Sunday, July 31, 2022

Voice of the Sea - Final Card for July

It is the end of July and I am still loving the July 2022 Stamp of the Month from Close To My Heart.

card created with Voice of the Sea (CTMH July 2022 SOTM)
card created with Voice of the Sea (CTMH July 2022 SOTM)

This card was started long before the July 2022 SOTM was revealed. Whenever I work with Distress Oxide™ Inks I keep some pieces of watercolor paper nearby to pick up the color left on my All-purpose Mat (Z2045). I spritz the mat with water and pick up as much color as I can on watercolor paper, then I will often spritz the card and blot it with kitchen aka paper towel.The color is primarily from Mermaid Lagoon, but it is possible a small amount of another color got mixed in. It is unfortunate that the texture of the background does not show well in photos.

I used the masking technique (stamp on a scrap, cut close to the outline and lightly adhere the cut-out to prevent inking over an existing image–see last July's SOTM post for more detail) when stamping. Unfortunately this is also difficult to see, but I added White Gel Pen on the bubbles around the turtle.

I finished the card by cutting Copper Core Paper using the Stitched Rectangle Frames Thin Cuts (retired and stock depleted).

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

Today is the last day you can order the July 2022 Stamp of the Month Voice of the Sea. Today is also the last day the 2021-2022 Core Products Catalog is valid and the Copper Ore Paper is on the retiring list.

I hope you were able to find some creative time this weekend. Have a great week ahead.

Monday, July 25, 2022

July–September 2022 New Products Artwork Showcase

Today's card for the CTMH Artwork Showcase was created with new items you will find in the July-September 2022 catalog.

CTMH Artwork Showcase July-September 2022 Catalog
CTMH Artwork Showcase July-September 2022 Catalog

I created this fun, bright, and sunny card with items from the July-September 2022 catalog.

Beach Party Card
Beach Party Card

When a new catalog is about to be released, Close To My Heart holds a catalog launch event that any Maker can choose register for. This card is inspired by one of the cards we created at the launch.

I used second generation Sundance ink to stamp the squares in the lower right corner while all of the other stamping was completed in first generation.

Here's a complete list of products used; all supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:

If you are not working with a CTMH Maker, you may purchase the supplies I used at my eCommerce website.

Be sure to visit Melinda Everitt's CTMH Artwork Showcase on Facebook to see other art work created with items from the July-September 2022 catalog.

If you are like me, you are very grateful that the heat and humidity have subsided a bit. We had a storm go through Sunday afternoon and we lost power for about 8 hours; it was a little difficult since we didn't have fans or anything cold to drink, but fortunately we made it out the other side. I hope you are able to get outside and enjoy the more pleasant temperatures.

Friday, July 22, 2022

Christmas in July Flash Sale

Close To My Heart is having a Christmas in July Flash Sale and it begins later today.

Christmas in July Flash Sale
Christmas in July Flash Sale

The sale begins Friday, July 22 at 3:00 pm MDT; that's 5:00 pm EDT on July 22. There are amazing deals on a variety of products. The discounts are available though 11:59 pm MDT on Sunday, July 24, which is 1:59 am EDT on Monday, July 25. All offers are while supplies last.

If you are a subscriber to the CTMH Newsletter, you will be receiving an email reminder when the sale begins this afternoon.

As with previous flash sales, discounted prices for this sale are only available on orders placed through my Maker website for the duration of the sale.

All discounted items ordered as part of the sale count toward earning VIP Credit and the Stamp of the Month at the discounted price. Shipping and handling will be based on the full retail value of sale items.

Any items purchased using VIP Credit will be redeemed at the full retail price, so I suggest saving your VIP Credit for another time.

To see which items will be discounted during the flash sale, visit the promotions page on my Maker website at any time during the sale. All offers are only available while supplies last. As a reminder, any current item that goes unavailable during the sale will return to availability at its normal price when the sale ends.

In addition to items that have previously appeared in a CTMH catalog, this Christmas in July Flash Sale includes four exclusive stamp sets. One of the exclusive stamp sets comes with a coordinating Thin Cuts set.

There will also be some discounted mystery bundles, bundles that are made up of current products and a few favorites from the past. The bundles include options for cardmaking, scrapbooking, pocket scrapbooking, and accessory-focused collections.

To keep with the theme of "mystery bundles", a list of included items will not be provided. There is an exception: it the bundle includes one of the four exclusive stamp sets featured in the Christmas in July Flash Sale, that will be stated so you can avoid purchasing duplicates.

