Harry Potter Celebration

 

 

Good Morning crafters!! This is a NON crafty post today! It's my Blog and I can do that.. LOL

For those who have been following me a while know how much I LOVE Harry Potter, I am a serious POTTER Fan!! So when Universal Orlando announced the Harry Potter Celebration/Expo I was so close to buying a pakcage for it and my ever supportive Husband giving me permission!! WOW!!

Alas it was not meant to be as they SOLD OUT in record time.. I went ahead and purchased an annual pass to Universal anyways as a Birthmas gift to myself!! So I may have NOT had the Special Event pass to get into the BEST parts of the event but I was able to sit in on the Q&A and listen to the actors which was FABULOUS!

There were many opportunities throughout the weekend to sit in on a Q&A, Wand Dueling, and much more..

Here are some photos from my weekend at Universal

 

 

Best FAN Dressed Costumes EVER!!
Professor Trelawney & Snape as a Boggart when Neville Pictures Snape in his Grandmothers clothes with a red handbag!!

!

Sparkle & Shine

These are the pretties I was given to work with this month, aren't they gorgeous?

Using Close to My Hearts February Release Paper Pack

Lollydoodle

Ivy Lane

Also CTMH White Cardstock

I used the following Heidi Swapp items

Color Shine Pink

Stencil

CTMH December SOTM Sentiment

Embossing Powder Recollections

Pinque Peacock Flower Layered Garden Beauty

I hope you enjoy this card, the only thing I wish I would have done was chosen a different color for the embossing.. I thought pink wouldn't show through, this was suppose to be clear..



Still a sweet, simple & cute card with a couple techniques.

Heat Embossing, Stencil, Spray Color



Have a Happy HUMP Day!

Miss You

Super quick post before I ran off to the post office and then work!

I had just received this stamp set, that was previously used and either the previous owner did not take care of the stamp or it is just a horrible stamp. I had to stamp the image 3 times for the image to become solid. I then used a spica glitter pen to trace around the image and give it a little pop.

This card was used from my scrap pile so I can NOT tell you who created the papers.

I used Tim Holtz Dies for the Label and the Heart, I popped the label up with dimensional adhesive squares..

Thanks for stopping by today, this was such a CUTE simple card I love it!

Cricut Explore

Video from Pre Launch Party by Obsessed with Scrapbooking HERE

Who is ready for the NEW #CricutExplore to come out??? It will be out for us to purchase mid February at a $299 price point from HSN!! WOO HOO! Can you say Flex Pay??? It will print, cut, and score! Here's some awesome pics!!! Hurry up and get her Mid-February!!

The heart of this new DIY experience is Cricut Design Space, free online design software powered by a library of more than 50,000 images and hundreds of ready-to-make projects. Users can browse Cricut-designed projects, click “Make It Now” and follow the step-by-step instructions to create handmade projects in minutes.

Users can also create and visualize their own projects before actually cutting materials. Starting from blank canvas templates for popular items ranging from t-shirts to iPad cases to pillows, DIYers can incorporate images from Cricut’s vast library and personalize and make their own creations. To provide a new level of freedom, users can also import images and fonts from the Web or their computers to “cut what they want.”

The Cricut Explore electronic cutting machine introduces patent-pending Cut Smart technology, which delivers precision cutting of various materials via dual carriage heads: one clamp with a premium German carbide blade for cutting, and a secondary clamp for drawing or writing with a pen or marker. The secondary clamp can also be used for a scoring tip. Cut Smart makes it easy for users to create invitations and cards by cutting and writing in one simple step.

Cricut Explore also features the Smart Set™ dial, a material selection dial that works in conjunction with Cut Smart technology to eliminate the need to make pressure, depth and speed adjustments. With a turn of the dial, users can easily alternate between multiple cutting materials: paper, vinyl, iron on, light cardstock, cardstock, fabric and poster board. To meet users’ need for flexibility, the dial also offers a custom option that can be preset to a desired material of choice, such as chipboard, craft foil, magnetic materials or Duck Tape® Sheets.

