I am glad you are interested in Close To My Heart & what I am up to. I have outgrown this blog and have moved on to a real live grown up website!  Head on over to CraftyMrsT.com to see what is going on there.  Thank You, Reneé

Stampers With An Attitude Blog Hop

Welcome to the Stampers with an Attitude Blog Hop - New Product!  

 The blogger in front of me is LaJeania Hicks -  http://www.scraptilyoudrop.blogspot.com/2013/07/laughing-lola.html
The Stampers with an Attitude are excited to show you some Artwork with an Attitude using product from our new Autumn/Winter Idea Book, so here we go.
     I have been having fun with the colorful paper pack Sarita. It's color palate features: colonial white, cotton candy, goldrush, gypsy, lagoon, & outdoor denim. I can't wait to print my fair/carnival pictures to use on a layout with this paper.

     On this one page I did a best friend theme using the new Cricut Artbooking cartridge to cut my title and overlay mat. Beyond the fun accents of Aqua Dots, wood Sarita assortment, and metal Base & Bling, I played with texture on a more basic level by raising a simple stamped image with foam tape, applying clear embossing powder to the lagoon title words "friends forever", & my favorite: color on color stamping to make my own subtle background paper. If you look closely you can see I used the Friend stamp with Colonial White ink on Colonial White paper. 

 The next blogger on the hop is Cat Nowak
 http://catscrapbooking.com/2013/08/11/stampers-with-an-attitude-new-product-showcase/, so head on over to her site and see what goodies she has in store for you.



here is a bonus card I used scraps & stamps to make.

FREE Stamp of the Month!

   Stamp of the Month is FREE this month with a purchase of $50 or more, that is a $17.95 value FREE! And to top it off it is super SWEET!

New Exclusive Hostess Rewards Stamp Sets

Watch this quick video for some ideas on how to use the Washi Wonders stamp set. Get ahold of me to schedule a Home Gathering or an EZinvite online party to earn SPC (select product credit) so you can purchase these stamps while they are available. 

WintryWishes $8 SPC

You Only Live Once $6 SPC

Family Photo $6 SPC

The Party Is On $8 SPC

Friend $4 SPC

Quick Cards-Bright All Night $4 - SPC

Washi Wonder $10 SPC

Join My Close To My Heart Team

Why I Love Being A Close To My Heart Consultant.

     I have been a crafter of some kind or another my whole life. That being said I didn't find scrapbooking until more recently and I fell in love with the endless ways to express my artistic self and preserve my families memories at the same time. A few years into scrapbooking I started putting Crop days together for my friends, they always included a Make & Take and a handmade gift. I was using my own stash to create these things and wanted to find a more affordable way to do this. At the same time I was getting ideas from Pinterest and found myself "pinning" projects from the same person quite often. One day she pinned a link to her Close To My Heart website & I poured over all the product & sign up information. Late at night I signed up under Pamela O'Connor who I'ld never spoken and was half way across the country. The rest is history, I hit the ground running and haven't slowed down or looked back. 

$49 Starter Kit

        The basics that CTMH offers Consultants besides a quality product to sell:

1. 22%+ commission on sales.
2. Extra Select Product Credit (SPC)commission based on sales.
3. Straight To The Top program so you earn up to $200 extra SPC in your first three months.
4. Two different consultant kit options $49, retail value $155 - $99, retail value $335.
5. An FREE Website Store to accept orders & have online parties.
6. Online product information along with an easily navigated consultant website.
7. Workshop To Go Program and Make & Take projects for an easy start to lead get togethers.
8. Automated newsletters with all the most current information for your customers.
9. No inventory needed and low sales requirements to stay active.  
10. Consultant only opportunities to get together and create. Annual convention - At Disneyland next year, Regional Celebrations, & Album Retreats.

Please ask me any questions you might have about CTMH. 

I would love to have you on my team!

Click here for more detail on the kits and/or to sign up

Master kit also includes these items.

Join My Online Hostess Club

Join My Online Hostess Club 

           August will focus on the Sarita Workshop on the Go. Giving you an extra layout option with minimal extra supplies. I would like to point out the WOTG have been redesigned to give you more bang for your buck. In the past the page title was made up of alphabet stamp sets not included in the workshop, not your titles will be made from the included larger stamp set! 

