Artbooking Made Easy (S01E04): Spooky Halloween Layouts

The newest Artbooking video and it features Halloween layouts - so fun!

Spin Cards - My Take

The new CTMH Spin Cards are a lot of fun to make and they offer the crafter a fresh, new, fun pallet upon which to be creative.  I recently hosted a card workshop and these are the cards that I came up with for my ladies to make...

Front of Card 1

Inside of Card 1

Inside of Card 2

Front of Card 2

 

Front of Card 3

Inside of Card 3

To make this set of cards, I used the Chantilly paper pack because it still remains one of my absolute favorite paper packs!  After making a set of 10 cards, there was still plenty of paper left over to use for other projects, so I'm sure you will see Chantilly used in future posts!

I used the following supplies:
White Daisy Spin Cards and Envelopes, z1866
Chantilly Paper Pack, x7162b
CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, x1686
Color Ready Seam Binding, z1732
Sparkles Clear Assortment, z1752,
Cotton Candy Re-Inker, z2293
Buttercup Re-Inker, z2210
Twilight Re-Inker, z2260

The solid color card stock pieces were all cut from cardstock included in this paper pack:   Cotton Candy (Card 1), Buttercup (Card 2), and Twilight (Card 3). For each card I cut:

• three circles (pg 21 of the Art Philosophy handbook)
• one shaped base (page 53 of the Art Philosophy handbook) (used on the inside of the card)
• one 5x2 inch rectangle.

I used my Gypsy to cut the B&T pattern paper squares at 5x5 inch and at the same time I cut the inner square.  The inner square was centered on the shaped square cardstock base and adhered to the back of the card, taking care to align the B&T square with the window in the card front. 

Card 1 was stamped using Cotton Candy Exclusive Ink and

• Heartfelt Birthday Wish, M1033 
•  You Only Live Once, B1434 (Only available as a Hostess Reward)
•  Hooray Bouquet, D1491

Card 2 was stamped using Buttercup Exclusive Ink and

• Baby Carriage, M1027
• Babycakes WOTG Stamp Set, D1569
• A Garden, A1119

 Card 3 was stamped using White Daisy Exclusive Ink and  

• A True Thank You, M1029
• You Only Live Once, B1434 (Only available as a Hostess Reward)
• Love/Joy/Hope/Fun, D1498 (One of 2 Stamp Sets bundled with Art Philosophy)

I also dyed a 10 inch segment of Color Ready Seam Binding, z1732, for each card using the corresponding color of Re-Inker.  I also used three 4 mm Clear Sparkles on each car. At this point in the process it is only a matter of assembling each card.

Just one more tip:  you could also choose to just save the circles and stamp them with whatever theme you may need for a card in the future!  This is a great way to maintain maximum versatility  - the card can become whatever theme you need it to become - birthday, thank you, get well, etc.

Artbooking Made Easy (S01E03): Summer Mini-Albums

The newest installment in the Artbooking Made Easy  Video Series:

Artboooking Made Easy (S01E02): A+ School Layouts

As promised, here is the next video in the Artbooking Made Easy video series.  Spend a few minutes to watch it and see the wonderful school themed layouts you can make by using cuts from just a couple of keys.  But many of the cuts on these keys are versatile enough to be used on any layout theme, especially the overlays!  The ability to mix and match cuts found on various keys makes the creative options almost limitless!

                                 

Hostess Rewards: Better than Ever!

CTMH has made the Hostess Rewards program even better!  Now when you host a gathering and earn Hostess Rewards, you will be able to apply those rewards to exclusive Hostess Only stamp sets - and they was so adorable!  And to make the deal even better, these stamp sets are offered to Hostesses at discount prices.  For example, Washi Wonder, a D-size stamp set, would retail for $17.95.  However, you would only need $10 of your Hostess Rewards to purchase this versatile stamp set.  Watch the following CMTH corporate video to learn more about this enhancement to the Hostess Rewards program and to see Kristine use Washi Wonder on a couple of projects.

Artbooking Made Easy (S01E01): Getting Started with Cricut Artbooking

The newest CTMH Cricut Cartridge, Artbooking Z1906, is just amazing.  I have played with it just a bit, but have yet to make a project - there are just not enough hours in a day!  However, I know that once I have time, I will have so much fun creating with this amazing cartridge.


