Monday, March 30, 2009

Art and Soul Scalloped Money Holder Card

Isn't this card fun? Wanna know how to make it AND how to get the stamp set at a discount? Check out the how-to video and instructions here. You will also find lots of other great project ideas in the video as well!

All supplies are CTMH:
Stamps: Friendship Word Puzzle
*This stamp set is specially discounted until April 30, 2009. Use item #AS1011 to receive the discount.
Cardstock
: Sorbet, Tulip, Crème Brulee
Inks
: Sorbet, Tulip, Crème Brulee, VersaMark
Other: Brads Spring Blossom Assortment, Big Pinks Paper Flowers, White Daisy Organdy Ribbon, White Daisy Embossing Powder, Craft Heater, Coluzzle Circle, Coluzzle Cutting Mat, Coluzzle Swivel Knife, Sponge

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Check this out...

“Oh my word!” is what I said out loud when I received this in the mail yesterday. Rachel from Wonderfully Whimsy sent me this beautiful book. Isn’t it amazing? Check out the detailed sewing. Wow! Thank you soooo much Rachel! You are a sweetheart!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Coluzzle News

As I am sure many of you have heard, Provocraft is no longer making the Coluzzle cutting system. Many of the more popular templates have become hard to find as vendor's supplies run out. If you are a Coluzzle lover, like me, I am happy to tell you that Close to my Heart still has many Coluzzle products still in stock, including the Big Circle Template which has become really hard to find. (I love mine!) As of today, we still have the Swivel Knife, Cutting Mat, Circle Template, Big Circle Template, Oval Template, Tags Template, and File Folder Template. I have been informed that they are only available while supplies last, so if you are interested in getting something, I would do it soon.

I am honored and humbled...


I recently received this honor from Rachel at Wonderfully Whimsy. I am truly touched! Thanks Rachel!

I am not very good about passing along tags, so instead below are 10 blogs that I visit regularly. (Actually I have hundreds of them in my google reader, but these are my latest “reads.”) Be sure to check them out. I know you will be inspired just as I am each time I visit.

Capture the Moment
Booth #32
kwernerdesign
The Buzz
Patty Stamps
Kathi's Corner
Nona's Pearls of Wisdom
Scraping Lori
Wizard's Hangout
Jennifer McGuire Ink

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Bird Basics Card

I am on a Birthday Card kick these days. Here is another birthday card that we will be making as part of a workshop at the end of the month. All products used are from Close to my Heart. The floral paper and ribbon are from the Emporium Creative Basics Collection. I love the Creative basics kits because they come with 16 sheets of patterned paper (8 each of 2 designs) and a roll of matching ribbon so you can make lots of cards from one pack.

The adorable bird is from the Bird Basics stamp set. This set is so much fun because you can make all kinds of birds with the different stamps in the set. I popped the little guy up with some 3-D Foam Squares and sponged a little Chocolate Ink on the edges to give him some dimension. The flourish “branch” that he is sitting on is from the Playful Flourishes stamp set which is another all time favorite of mine. The sentiment is from the Happy Birthday set.
Stamps: Bird Basics, Happy Birthday, Playful Flourishes
Cardstock: Vineyard Berry, White Daisy
Ribbon and Patterned Paper: Emporium Creative Basics
Inks: Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf, Vineyard Berry, Chocolate, Black
Other: Foam Tool, 3-D Foam Squares

Monday, March 9, 2009

Another "With Sympathy" Birthday Card

Before I show you my card, I wanted to thank you for all of the sweet emails that many of you sent me about my car accident. I am touched that so many of you took the time to email me to let me know how glad you were that my kids and I were ok. That means so much to me. Thank you!! Here's an update in case you are curious. It looks like I did a number on my suspention when I hit the sidewalk so it will be needing more than just new tires and rims. Thank goodness for insurance. Here's the real bummer... I was told that even though I had a witness AND the guy who cut me off came back and took responsibility, I may still be held liable because I didn't hit him. Can you believe that? I did all I could to avoid hitting him and because of it I may be held responsible. Crazy! Even if that happens, I am still glad I avoided hitting him. We could all have been hurt.

