Play!

A clean & simple layout for you today to play along with Sketches in Thyme's sketch #56!

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart, except as noted):
Grace Level 2 Paper Pack (retired)
Frame of Mind acrylic stamp set (retired)
Cardstock: White Daisy & Cranberry
Ink: Black
Remarks stickers & Thickers from American Crafts

Have a great Monday!

Mini Composition Books

Here are some little mini composition books I made recently.  These are purse size - perfect to keep on hand (I have notepads like this in my car, in my purse, in my kitchen drawer, etc.).  These are a great stocking stuffer idea for pretty much anyone.  All of these were made with all Close to My Heart products - paper, stamps, rubons and embellishments.   The mini composition books themselves came from a dollar store I visited in the US this past summer - I haven't found them here in Canada yet, but you could really use the same idea with any small notebook. 

CTMH paper packs used: Grace, Life Delights, Bella, Let's Get Together, Magic Moments, and Key to My Heart

CTMH Grace & Felicity Brothers Layout

Happy Fathers Day everyone!!  Did you see the GORGEOUS layout Jeanette Lynton posted in honor of her Dad for Father's Day?!  I think I'll be casing this one! Love it!!

My layout today is not a "Dad" layout, but it is a masculine layout and it features my husband (the best Dad ever!!!) . . .

I used this week's sketch from The Scrappiest.

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):
Grace Level 2 Paper Pack
Felicity Collection paper (promo item, not available to order)
Basic Craft Buttons
Natural Hemp
Cardstock: Bamboo, Twilight, Barn Red, and Textured Cocoa
Distressing done with Barn Red ink
Journalling done with Cocoa Marker
Other:  Title cut from Twilight Cardstock with my Cricut & Plantain Schoolbook cartridge

Studio J is HERE!!

Lots of buzz on CTMH Consultant Blogs today!!  Why, you ask?

STUDIO J, of course!!

The day has finally come!

Studio J is now available to everyone!
I know you are going to love it!  And remember - there is nothing to purchase or download until you are completely happy with the final result & ready to order your gorgeous completed Layouts!!  So, go ahead, give it a try, play with it for a while, the possibilities are endless!  (Note: by creating an account, you'll be able to save your layouts to return to & continue playing later!)

CLICK HERE - to see what all the fuss is about & start creating with Studio J!

ENJOY!

Note:  This layout features the Grace papers and Stickease, available online with Studio J, or in a traditional Level 1 and Level 2 Scrapbooking Kits.

CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop for March

Glad you could join us for this month's Close to My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We have dozens of talented consulants who are sharing their creations with the March Stamp of the Month set "A Little Everything", a set of 26 acrylic stamps.

To continue along the hop, just follow the link at the end of each post to go to the next site. We hope that following the hop will give you lots of inspiration and ideas for using your "A Little Everything" stamp set, as well as the many other great CTMH products you'll see in each post.

My creation today is a 12 x12 layout.  This stamp set is a definite MUST HAVE for any cardmaker, but I also wanted to show the versatility of this set by using it on a scrapbook page.  The title, as well as the scalloped border on my layout are both stamps from this set.   I added a little extra dimension to the title by rolling the edges of the stamp in a darker ink prior to stamping the image.

The clean and simple style of this layout (look at all that white space!!) is inspired by the great Cathy Zielske . . . I love her work.  The layout design is sketch #92 from Creative Scrappers.

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

Perfect Day Level 2 Paper Pack (red patterned paper)

Grace Level 2 Paper Pack (brown patterned paper)

Magic Moments Level 2 Paper Pack (blue polka dot paper)

A Little Everything Acrylic Stamp Set - March 2010 Stamp of the Month

Frame of Mind Acrylic Stamp Set

Sans Alphabet Acrylic Stamp Set

Big Pinks Paper Flower

Cocoa Button from the Basic Craft Buttons Collection

Colonial White Waxy Flax

Foam Tape

Inks: Tulip, Cocoa

Cardstock: Colonial White, Textured Colonial White, Textured Cocoa

Ready to see more?  Keep hopping to Jen's Blog to see what she's sharing today!!

If you get lost along the hopping trail, or come across a broken link, please feel free to refer to the entire list of this month's hop participants Here.

CTMH Grace Valentine for my Hubby

Great sketch over at Get Sketchy this week . . .  This also fits several more of this week's challenges that have a 'seasonal' flavour!  Tthis week's challenge over at Frosted Designs to make a valentine without pink or red (burgundy doesn't count as a red, does it?!?), the challenge at Raise the Bar is to use hearts on your card, and the Crazy 4 Challenges challenge is to create a Valentine themed project.

inside of the card:

 

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

• Grace Level 2 Paper Pack
• State of Mind Acrylic Stamp Set
• Childhood Portrait Acrylic Stamp Set
• February Word Puzzle Acrylic Stamp Set (retired)
• Dimensional Elements - Hearts
• Cardstock: Bamboo, Twilight, Colonial White, Cocoa

CTMH Spring 2010 New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the Close to My Heart new product Blog Hop!  There are 17 fabulous consultants from Close to My Heart celebrating the release of the Spring 2010 Idea Book by showing you some new artwork and projects featuring some of the fantastic new products available now!!
It is easy to do, just follow the links at the end of each post to go to the next stop on the hop!  Enjoy!

