I've barely had time to sit down, let alone paper craft. I did get some time to make some Father's Day cards upon request, but I forgot to take pictures before turning them over to their respective buyers.
Red Alert! The list of Retiring Items has been released! The current Idea Book (code name for catalog) and Seasonal Expressions (catalog add-on) are good until the end of August 2015. At that time a whole LOT of things will be retiring from the Close to My Heart line-up. Way too much to list here. But you can see it all here. Some things are already becoming unavailable, so if there is something you have been considering, I highly suggest you do not wait until the last minute! A few things I can tell you that are retiring are ALL the paper packs (and coordinating accessories), and ALL the My Crush books, and ALL the Alphabet stamp sets, and Most of the Picture My Life card sets (they coordinate with the paper packs). plus a ton of stamp sets, embellishments, and more. Go look... While you are there, check out the While Supplies Last section, more items have been added.
Before I left on my trip, I managed to make one card with the June Stamp of the Month, Ice Cream Dream. I think it might be hard to tell in this photo, but I lightly sponged the base card with Lagoon ink to give it some texture before adding the rest. I lifted the saying and the ice cream cone off the card with foam dots for dimension, and added a bit of Teal Shimmer Trim for sparkle. Overall, I wanted to keep it simple, and focus on the colors.
The other card I made was a 'scrap card'. I was cleaning up around my stamping area and found an envelope full of paper strips left over from the January Year Noted paper pack. I loved that paper collection, and was bound to use every bit of it that I could. This was what I came up with.
What I did was took all the strips, and dove-tailed one end of each one. Then I took a card base, and starting with one of my strips, I carefully applied it to the card along the edge. Then I did the same thing to the next strip, butting the edge along the previous strip. I just filled the card up. When I was done, I still had some strips (and some of them had been extra long and had to be cut across the top), so I decided to fill in a bit more and added the shorter ones you can see along the top edge. I noticed after I was done that they all seem to be close in length, and the next time I do this, I will try making them more varied. I added a simple saying, and a few left-over gold stickers (also from the Year-Noted set), and a sweet card is finished. I'm really happy with how it turned out. Sorry to say, this paper pack is retired, but the technique can be done with any scraps.
Remember the Ice Cream Dream Stamp of the Month is only available for June. You can pick up your own for only $5 with a $50 purchase! (Or for $17.95 on it's own) Be sure to contact your Close To My Heart Independent Consultant before the end of June. If you don't already have a consultant, I'd love to be yours. You can find details on the "Stamp of the Month" by clicking on the "Stamp of the Month" at top of the page on the right or purchase your SOTM here. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
There's also a great deal this month on the My Crush® books. Purchase any My Crush® book and its accompanying assortment pictured in Annual Inspirations 2014–2015, and you will receive the coordinating stamp set FREE! (That is a savings of at least $9.95 USD / $10.95 CAD!) There are 5 My Crush book offerings that will provide a fun and easy background for your favorite memories. This offer is only available while supplies last* and once they’re gone, these books are gone for good, so put your orders in early to get your summer romance rolling today!
*No tax will be charged on the free items. Shipping/handling is calculated based on the full retail price of the free stamp.
