Stella Workshop

I am really excited to share my Stella workshop pages with you today. The Stella paper pack is one of my favorites in the current idea book. The bright colors and cheery patterns make my creative heart happy.

Here they are:

The Stella workshop is scheduled for this Sunday, March 4th. I have pre-cut the first 3 layouts for my attendee's. The last layout will be optional. I took a close-up picture of the Canvas Complements and the Bohemian Assortment so you could better see the fun textures that these products add.to the layout's overall design. They are well worth the added cost, in my opinion.

Products Used:

Stella WOTG Kit

Additional Cocoa & Lagoon Cardstock (free to attendee's)

Just For You Stamp Set

Token Alphabet Stamp Set

Olive, Sunset, Lagoon & Cocoa Inks

Stella Canvas Complements

Bohemian Assortment

Neutral Embroidery Floss

Pewter Badge Buttons

Sunset Orange Mini-Medley Kit

Bitty Sparkles

Bamboo Cardstock (Butterflies on Layout #2)

SU Butterfly Embosslits Die

Corner Rounder

1 1/4" Circle Punch

Scoring Blade

Cricut AP Cartridge

Paper Piercing Kit

Magic Book

Elemental WOTG Guide

Sketch from Pinterest

This has been one of my favorite workshops to design for. I love how the pages turned out. I always love to hear what you think.

Have a great night!

Casandra

Mother's Day Card

I'm taking a break from tax preparations to share the final card we will be creating at next month's workshop.

Since our card workshop is unlikely to get together one more time between March 17th and early May, I decided to make our last card "Mother's Day" themed. Please note: Just by swapping out the sentiment, it could easily become a birthday or Easter card.

You may notice that the My Peeps card uses the same template. This is one of my favorites from Originals. If you're looking for a great card template book, Originals is a great choice for it's many standard size cards.

Products Used:
Boom-Di-Ada Creative Basics Paper (Retired)
Hollyhock Ric-Rac Ribbon (Retired)
TLC Stamp Set (Retired)
Sophia WOTG Stamp Set (Retired)
A Little Everything Stamp Set (Retired)
Hollyhock, Blush and Olive Inks
White Pearl Opaques
Pink Embroidery Floss
Originals How-To-Program

Hope you've enjoyed seeing the 10 cards that we will be creating at the upcoming March 17th workshop. Cost is just $15.00 for the workshop, and if you choose to stay for the all day crop, the cost is just $5.00 more, plus a dish to pass. Please contact me today to reserve your cropping spot. This is going to be so much fun!

Casandra

Cricut Cartridge Question

Hello and Happy Friday to you! I was reading through my current blogs of interest and happened upon Jeanette Lynton's blog. My name popped out at me, so curiosity demanded that I check it out. LOL

You can read Ms. Lynton's response to my question regarding our Cricut AP Cartridge here. I feel so honored that she took a moment to respond to my question. If you have any questions that you've been wanting to know the answer to, it never hurts to ask. You might be surprised. :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Casandra

Easter Card #3

Good afternoon! I have one more Easter card to share with you that we will be creating at my upcoming card workshop.

I actually created a similar card to this last Spring. It was inspired by Wishes Roundabout template. Now, don't be frightened by all the paper-piecing for this card. A little fairy stamped and cut all the pieces out for you.

Products Used:
Mayberry L2 Paper (Retired)
A Little Everything Stamp Set (Retired)
A Hop Stamp Set (Retired)
My Peeps Stamp Set
Garden Green, Smoothie, Honey and Chocolate Inks
Green Embroidery Floss
Green Bling


Can't wait to teach you how to create these lovely cards at my workshop!

Casandra

Easter Card #2

Good afternoon! I am really excited to share the next Easter card with you.

This card was inspired by Close To My Heart's current Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book, Page 72.

What a surprise this card will be to someone (think Jack in the Box)! LOL

Products Used:
Sophia L2 Paper (Retired)
Sweet Leaf, Blush, Smoothie and White Daisy Cardstock
My Peeps Stamp Set
TLC Stamp Set (Retired)
Smoothie and Pear Inks
Chocolate Marker
Just Blooms Paradise Assortment
Antique Copper Brad
Adhesive Spring
Scallop Border Punch
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

I think my husband thought I needed to be committed while I was creating this. I kept giggling as I pictured someone jumping as they opened this card up. Hehe. I'm so bad.

