CTMH Miscellaneous Cards

Nurses' Week 2016

My sister is a nurse, and for Nurses' Week back in May, she asked me to help her design tags / bag toppers for treats and little gifts she and a co-worker were going to leave as "Secret Santa" -type gifts for their fellow nurses.

Clockwise from upper left --

>>Monkey bag toppers were attached to animal crackers and read "It would be wild around here without you."

>>Hand tags were adorned with the nurses' names, read "You are the best.  Hands down.", and attached to a bottle of hand cream.

>>Lifesaver tags read "You're a lifesaver!" and were used with lifesaver candies.

>>Coffee cups had the nurses' names written on the coffee sleeves and were tied to a Starbucks drink.

Until next time, design with {heart}!

From Michigan to Wisconsin with Love

I started this pocket letter for my dear friend, Jody, at SpiegelMom Scraps, earlier this year.  However, I set it aside too many times to work on other projects.  Finally, I decided it was time to complete it; so I sat down and got it done!  I just love the way this letter turned out.  Pocket letters are so much fun to make as each pocket is its own unique work of art and they all come together in the end as a final masterpiece.

Supplies used:

*Blossom paper packet (retired)
*Blossom complements (retired)
*12" x 12" Pear cardstock (retired)
*12" x 12" Lagoon cardstock
*12" x 12" Slate cardstock
*12" x 12" Sunset cardstock (retired)
*12" x 12" White Daisy cardstock
*Lagoon Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*Pear Exclusive Inks stamp pad (retired)
*Sunset Exclusive Inks stamp pad (retired)
*Finding the Words stamp set
*Artfully Sent Curlicue stamp set (retired)
*Little Things stamp set (retired)
*Michigan stamp set
*Wisconsin stamp set
*Opportunity stamp set (consultant exclusive)
*Waterbrush -- Medium Flat
*Coral Shimmer Trim
*White Shimmer Trim
*Chalk It Up assortment (retired)
*Just Blooms paper flowers - Paradise (retired)
*Carnival washi tape (retired)
*Boardwalk washi tape (retired)
*Lagoon Hearts washi tape (retired)
*Various supplies from my non-CTMH stash

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, design with {heart}!

Christmas Tags for Santa

A co-worker asked me to create some simple tags for her to use for her daughters' Christmas presents from Santa.  Simple is the name of the game in my house and thanks to Close to My Heart, I was able to whip up these fun and festive tags in less than the length of a Hallmark Christmas movie!

And with a glassine bag from my favorite Etsy shop, SpiegelMom Scraps, and some Christmas washi from Michaels, I was able to pack the tags up and deliver them this morning.

Supplies used:

*Artiste Cricut collection
*S1210 Very Merry Christmas stamp set (retired)
*12" x 12" White Daisy cardstock
*Cranberry Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*Topiary Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Martha Stewart baker's twine
*Recollections washi tape
*SpiegelMom Scraps large glassine bag

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, remember to design it with {heart}!

Zoe Final Project Count

One question I am often asked is "How many projects do you typically get from a paper packet or Workshop on the Go?".  So I've decided that from now on, as part of my "Kill-a-Kit" process, I will do a summary post featuring all the projects I've made with a given "kit" and share the final total(s) with you.

So without any further adieu, here we go... Drumroll, please... The grand total # of projects I was able to make with using the Zoe paper packet along with the coordinating embellishments and assorted cardstock / card bases from my stash is...

5 double-page and 2 single-page layouts

9 cards

1 pocket letter and 1 tag

For full details on any of the projects pictured, please select Zoe from the Labels section on my blog.  You will be directed to all posts featuring Zoe.

To order Zoe or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, remember to design it with {heart}!

Scrappin' with Mackin' Challenge #2, Day 4

I've been a subscriber of Nicole Mackin's on YouTube for quite a while now.  She recently started a new series of scrapbook challenges.  For her second challenge, she shared an Easy Patterns "article" from Creative Keepsakes magazine - January 2007.  For those of you who are not familiar with Easy Patterns (as I wasn't), you are given a small list of supplies to grab from your stash and then guided to make 5 projects from the supplies.  In this case, we made 2 double-page layouts, 1 single-page layout, 1 card, and 1 tag.  Since the supply list was from 2007, some of the embellishments were out of date, but Nicole challenged us to use the bones of the patterns and go from there.

Throughout the week, I will be showing you my finished projects from the challenge.  I used the leftovers from my Zoe Workshop on the Go for these projects and love how they turned out.  I hope you'll check back each day to see my next creation from the Scrappin' with Mackin' Challenge #2.

Now for today's tag...

Supplies used:
*Zoe Workshop on the Go stamp set & paper packet
*Zoe Complements
*12" X 12" Sorbet Cardstock
*Slate Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Bitty Sparkles
*Glacier extra thick baker's twine

*1" circle punch
*1/4" circle punch (non-CTMH)

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post featuring the final project from this Easy Patterns challenge -- the card.

Until next time, remember to design it with {heart}!

National Stamping Month (Hello Life) Blog Hop

Welcome to the Close to My Heart National Stamping Month (Hello, Life!) Blog Hop!

