Thank You Card Using CTMH's May Stamp of the Month

I made this Thank You card using Close To My Heart's (CTMH) May Stamp of the Month set.  "Many Thanks" is from CTMH's February Stamp of the Month set; all the other stamped images are from the May Stamp of the Month set.  The green background paper is from CTMH's Dotty Paper Pack, and I used CTMH's watercolor pencils to color the sunflowers.

Close To My Heart April 2012 Stamp of the Month

Here is the Close To My Heart April 2012 Stamp of the Month:

Here is a layout using the April 2012 Stamp of the Month set:

If you are interested in purchasing Close To My Heart products or signing up to be a consultant, please click on the Shop With Me button at at the top of the right column of my blog or visit brendahalstead.ctmh.com

SweetSassyDiva's Birthday Blog Hop Winner!

I used random.org to choose the winner by counting the total numbers of comments from both days and here is the result:

The winner is Maria from http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/ who said:

Maria said...

Cute bag. Love those monkeys!

Congrats Maria!

Liebster Blog Award!!!

I received the Liebster Blog Award!!!

Thank you so much Michele from MS at Michele's Craft Room for giving me this wonderful award!  It feels so good to receive an award praising your blog!
"Liebster" is German for "Dearest". The award is a "Share the love arrangement", given to inspirational bloggers with less that 200 followers.

Here's the to do list for any of the Liebster Blog Award recipients.

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who presented you the award .

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

4. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

5. Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment on their blog.

I had a hard time choosing who to give this award to, as there are so many deserving bloggers. Here is the list of people I have chosen to give the award to:

Mindy- http://grammiescraftroom.blogspot.com/

Michele - http://chelescrafts.blogspot.com/

Brenda - http://www.friendscraftinwithfriends.blogspot.com/

Amy S - http://scrap-pix.blogspot.com/

Gail - http://www.stkittsscrapper.blogspot.com/


Congratulations to these very talented bloggers! I really enjoy the projects they share on their blogs, and hope you do too!

Welcome to SweetSassyDiva's Birthday Blog Hop - Day 2

We are celebrating Bobbi Jo's (SweetSassyDiva) birthday this weekend March 10th and 11th. Each day will be a new project and be sure to check out the yummy blog candy giveaways!

I am so happy that you could join us for this super fun Blog Hop showcasing Birthday Themed fun!

You will find an array of ideas along the hop and be sure to become a follower and leave some love aka comments along the way.

This is a TWO-Day hop so, be sure to catch both days for maximum celebration and ideas.

As we spring forward with the time change as well as with Spring coming so soon...let's get this party started! Hop on over to all the blogs along the way!

If you've hopped over from Anita at http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/ then you are in the right place. If you've just popped in to visit my blog or are reading this via email and would like to join our SweetSassyDiva Birthday Blog hop and FUN then, please start at the beginning with Bobbi Jo's blog at http://sweetsassydiva.com/  because...starting at the start is always SMART! :)

We have a WONDERFUL Grand Prize for one lucky hopper that is donated by Bobbi Jo!  It is a cricut cartridge called Sophie.

To be eligible, please visit each blog hop stop leaving a comment also, become a follower at http://sweetsassydiva.com/ and be sure to leave a comment!

One random winner will be chosen on Wednesday, March 14th, giving you plenty of time to finish the hop.

My projects for the second day of this blog hop wall decorations for my grandson's birthday party.  The first project is a banner for which I used the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the banner and banner layer at 5 inches, and I also used Art Philosophy to cut the letter at 2 inches.  I used B is for Boy to cut the sock monkey at 4 inches.  I used the My Minds Eye Party Time stack for the patterned paper of the banner, Bazzill cardstock for everything else and Martha Stewart ribbon.  For the sock monkey wall decoration, I used B is for Boy to cut the sock monkey at 9 inches, I used Art Philosophy to cut the happy birthday sign at 6 inches wide and I used Birthday Bash to cut "happy birthday" at 4.25 inches wide. Here are my projects:

What would a blog hop be without blog candy?  I'm giving away a Happy Birthday Cuttlebug embossing folder.  All you have to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment on yesterday's and today's posts (I'd also love it if you become a follower), along with a way to contact you.  I will draw a winner, using random.org, on Wednesday, March 14th.

