Monday, August 30, 2010

You're A Hoot!

Hi there!  So sorry about the long absence.  We were on vacation in China for a few weeks.  I remembered to pre-write posts while I was gone, but I forgot about the long recovery time from jet lag...so I was too tired to write blog posts.  Oops!  Sorry.  But I'm back now.  :)


One of my fabulous donwline, Roberta, made this really cute card using the YOU ROCK paper pack and the YOU"RE A HOOT stamp set.  I like how she picked up the colors in the paper to make her owls.  You can't see them very well, but two of the owls have goolie eyes (love 'em!).

I was going to stamplift her card exactly as she gave it to me - for my card class this month (yes, I have no shame), but I didn't have enough You Rock paper, so I used the TWITTERPATED paper pack instead.  I liked the paper with the lines, but when I had them going straight across the page, it seemed to boring.


So I cut the paper at a slight angle, so that the lines were going down hill.  It just makes it more fun!  You will get less cards out of each piece of paper, but it's something different.



Instead of putting my googlie eyes in the owls, I put them in the words at the bottom - and used Sparkles, Bitty Brads and regular Brads for my owl eyes.  Lots of fun, any way you slice it.  Try embellishing your animals' eyes with brads, Sparkles, Liquid Glass, eyelets, (or the back sides of eyelets), very small buttons, Waxy Flax tied in a knot....experiment!  Have fun!

SUPPLIES USED:
Twitterpated Paper Pack - X7118B
You're A Hoot  - C1362 $18.95
Chocolate Card Stock (in Twitterpated paper pack)
Dutch Blue Card Stock - 1241 $9.50 (for 24 sheets)
Sorbet Card Stock (in Twitterpated paper pack)
Chocolate Stamp Pad - Z2111 $5.25
Dutch Blue Stamp Pad - Z2119 $5.25
Sorbet Stamp Pad - Z2164 $5.25
Crystal Blue Card Stock - 1292 $9.50 (for 24 sheets)
Colonial White Card Stock (in Twitterpated paper pack)
Crystal Blue Marker - Z2317 $2.95
Sorbet Marker - Z2364 $2.95
Sweet Leaf Marker - Z2353 $2.95
Clear Sparkles - Z1104 $2.95
Basic Brad Assortment Z1219 - $4.95
Autumn Harvest Brad Assortment - Z1215 $4.95
Sponge - Z697 $1.25
Googlie Eyes

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Sneak Peek! Hooligans



Here's a little sneak peek into the NEW Fall/Winter Idea Book!  I love this Hooligans paper - it uses FOUR great new colors (coming September 1 to you!):  Gypsy, Lagoon, Pear and Sunset.  But what's really fun is these felt stickers - Hooligans Level 2 Assortment ($4.95 for a set of 6 different felt "monsters.")  I mounted this monster on some Colonial White card stock and cut him out, so I could make him "pop" a little bit.  



The stamp I used is also new...called The Boo Crew.   

I used buttons from the NEW Mini-Medley Lagoon and Sunset Collections ($4.95 for an assortment of ribbon, metals, buttons and brads -- all in one color!)  Love it!

I embossed the brackets onto the paper, after I glued the pieces down.  Another option is using Dimensional Elements instead of embossed brackets.  I like the Irresistibles Pizzazz (Z1307, $4.95) because you can change them to any color you want AND they have a cute little pattern to them that the color doesn't stick to, so you get dots or lines that are white.)

Can't wait to show you the rest of the papers coming soon!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

August Stamp of the Month: Something Splendid



I wasn't sure about the Stamp of the Month -- the main flower is really big for cards.  It's perfect for making a background pattern on a 12x12 sheet of paper for scrapbooking though!  I did a couple.  I especially liked it with white embossing powder on Spring Iris paper.

For this card I used Goldrush ink and the small flower in the stamp set.  One of the things I really liked was the center of the flower DID NOT exactly match the shape of the hole in the flower.  The hole is square, the dot is circular.  It made it look more natural.  I like that.  I used Cocoa Ink for the center.

On the card, I used a White Daisy Just Bloom and sponged it with Goldrush Ink.  Then I spritzed it with home made Glimmer Mist (recipe follows).  I also used the Pizzazz Irresistibles. 

Glimmer Mist Recipe:  
Small (2 oz.?) spray bottle from the travel section of your local drug store
Create A Shade Pearl Paint
A few drops of Sunflower Reinker (I used 5 or 6)
About 1/2" of rubbing alcohol

Put the liquids into the bottle and shake well.  Add more reinker as you like.  You can spray the mist on paper, flowers, whatever.  The rubbing alcohol makes it dry quickly, the Create A Shade makes it shiny, the reinker gives it color.  Experiment with different colors/combinations of reinkers.  If you keep the bottle farther away from your project, you with get a lighter, subtler coverage.  The closer you are, the more big blobs of mist you will get.  I like holding the bottle about 2 feet away from the paper.  Use a newspaper to cover your table.

SUPPLIES USED:
Something Special (August Stamp of the Month, D1424, $22.95)
Colonial White C/S (1388, $9.50 for 24 sheets)
Cocoa C/S (X5642, $9.50 for 24 sheets)
Goldrush Stamp Pad (Z2123, $5.25)
Cocoa Stamp Pad (Z2114, $5.25)
Just Blooms White Daisy Variety Pack (Z1800, on sale!  now $5.95)
Pizzazz Irresistibles (Z1307, $4.95)
Sponge (Z697, $1.25)
For Glimmer Mist:
Sunflower Reinker (Z2250, $4.25)
Create A Shade Pearl Paint (Z1039, $2.95)
Rubbing Alcohol
Small Spray Bottle

Sunday, August 15, 2010

It's National Stamping Month Again - Let's Celebrate!



