November SOTM Blog Hop - New Year's Cheer

Welcome to the November SOTM Blog Hop, featuring New Year's Cheer, a set of 13 stamps. If you’ve come from Maureen's blog, you’re on the right path. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s blog. 

Along the hop, you'll see artwork from 29 talented consultants who can't wait to share their creativity with you using the cheerful stamps below!

I decided to use Peacock, White Daisy and Ruby for my color scheme. I added a few products I had left from other projects, like the ribbon, the overlay with the stars and the swirly silver glitter banner. Quick and easy!

Inside of Card

The following products were used (all current CTMH products):

• Peacock Cardstock, X5776
• Ruby Cardstock, X5927
• White Daisy Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2863
• Peacock Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2649
• Picture My Life Happy, Happy Christmas Overlays, Z4016
• Enchantment Ribbon Pack, Z3288
• City Sidewalks Complements, X7213C

Be sure to hop on over to Krista's blog to see her work! Remember, the November SOTM is only available until November 30!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

October SOTM Blog Hop - Yuletide Joy

Welcome to the October SOTM Blog Hop, featuring Yuletide Joy, a set of seven holiday themed stamps. You'll see artwork from 37 talented consultants who can't wait to spread some Yuletide Joy with you!

Thanks for hopping over from Donna Digby's blog.

How much do you love the color of the year, Sea Glass? I'm using it with everything, but am totally obsessed with the Sea Glass and gold color combo. Pair those up with our Oh Deer! paper and you have a winning combo!

Heat embossing is so fun and really details the intricacy of the star. I love adding a little bling to the inside of my card. It just gives it that extra special touch. CTMH's new Thin Cuts are so easy to use with my Cuttlebug and those stars are going to be on everything I create!

Products used (all CTMH):

• Oh Deer! Paper Pack, X7214B, $9.95
• Ranger Princess Gold, Z2066, $5.95
• VersaMark Ink Pad, Z891, $9.95
• Craft Heater, Z555, $34.95
• Gold Shimmer Trim, Z1985, $4.95
• Gold Assortment Sequins, Z2012, $2.95
• Gold Glitter Paper, Z3238, $5.95
• Cocoa Stamp Pad, Z2814, $7.95
• Stars Thin Cuts, Z3261, $14.95
• SOTM Yuletide Joy, S1610, $5
• Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge

Make sure you head over to Wendy Coffman's blog to see what she's come up with. Get your own Yuletide Joy stamp set for $5 with any qualifying $50 purchase. And, don't forget it's only available until October 31, 2016 from your Independent Consultant or here.

Create Kindness

Kindness changes everything. How powerful are those words? Until September 30, 2016, you can get this amazing card kit, filled with eight M-sized stamp sets with powerful and positive messages. 

Check out my two-minute video showing exactly what comes in this kit.

March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Sunshine Birdies

Welcome to the 2016 March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, featuring Sunshine Birdies. a set of 11 stamps. If you've come here from Jean McNulty's blog, you're on the right path. The hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and make your way around. If you get lost along the way, you'll find a complete list of participating consultants on Melinda's blog.

 

This month we have 39 participating consultants and I know you'll find tons of inspiration. Just click on the link at the end of the blog to go to the next post. It's simple!

I was really in the mood to create a simple, monochromatic card. I used Colonial White and Desert Sand and a piece of our Paper Fundamentals in Basic which I sponged to show the emboss resist on the paper.

I cut a small piece of Colonial White Cardstock and the Dot Embossing Folder to create some texture on the card. The scalloped circles were cut with our Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge.

Now, it's time to check out what the talented Traci Godbee has to show you! Be sure to visit all the Consultants' blogs to get some great crafting and other fun ideas! Remember, Sunshine Birdies SOTM is only available until March 31st!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Share the Love Blog Hop

Welcome to the Share the Love Blog Hop! Thanks for coming from Kirsten Jade's blog.

