Hmmm…what’s different about this layout?  It’s mirrored top to bottom.  Look closely…look at the building….what else is different?

It’s turned sideways!  Now…why would you want to do something like that?  Have you ever had “photo overload?”  You know, when you take a LOT of photos of a certain event, or location and, you really don’t want the photos to spill over onto another layout.  The answer - True Fit Folios!  With these 12″ x 12″ folders, you can create a FLIP UP set of pages; this is interactive scrapbooking!  Here’s how these pages will appear in my album…the top page, Magisterial Palace will be on the right side of the album.  Lifting the folio…

and with the folio open more…

When Ken and I went on the Mediterranean Cruise that I earned with CTMH, on our stop at Malta, we took the City of Knights and Mdina excursion.  As part of that excursion, we visited the Magisterial Palace.  The artwork is intricate and detailed.  The tapestries are amazing!  Oh – and the knight’s armor…boy, those knights must have been little!  Modern men certainly would not fit in the suits of armor that were barely 5 feet tall.

The papers used are from the Vintage Travel Level 2 Paper Pack.  This paper is going to retire this year.  Here’s the complete retired list.  This was done using the remaining papers from the Vintage Travel Scrapbook Workshop.

If you’d like to give the CTMH how-to books a try, email me for a PDF.

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To learn more about my Get More Done scrapbook clubs, to order any of the products used, or to find out more about joining my team, the Smile Patrol, visit my website: http://heleno.myctmh.com.

***

Have fun playing with this layout.  I’d love to see what you create!

1. Post the photos on my Facebook Fan Page - you can upload them into the photo album there.
2. Post the photos on your Facebook Wall or in your Facebook Photo Album – friend me so I can see them.  In the description, put a link to the scrapbook challenge.
3. Post on a public blog, and link here.
4. Post them on Splitcoaststampers (SCS).  For the keywords, please put: HOSSC32 and CTMH.

When you leave your comments, make sure you let us know where we can see YOUR creation!

Think of everyone on your holiday shopping list…for all those crafty friends, stamps are a gift that keep on giving.  It’s something they can play with over and over again.  And who knows…they may even use them to make YOU something!

Speaking of the holidays, here’s a look at my upcoming Christmas Card Workshop.

I made ALL of these cards using ONE piece of patterned paper, ONE sheet of colored cardstock and a 1/2 sheet of white cardstock.  I love using CTMH’s Value Pack of Cards & Envelopes; they come in either White Daisy or Colonial White.  Here are the stamp sets I used:

• Holiday Trinkets D1366
• Just for the Holidays D1380
• And…with the Stampganza promotion, you can get both of these stamp sets and then pick a stamp set of your choice!  I would recommend getting one of the sentiment stamp sets for finishing off the inside of your cards.

I’m going to take advantage of this special to finish up my Monthly Word Puzzle collection which is retiring this year.  Take a look at all of the stamps that are retiring this year.  There are other products retiring too.  Want to see the complete list – I have it for you in Word format – click here.

Remember, that with any product order of $100 or more, you will also get the Stamp of the Month free!  Did you see all of the things you can do with the November Stamp of the Month: Around the Block?  If not…take a look at the CTMH November Blog Hop for ideas and inspiration.

I have a super-de-dooper special for you that I’ll tell you more about in my customer newsletter…so, you want to make sure you’re signed up for that!

I look forward to helping to make your holiday shopping less stressful and helping you to save money at the same time!  Either email me your order at helen@hookedonstamping.com or visit my website heleno.myctmh.com where you can place your order online. 

Scrapbook Challenge 31 comes to us from the CTMH Cherish how-to book and is the Pleasing Paradigm pattern on page 94.  I decided to try somthing different and replaced the horizontal strips of paper in the pattern with ribbon.  I love it!  I took one of the photo spaces and used it for two smaller photos, then added in additional photos.  Using the how-to book made putting this page together a snap! 

Ken and I took a shore excursion called the City of Knights and Mdina.  As part of that excursion, we visited St. John’s Co-Cathedral.  The exterior of the building belied the ornate, gold-guilded architeture and magnificent art inside.

