3/31/2011

Check out the April Stamp of the Month on the CTMH Blog Hop!

If you have found yourself here from Melissa Laverty's Blog, then you are in the right place.  This month we have over 50 Close to My Heart Consultants for the April Stamp of the Month Blog Hop.  

The April Stamp of the Month is entitled Blessed (Set of 12).  It is such a sweet and whimsical stamp set.  What I like the most about it is that you don't have to color it in. It uses a technique called two step stamping where you can stamp the outline part of the image and then fill it in with the solid stamp to color it in.  Here is a picture of it:


This stamp set can be purchased or you can even get it for free only from April 1 - April 30, 2011.  If you do not have a Close to My Heart Consultant, you can purchase this stamp set on my website.

I decided to make a gatefold card for my project this month and I used the Bliss paper pack.  

To keep the card closed, I used a flourish from the  Villa Irresistibles Die-Cuts.  I love these because you can sponge on some ink and the pattern on the die-cut magically appears.  Too cool and it holds my card shut well.


Here is the inside of my card.  Isn't the patterned paper pretty on the panels?  Very easy card to put together.

Products Used
  • Stamps:  Blessed (D1455)
  • Papers:  My Reflections Bliss Level 2 Paper Pack (X7132B) and Grey Wool Cardstock (5571)
  • Inks:   Chocolate (Z2111)
  • Embellishments:  Irresistibles Villa Die-Cuts (Z1390)
  • Other Products:  Silver Pearl Embossing Powder (Z678), Craft Heater (Z555), Versamark (Z891), Adhesive, Nestablilities and Sponge Dauber (Z726)

So off you go to the next stop, Susan Brook's Blog  and see what she has created for you!

3/27/2011

Check Out Our Sketch and Play at H2H!

I know that you have all been waiting for this.  It is Sketch week at Heart 2 Heart Challenges and you have a choice in which sketch you would like to use.  You can make it a circle card and use this sketch:
OR you can make it a rectangle card and use this sketch:


I decided to make mine a circle card since I hadn't done that shape in a while.  It is good to change it up every now and then.  I had been itching to use a stamp set that I had purchased in the last catty so I grabbed it and made it work!  Here is my card:


Had a great time photographing this card.  Ever tried to make a circle card stand up?  Too funny.  Anyway, the stamp set I used is called Enjoy Every Moment (C1395).  Whoever said that you cannot get fine detail on an acrylic stamp has not seen Close to My Heart Stamps.  This one is truly incredible.  All it needs is a little color and you have a piece of art!  I used a waterbrush and blending pen and some ink from a stamp pad to color my flowers and they came out incredible with little time needed to color them.  I first colored them with my waterbrush to give them a wash type color.  After letting it dry a few minutes, I went back over the edges and wherever I wanted more shading with my blending pen and the ink.  I could have done it with the waterbrush, but I wanted to be sure not to get extra water and have it run so I grabbed my blending pen instead - just my preference.

The paper pack used is Wings.  It goes well with my colors but is not too matchy-matchy.  Different look for me but I love that with Close to My Heart I can follow any creative direction that I want to go.

Here is a close up of the flower.  It is stamped with Archival Black so that it won't run when I color it in and I used Watercolor Paper because I love the look!

Products Used
  • Stamps:  Enjoy Every Moment(C1395)
  • Paper:  Wings My Reflections Level 2 Paper Pack (X7135B)
  • Inks:   Vineyard Berry (Z2157), New England Ivy (Z2135), Black (Z2105), and Archival Black (44751)
  • Embellishments:  Opaques Licorice (Z1335)
  • Other Products:  Adhesive and Sponge Dauber (Z726)
Please check out the other design team member's projects:


and then create your own project using one of our great sketches.  Remember that it does not have to be a card.  We love to see anything that you make. Your projects must include CTMH products, but do not have to be 100% CTMH.  If other products are used, a list or description of what was used would be appreciated. Remember to post it on the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Blog.  You could win some fantastic prizes. 

3/20/2011

Oh Baby at H2H!

It is Baby week at Heart 2 Heart Challenges and we want to show you our baby cards or gift items that we have made with Close to My Heart Products.    

