Creative Christmas Bundle

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Kristie Sloan

Projects and ideas from 15 crafters and designers.

I am so excited to tell you about a creative bundle of goodness, which I’ve been working on behind the scenes, in preparation for the big day it is released for sale, November 24th. It is a collaborative effort of 15 crafters and designers, which can give you a jump start with ideas and how to instructions on many great holiday projects! You’ll want to be sure and go check out the information about the designers and sign up to get updates.

Here’s a peek at some of what you’ll find in the Creative Christmas Bundle:

2015 printable photo calendar
Advent calendar, printable supplies, tutorials, and suggested daily activities
December Daily scrapbook sketches and more
Printable pocket page cards
Cut files for Silhouette and Cricut
Gift ideas and tutorials
Christmas-themed cross-stitch patterns
Printable Christmas cards
Tutorials for making photo gifts
Tutorials on using apps to create and print photos and photo gifts
Art journaling (for any time of year)
Upcycling for a green Christmas
Plus bonuses galore

You won’t want to miss out on this bargain, if you are even the least bit prone to creativity! Valued at over $250 it will be on sale for just $29.99! You can meet the designers and sign up to get the email for the initial release here. The sale runs from November 24 – December 1.

I am bringing my Art Journaling Basics class online, and the first release will be part of the Creative Christmas Bundle!

In this class you will:

Learn what art journaling is. Discover ways you may decide to use it.

Receive tips on what to use for a journal. Don’t get lost in the sea of choices, you can make informed decisions.

Learn how to make your own journal by recycling a book. It’s easy to go green!

Learn about basic supplies and adhesives. Don’t spend money on supplies you don’t need to get started. Find out what you may already have on hand that will work.

Receive product recommendations. Get tips you can use to make your selections and save time and money.

Learn how to create five fast and easy ways to make backgrounds. Get started right away, so you aren’t staring at a blank page wondering what to do next.

Receive a list of page prompts and learn how using prompts can spark your creativity. Never feel ‘stuck’ or lacking ideas!

Receive printable images and quotes to get started without delay! Great to take shopping!

Bonus 1: You will also receive the original Artful Adventures Art Journaling Basics eBook for free! This ebook in .pdf format also contains links to the videos and the printables, giving you multiple options to access the class information.

Bonus 2: A private Facebook Group to connect with others and share your projects without the judgement of family and friends who have no idea what you’re doing! We’ll have our own fun!

What you get:

7 Lessons

5 Videos

6 Pages of Printable Images (91 single images)

2 Page of Quotes and online quote resources

Samples with basic description of steps to complete.

List of page prompts

Printable list of basic Product Recommendations

This class is a steal at $20, but it will be part of the Creative Christmas Bundle. So you can have access to the online class and do it whenever you want to, and get all the other goodies in the bundle as well! All content is available upon payment of your Creative Christmas Bundle. You’ll receive a code for your class registration, and there is no expiration date to access your content. Hurry over now to sign up and get updates!

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures,

Mini House Thank You Treat Box

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Kristie Sloan

Welcome to another Make It Monday blog hop. I’ll link back to Connie Hanks’ project if you missed it, and also point you to the next stop on the blog hop at the end of this post. This week is a Thanksgiving theme, so I’ve come up with something you can use throughout the holiday season!

Today’s project is a treat box made from one 12″x12″ sheet of patterned paper. I thought that with the holidays quickly approaching, this would be a great little trick to have on hand for those last minute needs. When I first saw this idea, the shape reminded me of a miniature house, and I immediately wanted to decorate it like that. If you have a lot of extra paper on hand, projects like this are perfect for using your stash. I’m not even sure where I got the paper I used for the main part of this box.

Before I get started showing you how I decorated my “house,” I’m going to show you the video where I first saw the idea. Julie Comstock describes it so well I decided to just let her do the heavy lifting here!

For Review:

First take the 12″x12″ paper and score it at 3 ” and 9″.
Turn the paper 90 degrees and score at 5″ and 7 “

Now, this is where I decided I better do my home decorating, or it would be too tricky to try and do it once the box took shape. The features you use for the house need to be between the 3″ and 9″ score lines, so that you are in the middle 6″ across the width of the paper.

