Project Inspirations: A Different Spin

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Learn how to incorporate the sturdy chipboard spinner into your layouts for a unique, interactive element. You can stamp the spinner, cover it with your favorite papers, or just attach it as is to your layout for a different spin!




To order any of these items please visit my website HERE. Here's a look at the featured products:

D1545 - Wheel of Life

Z1832 - Spinner

Packed With Punch

Learn how you can use Close To My Heart circle punches to create beautiful artwork. It's a great way to pack some punch int your papercrafting!



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It's A Pajama Party!!!

Close To My Heart is teaming up with Big Picture Classes to bring you a live webcast with step-by-step instructions for making this Happy Thoughts kraft container. The FREE webcast will air Thursday, May 30 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm (MDT). During the presentation, you’ll learn to make several projects from a variety of sponsors, including Close To My Heart’s Happy Thoughts kraft container, as the presenter walks you through the steps. 

Anyone with an Internet connection can watch, so make sure to order your supplies now so you can follow along in the fun!

The Pajama Party class will be available for FREE at BigPictureClasses.com on May 30. If you would like to interact on the message board, participate in live chat, post to the gallery, download handouts, or enter any contests, you will need to log in to the Pajama Party “classroom” by creating a free account on the Big Picture Classes website.

To make our Happy Thoughts kraft container, these are the supplies you'll need—or similar products:

• My Acrylix^® Frame Flair Stamp Set (D1546)
• My Acrylix^® Happy Thoughts Stamp Set (C1536)
• Chantilly Paper Packet (need 1 sheet of B&T, X7163B)
• Crème Brulee Cardstock (need 1 sheet, X5754)
• Lagoon Cardstock (need 1 sheet, X5762)
• White Daisy Cardstock (need 1 sheet, 1385)
• Whisper Cardstock (need 1 sheet, X5929)
• Whisper Exclusive Inks^® Pad (Z2172)
• Lagoon Exclusive Inks^® Pad (Z2195)
• My Creations^® Kraft Container (Z1833)
• Baker’s Twine Neutral Assortment (need 3 yards, Z1701)
• Color-Ready Trinkets Wooden Shapes (Z1844)
• Sparkles Black & Grey Assortment (Z1754)
• 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)
• Micro-Tip Scissors (Z534)
• Corner Rounder (Z1912)
• Paper Trimmer (Z1783)
• My Acrylix^® Spritz Cleaner (1778)
• My Acrylix^® Stamp Scrubber (Z1782)
• 2" × 3½" My Acrylix^® Block (Y1009)
• 4" × 5" My Acrylix^® Block (Y1012)
• Cricut^® Art Philosophy Collection (Z1790)

To order any of these supplies please visit my website HERE!

Teacher Gift: Lollipop Pinwheel Garden

This was another fun project to make with the Cricut Artiste Cartridge. I used the flower pot shape on page 54 of the cartridge and cut it at 2 1/2".

I filled the pot with some Floral Support found at the Dollar Store and decorated the lollipops with May's Stamp of the Month, Pinwheels. The Pinwheel shapes were also cut with the Cricut Artiste cartridge at 2".

For added stability in the "planters" I added some red marbles I had in my stash. I finished off each planter with a simple bow and voila, another quick and fun teacher gift done!

If you'd like to make this project but don't own the Artiste Cartridge you can get it HERE!

Teacher Gift: Post-it-Note Holder

I like projects that are both functional and cute and I'm hoping our teachers do as well.

This project was inspired by my friend, Amy. She's so creative and is a teacher herself.

This project was really inexpensive to make and is a great use of scraps. The acrylic frame came from the Dollar Store. These would also make great office and co-worker gifts!

Here's the frame from the side! Hope the teachers like it!

Teacher Gift: Note Card Set

It's that time of year to give a little thanks to our teachers! To kick off Teacher Appreciation Week my first project is a Thank You note card set.

For the Male Teachers!

The holder was super easy to create with the help of the Cricut Artiste cartridge. Since I had several of these to make I kept the cards pretty simple. The bracket was also cut with the Artiste cartridge and stamped with the coordinating Perfect Fit Frames 2 stamp set. The sentiment is from one of my faves, Salutation Seals.

For the Female Teachers!

His & Hers Thinking of You Cards

 Another tip I've learned in the online card class His & Hers is to use texture. So, for these two cards  I decided to have a little experiment to see if I kept the same color scheme and used the same materials if changing the texture really did make a difference. I took out my Sizzix and embossing folders and decided to use Freshly Made Sketch #84 which was a prefect fit for this open background card.

I did a couple of different techniques with these cards. For the "Hers" version I inked the embossing folder with Desert Sand Ink then ran it through the Sizzix, something the very talented Vicki W did with THIS card.  It gives the card such a soft, vintage feel.

For the "His" card I used a different embossing folder and then sanded the cardstock to reveal the white core. I went simple with the embellishments and simply added a button tied with waxy flax.

