March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

 

 

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

We are featuring the March Stamp of the Month - called Choose Happy...it is jammed packed with 14 individual stamp images.  If you have come here from Tracey Pierce's blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here with me and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog - simply click here.

This month we have 70  Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations featuring the Stamp of the Month combined with lots of other wonderful Close To My Heart products. Be sure to check out all the fabulous art work everyone has to share - just click on the link at the end of this post to begin the journey!

Each month I sing the praises of the Stamp of the Month concept and the stamp sets Close To My Heart have on offer...  not only can you purchase them at a discount price but they are some of the most versatile stamp sets you will find. The images in this set contain lots of whimsical curly cues and scallops that can be both funky and fun or sweet and classical... as you will see from the cards I am sharing today.

Both these cards are based on Sketch Pattern 25 in the Make It from Your Heart - Volume 2 - "how to" book - a fabulous resource for inspiration at your fingertips!!

This card combines a number of different paper packs - Heartstrings, Hopscotch and the Fundamentals Whimsy Assortment . I have also teamed 2 of my favourite Hostess Rewards Stamp Sets  - "A Thing Well Done" (Butterfly) &  "Variety of Thanks" ... these sets are featured in the current Seasonal Expressions Idea Book/Catalogue which will retire at the end of March... with the sentiments and frame from the Choose Happy set - they all worked so well together.

My 2nd card although based on the same card pattern is much more bold and contemporary in design. All the stamped images were stamped in Archival Black Ink and coloured with ShinHan Touch Twin Markers - colours used: Peony Purple, Leaf Green,Tender Pink and Cherry Pink. The flower embellishments are images from the Lovely Birthday with Clear Sparkles in the centres. The dotted paper used can be found in the Brushed Paper Pack and the striped paper in the Scaredy Cat Paper Pack the colours co-ordinated beautifully with the colours of the markers.

Thanks for visiting my blog and taking a "peek" at my card projects..... and if you haven't already been there?? -  now is the time to "Hop" on over to Judy Faye Garners's  blog and see the art work she has created for you... don't forget to visit all the other Consultants at their blogs to view some great crafting inspiration and fun ideas! Remember, the Stamp of the Month is only available until the end of February!  Contact your Close To My Heart Consultant (or click here) to see how you can purchase this stamp set and receive a discount!....order now and create your own "Happy" masterpieces!

 

Friday Friend Feature #17

My lovely crafting friend and team member Alicia has been working her magic once again... she has created these cards entirely from the left-over pieces and scraps from her other paper craft projects and they are awesome! They really show how far you can stretch your crafting budget.

This card has been pieced together from the design cards in the Picture My Life™ Chantilly Scrapbooking Program. Alicia has teamed them with a sentiment from the Happy to Be Friends stamp set, some Flamingo Dots and Pixie Extra Thick Twine. (...and just to let you in on a little secret, there will be more colours in this thick twine range being released soon - Woo Hoo!)

...and while you may have thought the Yuletide Carol paper pack was only something you used with Christmas projects - think again! Alicia has used some of her scraps from this paper pack to create the background for this lovely card. The paper pieced tree was made using Kraft Cardstock and a small piece of green and white spotted paper from the Brushed Paper Pack ... and again the sentiment comes from the Happy to Be Friends stamp set.



Have a great crafty weekend and thanks for stopping by today....

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #95

Today I am celebrating my 200th blog post ( yah me!!! ) and sharing a Birthday card created for a special friend... based on this week's  sketch over on the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge Blog...

This is the current sketch:

I chose to rotate the sketch and alter the position of the sentiment placement.

 

 I have a real addiction for making paper flowers and the "star" of this card is certainly the 3D flower. It was created from shapes found on the Art Philosophy Cricut Collection. The floral shapes were cut from Crystal Blue and Glacier cardstock. They  were then distressed and definition & folds were added using an Embossing Tool and curved Tweezers. A Grey Epoxy Bubble was placed in the centre of the flower creation which was then adhered to the card design using Foam Tape to give it a little extra height.

 

Don't forget to pop on over to the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and take a peek at all the inspiring ideas the Design Team as for you - play along with us and post your creations based on this sketch too... it is a lot of fun!
 

Friday Friend Feature #16

Today I am sharing some gorgeous Valentine cards created by the equally lovely Alicia. This set of 4 cards was made using papers from both the Heartstrings and Brushed collections. The "Love You" sentiment can be found in the Happy to Be Friends stamp set which is jammed packed with sentiments for all occasions.

