CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop for December

Welcome to the CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop for December!   This month we are featuring the super-versatile stamp set "YEAR ROUND CHEER".

Hope you'll join us this month - we'll be hopping among a group of great CTMH consultants who have created a multitude of different projects, all featuring this great stamp set.  If you've come here from Lori's Blog, you are on the right path.  If this is your first stop on the hop, that's OK too, just keep hopping until you get back here again :-)

To continue along the hop, click on the link at the end of each post to move to the next site.  We hope that the creations you find along the way will inspire you & will give you many ideas for working with this month's featured stamp set, as well as all of the other great CTMH products you'll see along the way!

My creation for you today is two cute holiday cards:

When I'm creating holiday cards - I lean towards more clean & simple (and flatter), simply because I know I'll be mailing them and don't want them to be destroyed enroute!

This stamp set is full of great sentiments & matching images for many occasions all year long!  Certainly makes for quick & easy card making!

Materials Used:
CTMH Pear & Partridge patterned paper
CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge
CTMH Harvest Bakers Twine
CTMH Year Round Cheer stamp set (Dec 2012 Stamp of the Month)
CTMH Perfect Fit Frames stamp set
CTMH Bitty Sparkles
CTMH Cardstock: White Daisy, Cocoa, Cranberry

The December Stamp of the Month is available from your consultant (or from me!) from December 1st to 31st, 2012.   It can be purchased for $17.95, or get it for just $5 with every qualifying purchase of $50 or more during the month of December.  

If you'd like to continue hopping to see more great artwork using this stamp set, continue on to LeAnne's Blog to see what she has in store for you!  

Five Fabulous Finds

Hey all --
I have a new edition of my Five Fabulous Finds (coming to you a day early because I have the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop post coming tomorrow)!!

1)   Love this great Last Minute Christmas Card idea AND find out what Susan Opel from Papercrafts Magazine says is her all-time favourite must-have tool!!!   PS - It's one of my favourite tools too!

2)  Yumm!!  Christmas means cookies!!  Check out Pretty Life in the Suburbs for a new Christmas cookie recipe every day this week with her Christmas Cookie Extravaganza!!  Haven't had a chance to try any of these recipes yet but I know they'll be great as JoAnna's blog has become one of my go-to sites for great recipes!

3)  Great deals to be had on photo finishing and gift projects at Snapfish & Shutterfly & Blacks!

4)  Check out these stunning holiday layout ideas from the amazing Karen Pederson!

5)  And finally - - another amazing holiday-themed creation - check out this GORGEOUS paper wreath from Lisa Stenz!   If I get some extra time before Christmas I think I'm going to try my hand at one of these!!  Stunning!

An update on my chaos - - packing is coming along!  All my make & take projects and goodie bags for the retreat are prepped & ready to go -- now to pack my CTMH store merchandise and my own scrappin' stuff!!    Thanks to all those who have sent notes of concern for my injury & even offers to help!!  I appreciate all of you :-)

Enjoy the rest of your week,

CHAOS!!

Lots of craziness happening around here this week!!    I am hosting my semi-annual weekend retreat this coming weekend in Canmore, Alberta and the madness has begun!!    Normally I do most of my prep the weekend before I leave - - but this time around I was travelling with my daughter's hockey team to an out-of-town tournament instead of prepping.    So much fun!!  Here are the happy gold medalists:

While we were away - I managed to slip on some ice, sprain my ankle & end up with this:

So . . . my retreat prep is not happening at the pace I'd like and now with just a couple days to go - I am in panic mode!  This is what my scrap room looks like today - - Cricut humming along, stuff everywhere, half packed containers . . .

If I pull this off by Friday it will be a miracle :-)  Wish me luck!!!    

As much as I'm not enjoying all this prep & packing with my immobile foot - I am VERY MUCH looking forward to the retreat itself!     I plan to prop my foot up & do some scrappin'!!!       To the 40+ ladies joining me in Canmore -- I'll see you soon!

HOME - a layout!

We have a brand new song on the playlist today at Scrap it with a Song.
In keeping with the US Thanksgiving weekend - our pick this week is "Keep it Together" by Madonna.  

My layout is certainly about family & home - - on a recent trip 'home' to the farm where I grew up & where my parents still live, I snapped some Iphone photos of those last few miles and the feelings that come upon me as we get closer.  

I used Sketches in Thyme Sketch #91.

