Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Festive Birthday Cards

Let's take a different look at the Workshops Your Way® Festive Birthday Cardmaking Kit. If you are like me and do not entertain that often, you might find that you do not want to create six of the "Please Join Us" cards.

Workshops Your Way® Festive Birthday Cardmaking Kit
When this happens, I pull out some retired paper, in this case Hopscotch, and create the cards in a similar, but different way. I can confirm that I am pleased with the outcome before cutting into the paper in the kit. I created these six cards:

 


As you can see, I did not cut a fourth strip for the card. This way I would have enough room for the birthday sentiment. All of the other cuts are as indicated in the Workshop Guide.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:
I hope you like the outcome of the changes I made to the "Please Join Us" cards.

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

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

May SOTM & Beautiful Friendship

The CTMH Corporate artists created some fabulous artwork using Classic Summer Bash, the May 2018 SOTM, and Beautiful Friendship, the featured paper for May to inspire us.


The supplies used to create the artwork above are:

4½″ × 5½″ Join Us Card
S1805My Acrylix® Classic Summer Bash — May Stamp of the Month
X7233BBeautiful Friendship Paper Packet
1385White Daisy Cardstock
X5957Sapphire Cardstock
Z2843Canary Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2896Smoothie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2805Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
X7233CBeautiful Friendship Complements
Z1263Bitty Sparkles
Z2452ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Golden Yellow Marker
Z2454ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Leaf Green Marker
Z2463ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Sap Green Marker
Z2027Mini Stapler
7″ × 5″ Barbeque Flat Invitation
S1805My Acrylix® Classic Summer Bash — May Stamp of the Month
X7233BBeautiful Friendship Paper Packet
1385White Daisy Cardstock
Z3367Vellum Paper
Z2896Smoothie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2843Canary Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2824Linen Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z899Black Memento™ Ink Pad
X7233CBeautiful Friendship Complements
Z3089Grey Gems
Z3132Watercolor Paints
Z3188Paintbrush Set
Z2452ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Golden Yellow Marker
Z2027Mini Stapler
10″ × 10″ Plant Smiles Home Décor
S1805My Acrylix® Classic Summer Bash — May Stamp of the Month
X7233BBeautiful Friendship Paper Packet
1385White Daisy Cardstock
Z2826Heather Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
X7233CBeautiful Friendship Complements
Z3312Gold Glitter Gems
Cricut Design Space™
Sewing Machine
Thread
Frame
Cricut® Shapes:
1' System font “Plant Smiles Grow Laughter Harvest Love”

If you would like a PDF of the recipes, you will find it here.

I have not had a chance to sit down and create additional artwork with this stamp set yet, but I didn't want to keep you waiting for the recipes.

The May SOTM is available until 11:59pm MST on May 31st. If you decide you would like to purchase the stamp set for $5 with a qualifying purchase, add the other items to your cart and then add the SOTM from the green Promotional Items area of your shopping cart.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Happy Birthday Emma

We gave Emma her card weeks ago, so I can share her first birthday card without spoiling any surprises. For Emma's first birthday the card had to be extra special so I created a twist and pop card. This is the card front.


When the card is opened, there are several more animals for Emma to look at.


I used a mix of Close To My Heart and other products. Here is a list of what I used in case you would like to create something similar:
  • My Acrylix™ Stamp Set: March 2018 SOTM: Birthday Time (S1803) - retired
  • Thin Cuts: Sweet Baby Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3376), Happy Birthday (Z3304) - retired
  • Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pads: Charcoal (Z2831), Bashful (Z2819), Heather (Z2826)
  • Black Memento™ Ink Pad (Z899)
  • paper packets: Gimme Some Sugar Paper Packet (X7228B) - retired
  • 12" X 12" Cardstock: Bashful (X5941), White Daisy (1385)
  • Cricut® Cuttlebug™ (available at Level 1 of Hostess Rewards; see page 4 of Annual Inspirations 2017-2018)
  • Cricut® Explore Air™ 2 (available at Level 3 of Hostess Rewards; see page 4 of Annual Inspirations 2017-2018)
    • my Design Space files are here if you would like to try your own Twist and Pop Card (I did not cut the extra decorative layers, but I did use them on a Mother's Day Card and a Baby Shower Card
  •  Supplies not from Close To My Heart: the Craftwork Card's blog for instructions to cut and assemble the Twist and Pop Card; Tattered Lace/Rare Earth Collaborations: Wishing on a Star (436336), Ready to Go (436335), Bunnies Just For You (436337) and Catch a Falling Star (436338), Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils
Even though Emma just turned one, I think she liked the animals and movement on her card.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Seasonal Expressions 2 New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the Seasonal Expressions 2 New Product Blog Hop featuring products from the latest Close To My Heart Idea Book. We have about 20 Independent Consultants sharing projects they created with new products in the CTMH Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book. If blog hopping is new to you, we try to keep it easy: just keep clicking on the link to the next blog (typically near the bottom of the post) to visit the next stop. Our last blogger links to our first blogger, so you can start anywhere, continue to visit the next blog and you will work your way back to where you started.


