Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - February: A Happy Hello

Welcome to the February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month’s set is A Happy Hello, a set of 15 stamps.

If you have come here from {Cat Nowak’s blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 60 independent Close to My Heart consultants participating. Click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move through the Hop.

The Blog Hop is a great big circle. Start here and work your way around. If you get lost along the way you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here. You can use this list to pick up where you left off.

Let’s see some artwork!

When it came to creating the swap assignments for our current round, we decided to do away with creating a 3-D Cricut item for a while. It’s been on our list for at least a couple years, so we’ve accumulated quite a few things that are harder to find a place for. That being said, one member suggested creating Picture My Life pages instead. We all agreed that this is a great idea!

Wouldn't you know that I was the first one to be assigned the Picture My Life cards? I was actually really happy about it because this stamp set is so perfect for PML cards! The paper packet we had to use was Hopscotch. It has such a pretty color palette that’s ideal for flowers and spring.

For my page I did a mixture of stamping techniques and embellished patterned paper. I also used Artfully Sent to cut one of the cards. 

Here is what I used. All products are Close to My Heart:

S1502 A Happy Hello stamp set
X7194B Hopscotch Paper Packet
1276 Ponderosa Pine Cardstock
1388 Colonial White Cardstock
Z2642 Flaxen Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2641 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2130 Indian Corn Blue Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2196 Smoothie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2191 Sunset Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z1986 Pink Shimmer Trim
Z1918 Teal Shimmer Trim
Z3016 Hopscotch Assortment
Z3012 Pathfinding Assortment
Z3038 Junebug Puffies
Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape
Z1912 Corner Rounder
Z1836 Non-Stick Micro-Tip Scissors
Z3017 Cricut® Artfully Sent Collection

Now “Hop” on over to {Lela Norris’ blog} to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant’s site to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don’t forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available through February 28th. Click here to order yours today!

Cricut® Artfully Sent: Scene Function

Close To My Heart’s Cricut® Artfully Sent cartridge is packed with beautiful and inspirational card concepts, including the “scene” function.

For more information on Artfully Sent, click here.

Cricut® Artfully Sent: Pop-Up Cards with Icons

Take a look at some eye-popping cards made with the Pop-up and Icon functions of Close To My Heart’s Cricut® Artfully Sent collection.

Want more details on the Artfully Sent bundle? Click here.

Special Edition Blog Hop: Year >> Noted

As you may know, January is National Papercrafting Month, and once again Close to My Heart has an exclusive kit for you! This means a special edition Blog Hop, too! This year we’re offering the Year >> Noted Paper Kit, which features a C-size stamp set, stickers, cardstocks, and B&T Duos™ papers.

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The Hop features more than 20 independent Close to My Heart consultants and showcases how they chose to work with this fun kit. If you have come here from Chris Lothian’s blog, you’re in the right place! 

The Blog Hop is a great big circle. Start here and work your way around. If you get lost along the way you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here. You can use this list to pick up where you left off.

Let’s begin!

While this kit was designed to coordinate with the My Creations™ kraft mini book, I decided to turn it into Picture My Life pages instead. I removed the zip strip and cut the B&T Duos and cardstock into 4x6 pieces, and then I used pieces from some of them to create pennant strips or to stamp on. I have my first page ready for photos and journaling and will continue to add more cards.

Click on image to view larger.

I used Desert Sand ink for all the stamping on this page.

Now “Hop” on over to Jacquelin Green's blog to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant’s blog to get some great crafting inspiration and other unique ideas! 

Here are the campaign details:

In celebration of National Papercrafting Month, Close To My Heart invites you to reflect on the things that make you who you are and on what you want to accomplish in the coming months. Then, with the help of the Year >> Noted paper kit, record your experiences and goals! During the month of January, with a qualifying purchase of $50, you are eligible to purchase the exclusive Year >> Noted paper kit (which has a retail value of over $24 USD / $27 CAD) for only $5—that’s over 80% off retail! Or, for an additional $5, you can order the Year >> Noted paper kit with an accompanying My Creations™ kraft mini book. The paper kit for both options includes a C-size stamp set, stickers, cardstocks, and B&T Duos™ papers, all specially designed to coordinate with the My Creations™ kraft mini book so you can have a yearlong scrapbooking experience. This means you will receive over $34 USD / $37 CAD worth of product for only $10 if you purchase the kit with the accompanying mini book! But the fun doesn’t end there—included on the sticker sheet, you will find a large golden seal. Once the year is done and all the pages are filled, seal up your book and create a mini time capsule that you can open years from now. Remember, this deal is only available for January, so make sure to get your own Year >> Noted paper kit today for the perfect start to a crafty year!

Offer valid January 1, 2015–January 31, 2015. Click here to order yours today!

Here is a list of suggested materials that you may want to order to compliment your kit:
CC1032 Year >> Noted Paper Kit
Z3044 My Creations™ Kraft Mini Book
Z2174 Champagne Exclusive Inks™ Pad
Z2118 Desert Sand Exclusive Inks™ Pad
Z2642 Flaxen Exclusive Inks™ Pad
Z2641 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Pad
Z2164 Sorbet Exclusive Inks™ Pad
Z2173 Slate Exclusive Inks™ Pad
Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen

Christmas Gifts

Happy New Year!

Now that Christmas has come and gone I can share a couple of the gifts I made for my family. I tried a new technique/product that I hadn't used before, but I was also able to use some things that I've had lying around for more than a year.

First up are these chalkboard mason jars. I received a lot of emails over several months with ideas for crafting with them. I didn't have time to try even a fraction of them, of course, but since I liked the chalkboard idea the most, it's the one I did.

Before I got started I used some blue painter's tape and wrapped it around the threaded part of the jars so that the lids would still screw on like they're supposed to. I covered my work area (outside) with a large piece of plastic, and then I found a box that I could stand on end and stand the jars in. Following the directions on the can of spray paint, I applied my first layer of chalkboard paint making sure to rotate each jar to cover the whole thing. Once the paint had dried for the appropriate amount of time, I added a second coat.

When everything was really dry I used a chalkboard marker to decorate the outside. I thought about cutting some tags or letters or something to hang from the twine but decided I liked the simple, rustic look of just using the twine.

Here is what I used:

• mason jars, twine and Krylon Chalkboard Paint all purchased at Michael's
• Chalk Marker from Close to My Heart

Next up are these chalkboard signs. I'd started working on them ages ago but couldn't get my idea to come together enough to get them done in the timeframe I was working with. A few months later this stamp of the month came along and I created a card with these houses and the sentiment. I knew then that I'd come up with the design for these signs.

Because I was using a design I'd already worked with, I still had the Cricut Craft Room file that I'd use to cut out the houses. All I had to do was choose my colors and cut! The embossing folders work so well that you can easily run 3 pieces of cardstock through at once, so I stacked the houses and did one run through with each of the folders I needed. I swiped two of the white houses across the Honey ink pad to add another color.

Cranberry, Olive, and White Daisy cardstock with brown stripe ribbon.

Slate, Whisper, and White Daisy cardstock with black stripe ribbon.

Cranberry, Olive and White Daisy cardstock with burlap ribbon.

Here is what I used:

• metal chalkboard signs purchased from Pick Your Plum
• Cranberry, Olive, Slate, Whisper, and White Daisy cardstock from Close to My Heart
• Stripe, Dot, and Quatrefoil Embossing Folders from Close to My Heart
•  Honey Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
• Chocolate Stripe, Black Stripe, and Burlap ribbon from Close to My Heart (retired)
• S1403 Happy Place stamp set from Close to My Heart (retired)

Thanks for visiting!