When can you find time to craft?

So being a college student the best way I have found to be able to craft and do my schoolwork is that I often combine the two! 

I made a mini album for my leadership project (which in place of the word documents could easily be a 4x6 photo!) Using simple tools such as distressing with Inkpads, using shimmer trim and our awesome washi tape, I took a simple project and made it a fun crafting day! 
The mini album was created using CTMH Artbooking Collection and the house and tree were made from CTMH Art Philosophy Collection. 

This is an easy, very doable AND inexpensive school project that anyone could recreate to fit their needs! I hope y'all all like my quick (6x6) mini album and I hope my professor does too!!! You can also visit my website at www.happilyevercrafters.com!

Let me know what you think and show me what you do for your crafts!

Visit my website for more crafty ideas!

www.happilyevercrafters.com

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CTMHHappilyEverCrafters

CYBER MONDAY SPECIAL!!! 20% OFF ALL CTMH Cricut Collections! TODAY ONLY

Cyber Monday Only:  20% Off All Cricut®Collections! Monday, December 1st For the first time ever, Close To My Heart is offering a Cyber Monday Sale on Monday, December 1, 2014. There has never been a better time to buy Close To My Heart's exclusive Cricut® Collections for 20% off the retail price. Whether you love scrapbooking, cardmaking, or creating 3-D projects, our four exclusive Cricut® collections make the perfect addition to any craft room! Sale starts at midnight (MST) on December 1 and ends at 11:59 pm Monday night. Make sure you share the news about this sale with all your friends, family and Santa shoppers!! CTMH Cricut Collections...What's the Difference? WOW, now that we have 4 Cricut Collections to choose from, how will you decide which one to start with?

Art Philosophy is for the all-in-one crafter!  It includes overlays, borders, cards, tags, 3D shapes, boxes, bags, flowers and more!!  The 3D items are what I call "1-cut" in that it only takes the single image cut to quickly and easily assemble for wonderful 3D gifts and projects!!  The shapes on Art Philosophy are more general in nature.  They don't scream a specific theme, allowing you to add the paper and/or stamps to create the theme.  All these fabulous features make Art Philosophy great for scrapbooking, card making and paper crafting in general! Artiste is project based...lots of 3-D shapes, mini-albums and layered pieces!  Much more themed with shapes like Cupid, Eiffel Tower, Skeletons and words like Love, Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, etc.  With the projects, shapes that go together are color-coordinated so you know which shapes to cut/assemble.  Plus it comes with an assembly book to help you see where to score, glue and how to assemble the 3D items, mini-albums, etc.  Additionally, the project-based element has the coordinating shapes linked together so you cut all the pieces the size you'd like your finished project to be, and they'll all be proportionately cut to assemble to that finished project size!  For example, a 3" cupcake box, with base, lid and stabilizer will all be cut on your Cricut at 3", then when you assemble the pieces, you'll have a 3" cupcake box!  This proportional cutting works for all of the linked projects, mini-albums, cards with envelopes and so much more! Artbooking is all about scrapbooking and mini-albums!!  It takes the proportional cutting to a whole new level, since ALL 700 shapes are linked together!!  What does this mean for you?  It means that if you're working in a 12x12 album, you can cut ANY of the 700 images at 11" and it will cut proportionately to your 12x12 layout!  (Why 11" instead of 12"?  Because the Cricut won't allow you to cut right to the edges of your paper!)  To keep it simple, the Artbooking booklet annotates the 11" suggestion so you don't have to remember!  What if you're working in a smaller size?  Simple, just set your Cricut dial to your project size (maybe a little smaller to allow your overlays to have a border), and cut all the pieces you need!! The cartridge has everything you need for coordinating layouts with overlays, titles, photo mats, etc and it all cuts proportionally for a 12x12 page!!!  With 15 scrapbooking themes, you'll be able to complete tons of albums in no time!  Each of the themes (Freedom, Friends, Fall, etc) have 28 elements per theme, allowing you to have endless layout combinations!  Additionally, it even gives you an example layout to show you a great way to put all the pieces together, but with 28 elements, you'll have the versatility to mix-n-match and create plenty of completely different layouts!! Artbooking also has 10 mini-album themes, each give you a "recommended" finished album size then tell you what size to set your dial, you cut all the pieces and have a complete mini-album to assemble.  You can easily adjust the finished album size by simply changing your Cricut dial and cutting all the pieces at the same size! Artfully Sent is the NEWEST addition to the Close to My Heart Cricut lineup!  This cartridge is designed with the cardmaker in mind!  With 250 different cards, 400 ready-to-go projects and almost 700 images, this cartridge will have you creating cards for any occasion with the push of a button, simply choose from pop-ups, scenes, sentiments, sleeves or pocket cards!

