Wicked (August SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features the Wicked stamp set from Close To My Heart.  This stamp set has a fabulous witch, broomstick, scary cat, and witch's hat, along with some great sentiments with shapes that coordinate extremely well with cut images on the new Cricut-Art Philosophy cartridge. 

If you have come here from JIll's 'Scrap Wench' blog, you are on the right path! With over 60 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other  CTMH products on their blogs, you should be able to find lots of great creative ideas to use for your own projects.  With the release of CTMH's new Autumn/Winter Idea Book on August 1, there will be a lot of fabulous brand-new products being used.  Blog Hopping is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

A sassy witch on this card reminds you to "put your best foot forward."  On this 6"x6" Kraft scallop edge card, the right side is actually a flap that is being held closed with the witch image.  To decorate the card, the scallop background, scallop edge patterned paper, as well as the different frames for the witch and the sentiment were all cut using the Cricut-Art Philosophy cartridge.  The cartridge is perfect for creating just about any shape you need for card making or scrapbooking.  The inside of the card is completed with the black cat from the set stamped in the lower right corner.  You can get 10 of the card bases with matching envelopes for only $6.95.
 

Now "Hop" on over to Mary's 'mestamp2' blog to see her work!  Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas!  Remember, the Wicked stamp set is only available during the month of August.  The regular price is reduced to $17.95, or you can purchase it for only $5 with a minimum order of $50 in other CTMH products.

In addition, Close To My Heart is celebrating their newly updated Stamp-of-the-Month program by offering an "Extra! Extra!" bonus stamp set with the purchase of the August SOTM at the discounted $5 price.  A Typeface is a great little alphabet set that is only available this month and is FREE!  It has a retail value of $6.95.  

If you get lost on the Blog Hop or find links that aren't working, there is a complete list of all participating blogs on Helen's 'Hooked on Stamping' blog.

A Bundle of Cricut Fun! (Extravaganza class)

"A Bundle of Cricut Fun" was the name of the class that I was chosen to teach at the Extravaganza class during Close To My Heart's Convention earlier this month.  It was so much fun to play with the new Cricut cartridge - Art Philosophy.  Certainly, my favorite 'feature' of the cartridge was the CARD feature.  When selecting this 'feature' button, you are able to cut different card shapes with all 50 of the Cricut buttons.  It is amazing!  

During the Extravaganza class, I shared several cards that I had created using the Art Philosophy cartridge.  All of the cards are really simple, and very quick to create.  You will be able to create a nice gift tag in no time at all.  

This 3 1/2" tall card is cut entirely with the Cricut cartridge.  It is cut 3 1/2" tall, 7" wide, with rounded corners, and score lines indicating where to fold.  It also cuts out two facing birds from the front of the card.  For this card, I simply added some background & texture paper inside the front of the card, added Sparkles for the bird eyes, and stamped a simple sentiment on the front of the card.

Perfect for a gift tag, cut the circle card at 3" using Sunny Yellow cardstock.  It has a flower cut out of the center.  So, I simply cut a smaller circle card (without a flower cut-out) using Bubble Gum cardstock to line the card.  There is an even smaller circle cut using White Daisy cardstock and stamped with a sentiment on the inside of the card.  A large pink Sparkle was added to the flower on the front and the card is complete.  For a coordinating envelope, I cut another flower a slightly smaller size and used the cut-out petals as a stencil to apply ink to the corner of a 3"x3" white envelope.  These nice envelopes are now available in packs of 10 from CTMH. 

One of my favorites, and a super simple card.  The card is cut at 3 1/4" high which makes it a total of 5" wide.  The Cricut machine rounds the corners and cuts the small flower out of the lower corner of the front of the card.  Fold on the score lines to create the card.  I added some background & texture paper to the inside of the card so that it would appear behind the flower cut-out.  Also used the Art Philosophy cartridge to cut a small scalloped edge to put on the front of the card along with another strip of background & texture paper. 

Three sheets of Dimensional Elements are included with the purchase of the Art Philosophy cartridge.  In order to create a mat for the Dimensional Element shape, simply cut the shape 1/4" larger than the element and layer it behind.  For this card, Desert Sand cardstock was cut the same size as the scallop circle Dimensional Element.  A stamp from the included stamp sets is used to stamp on the Desert Sand cardstock which is then adhered to the Dimensional Element.  Black cardstock was cut 1/4" larger to create a mat.  Then a large scallop circle card was created, and some background & texture paper was cut in the same shape to layer on the front of the card.  

