Christmas Card Workshop

The month of November - that means Christmas is next month.  Have you created enough Christmas cards to send out this year?  If not, this month's Christmas Card Workshop is the perfect time for you to complete a dozen cards.  Classes will be offered on Thursday evening, November 18 and also on Saturday afternoon, November 20. 

A whimsical tree from the Tannenbaum stamp set is used with two of the new colors introduced this year by Close To My Heart - Cotton Candy and Pear.

Two more of the new colors introduced by CTMH this year - Sky and Pacifica.  The beautiful Snow Flurries stamp image is embossed on Sky cardstock using Silver Pearl, and then Pacific ink is sponged on top to highlight the image.  A few Sparkles are added to highlight some snowflakes and a sentiment from Peace on Earth completes the card.   

The 'traditional' Christmas colors and papers are used to create this quick and elegant card.  Noel image is from the new Father Christmas stamp set and the diagonal stripe paper is from the Mistletoe paper packet. 

           

Another elegant card using the window image from the Father Christmas stamp set.  Colored pencils are used to add a bit of color to the window, and Liquid Applique is added to the gathering of snow at the bottom of each window pane.  The background paper is from the Vernanda kit. 

The Christmas Card Workshop will be offered on Thursday evening, November 18 (starting at 7 pm), and also on  Saturday afternoon, November 20 (starting at 1 pm).  You will create three of each of the four projects (total 12 cards) for a workshop fee of $10.  Allow approximately two to complete your projects.  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).

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.

Also, remember you can earn TWO stamp sets for FREE with a $100 order through the CTMH  "A Little MORE Thanks" promotion.  During the month of November, Close To My Heart is expressing their gratitude to you by helping you earn two fabulous My Acrylix® stamp sets for FREE!  When you place a minimum order of $100, you will not only receive the November Stamp of the Month set, A Little Thanks, for FREE, you will also receive one stamp set of your choosing from the 2010 Autumn/Winter Idea Book for FREE*!  This means you can increase the value of your purchase by up to $45.90—that’s almost 50 percent more in value! It’s just their way of imparting "A Little MORE Thanks" to you for being a great customer.

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

Share the Magic (October SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features the Share the Magic stamp set from Close To My Heart.  A variety of cute Christmas images are included in this stamp set.  
 

This little reindeer just makes me smile.  Watercolor pencils were used for coloring, and his nose has a teeny-tiny red Sparkle on the 'highlight' spot.  In addition to Clear Sparkles, CTMH now offers a Red, Pink and Purple Assortment, as well as a Blue and Green Assortment.  Each package includes 108 sparkles in 6 shades and 4 sizes, and the price is only $2.95.  Mistletoe is the new Christmas paper for this season and features traditional Holiday colors of Cranberry, Garden Green, New England Ivy, and Cocoa.


For the envelope and the inside of the card, the light string image was stamped multiple times and color added to each light on the string. The 'Happy Holidays' sentiment is from the super cute A Timber stamp set. 

If you have come here from Laurie's 'Scraps From The Beach' blog, you are on the right path! With 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 Traci's 'Create With Traci' 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 Share the Magic stamp set is only available until the end of October.  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.

Not Necessarily Christmas ...

When you see themed paper, be sure to think of other uses than the 'obvious.'  This paper is from the new Mistletoe Christmas themed My Reflections kit, but the completed card is not necessarily a Christmas card.  Even though the red and white paper has snowflakes on it, it can be used as just a nice patterned paper on any project.

 This is actually a clear card with a scalloped bottom edge, even though the uniqueness of a clear card is not obvious in a scanned image.  The brown background is inside the card and is stamped with a nice texture corner stamp from The Present stamp set.  Then the patterned papers are adhered to the inside front of the clear card, and the square and frame are on the front of the card.  The fancy frame is from Circle of Love and the cute flower and sentiment are from Unity.   

Stamping in the Corner ...

At the Close To My Heart Convention this summer, we had some "Create & Take" sessions and were able to create some nice cards following instructions from CTMH staff and using new stamp sets, papers, and embellishments.   It is always nice to learn new tips and techniques.  Be sure to look at your stamps and try to imagine how they can be used in non-conventional ways.

One of my favorite tips that I learned this year during "Create & Take" was the stamping in the corners of this card.  If you look closely at the green frame with the words "Precious Moments" and then at the corners of the card, you will see that the same stamp was used.  For the corners, only a portion of the stamp was used, and I really like the effect of framing the card.  Even though this card uses papers from the new Christmas themed Mistletoe kit, it is not a Christmas card.  The small frames (one solid and one outline) and the sentiments are from the new Unity stamp set, and the flourish and small circle is from The Present.  Also included on the card are some of the wonderful new Mocha Opaques which are self-adhesive gems, with a pearlized finish.  They are so easy to use, add a great finishing touch, and are a bargain at only $2.95 for 108 gems in a variety of sizes and colors.    

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.