I have a few projects to share with you today.

The first is a layout I created using the new Caboodle paper pack!  Aren't the colours fun?  They just screamed 'SUMMER' to me - so I found some great sunny pics to put together my layout! The design is from the CTMH How-to Program Book Reflections and is titled "Sidebar-Original" (I rotated the sketch).   

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

Caboodle Level 2 Paper Pack *NEW*
Caboodle Level 2 Stickease *NEW*
Boys at Play Acrylic Stamp Set *NEW*
Sans Alphabet Acrylic Stamp Set
Charm Lowercase Alphabet Acrylic Stamp Set (retired)
Dimensional Elements - On Target (chipboard shapes)
Dimensional Elements - Simple Alphabet (lowercase, chipboard)
Brads - Spring Blossom Assortment
Foam Tape
Ink: Crystal Blue, Sorbet, Chocolate, Sweet Leaf, Buttercup
Cardstock: Vanilla Creme, Buttercup, Sweet Leaf, Sorbet

My second project is a 6x6 inch card.  I used the new Caboodle paper once again, but gave it a completely different look by pairing it with the Barn Red cardstock.  I also used my FAVOURITE new stamp set "State of Mind"!  The design is Kazan's Sketch #43 from the 2 Sketches 4 U Blog.

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

Caboodle Level 2 Paper Pack *NEW*
State of Mind Acrylic Stamp Set *NEW*
True Friends Acrylic Stamp Set *January 2010 Stamp of the Month*
Thank You Acrylic Stamp Set
Grace Level 2 Paper Pack
Brads - Spring Blossom Assortment
Foam Tape
flowers from the Mini Medley Shades of Chocolate Collection (retired)
Ink: Sorbet, Barn Red
Cardstock: Barn Red, Vanilla Creme

Thanks for stopping by.  Now hop on over to HELEN's BLOG to see what she has created for you!

If you get lost somewhere along the hop or come across a broken link, feel free to refer back to the following list of participants:

Erin Herring

Lisa Stenz
Brae Montogmery
Carla Ironside (You are Here)
Helen Onulak
Adeline Brill
Jody Gustafson
Haley Dyer
Antoinette Herrin
Sherrie Thornton
Jessica Moore
Wendy Kessler
Dawn Ross
Dawn Heuft
Kimberly Smith
Amy Edwards
Amy Schultz

CTMH Grace - Another Sympathy Card

Another very simple sympathy card made for my MIL. 

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

• Grace Level 2 Paper Pack
• Best Wishes Acrylic Stamp Set
• Tickled Pink Acrylic Stamp Set - 2009 promo item, not available to order (but the Delightful Things stamp set has a very similar flower!)
• Organdy Ribbon (retired)
• Ink: Barn Red, Twilight
• Cardstock: Colonial White and Textured Barn Red

On a side note - I registered today for Stacey Julian's online "Library of Memories" class today!  SO EXCITED!! Not sure where I'll find the time to complete the assignments, etc. - but after having read the books - I feel like I want to know more as I put her philosophy into action in my own scrap room.  She only offers the course once per year and I just couldn't bear to wait a whole year!!!  I'll keep you posted about my progress!!

CTMH Grace Workshop Kit

I am loving the new Close to My Heart "Workshop Kits". Each kit comes with a full level 2 Paper Pack, a full retail package of a coordinating accessory, an exclusive stamp set, and a full-colour workshop guide with complete instructions for a 2 page layout and 6 cards. And when you buy the complete kit - you get the products at a 10 - 15% discount!

This is the featured layout for the Grace Workshop Kit. The warm, rich colours in this paper worked beautifully with these wedding photos, which we had taken on my family farm.

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

• Grace Workshop Kit which includes the Grace Level 2 Paper Pack, the Edge Anchors - Rustic Collection, the "Beautiful Flourish" Acrylic Stamp Set (available only as part of this workshop kit), and a Full-Colour Instructional Workshop Guide.
• Chocolate Alphabet - Small Acrylic Stamp Set
• Buttoned Together Acrylic Stamp Set
• Simple Stitches Acrylic Stamp Set
• Inks: Cocoa & Twilight

CTMH Grace & Mojo Monday #107

Here is my card for this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday.

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

• Grace Level 2 Paper Pack
• Childhood Portrait Acrylic Stamp Set
• Cardstock: Twilight, Cocoa, Bamboo, Textured Twilight
• Inks: Cocoa
• Brads - Autumn Harvest Assortment

CTMH Grace & Clean and Simple Sketch #60

My card is for the Fall-to Layout #60 over at Clean and Simple Stamping. I'm not sure this qualifies as a 'clean & simple' card . . .the patterns are pretty busy - but I'm happy with how it turned out all the same. I just love this sentiment from the Card Chatter - Thank You set!

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

• Grace Level 2 Paper Pack
• Card Chatter - Thank You Acrylic Stamp Set
• The floral image is from the Tickled Pink Promo Stamp Set from a few months back - which is no longer available to purchase, but you can get a similar floral image in the Delightful Things Acrylic Stamp Set
• Brads - Autumn Harvest Assortment
• Cardstock: Cocoa, Colonial White
• Inks: Sunflower, Barn Red, Cocoa