Thanksgiving Layout

Remember earlier this week, when I gave you a sneak peek at something I was working on? Well, here is the whole project. I am quite happy with how it turned out. I don't usually do a lot of hand stitching on projects, but for this one I decided to give it a whirl. Feel free to click on any image to see it larger.

The darling Close To My Heart felt pieces are sooo much fun to use, with or without stitching. They come with three 12" x 12" sheets of felt, each a different color and with different images and there are two different sets of these to choose from: Wonder (chocolate, olive and twilight) and Whimsy (buttercup, garden green and tulip). I used a few pieces from each set.

The stitching around the felt pieces is hand done with the great Embroidery Floss collections that CTMH carries. I used the Neutral Assortment here.

After stitching all of those leaves and flowers, I was DONE with hand stitching, but I really wanted the outside of my layout to have some cute stitching on it to tie it all together. So, I 'cheated'...with the versatile "Across the Board" rubons. LOVE those cross stitches that took a whole 30 seconds to apply all the way around.

Close To My Heart products used: 12" x 12" Basic Textured Cardstock Combo Pack (X5747...don't forget if you order a package of this in February, you get one FREE...and you help the medical relief efforts in Haiti at the same time!), Colonial White Cardstock (1385), Chocolate Cardstock (X5643), Jingle Level 2 Paper Pack (X7115B), Irresistibles Lots of Dots Letters (Z1261), Olive Marker (Z2337), Chocolate Stamp Pad (Z2111), Wonder HeartFelt Die Cuts (Z1210), Whimsy HeartFelt Die Cuts (Z1145), Across the Board Rubons (Z1231), Basic Craft Buttons (Z1206), Neutral Assortment Embroidery Floss (Z1096).

Click here to order from my website 24/7...especially if you are just getting around to scrapping Thanksgiving 2 1/2 months later, like me!

Piece of Cake

Close To My Heart's February Stamp of the Month (Piece of Cake-D1407) is a yummy one! Along with the photos of cards made with this set that I have shown in this post, I have also included a photo of what the set looks like (actual size of the carrier sheet is 6" x 6").

There are several ways to get it:

• earn it FREE when you spend $100 or more (before shipping and tax)
• earn it for 75% off ($5.74) when you spend $75 or more (before shipping and tax)
• earn it for 50% off ($11.74) when you spend $50 or more (before shipping and tax)
• earn it for 25% off ($17.21) when you spend $25 or more (before shipping and tax)
• purchase it for full retail price ($22.95)

Don't forget the Hearts for Haiti campaign is also going right now. If you were to purchase 2 packages of our Textured Cardstock Combo Packs, you would get 2 free (that's a savings of $29.90) and would qualify for the Stamp of the Month at 25% off (another $5.74 saved) for a total of $82.75 in product value. You only pay $47.11 (before shipping and tax). WHAT A BARGAIN. On top of that, you will be helping the medical relief efforts in Haiti at the same time. EVEN BETTER. Click here to order from my website 24/7..it's a "Piece of Cake!"

T

I finished Tannon's Valentine today. 3 down (Easton, Kori and Tannon), 4 to go (Dawson, Rick, Daci and Dan-the-Man).

I used sketch #152 at CPS for my inspiration. I originally intended to stick with black, colonial white, cranberry and bamboo like I did for Kori and Easton's cards, but as I got going I just had to add a bit of moonstruck to the mix. Tannon has always marched to the beat of his own drummer, so why shouldn't his card do the same? I also finished it up with just a solid "T" and realized it was too plain for my flamboyant son...thus the polka dots.

Close To My Heart products used: Silhouette Level 2 Paper Pack (X7090B),Silhouette Creative Basics Paper Pack (retired), Stardust Level 2 Paper Pack (X7109B), Cranberry Cardstock (1272), Holiday Craft Buttons (Z1285), Bamboo Waxy Flax (Z906), Essential Brad Assortment (Z1219), "T" Dimensional Elements Mongrams (Z1074), Hearts Dimensional Elements (Z1278), 3D Foam Tape (Z1151), My Legacy Writers-Black (4275), Striped Ribbon (retired).

Non-CTMH products used: Marvy punches.

Click here to order from my website 24/7...and don't forget about Hearts for Haiti. This buy one get one free deal that ALSO helps the medical efforts in Haiti is just too good to pass up! When you buy a 12" x 12" Textured Combo Pack you'll get another one FREE...and we'll donate $2 to the medical relief efforts in Haiti in your behalf.

Hearts for Haiti

I know that YOU know that I LOVE CTMH! Close To My Heart is the BEST company and I am proud to say that I have been a consultant for over 17 years now. One of the reasons I love this wonderful company is that they give back. A portion of every stamp set that is purchased goes to Operation Smile. But that is not all. Oh no, that is not all (think Dr. Seuss)!

Right now we are running a FABULOUS campaign that benefits YOU and also the people of Haiti. Our hearts go out to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, and like so many of you, we’re eager to help. And helping has never been easier! Throughout February, purchase a 12" × 12" textured cardstock combo pack and you’ll get one free—and with every offer purchased, Close To My Heart will donate $2 US to Operation Smile’s Haiti relief efforts. That means for only $14.95 US, you get two packs of our high-quality textured cardstock and you help this urgent, important cause.

Operation Smile is always a fantastic charitable partner—offering free facial reconstruction surgeries to needy children throughout the world. They’ve currently marshaled their medical teams and resources to provide emergency relief in Haiti, and the donations given as part of Hearts for Haiti will be used exclusively for Operation Smile’s efforts in Haiti. For more information on their on-the-ground response, you can visit Operation Smile.

It's easy, peasy, lemon squeezy! Just click here to enter my website and order a pack (or TWO!). There are several to choose from (order numbers and package names to follow): Basic Collection (X5747), Spring Harmony (X5681), Summer Celebration (X5745), Autumn Harvest (X5669), Winter Cozy (X5670). Click on any of the links above to see the color combos in that particular pack, there is a drop down menu there where you can view each combo. Don't forget, for every pack purchased, you get one free...and $2 of that purchase goes to help Operation Smile's efforts in Haiti.

I'm actually working on a project right now that I chose to use our textured cardstock on. I'm not done yet so you just get a little sneak peak, but here are a few details of this 2 page layout. Feel free to click on any photo to see it larger.

Here you see the great textured cardstock we carry. The texture is deep and easy to see. You'll notice in this photo that the front side of each piece is the full strength of the color (this one is from the Basic Collection...Desert Sand) and the back side is a lighter shade of the same color. Cool! Don't mind my ink stained fingers and fingernails or the fact that I am terrible need of a manicure. lol.:
I think this project is going to be 'sew' cute!:
Gosh, I love these new Irresistibles Lots of Dots letters! As you can see here, I have chosen to color them with my exclusive inks olive marker. The dots resist the color while the rest of the letter just soaks it up beautifully. Stay tuned to see my finished project in the next day or so.