Joyful Stars Blog Hop- quick & easy Christmas Cards!

Welcome to our monthly  

Joyful Stars Blog Hop!!!!

We're excited to share our creativity with you using our favorite Close To My Heart products!

THIS MONTH we have items to share that are Thanksgiving or Christmas themed.  So come on in and  see what BEAUTIFUL projects my fellow consultants have creating using the AMAZING products from Close To My Heart!!

 This blog hop is easy to do…just click on the link at the end of the post to go to the next creation!! 

If you get lost along the way, CLICK HERE to see the list of this month’s hoppers! 

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If you have arrived from my upline & friend Joyce Houck’s blog you are right on track.

Today I’d like to share with you two QUICK & EASY Christmas cards that I have been creating at my monthly home parties!

This set of cards are the kind that are GREAT to make multiples of!!  I started by finding the pattern in one of our FABULOUS  How-To Books! I used the Make It From Your Heart, volume 2 - pattern # 30

(to see ALL our wonderful how-to books - click here!

I love that variety that EACH of them bring to my creating table!)

At each of my home gatherings, I always complete our time together by everyone making a quick & easy card!!  I usually have a couple of samples for them to look at, with a few different options shown on each card.

During this month & next, we are creating this card, BUT  this time I am giving my customers a choice on which stamp set they will use! 

The first stamp set they can choose…

is “To You & Yours”. 

This set is a PERFECT Christmas stamp set & can be used in many different ways!!  I love the cardinal and the other images in this set too!!

Here is a closer look at the cardinal card…  

I stamped the Cardinal in our cocoa ink…but sponged the edges of all the papers in our desert sand.  I love to ink my corner edges heavier, so that it gives it a more antiqued/distressed look. 

I also used the new stamp set “Holiday Tags”for the wording on this set.  This is the PERFECT stamp set set to have for all occasions!  Take a look at the MANY words and sayings in this stamp set!! 

Did you notice???  This stamp set IS compatible with our Artiste Cricut Cartridge - YAY!! That makes my crafting so much QUICKER & EASIER!!

Here is a closer look at the 2nd card…

I like to add a bit “extra” to my backgrounds…and for these cards I used a forever FAVORITE stamp set “Universal Backgrounds”.  I hope CTMH never gets rid of this background stamp set! LOL!!

The tree comes from a BRAND NEW set called “Always Grateful” that I am surprised I missed when I previewed this new idea book in August!

I hope you enjoyed these Christmas cards and maybe you were inspired to create some of your own!! In case you would like to re-create these, take a look at my supply list below, and click on the words to see the product.

Products used

Frosted paper pack

Holiday Tags stamp set

To You & Yours stamp set

Universal Backgrounds stamp set

Ruby cardstock

Olive Cardstock

Scallop Border Punch

Wooden Mini-Medley

Brown & Tan Glitter Paper

Almond Glitz Glitter Gel

Inks used: Desert Sand, Cocoa, Olive, New England Ivy, Ruby,

Now hop on over to my friend & fellow consultant Stephanie Huber’s blog to see what amazing artwork she has created this month!!

Happy Hopping and we’ll see you on the 9th next month, with the Joyful Stars team members sharing some NEW goodies!!    

Blessings to you for a BEAUTIFUL day!!!

Krista Hershberger J

October Blog Hop - Christmas is Coming!!

Welcome to our monthly

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

Today we will be featuring October’s Stamp of the Month (SOTM), which is called “Scandinavian Wishes”, a set of  BEAUTIFUL stamps.

I LOVE this stamp set, and seeing it gets me “a little” excited for Christmas! J  Christmas really is closer than we think, isn’t it? J 

So, let’s get right to the Blog Hop…

If you have come here from Vicki Price’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 here HERE…

This month we have

over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's 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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It was FUN to put my mind into “Christmas mode” to create this card!

 

I used Pattern #23 from our NEW Make It From Your Heart, vol 2 for the starting design! 

Of course with this stamp set being Cricut Compatible to our Art Philosophy Cricut bundle…it made it even EASIER to create!!

I chose to use TWO of our paper packs to complete this card!  Did you find them?  I used Frosted & Proplayer paper packs! 

I never thought I could create items by combining CTMH paper packs - even though they are meant to be used that way too!  I just LOVE the colors & patterns that CTMH puts together, and haven’t tried (until in the last year or so) to combine the paper collection.  What amazing & fun results!

