Wednesday, June 30, 2010

July Club - Irresistibles and Clear Cards

July’s Creative Club will be held on Wednesday, July 14th and Thursday, July 15th . We will making three cards using Close to my Heart’s fun new Pizzazz Irresistibles and Clear Cards. Everyone will get a full package of Irresistibles and be able to take home the extra chipboard that we do not use for the class.

To find out more about my monthly non-commit Creative Club, click
here. You do not need to be local to participate. The cost for the kit this month is $10 or $5 with a $25 order. (If you are not local, please add $5 for shipping.) Extra kits are $10.

The first card uses our Scallop Circle Clear card and the papers and colors from the Cherry-O Paper Packet.
This card uses our square Clear Card and the paper and colors from the Splendor Paper Packet. I took the idea from page 88 of the Idea Book. (Our Idea Books are jam packed with inspiration!)
The last card might look familiar because it very similar to one that I made last month for Jeanette Lynton. (You can see that one here.) I liked it so much that I thought I would teach my Club how to make it too. If you like these projects, click here for more details on my super fun club! Contact me at lisa@myctmh.com for more information, to sign up for next month’s class, or to order your own club kit(s). Please contact me no later than July 3rd if you would like to join us or order your own kit(s).

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Hedgehog Birthday Card

Here’s a little sneak peek at the July Stamp of the Month. Isn’t this little hedgehog the cutest thing ever? What until you see the rest of the stamp set! Soooo cute! I stamped the little guy with Black StazOn ink and then used my Watercolor Pencils to color him in. I used a Blending Pen to soften and blend the color. I added some Prisma Glitter to the Balloons and now this little guy is ready to make someone’s day!

Don’t forget to check out the awesome Jackpot June deal of the day here!

All supplies used are from CTMH unless otherwise noted:
Stamp: Happy Forever (July SOTM available July 1 - 31 only)

Paper: Backside of Cherry-O
Ink: Black Staz On
Cardstock
: Tulip, White Daisy

Other: Scallop Scissors, Prisma Glitter

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Gina K vs. Papertrey Ink vs. CTMH — One Girl’s Opinion

What does a girl with a zillion stamp sets buy with her birthday money? Why, more stamp sets of course! LOL! I have had my eye on a few non-CTMH stamp sets for a while and decided to buy a few of them with some of my b-day money. As you may know, I am fond of Papertrey Ink, so I had to buy a few of those. I have never purchased any Gina K stamps, however. In fact, I have never even used any rubber cling mount stamps before so I decided to try one. I ordered a set called Botanicals because I liked the images and it came with a free “card kit.” The cards turned out kind of cute, but I must say that the stamps were kind of hard to use. I am spoiled by my clear stamps. I had to cut them out, which was kind of a pain and I found them a little frustrating to stamp with. The cling mounting was pretty cool and I liked that I could use them with my acrylic blocks, but the stamps were very thick and a bit awkward. I am sure if I use them more, I will get used to them. I don’t care to much for the storage. I did initially like Gina K's cardstock because it is very thick, however my cards are SUPER bulky because they have so many layers. I think her CS would be better for one layer cards. All in all, I am glad I bought the set, but will probably not use it much.


















A couple of the Papertrey Ink sets that I have been wanting were Everyday Button Bits and Blooming Button Bits so I bought them. I love making quick and simple cards so these sets are perfect for that. I bought a few other sets as well that I haven’t used yet. I promise to post when I create something with them. While I love clear stamps and really enjoy many of PTI’s images, I really don’t care for the CD case storage that come with the stamps. They are kind of flimsy and many of mine have broken or fallen apart already.


So, my recent purchases have confirmed the fact that I still think Close to my Heart stamps are the best in the industry! The quality of the stamps are top notch, the convenient envelopes that they come in are perfect for storage, and the fact that they are clear is a given!

Now I must get back to creating some fun Convention gifts for my team using my awesome CTMH products. I will post them while at Convention in 13 short days!!!


Supplies used:
Gina K Cards
Stamp
: Botanicals

Ink: CTMH Cranberry, Sunflower, Cocoa, Topiary, & New England Ivy
Cardstock
: Gina K colors (?)

Other: Embossing Folder, Scallop border punch, gold brads


Papertrey Ink Cards
Stamp
: Everyday Button Bits, Blooming Button Bits, Mega Mixed Messages

Ink: CTMH Cocoa, Buttercup, & Sweet Leaf
Other: CTMH Buttons, Waxy Flax, mini black brad, Labels 1 Nestabilities

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

AWESOME Jackpot Today!


Today's Jackpot June deal is FANTASTIC! Check out the great stamp sets at 35% off! Plus the jackpot item is awesome as well. The Everyday Celebration Card Kit is a wonderful, all-inclusive kit that even comes with a stamp set and step-by-step instructions to make a ton of cards, and you can get it FREE! Click here to order any or all of the deals today and if you choose the right one, you will get the Card Kit FREE!

