Pair-a-Phrase Artwork

Close To My Heart continues to amaze me with the wonderful images they chose for their stamp sets and how versatile they are for so many occasions. This is so true with the newest stamp set they designed for National Stamping Month that begins today. A double stamp set, the first ever for CTMH, which includes lots of clever phrases and coordinating images you'll use throughout the year. BUT the BEST part is you can get this wonderful double stamp set for FREE.

You all know how much I love CTMH's Event Calendars Z126 and I decided to pair this wonderful stamp set with the event calendar after seeing some artwork by Jen Rubio. You can check out her wonderful work at http://www.jenrubio.blogspot.com/. All of these toppers were made using just this one stamp set, a 3.5 x 3.5 piece of background pattern paper and some scraps of colored cardstock or white cardstock colored with inks and a brayer to make my own colored cardstock. I used a waterbrush and the ink smooshed onto the top of the ink pad container to color them. If you have any questions just email me or post in the comments and I'll be happy to explain as best I can. Click on any image to enlarge. I'd love to know what you think.

As I was photography these toppers for the blog, I got to thinking how cute they would be if you made up another set and used them for all occasion cards to have on hand all year. So by using just a cuttlebugged embossed card and adding the topper to the center front, I have 12 all occasion cards using just one stamp set and some scraps.

How can you get this limited edition, exclusive stamp set for FREE? Well this month ONLY if you place an order of at least $75 either through me or through my website www.ctmh.com/janeo  shop online you will receive this double set FREE. (tax and shipping/handling charges apply). AND you will also qualify to purchase the September Stamp of the Month for $5.00. Don't let these terrific limited edition stamps slip pass you.

 

The BEST DEAL this month would be to purchase the CTMH exclusive Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge bundle for $99.00 thus qualifying for the September National Stamping month special Pair-a-Phrase and then add the September Stamp of the Month Limited Edition for $5.00. You would then be receiving 6 great stamp sets, a very versatile cricut cartridge and 3 sheets of special chipboard elements for $104 plus tax/shipping. A value of $178.54 saving over $74.

Extreme Talent

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days, but life in the O'Leary world has been a little hectic and I haven't had time to sit down and create.  I'm sitting with Jackson while little brother Joshua is in the hospital for some surgery. Please keep him in your prayers, his Type 1 diabetes makes even simple procedures somewhat of a challenge.

Since I may not be home for a few days, I just had to share this wonderful collection that the extremely talented Lisa Stenz (http://www.lisascreativecorner.blogspot.com/) created with the new CTMH Art Philosophy (AP) cricut cartridge Z1686 and the wonderful CTMH paper pack Sonoma X7143B, with a gorgeous color palate using Smokey Plum, Olive, Cocoa and Bamboo. Pretty in purple! This luxurious kit begs to be used with those important moments in life: graduations, weddings, anniversaries, promotion celebrations, and more. You'll love the versatility of the two-sided Background and Texture papers and the coordinating My Stickease® images! Click on the image to enlarge.

Isn't this fantastic? Her collection includes a 12x12 layout, invitation, place cards, favor boxes, thank you notes and those wonderful candle holder wreaths for centerpieces made with the 3-D cardstock roses. WOW! The cricut cuts out all the boxes, frames, tags, labels, cards and roses using the AP cartridge. Can you say versatile?
But CTMH didn't stop at just producing with cricut a great cartridge, the Art Philosophy collection which retails for $99 also comes with 3 full My Acrylix Stamp sets, which coordinate with the images on the cartridge and 3 sheets of chipboard which also coordinate with the stamps and the images. The entire collection is certainly a great bargain. Email me @ ja5oaks@aol.com or visit my website www.ctmh.com/janeo and go to shop online to order this fantastic cricut collection and any of our wonderful new line of My Reflections Paper packs.
Thank you again Lisa Stenz for allowing me to share this very special collection of artwork.



Celebrate National Stamping Month

Extra! Extra!
Celebrate National Stamping Month
Get a FREE My Acrylix® double stamp set with your qualifying purchase!

To celebrate National Stamping Month in September, we are offering our first-ever double stamp set! You can get the exclusive My Acrylix® Pair-a-Phrase double stamp set FREE when you place an order of $75.00 US/$82.00 CAN from August 15 through September 30, 2011. You’ll love this double set—two D-size sets in one envelope—which includes lots of clever phrases and coordinating images you’ll use in your handmade cards all year. And with a retail value of $35.90/$39.90, this set drastically increases the value of your qualifying purchase! Have double the fun stamping during National Stamping Month with our new Pair-a-Phrase double stamp set! Just click on the image to enlarge.

*Offer available August 15–September 30, 2011. Tax and shipping/handling charges apply.

For Jackson

Jackson is my 5 year old grandson, and one of my favorite people. Oh don't get me wrong, I have 4 other equally favorite other grandsons, but this card in not for them. Jackson is going to be going off to big boy school ....kindergarten starting in early September. He will be attending school all day, starting a journey that I hope he will love, learn and laugh through for the next 18 or so years. When CTMH came out with this stamp set, School Zone several years ago,  I knew I had to get it and  I knew I would use it to make Jackson a card...so this one is for him. I won't be there when he starts his new journey but I know my card will be and I know he will be thinking of me when he looks at it.
The new Card Pattern this week was just what I needed to encourage me to make it well ahead of time, so I make sure it gets to him on time. I'm somewhat of a procrastinator and usually leave everything to the last moment, a trait that drives my (have to have it done early) hubby crazy.

