April CTMH Promotion - So Exciting!

Sign Up as a Consultant in April and earn a FREE Cricut Cartridge or $100 in Select Product Credit!!

If you've ever thought of having your own business or simply getting a discount on your favorite papercrafting supplies, now is the time! Signing up as a new Consultant with Close To My Heart during April is more rewarding than ever. Did you know the price of the New Consultant Kit has dropped to $75? Here's what's included in your kit:

• New Consultant Essential Supplies

• $50 in Select Product Credit to spend on additional supplies

• The chance to earn awesome Straight To The Top rewards

If that doesn't have you drooling what about a FREE Cricut Cartridge? That's right! When you submit $350 in personal sales within your first 30 days**, you get your choice of either a FREE Cricut® collection or $100 in Select Product Credit—and that’s in addition to the Straight To The Top start-up bonus that you’ll earn along the way!

*Offer valid April 1, 2016 (9:00 am MDT) – April 30, 2016 (11:59 pm MDT). Cricut® collections available while supplies last. No tax will be charged on the free item. Shipping/handling will be charged based on the retail value of the free Cricut® collection.

Watch this video to learn more about the perks and benefits of becomming a CTMH Consultant:

To learn more, you may also join us for one of our free upcoming Opportunity Webinars. During the webinar, CTMH will walk through the contents of the New Consultant Kit, talk about the Consultant discount, explain how new Consultants can earn free products, and answer the most frequently asked questions. Those who join the webinar will come away understanding what an incredible opportunity it is to join Close To My Heart.

So mark your calendar and attend one of these free 1-hour webinars!

Tuesday, April 5, 6:00 pm PDT

Thursday, April 14, 6:00 pm PDT

Saturday, April 23, 8:00 am PDT

Wednesday, April 27, 6:00 pm PDT

Join the Opportunity calls via phone by calling 1-201-479-4595. To join online, go tohttp://fuze.me/32464058 a few minutes before the scheduled webinar time. You can also simply go to www.fuze.com or open the Fuze app and enter the meeting ID: 32464058. If you wish to participate online, we encourage you to download the Fuze application beforehand so you can be all set up to enjoy the webinar when it’s time to join.

So if earning money—and rewards—through your love of scrapbooking and stamping sounds like a dream job, then now is the perfect time to join Close To My Heart. Believe us, it’s worth it! If you have questions about becoming a CTMH Consultant, feel free to contact me. Are you ready to sign up? Click { HERE } for the online application. 

Share the Love Blog Hop

Welcome to the Share the Love Blog Hop! Today, approximately 27 CTMH consultants will be showcasing projects made with the Share the Love stamp set! If you've arrived from Melinda Everitt's blog you are on the right track. Melinda's post also contains a list of all participants so if you get lost on the hop make sure to go back to her post.

I was very inspired by the "share the love" sentiment and decided to create a set of 12 note cards and box holder! These cards are perfect to add sweet little notes and encouraging words to my kids and husband's lunch boxes.

The project was created in Cricut Design Space using images from the Artiste and Artbooking Cartridges. I resized them to be 4" x 5" and stamped them using a variety of techniques such as masking and rock-n-roll. I also used the backside of the heart balloon image to create a fun and different look!

Aside from the awesome projects you'll see with this stamp set you should note it's also pretty special to CTMH. Not only is it  filled with adorable icons and lovable sentiments perfect for your stamp collection, but CTMH will also donate $7 USD of the proceeds from each set sold to Operation Smile, an amazing organization that provides surgeries to repair cleft lips and palates for children all over the world! If that's not "sharing the love" I'm not sure what is!

This stamp set is only available until February 29th. To order yours please contact your CTMH Consultant or visit my webpage, www.michellebattitori.ctmh.com. Thank you for checking out my project. Now it's time to hop to Brenda Lapp's blog to see what's she's created!

