Celebrate with Me Today!

 

Visit my Facebook Page this afternoon & evening to celebrate with me at my Autumn/Winter Open House Celebration. I’ll be doing some giveaways and shopping freebies throughout the day & evening. Everyone is welcome!

Click here to join the party!

CTMH July 2012 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!!!

Welcome to the Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

This month we are featuring the July SOTM from the 2012 Spring/Summer Idea Book, which is S1207 Live Out Loud…a set of 8 My Acrylix Stamps! 

Click Here is view the Stamp of the Month images. 

If you have come here from Susan Brook’s blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.

This month we have over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. To join in the fun just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

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Alright, I had to break my streak of creating layouts this month because I am neck deep in preparing for my Extravaganza class for the Close To My Heart Convention which begins July 12th! I hope you will enjoy this little project I pulled together. I came up with this treat bag idea using our Kraft Die-Cut Cards last August. You can find detailed instructions on making it HERE.

Here is a side view. You can insert a special treat into a 6” x 6” clear bag and slip inside for that special someone.

I used CTMH’s Footloose Paper Packet and my handy dandy CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge to create this fun treat bag.

I think my Stampers from the Heart Team enjoyed making this today at our Convention Preparation Meeting…

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To purchase your July Stamp of the Month (only available July 1-31, 2012) and other CTMH products like our beautiful My Acrylix Stamps & Cricut Art Philosophy Collection…

Visit My Website to shop now!

or click here to contact me to place your order.

Well, that’s it for now…I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Now "Hop" on over to Mary Eisen's blog to see her fabulous works of art! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas using this month’s stamp of the month!

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

CTMH June 2012 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!!!

Welcome to the Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

This month we are featuring the June SOTM from the 2012 Spring/Summer Idea Book, which is S1206 Life Is Tweet…a set of 15 My Acrylix Stamps! 

Click Here is view the Stamp of the Month images.

If you have come here from Traci Godbee’s blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.

This month we have over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. To join in the fun just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

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This month’s Stamp of the Month was really fun to play with, especially while making this scrapbook page! I signed up for a great class called Got Sketch Express 3 and this is the 2nd sketch that was shared in the class.

It’s pretty unusual for me to make only one scrapbook page, but I’ve been trying to do more of them. There are A LOT of sketches out there that are only one page and they are fabulous, so I might as well take advantage of them. I don’t always have enough pictures for a two-page scrapbook layout, so this is nice occasionally.

I used CTMH’s Footloose Paper Packet which is perfect for beach & pool photos, but as you can see, it’s not limited to that! I just love the colors in this kit…Lagoon, Sweet Leaf, Crème Brulee & Bamboo…with a hint of Smoothie.

I also used CTMH’s Paradise Assortment Baker’s Twine which coordinates perfectly with this paper packet!

For the sketch, I used my Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge on the scalloped circle, circle, banners, pennant, journaling shape & the flower shape for the stamped ‘life is tweet’ flower.

Did you know that many of our My Acrylix Stamps have coordinating shapes that you can cut with the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge? No more cutting around all those funky shapes…just push a button on your Cricut and viola! Love it!!!

Speaking of My Acrylix Stamps…you can buy 2 My Acrylix Stamp Sets & get 1 FREE in June! Check out the details HERE beginning June 1st.

To purchase your June Stamp of the Month (only available June 1-30, 2012) and other CTMH products like our beautiful My Acrylix Stamps & Cricut Art Philosophy Collection…

Visit My Website to shop now!

or click here to contact me to place your order.

Well, that’s it for now…I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Now "Hop" on over to Tamra Pope's blog to see her fabulous works of art! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas using this month’s stamp of the month!

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

May 2012 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!!!

Welcome to the Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

This month we are featuring the May SOTM from the NEW 2012 Spring/Summer Idea Book, which is S1205 Friendship Bouquet…a set of 8 My Acrylix Stamps! 

If you have come here from Doreen Guilfoyle’s blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.

This month we have almost 60 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. To join in the fun just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

***

I met my challenge of creating another scrapbook layout for the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! I didn’t manage to get pictures on the layout yet because I’m planning to take pictures with my very dear friend and Pastor’s wife, Lori this upcoming Sunday. They have decided to retire and move back to their hometown to take care of elderly parents, so we will be hosting a farewell gathering & luncheon for them on Sunday. So, hopefully I’ll be able to share my layout with pictures, next week. Until then, here it is…

I had some fun incorporating the National Scrapbook Month special paper packet, Dotty for You, into this layout. The colors in the paper that I highlighted are Buttercup, Smoothie, Sunset & Sweet Leaf. I brought in a little hint of Chocolate as well.

