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Monday, September 26, 2016

New Product Highlight: New Style Ink Pads and Other Color Tools!





The NEW style ink pads are available in all the NEW Adventure colors: Pansy, Emerald, Willow, Lemon, Tangerine, Blossom and Raspberry.


Click here to download the Ink Chart.

The description on these babies is very accurate. "Sleek" is the word but a written description is just not good enough. You have to see them and play with them to really get the feel for how different and much more "usable" they are.     



SIZE
NEW vs OLD

Overall size -        3  5/16" x 4  7/16" vs 2  15/16" x 1  1/16"
Pad size - 2  7/16" x 3  7/8" vs 2  7/16" x 2  15/16"


Here is some basic information on what type of inks all the CTMH products provide. You will see we are very diverse!


Here is a handy ShinHan Touch Twin Marker guide for you to use as well. Click HERE to download.

While were at it here is a wonderfully useful Watercolor guide that gives you formulas to match as closely as possible the CTMH colors using the Watercolor pallet.


Click here to download a copy for yourself.


I hope you find these documents useful in your color quest. Visit www.NinasArtSpot.ctmh.com to purchase your NEW Close to my Heart products or www.NinasArtSpot.etsy.com for your retired and gently used Close to my Heart products as well as kits, handmade items, planning items and more.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

It's All in Your Perspective



Totally inspired by my friend MB who is on a social media hiatus, and who I think is off her rocker for doing something so silly. However, she is rockin' it old school and loving life off grid so much so, that she has actually removed all social media (SM) off her phone (except texting). This literally has nothing to do with paper crafting or stamping. However, it definitely has to do with creativity and has a bit of mixed media to it...not in inspiration but in how I choose to see my thought process through.

This goes out to all my vertically challenged (is that PC?) friends/family. You maybe closer to the ground than me but let me tell you, your view is enlightening. Your humor is up lifting. Your love keeps me going. I count you all as my favorite people....well, in all honesty I'd have to because you are over 3/4's of my family...yes its true I come from a short family...but a short Italian family...and it makes all the difference in the world. Short and Italian is like the best of the best.

The image I created came after a conversation I had with MB about the love of driving pick-up trucks. She was telling me about how much she loves feeling on top of the world and for a short person it was important to feel that way at least in one area of one's life. It really got me thinking about it. Things like what am I missing by "not" being short? So, I went to google memes about it to make her laugh and all I got was short girl problems and disadvantages. Now while some of them were wicked funny, like..... 


and



...but, some were downright horrid.

I was left feeling like I had to turn this injustice around. If not for MB than for my friends and family. 

or then again maybe it was because of the parking incident I had an hour after my conversation with MB? I had to park my Ford F250 Lariat King Cab truck in a compact car spot (well it was the only spot left available) for a 5 min run in and the only way I could make it work was to put her into reverse and back her in. I freaked out the guy sitting in the van parked crooked next to me and I'm sure the bush behind me got a bit toasty and heated by the exhaust...but it was aces if I do say so myself. Hey I even got a thumbs up by the little elderly lady sitting outside sipping her coffee and a wink from the guy  walking back to his car. All I'm saying is, It's All in Your Perspective so lets focus on a positive perspective and uplift everyone around us. 

Monday, September 12, 2016

The Journaling Prompt and your Scrapertunities!


Those of you who have been following Nina's Art Spot on the Facebook page know all about the Journaling Prompts that I post every Tuesday. I have gotten a lot of PM's (private messages) asking many questions about them and how they pertain to scrapbooking. In our last Journaling 101 ~ Stuck for Content? post I explained all about the journaling prompt and how it can be utilized to generate ideas, in site into yourself and your environment. However, I think many still aren't seeing how this can be utilized as mini Scrapertunities. So I'm going to show you. 


