CTMH ?
 

I know most of you use SU but I was wondering about CTMH. I would love to know what are must haves...your faves etc.

TIA
Steph

I just bought Alfesco. $13.95 for a very cute stamp set. I also am getting Soul Mates which has some lovely hearts. I have been flipping through their catalog recently and was impressed by a lot of their saying stamps.

Their paperpacks are awesome, they have lots of pretty papers! I like the cardstock too for the white core, fun to distress:)

I would say first off, get an alphabet set! These are awesome, as you can put one or many letters on a block. You can get a blocks starter kit for just $29.95... Spell out names, or use the bigger alphas for titles. I also like the My Accents tubes; lots of great embellies for just $12.95. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the organizers: blocks, accents, eyelets, ribbon, they're all great... Gorgeous papers, and the new word puzzle sets are great, too. :o

Anne

I use a lot of CTMH products. I LOVE their paper packs, you get patterned paper along with matching cardstock (white core). I think CTMH acrylic blocks are the best, very comfortable to use. I like the big brads, my accent's, ribbon, and the color of cardstock and ink is so pretty... oh and the stamps are awesome too ;)

Their blocks are awesome. I love the finger groove in them. Makes it so much more comfortable.

I buy the 13 x 13 clear ziplock from them. I can put all the coordinating stuff for scarp pages in one and assemble later. I am a su! demo so I also use them to put together materials for SU! scrap workshops-one bag per person. I love CTMH scrap packs of paper and stickers for my own albums. They have more choices and are so pretty. I don't do acrylic stamps so quit buying when they changed to acrylic.

I am wanting to get their stapler. It rotates so you can put staples at different angles. I was considering trying their white core paper.

- CTMH Acrylic Blocks are the best I've ever used.
- Their stapler kicks some serious tushy.
- I am a fan of the new Word Puzzle stamps. They also have a great selection of alphas. My favorites are Sans Small Caps and Delightful.
- I love their classic die ink pads. The swivel top is easier to use than SU and the surfaces are flat. Also, they are formulated to give exceptional coverage to photopolymer stamps.
- Their texture cardstock has a nice feel and is white core.
- They have some wonderful organization pieces. For the record, SU pads do fit in the CTMH stamp pad cases.

Cons -
Their pattern paper is really thin.
Way too many kid images if you don't have kids - if you do great!

Thanks to all that have replied I enjoy reading what all you like. It has given me lots to think about.

Thanks again
Steph

Blocks--they are nice, I have used them, but I am cheap and TAC has blocks for a FRACTION of the cost.

Haven't tried their inks

I have their paper packs for scrapbooking...granted it is thin, but they do have GREAT GREAT (I have kids) scrapbooking papers and I like that they are thin b/c my layers don't get TOO thick when scrapping. Too often it is hard to find a company that carries boyish and girlish papers....nice to have found CTMH

I love that they have kid papers and that their packs have both CS and patterned, that is a Great idea

I have a Nursery Bash set that is great for making cards for kids bdays and Cherish which is a two step stamping Rose stamp set! LOVE THAT ROSE. You can see several examples of both in my gallery. The clear stamps are super WONDERFUL for 2 step stamping.

I also love their stamp of the month ideas (as TAC does also) and I have gotten two from CTMH, one called Snowfriends (snowmen that are super cute!! (again, samples in my gallery of those guys))


Hope some of this helps.

Steph,
I don't see that anyone mentioned their Embossing Powders. They are the best that I have used! IMO

I also agree with others that their acrylic blocks are very comfortable to use.
If you area Cuttlebug embosser, the CTMH white core paper is super. (also perfect for distressing)

I also like their scrapbookings kits. They can also be used for cardmaking... double your money on that! :)

Happy Shopping!

I agree with what everyone else has said:) The white core paper is super cool, I love to emboss it with my Cuttlebug and then sand it:) I've got lots of blocks from other companies and none can compare with CTMH blocks. Something no-one else mentioned is the embellishments, especially the metal ones like the hinges and Edge Anchors and also all the paper flowers, the Big Pinks are huge and so cool!! Plus of course the stamps are the best clear around;)

My favorite stamp set from ctmh is the Precious alphabet LOVE IT! It coordinates well with the stampin Up Well Worn alphabet too. I am also a big fan of all of their Vintage looking stamp sets. I think if it has vintage in the title I got the set ;). They are all well used too!

white core paper is nice, I haven't thought of that, bet it would be nice in embossing folders in a cuttlebug and slightly sanded to bring out the white background. I bought the alfresco set, loving the newer circle stamp sets

OMG! I'm so glad I read this thread! I just got a Cuttlebug machine for my birthday and then won a TON of CTMH stuff!

