I'm Back!

I dropped off the face of the earth for awhile, but I am back!  I'm glad to be blogging and creating again.  It is so therapeutic, and feels so good!  I created a bunch of things to sell at a local craft fair.  All of the things I made turned out so darling, and I had a lot of people compliment me.  :o)  I figured that I would share one of my creations, so you can enjoy designing one of these for yourselves!!!
I purchased some headbands from Hobby Lobby figuring I would just add some some paper flowers to it, which would have been just fine and really cute.  Then, I got to thinking that I wanted to make more of a statement headband.  :o)
So, I started with one of CTMH's pennant chipboard banner shapes.

For the next step, I bent the chipboard so it would fit the shape of the headband.  I learned, however, that you must do this working slowly from the outside to the inside, otherwise it will crack.

Then, I used my trusty little hot glue gun, and just glued it on to the headband!  The chipboard should lay flush against the curved surface without the glue holding it there for the best turnout.

The lovely thing about using these shapes is that the CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge cuts these shapes out, so there is no hand cutting required!  Isn't that great?!  I know there are some of you out there nodding your heads.  You know who you are!  :o)

Once that is done, all that's left is decorating!  I made a few Christmas color ones and some black and white ones.  I've gotta say that I really love hot glue.  We have become really good friends!  :o)

I made my middle boy model these for me, so I promised him I wouldn't show his face in the pictures.  What a good sport he is!

Steampunk Theme

Christmas Poinsettia 

Black and White Elegance

Red and Cream Glittery Christmas Flowers

I do have to give it up for my inspiration for these.  About a year and a half ago, at the Close To My Heart convention in 2011, I saw one of the presenters with a larger chipboard hairpiece that was absolutely beautiful!  I loved it so much!  It was designed by a very talented Sara Batkin.  It really was amazing, so now I am putting my own spin on them.  :o)
If you make one yourself, please share a picture with me!  I would love to see other people's takes on them!

Happy Crafting!
Cherri

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Hello, friends!  I created a card with two purposes in mind.  Well, three, really.  I wanted to make a card celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness, and I thought this would be the perfect time to showcase a monochromatic themed card.  Monochromatic does not need to equal boring.  By using different shades and textures, a monochromatic color scheme can be quite stunning.  So, here is my pink monochromatic card.

I used one of my very few non-CTMH stamp sets, but I really like the vintage feel of this tea cup.  The paper is some very old CTMH paper.  I can't even remember the name of it!  I know it was available about 4 years ago, so that tells you how much of a hoarder I am of pretty things!

I got this darling spoon from a cute little stamp/craft store called Stamp Asylum.  It was seriously just waiting for the perfect card and for the perfect person (yes, this card was made with a certain person in mind.)

I used the new Cricut cartridge from CTMH called Artiste to cut out the two doilies and the roses.  I just can't get enough of those flowers!  They end up on almost all of my creations!  The pink mesh ribbon is from my large ribbon stash because, once again, I am a hoarder of beautiful things.  I just can't help myself!  My craft room is stuffed full, but I keep on adding stuff to it!  Ack!

I hope you enjoyed this card, and I hope you give a monochromatic color scheme a try.  Pick pink, or any color you choose!  I'd love to see what you do with this idea, though, so please share with me!!  :o)  And don't forget to give the women in your life a hug and tell them you love them.

Happy Crafting!

Cherri

New Workshop!

Hey, everybody!  I have a fun Christmas card workshop coming up!  We are making six different cards using the Pear & Partridge paper and rub-ons.  Check them out!!!

Card 1

Card 2

I really liked the Santa letter.  :o)

Card 3

Card 4

Aren't those birds sweet?

Card 5

How fun is this?!

Card 6

I love how this one turned out, too!

So, this information went out with my newsletter at the beginning of the month.  I only have a few spots left.  Here is the information:

When:  Saturday, October 6th from 1-4

Where:  My house, of course!  Call me or email if you need directions.

Cost:  $30 I need to have your payment no later than Friday, September 28th so I can order the supplies.

I hope you can come!  I really tried to make sure these would be mailable cards this year.  :o)

Happy Crafting!

Cherri

469-438-6556

Technique Blog Hop

I am participating in a fabulous blog hop today with some very talented chicks!  We are demonstrating using the negative image as demonstrated in the CTMH Idea Book on page 90.  If you are coming from Tabbi's blog, you are on the right track!!!

This technique is really fun and can be used in different ways.  I made a card using this technique in a similar fashion to what they used in the Idea Book, minus the stamping.  I used the new Clementine paper!  I adore this paper!

I cut the butterfly out using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge on Saddle paper.  I set the butterfly aside, and rounded the corners of the square.  I layered it on top of the small floral paper.

I cut a rosette out with the Artiste cartridge from another patterned paper at 3/4" and used a wooden button for the center with a hemp bow.  The pearl swirls are from our new pear flourishes.  I just snipped off what I wanted and saved the rest for another project.  :o)

I really like the look of these banners.  I used the Artiste cartridge to cut them out at various sizes, then just layered them how I liked.  Don't you love the burlap ribbon?!  I know I'll be using it a lot!!!

