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***.