I'm going home after work to try the white core paper with my embossing folders! What a wonderful idea! Can't wait to see what it looks like!

Thanks for the idea! :p

Vickie

I ordered the Big Pinks and lost them... I couldn't find them anywhere. Then I was going through my CTMH stamps and came across them I totally forgot that they came packaged in the same sleeves that the stamps come in. I'm looking forward to using them now that I found them :p

I love the Alphabet sets -- you can spell out anything and get the exact placement you want. And I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the zip lock 13x13 bags!!

Check out the page I made using one of the Alpha sets here:

http://splitcoaststampers.com/galler...0&ppuser=94896

I do find that with clear stamps you don't have to press hard at all when stamping. After I figured out that....I was good with using the clear stamps. BUT...my favorite are still rubber mounted on wood :-D

A few of my favorite things are:
* the paper packs (I don't really think there are too many kid-flavored packs, but maybe what one considers a kid pack I don't).
* Jeanette's layout books (Cherish, Imagine, and the new Reflections).
* the clear stamps (I hadn't ever stamped before, so clear was awesome for me).
* the blocks - the groove is awesome.

Don't laugh at this, but I love the way their cardstock smells! But I'm the kind of person that loved the smell of ditto (mimeograph) machines. And I second or thrid or fourth that their acrylic blocks are the best.

Paula I love it too, I really love the small of the clear stamps too. Maybe just because it's like "Ahhhhhh... the smell of new stuff..." ;)

I just started using CTMH Papers and Stamps and have a really dumb Question but what is *white core paper*.. Is it the White Daisy Cardstock? I have been going back and forth in the Catalog trying to figure it out before I ask here and feel completly stupid but looked at everything white and nothing says Core Paper.. If it isn't the Cardstock can you tell me what Page it is in the Spring Catalog??
Thanks and again sorry to ask such a dumb Q.

Chris:

White core referrs to CTMH cardstock. It kind of looks like it's layered color on the outsides and a core of white inbetween. That's why it's really neat when you emboss then sand it -- the white core comes through the embossing with the color in the background (if that makes any sense....:)

Think of it like a sandwich, if you look at it from the side it's color, white, color. So when you tear it or sand it the white shows through, so it looks distressed or aged. It really makes dry embossing stand out!

Wow Thank you Ladies.. I will add some of the white Cardstock to my Wishlist.. I have a Cuttlebug and LOVE the embossing.. Can't wait to try it on this Cardstock..
Thanks again!

I hate to rock the boat here, but I just last week ordered from Close to My Heart for the first time. Not till after I placed my order did I realize that all their paper is white core. I dislike white core paper. I am a card maker and find the white core paper does not score and crease very well. It cracks and you see that ugly white line on the crease! I hate that look. I also don't like the white line showing on the edges of my cards.

Also, I am not a fan of sanding my embossings. So therefore the white core showing is not attractive to me.

I realize I am not with the majority in opinion on this thread, but these are my opinions.

I only ordered one pack of paper to see what the quality is like. I can always give it to someone.

I also ordered some ink from them to compare the quality to other ink I've purchased in store and from Stampin' Up.

They do carry the clear stamp mounting block size I was looking for.

Patti

Chris:

You need to order a colored cardstock to get the effect of the white core. White paper is white all the way through. It's the colors that really show the white core when you emboss or sand it.

I absolutely love CTMH...all of their stuff really. I'm another one that loves the smell of the paper (stamps too)! Their clear blocks are great and I love the case you can buy to keep them in. The Block Buddies are wonderful too. It's a repositional cling set (kind of like window clings) that you can stick on your blocks so that you have gridlines, but they also come in other shapes like circles, hearts, wavy lines. You can position a straight stamp along them to create a new shape (for example, you can make the perfect circle from a straight stamp).

