Postcard Perfect Iced Coffee

Happy Monday Crafty Friends!

Here's a refreshing card to kick off the week!  Each year this last week of May (yes, I know it's now July) is the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop!  Here's the first one of my Coffee and or Tea themed projects.

This mason jar is was only available in May 2018.  Yep, I started this post when it was actually May.    

The REALLY good news is that the paper pack is still available in July 2018!  It's called Postcard Perfect and you can find it here on my website.  

The middle row of papers are Vellum and embossed in white.  But since you can't see white on white, they shaded it in.

Here's another Postcard Perfect Card.  Even a small strip of that beautiful tropical paper has a big impact!  The stamp set used on this card is the Beautiful Friendship - Cardmaking Stamp with Thin Cuts bundle.  It's about to sell out so if you love it, buy it NOW.  This a bundle.  If you order the dies, you'll always get the stamps.

With joy in my heart and coffee in my cup, have a great week

Summer's End Blog hop

Hello friends!

Summer is winding down but I thought I'd leave you with a sweet taste of summer with these cards I created using the One in a Melon stamp set that's available for just a few more days.

If you're joining us from the Summer's End Blog Hop and came from Katy's blog, welcome!  Thank you for stopping by.

I love the cute little pineapples.  This is a Cricut shape on the Artistry Cricut Cartridge.  

Orange You Great! 

I used our now - retired Sunset Ink to make this simple yet wonderful card.  Our Rose Gold Foil Tape goes forever and ever and it's still available, for the next year at least!  I think you could make about 90 of these cards from 1 roll!  

Recognize the smaller melon?  It's really the orange slice!  

All of the watercolor backgrounds were made using our fabulous new medium round water brush and one shade of our watercolor paints.  It couldn't be easier and cleanup is super simple!  

Be sure to get your One In A Melon Stamp C1650 Set before the end of the month!

Thank you for stopping by, if you're hopping, your next stop is Amie's blog Mimi, Myself and I.

Coffee with Calypso

Hello friends!  Let me welcome you to my little blog if you're joining me from the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.

I love coffee and really do not know what I'd do if I couldn't have it every day.  I know you'd want to run!  

This little card was created using the Close to My Heart Artistry Cricut Cartridge with a little help from Cricut Design Space.  I've welded 2 cups to make a shaped card and sliced and diced the lid into a couple pieces to layer it and give it a 3D shape.  Here's my Design Space File.  I have used this file for many projects so there's a few extra shapes in the file that are hidden.  

The cup is from the Calypso paper pack.  You can see the reverse side of the paper under the cup.  It's a great confetti design too!  There's also a sheet of adorable flamingo & pineapples in this pack!

The flowers and sentiment are from the stamp set is "A Bunch of Love."  

This set has matching thin cut dies which make it super easy to cut out!  

 I'm all about using dies or my Cricut to "fussy cut" my stamped images for me.  The inside of the cup has this wonderful sentiment which is included in the stamp set.  

Thanks for stopping by!  

P.S.  If you're a coffee lover, these stamps are being retired 7/31/16 so grab them before they are gone!

B1404:  Cup of Cheer

C1616:  Treats of Friendship

  

Latte Cup Tag & Recipe for Cold Brewed Coffee

Good morning!  

Welcome to the 2nd day of the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop!  

Today's project is a tag that I designed to go along with the teacher gifts we gave last year.  Looking back, I realized I never blogged about this cute little tag.

This tag been hanging in my office for a year and I can't believe how vibrant the CTMH inks are.  I photographed it a couple days ago on my quart jar of cold coffee.  (I didn't have any other mason jars handy and I wanted to share with you my cold coffee recipe)

Like this year's teacher gifts, it was tied on a Mason Jar that was filled with chocolate and coffee (of course!)

RECIPE:  Cold Brew Coffee in a Mason jar!  
Here's the basic recipe. Why re-invent the recipe when they've done a great job photographing it?
 I use 6 scoops of finely ground coffee and fill the quart jar with filtered water.  Be sure to shake it a couple times throughout the day.  I strain it with a similar mesh strainer and then with my old reusable mesh drip basket like this one because I use a pretty find grind.  Other websites suggest a coarse grind but then you'll have to use more coffee.

Don't toss your coffee grounds!  It's a nice big bunch of them.  Take them out and put them around a Hydrangea or Rhododendron to gently acidify the soil.  They will love it!  I have 2 bushes that I can reach from my back step that are loving the extra acid.  (In other words, I can do this in my PJ's)

You'll get a rich, concentrated cold coffee that's perfect for Iced Coffee or home-made Fraps.

Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Welcome to the Coffee Lover's Summer Blog Hop!

If you love coffee and stamping, this is the place to be!

This blog hop is a little different than my usual hops in TWO ways.  

#1  You'll find all of the blog hoppers here.  

#2 We have prizes, lots and lots of prizes!  

Here's my first piece of artwork for this blog hop~Yes, I'll have more throughout this week so please keep coming back.  

All products for this card are from Close to My Heart.  

I used 3 stamp sets for this card.  Who doesn't love coffee and ice cream?

November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Q:  How can a cute little flower like like this be scary?  

A:  It's a reminder that we're only 61 days from the end of 2014!  How's that for a little Halloween fun?  

Tonight I'm introducing the November Stamp of the Month via our monthly blog hop.  If you're part of this hop, you've just come from Nancy's Blog.  Welcome!   

This month we have over 60 Close to My Heart Consultants participating in this month’s Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. If you lose your place while traveling through our blog hop, the complete list of participants can be found here.

"It's the little things" is the November stamp of the month with 15 stamps.  It's just $5 with a $50 purchase or $17.95.  Either way, it's only available in November.  

  

The technique I used is Embossed Resist.  I added my favorite flowers and leaves to a single 3x3 block in a random pattern.  This takes the guess work out of random stamping.  I only had to ink my one block 4 times and stamp!  This was soooo much easier than stamping each flower and leaf 4 times!  Here's what my block looked like.  

I stamped with Versamark Watermark ink and sprinkled it with clear embossing powder and heat set it.  

Embossing powder has a wax base so it resists water which makes it "magic" when working with water based inks.    After embossing, I sponged ink directly over the embossed areas with sponge daubers loaded with Pear, Pixie and Canary inks.  

I focused the ink right in the center of the stamped image.  I sponged in a circular pattern, concentrating the color in the middle but making a circle shape of ink about an inch in diameter.  That way I could blend the colors where they overlapped.  

The ink may look random but you'll notice that every leaf is green and the flowers are Pixie and Canary.  

To finish this card, I stamped the sentiment and added an embellishment and flower for a focal point.  

I picked these three colors from the color pallet of the Brushed paper pack.  I had hoped to use it on this card but decided to keep the clean and simple look to this card.  

Now it's time to hop on over to Donna's Blog and see her fabulous creation.  

Evergreen Memories Team CTMH New Catalog Swap Blog Hop!

Welcome to our mini blog hop!  The Evergreen Memories Team worked together to create artwork for the new Annual Inspirations this last month.  I’m blessed to be part of an amazingly dedicated and TALENTED group of ladies!  This hop will feature a few of the new products from our brand new catalog.  If you came from Tracie’s blog you’re on the right track! 

My “mission” was to create 3 cards and a 1 page layout from Brushed and then recreate it for my swap sisters.  I instantly fell in love with the bright colors and REDS in this paper pack.  I’m surrounded by blue and boys at home so I almost always gravitate to the other side of the color wheel when new papers arrive! 

Here’s my layout.  I used the pattern from the second layout that’s part of the Workshop on the Go.   The pattern can be found in the Magic How-To book.  I used plenty of shimmer trim and the mini stamp set My Happy. M1045  It’s just $2.95!  The yellow heart flowers were cut from Artbooking at 2.5” in our new Canary Cardstock. 

My first card was created using the Have A Happy Day D1616 stamp set.  I love how it has tons of sentiments!  On this card, I used our new Sequin Assortment in Silver and Shimmer Trim. 

My second card is my very favorite.  I used the Your Own Kind of Wonderful Stamp set D1627 with the Sequin Assortment in Gold and Gold shimmer trim.  (notice a pattern with shimmer trim yet?)  I also used the new Bling Gems Gold Assortment.  I colored it with our new Peony Purple Shin Han marker to make it a pinky purple.  The butterfly was also cut from our Artbooking Cricut Cartridge. 

This last card also used the Your Own Kind of Wonderful stamp set for the butterfly and sentiment but I added the Pretty Petals C1599 stamp set.  It’s completely compatible with the Art Philosophy Cartridge.  (((So Excited)))!  I embellished this with the Pink Shimmer Trim and Pink Glitter Gems. 

This is a great paper packet!  It works with gold and silver and looks great with shimmer trim.  Try some today! 

It’s time to hop on over to Amy’s Blog to see her artwork with Wanderful. 