You should have arrived here from ***Vickie ODell's HeARTful Stamper***. If you get lost along the way, Melinda Everitt keeps a list of participants on her blog at If You Bling It.

I created this cover for a mini album to document my road trips this summer:


I used a variety of ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Markers to color the icons I plan to see this summer; I might go back and color in all of them. I am undecided. I tried to take a close-up photo of the star, camera and pin icons where I used the Clear Shimmer Brush to highlight them, but unfortunately it did not show up well in my photos.

Below is an image of the stamp set I used. While CTMH has always added the Cricut® Compatible cartridge name to the stamp carrier sheet, they now also list the image number to search for in Design Space. For the US Vacation stamp, the number to search on is #M2CD0725.


When you first add this image to your virtual mat, it will look like this:


Ungroup and delete the images that are not needed. Then use the lock near the size boxes to unlock the image sizing so you can use the size information from the stamp carrier sheet to cut the correct size.


When I was done resizing, I locked the size and then used the up arrow to make the image a little larger. I cut the smaller USA from White Daisy to stamp on and the larger USA from Sapphire cardstock so it would look like a shadow.

I also had fun with the Thin Cuts—Favor Box. I choose to use twine rather than ribbon so the letters would not complete with the ribbon.


Before you head to ***My Flights of Fancy by Michelle Johns***, the supplies I used to create my project are listed below.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:
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, Consultants were able to attend a Seasonal Expressions 2 Launch in late March. We created a layout and three cards at the event. Here are my completed cards:




If you have a few moments, please leave a comment letting me know what you think of my projects. I hope you are enjoying the items created with the new products CTMH has to offer. Thank you for hopping with us!

So you do not have to scroll back up, the next stop on the hop is ***My Flights of Fancy by Michelle Johns***.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Dad Is Rad: Exclusive Father’s Day Stamp Bundle

Close To My Heart is excited to announce a new exclusive stamp set and product bundle especially for Father’s Day. Available May 15–June 30, the My Acrylix® Rad Dad stamp set features sentiments and images suited to creating Father’s Day cards and scrapbook pages.


You may select from the Rad Dad Stamp Set or the Workshop Kit.

Rad Dad Stamp Set (D1811)
Dad Is Rad Workshop Kit (CC51810)

The Workshop Kit includes the following: (1) My Acrylix© Rad Dad Stamp Set (D1811), (1) White Burlap Ribbon (Z3323), (1) Gold Bows (Z3380), cardstock sheets (1) Almond, (1) Crystal Blue, (1) Juniper, (1) Sapphire, (2) Toffee, (4) White Daisy, (1) Gold Glitter.

A handful of pages and cards have been created with the Workshop Kit. You can recreate them using the supplies contained in the Dad Is Rad product bundle! Instructions for the projects are available on the Workshop Kit product page.


The cutting guide and assembly instructions may be downloaded from the product page. Look for the link under the add to cart button or under the product description.

Friday, May 11, 2018

Seasonal Expressions 2 Tour

On May 1, 2018 a new Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book was introduced.


Seasonal Expressions 2 may be viewed at my Consultant website or you can download a printable PDF (links open in a new tab). If you would like a list of items in SE2 2018, the Product Index (in PDF format) may be helpful; I use mine for a wish list and as a way to track purchases. CTMH also produced a PDF of Recipes which lists the products used (and Cricut shapes, if applicable) to create the samples found in the book. Please look at the Icon Legend on page 1 to see which products will likely be available after August 31 (the last day this Idea Book is valid).

The Hostess Rewards are the first thing you will find after the index. Most of the organizational items are available with Rewards. For some of the Hostess Rewards, the Cuttlebug and Cricut Explore Air 2 for example, you will need to refer to pages 4 and 5 in Annual Inspirations '17-'18 (unfortunately the CTMH Rolling Bag (HB1064) pictured on page 4 is no longer available). There are also four new stamp sets available exclusively with Hostess Rewards.

page 2 of SE 2 '18
page 3 of SE 2 '18
Marker Bundle (Z9977)
page 2 of SE 2 '18
Designer Travel Hostess Bundle (HB1070)
page 3 of SE 2 '18
New Adventures (A1219)
page 4 of SE 2 '18
It's a Grandbaby! (B1604)
page 4 of SE 2 '18
Hearts Background (A1221)
page 5 of SE 2 '18
Dino-mite Birthday (B1605)
page 5 of SE 2 '18

If you would like host a gathering to earn Hostess Rewards products, please use the contact form to the right to discuss scheduling an in-home or on-line gathering.