A note about catalogs...as of July 15 VIP Customers have the option to add a new Core Catalog FREE in their orders and, as of July 22, all customers will have the option to add a FREE Core Catalog. If you would like a new Core Catalog ASAP, add one to your Flash Sale order this weekend.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend and find a fun way to keep cool in this heat. Thank you for stopping by today.

Monday, July 18, 2022

Startup Special Cut Above® Card Kits

The Startup Special continues and items are available until August 31, 2022 while supplies last.

Startup Special
Startup Special

Yesterday I shared images of the completed Cut Above® Layout Kits. Today is all about the Cut Above® Card Kits. Each image shows the twelve different cards in the kit and each kit creates 24 total cards. Some of the cards are shaker cards (do not worry, the printed instructions tell you how to create the shaker cards).

Sep–Dec 2019 Cut Above® Card Kit
Sep–Dec 2019 Cut Above® Card Kit (CHC4201)


Jan–Apr 2020 Cut Above® Card Kit
Jan–Apr 2020 Cut Above® Card Kit (CHC4202)

May–Aug 2020 Cut Above® Card Kit
May–Aug 2020 Cut Above® Card Kit (CHC4203)

Sep–Dec 2020 Cut Above® Card Kit
Sep–Dec 2020 Cut Above® Card Kit (CHC4204)

Jan–Apr 2021 Cut Above® Card Kit
Jan–Apr 2021 Cut Above® Card Kit (CHC4211)

May–Aug 2021 Cut Above® Card Kit
May–Aug 2021 Cut Above® Card Kit (CHC4212)

Sep–Dec 2021 Cut Above® Card Kit
Sep–Dec 2021 Cut Above® Card Kit (CHC4221)

Each of the Cut Above® Card Kits "Includes pre-printed card bases, envelopes, die-cuts, an exclusive My Acrylix® stamp set, sample stamping block, mini ink pad, and printed instructions."

I did some math to determine the cost per card. This assumes a tax rate of 8% and that tax is also calculated on the cost of Shipping & Handling like it is where I live (New York State).

calculating cost per card
calculating cost per card

Assuming I did not make a math error, the cost per cart from three Cut Above® Card Kits would be $1.85, but do not forget that when all of the cards are complete, you will still have three stamp sets perfect for cardmaking, three mini ink pads, three stamping blocks and, depending on how full you make your shaker cards, you may have some embellishments left over.

The only other things you will need to complete the cards is some adhesive. I like to use the Adhesive Runner (Z3372), 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151) and Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060). If you have other embellishments in your crafty space, you could use them to personalize the cards even more.

If you are or become a VIP for $35 before placing your order, will earn 15% of the retail amount paid (before tax/shipping & handling); VIP Credit cannot be used toward Startup Special or Overstock Offers.

If you purchase a combination of Cut Above® Layout Kits and Cut Above® Card Kits to take advantage of the buy 2 get 1 free offer, please know that lowest priced item(s) in your cart are the items that will be free. If you want to purchase three Cut Above® Card Kits and three Cut Above® Layout Kits, you should do some math to see if it makes sense to place two different orders so you can get one of the Cut Above® Card Kits for free. Please reach out to me via the Contact Form to the right if you would like some help with the math.

Try to stay cool and enjoy some crafting this week. Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, July 17, 2022

Startup Special Scrapbooking Cut Above® Layout Kits

I keep going back and forth between different kits offered on the Startup Special promotions page because I want to compare the layouts side-by-side. I bet I am not the only one who is doing a lot of hopping between Cut Above® Layout Kits so I thought I would share a post with photos of the completed pages.

Startup Special
Startup Special

All of the samples below are product images from CTMH. If you want a better look at any of the layouts you should be able to click on the photos to get a better view.

This table shows Cut Above® Layout Kits that were available from the Craft withe Heart Scrapbooking Subscription:

September 2019 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
September 2019 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
September 2019 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
September 2019 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2 
December 2019 Cut Above® Layout Kit
December 2019 Cut Above® Layout Kit
January 2020 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
January 2020 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
January 2020 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
January 2020 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
June 2020 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
June 2020 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
June 2020 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
June 2020 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
May 2020 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
May 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
May 2020 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
May 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
June 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
June 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
June 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
June 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
July 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
July 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
July 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
July 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
August 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
August 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
August 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
August 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
September 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
September 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
September 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
September 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
October 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
October 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
October 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
October 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
November 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
November 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
November 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
November 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
December 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
December 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 1
December 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2
December 2021 Cut Above® Layout Kit - layout 2

The Cut Above® Layout Kits below were past monthly specials from CTMH.