 

Here’s the full list for the blog hop

1. Tracie http://cre8ingfromtheheart.blogspot.com

2. Lalia (Me) http://www.craftylalia.com/

3. Amy http://thestampingtree.blogspot.com

4. Gail http://www.simplypapercrafting.com/

5. Michele http://evergreenmemoriesandart.blogspot.com

6. Cindy http://creativecornerwithcindy.blogspot.com/

7. Carla http://thestampingscrapper.blogspot.com

New Product Blog Hop

Today we’re hopping again!  This blog hop is featuring the all new 2014 Annual Inspirations catalog from Close to My Heart.  There’s 250 new products and 192 pages of inspiration.  Let me know if you need a copy! 
As this is a blog hop, it’s a big chain of blogs that will take you in a full circle.  After you’ve hopped through everyone’s posts you’ll arrive back to where you started. If you’re already hopping, welcome!  You should have come from {Pam’s blog}.   If you get lost along the way, you can see the full list of bloggers {here.}  It will open in a new window so you can keep it for later. 
I’ve been knee deep in preparing for a swap with team sisters!  I’ve been working with the Brushed paper pack and so you’ll notice most of my talk on Facebook and my blog have been featuring this paper.  Today I’m going to step away from Brushed and show you the Cut Above Card Kits that I’ve fallen in love with! 
They really do turn out like the kit shows.  Here’s the first one I created. 

This is a stock photo that shows everything in the kit.  Just add your stamp, ink and adhesive!  It’s as simple as that! 

It’s hard NOT to fall in love with them! 

• Everything is pre-cut. 
• There’s high quality accents!  Can you say GLITTER PAPER????
• 5X7 card with matching envelope. 
• No more cutting down a family 4x6 family snapshot to make it fit in a standard A2 card envelope!  Yes, I’m guilty of that, especially since the place that used to print 6 cent mini prints closed their local shop. 
• Your choice of sentiments
• Choose from 2 holiday ones & 2 modern everyday designs
• The reindeer card will mail very easily.  It doesn’t have any chunky embellishments! 

For the holidays, you have 2 kits to choose from. 

You’ll need to purchase the stamp set separately.  And that’s WONDERFUL!  Unlike our fabulous Workshop on the Go kits, this allows you to buy multiple sets of these cards for less than $15!  You’re not buying the same stamp set over and over! 
Here’s the stamp set.  It’s super cute and it only requires a 2x2 block. 

I’m so excited about these cards I’m having a workshop on 8/29.  More info here because this is a blog hop.  I really do want you to see the other new products too! 
To get started with the Cut Above kits you need:

• A Cut Above kit!  Or two or three…  We also have treat bags.
• A stamp set.  There’s a holiday one and an everyday one.  And there’s 2 kits that go with each stamp set!
• A 2x2 Block if you don’t already have one
• An ink pad.  Ruby Exclusive Inks is recommended for the 2 holiday card kits. 
• Adhesive.  We now carry stronger adhesives!  You’ll want a strong tape runner to adhere the card together.  If you’re adhering the reindeer to the glitter paper I’d suggest the mini glue dots because you’ll need a product that’s thick enough to stick to the glitter paper. 

That’s all for now!  Thanks for stopping by. 

The next stop on the hop is {Maria’s Blog.}

Be Wonderful!

Meet Brushed!  One of our 9 new papers from the Annual Inspirations collection.  I was immediately drawn to this paper pack with its bright vibrant colors and reds!  We have Cranberry and Hollyhock together with Pear, Black, Pixie, Flaxen and Canary.  Don’t recognize those colors?  That’s because they’re brand spankin’ new!  There’s also Glacier and Thistle.  You might have seen thistle in my previous blog post.  It’s a beautiful vibrant purplish pink!

This card has lots of new goodies!  The paper, of course as well as the Brushed Assortment.  That’s one of 7 metal flowers that are painted in the colors of the paper pack. They are self adhesive and have a big beautiful gem in the center.  We also have pink shimmer trim!  You’re going to see a lot of it on upcoming projects throughout the year! 

Here’s the wonderful flowers! 

The stamped images are from Your Own Kind of Wonderful D1627.  It’s a fun stamp set that features 6 unique butterflies.  There’s 3 that are bigger than this one!  And 6 sentiments!  I’m a fan of any stamp set that throws in Happy Birthday.  That one is always nice to have on hand an not have to dig out a separate stamp set. 

Now if you’d like to get more inspiration on using the newest CTMH products, click on any of the thumbnails below! Check back daily until Aug. 7 for new blog hop entries at the bottom of this post.

What at Hoot Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring August's SOTM, which is What a Hoot, a set of 17 stamps. If you have come here from {Traci'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 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.
This month we have over 60 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!
Here we go!

