December Stamp of the Month- Special Care

Welcome to our monthly

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

 

Today we will be featuring December’s Stamp of the Month (SOTM), which is called “Special Care”.  What an ADORABLE stamp set!! J

This stamp set will go perfect when you are creating anything regarding “little people”!  Let’s get right to the Blog Hop J  …

If you have come here from Nikka Geers' 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 here HERE…

This month we have

 55 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this Special Care stamp set!!

So, sit back and enjoy your tour as you click on the link at the end of the post to see what EACH Consultant has created!!

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 When I first saw this stamp set, I KNEW I would pair it up with one of my favorite children’s sets - Happy Day. J 
These adorable sayings are  PERFECT with anything to do with children!!!  Sticky Fingers, feed frequently, tickle gently, handle with care, etc…

I decided this time around to not use a certain designed paper kit by CTMH, but instead I pulled out my cardstock and inks and created a background of my own.





Here’s a closer look at the background…

when stamping your own background, do not start on the edge of the card, but rather in the middle OR off the card, so that your background doesn’t look like you “purposefully” stamped it.

I used whisper ink on the background stamping, and then stamped the little girl & her puppy in Slate ink.  

At the bottom of the card, I wanted to create a “road” of some type for her to walk on.  I LOVE how pairing the lagoon houndstooth washi tape with crème brulle cardstock gives the washi a totally different look!  I then finished off the bottom piece by wrapping the grey baker’s twine around the piece.

Here is a list of items used on this card…

Products used 

Happy Day stamp

Special Care - Dec SOTM stamp set

Crème Brulee & Lagoon Cardstock

Neutral Baker’s Twine Assortment

Scallop Border Punch

Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape

Slate Polka-dot Washi Tape

Micro Tip Scissors

3D foam tape

Ink Colors: Slate, Whisper & Smoothie

 

Now head on over to  Priscilla Gotham’s Blog  to see what she has created using this stamp set!

Be sure to visit ALL the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas!

****Remember, the December SOTM is only available

until December 30th! J

Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here if you need a consultant J) to see how you can get this EXCLUSIVE stamp set FOR ONLY $5!!   

Blessings to you for a WONDERFUL day!!!

Krista J

Happy Thanksgiving - Fall/Babycakes 2 page layout

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!! 

Blessings to each of you as we think & give thanks for the many things we have been blessed with!

Today, I wanted to share another Autumn project with you…it’s not too late…right?  It’s still Thanksgiving - LOL!! 

I realized that Autumn is almost over and I haven’t shared one of my FAVORITE fall layouts with you!!  I’m excited to share this with you today! J

I really love the Babycakes paper pack that CTMH debuted this Autumn/Winter season! 

The neutral colors are what I work with best, and even though I don’t have babies in my home anymore…I knew I would most likely use this paper pack often because of the neutral tones.

Well, I was right AND I’ve been quite happy with the many items I’ve create with this pack!!

Take a look at this 2 page layout!! This layout design came from our MAGIC how-to book, on page 40, called “Levitate”.

I created this 2 page sample for my East Brandywine Crop that is held at the end of October each year!  We always have a make and take that you create for FREE J - and I usually create some type of border for make n take that can be used on their scrapbook pages. 

Here is the border everyone created for the make n take….

The shiny, sheen you see in the middle of this border is pearl paint!  I LOVE the option CTMH’s pearl paint can bring to any creation!!  It added a little extra touch, by painting the pearl paint overtop of the paper.
And of course, I LOVE to share  a 2 page layout of a POSSIBLE way that this make n take border be used! 

Let’s take note of some of the FUN items on this page…

The WASHI Tape…yes, I have it bad…I love to use washi as a “quick embellishment” quite often - and I LOVE how it looks!!  This repositionable, decorative tape adds so much to ANY creation!!!  If you haven’t tried it yet, you must give it a try!!! 

Did you NOTICE how the washi tape will “take on” the background color?  So, I used the woodgrain washi (from the Party Washi Tape pack) on 3 different background colors - Sunset, colonial white & dotted designer paper!!  I LOVE how it looks different on EACH of these backgrounds!!