~Michelle Battitori

Project Recipe
Stamps:Share the Love Stamp Set (CC1060)
Ink: Bamboo Ink (Z2103), Pomegranate Ink (Z2653), Poppy Ink (Z2652), Eggplant Ink (Z2647), Black Ink (Z2105)
Paper: Sangria Paper Packet (X7199B), Colonial White Cardstock (1388), Chocolate Cardstock (X5643)
Other: Red Enamel Heart (Z2009), Shimmer Trim-Coral (Z3088) Cricut Artiste Cartridge (Z3170), Cricut Artbooking Cartridge (Z3169)

National Papercrafting Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the National Papercrafting Month Blog Hop! Today, CTMH consultants will be showcasing artwork featuring the Picture My Life (PML), Live Your Day Scrapbooking program. If you've arrived from Gina's blog you are on the right track. For a complete list of hoppers please visit Melinda's blog HERE.

The Live Your Day collection is designed to coordinate perfectly with the new Everyday Life 2016 Planner pages and My Crush Everyday Life Pages, so you can seamlessly integrate pocket scrapbooking into your 2016 planner.

I love how empowering the quotes are on the 4x6 cards so I decided to step out of the box a bit and create a two-page scrapbook layout of my daughter meeting and training with Shannon Boxx, a former USA national Soccer player!

The layout was first designed in Cricut Design Space and uses elements of the Artbooking Cartridge. Here's a link to the file* if you'd like to recreate it: https://us.cricut.com/design/#/canvas/35156337

*To cut you will need the CTMH Artbooking Cartridge. 

Thank you for checking out my project! I hope it inspired you to think a little outside the box and try something new with the Live Your Day PML cards! The set is only $8.95 and a terrific value with a ton of possibilities! To order yours please contact your CTMH Consultant or visit my websit { HERE } 

Now it's time to check out Jacquelin's blog to see what she's created.

Project Recipe
CC1058 PML Live Your Day, 1246 Hollyhock Cardstock, X5762 Lagoon Cardstock, Z13128 Paper Fundamentals Basic, Z3127 Paper  Fundamentals Whimsy, X5929 Whisper Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z1990 Diagonal Striped Ribbon Thistle, Z1151 3D Foam Tape, Z1912 Corner Rounder, Z1979 Journaling Pen, Z3169 Cricut Artbooking

National Scrapbooking Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the National Scrapbooking Month Blog Hop! This month 37 CTMH consultants will be featuring the vibrant Taste of Summer Paper Pack and the coordinating Taste of Summer Stamp set. If you have arrived from Priscilla's blog you are on the right track. In the event you get lost along the way please visit Melinda's blog for a complete list of blog participants. Now on to the project!

This set just screams summer so I knew I wanted to make a special explosion box mini-album to record our 2014 summer adventures! The box was constructed out of Canary Cardstock with the B&T paper accenting each panel. The top of the box was made with cuts from the Cricut Artbooking & Art Philosophy Sets.

The pop-up strawberry accent on my title tag was created by stamping the strawberry six times on White Daisy Cardstock, cutting them out, folding in half and attaching together. It's a perfect accent and a great way to add dimension to your project!

Want to see the "explosion" in action? Check out my video below! (This is my 2nd video EVER so please be kind...and yes, I see I need a manicure!)



Supplies Used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Taste of Summer, Canary Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock
Stamps: Taste of Summer, Cricut Artfully Sent Alphabet Font
Ink: Ruby, Canary,
Other: Corner Rounder, Scoring Tool, 3D Foam Tape, Art Philosophy Chipbard Shapes, Artbooking Cricut Cartridge, Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge


Thank you so much for checking out my summer mini! I'd love to know what you think so please leave a comment. I won't lie...comments make me happy!! Now please visit Michelle Loncar's blog see what she's created with these delightful materials.

~Michelle Battitori

P.S. The Taste of Summer Paper Pack and Stamp sets are only available until 5/30/15 or until supplies last. To purchase your set please contact your CTMH consultant or visit my website HERE.

Dream Big Card

I knew once I saw this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches I just had to make this card! It's going to a special girl but I can't reveal who just yet.

