Wordless Wednesday (Aaron is 20!)

Celebrate Summer - card workshop

The new Summer Idea Book from Close To My Heart has really fun new stamp images and papers.  You can view the entire book online at MyCTMH website, or let me know if you would like a 'hard copy' for yourself.  

This month's "Celebrate Summer" card workshop will be offered on May 21 and 22, and you will be able to create some fun cards to celebrate different occasions.   

Cherries are so bright and cheerful, and the patterned paper from the Cherry-O paper pack will make anyone smile.  And with this card, you will even be able to SMELL the cherries when you make this 'scratch & sniff' card using a mixture of embossing powder and cherry Kool-Aid.  Thanks to fellow CTMH consultant Michelle Loncar for the card design.

It is graduation month, and this card using the new Over The Rainbow stamp set along with the Animal Cookies paper pack is a bright and cheerful way to send your congratulations to a recent graduate.  Thanks to fellow CTMH consultant Jennifer Bennett for the inspiration for this card.  

 

CTMH now sells clear, acrylic cards in a 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" size - both square and round shapes.  The clear card bases make a really unique card that is difficult to capture in a photograph because the paper is layered on both sides of the clear acrylic.  

For an elegant, or even masculine birthday card, use the Cherry-O Creative Basics paper to create this card which I featured in the Cherish the Moment SOTM Blog Hop for May.  

The "Celebrate Summer" workshop will be offered on Friday evening, May 21 (starting at 7 pm), and also on  Saturday (May 22) at either 9:00 am or 1:00 pm.  You will create 4 cards each of 3 different designs - a total of 12 cards and matching envelopes for $15.  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 "Celebrate Summer" card workshops.  Feel free to leave me a comment on this blog, send an email to sheilabennett@comcast.net, or call 913-485-4355.

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.

Cherish the Moment (May SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features the Cherish the Moment stamp set from Close To My Heart.  The set includes 8 tags that are perfect to use as a quick way to document scrapbook pages.   

This 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"  card uses a gorgeous paper from the Creative Basics Cherry-O collection.   In the Creative Basics collection, there are 6 pieces of this plaid paper, 6 pieces of a coordinating dotted paper, and 4 yards of the Cranberry Velvet ribbon that is used on the card - all for only $7.95.   Following the "Corner Shop" card template in the Wishes Card Confidence Program made this a very quick and easy card to create.

If you have come here from Debra's 'Memories of the Heart' blog, you are on the right path! There are more than 60 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs.  So 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 Kim's 'Imagine the Possibilities' 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 Cherish the Moment stamp set is only available until the end of May.  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.

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.

Studio J Online Scrapbooking!

Today is the launch date for the much anticipated Studio J Online Scrapbooking from Close To My Heart.  Be sure to visit MyCTMH site and click on the Studio J link on the left side of the screen.   

Studio J uses the same great papers, patterns, colors, and embellishments as classic Close To My Heart scrapbooking, making studio scrapbooking extremely intuitive and super fun!  Timeless patterns and artistically placed default accents allow you to finish a page in minutes, while customization options give you the flexibility to make your layouts unique.  All the layout patterns are created by Jeanette Lynton, founder and CEO of Close To My Heart - you may recognize some of them from her classic how-to books, such as Cherish and Imagine. These patterns make scrapbooking faster, simpler, and easier than ever before.  You’ll be amazed how effortlessly and beautifully you preserve your memories with Studio J!

During a 'beta test' period when consultants were able to use the Studio J software, I prepared a scrapbook of a trip to New York City.  It was fun to be able to sit down at a computer and quickly create the pages.  The best part is that you do not have to develop your photos before preparing a scrapbook page.  The photos are re-sized as you drag them onto a page, and the entire 12x12 page is printed and shipped directly to you - ready to slip into page protectors and your scrapbook album.  

These are just a few of the pages that I created.  Note that there are some arrows and lines at the top corners of the pages, but these do not print.  They are areas that can be clicked to automatically rotate a page, or to swap the position of the pages.  These are simply 'screen shots' of the completed pages from the computer screen.