Sunday, July 31, 2011

August Stamp of the Month Bloghop!

Wow!  I can't believe it's August already.  Earlier this week I went to the office supply store to buy school supplies for the kids (yippee!).

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Bloghop!  If you've arrived here from {Judy's Blog}you've come to the right place.

I'm excited, because August brings us a new Idea Book...and a new Stamp of the Month program.  Did you know that you can now earn the Stamp of the Month for $5 even faster?  Starting August 1, when you place a $50 order, you can get the Stamp of the Month for $5!!!  I LOVE IT!  You are still being rewarded for being a great customer; now you are getting your reward even faster.

This month's stamp set is called Wicked (S1108).  You can buy it (and now it costs only $17.95, instead of the previous $22.95), or you can get a discount on it.  ($5 when you place a $50 order.)

If you haven't seen it yet, here it is:

If you click on the picture, you can see it larger.


For my creation this month, I decided to use one of the cutouts from the Close To My Heart Cricut cartridge.  (I am SO excited about this!)  Sadly, I was (note the past tense) one of the few people in the papercrafting world who didn't have a Cricut.  Happily, I bought one from one of my customers who already had a Cricut Expressions and wanted to buy the new Anniversary edition.  I got it from her yesterday.  She gave me a lesson, and I couldn't wait to get home and play with it some more.

For all you Cricut experts, my little bag might seem simple.  I'll improve - I promise. With 700 different images on the Cricut cartridge, and bunches of sizes, I'm sure I'll be playing for a long time!  I made the largest size handle bag that it could make on a 12x12 sheet.  (About 6 1/2", if I remember right.)  I even made a 1" french fry holder cutout!

Here's the front of the bag:

(Sorry, the reflection on the embossing powder is distracting!)


I stamped the witch in black on vellum and embossed it with Detail Clear Embossing Powder.  (The ink is slow drying on vellum, so you have time to sprinkle embossing powder and heat emboss it.)  Then I cut it out, leaving sharp angles and a large border.

I stamped the honeycombs with Sunset, and then stamped the broom in black (I couldn't decide between using Black and Archival Black).  Later on in the process, I decided Archival Black was better.  The regular black isn't as dark as I would like.  That might be because I need to reink my pad (?).  Anyway, the broom on the front is with "regular" black ink.  The cat on the back was stamped with Archival Black ink.  (See the difference?)

I decorated the handle with the straight flourish in the Wicked stamp set.  To line up the flourish, I put my block upside down over the handle, and starting in the center, I lined the swirly up on the handle, so it would stamp on the handle when turned over.  Pretty cool, huh!?  I LOVE clear, bendy stamps!!!







The "BOO-TIFUL" on the tag, I "stole" from the stamp set Boo-tiful (retired).  But the words weren't in the stamp set, that was the actual name of the set.  The name of the stamp set was in itty bitty words, made out of the My Acrylix material.  So I used it as a stamp.





The back side of the bag has the cat stamped in Archival Black.  (I just think this ink looked nicer.)  Blacker black, and more opaque.  I gave the kitty a tiny green sparkle for her necklace.





I think it would be fun to make a bunch of these.  Let me know what you think!  If you would like to get any supplies to make these fun items, click here to shop!

Now, HOP on over to {Amy's blog} to see what she has in store for you.

Supplies Used:
August Stamp of the Month, Wicked (S1108, $17.95 or just $5 with your $50 purchase)
Olive Card Stock
Vellum
Detail Clear embossing powder (Z821, $3.95)
Stamp Pads Used:  Archival Black, Cocoa, Olive, Sunset ($5.25 each)
Black Mini-Medley Accents (Z1393, $4.95)
Sunset Mini-Medley Accents (Z1338, $4.95)
Sorbet Waxy Flax (Z1249, $3.95)
Sponge (Z697, $1.25)
Blue-Green Sparkles (Z1327, $2.95)
Boo-Tiful Stamp Set (retired)

Friday, July 29, 2011

More fun convention swap cards!

I love getting swap cards - not only because I see different paper and stamps than I already have, but I get to see different techniques.


Created by Traci Pasqualone
I know that I've seen this technique before, where you cut the image into pieces, but I kind of forgot about it.  I love the different look it gives the card.  An essential part is sponging all 4 edges of the cut pieces.  I also like the use of the background word stamp.  Because they are the same color, the butterfly blocks out the words in the back - no need to mask! 


Supplies Used:  Universal Backgrounds (D1477), Butterfly is from the January Stamp of the Month. Paper:  Wings and Juniper card stock.  Other:  Twilight stamp pad, Natural Hemp, Wooden Buttons.




Created by Roberta Miner


This fun card is from team member, Roberta.  I like the repeating "XO" with the Bohemian Alphabet (LOVE this set!) and the Bliss Paper Pack.  But my favorite part is the different sized brads that she used.  I'm such a consistency freak, that I'm not comfortable using different sized brads on a card.  Weird, I know.  But I like what she did here.  It works!  


Supplies Used here:  Bohemian alphabet (E1019), Fill in the Blank (D1465).  If you don't want to get the Bohemian Alphabet, you can buy the Priceless Love Word Puzzle (D1348) set.  It has an XO and a little frame.  Brads - Metal Assortment (Z1366), Bitty Brad Assortment (Z1368).  Colors:  Bamboo, Holiday Red, Black.




Created by Naomi Smith
This is a gift I received from my Upline, Naomi.  I love how she stamped the swirly thing from Circle of Love (D1438) stamp set  and then cut out itty bitty flowers (popped up with puffy tape).  She also used the Universal Backgrounds in this cute pen and paper set.  It's embellished with sparkles and sparkly ribbon.  SO cute!