At Close to My Heart we don't have strictly baby paper.  What I love with Close to My Heart paper is that it comes in packs with patterned paper and matching card stock.  Depending upon how you embellish it, you can "turn" almost any paper into baby paper.  The sky is the limit.  All it takes is a little imagination.  


I knew that I wanted to make something that wasn't a card since I mostly make cards.  I took a tour through our local HL and found this cute wooden tote.  It was exactly what I wanted to work with so here is what I came up with.

Please excuse my no so great photography.  I used the Miracle My Reflections Level 2 paper pack.  I painted the tote with 2 coats of Ceramcoat White Acrylci Paint.  Then I lined the bottom of the tote with paper and Mod Podged it so it would last longer.  The ovals under the giraffe and the frog on the other side are also wooden.  I painted their edges and adhered paper to the front.

Check out my adorable frog.  Don't you just love the Googlie Eyes?  I used our new Pennant Alphabet and made two pennants, one for each side.  One side says Sweet and the other one says Baby.  I used our natural hemp for the pennant and attached bows on each end with liquid glass.  
A few ribbons on the top and a simple tag and VOILA!, I have a cute tote that I could fill up with baby products and give to a new mother and baby. 

Close up of the other side and the tag.  The stamp I used for the tag is retired, but I do love it so.  I always think of my kids when I read the verse.
Close up of my frog from the stamp set, Hot Diggity.  He is stamped in Sweet Leaf.

Check out my cute giraffe from It's a Zoo.  I applied a little Glitter Glitz Gel on his spots to give him a little pizzaz.

Products Used
  • Stamps:  It's A Zoo (C1360), Hot Diggity (C1407), Pennant Alphabet (E1018), and Love You Forever (retired) (c1398)
  • Paper:  Miracle My Reflections Level 2 Paper Pack (X7133B)
  • Inks:   Crystal Blue (Z2117), Sweet Leaf (Z2153), Black (Z2105), and Crystal Blue Marker (Z2317)
  • Embellishments:  Glitz Glitter Gel Stardust (Z1313), Opaques Licorice (Z1335), White Daisy Organdy Ribbon (Retired), Sweet Leaf Ribbon (Retired), Natural Hemp (Z280), White Daisy Grosgrain Ribbon (Z270), Googlie Eyes (Not CTMH), and Blue Eyelet (not CTMH)
  • Other Products:  Adhesive, Sponge Dauber (Z726), Liquid Glass (Z679), Wooden Tote and wooden ovals (Hobby Lobby), Mod Podge Matte, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, and White Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint
Please check out the other design team member's projects:


and then create your own project with a baby theme.  Your projects must include CTMH products, but do not have to be 100% CTMH.  If other products are used, a list or description of what was used would be appreciated. Remember to post it on the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Blog.  You could win some fantastic prizes from our March sponsors, Angela Parchey and Lori Brown.  Remember that you have until the end of the month to participate in our challenges.

3/13/2011

From Your Heart to Ours - Home Decor

This week at Heart 2 Heart Challenges we are showing you our home decor items that we have made with Close to My Heart Products!  

I love what you can do with Close to My Heart.  Close to My Heart is more than  scrapbook pages or cards.  It is truly amazing what our talented Consultants have done and continue to do with these products.

So let me tell you about mine.  I got this idea from one of our great CTMH Independent Consultants, Jayma Malme.  It is called a name frame.  I changed it up a bit and added small pictures to mine.  Look at the name frame that I made for my daughter for Mother's Day.

The pictures are of my grandsons.  Aren't they handsome?  At first I didn't think it out too well and chose a 11" x 14" frame.  Well, usually you use a piece of 12" x 12" cardstock for the base, but my frame was too big.  I have found that "Necessity is the mother of invention" and after the initial dismay, I decided to use a large piece of cardboard and covered it with patterned paper from our retired You Rock paper pack.  The green striped patterned paper is actually the reverse side of the colored striped paper.  Doing it this way meant that instead of trying to hide where the paper joined, I used it as part of my design.  I added the hinges because they are kind of "manly" for my very masculine grandsons.  My daughter loves this Name Frame and has it hanging in her office at work.  It was truly a labor of love.

