Friendship Bouquet (May SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features the Friendship Bouquet stamp set from Close To My Heart.  This SOTM sets is one of my favorites.  The sunflowers are so detailed and have a nice 'vintage' look.   

If you have come here from Jen's 'Roxybonds' blog, you are on the right path!  With almost 60 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations, there will be a nice variety of different colors, papers, and creative ideas.  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!

For this 6"x6" card, papers are used from the Stella paper packet along with the Friendship Bouquet stamp set.  The flower was stamped on Parchment paper using Cocoa ink.  Then color was added using a small sponge tip to apply Sunset, Tulip, Olive, and Honey ink.   

Now "Hop" on over to Georgia's 'Trust Your Crazy Ideas' 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!  Remember, the Friendship Bouquet stamp set is only available during the month of May 2012.  The regular price is $17.95, or you can purchase it for only $5 with a minimum order of $50 in other 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.

Dotty for You ~ Clock Workshop

Welcome to our Dotty for You Blog Hop!  To celebrate National Scrapbooking Month in May, Close To My Heart is offering the fabulous Dotty for You paper packet.  This includes 24 specially designed, coordinating papers (2 each of 12 patterns) and an artwork idea insert to get your creative juices flowing.   Valued at $19.95, you can purchase it for only $5 when you place an order of $35 or more from the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book. 

If you have come here from Shirley's 'Mom 'n Me Scrap' blog, you are on the right path! There is a smaller group of Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations than we normally have for the SOTM Blog Hops, so you can visit all of the creations more quickly.  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!

For something a bit different, I decided to decorate a couple of clocks with the cheery springtime colors in the Dotty for You paper packet.  Each of the papers has a polka-dot pattern on one side.  For this clock, I used the Art Philosophy cartridge to cut a large circle out of a Creme Brûlée polka-dot paper.  Also using the cartridge, there is a large flower shape cut from a patterned paper with large colored circles.  The same flower shape coordinates with the Just For You stamp set which was used for the center of the clock, using the same ink colors as featured in the Dotty for You papers.  Numbers for the clock were cut using the Cricut, and some self-adhesive Opaques were used to indicate spacing for the "in between" numbers on the clock face.

The clock was purchased at Walmart and is priced at only $3.88.  Simply remove some screws from the back so that the clock face can be lifted out of the frame.  The hands slide off the center post so that you can adhere your newly-created clock face to the front.  Replace the clock hands, reassemble the clock, add a battery and you have a unique creation for your wall or to give as a gift.  


If you would like to create your own clock, plan to attend this month's workshop on Friday, April 27 (7:00 pm) or Saturday, April 28 (1:00 pm).  You will be able to select either a black or silver clock, your choice of papers from the Dotty for You kit, and the cut images you would like to use from the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  All materials will be provided for you, and the workshop fee is only $8.  Please contact me if you are interested - the class size is limited to 10 participants.


Everyone who attends will receive a FREE copy of the Close To My Heart Spring/Summer Idea Book.  As an added bonus, if you place a $50+ order, your workshop fee is waived.  

For this clock, there is no stamping, just pretty papers from the Dotty for You kit.  Some shapes cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge, some Glitz Glitter Gel added to the center of the roses, and Sparkles to complete the clock face. 

Now "Hop" on over to Dawn's 'Stamp til Dawn' 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!  The Dotty for You special is available April 17 through May 31.  For a complete list of participating consultants, visit Helen's Hooked on Stamping blog.

Papers included in the Dotty for You packet. The reverse of each paper is one of the featured colors in a polka-dot pattern.  At the workshop, you will be able to select which papers you would like to use to create your unique clock.


All stamps and papers used are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).  Please let me know if you would like to attend the Clock Workshop.  Feel free to leave a comment on this blog, send an email to sheilabennett@comcast.net, or call 913-485-4355.

 

You Are... (April SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features the You Are... stamp set from Close To My Heart, with fun words and some stamps to create great backgrounds. 


If you have come here from Pamela's 'Reflections of my art & soul' 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 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!

It is so easy to create a quick card using the Art Philosophy cartridge on the Cricut machine, like this card with four cut-out flowers on the front using some pretty pink patterned paper from the Lucy kit.  You can see the reverse side of the patterned paper peeking through the flowers.  Using different colors of card stock, some larger flowers were cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge to create a focal point for the card.  The small words stamped in the flower are from the Card Word Puzzle stamp set, and the large "Original" sentiment is from this month's You Are... set.   
 

