October Stamp Of The Month: Scandinavian Wishes

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We are featuring October's SOTM, which is Scandinavian Wishes, a set of 12 stamps.  If you have come here from Jean McNulty's Blog , you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants here. 

This month we have 58 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I made 2 cards using this stamp set, and couldn't decide which one I liked the best so decided to share them both with you.

This first card I used a Frosted paper, Twilight and Ruby Cardstock, as well as a piece of Whisper for the sentiment.  I also cut the image that cooresponds with the stamp from the Art Philosophy cartridge.  I also stamped the sentiment Happy Holidays on the Twilight and Ruby cardstock with the matching ink for a tone on tone to create my own background paper.  The image and sentiment are popped up using 3D foam tape.

 My second card is made using Whisper and Twilight Cardstock and Frosted paper.  I again made my own background paper using the words Joy, Love, Peace and Hope and stamped in the matching ink for the tone on tone look.  I stamped the ornament image using Twilight Pigment Ink and added clear embossing powder and heat set it.  I punched a hole through the card, and tied the ornament using bakers twine.  The image stamped on the Twilight cardstock is a border stamp, and I stamped that in Twilight ink as well as the sentiment.

List of Products used:

• Frosted Paper Packet (X7175B)
• Ruby Cardstock (X5827)
• Twilight Cardstock (X5666)
• Whisper Cardstock (X5929)
• Ruby Ink (Z2170)
• Twilight Ink (Z2160)
• Whisper Ink (Z2172)
• Art Philosophy (Z1686)
• Neutral Twine (Z1701)

Now "Hop" on over to Nancy Womersley's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the October SOTM is only available until the 31st!  Contact your CTMH Consultant or visit my website by clicking here to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

Chantilly Fabric Flowers

Wow, here we are on sketch #22, it has been so much fun creating artwork using my sketches as well as sketches created by our design team.  This weeks sketch is one of my own, and I had trouble with this one, as my original plan was to use buttons and the verse "cute as a button".  I had to change it up....so with a bit of thought and some humming and hoeing, I decided to just go for it.

Here is the sketch for this week:  

Here is what I created:

I started with Buttercup cardstock, one of the colours in the Chantilly paper(X7163B), as my base, it is cut 12x6 to create my 6x6 card.  I then pulled another colour from the Chantilly, Twilight and used that as a mat for the Pear patterned paper from the Chantilly collection.  I used the verse Hugs Kisses and Best Wishes from National Stamping Month's Promotional Campaign, You are My Happy(CC1025), and stamped it using the Archival Black Ink.  Using the Chantilly Textiles(Z1819), I cut 16 1 1/2" circles, and used 4 circles per flower. Then are folded twice to create the wedge and then added the cute metal flowers as the centers.

I hope you will take the time, to hop on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and view the design teams creations.  We have some very talented designers, and you will truly inspired by their work.

The Promotional Trio Stamp Set can be yours for just $10 when you have a qualifying purchase of $50. The stamps have a value of $47.90, so that is a savings of $37.90.

To purchase any of the supplies seen to make any of the artwork featured you can visit my website, or you can contact me to set up your own party where you can earn Free product.

You are my Happy meets Sarita AHSC #21

Today's card comes from one of my own sketches.  I have a whole binder full of them.  Darla says I have enough to get us to our fifth year.  I hope you will take the time to go check out the Design Team creations after reading my post, because we have a really talented Design Team, and they work really hard to create amazing artwork to inspire you.  So once you hit the end of my post click on the link to take you to the design team and their artwork.

Here is my sketch:

Here is what I created:

 I used the Sarita(X7171B) paper for my card and added some Silver Shimmer Trim.  Then using September's Constant Campaign, "You are My Happy", a set of 3 D-sized stamps, I stamped the butterfly twice on White Daisy Cardstock using Black Archive Ink, and then pulling the colours from the Sarita paper coloured both butterflies the same.  I then layered them ontop of each other to add dimension.  I also used the sentiment You are my Happy, and stamped it in Black Pigment Ink, and heat embossed it using clear embossing powder.

