Art Philosophy Blog Hop

A HUGE thanks to Lisa Stenz for hosting this Art Philosophy Blog Hop!!! 

I am AMAZED at how I use this Close To My Heart Cricut Cartridge for almost EVERY project I create!  (and I was NOT a Cricut user prior to CTMH releasing this cartridge! J) I  may just cut a simple circle for some, but more often than not – I use this cartridge to cut many of the wonderful shapes, designs, 3D items, etc. from this MAGNIFICENT cartridge!!!

Today I’d like to share with you a hostess gift that I have given recently using the Roxie paper pack.  My cousin recently had a book party for me (thanks Jodi J) and I wanted to show my appreciation to her by giving her these gifts!

I created the purse from the Art Philosophy Cartridge.  The purse is found on page 23 of the booklet.  On the keypad, you will hit the “Font Layer” button + the “Shift” button and then the top row…3rd button in from the left.  If you would like to make the largest size purse you can - you will need to press the “fit to page” button and it will cut ONE purse at 6 1/4”.  (I’m wondering if I had a Gypsy – if this could be changed???)  To create TWO purses on 1- 12x12 sheet, you will set your Cricut size to 5 1/2” and you will get TWO purses!! 

For the flowers…I used the “simple” roses, with no waves or wiggly edges.  I hadn’t used this flower much, but decided to give it a try! 

Well, let me tell you – I’ve been creating a LOT of these flowers lately! J You will find this flower shape on page 70 of the Art Philosophy Cricut booklet.  I cut the roses at varying sizes…3 1/2”, 2 1/2” and 1 1/2” are three sizes you could use. 

I used the leaf key (2nd row from bottom, 6 button in from left, shift key) for the foliage.  After the leaf was cut, I took my dry embossing stylus and created “veins” in the leaf.  Then, swiped the leaf in sweet leaf ink and ta-dah…a real life looking leaf! J
 
  
Here is a post it note holder that is shown in the picture above…

I enjoy creating these post it note holders…they are so FUN to do!!!
I used 2 pieces of 4” cardstock squares and covered them with Roxie paper.  The plaid squares are cut at 5 1/2" and then folded over the edge of the cardstock.  I then cover the insides of the post it note with the other side of the plaid paper– the smoothie, rose print. These are cut at 3 3/4" squares, just to cover up my folded edges of the plaid.  I then used my Bind-it-All machine and punched holes and put in the spiral binding. 

I cut some more roses using the Art Philosophy Cartridge AND cut the bracket shape too! 

The bracket is found on page 37 of the Cricut booklet.  For the vanilla cream bracket that I stamped on – use the Tag key, and press the 2nd row, 4 keys in from the RIGHT.  For the black frame of the bracket…use the Layer key and the 2nd row, 4 keys from the Right button. 

I used two Stamp sets to create this.  The saying “Friends…” came from the Bundled Buddies stamp set.  I LOVE swirls and flourishes J and in this case I used the Instant Memories stamp set to add these swirls. 

  For the finishing touch, I tied some ribbon to the spiral binding and I also created a pen to match this post it note holder. 
Look at what a little bit of Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel does to any creation!!  I LOVE the effect of our Glitz Glitter Gels!!! Check out ALL of our four colors by clicking here!!

I hope you were inspired and are ready to create with your OWN Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge!!! 

If you are not familiar with the NEW Close To My Heart Cricut Cartridge...know that this cartridge HAS it all!!! J 

There are LIMITLESS opportunities with this cartridge !!! You can create over 700 images with this ONE Art Philosophy cartridge!!!  You have a font (and a font layer), 3D flowers, 3D boxes, envelopes, card shapes, etc... ALL on THIS cartridge!!!  PLUS - what I LOVE the most, so many of these Cricut images coordinate with our wonderful My Acrylix Stamp sets!!! YES - no more cutting out stamped images...instead, cut the image with the Art Philosophy cartridge, and stamp your design directly on top of it!!  Wa-Laaa! Faster. Simpler. Easier!!!! This IS a Cartridge that you will use OVER and OVER again!! 

Contact your CTMH consultant if you would like to purchase this cartridge today (Christmas is right around the corner J) OR if you are not associated with a consultant, please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have concerning Close To My Heart!!

If you'd like to join this HOP - please DO!!!  The only guideline for this Blog Hop/Linky Party is that you use the Art Philosophy cartridge somewhere on your project. You can use any brand of paper, embellishments, stamps, etc, but make sure you tell us how you used the AP cartridge. The hop will be open for a week and will close to new entries on Monday, December 12th.  More details are found on Lisa Stenz's blog by clicking HERE. 

Blessings to you for a BEAUTIFUL day!!
  Krista

Walking in a Winter WONDERLAND!

