Mission Accomplished

At the beginning of June I set out to feature a different Close To My Heart stamp set every day in honor of Stampaganza. I missed one day ... but I'm ok with it because on some days I featured more than one stamp set. I'm not gonna lie. This wasn't easy. I was tempted to call it quits.  BUT today I'm here to finish strong. I like to think of this last post as the Grand Finale ... like when you go to a fireworks show. I used Remarkable Wreath to make 8 different cards. This is my first time using it. It was fun to try out a variety of combos. AND I used every stamp in the set except the little bow.  I'd rather use real bows.

I used this week's Operation Write Home sketch (with a bit of a diversion on the ribbon - that's how I roll). Since CTMH paper is double sided this was the perfect sketch. I cut a base piece the size of the card & then sliced an inch off of the side and turned it over. The cutting and pasting part of these cards was a snap. I did them all with scraps that I have left from other projects. It seems to me that every card can be made from scraps since the canvas is so small.

The stamping didn't turn out to be mass produced because I was having so much time mixing and matching the colors and the stamps for a wide variety of effects. I really do love how every single wreath turned out. It makes me want to decorate my front door.

Today is the last day to buy two stamps set and get one free. You have until midnight tonight to shop on my website ... www.shellynemitz.ctmh.com. Another great promotion starts on July 1st. 

Hooray Bouquet

When I saw that the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge would cut out shapes that could then be stamped. First I let out a little "woo hoo" and then I ordered the Hooray Bouquet stamp set.

To make today's cards I used an idea I introduced when I first started this blog. The initial post is right here. It involves using Just One Piece of 12x12 card stock to make 9 cards. I pulled out a piece from the Lucy pack and one from Pemberly.

This final result did NOT involve careful planning. I just cut everything up ... did some stamping ... and did some gluing. It felt pretty "yikes" while I was doing it. 

It's awesome when "yikes" turns into something that makes me smile. Seriously, some days it just seems like these cards make themselves.

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STAMPAGANZAAAAAAAAA!!

"Stampaganza" is what Close To My Heart calls a really great offer to give you a FREE stamp set for every two sets you buy. This event is going on every day in June.

Did you see the word FREE? In addition to the CTMH offer I'm giving away 3 packs of 10 cards. That's something else FREE!! You could be the winner!! To celebrate Stampaganza I'll be featuring a different CTMH stamp set each day this month. In order to do that I'll be making LOADS of cards. I'm sure I could put them to good use, but it's fun to share.

Come back to see exactly how you can enter this great drawing. I'm still working out the final details.

The phrase on this card comes from Card Chatter-Sympathy
(not the Angel Sent set featured here)

Today the stamp set featured is Angel Sent. If you click on the name you can see the full set on my website. This set is only $6.95 (plus tax & shipping). 

All of these cards were made using this Operation Write Home sketch. Click on the link below to see what they made using the same sketch.

See other cards using this sketch here.

Such Productive FUN!!!

For the past few days I've been putting together some plans for a brand new scrapbook workshop ... we're using one paper pack to make 6 pages (3 layouts).  It's ultra efficient since you're doing just one step at a time using all the same papers.  So ... you cut, assemble & add photos at your leisure. You can embellish at almost any time. I'm loving the results!!

If you're in my area (Mpls/St. Paul) and you'd like to come check out "upcoming events" above. If you want to hostess something like this in your home contact me and I'll bring the party to you.

You can see one of the finished layouts above. Here are photos showing the progress. 

Here's another photo using the same layout, but a different paper pack. A third paper option is at the bottom of this post. Every paper works, depending on your taste : )

Once again ... same layouts ... two different papers.

The productive part is that I have 16 pages made as I prep for this event. Some have photos on them already and others are ready to go when the right pictures come up.

Here's some more productive fun ...

My workshop came together using these great layout ideas from Tresa Black http://www.fabulouslyartsy.com/. Her workshop makes 10 pages. I'm not quite ready to spring that on everyone yet. Here are some of her original designs ...

Call 911 ...

... I think I'm having a heart attack!!! I set out to make a Valentine today and couldn't choose a heart stamp. So I used a bunch. Before you think about what it took to make that heart covered heart ... let me show you how crazy easy it is with Close To My Heart acrylic stamps.

It's easy to make your own custom stamps by mixing a variety onto one block.

And I had lots of other help too. The Close To My Heart Idea Book inspired me on page 65. Plus I'm still checking out sketch challenges. Here's todays sketch from Tsunami Rose.

So don't worry about me.  I'm not actually having a heart attack. This was all a lot easier than it might seem. When I go back to my workspace to clean up the explosion of paper, ribbon & brads I might get a little winded BUT otherwise I walk in perfect health.