Stamping Techniques Blog Hop

Welcome to the Stamping Techniques Blog Hop. This month we are featuring different stamping techniques using products from Close To My Heart.  I ran into some issues with the posting/linking process so ended up on the 'fringes' of blog hop so no one is linking directly to me this time but you can see all the participants on Melinda's Blog.

I just hosted a workshop where we made our own ink pads to make this Happy Birthday card.

The "ink pad" is made by folding up some paper towels and then using our re-inkers to blend some nice coloring together for a variegated ink pad.  On the left card, we used a stamp like you normally would to ink the background pattern.  For the card on the right, we turned the stamp over so the smooth side went into the ink pad and then it leaves a more random pattern.  Then we stamped a sentiment and layered it on our card.  These came together pretty quickly and the ladies at the gathering thought this was a fun technique to try out.

Supplies used:
Re-inkers: Honey, Smoothie, Hollyhock, Canary
Paper: Kaleidoscope, Smoothie, White Daisy
Stamp Sets: B1419 - Joyful Birthday, D1604 - Season of Thanks


Thanks for stopping by, now hop on over to Jen's blog and see what fun techniques she is sharing this month!

Cyber Week Specials

Cyber Week is here!

Close To My Heart is offering almost 40 items 

that you can purchase at 25% off!  

Get supplies you'll need to make hand-crafted gifts and cards for Christmas, including our Cricut Artfully Sent collection, at an amazing discount!

This fabulous sale is available on my website  

Monday, November 30th from 10:00 am (CDT)

to 

Friday, December 4th at 5:00 pm (CDT)

 Here are the Items Available -- Get Your Wish Lists Ready!

Z3168 Cricut® Artfully Sent Collection

Z3111 Base & Bling Snowflake Charm—Faux Gold

Z3112 Base & Bling Jingle Bell—Faux Gold

Z3135 Base & Bling Snowflake Charm—Faux Silver

Z3136 Base & Bling Jingle Bell—Faux Silver

Z3138 Base & Bling Red Bead Charm—Faux Gold

Z3139 Base & Bling Red Bead Charm—Faux Silver

Z3180 Picture My Life™ Going Places Scrapbooking Program

Z3147 Cut Above™ Dapper Giraffe Card Kit

Z2028 Designer Creations Short Stack Album

Z2036 Designer Creations Slate Paper Bags

Z2037 Designer Creations Lagoon Paper Bags

Z2038 Designer Creations Ruby Paper Bags

Z2039 Designer Creations Honey Paper Bags

Z2049 Designer Creations Cupcake Box

Z2050 Designer Creations Takeout Box

Z2053 Designer Creations Buttoned Bag

Z1838 5" x 7" Hinged Display Tray

Z1750 Designed Décor Display Tray

Z2006 Designed Décor Red Magnetic Chalkboard

Z2015 Designed Décor Black Shadow Box

Z2016 Designed Décor Colonial White Shadow Box

Z1833 My Creations™ Kraft Container

Z1871 My Creations™ Kraft 3-Ring Album

Z1953 My Creations™ Journaling Cards Box

Z1956 My Creations™ Hip Pics Album

Z3043 My Creations™ Black Mini Book

Z3044 My Creations™ Kraft Mini Book

Z3069 My Creations™ Mini Mix Album

Z3137 My Creations™ Pint-Sized Container

Z1476 4 ¼" x 5 ½" White Daisy Envelopes

Z1477 5" x 7" White Daisy Envelopes

Z1478 6" x 6" White Daisy Envelopes

Z1756 3" x 3" Colonial White Envelopes

Z1757 4 ¼" x 5 ½" Colonial White Envelopes

Z1758 5" x 7" Colonial White Envelopes

Z1759 6" x 6" Colonial White Envelopes

CLICK on the shopping cart and check out the 

CYBER WEEK SALE tab by Friday!

CTMH Shopping

White Pines Blog Hop

Welcome to the White Pines Blog Hop. This paper kit included in the Holiday Expressions catalog for Close To My Heart is being featured in November by our Stampers With An Attitude group. If you have come here from Melissa's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.

I made this gift card holder originally as part of an "anything goes" consultant swap showcasing the new stamp sets.  The base is cut from the Artiste Cricut cartridge and I love how this paper worked so well for this project. 

Cut the following from your White Pines Paper Packet:

• 4.25” x 3” Colonial White (use corner rounder for edges) 
• 4.25” strip from top of B&T White Pines paper 

Artiste Cricut Cartridge:

• pg 59 card – cut 5.5” from B&T White Pines 
• pg 55 3D – cut 3.25” medallion from fern cardstock 
• pg 68 accent 4 – cut .75” from cranberry cardstock* 
• pg 35 accent 4 – cut 2” from colonial white 

Stamps and Other Supplies:

• M1125 – This is Christmas
• D1530 – banner from Artiste set 
• Z3090 – Red Enamel Gems 
• Z679 – Liquid Glass 
• Z2116 – Cranberry Ink 

Assembly instructions: Fold card and use liquid glass along the edge to seal it, you want it sturdy for the gift card. Cut banner in half and ink each side in Cranberry (*there is a two end banner you can cut from other cartridges but I like to stick with one cartridge per card so I improvise if needed.) Stamp title in Cranberry on the Colonial White medallion Mount banner halfway down on left and right sides (you’ll have a gap in the middle.) Mount the fern medallion and then layer on the colonial white medallion. Place a few red gems on the fern medallion. Mount the Colonial White rectangle inside and layer on the B&T strip; the pop up part holds a standard credit card size gift card. Stamp sentiment of your choice and include a note to the recipient.

Now "Hop" on over to Wendy's 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! The White Pines paper packet is available until December 30. Contact your CTMH Consultant or visit my website to browse the holiday expressions catalog. 

White Pines - Cousin Christmas layout

This month, Close to My Heart is featuring the White Pines paper collection -- a subtle, understated Christmas collection with warm winter flair. I used this paper to scrapbook a traditional holiday layout here and will have a post this weekend to showcase another item featuring this collection as part of the White Pines blog hop. #ctmhwhitepines  

Supplies used:
Paper - White Pines paper packet and Gold Glitter
Ink - Fern
Stamp set - Festive Trees, a Hostess Rewards stamp set from the Holiday Expressions catalog

November 2015 SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to the November 2015 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. If you have come here from Stefani's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.

This month we have 37 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. 

I really like how versatile this stamp set is so I wanted to showcase that with my cards for this post. The first card is a fun one and I used the new circle diffuser with the confetti stars embossing folder to leave a nice space where I could stamp the Dream Big sentiment. I added a touch of sparkle by embossing the sentiment and then adding some shimmer trim. I also made use of the edge strips from the Kaleidoscope paper.  

Supplies Used:

Paper: Kaleidoscope paper packet, Honey, Pacifica, Smoothie

Ink: Pacifica, Smoothie
Embellishments: White shimmer trim, Clear embossing powder

While I was at it, I made a couple of additional cards with this stamp set, it was so fun to get completely different looks from the same set!

 

Now "Hop" on over to Krista's 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! The Cheers SOTM is available until November 30. Contact your CTMH Consultant or visit my website to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!  Here is a fun card I made; it came together quickly with the use of the Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge, cut the card pieces at 7", use a marker to color in the bats on the moon, back with a piece of honey paper, stamp with a sentiment and you are all set!

Stamp set:  Holiday Tags

Paper: Black, Honey, Whisper

Ink: Gypsy
Black marker 

Scooter birthday card

For today's post, I was inspired by Michelle's blog, a fellow Close to My Heart consultant who made a really nice birthday card using a combination of stamp sets to showcase in the Holiday Expressions blog hop.

I used the same stamp set for the main image and Kaleidoscope papers.  I wanted to have the scooter rims stand out so used some liquid glass to make them nice and shiny, here is a close up view.

If you'd like to try out a similar card, here are the supplies I used:

Stamp sets: Make It Merry and Holiday Tags
Paper: Kaleidoscope paper packet

Ink: Archival black (or regular black), Gypsy, Canary
Embellishments: Clear Sparkles, Liquid Glass, Cherry Pink marker, and some clear glitter glue I happened to have on hand

I also used my Artiste Cricut cartridge to cut out the background image for the birthday sentiment. I love using these cartridges on my projects; it makes the process go so quickly if you are making multiple cards of a similar layout!

Fall leaves card

I entered this card into the "odd time of year" challenge on Splitcoaststampers which requires an odd number of elements to be used on your project.

Fall is a fun time of year to use the rich colors we see with our trees around here.  This is a quick card to assemble:

• Use the woodgrain embossing folder on a 4" x 5.25" piece of colonial white cardstock
• Add some random sparkle colors with Almond Glitz glitter gel
• Cut out leaves from Autumn Terracotta and Fern cardstock with the Artiste Cricut cartridge
• Stamp your sentiment with Cocoa ink

Many thanks card

Today's challenge on Splitcoaststampers is to make a card using only words and I just had to enter this card.  I made it from a Pinterest inspiration and used it at a Close to My Heart gathering event.  Everyone liked how this turned out and it's so simple to make:

• Load up a large block with a bunch of different words (I've also done this with Happy Birthday)
• Stamp with ink color of your choice, here we used Pacifica on Colonial White paper
• Mount on slightly larger piece of paper
• Add a bit of gold shimmer trim to make it pop and mount the whole thing on a card color of your choice, desert sand in this case.