I have to start by saying how much I love Close To My Heart and the good work the company does. Not only do they provide the best products in the business, but they contribute so much to the world at large. This Share the Love promotion includes the swoon-worthy stamp set below with lovable sentiments and adorable icons. More importantly, $7 of each purchase of the Share the Love stamp set will go to Operation Smile, an amazing organization that provides surgeries to repair cleft lips and palates for children all over the world. That's a reason to make me smile!

Inspired by a card created by Sarah-Paige Gruber, I pulled out my CTMH embossing folders and my Cuttlebug to create the cute card below. 

Please leave me comment and "share the love" then head on over to Marie Flayer's blog to see her artwork. Lost? Click here for a complete list of all of the hoppers!

Stamping Techniques Blog Hop

Welcome to the CTMH Focus on Stamping Techniques Blog Hop. Thanks for coming from Catherine Nowak's blog.

We have 22 Independent Consultants participating in today's blog hop. I can't wait to hop through and learn a few new things myself! If you get lost along the way, you can find the entire blog hop list here.

Some people are trendsetters and others are late to the party. I'm showing you the Bokeh Effect today. In photography, it's the blurry photo quality that highlights out of focus points of light. If you're a trendsetter, you're going to say, "Oh, Michelle, bokeh is so last year!" But, I think it's a really unique stamping technique that's actually pretty easy to accomplish, but looks impressive.

To accomplish this effect, first emboss a sentiment on a card with a contrasting powder from the colors you want to ink. I used the Ranger White Super Fine embossing powder. Then, randomly sponge ink over the card (I used Peacock and Pomegranate). Next, cut out circles with using your Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge in various sizes (see below). Finally, dab White Daisy ink in circles over the card, layering some. 

I attached the card to another piece of White Daisy cardstock and that on a 5" x 7" Peacock cardstock card base. The final touch was adding a few silver sequins.

 Supplies used:

• Ranger White Super Fine Embossing Powder, Z2068, $5.95
• VersaMark Ink Pad Tsukineko, Z891, $9.95
• Craft Heater, Z555, $34.95
• All Purpose Mat, Z2045, $19.95
• White Daisy Cardstock, 1385, $9.50
• Peacock Cardstock, X5776, $14.50
• White Daisy Pigment Ink Stamp Pad, Z2163, $8.50
• Peacock Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2649, $6.95
• Pomegranate Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2653
• Sponge, Z697, $1.25
• Cricut Art Philosophy Collection, Z3171, $99
• Silver Sequins Assortment, Z2013. $2.95

My card was inspired by Stampinantics.

Now, head over to Jennifer Dykstra's blog.

October SOTM Blog Hop - Twinkle

Welcome to the Twinkle Blog Hop! Thanks for coming from Michelle Battitori's blog.

This set of 15 stamps is a must have for your holiday collection. And, that star circle border, hand drawn doodle and frame will be useful for lots of cards and layouts. Our blog hop is a big circle of 47 consultants. Enjoy the artwork as you hop around!

Supplies used:

• White Pines Paper Packet, X7200B
• Gold Glitter Paper, Z3076
• Glacier Fundamentals Assortment, Z3102
• Glacier Ink, Z2641
• Cranberry Ink, Z2116
• Champagne Ink, Z2174
• CTMH Cricut Artiste Cartridge, Z3170

Now head over to Maureen OSullivan's blog to see her creativity with Twinkle!

Simple Minion Cards

My son just celebrated his 11th birthday with friends at the movies. What did we see? Minions, of course!

Writing thank you notes is a requirement in our family. I know, some think it's old fashioned, but I believe it's teaching my kids about gratitude. If someone takes the time to give you a gift, you can make the time to show your appreciation.

Using my Shin Han alcohol markers (sold by CTMH, naturally), I whipped up these cards in just a few minutes.

Bello and tank you are Minionese for hello and thank you (if it wasn't obvious enough)! I used the old Cocktail Alphabet stamp set for the lettering (one of my all-time faves). Those little cupcakes with Minion twinkles were a big hit with the kids, and simple, too!

For family members who didn't come to the party, I made the above cards.

Can you tell how much I love the Shin Han alcohol markers?!? They're so awesome at giving some fast color to a quick project.

