Avonlea Family Reunion Picnic 4

I decorated a rustic swag to use as center pieces with the same Artiste flowers and leaves to coordinate with the place settings.

I added some silver/grey pearl opaques in the centers of the flowers.
And of course I needed some votive candles to decorate my table! I just trimmed the holders with our burlap ribbon and the same leaves/flowers as the rest of the decor!

Then I decided to decorate a rustic grapevine cone tree.

I purchased a lighted garland in the wedding isle of Hobby Lobby and removed the white silk flowers. I replaced them with flowers and leaves from the Artiste on pg. 32. These flower/leaf images already have a hole in the middle which was perfect to fit over the light bulb!

I used vellumn paper for the flowers and Avonlea Green cardstock for the leaves! And this garland came with a battery pack which makes it perfect to bring to a picnic!

Avonlea Family Reunion Picnic 3

So we have our place setting - how about a favor? Everyone loves a treat!

I used the same cute little box on pg. 62 that I used previously, but in kraft paper instead! And I added a slit to the top of the box and inserted the quote bubble "hugs and kisses" in the top! (This stamp is included with the Artiste Collection.) So why not put Hershey Hugs and Kisses inside the box?

I added the same flower cluster as the utensil holder to coordinate!

Ready for more?

How about a coordinating cup??

I used one of the cupcake wrappers on pg. 65 to wrap around my cup in coordinating kraft paper!

There is more to come tomorrow.....

Avonlea Family Reunion Picnic2

In today's post I'd like to talk about the utensil holder. I took some of our new bulap ribbon, folded it over at the bottom to create a pocket and sewed the edges together. I tied some twine around it and added a flower cluster from the Artiste cartridge on pg. 44 using the Avonlea Off White cardstock. I love this color! I also added leaves from pg. 32 using the Avonlea Green cardstock as well as a branch from the Art Philosophy using Olive cardstock.

The tag was made using an image from pg. 38 of the Artiste handbook - and of course I added another sentiment from the zip strip of the paper!

More tomorrow...

Avonlea Family Reunion Picnic

I decided to pull out some of Avonlea's rustic qualities by pairing it with kraft paper and our burlap ribbon.

I will take a few posts to talk about this so it won't be so long.

In this picture you can see a chinet paper plate, napkin, and utensil holder for the place setting.

I used our new pigment inks (slate and chocolate) to stamp around the rim of the plate.

I also used our pigment ink (chocolate) to stamp on the napkin using the Family stamp set.

Our pigment inks are great for home decor items and fabric, because they can be washed and used again! Below I did a sample test on a napkin and stamped "family" at the bottom right, then washed it. You can see the pigment ink did not wash out! Above it I stamped again so that you can see how the pigment ink looks BEFORE washing and AFTER.

In this sample below, I stamped "family" in the bottom left corner using our dye based inks then washed the napkin. Then I stamped above it so you could see the dye based ink BEFORE washing and AFTER. As you can see, the dye based ink is water based and therefore will wash out. That's GREAT if you drop a cranberry ink pad on your new jeans, but not great if you wanted your stamped image to stay.

I'll be back tomorrow with more details about my place setting!

Blessings Box - Artiste

This adorable little box is found on pg. 62 of the Artiste handbook. I used some Avonlea pattern paper in the mint green and decided to bring out some of the chocolate color by adding a sentiment (from the zip strips) backed with a shape (also found on pg. 62). 

Then I tied it all up with some of our chocolate striped grosgrain ribbon and topped off with one of the chocolate metal pieces from the Brocade Assortment!

What a quick and simple gift or favor this makes! 

More Avonlea artwork tomorrow!

Another Timeless Box - Artiste

I decided to create a second box just the same, but with a more masculine theme. The images for the box are found on page 44 of the Artiste handbook (4" for the box, 3 3/4" for the card on the face of the box), just different papers in the Avonlea paper pack. Plus I added a clock face found on pg. 38 of the Artiste handbook.

I added some Mocha Opaques to the clock and Dark Chocolate Striped Grosgrain ribbon to the top of the box!

Inside the box I included a gift card holder which is actually the envelope that goes with the card image on the box. I added more ribbon with a slate button and mocha opaque and the clock base shape. I used a background stamp (scripted words) on the card from the Universal Backgrounds stamp set.

When you open the card/envelope you see a gift card inside (attached with a glue dot)!

There is plenty of room in the box to add some additional treats too!

Back tomorrow with MORE Avonela artwork!

Timeless Box - Artiste

I love this little box on pg. 44 of the Artiste cartridge booklet. The scalloped handle has a vintage look to me, so I thought it would be perfect to feature the silhouette from the Brocade Assortment with the Avonlea papers.

I added the card image found on page 44 also to the front of the box. The box is 4", the card is 3 3/4". The Zip Strip from the paper pack adds a nice sentiment to the box.

These would make perfect party favors or place settings for a tea or birthday party or women's group. With that in mind, I added some of the brocade assortment to a hankie or napkin to put at each setting too!

I tied a piece of our Slate Satin Polka Dot Ribbon around the hankie and layered two of the brocade metal pieces together to finish it!

LOVE how easy it is to make a simple tea suddenly turn into a beautiful and special treat!

Want to get supplies to start your own artwork today? Click here to start shopping, or click on any of the links in this post to see each of the products used!

More artwork tomorrow!

Stonewall Crop Recap and STD!

I'm so sorry I have been MIA! After getting back from our fabulous crop at Stonewall, I've been busy preparing for my super fun team meeting this past Saturday! (Fun because of my team - I love my girls!!)

