Bang for your Buck!!!

Simply put, when you make a minimum purchase of $50 from the Spring/Summer 2011 Idea Book, you can add a bonus item for just $1. Choose from five items, each valued at $8.95 or more (limit one bonus item per qualifying order). To qualify for this promotion, items purchased must be from the Spring/Summer Idea Book.  Let me know if you need an Idea Book or shop the online version HERE.

Sticker Shopping Mania!!!

I've been a big fan of Mrs. Grossman's stickers for years!  Ever since the early 80's when she sprang onto the sticker scene with her first "red heart" sticker.  I remember layering one of her teddy bear stickers with one of her heart stickers years ago - I was seriously hooked.

So, when I found out that the Mrs. Grossman's sticker factory was having a warehouse sale, I marked the date on my calendar, informed my husband I would be going, and viciously protected that Saturday morning.  But nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to experience - serious sticker mayhem!!

My friend Rebecca, her daughter and I arrived about 10 minutes after the gates were opened at 9 am.  Armed with shopping boxes we tentatively looked around.  Then we decided we had to just grab things and sort later!  So we filled our boxes in about an hour and then got in line, taking turns returning "go-backs" and sitting in the limited shade to rest our feet & un-sunscreened skin.  I thought it would be cool & foggy like Petaluma is usually.  But no - it was sunny & warm! From the time we got in line until we paid was 2 hours & 23 minutes!!!!  

I did learn a few things about these kinds  of sales:  be prepared for long lines by bringing water & snacks. Also, don't have a place you need to be later that afternoon, it just stresses you out while you're standing in line.  Bring something fun to do, along with a stroller or cooler that you could roll along & use as a chair ;) 

So who wants to go with me next year?

We had a little helper who was very patient in such a long, hot, and boring line! Such a trouper!

This was after we were in line for about 1 1/2 hours - the line made a U shape and we were at the bottom of the U looking at the line to the right which we had already traveled through and the rest of the line in front of us to the left! The blue canopy's in the distance are where we would eventually check-out & pay.

School Flower Fun!!

Another project that kept me busy prior to the last of school - Tootsie-Pop flowers!  Cut out some 5 petal flowers, use a Tootsie-Pop for the center, and make some cute little flower favors for friends!

I used an empty egg carton to hold the finished flowers

Each pop had a "leaf" made of a strip of paper

For each lollipop you need to cut 2 flowers.  Remove a petal from one of the flowers

I just printed the saying on green cardstock, then cut them into strips.  These were wrapped around the lollipop "stem" & glued into place.

 The instructions for making these can be found HERE.  Two warnings: 1)These did take a little longer than I had expected, so try to check your perfectionism at the door before starting.  2)Do not be present at the school when these are passed out!  All your hard work is ripped to shreds in seconds because kids are only interested in the candy! :)

Teacher Thank You Nugget Tin

I know,  I have totally been neglecting my blog!  And while I'm deeply sorry, I also have been SUPER busy!!  At least I will have a lot to blog about in the weeks to come :)

One of the projects that I worked on recently is this cute little nugget tin.  I wanted to make something for Ella's teacher & teacher aide, so I put 2 of these together.  I used the Good Work stamp set to stamp the cute little composition book, apple, tag and ruler wrap.  The nuggets were wrapped in paper from the now discontinued Animal Cookies paper pack.  My favorite thing is the little pencil tied into the ribbon!

I also made one of the ever popular Rolo pencils for our car pool buddy Anya! I've been dying to make one since I saw the instructions for it HERE.  I used the same Good Work stamp set for the A+ on the tag.  Ella enjoyed giving these to her teachers & Anya on the last day of school!

Mass Cricut-ing Mayhem!!

The last several weeks have found me in the usual chaos that seems to be my normal life now ;)  With sickness continuing to plague both myself & my family, a bridal shower, kindergarten field trip, sick husband, wedding, house guests, sick kids, baby shower, my bronchitis & sinus infection, and the usual daily routines of laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning....did I mention sick kids???

In addition to all that, I also found myself in my craft room mass producing sets of alphabets for Ella's Kindergarten class, and tags for the bridal shower & wedding using my Cricut.  Here are some pics along with a few things I learned about mass Cricut production:

My first tip is to put away any other projects so that you can't look at them and wish that you were working on them instead of cutting, peeling, and sorting... the repetition gets boring & that adorable layout you've been dying to finish is just staring you in the face!  Ugh!!

Using the 12 x 24" cutting mat means your machine needs lots of room! Turn it sideways to allow room for the mat to move.

Peel the paper away from you - not left to right. It seems to help avoid ripped letters/pieces.

The right tools make a BIG difference!

Check your cutting blade periodically. You may need to increase the pressure &/or blade depth as the blade starts to dull.

Do the math BEFORE you commit to a project!! Making 24 sets of alphabets means cutting, peeling, & sorting 624 letters!

Recruit any willing family members! Ella helped me stamp the envelopes that we put the letters into :)

Popcorn is NOT a good snack while paper crafting!

Think of some creative uses for the negative paper....

...of course, some will just have to be put in the recycle bin.

Using 2 cutting mats saves time - while 1 is in the machine being cut, you can peel the cut pieces off of the other mat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The "A" tags were for shower favors; the "E" tags were for wedding favors.

 

 

Chairs to you!

I'm sorry I've been neglecting my blog!!  I realized today that I never posted the May Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! I think this stamp set is really cute and would work for a housewarming card or a congratulations card of any sort.  The first blog you visit has such a cute card using this set and the You & Me Scrapbooking Kit that is available only until May 31st! (See my previous post for details).  See all the creative projects made using this stamp of the month by clicking HERE to start blog hopping!

What a Great Scrapbooking Kit!!

During our May celebration, you can get the exclusive You & Me scrapbooking kit at a fabulous discount! When you place a minimum order of $50 US in Close To My Heart products in May, you can get the exclusive You & Me scrapbooking kit for the discount price of just $15 —that’s more than half off the retail value! You’ll create two fully embellished two-page layouts using the new cardstock-weight patterned papers, D-size stamp set, accessories, and instructions. You can also purchase the kit at full retail for $34.95 with no minimum purchase required. Become a Close To My Heart Consultant during May and you’ll get a You & Me kit for free* as part of your New Consultant Kit. 

Click HERE to view a video that shows everything you get in the kit, along with the completed pages.  All you'll need are your own great photos! Well, and maybe some adhesive ;)