If you came from visiting Kathy Burrows, then you are in the right place.  If you just happened upon my little corner of the blog world, simply start here and continue hopping until you return here -- our fun hop is one big loop for your viewing pleasure.

For full details on the Hello, Life! campaign, please reference my September 1st blog post.

The hop's featured stamp sets are 

  

For today's project, I created my first ever pocket letter for a swap hosted by Jody over at SpiegelMom Scraps.  I used the new Zoe paper packet, the fabulous Artistry Cricut collection, and of course, the super fun Hello, Life! stamp sets.  These sets are simply wonderful.  They are trendy, versatile, and coordinated perfectly.  While each set is geared toward a particular group of papercrafters, when combined, all three come together for a rockstar stamp collection.

I also used Michigan stamp set from the newly released States and Provinces collection. These mini stamp sets come with the state/province stamp as well as name and abbreviations stamps.  How fun are these??  For a full list of available stamps in this collection, please click here.

Now for the pictures...

A close-up of the shipping tag which slides out of the left-center pocket

Supplies used:

*Artistry Cricut collection
*Zoe paper packet
*Zoe complements
*Hello, Life! - Cardmaking stamp set
*Hello, Life! - Scrapbooking stamp set
*Little Things stamp set (Hostess Rewards exclusive)
*Michigan stamp set
*Holiday Tags stamp set (for the word "from")
*Opportunity stamp set (Consultant exclusive)
*Slate Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Glacier Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Sorbet Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Sweet Leaf Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Silver sequins assortment

*Whisper extra thick baker's twine

*Bitty Sparkles

*Boardwalk washi tape (retired)
*Diamond embossing folder

*Ranger White Super Fine Embossing Powder
*Craft heater
*Watercolor paints
*Paintbrush set

*Shipping tag from SpiegelMom Scraps
*Mini glassine bag from SpiegelMom Scraps

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Thank you for visiting me at JD Designs and for hopping with us on the Close to My Heart National Stamping Month (Hello, Life!) Blog Hop!  Next up on the hop is Wendy Coffman. I hope you'll hop on over to her blog for more inspiration.

Until next time, remember to design it with {heart}!

Ready to Pop!

Last week, my sister texted me a picture of some popcorn favors she found online and asked if I could help her create something similar to celebrate a co-worker who was about to go on maternity leave.  My brain immediately "popped" into action, and we set a crafting date for the next afternoon.

A couple glasses of wine, a little Cricut-ing, and we were done.  All that was left for my sister to do was make and bag the popcorn over the weekend.

Step 1 -- grab a bottle of wine & glasses

Step 2 -- make the tags

Step 3 -- make white chocolate popcorn & add tags

Supplies used:
*Art Philosophy Cricut collection
*Jennifer's Hand stamp set
*White Daisy card stock
*Pink polka dot card stock (from my stash)
*Whisper Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Pixie Exclusive Inks stamp pad

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, happy crafting!

Oh Baby! -- It's a Boy

The same weekend of my friend's wedding I posted about yesterday, I was in Wisconsin celebrating the upcoming birth of my cousin's little boy.  It was a quick trip, but for family, it is always worth the travel!  My sisters and I left Friday afternoon and came back to Michigan on Saturday afternoon.  It was the first time we have ever roadtrip-ed with just the 4 of us.  Lots of laughs, a little traffic, and definitely lots of fun!  And as if the 5-hour road trip wasn't enough, my aunt and uncle were gracious enough to host the 4 of us in addition to 5 other family members in town for the baby shower.  11 of us under one roof... overnight...??  Talk about laughter and fun!

Since my cousin lives in California and had to fly in for her shower, we decided to give her a gift card so she didn't have to deal with shipping her gifts back to L.A.  To still make "unwrapping" out gift fun, I made a shaker card and super cute pop-up gift card tag.  

To be honest, this was the first time I tried a shaker card and I had a little trouble.  Every time I shook the card, sequins kept flying out the top.  LoL.  After several hours minutes of frustration and multiple times of tearing the card apart only to put it back together and have sequins fly everywhere again, I realized I forgot to take the backing off the foam tape along the upper edge.  UGH!  Way to go, Jen!!

Shaker card featuring sequins from SpiegelMom Scraps

While super fun and adorable, this pop-up gift card tag was much easier to create than it may look.  First, I used my Gypsy (I know -- I'm so old school!) to flip / weld together two matching tags from the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge.  After cutting them out, I folding them in half at the seam creating a folder of sorts.  Then, I created a belly band from the green gingham paper to complete the "pocket" effect.  Before slipping in the gift card, I threaded a long length of ribbon through the tag (more than double the length of the tag) and slid the gift card in between the tag layers -- pushing the ribbon down to the bottom of the pocket making sure not to twist the ribbon.  Once the gift card was completely in the pocket. I tied a knot in the ribbon to hold it in place.  To get the gift card out, all you have to do is pull the ribbon and the card "pops" out.  So fun!!

