Cricut Sampler - Rose Blossoms Blog Hop

Here we are with our mid-month Rose Blossoms Blog Hop. We're teaming up to show you what our fantastic Cricut cartridges can do. Pleeeeeeeeeease be aware that we can't possibly cover the amazingness of these cartridges in just one blog hop. This is a smidgen of their greatness.

If you came from Marg's Marvelous Blog then you're right on track. If you're starting right here that will work. Just make sure to hop all the way through so you don't miss anything.


In my zeal for all things Cricut I thought I would create one project for each of the retiring cartridges we're highlighting. Realism set in pretty fast so I chose to show off three cartridges on one layout. This is the first time I've ever been thankful for my box that says "needs embellishing". I pulled out this layout that had only photos and paper and had a BLAST cutting and pasting all of this Cricut goodness. It's a little crazy but just enough!!

Guess what I like?? A LOT!! Did you say flowers? You nailed it! All of the flowers you see here are from the Art Philosophy cartridge. I could cut and play with those flowers all day long. How awesome would it be to cut and play all day long?

THIS circle of flowers is SO much fun to play with.

THIS border of flowers is ALSO a blast.  Thank You CTMH for offering the Art Philosophy Cricut collection. Why does it have to go away? I don't know but I urge you to get your own before it does. It's probably my favorite.


How about this title? I love a good mix and match title.  I used the letters from the Artiste and the Art Philosophy cartridge to make this one. I mixed and matched so much that I'm just now noticing that I glued the "i" backwards. Most of you never would've noticed but for those of you who would ... oops, I know.

You've see the flowers and the title. Did you notice the images? There's a clock & scissors (Artiste), and a camera (Artfully Sent).

I thought I was going to make my border Juniper colored before I changed my mind to Kraft. You can't let those extra Cricut cuts go to waste. My scissors looked so lonely there before I figured this out.

Artfully Sent may seem like it's just for cards but I use it for scrapbooking elements all the time. There are some VERY unique images there. If you have an Explore you can pick and choose just parts of a cut that you want to use. This camera was part of a card but I isolated it to cut only the camera. Because what's scrapbooking without a camera?

 I'm so happy when one page of a layout can stand alone. This page by itself has everything. Well, everything except that wonderful flower border!!

Thank you so much for stopping today. Please keep hopping to see what the Kreatively Klever Kim has created for you today. I can't wait to see it myself.

Unpacking My Suitcase and MORE!

I just came home from the most fantastic Artistic Adventure (Close To My Heart Convention) at the Happiest Place on Earth (Disneyland). It was easy to unpack my suitcase. There were projects we made that I wanted to see again and products we received. I also had gifts and some amazing team swap cards. Each thing I took out of the suitcase brought back a whole bunch of fun memories!!

Here is the card I made to swap with the rest of the Rose Blossoms (my CTMH team). 

As soon as I can take pictures I can't wait to show you what they all made for me!!

Unpacking my brain is going to be a lot more difficult. It's jammed with ideas and questions and answers and fun memories!! There's so much to do to pull it all out of there!! Stay tuned to this blog because you won't want to miss anything. Follow me on bloglovin' or by email or just right here through Google Blogspot.

Box Card Banquet

For several weeks I've been "threatening" to create a box card and then teach my customers how to make it. These adorable cards are all the rage.  My own version is FINALLY a reality. I can't wait to share this with anyone who wants to learn how.

If you want to come to the Pretty Pieces Cafe (my house) and make this card for yourself please check it out under "Banquet".

IN OTHER NEWS ...
This card alone is an awesome reason for you to consider signing up to be a Close To My Heart consultant. For the month of April you can get a FREE Close To My Heart exclusive Cricut Cartridge with the purchase of the $99 consultant kit. That's about $400 worth of product!! I used both the Art Philosophy AND the Artiste cartridge for all of the little inserts for this card.

If you want that FREE cartridge NOW ... sign up by clicking right here!!! You would become part of my Pretty Pieces team and I would love to have you.

