Whooo's your valentine blog hop

welcome to this special blog hop.  You should be coming from{ Maria Myers }.  Next in the lineup is { Wendy Coffman }.

I decided to try the mailbox from the new cricut cart, artiste. It is super cute, great for putting candies or tiny cards.and just like a real mailbox, the flag moves with help from a brad.  See the new glitter paper, it works great with the cricut as well. Plus with the new pigment inks, you can stamp on it.  

check out the next blog in the lineup { Wendy Coffman} 

Sotm dec year round cheer

Welcome to this months sotm blog hop. Sorry I have been gone for a while. My trip back home took up a lot of my time. Now I am back. You should be coming from Kami Welter. Next on the blog hop is Haley Dyer

This stamp set features 12 stamps, one for each month of the year. They have an image and a phrase. It is very easy to cut them in half and get double the use out of them.  I wanted to make a Christmas card, but not with the December stamp. So I used the snowflakes from January and the bird from February and none of the sentiments.  The one I used is from Perfect fit -holidays. The banner is from the new cricut cartridge. 

Again, thanks so much for coming to my site, even after the long absence.  

Next in the hop is Haley Dyer.  

The new idea book is here

And to celebrate, I am running a special. When you order from my website, nikkageers.ctmh.com, you will get a free paper packet when you get the brand new cricut cartridge, Artiste. There are great cuts, including 3d images. This is the cartridge you need. So get it now while this offer still stand.

Here are the details. When you order from nikkageers.ctmh.com, order from the artiste special party. Add the cricut cartridge and any other new items you would like. Do not add the free paper packet. I will contact you and ask for which paper packet you would like. It will be sent to you from a different order. This special is only valid thru my self and is not a close to my heart promotion.

The paper packets that you can choose from are:
Avonlea
Clementine
Dakota
La Belle Vie
Scholastic
Flirty
Moonlight
Pear & Partridge
Stella
Pemberley
Victory
Florentine

Please email me at nikkageers@ yahoo.com for any questions

Sotm aug blog hop

Welcome to this months sotm blog hop. You should be coming from Wanda Riley, http://Creatingwithwanda.blogspot.com. Next int he line up is Jill Lucas, http://scrapwench.blogspot.com.

I have used masking technique to make the main image. The large image is embossed for background texture.

Again , You should be coming from Wanda Riley, http://Creatingwithwanda.blogspot.com. Next int he line up is Jill Lucas, http://scrapwench.blogspot.com.

Thanks for checking this hop

SOTM july - Live out Loud

Welcome to july's sotm .  You should be coming from Wanda Riley. Next in the hop is Lalia Harris.

I have this card made for months, since I got the sotm with the idea books. I even tried to get it published. This one is my favorite and I finally get to show you.

I cut the "Soar"stamp apart, so I could use the butterflies alone.  I made my own paper with that butterfly and universal background. I loved the color palate from Stella so I used that.

I hope you enjoy this blog hop. Again Next in the hop is Lalia Harris.  Enjoy

Sotm blog hop - june

Welcome to this months sotm. and the month the bird is the word. hehe sorry, i had to. You should be coming fromWendy Coffman  Next is Lori Brown

Ctmh spotlight metal embellishments

Welcome to this months spotlight you should be coming from Wendy's blog. Next is lori's blog
My post will be up shortly. Just saw. The date and realized I am way behind

Use it or Lose It challenge 7

Welcome to Use it or Lose it challenge 7. Its all about weddings. My mom is getting married may 19 so that's whats its all about in the house.

These are the thank you cards i have made for her. They kinda follow the invites that she bought. Its hard to see in the photo, but i watered down some create a shade and painted it on the card for the pearly sheen. The embossing folder is from hobby lobby. The die is from papertrey ink. It is pretty awesome. I love our thanks stamp. And its only 6.95. What a deal.

We would love for you to visit Use it Or Lose it and play along with the wedding theme.

SOTM bloghop - may

Welcome to this months blog hop. You should be coming from Adeline's blog Next in the hop is Shirley's BlogSee the side view of the flower, that is the stamp i used. Stamped it 4 times and fussy cut to make the full flower.
Next in the hop is Shirley's Blog

Use it or Lose it Challenge 6 - Rainbows

Welcome back to Use it or Lose it challenge. I am finally in Michigan, so i am able to craft again. WOOHOO. lol. This challenge is going with the weather. At least here in Michigan it has been raining. And the best thing about rain, Rainbows. This is my second artwork. My first one didn't quite turn out.

This is inspired by a card from papertrey ink.

We would love it if you were join us for this challenge

Spotlight blog hop word stamps

Welcome to this spotlight blog hop. You should be coming from Haley . Next in the lineup is Luisaquick post. I used word stamps.

SOTM bloghop - April

Welcome to this months sotm blog hop. This month we are showcasing "You Are..."

