Stamp and Chats are BACK!

I'm so excited to announce our very next Stamp & Chats. Come join us for some crafty fun Wednesday, April 2nd 10 am to 1 pm! We'll take over the living room again so please respond to my email or comment to this post and I'll be sure to set up enough tables and have enough chocolate!

Stamp and Chats go WAY back in the history of my business and are reported to be just as effective as therapy and much, much cheaper (it's FREE). It's a great way to get projects done or get ideas for future projects or just a way to socialize.

What do we do? We sit and chat and, oh yeah, work on our projects. Bring your own things to work on or just stop by to see what I've been doing. I've just made the most amazing mini album of my daughter's wedding. (Yes, I have a daughter old enough to be married. Congrats to Megan and Cameron on their June wedding. Such an adorable couple!)

I'm not going to share the album here, you'll have to come and see it in person. I'm warning you, it's REALLY fun to make and very inexpensive. It helps that I had some amazing pictures of the wedding that make the pages pop, but the book is made in such a way it could fit just about any subject.

I also have been making cards. I love, love, love those card kits. So you can see how much fun those are. I have samples of the papers from this season's catalog AND, of course, free catalogs for anyone who wants one.

 I'm actively working my business again so bring a friend and I'll give you a goodie. I also have been naughty and bought some of the new stamps to show and tell, but this means my stamp drawers are overflowing so . . . stamp sale! All of my used stamps are just $5 per set, used or not. Wahoo. Don't miss out on that deal.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Stamp and Chat. I hope we fill my living room with tables and have a blast. Come on over!

I'm back from Retreat!

I had so much fun in the Big Bear woods! The other retreaters and I crafted and made many fun projects. Here are just a few to share . . .

I made the Frosted card kit p. 69.
I think it would make an excellent card class. Stay tuned for a date/time and price. The kit in the catalog made 15 cards and it was a snap to make. And fun too! :-)

These are the Laughing Lola cards from the kit on page 68. Once again, I love kits and it was a snap to make these cards and they can be custom changed to match whatever card giving need you have. Love the colors and the stamp set is really versatile.

Sue L. showed us how to make this adorable card using the stamp of the month

 Scandinavian  Wishes

 This very fun project was provided by Kelly H. The lanterns were cut out using our newest Cricut cartridge, Artbooking. We folded them and used strips of background paper to cover the folds. Kelly even gave us a flameless candle (a real candle would be, um, not feasible). Beautiful!

Kathy showed us how to make this layout. The tree and photo blocks were cut out using the Artbooking CTMH Cricut Cartridge (I WANT this cartridge!!!!). The only difficult part was adhering it to the base page, but with a little bit of adhesive to hold it in place he was soon bolted down. LOL. I love the colors . . . the paper is from Huntington (p. 42 of the Fall/Winter catalog). Now all I need to do is develop some fun pictures to decorate the pages.

Maybe this one:

I'm ready for my next retreat!

Retreat!

That's right . . . I've retreated with my Stamp Studio treasures to the mountains of Big Bear Lake, California. It's beautiful up here . . . mountains and trees and critters galore. I've looked. I've seen. I've photographed for more scrapbooking. LOL

Even with the distraction of the beautiful scenery, I've managed to get a lot done. One of the big accomplishments yesterday -- I completed the Workshops on the Go Frosted cardmaking kit. This kit was a breeze -- or should I say a blizzard -- to put together and the results were stunning.

The Frosted cardmaking kit is on page 69 of the new Idea Book and includes everything you need to create 15 stunning cards, even pre-cut cards and envelopes. The only things you need to add are stamp pads and acrylic blocks and some basic tools, like adhesive. Presto, bam . . . 15 cards!

If you'd like to order the kit to complete your Christmas or Holiday cards, just send me an email or leave me a comment and I'll get it to you asap. You'll love the ease and fun of this awesome kit. And that's not all! Laughing Lola (p. 68) is another cardmaking kit, plus you'll discover numerous scrapbooking kits throughout the catalog.

Enjoy! I'm off to make some more cards!

Words, words, words!

The Stamp of the Month for this month, Poster Tidings, was a little hard for me to get used to, I'm not going to lie. Then a friend, Michele P., showed me how to do the different colored words, fast and easy. Here's the card we made while spending a fun day in her Stamp  Studio:

First we stamped the whole autumn stamp in Indian Corn Blue. Then on another piece of Colonial White we stamped the stamp again, concentrating on, "Fall" in Honey, "Family" in Olive, and "Blessed" in Barn Red. Next we cut out only those words. Using a piece of pop up tape, we attached the words over the original Indian Corn Blue words. Presto, the card is stamped in different colors.

Another cool thing about this card is it is made using Baby Cakes, which makes you think Baby, right? Not so! Look how adorable the dots make this card stand out? Love it! Thank you Michele P.

While we were in Michelle P.'s Stamp Studio, we also made these cards:

Fun day of stamping and chatting! Thank you, Michele!

Stamp & Chats are back!

Yes, it's true. The kids are returning to school and I'm planning some fun Stamp & Chats for the moms. :-)

Mark your calendar, the first one is Wednesday, September 11th. from 10:00 to noon. If you are new to Stamp and Chats, you are in for a treat.

Just bring your project over to my Stamp Studio or I can help you get started on a project and while we "work" we sip coffee/tea/hot chocolate. The cost is FREE and the fun is guaranteed. All you have to do is send me a quick email and rsvp so I have enough tables set up.

Happy Stamping!
Elaine

Another Cricut Cartridge!!!

Yes, it's true . . . Close To My Heart debuts a new exclusive Cricut Cartridge! I can't wait to get a chance to play with it. The cartridge is called Artbooking and the only place you can purchase it is from a CTMH Consultant like me! I have this huge list of what a want from the catalog. I'm going to have to make a list and order a few things at a time. Don't you just love a budget? Ugh.

New Artbooking Cricut Cartridge

I had a chance to really sit down and play with my Cricut over the weekend and one of the most exciting things I discovered is the Cricut Craft Room.

I now have all my cartridges loaded on the program and I don't even have to get the cartridge out. I just choose the images I want and place them on the virtual mat that's in the program. It safes SO much paper. Check the program out when you get a chance. It's FREE!

I'm off to create some more projects. It's addicting!

Happy Stamping/Scrapbooking/Cricutting,

Elaine

Thinking of those in need.

Just a note to let everyone know about a special for this month. Close To My Heart has designed the stamp set, A True Thank You. CTMH will donate 100% of the profits from sales of this set to the American Red Cross to aid the Oklahoma victims. Purchase this fun set for just $2.95 and help the victims of this horrific natural disaster.

To order the special set, send me an email and you can help too.

It's only available until June 30th.

Have a great summer stamping day!

Elaine