Begin the decorating between the 3″ and 9″ score.

I used a ruler to trace the outline of my door, which runs only 2 1/2 inches from the fold line. You want to leave plenty of room at the top because that is where you’ll be putting the “roof.” The images are stamped in black from the Close To My Heart Thanksgiving Hostess set.

Next I cut a little door from kraft colored paper, at 2.5″ x 1.5″. Bronze Shimmer Trim was used to create the three little windows on the door. The door knob is from of the Bronze Sparkles.

Kraft cardstock, shimmer trim and a sparkle complete the door.

The roof was created from a piece of paper cut to 4″ x 6″. I cut this one at 4.5″ wide so that I had a little excess to use a scalloped edge punch along the long edges. If you are going to punch the edges, it is easier to score the middle of the paper before you punch the edges so that you get the true middle of the paper.

Cut at 4.5″ x 6″, and score the center before you use a decorative punch along the long edges.

Fold your roof over the top edge of your box, and secure all the layers together so they can be punched at the same time to have your holes lined up.

Secure all layers and punch holes in the roof.

Secure all the layers at the top of your box and roof to punch holes.

Fill your box with your treats. Be sure to use appropriate food safe plastic bags, parchment paper, or deli paper to keep the contents together and keep any oils from getting on the box.

Fill the box, using food safe plastic or papers.

If you like, you can ink the edges on the roof before securing it over the top of the box. Put the roof on and now you can use whatever ribbon or fibers you have on hand to thread the holes you made and secure the roof over the box, to keep your treats safe inside! I used some bakers twine for this house, and here is the end result.

Don’t miss the November Stamp of the Month!

It's the Little Things, CTMH November Stamp of the Month

“It’s the Little Things,” November Stamp of the Month

If you missed Connie Hanks‘ idea on turning Thanksgiving place cards into a gratitude keepsake + hostess gift, be sure and go back! Now it’s time to move forward to see how Melissa Shanhun is counting her blessings to create a gratitude album.

Register for updates, so you won’t miss anything!

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!

Blended Ink Background Technique

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Kristie Sloan

Welcome, it’s Make It Monday again! Today I wanted to share a background technique that is quick and easy and provides great results by blending ink.

It seems like every time I use this technique I use at least three colors. Today is no different. Supplies needed:

glossy card stock
ink pads (today I used dye based ink)
foam tipped daubers or sponge (I used my sponge rounds and cut them into 6 sections)

Minimal supplies for a background.

So that you don’t cross contaminate your ink pads with a totally different color, be sure to use an applicator dedicated to one color. You don’t have to have one for each ink pad, but have one for yellow, one for orange, one for green, etc.

I like to start with the lightest color and apply it first. Just use your applicator and rub it on your ink pad. Then apply it on the glossy side of your glossy card stock.

Apply your first color.

Next, you want to apply your second color, blending it up into the first color as you add it. You can use circular motions or just swipe back and forth.

Apply second color, blending it into the first color.

You may have already guessed, now you apply the third color! Again, blend it into to color you applied previously. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Remember it is going to be a background!

Apply the third color; again blending into the previous color.

A baby wipe can help you blend the color even more. However it will lift off a bit of the color as well, but can create a little different look.

A baby wipe can further blend the colors.

For the card I made with this background, I stamped a tree with Versamark ink, and then used black heat embossing powder. Because heat embossing will resist the ink, you can also emboss the image before you blend your ink onto the paper. Either way will work if you are heat embossing.

This was such a quick card. I used Bronze Shimmer Trim for even more pizzaz! And finished it off with a bit of bling from the Sparkles Brown and Tan Assortment. I already had the tree stamp, but it is very similar to the Always Grateful, Close to My Heart set.

A sunset background using the a blended ink technique

I hope you’ve been enjoying the Make It Monday blog hops as much as I have! Did you land here from Digital Scrapbooking HQ? Melissa Shanhun always has great ideas on making memory keeping fast and easy. Today she shares how to use the new Project Life App for documenting a Week in the Life project. Next on the hop is Alice from Scrapbook Wonderland with a brilliant tip on using a postcard on a layout. Remember, to think broader than scrapbooks — think art journaling or mixed media, too!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to leave a comment. You are always welcome to shop at my online Close to My Heart store if you are in the USA. The links for some of today’s products are below.

