Little Dreamer Cards

Always be yourself

Unless you can be a unicorn

Then always be a unicorn!

Isn't that the cutest stamp? Isn't this the cutest paper?

These are my cards for our 3rd Wednesday Card in May. They're made with Close To My Heart's Little Dreamer Paper Pack. The stamp and the unicorn are part of the Little Dreamer Cardmaking Stamp Set. You can get the stamp set alone or bundled with matching Thin Cuts diecuts --- Thin Cuts make cutting out the unicorn easy-peasy. The flower on the right is from the CTMH exclusive Flower Market Cricut cartridge.

If you're in the Sacramento area, join us for 3rd Wednesday Card Club. Contact me for details.

These cards were made with:
Little Dreamer Paper Pack (X7219B) 
Little Dreamer Cardmaking Stamp Set bundled with Thin Cuts diecuts (Z3335) stamp set also available without Thin Cuts
Flower Market Cricut Cartridge (Z3285) also available in digital only version
Lagoon Ink Pad Z2895
Thistle Ink Pad Z2840

Graduation Card

I made a graduation card for our friend Oscar. I didn't really have any "graduation-y"paper, but when I poked through my stash of old papers, I found this awesome Stardust paper. It's from a few years back, but I always loved the strong colors and whimsical stars. So I mixed some old stuff and new stuff and came up with this.

I've been dying to make a shaker card and I got a major jolt of inspiration from Lisa Bzibziak. She posted a fantastic card, and as I was reading through the comments, I found out she had used one of the CTMH Picture My Life transparencies for the window. Wow! That was a head slapper! I've got some of those! The transparency made the window come together so easily.

I also made a matching gift box to go with it. It's actually a dressed up old Stampin' Up stamp box. One of the My Stickees seemed just right for the top.

If you'd like to see the inspiration for the shaker part, pop on over to Lisa's blog. Her cards are amazing. http://bzscrapper66.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-cutting-cafe-inspiration-popup-cards.html

Snowy Tree Christmas Card

Here's a Christmas card I made the other day when I was playing around with another idea I saw on ... you guessed it, Pinterest! My brain is overloaded by fabulous, creative cards and Christmas decorations, and low-fat recipes and simple elegant bedrooms and skinny jeans with scrunched boots and funny sayings . . . and, oh my, what a black hole I can fall into when I start looking at Pinterest.

So recently, I saw this lovely card that was posted by Oma. I think you'll be able to see it by clicking on this link: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/266275396691889965/.

 

 

I fell in love with it and decided to try to re-create the feel of it, but with a pine tree. This is the result.

 

 

It's kind of hard to tell how sparkly it is, but I drew "snow lines" on the ground with a thin glue pen, then sprinkled them with Close To My Heart Prisma glitter. Then I made some dots of glue on the tree and sprinkled them with glitter too.  I made the blowing snow with Bitty Sparkles and added some of them to the tree too. The tree is from the Always Grateful (C1559) stamp set -- which also makes a great Thanksgiving stamp set as it has these sentiments: "Today I am thankful", "always grateful", and my favorite, "Gratitude turns what we have into enough".  The "Peace and Joy" stamp comes from the Frosted Cardmaking Workshop on the Go Kit (G1063).

 

If you see something you have to have, place an order with me by Friday, October 25,2013 at midnight and mention this post and I'll pay the shipping. Woot! Woot!



October Stamp of the Month, Scandinavian Wishes

Here are a couple of cards I made with the our Stamp of the Month, Scandinavian Wishes. This is a beautiful stamp set and many of the shapes can be cut out on the Cricut, using the CTMH exclusive Art Philosophy cartridge. Remember, you can get this stamp set for just $5.00 when you make a CTMH order of $50.00 or more during October. Check out the shopping link on the right side of this page.

Here are my cards. They are two variations of the same sketch, just changing up the colors and sentiment.

 

 

 

Let me know what you think.

 

Snowman Cards for Soroptimist's Unique Boutique

I had a table at the Citrus Heights Soroptimist's Unique Boutique this afternoon. My pal Sarah helped me out -- she kept me nourished with bits of Starbucks' pastry and Pampered Chef crackers, helped me put my cards together and was great company. We had a good time talking to new people and showing off the new Close To My Heart papers, card kits, etc.

I designed these cards so I could demonstrate our wonderful stamps and alcohol markers. Also, I finally made a project that uses washi tape! It was so much fun. Many, many thanks to Vicki Wizniuk who posted a lovely set of cards on Pinterest so I could steal her idea and quickly adapt it to the stamps I wanted to use. Your cards are so beautiful, Vicki!