Anyhoo...here is my card for the day:
I used my Papertrey With Sympathy set for another birthday card like the one I posted last week. The sentiment came from Papertery's Mixed Messages set. This one was for my niece Sarah. Hope she likes it.Stamps: Papertrey With Sympathy, Mixed Messages
Cardstock: Papertery Berry Sorbet & White
Ribbon: CTMH Baby Pink Ribbon Rounds
Inks: CTMH Hollyhock, Baby Pink, Sweet Leaf
Other: Cuttlebug Tag Dies, Foam Tool, 3-D Foam Squares

Thursday, March 5, 2009

A Scary Incident and a Fun Workshop

Have any of you ever been in a car accident where you totally lost control of your car? This happened to me yesterday and let me just say, “It was scary!” I was picking my son up from school and almost home when someone pulled out from a side street right in front of me. I had to swerve to avoid hitting him and then I had to swerve the other way to avoid the oncoming traffic and then I lost control of my car and swerved all over the place, spinning around, smashing into the sidewalk and finally stopping in the middle of the street facing the wrong way. It was even scarier to look out of my window and see cars coming straight at me. My poor kids were yelling from the back, “Mommy, what are do doing? Why are you making the car go all crazy?” Thank God that a few people stopped to help me get my car out of the traffic and that the guy actually came back and apologized for cutting me off. He felt soooo bad and kept asking me why I wasn't screaming at him. I told him that I was ok and that my kids were ok. (If my kids were hurt, I would be screaming at him.) Someone called 911 and within minutes four police cars were there. It was amazing. Anyway, my car is in the shop now and I am hoping that it will be an easy fix and that the insurance will consider it the other guy’s fault.

Sorry about the car story. I am still shaking and can’t get it out of my mind so I thought I would share it with all of you. I know you are so glad that I did. LOL! Are ya thinking, “Ok. She is fine. Her kids are fine. Where’s the artwork?” Here ya go... *Ü*


Emporium Card Box with Cards Workshop
Saturday, April 4th from 1-4pm at my house. (Contact me for directions.)

ANYWAY onto the fun stuff... I have a great workshop coming up that you might enjoy. You don’t even have to be local for this one! I can mail you everything and you can make it on your own at home. We will be making a great box to store your cards along with some cards to match. All of this will be made out of a Level 1 Kit originally meant for scrapbooking, but can be used for so much more as you will see.
Here’s the scoop, you will get a Close to my Heart Memory Keeper Box, an Emporium Level 1 Kit, an extra sheet of Cocoa Cardstock, and a few embellishments to decorate your cards. The cost for the workshop is $25 or $18 if you place a $25+ order that day. I will have everything pre-cut for you so all you will need to do is put it together and decorate. Fun, fun, fun!
If you are not able to come but would like to order a kit (including the pre-cut paper and instructions), let me know and I will put a kit together for you. The cost will be the same $25 or $18 if you place a $25+ order, however there will be an additional charge of $5 for shipping. You may order as many kits as you like. Additional kits will only be an extra $2 each for shipping.

If you would like to sign up for this class, please let me know by March 18th. Space is limited and I know the class will fill up fast.

Here are a few other card boxes I made in the past. (If you are like me you have tons of handmade cards and no place to store them.) These boxes are a great way to store those little labors of love until you are ready to send them. Plus they look really cute all lined up on a shelf...

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Two great specials this month...

How would you like to get your stamping and scrapbooking supplies at a discount?

How about also getting over $300 in products for only $99, plus the option to get two add-on bonus kits at over 65% off? PLUS, during the month of March only, you can also get up to two organizational tools (including the rolling tote, shoulder bag, Inks Organizer & Marker Tower, and more) at half price. This is the perfect opportunity for those of you would like to sign up to get great discounts on CTMH products for yourself and your friends. This is also the perfect opportunity for those of you would like to turn your hobby into a lucrative business! I am always looking for both hobbyists and business builders to join my team.

Click here then click on the photo to download a flyer with more information.
Click here to sign up.

Feel free to mail me at lisa@myctmh.com if you have any questions.

Retired and discounted products available online today.

Starting today, March 3, 2009 at 8 am (PST) more items will be added to the discounted section of my website at 40% off current retail pricing. (Just think if you signed up as a consultant, you would get an even bigger discount!!) Click here to start shopping.

Monday, March 2, 2009

A Happy Hello Card

This is a simple and easy card that you can mass produce quickly. I used CTMH's Argyle Backgrounds for the polka dots, Classmate Alphabet for the flower stem (A Happy Hello), June Word Puzzle for the flower, and Happy Easter for the leaves.I colored the flower with CTMH Watermelon and Sunny Yellow markers and added some Liquid Glass to the flower center. After Matting the image on Watermelon cardstock and popping it up with 3-D Foam Squares I was done. Quick and easy!