October SOTM Blog Hop

I am happy to be participating in this month's CTMH SOTM Blog Hop.  I love Christmas and have had fun playing with this month's Christmas themed stamp set, Home for the Holidays, which is a set of 7 stamps.  If you have arrived here from Terry Ann Diack's Blog, Just A TAD Crafty, then you are on the right path!  Since the blog hop is a great big circle, you can start here and work all the way around.  If you get lost along the way, you'll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda's Blog.  This month we have 73 Close to my Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the October SOTM and other great CTMH products.

I wanted to decorate a package and have always loved the simplicity of kraft paper packages.  They provide the perfect canvas on which to create.  Since I happened to have some on hand and decided to wrap a small package and decorate it using this stamp set.  Here is the final package...

 and a couple of close up pictures so you can see the wonderful texture that results from heat embossing  ...

This is the list of CTMH products that were used on this project:

• Home for the Holidays, S1410
• Artiste Cricut Cartridge, pg 40, <Accent 3> Cut at 1.25 inches from Lagoon Cardstock
• Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, pg 40, <Tag2> Cut at 2 inches from White Daisy
• Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, pg 24, <Square6> Cut at 2 3/4 inches from White Daisy & Lagoon
• Adventure Mini Pigment Ink - Lagoon
• Ranger Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder, Z821
• Craft Heater
• 3D Foam Tape
• Teal Shimmer Trim

Thanks for stopping by! You can continue along the Blog Hop by visiting Suzanne Webster-Lowrie's blog, Scrappin Sue, to see what she has created using Home for the Holidays.  Be sure to visit all the Consultant's blogs to get many wonderful ideas and inspirations for your crafting time.  Remember, the October SOTM is only available until the end of the month!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click HERE)  to see how you can get this stamp set for only $5.  

#30yearsofhappy - A Second Look

I was so pleased to be a part of the CTMH blog hop that introduced this stamp set a few weeks ago.  It is really such a cute set and since it is available free with the purchase of $30 in CTMH stamps until the end of this month, I wanted to share with everyone a second card that I made using it.  It is very similar to the first card, but it is a birthday card...hope you like it!

To make this card, I used....

• #30yearsofhappy Stamp Set
• Damask Embossing Folder
• Exclusive Inks Stamp Pads (Cotton Candy, Juniper, Sunset, Honey and Lagoon)
• Cardstock (White Daisy, Cotton Candy, Juniper, Sunset, Honey and Lagoon)
• Baker's Twine, retired

Here is a close up so you can get a slightly better view of the details...

I also included a bit of fun on the inside of this card...

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

The Amazing Shin Han Markers

Today, I want to spend a moment sharing with you the versatility of the new Shin Han Markers.  I will confess, I am new to the marker scene, so I don't have any experience from which to pull.  However, I do have a small assortment of these markers and have spent some time playing around with them.  I will share some other projects in the future, but for now, I want to examine some creative uses for this markers.

I recently saw some discussion about using these markers to alter the color of embellishments and I decided to try it with some of the products that I have on hand.  I included both current products and retired products because I know everyone has products in their stash from which to pull.

My process was simple, I just looked through my embellishments and found light colored ones and started coloring.  Here are the results:
 

My conclusion - with the markers you can easily and quickly produce an assortment of matching/coordinating embellishments. They can take your ability to embellish to the next level!

The Shin Han Markers that I used were:

• Cerulean Blue Light
• Leaf Green
• Lavender
• Cherry Pink
• Golden Yellow

As always, Happy Crafting!

September SOTM - A Second Look

The September SOTM, Family is Forever, contains 7 great stamps and I want to show you two versions of a quick card I made using it.  Hope you like it and find inspiration for your craft time :-)

Version A - Monochromatic Color Scheme

A couple of closeup pictures...

 Version B - Contrasting Color Scheme

 A couple of close up pictures.

Products used to make these two cards...

• Family is Forever, September SOTM
• Exclusive Ink Stamp Pads (Pear, Topiary, Pacificia)
• Cardstock (White Daisy, Pear, Topiary)
• Sponge Dauber
• Topiary Mini Chevron Ribbon
• 3D Foam Tape
• Chevron Border Punch

Happy Crafting :-)

CTMH Newest Cricut Cartridge - Artfully Sent

CTMH announced earlier this week that its newest Cricut Cartridge, Artfully Sent, is now available for order!  It was created with the card maker in mind, but it is packed with so many cuts that can be used on a scrapbook page it will certainly be making appearances on many of my scrapbook pages.