There are four new paper packs introduced in Seasonal Expressions 1. There are Workshops Your Way® Scrapbooking and Cardmaking Kits for each paper pack. Printed instructions are again included with the kits, but you can download the WYW instructions from my Consultant website (there is the link below the "Add To Cart" button); you can read through them before placing your order to determine if you need some additional products or while waiting for delivery. In addition to the layouts, at the end of the Scrapbooking guide there are directions for using the WYW "leftovers" and a few additional supplies (see the list under the WYW in the idea book), to create a few cards, the number varies depending on the collection, using your scraps:

Beautiful Friendship
this collection starts on page 12
Fresh Air
this collection starts on page 22
Central Park
this collection starts on page 32
Documented
this collection starts on page 42

Clicking on the link under the photos above take you to all of the CTMH products tagged with the paper collection name, including the stamps used to create samples in SE2 with the paper collection. Clicking on the paper photo will take you directly to the paper pack where you can view a larger image of each sheet.

How-To Patterns - page 7
Make It from Your Heart™ Volume 4 (9044)
page 7
alternate view of
Make It from Your Heart™ Volume 4
Story by Stacy™ - pages 8 through 11
Story by Stacy™
Stacy Julian
page 8
Story by Stacy™
page 8
Story by Stacy™ Story Starter Workshop Kit—Dots (Z4207)
page 9
Story by Stacy™ Story Starter Workshop Kit—Candy Apple (Z4208)
page 9
Story by Stacy™ Story Starter Workshop Kit—Stripes (Z4209)
page 9
Photo Trimmer (Z4211)
page 9
Colorful Texture (D1784)
page 10
Quotable Words (D1786)
page 11
Beautiful Friendship Creative Collection - pages 12 through 21
Beautiful Friendship Paper Packet (X7233B)
page 15
Beautiful Friendship Coordinating Cardstock (X7233D)
page 15
Beautiful Friendship Complements (X7233C)
page 15
Beautiful Friendship Bows (Z4195)
page 15
White Ribbon (Z4196)
page 15
this space intentionally blank
WYW® Beautiful Friendship Scrapbooking Kit (G1153)
page 17

