Author: Miss. Carrie's Creations

Faith, Family, Coffee & Crafts. ☕ My name is Miss. Carrie, and I take delight in showing people, like you, how to use Close to My Heart & Cricut products to create something you will treasure.

Welcome to the New Product Blog Hop

Published on by Miss. Carrie's Creations16 Comments

This month, we are featuring some unique creations using products from the NEW July/August catalog.  You are going to love all the delightful paper collections, stamps, and dies this season, and we can’t wait to share the projects we made for you. 103941396_10157579617277686_8314914916051615048_o If you have come here from Krista Hershberger’s Blog you are on the right path!  When you are finished taking a look at my Gnomie Christmas in July cards, you can click on the link at the end to move to the next blog.  This blog hop is simple, fun, and full of artwork created by some very talented consultants.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.

As I thumbed through the catalog in June, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the adorable Gnome Matter stamp set and thin cuts to create some Christmas cards.  Yes, you read that right.  To get a head start on Christmas this year,  I have been creating Christmas cards with my friends every other month. Our goal is to have plenty before the holidays hit.   

Aren’t these just to cutest?♥ Each card has a little Gnome that has been dressed in holiday garb sitting next to a Cricut cut tree.  I honestly had way too much fun making these and I can’t wait to make some more. 

Our new Timber paper collection is filled with designs of woodland images and plaid which are perfect motifs for Christmas cards.  I used the matching coordinating cardstock to cut frames, backgrounds, and accents for each one of my designs. 

After creating each of the backgrounds for my cards, I cut some trees using our new Timber Cricut collection. This season we have also added a Summer Vibes Cricut collection and TWO NEW Happiest Place SVG collections to the mix. 

This Cricut collection is designed to match the Timber papers and stickers and it allows you to cut out your own images in any size or color you want. (love that!)

Each one of those delightful little gnomes was shaded using our TriBlend Markers. If you’ve not played with these new markers yet, you really need to give them a try. (Here is a video tutorial for you).

As I was designing these Christmas cards, I decided to also add the little hedgehog image to one of my cards.  Isn’t he adorable?  Even though these stamps & dies are designed for summer projects, I honestly think they look too stinkin’ cute for Christmas, too♥. 

I can’t wait to share these designs with my friends. We are going to have so much fun creating these Christmas cards in July. 

Now ‘Hop” on over to Cat Nowak’s Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting tips and other fun ideas using products from the new idea book. 

Remember, the papers, stamps, and dies are only available until August 31st, while supplies last.  I guarantee that the Gnome Matter stamp set is going to be popular and sell out quickly, so you will want to snag a set for yourself sooner than later.

Some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links. By clicking on those links, and making a purchase, your are helping to support my small business. This is at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

A Heat Embossed Monochromatic Card in Blue

Published on by Miss. Carrie's Creations3 Comments

For the Color Dare Challenge Design Team

Have you ever had an idea in your head that didn’t quite work out as you planned? That is exactly what happened when I made this week’s inspiration creation. Before I tell you more about my mishaps, let me tell you about this week’s Color My Heart Dare color challenge. 

The challenge this week is a monochromatic challenge, which means that you can only use one color – blue.  You are allowed to use black white, and neutrals on your creations. Make sure to link your challenge to the blog before July 23rd. 

So…these past few weeks have been full of activity in our home with renovations, a yard being taken all the way back to dirt, and the typical addition of summer chores.  I have fallen a bit behind this month so I decided to keep my project super simple with a few little fun techniques.  That is when I should have realized that I don’t do “simple” very well. 

I started out with a great design in my head – a block design with only two colors. Each of the blocks need some type of stamped image, so chose to use the floral bouquet from our stamp of the month to add some designs to the card.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t just stamp the images in blue, I had to heat emboss in white which – like when a moose eats muffin – lead to over embossing the whole background. 

Once the embossing was done and the card was assembled, I decided to start stitching – AT MIDNIGHT. I should have just stopped, but I was determined to finish the card♥. Straight stitching lead to zig-zag stitching which lead to me fussing with a ribbon bow for over twenty minutes (which you can see is now just a knot).  

