Storybook Alphabet Thanks

I was inspired by the "B is for Background" technique found at the Stamping ABC’s post on the Close To My Heart Make It from Your Heart blog.

I cut the flower on the cactus from White Daisy, trimmed the bottom, stamped with Tangerine and then used the Waterbrush to color it in and to add a little Emerald at the bottom so there was not a stark contrast between the cactus and the flower. When the paper dried, I re-stamped the flower so it has more definition.

All supplies I used to create this card are from Close To My Heart:

• My Acrylix™ stamp sets: July 2017 SOTM Storybook Alphabet Stamp Set (S1707); Prickly Pear Scrapbooking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3338) or the Prickly Pear—Scrapbooking stamp set (D1722)
• 5½" × 4¼" White Cards & Envelopes, Value Pack (X254)
• Prickly Pear Paper Packet (X7221B)
• White Twine (Z3216)
• 12" X 12" Cardstock: White Daisy (1385)
• Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pads: Emerald (Z2806), Sea Glass (Z2813), Glacier (Z2841), Tangerine (Z2809)
• Waterbrush—Small Round (Z3224)
• adhesives: 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022), 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151), Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060)
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Cuttlebug

If you have not read the Stamping ABC's blog post yet, it is worth a visit if you are looking for more ideas for using alphabet stamps. Thank you for visiting today.

Swirly Seashells Sympathy Card - softer colors

Today I am sharing another sympathy card that I recently created. The stamp set is the same as another recent sympathy card, but I used a standard card shape. I colored the images with the Blending Pen and Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pads for a softer look.

The seashells were cut out with the Thin Cuts, stamped with Desert Sank ink and then colored with the inks listed below. After the seashells were colored, they were attached to the card front using a variety of adhesives.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:

• My Acrylix™ Stamp Sets: Heartfelt Thoughts (C1661), Swirly Seashells Stamp + Thin Cuts (CC1219), Card Chatter - Sympathy (D1476) - retired; you could substitute the stamp set Swirly Seashells (C1664) and either mask or fussy cut the images - Swirly Seashells can be found in the Going Soon area of my Consultant Website
• 12" X 12" Cardstock: Colonial White (1388)
• Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pads: Desert Sand (Z2818), Saddle (Z2871), Cashmere (Z2875), Flaxen (Z2842), Juniper (Z2865), Glacier (Z2841), Sorbet (Z2864)
• Blending Pen (3174)
• Black Memento™ Ink Pad (Z899)
• adhesives: 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022), Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060), 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Cuttlebug; Ivory 5" x 6½" card and envelope from my stash

If you do not have a CTMH Independent Consultant, I would be happy to answer any questions you have about CTMH products or promotions and I would be thrilled if you made a purchase from my Consultant Website.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions about any product or promotion questions or to schedule a Home or Online Gathering.

Storybook Alphabet with Prickly Pear Paper

The Corporate Artists created this new artwork featuring the July SOTM and July's featured paper pack Prickly Pear. You might notice this photo on rotation when you visit my Consultant Website this month.

This artwork is in addition the artwork published in Seasonal Expressions 2. The Corporate Artists created this layout, two cards and a home decor frame.

If you would like to create something similar, the recipes are:

Click on the image if it is too small to read. If you would rather a PDF of the recipes, you can download it here.

I was inspired by the card samples so I used the idea to create a retirement card that I shared on the So Hard to Say Goodbye Blog Hop. And I created this Hello card to add to my stash to send someday.

All supplies I used to create this card are from Close To My Heart:

• My Acrylix™ stamp sets: July 2017 SOTM Storybook Alphabet Stamp Set (S1707); Prickly Pear Scrapbooking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3338) or the Prickly Pear—Scrapbooking stamp set (D1722)
• 5½" × 4¼" White Cards & Envelopes, Value Pack (X254)
• Prickly Pear Paper Packet (X7221B)
• Prickly Pear Sequins (Z3324)
• 12" X 12" Cardstock: White Daisy (1385)
• Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pads: Emerald (Z2806)
• Black Memento™ Ink Pad (Z899)
• adhesives: 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022), 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)

I will share recipes from March to May over the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy these additional projects.

Stampaganza Inspriation - My Artwork

A few days ago I shared CTMH Corporate Artwork that was created using some of the stamps that were brought back for Stampaganza. Today I am re-sharing some of the projects I created when the stamp sets were available as Hostess Rewards. FYI, clicking on the photo will take you to the original blog post where there are more details about each item; clicking on the link below the photo will take to you the stamp set on my Consultant Website.

