Sept/Oct NEW PRODUCT Blog Hop!!!

WELCOME TO OUR NEW PRODUCT BLOG HOP! yes that was ALL CAPS because we are all super excited with ALL the fabulous products now available for you to play with!

If you've arrived from Kathy's Blog, you are on-track...if you get lost along the way head back to Melinda's blog for the full lineup of Hoppers.

Once I dig into a paper collection I like to use it all up! This layout was fun to create because I used up my leftovers PLUS I ended up playing with so many new products!

The patterned paper base was from a retire mix-in pack. The moon was hand drawn/trimmed out and the small striped scrap and stickers were from my leftovers in the Got Candy? paper pack!

The Wisteria stamped star came from the Got Candy? stamp set along with a few of the direct stamped stars on the base page.

I added some vellum behind the photo to frame my photo without adding any colours or heaviness to the image area.

You may also see the black acrylic arrows which are some of the all new embellishment offerings we have available now for the entire year!

So is this star shaker '2 cute' or what?!!!!  You got it, this new thin cut and foam and acetate star shape is one of the new shapes available now and I'm in LOVE! 

Notice the fun Got Candy? loose sequins in that shaker star?!!

Let me also point out the ALL NEW Simple Serif Bundle, which includes the thin cuts for uppercase and lowercase PLUS the coordinating stamp sets. The '2' is cut 3x's for some more dimension and I've used our new *AVOCADO colour which I have to say is now tied with Lagoon for 1st Place in my favourite colour competition...way to go Close To My Heart!!! I wanted to keep 'cute' in White Daisy cardstock and the 'spook' is Mint cardstock and stamped with Black for some extra pop.

I LOVE the size of both of these and that I can add to them with the stamp OR leave them as thin cut alphas as well. So versatile!

I hope you're getting as excited as me to play with all the new treasures Close To My Heart has available in the new CORE and Sept/Oct Seasonal Catalogs !

Head on over to Cat's Blog to continue with the Hop and contact your CTMH Maker with your WishList...if you don't have a CTMH Maker yet, head on over to our website and find one near you!

Products Used:

Got Candy? Product Bundle (CC8206)

Got Candy? Loose Sequins (CC8205)

Spooky Gnomes stamp and thin cuts (Z3782)

Star Shaker Window (Z3871)

Simple Serif Bundle (Z3865)

Wisteria, Tangerine, Black Inks

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Scrap Your Stash

Hello! How are you?! we are something like 5 weeks into our Corona Virus #stayhome situation right now and  I'm wondering what all of you are doing to keep yourself distracted from the world's event?

For me, scrapbooking is the greatest therapy of all...and I'm fortunate that I have so much STASH in my home that I could be home for years without running out! LOL

Yesterday's video in the Scrap Your Stash series I've started on my Facebook Page I was working with this sketch from our Close To My Heart 'Make It From Your Heart Volume 2' 

 There are loads of fantastic how-to designs in this book and it gives you exact measurements for cutting plus images to help you visualize other versions of each sketch also!

So this is what I used as a reference for the three photos I wanted to work with and this is how it turned out...you'll note that I just created the left page in this sketch!

So I made this sketch design work for me. I preferred the look of the Beach Script PP flush with the RHS edge of the Kraft CS edge. I also was working with some pieces I had leftover (scraps) and so my PP on the far left is off from the sketch but remember that a sketch is a starting off point, so don't obsess over 'exact' because no one knows any differently when they're looking through YOUR ALBUM!!!

The point as well when working through your stash...get into your embellishments! YES! I mean ALL of them, not just the ones that you purchased with your specific papers. You have a literal TREASURE in your creative spaces, so get on into them and start considering 'collecting' all your 'chachskis', 'bits and baubles', 'embellishments' into one storage style so you can use your stash more easily and have fun mixing things up!

chachskis 

Yiddish: Knickknacks, collectables, figurines. Small figures and mememtos that can be bought at gas stations, dollar stores, gift shops, tourist destinations, etc. These are usually used to give to friends or to decorate cubicles. Sometimes placed in curio cabinets and so forth.

I bought some lovely chachskis for my scrapbook page from Kristine!

Speaking of chachskis, I was able to locate some beach'y ones that came with these No Worries papers (in my scraps) of years gone by... PLUS using up more of the 'bits' which was AWESOME!

