July 2014 Stamp of the Month, Skylark Workshop, and Retiring List

The July 2014 Stamp of the Month, Circus Alphabet, is so versatile for all crafting projects.  It is a complete set of whimsical uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and punctuation.  The possibilities are endless, and as a My Acrylix stamp set, placement is never easier!

Each month you can purchase a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5 — that’s over 70% off retail! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.  Otherwise, you can purchase this set outright for $17.95.









Since I am always in need of Thank You cards, I made the following using the Circus Alphabet set and the beautiful Ariana paper packet and coordinating accessories.  I also used the Art Philosophy cartridge to make the floral centerpiece.

Want some other ideas?  Take a look at this video for other fun uses for this set:





Speaking of inspiring art, I knew that I wanted to use the inspirational Skylark paper pack before moving into the next Idea Book cycle.  Therefore, I created my final workshop for this Idea Book using the Skylark paper pack and coordinating embellishments.

Please join me in making three two-page layouts with the nature-based beauty of this paper (details below):

Location:  My home

Date/Time:  Saturday, July 26 @10:00 am

Cost (includes S/H and tax):  $32.00

RSVP:  No later than Saturday, July 12 at joycegough7@gmail.com or 703.791.6821

Bring:  Basic toolkit

Finally, in anticipation of the unveiling of the next Close To My Heart Idea Book, the retiring list has been announced.  The following items will be retired as of July 31, noting that these are available while supplies last.

