Rock the Block - Perfect for Ornaments

Our new special "Rock the Block" starts today. Place a minimum order of $25 from the Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea book and get two new products for just $15; an exclusive My Acrylix Rock the Block E-size stamp set and the My Creations Collage Cubes ( a new Spring/Summer 2012 sneak-peek product).

With My Creations Collage Cubes and coordinating stamp set, one of the project I created are ornaments for our Christmas tree. The blocks are made of sturdy light weight chipboard, so they won't weigh your branches down and will last for years to come.

To cover the cubes I painted each side with mod podge, laid it down on the paper (I used the Elemental Paper Packet), gave it a minute to dry and then cut off the excess paper using my cutting knife.  After I applied all the base paper, I went over the seems with a little more mod podge, after all my ornaments are likely going to be handle by my kids over and over again. To personalize each ornament I cut out initials (and a couple of flowers) with my Art Philosophy cartridge, added a fitting stamp from the Rock the Block stamp set  and two darling photos.

Christmas day I'll be taking our big family photo and I can't wait to order another Rock the Block set to make our annual ornaments for the family!

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A Little Art Philosophy Take Out

Did you know that Close To My Heart now carries Kraft Cardstock? It's the perfect neutral. For this quick gift box, I cut the Art Philosophy take out box out of kraft, added a wee bit of stamping using Party Pennants and Love Life and finished it off with my favorite ribbon.

Tip: Rather than wrapping the ribbon all the way around the box and tying the bow on top, I wrapped a piece of ribbon just long enough to go around the box and tape under each side flap. Then I tied a pretty bow and attached it to the top. This way the recipient can open the gift, close it again without having to worry about tying another bow and still have it looking pretty. What I like best about this method is that the original recipient is likely to reuse it and I'm all about my crafts being used forward. 

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It's the Presentation That Makes the Gift

Looking for a cute way to spruce up a simple gift? The fry box decorated with a rolled paper rose from Close To My Heart's Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge offers the perfect presentation for anything from a set of handmade cards to gift cards to hot cocoa packets. 

You may notice that the outside paper comes from the Elemental Paper Packet, while the insides comes from Typeset. Here's a tip, before cutting your shape, adhere your two pieces of paper with a spray adhesive and then you'll only have to cut once.

Finished off with my favorite ribbon, stamped images (Harvest Happiness - cut with AP) and pins from the Bling Assortment I simply can't wait to fill it and brighten my son's bus drivers day with it!

Thank you Lisa for hosting the Art Philosophy blog hop!

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Art Philosophy: Perfect Finish for our Teacher's Christmas Gifts

Each year, I try to come up with something unique for the boys teachers. This year they will be receiving candy dishes decorated in buttons and crayons and finished with an Art Philosophy paper flower bouquet. (want another idea, see what I made for the end of the year gift)

Create custom sparkles with an inexpensive set of Bic Mark It permanent markers. You can even blend colors. The light gold wasn't dark enough for me, but the orange was too orange. I scribbled with orange on the carrier sheet and picked up some of the color with the light gold to make my own custom "gold" color.

For the flowers I used the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and cut out Flower7 (pg 3) in Cranberry and New England Ivy in increasing 1/2 increments starting at 2.5". Attached each layer with foam tape for dimension.

To make them sparkle, I lined the edges with Red Glitz Glitter Gel. Then I finished them off with three sparkles in the center of each flower.

For the flower stems I used bamboo skewers and dyed them with our Close To My Heart New England Ivy reinker. Put a few drops in a bag to coat the skewers. Then roll them out onto paper towels to soak up some of the ink and make them dry faster.

Create a custom candy dish by gluing crayons around the outside of a glass dish with hot glue. My recommendation is to stick with a round dish wish straight upright sides and go smaller. I was amazed at how many crayons this took to complete. I bought the biggest box and used over half. Not as cost effective as I had intended, but still cute. You might want to consider stocking up on crayons at the beginning of the school year when they are on sale.

*I sprayed the bottom of the dish after the crayons were glued on with a clear spray paint to seal the crayons.

For the second candy dish I pulled out my stash of buttons. Honestly, I think I like the button version even better. Which one is your favorite?

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Still Here

I'm still here, even though I've disappeared for awhile. Right before our annual craft retreat I found out some exciting news, we are expecting. Our newest family member is anticipated to arrive May 26th. 

Things have been so different with this pregnancy. I'm just starting to feel semi-normal again. Some may say that it means I'm having a girl, but a big part of me thinks that it has more to do with being older this time around and having two other boys who keep me hopping. Although, I'd be happy to have a girl too, we'll find out in January.

Speaking of the boys, they are super excited. We created a video to share the news with distant family and our friends. Check it out, the boys are so cute, if I do say so myself.

While I have been taking a break, I have to say I've discovered just how much I love what I do and am really missing it. Sometimes we need to pull back from what we are doing to realize just how much it means to us.

Thank you for sticking with me. I'll be back, matter of fact, I've been working on a couple of tutorials that I hope to have up next week.

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