 

 

This card uses the Close To My Heart stamp Flakey Friends (C1506). The background paper is from the Frosted paper pack and the cardstock colors are Juniper and Crystal Blue. Oh, the little star/snowflake is from one of the Frosted Workshops on the Go.

 

I've been neglecting my blog again, so I've set myself a challenge to post every day this week. Check in and see how I'm doing!

 

April Events and CTMH Specials

Events:

My partners (Anne and Sally) and I are still working on perfecting our schedule of events, so you’ll notice some more changes this month. We’re going to continue our Second Wednesday project club and we will also offer Card Class every month. Instead of having Scrapbooking 101 every month, we’re going to work some scrapbooking projects into Second Wednesday and schedule some special scrapbooking events throughout the year.

We will continue to offer a variety of projects. We do the up-front work by cutting paper and putting together kits, and we’ll be there to guide you every step of the way. Typically, you’ll just need basic tools and adhesive and we’ll provide the rest. Choose the event that fits your interests and schedule – or try them all! We usually fill all our available spots, so please RSVP early --- we want to have plenty of kits and supplies on hand. Also, we have events at two different Round Table Pizzas, so carefully note the location. Here are the events planned for April.

Second Wednesday

For Always Mini-Album. Sally has designed a mini-album using one of our beautiful new papers, For Always. The classic black and white patterns really pop when you add spots of color. Isn’t it beautiful?

  

• When: Wednesday, April 10, from 7:00 – 9:00
• Where: Round Table Pizza, 9500-1 Greenback Ln, Folsom (In the shopping center with Ace Hardware and Big Lots, near the junction of Madison and Greenback)
• Cost: $15

Class size is limited. Please RSVP right away.

Card Class

4 New Cards. By popular demand, we are offering card class every month. I am the designer this month. As you can see, we're offering an eclectic mix this month. Don't you just love the chicken card? It was inspired by a card I found on Pinterest -- I couldn't wait to try it. Just to add a little fun, if you can think of a cute chicken-y saying to put inside, add it to the comments below and I'll send a prize for the one I like best!

This is a very popular class and we may have to cap the size, so be sure to RSVP as soon as possible.

• When: Wednesday, April 17, from 7:00 – 9:00
• Where: Round Table Pizza, 8822 Madison Ave, Fair Oaks (In the Raleys shopping center at the corner of Madison and Hazel)
• Cost: $9

Please RSVP by April 12.

Second Annual Birthday Card Workshop

This event was very popular last year and we already have several signups, so it will probably sell out quickly. Sally, Anne and Terri are presenting the class. They are all great teachers and will have two great card designs to share.  You’ll finish the class with six completed cards.

• When: Saturday, April 27, noon to 4 pm
• Where: Rancho Cordova (directions will be provided when you register)
• Cost: $15

Space is very limited. RSVP as soon as possible. Payment will be required in advance, by April 17.

Looking Ahead To May:

• Second Wednesday: May 8
• Card Class: May 15

CTMH Special Promotions:

April Stamp of the Month

 

My Sunshine SET OF 8

Available April 1-30, 2013

Get the Stamp of the Month set for just $5 (S1304A) when you place an order of $50 or more.

Sign Up and Celebrate!

Dates: Offer valid April 1–30, 2013

 

 

It's time to sign up as a Close To My Heart Independent Consultant! When you sign up as a Consultant in April, you’ll receive a little something extra for joining the Close To My Heart family—the April, May, June, and July Stamp of the Month stamp sets for free! These D-size stamp sets are great for a new Consultant to create artwork, bring to Gatherings, and show off to everyone. Now that’s a reason to celebrate!

 

The New Consultant Kit has what you need to start your business right, including a huge supply of Close To My Heart products, all for only $49 (shown above). You may add more to your kit by purchasing the expanded Master kit, which includes everything in the $49 plus more tools, products, Studio J® layouts and the like for only $99. Whether you love creativity, community, business, or all three, you are welcome here! Join us and discover all the wonderful rewards of being a Close To My Heart Independent Consultant.

The New Consultant Kit is a great value, but when you add the four free stamp sets, it’s absolutely amazing. Check out this math:

 

New Consultant Kit (retail value $155) + 4 Stamps of the Month (retail value $64) = $219

Your cost is $49. It’s like getting $160 in new products FREE!

And that’s just the beginning of the fun. Wait ‘till I tell you about Convention and Album Retreat and the Training Academy and everything else. Contact me for all the details.