A round card with a butterfly cut-out is mounted on a scallop circle which has been cut 1/4" larger.  The butterfly is a 'window' in the front of the card and there is background & texture paper shown on the inside of the card.

Using the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, these cards were all very quick to create.  The three stamp sets and Dimensional Elements which are bundled with the cartridge are also used.  As you can see, some of the cards are square or rectangular with rounded corners and then have cut-out images that can act as a 'window' to see inside the card, or you can back with background & texture paper.  Other images using the CARD feature are cards with a distinctive shape, like the large scalloped circle.  Just remember - you have 50 different card designs you can create using this new cartridge!

CTMH & Cricut - introducing Art Philosophy Cricut® Collection

Last week, Close To My Heart held their annual Convention at the Disneyland Hotel.  And I was fortunate enough to be selected to teach an Extravaganza class featuring the BIG announcement for the year - it is the Art Philosophy Cricut® Collection.  It is a bit difficult to see in the photo, but there is an exclusive Cricut cartridge along with his spiral companion book, three stamp sets with images that can be cut using the Cricut cartridge, and three Dimensional Elements shaped chipboard sheets which also coordinate with the Art Philosophy cartridge.  This entire bundle is only $99, and is available beginning August 1.

As an Extravaganza teacher, I received the new Art Philosophy cartridge along with new papers and other products being introduced about two months in advance so that I could create display boards and prepare for the seven classes that I would teach.  

The Art Philosophy cartridge is incredible - it includes 700 shapes.  There are 50 basic shapes (shown on this button overlay).  But the most amazing part is that all six Feature buttons of the Cricut are utilized.  

The Feature buttons are fabulous.  For each of the basic shapes, you have the following Features:

• Layer:  frames, outline shapes
• Decorative Layer: tags and frames with cut-outs
• Tag:  shaped tags with cut-outs, and ribbon slides
• Card:  shaped cards, and cards with cut-out image windows
• Font:  26 letters, numbers, special characters, photo corners, borders, spiral flowers
• Decorative Font:  26 letters with decorative stems, 3D boxes, envelopes, flourishes, doilies, more borders

You simply have to see the booklet to appreciate the potential of this Cricut cartridge.  Considering that all of the Feature buttons are utilized, and in such unique ways, this cartridge seems to be the equivalent of at least three 'regular' Cricut cartridges.

For a sneak peek at some of the possibilities, here are the three display boards that I created for Extravaganza.

Board #1:  Features images that be cut using the last button on the overlay, which includes a tag and a cupcake.  The cupcake stamp is in one of the stamp sets that is bundled with the Art Philosophy cartridge.  New papers featured are from the Elemental and the Roxie kits.

Board #2:  Features the new Sonoma paper pack along with some shaped cards, letters, and other images cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge. The stamps on the three cards are also included in the bundle with the Cricut cartridge. 

Board #3:  Includes papers from Wonderland and Believe paper kits.  Notice the variety of different card shapes that can be cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge as well as the large flowers that are from the Hooray Bouquet stamp set, and the holly leaves that are from the new A Holiday stamp set.  Both of these stamp sets, along with many others in the Idea Book include coordinating images that can be cut using the Cricut cartridge.  These coordinating stamp set shapes are in addition to the stamp shapes in the three stamp sets that are included with the purchase of the Art Philosophy cartridge.

And for even more information, CTMH has prepared a short video introducing the Art Philosophy Cricut® Collection. 

American Celebration (July SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features the American Celebration stamp set from Close To My Heart.  This stamp set has wonderful images to capture your Fourth of July celebration, or use for any festive occasion. 

If you have come here from Tamytha's 'Paper HeARTIST' blog, you are on the right path! With over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs, you should be able to find lots of great creative ideas to use for your own projects.  Blog Hopping is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

Images from the American Celebration stamp set are embossed using Silver embossing powder on a Black cardstock.  A thin strip of bright green ribbon and a piece of Pear cardstock brightens up with card, along with colored A La Mode glitter and silver self-stick Opagues.  Thought this would be a great card for a boy's birthday.   

Now "Hop" on over to Traci's 'Scrapi Traci' blog to see her work!  Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas!  Remember, the American Celebration stamp set is only available during the month of July.  You can earn this stamp set for a great discount or even FREE by ordering CTMH products.

If you get lost on the Blog Hop or find links that aren't working, there is a complete list of all participating blogs on Helen's 'Hooked on Stamping' blog.