Monday Listicles - How you know you're addicted to crafts

Here is my second attempt at Monday Listicles (a few days late!!)  - and it's all about my favorite obsessions C-R-A-F-T-S!! So here goes - my list is about, "How I know I'm addicted to crafting."  Enjoy my list as I'm sure many of you can relate!!

1.  The craft room has no where to walk when I go in there...  I just redid my craft room and got it all organized, but the husband keeps finding more crates and boxes of yet MORE craft stuff!!

Before the craft room got reorganized!

2.  I have enough material (fabric) that coordinates for about 8 wonderful quilt, and they are just waiting for me to have time...  Maybe when I retire in like oh about 17 years!!!!

3.  I got 7 boxes worth of Close To My Heart products in the mail this week (really it was 3 boxes with more boxes inside...  good thing some of those boxes were for the CUSTOMERS!!  But there were TWO FULL boxes that made it into the craft room for me to play with - and play I WILL!!

4.  I think I could wallpaper a 8,000 sqft house with the scrapbook paper, markers and ink in my craft room... Um yeah - been collecting supplies for that for oh I don't know, like 17 years!!

5.  When I buy craft supplies, I have to buy 5-10 extras 'just in case'... or for gifts for someone who I know would love it... can any of you relate to this?

6.  I ALWAYS buy an extra yard of fabrique, 'for Jesus' when I'm at the fabric store!!  I've been doing this at least 10 years...  just visual all those 'extra yards for Jesus I've bought in the past 10+ yrs...  Bwahahaha...  One time I did this with a group of matching fabrics so much that when I got home and added up my yardage, determined that I bought enough fabric for THREE KING SIZE QUILTS of the same exact fabric!!  Oiy!!!

An Extra Yard for Jesus!

7.  I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about the next 10 (yes, TEN) projects that I'm excited about that day...

8.  My husband has to escort me through the fabric and craft stores...  to be sure I don't spend too much $ on 'just one more thing I need'...  NEED being the key word here!!

9.  That I can kill HOURS on Pintrest, Blogs and the web looking for MORE (like I need MORE!) projects that I like...

10.  I can't do anything small when it is a passion I have - I go overboard, obsess on it constantly and think about nothing else except how I can get back to the craft room to do more...

I would say it is 'sad' that I'm so OCD about my crafts and quilts, but yeah no, I think it's wonderful as do the folks that benefit from my obsession... Because I give almost all of my creations as gifts to others...  That truly is the passion I have and why I OCD on things because I LOVE the feeling I get when I do for others...  What are the signs that YOU'RE addicted to crafts???

Monday Listicles - First-timer

Here is my first run at the Monday Listicles.  I read them regularly from my up-up-line Wendy Coffman at Stamping Rules and they are always so wonderful and full of love, joy and just every day stuff with her three boys, hubby and their adventures!  Be sure to check out her list this week also!!  She makes me laugh AND feel human!  She also has a contest running you can enter for some FREE Close To My Heart products.....!!  Check it out...

This week's Listicles are about 'cars' and oh boy do I have stories about car(s)...  so here goes:

#1 - My main commute vehicle is a green 98 Chevy Blazer and just turned over 300,000 miles, MAMA NEEDS A NEW CAR!  Thank goodness

#2 - She's been paid off for a long time now....  Did I tell you that our primary vehicle has 300,000 miles on it, so is well worn in and almost (really!) ALMOST knows the way to work and home again by heart!  Thank goodness!!

#3 - She carries me every where I need to go...  and only has broken down once!  The injectors went bad while hauling two horses for my daughter to/from a riding/jumping lesson.  We sat on the side of the road for about 1-1/2 hours until I FINALLY got the boyfriend on the phone and he came and got the horses (in the trailer) while I rode in the tow truck to the repair shop.  We were sitting on a windy, narrow country road and it's still amazing we were not hit and that my sweet daughter kept her crazy thoroughbred, Denali calm during all of this!!  The morgan, Hott Shot really didn't much care...  Thank goodness!!

#4 - The reason Mama doesn't have a new ride is cause she just towed (yet AGAIN) the Big Black Beast ('03 Dodge Cummins 4WD) away from the auto dealer service department not having enough $ to fix it!  (no thank goodness for #4)

#5 - We only have 8 or 9 (I'm afraid to look) payments left on the Dodge we bought used!  Thank goodness

#6 - We now have a 2nd mortgage on the Big Black Beast for parts, repair (NOT!) bills and towing to break it out of jail at the service department of the local dealership!  Thank goodness!!

