Create & Share ~ Birthday Cards

For the second lesson in the Create & Share Cardmaking workshop offered at Big Picture Classes., we were challenged to create some birthday cards appropriate for guys.    

Instead of stamping or using a patterned paper, the bottom portion of this card is actually strips from the Sarita My Stickease Assortment layered together.  Adding the fun sentiment from Card Chatter-Birthday and a Charming Chevrons image made a quick card.  The inside is completed with the "and many, many more" sentiment.

The second "man" card this week uses a patterned paper from Sarita along with another piece from the Sarita My Stickease Assortment for the top portion of the card.  The geometric shape is also a Stickease and the sentiment is in the Holiday Tags stamp set.   

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

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

Hip Hip Hooray Birthday on Cloud Nine ~ (National Papercrafting Month Blog Hop)

To celebrate National Papercrafting Month in January, Close To My Heart is offering a special Cloud Nine cardmaking kit.  With this, you can create 10 cute cards (2 each of 5 designs) using three sneak-peek accessories from the upcoming Spring/Summer Idea Book, a new D-size stamp set, and exclusive Cloud Nine paper.

If you have come here from Haley's 'The Inky Scrapper', continue the Cloud Nine Blog Hop to see projects shared by   20+ very creative CTMH Consultants.  Be sure to click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one.

Using the mustache stamp from the Cloud Nine set, this card has the appearance of a bow on top of a gift box.  To create the polka-dot box, some strips of gold Washi Tape were adhered to a square of black cardstock.  The finishing "it's your birthday!" sentiment is from the Card Chatter-Birthday stamp set.  After adding some Triangle Studs, a strip of the Washi Tape on the front of the envelope and on the inside of the card completes the festive look.  Both the Washi Tape and Triangle Studs are included in the Cloud Nine cardmaking kit.   

When you purchase the Cloud Nine cardmaking kit, you receive the supplies and instructions needed to complete two each of these five cards.  The only things you need to add are Lagoon and Sunset inks and your favorite adhesive.  All of the die-cuts are provided in the kit.  However if you would like to cut additional images to coordinate with the Cloud Nine stamp set, they are all available on the Artiste Cricut cartridge.

Cloud Nine cardmaking kit contents:

• Cloud Nine stamp set
• Cloud Nine B&T paper
• Lagoon cardstock
• Honey cardstock
• White Daisy Die-Cuts sheet
• Gold Polka-Dot Washi Tape
• Teal Shimmer Trim
• Durables Triangle Studs
• 10 card bases & envelopes
• Instructional Brochure 

The Washi Tape, Shimmer Trim, and Triangle Studs are products being introduced in the Spring/Summer 2014 Idea Book.  You can receive all three of these new embellishments (retail value $16.85) PLUS the stamp set and other contents of the Cloud Nine cardmaking kit for only $15 with a minimum $35 CTMH order. 

Cloud Nine stamp set (D-size)

Watch the video to see the complete contents and get excited to order your own Cloud Nine cardmaking kit before January melts away. 

Now "Hop" on over to Lisa's 'Stamp Happy' blog to see her project.  Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas!  

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

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

Sparkle & Shine Birthday!

Since all of our Christmas cards have been sent out, now my focus is to create birthday cards for the upcoming year.    

This week's card actually combines three challenges again.  In honor of Christmas week, Color Dare #74 on the Color My Heart blog is to use Ruby and Juniper.  On the Heart 2 Heart Challenges blog, the challenge is to use paper from the Sparkle & Shine kit and add some extra 'sparkle' to the project.  Since Ruby and Juniper are colors in the Sparkle & Shine paper, it was easy to combine these two challenges and create a card using CAS(E) this Sketch #58.  

Normally, the colors are thought to represent Christmas, but I chose to create a nice birthday card instead.  The base of the card is Juniper cardstock and the fun dotted paper from Sparkle & Shine is added to the card front.  A pretty sentiment from the Card Chatter-Birthday set was stamped using Juniper ink and matted with a piece of Juniper cardstock.  Some Red Shimmer Trim, Red Glitter Gems, and decorative metal pieces add a bit of extra sparkle.  

A strip of Juniper Washi Tape was added to the inside of the card to give it a completed look. 

 

My card was selected as the Color Dare Emerald winner!

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

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

A "Springy" Surprise

One of my favorite card bases to work with is the Kraft Die-Cut Cards & Envelopes from Close To My Heart.  These 6"x6" cards have a scallop flap that folds over the front of the card, and the Kraft color is a nice contrast to some of our background & texture papers. 

For this card, fun paper from the Footloose kit was used to decorate the front.  The sentiment is from the popular Card Chatter-Birthday stamp set, and is embellished with Durables Studs on the tag. 

The funnest part of this card is the surprise inside, which "springs" out as you open the card.  Attached to an Adhesive Spring is the second part of the sentiment.  These self-adhesive little springs are very easy to use and also easy to over-look when flipping through the Idea Book.  They are shown on page 123 and the cost is only $2.95 for 6 springs.   

All stamp images and papers used are from Close To My Heart (CTMH). 

Jubilation (June SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features the Jubilation stamp set from Close To My Heart.  This stamp set has great images to use for occasions all through the year. 

If you have come here from 'Nicole's Creative Zone' 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!

My favorite stamp of the Jubilation set is the small "My Hero" with a superhero flying above.  Along with a 'burst of fireworks' in the set and a 'Hip hip Hooray' from the Card Chatter-Birthday stamp set, this makes a great masculine card using papers from the Fanfare My Reflections kit.  The sentiment is completed inside with a matching "it's your birthday" stamp.   

Now "Hop" on over to Wendy's 'Stamping Rules!' 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 Jubilation stamp set is only available during the month of June.  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.

What a Fanfare!

The stamp set included with the Fanfare workshop kit is one of my favorites right now.  It includes pieces of a cupcake, an ice cream cone, balloon, candle, and this adorable sentiment of "Let them eat {cup} cake."   When you purchase the Fanfare workshop kit, it comes with a complete paper packet, stamp set, buttons, waxy flax, and instructions to complete a 2-page layout and six cards.

Using different stamps from the set along with a variety of papers and colors, you can create an assortment of different cards, appropriate for many occasions and ages.

Using papers from the Sophia kit and stamps from Fanfare, this card is just so 'sweet.'  The icing is made using Glitz Glitter Gel, and adds a nice sparkly dimension to the card.  

Another card using the Sophia papers and the Fanfare stamps.  Now that I see the scanned image of the card, I think I will remove the three sparkles near the top of the card and replace with a pink bow. 

Using the same stamp set, along with Card Chatter-Birthday to create a more masculine card.  Cocoa cardstock was embossed using the Argyle Cuttlebug folder for the background of the card.   

Wanted something with bright colors, so used Gypsy and Pear for this card.  Unfortunately, on the scanned image the ink for the ice cream appears more blue, but it does actually match the purple Gypsy cardstock in the background.

Again, the Gypsy ink does not scan well.  The card really does look better 'in real life' than the picture.  The Traffic Jam Cuttlebug folder was used to emboss the backgrounds. 

Chairs To You (May SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features the Chairs To You stamp set from Close To My Heart. 

If you have come here from Debra's 'Memories of the Heart' blog, you are on the right path! With over 70 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!

The variety of chairs with this Chairs To You stamp set are so fun to work with.  For this standard-sized card, I embossed the upholstered chair using Cocoa embossing powder on one of the background & texture papers available in the Mayberry paper packet.  The chair has really nice 'dimension' and looks so cute.  For the sentiment, I used the "it's your birthday" portion from the Card Chatter-Birthday stamp set, and the remainder of the sentiment is from the Enjoy Life stamp set.   The sentiment actually has the word 'Life' at the beginning and 'the ride' at the end, but I only wanted the middle section of 'sit back & enjoy'.   So, I simply used a craft knife and cut the stamp apart between the words.  Now the words can be used separately, or still assembled together and stamped as originally designed.

Now "Hop" on over to Jill's 'Scrap Wench' 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 Chairs To You stamp set is only available until the end of May.  Regular price is $22.95, but you can earn it at a discount - 25%, 50%, 75%, even 100% off (free), with a qualifying order from CTMH.

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.

"Thinking of Spring" - card workshop

To introduce some of the fabulous new stamps and paper packets that will be available in the CTMH Spring/Summer Idea Book, I will be hosting a "Thinking of Spring" card workshop on February 11 and 12.   Even though there is a lot of snow on the ground right now, you can escape the winter chill and create some fun cards for upcoming birthdays.

This year, Close To My Heart is changing to a bi-annual Idea Book release,.  The new Spring/Summer Idea Book will be available from February 1 through July 31, and includes some fabulous new stamp sets and eight new paper packets.  Attend the card workshop this month, and you can take home your own copy of the Idea Book, along with 12 cards handmade by you.      

A wonderful old-fashioned bicycle from the Enjoy Life stamp set is used along with a sentiment from the Card Chatter-Birthday set and papers from the Lucky My Reflections kit.  The card base is made using a new Kraft cardstock, which has a nice 'rustic' feel. 

One of my favorite new paper packets is Mayberry.  It has such a bright, springtime feel and is used with A Posy and Card Chatter-Birthday stamp sets to create this card.  Inside the card, the sentiment is complete with "I'm just extending the Celebration!"   

After featuring this card in the New Product Blog Hop, I thought it would be a great workshop card.  Features a dancer and sentiment from the beautiful Aspire stamp set along with gorgeous Sweetheart papers. 

           

The "Thinking of Spring" Card Workshop will be offered on Friday evening, February 11 (starting at 7 pm), and also on  Saturday afternoon, February 12 (starting at 1 pm).  You will create four of each of the three projects (total 12 cards) for a workshop fee of $10.  Allow approximately two to three hours to complete your projects.  Please be sure to bring your favorite adhesive.  All other supplies are provided with the workshop fee.  All stamps and papers used are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

As an added bonus, place a $50+ order from the Close To My Heart  Spring/Summer Idea Book - and your workshop fee is waived.  Depending on total orders received, there will be a drawing for Hostess Rewards - so you could earn $25 or more in FREE product from CTMH.

Please let me know if you would like to attend the Card Workshop this month.  Feel free to leave me a comment on this blog, send an email to sheilabennett@comcast.net, or call 913-485-4355.