The WHY....

Hi All! Welcome to our mid-month Rose Blossom Blog Hop featuring layouts about our experience with Close To My Heart. If you just hopped over from the amazing blog of Barbara Smith, you're in the right spot! This month, CTMH is running special offer to folks wanting to join up as consultants. Not only do you receive one of these incredible consultant kits (full of yet to be released product, I might add).....

Cardmakers Consultant Kit

Scrapbookers Consultant Kit

But you also will receive the new CTMH tote bag...

AND have an opportunity to earn the rolling tote when you sell $300 worth of product in your first 40 days of becoming a consultant!

So let's talk WHY. In business (and in life really) it is very important to articulate your purpose, or to use the short-hand, your "why." A few months ago, I blogged about some the benefits of being a CTMH consultant. (You can read that post here.) Today, I wanted to showcase my absolute number one reason for being a consultant. My WHY....

I made my life easier on this project by using our Studio J program to create a fun two-page layout. (I love Hopscotch and I have used up almost all of my Hopscotch stickers and what-not, so I went digital...never runs out, never wears out! Plus, this layout took me about 15 minutes to put together...the journalling took a bit longer with all my perfectionist tweaking....)

Here's a look at each page (you should be able to read them if you zoom in just a bit):

At the end of the day, I'm a Close To My Heart consultant because of the relationships. I'm part of three fabulous teams (the Kraft-y Hearts, Rose Blossoms, and my own Kraft, Paper, Scissors YOU). We are teams of business owners, yes, but we are first and foremost friends. We enjoy hanging out with each other online and in person. We share who we are and what we're doing (right and wrong) in our businesses, and we help each other out. There's no sense of competition among team members, just a sense of camaraderie that lets us enjoy everyone's successes and encourage each other when we fail. It truly is inspiring both creatively and personally. I've met fantastic women in this organization and particularly on these teams who I aspire to be like in many ways.

So if the tote bags and gorgeous products aren't enough to entice you to become a CTMH consultant, let me add a little extra incentive: join for the people and community. I promise, you will not regret it whether you're a hobbyist or want a part- or full-time business! If you want to chat with me about it or need more information, just shoot me an email and I'll be happy to answer questions and/or sign you up!

Now hop on over to see what the awesomely creative Cathy Arbuckle has to share with you.

Rose Blossom Blog Hop: Thanks for the Hopscotch

Hi All! Welcome to the Rose Blossom Blog Hop featuring products from the Seasonal Expressions 1 catalog. The products featured in this hop will be retiring with the catalog at the end of March. If you just arrived from the über-talented Shelly's blog, you are in the right place. 

Today's project features one of my all-time favorite Close To My Heart product collections: Hopscotch. This cheery collection just screams spring--and given the frigid temps here in the East, anything that gives hope of warmer weather to come gets two-thumbs up in my book!

This little thank-you note set would make a great hostess gift or would be fun to just have for your own use. The cards are 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, and the box is 3 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches. I layered all sides of the box with Hopscotch paper and Sorbet cardstock. The front of the box is decorated with Pixie Extra Thick Twine, two tags made from Sorbet and Glacier cardstocks, Gold Shimmer Trim, and bits and pieces from the Hopscotch Assortment and Complements. I used dimensional adhesive to pop things up a bit. The sentiment is a combination of stamps from the Variety of Thanks Hostess stamp set (which will also retire with the Seasonal Expressions 1 catalog) and the Brushstrokes stamp set.

Here are a couple of close-ups of the box:

Now for a peek at what's inside:

I made 8 cards using 4 out of 5 of the Variety of Thanks sentiments. (I didn't end up using "merci.") For the sentiment, I stamped an image from the Brushstrokes stamp set in Glacier Exclusive Ink on Colonial White cardstock. (The box and card bases are cut from Colonial White cardstock, as well.) I then stamped the sentiment over the Brushstroke in Indian Corn Blue Exclusive Ink and inked around the edges with Sorbet Exclusive Ink. The backgrounds of the cards show the variety of patterns that make up Hopscotch. (One of the patterns is predominantly Sorbet-colored, so I didn't use it on these cards as it was lost on the Sorbet cardstock layer.) I added a strip of Gold Shimmer Trim for a little extra pizzaz.

Here's a collage of the card styles:

And here is another look at the cards and box together:

I hope you enjoyed this little thank you project. Remember the Hopscotch collection and the Variety of Thanks stamp set will both retire at the end of March, so you want to make sure you get them soon! Now, hop on over and see what the lovely and talented Cathy has in store for you. And if you get lost along the way, here's a list of hop participants:

Lynn

Marg

Barbara

Shelly

Kim {that's Me}

Cathy

Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share Seasonal Expresssions 1: Monsters of Love...

