMH – Archival Black

 

*Links are provided for your shopping convenience, some may contain affiliate links or links to my CTMH page

 

Brown Thursday on Friday

Best Dreams Yet

Unity Stamp Co had a new release party planned for this week and some great sales, along with a blog hop, which runs thru tonight.  I spent yesterday during the “event” working diligently on some stamping of the recent Kit of the Month, and I decided to do a quick post this evening for the hop.  I’ve used scraps of CTMH papers used in a previous post, my favorite colored pencils and other scraps laying about.  There are some fantastic sales happening not only at Unity but at Cricut, Blitsy and other sites you’ll find in my side bars, if you have any questions or need help locating something, give me a shout.

Speaking of sales, be sure to check out my CTMH Black Friday Party happening now on Facebook.  Please join the brand new Facebook Group “Crafty Explorers” too, where you can hear about all kinds of sales and fun things and get to know other crafty types too.

Be sure to check out Unity’s Blog Hop too to see amazing cards made with Unity Stamps – Brown Thursday Blog Hop

Stamp – Unity Stamp Co. –  NOV 2015 KOM Best Year Yet (Girl), Reach For The Stars (Sentiment)

Papers – CTMH –  Taste of Summer (Retired), Ivory (Cathy’s Stash)

Ink – CTMH – Archival Black, Smoothie

Tag – CTMH – Artistry for Cricut

Color Pencils – Crayola and Prismacolor

Finishing Glaze – Ranger Tim Holtz  Distress Micro Glaze

*Links are provided for your shopping convenience, some may contain affiliate links or links to my CTMH page.

Unity Days Like This With A Little CTMH

It’s Unity’s Be Inspired Challenge time and I could not pass up the chance to use it as inspiration for some card making.

This challenge of Unity’s is my first to participate in, post about and join, and this is my 2nd time doing so. It’s so much fun, I plan to join a few others too.  As soon as they announced it, I gathered supplies and pondered (far too long) and the other day it all finally fell together.  I used a Stamp Of The Week (SOTW) stamp, some papers from CTMH and the new watercolor paints from CTMH too, my first time using this.  I rubbed on some Distress Micro Glaze to help protect the watercolor image when I was done.  I chose to bring the hearts out of the stamp by punching some hearts out of the scraps of Jackson print.  I was quite happy with the result, and will be doing lots more with this paint set.

Stamp – Unity Stamp Co. – Days Like This (Girl), Blossomy Condolences  (Sentiment)

Papers – CTMH – Watercolor Paper , Glacier Cardstock, Jackson 

Watercolors – CTMH – Watercolor Paints 

Ink – CTMH – Archival Black

Finishing Glaze – Ranger Tim Holtz  Distress Micro Glaze

*Links are provided for your shopping convenience, some may contain affiliate links or links to my CTMH page.

Flurries and Cricuts in the Air this November

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.

If you live anywhere in the northern parts, like I do, you’ve no doubt already seen some snow flurries in the air.  A recent sighting of a few flakes put me in the mood for some holiday card making, so out came the Cricut Air, my number one crafting assistant. I chose a Make It Now card and a few fun colors…including some silver, gold and white glittery paper and they came together quicker then a trip to the nearest card store. This card does contain an image that is from Simple Holiday Cards, and is available in the monthly subscription, or is available in Design Space for a small fee (usually a buck) if you are not a subscriber.

Do you too want to be able to easily make pretty cards, fun décor and personalized gifts for upcoming holidays? Then you need to treat yourself to a Cricut Explore Air™ — Cricut’s very popular electronic cutting machine. It’s the best DIY crafting tool to be developed since the sewing machine!

The Cricut Explore Air is versatile, easy to use, and allows for very precise cuts. It’s also incredibly affordable, especially since Cricut generously discounted the cost by up to $200 on the machine and bundles — just in time for the holiday crafting season!

With the Cricut Explore Air™, you can cut over 60 different types of material, including paper, fabric, plastic and vinyl to name a few. The Explore Air also features Cut Smart™ technology, which allows you to cut a wide range of shapes and sizes with exceptional precision, from ¼” tall up to 11½” wide x 23½” tall.

This Cricut Explore machine is called the Air because it has built-in Bluetooth® capability. This means you can use Cricut’s free iPad app and design anything you want from your iPad, just like you would on your home computer, but with the convenience of being able to take your projects with you anywhere. Then, you can just wirelessly send your project from your iPad to your Explore Air to bring it to life.

While the Cricut Explore Air is impressive on its own, purchasing it with one of Cricut’s bundle offerings makes it even more valuable. Each bundle comes with different accessories that allow you to expand your creativity and make your crafting projects even more simple and fun to create. Plus, by purchasing your Explore Air with a bundle, you’re able to save a bundle in the process!

Go to Cricut.com and check out the savings Cricut is offering on their Cricut Explore Air™ and bundles today so you can get your very own in time to make this holiday season your most creative one yet!

My First Card Challenge with Unity – A Christmas Card with CTMH colors

I’ve been making cards for Unity’s Be Inspired Challenge for a couple of months now, but finally…I am going to be brave enough to actually upload an image and enter the card in the challenge.

