Claire gift bag

A quick and easy gift, packaged up with “Claire”! J

Products used:
X7166B Claire paper pack
C1538 Girls Rock stamp set
D1525 Casual Expressions
Inks: Outdoor denim, Pear & Cashmere

I needed a Hostess gift last week, and decided to cut a bag from my Artiste cartridge!!   The bag is cut from the NOEL key…and I used the “fit to page” key – making it a 5 1/4” bag. 

CLICK HERE to see all 700 images from the Cricut Artiste collection!

I then used the Art Philosophy cartridge to cut the flower & leaves and stamped images from the Girls Rock stamp set…LOVE this stamp set!!!

Can you see how I created the middle of the flower?? J

I cut this circle from the Claire designer paper!!!  How COOL is that?

I finished the bag with a zip strip along the bottom, and stamped “thank you” on the top part of the bag! 

CTMH’s hook & loop ( mini velcro dots) are PERFECT to hold the top of this bag closed!!

Here are the gifts I tucked inside for my hostess J

I am on the cruise that I earned with CTMH…but will be returning soon!!!

Blessings to you for a beautiful day!!!

Krista J

Home Décor by Close To My Heart

There are so many creative ways to use hand-crafted 3-D items. Use our great products to create home décor that will bring a fun and unique accent in your home.

It’s easy to use Close To My Heart products you already know and love—with a different twist!

This festive thankful countdown uses the My Creations® cubby to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Fill the Cricut^®-cut boxes with reminders of things you are thankful for, and share the grateful fun with your family. Use it to countdown to your favorite holiday, like Thanksgiving, or use different embellishments and countdown to a loved one’s birthday to show them how much you love them.

This adorable star was made from Collection Two of the Hostess Collections, available through Hostess Rewards in the Autumn Winter 2012 Idea Book.

This spunky star is an idea of what YOU can create from this particular Hostess Collection. While the Dakota paper packet, Casual Expressions stamp set, and Dakota Complements Foil Images have a country feel, you can use all of these same materials to make a welcoming star for your front door.

When you host a $250 party – you will receive $40 in FREE product PLUS your choice of a 1/2 price item!!

Here is a picture of what is included in this 2nd Hostess Bundle

CLICK HERE to see your choice of

FOUR different Hostess ONLY bundles are

for the Fall/Winter 2012 season

AND

to learn MORE about how YOU can earn some FABULOUS free products as a CTMH Hostess!J

Everyday household items can also be combined with Close To My Heart products to create dazzling home décor.

Use the Flirty paper packet and your Cricut® machine, along with everyday household items such as a flower pot and Styrofoam ball, to create a papercrafted tree. Or add a few Dimensional Elements to the autumn colors of the Flirty papers to create a desk calendar using two My Creations blocks. You can even use cute Cricut^®-cut flowers and leaves to make a festive banner!

For displaying precious memories, the display tray is a perfect fit! Display photos, stamped sentiments, Dimensional Elements, and other embellishments for a prized layout that you can proudly hang anywhere in your home. The display tray is easy to personalize, too; cover up several windows with cardstock for larger photos!

YOU can create eye-catching home décor in a cinch. Creating unique home décor is so much fun to do; the trick is deciding which project to create first!

 May you be INSPIRED and ENERGIZED by these Creative projects created by our CTMH Art Studio!!!

I know creating one of those display trays is one of the FIRST things on my list to create!

Happy Creating!

Krista Hershberger J

fun2stampnscrap@dejazzd.com 

 www.kristah.ctmh.com

*****Receive BONUS items from me personally,

( Dotty for You paper pack, It’s Your Day stamp set - retail $55.85)

 when you Join my Team in November!!  

CLICK HERE for details! J

November Stamp of the MOnth PLUS...

****Purchase $50 in CTMH 

product, 

Get the November

 SOTM for $5…

and you are ELIGIBLE to 

receive a STAMP SET of you

r 

choice for ½ price!!!

PLUS… for every November Stamp of the Month

 set purchased - $1 will be donated to the Red Cross 

for those effected by Hurricane Sandy! J

Leaf Treat Box

The other day, I needed a FUN gift for one of my hostesses (Hi Tammy J) so I went directly to my Cricut Artiste Cartridge to see what I could find!

Of course, it didn’t take long to find EXACTLY what I was looking for!!!  Take a look at what I created!!

I used the Moonlight paper pack to create the bottom and coordinating cardstock to create the leaves!  I’m still amazed at how simply BEAUTIFUL these projects created by the Cricut, turn out to be!!!  It just seems too easy!

For this box, I used the THANKSGIVING key of the Artiste Cartridge….look at what is all included on this key. 

As you can see by the page above– the 3D box is located under the “3D Object” key.  I than cut some leaves using the shift accent 2 key in goldrush cardstock and cocoa cardstock.