Colors Used: Cotton Candy, Black, Grey Wool, sponge.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

July Stamp Class Cards

I wanted to share some of the cards we're making in my classes this month -- very fun stuff!  




Card by Naomi Smith -  It opens like a real vest

Supplies Used: Wings Creative Basics (X5812, $7.95 for 6 sheets of 2 patterns and coordinating ribbon), Cocoa card stock (X5642, $9.50 for 24 sheets) and Black Mini Medley Accents (brads)(Z1393, $4.95), Sponge (Z697, $1.25).





Inspired by a Close To My Heart Consultant
Supplies Used: Stamp set from the Sophia Workshop (G1019, $29.95), Circle Together (B1372, $13.95), Black and Cotton Candy Ink, Cotton Candy card stock, and 1 1/4" Circle Punch (Z1311, $12.95) 






Supplies Used: Sophia Paper Pack (X7131B, $12.95), Embrace Life (C1391, $13.95), Spring Iris, White Daisy, Key Lime Card Stock, Clear Sparkles (Z1104, $2.95), Natural Hemp (Z280, $2.25), Liquid Glass (Z679, $6.95), Pear Ink (Z2197, $5.25)


I learned how to make this butterfly at a recent team meeting.  It's SUPER easy, even though it doesn't look it.  Start with a 2x2 square piece of paper and cut it diagonally into two triangles.  Here's the instructions:


I started with a 2x2 square.


You can click on the instructions to make them larger.
For the body, I used a 4" piece of hemp, folded in half and tied in a knot.  I adhered it with Liquid Glass.  I ran out of Key Lime Paper and substituted Sunkiss Yellow.  I like how I can substitute papers from the same season and the project still looks great!


Now I'm off to work on my August Stamp of the Month Blog Hop card and projects for next month with the NEW GOODIES.  The new Idea Book starts August 1....I can't wait to play!!!



Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Convention Swaps

I love going to the annual Close To My Heart convention.  There's always tons of announcements from the corporate office.  I love hearing it "from the horse's mouth."  This year's big announcement was the addition of a Close To My Heart/Cricut Cartridge.  We're all extremely excited about it.  I can't wait to get my cartridge (and my Cricut, since I don't have one yet) and start playing!  August 1, you can have one, too!  The stamps and the die cuts will coordinate, as will some of the Dimensional Elements.  It's fun to have a new toy to play with -- especially one with 700 images (and in various sizes)!  Thousands of combinations!!


But aside from the corporate announcements, my favorite part of the convention experience is the swaps that I get from the consultants who attend the event.  I always make sure I bring at least 50 swaps.  (This year I brought 82.)  I LOVE tapping into and seeing the creativity of the other consultants!


Here's a few of my favorites:


Created by Betsy Gully
I like how two of the pieces are the same, but on opposite sides of the card.  I've always liked the birdhouse stamp set, but didn't buy it, because I didn't know what to do with it.  It's a nice, interesting card.  [Bless This Nest (C1445, $18.95); Mayberry Paper Pack (X7136B, $12.95)]




Created by Jude Chie


I never bought this paper pack (above), Bliss.  It looked too washed out in the catalog.  But after seeing the papers in real life, it's really quite elegant.  I like the technique with the squares.  Interesting!  [Bliss Paper Pack (X7132B, $12.95); not sure about the sentiment]


Created by Terri Anderson
I love the teapot stamp set...and I love random stamping.  I like the use of the Kraft Color Ready Borders as an accent.  They are self-adhesive.  BONUS!  The little teacup on the left is a nice touch, too. [Tea Time, (C1438, $18.95), Thank You (D1361, $22.95); Craft Card Stock, Cranberry, Buttercup, Chocolate; Color Ready Borders (Z1377); waxy flax.]


I hope you've gotten some inspiration from these cards, too!   More to follow!





Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Convention Team Gifts

I'm so excited, I'm leaving for the Close To My Heart convention tomorrow!!! Woo-hoo!! New papers, products and stamp sets to play with! :)


I'm super happy that seven of my team members are attending convention this year. It's at Disneyland, so it's nice and close. I'm giving each of them a little bag of goodies with yummy high-energy snacks (you know, like chocolate) and more practical things like post-it notes (for marking their favorite pages in the new Idea Book/Catalog that we'll be getting on the first day).  Can't wait!


 I also made these little gifts:




The little easel is about 3 1/2" tall.  It's so cute!  The butterfly is stamped on vellum and cut out.  The thing with the flower is a box of Tic-Tacs.  You can never have too many mints.  (I made the flower out of 4 paper flowers smashed together and glued.  Then I used the spray pen to color it pink.)   


The new Close To My Heart Idea Book goes live to customers on August 1, so you should come to a card class soon!  July will feature the Spring/Summer papers, plus we'll be drawing for free CTMH product!  


July Card Classes:
Thursday, July 21 (10am)
Friday, July 22 (6:30pm)
Saturday, July 23 (10am)


August Classes (new catalog!):
Fridays, August 19 and 26 (6:30pm)
Thursday, August 25 (10am)


Supplies Used:
Miniature easel (from Paper Zone)
Sophia Workshop Kit stamp set (the vine)
Embrace Life (C1391, $18.95) (the butterfly)
Sunflower Ink (butterfly)
Detail Clear Embossing Powder
Vellum paper
Garden Green Ink
"Inspire" sentiment - used Expressives Font Disk I (retired)
Desert Sand Card Stock
Cocoa Stamp Pad




Tic-Tac Box
Sophia Paper Pack
Paper Flowers