*No additional shipping/handling or tax will be applied for the free stamp sets. Only new Consultants who sign up during the month of April will qualify for the free stamp sets. Offer valid April 1–30, 2013.

**Items shown represent contents of New Consultant Kits ordered between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2013. Contents are subject to change without notice, and change regularly based on product and collateral availability. Shipping and handling applicable taxes apply.

 

Swing Cards

Check out these cool swing cards we made at Cricut Club this weekend. The CTMH Artiste cartridge for the Cricut does all the tricky cuts, so they are super easy.

 



I'll be offering a class to make some of these cards --- plus some new ones -- on Friday, May 10 at the Belle Cooledge Library.  Send me a message or leave a comment if you'd like more information.

My Own Special March Special

Hello friends,

A couple of things came together to inspire these cards. Early last year, two or three people mentioned to me that they would like to make some sympathy cards. It's the sort of thing you just want to have on hand when you need it, but somehow I never did design any for our card clubs.

 

Then late last year my mother passed away and I received  so many sympathy cards. I was surprised how much comfort they brought me, and how much they still bring.

 

So that's how I came to design a set of sympathy cards. As luck would have it, Close To My Heart released a lovely set of stamps last fall, Words of Comfort (C1524 $13.95).

I thought it was pretty cool, so I decided to encourage people to get it by offering my own special. Order this stamp set from me and I will also send you kits for the four cards shown in this posting. You can make yours just like mine, or you can mix up the sentiments, or you can mix up all the pieces and turn them sideways and run them through your crimper (you know who I'm talking to!)

You may use the shopping link on this page or email your order to me between now and the end of March 2013. Oh, and if you already ordered this stamp set from me, I will not penalize you for being an early adopter. Send me an email and I will send you the kits. I do have to add one more condition - I'm only allowed to sell within the USA, so I will only be mailing kits within the USA.

Wow, I'm excited! I have been trying to get this organized for a month and now here it is actually happening. Let's see how it goes!

Have fun and peace out.

Clemantine Fall Card Set

Here's a fun project we made at one of our Second Wednesday clubs. All the supplies are from Close To My Heart. The cards are made with the Clemantine paper pack (X7156B), Bohemian Assortment embellishments (Z1687), Color-Ready Seam Binding Ribbon (Z1732), and Mocha Opaques (Z1333). The cute little "magazine holder" box is made on the Cricut using the Artiste cartridge (Z1790 - available only from CTMH.)

 



The stamps used were Fall Harvest (C1504), Fall Favorites (S1209 - September Stamp of the Month) and 4 My Friend (D1510).

Our Second Wednesday club is open to anyone who signs up in advance for the projects. My friends Sally Atlas, Anne Robertson and I started the club because we have so many friends who wanted to make home decor items, mini albums, gifts and more cards. We typically make cards every other month and some kind of 3-D project on the other months. We won't be meeting in December, but we'll start up again in January. Drop me an email if you're interested in being added to the monthly announcement.

Memories of Stampin' Memories

I am still trying to catch up on my sleep after a great weekend with my stampin' and scrappin' buddies at Stampin' Memories. Four times a year we occupy the Bradley House in Folsom and lose ourselves in a frenzy of stamping, glueing, die-cutting, texturing, embellishing and just about anything else you can think up to do with pretty paper and photos. Oh, and then there are the breakfasts (indescribably beautiful and delish), homemade cookies and cupcakes in the afternoon, and a bit of wine tasting in the evenings. We share ideas, celebrate completed projects, and win fabulous prizes. We tell hilarious stories about our friends and families --- and our own foibles. We laugh a lot and stay up much too late. It's fantastic. Can you tell I love it?

 

Amazingly, amongst all the fun, I even got a few little projects done.

 

Here's a scrapbook layout showing pictures of a dinner party at Joe's Crab Shack with Kristian's workmates.

 

 

 

I won this great 7 Gypsies Mouse Trap Memo Board in the White Elephant exchange and spent most of Saturday, turning it into a cute reminder board using our new Buzz and Bumble paper.

 

 



Another layout - this one has pictures from our first trip up to visit Joey after he started his job at Sugar Bowl. I made my own background paper with random stamping.

 

 

 

Finally, here are a few cards and a photo cube I made. The paisley card uses the triple stamping technique that's so popular now. The butterfly cards were made with a Martha Stewart punch and a Cuttlebug texture plate (very easy).  Of course the photo cube is all about Joey.

 

 

More to come!







