For the Love of Lucy

Today, I worked on my Lucy layouts...and when I say today, I mean all day. I am grateful to my little girl for being so patient with me as I balanced household chores and mama duties along with my crafty fun. Based on my daughter's response to these layouts, they are "very pretty". 

As was the case with Cruisin', some of the busy patterns made me nervous with this kit. Ironically, when I started fanning the papers out to decide what color scheme I wanted to use, the busier sides of certain papers actually worked better. I also hadn't realized how similar our Cotton Candy and Blush colors were.

I added in some Colonial White, Petal, Smoothie and Creme Brulee cardstock to create my layouts. 

Tonight, I only have enough time to share a few sneak peeks with you. I promise to share more detailed views with you in the coming days. 

I know I've said it before, but I will say it again...I love Pinterest! If you aren't pinning, what are you waiting for?! It's awesome.

Have a good night. 

Casandra

Elemental Goody Bags

On Saturday, I held my first big all-day crop. People in attendance each received the following goody bag as my thank you for participating.

Thank you, Kelly, for helping me put these adorable bags together. I found inspiration for this project on Page 30 of the Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book. The bag was cut at 6" on the Cricut.

Products Used:
Elemental L2 Paper Pack
Misc. Button
White Daisy Grosgrain Ribbon (Retired)
Zoology Stamp Set
Cricut AP Cartridge
Olive, Creme Brulee, Pacifica, Chocolate & Desert Sand Inks

Each participant received a skein of chocolate embroidery floss, a spool of coordinating ribbon, an adhesive spring and some chocolate, plus the fun goody bag itself.

I would like to thank everyone that was a part of this crop. It was so much fun! Can't wait to do it again.

Casandra

Cruisin' to Coolsville Layout

Today, I would like to share with you my last Cruisin' layout.

I found inspiration for this layout at Scrapbook Generation's blog. I am a real fan of being able to use 4x6 photo's on my layouts. The cost is quite economical and most of us tend to buy our prints in 4x6 size.

The original layout sketch that I used has (1) 4x4 photo, (1) 4x6 photo and (8) 3x3 photo's. Since I wasn't sure if I honestly had 10 photo's to use, I decided to change mine to 4x6 size (in the vertical juniper section). I love the flexibility that this sketch allows for number of photo's. I may decide to add my journaling to one of the photo mats.

You can see the original sketch here. I asked my husband what he thought about this layout, and was surprised at what he had to say. He loved the cranberry stripes at the top...said they reminded him of the old 50's diners. Since this paper is reminiscent of that time period (in my opinion), it was an awesome thing to hear. He rarely has much to say about my scrapbook layouts, so this was a really exciting moment for me. Those of you that share my love for this wonderful hobby can probably relate. :)

Products Used:
Cruisin' WOTG Kit
Cruisin' Foil Complements
Additional Cranberry, Black and White Daisy Cardstock

After creating the 3 layouts that I've shown you, I have 1 full sheet of B&T paper left, along with some smaller scrap and (2) sheets of grey wool cardstock. I plan to create at least one more layout for my personal use and have decided that my attendee's should have the same option to get creative with the remaining pieces from their kits.

If you would like to join me for this workshop on April 22nd, please contact me here for kit options. If you are unable to attend, but would like to purchase pre-cut, pre-stamped kits, I would be happy to accommodate you.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Casandra

Quick Update on How-To-Programs

Good evening. I just received my weekly update from the Close To My Heart corporate office. I thought I would share with you what was in my e-mail.

Update on How-To Books Inventory
As we announced last week in the post, the how-to books will be retiring and, as promised, we will try to keep you up-to-date on inventory levels. Reflections® is now out of stock, and Originals® will be unavailable very soon. The remaining how-to books are also quickly approaching run-out levels.

That's word for word what I received information on. If there are any of our How-To-Programs that you've been on the fence about, now is the time to buy. Don't wait....

If you have any questions, or would like to place your order today, please contact me soon.

Casandra

Cruisin' Down Memory Lane Layout

Hello, again! I haven't been this excited by a paper kit in a long time. Cruisin' really is a very versatile kit. So many possibilities....