So, what do you think? Did I succeed with my experiment? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Supplies used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted): 

Paper: Sweet Leaf Cardstock, Desert Sand Cardstock

Stamps: Card Chatter - Sympathy

Ink: Dessert Sand

Other: Brown Ribbon (retired), White Daisy Flower, Autumn Flowers, Natural Buttons, Waxy Flax, Glue Dots, Sizzix Big Shot, Cuttlebug Embossing Folders

Project Life Week 7 & 8

I didn't have too many photos for these weeks so instead of stretching it along two pages I decided to create 1 page layouts. Love that this project is so flexible yet still so cohesive!! Just to be a little consistent I did use the same journal cards on both sides of the layouts...I'm a little anal like that!

Week 7 - Left page

If you're curious about the sandwiches in Week 7, no, we don't eat those all in one day! To make life easy on ourselves I buy two loaves of bread (one for PB&J and one for meat and cheese) and pre-make them for lunches. Once made they go in the freezer and when needed they make it to the lunch box! Yes, they thaw in time for lunch and no, they don't get soggy (as long as you don't put the jelly or condiments directly on the bread). It's such a time saver to make 2 weeks worth in about 30 minutes!

Week 8 - Right Page

Week 8 is the start of our family vacation to Florida! The photo in the top left is our pre-packing process. Each pile represents a kid/outfit for the week. I've done a little something different to record our vacation so stay tuned for that!

May 2013 Customer Newsletter

I'm hearing several of my customers aren't receiving my monthly newsletter. So, until we work out the kinks of bounced emails I will begin posting on my blog.

	May 2013A newsletter from Michelle Your Stamp Happy Friend, Michelle Michelle Battitori Close To My Heart Independent Consultant Supervisor (703) 307-9808 Hostess Club Changes Hostess club has been a great success (just ask the ladies who get $40 in free product each month) but it's time for a change. Starting this month hostess club is a now an online hostess club! We will still have a monthly gathering to make cards, home decor items or other fun projects but now I'm expanding my club options to fit your budget and time committments. I have 5 different options to choose from and each one will reward you with at least $25 in FREE products and a special gift from me! For more details and to sign up please visit the Hostess Club information page HERE. As aways, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me via email or phone.  National Scrapbooking Month Special Get the paper packet of your dreams for only $10 when you spend $35! Close Read In honor of National Scrapbooking Month, you can get the yummy Dream Pop paper packet for only $10 when you spend $35 in May! This exclusive paper packet includes 12 cardstock sheets with a glossy pattern (2 each of 6 colors) as well as 12 B&T Duos® papers (2 each of 6 designs) that were created for this promotion—you can't get these sweet colors and patterns anywhere else! Start National Scrapbooking Month off right with a unique paper packet at a bargain price and get your creative juices flowing! Want a Dream Pop paper packet for FREE? Simply host a Gathering in May with at least $400 in qualifying sales or sign up as a new Consultant in May and we'll send you this colorful packet of luscious papers free! Contact your Independent Consultant for all the details. *Shipping/handling and tax apply. Not available for purchase at full retail. Offer valid May 1–31, 2013, while supplies last. Get your $10 Dream Pop paper packet today! » Stamp of the Month: Pinwheel Stamps that will make your world go 'round Close Read Celebrate the joy of life with the My Acrylix® Pinwheel stamp set. This D-size stamp set includes 10 stamp images and sentiments that are great for documenting spring and summer memories or for creating "wowee" cards and 3-D items. This stamp set, regularly priced at $17.95, is available for only $5 with a qualifying $50 order this month only. If papercrafting makes your world go 'round, hurry and get the Pinwheel stamp set during the month of May to make your artwork sparkle and spin! See the May 2013 Stamp of the Month » Fabulous Fabric Add dimension and texture to your projects! Close Read The Spring/Summer 2013 Idea Book features a product that will pack more punch into your papercrafting—fabric! The new Chantilly and For Always textiles include three sheets of cotton fabric with pinked edges in designs that coordinate with the Chantilly and For Always paper packets. You don't have to be a seamstress to use fabric in your artwork; in fact, you can use fabric in place of patterned papers on your layouts and cards for added dimension and texture. If you'd like to learn more about using fabric in your artwork, watch the video. Make your projects fabulous with fabric! Check out the new textiles » Where you can find me: handmadefromtheheart@gmail.com https://twitter.com/#!/mbattitori http://michellebattitori.ctmh.com http://michellebattitori.ctmh.com/retail http://www.facebook.com/MichellesHandmadeWorld. http://www.michelleshandmadeworld.blogspot.com http://www.pinterest.com/mbattitori Close To My Heart 1199 West 700 South, Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 919 Centre St. NW, Suite 331, Calgary, AB T2E 2P6 © 2013 CTMH Co. All rights reserved. Unsubscribe from this list