CTMH Fanfare Level 2 paper pack X7138B, School Zone, Cricut Art Philosophy, Cricut My World, Black, Barn Red, Star Spangled Blue, brayer, water brush watercolor crayons, cranberry grosgrain ribbon.

Cut the scalloped border using the Art Philosophy cricut cartridge and colored with Star Spangled blue ink and brayer, school building cut from My World cricut cartridge and colored with Barn Red and brayer. One of my favorite ways to experiment with different colors is to cut the images in white daisy and use the brayer to color the cardstock instead of having to load numerous colors of cardstock into the cricut and I can cut everything without having to load and unload. Colored my little boy with water brush and watercolored crayons that I got a craft store. I've had them for ages and don't remember which store it was. The little boy is popped up on the card with foam adhesive. I stamped the inside and left room for a personal note for my not so little anymore grandson. Hope Jackson and you all like it.

Two of my Favorite Things, and they are both embossed

I can't think of any technique which say Wow like embossing. Whether you are using embossing powder and a heat gun to give your stamped image that shine and pizazz that pops off the cardstock or the deep impressions you get using a dry embossing template, nothing attracts more attention, making the simplest of designs extra special. Here are some examples of both types. Shiny Black butterflies colored with inks and a water brush, jump off the card where white embossed  simple flowers form the background of the card. Click on an image to see more detail.

The stamp set used on the blue card is Treasure Life D1306 for the flowers, I believe the butterfly is retired.

My personal favorite is the look of dry embossing which is easily obtained by using your embossing templates and your sizzix or cuttlebug machine. I think I could add embossing to just about every project and it wouldn't be too much. The texture is something special and adds the Wow factor to plain white cardstock like nothing else does.

White Daisy cardstock and black ink stamped between two sections of dry embossing using the Dotted Swiss cuttlebug embossing template. Stamp set is Captured Moments C 1423. Another example of this stamp set (one of my favorites) is in the next card. I believe that the embossing template is Branches by cuttlebug, the paper is some old retired CTMH and the image is stamped in Chocolate and color added by CTMH markers in fall colors.

Another great technique with the dry embossing is to emboss on colored cardstock, and CTMH has the perfect white core colored cardstock for the technique. Simple dry emboss using the dotted swiss cuttlebug folder, and sand lightly exposing the white core and the embossing pops off the cardstock. Each layer was dry embossed on this last card and I love the effect. Stamps from The Present D1436.

CTMH August Stamp of the Month

Close To My Heart has a new Stamp of the Month policy that makes it easy for you to enjoy the exclusive stamp at a huge discount. Each month you can enjoy a new D size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5.00 - that's 72% off the full retail price. Just place an order for $50 or more in CTMH products, you'll get the Stamp of the Month for $5. You can also purchase the Stamp of the Month at full retail or $17.95 with no minimum purchase required.

But that's not all, this month when you purchase $50 or more and the August Stamp of the Month, you will also received the My Acrylix A size stamp Typeface for FREE.

Wow that's a great deal, but it gets better. If you spend $75 or more between August 15 and August 31 you will qualify to receive CTMH's 1st ever double stamp set, Pair-a-Phase for FREE as well. 

I'll be posting some special artwork done with these great stamps soon, so come back and check them out.

My first Sketch Challenge

A big thank you to Carol Lee of caroldlee.blogspot.com for turning me onto the cardpatterns.blogspot.com. I fell in love with this current sketch and knew it was perfect to showcase the new Art Philosophy cricut cartridge sold by CTMH. Here is the stetch.

I pulled out my Dreaming level 2 paper X7142B and cut a 4x4, some White Daisy CS and my terrific Art Philosophy cartridge and started to create. First I cut a Doilys using the one on pg. 68 with the FlurDel at 3 1/2 inches, then I pulled out some retired ribbon Twilight and mounted it on the doily with glue dots. I absolutely love sunflowers and made mine by cutting the flower on page 21 2 @ 1 1/2  and 1 @ 1 1/4 for the large flower, and 2@ 1 1/4 and 1@ 1 inch for each of the small flowers using white daisy cardstock. Yep you read that right, white daisy. I love to color the flowers once I cut them out and find I can do a lot of cuts, sometimes filling a mat with images. Once they are cut out I just used my Sunflower Ink and my brayer to add the color to the white cardstock. I layered the 2 larger cutouts, staggered on each other, then the slightly smaller one again staggered. I cut out 3 circles from page 21 @ 1/2 inch from some retired chocolate textured cs and used my piercing tool and mat to make the center textured. I repeated this for the 2 smaller flowers. The leaves were again cut out of white daisy cs, using the  @ 1 1/2" and colored with brayer and Olive ink.

Mounted on 4 1/4 by 4 1/4 inch retired chocolate textured cardstock. Stamped the sentiment in Chocolate in from the Card Chatter Sympathy D1476. I really liked the way the card turned out, but realized I'm not much of a square type of person. I've never been into checks, I'm more of a pokadot person, or stripes, so rectangles are more appealing to me, so I added the original square 4 1/4x 4 1/4 card front to a 5 1/2x4 1/4 standard size card and a couple of the flourishes from the August Stamp of the Month, Wicked S1108, in chocolate ink and came up with my finished card.

Which do you prefer, the square or the rectangle?  Here's another example of the great Dreaming Paper pack and some wonderful Art Philosophy images.