Can you see how I've sanded the edges of these photos? A great way to define, highlight or make them pop without having to mat them with CS...I created some extra 'scratch' lines with my sanding technique to add to the effect which I really like!

Thank you for popping by today and follow the Facebook link (above) to see the Scrap Your Stash videos if you're looking for something to do!!!

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Sizzlin' Summer Sketch#12

Sizzlin' Summer sketches are still coming your way...when I get a chance to actually get them done! I hope you are visiting Scrapbook Challenges to see all the sketches and examples from our Design Team and members in the gallery!

This sketch started one way and ended another, which is fine because I like how it all turned out!

I'm playing with our new 'Frosted' paper collection from Close To My Heart which will work great for Winter or Christmas  themed projects...check out some cards I created at the end of this post using one of our fantastic card kits! 

These glittery sparkles are discontinued now but I'm glad I bought lots when we had them in our catalog! I've just used an assortment of punches for the snowflakes that were in my stamp drawer at home...fast and easy when you are punching it outta card stock! Which is 'Colonial White' by the way :)

I have been featuring CTMH's new 'Artbooking' cartridge from Cricut in the previous few weeks...this project's title and fancy doily on the left side were both cut out of our cartridges...our glitter paper is so fantastic that it cuts like butter on the Cricut machine too! Which makes for some fun embellishments and titles in glitter!

Isn't this great, what an awesome doily huh?!!! Anyways, my goal was to keep this layout simple with simple embellishments and stay within the colours of this paper line...the photos are from 7 years ago when our family stayed at Leavenworth in Washington over the Thanksgiving weekend...this town is so interesting at that time of the year!

Our card kits come with enough product to create 15 cards! We also include an exclusive stamp set and envelopes!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend wherever you may be!!!

on the 6th Day of Challenges...

Over at Scrapbook Challenges we are hosting 12 Days of Challenges. We started on December 1st and will post a challenge a day until the 12th...you can join in and do each challenge individually OR you can do what's referred to as a 'progressive' challenge, where you add each element to your layout each day...

Note*** Life has gotten away from me this week and unfortunately I have to play catch up so with that being said here's the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Day of Challenges!!! Which I know are from days ago, before I posted my 10th Day of Challenges...teehee

~ On the 6th day of challenges Charlene challenged you, include this color pop...basically you want to add a complimentary colour that will 'pop' off your layout.

Seeing as my layout is kinda neutral'ish I decided to add more bright red...and I added it as matting for my oval sentiment, which I wouldn't technically have known about if I wasn't behind!!!

~ On the 7th day of challenges Nanette challenged you, to make a mess...but I have to confess that this step messed me up! In the forum post you could make a mess or make a doodle'y mess...which I just could not do! Just didn't go with the style of this layout so I skipped on over to:

~ On the 8th day of challenges Lee-Anne challenged you, to use an oval...so as you can see in my photo above, I added the sentiment 'Tis the Season, with this month's Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month stamp set!!!

~ On the 9th day of challenges Janet challenged you, to stitch around the edges...so that I was able to do quite easily as it is something I LOVE to add to my pages :)

I hope you are still following along with these fun daily challenges, if you're joining late, don't worry, just follow the steps before and catch up! Or do a layout based on the individual challenges...either is great and you'll have a few more layouts completed in the process :) Thanks for stopping in today!

Kick up your Heels

Good Morning, I'm back from Dallas, Texas !!! Did you miss me?!!!

It's Wednesday and that means I've got another sketch for you from  Let's Scrap...this one is our card sketch but you know how I'm not really as excited about cards as I am with layouts so I decided to do this sketch for some more of Olivia's Convocation photos :)

I asked the girls to do something fun instead of always standing perfectly infront of the camera...I told them that one of the photos I remember of my Grad was with my gal pals and our legs being kicked up can-can style...this is what they did:

Now I know that all of you have some kind of die cut paper that you bought because it looks so cool...I have about 30 I think maybe more...anyways ;) this sketch is perfect to get using those sheets that might (if you are anything like me) be just sitting there in your craft room!!!??

