Scaredy Cat

Ok, so I was in a card swap with other amazingly talented Close To My Heart consultants recently.  I got to choose the Scaredy Cat paper from Close To My Heart as the paper pack and compliments I would work with.  We had to create a 5" x 7" card, a 4" x 6" card, a 3" x 3" card, and an altered item using our chosen paper pack and stamps that accompanied the paper in the catalog.  Here are my creations.  Enjoy!

This is my over-the-top 4" x 6" card.  I had a lot of fun creating this shabby chic Halloween card.

Here is my altered item - it's a cd!  I turned an old cd into a door hanger for Halloween.  

How cute is this?!

Here is my 3" x 3" card.  I love the hint of orange in the pattern on the paper.

5" x 7" card - Witch's boot

Let me know how you like my fun creations!  

I'm already sketching out my Thanksgiving and Christmas cards!  Can't wait to get started on them!

Back to School

Well, school has been back in full swing for the last 4 weeks and I'm just now getting around to posting my back to school crafts.

Every year I create journals for the people in my department.  I'm not the department chair (thank goodness!) but I like to make things for others and we always need a place to write things down.  I start with a generic composition book and then cover it with paper.  When choosing the paper and accents, I really think about the person who is receiving the item and try to match up the paper to their personalities.  All paper and inks are from Close To My Heart.  The first one on the 1st row of two is the one I created for myself.  I used a couple of the 3"x 6" Picture My Life cards from Close To My Heart.  I really like how they added another dimension to the journal.

Here are the ones I created for us this year.

 

The orange & blue one in the middle is actually for a friend at another school.

Thrifty Creation for Washi Tape

If you are like me, you are loving the whole Washi tape craze.  The problem I had was storing all the tapes without spending a ton of money on some cute little doo-dad.  So, one day as I was putting dinner away I noticed the holder for the parchment paper was a pretty good size and shape.  Lo & behold, I was also out of parchment paper, so I had to get rid of the container.

Well, you know we crafters don't throw things away.  So, I measured and it was the perfect size & shape I needed for my tapes.

Here are a few pics to show you what I did.  The papers I used are all retired from Close To My Heart, but never fear, you can always order other cute papers!

The parchment box before I altered it

Finished product

Hook & Loop closures along the side

Serrated edge used to tear the tape

I hope you enjoyed this frugal tidbit.  When you create yours, please send me a picture so I can see how adorably you decorated yours!

Keep crafty my friends!

~Michelle

Plexus Slim

Have you heard of Plexus Slim? What about Candida?  Until about a month ago, I hadn’t either.  My mom signed up and I used some of her products.  Well, I’m hooked!  Each morning I put 1 packet of Plexus Slim drink in a bottle of water and drink it before I have breakfast.  Thirty minutes later, I take my daily vitamins/medications and eat a small breakfast.  Notice I said ‘small.’  I used to eat a ton, now, I am not hungry enough and do not want to eat a lot.  I have lost all cravings for diet coke and sweets.  I crave veggies and fruits, YES!  Seriously!  :D  The products help with weight loss but there are several products that have been created to help get our bodies back to being healthy and rid of Candida.  Candida is fungus that is causing a ton of health issues, like – migraines, fatigue, IBS, fibromyalgia, and the list goes on. 

Below is a list of states that does NOT have a Plexus Ambassador at all.  Meaning, these states are virgin territory and ripe for great sales.  If you are interested in learning more, let me know at west.mjwest@yahoo.com  and I will get you all the information you need.

I hope to hear from all of you!

Love,

Michelle

Check out this list - if you live in 1 of these states, you NEED to contact me!

AMAZING APRIL!

Wow! 