Here is a second Name Frame I made for my granddaughter.
She loves princesses so I made her frame in the Daydream paper pack.  We added our most favorite pictures of her and included a cut out princess stamped from our retired set called Happy Endings.  What a fantastic, unique gift this is for a loved one and it costs almost nothing.  I used scraps of paper and made my own embellishments. The pictures truly make it a one of a kind home decor piece.

Please check out the other design team member's projects:


and then create your own project - anything, and I do mean anything, that you created for your home (home decor item) and then tell us why you love it.  Your projects must include CTMH products, but do not have to be 100% CTMH.  If other products are used, a list or description of what was used would be appreciated. Remember to post it on the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Blog.  You could win some fantastic prizes from our March sponsors, Angela Parchey and Lori Brown.  Remember that you have until the end of the month to participate in our challenges.

3/07/2011

March CTMH Workshop

We are going to be making the most adorable card boxes (designed by Vicki Wizniuk) and cards (designed by Katy Donaldson).  Normally I am not guilty of CASEing, but you cannot argue with perfection!  Do I get credit for matching them up together?  LOL

Here is the adorable card box and here is the link where you can buy a handmade card from Vicki Wizniuk and get the directions to make this box.
And here are the adorable cards that I CASEd from Katy Donaldson.


Just adorable, aren't they?  
I have two workshops this month and you can make multiples of this card box since they take about an hour, hour and a half to make.  The cost is $10 for the first set and $5 for each additional set.  This is a great beginner's workshop and there is no cutting out of designs or embossing!  

Dates:  Sunday, March 20th from 12 noon - 4 pm or Saturday, March 26th from 11 am - 4 pm.  Please RSVP to mkgmt@aol.com or (901) 850-1836.

3/06/2011

3 Times the Fun at Heart 2 Heart!

This week is going to be fun!  The Heart 2 Heart Challenges this week is times 3 - use at least three different images to create a scene.


I really enjoyed this challenge. I had started a card for our earlier Cold Challenge and my family informed me that it did not remind them of Cold.  I love the new stamp set called Summer Breeze that I used for this card.  My problem was that I only had two images stamped.  The stamps in this set are very detailed and feature more than one image on each stamp.  But I decided not to cheat and added an island and stamped some trees on the island so I am now legit!  LOL

So, let me set the scene for my card.  Imagine a lighthouse on the coast of Maine in the early Spring.  The sky is blue, the birds are singing (or whatever it is that sea gulls do).  The water is COLD and so is the temperature, right?  Hear that family?  It is COLD!  Oh well.  Here is my card.

Once again I pulled out my trusty brayer. The images are colored with my blending pen and ink from the stamp pads and then embossed to resist the ink from the brayer.  The beach is sponged with Desert Sand and Brown Bag and I hope that it reminds you of a sandy beach.  The frothy waves are drawn in with my Signo white gel pen.

Products Used
  • Stamps:  Summer Breeze (C1453) and Beautiful Things (D1298)
  • Paper:  Bamboo Cardstock (1301), Sky Cardstock (X5761), White Daisy Cardstock (1385), and Black Cardstock (1386)
  • Inks:   Sky (Z2194), Star Spangled Blue (Retired), Lilac Mist (Z2133), Indian Corn Blue (Z2130), Desert Sand (Z2118), Brown Bag (Z2108), Topiary (Z2155), Grey Wool (Z2125), Cranberry (Z2116), Barn Red (Z2104)  and Black (Z2105)
  • Embellishments: None
  • Other Products:  Adhesive, Sponge Dauber (Z726), Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad (Z891), Clear Embossing Powder (Z671), Craft Heater (Z555), Brayer (Z616), Versamarker, Signo White Gel Pen, and Blending Pen (3174).
Please check out the other design team member's projects:


and then create your own project - anything, and I do mean anything, that is a scene created with at least 3 stamped images.  Your projects must include CTMH products, but do not have to be 100% CTMH.  If other products are used, a list or description of what was used would be appreciated. Remember to post it on the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Blog.  You could win some fantastic prizes from our March sponsors, Angela Parchey and Lori Brown.  Remember that you have until the end of the month to participate in our challenges.