Love Your Layout: February 2012

Love Your Layout - January 2012

Studio J comes alive with this layout! So cute and soo-oo-o easy! You need to try it for yourself. Just click on the link to my website and go to Studio J. Sign up and create! It's free to create -- the only cost will be when you order.

Weeks of Wonder: A Fabulous Duo

If there’s a product in Close To My Heart’s line-up that I love almost as much as My Acrylix stamps, it would be the My Reflections B&T papers. I love the beautiful colors and patterns, and, I don’t know about you, but I still love the newer, heavier weight of the paper as well. There are already so many fabulous ways to use your B&T papers, but today I’d like to talk about good ways to stamp on them, too!

The paper from the Sonoma paper pack looks just beautiful on this card. The neutral tones accented by that ribbon of Cranberry cardstock really do melt my heart. Although the Snowflakes stamp set (D1480) is featured with the Wonderland paper packet in the Idea Book, it blends perfectly with this paper, too! Using 3D foam tape to pop the stamped image up helps it to stand out just enough to not get lost in the pattern.

Can you pick out the B&T that was used on this project? That’s right, it’s the Cranberry sheet from the wonderfully versatile Elemental paper pack. And the small snowflake image from the December 25th stamp set (C1469) fits right in here. It’s one of the hallmarks of Close To My Heart that our products are designed to coordinate with each other, and the stamps and B&T papers are no exception!

Start with a B&T paper that you want to embellish. The papers from the Elemental kit are all great choices, but other patterned papers lend themselves to this technique as well. Then look through and find a stamp image that coordinates with that pattern. The sets that are featured with the paper packs in the Idea Book are a good place to start, but branch out and look at other options, too!

Ink your stamp in your desired color and stamp onto your B&T paper. You can choose the same color to blend into the pattern, or you could choose a coordinating or contrast color, as well.


Make sure you stamp your image off the edges of your piece to maintain the integrity of the new pattern. Sponge the edges of your piece to finish it off.

Have fun mixing and matching your stamps and B&T’s to create your own patterns and backgrounds!

Madison's 1st Halloween

 

Here is my new granddaughter, just over two weeks old, wearing her first Halloween outfit! So adorable.

Shape-a-Day: Day 23

These lovely leaves are stamped with some more fabulously coordinating stamp images, found on the Harvest Happiness stamp set (C1463). And while I love the effect of the stamping on these leaves, they also look gorgeous cut out on colored cardstocks or Background and Texture papers – no stamping required!

Shape instructions: You’ll see these three different leaves on pages 34, 56, and 62 of the cricut booklet. You’ll find the size instructions listed on the carrier sheet of the Harvest Happiness stamp set, which appears on page 35 of this year’s Autumn / Winter Idea Book.

Shape-a-Day: Day 22

In today’s card, all three heart shapes were cut using different features found on the same button – and, as a result, you can see how the card cut-out, the heart, and the heart outline are perfectly matched.

Shape Instructions: For the basic heart shape, push the sixth key from the left on the top row, with the size set at 1 ¾”. For the outline, leave the size at the same setting and push the same key with the “Layer” feature key activated. For the card, you’ll set the size to 4 ½” and push the same key with the “Card” feature key and shift activated.

Shape-a-Day: Day 21

Today’s Cricut shape is this fun heart container. Use this container as a fresh way to let your loved ones know how you feel, or as a thank-you. Use it for decorating, or on a scrapbook page. Experiment with different sizes to see the multitude of uses this fun shape lends itself to.

Shape Instructions: Set the size to 9”, then push the “Font Layer” feature key, shift, and the sixth key from the left on the top row.