Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Meet Swan Lake

Oh my goodness, are you ready for fall?

Meet Swan Lake.  It's GORGEOUS, elegant with a bit of whimsy.

Swan Lake paper with Thankful For You stamps & Thin Cuts

and

Swan Lake paper with Autumn Wishes stamps

Notice something wonderful about these two card workshops?  The cards are the same.  It's just the difference in the stamp sets.


Sometimes having a whole pack of paper is overwhelming.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to have just what you need?  This kit also includes cardstock that is now sold separately.  

What's not to love?
  • A full color instruction guide.
  • A full color cutting guide to make 18 cards (or 72 if you use the whole pack of paper)
  • My kits include embellishments and all extra cardstock needed to make the 18 cards, 6 designs, 3 each. 
  • Very few scraps left over!
Pumpkins (Autumn Wishes B1530) 
Swans (Thankful for You with Thin Cuts Z4007)
Or both!  Each kit make 3 of each card design. You can make both designs!

Have you noticed the new Black Shimmer Ribbon?  It's soft and so easy to work with.  It lays flat for cards too.  You'll get a full roll of this ribbon with each card kit.  

This quarter pack card kit includes
  • 5 sheets (6 x  12.5") of the Swan Lake paper pack. The extra 0.5" is for the zip strip at the top
  • 3 sheets of cardstock (6x12"), one each of Poppy, Peacock & Goldrush
  • 2+  sheets of White Daisy cardstock (6x12").  
  • Additional White Daisy Paper 24 pre-cut pumpkins for Autumn Wishes or 2 (6x12") sheets of White Daisy for stamping the swans and floral elements of Thankful For You (You will not receive pre-cut swans)
  • 1 roll of Black Shimmer Ribbon Z4012 (3 yards per roll)
  • 20 card bases & envelopes from X254 bulk card bases & envelopes.  I'm giving you a couple extra just in case.  
  • Electronic copy of the Cutting Guide for the 18 cards.  (This is NOT a pre-cut workshop)
  • Electronic copy of the Full Color Assembly Guide.
And your choice of one of these options:
  • Autumn Wishes B1530 (Pumpkin stamp set)
  • Thankful For You (Stamp set only C1655)
  • Thankful For You with Thin Cuts Z4007-This is what I used.  
  • Or both stamp sets (Swans & Pumpkins).  (This qualifies you for the GORGEOUS September Stamp of the Month for $5)
Here's a look at the stamps.  Aren't they all wonderful?  I love the September Stamp of the Month and I'm so happy to be able to offer it to you in this kit.  

Place your order now for kits to ship by 9/21.  
Orders after 9/15 will ship approximately 10 business days later.  

Select from the following options as noted above to order your kit.  Or shop my website to receive the electronic files for free.  Sister consultants, please keep reading!  There's a bit for you too!

Workshop kit pricing based on stamp set selection.  Kits will be shipped for $7
Pumpkin Edition

Autumn Wishes
$29.75  
Swan Edition

Thankful For You (stamps only)  
$34.50
Thankful For You with thin cut dies
$48.85
Both Swans & Pumpkins
$61.50
Add on Stamp of the Month
$66.50

*Ahh the joys of blogger.  This table cannot make up its mind if it's going to have lines or not.


Swan Lake Card Kits
Deleted - no longer available

All orders placed by September 15th will ship around September 21.


Are you a Crafty DIYer or Consultant?

You can recreate this workshop with your friends and customers too!
Place a $25 order on my website and I'll email you the cutting diagram, assembly guide and consultant release (saying you can copy this workshop) for free!
Not up to ordering from my website?  You can order the guide for $20 USD through this PayPal button.

**Purchase link has been disabled**

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Summer's End Blog hop

Hello friends!

Summer is winding down but I thought I'd leave you with a sweet taste of summer with these cards I created using the One in a Melon stamp set that's available for just a few more days.

If you're joining us from the Summer's End Blog Hop and came from Katy's blog, welcome!  Thank you for stopping by.

