CTMH News - Just back from Convention 2017

Hello Friends -

Well, I have just returned from Close To My Heart Convention 2017 and I have so much news to share, I don't know where to start!

Our convention was at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City this year. My first convention (11 years ago) was there too, and it was a real treat to go back. The company is headquartered about a half an hour away and the home office was excited to have us back in their "home town".

Our theme this year is "Who tells your story?" Let me tell you, once you get started thinking about your story, the results are amazing. I started out to tell my friend Denese about the homemade pizza my parents used to make, and ended up telling her about:

• My dad's hitchhiking trip to Santa Monica, 
• How my parents met
• A freak accident and my dad's paper route that led him become the first person in his family to go to college,
• Our family's move to Arizona,
• Miracle Whip on tacos.

It was great to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones, but I know that you're really interested in new products! The new Annual Inspirations 2017 goes live on August 1, but I can share a few sneak peaks!

Here's the cover:

. . .  And how about a few products???

These are the new Adventure Fundamentals. All the Fundamentals have been refreshed with new patterns, new Complements, and new ribbons.

This gives you just a glimpse of the new Cut Above Layout Kits -- The Story Begins. There's one kit for boys and one for girls. Each one contains everything you need to make 10 two-page layouts. If you've tried out any of the earlier Cut Above Layouts, you know just how easy and beautiful these layouts are. There is also an option to add a My Legacy album and save 30%. Wouldn't this make a fabulous baby shower gift?

Of course there are lots of terrific new stamps. Here's a glimpse of just a few.

And wait until you see the new Cricut cartridge! The You Are Here collection includes all kinds of travel-related images --- some of my favorites are the National Park patches. Many of the images can be used for other projects too -- think of the possibilities for the sailboat, crab, bowling pin, canoe,whale, pine tree, log cabin, and many more.

Okay, I think that's it for now. I'll continue posting this week because I have a lot more to share.

Happy scrapping!

Roomie Gifts - Mini Albums

I just returned from the Close To My Heart annual convention a couple of days ago. It was four days of inspiration, awesome artwork, tremendous cuteness and extended laughter. One of my favorite events was the Consultants' Creativity Showcase, where we could show off some of our recent ideas and share ideas. I'll be posting information about my display soon, but today I want to share some pictures of the roomie gifts I made. These are all based on a pattern I found in an Annie's Attic book. I'll publish the title tomorrow. 

Update: I found the directions for these mini albums in a great book from Annie's Paper Crafts. It's called Interactive Mini Scrapbooks by Kathy Orta Files.  I bought it at the Stamp Art Shoppe in Roseville, California (http://thestampartshoppe.com/) but you may also be able to find it online. I made a few changes to the design, but it works great "as-is".

My Projects in the Consultants' Creative Showcase

After making a short detour to San Diego, I just got back home from Close To My Heart convention at the Disneyland Hotel. It was a great event, packed with delicious moments --- and not all of them had calories! I'll probably be posting about it for several days, but first I need to fulfill a promise I made to post the recipes.

One of the new events added to Convention this year was the Consultants' Creative Showcase. We all had the opportunity to bring in some of our own artwork and display it for all of our fellow consultants to enjoy. There were so many lovely things there --- my fellow consultants are amazingly creative. Here's a picture of my display area:

Not a very inspired display, but I do have some new pieces that I'm pretty happy with.

Firecrackers
 

These are made with the My Creations Kraft Containers (Z1833). I cut stripes and stars from Cranberry, Outdoor Denim and Bamboo cardstock. The stars were cut on the Cricut using the Art Philosophy cartridge (Z1686). I sanded the edges of everything to distress them a little. The fuses are make of black wire, folded in half and wound around a pencil. I punched a hole in each lid and large star with an old eyelet punch, inserted the wire and taped it inside. I covered the raw ends with another star inside the lid. I put rubber bands around the pieces while the glue dried. Fun and easy!