           The price is still a reasonable $29.95! You get a full 12 page paper pack, New larger D size stamp set, 2 to 4 extra sheets of coordinating paper, a full theme coordinating embellishment assortment, additional full coordinating embellishment, and a color instruction booklet.

August 10th Crop Day @ The Kankakee Library

August 10th Crop Day @ The Kankakee Library 

    Follow the Paypal link to pay now.

Stampers from the Heart Blog Hop

This months blog hop has a simple theme "Spring".         

       You will see a variety of items as you hop to the other blogs because as long as it is made with items from the current Idea Book and is spring related it fits the theme.

       I have been doing so many projects for other people lately I have been missing actual scrap booking, so I did a double 12x12 page layout. 

       From the moment I opened the new Idea Book I was inspired by the "Patterned Pennants" stamp set on pg. 53. This was the perfect chance to use it but I wanted to stray from the obvious sun look. After deciding on the "Claire" B&T duos paper(it is a page for my daughter Claire after-all) I used the same color palate for ink Hollyhock, Outdoor Denim, Sunset, plus Sweat Leaf green.

I love layered pages and this layout doesn't disappoint in that department. I stamped and pieced the large background circle, used cut outs and font from the Artiste Cricut cartridge, Epoxy bubbles, washi tape, Claire assortment embellishments, Chevron ribbon, and under the raised photo you will find a pull out with journaling. 

     Now that you've checked out my page HOP, HOP, HOP along to my partners in crafting.

Pamela O'Connor ~ http://reflectionsofmyartandsoul.com/
Katy Taylor ~ http://scrappinkaty.blogspot.com/
Debbie Andrews ~ http://nonastampsandscraps.wordpress.com/

Renee Tanner ~ http://craftymrst.blogspot.com/

     

Virtual Swap Blog Hop

 I've been with Close To My Heart for a little less than a year now and I LOVE it! They keep up with trends but never fail on the basics we crafters want & need. When I joined CTMH I was lucky enough to sign up under Pamela O'Connor. Now I am part of a team with great & creative members but they are also very far from me. So thankfully Pamela has organized the 1st Stampers From The Heart Virtual Swap so now we can craft together. We had some basic rules to inspire us:   

• *Make It From Your Heart - Vol. 1 Pattern 19 featured on page 42.
• *New 2013 Spring/Summer Paper Packet of your choice.
• *New 2013 Spring/Summer Accessory of your choice.
• *New 2013 Spring/Summer Stamp Set of your choice.

The new items I used here are "For Always" paper pack, the yellow flower pin from "For Always" accessory assortment, & "Honeycomb" stamp set. Also used but not new, silver Shimmer Tape & stamp sets "Family Love" & "Trinity Alphabet". 

This card started with a folded size of 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" of White Daisy paper. The printed "For Always" paper was cut into 4" x 1 1/4" strips. The strips and the base are edged with Ruby ink. I then added strips of the shimmer tape down the center of all four strips, cutting them at an angle just shy of the edge. 

  
   I made the letter base with the "Honeycomb" stamp set. I adore these octagon shapes! The look nice with the "Buzz and Bumble" paper pack but the shape is not just for honey bees. First I stamped the outline stamp with black ink on Ruby paper. To give it dimension I stamped the fabric texture octagon filling the outline. (w/ second generation Ruby ink). Using the Ruby ink again, I stamped the letters (first generation) in the center of the shapes. After I cut the octagons out I edged them in black ink to cover any uneven lines and used foam tape to adhere them to the card. 
  Finally, I made the "Sweet" banner on scrap white daisy paper. Sweet is stamped in black & from the sentiment on "Honeycomb" & Love is stamped in Ruby & from "Family Love" stamp set. After I trimmed it into a banner and edged it with Ruby ink, I slid the pin from "For Always" into through it and into the foam tape behind the "E". To give it movement I put two tiny pieces of foam tape under the banner. 


Here is my favorite part: Every work of art starts with a mess so I always take a snap before I'm done. 

Hope you liked this. Now hop on over to my friends and see what they did with the same rules.
Pamela O'Connor ~ http://reflectionsofmyartandsoul.com/
Debbie Martin ~ http://wow-debbielou.blogspot.com/
Katy Taylor ~ http://www.scrappinkaty.blogspot.com/