Jack Blog Hop

Welcome to our Close to My Heart Jack Blog Hop! About 12 CTMH Independent Consultants are showcasing items they created using the Jack collection available in Seasonal Expressions 2. You will find the collection on pages 34 through 44 of the Seasonal Expression 2 Idea Book. The Jack collection, along with the other collections in Seasonal Expressions 2, are retiring at the end of August. Items that are retiring have been moved to the Going Soon! area of your Consultant's website.

If you are visiting from Erica Haskin's Dresses and Spurs then you are on the right track. Carol Loftus is our hostess and her blog is the beginning of our hop.

For our Jack Blog Hop I created this card. I have not stamped the inside yet, but am planning for it to be a birthday card.

I cut some mustaches from Artistry and used the Jack Cardmaking stamp and Thin Cuts to decorate the front of my card. I added a little mustache to the bear from the Inked with Love stamp set.

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

• My Acrylix™ Stamp Sets: Inked with Love (C1684), Jack Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3333)
• Jack Paper Packet (X7222B)
• 12" X 12" Cardstock: Ruby (X5965), Juniper (X5979)
• 5½" × 4¼" White Cards & Envelopes, Value Pack (X254)
• Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad colors: Slate (Z2873) - Slate is recently retired, but Heather (Z2826) would be a good substitute
• adhesives: Adhesive Runner (Z3372), Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060), 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)
• Close To My Heart Cricut® Collection: Artistry Physical Cartridge (Z3167) or Artistry Digital Collection (Z3190)
• Moustache (sic) ― #M4120E8 ― page 22 ― width 2" ― Icon 2 <s>
• Moustache (sic) ― #M413236 ― page 22 ― width 2" ― Shift+Icon 2 <s>
• My Design Space file is here if you would like to use it
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Cricut® Design Space, Cricut® Explore, Cuttlebug, glass cutting mat, craft knife

If you do not work with a CTMH Independent Consultant yet, you may purchase all of the supplies I used at my Consultant Website.

Before you click to visit Scrappy Kea by Laura Moss, 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 Jack collection.

Update - I linked this post to the Three Amigos Blog Hop Challenge #5 - Jack yesterday, but received an error and could not see my link so I thought it failed. I just learned this morning that the link did work. I am sorry for not sharing this information earlier and do not give up if you are trying to link to the challenge

As I mentioned above, the Jack collection is retiring at the end of this month. If you like the bear, you might want to contact your CTMH Independent Consultant to place an order. I think he will coordinate well with the Beary Christmas collection that will be available on September 1 in Holiday Expressions 2017.

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

Carol Loftus	http://carolloftus.blogspot.com/
Haley Dyer	http://inkyscrapper.blogspot.com/
Erica Haskin	http://dressesandspurs.blogspot.com/
Brenda Lapp - you are here	http://centralnyscrapper.blogspot.com/
Lara Moss	http://scrappykea.blogspot.com/
Kathleen Androlewicz	http://bowlofstamps.blogspot.com/
Ramona Temple	http://ramonatemple.com/
Julie Scott	http://craftwithjulie.blogspot.com/
Martha Barnett	http://queenbeeart.blogspot.com/
Claudia McDaniel	https://mcscraps5.blogspot.com/
Gerri Baker	https://gerri-ctmh.com/
Debi McBain	https://createdwithheart.blogspot.com/

Thank you for hopping with us today!

Annual Inspirations 2017-2018 New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the New Product Blog Hop Blog Hop featuring products that are available in our newest Idea Book Annual Inspirations 2017-2018. For this hop there are about 25 CTMH Independent Consultants sharing projects created with a product introduced in AI '17-'18. If blog hopping is new to you, we try to keep it easy:click 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 continuing to visit the next blog will take you back to where you started.

You should have arrived here from ***Stamping Maui by Jean McNulty***. If you get lost along the way, Melinda Everitt keeps a list of participants on her blog at If You Bling It.

The Delicate Flower stamp set was sitting in my craft space and kept calling out to me so I had to create something with it. I cut a 4 inch square of White Daisy cardstock and then stamped in each corner of the cardstock. I changed how I rotated the cardstock so each square would be different.