Close up of the butterfly.

You can purchase your own Trio Stamp set, "You Are My Happy" for only $10 with a qualifying purchase of $50.  You can purchase this by contacting your local CTMH consultant or by shopping with me here:

Don't forget to visit our Design Team over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.  We'd love for you to play along, so grab this weeks sketch and get inky!

September with Jeanette's Archived Stamps Blog Hop

Welcome to our September Blog Hop featuring Jeanette's Archived Stamps. You will see creations from our participants that will include 1 of 5 stamp sets that Close To My Heart has taken out of Jeanette's Archieved collection.  To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop! 

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as I am the first stop on this hop.

I choose to use Teddy Bear Birthday (A1143) which retails for only $6.95.

I used Proplayer Paper and Ruby Cardstock for this card. I added a strip of Silver Shimmer Trim to give it a pop. I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment in Archival Black Ink, as well as all the images. Using the Archival Black Ink will help prevent smudges when colouring with the Alchohol Markers.

I used multiple shades of brown to colour in the teddy bear, Chocolate, Cocoa and Saddle. I used the Blending pen along with the Ink Pads to add the colour to our cute teddy bear. The cake, presents, party hat and the 1 are all coloured using the Alcohol Markers. Pacifica, Outdoor Denim, Ruby, Slate, Whisper and a few others were used for fine details. I used the mini glue dots to add the layered look to the presents, and bear as well as the party hat and cake.

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Darla of "Caution: Crafting is Contagious".

 If you get lost along the way, you can head back here as I have the entire list of hoppers posted.

• Michelle ~My Creations With Michelle You are here
• Darla ~ Caution: Crafting is Contagious Next Stop
• Rosalynd ~In My Scrappin Room
• Arlene ~ Arlene's Creative Space
• Sheri  ~ Sheri's Crafty Classroom
• Carol ~ Crafty Carol's Place
• Cheryl ~ Scrapbooking with Cheryl
• Brandy ~ Canadian Scrappers
• Terry Ann~It's My Garage -- I Can Craft In It
• Ashley ~ Be"HOOT"iful Scrapbooking
• Janet ~ Jan's Works of Heart
• Nancy ~Nancy Klein
• Chantal ~ It's a Hoot Papercrafts

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. Join us again in October when we will be featuring the Base and Bling line.  We hope you will join us again on November 15th.

If you would like to purchase any of the items used to make this card you can shop on my website, or contact me via email, or contact your own local consultant.

Poster Tidings Blog Hop

Welcome to our September Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  This month's stamp from Close to My Heart is "Poster Tidings" and is available exclusively through your Close to My Heart consultant from September 1 - 30, 2013.  This month, you can receive this stamp set for $5 with a qualifying purchase.

If you don't already have a Consultant that you are currently working with, please contact one of the Consultants in our hop with any questions you have!

If you have just hopped onto my blog, please start at the beginning at Darla's blog – Crafting is Contagious . If you came from Pam's Crafty Creations then you are in the rightplace!

Here is my project, I made a card featuring the word Family.

This past week has been emotionally hard and very draining for me. One of my very good friends is hospitalized with terminal bone cancer, she has been given at minimum 3 weeks. She is my age, and has 2 young boys, 9 and 6. So I wanted to remind you all how important family is, and that even when times are hard, your family is always there to support you. I am very blessed to have an amazing family. Count your blessings, and please can you all say a prayer for my friend and her family.

Supply List:

Huntington Paper
White Cardstock
Honey Cardstock
Barn Red, Autumn Terracotta and Goldrush Ink
3D Foam Tape

I am the last stop on this hop, but if you are just starting with me, you can now hop to the beginning and start with Darla.

Here is the entire lineup in case you get lost along along the way:

1. Darla ~ Crafting is Contagious 
2. Amber ~ Scrapper's Therapy
3. Rebecca - Show Me Scrapping
4. Jennifer ~ 4 Hearts Scrapbooking 
5. Janna - The Creative Princess
6. Pam ~ Pam's Crafty Creations 
7. Michelle ~ My Creations With Michelle You Are Here

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you.

