Halloween Witch Hat Workshop

Recently, I featured this Halloween witch's hat project on the blog.  If you'd like to create your own, I'm now offering it as a workshop on Friday, October 23rd!

Here is a close-up of some of the detail on the hat.  The pattern on the faceted gem in the center will vary (there are 9 Halloween-themed designs to choose from).

All supplies are pre-cut and ready to assemble.  Light refreshments will be available.  The workshop begins at 7pm and will cost $10.  Order your workshop by October 16th to reserve your spot!

Spotlight on Holiday Expressions Catalog

Welcome to our Holiday Expressions Blog Hop!  This month, 30 consultants will be showcasing some of the many new items available in the Holiday Expressions catalog.  Items in this catalog focus on the several holidays falling into October, November and December. 

 

If you have come here from Terrie'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.  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!
Our Annual Inspirations Books are a fabulous source of ideas!  I always keep my old ones to reference and get ideas.  Last year, there was a decorated witches hat showcasing the Scaredy Cat line.  I loved that hat, but never got around to making one for myself.  Close to My Heart has a new line in the Holiday Expressions book called Nevermore.  My local craft store had a plain cardboard witches hat, it was on sale, AND I had a coupon that worked on sale items.  Here is my newest Halloween decoration, hanging out on the mantle next to Mr. Bones!

 Here is a close-up of the decorations - complete with clear sparkles, black glitter paper and the spider web faceted gem!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed the witch hat. The original hat, along with instructions, and a few other versions can be found on Jeanette Lynton's blog. 
Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create these cards:
X7198B - Nevermore Paper Packet
Z3083 - Nevermore Assortment
Z1752 - Clear Sparkles Z3170 - Cricut Artiste Collection Z1829 - Black & Grey Glitter Paper Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape
CTMH Cardstock in Slate and Black
All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Now "Hop" on over to Michelle's Blog to see her creation! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas!

Twinkle - October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to our October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  This month, over 40 consultants will be showcasing the Twinkle Stamp Set.  This set is only available during the month of October.  It can be purchased for $17.95, or only $5 with a $50 purchase

If you have come here from Donna'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.  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!

The first card uses the string of lights stamps.  One thing that is fabulous about Close to My Heart acrylic stamps is the ability to bend them to fit your needs.  The "string" portion of the lights was a somewhat straight line.  Before attaching to the stamping block, I bent the stamp in a 90 degree angle to hug the top and right side edges of the card.  

While primarily designed as a holiday stamp set, I wanted to showcase one way to use the stamp for another purpose.  Each time I looked at the "Twinkle" stamp, I would sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" in my head!  This card uses the beautiful Georgie paper and it's color combination to create a baby themed card. The star background was created using the new Charming Cascades stamp set!  That little multi-colored star at the top is from the Zoe complements pack!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed my cards. Remember, this stamp can be purchased for only $5 with any $50 purchase!

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create these cards:

S1510 - Twinkle Stamp Set
D1668 - Charming Cascades Stamp Set  
X254 - White Value Pack, Cards and Envelopes
X7203B - Georgie Paper packet
Z3125 - Adventure Paper Fundamentals
Z2013 - Sequins, Silver Assortment
Z3089 - Enamel Gems, Grey
Z3039 - Extra Thick Twine, Glacier
X7197C - Zoe Complements

Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape

CTMH Exclusive Inks in Black, Honey, Cranberry, Topiary, Slate, Canary and Juniper
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy, Honey, Cranberry, Slate and Canary

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Now "Hop" on over to Maria's Blog to see her creation! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas!

 

National Stamping Month Blog Hop

Welcome to our National Stamping Month Blog Hop!  This month, 40 consultants will be showcasing the Hello Life Stamp Sets.  These sets are only available during the month of September to celebrate National Stamping Month.  They can be purchased for $13.95 each, or buy all 3 as a set for only $34.95.

If you have come here from Jessica'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.  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!
Each of the 3 sets has a different "focus," traditional scrapbooking, pocket scrapbooking and cardmaking, but they are very versatile and can be used interchangeably.  All three sets were used to create the two cards shown below!  Many of the stamps also coordinate with shapes from the brand new CTMH Cricut Artistry cartridge!

The first card was made for my Father-in-Law's Birthday.  He is an avid golfer, so my husband asked if I could create a golf themed card.  The "grass" is made from the new Fern extra-thick twine, but unraveled!  This technique was used before on this Easter card.  The golf ball was "dimpled" by using the dots embossing folder.  And check out that cocoa patterned paper - part of the all new line of Paper Fundamentals!!!!

The second card is just a fun and cheerful notecard!  The "paint swipe" stamp is from the pocket scrapbooking set.  The 5 colors of ink gradually transition from light pink to orange, Pixie, Cotton Candy, Smoothie, Sorbet and Sunset, creating such a fun background!  That black and white patterned paper is also from the new Paper Fundamentals!  And the new coral shimmer trim is the perfect accent to finish off the card!

Here are the full selections offered in each stamp set.

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create these cards:

CC1040, CC1041 and CC1042 - Hello Life National Stamping Month Stamp Sets

Z3128 - Paper Fundamentals, Basics

Z3093 - Fern Thick Twine

Z3088 - Coral Shimmer Trim

X254 - White Value Pack, Cards and Envelopes

Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape
Z1924 - Dots Embossing Folder

CTMH Exclusive Inks in Pixie, Cotton Candy, Smoothie, Sorbet, Sunset, Black, Cocoa and Honey
CTMH Cardstock in Whisper White, Honey, Cocoa, Glacier and Black

  

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Now "Hop" on over to Donna's Blog to see her creation! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas for using these stamp sets! 

