March Kit of the Month - Lucky

Lucky Kit - Desert Sand, Olive, Outdoor Denim and Sunset - Get your kit which includes a level 2 paper packet, exclusive stamp set, full accessory packet and full color instructional brochure for the scrapbook pages and 6 cards, all for $29.95 plus shipping/handling - plus you'll have product leftover!

Notecard Sets

I made these little note card and box sets for my retreat guests.  As this post appears, we are busy at retreat with lots of crafting, scrapbooking, chatting, eating and relaxing!  Sound nice?  IT IS!  Check out my retreat blog here for more info and you can always join us next year!

So, these card sets may look a bit familiar to those I've posted earlier this month.  Previously, I made them with some B&T papers from some retired kits.  When I got the February Stamp of the Month, Friendship, I knew I wanted to use it on a project to make some dynamic random stamping patterns.  When I thought about it, this was the perfect project!  I needed to make multiple gifts that were very similar but slightly different.  I used White Daisy cardstock as my card box base and random stamped using Black, Grey Wool and one of the new colors from the revised Summer CTMH color palettes (Pear, Sky, Smoothie, Sunset, Gypsy, Pacifica, Cotton Candy and Lagoon).  Using the card box template found here,  I scored and made the folds to make a super-sturdy, double-walled card box (which worked much better with the cardstock weight vs. my previous project which used background & texture paper which is much thinner).  I made five - 4 1/4x5 1/2 note cards with Black, White Daisy, Grey Wool and one of the new summer colors of cardstock, inserted those and five envelopes inside, tied a little black ribbon on the front of the box for embellishment, and voila, totally cute and practical gift project!!!  I am so happy with how these turned out.  I used the Friendship, Felicity and Wings WOTG stamp sets for this project.  I also used the new CTMH scalloped circle punch on the note cards.

Studio J - Part Two

Here's the second half of my album from yesterday's post that I made for my grandfather:

Studio J - I'm a believer now!

I've been a busy bee this past week getting ready for my third annual Creative Escape Retreat!  I am so excited for some long and uninterrupted crafting time soon, but in the meantime, I finished a project I've been working on for awhile in Studio J.   I did a lifetime scrapbook for my grandmother a few years back the traditional way (paper and adhesive), and I knew I wanted to do one for my grandfather as well, but once Studio J online design scrapbooking came out from Close To My Heart, I knew that was the way to go.  It was an easy way to get all of the photos and memorabilia I had of my grandfather organized in a beautiful way and, I knew that I could create duplicate copies easily for my grandfather, my mother, my uncles, etc.

I finally finished my project this past weekend, and I must say - I am SO extremely pleased with the results.  The layouts turned out great!  As a Studio J member, I not only get my hands-on printed layouts at a great price, I get free shipping, free memory protectors and free high-resolution and low-resolution jpeg files of all of my layouts.  Plus, for February only, there is a great special - anytime you place a Studio J order of nine layouts, the tenth layout is free!  Click here to go to my website and learn more about Studio J and try it out completely FREE.

Here's how my layouts for my grandfather's book turned out - today I have the first half and tomorrow will be the second half.  Click on any of the layouts to see them in larger detail.

Sophia Cards

Here are some cards I made with the beautiful new Sophia kit for a consultant swap.  I love these girly colors, they make me happy!  Colors for this new paper pack are Pear, Hollyhock, Blush and Goldrush.

The first card is a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 size.  I used the Party Pennants stamp set, brand new pink buttons with Colonial White Waxy Flax threaded through them, and the paper mats were cut using my Cricut.

The second card is a 6x6 size.  I used the Sophia WOTG stamp set for this, along with some pink sparkles and my file tab punch. 

Valentine's Teacher Gifts

I had so much fun making teacher gifts for my kids' teachers this year for Valentine's Day.  I got this idea from a fellow CTMH consultant's blog who has amazing artwork here and she found the template from another stamper's blog here.

These are fun note card boxes which are made from a 12x12 sheet of two-sided background & texture papers using a scoring blade in a paper trimmer and the guide on the blog linked above.  Then, I made six 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 note cards and included envelopes as well.

The top box is made from the retired Cherry-O papers.  Colors are Sweet Leaf, Tulip, Chocolate and Colonial White.  I used the Felicity and Bohemian Alphabet stamp sets and the new scalloped circle punch from CTMH. 

The second box is made from the retired Topstitch papers.  Colors are Crystal Blue, Blush, Chocolate and Colonial White.  I used the Felicity and Bohemian Alphabet stamp set and the new scalloped circle punch from CTMH.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Valentine's Day Class Cards

Here are the cards I made for my son and daughter to give out to their classmates tomorrow:

I was inspired by a project I found online.   They are little folders that hold a candy pouch on the inside.  I made the half-circle tabs to hold the candy by using my smallest circle on my circle coluzzle, just one half of it on each side. 