 

 

Canvas #1





I found this saying on Pinterest and it just tickled me. I used one of our My Creations 6x6 Canvas Displays (Z1818), and colored it with our Exclusive Inks Pigment Inks. I recommend you try it out on cardstock first to get the effect you want. I think I used Buttercup, Honey, Sunset, Pear, Topiary, Lagoon and Pacifica. I used a Tim Holtz tool to apply the ink, but a sponge, or Sponge Dauber, or Texture Tool would work too. I stamped the words with our July Stamp of the Month: Circus Alphabet (S1407). The stars are retired Dimensional Elements and the flowers are retired Colonial White Rosette Ribbon, which I colored with the Pigment Inks and glued with Liquid Glass (Z679). I also smeared some green glitter glue around the bottom right quadrant and put Clear Sparkles in the centers of the flowers to make it sparkly.

 Save the Bees

 

This is another My Creations 6x6 Canvas Display (Z1818). I covered this one with modeling paste (see below) and stamped into it with the Honeycomb (C1537) stamp while it was wet to create some texture. I let it dry all night, then colored it with our Exclusive Inks Pigment Inks and stamped with the Circus Alphabet again. I even made the little bees from the Circus Alphabet by stamping small "B" for the bodies, and coloring the bodies with a Sunset marker and Black marker stripes. The wings are small "E" stamped on some old gray vellum I had in my stash. I cut them all out and glued them together and then glued them on the canvas so the wings stick out.

Here's the "before" picture:

 Here's the last of the new projects I made for the Showcase. It's a mini album in a box, all made with our Jubilee Paper Packet (X7181B) and coordinating products.

The box is a My Creations Journaling Cards Box (Z1953). These are just the right size to hold our Picture My Life cards, but I took out the little stair-step riser insert so there's be room for the mini album. I covered the box with Jubilee paper, wrapped it with our Burlap Ribbon (Z1760), and added  rolled flowers that I made with the Jubilee Textiles (Z1971).

Here's the cover of the mini album. I covered two pieces of cardboard with the Jubilee Textiles to make the front and back. The title is from the Jubilee Complements (X7181C). I made the inner pages using the Artbooking Cricut cartridge (Z1906). They're all from the baby book shown on pages 50-51, but I cut off the "baby" parts and cut them smaller -- I think it was 5.75 inches. There are some really cute envelopes and tags and overlays that go together like a dream. I embellished the whole thing with more of the Jubilee Complements, Jubilee zip strips, and pieces of Jubilee Textiles, cut to use as ribbons. Here are some sample pages:

If you would like to order any of the products used to make these projects, you can contact me directly via email (montanabaitshop@hotmail.com) or use the Shop Online link on the upper right side of the home page. Please note that some of these products will be retiring at the end of July, so if you are interested in recreating these projects, you should order as soon as possible.

If you have questions about any of these projects, or the items I did not address, leave a comment or contact me via email and I will get back to you very soon.

Thanks for taking a look.

Convention Countdown

Okay, there's a big mess on my dining room table --- if you know me, you'll just laugh.  But this mess is different.  It's not unpaid bills, recently emptied pizza boxes, or the latest stack of magazines.  I'm heading for the annual Close To My Heart Convention next week so it's cards.......



CTMH holds a convention for the consultants every year -- I've gone twice before and it's a hoot!  It's a three-day bombardment of scrapbooking, stamping, cardmaking, picture snapping, laughing, screaming, cheering, and dancing. It's crazy, but you just have to imagine what it's like when a ballroom full of women are squealing with delight over new colors, new stamps and ... oh yeah ... Sticky Boy!  It makes me laugh just to think about it. 

Okay, besides the screaming, the best thing about convention is the huge dose of inspiration.  There are walls of artwork created by other consultants --- you can spend hours pouring over it, inch by inch --- and then there are card swaps.  For three full days, every where you go, you hear, "Are you swapping? Are you swapping?" and we all whip out our ziplock bags filled with cards and start trading.

This year, I'm trying to make at least 100 cards.  I think I have enough pieces cut out for that many -- now I just have to get them stamped and put together. It's always a panic, trying to think of something new and original to do that will be "swap-worthy".  My friends, Sally, Anne and Terri, and I have been sending pictures back and forth -- and our first swaps will be with each other.  I think we each push each other forward to be just a bit more creative -- add another layer, try something new.

And that brings me to what's really the best thing about convention.I've made such great friends through scrapbooking and I'll be sharing next week with some of the best. I am looking forward to that more than anything!