Close To My Heart now carries 8 different washi’s…

2 individual washi tapes (the middle ones)…

AND 2 different types of 3 pack Washi tape’s - that are ONLY AVAILABLE until Dec 31st OR while supplies last!!!

        

I LOVE the 1” thick tapes, and will miss this size in the next Idea book…however, I know that there will be more washi coming our way in Feb 2014!! 

Here’s a close up of some MORE washi!!

DID YOU KNOW…you can use washi to actually adhere the photo mat to the paper…J

OR use washi tape to create a “patterned arrow” by placing washi tape behind the image!! 

One MORE use of washi...did you notice the yellow pennants???  Yup, this is washi tape too! 

A few more things to note….

• The orange (sunset) photo mat and leaves were cut by our Artbooking Cricut cartridge.
• The glitter scallop on the right side, was scalloped with our NEW Scallop Border punch!!
• The arrows stamped on the yellow (buttercup) piece came from a favorite NEW stamp set- One Way Borders.
• I used PIGMENT inks to stamp the word fall (LOVE this framework alphabet stamp set!!!!)
• After letting the pigment ink dry for a bit, I then colored in the word “fall” with our BEAUIFUL alcohol markers! 

            
 

Another item I used in this 2 page  layout…

Our Irresistible Shapes - I used our Honeycomb ones shown here…



The shapes come PRE-embossed and look “white” with a design on it when you purchase them…

however, when you “ink up” the shape (sponge daubers work best) with whatever color coordinates with your creation you will be AMAZED at how EASY it is to add an accent to your creation!!! (notice the pennant washi tape running down the right side…wahoo LOVE Washi!)

As you can see, the Babycakes paper pack is the PERFECT pack to create a fall layout!!!  I encourage you to take a moment to look at CTMH’s other paper packs and look at the colors to see how they can be used DIFFERENTLY from their "normal" theme!!

 

If you’d like to collect these items to create a layout that is similar…feel free to head to my website by CLICKING HERE.

There are MANY specials still taking place the last few days of November!!!  Just click on the word SPECIALS above, to view these WONDERFUL deals!!!

ALSO - NEW…make sure to check out the RETIRING LIST on my website!!!  The items on this list are WHILE SUPPLIES LAST & will not be available AFTER Jan 31, 2014. 

Blessings to you for a BEAUTIFUL day!!

Krista J

Christmas Card Making Day 2013!!! - post #1

Our 6th Christmas Card Making Day

in Lancaster County!!! 

Yayyy!!! 

We had a WONDERFUL day creating Christmas Cards in late September!! 

 THANK YOU to EACH one of you that joined us this day!!  We enjoy making this day a special event of Christmas card crafting each year!!! 

To start our day, everyone registered when they walked in the door and then they were directed to the goodie bag table.  J Devyn greeted them there, and gave them a special bag that they would later put their created masterpieces (cards) inside.

Inside each bag was a variety of pre-cut Cricut pieces that were cut with our NEW Artbooking Cricut cartridge!

Here is a sample of the pieces that were included in each bag. 

One of the WONDERFUL features of CTMH Cricut cartridges is that many of the Cricut cut images, have a stamp set that coordinates with it!!! 

For instance, the doily stamp in the bottom left corner(shown above)…this shape was cut out with the Artbooking cartridge, and then we stamped the beautiful doily on top of the cut out piece!! 

This is just ONE of the EXCLUSIVE (you can’t purchase separately) stamp sets that is included in the Artbooking Bundle!!

There were ALSO pieces in their bags to create the 3x3 card shown in this picture. 

This card incorporated one of the new OVERLAYS that make the Artbooking Cricut Cartridge unique to itself!!

These were all the Cricut pre-cut items in everyone's bag.  In their spare moments throughout the day, each person took time to come back up to this table to stamp their tag, card, banner, etc. and then could take those items with them.

Next, each person created a TAG to attach to their bag.  This would help us know whose bag is whose! J

TAKE A LOOK at the variety of tags!!