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures,

X5935, Adventure Cardstock Combo Pack	Z2162, Honey Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad	Z2191, Sunset Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad	Z2118, Desert Sand Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z697, Round Sponge	Z726, Sponge Daubers	Z1938, Sponge Daubers Value Pack (12)	Z1849, Bronze Shimmer Trim
Z8753, Sparkles Brown & Tan Assortment

InLinkz.com

Easy Birthday Card with a Scrap of Patterned Paper

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Kristie Sloan

A card inspired by a scrap of paper from the Chalk It Up paper pack.

Often we’d like to make a birthday card, but really don’t have a lot of time. This birthday card went together rather quickly! The whole idea came from a scrap of paper! I knew the recipient liked orange and I saw this scrap of paper on my desk and thought it was close enough to orange. It is from the Chalk It Up Close to My Heart paper pack. I liked it because it already had some other colors and it would make my color choices fast and easy. The color along the left side is the decorative “zip strip” I told you about the other day. It is the extra 1/2 inch on one side of a patterned 12×12″ paper, which is a bonus decorative strip that coordinates with the paper pack.

Since I was in a hurry (and maybe a bit lazy), my plan was to just use this scrap and try to get as much mileage from it as possible. So I cut it into strips and then arranged them across the width of the card, and adhered them.

One thing I like about using clear acrylic stamps is the fact that you can pull them off the backing sheets and arrange them before you ever stamp them. If you don’t like the look you can move them around until you are happy, or entirely swap out the stamps. When you begin to accumulate stamp sets, it’s fun to mix and match. I decided to use the cupcake and candle from the Birthday set from the CTMH Cricut Artiste collection, and the Happy Birthday sentiment is from the Build A Cake set.

CTMH – Build a Cake, # D1618

CTMH, Birthday – Cricut Artiste Collection

I stamped the “Happy Birthday” on white card stock, in Lagoon ink to match the color at the left side. This helped pull the Lagoon color across the entire card. The white card stock was matted with at piece of Sorbet card stock to coordinate with the color from the scrap of paper I started with. The cupcake and candle stamp were stamped in `black and were colored with the Touch Twin alcohol markers in Peacock Green, Barely Beige, and Golden Yellow. Then I added some glue to the cupcake to and sprinkled with glitter to make the icing look like it had been dusted with sugar.

Glitter was added for a little sparkle!

I was happy with the way it turned out, and extra happy that it didn’t take too long! Isn’t it funny how inspiration comes in many ways? This was simply because I only wanted to use one scrap of paper I found on my desk! What inspiration will you find today? Come over and share it with us on our Facebook Group! Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures! If you are in the US, please feel free to shop in my online Close To My Heart store. Here are handy links for the products in this featured project.

X7184B Chalk It Up Paper Packet

D1618 Build-a-Cake

Cricut Artiste Collection

ShinHan Touch Twin Alcohol Markers

InLinkz.com

Quote, Unquote – Class with Stephanie Ackerman

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Kristie Sloan

Have you noticed how much of our art has words these days? So many of us are creating one thing or another and adding words, quotes, and phrases to our pieces. Sometimes we make something and feel it isn’t quite complete until we add words to it.

We often see people looking at paintings or other works of art and trying to determine what the artist was feeling while creating the piece, their vision, or what they want us to feel when we see it. The works that we add words to are no different, but it seems to give us at least a hint into the piece. Sometimes the words are the major focus, with artfully drawn letters and added embellishments.

Many times I make something and feel like it’s missing something, until I find the words I want to add. Then it feels just right to me.

If you’d like to learn some great tips on adding words to your work, Mark you calendar for November 3! Stephanie Ackerman from Homegrown Hospitality is going to be the guest on Lain Ehmann’s November scrapinar and will be showing us how she turns ordinary text into inspiring, faith-filled works of “Heart!” I loved spending time with Stephanie at a workshop in Phoenix this summer, and I’m sure you’ll love to watch this free video class! (Here is my Artful Adventure post about our Phoenix experience with Stephanie.) But don’t forget, you’ll need to go sign up for free, to get the viewing info, and to have a chance to watch the replay if you can’t catch it live!

Click on the image for info

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!