Monday, November 25, 2013

Product Spotlight - Polar Pals Card Kit

With the holidays coming up, so many of us purchase gift cards for our children's teachers, coaches, bus drivers, dance instructors, etc.  While the recipients love these gift cards, most of the time our children do no more than sign their name on the card and hand it to their teacher, coach, etc.  Wouldn't it be great to get them more involved in this process and feel vested and proud of their gift?  Close To My Heart has the perfect solution - My Originals Polar Pals Card Kit.

Purchase those gift cards that teachers and coaches enjoy receiving, but have your children personalize a gift card holder to make the gift more meaningful and heartfelt.  The Polar Pals Card Kit comes with 12 blank tri-fold cards that the kids can decorate.  Below are a few examples that my daughter and son created with our kit:

We used one extra product on our cards, but it is certainly not necessary.  We elevated the large stickers (penguins, snowmen, trees and polar bears) with CTMH's 3-D Foam Tape to add a little more dimension to the card. 
My kids love these shaker bubbles!  They have a raised surface and are filled with little metal stars that move around when you shake the card.
Here are a few pictures showing my children creating their gift card holders.  My daughter was a little confused about why we were making these so early!  This first picture really shows off the spring underneath the gift card holder.  My son loved this feature and kept opening and closing his card to watch the gift card pop up!


 
The kit is $18.95 (plus tax and shipping) and comes with 12 blank cards (4 different designs), 12 envelopes, 12 shaker bubbles, 12 adhesive springs (so that the gift card pops up when you open the card - how fun!!!!) and 1 sheet of stickers.  The kit also provides a guide for optional layouts, but the possibilities are only limited by your child's imagination!

http://flauntyourcreativity.ctmh.com/Retail/Product.aspx?ItemID=5767&CatalogID=2159

To order your kit, please visit my Close To My Heart website.  Already attending one of my workshops in December, let me know by November 30th and I can add this to your order!  Any questions, feel free to contact me!

Saturday, November 23, 2013

December Parent & Me Workshop - Holiday Photo Block Collage

My daughter was the inspiration for creating Parent & Me workshops.  She just recently attended her first scrapbooking crop and LOVED every minute of it!  While I didn't get very much of my own scrapbooking accomplished, I enjoyed helping her express her creativity through the pages she designed.  It was a day that I will cherish forever!  Later that evening, I decided to pursue CTMH as a career - not only to help my friends on their creative journeys, but also to provide our next generation with opportunities to begin theirs!

At my first Parent & Me workshop, we will be creating a holiday photo block collage.  Not only is this a unique way to display family memories from the holidays, but it will also provide entertainment for kids and adults as they flip and rearrange the blocks to discover new pictures! 

My daughter helped create the version you see here.  We selected 6 pictures of my children with Santa over the years.  Using the Sparkle & Shine Paper pack and the Santa Claus stamp set from the Holidays from The Heart Gift Guide, as well as several embellishments, we created a beautiful and fun décor item!  Shown are two of the six layouts as well as a few close-ups to show details. 



My daughter loved adding the rhinestone "bling!"




One of the hardest parts about these crafting adventures with my daughter is to let her take the reigns.  She did all of the stamping for this project, and I let her decide which paper to put with which stamp.  She also placed the rhinestones where she felt they should be.  I had to bite my tongue as I thought, "Don't you want to move that to the left a bit!?!?".  In the end, she was proud of her final product, and I'm extremely proud of her for creating such a wonderful photo collage!  This will be a permanent holiday coffee table decoration for years to come! 

My vision for these Parent & Me classes is that we as parents can provide a helping hand to our children as they work, but that we let them be in control of their creations!  I feel this is the best way to foster independence and to allow them to develop their own creativity.  The outcome may not be quite what we envisioned, but it will be what our children envisioned and that is the most important thing!

Here are a few pictures of my daughter creating her photo block collage!  CTMH's My Acrylix stamp sets use a clear block system which is easy to use for both adults and children.  It was a piece of cake for my daughter to see exactly where she was stamping her image.




The cost of this workshop is $25 and includes 9 photo blocks with storage base, all materials needed to decorate your blocks and base (all papers will be pre-cut), and use of stamps and inkpads.  It is designed for children ages 6 & up along with their caregiver, and will be held on Sunday, December 15th at 2:00pm.  Light refreshments will be provided. Space is limited, so purchase your kit today to reserve your space!  The RSVP and payment deadline is November 30th to ensure timely arrival of all materials.

Not local to the area, contact me to purchase the kit (with shipping and handling added) and you can create your own version at home!  You will need a few extra supplies to complete your project - ink color(s) of your choice and a holiday stamp set!  I am happy to help you out via e-mail or phone with any questions you may have.

Friday, November 22, 2013

December Workshop - Designed Decor Frame

I'm excited to announce my first workshop offering - a beautiful personalized frame to display cherished memories.  This frame is perfect to hang in your own home, or with the Holidays right around the corner, this would make a great gift.  This project is exactly what Flaunt Your Creativity stands for - you take one idea and tweak it to make it your own.  The possibilities are endless on this project and I can't wait to help you discover the avenue you want to take!

This was my inspiration - the project that CTMH created and displayed in their catalog:


When creating my frame, I used some of the CTMH ideas, but also incorporated some of my own.  Here is my version:


As you can see, I kept true to the basic original design.  However, I decided that turning the frame vertically provided a better fit for our name (and the frame has hardware allowing it to be hung vertically or horizontally).  I also incorporated several other stamp sets into my creation providing me with more options for each frame.  At the workshop, you will have access to all the stamp sets I used - plus more!  I did use the same color scheme followed in the example, but CTMH has 42 different colors!  All of those colors will be available to you at the workshop allowing you to choose a color combination customized to your décor!  Here are a few close-ups so you can see some of the details!

 



Your kit will be waiting for you when you arrive, and you will have use of all of my ink and stamp collections.  All you need to bring is the 6 photos that you'd like to display. 

Your cost for the kit is $42 (S & H and 6% VA tax already included) and comes with:
1 - Designed Décor Colonial White Frame (12" x 13.5")
1 - My Acrylix Frame Kit Stamp Set (this set is yours to keep and can be used over and over again)
33 - Kraft Paper Die-Cut Shapes (those shown below as well as 10 banner shapes and one "speech bubble")
6 - Mini Wooden Clothespins
1 - Baker's Twine Hemp (1 yard)



The workshop will be held on December 11th at 8:30 pm.  Light refreshments will be provided.  Space is limited, so purchase your kit today to reserve your space!  The RSVP and payment deadline is November 30th to ensure timely arrival of all materials. 


Not local to the area, contact me to purchase the kit so you can create your own version at home!  You will need a few extra supplies to complete your project - ink color(s) of your choice and an alphabet stamp set if you want to include a title!  I am happy to help you out via e-mail or phone with any questions you may have.

Thursday, November 21, 2013


Welcome to Flaunt Your Creativity! 

Crafts have always been part of my life, offering me an outlet to express my creativity.  My style is constantly evolving as I learn new techniques to preserve and display memories.

When I first saw the CTMH catalog, I fell in love with everything - the coordination, the inspiration, the idea of starting with a basic design and making it my own! I was so inspired that I decided to become an Independent Consultant so that I could help others  discover their own creativity.

Through my workshop offerings and blog, I will provide ideas and inspiration so that others can expand their crafting repertoire. I offer a variety of monthly craft workshops for adults and children as well as scrapbooking crops.

I hope you will join me on this journey as we discover, expand and FLAUNT our creativity.

Stay tuned for information regarding workshops and crops in December!  Feel  free to share my page with your friends!