A Little Help from my Close to My Heart Planner

It is New Year's Eve and like many others I am sitting here thinking about 2016.  This year, like most years, my resolution is to get back to a healthy weight.  I did it last year but unfortunately that darn weight found the way back to my backside. Ugh!

Unlike before, this year I have a beautiful yearly planner, from CTMH, to use to track my weight loss efforts.  I will use the planner to track my weight, goals and water intake.  It will help me document my efforts and hopefully achieve my goal by summer.

My plan is to decorate my planner using the featured Close To My Heart paper line each month.  I added a fun saying using my Cricut Explore and gold vinyl.  It will be a fun way to stay motivated while incorporating my favorite hobby-paper crafting.

I wish you the very best at achieving your goals for 2016.  It is going to be a great year--I can feel it!

Happy New Year and Happy Paper Crafting!!!

Every Day Life-Black Album

Every Day Life 2016 Planner Pages

La Vie En Rose Valentine Collection

Our French inspired paper line, Lie Vie En Rose, featured this month is so versatile.  The collection includes florals, polka dots, stripes, reds, and several black/white patterned paper.  The black and white paper would work with any holiday project.

Since Valentines' Day is right around the corner, I went with a Valentine's Day themed project collection.  I enjoyed the versatility of the papers--mixing and matching and coming up with so many combinations.

If you are like me, I enjoy the light and fun feeling of Valentine's Day.  It is something to look forward to after the major holiday season.  Thankfully, there is just enough time in between that I can forget about all of those Thanksgiving/Christmas food indiscretions, so that I can enjoy my Valentine's chocolate guilt free(almost).

La Vie En Rose

CTMH To The Moon Stamp Set

Artiste Candy Box

Christmas is right around the corner.  This year, thankfully, I am staying on pace to get everything done before the 11th hour.

I am hosting Christmas dinner at our house this year and I thought it would be fun to put a little "take away" gift at each table setting.  I found these cute little boxes on CTMH's Artiste Cricut cartridge.

I cut the box as per instructed on P. 60 at 2.5".  I scored and glued the box together using Liquid Glass(my favorite adhesive) and filled with Hershey Kisses.  From the same Artiste cartridge, I cut the decorative bow on P. 55  at 3/4" and used a piece of the zip strip from the White Pines paper pack to embellish. The whole project took less than 10 minutes to complete.

I hope that each of you find some time to enjoy the season with family and/or friends.  I know this year I am so very grateful for everyone in my life.  It has been a tough couple of years for my family and I am so appreciative of the moments that we get to spend together.  Peace and love to each and every one of you.

Happy Paper Crafting!

Cricut Artiste Cartridge

White Pines Paper Pack

Liquid Glass

Kaleidoscope Friendship Card

I am not sure how I would have gotten through the last several years without a few close friends helping me along the way. I thought I would show my gratitude by creating this sweet friendship card to thank those friends that helped me through.

I love the sentiment on this Angel Friends stamp set.  It is an added bonus that it is Cricut Compatible.  Do you see the red outline around some of the stamp shapes?  That means that the shape can be cut out using one of our Cricut Cartridges(in this case Art Philosophy) and then stamped.  No fussy cutting necessary and that makes this crafter so VERY happy.

Happy Paper Crafting!!

Angel Friends Stamp Set

Kaleidoscope Paper Pack

Boxed Stationary Set of Monogrammed Cards

Do you like giving homemade gifts because they can be personalized? Were you aware that Close to My Heart carries these sweet little round initial stamps in all letters?  Aren 't they elegant? I love that I can put a quick little gift together by using this stamp set.

I discovered these cute little stamps when I was looking through the stamp sets that coordinate with our Cricut cartridges.  We are so lucky that our company understands that crafting can be time consuming and whenever we can save a few minutes--we appreciate it greatly!  Our unique Cricut cartridges coordinate with quite a few of our stamp sets. The Monogram Initial stamps coordinate with the circle shape on Artiste P. 48.

I used the CTMH Cricut Artiste cartridge to cut the stationary box and used 3 X 3 cards for the stationary.  I think 3 x 3 cards are perfect for kids.  The room to write isn't overwhelming and it would work for a quick thank you or thinking of you note. The paper pack is from CTMH and it is from the Kaleidoscope line.

Card Box:
1) Artiste Page 52(3D Object) cut at 3" Score and Assemble
2) Cuts for decorating box front: Poppy card stock: 3.75"X 3", Kaleidoscope: 3.5"X 2.5", Poppy Shimmer Trim 5" and Poppy Thick Twine 5"
3) To the close the box lid-I used a hook and loop dot.

Monogrammed Cards:
1) Base: 3"x 3"White card stock
2) Adhere 3" x 3" Kaleidoscope to Base
3) 2 3/4" 2 3/4" Green/White Kaleidoscope Back
4) 2" x 2" Poppy Cardstock
5) 1 3/4" X 1 3/4" White card stock with edges sponged in Pear

Monogrammed Circle Accents:
1) Cut star circle from Artiste P. 35 at 1 1/2" out of Poppy card stock
2) Cut circle from Artiste P. 48 at 1 1/2" out of White Card stock
3) Stamp initial in Pear ink

Bow Accent:
1) Place two flag Glitter Triangles on sides and add gem to center

Are you interested in putting a few of these stationary sets together for yourself or someone special? I will be holding a class in January and I would love to show you how.  Please contact me if you are interested.

If you don't live in the Boise area, I can help you get all of the supplies you need for this project. Drop me an email or you can shop directly at my site karenleach.ctmh.com.  

Thank you for visiting and Happy Paper Crafting!

Artiste Cricut Cartridge

Kaleidoscope Paper Packet

Enamel & Glitter Duos Green Triangles