Welcome to the 1st Hearts of the West Blog Hop!

I am super excited that our Hearts of the West team has decided to begin a blog hop!!  Each month I tour many blog hops, and I am thrilled to be a part of this monthly endeavor with so many amazing ladies!

Our fearless leader Nancy Klein chose our first color challenge:  Buttercup, Sorbet, New England Ivy, Gypsy and Lagoon as well as the basic color pallet.  This is a circular blog hop, so it doesn't matter where you start.  If you keep going to will end back where you started and you can find a full list at the end of this post, just in case.

If you came from Freya Dunbar's blog, then you're in the right order!

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Since this blog hop was such a spontaneous idea, I decided to keep this project quick and easy by choosing to do a card. When I learned about this first challenge, I quickly realized something:  I NEVER use more than four colors when I am making a card!  When given FIVE colors for this challenge, I really struggled.  I wasn't sure how I was going to make it work.  It took a bit, but here is the end product. 

 I changed up the colors of the base card and it made for a brighter (more Spring-like) combination.

 Don't forget to decorate the inside of the card and the envelope.  The smallest addition can make a big difference.  The Lots of Love stamp set is perfect for that -- I just LOVE the little bird and envelope stamps!

Dimensions:

Card Base (White): 8-1/2" x 5-1/2"

1st Layer (Sorbet): 4-1/4" x 5-1/2"

2nd Layer (New England Ivy): 4" x 5-1/4"

3rd Layer (White): 3-3/4" x 5"

Hearts :  Page 26 (Art Philosophy); cut at 3/4"

Supplies (all are CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper:  White, Sorbet, New England Ivy
Embellishments: Bitty Sparkles (Z1263)
Stamps:  Lots of Love (A1151), Oodles of Doodles (B1449)
Ink: New England Ivy, Lagoon, Sorbet, Buttercup, Gypsy
Cartridge: Art Philosophy

To order any of these products, please follow this link and shop online!  Thanks for stopping buy and please feel free to comment . . . we just love reading them!

Your next stop is Corinna Murphy's blog!  Head on over and see how she worked her magic with this color challenge!

See you next month for our next Hearts of the West Team Challenge.  Remember you're welcome to join our amazing team, just contact one of these consultants to get you started! If you need help just message any of us and we will direct you to the closest consultant to you!


Hearts of the West May Blog Hop

Here is the list of all the incredible consultants participating in this month's blog hop in case you get lost along the way!

1. Nancy Klein
2. Chelsey Vorosmarty
3. Linda Pekrul
4. Diane Fischer
5. Chantal Pearson
6. Christine Marshall
7. Freya Hall Dunbar
8. Michelle Marciniw Olson
9. Corinna Murphy
10. Janet McCormick
11. Donna Digby

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Skylark Card - Perfect for Spring (& New Consultants)!

If you have recently signed up to be a new consultant, you would have received the Skylark Paper with your kit.  It is such a perfect paper pack for Spring!!

The materials used on this card are all included in the new consultant kit -- so this would be an incredibly quick and easy card to put together.

 

Dimensions:

Card Base: 4-1/4" x 5-1/2"

Skylark B&T Paper: 2-1/8" x 4-1/4"

Zip Strip from Skylark Paper (Chevron Pattern): 1/2" x 4-1/4"

Sweet Leaf: 3/4" x 4-1/4"

Supplies (all are CTMH unless otherwise noted)

Paper:  Skylark Paper Packet and Colonial White Cardstock
Embellishments:  Durables Triangle Studs (Z1928), Teal Shimmer Trim (Z1918)
Stamps:  For a Friend (D1542)
Ink:  Lagoon
Cartridge: Art Philosophy

To order any of these products, please follow this link and shop online!

April Stamp of the Month

You can purchase this set, Bubble Talk, for only $5 (reg. $17.95) with any $50 purchase. This stamp set co-ordinates with the Artrist Cartridge.  See below for Scrapbook and Card Layout ideas!

 

You can start shopping by clicking here.

Best Promotion - EVER!

 
In all the years I have been with Close to my Heart, I have never seen a sign-up promotion this FANTASTIC!  If you are a hobbyist who loves scrapbooking/cardmaking or looking to build a business/make money on the side, you MUST take advantage of this offer!

During the month of April, you will receive over $400 in products for only $99!!  When you sign up as a consultant and purchase the $99 starter kit, you will receive the Cricut Cartridge bundle of your choice for FREE!!  



PLUS if you sign up with me,
I will give you a stamp set of your choice (up to $15 value)
for FREE!

If you are a visual person (like I am), you may want to see what you will be getting :)  You will receive all the items pictured below as well as the Cricut Bundle of your choice.  The business supplies you will receive (bags, forms, paper sample swatches, etc) are not pictured below, but you get those as well!