This is a circle hop, so you can start anywhere. Before me in the hop is Brae . Next in the hop is Krista

I had a hard time with this one and i'm not sure why. Then I got inspiration from a card in the idea book. It is a pure CASE, except i used the sotm. The card below is the on I made

This is the card found on page 109 in the idea book. I did not have the persnickety journal spots, so i made my own. to get the border, i just cut a frame for the cricut, since all the chipboard has cricut cuts, and used it as a mask.then stamped the lines from the sotm and embossed, then sponged in the color.

hope you enjoyed my artwork. Next in the hop is Krista

I'm gonna be gone for a while

Normally i do the spotlight blog hop on the 15 th, and as you can see this month I didn't. Why? Because I just found out I moving back to Michigan. Only til oct, maybe. My hubby reenlisted and his new ait date is may 2013. What? So I can't deal with another year of fort Irwin, which is practically hell on earth. So I'm moving back for half of that. I already have most of my craft room packed, so I am unable to craft. I will still be doing the sotm blog hop on the first, because the card is already made. Hah, got those done when I got all my new stuff in jan. but the spotlight and use it or lose it blogs I will not be able to participate in, till I get home in April. I will be drive all the way there, yes from Cali to Michigan , with my mil and my dog. But once I am there, I should have all the fun stuff I am making for my moms wedding to post. Yes use it or lose it will still be running, just without my artwork. See you soon.

Use It or Lose It Challenge 3 - Inchies

Welcome to Use it or Lose It challenge three. This challenge we are using inchies. They are just one inch squares.

Ok, so one day I went off base to get a 1 inch square punch. Simple task, right. Wrong. I stopped at Walmart and Target. Didn't think they would have any, and I was right. Went to Michaels, they would have one, right. Wrong again. Two sections of punches, not one i needed. Stopped at Jo-Anns on they way back. What luck, the store was moving and everything was at least 50% off. Headed straight to the punch section. Again, no one inch square punch. I had to order it online once I got back home. But now I have one and comes in handy for this inchie project. You can use a paper trimmer or the cricut, but sometimes punches come in handy. You can use the square punch to get that ribbon edge. I used it to make the clippy thingies. I cant think of the word. But the punch made it easy to do such a thin strip. I would not have been able to trim that thinly with my paper trimmer.

I was inspired by a scrapbook sketch for the above look.

Punched out inchies windows. I'm glad I was able to use this stamp set. I love it but never got to use it before.
This is a game i made for my gatherings. I used the cricut to cut the inch squares. You can get 100 from a 12 x 12 sheet. There are many stamps from ctmh that are under one inch.

I hope you enjoyed my inchies. If you would like to play along, visit the Use it or Lose it blog.

Mojo Monday 231

I know so many posts today. Soon I will try for more ,once I am done with school.
This is my take on the current mojo Monday sketch. You really have to look at it to see it. I used the Sophia journal spot for the circle part and used artwork instead of the tag. You see it now, don't ya.

How a organize pt 1

ok, i know i have done a couple of these, but this is how i am currently organizing my craft room. i will do this in a couple of parts, just focusing on a key part each post.

This is how i organize my stamps. i use to do the little crate boxes you get for a dollar but my collection was adding up quick. (i have no idea how that happpended :) ) One day i found these plastic crates outside. my neighbor was throwing them away. i have no idea what they are really for, but they were big and sturdy so i knew i could use them. Happy accident, i found they fit my stamps. WOOHOO. out went the plastic crates. Another happy accident is that they fit side by side perfectly in my bookcase under my desk. again, WOOHOO.

How i have them is far left, retired ; middle left , last idea book and old sotm; middle right, current wotg and sotm, old wotg; far right, current idea book.

I have a stamp catologe, where i stamp every stamp i own and place them into catagories. this took forever because i did not start when i started ctmh. i already had about 100 stamps. it took me two days. but it was worth it. now when i get new stamps, i just add it to my catalog. This has helped me out a lot.

Also, so i put my stamps in the right place, i color code my stamps. only current and last idea book. I also just started numbering them. Current stamps are number by the idea book (i.e. first stamp is 1, second stamp is 2. there are over 80 stamps in the new idea book, not counting wotg and sotm) Last idea book is just numbered by how many i have. ( i think i have 20) I go by where the show up in the idea book.

This i know i have shown but i am showing it again. this is the only thing that hasn't changed since i started it as an ink organizer. Its past life was a wooden cassette box. Got it for $2 and a garage sale. Love me some bargins. I used to use it for my acrylic paint and wooden stamps. I now have my paints in a clear box. i use cardboard to make little cubbies so i can take out my ink pads on at a time. on the other side i have jars and my blocks. i dont think i will ever be using this for something else. just works too good.

so that was part one of my tour. come back next week where i will show you how i organize my paper and scraps, for at least this month

sneak peek - use it or lose it challenge

check out the new Use it or Lose it challenge coming this friday

Sotm march - potential

Hello. Welcome to this months sotm blog hop you should be coming from Elizabeth. Next in the hop isMary

I have too much homework due so this is all I'm going to write enjoy the blop hop

Next in the hop isMary

Use It Or Lose It Challenge 2

Hey, welcome to this weeks Use It Or Lose It Challenge. This time we had to use our scraps to make a project being inspired by the photo below. I love the clock from this photo. I have a few clock stamps but none of them were big enough. So I made my own. I used Bingo Alphabet to do the numerals and the hands from Bohemian Alphabet. I usedpaper is from Wings. All of it are scraps, even the card base.

