Stamps That Give Back!

Today I'm thinking of my grandpa, who as a very young man 69 years ago was fighting for our country. He returned from World War II, while thousands did not. I'm grateful and hopeful that others will take seriously the gift of freedom given to all of us by the brave men and women of the past, present, and future.

Today is the perfect time to celebrate military service and promote patriotism with CTMH's three new patriotic stamp sets—only available for a limited time from June 1 – July 31, 2013!

One B-size stamp set and two D-size stamp sets were created specifically to celebrate independence and freedom. The best part is that $5 from every patriotic D-size stamp set and $3 from every patriotic B-size stamp set sold will benefit a military-support charitable organization.

Donations in the US will be made to the USO, the leading, most recognized military-support and services organization in the country. Donations in Canada will be made to the Canadian Hero Fund, which supports spouses and children of fallen Canadian military troops by helping provide post-secondary education funds. Order yours here!

 

Close To My Heart is making an upcoming Autumn/Winter 2013 stamp set, A True Thank You, available immediately and will donate 100% of the profits from sales of the set from May 23 through June 30 to the American Red Cross to aid victims of the Oklahoma tornado. Help us provide relief to those affected by the devastating Oklahoma tornado by purchasing A True Thank You stamp set for $2.95 (M1029) today!

Dream Pop!

I had a fabulous time this weekend doing some scrapbooking and teaching a workshop! The new Dream Pop papers from Close To My Heart make me so happy! Here are a few layouts for you to dream over. Then get in touch and get your own Dream Pop paper in May for just $10 with a $35 purchase.

Some sweet pics with my youngest son and a little note to him! LOVE THIS PAPER! Also used Shimmer trim, sparkes, Cricut Artiste for the flower and bow, and the zip strip.

Another gorgeous paper from Dream Pop! Also used ribbon & washi tape.

Inspired by Susan Williams, I used this layout in my weekend workshop. It is so beautiful! And I love the story, too!

Happy Creating!
Carrie

Studio J Fun & Easy

I just placed my first large Studio J order, the online digital scrapbooking program for anyone! Studio J creates layouts in minutes and is quite affordable. Here are a few layouts I created. (Special secret: several layouts are part of the Studio J pre-designed layouts...all you have to do is place photos, add journaling & title, and you're done!)

Fifteen photos in this layout!

This paper is an online-only exclusive!

Happy Creating!
Carrie

Claire Crazy!

Claire Crazy class: Claire Paper pack, Girls Rock stamp set, Sunset ink, Hollyhock ink, Blush ink, Sweet leaf ink, Cricut Artiste, Buttons, trim, spray pen, Pearl pain. {ALL CTMH}

 I adore the colors in the new Claire paper pack and had a great time with the gals that came to Claire Crazy class last week. The layout above was inspired by CTMH consultant Brenda Rose, and that led me to hold a class! All of these projects were done with one paper pack and even had leftovers! Below is a close-up of the card and purse we made.

 Our bonus layout was one inspired by the Claire Workshop on the Go pack and features my son getting his nails done by my niece. He'll love this one someday!

Claire Paper pack, Girls Rock stamp set, Urban felt letters, Sunset ink, Sweet Leaf ink, Chevron ribbon {ALL CTMH}

I'm super crazy for Claire paper!

Happy Creating!
Carrie

Spreading Spring Fever!

I'm spreading some spring fever today by sharing a few layouts featuring the new spring/summer idea book paper packs Chantilly & For Always!

Love the pretty shades of the Chantilly paper, paradise flowers, and pretty pearls!

Close up of the flowers and bitty pearls! The "Easter" cut is on the CTMH Cricut Artiste cartridge! So pretty!

Loved using For Always to feature Casey in his suit, along with Cricut Artiste and black glitter paper!

Close up of the tie and medallion cut from Artiste!

I was looking through my scrapbooks the other day and it reminded me of why I love to scrapbook. It also reminded me that my favorite pages include not only the date and event, but the story behind the event. That's why I love this page of my son Casey. In third grade our kids learn about the Titanic and give a great presentation about the Titanic by taking on roles from the ship. Casey had a first class passenger role, and he wanted to be dressed in a suit. Well, we didn't have one, and all of his friends that I could "borrow" from were already using theirs! So, I told him we'd stop at a consignment store to see what we could find. It is a huge store, and I was skeptical (yet hopeful) that we would find anything. We walked into the store and headed back to the boys department. On our way, on one of the end caps, hung a size 8 boys suit for $15. It was a perfect fit! We found a tie, too. It was so special (and I thank God for placing that suit in front of us). I want to remember Casey being so excited about his suit. These photos are from when we got home and he tried it on all together. He looked in the mirror and said, "I look like Pastor Mike!" Priceless!

I hope you find time to record your special memories and stories this week!

Happy Creating!
Carrie

Be An Artiste Cricut Class

Loved planning and teaching a class tonight that explored the CTMH Artiste Cricut Collection! This cartridge is packed full of great images, cards, 3-D items, an alphabet, and so much more! Here's a pic of this beauty:

And here's what we made in class. Thanks to fellow consultants Michelle Johns and Kathleen Stoppelmoor for the inspiration!

Happy Creating!
Carrie

Creating {Cup}cakes

I've noticed a couple "cupcakery" shops in our area, and I think the craze is spreading fast. Who doesn't love a custom cupcake flavored to your liking? However, they aren't cheap. So, in anticipation of a snow day last week, I decided to try to make my own custom cupcakes for my favorite boys. They like chocolate cake with white frosting. I had some old parchment triangles from when I took my cake decorating class. Here's what I came up with:

Not too bad, and they were quite delicious. I do, however, wonder if the $2.75 each price tag is worth NOT having a couple dozen of these babies in my house! Dangerous!

I do love to decorate cakes! Here are a few of my favorite creations:

Elmo & Cookie Monster; love the goldfish for Dorothy! The eyes are powdered doughnuts.

Sponge Bob; this is a HUGE cake, and I think my best! I used yellow decorating gel to make the sponge dots.

This golf cake is a 9x13 cake with a half sphere golf ball popping from the cake.

My son Cameron asked for blue and green lightsabers fighting with the blue winning. No problem! This cake was before my decorating class, but it is still one of my favorites!

My most recent cake for my niece Lily! Love Minnie!

I've done hockey, baseball, basketball, race cars, and trains...yes, I am a mom of boys!

Happy Creating!
Carrie