We had a BLAST!

Last weekend there were 61 crazy ladies that got together and had a blast!

We met at the Ramada Limited in Huntington, WV for a weekend full of croppin' and creating, classes, silly games, lots of prizes, glorious food, and lots of fun! Here are just a few highlights:

Operation Smile Fundraiser:

I'm so excited to announce that we raised a total of $242.13 for Operation Smile! That is enough to pay for surgery for one child! Thank you Nicole for helping to organize this and thank YOU to everyone who participated in this very worthy cause!

Games:

Here are 2 of the 4 Minute to Win It Games that we played! Everyone was a good sport! We also had a POP the Question Game board where contestants played and everyone at their table cluster won!

Auction:

Throughout the event, there were ways to earn crop cash to spend at our auctions. You can see a table filled with items to give away - including bundles from our vendors! A great big thank you to our vendors who provided fabulous products for us to shop from and valuable prizes to bid on!

Workshops:

Throughout the weekend there were opportunities to participate in free and paid workshops to create fun artwork and learn about new products and techniques! A huge thank you to Diane Judy for helping to design and teach the workshops!

My amazing helpers: Nicole and Diane

In addition to all of that, we had great food to share with each other all weekend long - including our Friday night pot luck, dessert bar, catered lunch, homemade dinner and brunch! A huge thank you to Nicole Finch for planning our meals, finding our caterer, and making dinner and brunch for us!

There were some die-hard scrappers who stayed up all night Friday - groovin' to the oldies and laughing the night away. Others that took time to relax, chat, eat and nap. That's the beauty of this type of venue - you can do whatever you want and not feel guilty!

I'm looking forward to the next one - whether it is in Winter, Spring, or Fall. If you would like to attend a future event, please let me know. If I use this location again, I will have to reduce the number that can attend to allow a little more space for everyone. If I have more people interested, then I need to find a larger location right away. I would love your feedback so that I can plan accordingly.

Thank you to everyone who came out to spend the weekend with me! Let's do it again!

St. Louis....here I come!

I'm off to St. Louis, MO for a fun and exciting training event with Close To My Heart. When I get back on Sunday I'll share some pics of what we did there!

Until then, have a great weekend!

Dakota Layout

Here is another layout you can make at my weekend crop - just a few days away!

This layout is similar to the Dakota WOTG layout, but with a few paper changes. This is also super easy for beginners. But you can easily add ink distressing, scissor distressing and stitching for added interest!

 Using the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge makes adding these flower embellishments and stamped images a breeze!

The zip-strip at the top of our B&T (pattern) papers makes it so easy to add quick sentiments, embellishments and borders.

Join one of my monthly clubs to make layouts like this every month, learn new techniques, and discover new products! Contact me for more information on my monthly clubs.

Hope to see you at the crop!

Studio J - Using photos for backgrounds

In this edition of Love You Layout, we will show you how easy and fun it is to use photos for backgrounds! Click here to watch the tutorial. You can even pause the video and follow along as you create in Studio J! Click here to login to Studio J.

Contact me if you'd like more information or are interested in a one-on-one tutorial.

Studio J Enhancements!

Have you heard the news? In July there were several exciting enhancements and improvements made to our already amazing online scrapbooking program - Studio J!

One of the most exciting is the addition of our new Express Collections - beautifully designed, theme albums just waiting for your photos and journaling - including a front and back cover page!

This brief video will highlight a few of these changes. Click here to watch it.

Contact me if you would like more information or a one-on-one tutorial to get you started! Or click here to check it out for yourself! The program is FREE to use! If you are joining me for my weekend crop in Huntington this weekend, we will have a few FREE Studio J classes there as well. Along with some FREE 5-packs to give away simply for trying Studio J!

Ornamental Cheer Layout

This is a layout that we will be making at my weekend crop. It's so easy, even beginners can do it! 

It features our new Christmas paper - Pear and Partridge along with a new stamp set called Ornamental Cheer!

The ornaments have a coordinating Cricut shape on the Art Philosophy cartridge making your crafting oh so easy and oh so beautiful! The title "noel" is from our new Artiste Cartridge.

We stamp on the cricut shape using Desert Sand ink, add a few bitty sparkles, then tie on some cranberry bakers twine with a bow!

Another technique I will show is how to create a pattern on your cardstock with dry embossing - using a bone folder and our sanding block you can reveal our white core paper giving your artwork more subtle interest!

The pattern to create this layout is in our new how-to book called Make It From Your Heart, on pg 20-21. I had the privilege to create the artwork show in the book on pg. 21.

I hope you can join me at my weekend crop - coming up in just a few days! If not, you can easily create this yourself with all of the supplies listed above. Contact me if you need help or would like more information!

Adding Color To Your Crafts

Learn about the new color families, cardstocks, and papers from Close To My Heart that can spruce up any design. Adding color to your crafts is simple, easy, and beautiful!

Click here to watch now!