Supplies used:
*Art Philosophy Cricut collection
*Wild Wonders stamp set 

*White Daisy cardstock
*Slate Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Sweet Leaf Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Crystal Blue Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Blue Lagoon sequins from SpiegelMom Scraps

*Punches from my stash

*Recollections cardstock / patterned paper from my stash
*Ribbon from my stash

To order any of our fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, happy crafting!

Here Comes the Bride

Today, I had the joy of attending a bridal shower for my cousin.  We had so much fun showering her with love and blessings as she prepares to become a Mrs.

When it came time to make a card, I knew I wanted something elegant and simple that incorporate her wedding colors.  As she had recently joined the Cricut family, I decided a fun Cricut card was the way to go.  I used the CTMH-exclusive Artfully Sent Cricut collection along with some Pinterest-inspiration from Courtney Lane Designs.  Have I mentioned how much I love this cartridge???  It helps you create beautiful, easy-to-assemble cards in no time!  I also used Artfully Sent along with the coordinating stamps to make a simple tag to put on the second gift so the bride knew which gifts went together.

Supplies used:
*Artfully Sent Cricut collection
*Just to Say stamp set (Artfully Sent exclusive)

*Curlicue Frames stamp set (Artfully Sent exclusive)
*White Daisy cardstock
*Champagne cardstock
*Olive Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*Champagne Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*Gold sequins assortment
*Navy satin ribbon from my stash
*Navy twine from my stash

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, happy crafting!

Happy Everything Blog Hop

 Welcome to the Happy Everything Blog Hop!

If you came from visiting Terrie Shortsleeve, then you are in the right place.  If you just happened upon my little corner of the blog world, simply start here and continue hopping until you return here -- our fun hop is one big loop for your viewing pleasure. 

This hop's featured stamp set is the Operation Smile set for the Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog called Happy Everything (pictured below).  This set is only available until August 31st.

When I saw this stamp set in the Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog, I knew I had to have it!  It is my favorite from this idea book and BONUS -- it is the Operation Smile set, too.  This set is simply wonderful and so versatile for both cardmaking and scrapbooking!

For today's hop, I decided to share BOTH a layout AND a card.  You get two-for-one with me today!  Like I said this set is my SE2 fav and I couldn't resist creating multiple projects.

ENJOY!

First up, the scrapbook layout...

And now for the card...

Supplies used:

*Happy Everything (Operation Smile) stamp set

*Blossom paper packet

*Blossom compliments

*Glacier cardstock

*Lagoon cardstock

*Pear cardstock

*Sunset cardstock

*White Daisy cardstock

*Sunset Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Oceanside sequins assortment

*Coral Reef sequins assortment

*Glacier extra thick baker's twine

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Thank you for visiting me at JD Designs and for hopping with us on the Close to My Heart Happy Everything Blog Hop!  Next up on the hop is Brenda Lapp. I hope you'll hop on over to her blog for more inspiration.

Until next time, happy crafting!

National Papercrafting Month Flashback Friday

I know it's technically National Scrapbooking Month and you've been hearing lots about the CTMH exclusive Taste of Summer paper packet, but while working in my studio this week, I decided to use up some scraps I had laying around from the Year>>Noted paper packet offered earlier this year during National Papercrafting Month.

Although the Year>>Noted paper packet may be retired, these simple, fun layouts can be recreated with any of our fabulous Close to my Heart paper collections.

Supplies used:

*Year>>Noted paper packet (retired)

*Happy Everything stamp set (Operation Smile set)

*Wish stamp set

*Kraft cardstock

*White Daisy cardstock

*Gypsy Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Desert Sand Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Sorbet Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Glacier Exclusive Inks stamp pad

*Glacier extra thick baker's twine

*Gold Shimmer Trim

*Gold Sequins Assortment

*Gold foil Year>>Noted stickers (retired)

*Scallop embossing folder

*Art Philosophy Cricut Collection

*Medium Shipping Tag (from SpiegelMom Scraps)

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, happy crafting!

Relay for Life Craft Show / Vendor Event - Marne, Michigan

Today, I will be at the Relay for Life Craft Show / Vendor Event in Marne, Michigan.  As part of this great event, vendors were given the opportunity to donate raffle / auction items to help raise money for Relay for Life.  I will be donating a 6-card set with a custom gift tag.  Here are a couple of pictures...

The packaged set

A close-up of the tag itself

Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the individual cards before packaging the set, but there are 2 different designs, 3 different sentiments.  I used my favorite tutorial on how to make 6 cards with just 3 - 6x6 squares of paper.

Supplies used:

*Skylark Paper Pack (retired)
*Kraft cardstock
*White Daisy cardstock
*Flaxen cardstock
*Lagoon cardstock
*Cocoa Exclusives Ink Stamp Pad
*Lagoon Exclusives Ink Stamp Pad
*Desert Sand Exclusives Ink Stamp Pad
*Scallop embossing folder
*You Mean the World to Me stamp set
*Holiday Tags stamp set
*Crafted With Love stamp set
*Distressed Backgrounds stamp set
*Art Philosophy Cricut Collection
*Gold Sequins Assortment
*embellishments from my stash (acrylic rose, twine, etc.)

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, happy crafting!