My last two items I created for the swap with the WONDERLAND paper pack were two cards…one clear card and one card using our NEW White Daisy Die-Cut card J

Here is the clear card I chose to create…using Clear Cards are SO much FUN!!  (Please don’t mind the picture taking quality…one thing that is difficult with clear cards is to NOT get your reflection in the card while you are trying to capture an image of it! J )

You have to think in a different way when creating with clear cards and it makes it so interesting! J  Why do you have to think differently?  If you haven’t created with the clear card, this may not make sense to you J. 

Let me explain…you get to choose what section of your card to adhere your layers of paper to.  You don’t have to tape every piece of paper to the front or top of your card! With the card being CLEAR, you can see through the entire card! 

For instance, the grey flannel square, 2 snowflakes that I cut out (prior to knowing we had a FABULOUS Cricut cartridge! LOL!!!)  and the 2 sparkle buttons from our Bling Assortment, are glued to the FRONT of this card. 

I used CTMH’s Cocoa Embossing powder on the large snowflake and then cut that out.  I used Crystal Blue ink to stamp the smaller snowflake.  The silver glitz gel just adds an extra sparkle! J

The dotted paper from the Wonderland paper pack is glued to the inside, front of the card.  The scalloped crystal blue cardstock is glued to the inside back of the card?  Make sense? J  So, once your card is put together…the layers all match up, but have more of a 3D look!  FABULOUS! J

I did try and take a picture of this…it’s a boring picture (LOL!) but hopefully this will help you “make sense” of how you can layer your paper on a clear card! J

Close To My Heart carries 2 different types of card packs of Clear Cards.  Click here to see the 4 designs of clear cards that we carry – die cut card & rectangle in one pack, and circle cards and square cards in the 2^nd pack.

My 2^nd card is a card using a GREAT NEW stamp set called Bundled Buddies. J Isn’t this beaver Adorable???  You can check out the rest of his friends that come with this stamp set by clicking here! J  I can’t WAIT to use these critters for friends & family that have winter birthdays! J 

I LOVE that CTMH is now selling two different designs of die-cut cards!!  If you have been with CTMH for a bit, you will remember when the white daisy die cut cards were first introduced in a promotion special J  Since that day, so many of us consultants have been using that card shape as a pattern and have been tracing the edge of the card onto our own cardstock and cutting it to create this design…LOL – I know we are diehards, aren’t we? J

The die-cut design cards have a unique and different appeal – I love it! J I thought this design would add FUN to a card stamped with the Bundled Buddies Beaver. 

I used the Cricut AP cartridge for the bracket shape that he is stamped in.  I also created the small scalloped oval with the AP.  Now, please don’t look at my coloring…I know I NEED LESSONS! J LOL!!  I used our waterbrush along with our ink pads to attempt my coloring.  The colors used were grey flannel, crystal blue and chocolate. 

Take a look at the sign holder stuck in the snow J.  Can you tell where I got my “ribbon” from?  You probably noticed that it’s not “ribbon like” but rather looks like paper, and it is!  I cut one of the zip-strips (the ½ inch designer strip that comes on EACH of our NEW 12x12 designer papers!) in half and “tied” my ribbon! J

I LOVE these new stick pins…so many options to use them.  Also, I used Liquid Appliqué to add some snow to the card.  Adding the stardust glitz glitter gel to the “snow” made it look more real – or so my husband thought ;). 

I will include my recipes for these 2 cards below, in case you would like to create similar cards like these. 

Have fun as YOU create your cards, layouts, etc!  For me…creating is my “out”, my time to relax and enjoy the gift God has blessed me with in creating!  I hope you are able to enjoy a “creating” time today no matter what hobby you enjoy! J 

Blessings to you!!!

4 ¼ x 5 ½ White Die-Cut card –“Friends…”

Wishes ~ “Lucky Layers” pg 27

C1472               Bundled Buddies

X7146B             Wonderland level 2

X5919               Autumn Combo Cardstock (spring iris)

Z1473                White Daisy die-cut Cards

Z1686                Cricut AP Collection

Z2111                 Chocolate Ink

Z2124                Grey Flannel ink

Z2117                Crystal Blue ink

Z2217                Crystal Blue re-inker

Z679                 Liquid Glass

Z188                 Craft Jars

Z1612                Pin Clips

Z308                 Liquid Appliqué

Z1313                Stardust Glitz Glitter gel

Z1151                 3D Foam Tape

Z697                 Sponge

Z555                 Heat Tool

3174                  Blending pen

Snowflake Clear Card

D1480               Snowflakes

X7146B             Wonderland level 2

1385                  White Daisy Cardstock

Z2117                Crystal Blue ink

Z891                 Versa Mark ink pad

Z1482                Silver Glitz Glitter gel

Z1466                Bling Assortment

Z1247                Crystal Blue Waxy Flax

Z1246                Cocoa Embossing Powder

Z534                 Micro-Tip Scissors

Z1151                 3-D Foam Tape

Z341                 Mini Glue dots

Z1323                Clear Cards