NEW Inkysquids Cricut Store

Want to create gorgeous layouts like the one here?  Try my Cricut Affiliate Store at https://tinyurl.com/ShopInkysquidsCricutStore.

  Anything you purchase through the affiliate link will support my small business and allow you to get your hands on ALL the goodies.  We have a GREAT new Cricut cartridge called Complete Creativity.

That includes:

•  All the CTMH exclusive Cricut collections
•  Cricut Access subscriptions and purchases
•  NEW CTMH Cricut collection, Complete Creativity
•  NEW CTMH Digital Art + vintage images
• Cricut machines
•  Mats, blades, vinyl, infusible ink, heat press, ETC. 

If you are a Cricut Access Members, ALL past CTMH single images are available FREE with your Cricut Access subscription.  If you are interested in subscribing to CRICUT ACCESS, subscribe HERE.

Quilling Tool

Even though it is the middle of winter, and most things are hibernating or dead, flowers remind us that everything is not dead.  Decorate your house with lovely variations of paper flowers using the Artise Cricut cartridge and the quilling tool.  Check out the video below to learn how to roll flowers to add to your projects.

The Quilling Tool from Close To My Heart helps you create gorgeous rolled paper projects and embellishments that are simply stunning. The tool comes with two sizes - one on each end - to help you achieve as tight or as loose a roll as you would like. The Quilling Tool makes rolling up and curling cut flowers, like our Cricut-cut shapes, quick and easy, so your flowers stay tightly would before you release them and add your adhesive. Take one end, slip it on to your paper and roll away. Just like that. Now both ends of the tool feature tapered ends so that as you roll, the completed portions ease onto the barrel without ripping, of course. Then you simply slide the completed flower off of the end and apply adhesive to both ends and add to your projects.

Yuletide Carol Ribbons

  

Scraps left over tend to make interesting cards.  Adding banners, or bits and pieces can add dimension and texture to cards.  Also, tags can be a way to pop out your sentiment.  This card, layout found here,  uses both a tag sentiment and scraps as ribbons, even my favorite Shimmer Trim.

 

Layering the different scraps, stamping bits, even adding doodads like Badge Buttons, sequins, and fibers, make cards more interesting.  The above card has everything.  Using a sketch from LilyBean Paperie, I stamped on B&T paper, cutouts from the Cricut, Badge Buttons, and different ribbons.  This card has a lot going on, but I love how it makes the eye travel is so many different directions.

Yuletide Carol Tickets

Four of the stamps in the Yuletide Carol Workshop are ticket shapes with different sayings. These are great, especially when stamped on pre-cut papers from the Cricut cartridges.  I built this card based on a tea card from Peggy. I love how adding stamps to Close To My Heart's Background and Texture Paper creates a unique background no one else has.  It added the right kick to my card base.  Then, the fun tickets stamped in Ruby and New England Ivy finalized this cute card.

 

Making my own backgrounds is a favorite of mine, so that I can create unique cards.  Melissa shows a technique to make a ticket background.  With this set, four different tickets made for an easy background in New England Ivy, Desert Sand, and Ruby, showcasing my favorite saying, Oh, What Fun.

Chalk It Up: Football

Flag 

The last layouts from the Chalk It Up WOTG used the layout sketches included with the WOTG brochure.  These two layouts are based on sketches from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 1.  This is Pattern Seven on page 19.  Both sides of the page are rotated from the original instructions to fit with the photos I wanted to scrapbook.  Any ideas for a title?  The strip along the bottom left will be stamped when I can decide on a clever title.

Again, I wanted to hide the newspaper articles about the game, so I used the Magic book for ideas.  Our 3-D Foam Tape makes an easy pocket to slide the newspaper down behind.

Football

The second layout is pattern thirteen on page 31.   Our Background & Texture paper is cardstock quality, so you can use it as the base for scrapbook or cards.  On the left, a Cricut cutout set to 11" size helps frame the main photo of the layout.

Those sneaky journaling boxes popped up again.  This time, I printed a nice photo from the newspaper, but didn't want to include it on the layout.  I wanted to showcase my photos more.  I used the thicker 3-D Foam Tape to lift the matted photo up, and attached a piece of stamped cardstock to the back of the newspaper photo to act as a pull tab.

I love, love, love our Flip Flaps, clear memory protectors in various sizes to add more photos to a layout, or hidden journaling.  In this layout, I used it to add two more photos with the UM Cheerleaders that I would normally not have enough room for.  They can also be used to hold memorabilia that you may not want touching your photos because it is not acid free.

Last Days for What a Hoot!

 

We are in the last days for the September Stamp of the Month, What a Hoot!  Don't miss out on this super fun stamp set.  Not only does it have owl images, two of the owl wings can be used as Bat wings.  This cute card took no time at all to make.  

The balloon image and Happy Birthday stamp are from the Cricut Artiste Collection.  Pop the balloon and bat up using 3-d adhesive. Don't forget the inside sentiment.

SOTM: What a Hoot!

School's In

 

School is about to start or is already back in session for many of you.  Check out this cute little box, created with the Artiste Cricut Cartridge.  This example uses the Chalk It Up Paper pack.  Our B&T paper is cardstock quality, so it makes a great base for boxes.  Tie up the goodies inside tightly with a Cranberry Stripped Twill Ribbon.  The fun little White Enamel Stars are brand new.

