A God’s Gift

Welcome to June! WOW… can you believe that Summer is getting closer? Well… here we actually already have our “Summer” weather. SO LOVE IT! My husband and I have planned for our Anniversary + Family Vacation later this month. We are just so thankful for God’s blessings in our life and enable us to have our first family vacation, real vacation just us and the girls! That is one of the activities we have in our Summer bucket list. What about you? What’s your Summer bucket list?

This new month, we also have fun new challenges at Scrapping Everyday Miracles:

Main Theme Challenge: you can create any projects with the main theme challenge “Each New Day Is A Gift.” Or you also can use the inspiration verse from James 1:7, “Every good and perfect gift is come from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Layout Sketch Challenge:

 

Card Sketch Challenge:

 

I made this necklace using CTMH Base & Bling Wearable Crafts collections (only $15 for the whole necklace supplies). This is a reminder for me that every day is a gift from God because He will fulfill His purposes in my life because He is my God who endures forever. Knowing God’s promise in our lives is a gift, forever gift!

DIY Gift for A Friend - CTMH Base and Bling Wearable by Helen Gullett #diy #necklace #closetomyheart #ctmh

And here’s my take on the Card Sketch Challenge. I used Create Paper Pad and the stamp set is from CTMH Ivy Lane Cardmaking Workshop Kit (D1586) and I wrapped with the hemp cord I got from a store a while ago. I made this card for a friend… she is one of God’s gifts in my life.

SEM June Card Sketch Challenge - Life Is Better With Friends by Helen Gullett #closetomyheart #ctmh #cardmaking #handmadecard

You can link up your projects as many time as you want as long as they are following our challenge rules and themes. There are goodies to win!

Stretching Your Embossing Folder and Stamp: DIY Paper Flower

We had a wonderful long Memorial Day. My husband cook out tasty food for 3 days! He is the best cook ever 😀 We also went driving on our Jeep at State Park close to us and love the wonderful days we had.  Just love warmer days!!

I have been playing a lot with my new embossing machine. Last weekend, I gathered all the courage I had to stretch the use of embossing folders with stamping. So… here’s what I did: stamped and embossed 3D paper flower. Check out these 2 embossed paper flowers I used them on 2 shaker cards I made for my friends:

DIY Shaker Card & Paper Embossed Flowers by Helen Gullett | http://helengullett.com/?p=4789 #diy #handmadecards #closetomyheart #ctmh #wermemorykeepers

I used this simple shaker card tutorial to make this cards. The sentiments I used are from The Happy Couple stamp set and Joyful Birthday stamp set. I stamped them with Black Pigment Ink Pad. First card, I stamped the anniversary sentiment on a piece of velum, added some glitter embossing powder, and heated it with my craft heater. The second card, I stamped the birthday sentiment on the base card, centered the position that would show in the frame. I got the metallic multicolor sequins and beads at Walmart only 🙂

I love those flowers on the cards, and I thought they would make my scrapbook layouts pretty, too… so I made more of them with different colors and pattern. And I took some pictures how to make them:

DIY Shaker Card & Paper Embossed Flowers by Helen Gullett | http://helengullett.com/?p=4789 #diy #handmadecards #closetomyheart #ctmh #wermemorykeepers

  1. First stamp the petals from Hello Bloom stamp set on a piece of White Daisy Cardstock. I used Sorbet, Juniper and Pear Exclusive Inks Stamp Pads.
  2. Run it through embossing machine. For these flowers, I used Chevron Embossing Folder and WRMK Evolution Advance machine.
  3. Then cut them and curl each petal gently using Quilling tool.
  4. Use Liquid Glass to put them together. You only need a small dot in the middle of each petal.
  5. Made a little bow with Baker’s Twine Neutral Metallic, Cashmere. And add it in the middle of the flower using Liquid Glass.
  6. Then add button (or gems) to finis the flower.

DIY Shaker Card & Paper Embossed Flowers by Helen Gullett | http://helengullett.com/?p=4789 #diy #handmadecards #closetomyheart #ctmh #wermemorykeepers

I hope you enjoy today’s cards and tutorial! Don’t forget you still have 5 more days to get the sweet deal of Scrapbooking Month and my 1st Anniversary Party with Close To My Heart.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fun crafting day!

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I link up at:

Inspire Me Monday Week #125

Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop #77
The-Casual-Craftlete

Creative Spark Link Up Week #3

My Favorite Things Link Up Week #15

Congratulations, Graduate!

