Hearts with Oklahoma

Natural disasters are heart breaking and devasting... to support those affected by the tornado in Oklahoma, Close to My Heart is giving back.

To aid relief efforts, a new stamp set - A TRUE THANK YOU, - from the 2013 Autumn/Winter Idea Book, is available immediately.  This stamp set (item# M1029) can be purchased for $2.95 (plus tax and shipping) and CTMH will donate 100% of the profits from sales to the American Red Cross from May 23 to June 30, 2013.

Contact me or visit my website (Shop > Special Promotions) to order this stamp set.

Recommended block size: 2"x2" (Y1003)

CTMH Joins BPC for a Pajama Party!!

Close To My Heart is teaming up with Big Picture Classes to bring you a 1 hour live webcast with step-by-step instructions for making the "Happy Thoughts" kraft container. The FREE webcast will air Thursday, May 30 from 7 pm to 8 pm (MDT) / 6 pm to 7 pm (PST).

During the presentation, you’ll learn to make several projects from a variety of sponsors, including Close To My Heart’s "Happy Thoughts" kraft container, as the presenter walks you through the steps. Anyone with an Internet connection can watch, so be sure to tune in!

This is the FIRST Pajama Party & with Close to My Heart's involvement - you know it's going to rock!  The Kraft Containers are SO versatile and can be decorated in countless ways - they're perfect for storing things, used for a present, or anything your imagination can come up with.  I made the featured project at CTMH's Album Retreat in March - it was so fun and easy to make!! It's a great addition to my craft room (as I have 52 creativity starters/thoughts - 1 for each week of the year). 

The Pajama Party class will be available for FREE at BigPictureClasses.com on May 30. If you would like to interact on the message board, participate in live chat, post to the gallery, download handouts, or enter any contests, you will need to log in to the Pajama Party “classroom” by creating a free account on the Big Picture Classes website.  Order your supplies (see below) at www.inspired.CTMH.com.

I'm looking forward to all the ideas, inspiration, tips & tricks, and fun that the Pajama Party!  Hope you can join us!!

To make the "Happy Thoughts" kraft container, you will want to have the following items—or similar products—on hand:

• My Acrylix^® Frame Flair Stamp Set (D1546)
• My Acrylix^® Happy Thoughts Stamp Set (C1536)
• Chantilly Paper Packet (need 1 sheet of B&T, X7163B)
• Crème Brulee Cardstock (need 1 sheet, X5754)
• Lagoon Cardstock (need 1 sheet, X5762)
• White Daisy Cardstock (need 1 sheet, 1385)
• Whisper Cardstock (need 1 sheet, X5929)
• Whisper Exclusive Inks^® Pad (Z2172)
• Lagoon Exclusive Inks^® Pad (Z2195)
• My Creations^® Kraft Container (Z1833)
• Baker’s Twine Neutral Assortment (need 3 yards, Z1701)
• Color-Ready Trinkets Wooden Shapes (Z1844)
• Sparkles Black & Grey Assortment (Z1754)
• 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)
• Micro-Tip Scissors (Z534)
• Corner Rounder (Z578)
• Paper Trimmer (Z1783)
• My Acrylix^® Spritz Cleaner (1778)
• My Acrylix^® Stamp Scrubber (Z1782)
• 2" × 3½" My Acrylix^® Block (Y1009)
• 4" × 5" My Acrylix^® Block (Y1012)
• Cricut^® Art Philosophy Collection (Z1686)

Inspiration with Tommy

Tommy is one of the new paper packs in the 2013 Spring/Summer Idea Book.  It's a super fun, nautical, and bright paper pack - perfect for summer fun.

Featured colors for Tommy are: Cranberry, Desert Sand, Honey, Outdoor Denim, and White Daisy.  I had a couple cards I needed to make, so I pulled this paper pack out and this is what I came up with (on the fly, and sorta tired!, but they met my standards & I was happy with them).

The Birthday cards above are pattern 20 from Make It From Your Heart-Vol #1 How-To-Book - yup both of them! One is just turned a quarter to give it a whole different look and feel. 

I also wanted to show the difference of what distressing your projects can add to your projects.  "To distress or not to distress??" is something I always ask myself when I'm crafting.  It usually comes down to time, my mood, or my creative vision.  Sometimes, a project must be distressed - it'll just look incomplete without it; others just work with the simplicity of the paper, stamping and embellishing.

The Birthday card on the left is completely distressed - it's easiest to see with Cranberry on the base paper and Honey with the raised (with 3D tape) sentiment.  Stamping the sentiment at an angle gives the Perfect Fit - Frames 2 stamp an added flair, as show on the left-hand side card.

The baby card is for a dear friend of mine that just gave birth to an adorable little guy.  I used the Artiste CTMH Cricut cartridge (LOVE our cartridges - yes there are 2! Art Philosophy is the other.  I have no desire or need to buy or have any other cartridges).  The "treasured moments" tag is part of the zip strip on the Tommy paper!  All edges on this card (excluding the baby diecut) are distressed.

When I have more time, I'm looking forward to adding some bling (sprakles) or some texture (mini-melody accents wooden collection or complements canvas shapes)... and creating a couple great layouts with these fun colors to my Caribbean album.

Now that you are {hopefully} inspired, either to use Tommy or with the color palette - specifically Cranberry, Honey & Outdoor Denim, then get to scrappin!!  And enter the Color My Heart challenge with Color Dare #43!

Featured Products (not referenced above):
- Perfect Fit-Birthday Stamp Set:  B1417
- Cards & Envelopes:  X254
- Artisan Studs: Z1816
- Outdoor Denim Chevron Ribbon: Z1808

Here's the Buzzzzzz

I get a lot of my inspiration from color combinations, papers, stamps, and other people's projects.  Something about how I see things just sparks something in my brain and I can see the creative path or the end destination.  Even going through the creative process, my vision will change and grow.  I love it when I get into grooves like this!  For those sports peeps out there, I consider it to be the equivalent of "being in the zone."

One of my latest creative inspirations, that I actually followed through with and remembered (gotta love my iPhone and photos!), was a layout Karen Pedersen, a fellow CTMH consultant, created.  Her April Play Group Scrappin' Class featured one of the new papers from the 2013 Spring/Summer Idea Book - Buzz & Bumble and I fell in love with the paper and layout!

This is one of those papers that grows on you - it wasn't one of the new papers that I was instantly inspired by or drawn to; it was cute and had potential, but my creative visual brain wasn't feeling it.  As more people, including Karen, posted projects using Buzz & Bumble, I began to drink the honey.  I made sure to order the paper prior to attending Stamp Camp in mid-April so I could try to recreate Karen's layout.

At camp, I got the core of the layout done and then finished it last weekend; it was then that my vision changed.  I'm glad I didn't "finish" it at Stamp Camp because the layout probably wouldn't have ended up the way it is.  My creative path swerved and had me add a twist to the embellishments and titles, making this layout a bit different from Karen's.  Here it my finished project:

I'm so happy with this layout and that I got pictures on it to boot!  My group of scrappers is now inspired to use this paper for their camping trips and outdoor adventures with their families and friends.  The patterns are very earthy and warm and I hope I put a bit of a buzzzzz in your ear to get this paper

Definitely utilize the talents and creative visions of others for your projects - duplicate or add your own unique creativity to it!  Odds are you will probably like it and complete it (if you're like me!).  Thanks again to Karen Pedersen for inspiring me!!

Who's inspired you lately? :)
Denise

Featured Products:
- Buzz and Bumble Paper:  X7164B
- Colonial White cardstock: 1388
- Chocolate Stamp Pad:  Z2111
- Brown & Tan Glitter Paper:  Z1830
- Mini-Melody Accents Wooden Collection:  Z1837
- Cricut Cartridge - Art Philosophy:  Z1686
- Durable Artisan Studs:  Z1816
- Colonial White Waxy Flax:  Z1081

The May Stamp of the Month

During each month, Close to My Heart offers a limited stamp set that is exclusive to that month.  May's  Stamp of the Month is Pinwheel.



This adorable and fun stamp set can you be yours for full retail price of $17.95 or for only $5 with a purchase of $50, before tax and S&H.  

To make things even sweeter, this stamp set corresponds perfectly with the National Scrapbooking Month promotional paper pack, Dream Pop!!  [View another blog post for the full scoop on Dream Pop].

With a $40 order, you are elibigle to purchase the Dream Pop paper pack for $10, bumping you up to get the May SOTM - Pinwheel - for $5!!  What a deal!! 

Visit my website www.inspired.CTMH.com to get shopping and find out more information about CTMH products, the SOTM and Dream Pop!  Contact me with any questions.

Art with an Attitude May Blog Hop

The Stampers with an Attitude team is doing a blog hop, themed {Art with an Attitude}!!  "Who are we?" you might ask?  We are Close to My Heart (CTMH) consultants, who are passionate and talented crafters!

You are in the right place if you just came from
{Cat Nowak's blog}

For this blog hop, I decided to feature the Dream Pop paper, which is the Close to My Heart's National Scrapbooking Month promotional paper pack.  See details below my artwork on how you can get your own Dream Pop paper pack!

I have absolutely LOVED working with this paper and can't wait to get more of it!  The colors are vibrant, the UV (raised clear pattern) on the cardstocks add an amazing extra jazz to them, and the patterns are so versitile!  The paper pack comes with some inspiration too - different projects created by the CTMH team.  Here are my projects so far with Dream Pop:

  

See end of this blog for the CTMH products used in my projects above.

Each project above utilizes the UV cardstock, but can see it best in the first card: Happy Birthday To You - the horizontal stripes are the UV pattern, and also the last card: Happy Birthday - the Tangerine and Mint dove tailed banners have a UV pattern on them. 

Next on the blog hop is
{LaJeania Hicks}

HOW TO GET DREAM POP:

Get the vibrant Dream Pop paper packet for only $10* when you spend $35 in May (valued at $19.95 retail)! This exclusive CTMH paper packet includes 12 UV cardstock sheets AND 12 B&T Duos^® papers that were specifically designed for the National Scrapbooking Month of May.  So that means you can only get this paper from May 1 - 31, 2013.

Contact me today or visit my website to place an order:  www.inspired.CTMH.com to get Dream Pop!

Thanks for visiting - now go get inspired!!
Denise

* plus tax and shipping at the full retail value

Featured Products & Item#:

- Dream Pop Paper (all)

- Silver Shimmer Trim: Z1799 (Happy Birthday to You Card & Layout)

- Stamps:

     - Perfect Fit-Birthday: B1417 (Happy Birthday to You Card)

     - 4 My Friend: D1510 (Hooray For You Card)

     - Sightseer: C1534  (Happy Birthday Card)

     - Frame It Up: D1524  (Happy Birthday Card)

     - Joyful Birthday: B1419  (Happy Birthday Card)

- Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge: Z1686 (all cards)

- Bling Gems: BULK272 (Hooray For You Card)

- Glitter Gems - Pink: Z1807  (Layout)

- Washi Tape-Slate: Z1817 (Layout)

- Stamp Pads:

     - Slate: Z2173

     - Sunflower: Z2150

     - Lagoon: Z2195

     - Sorbet: Z2164

- Sponge: Z697

- Cards & Envelopes- White: X254

- White Daisy Cardstock: 1385

- 3D Foam Tape: Z1151

- Glue Dots: 1772

- Tombo Adhesive: 1514 & 1515

Color My Heart: Color Dare #40

I went looking for inspiration to keep my creativity flowing, so I pulled up this week's Color Dare on the Color My Heart blog.  The rules are simple; basically create a project using the featured Close to My Heart (CTMH) colors and try to use 100% CTMH projects - bonus points if they are current.  Post and reference the blog challenge & woo-la!

This week's challenge focused on three colors from the warmer side of the palette:  Creme Brulee, Sunset, and Goldrush.

Having recently worked with the Buzz and Bumble paper pack, I had an idea of what I wanted to create - here they are:

This was a fun challenge - I definitely plan on participating more!!  Do you want to follow the Color My Heart Blog or participate in the Color Dares?  Here is the link Color My Heart: Color Dare Blog. 

Visit my website to shop for the products featured in my cards above:  www.inspired.CTMH.com

Products Used for the Note For You Card:
- Buzz & Bumble Paper:  X7164B
- Goldrush Stamp Pad:  Z2123
- Just For You Stamp: B1398
- Opaques Pearl Flourishes:  Z1744
- Glitter Paper - Brown & Tan:  Z1830
- Almond Glitz Glitter Gel:  Z1769
- Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge:  Z1686
- Cards & Envelopes-White:  X254

Products Used for the Happy Birthday Card:
- Buzz & Bumble Paper:  X7164B
- Cocoa Stamp Pad:  Z2114
- Kraft Cardstock:  Z1375
- Burlap Ribbon:  Z1760
- Artisan Studs:  Z1816
- Goldrush Cardstock:  1243
- Glitter Paper - Brown & Tan:  Z1830
- Joyful Birthday Occasions Stamp:  B1419
- Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge:  Z1686
- Cards & Envelopes-White:  X254
- 3D foam tape:  Z1151
- Glue Dots:  1772

National Scrapbooking Month ~ Dream Pop for May

The month of May is a fabulous month because it's National Scrapbooking Month!!  To celebrate, Close to My Heart has designed an exclusive paper pack, called Dream Pop.

Dream Pop includes 12 UV cardstock sheets and 12 Base & Texture (B&T) Duos^®, with zip strips, that include patterns and colors that are exclusive to this CTMH promotion!

What is unique about this paper pack?  Besides it's availability - only during the month of May, from a CTMH consultant - the UV cardstock make these papers even more appealing.  As shown below, each cardstock has a different pattern applied to it with a UV coating, making the pattern raised, clear and shiny. The contrast is exquisite and will make any of your projects pop even more!

To get your Dream Pop paper pack (retail $19.95), there are 3 options:
1) Purchase it for $10 for every $35 spent (i.e. spend $35, receive 1 Dream Pop paper pack for $10; spend $70, receive 2 Dream Pop paper packs for $20, etc.)
2) Host a workshop or home gathering, with sales exceeding $400 (before tax and S&H) and receive a Dream Pop paper pack FREE
3) Join my team {Hearts of Inspiration} as a CTMH consultant for $49 (consultant kit is ~$155 value) and receive the Dream Pop paper pack FREE

Check out my facebook page (friend me if you haven't already @ https://www.facebook.com/Inspired.by.CTMH) to view different Dream Pop artwork posted by fellow CTMH consultants.  I will also have a post this weekend for a blog hop, where I'll be featuring my Dream Pop projects and you can hop to other CTMH consultants' blogs to see their artwork with attitude.

Shop at: www.inspired.CTMH.com.  Please contact me to setup a workshop or if you have any questions.

Now go get inspired with Close to My Heart!