We did it!

As of July 31st, I earned the Puetro Vallarta trip with Close to My Heart!  I couldn't have done it without YOU!  Everyone has played an important part in making this dream come true.   It has been a great 10 months of offering workshops, retreats, gatherings and sharing the wonderful products with you!  Thank you for your support and encouragement!  I look forward to another promising year of sharing my love of everything Close to My Heart with you!

And, there is more to come with the introduction of our new Annual Inspirations idea book August 1st. 

 Have you seen it yet?  You will love what you see! 

Blessings to you all,
Michele

Blog Hop: Fresh New Papercrafting Adventures Ahead

I love this time of year when Close to My Heart releases their new Annual Inspirations Idea book.  Along with the new product comes fun ideas, new tips and techniques and a refreshed color palette.

You are going to love the redressed fundamental paper packets.  They are on trend with designs and colors you will find in the market.  And oh, so much pretty gold.

Enough with the oohing and ahhing.  Lets get this blog hop started...or keep it going.  If you have arrived here from Kirsten's Blog welcome.  Enjoy what you see, leave a comment about what you are excited about, and then move on to Haley's Blog and see what new product she is featuring.

And now, here is what I have been playing with.  Actually, it was really difficult to decide what to share with you but I decided to start with the Adventure Fundamental Papers.  Updated with the colors lemon, raspberry, tangerine, willow, emerald, and pansy, these papers paired with their complements create a fun set of scrapbook pages. 

 Featuring Cranberry, Willow and Lemon

 Featuring Tangerine, Emerald and Lagoon with a little Pansy

 Featuring Pacifica, Willow, and Tangerine

 Featuring Lagoon, Tangerine and Pacifica

 Featuring Pacifica and Raspberry

 Featuring Cranberry and Lemon

This month, when you purchase all three set of the Fundamental papers, Adventure, Whimsy and Enchantment, you get to choose either the Rustic Home or Uptown Fundamentals for free.  Contact your consultant to take part in in this special or if you do not have a consultant, you can get this special from my website here.  When you purchase these paper packets, ask your consultant about how you can get the cutting guide to create scrapbook pages like those shown above. 

I hope this peek into the Adventure Fundamentals has inspired you to continue on in the blog hop and see what else is new!  Remember, you are heading to Haley's Blog next. 

Finally, supplies used created these layouts are shown below.  

Thanks for stopping by,
Michele

Magical Birthday!

A friend and instructor of spin classes at our YMCA had a special birthday this summer and I was commissioned to create a card for her that many people could sign.  I took my inspiration from the accordion Father's Day card shown in the video below. 

Of course I had to start with a bike stamp, Enjoy the Ride, the celebration wishes begin.

From there, I used the Magical Paper packet and other bike stamps to continue the special wishes. 

Oh and don't forget the stamp set Jennifer's Hand to add personal sentiment. 

I love how it turned out and I hope it carried with it wishes for more fabulous birthday's to come. 

And now here is the video that will help you to put together an accordion card for someone special.



Enjoy the ride,
Michele

Basically the Best!

Our new 2016-1017 Annual Inspirations idea book has arrived!  It is chocked full of new paper, stamps, embellishments and of course inspiration!  To introduce you to the new fundamental paper collections, Close to My Heart has a special for you!

During the month of August, when you order our Whimsy, Adventure, and Enchantment Fundamental papers, you can choose to get either the Rustic Home or Uptown Fundamentals for FREE! Both of these Basics packs feature foil designs and specialty materials for making your artwork unique. Yep, this deal is basically the best!

Let me introduce you to our Fundamental papers.

WHIMSY

 

Featured colors: Thistle, Crystal Blue, Glacier, Juniper, Sweet Leaf, Canary, Flaxen, Sorbet, Pixie, Smoothie 

ADVENTURE

Featured colors: Pansy, Pacifica, Lagoon, Emerald, Willow, Lemon, Tangerine, Blossom, Raspberry, Cranberry

ENCHANTMENT

Featured colors: Eggplant, Sapphire, Peacock, New England Ivy, Fern, Saffron, Goldrush, Poppy, Pomegranate, Ruby

When you purchase one of each of these sets of paper, you will get to choose one of the following Basic Fundamentals for free. 

UPTOWN 

 12 – 12" × 12" sheets (2 each of 6 designs), including some vellum paper and gold foil accents

RUSTIC HOME

12 – 12" × 12" sheets (2 each of 6 designs), including some kraft paper, vellum paper, and copper foil accents 

You can shop on my brand new website here!  Or if you have an order of $150 or more, contact me to place your order and receive $25 in free products.  

Enjoy,

Michele

August Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: Purr-fect Halloween

Welcome to the stamp of the month blog hop.  I missed you last month!  I hope you were able to enjoy the hop without me but I was just too busy with the CTMH convention and travel.

But I am back and I am so excited to share this fun, silly, and maybe scary, crazy cat with you.

If you have arrived here from Michelle Stewart's Blog,  then you are following right along.  After you have visited, you are welcome to hop on over to Haley Dyer's blog and see what she has done with her crazy cat.

This cat reminded of me a book I used to read to my girls called Puppy Hide and Seek.  The cute little kitty would hide from the puppy in fun, unexpected places.  So, I was inspired to hide this kitty in some cherry blossoms from the new Flower Market Cricut cartridge.

 The cat is stamped on one of the papers from the Rustic Home collection and the flower centers and blanket in the basket are cut from our new Raspberry color.

This card brings on the Halloween feel that I had when I first saw the stamp set.  The background is embossed with our new Happy Thoughts folder, the "hello" is cut with the new Thin Cuts and tangerine paper color.  The stamped images are colored with the Shin Han markers.  This kitty was a lot of fun to play with and he didn't even make me sneeze (yes, I am allergic to cats).  And the color scheme that is featured is a hint of what's to come in our "Halloween" paper pack!

Remember that this stamp set is only available during the month of August.  You can purchase it for $17.95 or $5 with a minimum order.  Shop with your consultant for this stamp set and new products or if you do not have a consultant, you can shop on my website here.

Now remember to move on to Haley's blog and see how her kitty comes to life in her artwork.

Enjoy.
Michele