Any questions? Contact me at shellynemitz@gmail.com

N is for Family

Welcome to the Everything ABC's Blog Hop! For this hop we will be featuring the letter N. This may be the name of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. Whatever the crafter has chosen as her N element will be featured in her post.

If you came from Linda Norman at Scrappy Therapy then you're on the right track! 
If you came from Celebrate Crafts then click HERE to jump to Scrappy Therapy.

N is for Family. Thankfully I'm not a first grade teacher because I'd have some pretty confused 7 year olds on my hands here. BUT N is for my family ... Nemitz. This layout is for made specifically for our ABC blog hop. I'm so happy to have a reason to go all out and try a few things I've been thinking about doing for awhile. AND I'm even more happy that I finally had an opportunity to play with some of my newest Close To My Heart toys and supplies.  This is my first stab at Artbooking (the newest Cricut cartridge from CTMH). It was a BIG learning experience because a girl REALLY has to pay attention to whether that "real dial size" button is lit up or not. I don't always like to pay attention. I just want to cut. SO ... I did a whole bunch of cutting because I didn't pay attention.

This sort of thing have been popping up all over.  This was created by yours truly using the Cricut Craft Room and the Artiste alphabet. In less than two weeks Artbooking will be available in CCR too. BUT I really couldn't wait for that!!

How do you like these little sneak peeks??? I learned that from a friend of mine. If she's reading this she'll be able to see that it's far more rewarding to see sneak peeks when you actually get to see the real thing shortly after the sneak peeks.

It's soooooo hard to throw letters away that come out of negative cuts. BUT truthfully I know that it's very unlikely that I'll ever need my last name cut out this size in this color ever again. REALLY ... pretty much NEVER again. I saved one set right here. It ended up creating a little visual triangle. That's one of those "rules" that I try to follow regularly.

Check out these Artbooking frames. I've never owned a polaroid camera. Now that doesn't matter any more. To spruce them up I used this amazing technique to add color. It's called put the frame down on a piece of paper that can get inky and then drag the ink pad across as straight as possible. You might just be learning that technique right now. That's because I made it up. I am NOT afraid to try anything. I did one test of this that really didn't work like I thought it would. Then I went ahead and did it anyway. Ink and cardstock. They're like warm chocolate chip cookies and milk. They go best together. Even though each can be used alone there's just something about the combination.

If you're wondering about the little aqua dot. It's a new product available on August 1st. When you call me to order it just say you want some Aqua Dots ... because that's exactly what they're called in the Idea Book!!

OK ... I think you've seen enough of the pieces. Here is the whole layout. It's colorful because so are we.

Here are the pages alone.

The large frame is cut using Artbooking. I chose it because I love my family EVERY day. I love them especially on the days that don't seem like much.  If you're one of my Mission Possible customers you might just see that frame again in a layout I'll be creating with this exact paper pack. 

Look at my precious kids!! Well, actually they're mostly adults now. These photos are about 2 years old. I wanted to pick a few pictures where they weren't trying to "smile for the camera".  They smile a lot, but this is just their regular old every day face. In case you're worried that I'm wasting a bunch of space on this page ... don't. I have plans to write sweet things about them that I just don't you to see it.

Here's my family just a few days ago having dinner. It's so much fun to have my college boys home in the summer. I look forward to printing this up and getting it in a scrapbook some day. This is one of my favorite parts of our life ... sharing a meal together. Are you taking pictures of things that don't seem like they have that WOW factor? Trust me when I tell you that these kind of little things turn out to be the big things when time passes.

Your next stop on our Everything ABC'S blog Hop is Theodora at Celebrate Crafts 

There are just three of us in this hop so you probably won't get lost. BUT in case you want to jump around ...

Linda Norman - Scrappy Therapy

 Shelly Nemitz - Just One Piece

 Theodora~ celebratecrafts.com

Mojo Monday 301

It's hard to say exactly why, but I've only used the Mojo Monday sketch once before (check it out --> HERE). It could be because Monday is my laundry day. It could be that a bajillion people make amazing things with the sketch. They intimidate me!! It could be a long list of reasons. (BUT I think I nailed it with that intimidation thing!!)