Anyway, before getting back to the Avonlea artwork that I promised, I wanted to post a recap of the crop! And the STD in the title of this post is not something we need medical attention for now, but rather 

SAVE THE DATE!

This place was amazing in big ways, but also in so many little ways! From the spacious ballroom, to the plush ergo chairs for cropping, the giant projector screen for workshops, pictures and Minute To Win It Game videos, FREE WiFi for Studio J and Pandora Music, a super friendly and accommodating staff, gorgeous surroundings, DELICIOUS food, SUPER FUN CROPPERS, the chicken dance, the acution, the list goes on and on...

These photos really don't do it justice! YOU JUST HAD TO BE THERE!

So guess what??? I've reserved a space for us for NEXT year at their off-season rate - January 31 - February 2, 2014!!! The cost would be about the same as this year ($100) unless we add on things like all night cropping - which would be $40 more per person. Instead, I can start earlier on Friday and end later on Sunday if we close the room each night to help extend your cropping time and keep the cost down. I'd love to hear how important having the room open 24 hours is to you. 

I've also included another way to save money! I have reserved a couple of suites that can sleep up to 6 people at $159 per night and one that can sleep up to 10 for $199 per night! Queen and King rooms would be $79 per night! These suites include a mini fridge and microwave as well as living room, dining room and bedrooms! Let me know if you want to put together a group of friends for any of those rooms and I can hold them for you. There are only 3 or 4 of these rooms available - first come, first served!

Also, after munching on our breakfast buffet from 7am - 11am (which was included in your crop fee), I was able to hold out for an early dinner at TJ Muskies - I had a large bowl of chili and cornbread for only $4.95! So it's not as expensive as you might think to get away to the Stonewall Resort for the weekend!

If you were there this time, I KNOW you want to come back! If you missed it, you will want to go NEXT time! Contact me to reserve your spot. I know it is early, but if you start saving now or paying $10 a month, you'll be done before you know it! I am capping this crop at 40 people. And I'll start a waiting list if we fill up in case someone cancels.

Click here to get all the details!

PS - I have a fall crop planned at another location where we can bring our own food and stay up all night. Stonewall will be my special Winter Crop!

The American Red Cross thanks YOU!

In November, Close To My Heart ran a special where they donated $ to the Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy Relief for every November Stamp of the month that was purchased! 

Thanks to each of you who purchased a $5 November Stamp of the Month we were able to make a significant contribution of thousands of dollars to the American Red Cross to aid the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Our contribution garnered a direct phone call and letter from the Red Cross to Close To My Heart, thanking us for supporting this important fund and providing relief to so many affected by the storm.

Thank you for making a difference!

Searching for Shannon in Canada....

This may sound like a really strange post.....but.....I received an email from Shannon in Canada regarding my blog and I accidentally purged it from my email when I was trying to mark it as "unread".

Shannon will you please email me again? I don't have your email addy. Sorry.....

Whoo's Your Valentine - layout!

Our Whoo's Your Valentine Kit special is selling like hotcakes this month! I hope you get yours before they run out! The kit includes $40 worth of product (including NEW Spring products) - but can be yours for ONLY $10 with a $35 purchase!

I've made Valentine treats and Birthday treats with mine so far, you can see my post here. But I wanted to share a fabulous idea the fellow CTMH Consultant Michelle Snyder came up with - a layout! Isn't it adorable?

Here's a closer look. (You can also click on the pics to see them larger.)

So whether you are a scrapbooker, papercrafter, mom, or gift giver - this kit is perfect for you! And such a deal!

Click here to order yours today or contact me for more information or to place an order!

Whoo's YOUR Valentine?

Avonlea Wedding Layout

Here is the Wedding layout that I did with my parent's wedding photos. It is an interactive Magic layout pattern called Enchantment.

The photo in the top left and far right open to show more!

I also used more of the faux hydrangea flowers to coordinate with the rest of the decor at the party. 

The title includes some fun products "our" and "day" are from our Pixie glitter alphabet, the Pearl Flourishes are divine, and the "Wedding" if from the Artiste Cartridge. I embossed it with silver embossing powder by sponge daubing VersaMark ink on and sprinkling with silver EP and then heat setting!

And I used a border from the Artiste cartridge on the bottom as well as some of the glitter pieces from the Mini-Medley Slate Collection.

Are you sick of all of this Avonlea artwork? Can you believe I still have MORE to share? Stay tuned.....ready or not I'll be back with more!

Winter Wonderland Layout Workshop

Here is another workshop that I am offering at my Stonewall Crop. It is a layout that we will create using the Cricut Craft Room!

We will use the layers feature as well as text welding and image welding to create the items on this page! I used the Cricut Craft Room Basics images that are FREE to everyone! Plus the Artiste cartridge for the snowflakes and mittens.

We will make our own snowman out of circles and a hat out of a square and the letter "I", the arms are made out of punctuation!

The snowflakes and the mittens are from the Artiste cartridge pg. 79.

The mittens are attached to a journal tag hidden underneath the feature photo!

Simply pull the mittens to reveal the journaling!

I will show you how to easily prepare your page protector to make this piece interactive OR you can simply place your journaling and mittens right on the page without the interactive element!

Are you attending the crop? Are you interested in this workshop?

The cost is only $10! 

A laptop and cricut are recommended but not required. (Bring your Artiste cartridge if you have it too - but not required.) 

Are you not attending the crop but want to learn about the craft room and create this layout? Contact me to register for the crop today - OR - contact me to receive instructions and materials by mail - OR - contact me to schedule a class!