I colored my first stamped square with ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ markers.

I colored my second square with Watercolor Pencils and used the Small Round Waterbrush.

I auditioned my colored images on sheets from the Adventure Fundamental Paper Packet and really love how the graduated colors worked.

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: Delicate Flower (M1178), Happy Heart (A1192), Nature's Wish (D1703)
• Adventure Fundamental Paper Packet (Z3351)
• 12" X 12" Cardstock: White Daisy (1385)
• 5½" × 4¼" White Cards & Envelopes, Value Pack (X254)
• Black Memento™ Ink Pad (Z899)
• ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Markers: Golden Yellow (Z2452), Leaf Green (Z2454), Sap Green (Z2463), Peacock Green (Z2461), Turquoise Blue (Z2465), Lavender (Z2453), Peony Purple (Z2462), Tender Pink (Z2464)
• Watercolor Pencils (3505) and Waterbrush—Small Round (Z3224)
• adhesives: Adhesive Runner (Z3372)
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: We R Memory Keepers Precision Press

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 leave I would be delighted if you left me a comment letting me know what you think of my cards. 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***.

August 15th Online Warehouse Sale

Welcome to the third Online Warehouse Sale for August 2017.

During the warehouse sale you can save 50% on select crafting supplies! The products shown below and on the Warehouse Sale page of my Consultant Website were posted at 12:00am MDT (2:00am EDT) this morning and are available while supplies last or until 11:59pm MDT on Monday, August 21st. During this sale you will also save on shipping costs because shipping will be based on the discounted price of sale items rather than the full retail value.

Photo	Description	Regular Price	Warehouse Sale Price
Sorbet Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (swivel case design)	Single-color dye-based ink in a patented swivel-top stamp pad. This color is current, but the stamp pad style is retired.	$6.95	$3.48
Pomegranate Fundamental Assortment	Includes 6 wooden stickers, 6 paper bows with gold or silver foil patterns, 8 plastic clips, and a 6" × 6" sheet of glitter stickers. Pomegranate is a current color in the Enchantment palette.	$9.95	$4.98
Monstrous Halloween Stamp + Thin Cuts	Includes the My Acrylix® Monstrous Halloween stamp set and 4 metal dies to cut select stamp shapes. Thin Cuts are packaged on their own magnetic sheet and work well with most die-cutting machines. Monstrous Halloween was featured in Holiday Expressions 2016.	$26.95	$13.48
Jeepers Creepers Bulk Paper Packet	12 – sheets of one Jeepers Creepers double-sided paper Jeepers Creepers was featured in Holiday Expressions 2016.	$9.95	$4.98
Classic Adventure Fundamentals Bundle	Includes the following items: 1 – Adventure Fundamental paper packet (20 double-sided 12" × 12" sheets, 2 each of 10 designs) 1 – Adventure Fundamental sticker pack (four 12" × 6" sheets in 4 designs: alphabets, titles, labels, and icons) 1 – Cranberry Fundamental Assortment (6 wooden stickers, 6 paper bows with gold or silver foil patterns, 8 plastic clips, and a 6" × 6" sheet of glitter stickers) This version of the Adventure color palette was last featured in Annual Inspirations 2015-2016; the Adventure color palette changed in July 2016.	$36.85	$18.43
Jeepers Creepers Bundle	Includes the following items: 1 – Jeepers Creepers paper packet (12 sheets, 2 each of 6 double-sided designs) 1 – Jeepers Creepers Complements (stickers and black glitter die-cuts) 1 – Jeepers Creepers Assortment (1 sheet of puffy stickers in assorted colors, shapes, and sizes) 1 — Jeepers Creepers washi tape pack (2 rolls of washi tape; 5 yards each, ½" and ¼" wide) Jeepers Creepers was featured in Holiday Expressions 2016.	$24.80	$12.40
Ultimate Embossing Folders Bundle	Includes the following items: 1 – Jeepers Creepers Complements (stickers and black glitter die-cuts) 1 – Jeepers Creepers Assortment (1 sheet of puffy stickers in assorted colors, shapes, and sizes) 1 — Jeepers Creepers washi tape pack (2 rolls of washi tape; 5 yards each, ½" and ¼" wide) Jeepers Creepers was featured in Holiday Expressions 2016.	$14.85	$7.43
Pear & Black Fundamental Assortment Bundle	Includes the following items: 1 – Pear Fundamental Assortment 1 – Black Fundamental Assortment Each Assortment includes 6 wooden stickers, 6 paper bows with gold or silver foil patterns, 8 plastic clips, and a 6" × 6" sheet of glitter stickers. Black is a current color; Pear is a retired color. Pear was last featured in Annual Inspirations 2015-2016.	$19.90	$9.95
Scaredy Cat Embellishments Bundle	Includes the following items: 1 – Scaredy Cat Complements (two 12" × 6" kraft sticker sheets) 1 – Scaredy Cat Assortment (16 adhesive-backed resin stars and punched pewter metal shapes) Scaredy Cat was featured in Annual Inspirations 2014-2015.	$11.90	$5.95
Gift Bag Accessories Bundle	Includes the following items: 20 – Slate-striped twist ties (7" each) 1 – Topiary mini chevron ribbon (5 yards, ¼" wide) 1 – Thistle extra thick twine (10 yards) Thistle is a current color; Slate and Topiary are retired colors.	$12.85	$6.43

