CHRISTMAS CARD WORKSHOP

 SILVER & GOLD PML 

CHRISTMAS CARD WORKSKHOP

CTMH Consultant Guide available

It's time to be thinking about Christmas cards, and the CTMH Silver & Gold Picture My Life cards make the perfect start to 22 beautiful cards.
Complete cutting instructions and instructions for assembling the cards are included.

If you aren't a Close to My Heart consultant but would like to create these cards, I will soon be posting the information for purchasing a pre-stamped kit that will allow you to put these cards together at home.

These are the cards that you can make with your customers!

These 22 cards are created using the silver and gold foil PML cards from the packet.  You need 5 different colors of cardstock, but it comes out to only about 2-1/2 sheets total, plus one sheet of white.  Each customer will also need a pack of bitty sparkles and red enamel gems, plus about half a pack of cards/envelopes.

There is one Cricut cut used for the wreath from the Flower Market cartridge.  But if you don't have Cricut or that cartridge, I have created an alternate option for the "noel" card using a stamped image.

Individual photos of all the cards, plus the alternate option for the "noel" card, can be found on the "Kits for Sale" page of his blog.  Click here to open that page.

You can get all of the information to create this workshop with your customers for only $10.   
Use the Buy it Now button below to get all of the instructions, and a Consultant Release allowing you to use this project with your customers.

Once you've made your purchase, please email me at 

greetingsfromgail@gmail.com

with your CTMH website address - your OBA!

I will then send you the e-files for this project and you can start preparing for the upcoming Christmas season. 
If you have any troubles with the Buy Now button, please email me
greetingsfromgail@gmail.com
and I will send you an invoice. 

CHRISTMAS - a Clean and Simple Card

Who doesn't love a cute pig - and on your Christmas card, of all places!  This card was perfect for the Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge of using only pink, red and green on your card.  Be sure to pop over to their blog and check out other cards using this color combination!

This little pig, and 12 other animal friends, can be found on the latest Operation Smile stamp set from Close to My Heart.  Operation Smile is the charity that CTMH supports, and $7 from the purchase of each stamp set goes directly to Operation Smile.  While the little critters are not season specific, I teamed them with the new Beary Christmas Scrapbooking stamp set to create this card. Here's what a few of the other cards looked like when they were finished.

And here's what the Operation Smile stamp set - officially known as Punny Pals (D1751) - looks like!

This is the Beary Christmas Scrapbooking set (D1730 stamp set only, Z4047 stamp set bundled with thin cut dies).  This is the set that provided the Christmas theme for my card.  Notice that I stole the Santa hat right off the bear's head!

The sentiments used on the cards are all individual stamps, so you can choose a single greeting or get them all.  They are:
Ho Ho Ho (M1181)
Mistletoe Kisses (M1182)
Merry Everything (M1183)
Merry Christmas (M1134)

Thanks for stopping by today to see my little friends.  Enjoy the rest of your week!

FALL CARD - Clean and Simple

Today it started to feel like fall!  And if we had any trees in our yard, we would soon be raking leaves from them.  But since we didn't want to obstruct our views, we only planted shrubs, so we don't have to deal with that chore of the season.  But I do love fall leaves - all of their wonderful colors.  So that is what I portrayed on this card with yellows and reds and oranges and greens and even some purple!

I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  The panel with the leaves is popped up over the white card base.  Those who attend my monthly card classes will be creating this card as a part of the October class.  Stay tuned if you want to see what else we will be working on!

Here's a closer look at the dimension I was able to create with the layers of leaves.  I cut two of the "thankful" words and glued them together so they had a little more substance on the card.


Here's a list of what I used.  All products are from Close to My Heart unless indicated.
Stamps and Dies:
Falling for You Cardmaking stamp/die bundle (Z4041) - stamp set alone is C1686
Happy Day Cardmaking Workshop Your Way kit (G1139) - "for you" sentiment
Thankful for You thin cut die (Z4036)
Inside/Out Stitch Rectangular dies (My Favorite Things)
Paper and Inks:
White Daisy cardstock
Poppy cardstock
Tangerine, Goldrush, Juniper, Fern, NE Ivy, Toffee, Sorbet and Poppy inks
Other:
Thin 3-D foam (Z2060)
Bronze sequins (Z4029)

Be sure to stop over at the Freshly Made Sketches blog and see other projects using this sketch.  In addition, I entered this card in the Clean & Simple Fall challenge over at Stamp Ink Paper.  Check them out as well.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you enjoy the weekend.  Take it easy - you may have to be raking leaves soon!

