Last Chance for February Specials

Feb 28th is the last day to get free embossing folders and the February Stamp of the Month! In case you forgot here are the details:

Embossing Is Boss We have five brand new 5" x 7" embossing folders! During the month of February, you can qualify to receive a free embossing folder for every 2 packs of bulk single color or combo cardstock you purchase. Pick from our 5 embossing folder designs -dot, chevron, quatrefoil, damask, or stripe, with your qualifiying order. Every 2 packs of cardstock qualify you for an additional embossing folder! >>Start Shopping HERE February Stamp of the Month: Wild About Love   Each month CTMH offers a special stamp set available that month only. You can purchase the Stamp of the Month at full retail price ($17.95) or at a discount ($5.00) with your qualifying purchase of $50 or more. If you see an image outlined in red it means it coordinates with one of our three exclusive, cricut cartridges! This month, the Stamp of the Month coordinates with the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge. Don't worry, the stamp set will work just fine if you don't have the cartridge :) Here is a sampling of artwork using this adorable set from the CTMH Art Department: If you have any questions about any of these specials or any of the CTMH products please let me know. If you are interested in purchasing any of the specials please shop my online store. >>Start Shopping HERE Have a fantastic day! ~Michelle

Everything ABC Blog Hop - 'D'

Welcome to the Everything ABC's Blog Hop!

For this hop we will be featuring the letter 'D'. This may be the name of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. For this hop I'm focusing on a Disney, Dimensional Elements, D-sized stamp, mini album! Specifically, I'm focusing on the products that coordinate with the Artiste Cartridge.

 If you have just hopped onto my blog, please start at the beginning at Linda's blog ~ Scrappy Therapy. If you came from Lauren's, CTMH Craftings blog then you're on the right track!

Last weekend we took our two youngest children to see a Disney On Ice show. We had a wonderful time and since they've mentioned it every day since I thought it would be nice to have a little memento for them to flip through at their leisure.

Dimensional Elements are what Close To My Heart calls it's chipboard shapes. CTMH has a variety of Dimensional Elements to choose from -- Complements (that coordinate with certain paper packs), "Naked" (plain chipboard like the ones that come with our Cricut Cartridges), and Irresistibles (pre-embossed Dimensional Elements). One of the sheets that came with the Artiste cartridge is the cute little mini-album I'm using.

Each Cricut cartridge comes with 3 Dimensional Elements sheets and 3 coordinating D-sized Stamp sets, making it super easy to add dimension and variety to our projects. My project focuses on the Dimensional Elemetns Album Pages that comes with the Artiste Cartridge (see page 60 of the Artiste handbook). The label tells me the proper dial size to use...in this case it's 3 3/4."

Once I decided on my paper choice, Skylark,  I went about cutting 2 of each shape, one for the front and one for the back. I adhered the paper with my Tombow adhesive.

I used a few different techniques to use with our Dimensional Elements sheets. The cover page focuses on our Irresistbles. I used my Juniper Alcohol Marker to color the letters. Because it's been embossed already the color only shows on the non-embossed portions.

On the 2nd page I stamped an image from one of the Artiste stamp sets and accentuated the page with one of the Skylark Complements pieces. 

For page 3 I used my Cricut to cut the star image from the Artiste Collection and stamped it with Sweet Leaf Ink. 

Page 4 didn't use any Dimensional Elements so I opted to add a little bling with our Silver Shimmer Trim...after all, Princess Ariel likes her shiny "thing-a-ma-bobs!"

For page 5, I cut the word bubble shape from the Artiste Cartridge at 1 1/2" (p. 65, Shift + Accent 2 <B>) using Brown Bag cardstock. I inked the border of the coordinating stamp, "thanks" with Brown Bag Ink and used it as a journaling spot.

For page 6 I went back to the Skylark Complements. I also stamped the arrow image from Word Balloons Stamp Set and trimmed with my scissors. 

For page 7 I covered the Dimensional Element shape with B&T paper and a little bit of Washi Tape. I also stamped a sentiment from the Kudos Stamp Set.

I kept page 8 very simple by adding a small strip of Silver Shimmer Trip. The top sentiment, Perfect Day, was trimmed from a zip strip and popped up with 3D Foam Tape.

For page 9 I used my Cricut Artiste to cut a banner shape out of B&T paper (p. 58, Shift + Accent 3 <K>). I stamped the coordinating image from the Birthday Collection Stamp set and adhered to the page.

For page 10 I went back to the Skylark Complements (I'm totally in love with them). I also added a little of Shimmer Tape tabs along the top.

I finished off my little mini just as I started...with some Irresistibles and a picture of the finale! 