Close To My Heart has really out done themselves this month!  If you have been thinking about joining my team with Close To My Heart, NOW is the time!  Along with your new Consultant Kit, you also get to choose 1 of our exclusive Cricut Collections!  Yep, for $99 you get all the necessary materials to start your own CTMH business AND a Cricut Collection of your choice.  Can you believe it?  Of course you can, because CTMH is a giving company that cares about you, me, and the art of crafting.  Go straight to my website and sign up!  You won't regret it!!!

www.mjwest.ctmh.com

Your new Consultant Kit:

 

CONTENTS OF THE NEW CONSULTANT KIT INCLUDE:

• Read Me First Letter    *Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Books (qty. 10)  *Hostess Order Forms (qty. 25)
• Customer Order Forms (qty. 25)    *Close To My Heart Color Swatches (W471)   *Spring/Summer 2014 B&T Duos™ Sampler (W1127)    *Petite Perks™ Delicate Wings Incentive Stamp Set (qty. 5) (W2028)
• Reflections™ Scrapbook Program (9037)    *Originals Card Confidence Program™ (9036)
• Workshops on the Go™ Skylark Scrapbooking Kit (G1072) *Skylark Complements Dimensional Elements (X7177C)    *Skylark B&T Duos™ Bulk Paper (BULK322)     *Skylark Bulk Resin Flowers (BULK340)
• Durables Triangle Studs (Z1928)   *Teal Shimmer Trim (Z1918)    *Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Pad (Z2195)
• Desert Sand Exclusive Inks™ Pad (Z2118)    *Slate Exclusive Inks™ Pad (Z2173)
• My Acrylix™ Hopscotch Alphabet Stamp Set (E1028)   *My Acrylix™ True to Life Stamp Set (C1575)
• My Acrylix™ Believe in Yourself Stamp Set (C1574) *3" × 3" My Acrylix™ Block (Y1006)
• 4" × 5" My Acrylix™ Block (Y1012)   *2" × 6½" My Acrylix™ Block (Y1010)  *Non-Stick Micro-Tip Scissors (Z1836)    *My Acrylix™ Stamp Scrubber (Z1782)   *My Acrylix™ Spritz Cleaner (1778)
• Bonding Memories™ Glue (1512)   *Sponge (Z697)   *Liquid Glass (Z679)   *and Cello Bags (qty. 25) (W1152)

(Some items may not be shown. Contents are subject to change without notice.)

Then choose 1 Cricut Collection:

Art Philosophy

   

Cricut® Artbooking  Collection (Z1906)

$99 (retail value of nearly $125)

1 – Cartridge (700 images: themed projects, cards, font, shapes, 3-D items)

3 – My Acrylix® D-size Stamp Sets*

3 – 12" × 9" Dimensional Elements in coordinating shapes

Artiste

Cricut® Artiste

Collection (Z1790)

$99 (retail value of nearly $125)

1 – Cartridge (700 images: themed projects, cards, font, shapes, 3-D items)

3 – My Acrylix® D-size Stamp Sets*

3 – 12" × 9" Dimensional Elements in coordinating shapes

Artbooking

Cricut® Art Philosophy

Collection (Z1686)

$99 (retail value of nearly $125)

1 – Cartridge (700 images: font, shapes, 3-D items)

3 – My Acrylix® D-size Stamp Sets*

3 – 12" × 9" Dimensional Elements in coordinating shapes

Baby Showers

Hello Friends!

It's been a while, but I'm still around and still crafting.  Grad school does eat up a lot of time, but I'm able to squeeze in some crafting time.

I've had 2 baby showers this week and you know I just had to come up with something.  I used the Baby Cakes paper pack and Compliments from Close To My Heart.  The colors are pretty neutral and I love the patterns.  Some of the B&T duos papers can be used for something other than a baby-themed item, so that is really nice.

My mom's best friend's daughter is having a baby boy, so I felt like the grandmother, who will be called Nana, needed a gift to open.  I made her this My Creations Memory Showcase.  The first picture is what it looks like when you get the item from Close To My Heart.