Be Jolly (B1455)

Be Jolly (B1455)

Exotic Flower (B1477)

Sing Glory (C1587)

Happy Hexagons (C1596)

Paper Bird (C1613)

Paper Bird (C1613)

Tagged with Love (C1614)

Tagged with Love (C1614)

Tagged with Love (C1614)

Washi Wonder (D1558)

Washi Wonder (D1558)

I have a CTMH - Stampaganza July 2017 Pinterest Board where I pinned the projects that were shared on the Stampaganza Blast from the Past Blog Hop and will pin other projects that I find online.

Click the Shop with me link above to place an order or contact me if you have questions about any CTMH product or promotion or to schedule a Home or Online Gathering.

So Hard to Say Goodbye Blog Hop

No, the other bloggers and I are not "retiring" from blogging or from Close To My Heart. [insert big grin] This post is to highlight our favorite products that are soon to retire.

Welcome to the CTMH [It's] So Hard to Say Goodbye [To Some of Our Favorite Retiring Items] Blog Hop. Today we are featuring any favorite product that is retiring from Annual Inspirations 2016-2017 on July 31. On this hop here are almost 20 bloggers sharing projects created with a retiring product. If you are new to blog hopping, look for the link to the next blog (typically near the bottom of the post) to visit the next stop and keep visiting the next blog until you make your way back to the blog where you started.

You should have arrived here from ***Haley Dyer's The Inky Scrapper***. If you get lost along the way, Melinda Everitt keeps a list of participants on her blog at If You Bling It.

Today I am highlighting a product that Close To My Heart has carried since before I became a Consultant: the Blending Pen. I use the Blending Pen with Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pads. With the stamp pad closed, I pinch the case so some ink transfers to the lid. Then I pick up color from the lid with the Blending Pen to color images. I really like the soft colors I can achieve this way. I know I should be able to get a similar look with the Watercolor Paints, but I have not mastered that yet. Like playing an instrument (which I unfortunately did not become adept at), I will have to practice, practice, practice with my Watercolor Paints.

Since "congrats" ended up being about 6 inches long, I decided to create a wide and short card to accommodate the phrase. 

My card is 7" wide and 3½" high so I turned to Cricut® Design Space to find an envelope that I could re-size to fit my card. I found one on the CTMH/Cricut® Artiste cartridge. I was able to cut the envelope from a sheet of copy paper; while previewing the mat I moved the image down about 1" and to the right about ½" and when applying the paper to the mat I did the same. I set my dial to paper.

I carried the colors and balloons to the card inside. I "popped" the "Congratulations" sentiment by stamping in on the yellow zip strip, dovetailing each end and layering it on the paper rectangle above the other stamping. Tip ― to be certain "Congratulations" would fit on the zip strip, I stamped on the back; the paper is heavy enough that the ink does not show through.

Before you head to ***Create with Alyson by Alyson Mayo***, the supplies I used to create my project are listed below.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:

• My Acrylix™ July 2017 SOTM: Storybook Alphabet Stamp Set (S1707), Happy for You (C1660) - the last day to order either stamp set is July 31; Happy for You is also available in French (C1660F) and Spanish (C1660S) versions
• Prickly Pear Paper Packet (X7221B)
• 12" X 12" Cardstock: White Daisy (1385)
• Black Memento™ Ink Pad (Z899)
• Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pads: Lemon (Z2808), Emerald (Z2806), Sea Glass (Z2813), Poppy (Z2852), Sorbet (Z2864), Tangerine (Z2809), Blossom (Z2810)
• Blending Pen (3174)
• adhesives: 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022), Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060)
• Close To My Heart Cricut® Artiste Collection - retired
• Card Holder ― #M3A7C3 ― page 33 ― width 10¾" and height 7¾" ― Shift+Card <3>
• My Design Space file is here; it will work if you have the Artiste cartridge linked to your account
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Cricut® Explore, Cricut® Design Space, glass cutting mat, craft knife, copy paper

If you are not already working with a CTMH Independent Consultant, you may purchase all of the supplies I used at my Consultant website.

Before you head to the next blog, I would be delighted if you left me a comment letting me know what you think of my latest creation. Thanks for hopping with us!

So you do not have to scroll back up, the next stop on the hop is ***Create with Alyson by Alyson Mayo***.

Prickly Pear Blog Hop

Welcome to our Close to My Heart Prickly Pear Blog Hop! Over 10 CTMH Independent Consultants are showcasing items they created using the Prickly Pear collection available in Seasonal Expressions 2. You will find the collection on pages 24 through 33 of the Seasonal Expression 2 Idea Book.

If you are visiting from Crafting with Carol by Carol Loftus then you are on the right track. Carol is also our hostess and her blog is the beginning of our hop.

For our Prickly Pear Blog Hop I created this card.

I was inspired by the Happy Birthday card in this Prickly Pear photo featured when you visit your Consultant website.

