Back to School Teacher Sign

Hello again!  It has been a long time since I have been able to post anything because our family took an epic adventure last month.  Now that we are back home, I am embarking on a new adventure, teaching 3rd grade for the first time (after 16 years in 5th grade).  I have been moving into and setting up my new classroom, trying to get ready for our official back-to-work start date (tomorrow).  I've made a little time for crafty play, and I'll be sharing some crafty classroom decorations off and on in the near future.

I decided that my new partner and crime and I needed name signs for outside our doors, so I made these two almost identical "chalkboard" signs with my Cricut & CTMH cartridges.  (I think I used Art Philosophy for the base and Artfully Sent for the letters.)

They were really easy to make and look great!

July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: From the Notebook

Welcome to July's stamp of the month blog hop featuring From the Notebook!  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Melinda's blog.  From here, you'll visit Darlys' blog next.)

Since I am such a fan of office & school supplies (which may have contributed to me becoming a teacher!), From the Notebook really appeals to me.  The challenge, however, was to use this set on a card.  I used the Magical paper pack, stamping my images in Sapphire, Cranberry, Black, and Honey.  The tag and circle were cut with the CTMH/Cricut Artistry cartridge.  All of embellishments are from the Magical collection, plus I added some black shimmer trim.

Thanks for visiting!  Be sure to check out all the awesome creations on this blog hop.  You'll visit the talented DARLYS next after leaving me a comment.  Thanks!

Click HERE for all the hop participants and their blogs.

More May Stamp of the Month: The Long Way Home

These adorable cards are all made with the May stamp of the month and the Florence collection. Thanks to my swap group for these great "stamples!"

I cannot take credit for any of these lovely cards, and I can't name each individual artist.  Aren't they terrific?  Enjoy the ride!

Graduation Party

As you probably know, our daughter graduated from high school recently.  One of her friends' mom has the great idea to throw a joint graduation party for the kids rather than 10 separate ones.  When one of the moms suggested a superhero theme, we were hooked!  I made photo centerpieces and card boxes for each of our superhero graduates.  I used my CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent cartridge and some current and retired CTMH papers to make their individual superhero "shields."  Here are the boys' boxes.

We rented a room with a kitchen at our local state park, Vogel, and had fun decorating with the superhero theme.

One of the moms used her Cricut to make superhero initials to put on a cape for each kids.

Here's my awesome graduate with her amazing cape!

We had a fabulous time celebrating this milestone in their lives!

Just Married!

My dear friend got married today!  Unfortunately we couldn't be there (physically) because our vacation was already planned, but Traci and Stanley, we are with you in spirit and in prayer!

As the wedding is in denim and burlap, I chose a Crystal Blue card base to cut out this 5x7 card with the CTMH/Cricut Artfully Sent cartridge.  All of the stamping comes from the (retired) Celebrate Love stamp set (in Crystal Blue).

I lined the White Daisy liner with a piece of Magical patterned paper for the bow and blue shimmer trim for the sentiment.  The pretty silver flowers are also retired from my stash.

I wrote their wedding date in the banner on the back of the card.

I also included a certificate for a scrapbook of the wedding and honeymoon photos, which I will make when I return!  Best wishes to the new Mr. & Mrs.!

Graduation Cards

If you know me, then you know that our oldest just graduated from high school!  We are really proud of her and her great group of friends.  Below you'll find the graduation cards that I made for the Class of 2016.  They all use the same sketch from Make It From Your Heart and the Smart Pants stamp set.  The first batch use our school colors, purple and gold.  I chose Gypsy card stock and Honey B&T from the Magical paper pack along with the black geometric B&T from La Vie en Rose.

This version uses gold shimmer trim, gold fundamentals assortment, and blue & purple epoxy gems as embellishments.

A girl in our church goes to the rival school in the next county.  Pacifica was a good match for their blue and white color scheme.  The black piece is from the retired Charlotte paper pack.  I used blue shimmer trim and white sequins.

Our final graduate's school colors are teal, black, and silver.  Lagoon card stock, teal shimmer trim, and sequins from the Florence assortment completed her card.

Last Sunday, we celebrated Senior Sunday at church for our three adorable graduates.  Ansley and Sean have known each other since before they were born!

I'm linking up these cards to the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Congratulations challenge.  Congrats to the Class of 2016!

June Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: The Long Way Home

Happy June and welcome to the stamp of the month blog hop featuring June's stamp set, The Long Way Home!  (If you're already hopping then you should have arrived from Darlys's blog.  From here, you'll travel to Jennifer's blog next.)

My card features a sketch from Make It From Your Heart and the Magical paper pack.  Four of the squares feature stamped images from the set, stamped in Sapphire, Cranberry, Honey, and Whisper.  The focal sentiment and card base are Crystal Blue.  The embellishments are from the Magical assortment, blue & purple epoxy gems, and black shimmer trim.

It may be a Long Way Home, but just click to see Jennifer's creation after leaving me a comment.  Thanks!

Click HERE for all the hop participants and their blogs.

Thank You Card

Many of you know that our older daughter will be graduating from high school tomorrow night.  Here is the card that we made to give to her advisor/homeroom teacher of the last four years.

The adorable graduation owl and sentiment are from the Teacher Appreciation stamp set.  I used a piece of La Vie en Rose B&T and a piece of retired Tommy B&T.  Even though our school colors are purple and gold, I had to use Lagoon instead.  Aren't the Florence sequins a perfect match?

Here is our graduate at Honors Day last week (minus her gold Beta Club cord).  We are so proud of her!

Ice Cream Cone Birthday Card

My mother-in-law absolutely loves ice cream, so we gave her an ice cream sundae "fixings" gift for her recent birthday.  Here is the 5"x7" card that I made to go with her gift.

Unfortunately the Charlotte paper is no longer available, but you can still get the CTMH/Cricut Artistry cartridge anytime.  (The sentiment is from the Artfully Sent collection, stamped on a piece of the Charlotte complements.)

Even though Charlotte is no longer available, you could recreate this idea with any fun paper.  Enjoy a sweet treat!

Happy Times Card Set

Have you seen the beautiful Happy Times paper pack for National Scrapbooking Month?  Close To My Heart has provided a scrapbook workshop PDF and a card making workshop PDF to share with customers who purchase (or earn free) Happy Times.  I used the card workshop instructions to create these 12 cards for my daughter to use.  (She will graduate from high school next week, and the well wishes are stating to pour in.)

I chose to personalize the set with her initial in Pomegranate ink.  The flowers above are second generation Smoothie (with Canary added to the ones below).  Fern is the leaf color.

The gold foil paper is even prettier in person!

These sentiments are from Sending Love.

Anyone who orders the Happy Times paper pack and/or stamp set this month will receive the PDF files for free!

H2H Challenges: Transportation

This week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge is the theme challenge TRANSPORTATION.  The first thing that came to my mind was our youngest getting her learner's permit recently!

This layout uses the new Magical collection found in the current Seasonal Expressions catalog supplement.  I actually made this in March when Close To My Heart came to Atlanta.  I will finish the right side page with some pictures of our new driver manning the wheel in our various vehicles.  She is doing a great job so far!

Be sure to visit H2H to see how our Design Team interpreted this challenge.  You have all month to play along with any of the May challenges, so get crafting!

National Stamping Month Blog Hop: Happy Times!

Close To My Heart has a gorgeous special offer for National Stamping Month!  You are going to want to get your hands on the beautiful Happy Times paper pack and coordinating stamp set.  You can purchase the paper pack for $14.95 and the stamp set for $17.95, or you can earn the paper pack FREE with a minimum $60 qualifying order.  If you're already hopping you've arrived from my talented friend (and fellow Heart 2 Heart DT Member) Paige's blog.  After you check out my project, you'l visit Jennifer next by clicking on her name.

The Happy Times paper pack seemed like a great match for our daughter's senior prom pictures.  My layout is based on two sketches from Reflections that I tweaked slightly to fit my pictures.

Can you see the gold embossing on the coral band?  This paper is so pretty in real life!  I embellished the layout with gold shimmer trim, Florence sequins, gold puffies, and a flower from the La Vie en Rose assortment.

I didn't add a ton of embellishments because I wanted the focus to remain on my pictures.  The title is stamped in Fern with a retired alphabet set.

Thanks for letting me share my beautiful daughter with you!  (Yes, I know I am biased.)  She will graduate high school at the end of the month and then will head off to college in August.  Feel free to leave me a comment before you hop on over to see Jennifer's Happy Times creation.

Click HERE for all the hop participants and their blogs.

I am also linking my layout to the Color My Heart Happy Times Color Dare challenge.  Thanks again for letting my share my daughter and the Happy Times collection with you.