After creating this box like I did…I thought, you know…you could make this “box” into a pumpkin as well!  Just make the bottom part orange and make the leaves green and ta-da…you would have a pumpkin for your fall decorations!




Did you notice the veins in the leaves?  I used my dry embossing stylus and my Versa Mat (a soft surface) to create these veins to make the leaf look more “real”. 







If you haven’t ever tried our Versa Mat…I HIGHLY recommend it!!!  This mat is WONDERFUL and I actually have two of them that I use constantly!!!  The side of the Versamat that you see pictured, is a self-healing cutting guide!  Great for any detailed cutting I want to do with my cutting knife!!!
Flip over the Versamat, and you have a soft, cushion area – just like the white foam squares that come in each of our stamp set packs!  The back side – is a LARGE 13x13 area that you can use to STAMP on!!!  I LOVE the option of this large stamping space vs. the smaller foam sheets that come in our My Acrylix stamp sets!!!



Back to the project – LOL!! - To finish off this leaf box, I inked up our Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon in our olive ink and created my own coordinating ribbon color to go with my project!!

Did you want to see what I placed inside? That’s the best part, right? J




I added some sparkle with shredded, glittery filler and then I added some goodies inside as an extra “thank you” to Tammy for hosting a home gathering!  Included is a 1” cube of ink, 2- 1” stamps and a 1” my acrylic block ~ ready for her stamping needs!


 When you host an online party, book party or home gathering with Close To My Heart you receive so many AMAZING goodies directly from this WONDERFUL company!

If you are interested in being a hostess to earn the AMAZING, QUALITY products from Close To My Heart…please Contact me!! J

 

Remember, there are THREE ways to be a hostess…

1. Online gathering – spread the word to your friends, far & near, and let them browse the online Idea Book!  You may direct them to my blog for samples of artwork using CTMH products. J Each person will go to my website (www.kristah.ctmh.com) and click on YOUR  party link to place their orders.  When they click the “join” button to your party link, the orders that they place, will be shipped directly to them.  When your party date is over, I will get in contact with you and we will figure our what your final sales total is…and then it’s time for YOU to go shopping!!  Party rewards start when your sales reach $150…and it only INCREASES from there!

2. Book party- Receive a few Idea Books from me and then take these BEAUTIFUL Idea books to show & share with your family, neighbors and friends! Gather their orders together, and when you are finished sharing CTMH, give me a call and we will place your order or if you are local, we can set up a time to meet to get the orders.  All orders will be sent directly to you as the hostess and you can then deliver them to your family & friends.

3. Home Gathering – A FUN, girls night out where we chat together and find out what QUALITY products Close To My Heart has to offer for our creating needs.  I always bring a sampling of products for you to touch and see AND we always take time to create a simple card that will be yours to keep for FREE!!! J After our night is concluded, we set up a time that is best for you to talk in a day or so, in case there are any other people you want to touch base with prior to closing your gathering.  After you know your final hostess sales total…it’s off to your wish list and choose what items you would like to receive for being a HOSTESS at a Close To My Heart show!!

This chart below show you the REWARDS that you will receive when you host ANY of the THREE types of GATHERINGS listed above!!! 

Rewards start at ONLY $150 in sales…and when you reach the $250 mark you get FREE hostess items PLUS a 1/2 price item OR bundle of your choice!!!  The rewards only INCREASE from there!!!

It really IS that easy! J

HOSTESS REWARDS

WHEN YOUR GATHERING SALES REACH:	REWARD YOURSELF WITH SELECTED CLOSE TO MY HEART PRODUCTS*:	AND CHOOSE YOUR HOSTESS REWARDS PLUS! OPTION(S) FROM ANY IDEA BOOK ITEM OR THE HOSTESS COLLECTION
$1,050 or more	$200 or more** in free products	AND select up to 4 items in the current Idea Book at 50% off
$950–$1,049	$180 in free product	AND select up to 4 items in the current Idea Book at 50% off
$850–$949	$160 in free product	AND select up to 3 items in the current Idea Book at 50% off
$750–$849	$140 in free product	AND select up to 3 items in the current Idea Book at 50% off
$650–$749	$120 in free product	AND select up to 2 items in the current Idea Book at 50% off
$550–$649	$100 in free product	AND select up to 2 items in the current Idea Book at 50% off
$450–$549	$80 in free product	AND select any 1 item in the current Idea Book at 50% off
$350–$449	$60 in free product	AND select any 1 item in the current Idea Book at 50% off
$250–$349	$40 in free product	AND select any 1 item in the current Idea Book at 50% off
$150–$249	$25 in free product

Please note: Hostess Rewards are redeemed at full price. An order total must reach $150 in sales, exclusive of shipping, handling, and tax, to qualify for our Hostess Rewards program. In the US, tax is collected on Hostess Rewards free products based on full retail price. Tax is collected on discounted items based on discounted price. Tax rules are subject to change. Promotions such as Stamp of the Month and other specials are not eligible as Hostess Rewards. Free shipping and handling apply only on Hostess Rewards and Hostess Rewards Plus! items.

