Easy Cricut Cards!

Here are a couple of easy cards I made with my Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge. First  I cut a shape from the Colonial White cardstock. I love the Sonoma papers so I put those to use before they retire next month! Smokey Plum is the accent color. I stamped around the cut out image using the script image from Universal Backgrounds. It gives a nice texture don't you think? The cut out layer is also popped with 3D Foam so there is a bit of a shadow on the layer beneath. The embellishment on the butterfly are a couple of Mocha Pearls. On the heart I outlined the shape with Bronze Glitz Glitter Gel. Click here to shop!

I made a set of these cards to give as a birthday gift for a friend. She loved them! I included envelopes with the script image stamped along the flap in back.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Stamping!
Michelle

Paint Chip Cards

Dont' you just love the clean and crisp look of these cards! They were very easy to make. The background panels are those paint chip samples you get when trying to chose pick out paint! Just for fun, I picked out samples I knew would go with my CTMH cardstock colors. Left to right: Lagoon, Gypsy and Pear. We have 60 colors so you can really have fun with matching up paint chips!

The images are white embossed as well as the messages in the lower right. The ribbon is our new Color Ready ribbon dyed to match.

Here are a list of the stamp sets I used:
Unscripted (flowers on Pear card)
Treasure Life (flowers on Lagoon and Gypsy cards)
A Garden (message on Lagoon and Gypsy cards)
Just a Number (message on Pear card)

I also used my Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the scalloped border.

Click here to go shopping!

Thanks for looking! I hope you give it a try!

Happy Stamping!
Michelle

New Stamp Set Blog Hop

Our new Spring/Summer Idea Book goes live Feb. 1st so it's time for a NEW Stamp set Blog Hop! If you've come from the blog of Kathleen Androlewicz you're on the right path. But you can also just jump in anywhere along the line and keep following the links!

  There are so many things to be excited about besides just the stamp sets! You are going to LOVE all the new papers and embellishments, too!

For this card I used a variety of new things. First I put our Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to work cutting out a card base (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"), front, inside layer and frames. The card pattern has the window designed into it already! The papers are from the Pemberley paper kit and they are so soft and sweet. 

The stamp set is called A Garden. Its a cute little set of 10 images including the vase flowers, bird, butterfly and 3 messages and it's only $6.95! To color the images I used a water pen then cut out the vase and butterfly. The flower was made with our new Paradise Paper Flowers. There are actually two flowers layered together to give a wispy 3D look. The edges were brushed against a Pacifica ink pad to make it pop a bit. The center of the flower is a Pacifica brad with a tiny sparkle on it. The leaves are stamped directly onto the background but the vase was cut out with a bit of 3D Foam on the back for dimension. The finishing touch was a bit of floss tied around the neck of the vase. 

I think this card is a good example as to how you can make 

a "big" statement with a small stamp set! 

Thanks for hopping by. Click here to go to Wendy Kessler's blog and see more great ideas!

Michelle

Happiness layout

If you're new to scrapbooking our Reflections How To Book is the perfect aide to creating your layouts! The book contains tons of single page layouts but also makes suggestions for companion page if you want to create a double layout!

In this layout I used the Sidebar--Photo Accent pattern and changed it a bit to go with the sizes of my photos. The paper kit is called Roxie. My photos were in color but I went to my local photo center and printed them in black and white for this layout.

The stamp set is called Hooray Bouquet and has images to coordinate with our new Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge! It so easy when you don't need to hand cut! The flourishes are from the appropriately named Cherished Flourishes stamp set and the word Happiness is a font from Art Philosophy as well as the scalloped borders.

Some of the flowers have stamped designs and some were just cut from the plaid Roxie paper. I then crunched them into a little ball and gently unfolded them for the distressed look you see here. Layer a few flowers together and add an Opaque Pearl to the center and you have some very pretty flowers!

Thanks for stopping by! Come back often!
Michelle

Harvest Happiness layout

I LOVE the colors of Fall! I lived in Door County, WI for a long time and Fall was always my favorite season! The beautiful blue waters of Lake Michigan and the Bay of Green Bay made a stunning contrast to all the brilliant colors of the fall foliage. 