Hi All! Welcome to Day 3 of the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share. Today's project features one of my favorite stamp sets--Love Ya Silly!--and my favorite paper collection--Hopscotch. Let's take a look.

Today's projects are little treat boxes that you could use for Valentine's Day or for a little "just because..." goody. The boxes, hearts, and icons were cut using Close To My Heart's Artiste Cricut cartridge. The box is cut from Hopscotch paper, the larger heart is cut from Teal Glitter Paper and the smaller heart and sunburst icon are cut from Colonial White cardstock. The monsters are stamped in Smoothie, Sunset and Pixie Exclusive Inks and are popped up with dimensional adhesive. I used the same inks to sponge around the heart, and then stamped the sentiment in Flaxen Exclusive Ink, which I also used to sponge around the edges of the monster icon. I popped the sentiment up on dimensional adhesive and adhered it to the box a strong permanent adhesive. I also added some Wiggle Eyes to each of the monster for fun.

I used Cricut Design Space and my Explore to add a little thumb notch to the back of the box for easier opening. As you can see from the pictures below, this box actually folds flat, so it's easy to store.

Here are some close-ups, along with suggestions of what candies fit in the boxes. (Many different candies will fit in these boxes, the candy shown below happens to be what I had on hand.)

If you like these little treat boxes, they can be purchased as a kit in the Violets & Sunshine Marketplace. They will be shipped flat so all you'll need to do is fold up the box, peel off the backing from the adhesive on the icons and stick them in place. (You'll also need to provide your own goodies.) I'm selling them in sets of 10, 1 monster per set, for $10 per set, plus tax and shipping.

I hope you've been inspired by the Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share. Don't forget to hop on over and see what the lovely and talented Lynn Darda has for your inspiration today.

A Happy Hello

Hi All! Just thought I'd share a little New Year "Hello" with you today. I had thought about using this for my Rose Blossom Blog Hop project but decided to go with the mini instead.

This card uses Close To My Heart's January Stamp Of The Month: This Moment.

Let's take a look:

The base of this card is made from a piece of Colonial White Cardstock cut at 4x10 inches and scored at 4 and 8 inches. I layered the front panels with Sorbet Cardstock and Hopscotch paper. The circle closure (it looks like a giant button to me) is the bull's eye stamp from This Moment, stamped on Flaxen Cardstock using Flaxen Exclusive Ink. I cut around the circle and popped up the bottom half using dimensional adhesive so that the top flap of the card could tuck under the circle. The "Hello" sentiment, also from This Moment, is stamped on Colonial White Cardstock in Indian Corn Blue Exclusive Ink, free-hand cut into an arrow and popped up on the bull's eye with dimensional adhesive. Finally, I added some clear epoxy bubbles from the Black & Grey Epoxy Bubbles assortment for some extra bling.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

And here, again, is the card with it's envelope:

Hope you enjoyed a little Happy Hello from the new Stamp of the Month--it's not just for Valentines you know....

A KISS of Inspiration...and a Little Sneak Peek

Hi All! Welcome to Day One of the Kraft-y Hearts Christmas KISS blog share. For the next 7 days, the Kraft-y Hearts are bringing you a little Christmas card goodness inspired by stamps and sketches from Close To My Heart. Today's project, however, takes it one step further by providing you with a sneak peek from the new Seasonal Expressions catalog, which will be released TOMORROW! (Woo HOO!!!)

So on with the show!

Today's card sketch can be found on page 42 in Make It From Your Heart, vol 1. The card base is a standard 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches and is cut from Colonial White cardstock. The base for each panel is from Glacier cardstock. The paper for the panels is from the brand-spankin'-new Hopscotch collection that will be available starting tomorrow. This collection is the perfect marriage of beauty and whimsy. LOVE IT!

The packages and sentiment stamps are from the Make It Merry stamp set. I stamped the packages on Colonial White cardstock in Flaxen, Glacier, Pixie and Hollyhock Exclusive inks. I then fussy cut them and covered them in Liquid Glass to give them extra dimension and shine. When they were dry (yes, that's right...let'em dry...), I popped them up on each panel with dimensional adhesive.
For the sentiment, I used the retired 2-inch scalloped circle punch by Close To My Heart to punch out a circle from Colonial White and Glacier cardstocks. I stamped the sentiment in Ponderosa Pine Exclusive ink, offset the Colonial White scalloped circle over the Glacier scalloped circle using dimensional adhesive, and then popped the whole thing up with dimensional adhesive as well.

Here are some close-ups:

And here it is one more time:

Hope you enjoyed this little KISS of inspiration. Now hop on over to From My Bungalow and see what the fabulously talented Lynn Darda has in store for you! Oh, and don't forget to join us tomorrow for more inspiration!

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