I went out of my comfort zone and used 4 different pattern paper packs to make this card! It's going to be part of next Saturday's Card-A-Thon class and I hope my attendees enjoy making it as much as I did!

Supplies Used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted)
Paper: Colonial White Cardstock, Lollydoodle B&T, Laughing Lola B&T, Frosted B&T, Heartstrings B&T
Stamps: Your Own Kind Of Wonderful (D1627)
Ink: Gypsy, Cotton Candy
Other: Cricut Artbooking Cartridge, Scissors, Thin 3D Foam Tape

Thanks for looking!

~Michelle Battitori

P.S. Here's the sketch:

Two Single Page Scrapbook Layouts

It's been awhile since I've done any traditional scrapbooking. I decided to "ease" into it a bit by creating these single page layouts without any stamping. This also just happens to coordinate with November's Heart 2 Heart Challenge this month!

The "All Boy" layout features the paper Good Times, a retired set. I actually bought it 5 years ago...yes, I have LOTS of paper! The journaling was done on one of the Picture My Life (PML) Chalk It Up cards. I love that even though the PML cards are current products they still coordinates with my older CTMH papers!

The "Good Times" layout features another retired set called Caboodle. For this layout instead of using a PML card I created a journling block to mirror the chipboard total.

 I used the Cricut Artbooking cartridge to bring the photo mat found on page 82 into Design space. I resized it to 4 1/2" and copies it to create another layer. I cut them out in coordinating papers and then used my Shin Han Maker to create the dots.

Super easy and super quick! And that's a good thing when you have tons of photos to scrap! Thanks for looking!

~Michelle

P.S. Did you know that the PML cards now have a la carte options?! Yep, you can get the same beautifully designed cards but without the Memory Protectors or designed cover sheet! Check them out on my website HERE!

Two-Sided Vinyl Glass Block - Halloween

I've been having a lot of fun playing with 8" x 8" glass blocks and vinyl lately! They were a big hit at the craft fair a few weeks ago. This is a custom two-sided block I made for a co-worker.

The "Trick-or-Treat" image was a free svg file I found online (I can't remember the site though). It's filled with lights so when you plug it in and it's dark it's kinda magical!

The "out of candy" side was created in Cricut Design Space using the CTMH Artbooking cartridge(for Boo and jack-o-lantern). I used Harrington font for "Happy Halloween" and Cricut Basics for the rest of the sentiment.

I hope she likes it!

I've made several of these blocks this season. Once you get used to playing with vinyl they come together pretty quickly. Here are a few of the others I've made (you can click on the image for a larger view):

Thanks for checking out my blocks! I'm looking forward to playing around with winter themed ones soon. I have a few ready to ship blocks available on my Etsy store if you are in need of a gift or home decor item. I also do custom work (kids, monograms, etc) so if you dream it I can probably make it!

~Michelle Battitori

Baseball Scrapbook Layout

It's been awhile since I've posted traditional scrapbook layouts. Here's one I did recently to document a 2012 Washington National playoff game I was lucky enough to attend.

I used a retired paper pack called Fanfare. The design is based on a sketch from the Imagine How-To Program. The baseball accent was cut with the Cricut Artbooking Cartridge (at 2" I believe).

The banner was also cut with the Artbooking Cartridge. I accented the banner with glitter stickers and faux-stitching courtesy of Liquid Applique.

It may be hard to tell in the photo but to accent the team celebration I covered a piece of chipboard with coordinating paper and used it as a focal point on my photo. This is a great way to focus your eye on the subject without having to crop your photo!

The journaling box was also cut with my Cricut.. This time with the Art Philosophy Cartridge.

I feel a bit out of practice with traditional layouts but had a blast working on this one! Hopefully it will motivate me to keep going!

Supplies Used (All CTMH unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Fanfare B&T (retired), White Daisy Cardstock, Cranberry Cardstock, Indian Corn Blue Cardstock
Stamps: none
Ink: Indian Corn Blue (for distressing page)
Other: Cricut Artbooking, Cricut Art Philosophy, Image How-To, Liquid Applique, Glamour Alpha Stickers (retired)

Have a wonderful day,

~Michelle Battitori

The Easiest 4th of July Wreath You'll Ever Make

The other day I shared a wreath I made on my Facebook Page and promised I'd share the tutorial on how I made it on my blog.

