Latest Craft Efforts!

Aaaah, summertime -- no schedule, homework, etc. It was soooo nice. I got more sleep, enjoyed hanging out with both of my kiddos, did a lot of reading, played video games, and just had more time to relax. It is hard to believe that it is over already.

This summer I was trying to learn more about sewing as well as keep organizing/inventorying my craft room. So my crafty time has been harder to come by, but I did manage to accomplish a few projects. First, I did A LOT of mending and altering clothes. Definitely have to say that this is not my favorite aspect of sewing... however necessary it is.

I did manage a few fun projects however. I shared earlier the mini quilt I made myself on my birthday with my BFF on our Family Blog. At the time, I was trying to keep this blog more CTMH-oriented and didn't share it here. As I am no longer a consultant, that impediment is gone. So, I'll go ahead and share it again here.



I loved how it turned out, so I decided to make Delaney one for her room at school. (I was bound and determined to take a break from the mending and do something fun!) I incorporated the number 22 in the design, since that is the soccer number she has at Parkside. The base colors were black and white, which is the predominate color scheme of her room and I threw in as many little extras as I could from existing fabric I had here at home. I thought it turned out really cute.



She sent me a picture of it hanging in her room after she got it. (Her dad dropped it off with other goodies at an away game for her.)



As far as organizing my craft stuff goes, I have been trying to go through bins, boxes, baskets -- you name it, and organizing things together. I have also been inventorying things as I've been going through things with Evernote. I *love* it. I have all my acrylic stamps organized in there, and it is so easy to type in a keyword and see sets that match to select from, and then find exactly where the set is located. I have also gotten through my punches, dry embossing stencils, and even my old wooden sets. I still have a lot more things to get through, but I'm getting there. I also pulled out the many handmade cards I had everywhere and put them in one place, organized by theme to easily find a card when needed. That took a lot longer than I thought it would, but I finally finished them all up.



One other big project that I finished up was I made my first quilt! I used reclaimed denim and soccer fleece to make a rag quilt. I even had a little helper most of the time while I was working on it. It was basically, "Oh, you're working on this here? I shall sit on it." He's so cute, that he can get away with it too. He would usually fall asleep so I was trying to carefully work around him in a tiny area -- as he takes up most of the table.



The thing that took the longest wasn't the actual assembly of the quilt. It was all the cutting of the squares! I couldn't believe how long it took just to cut squares. The denim was really hard on my rotary blade too; it completely dulled it. I had to order new blades. But once I finally got through cutting all the squares, the actual assembly wasn't too bad. Delaney helped me lay out all the squares, to make sure that I had the different denim colors spread out nicely. Then I simply had to sew all the squares together row by row, then attach all the rows together. After everything was together, cutting all the seams was a tad tedious -- but then it was finished! Ta-dah!



It is currently on the futon in the soccer room -- a perfect match. All that denim makes for one heavy quilt too, I think it will be nice and toasty in the winter months.



I have a bigger "want to do" list than I actually have time to do. So I guess time will tell what I actually get to next.

Dani

 

Making Cards Again!

I guess I haven't officially put anything on the blog, so I will do that here now. As of this past April 1st, I am no longer a consultant with Close To My Heart. I have loved being a part of their company and their products for quite a while now, but with my illness things were just slowly coming to this decision. Thanks for being such great customers and keep in touch!

Now that that is out of the way, I will still be using this blog to post crafty stuff. Recently, I have been on an organizational and cataloging kick with all my craft supplies. I have been using Evernote for a while now. I started with my stamp sets and was so happy with the results, that I have been slowly adding in more and more supplies when I can get to it. I have a couple of bins filled with old projects of all types. Whether it was from a convention, a customer ordered but didn't actually pick up the packet, or something I never finished... they all went in these bins. I have decided it was time to start working through them.

So, I pulled out three old packages of card kits and went to town with them. I decided to use whatever stamps I wanted with them, so I would have a better variety of finished cards to utilize. I got to play with some new cat stamp sets I hadn't had the opportunity to use yet, as well as drag out a bunch of older sets too.


 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 
It was a lot of fun making these. Having everything pre-cut made it really quick to whip out all these cards. I wonder what I will be able to drag out of the Old Projects bin next?
Dani
 

New stamp set: Gimme Some Sugar

Have you checked out the current Seasonal Expressions? 



There are some beautiful new paper collections: Chelsea Gardens, Make Waves, Stargazer, and Gimme Some Sugar along with several embellishments and a variety of stamp sets. One of my favorite new sets is C1702 Gimme Some Sugar - Cardmaking. (You can even get the set with a coordinating set of dies.) Here are a few cards that I made with the set.

Keeping this card clean and simple, I randomly stamped the background with all the cooking images in Heather ink. Then I cut out a heart and coordinating scallop with my Cricut and stamped the sentiment "baked with love." For a final touch, I added a few Bashful Pearls as accents.



Since I always seem to run out of Thank You cards, I loved the "grateful for you" sentiment. Using the new Gimme Some Sugar collection, I added a piece of the printed paper on the bottom -- wrapping it with a ribbon from the Basics ribbon collection. Then I stamped the grater on top with the sentiment.



I also played with the cute little oven mitt. I stamped, colored and cut out the mitt and attached it to a Lemon background. Then wanting to use a different color scheme -- I pulled out the new Nutmeg color and made my own striped accent attaching it on the bottom with a thin strip of the Nutmeg n bottom. Then I used the adorable sentiment "I must admitt you're the best." Too cute!