This cartridge includes 700 images and features over 25 different card themes, including birthday, get well and holiday cards.  There are 5 different card formats, including pop-up cards and pocket cards.  It comes with 3 exclusive stamps sets: frames, sentiments and a font.  It also comes with  pack of 12x12 White Daisy card stock to get you started in your card making adventures.

Regretfully, I do not yet have this beauty in my possession and I will not for a few more weeks.  Therefore, it will be a while before I will be able to post any projects using it.  However, I will include some corporate material that shows some of the cuts that can be made with this cartridge. I apologize for all of the Close to my Heart watermarks, but in this day and age, electronic material must be protected.

Pathfinding 3x4 inch Card

Today I am sharing a small card that we made at my recent Open House using a few basic supplies and scraps from the Pathfinding Workshop on the Go.

This card can be made by following these simple directions:

Start with a 6x4 inch piece of Champagne card stock.  This means that you can get four card bases from each sheet of cardstock.

Score two inches from the left side and one inch from the right side to get two front flaps measuring 2 inches and 1 inch. Folding the card base like this is an easy way to add a bit of fun to a very simple card. Now, using Goldrush Exclusive Ink and a Sponge Dauber, ink all of the edges of the two front panels of the card.

Next, cut a 1 3/4 inch square from Champagne card stock and stamp using Goldrush Exclusive Ink and the Spring Banner Stamp Set, M1044.  Then, using Autumn Terracotta Exclusive Ink, stamp the sentiment of your choice from Timely Tidings Stamp Set, M1047  in the empty banner of the stamped image.  Now attach this stamped square to a 2 inch square cut from Goldrush card stock.

Next, cut a  1 3/4 x 3 3/4  inch piece from Goldrush card stock and emboss with the Honeycomb embossing folder. Attach this piece to the left front panel.

Cut a piece measuring 3/4 x 3 3/4 inches from the Pathfinding Feather B&T Duos and attach to the right front panel.

Using some 3-D Foam Tape, attach the sentiment square to the left front pane so that it extends a bit over the right front panel.  Then attach a pair of Hook & Loop Dots to the back of the sentiment square and the left front panel - this will help the card stay closed :-)

Here is a close up look of the stamped image...

 

Thanks for stopping by!

#30yearsofhappy Blog Hop

How fun - celebrating 30 years of Close to my Heart creativity!  And what better way than with this adorable stamp set, #30yearsofhappy, which is a set of 30 mini stamps and includes both images and sentiments.  I am quite happy to be part of this great blog hop where I get to join forces with 40 other CTMH consultants to share with you our creations in hopes of providing you with a bit of creative inspiration!  If you have arrived here from Kristine Ponte's blog, Home With Studio K, then you are on the right path!  Since the blog hop is a great big circle, you can start here and work all the way around.  If you get lost along the way, you'll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda's Blog. This is the front of my card...

To complete this card:

• Cut White Daisy cardstock measuring 8 x 6 inches and folded to achieve a 4x6 inch card base
• Cut 1 x 6 inch strips from Sunset, Cotton Candy, Hollyhock and Cranberry card stock.
• Emboss the four strips with the Damask Embossing Folder
• Cut four 1 x 1 inch squares from White Daisy cardstock
• Stamp the Heart image on one of the four squares using Sunset Exclusive Ink Stamp Pad
• Stamp the Heart image on one of the four squares using Cotton Candy Exclusive Ink Stamp Pad
• Stamp the Heart image on one of the four squares using Hollyhock Exclusive Ink Stamp Pad
• Stamp the Heart image on one of the four squares using Cranberry Exclusive Ink Stamp Pad
• If desired, trim the top and/or bottom of each of the squares to help center the image on the cut.
• Using the corresponding ink and a Sponge Dauber, ink the edges of each square.
• Attach each of the embossed strips to the card base in the order shown.
• Using 3D Foam Tape, attach each stamped square on each strip, beginning about 1 inch from the top of the card, along a diagonal line.

Here is a close up for a better look at some of the details...

Thanks for stopping by! You can continue along the Blog Hop by visiting Kelly Janes' blog, Papercrafting With Kelly Janes to   see what she has created using Family is Forever.  Be sure to visit all the Consultant's blogs to get many wonderful ideas and inspirations for your crafting time.  Remember, #30yearsofhappy is only available until the 30th of September!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click HERE)  to see how you can get this stamp set for FREE.