Why I Became A CTMH Consultant

Welcome to the Why I Became A CTMH Consultant Blog Hop. Some may call it What Is Your Why, that is, why we became or continue to be a CTMH consultant. This month there are almost 20 bloggers participating in the hop. If blog hopping is new to you, we try to keep it simple, just keep clicking on the link to the next blog (typically near the bottom of the post) to visit the next stop. Blog hops are circular so visiting the next blog will take you back to where you started.

You should have arrived here from ***Priscilla's Paperie by Priscilla Gotham***. If you get lost along the way, Melinda Everitt keeps a list of participants on her blog at If You Bling It.

If you are considering becoming a Close To My Heart Independent Consultant, April 2016 is the time to. This month is Baby, I’m Worth It! and it has never been a better time to join. The consultant kit is at a new lower price and when you submit $350 in personal sales within your first 30 days (the 30-day period begins five days after the New Consultant Kit ships to US addresses), you get your choice of either a FREE Cricut® collection or $100 in Select Product Credit—and that’s in addition to the Straight To The Top start-up bonus that you’ll earn along the way! If you have questions about becoming a consultant, contact the CTMH Independent Consultant you have been working with and if you are not working with one, feel free to contact me.

The Art Philosophy Cricut® collection is the reason I joined in March 2012. When I signed up the Art Philosophy collection had been available for a few months and new Consultants were able to get it for free. I heard wonderful things about the cartridge and thought "why not get it for free while getting some great supplies". I did not think I would remain a Consultant, but I love the products and get to sample many of them one month before they are available to the general public, I have met some wonderful people and attended some great events despite pushing myself out of my comfort zone by attending local business events and craft fairs to meet new customers.

The cartridges allow us to make create gifts and home décor items in addition to cards and scrapbook pages. For my project I created this "magazine file" filled with four cards though I will make more cards because there is plenty of room in the "file".

The cards were inspired by page 42 of Annual Inspirations 2015-16.

I used a mix of first and second generation stamping on the cards. I also mixed stitching with needle and thread and faux stitching with the journaling pen. Finally I tried different embossing folders and two different sizes of matting behind the stamping. I should not have photographed the cards on top of the enveloped because I makes it look like I did not attach the parts and pieces straight. Lesson learned.

Another project I created recently, this time with the Art Philosophy Cricut® collection, is the Rosette Birthday Card project on page 9 of the handbook.

Before you head to ***Lauren Moore's CTMH Craftings***, the supplies I used to create my project are listed below.

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

• My Acrylix™ Happy To Be Friends Stamp Set (C1605)
• 5½" X 4¼" White Cards & Envelopes, Value Pack (X254)
• 12" X 12" White Daisy Cardstock (1385)
• 12" X 12" Black Cardstock (1386)
• 12" X 12" Pear Cardstock (X5764)
• Kaleidoscope Paper Pack (X7202B)
• Pear Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2197)
• Sunset Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2191)
• Pixie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2644)
• Gypsy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2190)
• Canary Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2643)
• Black Memento™ Ink Pad (Z899)
• Diamond Embossing Folder (Z3020)
• Scallop Embossing Folder (Z3021)
• Quatrefoil Embossing Folder (Z1926)
• Confetti Embossing Folder (Z3118)
• Stitch Guide (Z1852)
• Piercing & Embossing Tool Kit (Z2046)
• Foam Mat (Z1859)
• Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen (Z1979
• Sparkles Clear Assortment (Z1752)
• Cricut® Artiste Collection (Z3170)
• Holder - #M3E9E7 - page 47
• Shape - #M3FDA0 - page 47
• Assembly instructions are on page 18 of the Assembly Handbook
• If you would to use the Design Space file I created, you will find it here
• My Acrylix™ Celebration Stamp Set (D1497) - part of the Art Philosophy Collection
• 12" X 12" Colonial White Cardstock (1388)
• 12" X 12" Cocoa Cardstock (X5642)
• 12" X 12" Kraft Cardstock (Z1375)
• Heartstrings Paper Packet - retired
• Cocoa Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2114)
• Sponge Dauber (3-pack - Z726) or (value pack of 12 - Z1938)
• Cricut® Art Philosophy Collection (Z3171)
• Oval - Oval3 - #M4734D - page 42
• Card - Oval4 + Card - #M46F52 - page 52
• Flourish - Tag3 + Font Layer - #M410C1 - page  50
• Flower - Heart3 + Font + Shift - #M435F5 - page 69
• If you would like a head start to create a similar card, my Design Space file is here
• 3L® E-Z Dots® Adhesive (Z3022)
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: Cricut® Explore, Cricut® Design Space, Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive (for the rosettes), needle, black thread

If you are not working with a CTMH Independent Consultant yet, you may purchase all of the supplies I used at my Online Business Address.

I love to hear what people think of my projects, so if you have a moment I would be delighted if you would leave a comment. So you do not have to scroll back up, the next stop on the hop is ***Lauren Moore's CTMH Craftings***.

I hope you are enjoying the hop.