Here is my layout:

Materials Used:
CTMH Patterned Paper Packs: Wings & Emporium (both retired)
Cardstock: CTMH Colonial White, Vineyard Berry
Olive Mini Medley Accents
Garden Wooden Shapes (butterflies)
Title cut with CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge
Licorice Opaques (black pearls)

Hope you'll have a chance to play along with us at Scrap it with a Song - - all of our November song choice challenges are open until November 30th!  And we have a great prize to give away this month - be sure to check it out!

CTMH Black Friday Sale - 11/23 to 11/26

I'm offering a great Black Friday sale to all my CTMH customers!

On now & until Monday at midnight - send me your order by EMAIL to qualify!

Orders of $50 or more - Choose a bonus FREE product item ($5.95 or less), plus qualify for the Stamp of the Month for just $5 and an additional stamp set of your choice at 1/2 price!

Orders of $75 or more - Choose bonus FREE product items (totalling up to $9.95 or less), plus qualify for the Stamp of the Month for just $5 and an additional stamp set of your choice at 1/2 price!

Orders of $100 or more - Choose bonus FREE product items (totalling up to $19.95 or less), plus qualify for the Stamp of the Month for just $5 and an additional stamp set of your choice at 1/2 price!

Orders of $150 or more - - You qualify to receive our party Hostess Rewards as outlined in the Idea Book - - receive $25 or MORE in Free Products (contact me for details!), get the Stamp of the Month for FREE and an additional stamp set of your choice at 1/2 price!

You can view the catalogue ONLINE!
Offers available to Canadian customers only :-)

Happy Shopping!

Have a Splendid Day!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American Friends!  Wishing you a wonderful day of family and food :-)

I have a fun card design to share with you today -- this is a 'swing card' cut with the CTMH Artiste Cricut Cartridge.    I made two identical cards, one using the 'front' of the paper and the other using the 'back'.   I think I like the floral one better - but they are both pretty!

All elements of the card were cut with the Artiste cartridge including the inside panel, the sentiment pieces on the front, the card itself, and the bow.  

I was inspired by this card.  

Linking up to the following challenges:
Created with Love - Falling for Fall
Shopping our Stash - Leaves
Paper Playtime - Anything Goes

Materials Used:
CTMH patterned paper - Flirty
CTMH cardstock - Ponderosa Pine, Colonial White
CTMH "Harvest Happiness" stamp set
CTMH "Perfect Fit - Frames" stamp set
CTMH Pewter bigger brads

Have a splendid day!!

A Little Bit Country with CTMH's Dakota

We have a fun new sketch to play with today at Let's Get Sketchy!

Here is my take on it:

And the sketch:

Materials Used:

CTMH Paper Pack: Dakota

CTMH Dakota Foil Stickers

CTMH Cardstock: Pacifica, Slate, Black

Hope you'll join us at Let's Get Sketchy to see what the other design team members have come up with & then give the sketch a whirl!!    Link up with us by November 30th for a chance to win a great prize pack or to be picked as one of our 'favourites'!  

Winner! Winner!!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Let's Get Sketchy Fall Blog Hop!!   A huge welcome to all of my new followers - so glad you're here!!

And finally - thanks to all those who took the time to leave your comments!   I selected the winner of my RAK prize via Random.org  . . .

And #17 is Marianne!    Congrats to you!!  Please send me an EMAIL with your mailing address & I'll get your CTMH stamp set on its' way!!   Thanks for playing!   

Simple Thanks

A card to share . . . created at the CTMH Regional event in Edmonton back in September.

Materials used:

CTMH Flirty paper pack

CTMH Burlap ribbon

CTMH Casual Expressions stamp set

CTMH Mocha Opaques

Foam Tape

Colonial White card base & envelope

Happy Monday :-)

Let's Get Sketchy Fall Blog Hop

Welcome to the very first Let’s Get Sketchy blog hop!! We at LGS are so very excited about our first blog hop!  If you have arrived here from Lanette's blog, welcome to your 8th stop on the hop!! If you have stumbled across the hop by chance and want to play along then you can head over to Stephanie's Blog to start at the beginning and to start collecting your Fall challenge words. You'll find these challenge words bolded on each DT member’s page so that they are easy for you to find!

 Blog Hop Challenge-Fall into Fall

Fall is such a beautiful time of the year, its when the leaves start changing colors and everything around us is beautiful.  It is also the season of Thanksgiving, which reminds us to take a moment to reflect on all the things we are most thankful for.

So in celebration of the fall we are hosting a Fall Color Combo challenge.  You are to use the colors below and create ANY project related to the Fall.  It can be a layout, card, mixed media project or altered item.  The sky is the limit!  Once your project is completed, please return to LGS and upload your project using Mr. Linky.