I am enjoying the Online Warehouse Sales I hope you are enjoying the options too.

Exclusive to Close To My Heart Cricut® Collections

In the newest Annual Inspirations 2017-2018 there are four new Cricut® Collections that are exclusive to Close To My Heart. You will find the new collections on pages 90 through 92; the previously released (and still available) Cricut® Collections continue to page 95.

You Are Here Collection

There is one new "full size" collection, You Are Here, which is available with a physical cartridge or as a digital collection (with no cartridge). Whether you choose the physical cartridge or the digital version, you receive the same images to cut on your Cricut® machine (please note that the digital version is only available for use with Cricut Explore™, Cricut Explore Air™, and Cricut Explore Air™ 2). You will also receive the Enchantment cardstock combo pack and three My Acrylix® D-size stamp sets. Those who order the digital collection will be able to download a PDF of the handbook from the Cricut Cartridge Library when it is posted. In the meantime there is a PDF of the shape index.

Cricut® You Are Here Collection physical cartridge - (Z3389) page 92

Cricut® You Are Here Digital Collection no cartridge - (Z3387) page 92

You Are Here has images to document your journey through life including traveling both domestic and abroad, taking road trips, family reunions, spa visits and much more. The recommended My Acrylix® block sizes are 2" × 2" (Y1003), 1" × 3½" (Y1002), 2" × 3½" (Y1009), 3" × 3" (Y1006).

Country Collections

There are three new digital Country Collections. All of the Country Collections are accessed using an online code rather than a physical cartridge and are only available for use with Cricut Explore™, Cricut Explore Air™, and Cricut Explore Air™ 2.

Hello USA Digital Collection

Cricut® Hello USA Digital Collection no cartridge - (Z3390) page 91

The Hello USA Digital Collection features 60 layered images. There are shapes, overlays, and names for all 50 states, as well as a local flower, slogan, and state-specific icon. The collection also includes 10 extra images about the US, including regions and the US flag. The Shape Index PDF is here.

The description stating there are 60 layered images does not really tell you the full number of images in my opinion. Let's look at my home state of New York. This is what you see when you add the image to your mat:

When you ungroup the image, you have all of this on your mat:

There are a few shapes that do not ungroup to this many individual images, but majority are similar to the example above. How the images are grouped is similar for the Hello Canada Collection. Based on the shape index, the Australian/New Zealand Collection, is also similar.

Hello Canada Digital Collection

Cricut® Hello Canada Digital Collection (no cartridge) (Z3391) page 91

The Hello Canada Digital Collection features 20 layered images. There are shapes, overlays, and names for all Canadian provinces and territories, as well as a local flower, slogan, and coordinating icon. The collection also includes extra images about Canada, including the Canadian flag. The Shape Index PDF is here.