I hope you liked the card!  Leave a comment and let me know what you think!  :o)

Your next stop on this hop is over to Rachel's blog, so get to hoppin'!

Happy Crafting!

Cherri

A Learned Bird

I have recently gotten into decorating different things that I find.  My favorites have turned out to be these darling little bird houses.  With the Scholastic paper, I really drifted towards owls, and the intelligence that we place on them.  So, this bird house is for one scholarly, learned owl!  I think he should learn to clean up after himself, though!  :o)

I used rolled up pieces of graph paper for the scrolls, and tied them with a bit of baker's twine.  He needed a house number, too, so I used one of our number plaques.  I really like the was the vintage book paper looks covering the house, don't you?  :o)

I painted the base with green, orange and brown acrylic paint.  The quote is from the Stickease, and I stuck it on a note from the Memo accessories pack.  The epoxy number six is also from this pack.  I cut out the rounded tab and the notebook pages from the Artiste cartridge.  I crumpled them up and distressed them with Saddle ink.  

Here is my favorite part!  Do you know what the shingles are done with?!  TAGS!!!!  I cut out these cute tags from the Artiste cartridge at 3/4"!  Of course I had to get a bit over the top and distressed each one.  LOL  There were nearly 60 on each side!  The effect is totally worth the effort!

And here is my messy, intelligent owl.  He is actually located on the Halloween themed button, but I couldn't resist using him.  I layered his body three times and his wings and feet twice to give him more dimension.  His beak is also layered three times.

Leave a comment, and let me know what you think!  He is gracing my mantle at the moment, but he may be up for sale in the coming months.

Happy Crafting!

Cherri

What a crazy summer!

I feel very accomplished today!  I confiscated the computer from my boys!!!  Hooray for me!  LOL  It really has been a struggle to get much computer time this summer.  Minecraft has been winning the battle!  But today, I rise triumphant!  LOL
Besides that, this summer really has been an extremely busy one!  I was selected to be a presenter at the Close To My Heart convention, which meant I was FORCED to play with completely new products before anybody else!  Whew!  It's hard work, but I took it on!  While getting ready for convention, I spent every evening for a week in the Texas heat at a cub scout day camp with Nolan.  Oh, my...hundreds of cubs chanting and marching from station to station.  I was very grateful that this summer was NOT like last summer.  Immediately after convention (I know I am crazy for scheduling all of this in a week) Justus had his wisdom teeth removed plus 4 others, a total of 8 teeth, to get ready for braces.  We then got everything organized for his Eagle Scout project which was held on that Friday and Saturday.  Wow!  After all of that, I sort of put myself in neutral and just coasted for a bit (as much as I could, anyways!)  :o)
So...now that I have control of the computer again, what do I have to show you?  I really want to start showing you what I created for convention with all of the new things, including the all fabulous Cricut Artiste cartridge!  I was so pleased with this cartridge, I can't even tell you!  It doesn't replace the Art Philosophy.  It's focus is on more three dimensional, home decor, and party themes.  I love it!  So, today I chose to show you my favorite scrapbook layout.  I really am proud of this one!  I wanted to make this layout something that Dane could enjoy, too.  So, along with lots of embellishing, I also did the journaling in print AND braille.

 I love this picture of Dane!  It's just precious!  I was assigned the Scolastic paper kit, so I was able to preview 4 of the 6 new colors!  I used the Stickease and the new brown Sparkles, plus the new antique gold Mini Medleys!!!

Here is where I really love what I did.  I used two 6x12 flip flaps so I could make it a bit more like a book to read.  I even did my journaling in a similar way to a first reader book.  I used the Artiste cartridge to cut out the envelope and tags for the journaling.  

I placed the printed journaling on the envelope.  I brailled the tags with a slate and stylus.  I am still learning braille, so this is done in grade 1 braille.  That's why it took two tags to write just this little bit!  The tags are totally accessible from the outside of the flip flaps because they have a slit allowing them to slip in and out of the pocket.  :o)  Pretty cool, huh?!

 Sorry about the glare.  I couldn't quite get the lighting right.  I just adore the Stickease that coordinates with this paper!  It really is fabulous!

 Here is the last section.  I really had fun coloring the darling butterflies with the gorgeous new Ruby!

So, here is the first of many!  I hope you enjoyed it!  Tomorrow will be something entirely different with the same paper!

Happy Crafting!

Cherri Hardcastle

Yo-Yo Flowers Blog Hop

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!  This month we are highlighting the "Yo-Yo Flowers" Technique as shown on page 27 in the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book!  This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique. Let's get started!!!

If you are coming from Kimberly's Blog, you are on the right track!  

Just so you know, I am a no sew sort of gal, so I chose to use hot glue on the backs of my flowers rather than sewing them together to get them to stay.  Yes, I am a cheater!  :o)  I just squirt the hot glue onto a non stick mat, and squash the flower into it, hold it there for a second, and presto pesto!!!!  It stays!  Cool, huh?
Of course I couldn't just do regular old yo-yo flowers, could I?  I thought to myself, what if I just wanted half a circle?  I used a 1 x 6" strip instead of a 1 x 12" strip, scored it at every 1/4" and accordion folded it.  Check it out!  What do you think?

