Christmas Card Workshop

It is the time of year to start thinking about creating your handmade Christmas cards.  If you would like to enjoy some creative time with your friends at a Christmas Card Workshop, contact me at sheilabennett@comcast.net and we can schedule an hour or two just for you! 

With the new Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge, creating unique cards is faster than ever.  For this bi-fold card, the base was cut from Whisper cardstock and a piece of patterned paper from the Snowhaven kit was used to cut the inside piece which includes a cut-out sentiment.  You simply fold the card in half, and then fold the front flap back to the edge so that the ornament section with the tree is shown.  An oval was cut from a piece of green Glitter Paper and adhered to the back of the ornament section to give it a pop of color.  Before adhering the sentiment paper on the inside of the card, two small strips of Washi Tape were strategically placed to appear behind the small tree and the teardrops beside the word 'have.'  To add a bit of shimmer to the ½-page front, strips of Silver Geometric Washi Tape were added and then trimmed to expose the ornament section.  

The 5"x7" card opens like a large 'z' and is an impressive card without much effort.  A few Epoxy Bubbles and Sparkles add a bit of bling.  Since NO Stamping was used, this is a perfect entry for this week's Heart 2 Heart Challenge blog.

Paper from the Yuletide Carol kit gives an elegant look to this card.  An evergreen tree image from the Always Grateful stamp set was used along with a 'Merry Christmas' sentiment from the Just To Say... stamp set.  To add a bit of shine, a piece of red Shimmer Trim was added behind the main image.  For the tree topper, some color was added to a clear Sparkle using the Marigold ShinHam Touch Twin marker.  A big "thank you" to fellow CTMH Consultant Michelle Loncar for her design and inspiration for this card.

Just To Say... (included with Artfully Sent cartridge)

Just To Say... is a fabulous stamp set which is included with the Artfully Sent Cricut Collection.  With more than 30 different sentiments, it is a stamp set that you will use over and over again - either creating cards with this cartridge, or with any of your other stamps.    

If you need to create quite a few cards, this one goes together quickly and is a nice holiday card.  Only supplies needed are some White Daisy and Desert Sand cardstock along with the Merry Merry stamp set for the wreath and sentiment.  Add a piece of Topiary Mini Chevron ribbon along with some Sparkles and the card is complete.      

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

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

My Nana (Crop Tuesday)

Next week is Crop Tuesday again.  We are meeting on the first Tuesday of each month at 10:00 am.  Please join us!  If that day and time is not convenient and you would like to create this layout, contact me and we can schedule a time for you.  

This beautiful layout is from the Lollydoodle workshop-on-the-go, substituting the Sweet & Lovely stamp set included with the Artbooking bundle for the stamp set which is available with the WOTG kit.

In the Inspired Scrapbooking class that I am taking this year at Big Picture Classes, this month our focus was on a 'season' of our life.  My Nana was an important part of my life and was always there for my brother and I during our unstable childhood.  Since my grandson was born almost two years ago and I am now a Nana in my "grandmother" season of life, it was nice to create a page layout honoring Nana's life.    

As I was selecting photos for the pages, it worked out that all photos on the left page are black & white while the later photos on the right page are full color.  Nana lived a long and full life and saw many changes in the world and technology during her 85+ years. 

If you would like to join us for Crop Tuesday, or if you would like to schedule a time to create this layout, please contact me via email or phone.  All of the pieces will be pre-cut and ready for you to stamp, assemble and embellish.  The cost is $10 per kit, or the fee is waived if you order $30 or more in CTMH products. 

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

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

Crop Tuesday!

Have you been trying to find time to create scrapbook pages?  If so, then join us for Crop Tuesday on the first Tuesday of each month.  Our next meeting will be February 4 at 10:00 am.  If that day and time is not convenient and you would like to create this layout, contact me and we can schedule a time for you.  

For our first Crop Tuesday in January, everyone created a fun birthday layout using the <'makea'> key on the Artbooking Cricut cartridge.  Thanks to Pamela for sharing her awesome 'Make A Wish' Scrapbook Layout using Babycakes paper, which we created using papers from the Sarita kit.

Left page of the layout includes a 5"x7" photo and some accent stamping with the Geometric Backgrounds set.  The 'good times' sentiment is in the Take Note stamp set which is included in the Artbooking Collection.  

On the right page, there is more accent stamping with the Geometric Backgrounds 'ikat' image along with four photos. 

If you would like to join us for Crop Tuesday in February, or if you would like to schedule a time to create this layout, please contact me via email or phone.  All of the pieces will be pre-cut and ready for you to stamp, assemble and embellish.  The cost is $10 per kit, or the fee is waived if you order $30 or more in CTMH products.    

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

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

A Chocolate Affair (Card Workshop)

Do you love chocolate?  Who doesn't?  The CTMH stamp-of-the-month for August is A Chocolate Affair, and it includes eight different chocolate images along with cute sentiments.  This cards are perfect to send to a friend to brighten their day when they need a little cheering up.

All three cards use the August SOTM set, A Chocolate Affair, along with new papers introduced in the Autumn/Winter Idea Book.   Workshops will be held on Friday, August 16 at 7 pm and Saturday, August 17 at 1 pm.      

