A Chocolate Affair (August SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features A Chocolate Affair stamp set from Close To My Heart.   When you place a minimum order of $50 during August, you'll receive the Stamp of the Month, A Chocolate Affair, for free!  This stamp set includes 16 images and sentiments to add some flavor to any layout, card, or 3-D item.  Browse the new Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book, place a qualifying purchase of awesome products, and score a delicious Chocolate reward free!   

If you have come here from Michelle's 'Scrappy Hour' blog, you are on the right path!  With almost 60 creative Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their projects, you will see a variety of uses for this stamp set.  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 fun zig-zag patterned paper from the Sarita pack is used on this Cotton Candy pink card with stamps from A Chocolate Affair.  The card pattern is from the new Make It From Your Heart-Volume 1, which is an essential guide for creating beautiful scrapbook layouts and cards.  Each pattern includes detailed blueprints, cutting diagrams, full-color artwork, and helpful hints for creating the projects.  The Art Philosophy cartridge was used to cut the scallop squares for the stamped images, and a corner rounder was used to soften the corners of the card.

Now "Hop" on over to Shirley's 'Mom 'n Me Scrap' 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!  

FREE this month with a $50 CTMH order

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.

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

	Sheila Bennett Close To My Heart Independent Consultant (913) 485-4355

Always Grateful

This week's Heart 2 Heart challenge is to use "shadows and shades."    On Saturday, I spent the day stamping with some fellow CTMH consultants and we shared ideas with each other.  Mary Gunn taught us how to create this 'sunset' card and it fits perfectly with the H2H Shadows and Shades challenge.  

To begin the sunset, some Honey ink is sponged in a circular area with Slate ink sponged from the edges towards the middle.  Then Sunset ink was sponged to blend the colors together.  Finally, some Black ink was used on the very edges to frame it and the birds are simply V's written with a black Journaling Pen.  The beautiful trees are from the Always Grateful stamp set in the new Idea Book.  There is also a small piece of patterned paper from the Huntington kit underneath the Jute Ribbon.

Contact me if you would like to receive a copy of the new Autumn/Winter Idea Book.  I have several posts planned for this month to show some of our new products. 

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

	Sheila Bennett Close To My Heart Independent Consultant (913) 485-4355

In A Man's World

Do you sometimes feel as though you are a woman living in a man's world?

The male and female stamp images are from the Sightseer set.  And the inside quote from Marilyn Monroe is available in the Scrapbook Sentiments-Women stamp set.  Used with a fun print from the Sarita paper packet, this card is sure to brighten the day of any woman who needs a smile. 

Thanks to Tamytha Jenkins for sharing this creative idea on her Paper HeARTIST blog.  All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

	Sheila Bennett Close To My Heart Independent Consultant (913) 485-4355

CAS(E) Time

"Clean and Simple" cards are my favorite, so I love the weekly sketches on the CAS(E) This Sketch! blog.  

For this "clean and simple" card and coordinating envelope, I used the One-Way Borders stamp set which is being introduced in the CTMH Autumn/Winter Idea Book on August 1.  The set has six different border stamps that are great to accent any project.  To create this card, just one of the stamps was used with Cotton Candy, Goldrush, and Lagoon inks.  The sentiment is from the Joyful Birthday set and is embossed using Outdoor Denim pigment ink with Clear Detail Embossing Powder. 

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

	Sheila Bennett Close To My Heart Independent Consultant (913) 485-4355

Another Pajama Party!

Close To My Heart is teaming up with Big Picture Classes again to bring you a live webcast with step-by-step instructions for making this layout using the Cricut Artbooking collection.  Purchase the collection beginning August 1 and revolutionize the way you scrapbook!

Stacy Julian will introduce you to some of the exciting features of this new cartridge and associated products, plus share tips-and-tricks for using the cartridge with your Cricut machine.  Learn how to create adorable projects including layouts, cards, and artbooks using photo mats, overlays, titles and embellishments cut with the Artbooking cartridge. 

The FREE webcast will air Wednesday, July 31 at 8:00 pm (Central Time).  During the presentation, you'll learn to make several projects from a variety of sponsors, including Close To My Heart's Artbooking layout, as CTMH VP Kristine Widtfeldt walks you through the steps - and sneaks the Artbooking collection!

The Pajama Party class will be available for FREE at BigPictureClasses.com on July 31, and will be archived after the event for future viewing.  If you would like to interact on the message board, participate in live chat, post to the gallery, download handouts, or enter any contests, you will need to log in to the Pajama Party "classroom" by creating a free account on the Big Picture Classes website.  If you have already created an account or if you registered for the first Pajama Party in May, you are all set!  You will not need to create another account or register again..

To make our "2 of a Kind" Artbooking layout, you will want to have the following items - or similar products - on hand:

• Cricut Artbooking collection (available to order on August 1)
• Bamboo cardstock
• Colonial White cardstock
• Honey cardstock
• Lagoon cardstock
• Slate cardstock
• Sweet Leaf cardstock
• Twilight cardstock
• Twilight ink
• Slate ink
• Aqua Dots (available to order on August 1)
• Silver Shimmer Trim
• 3-D Foam Tape
• Sanding Kit

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About the stamps, stamp cleaners, accessories, and tools:

Aqua Dots (Z1754, $3.95)
108 adhesive-backed enamel dots: 7mm, 5mm, 4mm; 3 aqua shades.

Silver Shimmer Trim (Z1799, $4.95)
Adhesive-backed, sturdy. 5 yards, 3/8" wide.

Cricut® Artbooking Collection (Z1906, $99)
A revolutionary new, exclusive Cricut® collection by Close To My Heart. Use just one or two keys and one dial size to create 12" x 12" layouts in 15 themes plus 10 themed mini books in various sizes. It's scrapbooking at the touch of a button! The Artbooking collection includes: 1 - cartridge (700 images: font, icons and pages for mini books, and icons and titles for layouts), 3 - My Acrylix® D-size stamp sets, 3 - 12" x 9" Dimensional Elements in coordinating shapes. Try our Artiste and Art Philosophy collections for even more Cricut® fun!

3-D Foam Tape (Z1151, $5.95)
Double-sided foam tape. 2 rolls per package, 3/8" and 1/4" widths, 75 inches per roll.

Sanding Kit (Z1294, $3.50)
60-, 100-, and 220-grit 4" x 4" sheets, 4-sided sanding block, emery board.

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About the paper and inks:
Our cardstock sheets and background and texture papers (also called B&T Duos® papers) have a white core, so distressing and tearing our papers lets the white peek through for a million different looks! Plus, most of our beautiful cardstock colors are available in stamp pads, re-inkers, marker sets, and mini pigment pad sets for perfect color coordination and beautiful, unified projects!

Bamboo Cardstock (1301, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Bamboo cardstock sheets with a white core.

Sweet Leaf Cardstock (X5639, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Sweet Leaf cardstock sheets with a white core.

Lagoon Cardstock (X5762, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Lagoon cardstock sheets with a white core.

Honey Cardstock (X5668, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Honey cardstock sheets with a white core.

Colonial White Cardstock (1388, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Colonial White cardstock sheets with a white core.

Slate Cardstock (X5930, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Slate cardstock sheets with a white core.

Twilight Exclusive Inks® Stamp Pad (Z2160, $5.25)
Twilight dye-based ink in patented swivel-top stamp pad.

Slate Exclusive Inks® Stamp Pad (Z2173, $5.25)

Slate dye-based ink in patented swivel-top stamp pad.

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

	Sheila Bennett Close To My Heart Independent Consultant (913) 485-4355

Celebrate Your Creativity! newsletter

JULY 2013A NEWSLETTER FROM SHEILA See my creations at Sheila's Stamping Stuff blog Sheila Bennett Close To My Heart Independent Consultant Supervisor (913) 485-4355        Work the Workshop 50% off Workshops on the Go® canvas art kit! Get the gorgeous Workshops on the Go® canvas art kit for half price in July — no qualifying purchase required! From July 1 to July 31 you can get this trendy kit to create your own canvas art to hang in your home, regularly priced at $39.95, now discounted to $19.95 — more than 50% off! Take papercrafting to the next level with this adorable home décor piece that you can display for all to see. Get the Workshops on the Go canvas art kit » Stamp of the Month: Sweet Life Celebrating the sweet things in life What makes your life sweet? Celebrate the sweet things in life with the delectable images and fruity sentiments of the Sweet Life stamp set. Perfect for your summer memories, the Sweet Life stamp set is ideal for cardmaking, gift-giving, and scrapbooking your sweetest summer moments. Get the Sweet Life stamp set for only $5 when you place a qualifying order of $50 or more — that’s 72% off the retail price! Take advantage of this offer while it is available during July only. See the July 2013 Stamp of the Month » Let’s Get Patriotic—Stamp Style! A portion of every sale of our new patriotic stamp sets will be donated to support the military Hurry up and get your limited-time patriotic stamp sets before July 31! During this patriotic time of year, there is no better time to get a unique stamp set and benefit the military. The My Acrylix® Strong and Free (D1575), Home of the Brave (D1576), and Courage (B1437) stamp sets were designed specifically for this campaign and are only available from June 1 to July 31. Five dollars from every patriotic D-size stamp set and $3 from every patriotic B-size stamp set sold will benefit a military-support charitable organization. Donations in the US will be made to the USO, the leading, most recognized military-support and services organization in the country. Donations in Canada will be made to the Canadian Hero Fund, which supports spouses and children of fallen Canadian military troops by helping provide post-secondary education funds. Show your support with your own patriotic stamp set today. See the exclusive patriotic stamp sets »

"Like" my Sheila's Stamping Stuff Facebook page if you would like to see more artwork using Close To My Heart products and stay up-to date with CTMH specials and announcements.

All papers and stamps are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).