The challenge, which runs monthly beginning on the 3rd Tuesday, offers up a couple of sketches and a color combo which can be followed loosely using Unity Stamps.  I chose one of their newer Poinsettia stamps, as I thought that would work nicely for a pinkish bloom, which I thought matched CTMH’s Taste of Summer papers perfectly for a nontraditional Christmas card. I added a touch of glitz with the Foil Tape, which is an extra shiny Washi-like tape which I just love and know I will be using a lot, and a few Bitty Sparkles. The card was quick and easy to put together, and I’ll be throwing some more together in some more traditional colors too.

I can’t wait to see what the next challenge Unity does.  I love their stamps, and doing challenges,  which I plan to be posting more of.

Stamp – Unity Stamp Co. – Poinsettia Wishes (Poinsettia), Entwined Poinsettia (Sentiment)

Papers – CTMH – Taste of Summer (Retired) and Black and White Daisy

Embellishments – CTMH – Foil Tape (Silver), Bitty Sparkles

Color Pencils – Crayola and Prismacolor

Ink – CTMH – Archival Black and Thistle

*Links are provided for your shopping convenience, some may contain affiliate links or links to my CTMH page.

A Little Peek at October

It’s October already, one of my favorite months! I love the cooling days and all the gorgeous fall colors. And, I love some of the things CTMH has to offer for October. Brand new New Consultant kit with a limited offer bag (see image on this page Cover) that makes me want to sign up again, and the October Stamp of the Month Kit which is one of my faves, and I am going to start using Today! cuz Christmas is just around the corner. Also of course, the new Catalog is available, you can find it online here http://cathy.ctmh.com/, and be sure to click on the “Join October Gathering” button.
Please feel free to msg me with any questions, either about ordering, hosting your own gathering, or about joining CTMH, I’d love to have you.

Cricut has some great things happening too that I’d like to be telling you all about in the next weeks.  I have a new Cuttlebug, which just happens to be on sale now over at Cricut , as are many accessories. I’ll be wanting to tell you about my great shopping experience, as always, at Cricut as well as some of the other fun things Cricut offers.

I have also been having a lot of fun checking Blitsy each day, every day they add new limited time/quantity sales all nicely categorized in all kinds of creative interests from appliqueing to Zyron. I’ve found companies I’ve not seen before here, and many favorites too.

Please note, I do make a small bit of money on each purchase you make from these sites (link will always be available to both CTMH and affiliate sites) on the sides of my blog page for your convenience.  I do appreciate greatly your support, time and encouragement. Thank you so much.

Stay tuned, have a wonderful October and let your creativity shine!

What’s White and Pink or White and Navy All Over?

New Cricut Explore One Colors!

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. Thank you in advance for reading, clicking and shopping thru my blog. 

Yup, if you ansered the new Cricut Explore One, you were right!!!

Add some color to your life with Cricut’s colorful new Explore One machines! These amazing machines are now available in two new colors: Vintage Navy and Cherry Blossom — for only $199.99! Purchase your very own machine in one of these new colors today. Be sure to use the code AUGSHIP at checkout because you’ll get free shipping on all orders (no minimum)!

 

Quicky Crafting with Cricut Design Space

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. Thank you in advance for reading, clicking and shopping thru my blog. 

Shown above, is a couple of cards I made in merely moments in Design Space, with a Make It Now item.  Read on to get an idea on just how you can make some too, as well as some of the other fantastic quickies you can do with Cricut when your time and creativity may be limited.

Now that you’re more familiar with Cricut Explore One™, Cricut Explore Air™ and Cricut Design Space™, it’s time to chat about some of the really neat things you can create when you put it all together. As you’re getting familiar with your Cricut machine, it’s a great idea to take advantage of the free Make it Now™ projects and images that you get with Cricut Design Space™. For example, check out this adorable 3D Hot Air Balloons Mobile. It’s a fun, easy starter project and makes for the perfect baby shower or toddler’s birthday gift (and can you believe it’s made with felt?). And what’s a gift without a card? Cricut has an incredible selection of card examples made with Cricut Explore machines. There’s even a whole selection dedicated to everything baby, which is where I came across this cute baby shower card.

Birthday What better way to tell someone how special they are than with a hand/Cricut-made card and gift? This super fun shaker card is perfect for a 21+ birthday. And even if you purchase a gift, you can always use your Cricut Explore machine to personalize it. For example, if you bought a friend a purse or a wallet, you could use your machine to monogram it with their initials. Or if you bought them a plain shirt or sweater, you could customize it with a fun image or statement. I love this sparkly pineapple t-shirt. All you need is a blank shirt, a roll of Cricut Iron-on, and images from the Cricut® Summer Love image set.

Pool Party Soak up the summer fun with a pool party! You can use your Cricut Explore to create everything from invitations to decorations. Here are some really creative ideas for how to add some special splash to a pool party.

Engagement/Wedding Make your own beautiful table decorations, banners, party favor boxes, cards, and more for the happy couple in just a few minutes! You’ll find some really impressive ideas in Cricut’s Design Space, such as this lovely Mr. & Mrs. card. There are an unbelievable number of project examples in the Design Space, which are categorized by type (e.g. baby, holidays, home décor, school, food, etc.) and by level (easy, moderate, and advanced). You can also find a ton of great ideas for projects on Cricut’s Blog and Pinterest page. The summer season is a perfect time to get your very own Cricut machine and familiarize yourself with Design Space and all the incredible projects you can create. Try out a few projects each month and you’ll be amazed at how easy it is. By the time the holiday season rolls around, you’ll be a Cricut pro and will wow your friends and family with your stunning crafting skills!

Stay tuned and have fun crafting!