NEWS FROM CLOSE TO MY HEART

It is just about time for the current CTMH Annual Inspirations catalog to retire.  There are a few changes ahead with the new catalog that you will be able to order from on August 1. 

One is a new set of colors - but that means that we have to say good-bye to some long time favorites.  The retiring colors are shown below.  If you have any of these stamp pads, but don't have the re-inkers for them, I suggest that you contact me or head over to my CTMH website to order yours.  The re-inkers for these colors will only be available until the end of July - or while supplies last!

You might have noticed that Black is not retiring.  It is, however, moving out of the Basic family and will stand alone with White Daisy and the Color of the Year (yes, there is a new one!).  That means that we will have ten new neutral colors that you can work with - and HERE THEY ARE!

There is also an announcement about pricing.   Because the cost of raw materials has increased over the years, CTMH finally needed to increase the cost of some of our products in the new catalog. I wanted to let you know ahead of time which products will have a price increase in order to give you an opportunity to order the items you may have been wanting at the current lower price. Below is a list of the increases that will go into effect on August 1st.  NOTE - GLITTER PAPER and WATERCOLOR PAPER ARE ON THE LIST!

Again, if you are interested in stocking up on any of these items before the price increase, you can either contact me or head over to my CTMH shopping site and place the order yourself.

Catalog pages 12 & 13

Memory protectors + 1.00 & 2.00
Memory protectors value pack + 4.00

Catalog pages 95 - 99
All re-inkers +1.00

Catalog pages 101 - 108
All glitter paper +1.00 (black, white, gold, silver & red – sea glass has sold out)
Z3146 water color paper +1.00
Z3089 grey gems +1.00
Z3090 red gems +1.00
Z3132 watercolor paints +1.00
Z1382 tweezers +1.00
Z1204 bone folder +1.00
Z1207 rub and remove eraser +2.00
Z1836 micro scissors nonstick +2.00
Z534 micro tip scissors +2.00
Z679 liquid glass +1.00

Catalog pages 89 - 93
Z5102 small organization tray +1.00
Z5104 stamp pad org tray +1.00
Z5103 marker organizer stack +1.00
Z5105 tool cubby +1.00
Z5101 large tray +2.00
Z5100 paper tray +1.00
Z334  paper 12" x 12" envelope +3.00
Z4138 small organizer +3.00
Z4139 med organizer +5.00
Z1834 large organizer +5.00
Z1839 tabbed dividers +1.00
Z4137 craft boxes +1.00
Z1897 dauber foam insert +1.00
Z1898 pigment ink inserts +1.00
Z4140 craft boxes foam insert +1.00
Z4141 blocks foam insert +1.00
Z3106 mini stamp organizers +2.00
Z1038 my acrylic organizer +1.00

Catalog page 110
How to books – 9035 & 9042  Make it From Your Heart Vol #1 and #2  +$1.00

QUESTIONS - contact me at scrappingailaz@gmail.com

JUNE 2017 STAMP CLUB

June is just around the corner, so that means that the Stamp Club classes will be happening soon! Here are the projects we will be making in all of the classes.
 
The cards shown in the upper left are “wiper” cards.  The balloons hide inside the folded card, and pop back up when it is opened - just like the action of a wiper blade!  You will choose on class day which version of the card you make. 

The card on the upper right uses the June Stamp of the Month - Hello Foxy.  There are several options of sentiments that work on this card, allowing you to make it what you want.     

Paper piecing is used on the bottom left card.  A bit of cutting is required, but the end result is well worth it. 

The llama card uses fringed paper which you will create either with special fringing scissors or by making multiple cuts with regular scissors.

Dates for Stamp Club are:

Thursday, June 1  —  Saturday, June 3

Monday, June 5  —  Tuesday, June 6

All classes meet at 9:30 and run until about 1:30

Cost is $20 to complete the 4 projects (+$5 for a kit)

Please email me to let me know which date you want . 

scrappingailaz@gmail.com

Once you confirm your registration, if you are unable to attend the class, 

I will prepare a kit with instructions for you to complete the projects. 

Kits can also be ordered if you aren't in the area but would like to create these cards.  

Shipping will be added to the cost shown above.

Hello Foxy with Mojo Monday Sketch #498

I love to use sketches as my inspiration for cards.  It is so easy to just get stuck trying to think of a design when you know the image you want to use.  This week's Mojo Monday Sketch really helped me with this cute little fox! Using white on white and embossing the side panel kept it simple - lets you notice the flowers and the sweet face of the fox.