This week I have placed myself in a bit of a pickle (or a jam depending on what you're hungry for) so I'm getting inspired everywhere I can. It's amazing what a sketch can do to get you going when you need a push!! Here's the sketch thanks to Mojo Monday. AND below is my loose interpretation. I actually didn't study the sketch very well (ooooooops). In any case it inspired me and I really like the end result.

For my sparkle loving friends I stepped out into the glaring sun light to take a photo so that you can see the glimmer trim in action!! Thank you for stopping by to take a look.

Kit Samples Finished!!

If you've been following along for a few days, you know that I'm in the process of putting together two kits for sale.  Most of the time I'm very reliable when it comes to keeping a secret. BUT when I have something special for someone ... it's sooooooooo hard not to tell.  Now you know it all!! I hope you love it as much as I do.

This card tells it all ... the whole secret. You'll be able to purchase a kit containing the last three cards I've posted, starting on December 10th and lasting until the 17th. I'm so excited to be finished and ready for everyone who wants to participate.

Something NEW is around the corner

In just a few days I'll be announcing something new for 2013. I promised my customers that I'd launch it in an email on December 10th. BUT now that there's a layout to show ... I just can't wait.

I'm excited to present this "love never melts" layout, which will be available as part of a kit in just a few days. This is the first of two layouts that I'll be offering together in January. You'll be able to purchase the kit and assemble it at your leisure OR come to my house and assemble it with a group in January.

Isn't this just the perfect winter phrase ... "love never melts"? I live in Minnesota, which is a cold and snowy place. Snow is here for awhile, but love lasts all year long! 

For a lot of  people, winter is just another kind of fun. People of every age still go outside and play in the snow.  Even if you don't get out and build a snowman this is a great Valentine layout too.

MIFYH Family Love

The blank space is for my journalling. It's private and sentimental so I wrote after this photo.

Are your kids back in school yet? We have a whole weekend left, but some of that time will be spent moving boys back to college. <Sigh>

I adore my family. Even when they aren't around it's so rewarding to pick up a scissors and make a scrapbook layout about something fun we've done together. Paper makes it all possible : )

This layout was made using the new Make It From Your Heart book that I featured a couple of weeks ago. Click on the Upcoming Events tab to see how you can make some great layouts like this too.

Gettin' Sketchy with Color Dare #12

I like to participate in the Color Dare at Color My Heart. Every week I say that I'm stretched by having an "assignment".  I like to tackle the challenge. This week the dare was ... Blush, Hollyhock, & Olive.  It's the first time I've ever figured that no matter what I made it would be delightful. These colors just "work". The only trouble I ran into is finding a large enough piece of patterned blush paper. Paper projects are all about the paper for me, so I like to start with the paper (in the right color) and then move forward from there.  

Since I didn't have all of the paper in all of the right sizes I made my own. I cut angled strips and adhered them to cardstock to make the "patterned" paper you see here. I took close ups so you could see. If you don't save every scrap no matter how small, you'll never the joy of making just one piece of paper stretch to it's utter limit. AND if you don't save every scrap you may be a little bit less crazy than I am. Once again I reinforced my own silly habit.  You never know what you'll need : )

Then I moved on to making the actual cards using several different sketches. Sketches just make the card making world a better place, in my opinion. I love Operation Write Home. This is my second stab at Retro Sketches and This is the first time I've ever tried Mojo Monday and my second stab at Retro Sketches. I really can't pick a favorite. Can you??

Everything I used on these cards is Close To My Heart except for the cheater lace. I had to break into this amazing deal I got at Pick Your Plum. I've been getting the BEST stuff there lately and it's piling up!! Every day they have something new to share at REALLY great prices. I have no idea what it will be on the day you're looking here. You'll have to go see for yourself.

Anything is Possible

Now that I'm back from the Close To My Heart convention, I'm cutting and gluing again.