Spring/Summer 2014 Retiring list
Item #	Description
Z1789	Chalkboard 12" x 12" Sheet, Adhesive-backed
Z1832	Spinner
Z1843	Irresistibles™ Frames
Z1844	Color-Ready Trinkets Wooden Shapes
Z1858	Irresistibles™ Hexagons
Z1863	Color-Ready Midtown Cork Shapes
X7170C	Laughing Lola Complements Dimensional Elements
X7171C	Sarita My Stickease® Assortment
X7172C	ProPlayer My Stickease® Assortment
X7173C	Babycakes Complements Canvas Shapes
X7177C	Skylark Dimensional Elements Complements
X7178C	Ivy Lane My Stickease® Assortment
X7179C	Ariana Dimensional Elements Complements
X7180C	Balloon Ride Dimensional Elements Complements
X7181C	Jubilee Dimensional Elements Complements
X7182C	Timberline My Stickease® Assortment
X7183C	Lollydoodle My Stickease® Assortment
Z1039	Create A Shade Pearl Paint
Z1825	Keyboard Kraft Alphabet
Z1835	Tiny Type Epoxy Alphabet
Z1961	Marquee Enamel Shapes–White
Z1891	Base & Bling Teal Jewels
Z1892	Base & Bling Black Jewels
Z1893	Base & Bling Red Jewels
Z1894	Base & Bling Pink Jewels
Z1895	Base & Bling Purple Jewels
Z1854	Laughing Lola Assortment
Z1869	Babycakes Assortment
Z1873	Sarita Assortment
Z1879	ProPlayer Assortment
Z3000	Skylark Assortment
Z3001	Ivy Lane Assortment
Z3002	Ariana Assortment
Z3003	Balloon Ride Assortment
Z3004	Jubilee Assortment
Z3005	Timberline Assortment
Z3006	Lollydoodle Assortment
Z1837	Mini-Medley Accents Wooden Collection
Z1702	Baker's Twine Paradise Assortment
Z1751	Harvest Baker's Twine
Z1760	Burlap Ribbon
Z1808	Outdoor Denim Chevron Ribbon
Z1817	Slate Polka-Dot Washi Tape
Z1826	Hollyhock Zipper Lace
Z1846	Ruby Chevron Ribbon
Z1850	Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape
Z1867	Jute Ribbon
Z1917	Lagoon Zipper Lace
Z1930	Chocolate Woodgrain Washi Tape
Z1343	12 x 12 Post Bound Album- Cranberry
Z1344	12 x 12 Post Bound Album- Hollyhock
Z1345	12 x 12 Post Bound Album- Black
Z1348	WIP 12x12 Album- Chocolate
Z1911	Designed Décor Frame Kit
Z1874	Base & Bling Necklace
Z1875	Base & Bling Cuff
Z1876	Base & Bling Hair Clips
Z1877	Base & Bling Rings
Z1878	Base & Bling Headband
Z1195	My Creations Memory Showcase 6x6
Z1647	My Creations® Card Box
Z1797	My Creations® Bracket Frame
Z1868	My Creations® Kraft Ring Box
Z1870	My Creations® Kraft Pocket Album
X1404	TrueFitFolios(5)
Z1820	For Always Textiles
Z1885	Sarita Textiles
Z1970	Skylark Textiles
Z1971	Jubilee Textiles
Z1801	Alcohol Blending Marker
Z2400	Marker Set: Twilight
Z2401	Marker Set: Crystal Blue
Z2402	Marker Set: Sky
Z2403	Marker Set: Juniper
Z2404	Marker Set: Sweet Leaf
Z2405	Marker Set: Buttercup
Z2406	Marker Set: Creme Brulee
Z2407	Marker Set: Sorbet
Z2408	Marker Set: Blush
Z2409	Marker Set: Smoothie
Z2410	Marker Set: Gypsy
Z2411	Marker Set: Pacifica
Z2412	Marker Set: Lagoon
Z2413	Marker Set: Topiary
Z2414	Marker Set: Pear
Z2415	Marker Set: Honey
Z2416	Marker Set: Sunset
Z2417	Marker Set: Cotton Candy
Z2418	Marker Set: Hollyhock
Z2419	Marker Set: Cranberry
Z2420	Marker Set: Smokey Plum
Z2421	Marker Set: Outdoor Denim
Z2422	Marker Set: Indian Corn Blue
Z2423	Marker Set: Ponderosa Pine
Z2424	Marker Set: New England Ivy
Z2425	Marker Set: Olive
Z2426	Marker Set: Goldrush
Z2427	Marker Set: Autumn Terracotta
Z2428	Marker Set: Barn Red
Z2429	Marker Set: Ruby
Z2430	Marker Set: Black
Z2431	Marker Set: Slate
Z2432	Marker Set: Whisper
Z2206	Reinker Blush
Z2210	Reinker Buttercup
Z2260	Reinker Twilight
Z2267	Reinker Crème Brulee
Z2294	Reinker Sky
Z2106	Stamp Pad Blush
Z2110	Stamp Pad .Buttercup
Z2160	Stamp Pad Twilight
Z2167	Stamp Pad Crème Brulee
Z2194	Stamp Pad Sky
Z2500	Whimsy Mini Pigment Set
Z4133	Marker Tower
1271	Cardstock12x12Buttercup
X5640	Cardstock12x12Blush
X5666	Cardstock12x12Twilight
X5754	Cardstock12x12CremeBrulee
X5761	Cardstock 12x12 Sky
X5936	Whimsy Cardstock Combo
X7170B	Laughing Lola Paper Packet
X7171B	Sarita Paper Packet
X7172B	ProPlayer Paper Packet
X7173B	Babycakes Paper Packet
X7177B	Skylark Paper Packet
X7178B	Ivy Lane Paper Packet
X7179B	Ariana Paper Packet
X7180B	Balloon Ride Paper Packet
X7181B	Jubilee Paper Packet
X7182B	Timberline Paper Packet
X7183B	Lollydoodle Paper Packet
1514	Tombow Adhesive
1515	Tombow Adhesive Refill
Z1311	Circle Punch 1 1/4
Z338	Euro Personal Paper Trimmer
Z1114	Piercing Tool Kit
STAMP SETS
A1130	Quick Cards-Bountiful Season
A1143	Teddy Bear Birthday
A1144	Birthday Cheer
A1145	Flowering Thanks
A1158	Doodle Signs
A1160	This Is Good
B1407	School Is Here
B1411	Greek Alphabet
B1425	Stitched with Love
B1426	Pick a Posy
B1446	Some Bunny
B1447	A Mother's Love
B1448	My Hero
B1451	Enjoy the Little Things
C1473	Remarkable Wreath
C1510	Merry & Bright
C1524	Words of Comfort
C1555	Count Your Blessings
C1563	Cityscape
C1572	On Holiday (Australia Only)
D1483	Glory To God
D1514	Just a Number
D1551	Swirls Around
D1557	Candyland
D1564	Maximum Power
D1583	Unicorn Dreams
G1072	Workshops on the Go® Skylark Kit
G1073	Workshops on the Go® Ivy Lane Kit
G1074	Workshops on the Go® Ariana Kit
G1075	Workshops on the Go® Balloon Ride Kit
G1076	Workshops on the Go® Jubilee Kit
G1077	Workshops on the Go® Timberline Kit
G1078	Workshops on the Go® Lollydoodle Kit
G1079	Workshops on the Go® Ivy Lane Cardmaking Kit
G1080	Workshops on the Go® Lollydoodle Cardmaking Kit

Please contact me if you're interested in purchasing any of these items before they're gone.

In the meantime, Happy Scrapping!