Thank you for checking out my project. I hope that you will become a follower of http://sweetsassydiva.com/ and my blog and leave us a comment.

The fun doesn't end here though so be sure to hop on over to Dana at http://papermemories4u.blogspot.com/.


Here is the complete list in case you get of track:

Bobbi Jo http://sweetsassydiva.com/

Lucy http://love2createitall.blogspot.com/

Michele  http://www.michelegreen.com/

Gaby http://www.gabycreates.com/

Mindy http://grammiescraftroom.blogspot.com/

Lori  http://scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/

Missie http://createdbymissie.blogspot.com/

Jennifer  http://scrapaholicjen.blogspot.com/

Paulette http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/

Anita http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/   YOU ARE HERE!

Dana http://papermemories4u.blogspot.com/

Maria http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/

Cori http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcreatedbycori.blogspot.com%2F&h=MAQGyLzao

Michele http://chelescrafts.blogspot.com/

Sandy http://thecraftycreationspot.blogspot.com/

Jenny  http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/

Suzanne http://cricutcraftingrammy.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://www.friendscraftinwithfriends.blogspot.com/

Shawnee http://quiverofangels.blogspot.com/

Sylvia www.bellascrapbookdesigns.blogspot.com/



Welcome to the SweetSassyDiva's Birthday Blog Hop! - Day 1

We are celebrating Bobbi Jo's (SweetSassyDiva) birthday this weekend March 10th and 11th. Each day will be a new project and be sure to check out the yummy blog candy giveaways!

I am so happy that you could join us for this super fun Blog Hop showcasing Birthday Themed fun!

You will find an array of ideas along the hop and be sure to become a follower and leave some love aka comments along the way.

This is a TWO-Day hop so, be sure to catch both days for maximum celebration and ideas.

As we spring forward with the time change as well as with Spring coming so soon...let's get this party started! Hop on over to all the blogs along the way!

If you've hopped over from Anita at http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/ then you are in the right place. If you've just popped in to visit my blog or are reading this via email and would like to join our SweetSassyDiva Birthday Blog hop and FUN then, please start at the beginning with Bobbi Jo's blog at http://sweetsassydiva.com/  because...starting at the start is always SMART! :)

We have a WONDERFUL Grand Prize for one lucky hopper that is donated by Bobbi Jo!  It is a cricut cartridge called Sophie.

To be eligible, please visit each blog hop stop leaving a comment also, become a follower at http://sweetsassydiva.com/ and be sure to leave a comment!

One random winner will be chosen on Wednesday, March 14th, giving you plenty of time to finish the hop.

My project for the first day of this blog hop is a treat bag that we will be giving guests at my grandson's birthday party.  I used the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the bag (I can't remember the size because I played with different sizes) and B is for Boy to cut the sock monkey at a height of 4 inches.  I used the My Minds Eye Party Time stack for the bag and Bazzill cardstock for the sock monkey.  We'll fill these treat bags with all kinds of little toys and candy.  Here is my treat bag:

What would a blog hop be without blog candy?  I'm giving away a Happy Birthday Cuttlebug embossing folder.  All you have to do to be eligible to win is leave a comment on today's and tomorrow's posts (I'd also love it if you become a follower), along with a way to contact you.  I will draw a winner, using random.org, on Wednesday, March 14th.

Thank you for checking out my project. I hope that you will become a follower of http://sweetsassydiva.com/ and my blog and leave us a comment.

The fun doesn't end here though so be sure to hop on over to Dana at http://papermemories4u.blogspot.com/.

Be sure to also check back tomorrow for some more celebration and more chances to win!