Before we get started let me say that I've made wreaths before and they can be very time consuming. This one was not! It really was the quickest and easiest wreath I've ever made. Total working time is approximately 1 1/2 hours or how however long it takes to watch a no-commercial Disney movie on TV with the kids!

The inspiration for this wreath came from HERE.

Felt all cut up

Here's what you'll need to make your own:

• 12" Foam Wreath - $5 (check your local Dollar Store for wreaths. Mine were out of stock so I went to one of the big name stores)
• 11 sheets Blue Felt - $2.64
• 12 sheets White Felt - $2.88
• 11 sheets Red Felt - $2.64
• Heat N Bond - $2.00 (not needed if you cut your stars by hand)
• Straight Pins - had some in my stash
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks (Or Fabric Glue)
• Total Supply Cost = $15.16

I didn't take photos of the step-by-step process but it's so easy I don't think you'll need it. THIS tutorial has step-by-step for those that prefer visual instructions.

1. Cut each felt sheet into 4ths (fold in half and cut, then fold in half and cut again). They will be rectangular.
2.  Diagonally match two ends together. Then diagonally match the other two ends. It won't line up exactly but that's OK. 
3. Pin your "triangle" onto your wreath with straight pins (depending on the size of your pins you may need to use two per piece). Continue pinning pieces next to each other. For a fuller wreath pin your pieces close together. The closer you pin the more felt you need! I started with the blue section and then alternated with 7 rectangles of red and 7 of white. 
4. To make the stars I used my Cricut Explore and Design Space Software to cut 13 stars at 1 1/2" each. If you're cutting with your cricut you'll need to iron Heat N bond to the felt to sturdy it up. You'll also want to use the multi-cut function to cut twice. If you don't have a cricut you can trace or freehand draw a star and cut by hand. Once cut arrange stars to your liking and glue onto the wreath.

I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial and the finished product. Here's a pic of me and two of my kids before we ran our 4th of July 5K...in full costume of course!

Do you decorate for the 4th? Leave me a comment and let me know your favorite 4th of July decoration.

Have a wonderful day!

~Michelle Battitori

Picture My Life Meets Artbooking

Two of Close to my Heart's great new products work REALLY well together. Watch this video to see how our new Picture My Life Scarpbooking Program works with the Artbooking Cricut Collection. It's a match made in Heaven!!! Did you know you can get the Artbooking Cricut Collection (or any CTMH Cricut Collections of your choice) for FREE this month? Click here for more info.

Would you like to order any of the products shown in the video?

Hop on over to my website to shop.

Have a wonderful day!
~Michelle



P.S. If you are viewing this post via email you may not see the video. To view, please click on the post title.

Want a FREE Cricut Cartridge?

April is a wonderful time to join my team, The Handmade Brigade, as a Close To My Heart Independent Consultant!

 

 

When you sign up this month, April 2014, you'll not only start out on your artistic journey, but you'll also be given the right "art-full" tools with a free Close To My Heart Cricut collection FREE! Our new consultant kit is just $99 and comes packed with nearly triple the retail value in products and supplies to help you succeed.

Plus, when you qualify for the Straight To The Top program, you will be refunded the price of your New Consultant Kit! If you are doing the math that's almost $400 in free products just for doing something you love!

 

Here's what's in each of the Cricut Collections:

Artbooking:

   

1. Cartridge (700 Images; Font, Mini Books, Layouts)
2. My Acrylix™ D-size Stamp Sets
3. 12" × 9" Dimensional Elements in coordinating shapes

Artiste:

 

 

1. Cartridge (700 Images: Themed Projects, Cards, Font, Shapes, and 3-D Items)
2. My Acrylix™ D-size Stamp Sets
3. 12" × 9" Dimensional Elements in coordinating shapes

Art Philosophy:

   

1. Cartridge (700 Images: Font, Basic Shapes, and 3-D Items)
2. My Acrylix™ D-size Stamp Sets
3. 12" × 9" Dimensional Elements in coordinating shapes

More information on becomming a consultant can be found HERE. If you have specific questions please contact me! This really is a great opportunity to make a little extra money or just support your crafty habit!