The stamp set "Hello Foxy" is the Stamp of the Month from Close to My Heart for June 2017.  All images on this card are from the set, but the set includes many more.  See all of them below.  This set will be available starting June 1.  You are able to purchase it for the retail price of $17.95, but if you have an order of $50 of CTMH product, this set is yours for just $5!

This card is one of four that we will make in the June Stamp Club classes.  Dates are:

Thursday, June 1  —  Saturday, June 3

Monday, June 5  —  Tuesday, June 6

All classes meet at 9:30 and run until about 1:30

I will be posting more information about the other cards soon - so stay tuned!  Kits are available if you can't make those dates - or if you live out of the area.  All kits are pre-stamped and ready to assemble with photo instructions.   Email me at scrappingailaz@gmail.com if you are interested.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.  Be sure to pop over to the MojoMonday Blog to check out the other great creations with this sketch.

FLORAL GREETINGS

It's spring, and the flowers will soon be blooming.  I loved the "Keep Dreaming" stamp set in the new CTMH Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog, and the challenges I found were perfect for it!  I used a sketch from CASE this Sketch, the floral image from Inspired by All the Little Things, and the Coming Up Roses theme over at Heart2Heart.

 

I used the papers from the Little Dreamer pack and stamped the floral images directly to the paper, then cut and pieced them together.  The background foliage was stamped directly on the card front and the cut-out flowers were arranged on top of them.  The green background leaves were actually watercolored using the ink pad!  I added some clear shimmer brush to the roses and the background pink flowers.  I inked the edges of the layer on the large flower in the center, and added bitty sparkles to the center.

I used Blossom, Sweet Leaf, Thistle and Black inks.  All products are from Close to My Heart.  You can find them on my CTMH website. 

This card is one of the projects we will make in my June Stamp Club Classes.  Watch here for more details, or send me an email at scrappingailaz@gmail.com if you are interested.

Be sure to pop over to the blogs mentioned above to see other great creations!  

Thanks for stopping by.

A Birthday that is a LLAMA FUN!

I can't believe that it has been a month since I last posted - and it was a Mojo Monday challenge back then!  This is the latest sketch from one of my favorite challenge blogs.  I wanted to showcase the bold papers in the new "Prickly Pear" paper pack from Close to My Heart, and all of the block sections on this sketch made that possible.


I was inspired by a card created by fellow CTMH consultant Claudia McDaniel.  She had used multiple rows of fringed paper with this little llama.  I pulled out my Martha Stewart fringe scissors to create that feature on this card.

  This cute llama is found on the "Prickly Pear - Cardmaking" stamp set that has a coordinating set of dies.  I colored him with the ShinHanTouch Twin Markers.  In addition, I added a few of the Prickly Pear Sequins and a strip of the new Blue Burlap Ribbon.

Here's the complete list of what I used on this card (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):
Paper:
Prickly Pear Paper Packet (X7721B)
Poppy cardstock (X5779)
White Daisy cardstock (1385)
Stamps:
Prickly Pear - Cardmaking (C1682, stamp set only, Z3332, bundled with dies)
Inks:
Black (Z2805)
Peacock (Z2849)
Poppy (Z2852)
ShinHan Touch Twin Markers - Barely Beige (Z2445), Pastel Peach (Z2460), Golden Yellow (Z2452), Carmine (Z2448), Leaf Green (Z2454), Turquoise Blue (Z2465), Peacock Green (Z2461), and Black (Z2446)
Accessories:
Prickly Pear Sequins (Z3324)
Blue Burlap Ribbon (Z3325)
Miscellaneous:
Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060)
Martha Stewart Fringe Scissors

Be sure to check out the other cards created with this sketch over at the Mojo Monday challenge blog.  I also am entering this in the Anything Goes challenge over at the Seize the Birthday Challenge Blog.  Pop over there as well to get ideas for birthday projects!

If you are interested in any of the products used on this card, you can head over to my CTMH Shopping Website to see them all.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday Birthday Card

The Hello Lovely papers from Close to My Heart offer a vintage feel with their soft colors.  I love how the pattern papers in the front coordinate so well with the floral background piece.  It's so fun to get all of these papers in one pack and know that they will all go together! 

Everything came together really quickly using this week's sketch from Mojo Monday!  I wanted the papers to be the showcase of this card, and these larger pieces were perfect.  There are ten different sheet designs in the pack, and I was able to use five of them on this card.