And last but not least, I made a 6"x6" card using the Gimme Some Sugar papers again. I used 2"x2" squares of the patterned paper to set up the grid, then stamped the measuring cups in each corner. I colored each cup in a little bit and attached some thin strips at slightly off angles to give it a more varied look. I finished it off with stamping the sentiment "You always measure up" and adding a few Bashful Pearls.



Don't you love this set?  Make sure to get yours ordered while you can. Enjoy!

Dani
 

From the Heart Special

September is almost over, and so is your chance to take advantage of this month's special: From the Heart. It took me a while to mess around with my special, but the stamp set is beautiful! The gold foil on the edge of the cards is such a nice touch, and the interactive cards are very unique.



I started out with a color scheme similar to the samples on the instruction sheet. I made one for of the four main sentiments. It is hard to get a good pictures of the cards with the gold foil; they look much prettier in real life.



Then I decided to mess around with a new colors scheme. I pulled some darker colors with purple and teal, and added a lighter green color with the leaves.



And finally, I decided to go with an overall lighter color scheme keeping the colors more pastel. I can't decide which scheme I like better -- they all turned out so pretty. I just wish I knew how to take better photographs with the gold foil!



There are only a few days left in September, if you haven't taken advantage of the special yet -- contact me right away!

Dani

 
 

September's stamp of the month set: Feel So Blessed

Isn't this late season warm weather wonderful? I definitely feel blessed by it, which is perfect for September's stamp of the month set, Feel So Blessed. The set has 26 stamps, including numbers, and thankful sentiments and images. I love the feather image!

This first card is using a striped patterned paper from Falling For You. I stamped, colored, and cut out three feathers. I attached them, then stamped the sentiment 'thanks' directly on the patterned paper. Same with the small hearts, which then I colored in; and finished the card off with some Bronze Sequins and Gold Glitter Gems.



This next card is again using patterned paper from Falling For You, a polka dot design. I cut out several circles in coordinating colors from the pack. I randomly attached them, trimming off any overhanging pieces. Then I stamped the sentiment 'Feel So Blessed' and attached some White Dots to finish it off.



This card is crated using a variety of prints from Falling For You. Red Shimmer Trim was attached between the two background prints. The large leaves were paper pieced out of the larger patterned print, with Feel So Blessed stamped in a circle.



This card is using a print from the Beary Christmas paper pack and a border design from Falling For You. I stamped the sentiments, hearts and leaf design; then colored them in. 



This last card is using prints and borders from Beary Christmas again, including one of the Picture My Life designs. The sentiment 'There are so many beautiful reasons to be thankful' was stamped then colored in with a couple strips of White Shimmer trim for accent.



Enjoy!
Dani
 
 

Disaster Relief Set - Stronger Together

Close To My Heart has prepared a stamp set, specifically designed to benefit those affected by disasters (such as the recent hurricanes and wildfires in the United States). The stamp set is titled Stronger Together (C1716) and features a variety of sentiments that can be used for comfort, encouragement, and more.



This C-size set is available for purchase now. The proceeds from the sale of this set will be donated to the Red Cross, which provides relief efforts to multiple disasters – and will allocate the funds where they are needed most. ALL OF THE PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO THE RED CROSS.

I would love to encourage sales of this set, so for a limited time I am offering 20% off any other CTMH products ordered with this set.* With the new Annual Inspirations and Seasonal Expressions just going live – this is a wonderful opportunity to knock several brand-new items off of your wish list! 

Get in touch with me this week to take advantage of this offer soon, offer ends this week!
Dani 

*Order must contain the disaster relief set Stronger Together C1716 (ineligible for discount), with all other CTMH products eligible for the 20% off offer ordered at the same time. This offer expires Sunday, September 17 at midnight CST. Orders must be placed through Danielle Benich, CTMH Independent Consultant in order to receive the 20% discount.

 
 

Open House Artwork!

For those of you unable to make it to the Open House, we missed you! And I wanted to share the artwork on display at the Open House, so everyone could see it. My daughter, once again, took pictures of everything for me -- :'( definitely going to miss her away at college. To check out the new Idea Books online, go here, and contact me to get your very own copy!





























And here were the two free make-n-takes that were available:





Enjoy!
Dani

 

August's Stamp of the Month set: School Year

I hope everyone else is enjoying their summer as much as we are -- my only concern is how fast it seems to be slipping away! I got to make some samples with the stamp of the month set for August: School Year. Perfect timing, with school right around the corner! Before I tell a bit about each one, I have to thank my daughter, Delaney, for taking some super great photos of my cards for me.  :-)

This first card is using some patterned paper from the Jack paper packet. I loved the little pencil stamp, and it made me think of our Framework Alphabet set. I added the little heart trio and a few accents... so cute!



This next card is using a patterned print from the No Worries paper packet. The sentiment is from the This & That set. My kids may need this encouragement as one heads off to college and the other off to high school!!!



This last card is using a few prints from the Jack paper packet again. I decided I didn't want to color my pencils yellow again, so I made them gray and red instead. Pencils are all colors and designs now, right?



I guess my next post will probably be AFTER school has started up, so hopefully I can keep up with everything.

Enjoy!
Dani