Club Gifts

This week we are doing the Moonlight Workshop on the Go Kit with the stamp swiping technique.

And the bonus project is an adorable countdown calendar for Halloween.

Some have opted to do the Spellbound Cricut Workshop tonight:

So in keeping with the theme, I made my club members a little gift with a treat inside:

These coffin boxes are a breeze to make with the new Artiste Cricut cartridge. I loved the picture in the idea book on page 70 and knew I'd have to give it a try! My first box I made using the All Hallows Eve stamp set on pg 71 just like the picture shows, except in Slate and Sunset cardstock to coordinate with the Spellbound workshop:

Then I decided to try one with the woodgrain B&T from Dakota:

THEN, I used the stamp set from Spellbound to try and create the same look using kraft cardstock. It's a little different, but still works great!

I don't really "do" Halloween, but all of these projects are so darn cute, I couldn't resist!

Cupcake Box with Shimmer Trim

UPDATE: I had to add some shimmer trim to my cupcake box. It just needed some more bling! I LOVE this new shimmer trim - I think I'll order a CASE of it!

Also, my cupcakes from Lil Bit of Heaven were cancelled due to a family emergency, so I ran back up to Serendipity Cupcakes to grab a sampler dozen. I can't wait to hear how they taste! Not sure there will be any left for me! We might have to cut them into bite-sized pieces to try more than one!

From top right to left

Chocolate with Peanut Buttercream Frosting

White cake with Peanut Buttercream Frosting

Blackberry with Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Raspberry with Raspberry filling

Oreo Dream

Orange Dream

Marshmallow Sundae

Drumstick

Italian Cream Cake

Pecan Toffee

Chubby Hubby

Italian Cream Cake

Hope to see you tonight and tomorrow!

Open House

Friday 5pm-8pm

Saturday 10am-4pm

Easy Party Planning with Cricut Artiste!

Oh My!!! This project is adorable!!! I can't wait to make some bright, fun, party favors like these!!! Click here to watch the video.

Do you have your very own Artiste? If not, click here to see how you can get $25 in FREE product in addition to other specials! (Offer valid through Saturday 9/8/12.)

Cupcake Boxes on the Artiste

Here is another project that you can make at my Open House this weekend.

Since we are using only the finest quality paper crafting products, I thought it only right that we should also use gourmet cupcakes too!

I found these delicious morsels at Serendipty Cupcake Boutique in Hurricane, WV. It's hard to find a "special" cupcake with a low profile to fit in a cupcake box! I haven't tasted these yet, I'm waiting to taste any leftovers after my open house, but I DID have the opportunity to lick the icing off my fingers. Mmmmmm good!

Next the cupcake goes into the box.

Then the lid is placed on top - complete with transparency for protection! This box measure 3" tall - but you can make it larger.

Then decorate as desired!

And just so the guys won't be left out - here is another alternative:

I forgot to mention, that our cupcake box comes with a third piece that fits inside to hold your cupcake in place. It even includes finger holes to reach around and grab your cupcake without mussing the frosting!

And since this manly box is a little understated, let's include a cupcake card ALSO on the Artiste cartridge!

I hope you are planning on coming - if not I'm going to eat your cupcake!!

And by the way, I also ordered some very special cupcakes from Lil Bit of Heaven Cupcakes in Saint Albans, WV. These sound so delicious I can't wait to try them!

It's called Apple Cinnamon Roll - it's a wonderfully sinful cinnamon cupcake with rich caramel and granny smith apples swirled with cinnamon topped with apple cider buttercream frosting and a final dusting of cinnamon. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is!! I originally planned on putting these in a box, but she said they will probably be about 4 1/2" tall, depending on how much moisture is in the apples. TOO tall for the box, but not too tall to munch on! 

Hope to see you this weekend  so you can try them too! 

*cupcakes available while supplies last!

Love Blooms Card

This is one of the projects you can make at my open house on Friday-Saturday this week. It features our new alcohol markers!! YOU WILL LOVE THESE!!

I used the following colors - blending them into each other: Hollyhock, Cotton Candy, Sorbet, and Honey. I used the Ponderosa Pine Light on the New England Ivy leaves.

The new alcohol markers come in a two-pack for $5.95 - the true color plus a complimentary shade (either lighter or darker indicated by a circle in the catalog). They blend easily and smoothly and don't require special paper. The markers work best with our new pigment inks which don't bleed. But will also work well with our archival ink and Staz-On ink. If you stay inside the lines with these inks you will minimize the outline ink bleeding into your colors. I experienced minimal bleeding with the archival and Staz-On inks.

This card features our new stamp set Love Blooms for the flower and leaves and the sentiment is from the new stamp set A Friend Like You. Some other fun new products on this card are Bling Gems from the Boutique Assortment and our adhesive backed Silver Shimmer Trim!

Click on the links above to see these new products or to order online. Or better yet, come to my open house and see and use them in person!