I also love all of their embellishments but the stamps are the best acrylic stamps around. I usually spend enough each month to get the free stamp set too.

Nobody has mentioned their double scrubber to clean your clear stamps. I love that paired with their stamp cleaner. Does a good job. I water it down a bit so that it lasts longer.

Hi Patti....I feel the same about the white showing when folding for a card base. I think it looks cheap. Even with my wonderful ScorIt Board....after opening a card multiple times the white ends up cracking through. But...I do like to dry emboss and sand off to see the white. I understand that you don't care for that technique. Here is a suggestion that I think looks really really nice. If you like paper tearing or edge distressing....the white showing looks really good. Not saying it always does....but for lots of stuff it works great. Look at a sample of a card I made with the tearing and the white showing on the bottom at the link below:

http://splitcoaststampers.com/galler...0&ppuser=94896

This isn't CTMH paper...but it's the same white core stuff. So if you have patterned paper from CTMH there is hope :) If it's solid cardstock...then you probably won't have much use for it.

interesting
 

I have recently purchasesd my first CTMH core cardstock, and find this to be interesting information. So, I checked the catalog to see if it was evident with some of their samples; I noticed that some cards have sponging all around the edges, unique, giving it an antique look, or i would probably buy combo packs from now on, and just layer the front of a ivory or white cardstock card, as I love layered cards, but am intriqued by the white core cardstock to use it for the reasons above-tearing and sanding embossing folders, nice look. I recently pruchased my scor-pal with the TAC half price sale, so I will have to try it with the CTMH cardstock. thanks for opinions great thread. I also love the edge anchors and clear buttons

I understand if you don't like the look of the white core but I rarely have a problem with the "spines" of my cards cracking and the white showing through using the CTMH cardstock. You can go to my gallery and see that every base of all my cards uses CTMH CS and I think they look just fine.

I just had a CTMH workshop in Saturday- there are things i like and dislike about CTMH.
I think cardstock- for cards-Stampin Up is better- its thicker and i agree on the comment about using CTMH cardstock for cards- the crease cracks and you see the white core...I don't care for that either.
Using their cardstock for scrapping- its fine...
I do really like their papers- they have some REALLY pretty papers out right now!
I just bought a scrapbook album from my party- never tried a CTMH one (or a post bound) I have all CM strap hinge scrapbooks...
so i will have to see what i think on it.

I like their embellishments...cute stuff!
I like their letter stamps- its so easy to line everything up!

~sara

I've seen some ctmh consultants post in here so I thought I would ask if any of you know of any online stamp clubs that are going to be starting soon?

I've only found one so far but was a little uneasy of all of the other charges she was putting on it. The SU! one I did only did like 2% extra.

Anirok,
I just emailed you about my clubs. I always have new ones forming.

Suz
http://www.suzastampin.com

Karen was so nice and send me a few pieces of CTMH Cardstock and I embossed 1 right away.. (Thank you Karen, sent you a message as well) I have to say I like the white showing thru some but I am so used to SU Cardstock that I find this 1 too thin... For Dry Embossing it is great though!!! My Friend will like this Cardstock though as SU's is too thick for her.. Tastes differ :)
Have a Happy Easter everyone

No one mentioned yet all of the ownderful colros of organdy ribbon CTMH has- I went there when SU stopped selling organdy. Stamping with acrylics is certainly different than rubber, so not really a comparison. The images are different, different designers and probably different characteristics of the medium. The stapler is wonderful since it swivels and I can do the centers of folded cards at the right angle. Tehy now are selling a set of layovers for their blocks with lots of ines on them for lining up letters and words correctly. That will be on my next order!

I have just recently gotten into CTMH. I still am VERY partial to my SU! stams but I do like their products. One thing I like is they seem to have a bit more of a selection on kids stamps. I also like their level 2 paper packs. The ribbon stacks are fun....I am in a splurge and just ordered some. Also, I like that some of their colors are very different from SU. THe white core paper is nice, but for me it is only good for scrapping. I am not a fan of the white core on my cards. But that is just me.
Oh, and at the last splurge I found out why my images weren't that crisp and clean. Apparently I am the last to know that when you stamp your image, you should have that foamy piece from the stamp set under the paper you are stamping on.

I love their blocks! I haven't tried too much yet but I would like to try their ink and see how it compares to Su