Users can buy individual images from Cricut Design Space starting at 99 cents per image or subscribe to the Cricut-branded portion of the library (25,000+ images) on a monthly or yearly basis. Users can also buy digital cartridges or use their existing cartridges to unlock the same artwork through Cricut Design Space.

Out of the box, the initial offering of the Cricut Explore comes with a simple guide and a selection of materials – including cardstock, iron-on, vinyl and two Duck Tape® Sheets – to immediately start on one of 50 free projects.

Pricing and Availability

Cricut Explore will have a suggested retail price of $299.

Cricut Explore will debut on the Home Shopping Network in February and will be available through a broad range of Cricut retail partners including Amazon, Jo-Ann, Michaels, Walmart.com, and many others starting March 16th.

No-commitment monthly subscriptions to Cricut Design Space are available for $9.99 and annual subscriptions can be purchased for $99.99.

HSN just announced it for 2/12 

**Original Information from Business Wire, can be FOUND HERE

Cricut Explore - It Begins!

And the posting Begins!!

Photos from the reveal party are being posted on Facebook!!

Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/cricutexplore

Have you Heard? New Cricut Explore?

Well it would seem that Provo Craft is coming out with a new machine called the Cricut  Explore ...

 What  is being said about the new Cricut Explore:

"Cricut Explore is the first product to be released as part of this new era for the brand. 

A versatile cutting, drawing and embossing machine, it is paired with powerful software that empowers users to create a vast range of craft products."  

  Looking forward to seeing the announcement personally from ProvoCraft on Tuesday the 21st! 

Would you be interested in this new Cricut Explore machine or will you be sticking to another brand of die cut machine? 

In November SVGCuts posted HERE suggesting a NEW Machine by Provo Craft that would enable the use of SVG Cuts.. Interesting.. 

Patent Information for the AIRCUT HERE

Computer software development tools; computer software for use as an application programming interface (API); Computer software for wireless content delivery

Patent Information for Design Space HERE
Downloadable computer software, web-based computer software application, cloud based computer software application, and downloadable software in the nature of mobile web applications for use in the operation of electronic cutting machines or cutting and printing machines for paper and other materials in sheet form and for online design of images and projects.

Maybe their announcement is compatibility with Mobile Devices?

Shipping Update

 Shipping Information/Update, due to requests for shipping information I thought I would share this with you.

The turn around time for Close to My Heart (CTMH) to process orders from the time you order online to the time they ship it out is anywhere from 2-4 BUSINESS days. It can be more than that at the end of quarter, during holiday  and beginning of new catalog quarter.

Again, Holidays, end of quarters and beginning of new catalog quarter ALWAYS have effects on those shipping so there will be times where CTMH shipping dept will get backlogged.

Here’s the info that is POSTED on the ctmh sites when you are getting ready to check out. It is in the breakdown of the shipping information.

*Orders weighing less than two pounds may be shipped via USPS.

*All orders are shipped from Pleasant Grove, Utah 84062 USA

*Standard in-house turn-around time for most orders is two to four working days from the time the order arrives at Close To My Heart. (*Note: it does get backlogged when there’s holidays dates, end of quarter and beginning of new catalog quarter*)

*Special shipping options do not affect in-house turn-around time.

DESTINATION	SHIPPING METHOD	PRICE*	MINIMUM
Continental US	FedEx SmartPost (for orders less then 10 lbs.)** FedEx Ground** FedEx Express Save (3-day) FedEx 2nd Day Air FedEx Standard Overnight	4.95% 7.95% 14.95% 19.95% 24.95%	$4.95 US $7.95 US $14.95 US $19.95 US $24.95 US
Hawaii, Alaska	Fedex 2nd Day Air	14.95%	$14.95 US
APO/FPO/PR/GUAM/VI	USPS Priority Mail	14.95%	$14.95 US
Canada	Landmark	10.00%	$10.00 CAN

*Please note that shipping is always based on the full retail value of the item even when the item is purchased at a discount.

**If total order weight is less than two pounds, order will ship via USPS.

Package Tracking
FedEx or Landmark will notify you by email when an order is shipped so you may track the delivery of your order.

Orders shipped through USPS do not have tracking numbers.

