Birthday Bear

My father had a birthday recently, turning the sophisticated age of 87!  In considering a birthday card for him, it wasn't a stretch to immediately think of the Jack - Cardmaking stamp set. I knew I wanted to pair it with the Jack paper pack.  My father lives in plaid flannel, even in the summertime.  And of course covers his head many times with a wool cap. So imagine my surprise to find that the hat from one of the papers from the Jack paper pack fit nicely on the bear's head!  I simply cut it from the paper and adhered it to the bear.  I then added some liquid glass to the hat (and heart) to give it a little pop.

Here is a closeup of the bear:

And here is the full card:

This won't be the last time you'll see this cute bear or paper! 😉

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It's a Prickly Pear Birthday!

Although I love the obvious cute stamp images inspired by the Prickly Pear paper pack, my favorite thing is that it uses my absolute favorite color - Emerald!  Pictures do not do this color justice.  If you pull out a sheet of cardstock, it positively glows a beautiful deep emerald green!  I hope it never retires.  😊

As my nephew's birthday approached, I knew I wanted to use one of the more vibrant, fun new paper packs that were in the latest Idea Book.  The Prickly Pear paper pack fit right in.  Love the colors and cacti!

I also knew my nephew would love the cutesy llama and cactus images from the Prickly Pear - Cardmaking Stampset and Thin Cuts, despite the fact that he turned 32.

He totally loved the card I made for him.  That was quite the compliment since he is a very talented artist!

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Bear Hugs and Flash Sale

I admit it, I have a fondness for bear related things. I used to love the old Yogi Bear cartoons. Remember the people coming to Jellystone Park saying "Look at the bears! Look at the bears! Look at the bears!" when seeing Yogi and Booboo? In fact I have called my son "Bear" ever since he was an infant and continue to call him that to this day at 27 years old.

So when I saw the Jack - Cardmaking stamp set in the 2017 Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book, I knew that would be my first purchase. I have now made a number of bear cards. Here is the first, and one that I made for my son:

I colored the bear using alcohol markers.  Using the Wood Slats Embossing Folder, I made an easy but effective background for the bear.  I also heat embossed both the sentiment and the heart to add some pop.  The White Dots were just the ticket to put the final finishes on the card.

Moving on to the Flash Sale, Close To My Heart has a 24-hour Flash Sale going on right now!  The sale is while supplies last at 30% off and includes a variety of crafting items and bundles.  Check it out here before everything is gone!

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May 2017 Stamp of the Month - Live, Laugh, Love

I've been doing a lot of embossing lately.  I'm not sure why other than embossing was what pulled me into card making from the beginning.  There is something about science and particularly chemistry that I find enjoyable.  And watching the powder melt by applying heat just lights me up!

So when I saw the Live, Laugh, Love stamp set, I knew I was going to emboss the letters.  In lieu of coloring the floral design on the sapphire embossed letters, I opted to use the new gold shimmer brush to apply a hint of golden sparkle.  Here is a close up of the letters in the "Love" image:

 

Since I went with the gold shimmer, I decided to emboss one of the flowers in gold and add to the embossed sapphire flowers.  The No Worries paper seemed to marry well with the images, and I thought the addition of the Gold Glitter Gems and White Burlap Ribbon pulled the whole thing together.  Here is a look at the full card:

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.

Live, Laugh, Love - May 2017 Stamp of the Month

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National Scrapbooking Month 2017 and Live Beautifully!

Due to unforeseen circumstances with work and a flood in my basement (thanks, hon!), I haven't posted in awhile.  However, now that things are starting to get back to normal, I wanted to post about all the lovely products available now for National Scrapbooking Month.

First, I wanted to show this beautiful stamp set that I was so excited to finally get to play with last weekend.  The flowers are simply gorgeous and the large font on the sentiments are perfect for scrapbooking!

The coordinating papers are eye catching, some with beautiful foil accents, and would make gorgeous cards and pages for your memory keeping!

And for those of you with little time on your hands, you can take advantage of the Live Beautifully Cut Above kit, with or without the album bundle.  All papers are pre-cut with easy instructions!

Here is a card I made with the stamp set and one of the papers from the paper pack.  I tried my hand at stamping the image in CTMH Eggplant and adding some color with a white colored pencil and a darker purple pencil.  Hope you enjoy!

 

Interested in taking advantage of any of all of the products for CTMH National Scrapbooking Month?  Then you better hurry because this special will only last through the month of June while supplies last.  Visit my webpage for more details on this special!

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December 2016 Stamp of the Month - Thoughtful Flowers

I was really looking forward to working with the December Stamp of the Month, Thoughtful Flowers.  I don't know why, but flower stamp sets are just something I tend to gravitate to.  Maybe it's the versatility of where and how they can be used; maybe it's the variety of colors and coloring options; maybe it's just that flowers make me happy!  Regardless, this stamp set did not disappoint!

I stamped the flowers in black pigment ink, and embossed using clear embossing powder.  I then colored using alcohol markers and cut them out.  Using the darker markers, I also colored the sparkles as well for the middle of the flowers.  The individual flowers were then adhered to Lemon and Lagoon cardstock on a black card.  The sentiments were stamped with Versamark and heated with white embossing powder.

Here is a picture of the stamp set and how you can get it:

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.

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Holiday Card Workshop 2017!

Need a break from shopping this weekend? I am co-hosting a Holiday Card Workshop at the Hampton Inn on Saturday, Nov. 26, with three of my fellow consultants. Come join us for to make a dent in your card making plans and make some cute tags to boot! We will have refreshments, prizes, and fun! More details on our Facebook invite found here, but you contact me directly as well if you're interested!  Here is a sneak peek!

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