The tag shape was cut from (that famous) Artbooking Cricut cartridge.

The stamped images came from the new stamp set called Candyland. 

The small wording “Merry Christmas” comes from a FAVORITE stamp set called “Holiday Tags”. 

The place where we meet is an older fire hall, complete with interesting, decorative, 50’s wallpaper! J

How did our day work??

We had 5 tables around the room.  Each table had a group of 6 ladies. This group of ladies stayed together the entire day as they rotated clockwise to each of the 5 tables, creating a new item at each table.

Our sessions were 30 minutes long, so we created 5 cards in the morning, and 5 cards in the afternoon for a TOTAL of 10 cards created during the day…plus the tag, and goodie bag items J

Let’s take a look at the beloved – DOOR PRIZE table!

Each person at Card Making Day went home with a door prize!  It may have been a handcrafted item, or a product from CTMH…there were MANY items to chose from!!!

The GRAND PRIZE of the day was the Frosted Card Making kit!!!  With a retail total of $24.95, EVERYONE was excited at a chance to win!!!  Everyone’s name was put into the pot – to have a chance at WINNING this kit and the final prize was drawn at 3:30 that day!!!

If there was any extra time throughout the day…we had a table set up in middle where anyone could stamp sentiments inside their cards, on their envelopes, etc.

*****A new, exciting part of Christmas Card Making Day this year, was the opportunity to purchase handmade cards! 

My team of consultants donated these cards, and then 100% of the proceeds went to Operation Smile!!

Here you see a few attendees taking time to look through the donated cards from my fellow teammates!  Thank you so much ladies for the card donations…and a HUGE thank you to those that purchased the cards too!!

We raised a total of $86 for the kids at Operation Smile!!!  Wahoo!!! 

Close To My Heart is partnered with Operation Smile^®, an organization that provides free, life-changing surgery that repairs smiles and reshapes lives, one child at a time. 

If you’d like to learn more about Operation Smile please CLICK HERE and know that you are welcome ANYTIME to round up or donate money on any CTMH order that you place!! 

Here are a few more displays that we had set up to create our Christmas atmosphere….

and finally…a HUGE thanks goes to our kitchen crew of the day. 

We had breakfast snacks (homemade donuts!) and the “traditional” lunch of taco soup with a variety of side dishes to compliment this treat. 

Many of us helped in the kitchen throughout the day, but Darla & Aymee were the ones that kept everything going!  We couldn't have completed this day without you two!!!  THANK YOU!!

I hope you enjoyed the quick view of what our day was like…

I ENCOURAGE you to check back here at my blog in the near future  J to see details on all TEN items we created during at our Christmas Card Making day!!!!

Blessings to you for a wonderful week!!

Krista J

EXCLUSIVE Cricut Cartridges ~ from Close To My Heart!

Today I would like to share, how SPECIAL & EXCLUSIVE Close To My Heart's Cricut cartridges are!  

 

I realized that I've assumed that "everyone knows about these FABULOUS cartridges"...J  however, after talking to some people recently, I now know that is NOT the case!!  J

So come JOIN me, and allow me to share details, view artworkcreated with these amazing cartridges and learn with me

why the THREE Cricut cartridge bundles are

SO SPECIAL here at Close To My Heart J!! 

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Did you know...that Close To My Heart now has

THREE Cricut Bundles??

To see all THREE of Close To My Heart's cartridges, and to VIEW the booklets of the images INCLUDED on each cartridge -
CLICK HERE...


Today, I will be sharing a bit more about our NEWEST Cricut cartridge bundle is called Artbooking!!

If you haven’t heard about this cartridge yet, or haven’t seen it in person, make sure to join me at one of my upcoming events to see the AMAZING things this cartridge can do!

