Dreamin'

Full of light and shimmer the Dreamin' papers from Close to My Heart are the prettiest in their new line! Though full of fall colors, the hues of blues and golds worked just as well to highlight my summer photos. A bit of white added to the page above helps to give this page a summery feel. The butterflies were cut with the Art Philosphy Cricut cartridge and then colored using my blending pen with the watercolor markers. Simply rub the nib of the blending pen onto the nib of the watercolor marker to pick up the color and then paint your image. I love this technique as the colors intensify and blend so smoothly without using any water. To switch colors, simply wipe the tip of the blending pen on a piece of scrap paper until the color disapears.

My next page is created using sketch #50 from the Scrap A Little's sketch blog. The sketches from this blog are among my favorite when I'm looking for a little inspirational help in laying out a page. Notice the borders strips across the center of the page? One of them is cut from the backside of the paper and the other is simply the zip strip - or back of the informational strip -- attached to the paper. Close to My Heart has made coordination so simple!

Don't you just love it when there is no thinking involved? This layout is taken straight out of the Autumn/Winter Idea Book. I changed it up just a teensy bit to suit my photos, but it's pretty much just as  you see on on Page 32. The blue scalloped background, leaves and the rolled rose are cut with the Art Philosphy Cricut cartridge so the entire page could not have been any easier! I love the Cork Alphabet, it is one of my new favorite go-to items this year.

One more for sharing:

This time the Cork Alphabet is colored with Chocolate Ink, I simply daubed it on and it took the color so easily. The Harvest Charms are really a fun addition to the page and coordinate beautifully with the Dreamin' line.

To get any of the papers, pens or embellies listed in this post, simply click on my CTMH shopping link on the top right of this page. And don't forget to share your creations. I woud love to see how you use this beautiful line from CTMH!

It's Elemental!

Here's a riddle for you. What two CTMH items go as well together as peanut butter and jelly? The answer is elemental. The new cardstock-weight Elemental paper and the new CTMH Art  Philosophy Cricut Cartridge to be exact!

I've been having so much fun locked in my scrap room with these two products lately that my husband thinks I left town and my cat won't speak to me. But never mind, they'll come round soon enough. Meanwhile, let me share with you a few of my projects. The first one above scanned a bit wonky but you can see all the layering that is available on this new cart. I added some Pearl Opaque Adhesive Gems to the centers of the flowers and butterflies for even more added dimension and shine.

This next page is a lift of a featured project in the Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book on page 86. I used the Horray Bouquet stamp that coordinates with the Cricut images. So easy. So fun. Love the page!

The design above is from a make-n-take by my friend Helen of Scrap a Little. I love her designs so much that I recreated one using the Elemental papers and look how lovely it turned out! The wave at the bottom comes from the 'Zip Strip' - something new that CTMH has added to their papers. You simply trim it off the bottom of the sheet and it makes a great border or accent on a coordinating page.

'Down by the River' utilizes the 'Love Life' stamp on page 29 of the Idea Book and this layout is my take on the project on the same page.  I really like the Decor Journaling Spots. I made one stationary and the other allows the journaling to pull out of the tag. The yellow stripe is another Zip Strip from the paper pack.

I know you are dying to see what is on the new CTMH Cricut cart so here is a scan of the cover. As you can see it offers over 700 shapes, many of which coordinate with the CTMH stamp sets. There are circles, flowers, snowflakes, leaves, tags, cards, 3-D images, ornaments, frames, hearts, acorns, brackets, borders, birds, trees, Christmas trees, flourishes, decorative corners and tabs, arrows, keys, lace images, and a font with a font layer. Who could ask for anything more? To get yours, simply click on the link on the top right of this page.

I hope I have inspired you to start scrapping. Feel free to contact me with any questions or to share your ideas. I look forward to hearing from you!