May SOTM Blog Hop - Just Sayin'

HELLOOOOOO!!! Sorry, I've seen Mrs. Doubtfire on television too often lately (can't you hear her now?). Anywho...welcome to the May SOTM Blog Hop, Just Sayin'. Thanks for coming from Gina Brandstetter's blog.

This is a cutie patootie set of 14 stamps. I can't wait to add those little sayings and icons to some layouts. But, I've been participating in an awesome card swap this year and Just Sayin' was my assigned stamp set for a card. Gotta admit, I freaked a little at first. But, I love how it turned out, especially with all of that new product from Close To My Heart's Seasonal Inspirations 2!

                   

I used my super awesome CTMH Score Board with the little arm pushed in so I could score on the diagonal. Ya can't do that on the Martha Stewart one, folks! Then, I flipped my card around, scored on the opposite diagonal to create the square pattern and sanded away.

Supplies used:

• Just Sayin,' S1505 (only available in May 2015!)
• Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 (#20), 9042
• White Value Pack Cards and Envelopes, X254
• Score Board, Z1937
• Jackson Paper Packet, X7195B
• White Daisy Cardstock, 1385
• Sanding Kit, Z1294
• Sponge Daubers, Z726
• Thin and regular 3-D Foam Tape, Z2060 and Z1151, respectively
• Oceanside Sequins, Z3041
• Glacier Extra Thick Twine, Z3039
• Lagoon Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2195
• Cocoa Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2114

Head over to Alyson Mayo's blog to see her artistic creation. Did you get lost on the hop? Find the complete list of 50 hoppers here.

Snowhaven Birthday Card

I am super excited for next weekend's FancyCrop hosted by my good friend, Fancy Melissa. Four days of cropping with an amazing group of women? I'm there!


Melissa's team of consultants are participating in a birthday card swap. I'm tickled with how mine turned out using paper from the Snowhaven Paper Pack. I was inspired by this card from Janeybell Designs (see the Sweet Sunday sketch challenge design at the bottom of this post).

I just love the new embossing folders from Close To My Heart. A customer commented that this Dot one would be great for LEGO photos. Genius!

Supplies used:

• Snowhaven...Paper Packet, X7188B or Bulk paper, BULK347
• White Daisy Cardstock, 1385
• Glacier Cardstock, X5770
• Black Cardstock, 1386
• Joyful Birthday Stamp Set, B1419
• Wish Stamp Set, M1051
• Slate Diagonal Striped Ribbon, Z1989
• Metallic Baker's Twine from the Ruby Mini-Medley Accents, Z1861
• Silver Sequins, Z2013
• Dot Embossing Folder, Z1924
• Cricut Art Philosophy, Z1686 (circle cut at 2 1/4")

October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Home for the Holidays

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring October's SOTM,  Home for the Holidays, a set of seven stamps.  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.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog: http://ifyoublingit.blogspot.com/p/stamp-of-month-blog-hop-list.html.

This month we have 73 (73!) Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one.

I made this simple card after seeing something similar on Pinterest. I love the combination of spray pen technique and washi tape. It creates such a simple, but fun, card. Home for the Holidays coordinates with the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, which makes cutting out the postage stamp so easy.

Now "Hop" on over to Krista Ritskes's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the October SOTM is only available until the 31st!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

CTMH Cricut Artfully Sent Collection

Congratulations! You've made it through the summer! Perhaps you have a little more time for YOU now...time to meet friends for lunch, to workout, to catch up on correspondence and to reach out to friends and family you've been missing.

Close To My Heart has a fantastic new product to help you with that last endeavor...the Cricut Artfully Sent Collection! This fabulous collection will be coming in early to mid September and only from your Close To My Heart Independent Consultant (that's me!). Like all of our Cricut Collections, you'll get three stamp sets that coordinate with the Cricut cartridge.

CTMH Cricut Artfully Sent Collection

Here's a sneak peak at a few cards I made at CTMH Convention this June, using the new Cricut Artfully Sent Collection.

Outside of Card

Inside of Beautiful Day Card

With just a few embellishments and simple stamping, you can create stunning cards in just minutes. Contact me today so I can let you know as soon as this cartridge becomes available to order!