Here is the complete list in case you get of track:

Bobbi Jo http://sweetsassydiva.com/

Lucy http://love2createitall.blogspot.com/

Michele  http://www.michelegreen.com/

Gaby http://www.gabycreates.com/

Mindy http://grammiescraftroom.blogspot.com/

Lori  http://scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/

Missie http://createdbymissie.blogspot.com/

Jennifer  http://scrapaholicjen.blogspot.com/

Paulette http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/

Anita http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/   YOU ARE HERE!

Dana http://papermemories4u.blogspot.com/

Maria http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/

Cori http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcreatedbycori.blogspot.com%2F&h=MAQGyLzao

Michele http://chelescrafts.blogspot.com/

Sandy http://thecraftycreationspot.blogspot.com/

Jenny  http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/

Suzanne http://cricutcraftingrammy.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://www.friendscraftinwithfriends.blogspot.com/

Shawnee http://quiverofangels.blogspot.com/

Sylvia www.bellascrapbookdesigns.blogspot.com/



Great Close To My Heart Campaign for New Consultants!

If you've ever thought of joining Close To My Heart (CTMH) as a consultant, March is a great month to do so!  You get a free Cricut Art Philosophy collection (or $100 in credit if you already own Art Philosophy)!  If interested, you may sign up at http://www.ctmh.com/,  go to "What We Do" and in the dropdown menu is "Be A Consultant".  If you do sign up, I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd list me, Brenda Halstead in Toledo, Ohio as your upline. 

Love Is In The Air Blog Hop

Welcome to the Love is in the Air blog hop hosted by Paulette from Around the Block with Scrapalette! You should have arrived here from Tammy's blog. If you didn't, you can go to Around the Block with Scrapalette, start at the beginning of the hop and enter to win blog candy. Our projects are all about love and Valentine's Day.

Here are my projects, which are a heart shaped gift box and a Valentine's Day card.

I used the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut the gift box and card.  I used Fit to Page to cut each one of these.  I used K&Co Smitten specialty paper to cut the gift box, and used Art Philosophy to cut the background for the sentiment (2 inches) from Bazzill cardstock and used the Close To My Heart Celebration stamp set (part of the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy bundle) to stamp the sentiment.  I used cardstock from my stash to cut the base of the card, used Art Philosophy to cut out the heart (2 inches) from Bazzill cardstock and again used the Close To My Heart Celebration stamp set to stamp on the heart.  I also used American Craft glitter ribbon to tie around the card.

Thanks for hopping by and now hop to Amy's blog.
Here's the Blog List in case you get lost along your way.

Paulette from http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/

Dana from http://danascraftycorner.blogspot.com/

Beth from http://thunderbirdlindybydesign.blogspot.com/

Sis from http://papercraftscissors.wordpress.com/

Doreen from http://polkadotpaperprincess.blogspot.com/

Cindy from http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/

Deb from http://www.queenmommy.com/

Michele from http://www.michelegreen.com/

Carolyn from http://cccscraproom.blogspot.com/

Colleen from http://scrappycol.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth from http://www.217creations.com/

Sukie from http://www.scrappindhilly.blogspot.com/

Sharon from http://designsbysharon.blogspot.com/

Renee from http://icameisawicreated.blogspot.com/

Tammy from http://www.scrapcavecreations.com/

Brenda from http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/

Amy from http://scrap-pix.blogspot.com/

Jami from http://thepaperfarm.blogspot.com/

Terri from http://scrappinwiththebug.blogspot.com/

Meg from http://peacockpaperie.blogspot.com/

Birthday Card using CTMH Products

My first project of 2012 is a birthday card using my Close To My Heart (CTMH) products.  Here is the card:

I used cardstock and patterned paper from the Sonoma Level 2 Paper Pack (item # X7143B); ribbon, ribbon slide, frame and brads are from the Olive Mini-Melody set (item #Z1489); stamp used on the outside of the card is from the Wonderful You stamp set and the stamps used on the inside of the card are from the Celebration stamp set, which is part of the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection (item #Z1686).

One of my goals this year is to really promote my CTMH business, so I'm planning to make a lot of projects using CTMH products to show customers some ideas.