January Cards

I'll try to put together a real posting later this week, but I wanted to quickly post the cards I designed for our Scrapbook 101 a couple of weeks ago. The paisley card was made using the Triple Stamping technique, and the Valentine is made 3-D with Cricut-ed hearts.

 

The Triple Stamp technique is very easy. I found a U-Tube video on Pinterest with step-by-step instructions. Unfortunately, I guess I didn't pin it to one of my boards because I can't find it now. However, if you go into Pinterest and search for Triple Stamp, you'll see so many incredible samples, and I'm sure the directions are posted there too.

WOTG for Cards - Pear & Partridge and Avonlea

In response to requests from their customers and consultants, Close To My Heart put together the enormous popularity of their Workshops on the Go (WOTG) and their mad card-making skills and came up with two fabulous cardmaking workshops in the Autumn 2012 Idea Book.

The first project I made after I returned from CTMH Convention in July was these cards made with the Avonlea Cardmaking Kit (G1041).

 

The kit comes with card bases, envelopes, patterned and solid cardstock, ribbon, embellishments, an exclusive stamp set, and complete directions for the cards. These cards were very easy to make and I think they are lovely. I just have to point out one detail-- on the top card, notice the stamped detail that looks like a swag of lace. That image is made with a stamp that looks like a straight piece of lace when you see it in the package. One of the wonderful characteristics of our clear acrylic stamps is that you can bend them -- giving you even greater versatility.

 

When I finished making these cards, I thought they would make a wonderful gift, so I poked around in my stash and found this unfinished chipboard purse. I'm pretty sure I picked it up in a white elephant exchange. I always liked the shape, but I wasn't sure how to use it. Since I also had the Avonlea paper pack (X7155B), I picked out a paper that coordinated with the cards and covered the box and I added one of the coordinating embellishments from the Brocade Assortment (Z1748). Isn't it pretty?

 

 



 

The second new WOTG for cards uses the Pear & Partridge paper, our Christmas design for this year. The WOTG (G1043) includes instructions, card bases and envelopes, patterned and solid cardstock, ribbon, red glitter gems, and a wonderful exclusive stamp set. 

 

I started out with this card, which has a pieced sentiment (that's how you get those red letters right in the middle of all the brown). The ribbon and the red bling really set it off.

I followed the directions to make the top card (although I did add some bitty sparkles from my stash to the top of each ornament). However, I couldn't resist using the cute birds that are also included in the stamp set, so I moved my branch down and my sentiment up.

 

 

By the time I got to the third card, I was really feeling creative, so I played around with the stamped backgrounds.

• The top card is stamped with Merry Christmas, using second generation stamping to lighten it up a bit.
• The second card uses the same technique, but a different stamp from the set.
• I abandoned subtlety in the third card and used three stamps and three inks to create a colorful, bold pattern.

If you like making cards, I really recommend these cardmaking Workshops on the Go. Each kit is designed to make 15 cards (5 each of 3 patterns). The papers and embellishments are lovely and the directions are clear. You can follow them to the letter, but the stamp sets include extra images so you can change it up a bit if you're feeling adventurous and creative. Enjoy!

 

Christmas Cards - Annual Card Workshop

Wow, I could hardly believe it when I saw that my last post was in July. I apologize for the long delay. I've been making lots of projects, but I've been so dissatisfied with the quality of my photos, I could hardly bear to post them. Well, I have a new iPad-4 now, so I'll try that and see how the photos look. I'm going to post several projects today, but I'll make each one a separate post so the projects will be easier to find in the future.

Starting with the last first, here are the cards I made for our annual Christmas card workshop a couple of weeks ago. All the supplies used are from Close To My Heart.

 

 

This card uses these two stamp sets: Snowflakes (D1480) for the flowers and Christmas Love (D1492 for the sentiment. The inside is stamped MERRY CHRISTMAS. The poinsettias are made of snowflake shapes cut using the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (Z1686 - available only from Close To My Heart). The flowers are put together using dimensional foam adhesive, and they're decorated with Glitz glitter get (red, green, and almond).

 

This card uses one of the patterned papers from the Dakota paper pack (X7157B), the tag is cut out using Art Philosophy and the stamps are Very Merry Christmas (S1210 - October Stamp of the Month) and Christmas Love (D1492). There's a bit of baker's twine tied to the tag.

 



My fellow consultants (Anne Robertson, Sally Atlas, Terri Howard) and I put on a Christmas card workshop every year in the fall, and a birthday card workshop every year in the spring. It's a great time - 8 cards from 4 designers, all done in 4 hours. Drop me a line if you'd like to be added to the notification list for these workshops or any of our others.