Don't miss this ONE-DAY ONLY special and order your Cricut Collection today!!  Shop Online & Save! This year marks the 10-year anniversary of Close To My Heart's revolutionary My Acrylix® clear stamps--and we can't wait for you to celebrate with us! With a qualifying purchase of ONLY $50 during the month of December, you will be eligible to purchase ANY C- or D-size stamp set from the Annual Inspirations idea book for only $10. CLICK HERE to see the full list of eligible stamp sets!!  That's up to $7.95 of savings on a single stamp set! Plus, there is no limit to the number of eligible stamp sets you can purchase at this discounted price.  A purchase of $50 will also qualify you to receive the December Stamp of the Month, Cutie Pie (set of 11) for only $5! This is the deal of the century! Don't miss out!! *Offer valid December 1st (9:00 am MST) - December 31, 2014 (11:59 pm MST). Shipping/handling is calculated based on the full retail price of the discounted items (C-size stamp set: $13.95; D-size stamp set: $17.95). Don't forget to check out our NEW products released December 1st in the new Seasonal Expressions book!!

What to do? What to do??

Ever wonder what you should do on a rainy day? Or when you have tons of time and no plans to fill it?

Try using Studio J that is FREE to try out and make wonderful works of art to save your memories all online!

Not a scrapbooker? How about making some cards with your left over scrap paper? Or make a super cute Game-day accessory?

Whatever floats your boat in the crafting sea of wonders I would love to hear what you like to do and share it with me!

You know you are a scrapbooker if...

You know you are a scrapbooker if the words "I can't wait to sniff the new paper" comes out of your mouth. I guess it's better than sniffing the glue sticks!!! 

What are some of your favorite funny quotes?!

Please share, I would love to hear from you!

Studio J: A Special Gift

Howdy Everyone! One of my favorite ways to scrapbook is by using Studio J, a digital scrapbooking program that is SUPER cost effective and a PHENOMENAL tool to use for your scrapbooks! It's FREE to sign up and costs absolutely nothing until you make the decision to purchase your creations. Here are a couple of my favorite layouts:

You can also use this program to print quality custom sized photos. Below I used Studio J to print 2x2, 3x3, 3x4, 4x4, & 6x6 photos which would cost an arm and a leg at any typical photo printing kiosk. 

Isn't this such an AMAZING program?!!! 

From July 3rd--September 31st I will personally ship a FREE 12x12 album to anyone who purchases 25 two-page layouts from Studio J through this link, Studio J signup! Each two-page layout only costs $6.95+tax, and the layouts will ship directly to you at a flat rate of $5.95(for up to 50 total layouts)! This is such a GREAT deal and the best part is that it is FREE to try before you buy!!!

Please email me at mandy@happilyevercrafters.com if you plan to take advantage of this limited time Studio J special, and do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns!

~Mandy

Howdy! This is me!

     Howdy! My name is Mandy Petty; I am an Agricultural Leadership and Development major at Texas A&M University and a member of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2016! WHOOP! 

     I am a scrapbooker, stamper, card maker, AND crafter! Well I guess you can say that I love anything to do with DIY goodies and memory keepers. ;) I am able to follow my passion through Close to My Heart as an Independent Consultant. Today marks my one year anniversary with this phenomenal company, but I have grown up using their products since I was 10 years old! My website is www.happilyevercrafters.com, feel free to come check it out!

     Outside of my love for crafting I am a member of the western dance team at A&M known as the Aggie Wranglers! If I'm not crafting, doing homework, or working I can be found dancing with my partner and team mates!

     I love to live life and share my passions with everyone I meet and my goal is to share my love for paper crafting through my messages. Wish me luck!