Happy Forever (July SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features the Happy Forever stamp set from Close To My Heart.  There are four absolutely adorable hedgehogs - one flying a kite, one with balloons, another with butterflies, and one just standing - along with three great sentiments.   
 

This 5"x7" card has a Chocolate cardstock base and uses a nice swirl patterned paper from the Topstitch paper packet along with some Heavenly Blue cardstock.  The image was stamped using Chocolate ink and color was added with colored pencils, with just a touch of pink in the hedgehog ears and on his belly, and a Bitty Sparkle on his nose.


If you have come here from Teri's 'The Midnight Artist' blog, you are on the right path! With almost 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! 

Now "Hop" on over to Melissa's 'Stamp*Crop*Create' 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 Happy Forever stamp set is only available until the end of July.  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 Kathleen's 'Life's Like a Bowl of Stamps' blog.

A Little Everything - card workshop

It is March already!  This month's Close To My Heart SOTM - A Little Everything - truly has sentiments for any occasion throughout the year.  Join us at this month's card workshop to create your own cards for "everything." 

First, create a "bird day" card using one of my favorite stamp sets, Bird Basics.  The punched border using Veranda paper adds a nice finishing touch.

Then make a quick card to thank someone for 'everything' that they do. The striped Topstitch paper makes a great background.

(inside)

Then decide on your "happy" event.  The cute little flower is from A Posy stamp set, one of the new "A" stamp sets from Close To My Heart that are only $7.95.  Your card can be for a birthday like the sample.  Or you can choose Mother's Day, Easter, or use any of the other 'everything' stamps. 

(A Little Everything stamp set)

The "A Little Everything" workshop will be offered on Friday evening, March 19 (starting at 7 pm) and also Saturday afternoon, March 20 (at 1 pm).  You will create 4 cards each of 3 different designs - a total of 12 cards and matching envelopes for $15.  All supplies are included and pre-cut for you. You just need to bring your own favorite adhesive, stamp your images, and assemble your cards.

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

A Little Everything (March SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  The A Little Everything sentiment set from Close To My Heart has words that can be mixed and matched to create your own unique card.   With a whimsical font and some words four times as large as the others, you can create some fantastic phrases.  This is a very easy card to create using my new favorite paper from the Topstitch kit.  The diagonal stripes have great detail, and the only embellishment on the card is a Just Blooms paper flower with a piece of ribbon for the center.    

If you have come here from Jen's 'Roxybonds Scrappin' blog, you are on the right path! There are more than 70 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs.  So 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 Barbra's 'Can't Stop Dreaming' 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 A Little Everything stamp set is only available until the end of March.  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.

Sweet Treats To Go

Finally!!  I've been procrastinating for a couple of weeks with the ideas for this month's workshop 'in my head,' and I finally created the samples.  At the "Sweet Treats To Go" workshop, you will create three different projects - each project can hold a 'sweet treat' for you to share with someone.  You will actually create two of each project, so that you can keep one for a sample and still have one to share with a friend.

This cute box has a window in the lid to show off a single cupcake which is held in place with a small platform.  Sorry, a cupcake is not included.  Papers used are from the new Topstich kit introduced in the Spring 2010 CTMH Idea Book.  The adorable 'cupcakes on a pedestal' stamp image is from Piece of Cake, which is the February stamp-of-the-month from Close To My Heart.  The cupcake boxes are really fun to create, you can see another sample on my Cute Cupcake Box blog post.

Everyone needs a little chocolate sometime.  Create a box specially designed to hold three Ghirardelli chocolate squares using papers from the Caboodle kit along with the Be Happy stamp set. 

To say 'thanks' to someone who has been a real 'life saver' to you, give them one of these matchbook-style holders with a pair of life saver candies.  The stamp images are also from the Be Happy stamp set, and the fun striped paper is from the Daydream kit.

The "Sweet Treats To Go" workshop will be offered on Friday evening, January 29 (starting at 7 pm) and also Saturday afternoon, January 30 (at 1 pm).  Whichever day you choose to attend, the projects will be the same. The $15 workshop fee includes 2 of each of the 3 projects. All supplies are included, except adhesive.  Everyone needs to bring their own adhesive, and a dry 'tape runner' type (i.e. Tombow, ATG) is better for these projects than a wet glue.

Please let me know if you would like to attend one of the"Sweet Treats To Go" workshops. Feel free to leave me a comment on this blog, send an email to sheilabennett@comcat.net, or call 913-485-4355.

CTMH Workshop-On-The-Go Kits for Spring

Close To My Heart has some great new Workshop-on-the-Go (WOTG) kits 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. There are four new WOTG kits included with each Idea Book.  These kits are available ONLY during the 4-month cycle of the Spring Idea Book which is January, February, March, and April. 

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.

One of the kits is named You Rock.  It includes bright, up-beat colors and the Just Be You stamp set has some really fun images.

The Veranda kit has absolutely beautiful papers.  And the Follow Your Heart stamp set can be used for 'springtime' cards, or to add decorate elements to just about any project.

The Veranda WOTG Workshop Guide includes instructions for creating this 2-page layout.

This kit is named Topstitch and the versatile Love Is In The Air stamp set has some adorable 'stitched' images of flowers and pinwheels.

The Caboodle kit comes with the unique This Way stamp set which includes some arrows and circles which you can use to decorate many cards and scrapbook pages.

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.

True Friends (January SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  It's a brand-new year, and January's stamp-of-the-month (SOTM) from Close To My Heart is True Friends.  It is a set of 11 images with great sentiments to create a 'just thinking of you' card for a special friend.  There are also brackets and frames that can be used to add a little something extra to just about any stamping project.  If you have come here from Amy's 'Paisleys Playhouse' blog, you are on the right path!

There are over 60 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs.  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! 

This quick and easy card was created using some of the papers from the new Topstitch paper packet.  Some Edge Anchors, Bigger Brads, and Sparkles were used to create the little flowers.  The self-adhesive Sparkles are one of my very favorite embellishments to use - they are so simple to use, and really add a nice finishing touch.  

And good news - the Bitty Sparkles that are used on the points of the stamped frame are now available to order, just $2.95 for a package of 100 of the 2mm size sparkles.  These teeny-tiny ones were always the first size that I would run out of from the package with four different sizes, so it's great that they can now be purchased separately.  

Now "Hop" on over to Kristie's 'Scrappin, Stampin, or Scrampin' 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 True Friends stamp set is only available until January 31!  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 Jena's 'Live, Love, Laugh, Scrapbook!' blog.