Hello AU/NZ Digital Collection

Cricut® Hello AU/NZ Digital Collection (no cartridge) (Z3392) page 91

The Hello AU/NZ Digital Collection features 20 layered images. There are shapes, overlays, and names for Australian and New Zealand states and territories, as well as a local flower, slogan, and coordinating icon. The collection also includes extra images about Australia and New Zealand, including each country's flag. The Shape Index PDF is here.

Link Physical Cartridge using Cricut® Design Space

The You Are Here physical cartridge is added to your Cricut® account by placing it in the port on your Cricut® Explore and choosing Link Cartridge in Cricut® Design Space (I am not sure if this cartridge works with Cricut® Craft Room–please see below). If you are new to CDS, here are a couple of images to help you. Click on the three lines near the upper left corner of your browser.

Then click on Link Cartridges and follow the steps on screen.

Add Digital Collections to Cricut® Account

The Digital Collections are added to your Cricut® account via an online code. When you order one of the digital collections, you will receive a card that looks like this.

Follow the steps to add the collection to your account.

• go to www.cricut.com/CTMH
• if necessary, sign into your Cricut® account
• gently scratch the silver foil off the card
• enter the code into the field that says "Enter your access code here"
• click the green "Redeem" button
• see blue bar the says "Promotion Successfully Redeemed" (this bar is only displayed for a few seconds)
• if desired, click on"Linked Cartridges" on the left to see the cartridge in the list of cartridges linked to your account

If you would like to refer to some screen shots when entering the code, I posted photos when I added the retired City Sidewalks digital collection to my account.

Note: I did not test to see if case mattered when entering the code. I typed it exactly as it appeared on the card; all of the letters were in uppercase. Also, one of my cards used both the letter o and a zero. The uppercase o was much rounder/wider than the zero so it was easy to distinguish between the two.

Cricut® Craft Room

While I have not been using Cricut Craft Room as much since I purchased the Explore, I opened it to see if any additional Close To My Heart cartridges were added. Before it would completely open, I had to do some troubleshooting. I had to uninstall the version of Adobe Air I had installed and use Adobe AIR 21.0.0.215. A link to the suggested version of Adobe Air is in the troubleshooting post.

I did not expect to find any of the Country Collections in CCR, but I thought it might be possible that You Are Here would be added. So far it has not been added and I suspect that it will not be added; I have purchased other cartridges that were released in 2016 and some of them have not been added to CCR either.

I hope this post answers any questions you might have about the latest Cricut® collections available from Close To My Heart. If not, please use the contact form to the right to ask me the questions you have.

August 8th Online Warehouse Sale

Welcome to the second Online Warehouse Sale for August 2017.

During the warehouse sale you can save 50% on select crafting supplies! The products shown below and on the Warehouse Sale page of my Consultant Website were posted at 12:00am MDT (2:00am EDT) this morning and are available while supplies last. During this sale you will also save on shipping costs because shipping will be based on the discounted price of sale items rather than the full retail value.

Let's get to what is on sale this week:

Photo	Description	Regular Price	Warehouse Sale Price
Slate Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (swivel case design)	Single-color dye-based ink in patented swivel-top stamp pad. This color and stamp pad style are retired.	$6.95	$3.48
Designer Creations Takeout Box	2 – 4" tall printed kraft paper boxes with metal wire handle. Tapers from 4" square top to 3" square bottom. Some assembly required.	$5.95	$2.98
Exclusive Inks™ Mini Pigment Pads Bulk Pack—Black	10 – Black mini pigment pads	$19.95	$9.98
Glacier Fundamental Assortment	Includes 6 wooden stickers, 6 paper bows with gold or silver foil patterns, 8 plastic clips, and a 6" × 6" sheet of glitter stickers. This is a current color in the Whimsy palette.	$9.95	$4.48
Picture My Life™ Live Your Day Scrapbooking Program	20 – 4" × 6" cards 36 – 3" × 4" cards Same design on both sides. One side features the design vertically and the other side features it horizontally. These cards are acid-free, lignin-free, and buffered.	$8.95	$4.48
Carnival Fun Stamp + Thin Cuts	Includes the My Acrylix® Carnival Fun stamp set and 6 metal dies to cut select stamp shapes. Thin Cuts are packaged on their own magnetic sheet and work well with most die-cutting machines.	$27.90	$13.95
Classic Basics Fundamentals Bundle	Includes the following items: 1 – Basics Fundamental paper packet (20 double-sided 12" × 12" sheets, 2 each of 10 designs) 1 – Basics Fundamental sticker pack (four 12" × 6" sheets in 4 designs: alphabets, titles, labels, and icons) 1 – Black Fundamental Assortment (6 wooden stickers, 6 paper bows with gold or silver foil patterns, 8 plastic clips, and a 6" × 6" sheet of glitter stickers) Except for black, the colors are retired.	$36.85	$18.43
Black & Gold Fundamental Assortment Bundle	Includes the following items: 1 – Black Fundamental Assortment 1 – Gold Fundamental Assortment Each Assortment includes 6 wooden stickers, 6 paper bows with gold or silver foil patterns, 8 plastic clips, and a 6" × 6" sheet of glitter stickers.	$19.90	$9.95
Instalife™ Bundle	Includes the following items: 1 – pack of Instalife™ City Limits cards 1 – pack of Instalife™ The Bright Side cards 1 – Instalife™ black & white album (D-ring) Each pack of cards includes ten 4" × 4" cards, thirty 2" × 2" cards, six 4" × 4" die-cut cards, and ten 2" × 2" die-cut cards.	$22.85	$11.43
La Vie En Rose Bundle	Includes the following items: 1 — La Vie En Rose Complements (stickers and assorted die-cuts) 1 – La Vie En Rose Assortment (8 badge buttons)	$11.90	$5.95
Ultimate Washi Tape Bundle	Includes the following items: 1 – gold polka-dot washi tape 1 – limeade washi tape pack 1 – Jeepers Creepers washi tape pack 1 – City Sidewalks washi tape pack	$18.80	$9.40

There are some fabulous items part of the Warehouse Sale this week. Some of my favorites are:

• Slate Ink Pad. I was sad to see this color retire and made sure I had a re-inker before they were no longer available.
• Takeout Box. What great little, uniquely shaped gift box. So many little things can fit in it from candies to gift cards and it can be decorated for men or women.
• Glacier Fundamental Assortment. Glacier is one of my favorite colors and it is still in the Whimsy palette. With the foils on the bows and the glitter on the circles, triangles, stars and hearts, this just adds a little something extra to your papercrafts.
• Life Your Day Scrapbooking Program. I have this in an Everyday Life™ Album to remind me of upcoming anniversaries and birthdays.
• Carnival Fun Stamp + Thin Cuts. Here in New York we are at the height of fair and carnival season and this set features some of the types of snacks we eat while there.
• Black and Gold Fundamental Assortment. Black and Gold add a special touch to cards and layouts.
• Washi Tape. Even if I am not using the tape on a project, the tape is great for holding my dies in place when running them through my Cuttlebug. That way I do not have to worry about the dies crossing and becoming damaged (and I can place them closer together to save on paper).

Don't get me wrong, I think all Close To My Heart products are great, but a few of my favorites are here. If some of your favorites are here too, be sure to place your order before items sell out or a new selection of sale items are posted next Tuesday.

Seasonal Expressions 2 2017 Retiring Products

While an official list has not been published, I noticed that many items from Seasonal Expressions 2 2017 can now be seen in the Going Soon! area of my Consultant Website. I guess it should not be a surprise since this Idea Book is only valid until August 31, 2017.