Whats In My Purse page from my book all about me

Many years ago I was asked at a party as part of a game what items were in my purse.  It dawned on me while playing that game I'd have loved to know what my Mom carried with her in her purse. Since I had my daughters mini digital camera in my purse I decided to take a picture of all the items dumped onto the floor. It was that moment all those years ago (actual date unknown because I never dated it) that I started my Scrapbook. You see each of my kids have their own baby album that I've scrapbooked. I had tons of events scrapbooked about our lives. However, I failed to scrapbook anything about who I was/am for my children/family to ever know the inner workings of me! Goodness knows most of those photos either don't have me in them or they are really bad pictures of me. Hence the book all about me was started. Now I can't say I didn't have some help along the way. I don't remember if I bought the book or if it was given to me by one of my scrapbooking friends, but its a gem. 


The Book of Me by Angie Pedersen

Things I have learned along the way are simple. You MUST date each time you write in your Journaling Prompt planner and each time you turn your Journaling Prompt into a Scrapertunity. Some of the best Journaling Prompts happen kind of spontaneously, just like that day when I dumped my purse out on the floor. Take some pictures of yourself...yes a selfie if you will. This gives you the opportunity to oversee the quality of the YOU IMAGE and your children/family members will eventually get to see a side of you they haven't, the YOU side.

Tip: Use SnapChat face morph as a method to take fun pictures of YOU. Also SnapChat face morph seems to make me look less droopy and "old". Its great! Take the SnapChat pic then screen shoot it and delete the image before posting. It never goes viral and you get the picture! 

Ok so lets take an actual prompt from the Facebook Page and put it into action. June 12, 2016 the Journaling Prompt was...


My Original Journaling: "The best advice I got was from my Dad. He told me that if I wanted to be a good cook the most important ingredient I needed to remember to include was my love. This taught me the importance of loving what you do. My Dad was a wonderful artist. He made incredible pieces of woodwork. Wood was his medium. His second medium was food. He was a wonderful teacher and a wonderful Dad."


"Birdy" my Journaling Prompt Journal

Now thinking about my Dad makes me sad because he has passed and I miss him so very much. When I wrote this it was because I have a  kids cookbook he gave me when I was about 6 or 7 years old. He inscribed the cookbook for me and I still have that cookbook. The cover has long ripped off but I've saved it. I think its time to turn this Journaling Prompt into a Scrapertunity and preserve a wonderful gift, an incredible sentiment and a lasting lesson. This is creating a lasting legacy at its finest!

Tip: Go small if big is overwhelming. Most of my family scrapbooks are done at the standard 12" x 12" size and at least 2 page spreads. My books all about me are 9" x 9" in size and usually only 1 page.

So I will now create a 9" x 9" Single page scrapbook page for my book all about me. I will use a copy of the inscription to replace an actual photo. I could possibly also add a photo of my Dad in the page. I will also include the journaling from my Journaling Prompt Journal along with the date I wrote the original journaling. 

If you are interested in the Journaling 101 in video format please keep an eye out for the Journaling 101 YouTube video that will be posted in the coming weeks.

Monday, September 5, 2016

New Product Highlight: Complements

New Pumped up Complements




Now we've had complements for a while now, however CTMH has "spiced" them up a bit. The packaging has changed and they now come with an insert piece showing everything that is included but they now include 4, 6" x 6" sheets of stickers plus two types of die-cuts. The type of die-cuts change depending on the style. For an example lets review the Baby Boy Complements Z3273 - $11.95. 

The Baby Boy Complements come with Silver glitter die-cuts  and silver foil vellum die cuts as well as the stickers
This is the Insert. It shows all the stickers and both sets of die cuts

These are the 4 sheets of stickers

The pack on the left are the silver glitter die cuts. The bag on the right are the Silver foil and vellum die-cuts

Complements that are now available are in the following styles:




Both the Baby Boy and Baby Girl match with the Whimsy colors.


The Good Life match the Adventure colors.



The School Complements both match the Enchantment colors.

The next two Complement packs are slightly less in price ($6.95) They only come with 2 sheets of stickers.



The All Together and You & Me match the basics colors and the color of the year Sea Glass.

I hope this has been helpful. I want to point out that these complements work wonderfully in more than just scrapbooking and card-making projects. They are wonderful for planner's as well especially the vellum pieces.

and with the release of the NEW Holiday Expressions there are four more sets of Complements that will be available this month through December 31st, 2016. These complements are slightly smaller and only have two sheets of stickers and one set of die-cuts.





Thursday, September 1, 2016

September Stamp of the Month

Welcome to the September Stamp of the Month



Blessed Beyond Measure


Blessed Beyond Measure Set of 19 - $17.95 S1609 ~> Use with Cricut Artbooking Cartridge (indicated by red outline)
Each month you can purchase a new D-size Stamp set, available for that month only, for just $5! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close to My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing. This set is only available September 1-30, 2016

Recommended Blocks: 1" x 1" (Y1000), 1" x 31/2" (Y1002), 2" x 2" (Y1003) and 2" x 31/2" (Y1009)


Here are some beautiful samples made with this set!

Created by Nina Fickett for Nina's Art Spot
Supplies Used:
  • September Stamp of the Month ~ Blessed Beyond Measure - S1609
  • New England Ivy Cardstock & Ink - 1282 & Z2835
  • Goldrush Cardstock - 1243
  • Pomegranate Cardstock & Ink - X5780 & Z2854
  • Gold Sequins - Z2012
  • Rose Gold Foil Tape - Z3218
  • Watercolor Paints - Z3231
  • Waterbrush Med - Z3225
  • Marvy LePen Journaling Pen - Z1979
  • Liquid Glass - Z679
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Created by Robyn Holfeltz

Supplies Used:



  • September Stamp of the Month ~ Blessed Beyond Measure - S1609
  • Tangerine Cardstock - X5786
  • Kraft Cardstock - Z1375
  • Black Ink - Z2805
  • Silver Shimmer Trim - Z1799
  • Cricut Artbooking Cartridge - Z3269
  • Enchantment Ribbon Pack - Z3288
  • Watercolor Paints - Z3231
  • Saffron Ink - Z2851

  • Created by Kendra Halverson at Kreate with Kendra

    Supply Used:
    • Blessed Beyond Measure Sept Stamp of the month S1609
    • Watercolor Paper Z3146
    • Watercolor Paints Z3132
    • Paintbrush Set Z3188
    • Gold Sequins Z2012
    • Sea Glass Glitter Paper Z3240
    • Desert Sand Ink Z2803
    • Black Ink Z2805
    • Canary Ink Z2843
    • Hello & Thanks thin cuts Z3259
    • Artbooking Cricut Cartridge Z3169



    And more samples.....

    Provided by Close to my Heart Corporate Office


    Provided by Close to my Heart Corporate Office

    Created by Laura Ryan at Laura's Crop Circles




    It's Available NOW ~ The Hoot Hoot Hooty Planner Pack



    The September Collaboration Planner Pack is now Available for purchase. Click Here to be taken to the Etsy Store!

    This planner pack includes the following items that beautifully compliment the theme: Fall Colors and Cute Owls.


    • 2 rolls of Sparkle Tape.. One in Gold and one in Orange. Each are 15 mm and 3 yards in length. 


          Provided by Double Cross Productions 

    • 1 Planner Planner Charm/place-keeper/bookmark in silver and brown grosgrain ribbon. 

          Created by Nina's Art Spot


    • 2 Vellum Leaf print Envelopes. One in orange green's and one in purple red's. Featuring a beautifully scripted quote. These can be used in a variety of ways in a planner. (receipt envelope or sticker envelope. 


          Provided by Best Package Co. 