I love the cute little pineapples.  This is a Cricut shape on the Artistry Cricut Cartridge.  

Orange You Great! 
I used our now - retired Sunset Ink to make this simple yet wonderful card.  Our Rose Gold Foil Tape goes forever and ever and it's still available, for the next year at least!  I think you could make about 90 of these cards from 1 roll!  


Recognize the smaller melon?  It's really the orange slice!  

All of the watercolor backgrounds were made using our fabulous new medium round water brush and one shade of our watercolor paints.  It couldn't be easier and cleanup is super simple!  

Be sure to get your One In A Melon Stamp C1650 Set before the end of the month!







Thank you for stopping by, if you're hopping, your next stop is Amie's blog Mimi, Myself and I.


Sunday, August 14, 2016

Sunday Funny

Sometimes we just gotta clean.  

While I was mopping on Friday morning, this came to mind.  
"My home is so clean you could eat off of a paper plate."
I dislike mopping because I just know that a sticky messy catastrophe will come before the end of the day.  On Friday, it wasn't a full glass of lemonade spilled, but enough...!

While I only have 1 boy, he really does live up to the definition of boy that I saw when he was a baby. 


Anyway, back to crafting!


This is a 3D daisy from the new Flower Market Cricut Cartridge.
I stamped the center with one of the background stamps that comes in the bundle. It's super easy to put together, just a dab of glue between each layer!  


Friday, August 12, 2016

Awesome Looks Good on You

This is probably one of the simplest cards I've made all year.  But look at all the fun! 



Maybe it was super simple because I repurposed my up-line's Father's Day card with a new stampset.  Either way, a teeny bit of Magical Paper has a big impact when paired with our Sapphire Cardstock.

The sentiment was 1 stamp.  I stamped it on a scrap of paper to make a mask so that I could hide the Awesome portion while I stamped the "Looks Good on You" in Sapphire ink.  I then stamped the Awesome in Cranberry on another scrap of White Daisy Cardstock.

Items used:

Magical Paper Pack (available only through 8/31 or while supplies last)
Sapphire & Cranberry Exclusive Inks  (stick around.  They're in the process of being re-designed to an easy-open pad!)

Want the stamp set & 4 pre-cut cards shipped directly to your home?  Join my Crafty Card Club today!  Click here for more info.





Thursday, August 11, 2016

Sprockets & gears: You Are Some Kind of Awesome

This is the first of two non-floral cards in my August Crafty Virtual workshop.  


I won't say guy card because I know there's girls out there who would love gears over gardenias any day.

This card was created using the Beyond Awesome C1644 stamp set.  It's available only until the end of the month.  

The paper is using our now-retired Later Sk8r Picture My Life cards.  You get 2 each of the large 4x6 cards and 3 each of the 3x4 cards and they're perfect for cardmaking as well as traditional 12x12 scrapbooking.  The lined paper card wasn't trimmed at all.  The sprocket card was trimmed to 5 1/4" from the original 6".  That's it!  They're super simple to use.

Want the stamp set & 4 pre-cut cards shipped directly to your home?  Join my Crafty Card Club today!  Click here for more info.





Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Hello & Thanks Thin Cuts

I'm loving the new Hello & Thanks Thin Cuts from the new Close to My Heart Annual Inspirations.

I created this card for the August Crafty Kits.  See the whole kit here.

They cut our glitter paper so well.  The Cricut does a beautiful job too, but I like being in control of how my glitter paper is cut and then I can use the negative piece in another project.  


What are thin cuts?
They are thin metal dies to cut paper, glitter paper and other thin materials with a Cuttlebug or Big Shot.  Other companies call them Thinlets.  Close To My Heart calls them Thin Cuts.

We also have a set of stars, hearts and a few words for scrapbooking as well as dies that coordinate with our stamp sets.  You can see them on page 79 of our new Annual Inspirations Idea Book & Catalog.

Now that we've talked about the new, let me remind me of the "no-so old".
I used the Florence papers from the Seasonal Expressions 2 mini-catalog that is ending this month.
Hint:  Grab this paper before it's gone!