Artistic Adventure Mini-Album

Sturdy boards.  Heavy duty three rings.  Kraft cover that soaks up ink or makes a good background color.  These are all the pluses and more that I found while working with the CTMH My Creations™ Kraft 3-Ring Album for my roomie gifts for convention.

I don't usually scrapbook in such bright colors, so these albums were a fun change of pace.  The size is great, 8" X 8".  Not too big and not too small.

The Disney Cricut Carts helped with remembering the location where the convention was held, Disneyland Hotel.  I actually used all three CTMH cartridges in making the pages for the book (Artbooking) and all of the non-Disney elements for the book (Artiste and Art Philosophy).

 

These cute little tickets and license plates are from the Disney Cricut Cartridges.  I added these on the inside pages.

Lovely Spring Box

 

Sometimes I find a little treat or surprise that I want to give to a friend or loved one.  I want to wrap it up, other times I need something a little heftier like a little box.  But sometimes boxes can be so boring, and industrial looking. 

Enter the CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge!  You can create a cute box using cardstock and our awesome patterned B&T paper.  Top the box off with great rolled flowers which are really easy to make.  This box, using the Skylark B&T and Kraft CS was created by Denise from Inspired by D.  She was my roomie at convention this year.

 

  Don't forget the quilling tool and larger adhesive dots!  The quilling tool will help you roll the flowers and the larger adhesive dot will help you hold it all together.

Discover the Art of Business

Join Close To My Heart as an Independent Consultant April 1–30, 2014, and receive your favorite "art-full" Close To My Heart Cricut^® collection FREE! Our New Consultant Kit is just $99 and comes packed with nearly triple the retail value in products and supplies to help you succeed. Plus, when you qualify for the Straight To The Top program, you will be refunded the price of your New Consultant Kit.  Select your FREE Cricut^® collection—retail priced at $99—when you order your New Consultant Kit and watch your new business soar!

Choose from one of these three collections for FREE!

Cricut Art Philosophy

 

Cricut Artiste

 

Cricut Artbooking

Ivy Lane Party

Party with flowers using the Ivy Lane Paper pack to create a bright and colorful invitations and party favors.  Use your CTMH Cricut Cartridges to serve up these fun decorations.

Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I am very grateful for many things in my life..a loving husband, supportive family, sweet friends, and two little furballs that snuggle close at night. I am thankful for my great job and fun hobbies, and my good health. Have a great time eating turkey, watching the parade and football and squeeze your loved ones close today. 

SUPPLIES 
Paper: Colonial White and Autumn Terracotta CS, Huntington B&T 
Cricut: Artiste 
Images: no stamping 
Embellishments:Shimmer Trim, Huntington Accessories

Rainbow Sprays

One way to use paper from Cricut cut-outs is to use the negative image.  If you cut a few items in a row, you can create neat repetitive images like your own personal patterned paper.  The stencil used above was created using the CTMH Artiste cartridge.  Then I made three colored sprays using the Spray Pen.  In a card board box, I layered Colonial White (plain) cardstock, then the stencil, and sprayed the three colors to make a rainbow effect.  

SUPPLIES

Paper:  Olive and Autumn Terracotta CS

Images: Believe WOTG

Embellishments: Cocoa Grosgrain

A little touch of color...

This week's Color Dare (#41) asked us to use Saddle and Cocoa and add a little color to the project. I love the color Sky and have it out on my table a lot lately. So why not continue to use it? 

  This started out as a quest to make a friend her Mother's Day card, but I'm not sure I attacked this very well.  We discussed something springy, something fishy, something Mother's Day.  Really didn't accomplish that at all.  But, I still love the card.  I used the layout from this card by Tresa Black for my project.  I tried a new button on the Artiste Cricut Cart, the "i" button, for the Sky flower.  The buttons and Opaques make this lumpy bumpy fun!

SUPPLIES

Paper: Sky, Saddle, Cocoa CS

Images: May Word Puzzle

Embellishments: Sky and Wood buttons, Opaques

Cricut Artiste: button "i"

Happy Birthday Man

Tim Holtz is a very popular designer, particularly for his masculine approach to his designs.  This card uses some of his techniques while using CTMH products, inspired by A Kept Life.  

SUPPLIES

Paper: For Always WOTG, Glitter Paper

Images: For Always WOTG

Embellishments: brad, Slate ribbon

Cricut Artiste: 8 and 9 button

Other: PC Embossing Envelope, SU Notebook paper punch

For Always sneak peak

I am working on the upcoming For Always card workshop and thought I'd share a sneak peak.  I think they look like Ritz crackers (but maybe I'm just hungry!).  They are actually gears cut using the Artiste Cricut cartridge from CTMH.

Celebrate

I worked on another Color My Heart dare.  This week we were dared to use olive, sweet leaf, and goldrush together.   I also tried the sketch at the Mojo Monday blog.  B&T papers from the Flirty paper pack.  Stamps are from the Cricut Artiste Collection Kudos and Memory Labels.

Clearly the Best: Coordinate With Cricut® Cuts

Learn how to use your stamps to bring Cricut® cut-outs to life! Many Cricut® shapes from the Artiste and Art Philosophy collections coordinate with stamp sets so you have more potential for creating, decorating, and accessorizing!