As with EACH of our cartridges, all 3 CTMH Cricut cartridges include…

o       700 IMAGES (not sizes) on the cartridge!
o       an alphabet font (Artbooking font is script J)
o       3 EXCLUSIVE (only found in Cricut bundles) D-size stamp sets…retailing at $53.85!
o       3-12x9 sheets of chipboard…coordinating with the shapes on the cartridge
o       a special asset that pertains to each individual cartridge

***What makes the Artbooking Cartridge unique from our other 2 cartridges???

The ARTBOOKING cartridge bundle is know for the
10 mini-albums & (15) 2 page layouts that it creates.

Take a look at the pictures below at this Christmas mini album…

 
and what AMAZES me about this album – it was created ONLY by using the the Artbooking cartridge!

There is NO inking, NO stamping throughout this booklet!!!  To create this album, I used Artbooking cuts, glitter paper & embellishments!!

 

Take a look at this 2 page layout.... it was cut COMPLETELY by the Artbooking cartridge and then glued to the two base pages…


and ta-da – the layout is complete!!  So QUICK, BEAUTIFUL & EASY!!!

I wasn’t sure how much I would use this cartridge at first...but I really shouldn't have been surprised, as I have used, and used, and USED this cartridge over & over again for ALL Papercrafting items that I was creating!! J... I turn to this Artbooking cartridge as much as I use my other 2 CTMH cartridges!  It really is an AMAZING little tool!! J

So, if you do not think of yourself as a scrapbooker...

don't turn away from from this cartridge yet!  CLICK HEREto view the MANY images (700 to be exact) that are included on this cartridge!!!

All of the images on this cartridge can be re-sized…meaning I can create quicker, beautiful cards by using these fabulous overlays!! 

Here is a my penguin card, where I re-sized the 11x11 overlay down to 4 1/2" by using my "Real Dial Size" (RDS) key!!

The shape the penguin is stamped on, is from the Artbooking too!!
I used Wintry Wishes stamp set (hostess exclusive stamp) for the stamping.  Here is a list of the other items used to create this card.

4 ½” Penguin Cricut card –
Artbooking – key K >RDS 4 ¼”

X7175B        Frosted paper pack
X5929          Whisper Cardstock
                         C1560         Wintry Wishes (hostess exclusive)

Z2413        Topiary Marker
Z1847                Green Glitter Paper
Inks used:          Champagne, Whisper & Black



I also have SO MANY OPTIONS  with this Artbooking collection - of shapes, words, photo mats, etc…to use on my cards & other creations as well!!!

Take a look at a few more pictures of items with Artbooking shapes on these cards below!
 


Another great tool to learn MORE about the Artbooking cartridge are the FABULOUS CTMH WEEKLY videos called "Artbooking Made Easy"! 
CLICK HERE to see last week's episode, and make sure to subscribe to CTMH's YouTube or Facebook links to learn when a new video is coming!  They will be creating them EACH week until April 2014!!  Wahoo!!!

***If you are interested in getting one of our AMAZING Cricut bundles of your own…
there are 3 different ways to receive it! 
 

1. Purchase the Cricut bundle at the retail price of $99 (retail value is $125!!) 

click here to go directly to my website

2.  Join my CTMH Family, and get the Cricut cartridge (and all of our other quality products) at the Consultant price!!!

Plus there are so many MORE specials taking place at the moment when you join my team! Click HERE to learn all the details about being a part of our CTMH family.

3. Host a home party, book party or online party & when your party reaches $250 in sales, you can choose a Cricut cartridge as your one ½ price item...

or when your party reaches $450 in sales - you are eligible for TWO ½ price items

...which could be 2 Cricut cartridges!!! 

CLICK HERE to see the options of "what a party is" and contact me! 

I hope you enjoyed this bit of information about our EXCLUSIVE Cricut bundles!

If you have any other questions, please let me know AND I always LOVE to see any items you have created - Cricut cuts or other works of your creativity!! 

Blessings to you for a beautiful Monday!!J  

Krista Hershberger J

Close To My Heart Independent Consultant

PHONE/TEXT: 610-587-9116        EMAIL:fun2stampnscrap@dejazzd.com

WEB: www.kristah.ctmh.com    BLOG:www.kristascraftycorner.blogspot.com