Hugs & Kisses {for my Readers!}

Today’s card is for YOU!!! That’s right, you! The extra time you take out of your day to visit this blog means the world to me! This week I surpassed 15,000 hits and that could not have happened without you. If you don’t run your own blog, you may not be aware of the “statistics” that you can view when it comes to your blog’s popularity and relevance in the online community. The statistics help me to know where you come from (big shout out to my Cricut Circle family!!) and how many of you look at each post.

Every time I get a comment on a project, I receive an email so I know it’s there – every comment warms my heart and reminds me why I do what I do, but most of all, why I share it online. I love knowing that my projects can provide inspiration for other crafters, and it absolutely never gets old when I see a project pinned on Pinterest from someone who has visited the blog, or repinned it from someone else.

I suppose I’ve gone on long enough, but in summary, THANK YOU for being a reader – whatever you are able to take from the blog, I appreciate your stopping by!

Onto the card!!!

Here’s another card using the unbelievable Artiste cartridge, a coordinating stamp, and Avonlea Paper. The coordinating stamp I’m using today is on one of the 3 sets that are included with {and are exclusive to} the Artiste Bundle. The pieces I cut for my card were the round speech bubble (I love that the size needed is right on the stamp carrier sheet, AND with Artiste, they’ve even included the page number from the handbook!), two x’s, and two o’s.

I wanted a little extra dimension, so after I stamped my image onto the speech bubble, I distressed all of my cuts with Chocolate Ink using a piece of sponge.

I tied a small piece of twine in a bow around my new striped chocolate ribbon and used it as an embellishment on my card. I found that if I’m working with twine, it’s easier to tie it on before it’s adhered to the project so that I can fiddle with it and twist it until I have it just right ;). I use clear tape to adhere each end of the ribbon to the back of the paper, making it look like it’s tied all the way around when it’s really not – here’s a look at that for anyone unclear of that “technique.”