These Cards Are Beachy!

As I mentioned last month, Sally, Anne and I have started up a new club that meets on the second Wednesday of the month (except July, and December - I think). This month we're going to be making a set of five (5) cards and a matching box.

These cards use the Close To My Heart paper - Footloose, and are embellished with Seaside Wooden Shapes and Mocha Opaques. The cards and envelopes fit into this cool box and would make a great gift for someone else -- or YOU!

Before I post the rest of the pictures, here are the details:

• Footloose Card Workshop
• Wednesday, May 9
• 6:30 - 8:30 PM
• Round Table Pizza at 9500 Greenback Ln # 1, Folsom, CA  [I know it's confusing that we're having clubs at two different RTP, but this is the one near Ace Hardware and Big Lots, where Madison and Greenback come together.]
• Cost is $15
• RSVP to register by April 30 [Send an email to me at montanabaitshop@hotmail.com]

We will have a limited number of spots for this workshop, so please respond early.

These cards were really fun to make and I know you'll love how they turn out. The wooden shell shapes are really beautiful.  The cards are all 5-1/2" x 4-1/4". The project includes 5 cards with envelopes and the box.

Here are some more pictures showing the card details:

[Special thanks to our fellow CTMH consultant, Debbi Fournier who provided the inspiration for this project.]



April Cards

Wow, we've had a great crafting month so far. Anne, Sally and I put on a banner workshop last week and everyone made such great banners. I had great plans of taking lots of pictures to post here on my blog, but those ladies had me running! I didn't even see all the completed banners and I didn't get one single picture.

Here's an idea -- if you were at the banner workshop last week, take a picture of your banner and send it to me. I'd love to post some photos of the finished projects. Better yet, put yourself in the picture too!

Okay, on to the next papercrafting opportunity. Tomorrow night (Wednesday, April 18), Sally and I will have our monthly club, affectionately known as S101. We'll be making cards this month and Sally has already posted hers on her blog. (Check the right side of this page -- there's a link to Sally's blog.)

And now here are mine.

I had a great time making these. I especially love how these flowers turned out.  I'll put together a post later on to tell you how I made them -- but I don't want to let the cat out of the bag before our club tomorrow night.

Let me know what you think!

Cards for Scrapbook 101

Hello! Well, it's almost time again for Scrapbook 101 and since I actually have the cards ready AND have taken pictures of them, I thought I'd share.

I usually don't do cute, but I just love this Thanksgiving stamp from Close To My Heart. I stamped it with Archival Black ink and then colored it with the CTMH markers.

Here's my variation of a card I found on a blog hop through Pam Klassen's blog: http://p-inks.blogspot.com/2011/10/dreamin-paper-trails-hop.html.  I just love the Dreamin' paper and that bicycle!  Once again -- stamped with Archive Black and colored with CTMH markers.  The little bracketed shape is cut with the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (available exclusively from CTMH).

This little card is made with Believe paper and the Holiday Magic stamp set (which was the CTMH Stamp of the Month for October.) The tree is popped up on foam tape to give a little dimension -- and of course there are a red sparkles.

My final card was inspired by a card designed by Laurel Seabrook. I really had to search her blog to find it, but here's the link: http://want2scrap.blogspot.com/2008/10/dreaming-of-pink-christmas.html. 

I used the CTMH stamp set, Holiday Wishes.  It is so pretty and only available until the end of November.  Check the end of this post for details on how to get it.  (Hint - It's a really good deal!)  One of the joys of this stamp set is that the images are also on the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge -- so no fussy cutting and all the lines are straight! Of course this card is sparkled up with Bitty Sparkles. 

If you're interested in making these cards -- they are the project I'll be presenting this week at Scrapbook 101, Wednesday, November 16, from 7:00 - 9:30.  If you need details or directions, drop me an email at montanabaitshop@hotmail.com.

As promised above, here's the scoop on the the Holiday Wishes stamp set. When you place a minimum order of $25 in My Acrylix® stamp sets in November, you can purchase a new D-size Holiday Wishes stamp set for only $5! That’s significant savings off the full retail value of $17.95. And here’s a bonus: many of the images in the set coordinate with our Cricut® Art Philosophy cartridge for added cutting and stamping fun! Offer valid November 1 (9:00 am MDT)–November 30 (11:59 pm MST).

Contact me if you'd like to place an order -- or you can order online by selecting the shopping cart icon from this site.  I just love this stamp set and I know you'll enjoy it too.

Happy Stampin!