This deal is only available until tomorrow morning, Thursday, 6/24 at 7 am while supplies last! Click here to order your goodies today!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Happy Father's Day!

As some of you may have read on my blog in the past, Father’s Day is kind of bittersweet for me. I LOVE celebrating the day with my hubby and kiddos because my hubby is such a great Daddy! However, the day also makes my heart ache because I miss my own Daddy so much. It has been almost 19 years since my Dad died. He was a pilot and was killed in a plane crash when I was 21 years old. I still remember the last time I saw him. He had flown down from Los Angeles to San Diego in his little Cessna plane to take me out to dinner. (I loved when he did that!) I had a college midterm the next day so he didn’t want to spend too much time taking me away from my studies. But he came down anyway. After dinner, I dropped him off at the airport and said good-bye. He started to walk towards his plane and then stopped about halfway there and turned around as if he had forgotten to tell me something and then got this “never mind” look on his face and finished walking to his plane. I watched him taxi down the runway and take off. That was the last time I saw him. Oh how I miss him. I wish he could have met my husband and my kids. He would have adored them. I don't have as many pictures of him as I would like because he was always the one taking the pictures. One of the reasons I started scrapbooking was because I wanted to make sure that my kids had lots of tangible memories of their parents. Hopefully they will cherish their scrapbook memories when they get older like I cherish my memories of my Dad.

I don’t have any layouts with photos of my Dad to share nor do I have any recent layouts of my my hubby with the kids to share with you. (I really need to set aside some time and create some!) This is a one of those old fashioned photos that we took in 1987. It is pretty scratched and beat up but I still like it. My Mom, Dad, younger brother and I had a lot of fun posing for this photo.
Sorry for the rambling post today and for the lack of something really creative to share. I hope you spend the day creating some wonderful memories with your Dad, Grandfather, and/or Hubby. Be sure to tell them how much you appreciate and love them!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Cupcake Card & Goodie Box

Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately. I have had so much going on and now that the kiddos are on Summer break, things aren't getting done as quickly as I had planned. (But we are having fun and keeping busy.)

I made this little card last week when my son asked if we could “play” with my Cricut. He loves that thing and is always wanting to make something with it. We pulled out my Sweet Treats cartridge and made this. I was thinking about adding some sprinkles to it. What do ya think? Would it be too much?

I sanded and inked some Blush cardstock for the frosting, used my CTMH Happy Birthday stamp set for the sentiment, and added a Cranberry button to the top for the cherry. Not much else to it. Quick and simple.
On a different note, did you see that today is another Goodie Box day? This one is really affordable too. For only $40, you will get $80 worth of great goodies! Click here to order your own Goodie Box.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Jackpot June Deal of the Day!


Oh boy! Today's Jackpot June deal is AWESOME! I absolutely LOVE our Just Blooms paper flowers and there are so many of them on sale today! Plus the jackpot item is awesome as well. The Treasures of the Heart stamp set is a great one and you can get it FREE! Click here to order any or all of the deals today and if you choose the right one, you will get the stamp set FREE!



Here are a couple layouts I did a few years ago using some of the fabulous Just Blooms paper flowers. (You can click on the photos to see them larger.)


Click here to order your Jackpot June items now. Remember these deals are only available today while supplies last. A new deal will be posted tomorrow...

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

It’s another Goodie Box day!

It is Goodie Box Day again! Today you can get $120 worth of great CTMH goodies for only $60! That is a BARGAIN! I just received my Goodie Box from day two of the Jackpot June promotion. It was jam packed with great products! Wanna see what’s in it? Check this out...
For only $80, I got over $200 worth of awesome goodies! I got:
Atomic Uppercase Alphabet stamp set
Atomic Lowercase Alphabet stamp set
Doodle Alphabet stamp set
Simple Invites
stamp set
Ahoy Matey stamp set
Clear Inspirations Ribbon Slides
Colonial White Ribbon Round
Just Blooms White Daisy
Colonial White Designer Brads
Mini Garden Green ink pad
3x3 Mini Craft Album
Neutral Embroidery Floss
Foundry Tabs
Bits and Pieces card kit
Doorhanger pouches
Around the Holidays card kit
Primaver Rub-Ons
About Me journaling prompts
Love Letter
Rub-Ons
Booksmart Dimensional Elements
Pack of 3 Paper Envelope Holders
Perfect Day Level 1 Kit
Perfect Day Level 2 Paper Packet
A variety of cardstock

How amazing is that? Don’t miss out on today’s Goodie Box. (Each one is different, so you may not get the same items that I did, but you are sure to get some great stuff!) Today’s Goodie Box is only available today while supplies last.