created with WYW Beautiful Friendship Scrapbooking Kit
layouts shown on page 16
Beautiful Friendship—Cardmaking Stamp (C1720)
page 18
Beautiful Friendship Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z4180)
page 18
Beautiful Friendship—Scrapbooking (D1779)
page 19
Build-a-Picnic (D1774)
page 20
WYW® Festive Birthday Cardmaking Kit (G1157)
page 21
created with WYW Festive Birthday Cardmaking Kit
cards shown on page 21
Fresh Air Creative Collection - pages 22 through 31
Fresh Air Paper Packet (X7232B)
page 25
Fresh Air Coordinating Cardstock (X7232D)
page 25
Fresh Air Complements (X7232C)
page 25
Fresh Air Shapes (Z4185)
page 25
New England Ivy Burlap Ribbon (Z4170)
page 25
space intentionally left blank
WYW® Fresh Air Scrapbooking Kit (G1152)
page 27
created with WYW Fresh Air Scrapbooking Kit
layouts shown on page 26
Fresh Air—Cardmaking Stamp (C1722)
page 28
Fresh Air Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z4186)
page 28
Fresh Air—Scrapbooking (D1783)
page 29
Let’s Go Fishing (D1781)
page 30
WYW® In My Heart Cardmaking Kit (G1156)
page 31
created with WYW In My Heart Cardmaking Kit
cards shown on page 31
Central Park Creative Collection - pages 32 through 41
Central Park Paper Packet (X7231B)
page 35
Central Park Coordinating Cardstock (X7231D)
page 35
Central Park Complements (X7231C)
page 35
Central Park Sequins (Z4178)
page 35
Central Park Alphabet (Z4197)
page 35
space intentionally left blank
WYW® Central Park Scrapbooking Kit (G1151)
page 37
created with WYW Central Park Scrapbooking Kit
layouts shown on page 36
Central Park—Cardmaking Stamp (C1715)
page 38
Central Park Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z4179)
page 38
Central Park—Scrapbooking (D1775)
page 39
space intentionally left blank
WYW® Cheers to You Cardmaking Kit (G1155)
page 40
created with WYW Cheers to You Cardmaking Kit
cards shown on page 40
Picture My Life™ Cards—Birthday Cheer (X7231E)
page 41
created with Picture My Life™ Cards—Birthday Cheer
shown on page 41
Documented Creative Collection - pages 42 through 59
Documented Paper Packet (X7234B)
page 45
Documented Coordinating Cardstock (X7234D)
page 45
Documented Complements (X7234C)
page 45
Documented Dots (Z4177)
page 45
Documented Titles (Z4171)
page 45
space intentionally left blank
WYW® Documented Scrapbooking Kit (G1154)
page 47
created with WYW Documented Scrapbooking Kit
layouts shown on page 46
Documented—Cardmaking Stamp (C1719)
page 48
Documented Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z4172)
page 48
Documented—Scrapbooking (D1772)
page 49
space intentionally left blank
WYW® Sweet Friends Cardmaking Kit (G1158)
page 50
created with WYW Sweet Friends Cardmaking Kit
cards shown on page 50
Picture My Life™ Cards—Love Us (X7234E)
page 51
created with Picture My Life™ Cards—Love Us
shown on page 51
Cut Above® Layout Kit—Family Ties (Z4199)
page 52
created with Cut Above® layout Kit—Family Ties
page 52
created with Cut Above® Layout Kit—Family Ties
page 53
created with Cut Above® Layout Kit—Family Ties
page 53
Cut Above® Recipe Kit—Kitchen Traditions (Z4168)
page 54
Cut Above® Recipe Kit—Kitchen Traditions
(with Memory Protectors™)
(Z4169)
page 54
Cut Above® Kitchen Traditions Bundle (Z4167)
page 54
Kitchen Traditions (D1770)
page 55
Seasonal My Acrylix® Stamp Sets - page 56 through 67
Heartfelt Thanks (C1718)
page 57
US Vacation (D1778)
page 58
coordinates with Cricut® Hello USA Digital Collection
Canadian Vacation (D1777)
page 58
coordinates with Cricut® Hello Canada Digital Collection
On Holiday (D1776)
page 59
coordinates with Cricut® Hello AU/NZ Digital Collection
Real Heroes (D1782)
page 60
Be You (A1220)
page 61
Ribbon Warrior (C1723)
page 61
Ribbon Warrior Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z4184)
page 61
Mini Independence Day (M1205)
page 62
Mini Canada Day (M1206)
page 62
Nights of Lights (C1724)
page 62
space intentionally left blank
Shell Sentiments (C1721)
page 63
Stamped with Love (A1222)
page 63
Aloha Spirit (D1780)
page 64
Summer Fun Paper Doll Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z4183)
page 65
Movie Night (D1788)
page 66
Music Speaks (D1787)
page 67
Thin Cuts - page 68 through 69
Thin Cuts—Favor Box (Z4173)
page 68
created with Thin Cuts
page 68
Thin Cuts—A Big Thank You (Z4174)
page 69
Thin Cuts—It's Your Day (Z4175)
page 69
created with Thin Cuts—A Big Thank You
page 69
Thin Cuts—Stitched Circles (Z4181)
page 69
Thin Cuts—Stitched Hearts (Z4182)
page 69
Thin Cuts—Stitched Ovals (Z4187)
page 69
Organization - page 70 through 71
products shown inside cases are for illustrative purposes - not included with Organization Cases
Designer Travel Carry-all Case (Z6007)
page 71
Designer Travel Paper Insert (Z6005)
page 71
Designer Travel Trolley (Z6006)
page 71
Designer Travel Marker Case (Z6000)
page 71
Designer Travel Tool Case (Z6001)
page 71
Designer Travel Block Case (Z6002)
page 71
Designer Travel Ink Case (Z6003)
page 71
Designer Travel Stamp Case (Z6004)
page 71
International My Acrylix® Stamp Sets - page 72
Cinco de Mayo (C1717)
page 72
Mi Familia (B1602)
page 72
Petits Bonheurs (B1598)
page 72
Le Temps des Vacances (B1618)
page 72
My Acrylix® Stamp of the Month Stamp Sets - page 73 through page 76
Each stamp set only available during the month it is featured.
Classic Summer Bash - May 2018
page 73
A Bushel & a Peck - June 2018
page 74
Highlight Reel - July 2018
page 75
For the Love of Crafting - August 2018
page 76
Operation Smile™ Stamp Set - page 78
Seven dollars of the proceeds is donated to Operation Smile™
Punny Pals (D1751)
page 78
created with Punny Pals
page 78

Just a reminder, when you look at the WYW Kits on my Consultant website, be sure to download the Guide (you will find it under the "Add to Cart" button) with cutting and assembly tips. Also, under the photo of the kit contents you will see photos of the layouts or cards the kit makes. Just click on a thumbnail for a better view.

I hope you have enjoyed this tour of Seasonal Expressions 1. As always, the Shop Now button will take you to my Consultant website where you can see the other products that were introduced, read full products descriptions and place orders.


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