CTMH August Promotion - What a Hoot SOTM !

Available only August 1-31, 2014.

Get the WHAT A HOOT  Stamp of the Month set of 17 images for just $5 when you spend $50 or more in August (taxes and shipping not incl.). Or you can also purchase the set at the full retail price of $19.75 with no minimum purchase required.

You can contact me to place your order or order online here. 

Stamp set

Project made using WHAT A HOOT

Vidéo du vendredi - Paper fundamentals Contest

Bon vendredi,

It's Vidéo du vendredi. Every Friday I post a video on CTMH products.

During the month of July, Close To My Heart has a contest to win a Paper Fundamentals Basic Assortment pack
Each Paper Fundamentals pack comes with 20 sheets of 12x12 paper, 2 each of 10 designs. Each side has the same design, but one side has been treated with a glossy resist pattern.

Take a look at the video to see how versatile the Paper Fundamentals can be. For a chance to win the contest - simply indicate what your fundamental scrapbooking product or tool that you can't live without under the YouTube video.

This video shows Paper Fundamentals in the basic assortment colour palette, but as of August 1, 2014, you can also buy it in all the other CTMH colours.


And don't forget
Friends don't let friends craft alone.

à bientôt,
Dominique

Sneak Peak - Picture My Life Kits

Here is a sneak peak of the 5 new PML kits that go on sale August 1st, 2014 from the NEW Annual Inspirations catalogue.   

PML stands for Picture My Life.  Each of these kits features a 12x12 cover page to complement your photos and 122 double-sided designed cards. YUP! You read that right a whopping 122 cards! On one side of each card is space for journaling, and on the other you’ll find artistic sentiments and icons. They are acid-free, lignin-free, and buffered. 

These cards are not only for pocket scrapbooking but are great for creating cards and mini-albums in a flash.

PML Kit Description
44 – 4" × 6" Cards (2 each of 22 designs)
78 – 3" × 4" Cards (3 each of 26 designs)
1 – 12" × 12" Designed Cover Sheet
10 – 12" × 12" Page Protectors. There are 3 each of Design 3 (Z1950), 3 each of Design 4 (Z1951), 3 each of Design 5 (Z1952), and 1 Side Load (Z1968).

Seaside

Pear and Partridge

For Always

Chalk It Up

Wanderful

à bientôt,
Dominique

Vidéo du vendredi

Bon vendredi,

It's Video Friday - but it sounds so much better in French - Vidéo du vendredi. 

Every Friday I post a video on CTMH products. Take a look at how you can use the Circus Alphabet stamp set. These funky letters are perfect for creating titles and sentiments, or for adding some bold, beautiful backgrounds to your projects. This set is the July Stamp of the Month, and only available until July 31. 

And don't forget
Friends don't let friends craft alone.

à bientôt,
Dominique

CTMH Idea Books

Close to My Heart releases 3 catalogues a year, the Annual Inspirations, released August 1st, 2014 and two special Seasonal Inspirations released December 1st, 2014 and April 1st, 2015.

Annual Inspirations Idea Book

The Annual Inspirations is more than a catalogue, it is a book filled with project ideas and fun creative inspiration.Unlike most catalogues, you'll also find creative tips and techniques, full-colour artwork with recipes available online, project kits, and spotlights of online video projects. It truly is an "idea" book that will inspire all papercrafters and stampers in their creative endeavours.

This year's Idea Book is bigger and better than ever at almost 200 pages. It has 250 new products!! 12 paper collections (9 double-sided patterned papers and 4 emboss resist textured papers), 40 colours of cardstock and ink pads (5 new ones), a rainbow of glitter papers and shimmer tapes, ShinHan Touch Twin alcohol blending markers in 24 colours, stunning home decor items and wearable crafts, and of course loads of stamps. The idea book is full to the brim with the scrapbooking, cardmaking, and stamping products.

You can order items from it from August 1, 2014 and it will be good for an entire year to July 31, 2015.

The Annual Inspirations Idea Book costs $6.50 (with taxes and shipping) but I give an advance free copy to my FREEBIE club members, a free copy to each hostess who has a gathering with $100 in sales, or a free copy with a first order of $50.

Contact me for your copy or to join my FREEBIE club.

You can view it online here 

Seasonal Inspirations Book

Seasonal Expressions 1 and 2 are supplemental idea books to Annual Inspirations. At 40 pages, these supplemental idea books feature only new products. They will contain Workshops on the Go kits, stamp sets, paper collections, accessories, tools, and more fun products to suit the season. 