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Materials:

• CTMH Simple Pleasures Paper Pack - retiring this year
• CTMH Cocoa and Desert Sand Ink Pad
• CTMH Texture Tools – I used the Sea Sponge Tool to add Cocoa ink to all papers
• CTMH Photo Hangers
• CTMH Expressives Font CD Volume II

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If you’ve never tried one of CTMH’s how-to books – which are like page maps or page sketches,  email me and I’ll send you a PDF of a pattern (or two) to try.  To learn more about my Get More Done scrapbook clubs, to order any of the products used, or to find out more about joining my team, the Smile Patrol, visit my website: http://heleno.myctmh.com.

***

Have fun playing with this layout.  I’d love to see what you create!

1. Post the photos on my Facebook Fan Page - you can upload them into the photo album there.
2. Post the photos on your Facebook Wall or in your Facebook Photo Album – friend me so I can see them.  In the description, put a link to the scrapbook challenge.
3. Post on a public blog, and link here.
4. Post them on Splitcoaststampers (SCS).  For the keywords, please put: HOSSC31 and CTMH.

When you leave your comments, make sure you let us know where we can see YOUR creation!

Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, sit back and join us on a journey of amazing things you can do with this stamp set.  There are over 60 CTMH Consultants joining in on the fun.

I like to look at things a bit differently…like upside down!  When I did that with this stamp set, the idea came to me to make the “house” into a chimney…and thus, the beginnings of this card were born.

Before I get started with the tutorial…let me give you a tip on getting the “house” stamp on your block with straight lines.  This stamp has long, thin sections.  Put the stamp down on grid paper, as if you were stamping the image.  Use a piercing tool or toothpick to nudge the lines until you’re happy with it.

Now, place the block onto the stamp and voila!  The stamp sticks to the block and is positioned just the way you want it.

Now…here’s the tutorial for making the card…

Start with a 4.5″ x 6.5″ White Daisy Cardstock panel.  Ink the “house” with Twilight ink and stamp it partially off the left side of the panel.

Using the solid brick set, the open brick set, the individual solid brick and the open brick and Twilight ink, fill in what will become the chimney.

Tip: Use a sticky note to “mask” off the background – this prevents bricks from going outside of the chimney lines.

Tip: I’m going to be covering the bottom part of the chimney with a “roof,” so there’s no need to take the bricks all the way down to the bottom.  I stopped at roughly 2″ from the bottom.

Ink the roof in Twilight ink and stamp it slightly off the right side of the panel.  Using Twilight ink stamp the house and the windows.

Tip: Stamp the roof onto a sticky note such that when you cut it out the sticky part remains – this will hold the mask in position.

Place the mask over the roof.

Ink the roof in Twilight ink and stamp it slightly over the mask of the other roof.  Using Twilight ink, ink up one leg of the house stamp and stamp it under the roof.  Ink the window in Twilight ink and stamp it.

Tip: Create a watercolor palette by pressing the lid of an ink pad against the surface of the ink pad.  I do this with the ink pad closed – it’s flexible!

Tip: Using a DRY waterbrush will give you darker color.

Using a waterbrush and Twilight ink, ink areas of the images as desired.

Cut a 2.5″ x 12″ strip of Twilight Cardstock.  Play with the positioning until you like the angle of the roof.  Use just a small piece of adhesive to hold the Twilight Cardstock in place so you can cut off what overhangs.

You’ll be left with an angled roof section…it doesn’t look much like a roof…so, let’s add some shingles.  Flip the piece over and using a stylus add score lines.

Tip: I like to use a soft surface, such as a mouse pad so the stylus creates impressions.

After creating all of the score lines, flip the roof right side up.  Use a sanding block to reveal the white core, giving the piece the look of shingles.  Adhere the roof to the bottom of the panel.

Ink the cloud in Twilight ink and stamp it once.  Create a mask as before, and position it over the first cloud.  Stamp a second cloud overlapping the first.  Add one more cloud on the left side of the panel.

Using a wedge cut from a Round Sponge and masks, lightly sponge on Twilight ink in a pouncing motion until the entire sky is colored.

Using the “smoke” lines and Twilight ink, add smoke coming from the chimney.  Mount the completed panel to a 4.75″ x 6.75″ Creme Brulee panel. 