Perfect 10 For Sketch #20

This week once again I had the challenge of creating a card from a sketch that is not mine.  Sketch #20 is designed by Anna-Carin.  After checking out my creation using this sketch please hop on over to the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge to see what our design team has created using this sketch.

I couldn't decide what I wanted to create, and got playing around with Paisley Perfect(C1556).  I also decided that I wanted to make a puddle pad.  Now if you are asking what is a puddle pad, and how do I make one I've posted this video with Kristine.

So here is my card design.  After making my puddle pad with the following re-inkers: Blush, Buttercup, Crystal Blue and Sweet Leaf, I laid out the stamps randomly on my 4x5 block to make the the pattern seen above.  Then inked up my stamps.  I then cut into squares, and used my corner rounder to round my edges.  Then I balled up my baby wipes and dabbed a sheet of White Daisy CS to make my own coloured paper.  I was an inky mess, but it was a ton of fun.  I hope you leave this post wanting to make your very own puddle pad and get inky.  

To purchase any of the supplies used above you can shop on my website or by contacting me to place an order.

School is here!

So the first week of school is complete. I officially have a young lady in the 4th grade.  The night before the first day back, she asked me if I would make her new teacher a card.  She flipped through my Idea Book and said mommy can you make this one.(found on page 100)
I told her lucky for her, that yes I could because I have the stamp set used for making this car, School Is Here(B1407).

Now, I didn't make it exactly like the card in the Idea Book, but it was close enough, that she was happy, and I didn't really want to be crafting at 9pm when I was stressing over whether or not I had got everything she needed for school supplies.

Here I am with my oldest, Jaymee on the first day of school.  She is growing up, and turning into quite the young lady........

Endless Summer 3-Ring Artbooking Album

So about 3 days ago I decided that I needed to make an album for my families summer pictures.  I rummaged through my craft room and found the new 3-Ring Kraft Binder, and so my creation became inspired.  I chose a selection of cardstock colours and started cutting pages to put in the album.

So in the above photo you will see that I'm cutting multiple images at the same time.  One of the features of the new Artbooking Cartridge is that once you choose your page size everything you select will cut to coordinate to fit that page.  Carly explains in much better detail in this video.

So here is the cover to my Endless Summer Album.  Once I complete my album, I will share my pages with you.  

Stay tuned in for more of my artbooking projects, cards and so much much more.

Deck the Halls with Sketch #19

Hello everyone, today I get to show you a sketch from one of our Design Team members, Carrie Wright.  So this was a little challenging for me, as I didn't have any idea what to make with her sketch.  When I create a sketch I write down what I have planned for it as I sketch; colours, paper, accessories.  So using Carrie's sketch was a bit of a challenge for me.  Here is her sketch:

So I sat for awhile, pondering, I didn't want to use hearts, since all my designs are exactly like my sketches, I wanted to do something a little different.  Here is what I came up with.

I started with a white Daisy card base, and added a piece of New England Ivy cardstock, wrapping a piece of Ruby Chevron Ribbon(Z1846) about 1 1/4" from the left side.  Then stamping the ivy image multiple times in Black Archival Ink, I coloured them in with Cranberry, Ruby, and New England Ivy Alcohol Markers.  Next I trimmed them all out and staggered them along the ribbon.  There are 2 layers, the first is adhered directly to the card base, the top layer is popped using 3D Foam Tape.  Next I used the sentiment Deck the Halls, and stamped it in Black Pigment Ink and added Clear Embossing Powder.  All stamps came from the New Yuletide Greetings stamp set (D1553) found in the Autumn/Winter Idea Book.

To purchase the materials used to make this card, you can visit my website, or you can contact me to set up a gathering where you can earn FREE product.

Now don't forget to head on over to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge to see what our Design Team has created this week.