This month is special for a High School Graduate I know from our church! What an achievement in his life and now he is moving forward to Collage. To celebrate this graduation week, I created couple cards and this is one of them:

Congratulations Graduate! | http://helengullett.com/?p=4730 #handmadecard #diy #cardmaking #closetomyheart #ctmh

I cut Black Cardstock (1386) to make 4.25″x5.5″ base card. Then I cut a piece of 4″x5.25″ of White Cardstock (1385) to emboss it using Quatrefoil Embossing Folder (Z1926) with my new WRMK Evolution Advanced embossing machine (also for diecutting and letterpressing!), a surprise gift from my amazing husband! CTMH has 5 kind of embossing folders: Dot, Chevron, Quatrefoil, Damask and Stripe. Check them out here. I added the embossed cardstock on the card base using Tombow Adhesive (1514).

For make the hat, I cut 2″x2″ Black Glitter Paper (Z1829) and I punched hole using WRMK Crop-A-Dile. I made the tassel following this tutorial, easy and simple. Then I added the tassel on the hat and fasten it with yellow brad I got from Michaels a while back. I used Mini Glue Dots (Z341) to hold the tassel at the back and front hat.

Next, I cut the stripe banner shape from one of the pattern papers from Skylark Paper Packet (Z7177B) and I cut arrow out of the border. I added the Lagoon stripe banner on the card using Glue Dots (1772) to give a little bit dimension. I cut a piece of 3/4″ x 2.5″ from the quatrefoil pattern paper and stamped it with the sentiment from Banner Wishes (B1438) using Black Exclusive Inks Mini Pigment Pad (Z2503). While the ink still wet, I added some glitter embossing powder I got from AC Moore and then I heated it up with my craft heater (retired). Check out the pop-up and glittered sentiment! I have been having fun playing with pigment inks and glitter embossing powder 🙂 Then I added this stamped banner on top of the Lagoon stripe banner using Glue Dots (1772). The arrow small border I added using 3D Foam Tape (Z1151) to give more dimension looking.

Last step I added the hat using 3D Foam Tape (Z1151) on top of the banners, overlapping them a bit and finished the card with some Aqua Dots (Z1853).

Congratulations Graduate! | http://helengullett.com/?p=4730 #handmadecard #diy #cardmaking #closetomyheart #ctmh

You still have time to join CTMH National Scrapbooking Month and my 1st Anniversary Party until May, 31st, 2014! You only need to put an order of $50 or more and you will qualify to get:

  • Free To be Me Paper Collection for only $5 (retail value $11.95)
  • Stamp of the Month for only $5 (retail value $17.97)
  • An entry to win a special prize value $20 from me (choose randomly with Random.org)

Visit my store today!

National Scrapbooking Month: Free To Be Me Paper Collections 

National Scrapbooking Month 2014. Get Free To Be Me Paper Collection for only $5 and Stamp of The Month for only $5 with your qualifying order $50 from May 1-31, 2014! Visit www.creatingjoyfully.ctmh.com

When you buy this kit, I will send you a FREE Workshop Guide to create these beautiful projects:

ctmh-free-to-be-me-workshop-cards-1

Free To Be Me Paper Collection - www.creatingjoyfully.ctmh.com

Stamp of the Month: May 2014, You’ve Got A Friend

National Scrapbooking Month 2014. Get Free To Be Me Paper Collection for only $5 and Stamp of The Month for only $5 with your qualifying order $50 from May 1-31, 2014! Visit www.creatingjoyfully.ctmh.com

ctmh-S1405-sotm-0514-a

Rediscover CTMH: Free Printable Download May 2014

ctmh-rediscover-0514-a

THANK YOU so much for stopping by today and have a fun crafty day!

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I link up these cards at

Inspire Me Monday Week 124

Creative Spark Link Party #2

creative-spark-link-party

Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop #76

The-Casual-Craftlete

Some Mother’s Day Cards

I hope you all had fabulous Mother’s Day last week! I had a very special Mother’s Day this year. An Indonesian church in Columbus, OH, invited us and asked me to share God’s word with them on Saturday and Sunday of Mother’s Day. I am blessed beyond measure! We all felt His presence with us, blessing us with His love, grace, promises and power.

mothersday-2014-ibc-oh

Moms, God is love and He loves us unconditionally! By His grace and love, He enables me to be the mom to my daughters and wife to my husband. I am thankful every single day I can be there for them, serve them and love them. They are the one who make me feel special every day!