Add an Ivory Organza ribbon around the panel.  Add a ribbon knot.

Tip: Secure a 6″ piece of ribbon across the front of the panel; wrap the ends to the back and secure with tape and Liquid Glass.  Then…tie a knot onto the front!  This saves you ribbon and makes positioning your knot a breeze!

Mount onto a 5″ x 7″ card base covered with the plaid patterned paper from the Aspen paper pack.  Sponge the edges of the card using Twilight ink.

Maybe it’s all the talk of snow my son is getting at college…or maybe it’s the wintery feel of the air that got me thinking…this card needs some snow!  I pulled out my Create-A-Shade paint and added touches of icicles and snow.  What do you think?

Materials:

• CTMH D1377 November Stamp of the Month – Around the Block
• CTMH Aspen Paper Packet (X7103B)
• CTMH Ink in Twilight (Z2160)
• CTMH Waterbrush (1771)
• CTMH Liquid Glass (Z679)
• CTMH Create-A-Shade Paint (Z1039)
• Sticky Notes 

Now “hop” on over to Carla’s blog to see what she’s created.

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If you get lost on the “hop” or find links that aren’t working, check out this post for a complete list of participating consultants & their blogs.

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Are you inspired by this blog?  One of the ways you can help support this blog is by ordering your Close To My Heart products through me.  You can order from me 24/7 at: http://heleno.myctmh.com or email me at helen@hookedonstamping.com.

During November, CTMH is running STAMPGANZA!  Buy two stamp sets, get one of equal or lower value free!  This is a great month to be a hostess!  Want to know more…just ask.

Remember, the November SOTM is only available during November…so, get yours today!  Click here to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

Note: I will come back in a couple of days to add comments and notes about each of the projects to help you in finding something again later on.  Want to see an example?  Take a look at what I did for the October SOTM Blog Hop.

One of the most amazing things about being a Close To My Heart Consultant is having the opportunity to earn incredible trips.  I had the priviledge of earning the amazing Mediterranean Cruise.  Here we are on a CTMH Excursion that started at the Naples port of call and took us on a tour of Pompeii, lunch at a fabulous restaurant in Sorrento, then a high-speed shuttle boat to Capri.

The papers used are from the Vintage Travel Level 2 Paper Pack.  This paper is going to retire this year.  Here’s the complete retired list.

If you’d like to give the CTMH how-to books a try, email me for a PDF.

To create this layout, I added two sheets of Bambook Cardstock to the papers that remained after creating all of the layouts for my Get More Done Scrapbook Club.

Tip: I love to maximize the use of my paper pack and show my customers and scrapbook club members how to do this too.  When you have a layout like this where a patterned paper is put on top of another patterned paper, cut out the section that goes behind and save that to use somewhere else.

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Materials:

• CTMH Grace Paper Pack
• CTMH Grace My Stickease
• CTMH Cocoa Ink Pad
• CTMH Texture Tools – I used the Sea Sponge Tool to add Cocoa ink to all papersli>
• CTMH 3D Foam Squares
• 2 sheets of Bamboo cardstock for the basesli>

***

To learn more about my Get More Done scrapbook clubs, to order any of the products used, or to find out more about joining my team, the Smile Patrol, visit my website: http://heleno.myctmh.com.

***

Have fun playing with this layout.  I’d love to see what you create!

1. Post the photos on my Facebook Fan Page - you can upload them into the photo album there.
2. Post the photos on your Facebook Wall or in your Facebook Photo Album – friend me so I can see them.  In the description, put a link to the scrapbook challenge.
3. Post on a public blog, and link here.
4. Post them on Splitcoaststampers (SCS).  For the keywords, please put: HOSSC29 and CTMH.

When you leave your comments, make sure you let us know where we can see YOUR creation!

Scrapbook Challenge 28 comes to us from the CTMH Cherish how-to book and is the Color Celebration pattern on page 30.  These books are like page maps or page sketches that you may be familiar with.  I love that the books give sample layouts along with other tips throughout the book.  If you’ve never tried one of CTMH’s how-to books, email me and I’ll send you a PDF of a pattern (or two) to try.

When I was putting together the Grace Scrapbook Layouts for my Get More Done scrapbook club, I saw the ribbon type strip on the striped paper.  I thought…how fun would that be to cut that out and use it on a layout!  I was inspired by my friend and fellow CTMH Consultant Lynn Como’s use of the paper flowers under the edge anchors.  I couple that with the paper “ribbon.” 

Tip: There are times where a paper piece, or a ribbon piece for that matter, just won’t reach across an entire page.  I had to “stretch” the paper “ribbon” to fit the page.  The pieces extend out both sides of the title, and I left a space in the middle behind the heart and flower.

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Materials:

• CTMH Grace Paper Pack
• CTMH Grace My Stickease
• CTMH Cocoa Ink Pad
• CTMH Texture Tools – I used the Sea Sponge Tool to add Cocoa ink to all papers
• CTMH Rustic Edge Anchors – these come as part of the Grace Basic Workshop Kit
• CTMH 3D Foam Squares
• 2 sheets of Colonial White cardstock for the bases
• 1 sheet of Bamboo cardstock added – this coordinates beautifully with the Grace papers

***

To learn more about my Get More Done scrapbook clubs, to order any of the products used, or to find out more about joining my team, the Smile Patrol, visit my website: http://heleno.myctmh.com.

***

Have fun playing with this layout.  I’d love to see what you create!

1. Post the photos on my Facebook Fan Page - you can upload them into the photo album there.
2. Post the photos on your Facebook Wall or in your Facebook Photo Album – friend me so I can see them.  In the description, put a link to the scrapbook challenge.
3. Post on a public blog, and link here.
4. Post them on Splitcoaststampers (SCS).  For the keywords, please put: HOSSC28 and CTMH.

When you leave your comments, make sure you let us know where we can see YOUR creation!

Let me rewind a bit and tell you the story….

DigiPen Insititute of Technology has a unique philospophy of putting students together into project teams for a real-world work situation.  Robert’s team consisted of four students in the following roles:

• Kyle Holdwick – Producer
• Daniel Rosas – Game Designer/Composer
• Ed Kaminski – Product Manager/Artist
• Robert Onulak – Technical Director (on the far right in photo below)

Oh – look – they’re wearing their Sowlar shirts!  The mother of one of the team members does silk-screening and made them these shirts to wear.

During the planning stage, the team set a goal to have their video game put up on the DigiPen Game Gallery.  An intense, heart-throbbing video trailer gave us an early preview of Sowlar.

Hard work, long hours, dedication, perseverance to overcome obstacles and a strong desire to excel drove this team to succeed in their goal.  Sowlar earned its place in the DigiPen Game Gallery.  From the Game Gallery, you can download Sowlar to play.

Over the summer, Robert was contacted by an IndieCade representative.  DigiPen had submitted the game to IndieCade and the game was accepted!  WOW!  How exciting!  Sowlar would be showcased at a festival of independent games to be held Oct 1-4, 2009 in Culver City, CA and also the show in Europe.

As the festival approached, we learned that Sowlar was in the top 30 finalist list.  The day before IndieCade opened, Sowlar made the Top 10 list!  It was fun reading the write-up of Sowlar from Computer Graphics World.

Congratulations to Kyle, Daniel, Ed and Robert for your awesome achievement!

This layout comes together sooo quickly!  The large area on the left page can be used for the title and journaling….how will I use it?  Hmmm….you’re just going to have to check back to see.  I’m going to use the October Stamp of the Month – Holiday Warmth to embellish this layout.

***

To learn more about my Get More Done scrapbook clubs, to order any of the products used, or to find out more about joining my team, the Smile Patrol, visit my website: http://heleno.myctmh.com.

***

Have fun playing with this layout.  I’d love to see what you create!

1. Post the photos on my Facebook Fan Page - you can upload them into the photo album there.
2. Post the photos on your Facebook Wall or in your Facebook Photo Album – friend me so I can see them.  In the description, put a link to the scrapbook challenge.
3. Post on a public blog, and link here.
4. Post them on Splitcoaststampers (SCS).  For the keywords, please put: HOSSC27 and CTMH.

When you leave your comments, make sure you let us know where we can see YOUR creation!