Click here to order your $60 Goodie Box worth $120 now.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

End of Year "Tea-riffic" Teacher Gifts

I finally finished the end of the year teacher gifts for my daughter’s preschool teachers. (I just found out that my son’s teacher doesn't like tea, so I need to come up with something else for her.)
The tea pot template came from Lauren Meader and can be found here. I bought the SVG files and cut them on my Cricut. They are a little tricky to put together but I think they turned out alright for my first attempt. I definitely need to make a few more to work out the kinks, but hopefully the teachers won’t notice the mistakes and sloppiness on these. LOL!
I am including a little tea pot cookie, a few tea bags, and a gift card to Starbucks. The idea is to give them something to relax after a crazy year teaching preschoolers.

I used CTMH’s That’s Amore paper for the first one and Veranda paper for the second one.
The paper roses are fun to make. We are going to be making some in my June Creative Club Class. Here is a link to a tutorial on how to make them.
Supplies used are all CTMH unless otherwise noted:
Papers: Veranda, That's Amore, Splendor (for leaves)

Ink: Chocolate
Cardstock
: Cocoa, Colonial White

Other: Sponge Dauber, Labels 1 Nestabilities, Cocoa Grosgrain Ribbon

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Todays Jackpot Deal

Ooooh—today's deal is a good one. One of the products listed below is the mystery jackpot item for today. If you order the mystery jackpot item, you will get a FREE 3" x 3" Kraft with Jute Mini Album! Order one of each of the items below to guarantee that you will hit the jackpot!

Jackpot June Associated Elements & Accessories
COLOR-READY ALPHABETS BOLD was $3.95 now only $3.00 - 24 % off

SASSY STRANDS SUMMER CARNIVAL was $3.95 now only $3.00 - 24 % off

SASSY STRANDS SPRING BLOSSOM was $3.95 now only $3.00 - 24 % off

FANCY CUTS BORDERS was $3.95 now only $3.00 - 24 % off

SASSY STRANDS WHITE DAISY was $3.95 now only $3.00 - 24 % off

I LOVE the mini albums. Below is a project that we made at my Creative Club last year. We used the album to make Christmas ornaments. Click here for more photos of this fun project.
Remember, you can order as many of these accessories as you want - no limit. AND, if you order the secret JACKPOT item, you will receive a FREE 3" x 3" Kraft with Jute Mini Album for each jackpot item ordered. How cool is that?

Click here to place your Jackpot order now.

*Remember, today's jackpot items cannot be combined with regular retail items. Discounted shipping of only $0.99 per item applies.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

It's Goodie Box Day!!!

It's goodie box day! Today you can get a box of CTMH goodies worth $200 for only $80! That's a saving of 60%! (I just bought one myself!) Last year the goodie boxes were jam packed with awesome stamp sets, paper packets, ribbons, embellishments, dimensional elements, and TONS more! I can't wait to see what's in my box when it arrives.

Do you want one too? Click here to order one for yourself. Better hurry though. They are only available while supplies last and this particular goodie box is only available today, June 2nd!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Jackpot June Starts Today!


This month Close To My Heart is offering some amazing deals everyday! Hit the Jackpot and win FREE products, or grab loaded Goodie Boxes at 50% off. Everyday you can check out the deal of the day on my CTMH website.

On goodie box days…
you can purchase one box filled with popular products at 50% or more off retail value! Each goodie box day will feature different surprise items, so you can score
a wide variety of current and recently retired products.

On jackpot days… 5 products will be offered for sale at discounted prices. One of the 5 products is the mystery jackpot item for that day, but we’re not telling which—exciting, isn’t it! If you happen to order the mystery jackpot item, we’ll reward you with one or more FREE Close To My Heart products, with shipping included on the free items! If you purchase all 5 products, you’re guaranteed to hit the jackpot! There’s no purchase limit—if you order multiple secret jackpot items, we’ll send you the same number of free items.

These special offers include discounted shipping/handling and are only available on my CTMH website. Check back every day for the latest offer.

Today’s special offer is a choice of 5 different Level 1 Kits at 30% off. They are only $7 each! Plus, if you hit the jackpot and order the correct one, you will also get a FREE Tube of Heavenly Blue Ribbon Rounds and a FREE Tube of Hollyhock Ribbon Rounds! Better yet, order all 5 Level 1 Kits and you are sure to get the FREE Ribbon Rounds!

Offer valid June 1–July 1 at 8:00 am (MDT), on MyCTMH websites only. New deals are posted each day at 9:00 am (MDT). To be eligible for discounted prices, your order must contain only Jackpot June items. Visit facebook.com/closetomyheart or closetomyheart.com to see what the mystery Jackpot item was for the previous day. Offers are while supplies last.