Improve Your Technique card workshop

Using different stamping techniques adds nice variety to your creations, and most are surprisingly easy to do once you have been shown how to do it.   At this month's Improve Your Technique card making workshop, you will learn four techniques and go home with some fun projects.   Classes will be offered on Friday evening, August 27 at 7:00 and also Saturday afternoon, August 28 at 1:00.  

Technique #1 - Paper Piecing:  Using the Be Yourself stamp set and fun You Rock papers, this card is simple to create by stamping the skirt in a bright color, cutting it out, and adhering it to the top of the image stamped in black. The layers of the skirt have been enhanced using the new Glitz Glitter Gel.  It is very easy to apply, and adds a nice shimmer to a project.

Technique #2 - Painting With Bleach:  The August stamp-of-the-month, Something Splendid, is the perfect image to use with this technique.  The basics are that you apply ink to cardstock, emboss an image, and then use regular household bleach to remove the ink inside the embossed image.  It is a surprisingly easy technique and is very fun to watch as the Barn Red ink first changes to a bright, vivid green before the bleach dries.  Thanks to fellow CTMH consultant Tresa Black for sharing her "fabulously artsy" technique and to Michelle Loncar for helping to design the card during a creative 13-hour marathon stamping day.  Paper from the Passages My Reflections kit is used for the subdued color scheme.  

 

Technique #3 - Window Card:  The papers for this card are from the Zippidee kit and the stamps are the Love This stamp set that is included with the Triple Play mini-album special, and is only available August 15 through September 30.  The flower is actually on the inside of the card and a window is cut through the front of the card so the flower is seen 'through the window' when the card is closed.  

Technique #4 - Gift Card Holder & Masking:  This clever gift card holder also uses Zippidee papers and the Love This stamp set.  A Masking technique is used to create the illusion that the large flower is in front of the smaller flowers.  

The "Improve Your Technique" workshop will be offered on Friday evening, August 27 (starting at 7 pm), and also on  Saturday, August 28 at 1:00 pm.  Allow two or three hours to complete your projects.  Since these technique cards are a bit more involved than normal, you will create 2 cards using each of the 4 different techniques - a total of 8 cards and matching envelopes for a workshop fee of $10.  Please be sure to bring your favorite adhesive.  All other supplies are provided with the workshop fee.

As an added bonus, place a $50+ order from the Close To My Heart  Spring or Summer 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.

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

Springtime - Galoshes & Umbrellas

Rain - rain - rain - we have had a lot of rain and storms this spring. If you know someone who is feeling a bit too wet, send them a card with their own galoshes and umbrellas using the Springtime stamp set.  

Both cards use papers from the new Zippidee paper packet along with Cranberry and Honey inks.  The 'happy birthday' sentiment is from the Candlelight stamp set.  

CTMH Workshop-on-the-Go kits for Summer

The new Summer Idea Book from Close To My Heart was released on May 1 and there are some really fun new stamp sets along with four new My Reflections scrapbook paper kits.  Each of the four 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. There are four new WOTG kits included with each Idea Book.  These kits are available ONLY during the 4-month cycle of the Summer Idea Book which is May, June, July, and August. 

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.

A very charming kit is Cherry-O.  It includes cheerful images and the Bowl of Cherries stamp set has stamps for cherries, stems, leaves, and bowls.  The three card designs for this WOTG are shown above.

Zippidee includes a fun color combo that can be used for more 'boyish' items.  The Ticket to Ride stamp set has some great images to use with vacation photos, or to create masculine cards.

This Passages kit and Lifetime stamp set have a very 'vintage' feel.  The papers are just beautiful and would make wonderful scrapbook pages for a European vacation.

The Splendor kit comes with the whimsical Summer Wishes stamp set which will brighten up any project.

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.

Summer Idea Book - New Product Sneak Peak

Welcome to our Close To My Heart New Product Sneak Peak Blog Hop! Over 40 fabulous CTMH Consultants are celebrating the upcoming release of the Summer 2010 Idea Book by giving you a 'Sneak Peek' of some of the great products available in the new Idea Book starting May 1st.

If you have come here from Sherrie's 'Impressionable Art' Blog, you are on the right path! It is simple to 'blog hop' - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one.

An adorable new stamp set is the Family Ties - Pets, with an assortment of dogs, cats, birds, fish, a turtle, and even a hamster.  The set includes cute, 'punny' sayings to go along with the pets. The "Just Because Card Workshop" from the Wishes Card Confidence Program was used to create these cards.  The workshop has cutting diagrams for four sheets of cardstock and two coordinating sheets of background and texture paper, which will create a total of 20 cards.  Detailed templates are included for 10 different cards and, following the cutting diagrams and assembling each card on a card base, you can create 2 of each of the cards, for a total of 20 cards. 

A floppy-eared puppy.

A slow-moving turtle.

A frisky cat.

A birthday wish.

A pair of bluebirds.

These are just five of the cards made following the card templates included in the "Just Because Card Workshop."  The versatile Happy Birthday stamp set was also used along with papers from the new Zippidee My Reflections kit.

Now "Hop" on over to Terrie's 'My Life in Real Time' Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great ideas for using the new products available from Close To My Heart!

If you get lost on the hop or find links that aren't working, there is a complete list of participating blogs on Erin's 'Tazzygirl2000' blog.