Finally Finished My Christmas Cards

I finally had time to finish my Christmas cards and will be putting them in the mailbox today.  Here it is:

The base of the card and the patterned paper is by The Paper Studio, the white cardstock is from my stash, the corners were punched with a Martha Stewart punch, Santa and the elf are the Christmas Cheer stamps from Close To My Heart and I colored in the images with Copic markers.  It doesn't show in the picture, but I used Martha Stewart glitter on Santa's mustache and beard.

Sophie Blog Hop Winner

I used random.org and the winner is:

L.B. who said...


I need to break out the Sophie cart...very pretty ornaments.

Congrats!!!

Sophie Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the Sophie Blog Hop!  You should have arrived her from Maria's blog.

This hop will feature projects made using the Cricut Circle Exclusive cartridge Sophie, which is the first cartridge of the second year of the Circle.  All of the bloggers participating in today's blog hop are Cricut Circle members.  If you happened to just stop by my blog and want to start at the beginning, please visit Michele's blog.

I made two Christmas ornaments - a snowflake and a Christmas tree.  These were both cut at a height of 5 1/2 inches.

I used paper, eyelets and ribbon from my stash.  Here are close ups of the ornaments.

I normally don't pair prints together, but I really like the way the Christmas tree turned out.

I used the Divine Swirls Cuttlebug folder on the blue cardstock and then used a glitter Gelly Roll pen on the embossed swirls.

I do have blog candy to give away, and here it is:

In order to win, you need to leave a comment and include a way to get in touch with you if you are chosen as the winner.  I will be drawing the winner, using random.org, Monday evening.  It's not necessary to become a follower to win, but I'd love it if you do.

I hope you are enjoying the Sophie Blog Hop.

The next stop on this hop is Diane.

In case you get lost, here is the entire blog lineup:

1. Michele - http://www.michelegreen.com/
2. Tammy - http://www.scrapcavecreations.com/
3. Jen from Confessions of a Scrapaholic - http://scrapaholicjen.blogspot.com/
4. Liz - http://liz-lavendarandroses.blogspot.com/
5. Paulette - http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/
6. Megan - http://peacockpaperie.blogspot.com/
7. Maria - http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/
8. Brenda - http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/
9. Diane - http://dianesdribble.blogspot.com/
10. Sharon - http://designsbysharon.blogspot.com/
11. Alma's Pink Life - http://almabrooksblog.blogspot.com/
12. Rexann - http://ibecircled.blogspot.com/
13. Cindy - http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/
14. Marie - http://craftelicious.blogspot.com/

November is almost over!

I can't believe November is almost over and I haven't posted since November 10th!  Where has the time gone?  Guess I'd better get crafting so I can post some projects.

Speaking of projects, I'm participating in a blog hop on December 3rd.  I'll be posting more about it soon.

Winner of Winter/Christmas Blog Hop

Boy I am really late posting the winner of the Winter/Christmas Blog Hop!  Things have been so busy.

Anyway, here is the result from random.org

Post number 10 was:

Liz said...

Love the advent calendar...thanks for the inspiration!

Congratulations Liz!

I'd like to thank everyone who stopped by during the blog hop!

Winter Christmas Themed Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Winter/Christmas Themed Blog Hop celebrating our favorite time of the year.  This Blog Hop is hosted by Paulette, from Around the Block with Scrapalette.  You can start at the beginning of the hop at http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/.

My projects for the hop are a gift bag and an advent calendar.  The gift bag was bought at Michaels, and the background paper is from Hobby Lobby, while all the cardstock is Bazzill.  I cut the snowman from the Creative Memories Cheerful Seasons Cricut cartridge at a height of 6 inches.  The advent calendar is a calendar of drawers from I believe Karen Foster, and the patterned paper used to decorate it was bought at a local scrapbooking store.  Here are my projects:

I do have some blog candy to give away!  I have a cute little stamp set, and here it is:

In order to be eligible, you must leave a comment on this post and include a way to contact you.  Although it's not required, I'd love for you to become a follower is you aren't already.  I will draw the winner on Sunday night around 7 pm EST using random.org.