Alicia followed the same design format for each of these cards but by altering the placement of the embellishments each card has it's own individual look. The selection of embellishments are all available in the Close To My Heart product range - Heartstrings Assortment, Pixie Extra Thick Twine, Red Enamel Hearts, Stuck on You Puffies and Shimmer Trim. The lace doily is a die-cut template that Alicia has amongst her personal collection however, you can reproduce a similar look with shapes from the Art Philosophy Cricut Collection. My suggestion would be the Font Layer found on page 68 of the Art Philosophy booklet.

If you would like create your own version of these cards simply follow the sketch below - Alicia and I would love to see what you come up with and you are welcome to post your finished cards to my Facebook Page... and while the cards showcased today were created with Valentine's Day in mind this sketch can be adapted to suit any theme you wish.

I hope your tomorrow is full of love and romance and you find some time for some crafty playtime over the weekend!

Friday Friend Feature #15

Today's post isn't actually a "Friend Feature" it is more a "Family Feature"!!... and while it doesn't showcase cards or scrapbook layouts it is still full of papercraft fun.

I subscribe to the theory that the "family who plays together - stays together" and over the past few weeks we have been doing lots of playing!... helping my youngest daughter prepare her class room and play based learning centre.

My daughter is a Primary School teacher, teaching Grade 1/2 (6-8yr olds). This year she has gone with a jungle theme for her classroom and the play based learning centre features a travel agency role play area, where the children will discover all things travel related - exploring other countries, building their own famous landmarks etc etc. As a family we have had a lot of fun assisting her create fun and colourful learning environments for her students.

Many of the objects we have made are a combination of recycled materials and Close To My Heart products.... my consultant discount has come in very handy! The jungle theme came together with twisted brown paper vines... along with 3D flowers and butterflies all cut from the Art Philosophy Cricut Collection and the fabulous array of CTMH Cardstock Colours.

Everything was adhered together with Bonding Memories Glue - an all-purpose glue stick with large foam applicator... it is perfect for safely bonding photographs, artwork, and so much more. It creates both permanent and temporary bonds and is acid free. Perfect for children to use too!

Another favourite Close To My Heart adhesive choice of mine is Liquid Glass - my husband used it when he made the cute little mail box and it was ideal for adhering the bottle tops and buttons to the cardboard cameras and for the straps on my paper suitcases. Close To My Heart is certainly a "one stop tool shop"...  everything we needed to create the classroom artefacts are included in the product range -  the Score Board, Deluxe Paper Trimmer, Corner Rounder, Mini Stapler and Micro-Tip Scissors - just to name a few!

My 80 year old Dad has also put his crafty skills to practise and re-purposed my daughter's childhood timber bed to create the lemonade stand that has become a Travel Agency - we certainly are a family who plays together and loves crafty playtime!

If you have family or school teacher friends who love crafty playtime then becoming a Close To My Heart consultant may be just what they need. There is nothing quite like having all your crafting materials/tools at your fingertips and at a discounted price!! I would like to offer readers of my blog the chance to go in the draw to win a $75 bundle of crafty goodness simply by referring a friend to join my consultant team. To find out more about becoming a Close To My Heart consultant click here or email me at lotfam@iinet.net.au

Have a great weekend - I hope it is full of crafty playtime!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #93

Today I am sharing a card that was created for the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge Blog...

This is the current sketch:

It is a great sketch to follow for those of you who like clean classical designs. I created my card by focusing on the two basic design elements - the sentiment label and the image/floral icon.

I created the flowers using stamps from two of the new sets from Close To My Heart ...  A Bunch of Thanks  and the current Stamp of the Month - A Happy Hello. The floral images were then fussy cut and adhered to the card with 3D - Foam Tape. Next I folded the petals of each flower inwards, this gave the flowers more depth and dimension, making them a little more realistic in appearance... the centre of each flower was embellished with a nice sparkly Gold Bling Gem. The stems/leaves were cut from the Cricut Art Philosophy Collection as was the label embellishment. The sentiment I used can also be found in the A Bunch of Thanks stamp set - there are 17 individual images in this set... amazing value! The background was embossed with Diamond Embossing Folder which is one of 4 new folders found in the Seasonal Expressions - Idea Book/Catalogue.


 Don't forget to pop on over to the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and take a peek at all the inspiring ideas the Design Team as for you - play along with us and post your creations based on this sketch too... it is a lot of fun!