I found this sweet poem, My Treasured Friend, that complimented the sentiments in the Stamp of the Month set and printed it directly onto the Sweet Leaf cardstock.

I took a very simple approach to coloring the sunflowers. I used sponge daubers and ink to color. All you have to do is gently swirl the inked sponge dauber onto the stamped image and add more color where needed to add depth…FSE {which stand for Faster, Simpler, Easier}!

Using the Cricut Craft Room, I was able to weld some shapes together from the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge together to create the shape of the Sweet Leaf cardstock and the Colonial White cardstock shape on the right page.

I used the My Acrylix Urban Alphabet for the ‘SISTERS’ title. After I took the photo, I added right below it, ‘in Christ’. Once I have my pictures, I will add them to the layout along with a few leaves for the sunflowers on the right page and share them with you.

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That’s it for now…I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Now "Hop" on over to Wendy Coffman's blog to see her fabulous works of art! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas using this month’s stamp of the month!

To purchase your May Stamp of the Month (only available May 1-31, 2012) and other CTMH products like the Dotty for You National Scrapbook Month Special & Cricut Art Philosophy Collection…

Visit My Website to shop now!

or click here to contact me to place your order.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

CTMH Dotty for You Meets Up with Mojo Monday 237

I came across an inspiring card sketch some time last week on Debbie Carriere’s blog and knew it would work wonderfully with the CTMH Dotty for You Paper Packet! It took me some time to get the right combination, but I knew I wanted to use the Lagoon & Sweet Leaf Flourishes B&T Duo from the paper packet. With inspiration from Debbie’s sample, this is what I came up with…

Using the Cricut Craft Room and my handy-dandy Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge, I welded together two <Square5> + Font + Shift shapes for the zig zag border. I believe I used 1/2” width of Chocolate cardstock which made the length once welded together almost 6”. I trimmed the length down to 5-1/4” to accommodate my 5-1/2” width card. I also cut the polka dot banner shapes & the title using my AP Cartridge.

I created the yo-yo’s behind the paper flowers with 1/2” White Daisy cardstock strips and scoring at 1/4” increments using my Euro Personal Paper Trimmer and a Bone Folder. To finish the yo-yo’s off, I added some brown Mocha Opaque Adhesive Gems to the center of each.

The ‘You Are Beautiful’ sentiment was stamped in Lagoon using CTMH’s My Acrylix Card Word Puzzle stamp set.

Here is the Mojo Monday #237 Sketch I used…

I hope you enjoyed my inspiration today and may you have an inspiring day yourself!

April 2012 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!!!

Welcome to the Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

This month we are featuring the April SOTM from the NEW 2012 Spring/Summer Idea Book, which is S1204 You Are…, a set of 15 My Acrylix Stamps! 

 

If you have come here from Tamytha Jenkins' blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.

This month we have over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. To join in the fun just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

***

I’m sharing ANOTHER scrapbook layout this month! I think I’ve decided to challenge myself the rest of this year to create scrapbook layouts for each Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. Gives me an incentive to get more scrappin’ done!

I’m also sharing a sneak peek from CTMH’s National Scrapbook Month promotion, which begins April 17th! Here goes…

I absolutely LOVE the colors in this new paper packet! I used three of the colors, Sweet Leaf, Sunset & Lagoon along with Crème Brulee & Chocolate.

The paper packet is called ‘Dotty for You’, thus the dotted paper. On the reverse side of each dotted paper are fabulous patterns such as plaids, butterflies, circles, stamped images & more. I can’t wait to share more with  you in the next couple of weeks!

Here are a few close-ups of the page elements…

You see I used some of our yummy baker’s twine…which just so happens to have THREE of the colors in the ‘Dotty for You’ kit, so it works perfectly.

I created the banner with the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge & My Acrylix Pennant Alphabet

I used the April Stamp of the Month ‘You Are…’ with Chocolate ink for the title and some accent borders.

Here’s a photo of a photo of a cupcake pick I made using the April Stamp of the Month too.

I love using little banner strips of different sizes right now to add accents where needed. I hear banners are a really ‘HOT’ trend right now…along with more of that yummy baker’s twine!

***

That’s it for now…I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Now "Hop" on over to Sheila Bennett's blog to see her fabulous works of art! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas using this month’s stamp of the month!

To purchase your April Stamp of the Month (only available Apr 1-30, 2012) and other CTMH products like the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection…

Visit My Website to shop now!

or click here to contact me to place your order.

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed day,

$387 in CTMH Products for ONLY $99…Offer Ends 3/31!!!

You do not want to miss out on this fabulous deal!