Shipping Options
In the continental United States, customers have 4 shipping methods available through Federal Express (FedEx). These options are not available for destinations outside the continental United States. Upgrading your shipping method will not affect the in-house turnaround time of your order (typically 2 to 4 business days).

Please keep in mind that upgraded shipping methods are guaranteed by the carrier, and Close To My Heart is not responsible for shipping delays after the order has left the warehouse. The shipping options are:

• FedEx Standard Overnight: After leaving Close To My Heart’s corporate office, this option guarantees next-business-day delivery Monday through Friday by 3:00 pm to most US addresses; by 4:30 pm to rural areas.
• FedEx 2nd Day Air: This option guarantees orders will arrive to most areas 2 business days after leaving the corporate office, Monday through Friday by 7:00 pm.
• FedEx Ground: After leaving the corporate office, orders using this option typically arrive within 1 to 5 business days, Tuesday through Saturday between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm.
• FedEx SmartPost: After leaving the corporate office, orders using this option typically arrive within 2 to 8 business days. SmartPost orders are delivered via the FedEx network but will use the United States Postal Services (USPS) for final delivery.

REMEMBER: Also, you will have to add into the 2-4 turn around business days onto the shipping dates above! Again, take into consideration with the holidays, end of quarters and beginning of new catalog quarters also can affect the turn around business days time frame.

I hope this gives you more idea of how the CTMH works their shipping.  If there’s any questions or concern, please message me and I’d be happy to help you.

Friends with Flair Foxy Love

Hello Bloggers! Been a while since I actually got myself inky and crafty!! 

But I did it!! Yeah!

It's ALMOST February, can you believe it? Time to start thinking about those Valentines Day Cards and such..

February is also special to me because it is when I celebrate my Wedding Anniversary, 

17 YEARS this YEAR!! Woo Hoo!!

I think this may be the first year we are NOT Celebrating our Anniversary together, due to my Husband living in Virginia and my work schedule it just isn't going to happen this year.

I know we are not as far apart as some, but still operating 2 households on a Military Budget supplemented by a barely over mimim wage job is still tough.. We are making it though..

This separation of house and self has brought us so much closer together, I send him little messages of encouragement, support, love and of course the occasional what am I going to do without you message. I love my Husband he is the best person for me, there is no other person who could hold me up while pushing me forward at the same time who has so much belief in me and everything that I do.

Ok... enough about him and me and how I feel about him .. LOL 

Back to Crafting!

So Today is Friends with Flair which I totally created this card intending to showcase it especially for FWF at the Unity Blog.. I also created it for my Husband to send to give to him on Valentines Day as he will be home that week for my Daughter to get her Drivers License...

I love this stamp set by Unity called My Foxy Valentine 

HERE

Paper By Carta Bella - Devoted Paper Pad HERE

Unity Stamp Co My Foxy Valentine HERE

Spellbinders Nestabilities Die - Labels Three HERE

CTMH Exclusive Ink Black HERE

Copic Ciao Marker R27 HERE

Thanks for stopping by!! You still have a couple of hours to ink up your Unity Stamps and Link up to the FWF Linky Party!!

January Deals!

 Well it's a new year, and a new month

with some great things going on over at Close To My Heart.

Not only do we have another great stamp-of-the-month but it

is also National Papercrafting Month so of course we

have a great special for that!

Cloud 9 card-making kit! Only $15 with a $35 purchase!

This kit is worth well over $40! The stamp set alone is a $17.95 set!!

This kit includes:

1 Instruction guide

1 D-size stamp set

10 cards and envelopes

1 sheet shape cut outs

(extra cut-outs can be made with Artiste cart.)

1 sheet Cloud 9 B&T cardstock

1 sheet Lagoon cardstock

1 Sheet Honey cardstock

1 roll of gold dot washi tape

1 roll teal shimmer trim

1 package Durables triangles

Want to know what even better?! Once you have your $35 in product

in your cart and you add the Cloud 9 kit, your total will

be $50 so you will also be eligible to get the SOTM

for only $5!! That's a lot of product for only $55!

Remember this promotion is only available until January 31st!

January SOTM: