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Showing posts from January, 2015

February Stamp of the Month - A Happy Hello

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Welcome to the February  Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month we are featuring A Happy Hello , a set of 12 fun stamps. If you have come here from Nancy's Womersley'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 around. If you get lost along the way, you'll find the complete list of participating consultant's HERE . Here is my card I created with this set.  I stamped some of the flowers directly onto the card and I also stamped flowers that I cut out and layered on the card.  The card is pretty simple so I added some detailing by using my embossing tool to emboss some lines around the card and also in the flowers.  Those might be harder to see in the picture. For finishing touches I added the Flaxen Extra Thick Twine and sparkles.  This will be my next Technique Tuesday card for February so if you are local to me, contact me to sign up for this class! Remember!  This stamp is ONLY

February Girls Night Out - She Art!

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Last fall Close To My Heart held its annual Team Builders Event in Utah.  Attendees got to participate in an unique Create and Take project.  Each attendee was given a 6x6 Canvas, a print out of various words and a wide array of papers, embellishments and a few stamps to choose from.   There were only a few basic pointers given but no patterns or instructions.  They were supposed to create a representation of themselves through the use of mixed media. It was amazing how each canvas became a work of art.  I wanted to create a canvas for each of my daughters.  At first I thought it was very daunting to get started with no pattern but once I started, it all began to come together so easily! Here are the two canvas I created. I decided to offer this as my February Girl's Night Out Event.   It will be so much fun to see the different creations that everyone comes up with!   I'll provide an ample selection of papers and embellishments along with some fun stamps that can

Love Ya Silly - Simple Valentines

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Do you usually create valentine cards for your children's school party?   Here is a really quick, simple and inexpensive idea!   With this adorable Love Ya Silly stamp set and 4 sheets of cardstock, some scraps and embellishments you have on hand, you can create 18 VERY EASY Valentine cards in less than an hour! These are just flat 4 x 4 cards.  They do not open - just like most of the Valentine Cards you purchase for school parties.  I cut my Black 12x12 cardstock into 4x4 squares.  Then I cut the White Daisy Cardstock into 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 squares.   I used my embossing tool to score 1/4" around the edge of the White Daisy piece to give it a little added dimension.   Next, I stamped the cute little monsters and the sentiment onto the White Daisy piece and added various embellishments.  SIMPLE!!   How quick was that??!  And they are sooo cute! I used Pear, Lagoon and Sunset inks to get away from the traditional pink and red!  These make cute Valentine Cards that ev

More Quick and Easy Valentine Cards!

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 Happy Friday!  It's a cold, dreary rainy day here in Middle Tennessee.   The kind of day that makes you want to snuggle up on the couch under a warm blanket and watch a good movie.  I had to work today so maybe I'll get to do the snuggle thing tonight. I wanted to take a moment and share some more quick Valentine Cards that I made.   I used the stamp set that is included in the Heartstrings Cardmaking Workshop on the Go kit for these little 3x3 cards.   I added the Stuck On You Puffies and my other favorite - Shimmer Trim! The Heartstrings WOTG kit (G1090) includes a D-size stamp, Pixie Extra Thick Twine, Stuck on You Puffies, 4 sheets of cardstock and one sheet of Heartstrings B&T paper, 15 White Cards and Envelopes and an instruction guide to make 15 cards (shown on the instruction guide below). I purchased the kit mainly because I liked the stamp set and it is ONLY Available with kit!  Getting the puffies, cards and envelopes, and extra thick tw

Brushstrokes Valentine

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I was hoping to get alot of crafty things done over the long weekend but alas, I didn't make it into my craft room until about 8pm last night!  We spent the majority of the weekend in Kentucky packing some things to prepare for my MIL's mom to Tennessee.  It has been a long process and we still have a long way to go!  We left Kentucky before noon yesterday so got home at a decent time after unloading the things we brought back.  I was excited to find a little bit of creative time before heading back to another work week! I have been wanting to use this new Brushstrokes stampset for some time now but it seemed like there was always something else I needed to do first!  I also used one of our little mini's - Mini Valentine . I used the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch! for my card.  I love the way it turned out!   I used Hollyhock and Pixie inks for my pinks.  I also incorporated two of my favorite new products - Pixie Extra Thick Twine and Stuck On You Puffies !  

Simple 3x3 Valentines

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Valentines Day is just around the corner!  But you still have time to order your supplies you'll need to create your own Valentine's Day Cards! Here are just 2 of several 3x3 cards I created the other night while watching the news.  Simple and Quick - that is the way I like things to come together! I used paper from the Heartstrings X7193B paper pack, Red (Z1848) and Silver (Z1799) Shimmer trim , the Xoxo Stamp (M1054) and the fun Stuck on You Puffies (Z3037) ! Find all of these  products on my website at www.stampinheaven.ctmh.com  

Thanks a Bunch!

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It's been a very long time since I last participated in a challenge!  The last few months were busy and any free crafting time I had was devoted to class designs.  I've got my classes set through February so I thought I'd take a fun break and hit a challenge or two! I created this simple card using the sketch from Case This Sketch and colors from The Paper Players. I used Juniper, Flaxen and Sunset inks for this card.  The stamp is called A Bunch of Thanks. A Bunch of Thanks (C1603)                                            Case This Sketch                             The Paper Players                                                         Thanks for stopping by!

National Papercrafting Month Blog Hop - Year Noted

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Welcome to a special Blog Hop presented to you by the Stamp Of the Month Blog Hoppers! January is  National Papercrafting Month  and some the SOTM Blog Hoppers are featuring Close To My Heart's special -  Year > Noted . This specially designed paper pack features 4 sheets of cardstock (2 White Daisy, 1 light blue and 1 light pink) and 2 sheets of exclusive Year > Noted B&T Duos. This kit aso has an exclusive stamp set and a gold foil sticker sheet! All of this for just $5* !  But wait! for $5* more you can add the new My Creations Kraft Mini Book!  (*$50 purchase of CTMH products required) So, come on and follow the hop! You'll get 23 great ideas for ways to use this fun paper pack!  If you came from  Julie Carriere's blog you are on the right track.  You will find the next blog to hop to at the end of my post. The paper and stamp set were designed to help you reflect on the things you want to accomplish in 2015.  The two sheets of B&T Duos t

Thinking of You

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Well after a nice long break from work for the Holidays, its back to work I go.  Working in Finance means there is no 'easing' back into the grind but jumping in with both feet and then swimming like the sharks are following you in attack.  I did get to do some creating while I was off - some for fun, some for classes and some because I needed to.   The card I'm sharing today is one I created for a friend.   I hope it brought her just a little bit of love and heartfelt sympathy.   The stamp set that I used - Happy To Be Friends is becoming a favorite.    Recipe: Hopscotch Paper  Indian Corn Blue Cardstock Quarterfoil Embossing Folder Stamp:  Happy To Be Friends Flaxen Ink Indian Corn Blue Ink Sunset Ink Desert Sand Ink Artiste Cricut Cartridge Happy to be Friends - C1605

Looking Back at 2014

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I can't believe how fast 2014 came and went!  I sat down to reflect at what kind of year 2014 was for me.   It sure had it's ups and downs but I would have to say for me personally there sure were alot of 'ups' and one big 'down' that was a good down!   I looked back at my business goals I set and I am happy to say that I accomplished meeting those goals. Here were the goals I set: 1. Offer more workshops - I added a new Technique Tuesday class each month which has been full nearly each time! 2. Learn more techniques to show - Because of my Technique Tuesday class, I'm constantly searching and trying new techniques. 3. Increase my sales by gaining more customers - I gained a few new customers this year - thanks in part to our newest Cricut Collection  - Artfully Sent that came out in the fall.  This has lead to another new class for 2015!  An Artfully Sent Cricut Class starts this month! 4. Build my team by adding more members - I added more te