Continue reading →

June 2014 Stamp of the Month - Kaboom

Get ready for Independence Day!  I always love this time of year with the warm weather and time shared with family.  I also love the smell of barbecues, sharing recipes and of course, eating!

Kaboom features fun sentiments and images to suit the upcoming July 4th holiday:

Each month you can purchase a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5 — that’s over 70% off retail! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.  Otherwise, you can purchase this set outright for $17.95.










Inspired by one of our samples in the Idea Book, I made the following card, not for July 4th, but as a thank you to someone special!

Supplies (all CTMH unless specified otherwise):

Paper:  Outdoor Denim Cardstock, Honey Cardstock, Cranberry Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock

Stamps:  Kaboom - June 2014 SOTM

Inks:  Cranberry, Outdoor Denim

Other:  Art Philosophy, Sparkles Assortment, Sizzix Embossing Folder (non-CTMH)

Continue reading →

Ivy Lane Workshop

Ivy Lane has proven to be one of my favorite paper packs in our latest Idea Book!  I love the colors and patterns.  It is such an elegant paper to work with that I knew I needed to share it.

Please join me in making three 2-page layouts using this beautiful paper and coordinating paper and accessories.  Here is a sample of just one of the layouts you will be making:

Location:  My home

Date/Time:  Saturday, May 31 @10:00 am

Cost (includes S/H and tax):  $27.00

RSVP:  No later than Saturday, May 17 at joycegough7@gmail.com or 703.791.6821

Bring:  Basic toolkit

Continue reading →

May 2014 Stamp of the Month - You've Got a Friend

When I saw the May 2014 Stamp of the Month, it screamed "EMBOSS ME" to me!  So of course that's just what I did.  These stamps are very diverse in that they include both an image and a sentiment, making the perfect focal point for your cards and other papercrafting uses.

Using the new Balloon Ride paper packet, here is a card I was hoping would warm the heart of someone special to me:

 

Supplies (all CTMH unless specified otherwise):

Paper:  Balloon Ride Paper Pack, Chocolate Cardstock, Creme Brulee Cardstock

Stamps:  You've Got a Friend Stamp of the Month - May 2014

Inks:  Chocolate Pigment Ink

Markers:  Creme Brulee, Crystal Blue, Sorbet

Other:  Balloon Ride Assortment, Chocolate Ribbon (retired), Clear Embossing Powder (retired)

Each month you can purchase a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5 — that’s over 70% off retail! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.  Otherwise, you can purchase this set outright for $17.95.





Here is some other fabulous artwork that you can make using this set:

Continue reading →

April 2014 Stamp of the Month - Balloon Talk!

This card appealed to the math major in me.  I used to love math so much, I would save my math homework last after all the rest.  I loved the challenge and the feeling of success when I correctly solved a problem.  One of the common lessons from grade school was doing unions.  Although this card doesn't exactly represent a union, it gave me the idea on how to use this stamp set.  Enjoy!

Supplies (all CTMH unless specified otherwise):

Paper:  Skylark Paper Pack, Cocoa Cardstock, Sweetleaf Cardstock, Twilight Cardstock, Bamboo Cardstock, White Cardstock

Stamps:  Balloon Talk - April 2014 Stamp of the Month

Inks: Cocoa, Sweetleaf, Twilight

Other:  Skylark Assortment, Sparkles, Flutter Paper Shapes (retired)

Continue reading →

Lollydoodle-ing Around!

Have you seen the new Lollydoodle papers?  After dealing with the seemingly endless cold, gray, snowy days, working with this bright, happy paper packet was just the ticket to cheer me up!

Are you ready to be cheered up, too?  Consider joining me for a Lollydoodle workshop!  You can make cards, scrapbook pages or whatever you choose with the bright pinks, blues and greens that herald these papers and matching embellishments.

First, I played with the new Lollydoodle Cardmaking Kit.  If you have ever worked with these kits before, you know that the kit is set up with instructions and all consumable items to make a total of 15 cards - 5 each of 3 designs.  Many times making them per the guide included in the kit is just the ticket for your needs.  This time, I felt that I wanted to change up the cards for my own personal needs.  Although I made one of each of the designs as listed in the guide, I changed up the remaining 4 so that a) they would be most useful for me, and b) I could make use of some of the other embellishments and stamp sets I have accumulated over time.

Here are samples of what is in the guide, as well as how I changed things up.