Almost everything in SE2 is retiring and anything that is not a stamp set (which are manufactured at Corporate Headquarters in Utah) should be considered while supplies last. The retiring items are:

Little Dreamer Creative Collection - pages 4 through 13
Little Dreamer Paper Packet (X7219B) page 7	Little Dreamer Coordinating Cardstock (X7219D) page 7
Little Dreamer Complements (X7219C) page 7	Little Dreamer Glitter Gems(Z3321) page 7
WYW® Little Dreamer Scrapbooking Kit (G1126) page 9	WYW® Miss You Cardmaking Kit (G1130) page 13
Little Dreamer—Cardmaking (C1677) page 10	Little Dreamer Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3335) page 10
Little Dreamer—Scrapbooking (D1721) page 11	Little Dreamer Scrapbooking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3334) page 11
Little Dreamer—Scrapbooking (D1721E) not pictured - British spelling	Little Dreamer Scrapbooking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3334E) not pictured - British spelling
Keep Dreaming (D1720) page 12	space intentionally left blank
No Worries Creative Collection - pages 14 through 23
No Worries Paper Packet (X7220B) page 17	No Worries Coordinating Cardstock (X7220D) page 17
No Worries Complements (X7220C) page 17	No Worries Sequins (Z3322) page 17
WYW® No Worries Scrapbooking Kit (G1127) page 19	WYW® Anniversary Cardmaking Kit (G1131) page 23
No Worries—Cardmaking (C1679) page 20	No Worries Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3337) page 20
No Worries—Scrapbooking (D1718) page 21	No Worries Scrapbooking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3336) page 21
Fourth of July (A1204) page 22	First of July (A1207) page 22
Summer BBQ (C1680) page 22	space intentionally left blank
Prickly Pear Creative Collection - pages 24 through 33
Prickly Pear Paper Packet (X7221B) page 27	Prickly Pear Coordinating Cardstock (X7221D) page 27
Prickly Pear Complements (X7221C) page 27	Prickly Pear Sequins (Z3324) page 27
WYW® Prickly Pear Scrapbooking Kit (G1128) page 29	WYW® Let's Party Cardmaking Kit (G1132) page 33
Prickly Pear—Cardmaking (C1682) page 30	Prickly Pear Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3332) page 30
Prickly Pear—Scrapbooking (D1722) page 31	Prickly Pear Scrapbooking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3338) page 31
Fiesta Time (C1681) page 32	space intentionally left blank
Jack Creative Collection - pages 34 through 43
Jack Paper Packet (X7222B) page 37	Jack Coordinating Cardstock (X7222D) page 37
Jack Complements (X7222C) page 37	space intentionally left blank
WYW® Jack Scrapbooking Kit (G1129) page 39	WYW® Father's Day Cardmaking Kit (G1134) page 43
Jack—Cardmaking (C1678) page 40	Jack Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3333) page 40
Jack—Scrapbooking (D1723) page 41	Jack Scrapbooking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3339) page 41
Camping Life (D1719) page 42	space intentionally left blank
Fundamentals Creative Collections - pages 44 through 47
space intentionally left blank My Boy is sold out	My Girl Complements (Z3308) page 45
Springtime Complements (Z3307) page 46	Snapshot Complements (Z3309) page 47
My Crush® Dynamic Dimensions - page 51
My Crush® Artistic You (Z3295) page 51	My Crush® Adventure Calls (Z9978) not pictured
Cut Above™ Dynamic Dimensions - pages 52 through 53
Cut Above® Layout Kit—Party Time (Z3330) page 52	Cut Above® Layout Kit—Adventure (Z3331) page 53
Today (M1172) page 55	Hooray (A1205) page 55
Together (M1173) page 55	Scripty Thank You (A1206) page 55
Scripty Thank You (French) (A1206F) page 55	Scripty Thank You (Spanish) (A1206S) page 55

The last six stamps in the table above coordinate with Thin Cuts:

Thin Cuts—Basic Stars (Z3329) page 54

Thin Cuts—Basic Ovals (Z3328) page 54

Click on any of the images or product name to be taken to that product's page on my Consultant Website. If you would browse my Consultant Website, the Shop Now button will take you there.

If you have any product or promotion questions, do not hesitate to email me. You will also find me on Facebook at Brenda's Paper Crafts. Thank you for visiting today.