I paper pieced this little owl using the Scaredy Cat paper that will be available tomorrow August 1st! This is a Halloween paper pack but I think this cute little owl is ready for a party of any kind. 
Paper piecing was super simple because each piece was its own stamp!  Hint:  Don’t cut out the legs, simply stamp them and a little bit of the body on the base paper.  From there, layer upwards!  Everything was stamped in black ink. 1 single ink pad.  Crazy simple!
I drew a little border around the card using my wonderful journaling pen that I purchased from CTMH.  It takes a light hand but I love it because it looks best if you’re not perfect!

This adorable stamp set is only available to purchase in the Month of August 2014.  It’s a D sized set that can be purchased alone for $17.95 or for only $5 with a $50 purchase!!!
This is the first stamp set of our new catalog called our 2014 Annual Inspirations.  You can see it here starting 8/1.  Or let me know if you need a copy!
It’s time to keep hopping because this is a blog hop!  Click the blog hop badge or {here to go to Melissa’s blog.}

Come back soon to see more artwork from the brand new 2014 Annual Inspirations catalog! 

Creative Friends Blog Tour

In the last couple of weeks, I was asked by Marilyn McCleod, of Pink Paper Cottage, if I wanted to participate in a blog tour.  Check out Marilyn’s blog here and her Etsy shop.  She makes some beautiful projects with paper and fabric.  Since meeting her, she’s moved from Washington State to LaPine, Oregon, which is a favorite vacation spot for my family.  It’s her birthday this week and I love this pic that she posted on her blog. 

In this Close to My Heart and blogging world that I've become a part of during the last three years, I've developed friendships with people I absolutely love and admire, and who are creative way beyond my wildest dreams!
I will feature three crafty friends who inspire me.  In the meantime I’m going to answer the four questions.

1.  What am I working on?

I’m currently working on a challenge to “Create Every Day.”  This is my own challenge, not one that I found on the internet.  I used to turn my Cricut on nearly every day.  Lately, the main reason it’s been on is for workshop preparations and I want to change that. 

Over the weekend, I worked on a lot of UFOs, or UnFinished Projects, cards mainly.  They were leftovers from card workshops or half designed cards that didn’t make the cut.  I’m going to have a garage sale next month.  I want to put as many finished cards into the sale as possible.  I also want to get back to working on my Picture My Life album that I started this winter.  I’ve been organizing my pictures from BC.  Or Before Caleb.  I didn’t scrap before we had our son so there’s 8 years of pictures that are printed but need to be put in albums. 
This is a REALLY fun & loooooong post.  You’ll want to keep reading!

Kaboom! The June Stamp of the Month

Kaboom and here we are starting the 6th month of 2014!  In blog-hop-land it also means that I get to introduce you to the next stamp of the month from Close to My Heart!  This month I’m joining 50 Close to My Heart consultants to showcase art from the June Stamp of the month.  From my blog you’ll hop through in a big loop and in the end you’ll end up right back here!

If you’re already on the hop, you should be coming from Shelia's blog.  If not, just hop on through the whole hop and you’ll find her as you complete the circle.  If you get lost along the way hop on over to Melinda’s blog for the MASTER BLOG HOP LIST.
Now for some fun! This set really is called KABOOM!  It features 14 stamps including 4 that match up with shapes on the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. 

I grabbed this set a week ago to whip up this card below. 

Click here to pin it.  

It was super fast to put together if you’re not afraid of a little background stamping. 
The card base is from Artiste.  It’s a swing card and can be found under the “S” key of the handbook.  Clever, eh?  There’s a few of these little tricks on this cartridge.  How about Movies & Mustache?  Where could we find them?  Psst… look on the M button!  I digress… but you should take a peek!
I used Crystal Blue cardstock along with scraps of Buttercup yellow patterned paper from Babycakes paper pack & the Lagoon striped from the Skylark papers for the dove-tailed banners.  A bit of Ruby Washi tape added some fun and tied the elements together.
I fussy cut the TNT sticks and popped them up with 3D tape.  I stamped the same image below so I would have perfect glowing TNT fuses.

Click here to pin it.

If there’s ever been a card that has really been enhanced by sparkles, this is it!  Those fireworks just glow!  

Click here to pin it.

I designed this as a Father’s Day card for my Fun & Fab ladies on the 4th Friday workshop.  I think you’ll understand that I like patterns and mnemonics.  (They really help me and my Fabulous ladies).  I may make a couple extra and send them as thank you cards.  
That’s all I have for you tonight.  I will have more posts up this month using these stamps so please hop on back!  For now, please hop on over to Judy's Blog check out her project.