Framed Blog Hop

Welcome to our August Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  This month, over 50 consultants will be showcasing the Framed Stamp Set.  This set is only available during the month of August.  It can be purchased for $17.95, or only $5 with a $50 purchase.

If you have come here from Michelle'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.  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!

 My Dad's Birthday is July 30th, so I wanted to make him a masculine Birthday card.  Masculine cards are something that I always struggle with.  Luckily, the Jackson Paper line makes it easy to create a masculine project!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed my card. The "Framed" stamp set is extremely versatile.  There are 3 different frames, with 9 different sentiments.  You can mix and match to find the right combination for your occasion!  Remember, this stamp can be purchased for only $5 with any $50 purchase!

 

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create these cards:

Framed Stamp Set

C1561 - One Way Borders Stamp Set

X7195B - Jackson Paper Packet

Z1928 - Durables Triangle Studs

X1410 - Colonial White Value Pack, Cards and Envelopes

Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape

CTMH Exclusive Inks in Barn Red and Juniper
CTMH Cardstock in Juniper and Colonial White

All items can be purchased through my CTMH website.

Now "Hop" on over to Kathy's Blog to see her creation! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! 

  

 

Operation Smile Rainbow Card (Take 3!)

For some reason, this Operation Smile stamp set keeps inspiring me to create rainbow cards!  If you missed the first two, you can view them here and here!

This card used up several pieces of scrap paper (mostly from May's Taste of Summer paper pack)!  The balloon was stamped on the 6 different colors, then I fussy cut them each out.  Fussy cutting and I did not always get along.  I used to avoid it like the plague.  But lately, I'm starting to understand how some people refer to it as therapeutic or maybe even enjoyable (I used to think those people were crazy!). 

The balloons are all popped up on 3-D Foam tape.  However, the top row uses the regualr 3-D Foam tape while the bottom row uses the thin 3-D Foam tape.  This provides a nice multi-layered card.  Here is a side view so you can see the difference.

This is such a fun stamp set, and helps out a great cause ($3 of the purchase goes to Operation Smile).  Here are all the stamps included in the set.

These are the CTMH supplies used to create this card:
D1653 - Happy Everything Stamp Set
Z3011 - Scaredy Cat Assortment
X254 - Cards and Envelopes, White Value Pack
Z2015 - Exclusive Inks stamp pad, Black
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy, Black, Pacifica and Cranberry
Taste of Summer paper pack, Retired
All supplies can be purchased from my website.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day!

Jump On It July Blog Hop

Welcome to our Jump On It July Blog Hop!  During the month of July, Close to My Heart is offering a fantastic deal on their Stamp of the Month and Hostess stamp sets.  When you purchase $25 in current, retail priced stamps, you qualify to receive either the July Stamp of the Month FREE or any one of the Hostess Rewards stamp sets featured in Annual Inspirations 2014–2015 or Seasonal Expressions 2 for only $5!  The Hostess Rewards stamp sets have previously only been available as part of the Hostess Rewards program, which means now is the perfect opportunity to get those special stamp sets you’ve had your eye on!

If you have come here from Jennifer'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 35 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using any of the Hostess stamp sets. 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!

There are 13 hostess stamp sets to choose from for this deal!  They can be found on pages 5-10 of the Annual Inspirations book and pages 4-5 of the Seasonal Expressions 2 book.

I chose to use the Exotic Flower set from the Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog.  This is a single stamp that is approximately 4" x 4".  Using the Exotic Flower Stamp, I created 3 different cards using the same layout.  For each card, the image was stamped 3 times, cut and layered using thin 3-D foam tape.  Each card has the original square image, the flower shaped image and the circular center.  Here is a side view to see the layering.

For the first card, I tried a technique I have seen posted around the internet.  The image was stamped onto black paper and embossed using white embossing powder. The white lines were colored using several shades of ShinHan Touch Twin markers. A small strip of green glitter paper and a pair of silver sequins topped off the card.

The second card is my contribution to "Christmas in July!" The image was embossed using gold powder on white, cranberry and ivy cardstock. The "Merry Christmas" sentiment stamp is from another hostess set, Sing Glory. This card used a small scrap of Yuletide Carol paper and two gold sequins to finish it off.

The last card uses the zip strip from my favorite Blossom paper line. The colors in this paper are beautiful together!  The image was stamped and embossed with white powder again, but no coloring was added to the image.

 

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed my creations.  I'd love to hear which card is your favorite!  

Here is a list of Close To My Heart Products used to create these cards:

B1477 - Exotic Flower stamp set
C1587 - Sing Glory stamp set
B1438 - Banner Wishes stamp set

Z3042 - Coral Reef Sequins

Z2013 - Sequins, Silver Assortment

Z2012 - Sequins, Gold Assortment

Z891 - VersaMark Ink Pad

Z2066 - Ranger Princess Gold Embossing Powder

Z2068 - Ranger White Super Fine Embossing Powder

Z1847 - Green Glitter Paper

X7187B - Yuletide Carol Paper Pack

X7196B - Blossom Paper Pack

X254 - Cards and Envelopes, White Value Pack
Z2060 - Thin 3-D Foam Tape

ShinHan Touch Twin Markers in Vivid Green, Pastel Green, Tender Pink and Cerulean Blue Light
CTMH Cardstock in Glacier, Sorbet, Pear, Cranberry, New England Ivy, White Daisy, and Black

Remember, only during the month of July can you take advantage of this great special! To get your FREE SOTM stamp set or your $5 Hostess Rewards stamp set, simply place an order for $25 of any current, retail priced stamps. Spring into action and jump on this deal before it’s gone! 

Now "Hop" on over to Cat's Blog to see her creation! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas!