Amore (December SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features the Amore stamp set from Close To My Heart.  When the Holidays are over, use this set of elegant images to create something special for your Valentine.  

 

Beautiful papers from the new Olivia My Reflections kit are used on this card which features two of the newest CTMH colors - Sunset and Pear.  The sentiment in the center of the heart is from the new Circle of Love stamp set which also includes a beautiful peacock.  If you look closely at the ornate 'Amore' image in the Amore stamp set, you can see that the end of the image just past the 'e' was used to stamp in the lower corners on the main area of the card.  

 

If you have come here from Jody's 'Cre8n' Memories' 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 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! 

Now "Hop" on over to 'Jen's Jewel Box' 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 Amore stamp set is only available until the end of December.  Let me know if you would like to find out how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free.


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.

One Sketch - Three Cards

Using a Mojo Monday sketch, I created three cards with different papers and stamps.  All three use the same vertical sentiment from the Happy Birthday stamp set.   

This is definitely my favorite of the three - the little boy and his yo-yo from the Childhood Portrait stamp set goes great with the paper from the Magnifique kit.

Veranda papers are used with the sweet little girl from the same Childhood Portrait set.

And for more of an Autumn feel, the bird from A Tweet stamp set is used with one of the gorgeous papers from the Olivia kit.   

A Little Thanks - 3 More Times

UPDATE:  For Thanksgiving week, the Heart 2 Heart Challenge is to share 'Thank You' cards, so here are three made with the the November stamp-of-the-month, A Little Thanks.

A piece of White Daisy cardstock was embossing using the Houndstooth Cuttlebug folder,  and then brayering the raised portion with Black ink so that the pattern is clearly visible. 

The bright green of the Pear cardstock is such a nice complement to the papers from the Olivia kit.  Added a corner detail using a stamp from The Present.

Using the large 'Thanks" stamp, I 'inked' it up with a Glue Pad and then put some bright yellow 'A La Mode' glitter on the image.  The yellow glitter on top of the Black cardstock actually looks more green, and goes with the bright patterned paper from the Hooligans kit.

Just a reminder - the CTMH "A Little MORE Thanks" special this month is that you receive this A Little Thanks stamp-of-the-month with any $100 order, and you also receive an ADDITIONAL stamp set for FREE with your $100 order.  Contact me if you would like a copy of the Autumn/Winter Idea Book.   

The "Present" is a Gift

Two more cards that we created during a "Create & Take" session at this summer's CTMH Convention.  Both of these use Unity and The Present stamp set along with papers from the Olivia My Reflections kit. 

Even though it is difficult to see in the scanned image, this card base is actually clear acrylic.  The focal points are on the front of the card and 'hide' the inside sentiment, and the background is on the inside but is viewable through the clear front.  

A different perspective - with the card open.

This card features a wonderful sentiment from The Present stamp set, along with beautiful papers from Olivia.  It would make a great Thanksgiving card. 

Another Challenge Combo

Again this week, I am combining a sketch challenge from the Mojo Monday blog and the challenge from the Heart 2 Heart Challenges blog.    

For the card, stamps from The Present set were used along with papers and colors from the Olivia kit.  All stamps and papers used are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

This week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge was to create an item using a sentiment stamp as the focal image.  The Mojo Monday blog features a sketch design and encourages contributors to create a card using the weekly sketch and then "link" the entry back to their blog.  This week's sketch is titled MOJO156.

Now the challenge will be to see how many more weeks it will be possible to combine the weekly challenges from these two blogs.  

Noteworthy Workshop - Create Something Cute for Notetaking

For something a little different, there are no cards for this workshop.  Instead, you can create three different notebooks at this month's Noteworthy workshop.  Even though the projects  have very different looks, they all actually use the same shade of green ink - the new, versatile Pear color from Close To My Heart.  Classes will be offered on Friday evening, September 24 and also on Saturday morning, September 25.  

Composition Book:   You probably remember seeing Composition Books at your local office supply store.  They have a black and white mottled cover, with lined paper inside the book.  For this project, a fun front cover is made using papers and cardstock from the Hooligans My Reflections kit and a sweet sentiment from the Treasure Life stamp set.  The large embellishment is created using the pinwheel technique, which I taught recently for Creative University Online.  

Jr Legal Pad:   This beautiful peacock is from the new Circle of Love stamp set, with background papers from the Magnifique kit.  Silver Pearl embossing powder was used for the image, and four new CTMH colors (Pear, Gypsy, Pacifica, Lagoon) were sponged over the top of the embossing.   This is a very quick and easy way to create a beautiful image.  And thanks to fellow CTMH consultant Tresa Black for sharing this great "embossing resist" technique recently on her weekly Fabulously Artsy Ustream show.

Inside of the folder holds a Jr Legal Pad (approx. 5"x7"), and has a pocket on the side.      

Sticky Note Holder:  A smaller project, this holds a 3"x3" pad of paper.  The beautiful fall colors are from the Olivia paper packet and the small flower is from The Present stamp set.  The Pear color is in the patterned paper, and also used to color the stem of the flower and around the edges of the stamped circle.   This clever design has a piece of ribbon threaded through a hole in the small flap so that a mini gel pen can be inserted into the ribbon loop to hold the cover closed.  Another CTMH consultant, Bobie Glassette, taught this class during the recent Creative University Online.  

The "Noteworthy" workshop will be offered on Friday evening, September  24 (starting at 7 pm), and also on  Saturday morning, September 25 (starting at 9 am).  You will create one of each of the three projects for a workshop fee of $10.  Allow two or three hours to complete your projects.  Please be sure to bring your favorite adhesive.  Note that a dry, tape runner type of adhesive will work better for these projects than a liquid adhesive.  All other supplies are provided with the workshop fee.

As an added bonus, place a $50+ order from the Close To My Heart  Spring, Summer, or Autumn/Winter 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 one of the "Noteworthy" workshops.  Feel free to leave me a comment on this blog, send an email to sheilabennett@comcast.net, or call 913-485-4355.

CTMH Workshop-on-the-Go kits for Autumn/Winter

The new Autumn/Winter Idea Book from Close To My Heart was released on September 1, with new products available through the end of the December.  There are four new My Reflections scrapbook paper kits, with papers and colors themed for Fall celebrations and holidays.  Each of the four kits is also available as a Workshop-on-the-Go (WOTG) package that can be used to create scrapbook pages and cards - and each one contains an exclusive stamp set that is only available with purchase of the kit.  These kits are available ONLY during the 4-month cycle of the Autumn/Winter Idea Book which is September, October, November, and December.  The WOTG kits are featured on pages 24 and 25 of the new Idea Book - let me know if you would like your own copy.

Each kit contains a complete paper packet, an exclusive stamp set, a Workshop Guide, and a coordinating embellishment. Each item in the WOTG - except the exclusive stamp set and the Workshop Guide - can be purchased separately. However, if you purchase the basic kit for $29.95, you will be saving between 10% and 15% off the retail value. The Workshop Guide is a full-color 6-page brochure which has complete cutting and assembly instructions for 2 scrapbook pages and 6 cards (2 each of 3 designs). Also included are pictures of 2 additional scrapbook pages and 3 additional cards. More information about the additional projects is available in the Workshops On The Go section of MyCTMH website.

With the Troublemaker stamp set in the Hooligans WOTG kit, you can create your own adorable 'monsters' for invitations, birthday cards, or just a silly card to cheer someone up.  The three card designs for this WOTG are shown above, and the contents of the kit include the papers, stamp set, metal accents, and a "how to" guide.

The Magnifique kit has some really beautiful papers, and features some of the newest ink colors introduced by CTMH - Lagoon, Pacifica, and Sky, all shades of blue.  The Heart to Heart stamp set is a great multi-purpose set with flowers, hearts, and a great dotted swiss border stamp.

Olivia also features new ink colors - Pear, Smoothie, Sunset, a green, pink, and soft orange.  Papers in this kit are stunningly beautiful and the Timeless stamp set has some gorgeous leaf stamps.  

There is always something new for the holiday season, and this year the Mistletoe paper kit has traditional Christmas colors and coordinates wonderfully with the detailed ornaments in the All the Best stamp set. 

This is the sample 2-page layout which you can create following instructions in the Workshop Guide.

You can think of the WOTG kits as a "project in a bag" since the papers, stamp sets, embellishments, and instructions are all included - the only extras you need are adhesive, inks, and blocks to use the stamps. Chances are you already have these extras at home just waiting for a new project to work on!  Contact me to order your WOTG project - or order through the MyCTMH website.  All of the papers available in each kit can be viewed on the website.

Pinwheel Cards from Creative University Online

These cards were created yesterday during my class for Creative University Online. If you joined us on ustream - THANK YOU!  It was fun to see so many people watching the live stream and participating in the chat room. And you can still watch the class, it was recorded and can be viewed on the Fabulously Artsy ustream channel.  When you go to the channel, there are two videos for the Pinwheel Technique, a Part 1 and a Part 2.  Evidently, when I tapped the back of a brad with a hammer, that caused the recording to malfunction a bit.  Sorry about that!  

Using beautiful papers from the new Magnifique kit, along with new colors Pacifica and Lagoon, this card took only 20 minutes to create.  The matching envelope is stamped using cute little peacock feathers from the Circle of Love stamp set.  There is a matching 'liner' inside the card of white cardstock stamped with the peacock feathers just like the envelope.  Stamping the inside of cards and coordinating the envelope are a nice 'finishing touch' for hand-stamped cards.

Since we had plenty of time remaining for the scheduled class, I was able to use papers from the new Olivia kit and quickly create another card.  As you can see, this is the same card design just using different papers.  During the class, I could not decide on a sentiment to include on the front.  After looking at the card, I have decided that the paper is pretty enough as it is and there is no reason to cover it up. Actually there is not any stamping on the card at all, but I will probably include a sentiment on the inside. 

This pinwheel technique was included in the August/September 2010 issue of Technique Junkies newsletter. It is a great resource for different techniques, and I have been a subscriber for several years. As a subscriber, you have online access to step-by-step picture tutorials for all of the techniques. Most of the techniques are much more complicated than this easy pinwheel.

As requested by the chat room participants, the cutting dimensions for the pinwheel are:

• 2 pieces of cardstock, each 2 - 5/8" square
• 4 pieces of 1st patterned paper, each 1 - 1/4" square
• 4 pieces of 2nd patterned paper, each 1 - 1/4"square