Thanks for stopping by!  Your next stop is Maria,

In case you lose your way, here is the entire Blog Hop list:

1. Paulette at http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/

2. Debbie at http://bugginattheseams.blogspot.com/

3. Carolyn at http://cccscraproom.blogspot.com/

4. Brenda at http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/

5. Maria at http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/

6. Chris at http://scrappin-nanapuddin.blogspot.com/

7. Cindy at http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/

8. Michele at http://www.michelegreen.com/

9. Lisa at http://addictedtothecricut.blogspot.com/

10. Dana at http://papermemories4u.blogspot.com/

11. Nancy at http://lanancyworkshop.blogspot.com/

12. Madylyn at http://inspiredbycolor.blogspot.com/

13. Wini at http://www.looneybugdesigns.com/

14. Renee at http://icameisawicreated.blogspot.com/

15. Tammy at http://www.scrapcavecreations.com/

16. Debbie at http://debbieduddles.blogspot.com/

17. Kim at http://blingdazzler.com/

18. Brandi at http://scubascrapperbrandi.blogspot.com/

19. Sharon at http://designsbysharon.blogspot.com/

20. Liz at http://liz-lavendarandroses.blogspot.com/

Winter/Christmas Blog Hop Coming on November 5, 2011

Please mark your calendar to stop by and enjoy our blog hop.  There are very talented ladies who are participating.

Had a Good Scrapping Weekend!

Last weekend I went to a scrapping retreat.  It sure was good to get with my friends to scrap and have a good time!  Here are just a few layouts I completed:

I used the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge on this layout.  I used the instructions for the CTMH Elementals Workshop On The Go and adapted it to fit my needs.  Everything on this layout is CTMH.

For this layout, all carstock is Bazzill.  I used my Gypsy and created the title with the Don Juan Cricut cartridge and welded the letters together.  I can't remember what size I cut them.  The deer was cut from the Give A Hoot Cricut cartridge at a height of 5".

Believe it or not, I didn't use my Cricut at all on this layout!  The paper is from a paper pack I bought from HSN, the buttons are from the 3 Birds Cute As A Button kit, the butterflies are Dazzles stickers and the tag for the title is CTMH.

All cardstock on this layout is Bazzill.  I believe the title was cut from the Don Juan Cricut cartridge, but don't hold me to that since it was 1 in the morning when I did this.  The buttons are from the 3 Birds Cute As A Button kit.

My First Gatefold Card

My grandson had his birthday party with his friends today, so I made him another card.  (I made the card I gave him on his birthday for my DT project.)  Here is the card:

Front of card



Inside of card



The base (green) cardstock and inside patterned cardstock is from the A Boy's Universe paper pack by The Paper Studio.  All other cardstock used is Bazzill.  I cut the robot from the Robotz Cricut cartridge at a height of 5 1/2 inches, and the number for was cut from the Cricut American Alphabet cartridge (built into the E2) at a height of 1 1/2 inches.  The Happy Birthday stamp is Stampin Up! and the ribbon is from my stash.

I also made my own envelope using the Martha Stewart scoring board and cardstock from the A Boy's Universe paper pack.  Here is the envelope:

I'm please with the way this turned out, and it was so much fun to make!

Design Team Project Posted

I just posted my Design Team Project over at Imagine, Create Share. I hope you stop by to check it out.

Weekend Getaway Was Productive!

This past weekend I went on a scrapbooking weekend retreat, and boy did I get a lot done!  My daughter wanted to give a mini album to my grandson's paternal grandma and great-grandma for Christmas, so I completed both of them at the retreat.  I did the same album for both.  All my daughter has to do is add the journaling.  Here are the pages:

I used the following cartridges:  B is for Boy Lite, Nate's ABCs, Creative Memories Stork's Delivery and Doodlecharms.  I don't know the sizes of the cuts because I had to actually put the cartridge in the Cricut to cut since I used the Cricut available at the retreat.  I had to really stop to think how do use it since I always use my Gypsy at home.