Lucy explosion box

I finally got the girl version of the explosion box completed.  I love how it turned out...just wish I had a ton of cute little girl pics to put on it!  But as my friend pointed out, there isn't any reason why I can't use pics of me and my boys...I'll turn it into a Mother's Day gift to myself!

I used the Lucy paper pack, the Paradise baker's twine, Creme brulee paper flowers,and the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge for the cute flowers on the lid and in the inside of the box.  These boxes hold up to 20 pics on the inside, and you could also add 4 pics to the outside of the box.  They are fun and easy to make!  Now I'm trying to decide which paper to grace the next box with! ; )

The box fully exploded.

The box before it explodes.

It's official!

My friend, Leslie, is co-owner of a consignment shop in Nampa...Revamp Consignments, and they have asked me to start making and selling cards in their shop!  I took out some Easter cards and a few birthday cards, both masculine and feminine earlier today.  What a cute shop they have!  I hope this turns into something wonderful for both of us! ; )  Time will tell!!

I made the Easter cards with the My Peeps stamp set, and pretty much copied the one in the Spring/Summer Idea Book...my favorite stamp set in this book, so I know you're shocked that I took the opportunity to use it again!

For the birthday cards, I was inspired by a flower and sketch from a fellow consultant, Melissa McDaniel, you can see her beautiful card at melissamcdaniel-scraps.blogspot.com.  For the masculine version I was inspired by another consultant, Susie Rostad, you can see her amazing card at susierostad.blogspot.com.  I was on the lookout for some paper for both, and stumbled upon a paper stack that I bought at least 5 years ago, and mind you, thought I couldn't live without!  It was perfect for these cards.  The cardstock is CTMH smokey plum and smoothie for the feminine birthday cards, dutch blue and kraft for the masculine cards.  Instead of using milepost shapes on the masculine cards I decided to use the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge to make the shapes.  The flowers on the feminine cards are also cut from the Art Philosophy Cartridge...another favorite of mine (that pretty much lives in my Cricut)!  I used the Card Chatter-Birthday stamp set for the sentiments on all the birthday cards.  The inside of the smokey plum birthday card says 'and many, many more'.  The inside of the smoothie card says 'but not your age'.  The inside of the masculine cards all say 'and many, many more'.  I was able to whip up a batch in no time at all, and use up some of my stash.  I really like how they turned out, even though I feel like a traitor for not using all CTMH stuff (like I normally do)!!!!

If you like the cards, or are into consignment stores, you should go check it out.  Revamp, 1016 12th Ave S, Nampa, ID.  They are closed Sun and Monday, open Tue-Sat 10-5.  Any questions, let me know!

School Mini album

I had such great success this month with the Easter milk carton to go kit that I have decided to try a to go kit only option again this month.  I had a lady request a tag mini album through my Etsy shop, and a large quantity of them.  So I'm killing 2 birds with one stone, and made this album as her sample album, and as the model for the to go kit for April. 

For $7.50 you too can create this beauty!  The front can be customized to grade level, girl, boy and I can even add a few sports to personalize it.  Let me know if you're interested no later than Thursday, April 5th.  First kit will be $7.50, and each additional kit will be reduced to $5!  I will do the few bits of stamping for you, and include detailed instructions.

I used the Typeset paper pack, a few milepost shapes, the Blue Ribbon stamp set, and black button brads.  It is 10 tags total, cut with the fabulous Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  For the little man on the front I did also use the Everyday Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge...fast becoming one of my favorite cartridges.

Enjoy!

Recipe Stand

My friend and fellow consultant, Jeny, stumbled upon an idea for a project workshop for me.  She saw these gorgeous stands at Paper Cottage.  They are handmade by a local Treasure Valley man, and are only $15.  One of the employees had made recipe cards for one stand and a mini album for another.  I decided to do the recipe cards.  The only bad thing about all of this, the page protectors hold a 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 card.  My CTMH programmed brain works well in 6x6 and 12x12 coordinates.  But after much brain cramping, this is what I came up with.  I used the Florentine paper pack, cocoa ribbon, the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, the Everyday Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge, the Recipe Box stamp set, creme brulee paper flowers (bulk), the glitz buttons (bulk) from the bohemian assortment, sparkles (bulk), and antiqued copper brads (bulk).

I decided not to decorate the stand itself, and would let the girls decide if they want it decorated to suit their kitchen style.

The front of cards 1 thru 4.

The back of cards 1 thru 4.

The front of cards 5 thru 8.

The back of cards 5 thru 8.

The front of cards 9 & 10.

And last but not least, the back of cards 9 & 10.

Any questions, let me know ladies! ; )

The Easter kits are done!

I spent a fair amount of time yesterday & into the late evening prepping the to go kits for the Easter Milk cartons.  I really love how they turned out, and I hope all of my gals love them too.  I totally craft lifted the idea from a fellow consultant who is AMAZING!  You can check out more of her super cool stuff at www.lisascreativecorner.blogspot.com .  I sprayed the boxes for the gals, and now I'm regretting that decision, I have a huge sore spot on my right index finger...that was a LOT of spraying...but I know they'll appreciate it!

Here's what the milk cartons and their holder look like...

I think that my favorite stamp set in this new idea book was the My Peeps stamp set, even though I personally can't stand to eat peeps, they are ADORABLE!!

And the easter eggs were just too much fun to color with markers!  I know, I'm still a kid at heart...

Can't wait to fill them with goodies for the boys on Easter morning!!  In the meantime, they'll make eggscellent (pun was totally intended there, sorry, couldn't help myself) Easter decorations! ; )

Workshops for April

Although the newsletter will be fabulous, it also has some limitations...like only 1 image for my workshops for that month.  I am going to be doing 2 workshops in April, so I'd like to post a few more pics of my creations!

Explosion box...this is the boy version, and as soon as another Lucy paper pack arrives, I'll post pics of the girl version.  It is a mini album in a box, and holds up to 20 pictures inside, and 4 more on the outside of the box if desired!

This is the box before it 'explodes'...

This is the bottom layer once you take the lid off and reveal the inside of the box...

This is the innermost layer once the box has fully exploded...

It's a very fun way to make a gift 'album' for a friend, a mother or grandmother...and with Mother's Day right around the corner, it's a cute mini album in a box, perfect for gift giving...or even to sit on your mantle or dad's desk at work!

Card workshop...I love the Stella paper pack, and the new A size stamp sets that are a single stamp for only $6.95.  So I used 5 of those stamps, to create 5 designs.  The workshop price will include one stamp set of your choice, and 2 of each card design.  The card base is the new Colonial white die cut cards.  I had a blast creating them, and hope you'll like them as well!

Now onto the dreaded cleaning chores for the day! ; )

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!

Close to My Heart just made my life soooooo much easier as of this morning!  They rolled out our new websites, which is not all that exciting....but they also developed professional newsletters, that they do most of the legwork on, to send out monthly to our customers.  It's a big task, and quite time consuming to get all of the images and info together...ahhh, how I love simplification!!!  Way to go CTMH, and THANK YOU!

You can visit my new website at www.rhondac.ctmh.com

And for those of you that get my newsletters, the new and improved version will land in your mailboxes on April 1st! :)