Today's layout was inspired by Jeannette Lynton's blog (CEO of Close To My Heart). You can see the original  here. I chose to follow her example pretty close, as you can see. I decided to use my Typeface alphabet stamp set, and the Cricut cartridge for the title. I also tried to incorporate a few more of the foil complements into my layout.

If it wasn't for my Great-Grandma, most of these photo's would never have existed. Great-Grandma Holcomb had a polaroid camera, the first that I remember seeing. I think in a round-about way, that my Great-Grandma helped me understand the importance of capturing moments in time with pictures. Yes, that is me...and my baby brother in these pictures.

Some of my favorite memories are of going to visit Great-Grandma and playing with the toys she kept in a box for her grandchildren to play with. She had a buffet in the dining room that she kept candy in, and each time we went to visit, we were allowed one piece of candy. It was a rare treasure back in the day. I can remember how lovely she smelled...I think it may have been rosewater, and how soft her skin was when I'd press my cheek to her's. Silly little memories but one's that make me happy. I don't think a kinder, gentler person has ever existed in my world.

Really, that is what makes scrapbooking such a wonderful hobby. We have the ability to preserve our family memories for generations to come.

Products Used:
Cruisin' WOTG Kit
Cruisin' Foil Complements
Black Embroidery Floss
Cricut AP Cartridge
Typeface Stamp Set
Magic How-To-Program

Tomorrow, I will share my last Cruisin' layout with you. Please feel free to share your memories or comments below.

Casandra

Cruisin' through Good Times Layout

Hello! Back at the end of December, I was able to preview the current idea book. This is one of my favorite perks to being a CTMH consultant. :) While thumbing through the book, Cruisin' popped out as being one of my favorites. On the first of January, I pre-ordered my WOTG kit. The best part about this kit besides the fun colors is the stamp set that comes with it. I just knew it would be a perfect way to scrap about one of my favorite people...my husband.

So today, I would like to share with you my first Cruisin' layout. I finally found the perfect kit for our vacation photo's from 2002. Hot diggity!

Inspiration for this layout came from Mary Berg. You can see her layout here. I contacted Ms. Berg to make sure that she would be okay with me using her artwork for my workshop. She was so very gracious and kind in allowing me to do so. I decided to change mine a little so that I could use the stamp set included in the Workshop On The Go kit. This will be our first layout, for those of you that would like to join me on April 22nd.

Products Used:
Cruisin' WOTG Kit
Cranberry, Juniper, Black and Grey Wool Inks
Cricut AP Cartridge
Cherish How-To-Program

Don't you just love the checkered zip strips? I wish we had a 12x12 sheet of this pattern. Awesome!

Stay tuned for more Cruisin' layouts this week.

Casandra

Super Powers Cards

Good afternoon! The sun is shining and it's been a beautiful early Spring day. Hard to believe that one week ago today, we had 3' of snow on the ground. Today, as I look out my study window, I see bare grass. (Happy sigh)

I signed up for a children's birthday card swap with my fellow CTMH consultants. I was so excited to dig out my new Super Powers stamp set and get crafty.

This was my "first draft", so to speak. It felt a little flat to me, even with the 3-D foam adhesive. So I went back to the drawing board, and this is what I came up with.

I used a Mojo Monday sketch from a few weeks ago. I think this one is just right, though both look nice.

Products Used:
Fanfare L2 Paper (Retired)
Super Powers Stamp Set
Card Word Puzzle Stamp Set
Black Brads
Martha Stewart Red Baker's Twine
Grey Wool Baker's Twine
Watercolor Pencils
Black, Honey, Grey Wool and Pacifica Inks

The second card presents a wonderful way to use up small scraps. There are (5) 1x4 strips, standard size card base, 3x3 1/2 white center cardstock, 2x1 cranberry cardstock, centered (slightly smaller) white sentiment cardstock. Twine is wrapped around 3 times and tied together.

My kids loved coloring in a few extra Super Hero images that I had stamped. It's a great way to keep them busy when Mama wants to get crafty. :)

Have a wonderful evening!

Casandra