12/31/2010

Find Your Style - January Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the Close to My Heart January Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  Can you believe that we are already into a new year?  My goodness where did the old year go?  We are featuring the January Stamp of the Month, Find Your Style, a set of 9 stamps, that is only available during the month of January.

If you have arrived from Mary Eisen's Blog you are on the right path.  This month we have almost 60 Close to My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the January Stamp of the Month and other great Close to My Heart products on their blogs.  Following the Blog Hop is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one.  So, here we go!

I am so excited about this stamp set.  I think that Find Your Style Stamp Set is beautiful and I just love the name, don't you? The stamps are shown below.



I had a project in mind for a long time and decided to use it for this stamp set.  I wanted to make tumbled tile coasters.  I had tons of ideas rumbling around in my head and then got stuck.  I couldn't decide which one to do and was afraid to make a mistake.  I will tell you that it is hard to be creative if you are unwilling to make a mistake, so I just sat there looking at my tumbled tiles and my stamp sets as the deadline for the blog hop got closer.  I went out with a friend a couple of nights ago and she is a cake decorator/artist.  I asked her if this had ever happened to her.  She told me to embrace my mistakes - to go ahead and create and to photograph my problems as well as my successes so that maybe others would learn from my mistakes or even improve on them.  What a wonderful idea!  So here we go.

Here are the basic supplies I used for all of the coasters:

I actually used two different types of tumbled tiles.  One is called Travertine and the other one is called Noce.  Noce is more rustic looking with holes here and there.  Travertine actually has the holes filled in and is smoother.  I found out in my experimenting that you could emboss on these tiles.  WOW!
I stamped on the tiles and placed them on a cookie sheet in a 300 degree F. oven for 30 minutes.  The more rustic tiles are just stamped with Stazon and the Travertine tiles I stamped with Stazon and then sprinkled clear embossing powder over it - just like you would emboss on paper, except with the heat of the oven instead of a craft heater.


Here they are coming out of the oven:

First I will show you my black and white embossed tiles.





The problem I see with embossing in the oven is that I got a few bubbles and bleeding.  I may play around with them again and see if the temperature matters.

This one was embossed with black ink, and then colored in with a blending pen and chalk.  Then I carefully went over it with a Versamark marker and sprinkled clear embossing powder and back into the oven it went, same temperature and time.

 This one was fun but I think I would change the colors next time.  I used our DYE Ink and Versamark and then sprinkled with clear embossing powder, popped it in the oven and it worked!  When I emboss with color dye ink, I first load the stamp with Versamark and then into the ink and then stamp.  Here I used Autumn Terracotta and then rocked and rolled into Barn Red.

The last ones are my favorites.




They are all stamped with Stazon and then popped into the oven.  Then I applied chalk to them and then sprayed them lightly with Krylon Matte Finish Acrylic Spray.  I tested them to see if they were water fast and they were!  After all of the coasters were done, I applied Krylon Gold Leafing Pen to the outsides and put self adhesive Felt Pads on the corners on the bottom of the coaster so they wouldn't scratch my table.

This would make a very nice gift and would be very inexpensive and takes little time.  I see a workshop in my future!

Now "Hop" on over to Laurie Newton's Blog  to see her work!  Be sure to visit all of the Consultant's blogs to get some great ideas on how to  use this versatile stamp set.  

Remember that the Find Your Style Stamp Set is only available from January 1-January 31, 2011.  Contact your CTMH Consultant or click here to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free.

12/26/2010

Magnifique Accordian Album

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!  Three of my kids and their families got together with my husband and I in Orlando.  We stayed in 2 Villas and it was a wonderful vacation indeed.  We went to Universal Studios and as soon as I got off the new Harry Potter ride I got horribly sick.  I spent the next few days sleeping and am just now getting better from a nasty cold.

We went down to Orlando for my oldest son's college graduation.  I also got to meet his girlfriend, Sarah.  Matthew asked me to put together an accordian album for him and Sarah and her favorite color was blue, so I decided to use the new Close to My Heart Magnifique My Reflections Paper Pack.  Check out this 9 x 9 album I made for my son.

Here is the other side.

Almost all of the pictures are on the album.  Matthew needs to get two more small pictures for the second side.  Sarah liked my peacock gratitude card so I CASE'd myself for the layout on the right.  I am hoping that Sarah doesn't see this post because this is supposed to be a SECRET until December 31st.

