Gone, gone, gone, she been gone so long....

* Extra credit if you can name the band in my post's title. ;)

Happy 2011! I can't believe I've been M.I.A. since the middle of November - geesh! I guess I've been busy doing everything but blogging. Oh well, c'est la vie! Life's been busy, holidays were great, three more craft bazaars under my belt and the boys are all rested up and back to school (wish I could say the same for myself on that "rested up" comment).

Since my next several posts are going to be all over the place, date wise, I guess I'll start with some photos of my latest card workshop. I hosted one on Sunday afternoon and then repeated it again Tuesday night. I had 8 people join me on Sunday and 4 on Tuesday night, both great groups of people (as always). Makes all of the prep time and late nights worth it. :)

I'm not going to be doing a February workshop (I'm going away for a crafty retreat - soo excited! It's my first time doing something like that.), so I tried to make most of the projects Valentine/love themed to give the attendees some fun ideas for the upcoming holiday.

The new Close to My Heart Spring/Summer Idea Book goes live on February 1st, so I decided to use all new papers and stamps to give everyone a sneak peek.
(*Make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see links to more blogs featuring artwork made with the New CTMH papers and stamps.)

Card number one:








This style of card is called a Diagonal Double Pocket card. We used the new "Wings" paper pack (lots of butterflies) and we used the January Stamp of the Month called "Find Your Style". Added some ribbon and of course a couple little sparkles for some added bling.

Card number two:







This second card is a Cris-Cross card. We used the new paper called "Sophia", it's my favorite in the new catalog. The stamp set is called "Circle Together" and has some other cute, circular designs that work perfectly with our 1 1/4" punch. We also used our new 2" Scallop Circle punch to add some dimension to the front of the card. I'm copying this same design for a card swap that I'm participating in next month. If you're one of the fellow participants, sorry for the spoiler.

Card number three:





Isn't this a cutie? This card uses one of the papers from the new "Sweetheart" paper pack. We made a fun little paper pleat to go under the darling stamped image. I just love those little toddler silhouettes! That image comes from a set called "Baby Love". The sentiments are from a stamp set full of different little love sentiments. It's called "Card Chatter - Love". I did a variation of this card for another swap I participated in, but I'm not posting a photo of that card until the other participants receive theirs in the next few days.

Project number four:



We made 3 cards this workshop and created some treat holders as well. This was a simple little candy bar holder. We used the "Sweetheart" paper as well and also used the "Card Chatter - Love" stamp set again for the heart image. I thought this could be paired up with the last card for a cute little gift combo.



Project number five:



This is a "bag-a-lope" - a little bag made out of an envelope. I've done these in past workshops, but it's such a handy little technique I wanted to do it again. It's just a great inexpensive way to wrap up a little treat or gift card. This little bag started out as an envelope for a 5x7 card. Just do some cutting, scoring, folding, add a little decorating on the front and voila, easy peasy, a fun little bag.

We used the new "Spray Pen" to spritz a little color and shimmer on the card stock. Just add a drop or two of Pearl Paint, some re-inker and some rubbing alcohol, shake it up and spray. After a few minutes of drying time we used the stamp set called "A Game" to add the little tic-tac-toe images and the words Happy Valentine's Day came from the "A Little Everything" set (formerly a 2010 Stamp of the Month).

Project number six:





Lastly, I saw this idea on a fellow consultant's blog (Karen Pedersen). She used these little 1x8" clear bags (from clearbags.com) and filled with M&Ms. Everyone got to add their own M&Ms to their bag and I gave each person a little stamp set called a "Petite Perk". They used their new stamps to create their own tags with some scraps I put on the table. Each person's came out different and they were all great!

I always forget to take photos during my workshops, but Tuesday night I finally remembered. Here are the 4 ladies crafting away...





* I just discovered a blog hop hosted by another CTMH consultant Erin, so I joined. Check out the links below to see more CTMH consultant bloggers and their creations using some of the new products coming available on February 1st. Have fun hopping and let me know if you have any questions.