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Couple weeks ago I made some cards to send out to some family and friends. Here are some of the cards I made using Close To My Heart products I have:

Mother's Day Cards by Helen G. | http://wp.me/p1wKGj-1kN #handmadecard #cardmaking #diy #closetomyheart #ctmh

Mother's Day Cards by Helen G. | http://wp.me/p1wKGj-1kN #handmadecard #cardmaking #diy #closetomyheart #ctmh

Mother's Day Cards by Helen G. | http://wp.me/p1wKGj-1kN #handmadecard #cardmaking #diy #closetomyheart #ctmh

Mother's Day Cards by Helen G. | http://wp.me/p1wKGj-1kN #handmadecard #cardmaking #diy #closetomyheart #ctmh

Mother's Day Cards by Helen G. | http://wp.me/p1wKGj-1kN #handmadecard #cardmaking #diy #closetomyheart #ctmh

Mother's Day Cards by Helen G. | http://wp.me/p1wKGj-1kN #handmadecard #cardmaking #diy #closetomyheart #ctmh

Mother's Day Cards by Helen G. | http://wp.me/p1wKGj-1kN #handmadecard #cardmaking #diy #closetomyheart #ctmh

THANK YOU so much for stopping by today! Have a wonderful week!

Supply list:

White Daisy Cardstock (1385)

Dream Pop Paper Collection (retired)

Holiday Tags (D1560)

Remarkable Wreath (C1473)

A Mother’s Love (B1447, Hostess Reward Stamp Set, Spring/Summer Idea Book p.8)

Exclusive Inks Stamp Pads: Cotton Candy, Pear, Topiary, Gypsy, Smoothie, Hollyhock, Blush, Black, Dessert Sand

Exclusive Inks Markers: Pear

Sparkles Clear Assortment (Z1752)

Durable Triangle Studs (Z1928)

Pearl Assortment (retired)

Tombow Adhesive (1514)

3D Foam Tape (Z1151)

Scallop Border Punch (Z1851)

Corner Rounder (Z1912)

Hot Pink & Pink Baker’s Twine (Pick Your Plum)

Wink Of Stella Clear Glitter Brush (Amazon)

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I link up these cards at

Inspire Me Monday Week 124

Creative Spark Link Party #2

creative-spark-link-party

Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop #76

The-Casual-Craftlete

100th Mother’s Day Anniversary and DIY Gift Ideas

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Do you know that this year is the 100th Mother’s Day Anniversary? Here’s what I found about Mother’s Day on Wikipedia:

The modern American holiday of Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. Her campaign to make “Mother’s Day” a recognized holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her beloved mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Anna’s mission was to honor her own mother by continuing work she had started and to set aside a day to honor mothers, “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world.” Anna’s mother, Ann Jarvis, was a peace activist who had cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues.

Due to the campaign efforts of Anna Jarvis, several states officially recognized Mother’s Day, the first in 1910 being West Virginia, Jarvis’ home state. In 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation creating Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers. In a thank-you note to Wilson, Jarvis wrote of a “great Home Day of our country for sons and daughters to honor their mothers and fathers and homes in a way that will perpetuate family ties and give emphasis to true home life.” Jarvis became critical, however, of the commercialization of the day.

To celebrate this special day this year, we didn’t buy any gifts for my husband’s mom and grandma, we made them. Here’s what we made for them:

Sunflower Topiary

Celebrating 100th Mother's Day Anniversary & DIY Gifts| http://helengullett.com/?p=4705 #diy #silhouetteamerica #silhouettecameo #papercrafting #giftideas #mothersday #silhouettechallenges

I used my Silhouette Cameo to create this sunflower topiary gift. The cutting file I used is 3D Sunflower Round Topiary from Jamie Cripps collection. On Jamie’s blog, she has the tutorial how to put this topiary together. The papers I used is Dream Pop (retired), White Daisy and Topiary cardstock from Close To My Heart. For the green grass I cut gift bag wrapping paper I had in stash from Christmas 🙂

The second gift is 3D Paper Tulip with burlap wrapped bottle vase:

Celebrating 100th Mother's Day Anniversary & DIY Gifts| http://helengullett.com/?p=4705 #diy #silhouetteamerica #silhouettecameo #papercrafting #giftideas #mothersday #silhouettechallenges

For this one I used 3D Tulip from Lori Whitlock collection. I tell you, this is the easiest tulip flowers I ever made! All you need to make this flower are:

  • Silhouette Cameo, cutting file, cutting mat, and blade.
  • Cardstocks: White Daisy, Gypsy, Cotton Candy
  • Burlap
  • Glass bottle (I repurposed sweet tea glass bottle)
  • Gardening sticks (I found a pack at AC Moore). You also can use dowel or flower wire and wrap it with flower tape.
  • Glue Gun (or strong glue)

To make the tulips is very easy, cut the shapes, fold the pieces in half and glue them to it’s neighbor. Then insert the stick/dowel  and glue them with glue gun. I skip the leaves.

And for the vase, I wrapped the layers of burlaps using glue gun starting from the bottom and worked my way up to the top.

Hope you have the best Mother’s Day ever!!!