I really like the simplicity of the card created by the Corporate Artists, but I added a die cut cactus and stamped a flower on the cactus on the patterned paper. I colored it in using the ink pad and blending pen. Using the Thin Cuts I cut a cactus from and stamped the greeting on the ombré paper in the paper pack. I stamped the cactus in Emerald and colored it using Emerald and the Blending Pen. The cactus flower is stamped and colored with Tangerine.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:

• Prickly Pear Paper Packet (X7221B)
• Thin Cuts Bundles: Prickly Pear Cardmaking (Z3332) and Prickly Pear Scrapbooking (Z3338)
• 5½" × 4¼" White Cards & Envelopes, Value Pack (X254)
• Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad colors: Emerald (Z2806), Tangerine (Z2809), Poppy (Z2852)
• Blending Pen (3174
• adhesives: 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022), Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060), 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Cuttlebug

If you are not already working with a CTMH Independent Consultant, you may purchase all of the supplies I used at my Consultant Website.

Before you click to visit Kathleen Androlewicz's Bowl of Stamps, please take a moment to let me know what you think of my card. I love to read your comments. I hope you are finding many ideas for using the Prickly Pear collection.

Here is a copy of the blog hop list; clicking the link will take you directly to each person's Prickly Pear post.

Carol Loftus	http://carolloftus.blogspot.com/
Brenda Lapp - you are here	http://centralnyscrapper.blogspot.com/
Kathleen Androlewicz	http://bowlofstamps.blogspot.com/
Gerri Baker	https://gerri-ctmh.com/
Haley Dyer	http://inkyscrapper.blogspot.com/
Erica Haskin	http://dressesandspurs.blogspot.com/
Julie Scott	http://craftwithjulie.blogspot.com/
Ramona Temple	http://ramonatemple.com/
Brittany Allred	https://brittcreateswithctmh.wordpress.com/
Laura Moss	http://scrappykea.blogspot.com/
Diana Saunders	http://farmerdistamps1.blogspot.com/
Elly Habets	https://silhouettesecretscom.wordpress.com/

Thank you for hopping with us today!

Swirly Seashells Sympathy Card

Sympathy Cards. We hate to send them, but I believe they bring comfort to the family of those who have departed Earth. Unfortunately I know this from first hand experience. I never knew how much the simple gesture of sending a card meant to someone until my father died. Every card, call and email I received during that difficult time still means a lot to me. I still have all of the cards I received when my father died in February. I know this is true for other people too because I recently heard Shivan Sarna, a host on HSN, mention this on the last craft day. She said she still has the cards she received when her mother passed.

Unfortunately I needed to send a few sympathy cards in the month of July and the month is not half over. This is one of the first cards I created.

You may notice the style of card is similar to the birthday card I created for our neighbor Florence and posted earlier this month. Instead of a finished size of 5½" tall x 5"wide, I altered the cutting measurements so the completed card is 5½" tall x 4¼" wide and will fit in a standard A2 (4⅜" x 5¾") envelope.

This design reminds me of a Z-fold card on its side with the strip moved to the center, but I am not sure if that is where the inspiration came from. I found this card design in the Facebook Group CTMH Artwork; Melissa Sandidge created a card, shared measurement and credited Gail Vought for the design.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:

• My Acrylix™ Stamp Sets: Heartfelt Thoughts (C1661), Swirly Seashells Stamp + Thin Cuts (CC1219); you could substitute the stamp set Swirly Seashells (C1664) - this stamp set can be found in the Going Soon area of my Consultant Website
• Enchantment Fundamentals (Z3254)
• 12" X 12" Cardstock: Colonial White (1388), Bamboo (1301)
• Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pads: Bamboo (Z2803), Desert Sand (Z2818)
• Black Memento™ Ink Pad (Z899)
• adhesives: 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022), Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060), 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Cuttlebug; Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils, Soft Core, 72-Count

I will share the measurements for this modified card in a future blog post. I hope the recipient of this card has a little comfort knowing that I and many other people are thinking of them.

Stampaganza Inspriation - Corporate Artwork

While I would L-O-V-E to have the time to create an unlimited amount of samples (or at least more samples) to share with you, unfortunately life does not work that way. Due to time constraints, I was lucky enough to find some Corporate Artwork that was created using some the stamp sets that were brought back for Stampaganza.

Enjoy the Little Things (B1451)	Be Jolly (B1455)
Exotic Flower (B1477)	Sing Glory (C1587)
Happy Hexagons (C1596)	Paper Bird (C1613)
Tagged with Love (C1614)	Washi Wonder (D1558)
Better With A Friend (D1608)	space intentionally left blank

I looked through my samples and found some things I created with the stamp sets that were brought back for Stampaganza. I will get them organized and share them with you in a few days. In the meantime, please check out my CTMH - Stampaganza July 2017 Pinterest Board where I pinned the projects that were shared on the Stampaganza Blast from the Past Blog Hop that I participated in on July 10.

