Soccer Mini-Albums again!

One of Delaney's teammates on Three Lions asked when I was going to make them another mini-album. I guess I hadn't really thought about it, so Delaney and I decided to make a watermelon mini-album in celebration of winning the Watermelon Soccer Tournament this past June. (I checked. I guess the last time I made them some was back in November '09. Really? Has it been that long? Geez! It was apparently time for another!) We made one album for everyone who participated in the tournament, so that came to 14 mini-albums (including the coach). Yikes! :-)



Normally mini-albums are great, because they are just that... mini. You can whip them out in no time! But when you are making them in quantity, then that time multiplies quickly. Delaney agreed to help with this project, so we set up an assembly-like system and got to work. We made an album out of one sheet of 12"x12" black cardstock, just like one of the projects I had at my last open house. (Directions can be found at that link.)

Delaney helped a lot! She used my new Cricut Expressions and the Preserves cartridge (a cartridge found at Menards of all places on a tremendous sale, that my sister-in-law helped me get), and cut out all the watermelon pieces -- the small piece on the front cover and the larger piece on the back cover. Each watermelon slice had four different layers to it. So with fourteen albums, it took her a while to get all of them cut. Then she sponged the edges with a little chocolate ink to add some character to the finished embellishment. She helped sponge some of the other pieces too, as well as finding a good action shot of everyone from the final game of the tournament, and helping with design decisions with what goes where and what quote to use, etc. She was a GREAT help! With a little hard work and time, we were able to get all of the albums done in a couple of days (working here and there when we had the opportunity).

Here is the album in various stages of being opened up. First if you open the tab holding it shut, and lift up then down the next two flaps, you'll see the first panel. Then after opening up those two flaps, you'll see the middle panel. We have their first name, an action shot, a Mia Hamm quote (and we found another quote for coach, thinking he wouldn't really appreciate a quote referring to when he played as a "little girl"), a team shot in their champion t-shirts, the plaque and a spot for them to journal. And the last panel is the back, with a jersey stamped with their number.



We used a lot of retired products on this project. A couple of the cardstock colors, Clover Meadow and appropriately enough Watermelon, were used as well as a lot of retired soccer/sports sets. While I occasionally have a retired stamps sale at some of my Open Houses, not a SINGLE soccer set has ever been available for sale. :-) They are mine for life!

Delaney is excited to hand them out at practice today.

Enjoy!
Dani

Finally!

Between recovering from vacations (I know, I'm sure that no one is feeling THAT sorry for me! LOL But I just am having problems being so tired lately!!!), getting ready for school to start (* gasp *), and soccer season starting back up... I am really feeling so behind here lately!!!

But... (* drum roll, please *)... I finally got around to getting everything ready to pull the name for the Grand Prize winner from the Autumn/Winter 2011 Open House. I had to make sure that everyone had the right number of entries, so everyone eligible had the correct number of chances. I put everything in a cute little blue bucket, but it was too tight. There wasn't enough room to shake them all up, so I moved them to an even cuter bigger yellow polka dot bucket. :-)

And, as always, I got one of my kiddos to draw the winner (so hopefully no one will be mad at a cute kid, right?). And the winner is:



Congratulations, Sally R. Your name was drawn for the Grand Prize Basket! Sally only had ONE entry in the drawing, so you never know who will win. :-)

Dani

Ta-dah! My first card with my new Cricut Expressions!

This card is using our brand new paper pack, Wonderland, with the September Stamp of the Month set, Limited Edition. I used our new Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge to cut out the flourish, leaves, and 3-D flowers as well as the box for the sentiment. I absolutely ADORE the 3-D flowers. I've made my own, and this is soooooo much faster and simpler and they look absolutely gorgeous. Don't you think? Off to play some more!

Dani

Brand New: Cricut Art Philosophy Collection!

Close To My Heart has released for the first time, their very own exclusive Cricut cartridge: Cricut Art Philosophy Collection. My cartridge is on the way, and I can't wait to start messing around with it. Of course, I had to get a Cricut too... so I'll need to figure out everything all at once! LOL The new Cricut collection was a hit at the Open House, and if you haven't yet gotten your new Idea Book... you are definitely missing out!

The Art Philosophy cartridge has 700 shapes, including 3-D flowers, boxes, banners, envelopes and much, much more. It comes bundled with three exclusive D-size stamp sets as well as three sets of 9"x12" Dimensional Elements that coordinate with the cartridge. On top of that, there are many stamps in the Idea Book that work with the cartridge too! You can't beat it!

Check out all these wonderful images:
(click on each image for a larger picture)















Here is a .pdf of all the images as well, it's an 8MB file, so be patient.

The bundle comes with the cartridge, three D-size stamp sets, and three sets of Dimensional Elements. That's a retail value of $124.69, for only $99! And don't forget, when you order a minimum of $50, you get the stamp of the month set for only $5... and this month's special you'll also get a FREE A-sized alphabet stamp set with the purchase of at least $50 and the August Stamp of the Month! Great Deal!

If you have any questions about the new Cricut Art Philosophy Collection, don't hesitate to ask! And if you are ready to order your collection now, click here.

Dani

Mini-Album from One 12" x 12" Sheet of Cardstock!

This is one of the free make-takes from the Open House. I said I would post pictures of the album opened up on the blog, so here we go! If you open up the first flap holding the mini-album shut with velcro, you can then flip up and down the first two flaps.



Then the top and bottom flaps can then be folded out again.



And while it is all opened up, this is what the back looks like.



So cute and fun! It's also very easy to make. You simply score a 12" x 12" sheet in half, turn and score in thirds to the first score line, cut in thirds past the first score line. Last, you'll trim the middle flap created as the cover for your mini album. Check out these instructions, and if you make one, send me a picture! :-)

Enjoy!
Dani

Open House today - Saturday, 8/6/11!

Open House Celebration
for the new Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book!
9:00 am - 3:00 pm

Two free make-n-takes! Come learn how to make this adorable mini-album, made from one single sheet of 12"x12" cardstock. How cute is that!?! There is a variety of patterns to select from, pick your favorite design.

Also, make this gorgeous card with the new Roxie papers:



There will be:

• New product and artwork on display - lots of artwork from convention this year!
• Free make-n-take projects (shown above)
• Take home today! Specially priced brand new items - open house only: buy 2, get 1 free!
• Open House Only Specials - draw for your special when you submit your order!
• Over 100 Retired Stamp Sets for sale at their lowest price ever - 50% off!
• Party & Sign-up Specials!
• Door Prizes & Grand Prize Basket - Grand Prize basket valued over $80!
• Light Snacks and Refreshments!

Make sure to stop by to get YOUR Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book!

Dani