 I used it to create an apron for the dress form stamp!  I really like it, though I like everything I have done and seen with the Stella paper!

 Did you know that you can add ribbon to the edge of your scored flower?  It was easiest for me to score and fold the flower first.  Then, I added red line tape all along the edge and attached the ribbon.  I re-folded and hot glued it!  To hide the center, I cut a paper flower in half and added a cute little opaque in the center.


I hope you enjoyed it and got some different ideas with using this technique!  Now, you can hop on over to Erin's blog to see something else!  :o)


Happy Crafting!

Use Your Stash Hop

WELCOME! If you are joining us for the "Use Your Stash Blog Hop" you are right on track. You should be coming from Shirley's blog.
There are 12 participants this month. If you get lost along the way you can see the entire list of hoppers on Rachel's Blog. Let's get started.
Today I am showcasing a fun card that can use those scraps of ribbon that you just can't seem to toss because "what if I need them for another project?"

I really loved this stamp set!  It comes with four darling, vintage animals with print in the background!  Can you guess what paper pack I used?!  If you said to yourself, "I bet that's the Dotty For You paper she keeps on going on about", you would be absolutely right!!!  I distressed all of the edges with Chocolate ink, and scrunched up the green paper so I could distress the wrinkles.  I love making things look well worn!  I think the strip of burlap adds a lot to the feel of this card.  Don't you?

I chose bits of ribbon from my all too big stash that I though would complement the rooster.  Banners are all the rage right now, and I see them lined up next to each other, so I figured I'd get the same effect with ribbon.  I am pleased with the way it turned out.

I used Barn Red, Sunset, and Sunflower inks to water color the rooster image.  I would love to hear what you think!!


  Now hop on over to Rachel's Blog for more ideas of using up your stash.

You're Not Tired Of This, Yet, Right?!

LOL  You might just be getting an entire week of various projects used with this paper!  Here are a few more of the fabulously talented Pam Thorn's cards using the Dotty For You paper!  It has so much variety, there seems to be something for everybody in there!

Isn't Pam just amazing?!  She inspires me so much!  I know ANYBODY would be tickled pink to receive one of these! 

Enjoy the inspiration!

Happy Crafting!!!

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month in May by mixing and matching to your heart’s content with our new Dotty for You paper packet! The trendy patterns on the front of the papers coordinate perfectly with the dots on the reverse side, giving you lots of options for crafting colorful layouts, cards, and other projects. Dotty for You includes 24 specially designed, coordinating B&T Duos^® sheets (2 each of 12 patterns) and an artwork idea insert to get your creative juices flowing.
There are three ways to get this exclusive Dotty for You paper packet, valued at $19.95:

• Place an order of $35 or more in products from the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book between April 17 and May 31, and add the Dotty for You paper packet for just $5*.
• Host a Gathering with a sales total of $400 or more (excluding tax, shipping/handling, and Operation Smile^® donations) between April 17 and May 31 and receive a Dotty for You paper packet FREE.
• Join Close To My Heart as a new Consultant between April 1 and May 31 and receive a Dotty for You paper packet FREE.

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month in May with the oh-so-cute Dotty for You paper packet. Talk to your Independent Consultant today!

*Taxes and shipping/handling may apply. Offer good during above-specified dates, while supplies last.

Another Card

Oh, I just can't get enough of this paper!  I made this beautiful card for a dear friend of mine who just lost her father.  I wanted to make something fitting, but uplifting at the same time.  Here is what I came up with.

I knew that I wanted to use the grey polka dot paper, but I wanted to add some happy colors.  I distressed all of the papers just a bit on the edges to help them stand out against each other with Grey Flannel ink.  The grey ribbon was some ribbon from my all too big (and growing!) stash! LOL  

I really liked using the wired ribbon.  It gave me the ability to place and wave the ribbon exactly how I wanted.  I might have to buy a lot more of that stuff!  Heh, and add it to my growing stash!

Get some of this paper for yourself!  You won't be disappointed!!!

Happy Crafting!!!

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month in May by mixing and matching to your heart’s content with our new Dotty for You paper packet! The trendy patterns on the front of the papers coordinate perfectly with the dots on the reverse side, giving you lots of options for crafting colorful layouts, cards, and other projects. Dotty for You includes 24 specially designed, coordinating B&T Duos^® sheets (2 each of 12 patterns) and an artwork idea insert to get your creative juices flowing.
There are three ways to get this exclusive Dotty for You paper packet, valued at $19.95:

• Place an order of $35 or more in products from the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book between April 17 and May 31, and add the Dotty for You paper packet for just $5*.
• Host a Gathering with a sales total of $400 or more (excluding tax, shipping/handling, and Operation Smile^® donations) between April 17 and May 31 and receive a Dotty for You paper packet FREE.
• Join Close To My Heart as a new Consultant between April 1 and May 31 and receive a Dotty for You paper packet FREE.

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month in May with the oh-so-cute Dotty for You paper packet. Talk to your Independent Consultant today!

*Taxes and shipping/handling may apply. Offer good during above-specified dates, while supplies last.