The stamp sets launched in Seasonal Expressions books will remain available for a minimum of one full year from the date they are released, with any Cricut-collection coordinated stamp sets available on an ongoing basis.

Seasonal Expressions 1 will debut December 1, 2014 and be available until March 31 2015. 

Seasonal Expressions 2 will debut April 1, 2015 and be available until July 31, 2015.

Tips on using clear stamps

Whether you are new to using clear acrylic stamps or not, here are some helpful tips to ensure a crisp image and that your stamps last many years.

How do you use CTMH Clear Acrylic Stamps?
CTMH stamps come on a smooth storage sheet and are ready to be used. You don’t need to spend time trimming your clear stamps or figure out how to mount the stamp on a wood block. Instead, you can just start stamping.

Choose your stamp:
Select a clear block that is slightly larger than the stamp that you are going to use. Gently peel your clear stamp from the acetate storage sheet. (Although the clear stamps are strong, if you pull them off too fast or use to much force, you might tear your stamps especially in thin, detailed areas.)


Place the stamp on a clear block:
The smooth side of the stamp should be against the clear block. You can also arrange multiple stamps on the clear block for ease of stamping.  This is especially helpful when stamping a word with alpha stamps or arranging a set of stamps in an arc or other shape. 

"Prime" your stamp:
Sometimes a new clear stamp straight from the factory doesn’t take ink very well. The solution is to "prime" it, rough up the stamp’s surface area. This will usually make your stamp grab and hold ink more evenly so that you can get perfect stamped images. You can do this by rubbing your stamp gently on your forearm.

Apply ink to your clear stamp using the following tips:
Place your clear block on a flat surface with the stamp side up, then tap your inkpad down directly onto the surface of your stamp. Use firm and even tapping pressure. Tap-Tap-Tap Twist-Twist Tap-Tap-Tap. Don’t drag it across your inkpad. Hold the block up to the light to see if there are any bald spots missing ink. Remember too much ink often is just as bad as not enough ink.

Do a test stamp before applying to your project:
Once you have inked up your stamp, consider stamping on a scratch piece of paper from your project surface. Ink can look very different on different types of paper, colors of paper, or other project materials.

Generally you will get the best image when your paper is on a flat solid surface. To ensure stamping an even solid image, place the foam mat that comes in the stamp envelope underneath your paper to help distribute the ink.

How do I clean my clear stamps?

To keep stamps clear and free from ink stains clean each stamp immediately after use by stamping off remaining ink on scrap paper and spritzing with CTMH cleaner and scrubbing across the CTMH scrubber brush, it gets in all the nooks and crannies. If ever the stamp looses its cling, rinse it in warm water and its surface will return to its original sticky condition.

Just like rubber stamps, some colours of ink and some types of ink will stain your clear stamps. As long as you have cleaned your clear stamp, the remaining transparent tinge of colour will not affect the stamped image that your clear stamp makes.  The transparent tint of colour often makes it easier to tell what the stamp image is.  With proper care and quality ink choices, your stamps should last for many years.

Vidéo du Vendredi

Bon Vendredi

Friday is video day. The best way to ensure a nice crisp image every time, is to clean the ink off your stamp immediately after use. Properly cleaning your clear stamps will ensure you get to use them for many years to come.

Take a look at how easy it is to use the CTMH scrubber to get all the ink off your stamp. It really cleans all the nooks and crannies.

And don't forget
Friends don't let friends craft alone.

à bientôt,
Dominique

BIENVENUE !

Welcome to FUN2CRE8 avec Dominique. This is THE PLACE for you to see what crafty projects I am working on, to find out about upcoming events such as workshops, crops and retreats, and best of all - get sneak peeks into product releases and any upcoming promotions or sales. I love getting a deal, don't you?

Through blog hops, FUN2CRE8 is also your window to a wider world of paper crafting. A Blog Hop is a great big circle of Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using great CTMH products on their blogs. Hopping is simple to do - just click on the special link in a post and move to the next blog. You can work your way all around the circle to visit the other blogs to get lots more fun and creative ideas!

There are a few blog hops out there that inspire me, and I am planning to take part in monthly hop that showcases the Stamp of the Month (SOTM) as well as the occasional colour challenge blog hop. These challenges are a FUN way to be CREATIVE , and it's fun to see how using the same products can result in very different creations.

Close to My Heart products make it easy to create beautiful and artistic crafts regardless of your skill level . I like being creative, but I also like it when it is practical.

So don't be shy, sign up your email account so you get my updates directly to your inbox. Feel free to send me suggestions of what you'd like to see more about on FUN2CRE8.

And don't forget
Friends don't let friends craft alone.
à bientôt,
Dominique