    • 1 standing zippered pen bag. 
          Created by Sewnannasew


    • 1 Cute Hootie Patootie Planner Clip. 
          Created by Susan Gantz


    • 2, 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" sheets of Planner Printable Stickers, coordinating printable stickers that coordinate. These two sheets encompass both functional stickers and design elements. 89 images in all. Stickers are printed on matte non-removable sticker paper. They are NOT die cut these are printables. They are perfect for any planner. Simply cut and stick. 

    **Do you want the PDF file for future use? Then you must select YES, when you place your order and include the email address you want it sent to in the notes**

          Designed by Nina's Art Spot. 


    • Dimensional Quote Card 
          Designed and created by Nina's Art Spot.


    Hoot Hoot Hooty Sticker Printable Sample Layout


    Vellum Envelope made into a receipt or sticker holder

    Hoot Owl Planner Clip

    NEW Holiday Expressions Goes Live ~> TODAY

    Its soooo exciting.....

    This takes Christmas Creating Countdown to a whole new level. For me it means I get to pick out what papers, stamps, embellishments and ink colors I will be using for my yearly Christmas Cards.

    The Holiday Expressions is 68 pages chocked full of awesome new goodness. 

         There are four new paper packs, matching complements and other embellishments.

    • Jeepers Creepers ~ Halloween
            Featured Colors: black, emerald, lagoon, lemon, pansy, raspberry, tangerine, white daisy and willow.
    • Swan Lake ~ Gratitude, Give Thanks
          Featured Colors: black, canary, fern, glacier, goldrush, peacock, poppy, slate, whisper and white daisy.

    • City Sidewalks ~ Christmas
          Featured Colors: black, cranberry, lagoon, peacock, white daisy and willow.

    • Oh Deer! ~ Traditional Christmas
          Featured Colors: bamboo, cocoa, colonial white, desert sand, fern, juniper, sea glass, slate, whisper and white daisy.


    Oh Deer! Paper Packet ~ X7214B

    Oh Deer! Assortment in Bamboo ~ Z4011

    Oh Deer! Complements ~ X7214C

    White & Gold Twine ~ Z4014


    There are four new card making kits and four new scrapbooking Workshops Your Way kits.

    There is yet another new Cricut Collection. This one is only available in Digital for use with the Cricut Explore and the Cricut Explore Air. It is called City Sidewalks and complements the City Sidewalks products beautifully. 

    Of course there are countless NEW stamp sets to match all the NEW papers. There are two new embossing folders specifically for Christmas and snowflakes. There are four new thin cuts also for Christmas and the snowy season. There are two new Cut Above kits. One in a card and one in a tag. 

    But my favorite...ok nearly my favorite is for those planner girls out there. There are NEW Everyday Life items too. There is now an Everyday Life album in Faux Leather in the NEW AI Color of the Year, Sea Glass. Yes and I'm telling you its soft as butter and absolutely beautiful. If you have the old Everyday Life album you know its starting to look a bit worn and needs to be replaced. Well now there are two options. The NEW stripes (Z9979) from the NEW AI released last month and now this Sea Glass in Faux Leather.


    Everyday Life Faux Leather Album in Sea Glass ~ Z4027
    My picture does NOT do it justice! There is also a NEW Happy, Happy Christmas pages that you can insert into it. Along with NEW Picture My Life Cards in Happy, Happy Christmas and in Clear matching Overlays. Now you can plan and pocket scrapbook. 

    To finish off the NEW Holiday Expressions there are of course four new Stamps of the Month.

    September - Blessed Beyond Measure (can be used with the Cricut Artbooking Cartridge) see samples using this stamp set being released here on the blog later on today.

    October - Yuletide Joy (can be used with the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge) see samples using this stamp set being released October 1st, 2016, here on the blog.

    November - New Year's Cheer (can be used with the NEW Cricut Flower Market Cartridge) See samples using this set being release November 1st, 2016, here on the blog.

    December - Thoughtful Flowers. See samples using this set being released December 1st, 2016, here on the blog.