I am using just one paper pack from SEI, their Field Notes collection, for all of Olivia's Convocation photos.  I've told you in some recent posts that I spent some time cutting out each of these butterflies from a sheet of paper...these frames were also cut from a sheet of paper...

Now I also wanted these girls to kick up their heels because my daughter Olivia was on the hunt for the 'PERFECT' pair of heels that would 'Make Just The Right Statement' when she was on stage...like as if everyone would be specifically looking at her shoes...? I told her that the only ones to notice would be her...she thought I was insane ;) 

Olivia is second from the left in her chunky wood and leather heels...

These photos were also the perfect way to show off those carefully thought out purchases :)

You might have noticed in this last photo the stitching, this is some heavy duty thread that I've used in my sewing machine and followed the curve in the patterned die cut...I am finding that this thread is perfect for layouts as it really shows up well!

So glad you've popped in here today, thanks for visiting!

June's 'get messy' challenge

Firstly, this was quite a stretch for me to say the least, challenge, yes...I cracked open my jar of Gesso, that I've had for a very long time but haven't used until today!

I'm so glad that Carmen hosted this 'get messy' challenge over at Scrapbook Challenges. 

Here's my layout:

I've smeared the gesso on the patterned paper and then added some more and scrapped a grooved tool through it...left it to dry for an hour as I had some thick splotches.

You can just barely see the shimmer in this frame which was hand cut from a sheet of patterned paper.

Don't you just love seeing the texture and dimension that this gesso adds to this layout ?

You can also see the faint bit of spritz that I've added with a smoosh spritzer...it had some shimmer to it as well.

Here's the sheets that I've hand cut to create some embellishments to go with this paper collection from SEI...

So glad you've popped in today, I hope you try to mix things up a bit with paint/gesso/inks and 'get messy' !!!

Colour Challenge

Good Morning!

I was having a great time today playing along with a couple challenges over at the Scrapbook Challenges site. 

The one I'm going to show you today is the June 'Colour Challenge' and was hosted by Emilia from their Design Team.

 She wanted us to work with this colour palette as our inspiration:

and this is what I came up with:

I came upon these papers at Bryan's store, Paper Nation...I loved the look of them, the colours and I'm loving all this wood grain paper, so of course I needed it! 

Made some fun and easy embellishments with my circle punches and cut my felt with my circle die from Sizzix...crinkled and layered and voila...add some brads and they were ready to add to this layout...I find it a little more challenging to embellish more masculine layouts but I think this one worked out fine :)

I love my twine...raised the card stock matted photo on some 3D foam tape to add some dimension and to make the twine look better :)

Thanks so much for checking in today, tomorrow I'll be sharing my  June 'By The Numbers' Challenge layout that Cathy has hosted this month!

Card or Layout???

Well it could be either....can't it? This is what I love about the sketches over at Let's Scrap...when I first saw this sketch I wanted to make a layout...it makes a great card too but this photo of Olivia with Mt.Baker in the background was perfect for it.

This photo is so reflective, it reminds me of the next stage in her life after graduation..looking to the horizon and future...the whole world at her beautiful feet!

I literally found this ribbon downstairs and decided to incorporate it here...at first I thought maybe it was too thick but I like how it reminds me of a tuxedo bow tie!

Found some great sentiments in my collection of stamp sets and I like how they all said what I'm thinking as I created this layout :)

I added some bling between the words for separation but also because it is her prom picture and it needs some BLING !

In the end this photo is what I want to notice the most, so keeping the embellishing to a minimum let that happen :)

Thanks for stopping by today...have a great Wednesday!

April's SOTM BlogHop!!!

Welcome to another fantastic Close To My Heart BlogHop!!!

Hopefully you've arrived here from Gina Brandstetter's Blog or perhaps you've started here, which is great, remember to click on the link at the bottom of my post to continue on as this is one big circular Hop featuring 50 talented CTMH Consultants' artwork using :

April's Stamp of the Month set, 'You Are...'  

This set is available from April 1st-30th only!!!

 Contact me to see how you can get this set for only $5.00

This stamp set is great for scrapbook layouts AND cards as you can see here...

and here's my card

Check out this new 'Dotty for You' National Scrapbooking Month paper packet (coming soon)...don't you love it! 