12/15/2010

December Close to My Heart Product Spotlight Blog Hop

Welcome to the Close to My Heart December Spotlight Blog Hop!  If you have found yourself here from Helen Onulak's Blog then you are in the right place.  This month we are spotlighting our marvelous Opaques and Sparkles.  I shared in a previous post that when I went to our Close to My Heart Convention that I wanted colored bling and pearls and was hoping to find them in our Autumn/Winter Catalog.  How overjoyed I was to see both the blue and green sparkles and the red, purple and pink sparkles.  I was ready to jump for joy when I saw that not only did we get the traditional white pearls, but that we had them also in Mocha and Licorice.  I just love embellishments.  They are inexpensive and give a whole lot of punch for just a small price.  For me, they are the difference between plain and WOWZA!

For those of you who know me, you will be shocked to find that I did not use the Sparkles on my card.  I decided to go with the Opaques.  I participate in a swap with some of my downline and we had already decided to do a "challenge" for our cards.  Our challenge was to use just one stamp set on our card for the main images.  We could use whatever sentiments we wanted, but the majority of the stamping had to be done with this one stamp set.  The problem was that they had me choose it.  LOL  Off the top of my head I chose D1370 Welcome Home.  I did not realize how hard it was to use only this stamp set.  So here is my card.


I had an idea what I wanted to do, but had a designer's block as to which paper pack to use.  I was hopping around some of my favorite blogs and I found on www.JeanetteLynton.com the Color Me Monday "Challenge".  The colors used were Cocoa, Barn Red, Garden Green and Olive  Our elegant paper pack, Passages, worked perfectly.  Then I needed a card pattern.  I was jazzed to see that Mojo Monday last week featured this card pattern: 
Wow!  It worked with the idea I had in my head and had places for our wonderful Opaques!  I used the Mocha Opaques and you can see them below the main image on the pattern paper, as the drawer handle near the adorable puppy, and as the lamp pull.  Don't you just love them?  So adorable and adds such dimension and quaintness to my card.  The flower is in place of the bow on the sketch.  It started off as a white Just Bloom from the Big Pinks collection.  I mixed Barn Red Reinker with Rubbing Alcohol and sprayed my flower.  I was dismayed to see it turn brown - kind of a milky brown which did not go with my card.  So I added a few drops of Cranberry Reinker and sprayed again and I now had Barn Red.  The small flower in the flower pot was sprayed with Creme Brulee Reinker mixed with Rubbing Alcohol.  I just love that I can spray my flowers instead of dunking them and that they retain their form.
I also finished the inside of my card.

I love the way that I could use this stamp set to stamp a scene.  The dog bed is actually the cushions from the couch.  I am so in love with this card.  Hope you have enjoyed it as well.


Products Used
  • Stamps:  Welcome Home (D1370) and Home Sweet Home WOTG Stamp Set (B1334)
  • Paper:  My Relections Passages Level 2 Paper Pack (X7126B)
  • Inks:   Cocoa (Z2114) Brown Bag (Z2108), Garden Green (Z2120), Barn Red (Z2104), Creme Brulee (Z2167), Olive (Z2137) and Black (Z2105)
  • Embellishments:  Mocha Opaques (Z1333), Bitty Brads (Z1051), Twill Ribbon (Z1099), Just Blooms (Z1033), and Booksmart Dimensional Elements (Z1223)
  • Other Products:  Bonding Memories Glue Pen (Z533), Piercing Tool Kit (Z114). Adhesive and Sponge Dauber (Z726)
 If you are ready to move on, then head on over to Luisa's Blog.

12/02/2010

Washer Necklaces

I got the instructions and ideas on doing these necklaces from Haley Dyer, another independent CTMH Consultant.  You can find her tutorial HERE!

Aren't these just adorable?  They are actually made from metal washers that you can buy at Home Depot!  I try and buy fender washers because they are lighter.  Then I mod podge paper to the washers, let it dry and embellish like crazy.  Then I cover the entire washer with Liquid Glass.  You can purchase Liquid Glass HERE and one bottle makes ton of washer necklaces.  I have been finishing both sides differently so it is like having two different necklaces.  You can use any sized washer, but my favorite is 1/2" x 1 1/2".

Thanks for looking and have fun crafting!

12/01/2010

Plenty for Twenty

Check out Close to My Heart's December Promotion!

Our December Promotion, Plenty of Twenty, starts today and goes through December 31, 2010.  When you shop on MyCTMH Website and spend $20 or more on wonderful Close to My Heart products, you'll receive a free D-size stamp set valued at $22.95.  These stamp sets are randomly chosen by Close to My Heart and prepare to be happily surprised!  Close to My Heart will choose from a large selection of stamp sets that were very popular but have been retired to make room for new products.

The good news
is that if you choose, you can purchase those products on the retiring list or any currently offered product.  There is no shipping or tax charged on the free item.  There is a limit of one free stamp set per qualifying purchase, but you may make multiple purchases and receive free stamp sets with each qualifying purchase!  Order often and you can multiply your savings!


You can find the retiring list HERE. These items are while supplies last or until 12/31/2010.