If you do not have a CTMH Independent Consultant, I would be happy to assist you and would be delighted if you make a purchase from me.

Click the Shop with me link above to place an order or contact me if you have questions about any CTMH product or promotion or to schedule a Home or Online Gathering.

Stampaganza Blast from the Past Blog Hop

Welcome to the Stampaganza Blast from the Past Blog Hop. Today we are featuring stamp sets that have been re-released for Stampaganza and are only available from July 1 to July 31, 2017. For this hop here are about 10 bloggers sharing projects they created with a re-released stamp set. We try to keep our hop easy: keep clicking on the link to the next blog (typically near the bottom of the post) to visit the next stop. Our blog hop is a circle so visiting the next blog will take you back to where you started.

You should have arrived here from ***Show and Tell with Michelle! by Michelle Loncar***. If you get lost along the way, Melinda Everitt keeps a list of participants on her blog at If You Bling It.

For this hop I created a Christmas card that would be quick and easy to produce several in a short amount of time. This card uses two stamp sets, Quick Cards—Bright All Night and the Merry Christmas sentiment from Sing Glory.

This stamp set makes it easy to create a beautiful card with a single color. I think this card would look good in several single color variations.

Before you head to ***Vickie ODell's HeARTful Stamper***, the supplies I used to create my project are listed below.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:

• My Acrylix™ Stamp Sets: Quick Cards—Bright All Night (A1148), Sing Glory (C1587)
• 12" X 12" Cardstock: Colonial White (1388)
• Enchantment Fundamentals (Z3254)
• 4¼" × 5½" Colonial White Cards & Envelopes Value Pack (X1410)
• Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pads: Sapphire (Z2848)
• adhesives: 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022)
• Bitty Sparkles (Z1263)

If you are not already working with a CTMH Independent Consultant, you may purchase all of the supplies I used at my Consultant website.

Before you head to the next blog, I would be thrilled if you left me a comment letting me know what you think of this clean and simple Christmas card.

Thanks for hopping with us! So you do not have to scroll back up, the next stop on the hop is ***Vickie ODell's HeARTful Stamper***.

Scattered Hearts Stampaganza Blog Hop

I was hoping to participate in the Scattered Hearts Stampaganza Blog Hop but I missed the most important Facebook post and therefore the deadline to sign up. Hopefully I will not miss it next time. This was, to the best of my knowledge, the Scattered Hearts first team blog hop (well, there still was a hop [insert grin]). The hop features stamp sets you can get during Stampaganza which runs from July 1 to July 31, 2017 so even though my post is not linked to the hop I hope you will check out their posts too.

I created a Christmas card for my latest project.

I used the My Acrylix™ Stamp Sets Festive Trees (B1493) for all of my stamping. I cut the trees from Willow cardstock (Z2807) on my Cricut® Explore using the new Cricut® Design Space. To save you some time, all of the cuts for the Festive Trees stamp set can be found in this Design Space link; you will need the Art Philosophy CTMH Cricut® Collection (retired) linked to your Cricut® account. The tree stamps were inked with a Willow Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2807).

I stamped a border directly on the card (from the 4¼" × 5½" White Cards & Envelopes Value Pack (X254)) using the "falalalala" and "Merry Christmas To You" stamps and Raspberry (Z2812) and Saddle (Z2871) ink. The stars for the trees and the background were stamped directly on the card front using Lemon (Z2808), Crystal Blue (Z2817) and Pacifica (Z2892) inks. I wish I had used second generation ink for the blue stars.

I stamped the Peace, Love and Joy on White Daisy cardstock (1385) using Raspberry ink and cut them out using a glass cutting mat and craft knife. I attached them to the card using Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060). The two smaller trees were attached using 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022) and the largest tree using Thin 3-D Foam Tape.

I repeated the "falalalala" inside the card beneath the "Sending Holiday Cheer" sentiment.

If you would like to create your own Design Space file or are using an earlier Cricut® machine, here are the image details:

• Close To My Heart Cricut® Collection: Art Philosophy Collection - retired
• Tree ― #M3EB1C ― page 31 ― height 1¾" ― Shift+<Tree1>
• Tree ― #M3EB1C ― page 31 ― height 2½" ― Shift+<Tree1>
• Tree ― #M3EB1C ― page 31 ― height 2¾" ― Shift+<Tree1>

Thank you for visiting today! If you want to go to the Scattered Hearts Team blog hop, head to Tina Sutton's Miss Gingerdots, but before you leave, please leave a comment letting me know what you think of the card.