I also used one of my FAVORITE background stamp sets (I hope they never take this stamp set away! LOL!)

Here it is…Universal Backgrounds. 

You can use this background stamp set for so many creations!!  I KNOW if I would do a search on my blog - I would be AMAZED at how often I use this stamp set!  This is a must-have in everyone’s collection!!

Here is one final close up picture…showing you the bitty sparkles that I added to the ornaments.  To make the silver “string” at the top of the ornaments, I cut our Silver Shimmer Trim in thirds and made “string”!

Products used on this cardFrosted paper pack

Proplayer paper pack

Universal Backgrounds stamp

Scandinavian Wishes

Ponderosa Pine, Ruby & Whisper Cardstock

Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge

Shimmer Trim - Silver

Bitty Sparkles

3D foam tape

  

Ink Colors: Ruby, Ponderosa Pine & Whisper

I hope you enjoyed my card and now head on over to  Jill Lucas’ 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 October SOTM is only available

until October 31st! 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

Operation Smile & Cornucopia Card - 4th autumn card

Today I will be sharing with you the details for the 4th and FINAL card that was created using our Huntington paper pack!!

This set (shown below) was auctioned off this past summer at the annual CTMH Convention to raise money for Operation Smile! 

I was EXCITED when this set sold for $125 to help the

children with Operation Smile. 

Wahoo!!  This amount paid for 1/2 of a

clef palate, cleft lip or facial deformity operation!! 

 

We would LOVE to have you join us in supporting this organization and the many children that are need of this surgery!! 

With EVERY ORDER that you place through Close To My Heart - you

have the option to give a donation to Operation Smile. 

If you have never done this, I ENCOURAGE you to CONSIDER “rounding up” each order that you place with CTMH.

  Round your total amount to the next nearest $ (or you are welcome to donate more than that too!) 

***Please feel from to Visit the Operation Smile website for more information.

,

 Thanks for letting me share with you about Operation

Smile!!  This organization is especially close to my

heart because of the many personal testimonies we have

heard and seen at our CTMH events. Operation Smile

has helped SO MANY people!!   

Well, let’s get started and take a closer look at our 4th Autumn card! 

CTMH has a perfect NEW Autumn stamp set. It is called Count Your Blessings.  Even though I don’t care to color in stamped images…I really enjoyed creating with this stamp set! 

I inked the cornucopia in Cocoa pigment ink, because I wanted to use my watercolor pencils (with blending pen) and alcohol markers to color it in. 

Then I decided to stamp another cornucopia, so that I could cut one image out, and pop some of the vegetables!

Here’s a closer look…

A few more details…

I used my FAVORITE stamp set once again - Universal Backgrounds (sorry if you get tired of seeing this one! LOL!) and stamped the script with Champagne ink.  I love how this stamp set “fills in the background” when I feel it needs just a touch more.

I also used our NEW Scallop Border Punch on the cocoa cardstock, and then sanded it after I punched the border.

       

I used the Artbooking Cartridge to cut out the chain link border (cut at .3”) and laid that border on top of our JUTE RIBBON.  You will find this image on page 44 - Key 7.  

If you missed any of the previous posts explaining the creation of the cards and box, feel free to click below to see the details on EACH of the cards created J 

Card Box- CLICK HERE

1st card - CLICK HERE

2nd card - CLICK HERE

3rd card - CLICK HERE

That completes are SERIES of Autumn cards created with our Huntington paper pack!! 

I hope you enjoyed these posts and I look forward to seeing you come back soon!  I've been having a lot of FUN creating many new items J

Feel free to become a follower of my blog and join me in viewing my newest creation! J

Blessings to you!!

Krista J

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There  are TWO great specials taking place

during the month of September!

Place a $50 CTMH order during September 2013

& you will receive 4 stamp sets…

for ONLY $15!!

(plus shipping & tax J)

 

HERE are the TWO stamp sets…

September SOTM…

Purchase this at the retail price of $17.95

OR

pay ONLY $5

when you place a $50 order!!

You Are My Happy - triple pack of stamp sets!

With your $50 order,

you become eligible to purchase this set of stamp sets

for ONLY $10…that’s a savings of $37.90!!

 

CLICK HERE for all the details regarding these September 2013 specials! J