Guide Design 1:

Some modifications:

Guide Design 2:

Some modifications:

Guide Design 3:

Some modifications:

After all, how many "Love of My Life" cards do you need?  Well, maybe some of you have more than one, I guess, but I need other options!  :)

Second, I played with the Lollydoodle Paper Packet, the matching Lollydoodle Assortment, and our exclusive Cricut cartridges.  I wanted to create something that would be versatile enough to add mats, pictures and journaling to once I decide which photos I want to use to go with this paper.  Of course I turned to one of my trusty How-To Programs, Cherish, and used one of the designs to create three different layouts:

Layout 1:

Layout 2:

Layout 3:

These three layouts use the bulk of the paper in the Lollydoodle Paper Packet as well as most of the embellishments in the Lollydoodle Assortment.  I have also added some cricut cuts, a little extra cardstock, washi tape, Shimmer Trim, and other assorted embellishments.  There are just a few scraps left over to make some matching cards!

Recommended mat colors:  Cocoa, Cotton Candy, Juniper, Pear, Slate, Sorbet, Whisper, White Daisy

Finally, do you like working with the Workshops on the Go?  Do you like getting the entire line of a specific My Reflections set and a coordinating stamp set?  Although I have not yet completed the Lollydoodle Workshop on the Go, here is one of the layouts you can make in this workshop:

Want to Lollydoodle with me?  Then join me for any or all of the above projects!  Here are the details:

• Location:  My home
• Date/Time:  Saturday, April 19 @10:00 am
• Cost (includes S/H and tax):  
• Option 1:  Lollydoodle Cardmaking Kit - $29.00
• Option 2:  Lollydoodle Paper Packet, Lollydoodle Assortment and other embellishments - $20.00
• Option 3:  Lollydoodle Workshop on the Go Kit - $35.00
• Save!  Order all 3 options and save more than 10% - $75.00
• RSVP:  No later than Saturday, April 5 at joycegough7@gmail.com or 703.791.6821
• Bring:  Basic toolkit

Continue reading →

March 2014 Stamp of the Month - Happy Place

The March 2014 Stamp of the Month certainly puts me in a Happy Place!  When my husband and I were married, we went on a honeymoon that included a cruise around the Baltic Sea.  I had always wanted to go to St. Petersburg, and here was my opportunity.  St. Petersburg was one of the ports of call!  While there I picked up a couple of nested wooden dolls - one a beautiful white and gold set and the other a Christmas set.  They sit in my office in one of my glass cabinets for me to smile at with other wooden items I picked up in St. Petersburg:

So when I saw our Happy Place stamp set, I was thrilled.  The best part is I'm going back to St. Petersburg and will love to make use of this set for scrapping my pictures!

March 2014 Stamp of the Month

Each month you can purchase a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5 — that’s over 70% off retail! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.  Otherwise, you can purchase this set outright for $17.95.



Inspired by this cute set, here is the card I made:

Supplies (all CTMH unless specified otherwise):

 

Paper:  Jubilee Paper Pack, Cranberry Cardstock, Indian Corn Blue Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock

Stamps:  Happy Place Stamp of the Month - March 2014

Inks:  Versafine Onyx Black (non-CTMH), Indian Corn Blue

Markers:  Cranberry, Honey, Indian Corn Blue

Other:  Sparkles, Summer Celebration Accents (retired)

Continue reading →

Ivy Lane 5-6-7 Workshop

Time has gotten away from me yet again!  Between family issues and the craziness of IT work, I really need to get back to creating regularly and having some social time with my friends and family.  It takes change to make change they say, so I'm dedicated to getting into a new rhythm of doing more things I like to do.  I know that when I dedicate myself to something, giving to others helps me stay on track.

Most every year at the Close To My Heart convention, we talk about the children in need of getting surgeries for Operation Smile.  The folks responsible for doing these surgeries, helping out the surgeons and traveling around the world to help children of all ages have a special place in heaven for doing so.  The least that I can do is help them out in some way.

Therefore, for my first workshop of the year, I plan to do a "5-6-7 card workshop".  This first workshop will feature the new Ivy Lane paperpack from the 2014 Spring/Summer Idea Book.  The workshop is setup to make 5 cards in 6 minutes (per card) for $7.00.  For every set you purchase, $2.00 will be donated to Operation Smile.

In addition, please come by to see many of the new items from the 2014 Spring/Summer Idea Book.  As everyone knows, seeing in person is much better than just looking in a book.  :)

Here are the cards planned for this workshop:

Details:

• Location:  My home
• Date/Time:  Saturday, March 15 @10:00 am
• Cost:  $7.00 (includes pre-cut materials, embellishments and envelopes)
• RSVP:  No later than Saturday, March 8 at joycegough7@gmail.com or 703.791.6821
• Bring:  Basic toolkit

Light refreshments will be served.  Please come and invite a guest!

Continue reading →