Please use the color combo below:

You MUST use all of the colors in the picture (light blue, autumn red, yellow, brown, green)

Here is my project using this great color combo:

My card features the great stamp set "Harvest Happiness" which coordinates perfectly with the leaves cut from the CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.   My sentiment is from the retired "Thank You" stamp set.  I used desert sand and colonial white cardstock and the ink colours are twilight, honey, ruby, and olive.  I finished off the fall/natural feel with a hemp bow.  

The winner of the hop colour challenge will be randomly selected and will win the beautiful Prima collection below. 

(Embellishments may vary)

Also as you hop along the way you will find clue words on each of the Design Team member’s blogs.  Once you have gathered all the words in order they will form a quote related to Fall. Tell us that quote by emailing us at letsgetsketchy@gmail.com for an extra rak of scrap goodies!

Your word for this stop on the hop is "NO".

Here are the rules for playing and winning: 1. You MUST be a follower of each LGS team members blogs and leave a comment on each blog and; 2. You MUST also be a follower of the LGS blog.

Please make sure you visit the entire team today as some members are hosting additional blog challenges during the hop and offering their own extra goodies for you so the more you play the more chances you win!

All blog hop entries are due by midnight, November 15, 2012.   

AS A BONUS -- I will be making a random draw of all the comments received here on my blog post to win this great stamp set:

Now hop on over to Alison's blog to see what she has in store for you! 
Here is our complete hop lineup of the participating blogs in case you get lost along the way:

Stephanie

Stacey

Kerys

Melinda

Lynn

Debbie

Lanette

Carla

Alison 

Laurie

Eileen

Kathleen 

Bev

Michelle

Sherri

Brenshevia

LGS

Our Country

We have a great new song to inspire you at Scrap it with a Song this week!   In honour of the US Presidential Elections this week, we are singing along to "Our Country" by John Mellencamp.     No matter what your political affiliations - this is just a great song about having pride in the country in which you live!  

Here is my song-inspired layout:

I used a great sketch by Kristine Davidson.

The background papers are both from the CTMH Cruisin' collection and the banners are from the CTMH Superhero collection, both retired.   I also used some CTMH cranberry buttons (retired) & black waxy flax, CTMH black striped grosgrain ribbon, some Cranberry cardstock to matte my photos, the CTMH Small Chocolate Alphabet stamp set and cranberry ink, some American Crafts Thickers, and a journalling spot from my stash.

Hope you'll play along with us this month.   How do the lyrics of "Our Country" inspire you?
Share your creation with us by linking up at Scrap it with a Song before November 30th and you'll be entered into our prize drawing, and may be picked as one of our November faves!!

Easy Christmas Cards with CTMH Rub-Ons

I'm not sure about all of you, but I send out a TON of Christmas cards -- always handmade, of course!   So when it comes to my holiday cardmaking - - I am always looking for ways to make a lot of cards in a short amount of time.     I was able to do exactly that recently by playing with the new CTMH Pear & Partridge Rub-ons!      Absolutely love the quality of these rub-ons - - I found they were so much easier to use than a lot of other brands of rub-ons I've tried in the past.   Also love that the colours of the rub-ons are so vibrant!!

Here are my ten cards:

Card #1 (5"x7") - Inspired by this card by Aaron Brown

Card #2 (5"x7")

Card #3 (5"x7")

Card #4 (6"x6") - inspired by this card by Allisa Chilton

Card #5 (5"x7")

Card #6 (6"x6")

Card #7 (6"x6")

Card #8 (6"x6") - inspired by this card by Aaron Brown

Card #9 (5"x7")

Card #10 (6"x6")

Love how these turned out!!   I also used some of the remaining rub-ons in the package to decorate my ten envelopes for that added 'special touch'!

Hope you like these as much as I do!!  I'll be offering this set of cards as a class at my home in Calgary in December and will also be offering these as a card kit for those of you unable to attend the class.

Class -  Sunday December 9th @ 7:30pm
10 cards as shown above and envelopes - $27.50
RSVP by EMAIL by Saturday November 10th

Card Kit - 10 cards and envelopes as shown above, pre cut & pre stamped with diagrams of the finished cards (you add the rub-ons & assemble the cards) for $30 plus mailing costs to you (if applicable - if you are local to me - we can arrange a pickup).  Order by EMAIL by Saturday November 10th - kits will be mailed out to you on or before Monday December 3rd.