Friday Focus: To Die For!

Do you remember the card special CTMH had a couple of years ago? The card bases featured a bracket-shaped edge, and I loved, loved, loved them! But hand-cutting them is a pain, so I never made very many after I used up the pre-cut bases. While browsing in my LSS recently, I came across this sweet little number.

It's a die made by a company called The Cat's Pajamas. It's very slim and lightweight, plus instructions are printed on the backing for Cuttlebug, Wizard, or the Big Shot/Big Kick.

It was really easy to use with my Cuttlebug. There was some double-stick tape left on the back of the metal die, so I used it to keep it in place on the plate. I lined up the edge of my card next to the edge of the die, and it cut it beautifully! I'm so thrilled to be able to make these lovely bracket shapes on my cards and for scrapbooking embellishments.

The result (and I will get it decorated soon, I promise!):

Storing those ink daubers...

I'm always looking for creative storage that doesn't break the bank for my scrapping and stamping supplies. While grocery shopping in Kroger recently, I spotted these ice cube trays and immediately thought how PERFECT they would be for storing sponge daubers! I brought home a few, and I was right -- they work beautifully. The neat thing is that the bottom of the "cube" is actually a slightly rounded silicone area, so it holds the dauber really well. The trays were hanging on a hook next to the bottled water since the cubes are sized to fit into a water bottle. Next step -- labeling each dauber with a different color of ink.

All Things Girly ~ Heart 2 Heart Challenge

This week's Heart 2 Heart challenge is anything "girly" -- right up my alley! I thought right away of scrapbook pages I recently completed for a swap. The swap is to use up retired or retiring CTMH papers. I chose "More to Adore," some of my all-time favorite papers. The left page uses a Level 1 page base. The sweet baby in the pictures is none other than my now 21-year-old daughter, Kristin.

A Little More Thanks

Free stamps to say thank you in November . . . During November, we’re expressing our gratitude to you by helping you earn two fabulous My Acrylix® stamp sets for FREE! When you place a minimum order of $100 {any items in the Autumn/Winter Idea Book}, you will not only receive the November Stamp of the Month set, A Little Thanks, for FREE, you will also receive one stamp set of your choosing {A, B, C, or D-size stamp sets} from the 2010 Autumn/Winter Idea Book for FREE! This means you can increase the value of your purchase by up to $45.90—that’s almost 50 percent more in value! It’s just our way of imparting A Little MORE Thanks to you for being a great customer. Contact me today to place your order or go to my website (lorimiller.myctmh.com) to order online. THANK YOU for your business!

I {heart} Opaques!

I am absolutely crazy about the CTMH Opaques! These little self-adhesive pearls come in sevearl different color combos (Pearl, Licorice, and Mocha). Each set has several different sizes for just the perfect touch on a card or scrapbook page.

Some ways I've used the Opaques are as part of a scalloped border, as the center of a sunflower {click here to see an example}, and as a photo corner accent. They add just a sweet little shimmer to whatever you're making!

More Scrapping with Studio J

Sorry for the long gap in posting -- life has been crazy but is starting to settle down a little. I haven't had much time for creativity, so I have been maximizing the time I have by using Studio J to get some scrapping done! I never, ever thought I would enjoy studio scrapbooking as much as I do. Don't panic -- I'm not giving up my paper and scissors any time soon (actually, never) -- but I'm enjoying a hybrid between traditional scrapbooking and studio scrapbooking. I created the layouts below in just an hour or so.

Here is a layout I did from pictures my husband and son took at a NASCAR race at the Chicagoland Speedway:

My college graduation in May (the thumbs-up picture of Mark and me is one of my favorites!):

Some layouts of my husband's parents when they were dating and newly married. A great idea for heritage photos is to purchase additional layouts to share -- design once and order several for other family members!

Give Studio J a try -- it's free to design a layout. You only pay if you order the printed layout, or you can also purchase a JPG to print the layout.