The girls version uses the retired Cherry-O papers.  Colors are Tulip, Crystal Blue, White Daisy and Grey Wool.  Stamps are from Sweetheart WOTG and Simple Stitches.  The boys version uses the retired You Rock papers.  Colors are Outdoor Denim and Goldrush.  Stamps are from Everyday Celebration, My Game and Simple Stitches.

Valentine Circle Card

I'm loving these circle cards right now - so trendy and different.  The Wishes card pattern book has a bunch of circle cards to choose from - this one was so easy to put together.  I used the new Sweetheart papers - I love these patterns, especially the floral.  It's colors are Baby Pink, Cotton Candy, Tulip, Black and White Daisy.  The stamps are from Card Chatter - Love, one of my new favorite stamp sets from the new catalog - I love all of the sayings, but this is my favorite :)  The Love heart is heat embossed with black embossing powder.  I rounded the corners of the papers, and finished it off with some Licorice Opaques.  Happy Valentine's Day!

New Retreat Options

I've added some new day crop and single night options to my Creative Escape Retreat in Silver Falls at the end of this month - check it out. Contact me if you're interested!

http://creative-escape-allison.blogspot.com/

February 2011 Scrap Club Layouts

I've finished my layouts for February Scrap Club.  I loved working with this beautiful new kit.  Sweetheart features Tulip, Cotton Candy, Baby Pink, Black and White Daisy for it's colors.  Both layouts are from the new Magic layout book - I'm loving choosing new layouts from this gorgeous book.  On the first layout, I used the Sweetheart WOTG stamp set, along with Card Chatter - Love, one of my new favorites.  I stamped the title with the Felicity Alphabet.  I also used Pink Sparkles, the new Pink Buttons, Black ribbon, White Daisy Ric Rac, Watermelon Waxy Flax (retired), Dimensional Elements Hearts covered in Sweetheart papers and the corner rounder punch for the scalloped border.

For the second layout, I stamped using the Bohemian Alphabet stamp set - another of my new favorites.  For the flowers, I got this idea from a GORGEOUS card I received in a swap from the talented CTMH consultant Wendy Coffman.  Check out her blog here.  I used the brand new, super cool CTMH Scalloped Circle Punch to make the layers for the flowers, scrunched them up and pinned them together using a Black Bigger Brad in the center.  I love the texture and interest they add to the layout, especially with the tiny flower background & texture paper from this kit.

Not one, but TWO CTMH specials this month!!

So, CTMH decided to be extra generous this month and give us TWO specials for the sweet month of February.

First is an awesome promotion for Studio J, CTMH's online scrapbooking program members:
Score a perfect 10 in February! If you're a Studio J member, you can take advantage of this great opportunity to fill up your scrapbook. For every 9 custom-printed Studio J layouts you buy, you’ll receive the 10th layout free. To receive the discount, just add 10 or more layouts to your cart. You’ll see a discount reflected in your order total. And you can totally take advantage of this promotion by ordering in multiples of 10. Buy 9, get 1 free. Buy 18, get 2 free. Buy 27, get 3 free. And so on! If you’re not a member yet, now’s a great time to join! Contact your me for more information about Studio J if you're not a member yet and interested in this speedy new way to get your layouts done!

Second, is an amazing new consultant promotion:
When you become a new Close To My Heart consultant in the month of February and achieve Straight To The Top, you will receive a rebate of $129 on your New Consultant Kit, plus $100 in select product credit rewards. That’s a total retail value of up to $491 in products and business supplies for FREE! Your kit’s free, your select products are free—how fabulous!
Reach Straight To The Top by: • Submitting sales of $300 or more in your first
month and • Submitting total sales of $1,200 or more during your first three months.
Then redeem your $100 in select product credit for My Acrylix® stamps, blocks, Exclusive Inks,® cardstock, My Reflections® paper packets, and more!
Ask me for more info on how you can join my Team in February and earn the Free, Free, & Fabulous rewards.

Valentine's Day is coming soon!

Valentine's Day is right around the corner - this 8x3.5 sized card made with the new Sweetheart papers is perfect for the occasion.  I used the Sweetheart Workshop stamp set, along with Card Chatter - Love.  I also used a Dimensional Elements Heart, pink Sparkles, Licorice Opaques and Tulip Just Blooms flowers.  Colors are Tulip, Cotton Candy, Black, White Daisy and Baby Pink.