Yippee! I KNOW I have not been my usual scrappy self the last few months. Well, that’s what it seems like by the looks of my blog! Ha HAA! Not true. I have been more creative than ever. I have also been sharing Close To My Heart more than ever.

The last week or so, I have been creating projects for the chance to be an instructor at Extravaganza during the CTMH Convention in July! Since the deadline was March 1st, I thought I would post a couple of the projects I entered.

This invitation is the card I entered. I just love mixing the different fun colors of quality CTMH cardstock. I used cardstock in the new Pear (X5764), Crystal Blue (1292), Blush (X5460), and my fave Hollyhock (1246)! This card has almost all of my favorite things: a variety of stamps,both old and new, banners, buttons and ribbon, pearls, sewing, and ordinary household goods made mini like these adorable clothes pins I found! LOVE IT!

It is probably hard to believe this little birdie started out as a 1 1/2″ by 1 1/2″ square! I used the corner rounder (Z578) to round each corner, then cut the top and bottom with my scissors to make a sweet, fat birdie! Then I just cut some feathers like long tear drops stamped the bird with matching dot background stamp and shaded with a sponge (Z697), and then glued birdie all together. Of course, I draw some little legs in pencil and stitched them with embroidery floss. The stamps I used are Friendship Alphabet Small (C1401), Over the Rainbow (D1426) and the new Pennant Alphabet (E1018).

I just love adding texture to my products and accessories and techniques are the best way to make my projects fabulous! The assessories I used on this card are some of my very favorite. My first favorite accessory is the designer pink ribbons collection (Z1384). Ribbons are a staple for most of my projects, along with some sewing. I also love adding pretty buttons of all sizes and colors to my projects. I like buttons, because they can be glittered, sanded, inked, and drawn on to acheive many different looks. You can string them with floss, waxy flax, or even hemp depending on the look you’d like to accessorise your projects. Another of my favorites is bling! Sparkles and in this case, pearls put the finishing touches on many of my products! Bling comes in so many colors, sizes, and shapes making them perfect accessories!

What are your favorite accessories?What techniques do you use to make your projects fabulous? Cross your fingers for me and wish me luck on my application for Extravaganza!!