September's Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Thriller

Welcome to Close To My Heart's September's Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. If you are joining me from Doreen's website, then you are in the right place. If you are just joining in, just follow the link at the bottom to continue forward and it will loop around.


I love, love, love September's Stamp of the Month set. It is that perfect mix of cute and spooky that I like for Halloween. Plus, I really like ALL the stamps in this set and had quite a hard time deciding which to play with first. But this guy stole my heart and I just couldn't resist him.








And since we are dealing with Halloween, I just had to make a little goodie holder. You can attach a fun size candy to the inside of the base or tape in a small bag of your favorite treats. These are so easy to make. I cut my black cardstock to 12" x 6" and then scored it down the 12" section once at 5" and then once at 7" and folded the two flaps up. I wanted to give it a tombstone look, so I just trimmed the two flaps where they meet and stuck two brads through to hold them closed. I thought about using ribbon but the brads where just too much fun.



For information on how you can get this stamp set for free, click on the picture of the whole stamp set in the left column.

Click here to continue on the blog hop and check out what the fabulous Carol created using Thriller.

Happy Hopping!!

CTMH in Scrapbooks etc Oct. issue

After the boys went to bed, I brewed myself a cup of hot tea and curled up on the couch with the October issue of Scrapbooks etc that I had just gotten in the mail. I was so excited for some quiet time to peruse it's pages for the latest news and great ideas.

Here is a few things that jumped out at me:

On page 51, they show a layout using the paper ruffles/frills technique that was featured in the latest webisode of Art & Soul. It is cool to see that CTMH is teaching the current trends.

On pages 74 through 82, they discuss and show examples of great ways to use photo sleeve pages for scrapping pages and extra photos. Super cool ideas that I was really excited about because not only does it answer the question of what to do with all the extra great photos that you didn't use on a page but also because it ties into a new product that is being introduced in the new Idea Book. We already sell these and these. But now we will also be offering 12 x 12 Six Vertical Pocket pages. Since they won't be available until after the first, I can't link to them. But their number is Z1324 and they are on page 87.

But say you didn't want to just slid in those extra pictures, but you wanted to actually scrap them. Well, I've some great news for you you. Now you can with our new 12" assortment of Flip Flaps (Z1325 also on page 87). You get 8 protectors: 4 - 6 x 12, 2 - 4 x 12, and 2 - 8 x 12. I learned how to use them at convention and I'll have a blog post in September featuring how they work, but in a word AWESOME!!


Back to Scrapbooks etc. On page 98, they feature CTMH's Memory Keeper Box. They have a nice little write up about how great it is and different uses for it and how to decorate it and some pretty pictures. YEAH!

It's funny. Whenever I spy these kinds of things, I feel like when you see a friend in the paper. I want to point and say, "Hey, you're famous."

So if you want to check out for yourself how famous CTMH is, pick up the latest copy of Scrapbook etc and you can point too.

New Fall/Winter Idea Book

One of my favorite things to do is to look through my Idea Book, snuggled in my bed right before I drift off to sleep. Then I have such happy dreams of creating and crafting pretty things. But no matter where your favorite place is to flip through your Idea Book, you'll be excited to know that a new book is being released September 1st. That's right! The new Fall/Winter Idea Books are almost here. Below is a sneak peak.


Isn't the cover gorgeous? It features the new elegant Magnifique paper collection. And inside introduces you to all four of the new collections which beautifully celebrating Autumn and the beginning of Winter. Plus, there are many new goodies and colors that are making their debut. And I'm not even going to get started on all the great new stamps. Trust me. You need a copy.

And all you have to do to get one of your very own, is click here and leave me your name and address and I will pop one in the mail for you.

Great Inspiration in the new Art & Soul

I always look forward to viewing the next webisode of Art & Soul. Every time I learn a new technique and I am inspired to create a new project. The latest webisode, "Eclectic Elegance," is no exception. It is chalk full of cool stuff like how to tie the perfect bows and knots using ribbon, the importance of odd numbers in creating clusters, and cool ribbon ruffles and rosettes.

Click here to be inspired.

I'd love to see what you create after watching, so take a picture and email it to me at jenna_chere@yahoo.com.

Happy crafting!

Happy Birthday, Zayra!

Today is my sister Zayra's birthday. She is a great sister. I have countless fun memories of us. She always insisted I could do anything and never thought any of my dreams too big or ridiculous. And she has lead the way by example, blazing a trail straight to her wildest dreams. She is an amazing poet and painter. Click here to go to her website.

As long as I can remember, she has journaled. And journaled and journaled. I thought I'd use the creativity she has always encouraged to create something she could use in her own creativity, so I made her a journal. Here is the cover.


And the inside.



I used a CTMH's journal and decorated it using the paper from the elegant Emporium collection. I then used the "z" from the Dimensional Elements-Alphabet and just inked it up in coordinating Crystal Blue, wrapped some Waxy Flax around it and popped it on. Then to dress up the spine, I snipped little pieces of ribbon from our Ribbon Rounds and tied them through the spokes in a simple knot.



I also created this card using the same paper to go along with the journal.



I hope you find a little inspiration in your day! And Happy Birthday, Zayra!

Triple Play - National Stamping Month Special

Septemember is National Stamping Month. Woohoo! CTMH is celebrating by offering the super cute and great value Triple Play. And they are so excited about it that they are starting the special NOW!! Double woohoo!