And the back cover:

Supplies (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper: Skylark (X7177B), Crystal Blue Cardstock (1292), Sweet Leaf Cardstock  (X5639), Brown Bag Cardstock (, White Daisy Cardstock (1385)

Stamps: Cricut Artiste Kudos, Cricut Artiste Balloon Wishes, Cricut Artiste Birthday

Ink: Crystal Blue (Z2117), Juniper (Z2165), Chocoalte (Z2111), Saddle Cardstock (X5928), Sweet Leaf (Z2153)

Other: Cricut Artiste Cartridge (XXX), Dimensional Elements Album Pages (Z1791), Dimensional Elements Awards (Z1792), Dimensional Elements Quotes (Z1793), Irresistible Houndstooth Alphabet (retired), Skylark Complements (X7177C), Silver Shimmer Trim (Z1799), 3D Foam Tape (Z1151)

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my project. I hope it inspires you to create use your Dimensional Elements Album Pages for a little mini project of your own! Your next stop on our Everything ABC'S blog Hop is Catherine at Catscrapbooking.

~Michelle Battitori

Here's the entire hop in case you get lost along the way :):

1. Linda Norman- Scrappy Therapy 

2. Lauren Moore- CTMH Craftings

3. Michelle Battitori - that's me!

4. Catherine Nowak ~ Catscrapbooking 

5. Jenny Gilbert - Jen's Creative Classroom 

6.  Lisa Plummer - Flaunt Your Creativity

7. Cary Magnani - My Heart's Design 

8. Shalana Glass - Scrappin with Shalana 

9. Pam Trostle - Pam's Crafty Creations 

10. Michele Pryor - Michele's Ink It Stamp It 

11. Sharon Chapman - PaperFiesta

12 Anita Autore -  Cards and Coffee 

A Lollydoodle Birthday Card - Mojo Monday 333

I've been having so much fun with Washi Tape that I decided to make another birthday card with it! The paper, Lollydoodle, is quickly becoming one of my favorites from the Spring/Summer Idea Book.

I kept the inside pretty simple only adding a small piece of leftover Washi tape to the inside corner.

To stamp the image I curved the sentiment on my clear block, using the cutout as a guide. The sketch is from this week's Mojo Monday sketch #333.

Thanks for checking it out!

~Michelle Battitori

Supplies (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Lollydoodle (X7183B), Cotton Candy Cardstock (X5760), Juniper Cardstock (X5752)
Stamps: Just a Number (D1514)
Ink: Slate (Z2173)
Other: Lagoon Houndstooth Washi Tape (Z1850), Chocolate Woodgrain Washi Tape (Z1930), Smoothie Striped Washi Tape (Z1923), Bronze Shimmer Trim (Z1849), Babycakes Assortment (Z1869), Paper Flowers (retired)

Here's the sketch:

Technique Blog Hop - Washi Tape

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop! This month there are 12 of us highlighting Washi Tape!

This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique.

If you are coming from Haley's Blog, you are on the right track!

So, you've probably heard of Washi tape but still might be confused on what it is. And no, I'm not accidentally misspelling wasabi, one of my favorite sushi condiments! Basically washi tape is really pretty masking tape. It's thin, translucent, repositionable and oh so fun to use!

Lollydoodle Paper

So, what's the point of using it over paper? It took me a while to answer that question myself. I like it because it's a super quick way to add variety to lots of projects...anything from candles and switch plate covers to cards scrapbook layouts, an folder tabs!

Timberline Paper

My favorite part though is that I can make bulk cards and tags super quickly without pulling out a lot of supplies. Both cards I made today use this week's Mojo Monday sketch. I started out with my basic supplies and ended up with some really fantastic and quick 5" x 7" birthday cards.

Tag Close Up

To make the tags I simply tore strips of washi tape and adhered them to my tags wrapping the edges around the back. I finished the tags with a some shimmer trim for some added bling and added a few embellishments for some extra pop! Here's what the tags looks liked before I added them to the cards:

If you'd like to make a card similar to mine here are my measurements:

• 10" x 7" piece of cardstock folded at 5" to create a card base
• Mat a 4" x 6" piece of pattern paper to a 4 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of cardstock
• Add a 1" x 5" strip of coordinating paper in center of card. 
• Decorate tag with washi tape and adhere to center of card
• Embellish as desired

That's it! Fast. Simple. Easy. Thanks for checking out my post. Please hop to Judy's Blog to see what creative uses she came up!