#7 - We are thankful for a very close, wonderful (albeit extremely busy) mechanical friend who can rebuild just about anything that has a motor!  Thank goodness!

#8 - Husband is (I hope) running out of curse words when it comes to anything vehicular...  Thank goodness!  This is after the lawn mower broke first, got rebuilt twice and still doesn't run - hired a landscaper to mow for him (he has a heart issue, so this was a double benefit!).  Second was my Harley motorcycle when he went to go change the oil and stripped the plug in the oil pan - had to replace, thank you very much!  (NOT!)  And third, the Big Black Beast - which the dealer 'fixed' NOT! earlier this year by replacing a fuel pump that did NOT need replacing...  and now same problem, different day - I'm sorry but ALL of you injectors (I'm seeing a theme here!) are bad and you have to do the fuel injector pump too...  and a few other parts...  Yeah, thankful not!

#9 - We (hubby and I) have different philosophies when it comes to vehicular devices.  He likes to have his truck all clean, orderly and AT LEAST a 1/4 tank of diesel at all times.  If it gets under 1/2, he's stressin...  I, on the other hand, have coffee spills all over my console, candy wrappers on the floor from our favorite Mexican restaurant Los Dos Compadres, and safely holds my spare hard hat and vest in case we have an emergency like an earthquake so I have to go inspect bridges or something goes really wrong on a construction site - after hours... (civil engineer - bridge & construction).   I also have spare water because the heater core constantly (already replaced twice) leaks water and needs refilling (along with the overflow) about every 3-4 days which my loving husband religiously does!  Yet another thing I'm thankful for - especially when the temp is 108F outside...!!!  And a map of the county (I work for) just in case...  And I RELIGIOUSLY run my car 'under' 1/4 tank of gas (often on 'E' for EMPTY when I get home...) and when the hubby gets in it, almost always has to fill it up for me!  (did I tell you how much I LOVE my husband - my rescuer, care-taker and chief cook and bottle-washer...  whom I LOVE very much!)

#10 - We order the parts today to fix the Big Black Beast and have the friend on standby to help.  In the meantime, hubby will be headed to the All Harley Drag races where he is the pit crew chief for said mechanical friend...  Thank goodness for big boy bonding time!!!

So, I'm thankful for my vehicle that still gets me to/from work every day.  I'm thankful for my co-worker who is ready and able in a jam to take me to work if needed.  I'm thankful for a patient boss when I tell him the truck died and won't restart 3 times...  I'm thankful the parts are ordered (you know who you are - that helped us do that!) and I'm thankful for my husband learning about patience.  I am thankful for wonderful friendships and I am most appreciative of my husband who keeps this all together.... now about that lawnmower...  LOL!!  JUST KIDDING!

August Stamp of the Month - Baroque Borders

Welcome to our August CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! Each month we will showcase the Stamp of the Month which can be purchased exclusively through a Close to My Heart Independent Consultant.

We're so excited to be doing this hop and we have a fabulous lineup with some very talented ladies. There will be lots of fun projects.

This month we will be showcasing the August Stamp of the Month "Baroque Borders". This stamp can be used in so many different ways and we hope to inspire you with our creations!

If you just happened to come to this blog, you should start at the beginning at Lucy's blog - http://www.love2createitall.com

My project is a card for a upcoming wedding shower. I used the Baroque Border's Stamp of the Month for August. It can be yours for $5 if you spend $50 or more in August. Just click on the ‘Shop with me’ button on the sidebar of this blog. It's really a lovely stamp that has a lot of uses as either a primary stamp or a secondary or background stamp like I used it here. I used the Grey Wool Exclusive Inks to stamp it on both the front and back of the folding card with each of the large corner stamps in the stamp set. I also used a piece of scrap mottled paper with black to frame it for the square on top and used some black/white bakers twine to give it a little twist.

That's when I went digging for some bling to dress it up a little and found a Theresa Collins embellishment package and as soon as I put the dragonfly on the gray/black themed card, it totally popped it!! Then I went to my old standby of crystals to dress up the Baroque Borders stamp a bit.

Then I turned to the inside and back. For the message inside I chose a stamp of the month stamp set called The Best Things (a stamp from the Spring/Summer 2012 catalog) to make the inside message... I used some black to frame it and also some bitty's to dress it up a bit also. It's just amazing what a tiny bit o' bling with do to a card! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Materials Used:
S1208 Baroque Borders - August 2012 Stamp Of The Month My Acrylix stamp set
C1503 The Best Things My Acrylix stamp set
Z1750 Baker's Twine - Autumn Collection (black)
Z2125 Gray Wool My Exclusive Inks stamp pad (discontinued)
1386 Black Card Stock
X5929 Whisper Card Stock
Z1752 Sparkles Clear Assortment
Foam tape - 1/2 inch
ScoPal tape - 1/4 inch
Theresa Collins - dragonfly embellishment

Bittys - clear
Cricut@ Art Philosophy Cartridge pg 46 <shape3> @ 1.5" on black and 1.25" on whisper

The next stop on your blog hop fun is Amie.

