Cross Canada Blog Hop - Where we craft

Welcome to our December Blog Hop featuring Where we create. With Christmas being so close, it wasn’t fair to ask my Canadian sisters to create for the blog, so instead of taking the month off, I thought we could still do the blog hop, but feature our craft spaces.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop! 

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, plus when starting from the East coast, I’m first in hop…now if you are coming from Candra's blog then you are in the right place! 

Here you see my crafting desk when it is nice and clean and in order. This is just some of my storage.  I can't show you the rest as I've been digging out our Christmas decorations and it is blocking my storage.

 Close up of a few of my storage units.  I have all different styles, and I purchased them at Michael's as they fit together nicely and I can use extra coupons ontop of when they are on sale.  Savings!! Whoo hoo!!!

 This is where I craft when I have my girls over, in my dining room, it fits us much better and the natural lighting is awesome.

Here you see the current condition of my craft room downstairs.  A huge mess, as I finished a few projects and have neglected to clean off my crafting table.  Anyone else have this same problem?

 Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Rosalynd. If you get lost along the way, you can come back here.

1. Michelle   YOU ARE HERE
2. Rosalynd 
3. Nicky
4. Arlene
5. Carol 
6. Kirsten 
7. Janet 
8. Candra 

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative in whatever space you have available to you! We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring Creating With Watercolours. Mark January 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

December SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring December's SOTM, which is Candlelight Garden, a set of 10 stamps.  If you have come here from Melinda's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog:  http://ifyoublingit.blogspot.com/p/stamp-of-month-blog-hop-list.html.

This month we have approximately 32 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

To create this cute card, I used the new Watercolor paints and layered some colours to create the vibrant colors seen.  There is no wrong way to paint with watercolors, so have fun..  I stamped the images in Memento Black Ink.  I used Sapphire cardstock for the mat.

Now "Hop" on over to Sheila's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the Candlelight Garden SOTM is only available until December 31st!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Cross Canada Blog Hop - Christmas Preparations

Welcome to our November Blog Hop featuring how we Prepare for Christmas.  To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop! 

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, plus I'm the first stop when hopping from East to West Coast. If you came from Candra's blog then you are in the right place! 

How I prepare for Christmas is by getting all my cards made that I send out to family and friends. I send out close to 100 cards every Christmas.  Here is a sample card from the group of my cards that will soon be in the mail. Besides making my cards, I make many gifts and goodies that I give out to my kids teachers and to take to the many craft markets I attend.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Rosalynd, so head on over and check out her blog.

 If you get lost along the way, you can come back here as I provide the full blog hop list. 

1. Michelle  You Are Here!
2. Rosalynd 
3. Krista
4. Carol
5. Donna 
6. Kirsten 
7. Janet 
8. Kirstin 
9. Candra 

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be feature Where we create .  So mark December 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

November CC - Paper Fundamentals Blog Hop

November SOTM Blog Hop - Cheers, 2016!

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring November's SOTM, which is Cheers, 2016!, a set of 16 stamps.  If you have come here from the creative work of Lisa Plummer's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.

This month we have approximately 37 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

For my card, I wanted to solely use just the stamp set, no embellishments.  I first started with a mat of Pomegranate Cardstock and layered my stamped White Daisy to the mat before adhering to my cardbase.  I used 5 stamps from the stamp set to create this randomed stamped card. I used Pomegranate, Eggplant, Sapphire and Saffron ink to stamp.  The Happy and New Year is actually 2 separate stamps. The banner is popped using 3D foam tape.

Now "Hop" on over to Wendy Kessler's Blog to see her fabulous work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the Cheers, 2016! SOTM is only available until November 30th!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Cross Canada Blog Hop - Artistry Cricut Collection

Welcome to our October Blog Hop featuring CTMH’s newest Cricut Collection, Artistry.  To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop! 

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop,and I just happen to be the first stop hopping from East Coast to West Coast. If you came from Kirstin's blog then you are in the right place! 

For my project I started with the cuts from our Newest Cricut Collection, Artistry.  This cut is found on page 26. I used the Shape cut for the mat which I cut from Saffron Cardstock.  The White Daisy is a layer cut.  I adhered those layers to the Zoe  Glacier Hoodstooth pattern before adhering to the card base. The sentiment is from Blossoming Expressions ( D1665). I cut a banner and stamped in Black and Saffron ink, and popped it useing 3D Foam Tape.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Nicky.

If you get lost along the way I've posted the complete blog list here for you.

1. Michelle  - YOU ARE HERE
2. Nicky 
3. Arlene
4. Carol 
5. Donna
6. Jessica 
7. Brandy
8. Janet 
9. Heather 
10. Kirstin 

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be feature Preparing for Christmas.  So mark November 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

Holiday Expressions Spotlight Blog Hop

Welcome to our Spotlight on the Holiday Expressions Blog Hop!  We will be featuring products found in this Seasonal Catalog.  If you have come here from Melinda's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.