CTMH has announced a new series called Artbooking Made Easy.  Over the next 8 months, September 2013 through April 2014, artwork from Artbooking will be featured on Jeanette Lynton's blog, the CTMH YouTube Channel and the CTMH Facebook page.  I will post the videos here on my blog so that you will be sure and not miss any of them. While this cartridge has a lot of the work already done for you in terms of planning mini albums and scrapbook pages, it is packed with wonderful cuts that are versatile and, therefore,  can be used in a variety of settings.  Let's start learning...

 

Decision Made :-)

I have loved the art of scrapbooking for over 15 years now and, as most of you can probably relate too, I have collected a lot of supplies!  I only discovered Close to My Heart a little over a year ago and I am certainly a great fan of the amazing products that this company carries - so much so that I decided to become an Independent Consultant and start a blog!  However, I have struggled with whether or not to include projects on my blog that use papers, embellishment, etc, from companies other than CTMH.  While the primary goal of this blog is to showcase CTMH products, an extremely important supporting goal is to simply share my love of scrapbooking.  I have therefore decided that I will include projects that use supplies from companies other than Close to My Heart.  For sake of clarity and simplicity, I will give credit to the companies when possible, but will label them as "Contraband" when the information is not available. And I will continue to sing the praises of the CTMH products and provide you with ideas/inspiration for using them in your projects.

To begin this new direction in my blog, I want to share an extremely simple layout that uses pattern paper from a paper stack titled Summer Song by My Mind's Eye and some textured cardstock that I pulled from my stash.  I inked the edges of the textured cardstock square that holds my focal photograph with Pear Exclusive Ink Pad.  I also used the Bohemian Alphabet Stamp Set, E1019, and Pear ink to stamp my title.  The paper flowers, buttons, fibers and brads were all pulled from my stash and are all contraband.  I inked the edges of the paper flowers with Cotton Candy Exclusive ink and the journalling block was cut using the Tag on page 50 of the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge handbook.  I covered the holes in the pink portion of the tag with the flower brads to give it some color and texture.  This layout came together rather quickly using basic embellishments to add a bit of interest.

September SOTM - Poster Tidings

During the month of September, you can purchase Poster Tidings, the September SOTM, for only $5 with any $50 purchase.  This stamp offers two word collages that will work well on either cards or scrapbook pages.  Using a masking technique, the sentiments can be used alone to give added versatility to this wonderful stamp set (see my two projects at the end of this post.) 

Two stamped images are included in Poster Tidings, the September SOTM

Sample of Artwork that can be created with Poster Tidings

I have included the CTMH corporate video in which Karlie gives you several additional creative ideas for getting the most out of this stamp set. In the final segment of the video, she demonstrates how she deconstructed the image and then used segments of it along with other embellishments, like washi tape and patterned paper, to produce a totally unique look for a card.

I also want to show you a couple of projects that I made using this stamp set.  The first one is a card and I used the entire fall-themed stamp, but I masked off the word blessed for the front of my card.  Then when I stamped the sentiment inside, I masked off all but the work blessed.  Simple, but it gave me a bit of variety.  I stamped using chocolate ink on a scrap of B&T duo paper from the Chantilly Paper Pack.

September is National Stamping Month

Yes, that is right..September is National Stamping Month and Close to My Heart is all about celebrating by offering 3 times the fun with our new stamp set trio of D-size stamps for only $10 with a qualifying purchase.  You can get the exclusive You Are My Happy stamp set trio in celebration of National Stamping Month! During the month of September, when you make a purchase of $50 or more, you qualify for this whimsical stamp set trio for only $10. The trio of stamps includes a whimsical alphabet, light-hearted sentiments, and fanciful images for a variety of occasions to give a cheerful touch to your projects, with a full retail value of $47.90.

*Offer valid September 1-30, 2013. Placing a minimum order of $50 is required for qualification.

Dates: Offer valid September 1-30, 2013.

You Are My Happy National Stamping Month Stamp Set Trio

Here is a CTMH corporate video that will give you some additional information about this promotion and the stamp set: