Banner!

I've loved all of the great banners you creative folks have been posting. I thought I'd give it a go and make one for my daughter's room. I started it and then saw the Oct. 2010 Scrapbooks Etc one by Hilary Kanwischer and was further inspired. I hope you like it.
Everything is Close To My Heart. The cardstock is Spring Iris and Hollyhock, you'll also see colonial white and Cocoa. The patterned paper is from cherry-o and Topstitch. The ribbon is Hollyhock Ribbon round collection and the Bulk Twill. In case you want to create one of your own. I made my pennets 6x9.

Cherry-O Mini Full Album

Here's the whole she-bang. I created this for my group that will meet tonight. I am totally diggy how it turned out. I hope you'll agree. Everything is from Close To My Heart.

Supplies:

Cherry-O workshop on the go

You're Sweet B1351

Tasty Treats D1427

Chocolate grosgrain

Bitty sparkles

Chocolate waxy flax z1088

white Embroidery floss from the neutral assortment z1096

Chocolate, Sweet Leaf, Tulip Inks

Adorables z1321

Board Book z1310

Back from Convention!!

Yeah it's so nice to be home and in pajamas all day. Don't get me wrong, I had an awesome time and have become so re-inspired. I can't wait for the faucet of creative juices to get to flow freely. Right now I'm still in the unpack and clean up mode. However, I wanted to share with you the swap cards I made. Swapping in case you may not know is where you create cards and trade them with others. All of the patterns are from Wishes or Originals by Jeanette Lynton, unless otherwise noted. All supplies are from Close To My Heart. I used patterns to make these easy to duplicate.
This "Hello" card is from the Zippidee paper pack, and uses the Spring Time stamp set as well as For Every Occasion for Hello.

This was my most popular swapped item. The pattern is from the Oct. 2009 issue of Cards by Kim Schofield. I think it's perfect for CTMH's Topstitch paper. The Sentiments is from Card Chatter-Thank You. You Rock is one of my favorite CTMH paper packs. I added the Just Like You stamp set and used the Masking Technique. This following card still uses the You Rock B&T but I added sweet leaf cardstock and stamped the flower in Baby Pink from the A Posy Stamp set.

Well that's all for now. I must get out of these PJ and shower (tmi I know) before DH realizes that DW is a slump-a-dinka. TaTa.

You Rock! Workshop This Tuesday night

I LOVED The single page layout on page 20 of the current Close To My Heart Idea book. I wanted to give it a go for my club. So here's my mock up minus the sewing (can't do that in such short workshop). I added the Winning Layout from page 114 of Cherish to accompany it. I think it works really well. It's rocking with this You Rock level 2 paper pack and the Star power Stamp Set. Everything is CTMH. I used the lower case Giggle alphabet stamps and a large capital S from our Dimensional Elements. The awesome new Rockin Top Coats and our white Daisy brads accent the layout very nicely. The large star is from Shining star, a very versatile stamp set. If you look close you'll see our gold embossing powder and our new Glitz glitter glue in Stardust. I can't wait to add my pictures.

NIce List

I am a maker of lists. I have list for everything and I LOVE having a cute notebook to keep them in. I saw the makings of a great Christmas Shopping List notebook with this wooden notebook I found in a $1 section at Michael's. I used all CTMH products with the exception of the stickles to create this project. The stamp sets featured are No Peeking, Celebrate, Christmas Greetings, Sans & Classroom Alphabets. The ribbon is Creme Brulee, the paper is Jingle level 2, the colors are Tulip, Juniper, Creme Brulee, and Black. Liquid Applique is what makes Santa's beard, hat and eyebrow so life like. It's super easy to use. You simply squeeze it to apply where you want it. Let it dry overnight, then use a heat gun to puff it up. (Make sure not to cut out the item before heating so that you have something to grip.) I did add glitter on top of it for the hat. Also, add brads to the ribbon and the paper before gluing the paper down. I didn't know I wanted to add them until after I glued the paper so that's where the ripples come from. If you like it let me know. Thanks for looking.

Grace Workshop project for Sept.

Here's a sneak peek of the new Grace Workshop on the Go from CTMH. I just love how it turned out. It was perfect for these photos of my son at just 9 days old. This is the project my hostess club will be completing in Sept. Close To My Heart has added great value to the WOTG program, now you can get a exclusive stamp set included in the kit along with a great accent like the edge anchors used on these pages. But the bonus is that you also get the step by step instructions for 6 cards using the same paper pack, stamp set, and embelishments. It's an awesome deal. I'll post the cards in just a bit.

16 cards from Wishes

Just a quick post before heading to bed. This is a super simple workshop from Jeanette Lynton's newest book called Wishes. It's a great resource for cards. It's got step by step directions for each card along with lots of variety of the same sketch. This set I created using Emporium and a variety of CTMH stamps (too many to list, you can email me if you'd like to know about a particular one). I kept this simple due to time issues (such as not having much of it). This workshop makes 16 cards 2 of 8 designs.

You can find this workshop on page 111.

Give a gift, Get a gift!!

• Who wouldn't love to help a child have a future and get something really wonderful in return. Here is a great opportunity for you to receive this wonderful From Me To You card kit and give the gift of a better life to a child. I am so proud to announce this partnership with Close To My Heart and Operation Smile. This card kit can be yours for only $10 (plus S&H), and all of the profits go to Operation Smile! Isn't that amazing.

You'll get

• 16 Colonial White Card Bases
• D size My Acrylix From Me to You stamp set (value 22.95)
• Precut cardstock and textured cardstock
• Coordinating brads & ribbon
• Sandpaper
• 16 Envelope Flats
• Step-by-step instruction booklet to create 16 cards (2 of each of 8 beautiful designs
• An attractively decorated box

The retail value of this kit is $34.95

Operation Smile is a wonderful organization that works in 26 different countries around the world with volunteers preforming surgeries on children with severe facile deformities. The deformities are debilitating and in some cases lead to death. While at the 2008 Close To My Heart convention. I was blessed to hear co-founders Dr. William P. Magee Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathleen S. Magee, a nurse and clinical social worker speak. I was so impressed that they used their talent and time for the last 20 years to give an amazing gift to children who would have had no chance at life. Since their inception in 1982, OS has helped more than 115,000 children . I was astounded to learn that the life altering surgery takes less than 45 minutes to preform and costs about $240 each. I really encourage you to check out their website and learn more about Operation Smile for your self. I am sure you will feel the same way I do about such a worthy cause.

If you would like to order this card kit or any CTMH products, or even host a gathering please contact me.

Back from convention

This was my first, but not my last Close To My Heart Convention. Lisa Murphy and I traveled last Wednesday to sunny Orlando, Florida and stayed in the beautiful Gaylord Palms Resort. I have returned with a fresh new perspective and invigorating energy and I'd like to share it with you.

The excitement in the room during the first General Session of convention can be compared to the Beatles landing in the U.S. Yes, we were all screaming teenagers when we learned of the great new products being released by Close To My Heart. Some of them include 4 new colors with delicious names I can't wait to share with you on September 1st. We created a fabulous Christmas album with the crystal clear My Acrylic album (retailing for 14.95). We saw and came home with many beautiful new stamp sets and lots of creative ways to use them. I would love to show you the great new products and the truly fabulous current products Close To My Heart has to offer during my Open House coming in September.

I will be posting more information, and great items you can walk home with FREE. So like your favorite TV show keep it tuned right here for updates.

Let The Creativity Begin

I am so excited; I can feel the creativity pumping through my veins! I am starting this blog as a way to share with you ideas, tips, new techniques, and great new innovate products that will help your own creativity flow. Here you'll find semi-weekly blogs concerning scrapbooking, card making, creative gifts, photography tips, and much more. I am going to keep this introduction short. I don't know if you are like me but I don't have a lot of time to read all that I'd like, so I appreciate brevity and great new ideas that are to the point. So that's just what you'll find here.

Let me know you've visited with a quick post.

Sincerely,
Leana Ott
Independent Consultant
with Close to My Heart