Now "Hop" on over to 'Scrapi Traci' 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!  Remember, the You Are... stamp set is only available during the month of April 2012.  The regular price is $17.95, or you can purchase it for only $5 with a minimum order of $50 in other 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.

 

The Philosophy of Fun

If you have ever thought of becoming a Close To My Heart consultant, now is the perfect time.  CTMH is currently offering "The Philosophy of Fun" special, where you will receive a FREE Art Philosophy Cricut collection when you sign-up as a new consultant.  The collection retails for $99.  However when you purchase the new consultant kit this month for only $99, the Art Philosophy collection is included at no extra charge.  

The new consultant kit includes over $285 of product from the Spring/Summer Idea Book, along with business materials to help you launch your CTMH career.  Add the additional $99 retail value of the Art Philosophy cartridge, and that is a total of over $380 worth of products for an investment of only $99!

For more information, here is a short video prepared by CTMH explaining The Philosophy of Fun special.  


If you are interested in joining, contact me at 913-485-4355, or visit my new website at sheila.ctmh.com.

Surprise - It's a Jacket

This piece of knitting was quite a challenge for me.  I was intrigued with Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket and wanted to give it a try.  The instructions are written for someone more experienced and very comfortable with knitting.  Fortunately, our local library had a DVD by Meg Swanson showing how to complete each step of the pattern.  The knitting itself is not really difficult, and I was able to complete it with help from the video instructions.


When the knitting is complete, you have a strange piece with some interesting bulges.

Simply flip up each side, sew the shoulder seams and SURPRISE, you have a baby jacket!  This is difficult to envision with the pictures, and believe me it is a surprise that it turns into a jacket.

The yarn is Felici from Knit Picks.  It is self-striping and was wonderful to work with.  It is so soft, and machine washable.  Finding buttons was a bit of a challenge.  Went to four different stores, and could not find a good selection anywhere.  Finally, remembered that I had the perfect size wooden buttons with my Close To My Heart embellishments.  They worked perfectly for the jacket. 

Avery modeling his jacket.  Unfortunately, his Nana did not have the buttons sewn on yet. 



   

Card Café from Creative University

For the fifth straight year, I have enjoyed a snowy February weekend at Creative University in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  It is a fun-filled four days of creating and enjoying time with fellow crafters.  


This year, Tresa Black asked me to design and teach the Card Café.  At the Card Café, there were stations set up for each card where CU students could work at their own pace to learn some new ideas while creating four birthday cards using a variety of papers, stamps, and card designs.  All four cards use the new CTMH Just A Number stamp set, along with other stamps and embellishments.  Coordinating envelopes complete each card.

Based on comments from fellow CU students, the favorite card was definitely this fun one using papers from Footloose and the cute Under the Sea stamps.  There are actually two flaps on the front of the card - the piece with the whale opens and then the Creme Brûlée piece also opens from the opposite direction.  There is a birthday greeting under the Creme Brûlée flap.  A Bitty Sparkle is added for the eye of the whale and some Glitz Glitter Gel to add sparkle to the water bubbles. 

For more of an elegant look, papers from the retired Bliss kit were used along with Taffy card stock for a bit of color.  The hearts were cut on the Cricut using the Art Philosophy cartridge and then run through the Cuttlebug with the D'vine Swirls embossing folder for some texture. Using a sponge dauber, Grey Flannel ink was added to the edges of all of the papers and to the embossed swirls to make them more prominent.  As a finishing touch, Bitty Opaques were added to the tips of the swirls on the hearts. 

Patterned paper with stripes and with stars from the Superhero paper packet are just right to create this fun card.  The pinwheel is made using 1"x1" squares that have been cut in half diagonally and then a corner rounder used on one corner.  Simply adhere the triangles to a piece of card stock, and add a button in the center.  

The beautiful striped paper from the Florentine kit is accented with a flower cut on the Cricut using the Art Philosophy cartridge and stamped using the Just For You stamp set.  Even if your stamped images do not line up perfectly, adding a Designer Brad to the center of the flower does a good job of disguising it.