These colours really make me feel like Spring is here, even if our weather outside is trying to confuse me ;)

Thanks so much for taking the time to check in here and I hope you enjoy the rest of the Hop...now off you go to see what's up at Kim Schnoor's Blog

Kathleen Androlewicz http://BowlOfStamps.blogspot.com

Helen Onulak http://www.hookedonstamping.com

Georgia Hauglid http://inkygeorgia.blogspot.com/

Debra Van Patten http://memoriesoftheheartbydeb.blogspot.com

Shannon Beck http://www.cardsfromthefarm.blogspot.com

Dawn Heuft http://stamptildawn.blogspot.com

Lisa Sargent http://www.lisasargent.net

Brae Montgomery http://thebrae-er.blogspot.com

Nikka Geers http://www.nikkageers.blogspot.com

Krista Ritskes http://simplycreatingtogether.blogspot.com/

Michelle Loncar http://michelleloncar.blogspot.com

Sarita Schraeder http://www.blessedscrapper.com

Teresa Scrivens http://www.creatingwithinkypaw.com

Dawn Ross http://iamahappystamper.blogspot.com

Lori Brown http://www.savingmine.blogspot.com

Angel Sawyer http://RunningwithScissorsDesignCo.blogspot.com

Jill Lucas http://scrapwench.blogspot.com

Elizabeth Mindemann http://www.ejoym.blogspot.com

Traci Godbee http://www.createwithtraci.com/

Melinda Everitt http://www.ifyoublingit.blogspot.com

Melissa Laverty http://www.fancymelissa.com/blog

Katy Taylor http://www.scrappinkaty.blogspot.com

Wendy Coffman http://www.stampingrules.blogspot.com/

Haley Dyer http://inkyscrapper.blogspot.com

Wanda Riley http://Creatingwithwanda.blogspot.com

Kami Welter http://www.scrappin4memories.blogspot.com/

Mary Eisen http://mestamp2.blogspot.com

Jen Rubio http://JenRubio.blogspot.com

Annette Green http://AnnettesCreativeJourney.blogspot.com

Amy McVey http://www.clearlystamping.blogspot.com

Krista Hershberger http://kristascraftycorner.blogspot.com/

Carla Ironside http://carlacreates.blogspot.com

Angela Tutton http://www.tuttonstreasures.blogspot.com

LeAnne Dudley http://www.dudleychickdesigns.blogspot.com

Tamytha Jenkins http://www.paperheartist.com/

Pamela O'Connor http://cherishyourmemories.blogspot.com

Sheila Bennett http://sheila-bennett.blogspot.com

Traci Pasqualone http://ScrapiTraci.blogspot.com

Adeline Brill http://www.adeline-brill.blogspot.com

Shirley Ross http://www.momnmescrap.blogspot.com

Judy Burger http://www.makingtimeformemories.blogspot.com

Gina Brandstetter http://gmbscrapper.blogspot.com/

Kristine Ponte http://www.kponte.blogspot.com

Kim Schnoor http://www.creativehands-hearts.blogspot.com

Allisa Chilton http://rockymtnpapercrafts.blogspot.com

Karen Fullam http://www.enrichingmemories.com

Judy Faye Garner http://judyfaye.blogspot.com

Lalia Harris http://www.craftylalia.blogspot.com

Jean McNulty http://stampinmaui.blogspot.com/

more from my 20 Layouts Class

Hello!

I have been showing you some of the layouts that I've completed from the 20 Layouts class that was offered at Cherish the Thought and taught by Jennifer Edwardson...well here's another one!

Super basic design concept and it uses up your photos and scraps of papers...these are 1½" squares and the photos are popped with 3D foam tape and all edges have been sanded. 

I''ve dug into my stash and used up some very old papers, 'Moondoggie' and the fantastic stamp set that went so well with this paper...even though the papers are discontinued, the stamp set is still very versatile and I'm glad to have kept it this long! 

In addition to rummaging through my old stash from years past...I also got using up some of the 'Newsprint' rub-ons...there are sooooo many letters in this pack for just $8.95 that it was a great investment as it will take a while to run out of letters :)

I've popped up the flowers and found one of the old journalling spots that was with this kit...talk about a hoarder...gotta get this stuff used up! Still need to add some journalling but other than that, this one is done!

Thanks for visiting today...Happy Scrapin'