At this point I realized that I didn’t have a sentiment. Have you ever tried to stamp on heat embossing?? Trying to stamp anything at 1:00AM is one thing, but trying to make something work that should never have been attempted is another. 😜

BUT…I made it work.  I grabbed my StazOn ink pad and placed that sentiment right over the heat embossed flowers. (That stuff will stamp on anything.)  In hindsight, I should have left off the sentiment or placed it onto vellum or stamped less flowers – but you know – that whole moose and muffin thing.

Even with it’s mishaps, and late night craziness, the card didn’t turn out half bad. I hope that you were inspired to try something new (or avoid a crafting mishap) and that you join us for another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge.

Some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links. By clicking on those links, and making a purchase, your are helping to support my small business. This is at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Flip-Flap Fun with the Creative Design Team

Published on by Miss. Carrie's CreationsLeave a comment

It’s time for another Creative Design Team video collab!♥ I am so excited to share my bright Fun in the Sunshine layout with you which uses Flip-Flaps.  This month, our team has created a series of videos showing you a variety of creative ways to use your flip-flaps. 

So, what are Flip-Flaps, you ask?  Flip-Flaps are an adhesive photo pocket that you can use for photos, journalling, or memorabilia. They come in a wide-range of sizes from two-by-two up to six-by-twelve.

On my layout, I chose to use two 4-inch flip-flaps to create a door/gate on my page and an altered 6″ x 12″ flip-flap to add more photos and a large space for journalling on the layout.  Here is what it looks like with all of the Flip-Flap pockets opened up. 

Being able to place more photos on the page is one of the main reasons I use our Flip-Flaps.  I can place all the memories from a single event on one layout without having to create another page. 

I am sure you are eager to watch all of the Creative Design Team tutorials.♥  So, before I tell you more about my Fun in the Sunshine layout, here is a direct link to my video.  You can find links to all the other Creative Design Team projects in the video description. 

Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button so that you are notified when our Creative Design Team adds more videos.

One of my favorite parts about being a consultant is getting to show people how to use what they have in their crafting stash.  Many of you probably have a few flip-flaps in your collection that you may or may not know how to use OR maybe you have seen those little pockets on my website and have NO CLUE what they are used for.  Let me show you one of the ways that I used flip-flaps on this project. 

Before we start, take a a look at the layout as it will sit in my album.♥

Do you see where the flip-flaps are? It can be difficult to find them, but when you scroll up to the other photo above, you will be able to see where the altered 6″ x 12″ flip-flap sits and where the two smaller flip-flaps are placed.  

The two flip-flaps on the right page were created to form a door or gate on my page.  After I created the base page with photos, I adhered the two 4-inch flip-flaps directly onto my memory protector. 

You will need to make sure the adhesive is face-up when inserting your photos. This allows for the flap to be folded under once the adhesive strip is removed.  There are some who prefer to place flip-flaps directly onto the layout and tuck the adhesive under the photos. This requires you to cut a slit in your memory protector to fish the flip-flaps through. (I show this method in the video.)

I like to have a way for people to “open” the doors on my pages. Sometimes I use a loop of ribbon or a tab – on this layout I used two heart-shaped stickers from the Blue Skies collection. 

By placing one heart on the front and one on the back of the flip-flap, I created a little tab to open the “doors”.  To embellish it even more, I added a wood button threaded with white twine. How cute is that?!♥

Most of the items on these two pages come from the Blue Skies collection, but I also grabbed elements from our new Summer Vibes collection. Both have bright stickers, papers, and PML cards that play perfectly together. 

The title was created using a combination of phrases from Blue skies paired with Blue Skies stickers, Summer Vibes stickers, and sunglasses cut from a Summer Vibes PML card. I just adore how well each little element creates a fun summer feel.♥ 

On the inside of the large flip-flap, I created a journal page with a cluster of Blue Skies flower stickers, leftover tags, and a camera cut from another Summer Vibes PML card. 

There are so many adorable little elements on both of these pages that show off those summer photos of my children playing in the park AND I was able to add more photos and a large space to write my memories using flip-flaps. 

I hope that today’s project inspired you to dig out those flip-flaps and try something new.  To view all of the Creative Design Team projects, you can click on the YouTube video link, go to “learn more” (down arrow on a device), and see the full list OR click the Design Team link in the menu above. 

Make sure to stop by each one of the Creative Design Team project videos to learn more Creative Ways to use those flip-flaps. 

Some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links. By clicking on those links, and making a purchase, your are helping to support my small business. This is at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Here is a List of the Supplies Used on My Project