Sunday, May 31, 2015

Ice Cream Dream June SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  This month, we are featuring Close To My Heart's Ice Cream Dream stamp set. 
If you have come here from Chris Robertson'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.
This fun birthday card was created using the ice cream cone stamp from Ice Cream Dream.  The ice cream cone was stamped 3 times on white daisy cardstock, then hand cut.  Using the blender pen and exclusive inks, the scoops were transformed into strawberry, chocolate and vanilla ice cream!   

The stamp set is available only during the month of June.  It can be purchased for only $5 with any $50 purchase. 


Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed my Ice Cream Dream card.  Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create this card:
S1506 - Ice Cream Dream Stamp Set
Z1939 - Paper Fundamentals, Basics Assortment
Z3035 - Extra Thick Twine, Pixie
3174 - Blending Pen
Z1849 - Shimmer Trim, Bronze
Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
Z3042 - Sequins, Coral Reef
G1095 - Workshops on the Go Blossom Cardmaking Kit
CTMH Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Black, Pixie, Cotton Candy, Desert Sand, Chocolate, Cocoa, Whisper and Lagoon
CTMH Cardstock in Kraft, Glacier and White Daisy
All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Now "Hop" on over to Tamytha Jenkins' Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas!

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Taste of Summer - Strawberries!

In celebration of National Scrapbooking Month, Close to My Heart has released a paper pack and stamp set that are only available through the month of May.  The summer themed packs are bright and cheerful, and the stamp set is just plain adorable!  You have until Sunday, May 31st to get these items for yourself!

This layout was created using both Taste of Summer items.  The strawberry print, pink print and red print papers are all part of the Taste of Summer paper Packet.  The strawberry vine, strawberries and "Yummy" embellishments were all created using the Taste of Summer stamp set.
The base of the journal box was decorated using stamps and the little white flower from the CTMH Artists cartridge.  To get the two-toned look, the stamp was first inked in Cotton Candy, then the edges were rolled in Cranberry ink.
The Topiary Chevron ribbon is one of my favorite CTMH embellishments!  The color and the pattern are just stunning!!!  The letters for the title were cut using the Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge.
In the upper right corner, a strawberry "vine" was created using the Taste of Summer stamp in Topiary ink.  Three more strawberries, plus the white flower, were used to decorate the vine.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed my Taste of Summer Strawberry layout.  Remember, the Taste of Summer products are only available until May 31st!!! 

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create these page:
CC1039 - Taste of Summer Stamp Set
CC1038 - Taste of Summer Paper Packet

Z1929 - Topiary Mini Chevron Ribbon
Z1752 - Clear Sparkles
Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
Z679 - Liquid Glass
Z1790 - Cricut Artiste Collection
Z3017 - Cricut Artfully Sent Collection
CTMH Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Cotton Candy, Topiary, Cranberry
CTMH Cardstock in Topiary, White Daisy

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Friday, May 15, 2015

A Bit of Blot Technique Hop

Welcome to the Close To My Heart Technique Blog Hop.  If you are coming from Michelle Loncar's page, you are on the right track.  There are 11 participants in the hop today and we are all showcasing the "A Bit of Blot" technique found on page 55 of the CTMH Annual Inspirations Idea Book.

As shown in the picture above, this technique uses a sponge dauber to apply ink directly to a stamp block.  After lightly spritzing the block with water, you "stamp" the block directly onto paper.  I chose to create a rainbow effect for my project.  After lightly dabbing 6 colors in rainbow order across the large (4" x 5") block, I spritzed it with water and stamped on White Daisy cardstock. 
 
The background was so beautiful that I kept the rest of the card fairly plain so nothing distracted from the rainbow effect - just a couple stamps and a few silver sequins!!

The Happy birthday sentiment and arrow design are from the Happy Everything stamp set.  It's a fun set that is one of CTMH's Operation Smile stamps.  That means that $3 from every purchase of the stamp set goes to help Operation Smile correct facial deformities in children throughout the world.  Here is the entire stamp set complete with cute sentiments and a few graphics as well!
Close To My Heart Supplies used for this card:
Z2013 Sequins - Silver Assortment
D1653 - Happy Everything Stamp Set
Y1012 - My Acrylix 4"x5" Block
Z1912 - Corner Rounder
Z1380 - Spray Pen
Z726 - Sponge Dauber
X254 - Cards & Envelopes - White Value Pack
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Black, Whisper, Gypsy, Pacifica, Pear,  Honey, Sunset, and Cranberry
CTMH Cardstock - White Daisy and Slate
Above items can be purchased through my CTMH website.


Thank you for checking out my "Bit of Blot" creation.  Head on over to Belinda's blog to continue with the hop!

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Blossom Scrapbooking Workshop

Join me on May 31st at 1:00 pm to create these 3 beautiful 2-page layouts using the Blossom Paper and Complements.
Here are a few close-ups of the different layouts.  We will be using lots of fun embellishments - including twine, epoxy bubbles, shimmer trim, washi tape and sequins!  There is no stamping on any of these layouts (though my stamps and inks will be available if you'd like to add your own title).

The cost for this workshop is $20.  All paper will be pre-cut and ready to assemble - all you need to bring is your adhesive!  Reserve your spot by May 20th by making your payment through PayPal!



Please contact me if you are unable to attend the workshop, but are interested in purchasing a kit with assembly instructions (with an added fee for shipping if not local to Gainesville, VA).

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Teacher Appreciation Tag

In celebration of Teacher Appreciation last week, each day was supposed to be a different theme to "spoil" the teachers.  One day, the kids were supposed to bring in school supplies.  My daughter picked out several things that the class was running low on, and we packaged them up with this adorable tag. 

