Seasonal Expressions 2 New Products

Welcome to our New Product Blog Hop on the things in the Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog!  We will be featuring a variety of items that can be found in the new catalog.  If you have come here from Brandi's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog:  http://ifyoublingit.blogspot.com/p/stamp-of-month-blog-hop-list.html.

This month we have 20 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this view of the current catalog and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

Every July 4th our family gathers at our house we have 11-12 people.  I chose to really do the Workshop Your Way - MY way. I usually follow the directions which leads to 3 great 2 page layouts.   Usually I use the extra pieces after the project to make cards or other things.  This time I am getting ready for the photos from our family gathering.  We take so many pictures because we eat, swim, canoe, kayak, do legal fire works, crafts and have fun with glow sticks.

I started with the Workshop Your Way - Craft On Scrapbooking Kit.  I added some photos to what was on the instructions for the regular pages plus I used our Pocket Protectors Design 1 for more photos between each one of the pages.  I love the designs that Close To My Heart makes but they really mean it when they say "Your Way".  I love to keep the designs and use them for other papers that I have.

I then started in on doing 2 more 2 page layouts with the middle page protectors using the left over complements and paper.  I added a bit of regular paper to fill in.

We have great How-To books.  I used the Make it from Your Heart Volume 3 and varied just a little bit from Pattern 1 and 3.  Then I did a front and back page to make a complete set for my album.  For the front I used all of the Paper Pal series.  The castle I made into a sand castle. I also used the Block Letters and Numbers from the Thin Cut.  This catalog has the most stamp/thin cut sets!  I love them so much.

For our family history, I have an album of activities that have take place at our home.  This section for 2019 will be fun to add photos this year.  Normally I make the album pages after the gathering.  It is fun to have it done now.  Push your creative limits with Workshop Your Ways and you will have fun.  I added Black, Willow, Ballerina and Eggplant paper to supplement what I had left and had fun using all the compliments and cutouts!

Now "Hop" on over to Becca's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the <month> SOTM is only available until <last day of the month>!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Workshop Your Ways - a Great deal!

I was cleaning up and found that I had several Workshop Your Ways that hadn't been done.  One of them was "I Heart Us".  You can still find that paper in at my website under "Going Soon".  You might find under "Going Soon" and "Clearance" some really good deals. 

First, I made the Workshop Your Way basically as the instructions were. 

I love the ideas that I get from the Close To My Heart designs.  I always have things left over, so I decided to make a "front" and "back page".  Close To My Heart has great "How-To" books for both cards and scrapbooking.  I used Make if From Your Heart - Volume 3 Pattern 5.   I used the Memory Protectors as an additional page using some of the "left overs". 

I still have enough material to make more pages if I added more paper.  I did use some Daisy White.  I have a variety of page protectors and I chose Design 5 and flipped it over.

I have left some space on these extra pages for journaling on these pages plus have room on the other pages so that I can tell the story.  This is paper from our old catalog but the new catalog has Picture My Life Cards with each paper type which make this even easier and allows you even more options to use and make more pages. The I have left some space on these extra pages for journaling on these pages plus have room on the other pages so that I can tell the story.  Picture my life cards are double sided with the same design so that YOU can choose which way it goes - portrait or landscape.  They are also idea to use with regular pages.

Check out the "Going Soon" and "Clearance" and find some bargains and some great paper and ideas.  Have fun.  Do you do extra pages on your Workshop Your Way or use the different designs of Memory Protectors?  Try it!  You'll have fun. 

The Process of Getting Things Done

I love to design and fiddly with "scrap lifting".  Usually the longest thing to do is to get the designs.  I have usually done 5 - 10 cards of each design to be more efficient.  My latest project was different.  I didn't need 50 cards I just needed 10 different ones.  I designed the cards and then used 2 of the last catalogs "Mix-in" papers and made all different cards.  I think this is a process that I will be doing in the future.  Here is the results of the one of a kind different cards:

I hope to use this idea more often and make 1 or 2 of each and then go onto another stamp set!  Post a comment about how you work your process: 1 card of each or multiple cards of each and how you find out that it works for you!

National Scrapbooking Month

Welcome to our National Scrapbooking Month special paper Blog Hop - The World is Yours!  We will be featuring things created from Close To My Heart's exclusive paper collection The World is Yours.  If you have come here from Jessica Kaiser's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog:  http://ifyoublingit.blogspot.com/p/stamp-of-month-blog-hop-list.html.

This month we have 14 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using The World is Yours and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

This is the season of graduations.  I thought I would try and make some different types of graduation cards.  This Blog Hop is for “The World is Yours” - Close To My Heart’s National Scrapbooking Month special paper.

This card was made with the Paper Pal Series of thin cuts and stamps. There is the Base Z4265, Girl Z4266, Boy Z4267 and Pets Z4268 or you can get the bundle of all of these and save 10% Z4269.  There are still Sports, Princess and the Castle to complete the set of Paper Pals.  Using these Paper Pals, you can really customize your card for the person you are celebrating.   I used Archival Black ink Z3271 and the Water colors Z3132 and the water brush Z3224. I used Espresso ink Z2829 for the stamp from the World is Yours and the Gold Shimmer brush Z3316 over it. The shimmer brush shows up much better in person than in the photo.

Close To My Heart has great instructions for making cards, 12 x 12 scrapbook pages and all sorts of sizes of albums. Instructions come with the workshops as well as the How-to Books.   I love the Volume 4 Card book Make It From Your Heart and used Pattern 8 for the next card. I used Gold Sequins Z4198, Espresso ink Z2829 and the stamp set from The World is Yours. I used our embossing powder.  I have our New England pigment ink and used the Clear Super Fine Z2067 and I used the Versa Mark pad Z891 with the Princess Gold Z2066 powder.  The All purpose Mat Z2045 can take the heat of the heat tool Z4252 to get the powders melted. 

I use the Versa Mat Z1279 all the time because it is so versatile.  The spongy side is great for stamping and the other size is a self-healing mat.  I cut the bike with a utility knife to get the finer cuts as the front is a self healing mat. 

This last card is also make from Volume 4 and is Pattern 20.  This card used the stamp set from You’re Awesome Workshop your Way card kit G1184. I also used the Espresso ink again with Mink Twine Z4221.

Now "Hop" on over to Becca Whitham's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, The World is Yours is only available this month!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get the many workshop kits for The World is Yours!

Challenge Yourself!

Challenges are fun.  It is fun to see what others are doing with a challenge - what they can do with the same design. I thought I would challenge myself to see how different I could make cards with the same beginning pieces.   

One of the card groups makes 3 of each kind.   When I make up what is left over, it leaves me with duplicates.  I decided may they would like a variety as well.  If you want - do a challenge with these pieces for a shaker card or share your "pieces" and the different ways that you have used them.  

Here are my basic pieces:

You will need Z4310 Shaker Window Foam and Acetate and Z4304 or what color of loose sequins you desire from Close To my Heart.  Check out barbarapagekell.ctmh.com.

Here are the different cards I made from these beginnings.

They are all Happy Birthday shaker cards.  See what you can do with them.  

I am also doing another shaker card giving them a chance to have different occasions for the card to be stamped on it.

The last card we are making in triplicate has the ability to stamp whatever saying you need in the circle.  The Gold and green shimmer pens on the flowers doesn't show up well in the photo but does in person.

I hope you have fun challenging yourself from time to time.  It helps spark creativity in other areas.