Close To My Heart is celebrating National Stamping Month! Celebrate with a Triple Play!

ONE'S GOOD. TWO'S GREAT, and three's best of all! Celebrate your love of stamping by using stamps to embellish the three min-albums in our exclusive National Stamping Month kit, Triple Play. With Mini-Inks, stamps, albums and pre-cut accents for stamping, you'll complete all three albums in a jiffy.

Since each album has its own color scheme, all three are unique (Hollyhock, Desert Sand/Sunset (NEW COLOR!) and Indian Corn Blue) and are ready for many different kinds of photos. Make one for yourself and two to give away - if you can bear to part with them!

You can get huge discounts or get
the Triple Play Kit for free. Here's how! (Note, we've saved the best for last, so be sure to read all five!)

1. Buy the Triple Play Kit for $29.95

2. Purchase $25 in My Acrylix stamps and get the Triple Play Kit for just $15

3. Spend $40 on My Acrylix stamps and get Triple Play for only $5!

4. Host a Gathering between August 15 and September 30 with sales of $300 or more and get Triple Play for FREE! (email me to schedule your home gathering. lisasargent@myctmh.com)

5. Join Close To My Heart as a Consultant in September and get the kit for FREE!





Online orders count, too! So if you want it NOW, click here to start shopping! You'll be glad you did, these albums are so cute! ~L.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

YES! I finished scrapbooking my summer vacation already


I'm so excited about Studio J, Close To My Heart's online scrapbooking program! In July our family went to New York and Washington, DC for a little sightseeing and the Close To My Heart convention. I got back on July 11. I started my digital layouts a week after that.

I finished my pages a few days
later (no, I didn't do marathon online sessions, either) AND the printed layouts shipped directly to my house! TEN two-page layouts...that includes journaling, embellishing and everything! I am amazed by this. I uploaded my photos onto Studio J, picked my paper pack, picked my page layout styles and dragged and dropped my photos into the photo wells! The pages even came with virtual embellishments already on them. I just had to pick a color.



I'm excited that my scrapbook pages were mailed to me...and I even got free shipping (because I got 10 layouts) and free page protectors (because I got more than 5 layouts)! woo-hoo!

If you want to check out/play with Studio J, go ahead! It's free to try -- Just go to my website and click on Studio J, or click HERE. You can play with it for free. if you like what you did, save it, or buy it. It's all good!

If you really love it, CTMH consultants get a great discount! Contact me if you have questions! lisasargent@myctmh.com


Saturday, August 7, 2010

Motion Swap Card


I got this card at the Close To My Heart convention, too. It's by Sharon Esau.

What I liked about it is that it shows motion. She used the Grey Wool, Grey Flannel and Black ink pads. It's really cool! I think you could also do first-, second- and third generation stamping with a black ink pad, but the ink coverage wouldn't be as nice. This is better.

I've also seen this same technique with a skiing stamp set. This technique looks best with a solid stamp.

SUPPLIES USED:
X-treme (D1432, $22.95)
Black Card Stock (1386, $9.50 for 24 sheets)
White Daisy Card Stock (1385, $9.50 for 24 sheets)
Black Ink (Z2105, $5.25)
Grey Wool Ink (Z2125, $5.25)
Grey Flannel Ink (Z2124, $5.25)
Basic Brad Assortment (Z1218, $4.95)
Round Sponge (Z697, $1.25) (for sponging the edges with Grey Flannel Ink)

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

$2, $4, $6, $8 - Who do we appreciate? YOU!

Close To My Heart and I want to show how much we appreciate you! And to show our appreciation, we are bringing you an online sale with SUPER deals for 8 days only! From on Wednesday, August 4 at 8 am through Wednesday, August 11, while supplies last, you can purchase selected My Stickease assortments for only $2, My Reflections Level 1 kits for only $4, and My Reflections Level 2 paper packets for only $6 on my MyCTMH website. WOWIE!  Half Price!

With our large variety of Level 1, Level 2, and My Stickease products to choose from, everyone can get something they love! I can't wait to start shopping!

The sale starts tomorrow - Wednesday!  Click here to start shopping AND SAVING. :)

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Paper Roses



I got this amazing swap card from Jocelyne Roy at the Close To My Heart convention.
























The roses are just gorgeous!

I wanted to try to make one myself...I found this great tutorial here to make the roses. It walks you step by step through the process.















I followed the tutorial. It was really detailed! (LOVED THAT!) I used a 1" diameter 6-petal flower. If you're going to try this at home, I suggest you go with something bigger than a 1" flower. It's a good size for the finished flower (for cards), but WAY too small to learn on. Here's my attempt. I used polka dotted paper, not exactly realistic for a rose, but it still looked nice.

I used Liquid Glass for my "dries-clear-adhesive."






















SUPPLIES USED:
Veranda Paper Pack (X7119B, $12.95)
Colonial White Ribbon Rounds (Z1126, $7.95)
Metal Brad Assortment (Z1218, $4.95)
Thank You (French) - I think this is the stamp set she used - (D1392, $22.95)
Staz-On Black (ZZ888, $9.95)
Piercing Tool Kit (Z1114, $5.95)
Liquid Glass (Z679, $6.95)
Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug??)