Stay tuned....

Casandra

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger: Home Sweet Home

Good evening! I have another Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger card to share with you.

First, I'd like to show you the inspiration photo:

Isn't this cute? I started digging through my stamp sets and came across "School Rocks". Okay, so it isn't exactly "Home Sweet Home" per se, but around the rural farm community that I live in, there are old one-room schools that have been turned into homes about every 2 miles. Yes, it is quite possible that a person around here walked up hill to school both ways. LOL

Here is my take on this Tuesday Trigger:

Products Used:
Elemental L2 Paper
Kraft, Cranberry, Blue & White Daisy Cardstock
School Rocks Stamp Set
TLC Stamp Set (Retired)
Chocolate, Desert Sand, Cranberry, Crystal Blue and Creme Brulee Inks
Watercolor Pencils
Green & White Embroidery Floss
Red Button

If you would like to participate in this trigger challenge, please click here for further information.

Casandra

Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger: Fancy Schmancy

I'm a little late in posting my card for a Tuesday Trigger from January 31st. I got busy with card and scrapbook workshop preparations. But, better late than never!

Here is the inspiration photo:

Forget the photo! Ha! That looks good enough to eat. :)

And here is my take on the Tuesday Trigger:

It's too late really to play along, I think, but I will link it back to the original post, just in case.

Products Used:
Sweetheart L2 Paper (Retired)
Cocoa & White Daisy Cardstock
Fanfare WOTG Stamp Set (Retired)
Mad About You Stamp Set (Retired)
Milepost Star
Mocha Opaques
Neutral Button
Cotton Candy Baker's Twine
Neutral Embroidery Floss
Cocoa & Cotton Candy Inks
2" Scallop Circle Punch
Scallop Border Punch
Corner Rounder

Thanks for stopping by today to see my latest creation.

Casandra

Easter Card #1

Hello. This past weekend, I spent many hours completing this card for a swap that I am participating in. I decided to also use it for an upcoming card workshop on March 17th.

As you can see, the inside of the card is just as fun as the front view is.

Products Used:
Miracle L2 Paper (Retired)
Kraft, Garden Green and Twilight Cardstock
TLC Stamp Set (Retired)
A Hop Stamp Set (Retired)
Garden Green, Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf, Chocolate and Buttercup Inks
Neutral Embroidery Floss
Offray Ribbon
Green Brad
White Button
Corner Rounder

For those of you wanting to recreate this card after the workshop, I will be giving away one "A Hop" stamp set at the crop. You don't want to miss it! Please R.S.V.P. by Sunday, March 4th.

Casandra

Thinking of You Card #6

Happy Sunshine Monday to you! The following card is the last in my Thinking of You Card series.

When trying to decide my last Thinking of You card, thoughts of a double use for it were buzzing in my head. One of my dear friends requested a birthday card. So, after trying to decide how I was going to use my Caboodle scraps, I went with the WOTG brochure suggested card template. I created this card 2 years ago at an Easter card workshop, and it seemed to be just the right color palette for this workshop. I still had the stamp set (one I haven't yet been able to part with), so I set out to create a card that could be either a birthday or a thinking of you theme just by swapping out the sentiments.

After assembling the first card (You're Amazing), I decided that it looked a little flat and needed something extra. So I went back to the Caboodle stamp set and started stamping the border strip on the green cardstock. I think you will agree that it is much better.

Products Used:
Caboodle L2 Paper Packet (Retired)
Caboodle WOTG Stamp Set (Retired)
For Every Occasion Stamp Set (Retired)
Unity Stamp Set (Retired)
Buttercup, Sorbet, Sweet Leaf & Crystal Blue Inks
Twitterpated Dimensional Buttons (Retired)
White Embroidery Floss
Baker's Twine Paradise Assortment
Sweet Leaf Ribbon (Retired)

I love how these cards turned out. Perfect for Spring!

Casandra

Thinking of You Card #5

Good morning! Today, I have Thinking of You Card #5 to share with you.

I found inspiration for this card in PaperCrafts Stamp It! Magazine (Page 85). I had already decided that I was going to use Mayberry for my next card, and when I came across the inspiration photo, I decided the pear stamp would work well with the paper sizes.