Check out the rest of the design team using the link below.

Spotlight blog hop - alphabets

Welcome to this months blog hop.
This month is all about alphabet stamps. Alphabet stamps are so versatile.
You should be comings from Carol'sNext is Haley's

My mojo was gone. But I got inspiration from my tshirt. I used trinity alphabet which has 3 different sizes and fonts . I used the two largest fonts on my card. then went thru and found different stamps that had love and used those.

Use it or Lose it Challenge - Use your first stamp

Im so excited that the Use it or Lose it Challenge blog is up and roaring. I hope we are gonna have some great times and find creative ways to use up our scraps. Come on, we all have them. Its the crafting worlds dirty little secret. Its hard to throw even the smallest piece away. I am reorganizing my scraps do to this blog challenge and I have no idea why I even kept some of the pieces. What was I thinking?

My first ctmh stamp was actually when I signed up to be a consultant. Before then, I had never use CTMH. Shocking, I know. But the first time I used that clear acrylix stamp, I was hooked. So much better than the stamps I owned.

My kit came with a couple stamps, but I only kept 2. The other stamps just weren't me, plus they make great giveaways for my customers. The two i kept were A Flitter and Tasty Treats. And with A Flitter began my love/hate relationship with hand cutting. Who am I kidding, I hate hand cutting. That is why I have a Cricut.

These scraps are so old we don't even have that color cardstock anymore. It is watermelon. I also used another old stamp, circle together.

Not sure where this grey/pink combos came from. But it works. Plus the valentine themes was purely accidental.

So go check out the rest of the design team.

Hope you play along.

Sneak peek for blog challenge

Check out the cool badge button my downline and design team member Mandi made. Here is a sneak peek of the project I made for the first challenge. Hope to see you there

Use it or Lose it challenges starting this Friday

I'm excited. My challenge blog, Use it or Lose it will have its first challenge this Friday. We have some great design team members to help with your inspiration. If i'm not too sick (I have a viral lung infection), I should joining this friday's challenge. So pop over and have some fun using up your scraps.

sotm blog hop - Feb 2012

welcome. you some be coming from Wanda's blog next is mary's blog
sorry i am down with a sickness so i am just gonna post the pics

New Items Blog hop

Welcome to this new Idea Book blog hop. We will be showing you projects uing new items that will be coming out Feb 1st.

you should be coming from Amy McVey. Next in the line up is
Elizabeth Mindemann

My goal was to use every product that i got. I am just 3 items shy of this goal. Mainly because one of the items was stolen by the gnomes and I just got it back. I mean i searched everywhere, including in the garbage just in case. Three days later, there it was. Just like the paper that disappeared and my rings. ugh... gnomes and their gnomey magic and kleptomania.

the only things i am not posting are the sotm items. you will just have to wait til those months to see . hehe.

(note - all new items are listed below the photo)

(mini banners, Bohemian Assortments, Color Ready garden shapes, Seam binding ribbon, Bakers Twine, Bouquet Assortments, Stella)

(tapestry rub-ons, Just a Number)

(Stella, Life is tweet, Stella stamp, Bakers twine, You are..., pemberley stamp, adhesive springs)

(close up of the spring)

(superhero, bakers twine)

(bouquet assortment, pemberley, bakers twine, wooden badge buttons, thanks)

(super powers, superhero, bakers twine)

(victory, victory stamp, pure adventure, durables)

(diverse backgrounds, pemberley stamp, a tree, durables, victory)

(pemberley, super powers, live out loud)

This card does feature a sotm, but i wanted to show this because it shows how you can use super powers without making it a superhero or boys theme

(superhero, Diverse Backgrounds, Urban felt alphabet, Just for you, Keepsake alphabet)

This is attached with velcro so you can swap for whatever season or holiday. I only made two for now.

this is urban felt alphabets. i used a marker to color it red and added glitz to it

(just for you, pemberley, victory, bouquet assortment, seam binding ribbon)

This is based off a card from Vicki Wizniuk

(superhero,comic badge buttons, super powers)

I used the stamp from enjoy life to stamp on the stars. it matches great with the paper

(milk cartons, stella, new arrival)

That is all the new artwork i will show for now. but i will leave you with a tip.

For my baker's twine, i nailed 4 holes in a top of a jar and i just pull out what i need. i still need to decorate it.

Next in the line up is
Elizabeth Mindemann Enjoy the hop and the new Idea Book