The white floral piece is a pattern from one of the Picture My Life cards.  It's just a 4x6 piece, but cut in narrow strips, a little will go a long way!

Don't forget, this card and stamp set is available to order in my Virtual Kit until 8/28/2016.


Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Flower Market Forget Me Nots

Hello friends,
Today I want to show you a beautiful card I created with the Flower Market Cartridge.

There's around 50 different types of flower and succulents on this cartridge along with many many other shapes.  We're not talking about 7 petaled flowers vs 3 petaled abstract flowers, but ones that you can actually identify.

Today, I'm using the Forget-Me-Nots.  I've also cut the banner and envelope from the Flower Market Cartridge. 

The light blue flowers and the Envelope liner were cut from our Whimsy Fundamentals.  I also used Pixie, Sweet Leaf and Crystal Blue cardstock (all part of the Whimsy color family) to complete this card.  I love sticking within a color family because I know that the colors are going to work together.  

I added a LOT of shimmer to a couple of the flowers using our new shimmer pen.  You can put on as little or lot as you want.  It's like eye shadow--a little goes a long way and an inexperienced user (that's me) put it on a little heavy.  


I love the dimension of this card even without embellishments.  
The sentiment is one of the stamps included in the Flower Market Bundle.  
This bundle has 2 sets of background stamps which are designed to add texture and a whole sheet of sentiments.  I LOVE sentiments, especially when my Cricut is doing all the hard work of creating beautiful die-cuts to put on my cards.  These stamps are perfect!  I'll be using them a lot. 

Want to make this card?  Here's the link for the Cricut Explore Design Space.

Shimmer Brush Z3293 (temporarily sold out, but will be in stock next week)
Crystal Blue Exclusive Inks (for inking flowers)


You can receive the Rustic Home paper pack for FREE this month when you purchase the Whimsy, Adventure & Enchantment Fundamentals!  (This plus the Flower Market Cricut Collection enables you to earn $25 in Hostess Rewards because it's a $150+ order/party!)  I have to set up the party before you place your order so contact me before ordering!  








Saturday, August 6, 2016

Hello Adventure Fundamentals

Here's a lively birthday card! 
This was one of the very first stamp sets I saw in this new Idea Book.  I knew I had to have it. There's this great sentiment that says, "Birthday Wishes to the smartest person I know.... BESIDES ME."  


CTMH has had numerous build-a-cake stamp sets over the years but this is the FIRST one that's Cricut Compatible.  That was another excellent reason for me to grab it too.  It's called Wise Guy Birthday, not Wise Girl... what's up with that?  

Wise Guy Birthday is also available in Spanish and French!  
French.  Check out all 7 French sets here.  
and Spanish. Check out all 7 Spanish sets here.  

I used the delicious new Raspberry cardstock to complement the Adventure Fundamentals paper.  Isn't it fun and bright?  We also have new black glitter paper pack. All of our glitter paper contain 3 sheets of the SAME color!  It's going to be wonderful for big projects, Christmas cards and layouts.  

Sea Glass cardstock made its way into this card as well.  It's the new black.  Or the new gray.  Or the new 2016 Color of the Year.  Anyway you label it, it's wonderful!  

You'll be seeing a LOT more of this set as it's on my schedule for a card kit in early October!  





Thursday, August 4, 2016

August Crafty Kit!

Announcing the August Virtual Card Kit!


This month's Hot Cuppa Crafty kit features the Beyond Awesome stamp set from the Seasonal Expressions catalog that's available through the end of the month.
You'll receive pre-cut papers, card bases, envelopes and embellishments to create these 4 cards as well as the BEYOND AWESOME C1644 stamp set .

You'll see a little of everything!
The top Sapphire blue card features a bit of our Magical Papers as well as our Grey & White enamel gems.

On the left is Florence with a brand new Thin Cut dies Hello & Thanks in Gold Glitter paper.  Glitter paper is a breeze to cut with our dies.  You're going to get "hello" pre-cut in your kit.  If you want the dies, you can add them on to your kit order below.