One’s good, two’s great, and three’s best of all! Celebrate your love of stamping by using stamps to embellish the three mini albums in our exclusive National Stamping Month kit, Triple Play. With inks, stamps, albums, and pre-cut accents for stamping, you’ll complete all three albums in a jiffy. Since each album has its own color scheme, all three are unique and ready for many different kinds of photos. Make one for yourself and two to give away—if you can bear to part with them! In honor of National Stamping Month, you can get huge discounts on the Triple Play kit when you purchase My Acrylix® stamps from your wish list, or get it free when you host a qualifying Gathering or become a Close To My Heart Consultant. Here are five ways to get this outstanding mini album kit: (Note: We’ve saved the best for last, so be sure to read all five.)

1. Buy the Triple Play kit for $29.95.

2. Purchase $25 in My Acrylix® stanps and get the Triple Play kit for just $15.

3. Spend $40 on My Acrylix® stamps and get Triple Play for only $5!

4. Host a Gathering wiht sales of $300 or more and get Triple play for FREE!

5. Join Close To My Heart as a Consultant and get the kit FREE!

National Stamping Month is always fun, but this year you’ll get three times the excitement with Triple Play!


To place an order, click here. If you are interested in hosting a gathering or becoming a Consultant, click here.

*Qualifying stamps set purchases exclude Stamp of the Month sets, K-size custom stamps, and Workshops on the Go™ stamp sets. Tax and shipping/handling may apply. Offer valid for customers and hostesses August 15 – September 30, 2010. Offer valid for new Consultant enrollees September 1–30, 2010. Limit one discount-priced Triple Play kit per order per customer. Offer valid while supplies last.

Happy Stamping!

August Stamp of the Month

With all the moving craziness, I just now got around to playing with August's Stamp of the Month, Something Splendid. Isn't it gorgeous?


I had such a blast playing with it and I wanted to show how amazingly this stamp set works.

I took the large flower on the bottom right and stamped it three times in Baby Pink.

I then took the large flower on the top left and stamp over the base flower with three different shades from the red family. Blush, Cotton Candy (a new color coming out in September), and Tulip. The tone on tone of the Blush is very soft and sutble. The Cotton Candy is flirty. And Tulip is dramatic. Pretty cool, huh?



The last time I was at the grocery store, they had these fantastic bundles of giant sunflowers. Their beauty inspired me to create this card using this month's SOTM and our new clear cards that will also be coming out in September.




If you love this stamp set, hurry and place your order. It will only be available until the end of this month. And as always, the more you purchase the bigger the discount on the Stamp of the Month.

Have a wonderful Friday!!
J

Grammie's Bragbook

Tomorrow, we will be celebrating my sweet Mom's birthday. One of the really great benefits of being an adult is the wonderful friendship that I have with her. Quite frankly, I'd be lost without her. She has instilled in me the art of being silly and is always up for an adventure. She is the classic southern belle who has never met a stranger and she makes a mean seafood gumbo. She's classy and sassy and just too much fun. And of course, she adores her grandkids, so I made her a Grammie's bragbook for her birthday.

I used this adorable Cream Mini Album, which comes with eight 3 x 3 clear sleeves inside for your pages. Can you believe it is only $3.95? For the cover, she wanted just flowers and since she thinks the Filigree Charms are "just gorgeous" I popped one on as well. You could easily modge podge paper on the cover as well, but that's not what she wanted. And for today, the lady gets what the lady wants.


I felt the elegant and whimsical Veranda paper best suited my Mom, so I used scraps left over from my Veranda workshop in the Spring. It came together easy peasy and she loves it. We'll see how many times she busts it out of her purse at dinner tomorrow night.

**Please ignore the dirty fingernails. I was playing in my flower beds this morning.

Hope your day is wonderful.
J

I've moved.

Yep, we've moved. Away from the sweltering heat of Texas and home to gorgeous California. I am such a lucky girl. I'm ten minutes from the beach and we haven't gotten above 75 degrees since I've gotten here. Ahhh!!

We barely survived the trip across the desert. The Penske truck was a brute to drive. And 18 month old twins strapped down in carseats for three days. Need I say more? Currently, we are living in a sea of cardboard boxes.

My standard answers to "Have you seen...?" is "Sure, in Texas." "Where is ...?" "Um, in a box."

Of course, after unpacking the coffee pot and toilet paper, I began unpacking all my craft stuff. A girl's got to have her priorities straight. Who needs pots or pans? Then you have to cook. Moving is a great excuse for take-out.

"But wait," you say, "How will I still get all my cool Close to my Heart goodies?" Well, never fear. I've got you covered. Simply go to www.jennachere.myctmh.com and you can place an order anytime and have it delivered straight to your front door. Cool beans, huh? Or if you'd like to have a party to earn our fabulous hostess rewards, we can do an online party. They are super cool and easy. Just drop me a line at jenna_chere@yahoo.com.

Well, I guess I can't put off the unpacking anymore today, but I did want to let you know my news and share this card I made to mail out to people with out new address on the back. I've been dying to use this fun Stamp of the Month from last year. I'm hoping to get these cards listed on my etsy site later this week, so if you know anyone who is about to move, they can purchase a pack of this cutie at www.jennachere.etsy.com.

Have a fantabulous day!!
J