The "World's Greatest Teacher" was heat embossed using the Gold embossing powder.  This is one of my favorite techniques - it is so magical to watch!!  After stamping the "writing lines," my daughter wrote her teacher's name in the space. 

The full Teacher Appreciation set can be seen here.

Close To My Heart Supplies used for this layout:
D1612 - Teacher Appreciation Stamp Set
Z1929 - Topiary Mini Chevron Ribbon
Z2010 - White Enamel Stars
Z2066 - Ranger Princess Gold Embossing Powder
Z1790 - Cricut Artiste Collection
Z891 - Versamark Ink Pad
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Black, Cranberry and Topiary
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy, Topiary, Cranberry

Above items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

National Scrapbooking Month Blog Hop

Welcome to our Taste of Summer Blog Hop!  In honor of National Scrapbooking Month, Close to My Heart has released the Taste of Summer stamp set and paper pack that are only available during the month of May.  This blog hop features artwork created using one or both of these items.  

If you have come here from Pam Trostle'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.
This month we have nearly 40 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the Taste of Summer products on their blogs. The hop is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

With two school-aged children, we needed several gifts this week for Teacher Appreciation.  We headed to our local Bath & Body Works to pick out some fruity scented soaps and candles to express gratitude for all the teachers' hard work and dedication this year.  Using this gift bag tutorial from Trinity Design Studio, and the Taste of Summer paper and stamps, I made gift bags and tags to go with the gifts for our teachers (scroll down for a tutorial on what I did)!
As you can see, this particular gift consisted of a sunshine & green daisy candle, lily & lime soap and a gift card.  These went perfectly with the lime/daisy paper!  Topiary chevron ribbon was used to tie off the bag and attach the tag, while green epoxy bubbles were used to accent the tag!
A closer look at the tag allows you to see the actual stamping.  For the lemon, the stamp was first inked in Canary ink, then I rolled the edge in Honey ink to make it a bit darker. The "You're" is actually from the "You're Berry Special" stamp, but only the first word was inked.  Purple glitter gems and Thistle ribbon were used to accent this tag.
We purchased a few smaller gifts for some of the other teachers my children see throughout the week.  This Strawberry shower gel was topped off with an adorable strawberry tag!  The strawberries were first inked in Cotton Candy, then rolled in Cranberry.  The stems were stamped using Topiary ink. The strawberries were cut out by hand (it didn't take too long) and popped up on 3-D Foam tape (the bigger one uses CTMH's thin foam tape and the smaller berry uses the regular foam tape - this allowed for them to be layered even more!).  Clear sparkles and Pixie Pink twine finished off this tag.
For the randomly stamped oranges on the background of this tag, the stamp was first inked in Goldrush, then the edges were rolled in Sunset ink.  A piece of Goldrush cardstock was stamped with the black flourish, then the top and bottom tips were accented with bitty sparkles.  The coordinating shape was cut using the CTMH Artists cartridge and popped up on 3-D Foam tape.
I am so pleased with how all of these gifts turned out!!!!  These would make fantastic hostess gifts as well.  Here is a tutorial on how to create the bag.
1.  Score your 12" x 12" paper at 2" and 9"
2. Rotate paper 90 degrees and score at 3" and 9"; repeat steps one and two for a second sheet of paper.

3. For one paper, cut out the 3"x3" squares in the two corners.
4. For the second paper, just slit along one of the 3" score lines.
5.  Fold along all score lines.
6. For added stability, add a 2 7/8" x 5 7/8" piece of scrap cardstock to the bottom section of one paper (color doesn't matter as this will be covered up).
7. Adhere the bottom  3"x6" rectangle from the second sheet.
8.  Carefully fold the two sides towards up and insert top folds into each other.
9. Glue down flaps for added stability (I also add a little glue to the corners of the outside flaps).
10. Before punching holes for the ribbon handles, I slid another piece of cardstock (1 1/2" x 5 1/2") under each top flap - just to give the handles some added stability.  Please message me if you have any questions regarding the tutorial!


While these projects showcase several of the stamps included in the Taste of Summer set, not all were used.  Here is a look at the entire stamp set.
Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed my Taste of Summer creations.  Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create these page:
CC1039 - Taste of Summer Stamp Set
CC1038 - Taste of Summer Paper Packet

Z1990 - Thistle Diagonal Striped Ribbon
Z1929 - Topiary Mini Chevron Ribbon
Z3035 - Pixie Extra Thick Twine
Z1936 - Purple Glitter Gems
Z1263 - Bitty Sparkles
Z1752 - Clear Sparkles
Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
Z679 - Liquid Glass
Z1806 - Green & Blue Epoxy Bubbles
Z1790 - Cricut Artist Collection
Z1686 - Cricut Art Philosophy Collection
CTMH Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Goldrush, Sunset, Archival Black, Sweet Leaf, Topiary, Canary and Honey
CTMH Cardstock in Sunset, Gold Rush, Honey, Topiary, Cranberry and White Daisy
Retired CTMH Sunset Baker's Twine
Now "Hop" on over to Peachy Lamb'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, this stamp set and paper packet are only available through May 31st! You can order yours here!

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Blossom Cardmaking Workshop

Join me this month as we make a set of 3 cards using the Blossom Paper Line!  These cards incorporate bright, cheerful colors and fun embellishments to help wish a Happy Birthday to your friend or loved one.

The workshop will be held on Thursday, May 21st.  There will be two time slots available: 10:00 AM or 7:30 PM.  All materials will be pre-cut and ready to assemble.  Light refreshments will be provided. 

Space is limited, so purchase your kit today for only $5 to reserve your spot!  The RSVP and payment deadline is Friday, May 15th.  Please select the time slot that best fits your schedule!



Time Slot