$99 Starter Kit

Artbooking Cricut Bundle

Art Philosophy Cricut Bundle

Artiste Cricut Bundle

You get to choose the Cricut bundle that is your favourite.  You will receive over $400 in product and supplies for only $99!  The starter kits includes a fantastic assortment of our products:  stamp pads, acrylic blocks, three stamp sets, five mini stamp sets, an alphabet stamp set, various embellishments (triangle studs, shimmer trim, resin flowers, twist ties), two of our incredible layout idea books (one for cards, one for scrapbooking), CTMH paper (solid and patterned), tools (such as micro-tip scissors, glue pen, sponge, stamp cleaner and brush pad) - and of course, your FREE Cricut cartridge bundle!!  After that point, you are able to place your orders at a consultants discount.

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For more information, follow this link to my webpage.

If you are interested in taking advantage of this offer, signing up is a super easy process.  It is all done online by following this link: 

http://michelleolson.ctmh.com/ctmh/what-we-do/be-a-consultant.aspx

Once you have signed up through my website, send me an e-mail letting me know which stamp set you would like for FREE!!

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If you have any questions, please give me a call or send me an e-mail.  I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

This offer is only available during the month of April.  This promotion is super hot so act quickly to be sure to get the Cricut cartridge you love most!!

To help you decide which cartridge you like best, links to pdf versions of the cartridge handbooks can be found below; or check out my blog post "Which CTMH Cartridge is best?"  

Art Philosophy

Artiste

Artbooking

WHICH CTMH CARTRIDGE IS BEST? Art Philsophy, Artiste or Artbooking?

This post includes links to the pdf versions of each CTMH cartridge handbook.

Which CTMH Cricut Cartridge is the best??  This is a question I get asked again and again.  The Close to my Heart Cricut cartridges are WHY I signed up as a consultant!  

Here is the story --  I was researching which Cricut cartridges are the most popular, as I didn't want to buy cartridge after cartridge.  Time and time again, I kept hearing about the Art Philosophy cartridge.  It didn't take me long to learn that you could only get Art Philosophy through Close to my Heart.  After seeing the images on the cartridge, I was SOLD!   I had previous experience with Close to my Heart product and LOVED it (the clear stamps were also a favorite), so I decided to sign up.  Since then, they have released two more cartridges which are equally impressive.

So, which cartridge is my favorite?  Unfortunately, the answer is, they ALL are! Each one is my favorite for a very different reason.  I love the basic elements of the Art Philosophy cartridge (ie. flower, oval, banner shapes, labels, etc.  I love all the 3D items (gift card holders, rosettes, boxes) on the Artiste cartridge.  I love the background images and how easy it is to do an entire scrapbook layout with the Artbooking cartridge.  I should also mention that I love all three cartridges because I have stamp sets that co-ordinate with each of them.  Don't forget, as you look through the catalogue, any image that is outlined with a red line, means there is a co-ordinating cut on one of our cartridges.  If you look at the bottom of the page in the catalogue, it will tell you which cartridge the "cut" is from.

To help you decide which cartridge you like best, I have included a brief description of each below.  I have also included links to pdf versions of the cartridge handbooks.  I find it really helpful to see all the images on any cartridges I may want to buy in order to decide if I will use it.   Click on the cartridge name or the picture of the handbook below to get to the pdf of the handbooks.

Art Philosophy 

 This cartridge includes many basic shapes and images.  Each image on the cartridge also has a co-ordinating card and a co-ordinating tag cut.   There is also an assortment of borders and backgrounds.  This cartridge includes a variety of seasonal items some of which include a snowflake, christmas tree, stocking, hearts, acorn and cupcake.  The only 3D items that can be made with this cartridge is an assortment of six flowers.  The font included on this cartridge is a standard, slightly-formal font.

Artiste  

This cartridge includes basic shapes as well as shapes which are more detailed.   There is a wide variety of seasonal items such as a turkey, mitten, leaves, spider, skeleton, hearts, and snowflakes.  It also includes shaped cards, gift card holders, ready-made mini-books, phrases and words (ie. "thank you", "it's a girl", "Happy Birthday", "family", "Merry Christmas", etc.  One of the main features of this cartridge are the 3D items you can make such as milk cartons, file folder boxes, cupcake holders, rosettes, decorative boxes, gift bags, french fry boxes, etc.  Because of this feature, there is an assembly guide included.  The font included on this cartridge is very clean, straight-edged and basic.

 Artbooking 

This cartridge is a little different because it includes a very special additional feature.  In addition to a number of detailed and basic shapes, you can make an entire, co-ordinating scrapbook layout using one key on the overlay.  This allows you to quickly and easily create an entire perfectly sized layout-- using just one key/page on the cartridge.  This cartridge includes lots of backgrounds, borders, picture frames and phrases (ie. "always and forever", "capture the details, "fun and sun", "think grow learn", "party time".   There are no 3D items on this cartridge.  The font included on this cartridge is the most formal and a little "curly". 

  

I hope this helps you determine which cartridge you put at the top of your wish-list.  And don't forget, each cartridge comes with three pages of co-ordinating chipboard elements as well as three co-ordinating stamp sets.  In my honest opinion, all three are must-have cartridges -- not only because they are a great value, but they are also sure to be your "go-to" cartridge for any project you tackle!

Once again, here are the links to the pdf of the handbooks for each cartridge:

Art Philosophy

Artiste

Artbooking