This month we have  approximately 30 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I love the White Pines Collection, the colours are fabulous, I focused on the Cranberry, Fern and Glacier. The stamp I used is Holly Jolly Christmas ( D1657).  I added 4 small sparkles under the sentiment just to dress it up.  The stamping is on White Daisy, layered onto Cranberry Cardstock.  

Now "Hop" on over to Krista's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! To purchase any of the product found during this blog hop you can contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) !

October SOTM Blog Hop - Twinkle

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring October's SOTM, which is Twinkle, a set of 15 stamps.  If you have come here from Sheila's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.

This month we have  approximately 44 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I've created 2 cards using this month's Stamp set. This first card is pretty simple, I stamped the string and the clear lightbulb along the left side of the card base. Then using the new watercolour paints, I dabbed yellow, red, green and blue paint.  To keep them a little more translucent I then used some tissue to take some of the paint away.

For my second card, I started with some White Pines patterned paper, and added some gold shimmer trim to the bottom of the card. then using the ornament stamp which has a coordinating cut from the Artiste cartridge. I stamped the image in Fern and Cranberry, both these colours are found in the patterned paper.  I used 3D foam tape to pop the ornaments. I used some twine which was left over from a previous years WOTG kit to hang the ornaments.  The sentiment is stamped in 3 stages.  First I used the back side of the circle of stars and stamped it in 2nd generation to create the base, then I stamped it the right way using Fern Ink.  Noel is stamped in Cranberry. This is also popped using 3D foam tape.

Now "Hop" on over to Melissa's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, that October's SOTM is only available until the 31st!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Brae-ers Team Blog Hop - Featured Paper Collections: Zoe and Nevermore

Welcome to the Brae-er's Team Blog Hop, this month we are featuring creations from the 2 paper collections that are featured for September, Zoe and Nevermore.

If you have come from Christine's blog then you are hopping in the right direction.

I have used Never more for my creation this month.  Nevermore is CTMH's Halloween themed paper, but I decided to create Birthday cards using this paper collection.

I used Wavy Blooms (D1651) and the ShinHan Touch Alcohol Markers to colour the flower.  I stamped the Happy Birthday in Eggplant Ink using the M- Size stamp M1124.  Then I created a flag and outlined it using the journaling pen.  I used some white sequins and using the ShinHan markers I coloured them as close to the Eggplant colour by mixing Bronze, Cherry Pink and Lavendar.

Your next stop on the hop is Nicky.

September Cross Canada Blog Hop - Favorite New Paper

Welcome to our September Blog Hop featuring our favourite paper packs. We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop! 

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, plus I'm the first stop when traveling from East Coast to West Coast. If you came from Kirstin's blog then you are in the right place right place! 

At the moment, my favourite paper collection to play with is Zoe.  I have other favourites, but right now this is the paper collection that I have been having the most fun playing with.

 This first card is featuring Safari Ballet and the ShinHan Touch Twin Markers.  I also used a cut from the Artfully Sent cartridge for the scalloped circle.

This second card it totally a recreation from Krista Hershberger.  I love that the Cricut Explore lets you manipulate files to create your own.  This coffee cup is a cut from the Artistry cartridge, and the stamp is August SOTM, which has coordinating cuts on the same cartridge.  

This last card I used a different scallop circle cut and its from the Art Philosophy Cartridge, and the scallop border punch. ( Inspired by Denise Tarlinton )

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Rosalynd.

Here is the full line up just incase you get lost along the way, you can find your way back: 

1. Michelle YOU ARE HERE!
2. Rosalynd 
3. Nicky 
4. Arlene 
5. Krista
6. Carol 
7. Donna 
8. Jessica 
9. Brandy 
10. Janet
11. Heather 
12. Nancy 
13. Kirstin 

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring our newest Cricut Cartridge, Artistry.  So mark October 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

National Stamping Month Blog Hop - Hello Life

Welcome to our National Stamping Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring 3 stamps from this campaign, Hello Life.  There is one for Pocket Scrapbooking, one for cardmaking and one for traditional scrapbooking.  If you have come here from Priscilla's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog: 

This month we have approximately 39 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using thesestamps and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

For my card I wanted to keep it really simple, so I started with the swipe stamp from the pocket scrapbooking stamp, and applied it to White Daisy Cardstock using Pomegranite Ink twice, the 2nd is in 2nd generation.  Then I took the Hello from the Cardmaking stamp and inked it in Sapphire and stamped it overtop of the swipes.  Next I used the new watercolor paints and brushes and choose the blue closest to sapphire.  I held my finger over my work space and gently tapped the paint brush onto my finger to create the splatter effect.  Lastly, before mounting to the cardbase I matted the White Daisy onto a piece of Sapphire Cardstock.  A very simple, but lovely card.