Front Cover

 The "Baby Love" card on the front cover is from the Picture My Life Scprabooking Program exclusive to CTMH.  I love the cards because the come in 2 different sizes 3x4 and 4x6.  

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Matching Gift Tag

All wrapped up for Nana to open!

It may be hard to see in the last picture, but I wrapped the gift in white tissue paper that I stamped using the colors from the BabyCakes palette and using the Wild Wonder stamp set.  Here is a picture of the stamp set.

Thanks for checking out my blog today.  I'll be back soon with the items I created for the mom-to-be. Until then, stay crafty my friends!

Love, 

Michelle

Get Ready .... It's Coming!

Hi Friends,

I've got som great news and I know y'all are gonna be so excited!  I know I am!  The new Spring/Summer 2014 catalog is being released on February 1st!  yay!  And let me just say, oh boy....this catalog is ah-maze-ZING!  I need everything in it!  LOL!

Some of the items you'll be seeing are:

* More textiles

* More Shimmer trim and paper

* More Washi... woo hoo!

* Picture My Life - quick and easy scrapbooking for people on the     go 

* Jewelry ~ can't wait to get my hands on this!

* Emobssing folders! 

* More great stamps 

* And of course, amazing papers with beautiful colors

To whet your appetite, her are a few pics of upcoming products that will be released on Feb. 1st

Be a trendsetter and design your own jewelry with our

Base & Bling

So many options that cost so little money = tons of trendsetting necklaces.  Be the envy of your friends!

Not sure if you want to be a Hostess?  Well, check out the 3 new Hostess Collections!  You can contact me and we'll set up that Gathering right away!!

Hostess Collection #1 - Featuring Lolly Doodle Paper packk

Hostess Collection #2 Featuring Ariana Paper pack and our Base & Bling

Hostess Collection #3 - Featuring Timberline Paper pack

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is the new Consultant Kit! 

Come on and join my team ~ you won't regret it!

Sunday Funday

Hello Friends!

Hope your new year has started off with a bang! Everyone seems to be back into a routine and trudging through.

Below are some Christmas cards and bags I created for people at work.

In this bag, I had a few items I had decorated for the person I drew in our Secret Santa game at work.  She loves hot pink, white, silver, and black. The perfect touch was the washi tape I used on the pink paper.  Love me some washi tape!  If you haven't played with it, you are missing out!

Another washi tape project.  I can't take credit for the design of this card.  I found it on one of the Close To My Heart facebook pages, and for the life of me I can't think of the lady's name who designed it.  Yes, I put a little "Michelle" twist on it, but it is mostly her design.

Merry & Bright... great sentiments for the holidays, right?!  I thought so too!  I love this card because it was so easy to do and had quite the punch effect.  All materials were from one of the CTMH Workshop On the Go.  

Snowmen are so fun!  The snow banks were created by tearing paper and then inking the edges in blue.  I stamped the snowflakes in the same color and then inserted my little friends.  

Well, this has been a quick post, but I resolved to post more often and thus needed to write something.  Next post will be better and have more creations to share.  I love hearing from people and seeing what has been created.  

Until next time, stay crafty!

Happy 2014!

Happy 2014 Friends!

I have made my resolutions and one of them is to post more on my blog. So, here is the first of many new blog entries for the best and craftiest 2014!

The first item I’m going to post is a quick and easy, as well as inexpensive, gift idea. These make fabulous gifts in sets of 4 or a quick gift for a teacher to have on his/her desk.

Here are the items you will need:

·         Staz-On ink

·         Stamp(s) of your choice

·         Small adhesive backed felt circles

·         Ceramic tiles

Using a damp paper towel, wipe off the dust from the tiles.  On the back, place the felt dots – 1 in each corner. 

Next, choose your stamp and ink it up.  Once you’ve done that, all you do is stamp the image onto the tile and you are done!  

Well, there you have it, a quick and easy gift for anyone on your list.  Until next time, stay crafty my friends!