Ironically, I had just purchased the 2 ribbons from Jo-Ann's the day before I started working on this card. I started looking at the paper and then back at the ribbon and ultimately decided to use both on this project for extra flair. The lace ribbon was pretty expensive at $8.79 for 3 feet, but so worth it for this card.

Products Used:
Mayberry L2 Paper Packet (Retired)
Mayberry WOTG Stamp Set (Retired)
Card Word Puzzle Stamp Set
For Every Occasion Stamp Set (Retired)
Honey & Chocolate Inks
Chocolate Embroidery Floss
American Crafts Smoothie RicRac Ribbon
Wright's Lace Ribbon
Baker's Twine Neutral Assortment
Pink Button

This is my favorite Thinking of You card in the bunch. I love the happy colors.

Casandra

Thinking of You Card #4

Happy Snowy Saturday to you! Ha! Yesterday, it looked like Spring was just around the corner, and this morning, we woke up to 3" of fresh snow on the ground.

Today, I have Thinking of You card #4 to share with you.

I found inspiration for this card in PaperCrafts Stamp It! Magazine (Page 9). I like how this card can be adapted to a masculine birthday card just by swapping out the sentiment.

Products Used:

Lucky L2 Paper Packet (Retired)

For Every Occasion Stamp Set (Retired)

Chocolate Ink

Baker's Twine Neutral Assortment

Metal Brad Assortment

Milepost Shapes (Stars)

Scallop Border Punch

Cricut AP Cartridge Pennant Shape

This card is super simple and fast to put together. Love how it turned out.

Casandra

Thinking of You Card #3

TGIF! I have Thinking of You Card #3 to share with you, today.

I am especially proud of how these cards turned out. The inspiration for these cards was found in PaperCrafts Card Creations Volume #8 Magazine (Page 69). I took a Wishes template and tweaked it.

Products Used:
Sonoma L2 Paper Packet
White Daisy Cardstock
TLC Stamp Set (Retired)
Olive and Smokey Plum Inks 
2" Scallop Punch
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Natural Hemp
Chocolate Embroidery Floss
Offray Purple Satin Ribbon
American Crafts Chocolate Saddle-Stitch Ribbon
Green Button
White Button
Bitty Sparkles
Stampin' Up Butterfly Embosslits Die

Did you notice the inside details of this card? It's a great way to use up small scraps from your kit. Another idea is if you stamped and smudged it, you can cover it up by using this idea.

Stay tuned....

Casandra

Thinking of You Card #2

Today, I have Thinking of You Card #2 to share with you. I am trying to be a good girl and use up scraps from my kits to make room for new paper. This card was perfect for just such a task.

I found inspiration for this card from pinterest. If you are not currently using pinterest, I highly recommend it. It's great for those moments when you hit a creative road block.

Products Used:
Roxie L2 Paper Packet
Find Your Style Stamp Set (Retired)
Veranda WOTG Stamp (Retired)
Desert Sand and Black Inks
Bitty Sparkles
Colonial White Grosgrain Ribbon (Retired)
Pinterest Sketch

Stay tuned tomorrow for the next Thinking of You card in my series.

Casandra

Thinking of You Card #1

Good evening! I have been busy creating and haven't had much time to post to my blog lately. Sorry about that. I hope you find that my series of Thinking of You cards will make up for it.

Here is the first Thinking of You card we will be creating at next month's card workshop.

This card was inspired by Close To My Heart's artwork on Page 18 of the current idea book (Spring/Summer 2012).

Products Used:
Stella L2 Paper Pack
Just For You Stamp Set
Cocoa, Juniper and Olive Inks
White Embroidery Floss
Pearl Opaque
Wishes How-To-Program

Stay tuned for sneak peeks at the other cards we will be creating on March 17th.

Casandra

Roxie Workshop Pages

Good evening! Today was my Roxie scrapbook workshop. With tax season in full swing, I was a bit behind on posting my pages. In fact, I have a secret to share with you. Shh.... I didn't get these pages created until yesterday.

I plan to use Valentine's Day party pictures on 2 of the layouts. The third one, titled "Daddy's Little Girl" will have special pictures of our baby girl with her daddy from age Newborn to 3 years. This was the perfect layout for them.

Here are my Roxie layouts:

The best part about these three layouts is that you can use 4x6 photo's for all of them. By cropping one to 3x3, you can fill the last photo slot, or even choose to use that as your journaling spot. This is the first time that I've used the "On With The Show" template from Magic and I love it!

I used printer paper cut to 4x6 size(s) so that my workshop attendee's would know what photo sizes to use later on and also where to place them. Makes it much easier if you are like me and sometimes don't get your photo's added until months later. :)

Thank you to my friends for coming over today to scrapbook with me. I hope you had as much fun as I did. Have a great night, everyone!

Casandra

CTMH Announcement of Retiring Items

Good morning, beautiful Friday!

Last night, I received my weekly update from Close To My Heart. That is just one of many perks of being a CTMH consultant. The following information was part of this e-mail update:

With the release of a new Idea Book, we also strive to apprise you of key product lines that are being featured in the Idea Book for the last time. While we do not provide early notification on all products, we provide you this selected information so that you can better anticipate changes to core product lines and communicate with your customers. We recognize that such early notification may accelerate demand for popular items; be aware that should this occur, items may sell out and will not be reinventoried. 

The Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book is the last idea book the following products will be featured:
 

• How-To Books
• Distressing Kit (full kit only)
• Exclusive Inks® Markers
• Cardstock Shade Packs
• 8 1/2" x 11" Cardstock Packs

If you have been putting off buying and/or adding How-To Books to your collection, I want to express the urgency that now is the time to buy these. Don't wait; they may not be available later on.

My personal favorites are Magic, Wishes and Reflections. I also really like Originals. I use these books all the time when creating my workshops.

Our markers are also being discontinued, so if you are just a few short of completing your collection, you may want to consider moving them up to the top of your wish list.

As always, if I can be of assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm always happy to help.

Casandra

Dino-Mite Scrapbook Pages

I have been sending in suggestions almost on a monthly basis requesting a new dinosaur stamp set. I was so happy when I thumbed through the new idea book and discovered that we now carry one...and HOW CUTE IT IS!!!! "Ask and you shall receive." Love it!

In this video, Close To My Heart will show you how to create the scrapbook pages featured on page 89 of the Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book. Simply by choosing masculine or feminine colors, you can get double the use out of one single stamp set and create “dino-mite” artwork for a boy or a girl!

This is perfect advice for my household. My little girl loves to play with her brother's dinosaurs, and (shh!) big brother even likes to play with little sister's LaLaLoopsy dolls. So, if you see a stamp set in the new book and think it screams girl, but you have a boy, take a second look. You might just surprise yourself.

I also want to add that this theory works great for our new paper packs. If you see a pattern that you don't like, you don't have to use it. Just switch it over to the other side...no one will ever know the difference. :)

I would love to hear what your favorite new paper packs, stamp sets, embellishments are. Drop me a line to let me know. Have a great Thursday!

Casandra

Today, the brand new Spring/Summer 2012 Idea Book goes live. Yay! I'm so excited for you to see all the new lovelies we have to offer.

Click here to view the new book on-line.

We have a few promotions going on this month. First of all, our new stamp of the month is now available. It is called "Thoughtful Tidings" and is available now through February 29th (yes, it's a Leap Year). Most of the images in this stamp set can be cut out using the Cricut AP cartridge. How awesome is that?!

For those of you who prefer to create your scrapbooks digitally, this deal is for you!

And one last thing to let you know about, Close To My Heart has been involved in numerous charity projects, but they are especially proud of their connection with Operation Smile. Each time you place an order, you can round your total up and donate the difference to Operation Smile to help a child in need. What's not to love about that?!

If you would like to learn about any of these great campaigns, please don't hesitate to contact me. One last thing before I go, if you order products directly through my myctmh website link at the top, you can have your products shipped directly to you and choose a great new shipping method we have to offer called "FedEx SmartPost". This is a flat fee of $4.95 for packages that weigh under 10 lbs. and your package would ship through the FedEx system and the end result is that the post office delivers it to you instead of a FedEx truck. It takes about one to two extra days to ship this way, but if you aren't in a hurry, it's a great affordable option.

I am always happy to help you with any questions you may have, so please don't hesitate to ask if you're unsure about something. Have a wonderful day!

Casandra