~Michelle

Technique Blog Hop - Pattern Switch

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop! This month we are highlighting Pattern Switch! What is a pattern switch you ask? It's taking a scrapbook layout and converting it into a card or taking a card and making it a layout. For this hop we are using the Spring/Summer Idea Book for our switch inspiration.

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 Judy's Blog, you are on the right track! 

I was inspired to make a card from the June Stamp of the Month layout, Kaboom, featured on page 15 of the Idea Book. Actually, if you want to get technical I'm not making a card...I'm making a post-it-note holder for an upcoming craft fair! The cover is kind of like a 3 x 3 card, right???

Since my card is a fraction of the size I wasn't able to include every element but I did keep the general color scheme and overall layout. I opted to make the background Slate (instead of White Daisy) so my colors popped a bit more but I did keep the faux stitching around the edges.

Instead of a photo I opted to use a speech bubble from the Artbooking cartridge (p. 79. Shift + Photo Mat 2, at 2"). I stamped it in Goldrush Ink using the coordinating stamp set.

Supplies Used (All CTMH unless otherwise noted):
Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Skylark B&T, Slate Cardstock
Ink: Goldrush
Stamps: My Life (Cricut Artbooking Bundle)
Other: Cricut Artbooking Cartridge, Mini Gel Pen (Staples), Chalk Board Marker, Mini Glue Dots, Post-It Note Holder (Staples), Shimmer Trim (Red)

Thanks for checking out my post. If you'd like to make a similar project here's a link to the instructions I used: Post It Note Holder. 

Now please hop onto Terry's blog to see what she created!

~Michelle

New Product Blog Hop - An Interactive Scrapbook Page

If you are looking for inspiration to use the wonderful, brand new CTMH products then you've come to the right place! Join me and other CTMH consultants as we share our creations with new product from the Close to My Heart Spring/Summer idea book & catalog.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of being a vendor at the Xi Delta Gamma Scholarship Fun Charity Crop. These crops are always a lot of fun and the people there are fantastic!

As a vendor I get to show CTMH's fantastic products and have the opportunity to create a $5 kit for attendees. With it being the "love" month I decided to create a fun, interactive scrapbook page using the new Ivy Lane paper pack and 4" x 6" Flip Flaps! I showed them, with the help of the Magic How-To Program, that if you make a small cut into your Memory Protector, you can easily add our flip-flaps to add extra photos on your pages!

The title "You+Me" is from the Artbooking Cricut Cartridge but the attendees who purchased the kit had the opportunity to change it using one of the many other Artbooking titles available. We finished off our layout by adding paper flowers and Flamingo Dots to our page protector to help keep the flip-flaps closed.

If you are interested in learning how to make this project I will be happy to send the instructions to you. Simply place an order (any product) on my website through Feb 28 and I will email  a copy to you ASAP!

Supplies Used (all CTMH unless otherwise specified):
Paper: Ivy Lane (X7178B), Olive Cardstock (1245), Blush Cardstock (X5640), Colonial White Cardstock (1388)
Other: Memory Protectors (4110), X-Acto Knife, Ruler, Cricut Artbooking Cartridge (Z1906), Flip Flaps (Z4114) , Magic How To Program (9040), Flamingo Dots (Z1934)

Ready to see more creative creations with new products from Close to My Heart? Click on any of the pictures below to visit other CTMH consultant's blogs and see their artwork. This hop will continue to grow with new entries until Sunday Feb 9th, so come back to this post for more inspiration. New entries are added at the bottom so scroll down to view the latest each day!

>>Start Shopping HERE

~Michelle

P.S. Thank you to Tresa Black for hosting this linky party! As always, your generosity is most appreciated!