FREE Cricut Art Philosophy Collection

Generous Discounts on Future Purchases

Bonus Rewards Based on Performance

Hobbyists & Business Starters Welcome

Click Here for more information

Only FIVE Days Left to Get Your Hands on FREE CTMH Products!!!

 

Now is a great time to join Close To My Heart because when you sign up as a new Consultant between March 1–31, you’ll receive a FREE Cricut^® Art Philosophy collection! The collection’s retail price of $99 adds incredible value to your New Consultant Kit and will give you hours of creative fun with the included exclusive Cricut^® cartridge, three coordinating My Acrylix^® D-size stamp sets, and three sheets of matching Dimensional Elements shapes.

Already own the collection? You can always give your free one as a gift or choose to receive $100 in select product credit** instead.

Contact me about how to embrace the philosophy of fun OR get started right away and enroll now!

*Offer available March 1—31, 2012. No additional tax is charged on the Cricut^® collection when ordered during enrollment.

**Additional requirements and limitations regarding the redemption and shipping of Select Product Credit apply. Select Product Credit is added to new Consultant account following approval of enrollment.

Simple Saturday Project & Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!

Wishing you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day with a simple Saturday project…

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.

~Irish Blessing

I created this little ditty using the <Flower8> shape from the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge. I cut off one of the petals to turn it into a shamrock!

I used the oh so sweet CTMH 12” x 12” Lucy Paper Packet and the My Acrylix Urban Alphabet to stamp ‘LUCKY’.

I hope you have had a wonderful day and may you be blessed this next week!

4 Things We Love About You–CTMH Superhero Layout

They don’t call it an ‘Idea Book’ for no reason! I love ‘scraplifting’ ideas from the Close To My Heart Idea Books…even right down to the last brad!

This scrapbook layout is featured on page 48 of the Close To My Heart Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book. Click here to see the original layout.

The pictures I got of my darling nephew at his birthday party this past Saturday were absolutely perfect for this layout…probably because his momma is now a Close To My Heart consultant and she ran with the ‘Superhero’ theme so she could coordinate all the goodies. =)

I used CTMH’s Reflections Scrapbook Program {FYI - retiring item and available only while supplies last} for the layout design…which gave me the dimensions of the paper to cut. I had to guess on the sizes of stars to cut, so I cut a 5” star, two 3” stars & two 2” stars using the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge.

The photos are cut at 3” x 3” & 3-1/2” x 5”.

I also used the Superhero Complements Rub-Ons, which are so stinkin’ cool! I rubbed them onto white cardstock and cut them out to make them more sturdy.

To duplicate this layout, here is a list of products that I used…

X7152 Superhero Paper Packet, X7152C Superhero Complements Rub-Ons, E1022 My Acrylix Hero Alphabet Stamp Set, Z2134 Moonstruck Stamp Pad, Z2105 Black Stamp Pad, StazOn Stamp Pad, Z1393 Black Mini-Medley Accents, Z1327 Blue & Green Sparkles Assortment, Z1326 Pink & Red Sparkles Assortment, Z1294 Sanding Kit, 4275 My Legacy Writers & Z1686 Cricut Art Philosophy Collection

If you would like to duplicate this layout, you can purchase the above products listed on my website HERE or just click on the items above and add them to your shopping cart.

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Don’t forget, during the month of March 2012, you can get a FREE Cricut Art Philosophy Collection when you decide to sign up to be a Close To My Heart Consultant! You to can design your next party around one of our fabulous kits! =) For more information, you can contact me or to sign up today, click here.

Well, that’s it for now. Make it a great day…with CTMH!

We’re in this Together…CTMH Pemberley Meets Up with Deconstructed Sketch #41

Ahhhh…I really needed to create something today! It’s been quite a stressful week around here and I’m so thankful it’s now Spring Break and things are quieting down some so that I can spend some quality time with my kids…and get a little crafting done.

I came across a great sketch early last week and had really hoped to get this card finished before the next sketch went up, but it didn’t quite happen…all for good reason I’m sure.

I chose to keep working with CTMH’s Pemberley Kit and the March Stamp of the Month for this card and I’m fairly pleased with how it turned out. I need {want} to find a tutorial on creating some different kinds of bows, especially since we now have this fabulous Color-Ready Seam Binding Ribbon! I chose to leave it white, but played around a little on my own to come up with the bow you see.

The card size is 6” square and I used…you guessed it…the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge to create the zig zag circle and border using Indian Corn Blue cardstock. All the paper used is from the Pemberley Kit.

Here is the sketch from the Deconstructed Jen blog that I used…

As a friendly reminder, you can get the March Stamp of the Month this month only for just $5 with a $50 CTMH product purchase.

Click here to start shopping now.

Well, that’s it until next time. I hope you have a wonderful week and God bless!