The pattern in the two front pieces is done in a gold color, so I decided to use a gold shimmery paper for the backing of my pieces.  However, other than glitter paper, CTMH didn't have the paper I wanted.  SO - I created it!  I used Desert Sand cardstock, which is as close to gold as any of  the CTMH cardstocks.  I then used the new Gold Shimmer Brush just around the edges of these cardstock pieces - and I had gold shimmer paper!  If you click on the photo you will open a larger version and be able to see the shimmer from the pen.  I also used the Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder for the front sentiment.  The sentiment is one of four birthday greetings from the "Birthday Sparkles" stamp set (B1537).

The final addition is the acetate butterfly.  I used Ranger's Alcohol Inks (clover, aqua, and tangerine) to color a piece of acetate, then cut it using the Leavenworth Butterfly Trio die set from Memory Box. 

This card is a part of my April Stamp Club classes that start tomorrow - finished it just in time!  Hop over to the Mojo Monday Blog and check out the other great creations using this sketch.  And thanks for taking the time to visit me today.

Dreamin' Big Birthday Card

I hadn't played much with Close to My Heart's Dreamin' Big papers, so thought it was about time, since they will only be available until the end of April!  I also wanted to use the "Leafy Congrats" stamp (A1203).   This card actually was created in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep.  I had seen a sketch that I liked, but didn't want to turn on my computer, so was working from memory.  Well, I got the basics of the sketch, but not too accurate.  I tried it again with the actual design of the sketch, and decided I liked my first go at it better!  So that is what you see here.

This is the stamp image that I used in the circle.  You will notice that it says "CONGRATS" right in the middle.  Well, I loved the leaves, but not the sentiment, so that's why there is the banner going across the center of the circle with the Happy Birthday greeting!  Now I have multiple ways of using this stamp, and not just to tell someone that they did a great job!

The banner is juniper cardstock, so I used the juniper ink to watercolor the leaves, adding the berries with my Carmine ShinHan marker.  All of the patterned paper is from the Dreamin' Big paper pack, with the addition of black and poppy cardstock.  The circle frame is cut using Lawn Fawn's Stitched Circle Frames.

I am entering this card into the Birthday! challenge over at StampInkPaper this week.  Pop over to their website and check out the other great birthday cards to help Andrea celebrate.

By the way, this card will be one of the projects for my April Stamp Club classes.  Email me at scrappingailaz@gmail.com if you would like more information about this.  Classes will meet on Saturday April 8, Monday April 9, Tuesday April 10 and Thursday April 12.  Pre-stamped kits are available if you are unable to attend those dates, and kits can be mailed if you are out of the area.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you have a great weekend.

CLEAN AND SIMPLE CARD

I was able to fit a little crafting into last week, even though we were busy with Nathanael's piano recitals.  We had a whirlwind weekend with his fund-raising recital in Prescott for the Symphony Association's Scholarship Fund, and then we headed to Tucson where her performed again for friends from his university days.  I have one week before we leave to hear him perform this recital for his master's degree at the University of Houston.  So glad we can do all the traveling, but it means I have to get busy with the rest of the cards for my May classes!  Well, here's a peak at the first card.  I used the design from CAS(E) this sketch for a quick yet elegant card.  I am also entering it into the Clean and Simple challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More.  You can click on either link above to head over to these challenge blogs and check out the other projects people have created using their inspiration. 

I embossed the floral image from Close to My Heart's "In Bloom" stamp set (A1199) in white on white cardstock.  I then used sponge daubers to add the color - canary, pixie and sweet leaf inks.  The sentiment from CTMH "Happy to be Friend" (C1605) is stamped in black.  I used a Die-namics Inside/Out Stitched Rectangle die to cut out the image panel, then used foam to mount it on a slightly larger piece of white before putting them both on the card base.  I love the clean look of white on white, so why not white on white on white?

This card will be one of the projects for my April Stamp Club classes.  Email me at scrappingailaz@gmail.com if you would like more information about this.  Classes will meet on Saturday April 8, Monday April 9, Tuesday April 10 and Thursday April 12.  Pre-stamped kits are available if you are unable to attend those dates, and kits can be mailed if you are out of the area.

Thanks for stopping by today! 

UPDATE - April 12, 2017 

Life has been busy, and I just checked on the Addicted to Stamps and More blog and found out that this card was selected as one of the Honorable Addicts!!!  What a fun surprise.