Left page

Right Page

In the layout I used one of the patterns from out How To book called Magic. I also used the new stamp set Harvest Happiness which has images to coordinate with our Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge. No hand cutting of the images! The word FALL is from our cork alphabet and gives a nice texture don't you think! I stamp rolled the leaves and the other letters stamped with the Bohemian Alphabet. A few touches of Bronze Glitter Gel and ribbon finished it off.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Michelle

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop--September 2011

Welcome to our September Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! I know you'll enjoy seeing all the great ideas for our stamp set this month.  If you've hopped from Katy Donaldon's blog you're on the right track. Don't you just love hopping with us every month!!!

Here is a card I did using not only the Stamp of the Month: Limited Edition, but also our new Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge! It comes with 700 images, 3 exclusive D size stamp sets and 3 sheets of Dimensional Elements....all for only $99! I LOVE this new cartridge!

What a fun card! The papers are from the Elemental paper pack featuring the Pacifica and Sorbet colors. There is a touch of Olive for the flower and tag layer, too. The flower is the spikey pattern from the Art Philosophy cartridge as is the stem with leaves. It is SO nice to have all these images ready to cut from the cartridge and not have to do it by hand! What a time saver plus they look so nice and you can make a perfect fit with your layers!

Here is what the full Limited Edition set looks like:

It's only available during September along with our Pair-a-Phrase special. a Double stamp (value $35.90) set with a $75 purchase!

So make the most of September! Maybe even start some holiday shopping for those stampers and scrappers on your list! I know they would LOVE our new Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge!

Now it's time to hop over to Nikka Geers' blog and see what she has to share! Thanks for hopping by!

Michelle

Pair-a-Phrase Blog Hop

Welcome to our Pair-a-Phrase Blog Hop! If you've arrived here from Susan's blog you're on the right path. You just gotta love all these ideas! 

Our special stamp set, Pair-a-Phrase, is a first ever double stamp set (two D size sets)! There are images and messages for year round occasions! The set is only available from Aug. 15-Sep. 30, 2011. You can get it FREE with a $75 order! The value on the set is $35.90 so I think you'll agree that's a great deal!!

Here is my first effort using this set. It's a standard size top fold card using a pattern called Simple Expressions from our Wishes How to Book. I selected our new Sonoma Papers for the beautiful yet neutral appearance. From the striped cardstock on the bottom I chose the color Petal for my mats and the Sparkles for the flowers.

The butterflies are from the Pair-a-Phrase stamp set. I stamped them in Cocoa ink then Clear Embossed to give a bit of texture and shine.

Our new Cricut Art Philosophy Collection is where I went to cut the flowers, mats and filigree. I just LOVE this cartridge. Can you believe it has 700 images? Well it does! It comes with 3 coordinating stamp sets and 3 Dimensional Elements packs, too! Plus many of the images in the Idea Book coordinate with images from the cartridge!

You can get the Pair-a-Phrase stamp set from August 14-Sept 30, 2011. Pair-a-Phrase (value $35.90) is FREE when you place a $75 order! Wow! What a great deal! Click here to get yours now!

Thanks for stopping by. Now continue on to Nikka's Blog and see more great ideas for Pair-a-Phrase!

Michelle

New Product Blog Hop!

I had so much fun making this layout of my granddaughter. The photos were taken last October when she was only 3 months old. She's now 1 year old! Kids have a way of growing up fast, don't they!

I've used some of our newest products in this layout! Look at that lacy border on the upper right. That's one of the 700 images from our Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge! The message layers were also cut from the cartridge. Not only is it FUN having all these images at my fingertips....it's EASY to cut and add them to my projects! In the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection you get the cartridge with 700 images plus 3 exclusive stamp sets and 3 Dimensional Elements packs that all compliment the images from the cartridge!

I used two stamp sets on the layout. Wicked is the August Stamp of the Month and the other set is called All Hallows Eve. The little bats are 3-D'd...is that a word?...with a bit of foam tape under one wing. The paper is from our new Mischief paper pack and it's SO cool! Great for Halloween but also neutral enough for any time of year! Did you know our new B&T papers are now cardstock weight and have two different patterns on each side? Very versatile!

There is also distressing going on here, too. I sanded the cardstock strips and the frame. To make the frame....after you cut out the center for your photo, fold the corners to get a crease. Lightly sand the folded corner, inside and outside edges of the frame. You can also sand the rest of the frame to complete the distressed look.

During the  month of August you can get the Stamp of the Month: Wicked, for only $5 with a $50 purchase! As a special gift this month you can also get a FREE stamp set called A Typeface! See the flyer below for details!

Thank you to Tresa Black for hosting this New Product Blog Hop! Click here to go to her blog.
Thanks for stopping by and feel free to come back anytime!

Michelle