New Product Blog Hop

Thanks for hopping over from the fabulously talented Dana Kessler's blog.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! No silly, not Christmas, it's time for the new Annual Inspirations Idea Book and Catalog from Close To My Heart! And, as 50+ consultants are participating in this New Product Blog Hop, you'll find an art explosion sure to satisfy your creative sweet tooth.

I'm always surprised at how few decorations I have for Thanksgiving. So, I decided to create this Give Thanks box to display between my favorite holidays (Halloween and Christmas). It's filled with little cards to be sent to people I'm especially thankful for and I can't wait to share my appreciation for them in November.

Give Thanks Card Box

I used the new Score Board (LOVE IT!) from Close To My Heart to score my paper to fit around the box. Cut a strip at the desired width. Then, score at 1", 2 5/8", 9 1/8" and 10 3/4". Then, you just need a strip about 6" to cover the back of the box. Bonding Memories Glue is by far the best adhesive to get your paper to adhere to the box!

Card 1

Card 2

Cards 3 and 4

Did you recognize some new products? A few of my favorites are the Paper Fundamentals in the Adventure Assortment (see the texture of the Sunset paper in Card 2!) and the Teal Glitter Paper in Card 1. Here's a complete supply list:

•  My Creations Journaling Cards Box, Z1953
• Bonding Memories Glue, 1512
• New Pathfinding Paper Packet, X7186B
• New Pathfinding Complements, X7186C
• New Pathfinding Assortment, Z3012
• New Neutral Metallic Baker's Twine, Z1921
• New Paper Fundamentals Adventure Assortment, Z2032
• New Teal Glitter Paper, Z1991
• New Season of Thanks My Acrylix Stamp Set, D1604
• New Lifetime of Happiness My Acrylix Stamp Set, C1589
• New Have a Happy Day My Acrylix Stamp Set, D1616
• Sunset Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2191
• Chocolate Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2111
• Bamboo Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2103
• New Glacier Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, Z2641
• And last but not least...the new CTMH Score Board, Z1937

The new Score Board also scores paper on an angle!!!

Now, hop over to see the fun creations in store for you at Dawn Ross's blog! If you got lost along the way, Melinda has a complete list of participating consultants.

What A Hoot - August 2014 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

You are in for a treat! What A Hoot, the August 2014 Stamp of the Month is the cutest "build your own" stamp set I've seen in forever. And, it's a great way to kick off the new Annual Inspirations Catalog from Close To My Heart!

Thank you for hopping over from Katy's Blog.

Here is a swing card I created using the "S" key from the Artiste cartridge, the Scaredy Cat Paper Pack and the What a Hoot stamp set.

The Scaredy Cat paper is so versatile; you'll love using it on all of your Fall themed layouts and cards. I added an adhesive spring to pop the owl off of the card. Our new ShinHan marker in Peony Purple perfectly colored in my owl. You're going to love these markers!

Hop over to Traci's Blog to see what has created to share with you. If you got lost along the way, go here to see the complete list of 65+ blogs!

To get your What a Hoot set, simply place an order of $50 or more on my Shop Online Site and it's yours for only $5!

Happy Little Cards

I had the BEST time at Close To My Heart's Annual Convention in Disneyland last month. While I had a blast with my friends and learned so much, I also got to create tons of amazing projects. These cards were created at Leadership Day using the new ShinHan markers:

Adorable, right? Here are supplies used to create the cards, available August 1st through my CTMH website:

• Lagoon Hearts Washi Tape, Z2004
• Confetti Wishes Paper Packet, X7189B
• Lagoon Cardstock, X5762
• White Daisy Cardstock, 1385
• Marvy Uchida LePen Journaling Pen, Z1979
• Happy Birds Stamp Set, C1600
• Blooming Heart Stamp Set, M1049
• ShinHan Touch Twin Markers:
• Peony Purple, Z2462
• Lavender, Z2453
• Marigold, Z2457
• Golden Yellow, Z2452
• Turquoise Blue, Z2465
• Leaf Green, Z2454