Paper HeARTIST: December 2012

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Kick Back

Over the last two days, I shared with you two of my absolute favorite stamp sets that will soon be retiring, Remarkable Wreath and Simple Memories. However, there are some more projects that I want to share with you that use some of the other wonderful stamp sets that are retiring soon.

Today, I'm going to highlight the stamp set called Kick Back. Both projects that I'm sharing with you were created for workshops using Footloose papers (now retired). You can find the original blog post for the box here and here for the scrapbook layout.

If you'd like to own this stamp set or any others, head on over to my website. And remember, there's a special going on right now. Make a $35 purchase and get the "Whooo's Your Valentine" Kit. Learn more about that offer here.

Until next time...

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Simple Memories

Continuing on with looking at some projects using soon-to-be-retired stamp sets...today, I'm sharing with you projects that I made using another one of my favorite stamp sets..."Simple Memories"

This card was created for last year's Crazy for Cards workshop and then recreated for Convention swap cards. The labor into making this card was low, but thanks to the beauty of the stamp set, the impact was high. Don't you think?

On a double page layout that I created last year for a Heart 2 Heart challenge, I used one of the doilies to emboss the dimensional elements to add some interest on the title. You can find more the post featuring this layout here.

I created this card for a few blog challenges. Here's the blog post for this card.

This card was a recreation of a previous card that I had made for my Crazy for Cards workshop. However, since I was making these to swap at last summer's CTMH convention, I used, what was at the time, a newer, current stamp set. The post about this card can be found here.

Until next time...

Friday, December 28, 2012

Some of my faves...

As I was going through the list of retiring stamps the other day, several of the stamp sets on the list tugged at my heart a little, as it's kind of sad to see them retire. Several of the stamp sets have become my favorite and in some cases...my "go to" stamps for various projects.

So I thought it would be fun to take a look over the next week or so at some past projects that I made using some of the stamp sets that have been slated to retire at the end of January, starting with my absolute favorite stamp set that's retiring...Remarkable Wreath.

Besides just being an overall great versatile stamp set, I especially love how perfect this stamp set has been for me to demonstrate just how great Close To My Heart true clear stamps really are. Here are a few projects that I've made in the past year (some previously posted, some not).

These are some of the quick make-n-takes that I offered at past vendor shows that used now retired CTMH Roxy and Elemental papers.

I used the stamp set to create a tag for a gift box that housed a fun tri-shutter card. You can see that post here.

The next card is one that I pretty much cased straight from page 88 of the 2011 Fall/Winter Idea Book with a few changes. First, I made mine a 6x6 card rather than the smaller (I think) 4x4 card. I also used Elemental pattern paper instead of plain cardstock; Kraft cardstock flicked with Chocolate ink instead of plain Bamboo cardstock; flower instead of berries on the wreath; ribbon instead of hemp; and I added a couple of features, namely the buttons and the distressed sentiment matting.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Out with the old and in with the new....

FedEx delivered the new 2013 Close To My Heart Spring/Summer Idea Books to me today. I've spent the better part of the day joyfully making my wish list. I'll spare you...and my husband...the total cost. :) If you love new crafty goodies like I do, then I'm sure you are eager to see what's new from Close To My Heart. Unfortunately though, since the new idea book doesn't go live until February 1st...you'll have to wait until then to get your hand on the fabulous new idea book and products. Trust me when I tell you though, it will be worth the wait! I will, however, be throwing in a sneak peak or two...or more...throughout the last half of January, so be on the lookout for that. ;)

If you would like to reserve your FREE copy of the new 2013 Close To My Heart Spring/Summer Idea Book, here's what you need to do.

Local Customers: Attend my Semi-Annual Open House on Saturday, January 26th from 1 -5 p.m. for your copy and a sneak peak at some of the new products, a make-n-take project, prizes and more. If you can't attend and want to pick up a copy later, simply email me and I will hold one for you.
Long Distant Customers: I can ship the Idea Book to you for $5 that will include a coupon for $5 off your first order of $25 or more. Simply click on the Paypal button below. Note: Idea Books will not be mailed prior to January 28th.

As with every new Idea Book, in order to make room for the new products, some older ones have to retire. Below is a slide show of the retiring products. Below that is a list of the retiring products by category and with links that will take you straight to my website. However, if you should click on a link to find that the product cannot be found, then the item is sold out and no longer available.

These items will be available until January 31st, but all are on a "while supplies last" status. Sometimes accessories, papers, stickers, etc. may show up on clearance after their retirement date, but stamps and workshops-on-the-go never do. So the only way to guarantee that you get what you want is to order them sooner rather than later.