Now "Hop" on over to Haley's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, that these 3 stamps are only available until the end of September!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get all 3 stamp sets at a discount! #ctmhHelloLife

September SOTM Blog Hop - Paper Garden

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring September's SOTM, which is Paper Garden, a set of 10 stamps.  If you have come here from Melissa's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog:  

This month we have 39 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I made a series of cards as I decided I wanted to play with the new watercolor paints. I used a combination of 3 colours in each pallet I choose. Those colours are Yellow, Blue and Green.  I created an ombre effect moving from lightest to darkest as I moved down the page.  I tried embossing before and embossing after I had water coloured....and it really didn't make a different as long as your paper was dry before you embossed and stamped.  If the paper was even mildly wet, when you stamped the ink would run, 

I used sentiments from the Artfully Sent Cricut stamp, and used Black ink.  Here are my cards.

This final card done in yellow,encountered a small accident. I smudged black ink, but I did not despair, as I had seen a card(store bought) that looked sort of grudge. So I tired my hand at it, and this is how it turned out....I actually really like the effect. What do you think? Leave me some love if you like this grudge effect.

Now "Hop" on over to Sheila's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the Paper Garden SOTM is only available until 30th of September!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

August Cross Canada Blog Hop - Summer Fun

Welcome to our August Blog Hop featuring Summer Fun projects. We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop! 

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop and I am the first stop when you are hopping from East Coast to West Coast. If you have come from Kirstin's blog then you are in the right place. Let's have some Summer Fun.

My Summer fun consists of many things.  When the maritime weather is nice, we head to the beach or spend some quality time at my parents where the kids can swim in the ocean or in my folks pool. When the weather is not so nice, my kids have been helping make our summer album.  Here you will see that the kids helped me with placement of the photos and they also helped with some distressing.

We used paper from the Seaside paper package, starting with a Desert Sand base. We used the zipstrip with the fence design to break up the page.  The kids weren't sure about journaling, and since this is their album, I'm not pushing the issue, but they did great with picking out the stamps to use.  The Seashells are from C1594 Treasured Memories, and the title is from the alphabet stamp E1028 Hopscotch Alphabet.  I helped cut out the seashells, and helped assemble the page.  I really enjoyed creating this page with my children.  Here you see my 2 youngest children, Nicholaus and Abbigail.  I hope you enjoyed our artwork and that you will continue hopping along, as I'm sure Rosalynd has some amazing artwork to share with you.

If you get lost along the way, I've provided the complete blog hop list below:

1. Michelle 
2. Rosalynd 
3. Nicky 
4. Brae 
5. Carol 
6. Donna 
7. Jessica 
8. Christine
9. Angelina 
10. Kirstin

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring our favourite new Paper Collections.  So mark September 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

Zoe Blog Hop

Welcome to our Blog Hop featuring the Zoe Collection.  We are so happy to have your join us and hop along to see all our artwork. If you have come from the incredible creations from Julia Hammond then you are in the right place.

For my project I used the Glacier Hoodstooth  pattern, matted ontop of Glacier cardstock.  I added a piece of Coral Shimmer Trim, and the framed piece is from the Zoe Compliments which I stamped the For You in Slate ink.  The sentiment is from the August SOTM - Framed.



Next stop on our hop is Chris Zook, so hop along and see what incredible creation she has in store using the amazing Zoe Collection.

The Zoe Paper Collection and accessories are available for purchase in August.  For more available products you can contact your local consultant or contact me.  To start shopping now, click here!

August SOTM Blog Hop - Framed

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring August's SOTM, which is Framed, a set of 12 stamps which also coordinates with the new Artistry Cricut Cartridge.  If you have come here from Melissa's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog.

This month we have 47 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

For my project I decided to create a card using the new products from the Zoe collection.  I love the patterns in the Zoe paper package and couldn't decide which one to use, so I used all 6 patterns and created this Sunburst card. I matted the design on white cardstock then adhered to a piece of Sorbet cardstock before adhering it to the card. The stamping is down in to steps, First the frame which is stamped in Sorbet, and then the sentiment, which is stamped in Slate.  The frame has a coordinating cut on the new Artistry Cricut Cartridge, however, I had to fussy cut the frame out because my cartridge hasn't arrived yet. The shimmer trim is Coral, a new colour available along with the Zoe Collection.

To create this Sunburst card, I cut 1.5" wide strips by 5" long. Then I cut them diagonally and alternated the patterns. After adhered, I just trimmed off the overhang of paper.

Now "Hop" on over to Melinda's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the August SOTM is only available until August 31st!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!