The 'blueprint' for this card is available in the new Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 guide.  Cute papers from the Babycakes kit are paired with a large piece of chocolate cake from the A Chocolate Affair stamp set.  The 'icing' on the cake is a small piece of the Colonial White Rosette Ribbon.  

Using the same dotted paper from Babycakes along with some Whisper cardstock, this card using a stamp with pieces of chocolate candy.  The embellishment is simply a piece of Dark Chocolate Striped Grosgrain tied with some Autumn Terracotta Baker's Twine.  The pattern for this card is also from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 guide.

    

For the Sundae card, a piece of brightly-colored paper from the Sarita kit is used along with an Adhesive Spring to add a little surprise under the front flap.  The sentiment inside the card is 'every day's a SUNDAE.'     

A Chocolate Affair Card Workshop will be offered on Friday, August 16 at 7 pm, and on Saturday, August 17 at 1 pm.  You will create three of each of the three cards for a workshop fee of $10.  Allow approximately two hours to complete your project.  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).

Everyone who attends will receive a FREE copy of the Close To My Heart Autumn/Winter Idea Book & Catalog.  As an added bonus, if you place a $50+ order, your workshop fee is waived AND you receive your own A Chocolate Affair stamp set for FREE!  

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

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

Another Pajama Party!

Close To My Heart is teaming up with Big Picture Classes again to bring you a live webcast with step-by-step instructions for making this layout using the Cricut Artbooking collection.  Purchase the collection beginning August 1 and revolutionize the way you scrapbook!

Stacy Julian will introduce you to some of the exciting features of this new cartridge and associated products, plus share tips-and-tricks for using the cartridge with your Cricut machine.  Learn how to create adorable projects including layouts, cards, and artbooks using photo mats, overlays, titles and embellishments cut with the Artbooking cartridge. 

The FREE webcast will air Wednesday, July 31 at 8:00 pm (Central Time).  During the presentation, you'll learn to make several projects from a variety of sponsors, including Close To My Heart's Artbooking layout, as CTMH VP Kristine Widtfeldt walks you through the steps - and sneaks the Artbooking collection!

The Pajama Party class will be available for FREE at BigPictureClasses.com on July 31, and will be archived after the event for future viewing.  If you would like to interact on the message board, participate in live chat, post to the gallery, download handouts, or enter any contests, you will need to log in to the Pajama Party "classroom" by creating a free account on the Big Picture Classes website.  If you have already created an account or if you registered for the first Pajama Party in May, you are all set!  You will not need to create another account or register again..

To make our "2 of a Kind" Artbooking layout, you will want to have the following items - or similar products - on hand:

• Cricut Artbooking collection (available to order on August 1)
• Bamboo cardstock
• Colonial White cardstock
• Honey cardstock
• Lagoon cardstock
• Slate cardstock
• Sweet Leaf cardstock
• Twilight cardstock
• Twilight ink
• Slate ink
• Aqua Dots (available to order on August 1)
• Silver Shimmer Trim
• 3-D Foam Tape
• Sanding Kit

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About the stamps, stamp cleaners, accessories, and tools:

Aqua Dots (Z1754, $3.95)
108 adhesive-backed enamel dots: 7mm, 5mm, 4mm; 3 aqua shades.

Silver Shimmer Trim (Z1799, $4.95)
Adhesive-backed, sturdy. 5 yards, 3/8" wide.

Cricut® Artbooking Collection (Z1906, $99)
A revolutionary new, exclusive Cricut® collection by Close To My Heart. Use just one or two keys and one dial size to create 12" x 12" layouts in 15 themes plus 10 themed mini books in various sizes. It's scrapbooking at the touch of a button! The Artbooking collection includes: 1 - cartridge (700 images: font, icons and pages for mini books, and icons and titles for layouts), 3 - My Acrylix® D-size stamp sets, 3 - 12" x 9" Dimensional Elements in coordinating shapes. Try our Artiste and Art Philosophy collections for even more Cricut® fun!

3-D Foam Tape (Z1151, $5.95)
Double-sided foam tape. 2 rolls per package, 3/8" and 1/4" widths, 75 inches per roll.

Sanding Kit (Z1294, $3.50)
60-, 100-, and 220-grit 4" x 4" sheets, 4-sided sanding block, emery board.

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About the paper and inks:
Our cardstock sheets and background and texture papers (also called B&T Duos® papers) have a white core, so distressing and tearing our papers lets the white peek through for a million different looks! Plus, most of our beautiful cardstock colors are available in stamp pads, re-inkers, marker sets, and mini pigment pad sets for perfect color coordination and beautiful, unified projects!

Bamboo Cardstock (1301, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Bamboo cardstock sheets with a white core.

Sweet Leaf Cardstock (X5639, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Sweet Leaf cardstock sheets with a white core.

Lagoon Cardstock (X5762, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Lagoon cardstock sheets with a white core.

Honey Cardstock (X5668, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Honey cardstock sheets with a white core.

Colonial White Cardstock (1388, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Colonial White cardstock sheets with a white core.

Slate Cardstock (X5930, $14.50)
24 - 12" x 12" Slate cardstock sheets with a white core.

Twilight Exclusive Inks® Stamp Pad (Z2160, $5.25)
Twilight dye-based ink in patented swivel-top stamp pad.

Slate Exclusive Inks® Stamp Pad (Z2173, $5.25)

Slate dye-based ink in patented swivel-top stamp pad.

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

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