Since this post is a little long, I will ask you to check out some previous blog posts for photos of other Cut Above® Layout Kits.

Moments like These Cut Above® Layout Kit
Moments like These Cut Above® Layout Kit

Moments like These Cut Above® Layout Kit (CC10206) was originally available in Fall 2020. Visit the product page or this previous blog post to see the completed pages.

Best Friends Furever Cut Above® Kit
Best Friends Furever Cut Above® Kit

Best Friends Furever Cut Above® Kit (CC11194) was originally available in late 2019. Please visit the product page or this previous blog post (you will need to scroll down) to see the completed pages.

Happiest Place Cut Above® Layout Kit
Happiest Place Cut Above® Layout Kit

Happiest Place Cut Above® Layout Kit (CC7208) was originally available in Summer 2020. Please visit the product page or this previous blog post (please scroll down) to see the completed pages.

If you visit previous blog posts to view the Cut Above® Layout Kit pages, most other items that you may see there are not available. An exception is products from the Happiest Place collection. There are are few items (paper packet + sticker sheet, stamp + Thin Cuts and acrylic shapes) in the Online Only > Monthly Specials area of my eCommerce website.

I will pull together photos of the cardkmaking kits and share them in the next day or two.

Thank you for visiting today. Have a great week!

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Startup Special and Overstock Offer Coming on July 15

Two new Close To My Heart promotions are set to begin tomorrow, Friday, July 15.

The first is Startup Special which is an opportunity to purchase a select variety of Cut Above® Kits. Some of the kits have been featured in past Craft with Heart™ kits while others are from past specials.

Startup Special
Startup Special

If you new to crafting, the Cut Above® Kits are a great way to "dip your toe in the water" because typically the only other products you need are adhesives (I like to use a combination of Adhesive Runner (Z3372) and 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151) and/or Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060) or similar adhesives) and a Journaling Pen (a new version will be introduced in the new Core Catalog on August 1). The cardmaking kits will need adhesives and will come with a block, mini ink pad and stamp set. The kits are also for those who like to speed craft with products that come together quickly.

A handful of these kits are available at a 20% discount, and all featured kits are part of a special buy two, get one free offer! This flyer shows a variety of the options that are available:

Startup Special flyer - page 1
Startup Special flyer - page 1
Startup Special flyer - page 2
Startup Special flyer - page 2
Startup Special flyer - page 3
Startup Special flyer - page 3

Click on any of the images for a better view or download a copy of the flyer here.

The other promotion starting on July 15 is Overstock Offer.

Overstock Offer
Overstock Offer

If you have been hesitating to become a VIP because you were wondering about the VIP-only products, here is a chance to get the VIP treatment by purchasing any of the VIP-exclusive items and seeing them first hand.

Overstock Offer flyer
Overstock Offer flyer

Click on the image above for a larger view or download a copy of the flyer here.

Both Startup Special and Overstock Offer are available July 15 to August 31 while supplies last.

If you are a VIP, items from both specials will earn you VIP Credit and the amount paid for items will count toward earning the Stamp of the Month for free. Unfortunately you cannot redeem VIP Credit toward any of the Startup Special and Overstock Offer products.

On Friday, July 15, be sure to visit the Promotions page of my eCommerce website for product images and descriptions and reach out to me via the Contact Form to the right if you have any questions.

Monday, July 11, 2022

CTMH New Color Pine

The cat is out of the bag. The news that escaped: Pine is one of new colors from Close To My Heart.

July–September 2022 Catalog
July–September 2022 Catalog

Because Pine is in two of the newest paper collections, Backyard Bliss and Crisp Air, CTMH decided to make Pine available before the other items in the new 2022–2023 Core Products Catalog. Backyard Bliss and Crisp Air are found in the July–September 2022 Catalog.

12" × 12" Cardstock Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad Exclusive Inks™ Re-inker
Pine Cardstock
Pine Cardstock
(X6070)
Pine Stamp Pad
Pine Stamp Pad
(Z6540)
Pine Re-inker
Pine Re-inker
(Z7540)

Pine is available to order immediately so you do not need to put off working with the Backyard Bliss or Crisp Air collections.

Have a great week!