Easy Peasy!

Handmade gifts don't have to be hard.  They don't have to be time consuming.  They don't have to be expensive.  For just a little cash and a little time, you can provide a loved one with a special gift that they will ooh and aah over!

Here's a great example!  This is a simple chipboard book that a friend and I created for one of our coworkers.  Our only cost comes from the paper and the pictures.

Every year, at benefits renewal, I get packages of brochures and posters advertising our health, dental, and vision benefits.  Each packet comes with a piece of chipboard to provide support.  I use to toss the chipboard along with the plastic covering until a coworker pointed out it would be great for scrapbooking.

I took several of the 8.5x11 sheets of chipboard and cut them in half to make the pages for the book.  We then used a cute paper pack to cover each page.  I picked the paper pack up at JoAnns for just $9.99, and I have a TON of it left.  It was perfect for our retiring coworker who is a nature lover.

One sheet covered the front and the back.  Everything except "Happy Retirement" was printed on the paper, and the Cricut made cutting the title quick and easy.  Once everything was put together with the binder rings, we tied pieces of ribbon on the rings for added cuteness! 

For the inner pages, all we did was cover the chipboard with the cardstock, mat the pictures, and add titles.

We were probably done in under 2 hours, and she LOVED it! 

Workshops On The Go

One of my absolute FAVORITE products from Close to My Heart is the Workshops on the Go.  For just $29.95 ($34.51 after shipping and tax).  If you have never seen one of these, you are in for a treat!  I cannot say it enough - I LOVE this product!!!

Each workshop comes with the following:

• My Reflections paper pack (six 12x12 double sided sheets of patterned paper)
• Six 12x12 sheets of coordinating cardstock
• Exclusive CTMH acrylic stamp set only available with the workshop
• Instructional brochure
• Coordinating embelishments

The instructional brochure provides great cutting and stamping instructions to ensure you get the most out of your workshop.

Just look at everything I was able to make with the Fanfare Workshop on the Go!  For just $29.95, I was able to make 2 double page 12x12 scrapbook layouts and 24 cards! 

Plus, I had all of this left!  There's a full 12x12 piece of paper, lots of great paper pieces for cards, and the acrylic stamp set!

Before you fall too much in love with Fanfare, I have to warn you - this workshop is no longer available.  The workshops are only available during the life cycle of the catalog.

Never fear, CTMH has 8 - yes 8! - great workshops available now!  Check them out at Workshops on the Go.

Shout Out to My Peeps!

When I saw the My Peeps stamp set from Close to My Heart, I KNEW I had to have it!  Each Easter, I could eat my weight in Peeps!  Then I saw the Lucy paper pack, and the wheels started turning!  Granted, I did crop lift the basics of the design from the Idea Book, but that's what it's there for - ideas!

Here's the finished product!

I just love the colors and the Peeps are way cute!  But . . . my favorite part ended up being the flower.  This card ended up serving double duty - my Easter cards and my cards for this month's card club.  The theme for the card club was texture.  I punched one layer of the flower out of Sweet Leaf card stock and the other out of Creme Brulee.  To give them texture, I dry embossed each with a different embossing folder.  Chunky glue dots were used between each layer, and a button tied with CTMH Baker's Twine.  You can see why it's my fav part of the card!

To give the Peeps some texture, I flocked each of them.  This was my first time using flock, and several times I uttered, "What the flock?!"  It's cute but not much fun to use.  A fellow scrapper said I should have sugared them.  She was right, that would have been way cute; but after flocking with the flock, I wasn't about to redo my Peeps! 

To attach the Peeps, two were simply adhered to the card.  The middle one was attached using the new Adhesive Spring from CTMH.  It really makes the Peep "spring" to life!  If it was a real Peep, I would say it was jumping right off the card and into my mouth!!!

Last but not least, my favorite part of the stamp set - the sentiment!  Happy Easter to my Peeps!

For now, I say, "Good night to my Peeps!"