Here's a picture of the block with all the stamps on it:

This is the first challenge I entered with Splitcoaststampers and it was a fun one!  If you happen to need any stamps or supplies for  your next project and don't already have a Close to My Heart Consultant, you can shop on my website anytime.

Pop-up birthday card

Our daughter turned 20 this past week so I wanted to make her a special card to help celebrate this milestone.  I've always wanted to try a pop-up card box after seeing a few of these on Pinterest and ran across this pop-up card box tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.  The confetti wishes paper pack from Close To My Heart had just the right mix of accents and paper to use for this project.  The first image is the card closed up nicely and it fits in an A9 size envelope.

I cut out some images, stamped and embossed a variety of birthday items to put in the box.  The fun part about this is playing with the elements to fill in the box; almost like flower arrangements, just keep tucking in the empty spots! Here's what the final product looks like, our daughter really liked it and set it out on her desk for display at her college apartment. 

Spotlight on Holiday Expressions

Welcome to our Spotlight on the Holiday Expressions Blog Hop. If you have come here from Brenda's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.

This month we have 30 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations featuring projects made with paper and stamps in the Holiday Expressions catalog and other great CTMH products on their blogs.  

I wanted to make a project that featured the White Pines paper for fall and thought that this thank you card would be fun.  I cut the card from the Artiste cartridge, inked the title with a sponge dauber and made a belly band so I could insert a gift card inside without it slipping out the side.

Supplies Used:

• X7200B - White Pines paper pack (colonial white, fern, B&T duo)
• Z3170 - Artiste Cricut Cartridge
• S1510 – Twinkle SOTM
• Z2116 – Cranberry Ink
• Z2650 – Fern Ink

 Cut the following:

• 5” thanks card from Artiste Cricut cartridge
• 1.5" belly band from Fern paper

Assembly instructions:

• Fold card base in half
• Use Cranberry ink and sponge dauber on the Thanks title
• Use Fern ink for and string stamp on front of belly band
• Cut piece of B&T duo paper to mount on front of card; I cut out a half circle to make it easier to open and add a bit of interest to the front
• Ink sentiment of your choice inside card

Now "Hop" on over to Lauren's 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! Products from the Holiday Expressions catalog are available through December 30. Contact your CTMH Consultant or visit my website to see more great products offered to help you create fun projects for the upcoming holiday season.

October Stamp of the Month Twinkle

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We are featuring S1510 - Twinkle SOTM, a set of 15 stamps.  If you have come here from Lori's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.

This month we have 47 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs.  This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

This is my first blog hop that I've participated in; it's always fun to try new things.  Speaking of new items, I made this card for a consultant swap event that required us to use a new paper that came out in the most recent catalog along with an assigned stamp set.  I had used the Kaleidoscope paper for a two page birthday layout and was thinking how versatile this paper pack will be for many different themes and projects so thought I'd try it on a Christmas card and am really happy with the results, I hope you agree! 

Supplies Used:

• 1385 - White Daisy Cardstock
• X7202B - Kaleidoscope paper
• Z8997 – White Daisy Envelopes
• Z3170 - Artiste Cricut Cartridge
• S1510 – Twinkle SOTM
• Z3130 – Silver Foil Tape
• Z2116 – Cranberry Ink
• Z2197 – Pear Ink

 Cut the following:

·         8.5” x 4.25 white card stock for card base

·         4.25” x 4.25” Kaleidoscope

Artiste Cricut Cartridge and white cardstock:

·         pg 53 accent 1 – cut 1.75”

·         pg 53 accent 2 – cut 2.75”

·         pg 53 accent 3 – cut 2”

Assembly instructions:

• Fold card base in half
• Stamp the ornaments with Cranberry ink
• Place silver foil tape on the Kaleidoscope paper, let it hang over the edge a little as you cut it then fold it over the top of the paper.
• Mount the Kaleidoscope paper on the front of your card
• Mount ornaments at ends of silver foil tape
• Ink sentiment of your choice inside card
• Ink envelope flap in Pear

Now "Hop" on over to Judy's 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! The Twinkle SOTM is available until October 31. Contact your CTMH Consultant or visit my website to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Twinkle SOTM

Enjoy the Journey with Artfully Sent

Our son just got a new job and our daughter transferred to a new college this fall and I wanted to send them each a card.  I was going through the Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge looking for ideas and came across this option on page 21 of the booklet.  This jumped right out at me as an option that would work for both of them.  While they aren't necessarily traveling; it is a new journey for them.

I cut one card at 7" and the other at 5", for the larger card, I backed the sentiment and used glitter glue I had on hand for the stars.  On the smaller card, I backed the stars with silver glitter paper and added a couple of white enamel hearts for additional accents.  Inside each of the cards, I mounted the star cut-outs, no need wasting perfectly good stars!

Fallback to Football

This is a "fallback" card made with retired Close to My Heart products that I had laying around.  If you happen to have a piece of the barn red paper left from the fundamentals paper pack, you can make a perfect football for cards or decorations!

Here's what I used for this card:

Artbooking cricut cartridge - cut the football from barn red fundamental paper at 5.5" (back with some white for the laces cut-out section) and the Football title in white from page 82 and then cut grass at 1" real dial size from Olive paper.  Mount on Ivy Lane background paper and  you are all set.

Celebrate National Stamping Month

September is National Stamping Month, and this year CTMH has something to help every kind of papercrafter say a big “hello!” to life! Available only during the month of September, these exclusive C-size My Acrylix® Hello, Life! stamp sets can be purchased for $13.95 each! Or, for an even better deal, you can purchase all three for only $34.95 —a savings of $6.90! Each stamp set is designed to fit with a specific type of papercrafting, whether that’s traditional scrapbooking, cardmaking, or pocket scrapbooking. However, all the stamp sets coordinate with each other and can be used together to create dynamic artwork. These stamp sets also coordinate with shapes from the new Cricut® Artistry collection to help expand your artwork options even further. Follow Close To My Heart’s blog, Instagram, and Facebook page for artwork inspiration featuring these lively stamp sets all month long. Join in the fun by posting artwork to your social media channels using the hashtag #ctmhHelloLife. 

Here are the stamp sets in the Hello Life collection:

*Offer valid September 1-30, 2015, while supplies last.

                                                        

On-line Close To My Heart club now forming

Close To My Heart Hostess Club now forming with Tammy’s Stamp-Scrap-Share group

New Monthly Hostess Clubs are forming now with no responsibility to host a Home Party or commitment to attend a monthly meeting. Join by September 20^th by sending me a Facebook message or e-mail to tammylubick@gmail.com.

This club term allows you to make purchases from 3 separate Idea Books...Close To My Hearts greatest selection of products including the new 2015-2016 Annual Catalog.

Hostess club details:

• Club runs from September 2015 to February 2016
• Each member spends $25 each month (plus S&H and tax)
• There are 6 spots in each club
• Each member is a Hostess for one month during this 6 month period and will earn a minimum of $25 in FREE product
• Place club order between the 1st & 15th of each month on-line at www.tammylubick.ctmh.com (Be sure to attach it to the club event for proper Hostess credit. Club orders will close on the 18th of each month.)
• When it is your Hostess Month you will receive an email explaining hostess rewards details so you know how much free and reduced products you’ll earn. Hostesses can choose free product from stamp sets, paper packets, stickers and complements, ink pads, markers, re-inkers, cardstock, acrylic blocks, and Workshop on the Go Kits.

Club Member Benefits:

• FREE Idea Books
• FREE GIFT for joining
• ADVANCE NOTICE of the following month's Corporate Campaign & Stamp of the Month
• FACEBOOK CLUB ONLY GROUP: An interactive page where I will publish a Monthly Feature project, post videos, tips & techniques, giveaways, and a place where can post your comments and show off your artwork. The group page is a FUN place where you will be able to meet your fellow club members and network about your rewarding hobby.
• HOSTESS MONTH:

1.  One month of being the hostess earning at least $25 in FREE Hostess Rewards!! (Hostesses average $40 or more in FREE Product plus 1 item at 50% off)

2.  FREE gift with your hostess order

If you are into Scrapbooking or Card Making; or if your objective is to make Gifts for the family or décor for your home, Close To My Heart has the inspiration and highest quality products for you to excel…being in a Monthly Hostess Club can make it happen and make it FUN.

Silver wedding anniversary card

I made this silver wedding anniversary card for my brother and sister-in-law using the new Artistry Cricut Cartridge for the overlay and backed that with silver glitter paper.  For the bottom half of the card, I used the Hearts embossing folder and a mask to leave room for my title stamp.  Finishing touch with black shimmer trim.

Watch for all the new Close to My Heart products to launch on 9/1/15 at my website.

Great job confetti wishes card

We had a summer intern working in our department this summer and we sent him back to school with a fun card I made from this fun stamp and the confetti wishes paper.  I cut the overlay out from the Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge and backed the open star cut-outs with some gold glitter paper for an extra special "pop."

Rose Birthday and Anniversary Cards

My mother-in-law's birthday is coming up so I pulled out the Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge for ideas and loved this rose card found on page 37.  I used Hollyhock paper for the 7" base then added some depth to the rose color by sponging with Hollyhock, Cranberry and Blush inks.  Then, added a little bit of shine with embossing powder.  Next up was to stamp the title in Lagoon and include a sentiment inside.

When I was cleaning up, I noticed that the paper I had put under the rose cut out was pretty colorful after all that sponging so I cut it down a bit and made an anniversary card; how cool is that?!?  One sheet of Hollyhock paper for two whole cards, very nice indeed.

Gears birthday card

My brother has a birthday this week and this card is sure to be one he likes.  He's always tinkering with something or building things so the gear card is perfect for him.  I used the Artiste Cricut cartridge to cut the white insert and Jackson paper for the outer part of the card.  Then cut gears as a fun accent and used sponge daubers to add a little more texture.  The Holiday Tag set matched nicely for the greeting.

Main supplies used:

Holiday Tags

Jackson Paper Pack

Artiste Cricut Cartridge

Butterfly Birthday Card

Butterfly Birthday Card

We made this card at a home gathering and it was just in time for my sister-in-law's birthday!  This is a fun and easy card to make.  I was inspired to create a square card when the White Daisy envelopes were placed in the "while supplies last" category at a reduced price of just $6.95 for 50 envelopes.

• Grab a square 4.5" White Daisy envelope
• Using the card option on page 46 of the Artiste Cricut Cartridge, cut a 4.5" base with the Glacier cardstock and the bellyband with Blossom paper
• Cut a piece of White Daisy to 1.75" x 2.5" and Sorbet to 2" x 2.75"
• Use the broad tip of the ShinHan markers to shade the White Daisy paper piece.  I used pastel peach, pastel green and light orange
• Your pieces should look like this now:

Pre-assembly items

• Using the "Your Kind of Wonderful - D1627" set, stamp the butterfly image with black archival ink and the birthday greeting around the edge of the base in Lagoon ink. 

Mini summer card - Enjoy the Little Things

The DeForest Scrappers group is meeting tomorrow to make summer themed cards for the local Meals on Wheels program.  We make 3x3 cards from scraps we have on hand.  This month, I thought it would be appropriate to work with retired products since Close To My Heart recently announced their retiring products. (You can check them out on my website to see if one of your favorites is retiring.)

These cards use Lollydoodle paper and a Hostess set from the past, these are quick and easy cards to brighten someone's day.

Thank you card kit

Z2063 Thank you card kit

I was putting together the cards from the Thank You Card Kit and remembered that I needed a graduation card as well....problem solved, the supplies from the card kit worked out nicely.  Then since I was on a roll with doing something a little different, I decided to mix up the remainder of the cards for some variety, they turned out so cute!

The Happy Couple Wedding Card

A co-worker is getting married this weekend and I am the self designated card maker of the team.  I took some inspiration from Pinterest posts to come up with this design using The Happy Couple stamp set, white and outdoor denim card stock/ink and embossing folders.  I love the clean and elegant look.  The inside sentiment says "Wishing you a lifetime of happiness" and is perfect for this occasion.  The bride & groom stamp works nicely on the back of the envelope too.  The hearts were cut with the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge at 2" and 2.25" and embossed for a bit of extra texture.

Mini Father's Day Card

Our DeForest Scrappers group started out with a monthly meeting to create 3x3 cards for our local Meals on Wheels program and recently expanded to also include making cards for the local hospital Neonatal Intensive Care unit.  This month we made some fun Father's Day cards with the Jackson papers and Holiday Tags stamp set along with the Hats Off hostess set available for anyone who hosts a qualifying gathering.  

Items used:

Jackson Paper Pack

http://tammylubick.ctmh.com/Retail/Product.aspx?ItemID=8427

Holiday Tag

Anything's Possible

I made this card from the Just Sayin' stamp of the month set for May.  This is such a fun set and can be used on cards or your favorite scrapbook pages,  It's available for only $5 with a qualifying order through May 31.

Just Sayin'