OK ... I wasn't physically at the convention but my heart was there!!  It was actually fun to stay home and watch the updates roll in with my CTMH Facebook friends. 

Of course, that's called "making the most of things".  Even when the BEST isn't happening we should always be looking for something spectacular.  They say "bloom where you are planted". TRUE.

  I like to bloom AND grow. This week I tried a color combination that would have been easy for me to reject. It didn't really inspire me at first, but I pressed through and I love the results. What do you think?

A better way to state this sentiment is  ...  Luke 1:37   For nothing is impossible with God.

It's so exciting to see all that you can do with paper, but nothing comes close to actually doing it!!  I turned to my favorite new form of inspiration ... challenge blogs. I'm REALLY into using scraps these days so this sketch from Operation Write Home was perfect. In order to step outside of my box I tried a color challenge too. There are so many, but the one at CR84FN58 caught my eye. NOT because it was my favorite colors, but it really was waaaaaaay outside of my color box.

Thank You Mom

FIRST ... a special shout out goes to my mom. Her garden(s) are truly tremendous ... every single day. These pictures made the color dare I'm about to describe come together.

Color Dare #7 from Color My Heart is the most daring so far ... well, in my opinion.

My lifetime favorite color is green. I really can't remember when it wasn't. The two colors I dislike the most in the whole color wheel are orange and purple. When the challenge was to use all three secondary colors I considered passing. BUT I was the winner of Color Dare #5 ... Rainbow.  I was asked to create a sample for this particular challenge. Who would say no to such an honor??

Here's my sample. (AND I actually love it - don't tell)

This is an all card stock layout using Close To My Heart's Topiary, Goldrush, Sunset & Petal. I also used Sunset ink. I'm so thankful for my CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. There are soooooooo many flower options. In this case I cut one large circle of flowers at 11.5 inches. (for those with the cartridge it's <square5> shift with the Font Layer key selected) I sliced it up into the three different parts you see here.  The rest of the flowers are cut from scraps in a rather random method. (that's how I roll ... random) The edges are sponged with Sunset ink. AND of course there was a bling attack going on as well.

One thing that made me very happy was the letters. I didn't leave much room for a title (which is one of the troubles with "random" versus purposeful). Thankfully I found felt letter just the right size ... but not the right color. Sponge dauber to the rescue again. This required a little junior high art training. When I tried orange ink on pink letters it actually just made darker pink. WHY?  There's red in pink. So I got out my Sunflower (yellow) ink and TA DA!!

Red(pink) + Yellow = Orange


The same thing worked with the bling. It's impossible to see in the photos, but I inked the bling in both purple and orange. It's subtle, but it sticks with the entire theme. Three years ago (before I met CTMH) I thought ink came in 5 colors ... black, brown, red, green, & blue.  hahahahahaha!!!  Since I have almost 60 CTMH colors now I'm entertained by my ignorance. What did I do before? Now I have power to color match almost anything.


Here are some close up shots of the two pages separately ...

Keep It Simple

Sympathy cards don't seem to be anyone's favorite kind of card to make. BUT you rarely know when you'll need one so it's good to have a few on hand. When it comes to design I have finally figured out that I need to relax. I always want the card to be perfect in every single way. The truth is that the recipient of this kind of card probably won't even notice what the outside looks like. Your note on the inside is what matters. Actually the fact that you even took the time to send a card might matter even more than your words.

There are no perfect words to send to someone who is dealing with loss. Try googling "what to say to someone who is grieving" OR "what not to say ... ". It's a good way to know how to start a note to a friend or loved one experiencing deep sadness. Sometimes the perfect card starts with a sweet sentiment. I love my Card Chatter - Sympathy stamp set. There's a whole range of sayings for both the inside and the outside of the card. It's a good start to encouraging someone in a difficult situation.

The worst thing you can do at such a time is ... nothing. So, put together some simple cards and make sure to take the effort of acknowledging someone's loss. The act alone makes the card perfect.