YOUR SELECTION OF PRODUCTS FOR YOUR HOSTESS REWARDS INCLUDES THESE CHOICES:

*Hostess Rewards select product credits are redeemable for My Acrylix^® Stamps, My Acrylix^® blocks, Exclusive Inks^® pads, Exclusive Inks^® markers, Exclusive Inks^® re-inkers, My Stickease^® assortments, Complements, My Reflections^® paper packets, all cardstock packs, Workshops on the Go™ kits, Studio J^®memberships, and Studio J 5-packs.
**For each $100 in sales over $1,050, add an additional $20 in free products.

I'd be HAPPY to chat and answer any questions you may have. 

Contact me with any questions you may have OR to schedule your own home gathering today. J

****SEPTEMBER SPECIAL****

This is the LAST week to take advantage of the National Stamping Month DOUBLE stamp set!!!

Purchase $35 in CTMH products…and qualify to receive this DOUBLE stamp set for ONLY $5!!!

CLICK HERE and Join my September party orders to get this AMAZING savings today!!!

Adorable Purses!

Many of you commented on the purse that I had pictured in the first post of my NEW blog. :)  I mentioned I would share the details about it with you in a future post, and here we are- a future post! :)

Why did I want to create a purse? :)  Back in June, I was thinking about roomy gifts for Close To My Heart's upcoming Convention and I thought this purse would be a GREAT gift! :) I created this purse, tucked a bunch of other goodies inside, and gave this purse to my roomates as well as 2 other downline that were with me at the Disneyland Convention! :)

I originally saw this purse on Lisa Stenz's blog (thanks Lisa) - a fellow CTMH consultant.  She created this adorable purse and I followed the link on her blog to find the pattern.  I know MANY of you were asking for the pattern...I went today to look for this and I was sad to find that the link no longer exists! 

This pattern was created by Bridget Louw, and she calls these purses, "Lovestruck Purses".   I will include a picture of the purse instructions and the pattern design for the purse at the bottom of this post.  Please give Bridget the credit if you do create this purse - she was so kind to share this pattern with all of us! :)

I also chose to use this purse pattern to create a purse for my display board at Convention.  As an Extravaganza teacher at Convention this year, I was excited to be able to use the NEW Sonoma paper pack! I thought this paper design would make a FABULOUS purse!  What was even better, as I started to work with our NEW heavier weight designer paper (100 lb), I realized I will NOT have to make multiple mats for the front of the purse like I did with my first set of purses! :)   I was really excited with how this purse turned out!!

  

It was also a LOT of fun to use so MANY of our new embellishments to add the finishing touches on this purse! :)  Heirloom Assortment (purple adhesive backed flower), Antiqued Copper Designer brads, Foundry Metal Ribbon Slides, our NEW dimensional Element Monograms, and our ever faithful pearl opaque adhesive gems. 
  

This purse has also become a hostess gift for my hostesses that are holding a gathering for their 3rd time! :)  The purse shown here was created with the Mayberry paper pack...I'm so thankful that this paper pack is still available in the current CTMH Idea Book!! It is a paper pack that can be used for sooo many different occassions! 

Prior to Convention - I knew NOTHING about CTMH's wonderful Cricut Cartridge!!!  If you notice on this purse, I used the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection to create my 3D rose AND the letter d.  I love how using this Cricut cartridge made creating this purse Faster. Simpler. Easier., but it turned out just as beautiful as the previous purses! :

This 3D rose, is cut out of Colonial White cardstock and then I inked the edges with our Smoothie ink.  Next, I used my paper piercer to help roll down the outer edges of the petals to make this flower seem more life like.  Then I completed the flower by rolling it up toward the center to create my rose! :)  I also added a pearl gem in the middle of the rose for that finishing touch.

I hope you enjoyed my samples...and now it's off to create some purses of your own! :)  I'd love to hear what items you plan on putting into your purses.  It would be interesting to hear all of the different types of purses we can create, just by adding different contents. :) 

Happy Crafting! :) 

(remember, you can click on the picture to make it larger :) )

 I recreated this "small" pattern below by taking a 12x12 piece of cardstock, a ruler and pencil and created a 1" grid covering the entire 12x12 area.  Then I looked at the pattern below and followed along with each 1" cube on this paper, and drew exactly what was in each 1 "cube on my 12x12 paper.