Here is the list of all the talented consultants who are participating in this months blog hop:

Lucy ~ http://www.love2createitall.com
Darla ~ http://www.stampingunderdoctorsorders.blogspot.com/
Judith ~ www.grammiejudys.blogspot.com
Carolyn Heniges http://www.nuts4scrappin.blogspot.com/
Amie Kiger ~ http://www.mimimyselfandibykigz.blogspot.com
Ryan www.pieceandpaper.blogspot.com
Joanne http://josiesjoy.blogspot.com
Pam Stewart - http://i-candy-scraps.blogspot.com
Kindred Hearts - http://itmakestotalcents.blogspot.com
Julia Hammond http://youcancreatectmh.blogspot.com/

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month

Here's a pic of the stamps and sample scrapping for the current deal from Close To My Heart.  It's a great DOUBLE D-size stamp set that is cheery, easy to incorporate and really will liven up your layouts or cards.  Check it out...

To celebrate National Stamping Month in September, CTMH consultants are offering a double stamp set! You can get the exclusive My Acrylix® It’s Your Day double stamp set for just $5 when you place a minimum order of $35 in full retail products from August 15 through September 30, 2012.  It's double the fun!

You’ll love this double set — two D-size sets in one envelope — which includes nearly 50 trendy images that makes it easy to capture the everyday moments in your life. With a retail value of $35.90, this set drastically increases the value of your qualifying purchase. Have twice the fun stamping during National Stamping Month with our new It’s Your Day double stamp set!

Great Close Out Deals from CTMH

I wanted to send out a blurb about some really great close out deals from Close To My Heart.  You can get between 25% to 75% off of list price for the products - a WAY reduced price.  And they are trendy stuff that goes with their other products... So it's NOT like digging through the dollar bin at the craft store to find the one good deal in the huge bucket!!

Check out my Online Business website for more info...  (OBA site)  or http://nuts4scrappin.ctmh.com/Retail/Products.aspx?CatalogID=1702

Cherrios - hope Wednesday is finding you all well and staying cool in this crazy heat the whole nation is having!!  After checking my iPhone, the only place under 90F (which is UCKY hot for me!) was where my sis lives in Wasilla Alaska!!  This lower 48 is sufferin'!  We're forcasted to be at 100F for the next two days....  double and triple UCKY ~~  Hang in there with me folks fall is coming in a few short weeks ~ thank goodness!!!

Carolyn

Mojo Monday 254 - Card Challenge

Well, here's another shot at a Mojo Monday (MOJO254 - card #48) challenge.  I used the design offered by the design team and then posted on their blogspot - www.mojomonday.blogspot.com...  I hope you enjoy.

Here is the design I started from.  As I contemplated my card this week, I think of my bestie who is always by my side when I need her most.  We've known each other since 1996 and both have been thru good times and bad times...  And have leaned on each other for love, support and strength!  Her name is Theresa and she is also a quilter and scrapbooker and Harley rider as am I!  Two souls so perfectly matched...

MOJO254

I wanted to do something special for her because of all the moral support she gives me.  I started with some fun scrap papers I had and just started playing with two stamp sets I have from Close To My Heart:  Tailor Made C1442 and Stitched Together C1459.  I love to sew and both of these stamp sets totally play into that obsession!

I decided for the ribbon, I'd use the stamped stitch lines (borders) to make the ribbon, then cut a Cricut flower from my Art Philosophy cartridge Z1686.  I used light purple and dark orange to distress the edges and then topped it off with a shear ribbon from the scrap box and some bittys and clear sparkles to finish it off.

Materials Used:
My Acrylix stamp - Tailor Made
My Acrylix stamp - Stitched Together
Autumn Terracotta Exclusive Inks
Petal Exclusive Inks
Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge
Bittys
Clear Sparkles
ScorPal adhesive
Tombow Adhesive


Here is a little touch I added with a button stamp to tie up the stitching - I do love how it ties in the whole stitches theme...

Here is the card inside message....  I do love her 'sew' much!  :)  I hope you enjoyed my challenge card today - please do leave comments and tell me what you think.  And I'd really love to have you join to get updates from my blog - just click the 'Join this Site' button on the left side bar.