The floral tag card is from our 2015 Adventure Fundamentals pack, using Pear and black ink.

The right card is using our retired Later Sk8r Picture My Life cards that were retired a year ago.  I have tons left over from a workshop.  Let's put it this way, if you need some, let me know!

To get your BEYOND AWESOME kits (with stamp set)


  • Be a US resident because I can only ship CTMH products within the US.  If you'd like the instructions to my kits, contact me for more details.  
  • Order your card kit by August 28, 2016 or place a $50* order on my website to get the card portion for free!  (See info below)
  • Kits will ship no later than 9/12.  
  • If you ordered last month's kit, you're eligible for free shipping!  You know who you are.  Please check your inboxes for a link to order for free shipping.  


Beyond Awesome Card Kit  ($25 + $4 shipping)

Card Kit Add-On's (cannot be ordered without the kit).  They include tax and shipping.
Hello & Thanks Thin Cuts $13
Sapphire or Cranberry Stamp Pads (hopefully the new design) $8.75

Email me to request a kit and/or any extra kit-add on's.  I'll respond and send you a PayPal invoice for your total.

This is a brand-new no-commitment club.  When you order this month's kit, you'll be eligible for FREE shipping on the September card kit.

If you'd like to receive updates about this Virtual Card Workshop directly in your inbox sign up for my newsletter.  It's only sent 1-2 times a month.

Need more more supplies?  You may earn this card kit for free!  See more on the FAQ.

You also have 1 more week to order the July Crafty Kit.  Hop on over here to check it out.  You can request both kits via email so there's just one transaction!  



Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Hello Sea Glass

Meet Sea Glass, the 2016 Color of the Year for Close to My Heart!

I'm thinking you may have been already introduced. It's a very popular color.  I've seen it at Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart, Target, Kohls and even on a Grey's Anatomy preview for this fall.  

It's a pretty amazing color, it goes with EVERYTHING!  You'll see what I mean as I post more cards using Sea Glass!

Sea Glass is available in Cardstock, Glitter Paper, mini-pigment ink, ink pad & reinker.  The latter 2 will be available later this month.  

This new stamp set Hi Friend A1198 is an A sized stamp set at just $6.95 and is also available in French & Spanish!  It's one of 7 sets that have been translated to Spanish or French.  And the flowers (which are Cosmos) are compatible with the new Cricut Cartridge Flower Market!  

This card was made using the new Flower Market Cricut cartridge!  
It's filled with flowers and so much more!

Products used for this card
Shimmer Pen Z3293  this product is so amazing, it's already sold out.  Available 8/15.

Check back for more cards!  I was busy creating the whole month of July and just cannot wait to show you everything!  





Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Introducing the new 2016 Annual Inspirations

Hello friends! 
I'm excited to be able to start sharing with you artwork and products from the new Annual Inspirations Idea Book & Catalog.  Items are now available to view & purchase on my website.

You can view or download the idea book here.


To kick off the new Idea Book and new selection of Fundamental Papers, they are this month's special!  

Each fundamental paper pack is based on our color family of inks and cardstock.  You get 24 double sided sheets using the 10 colors of the color family.  
There's 4 color families.  

Enchantment--dark jewel tones


Adventure--bright and playful with 7 new colors!

Whimsy --light and cheery 

Basics are so not basic --Black, greys, browns AND GOLD)  Yep, you heard it.  Gold.  Our Basic color family has incorporated gold, silver and copper this year so they're ANYTHING BUT BASIC.  

Rustic Home Fundamentals combines wood grain patterned paper, Kraft paper and Copper foiled vellum!
Uptown Fundamentals combines black, slate and whisper with Gold foil and vellum!  


When you purchase the Whimsy, Adventure & Enchantment fundamentals you'll get a free pack of the basics!  See here for more details


This is just a peek!  Who's ready to see some artwork created with these wonderful new papers?  Check back often!