Felicity Collection - National Papercrafting Month

January is National Papercrafting Month and Close To My Heart is starting the celebration early by offering a stunning set of papers and stamps.  The collection features decorative die-cut paper, three gorgeous color schemes, and a D-size stamp set that includes flowers, flourishes, argyle patterns, birds, and an entire alphabet! 

• 1 – My Acrylix® Felicity stamp set (D-size)
• 2 – Autumn Terracotta Plaid B&T Duos® Paper
• 2 – Autumn Terracotta Flourish B&T Duos® Paper
• 1 – Autumn Terracotta Circle B&T Duos® Die-Cut
• 1 – Autumn Terracotta Bracket B&T Duos® Die-Cut
• 2 – Sorbet Dot B&T Duos® Paper
• 2 – Sorbet Flourish B&T Duos® Paper
• 1 – Sorbet Circle B&T Duos® Die-Cut
• 1 – Sorbet Bracket B&T Duos® Die-Cut
• 2 – Twilight Argyle B&T Duos® Paper
• 2 – Twilight Stripe B&T Duos® Paper
• 1 – Twilight Circle B&T Duos® Die-Cut
• 1 – Twilight Bracket B&T Duos® Die-Cut 
• 1 – Artwork Brochure (2-sided, full color, project ideas)
  

Five ways to get your Felicity collection:

• $34.95 - purchase it at full retail price
• FREE with an order of $60 or more in stamp sets
• FREE with an order of $125 or more of any CTMH products
• FREE to Hostesses with a party sales total of $400 or more
• FREE with your New Consultant Kit if you join CTMH in January
  

This special collection is available through January 31, and only while supplies last.  Let me know if you would like to place an order, or visit the Shop Online section of my CTMH website (http://sheila.myctmh.com). 

Wordless Wednesday (Jellyfish at Long Beach Aquarium)

Fossil Stone Technique

The 'Fossil Stone' technique was featured in one the Technique Junkies newsletters a couple of years ago.  This is a surprisingly easy and fun technique that creates great backgrounds.

Start with a plastic file folder or page protector.  Using an ink pad, 'smear' some ink on the right side of the plastic.  Using a second color, 'smear' ink on the left side.  Optionally, you may dab a third color of ink randomly on both sides of the plastic.  Do not completely color the plastic with ink - just rub the edge of your ink pad in several places.  Be sure to leave open 'non inked' areas on each side so that when the folder is closed, there is open space for the different inks to be visible both on their own and mixed with the other inks.

Don't be fooled by the "apparent" lack of ink on the plastic.  Close the plastic (put both sides together) and then rub with your hands so that the ink mixes together and moves around a bit inside the plastic.

Open the plastic and place two pieces of Glossy White paper back-to-back (so that the Glossy is facing the inks) on top of the plastic on the right.  Then "close" the plastic by placing the left side on top of the right.  Using a Rubber Brayer, roll on top of the plastic to ensure that the ink is transferred to the Glossy paper.

Open the plastic and remove the Glossy cardstock.  You now have two 'unique' background to use for cards!  Okay, so a total of four pieces are shown here - results from doing the technique two times with two pieces of cardstock each time.

Experiment with different colors.  This sample uses Olive, Grey Wool, and Desert Sand.  Since the ink is not absorbed into the plastic and just sits on top, little air bubbles are created as the ink is 'floating' on the plastic.  This creates a 'fossilized' look when you transfer the ink to your Glossy paper.  This is a really great technique because you can use any dye ink pads you already own.  You do not need reinkers for this technique!

One thing that I’ve noticed.  Initially, the color is very bright and vivid on the Glossy cardstock – but after a day or so, the color does fade a bit.

Wordless Wednesday