Carolyn

Double Value Stamp - National Stamping Month

To celebrate National Stamping Month in September, we are bringing back our popular double stamp set promotion! You can get the exclusive, new My Acrylix® It’s Your Day double stamp set for just $5 when you place a minimum order of $35 in full retail products from August 15 through September 30, 2012. You’ll love this double set—two D-size sets in one envelope—which includes nearly 50 trendy images that makes it easy to capture the everyday moments in your life. The double set has a retail value of $35.90, which drastically increases the value of your qualifying purchase! Have twice the fun stamping during National Stamping Month with our new, exclusive It’s Your Day double stamp set!

Here is a close up of the stamp itself...  I can't wait to get mine and start playing with it!!

Be sure to get your qualifying order in so you don't miss the GREAT deal!!  The offer is only valid August 15 (9:00 am MDT) to September 30, 2012 (11:59 pm MDT).....

Carolyn

Split blog personality... summer, Christmas, summer, Christmas....

If you have been following my blog, you will know that I feel sorta like a split personality working on Christmas themed projects and flip flopping (literally) back and forth to summer themes also!  I have a card workshop coming up this Sunday where we'll play a little Bunco and then do a little scrap crafting!  You are welcome to join us on Sunday for our 'back by popular' demand backyard game/craft day....

It is $10 to buy in to the Bunco game.  We'll pay four rounds and pay out for the most Buncos, most wins and most losses (where else can you win when you lose?).  If we fill 12 slots, we'll even pay out for the 2nd most wins, so PLEASE bring a friend.

We will then work on a small handmade card with some wonderful Close To My Heart products.  There is no obligation to purchase unless of course you win in the Bunco games - because you'll be winning credit towards a product order.

Here is the summer themed card made from our Footloose Paper Packet (now discontinued) and also the Just Chillin' stamp set.  It sure says SUMMER in a big way!  Making the card just makes me want to head to the beach...  I <heart> the beach and just can't get enough!!  I live about 90 minutes from the Pacific Ocean.  I was just making plans for a trip with my bestie today as I was preparing this card!

At this Sunday's workshop, there will be light snacks and drinks provided...  And PLENTY of LAUGHTER to go around.  We always seem to cut loose and get all silly as we root each other on for big rolls and of course the coveted BUNCOs!!  Hope to see you all there!!  Just hit me back with a comment/message below if you're in the Vancouver, WA area and want to attend!

PS - I will also be previewing my Christmas Card Workshop cards that are made to date....  Can't wait for you to see them!

Art Philosophy Card Hop

Welcome to our August Art Philosophy Blog Hop! Each month we will showcase a feature of the amazing Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge which can be purchased exclusively through a Close to My Heart Independent Consultant. 

We're so excited to be doing this hop and we have a fabulous lineup with some very talented ladies.  There will be lots of fun projects.

This month we will be showcasing the "Decorative layer" (shift no shift) features of the cartridge. 

If you just happened to come to this blog, you should start at the beginning at Lucy's blog - http://www.love2createitall.com.

My project is this wintery card made from the Art Philosophy cartridge from Cricut@.  I used the card (shift) option on page 27 to make the card base.  From there I continued to make the additional decorative layers to dress up the snowflake as it lifts off the page with pop dots.  I also distressed both the stamp frame and the dark blue with white ink to give it a frosty look.  The papers (except the card base) are all shimmery so the inks had a tough time being bright - so the white was a nice way to dress it up.

I also used the cut out snowflake from the card to dress up the inside as it is cut out in the negative - so I put the white shimmer on the front and hid it so you'd only see it from the inside.  I used the denim stamp pad to distress the edges of the inside message and the Flakey Friends stamp set to do the inside message...  I really love this stamp set since SNOW makes you feel a bit like winter...  I can almost (ALMOST...) see my breath!!  LOL  I hope you enjoyed this hops' creation!

Materials used:

My Acrylix Flakey Friends stamp set

sponge daubers

Cricut@ Art Philosophy

White Daisy Exclusive Ink

Outdoor Denim Exclusive Ink

Lt blue narrow ribbon

shimmer paper, dk blue, dk red, and pearl white (not CTMH)

Outdoor Denim card stock

Pop dots (mini - some cut in 1/2)

Foam tape 1/2"

Tombow Adhesive

The next stop on your blog hop fun is Stephanie.  Click here to go to her blog.

Here's the entire blog hop lineup in case you get lost along the way:

Lucy ~ http://www.love2createitall.com
Darla ~ http://www.stampingunderdoctorsorders.blogspot.com/
Diana ~ http://dianasfreemoments.blogspot.com/
Wendy Kessler ~ http://myscrapbookingblog.com
Eva~ http://loveofcreating.blogspot.com
Carolyn ~ http://www.nuts4scrappin.blogspot.com
Stephanie ~ http://www.quiltedscrapper.blogspot.com
Joanne ~ http://josiesjoy.blogspot.com
Laura W. ~ http://scrappinsweetiesescape.blogspot.com
Kindred Hearts - http://itmakestotalcents.blogspot.com
Pam Stewart ~ http://i-candy-scraps.blogspot.com
Carolyn Mendoza ~ http://www.craftingwithcarolyn.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for stopping by!  We hope you have enjoyed all of our projects!

Feel free to leave me a trail of your breadcrumbs in my comments and let me know what you think!  I would love to hear from you...  Also, feel free to join my blog so you will get updates, see new projects and can share in the fun!!  I hope you enjoy...  Carolyn

New Blog Followers - Welcome

I want to extend a heartfelt thanks for following my blog.  I am happy to have you here and hope to share some of my creativeness while I totally envy your blogs!  I sure am learning a lot from fellow-scrappers and am totally getting into this blog thing!  I think I'm 'hooked'!  Lock, stock and barrel!!  :O)

I have a new blog hop scheduled up to post tomorrow and hope you come back and take the time to hop with my fellow consultants.  We are marching through the Cricut@ cartridge called Art Philosophy.  You can only get this through Close to My Heart consultants.  The cartridge is $99 and many of you Cricut fans say - wow, that's a lot for a cartridge, but I can tell you it's well worth the $.  The cartridge comes with three stamp sets that match the Cricut patterns and also some dimensional elements in coordinating shapes.  For example on the Art Philosophy cartridge - you get banners and tags that match the cuts the Cricut will make on coordinating paper!

The great news is that you can get the new Artiste Cricut@ cartridge too for the same price, three different stamp sets and more coordinating dimensional shapes!  You can't go wrong.  Just hop along and see what great products you can make with these cartridges.  We will be hosting blog hops twice a month, the early hop in the month will highlight the Art Philosophy cartridge and the later blog hop in the month will showcase the Artiste cartridge...  If you are a blog 'follower' you'll get these updates as we post them up in unison.  Just scroll down my page and you'll see a link that says - "Follow This Blog" - register there and you'll be all set!!

If you are interested in either of these cartridges - click the 'shop with me' button and it will take you to my CTMH website where you can direct purchase them to be delivered right to your home!  No fuss, no muss!!

Thanks again for swinging by!  And feel free to leave comments - they make me get all twitterpated to have followers leave their breadcrumbs!!  :)

Portland Woman's Expo - fund raiser

Theo from Celebrate Crafts and I hung out at the Expo yesterday (mind you the HOTTEST day of the year 2012) to help raise money for the Portland Woman's Expo Foundation.  They raise money through the walk and vendors to help woman with domestic violence, retraining, substance abuse and back to work programs.  While they expected between 2500 and 3500 walker/runners, their turn out was very small...  an estimated 150 walker/runners.  But it was fun to visit with the other vendors, support a great cause and make some time one-on-one with folks.  We had many visitors to the booth who enjoyed our paper-crafting samples.  Many were crafters, and also some that were not, but admired our work and products!  Here are a few pics of the displays and our booth for you to enjoy...

Here are a few card samples we displayed and also the raffle entries we held for two lucky winners of a card workshops for themselves and four of their lucky friends!


Here is a pic of part of the Pemberly card workshop (below) I attended earlier this year.  I LOVE the box and 15 cards that match    

all in the lovely Pemberly design style.  Wendy Coffman from Stamping Rules is the designer and she comes up with the most wonderful designs!

Portland Woman's Expo - Rose Garden

Well today will be a busy day at the Portland Woman's Expo.  We will be featuring Close To My Heart by showing off the new catalog and sharing samples of projects we've made.  Come join us today for the walk/run and other festivities.

There should be nearly 300 vendors on hand including us!  If you come find our table, we will give you a special prize!  Here are a couple of photos of prep work to wet your whistle!

After a quiet week on the blog circuit, I thought I'd show off yet another Christmas Card from the upcoming workshops.  I hope you enjoy this.

I created a background pattern with random snowflakes from the Workshop on the Go! Pear and Partridge Scrapbook set.  I hope you enjoy the simple card with all the sparkles lighting up the Christmas tree!  I also love the border stamp ad how it it is to dress up the card...  Wishing you Harmony today!