Project Inspiration: Transform Your Stamps

Watch as Jill shows us how to transform icon stamps into borders, embellishments, and backgrounds that create subtle patterned paper.  She helps us think outside the box when using our stamp sets – expanding their purpose and therefore getting the most from our crafting dollar.  The Do Your Best stamp set is a C size set which has sentiments, small words, animal icons and some animal tracks.  It is great for camping/outdoor themes but she also reminds us that it would be perfect to use as a mascot on a school page or to include on a scouting page.  She shows an example of using the animal footprints on a hiking page and also gave tips about using random stamping to create your own B&T paper.   And did you know that you can stamp directly onto a photo?  This was news to me and something I certainly want to incorporate into my scrapbooks.   Lots of good stuff in this video

The Whole Kit and Caboodle

Whether your style is outdoorsy, sweet, bold, or shabby chic, you are sure to find something to love in the newest lines of paper from CTMH...

Ivy Lane Display Tray - Post 1 of 3 Post Series

Close To My Heart has quite a few options available for those who'd like to pull some of their pictures out of their scrapbook pages and display them throughout their home.  The Designed Decor line offers several styles and formats which provide a large spectrum of creative options  - so there is something to suit all design tastes.

I have certainly used the Display Tray to create wall art for baby rooms on multiple occasions, but I decided that it was time to put some of my pictures into one and display it in my home.  I chose to work with the Ivy Lane papers and only had to add a few sheets of Colonial White cardstock to complete this project.

These are the basics that were used to complete this home decor project:

• Ivy Lane Paper Pack
• Colonial White Cardstock
• VersaMark Embossing Pad, retired
• Embossing Powder - Clear Detail, retired
• Prisma Glitter, retired
• Pweter Mini Medley Accents, retired but currently available as a While Supplies Last Item
• Colonial White Rosette Ribbon, retired
• Colonial White Exclusive Ink Stamp Pad
• CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge
• CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge
• Opaques Adhesive Gems - Pearl, retired

I did use a bit of retired products for this project.  CTMH no longer sells these items, but many of them are readily available in the scrapbooking section of most retail craft stores, such as the embossing powder, embossing pad, pearls, etc.  So if you like the look, it can still be achieved, even though CTMH no longer carries some of the products that I used. 

I had a blast being creative with all of the 3x4 slots!  Since there are seven of them, I will briefly describe one on this post and address the other six over the course of two subsequent posts.

For this embellishment I cut two rosette pieces, the <card> shift feature on page 50 in the Artiste Cricut cartridge handbook, at 1.25 inches from the Ivy Lane floral B&T.  I assembled it following the directions in the instruction handbook that accompanies the Artiste cartridge.

I also cut the letter K 5 times from Colonial White cardstock at 3.95 inches. This is where having access to the Cricut makes it easy to create embellishments with depth and texture, with the result looking somewhat like chipboard.  It is the same effect you would get using the Dimensional Elements, found on page 128 of the SS 2014 Idea Book.  However, with this technique, you can make a "dimensional element" using only cardstock and glue from any of the 700 cuts available of each of the 3 Cricut cartridges - that is 2100 "dimensional elements" possiblities, any one of which can be made in just minutes. 

To complete the K embellishment, I just glued each of the 5 layers together using the Bonding Memories Glue.  Once they were assembled, I added a layer of this Bonding Memories Glue to the top of the K and then sprinkled with the Prisma Glitter and shook off the excess.  Viola - my very own chipboard style embellishment!  Gotta love it! 

One final note,  I adhered the K to the rosette and the rosette to the Hollyhock cardstock using Liquid Glass - my preferred glue when I want a lasting, strong bond and when there is minimal surface on which to adhere my pieces (as in the case of the rosette, the surface area at the top of each fold is the only surface area on which to secure my K.)

Ivy Lane - This is so Lovely

On the somewhat rare occasion that I receive flowers from my husband, I do like to scrapbook them.  It is not that he doesn't make an effort to make Valentine's Day special, it is more that we both feel there are better ways to express love than flowers.  But I do still very much enjoy receiving them and never knowing when I may receive them, makes it even more special.  I also very rarely dedicate an entire scrapbook page to one picture, but I am capable of doing it, even though it doesn't come naturally :-)

These are the basics that were used to complete this page:

• Ivy Lane WOTG
• Sparkle Flourish - Small, Z1812
• Hollyhock and Bamboo cardstock
• EK Tools Black Journaling Pen
• Hollyhock Exclusive Ink Stamp Pad
•  CTMH Artbooking Cricut Cartridge
• Sweet and Lovely Stamp Set, D1571 (bundled with CTMH Artbooking Cricut Cartridge)

Close To My Heart Artbooking Cricut Cut used on this layout:

• Photo Mat 1 at 11.5 inches, page 59, from Bambook cardstock

Here is a close up photo of the embellishment cluster...

Ivy Lane - Happy Valentine's

When I look at the Ivy Lane paper pack, I immediately think of love, love, love.  Maybe it is the beautiful flower B&T paper that triggers these thoughts, but no matter, it was my choice for this layout featuring two of my daughters on Valentine's Day.

These are the basics that were used to complete this page:

• Ivy Lane WOTG
• Hemp - Natural, retired
• Hollyhock and Bamboo cardstock
• Happy Valentine My Acrylics Stamp set, S1301 (previous Stamp of the Month)
• Hollyhock Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

I stamp the Pure, Simple, Wonderful You image and the Happy Valentine's Day image using Hollyhock ink onto Bamboo cardstock and then just carefully cut the images out using my Non-Stick Micro-tip Scissors. Yes, I do actually have layouts that do not include Cricut cuts - but they are rare :-)  Here is a close up of some of the embellishments...

Picture My Life™ Scrapbooking Program

Christine and Monica introduce us to the new Picture My Life Scrapbooking Program  This system is designed to get scrapbookers to finished pages more quickly.  Although I have yet to try this new system, I am intrigued by it.  My initial impulse was to just scatter these pages throughout my traditional scrapbook pages. However, after input from fellow CTMH consultants, I believe that this is not a good idea.  The Picture My Life memory protectors are designed to work with the new My Legacy D-Ring and My-Legacy Post-Bound Albums that are on page 134 of the Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book.

March CTMH Specials (SOTM and Studio Savings)

The March Stamp of the Month is called Happy Place and consists of 4 images and 3 sentiments.  It is a D-size stamp and can be purchased for $17.95, or with a qualifying $50 purchase it can be bought for just $5.  My favorite sentiment from this set is "what I love most about my home is who I share it with." 

CTMH also has a great special for anyone who enjoys designing layouts using computer based software.  During the month of March, you can purchase each Studio J layout at the reduced price of $5 - they are regularly $6.95 each.  Studio J orders do have a minimum order of 4 layouts and include a free JPEG of each layout.  For additional information about StudioJ please click HERE.

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