Supplies Used (All CTMH Unless Otherwise Noted):
Paper: Colonial White Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Cotton Candy Cardstock, Honey Cardstock, Chocolate Cardstock, Timberline (X7182B), Lollydoodle (X7183B)
Stamps: Just a Number (D1514), Holiday Tags (D1560)
Ink: Black (Z2105)
Other: Gold Polka_Dot Washi Tape (Z1920), Smoothie Striped Washi Tape (Z1923), Chocolate Woodgrain Washi Tape (Z1930), Honey Triangles Washi Tape (Z1931), Shimmer Trim-Silver (Z1799), Shimmer Trim-Teal (Z1918), Dimensional Elements-Hearts (Z1735), Dimensional Elements-Signage (Z1902), 3D Foam Tape (Z1151), Bone Folder, Pink Buttons, Shipping Tags (Staples)

~Michelle Battitori

Mojo Monday Sketch:

Embossing Folder Tips & Tricks

 Did you know that the new CTMH embossing folders are designed to allow for embossing of longer strips of paper?

Did you know that the grain of the paper can affect how your embossing looks?

Did you know that you can adjust the depth of the embossed impression?

 

I didn't which is why the Close To My Hert's new video** is a must see! This video will share some of the fantastic qualities of our folders as well as show you how to obtain different texture effects with our white core cardstock!

Here's a look at the five embossing folders from Close To My Heart:

Each folder retails for $8.95 but this month you can get them for FREE! More details can be found on the Promotions tab of my website HERE.

>>Start shopping HERE

**If you are receiving this post via email you must click on the title link to view the video!

  ~Michelle Battitori

Feb Newsletter: Fall in love with delightful deals and products for February!

               
      

	February 2014A newsletter from Michelle Your Stamp Happy Friend, Michelle Michelle Battitori Close To My Heart Independent Consultant Supervisor (703) 307-9808 Time to Thaw Out With The New Spring/Summer Idea Book!! Brrrr. .it's been a cold and snowy winter! I'm happy I've had lots of play time in my craft room but my family is ready to get back into a routine without school cancellations! Thank you so much for all the support you've shown me in January. It's been an exciting month and I'm happy to report that my team continues to grow! If you've ever considered joining a strong and stable company to earn some extra money or just support your habit (that's how I got started) let me know. I'd be happy to help you decide if this is the right thing for you. I have some exciting events coming up and hope you'll be able to join me.  RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Manassas-Papercrafters/ or contact me to schedule a private event!  2/21-Creative Club 7pm  2/23-Bracket Frame Workshop 1 pm 3/14-Creative Club 7pm Embossing Is Boss! Take your papercrafting to a whole new level with embossed paper! Close Read February is the month to celebrate love, and you are going to love receiving a free embossing folder! For this month only, when you purchase any combination of two colored cardstock packs, including single color or combo packs*, you can choose one embossing folder for free! These handy embossing folders let you add your choice of a variety of patterns to your papers: chevron, damask, dot, quatrefoil, or stripe. Just slip your paper inside the 7" × 5" folder and press using your embossing machine**. The patterns are repeatable for larger papers, so you’ve got full coverage. You’re sure to be in love with your pretty, patterned paper as soon as you see it! *Kraft, White Daisy, Colonial White, and Paper Fundamentals Basics Assortment cardstocks are excluded. **Embossing machine not included with folder. Folders fit with most embossing machines. See the Embossing is Boss promotion » February Stamp of the Month: Wild about Love Spread the love with a stamp set that’s a bit on the wild side! Close Read Feature some festive foxes in your cards and crafts with the February Stamp of the Month, Wild about Love. Letting the special people in your life know how much you care will be quick and easy with this adorable set, and you’ll go wild for the great deal that accompanies it. When you place an order of $50 or more throughout February, you qualify to order this stamp set for just $5! This amazing offer is available only during the month of February, so make sure to order yours early and get started on some foxy and fun Valentine’s Day cards. View the February Stamp of the Month » Picture My Life™ Swift and splendid scrapbooking is right at your fingertips! Close Read Creating an entire album full of your favorite photos has never been easier—or cuter! With the new Picture My Life™ scrapbooking program, all you need to do is pair your photos with any of the 122 double-sided cards that come with each themed program for complete scrapbooks that capture your greatest moments. One side of each card has space for journaling while the other side features an artistic sentiment or image. The program comes in eight different themes, from sports to travel to childhood, so you’re sure to discover your perfect fit. Mix and match the versatile cards with your photos to create your own tailor-made arrangements! Each Picture My Life program is available for just $24.95 and includes 122 double-sided cards plus 10 unique Memory Protectors™ and a 12" × 12" double-sided cover page. You’ll love this fast, fun way to document your life’s story. Check out the Picture My Life™ program » 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 © 2014 CTMH Co. All rights reserved. Unsubscribe from this list