Wordless Wednesday

Congratulations - in Purple!

Actually, the purple is Hydrangea cardstock and ink from Close To My Heart. Per special request, the card was designed for an event with Kansas State University. And K-State is just crazy about their purple! So, the 'purple' idea was the start of the card - added a decorate corner image from the Legendary Moments stamp set, and an elegant script from the Gracious Greetings stamp set. For multilinguals, CTMH also offers this set in both French and Spanish.

The card needed to be professional and I was concerned about making it too feminine, but am really pleased with the final result.

The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month

Thank you to all military personnel who serve and protect our country.


It's the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I in 1918. Until the mid-1950's, this holiday was known as Armistice Day, but the name was changed to Veterans Day in order to honor all United States veterans, not just those who served in World War I.

The ribbon image in the Always Remember stamp set from Close To My Heart can be stamped using colors representing many different causes; i.e. pink for breast cancer awareness, green for environmental awareness, blue for a traditional 'blue ribbon' winner, or any other color with a special meaning. The striped paper used for this card is from the CTMH Free Spirit paper packet.

Christmas Card Workshop - It's Snowing!

It's time for the final CTMH Christmas Card Workshop of the season - and the theme of the cards seems to be SNOW. In addition to creating 12 fun cards (3 each of 4 different designs), everyone who attends will also create one of these adorable little snowman Tic Tac candy holders. These are really simple to make using the Snow Friends stamp set, and are a great little gift to give.



This card made using the Snow Flurries stamp set is one of my favorites. The 'snow flurry' is simply embossed in white, and several small pearls are added as a finishing touch. Each class participant will receive a package of 48 self-adhesive pearls in a variety of sizes. You will have plenty of pearls to decorate your cards, and still have left-overs to use on other projects.


A tree from the versatile Four Seasons stamp set is used with plaid paper from the Aspen packet and the Cuttlebug Snowflakes embossing folder to create a simple, yet very pretty winter card.


Close To My Heart's new Christmas paper this year is Jingle, and has fun colors and patterns which are a bit more whimsical than traditional. The Jingle papers are used along with the Holiday Trinkets stamp set and some Prisma Glitter to create a quick and easy Christmas card.

The November workshop will be offered on Friday evening, November 20 (starting at 7 pm) and also Saturday afternoon, November 21 (at 1 pm). Whichever day you choose to attend, the cards will be the same. You will create 4 cards each of 3 different designs - a total of 12 cards and matching envelopes for $15. You will also create the Snowman Tic Tac 'bonus project' and receive a package of 48 self-adhesive pearls. 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 Christmas Card workshops in November. Feel free to leave me a comment on this blog, send an email to sheilabennett@comcat.net, or call 913-485-4355. Even if you can't attend, I would love to read any comments you may have for the blog. :)

And remember to visit the Retiring Stamp Sets section of MyCTMH site to see the list of stamp sets that will be retiring on December 31. You may want to stock up on some of the retiring stamps and take advantage of the Stampaganza Buy 2 - Get 1 free stamp set special through the end of November.

It's A Stampaganza! (Buy 2 - Get 1 Free)

Everyone loves a special - and for the month of November, Close To My Heart is offering their Stampaganza! To take advantage of this great special, simply purchase any two stamp sets at regular price and you will receive a third stamp set of your choice FREE - a savings of up to $22.95. Choose from any stamp set offered in any 2009 Idea Book (Spring, Summer, Autumn/Winter) or the current Product Review. Or visit MyCTMH website for a complete selection of available stamps.
Each year, CTMH retires some older stamp sets to make room for new sets the following year. Stampaganza is the perfect time to purchase some of those stamps that you have been debating on - before they are retired on December 31. There is a complete list of retiring stamp sets (with pictures) in the Retiring Stamp Sets section of MyCTMH site.

Around the Block (November SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! November's stamp-of-the-month (SOTM) from Close To My Heart is Around the Block. It is a collection of 26 images that you can use to "build" your own house. There are different rooflines, windows, shutters, doors, bricks, wood planking, and much more - for you to create a dream cottage. The stamp set is perfect to use for a "welcome to the neighborhood" or "we've moved" card. If you have come here from Tanya's 'Scramper's Corner' 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!


Instead of using the entire house, I chose to just use the rooftops to create the illusion of a neighborhood of homes. The fencing is created using a single wooden "plank" stamp and varying the height of each 'fence post' slightly as it was stamped, then cutting out the entire fence row to use on the card. For some reason, the little bricks used in the background of the card and the wooden plank are some of my favorite stamps in the set.

Now "Hop" on over to Melissa's 'Fancy Melissa' 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 Around the Block stamp set is only available until November 30! 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 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.