CTMH: January Stamp-of-the-Month Blog Hop

Happy New Year!  I can hardly believe that 2012 is upon us!  I'm sure you'll hear that a lot over the course of the blog hop.
If you've come from my friend, fancyMelissa's blog, you're on the right track.  Just keep hopping by clicking on links in each post and you'll get back to where you started.
Here is the stamp set, called A Little Reminder:

It's a great set for remember-the-date cards, highlighting a special event or you could play on the passage of time idea or even just recording the date on your scrapbook layouts.  I've been sick with a nasty cold for almost the entire month and figured I'd be better by now.  No such luck.  I haven't had the energy to do the necessary things and some crafting.  So, I will show you a photo of Close To My Heart's artwork and hopefully add some of my own in the very near future.

Just remember that this stamp set is only available until Jan. 31.  And since our Canadian prices are dropping to match the American, you can get it for $17.95 or for $5.00, with an order of $50.00!

Now, hop on over to Traci's blog and see what inspiration she has for you.

Enjoy ringing in the new year and celebrating with family and friends!  May there be many happy creating days ahead, for you and for me, as soon as I get over this cold!

Crop 'Til You Drop

I'm hosting another 12-Hour Fundraising Crop on Saturday, January 21 and I'd love to have you join us!

We'll be cropping away from 9am to 9pm.  Here are all the details:

Why: to raise money for a medical mission trip to Guatemala in Feb. 2012. My husband and I have been doing these trips with Speroway for a number of years.  Your fee will help put medicine into the hands of those who need them so badly. Place: Hope Fellowship Church, 1685 Bloor St. E.Courtice Cost: $50 for 12 hours, $35 for 6 hours plus dinner, $30 for 6 hours no dinner Registration Deadline: Monday, January 9. Register by December 31, with payment and you'll get a tax receipt for this calendar year. Fee includes: 6’ table all to yourself Snacks and coffee, tea, bottled water all day (and dinner if you've chosen that option) Use of stamps, inks, and other tools Swap table Giveaways and goodie bag Layout workshop using Wonderland (open for anyone not attending crop as well): $5 cost for one-page workshop additional $5 for coordinating page kit We'll also have another Dollar Auction, with the entire proceeds going directly to the costs for our trip. And enjoy an on-site scrapbook store! Julie from Sassy Scrappin' will be joining us. Sign up today!

CTMH: December SOTM Blog Hop

Happy December!  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  We had our first dusting of snow this morning and it looks beautiful.  We're here for another Stamp-of-the-Month blog hop.  If you came from Dawn's blog, you're on the right path.  If you're starting here, just keep clicking the links in each post until you get back here and you'll have seen all the inspiration we have prepared.

This month's stamp set will get your thoughts away from Christmas and on to Valentine's Day.  It's full of lovely images and sentiments.

You'll see that 4 of the images are compatible with the Art Philosophy cartridge as well.  So fun!  I decided to go really simple with my cards, just stamping directly on the card base.  The hearts in this set are perfect for standing alone and I'm really in a simple kick since planning workshop cards.  My own Christmas cards are going to be super simple, too.  Here are my cards:

This first one is a 3x6 card.  I used Tulip ink and the lighter one is second generation.  The sentiment comes from For Every Occasion.

This card uses Cotton Candy ink and I double-stamped the image.  The sentiment is from Pair-a-Phrase and is masked to get just that one word.  I added a line with my Legacy Writer pen.

This last card is also done with Tulip.  The sentiment is from Say It In Style.  What do you think about the line around the outside?  I'm not sure I like it.  Do you think I should add it to the first card or leave it as is?  

I have to thank my upline, Sheri Ballantyne, for help with the designs of these cards.

Now it's time to hop on over to Georgia's blog and check out the fabulous artwork she made.  Don't forget that this stamp set is only available for the month of December.

Happy Creating!

CTMH: Card Set Using Up More Scraps

I've managed to complete another set of paper from a past promotion.  This one was a fun kit all about celebrating.  It included a stamp set, which is the only set I used on these cards.

I believe the colours were Indian Corn blue, Sweet Leaf, and Chocolate.  It also included a set of Chocolate Mini Medleys.  This is a set that I'll be selling at my craft fair on Wednesday.  What would you pay for them?

Using Up the Old

I am getting ready for my very first Craft Show in a couple weeks and so I've been using up lots of old paper to create cards and other goodies.  I have so many left-over kits from workshops or gatherings and have made them all up to sell, but I've also been creating with scraps from old paper kits.  I wanted to show the last 3 cards I made with the Tickled Pink paper kit we had a number of years ago.  It was a promotion for National Scrapbooking Month.  I had fun coming up with the best way to use every last bit of paper.

I wish I could remember all the embellishments I used, but the stamped images came only from the set that came with the paper.  I know you're probably deep in preparations for Christmas, but hopefully these will make you think of spring.

A question before I go.  What sorts of items would you buy at a craft show?  Or, if you've been a vendor at one before, what types of things did you sell lots of?  As a newbie to this whole thing, I'd love your advice.

Happy Creating!

CTMH: November Stamp-of-the-Month Blog Hop

We are here again, for another SOTM blog hop!  This month we've got almost 60 consultants participating.  If you came from Tamytha, the Paperheartist, you're on the right path.  If this is your first stop, just keep clicking the links at the end of each post until you get back here.

I am so excited to share my project with you.  Sometimes you make something that ends up exactly the way you wanted it to turn out.  I changed things around a lot while working on it, but the end result showcases my photo the way I really hoped it would.  Before we get to my artwork, here's a photo of what the stamp set looks like:

How fun is that!!!  I love that it matches with one of the Art Philosophy images, that the higher numbers are stamps, too, so that I don't have to stamp a 3 and a 0 to make 30.  This set is perfect for any kind of event, for invitations but also layouts.

Here is my project:

I had so much fun creating this layout, following the Sidebar-Main Frame pattern from Reflections.  I'm a year and a half behind, since my daughter has had her 6th birthday already, but I love this photo of her.  It was taken during her first birthday party with her friends.  I printed the photo in black and white so I could use any colour and I decided on blue because that is Arianna's favourite.  I loved the way the stamps were all rectangular. To show that my focus was on a year, I stamped each image a number of times, in a type of random grid, using Indian Corn Blue ink on Indian Corn Blue cardstock.  Then, you'll see the May stamp on the tag, since her birthday is May 30.  I chose to cut a different image than the ticket one because this bracket rectangle looks more girly.

Here's a close up of the stamped side:

And here is a close-up of the embellishment cluster.  

Materials used:  

Cardstock: Lilac Mist, Indian Corn Blue, Outdoor Denim, White Daisy

Ink: Indian Corn Blue, Outdoor Denim

Embellishments: Milepost Shapes, Colour-Ready Cork Alphabet, Lilac Mist brads, felt flowers (from Maya Road) and Denim Baker's Twine (from The Twinery)

Other: sponge, My Legacy Writer

Now it's time to hop on over to Katy's blog and drool over the artwork she's created.  

Happy Creating!

Join my Team and Get a Deal: Time is Limited!

Have you ever considered becoming a Close To My Heart consultant?  Now is the time, but that time is almost up.  The special promotion, Add on for Free, is over October 31.  Right now, when you sign up to join my team, you can choose an add-on pack (retail value of up to $140!) for free.  You already get an amazing deal when you purchase the New Consultant kit, for just $99 and now you'll get even more.  But it's over very soon.

I'd love to have you join our team of consultants.  I'm looking for people who are willing to step out, have fun, and learn new things.  It will feel overwhelming at first, but I'm here to help you, answer your questions, and get you started off on the right foot.  Maybe you're not sure what's all involved with this new job.  Maybe you're raring to go.  Send me an email or call me and we'll set up a time to chat.