Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - July: Sweet Life

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month we’re featuring the July set Sweet Life, a set of 9 stamps. If you have come here from Haley Dyer‘s blog, you’re in the right place! There are more than 50 independent Close to My Heart consultants sharing artwork made using the Stamp of the Month and other great Close to My Heart products. Hopping is simple to do – just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one.

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.

Off we go!

This month I was able to use this card for two projects: the Blog Hop and my monthly card swap. The tricky part was that with the card swap I have guidelines to follow. I had to figure out how to use the Surf’s Up paper with detailed images of fruit!

In the end I decided to use the stamp with the peaches and the floral patterned paper. I think the little flowers in the paper look a lot like the peach blossom on the branch!  

Here's what I used. All products are Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:

S1307 Sweet Life stamp set

Z1375 Kraft Cardstock

X71638B Surf’s Up paper packet

Z2111 Chocolate Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z1760 Burlap Ribbon

Z1336 Mocha Opaques Adhesive Gems

Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

Now “Hop” on over to Melissa Laverty’s blog to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant’s blog to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don’t forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available through July 31st! Contact me to get yours today!

October Stamp of the Month - Very Merry Christmas

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This time around we're featuring the October set Very Merry Christmas, a set of 11 stamps. If you have come here from Karen Fullam’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 around. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here.

We have another great group of over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creativity using the October Stamp of the Month and other great CTMH products on their blogs. Hopping 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!

 

 

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in a monthly Stamp of the Month swap group, and each member is assigned a paper pack. I got the luck of the draw this month because I was given Pear & Partridge to use. Such beautiful paper! Here is my card:

 

 

Supply list:

S1210 Very Merry Christmas stamp set

X7162B Pear & Partridge Level 2 Paper Packet

1388 Colonial White cardstock (base)

Z2137 Olive Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2116 Cranberry Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2111 Chocolate Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z1615 Designer Ribbon Red Collection

Z1487 Mini-Medley Accents Pewter Collection

Z1361 Red Brad Assortment

Z1769 Glitz Glitter Gel Almond

Z1770 Glitz Glitter Gel Pink

Z1771 Glitz Glitter Gel Pear

Z1484 Glitz Glitter Gel Red

Z1686 Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge

I’m not one who likes to use much glitter, but every now and again I find it comes in handy and adds that special touch a project needs. We have so many great colors now that they were perfect for decorating the tree and gifts in the stamped image.

Price of Paper group swap cards:

 

 

Monumental Moments group swap cards:

 

 

Now "Hop" on over to Jean McNulty’s blog to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant's blog to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don't forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available thru October 31st! Contact me to get yours today!

July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Live Out Loud

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This time around we're featuring the July set Live Out Loud, a set of 8 stamps. If you have come here from Jean’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 around. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here.

There are over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the May Stamp of the Month and other great CTMH products on their blogs. Hopping 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!

Something I’ve been trying to do when papercrafting is to kill two birds with one stone. I was able to do just that when it came to this month’s hop. I needed a graduation card for a couple of young ladies, so I wanted to create both my swap and cards I could get in the mail to them. I felt like the “soar” sentiment from this stamp set would work perfectly, so this is what I came up with:

Supply list:

S1207 Live Out Loud stamp set

X7153B Florentine Level 2 Paper Packet

1388 Colonial White cardstock

Z2114 Cocoa Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2160 Twilight Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z1489 Mini-Medley Accents Olive Collection

Z1487 Mini-Medley Accents Pewter Collection

Z1686 Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge

To create the card I distressed the edges of all the B&T with Cocoa ink. To stamp the “soar” image, I put about half of the stamp in Cocoa ink, and then I used a sponge dauber to apply Twilight ink to the other half of the stamp. I chose to use one of the patterned papers in the packet for the base of the butterflies to give them some texture. I liked how the curve in the Olive cardstock helped to give the illusion of the butterflies taking flight.

Here are the cards created by all of the ladies in our swap group:

Now "Hop" on over to Judy Faye’s blog to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant's blog to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don't forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available thru July 31st! Contact me to get yours today!

June Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Life is Tweet

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This time around we're featuring the June set Life is Tweet, a set of 15 stamps. If you have come here from Heather Jane’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 around. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here.

There are over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the May Stamp of the Month and other great CTMH products on their blogs. Hopping 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!

Close to My Heart has so many great card bases to choose from, so for June I chose to work with the 8” x 3 ½” Colonial White Die Cut Cards. I also decided to use a card pattern we were given at LeaderShare in Omaha back in March. I just updated it to use the Victory papers and the Life is Tweet stamp set. Here is my card:

Supply list:

S1206 Life is Tweet stamp set

X7150B Victory Level 2 Paper Packet

Z1738 Colonial White Die Cut Cards & Envelopes (3 ½” x 8”)

Z2111 Chocolate Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2104 Barn Red Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z1371 Buttons Blue Assortment

Z1081 Colonial White Waxy Flax

Z1294 Sanding Kit (block)

Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

Z1686 Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge

To create the card I distressed the edges of the card base and all of the B&T with Chocolate ink. I used the sanding block to distress the edge of the Barn Red cardstock I stamped the bird first on the card, and then on the Chocolate patterned B&T. I cut this one out and used 3-D Foam Tape to pop it up. The scalloped square for the sentiment was cut out on my Cricut, and it is also popped up with 3-D Foam Tape.

Here are the cards created by all of the ladies in our swap group:

Now "Hop" on over to Erin’s blog to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant's blog to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don't forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available until June 30th! Contact me to get yours today!

May Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Treasured Friend

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This time around we're featuring the May set Friendship Bouquet, a set of 8 stamps. If you have come here from Jean'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 around. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here.

There are over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the May Stamp of the Month and other great CTMH products on their blogs. Hopping 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!

This month I not only wanted to feature the Stamp of the Month, I also wanted to highlight our fun Clear Cards. I found using this more challenging that combining the Pemberley papers with the stamp set. Here is my card:

Supply list:

S1205 Friendship Bouquet stamp set

X7148B Pemberley Level 2 Paper Packet

Z1309 Clear Cards 4 ½” Assortment

Z2111 Chocolate Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2118 Desert Sand Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2120 Garden Green Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2162 Honey Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z1368 Metal Bitty Brads Assortment

1771 Water Brush

Z697 Sponge

Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

Z1686 Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge

And here are the cards created by all of the ladies in our swap group:

Now "Hop" on over to Carol's blog to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant's blog to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don't forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available until May 31st! Contact me to get yours today!

January SOTM Blog Hop - Little Reminder

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This time around we're featuring the January set Little Reminder, a set of 25 stamps. If you have come here from Dawn'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 around. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here.

There are over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the January Stamp of the Month and other great CTMH products on their blogs. Hopping 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!

This time my assigned paper packet from my swap group was Roxie, which features Black, Tulip, Smoothie, and Desert Sand. I decided I didn't want my card to be for anything specific, so I didn't choose a date. I left the options open so that when I or my fellow swappers are ready to use the card, we can customize it for the occasion.

  

Here is my supply list:

X7140B Roxie Level 2 Paper Packet
S1201 Little Reminder
1388 Colonial White Cardstock (card base)
Z2105 Black Exclusives Inks stamp pad
Z1366 Metal Brad Assortment (Pewter)
Z1615 Designer Ribbon Red Collection
Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

Here are all the cards the members of our swap groups made. What a great assortment of designs!

Now "Hop" on over to Krista's blog to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant's blog to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don't forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available until January 31st! Contact me to get yours today!

December SOTM Blog Hop - Mad About You

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring the December SOTM Mad About You, a set of 14 stamps. If you have come here from Nikka'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 around. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here.

There are many Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the December Stamp of the Month and other great CTMH products on their blogs. Hopping 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'm part of a Stamp of the Month Swap group, and each member has been assigned a specific paper packet for each month. For December I had to use Typeset, which features Black, Juniper, Vineyard Berry, and Creme Brulee. Based on the theme of the stamp set I decided to make a rather non-traditional Valentine's Day card.

Here is my supply list:

X7139B Typeset Level 2 Paper Packet
S1112 Mad About You
1388 Colonial White Cardstock
1301 Bamboo Cardstock
X5910 Dark Red Shade Pack
Z2157 Vineyard Berry Exclusives Inks stamp pad
Z2114 Cocoa Exclusives Inks stamp pad
Z1487 Pewter Mini-Medley Accents Collection
Z1366 Metal Brad Assortment (Pewter)
Z1102 Colonial White Grosgrain
Z1617 Dark Chocolate Striped Grosgrain
Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

These are the cards made by my swap group. The talented ladies who made them are top row: Kimberly Deines and LeAnne Dudley; middle row: Vicki Price, and bottom row: Krista Staton and Angie Petersen.

Now "Hop" on over to Krista's blog to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant's blog to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Remember, this exclusive stamp set is only available until December 31st!

November SOTM Blog Hop - Cherish the Day

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring the November SOTM Cherish the Day, a set of 44 stamps! If you have come here from Kristine'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 around. If you get lost along the way, you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here.

This time around we have over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the November Stamp of the Month and other great CTMH products on their blogs. Hopping 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'm part of a Stamp of the Month Swap, and each member has been assigned a specific paper packet for each month. For November I was given the Wonderland packet which features Crystal Blue, Twilight, Chocolate, and Grey Flannel. These colors make me think of January, so I decided to make a New Year's card.

Here is my supply list:

X7146B Wonderland Level 2 Paper Packet
S1111 Cherish the Day
D1482 Love Life
Z1353 4 1/2" White Daisy Circle Cards
Z2111 Chocolate Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z2117 Crystal Blue Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z2160 Twilight Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z1385 Designer Ribbon Blue Collection
Z1104 Clear Sparkles
Z1151 3-D Foam Tape
Sponge

Here are all the cards made by my swap group. The talented ladies who made them are top row: Vicki Price, Krista Staton, and Angie Petersen. Bottom row: LeAnne Dudley, Bertha MacMillan, and Kimberly Deines.

Now "Hop" on over to Kathleen's blog to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant's blog to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Remember, this exclusive stamp set is only available until November 30th!

Holiday Magic - October Stamp of the Month Swap

Here is my card for the October Stamp of the Month swap. I didn't want to have to cut out all the stockings by hand, so I cut them out using the Close to My Heart Art Philosophy cartridge, but slightly smaller than what the stamp image size is. The image still covers all of the shape, but I didn't have to worry as much about it lining up.

These are the cards made by our entire swap group. The designers are from top left (with the paper packet they used in parentheses): LeAnne Dudley (Typeset), Jodi Frank (Dreamin'), Randa Wacaster (Elemental), Julie Nilsson (Roxie), Angie Petersen (Wonderland), Vicki Price (Believe), Bertha MacMillan (Sonoma), Cathlene Burk (Mischief), and Krista Staton (Roxie). (I have to note here that Bertha actually put ink on her lips and kissed the rim of that adorable coffee cup!)

Shoebox Swap

Every time Close to My Heart releases a new Idea Book, our local unit has what we call a Shoebox Swap. The rules are that you can use any new stamp set and any new paper packet to design a card. You must also use current embellishments to make it a Level 3 card. Once those who want to participate have signed up, they create and put together just one card, and then they cut all pieces needed for each of the other participants. On the day of our monthly unit meeting we all show up with some sort of box that contains all the supplies needed for everyone else to create our card, including all stamps, embellishments, ink pads, sponges, etc. We generally start by passing our box to the person on our left, and then the madness begins! It's really a lot of fun, and we all end up with a great selection of cards for everyone to see and get an idea of what's available in the new catalog.


We had two new ladies join us this time, and their contributions were terrific! Those who participated were: Kimberly Deines, Randa Wacaster, Julie Nilsson, Vicki Price, Jodi Frank, Cathlene Burk, LeAnne Dudley, and Deb McNett. Thanks for all the great cards!