Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - July: Life is Wonderful

Welcome to the July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month features is Life is Wonderful, a set of 8 stamps.

If you have come here from {Jacquelin Green’s blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 40 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.

Off we go!

This last round of swaps has come full circle as I started with having Picture My Life cards as my assignment, and that’s what I ended on as well.

Because of the larger nature of several of the stamps in this set, I decided right away to make a page with all the cards the same size. This also meant that 4” x 6” was the best size. I felt like I wanted to make a feature out of the “Life is Wonderful” phrase, so I spread it out over two cards.

I did some tone-on-tone stamping with the corner flourishes, used the Chevron Border Punch and backed the cut-outs with Bronze Shimmer Trim, and I used one of the zip strips, too. A simple page of cards but one that would be perfect for Father’s Day photos and memories. 

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

S1507 Life is Wonderful My Acrylix® Stamp Set

X7195B Jackson Paper Packet

Z2114 Cocoa Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad

Z2104 Barn Red Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad

Z2165 Juniper Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad

Z1998 Chevron Border Punch

Z1912 Corner Rounder

Z1849 Bronze Shimmer Trim

Z1918 Teal Shimmer Trim

4113 12" x 12" Memory Protectors™ Design 2

Z1836 Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors

Now “Hop” on over to {Michelle Loncar’s blog} to see her work, and be sure to show the other consultants on the hop some love, too! Don’t forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available through July 31st. Click here to place your order today!

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - June: Ice Cream Dream

 

Welcome to the June Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month’s set is Ice Cream Dream, a set of 7 stamps.

If you have come here from {Michelle Jones’ blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 50 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.

Off we go!

Ice Cream Dream. Definitely one of my favorites from this year’s set of stamps of the month. It’s fun, playful, and just downright adorable. Of course, pairing it with the Blossom papers was still a bit of a challenge.

Fortunately, the colors in the Blossom palette are soft, much like ice cream, so the challenge was more in choosing my papers than anything else. Once I really took a look at them, I had to highlight Sunset because it reminds me of my childhood favorite, Orange Creamsicles. 

I chose pattern #21 from Make It from Your Heart Volume 1. This design was perfect for the sentiment I wanted to use. It also lent itself well to using one of the zip strips. 

The other thing about this stamp set is that it forced me to use my ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Markers. I tend to be afraid of them for some reason, but I really enjoyed using them for this project and like how it turned out.

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

S1506 Ice Cream Dream stamp set

X7196B Blossom Paper Packet

Z2197 Pear Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad

Z2195 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad

Z2465 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Turquoise Blue Marker

Z2455 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Light Orange Marker

Z2457 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Marigold Marker

Z2445 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Barely Beige Marker

Z1853 Aqua Dots

Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape

Z1836 Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors

9035 Make It from Your Heart™ Volume 1

Now “Hop” on over to {Lauren Moore’s blog} to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant’s site to get some crafting inspiration and other great ideas! Don’t forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available through June 30th. Click here to order yours today!

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - May: Just Sayin'

Welcome to the May Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month’s set is Just Sayin’, a set of 14 stamps.

If you have come here from {Krista Hershberger’s blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 65 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.

Off we go!

My swap group actually creates a month ahead so that we’re all set when the first of the month comes. Sometimes this leaves us with a gap, as does the timing of the release of new catalogs. That being said, our assignment for May was to use the Stamp of the Month, of course, but each participant was allowed to use a paper pack of their choice. As we had used a more Halloween-themed stamp set with Wanderful the first time, I wanted to use it again so that I could use different patterns.

Two other things happened for me in April: 1) my son was on spring break the first week, which is also when one of my very good friends got married in Las Vegas, and he and I were both in the wedding, and 2) my swap assignment was a 12x12 layout. Using Wanderful just made that much more sense!

I chose pattern #11 from Make It from Your Heart Volume 1. I liked it because I could feature a little bit of several patterns from the paper pack, as well as a large piece of my favorite pattern. I also thought that because this layout features several small photos, it would be perfect for featuring highlights of the first day of our trip.

As for the stamp set, I chose images that I thought went with the travel theme. I stamped them in different colors and cut them out by hand, then I attached them with Thin Foam Tape. 

I only did the right-hand page for the swap, but as I couldn’t wait to actually make mine into a complete 2-page layout, I did just that. I used the Artbooking cartridge to make the “Las Vegas” title and modified it in Cricut Craft Room so I could weld the letters together. “Viva” was cut from Artiste.

The small photos are popped up with Thin Foam Tape. I wrapped the large photo with some of the Extra Thick Twine, so it’s popped up with regular foam tape. 

Here is what I used. All products are Close to My Heart:
S1505 Just Sayin’ stamp set
X7191B Wanderul Paper Packet
Z2105 Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2117 Crystal Blue Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2642 Flaxen Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2162 Honey Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2190 Gypsy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2196 Smoothie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z3036 Flaxen Extra Thick Twine
Z1151 3-D Foam Tape
Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape
Z534 Micro-tip Scissors
Z1836 Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors
Z1790 Cricut® Artiste Collection
Z1906 Cricut® Artbooking Collection
Cricut Craft Room

Now “Hop” on over to {Lucy Kelleher’s 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 May 31st. Click here to order yours today!

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - April: Typed Note

Welcome to the April Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month’s set is Typed Note, a set of 19 stamps.

If you have come here from {Dawn Ross’ blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 65 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 begin!

Once again my swap assignment was challenging. I mean, a typewriter and beach-themed paper? How in the world do you combine those two things?

Luckily the other part of my assignment dictated that I could create any kind of project I wished. I knew I had some frames that needed to be used, and I loved the friendship sentiment in the stamp set, so I set out to use that combination as well.

I had one more dilemma, and that was that I wasn’t sure I liked black with the color palette of Seaside. Nonetheless, I had somewhat of an idea of what I wanted to do all along. It took a little trial and error, but in the end I was happy with the final result. 

Here is what I used. All products are Close to My Heart except those marked with an *:

S1504 Typed Note stamp set
X7192B Seaside Paper Packet
Z2105 Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z1989 Slate Diagonal Striped Ribbon
Z1754 Sparkles Black & Grey Assortment
Z534 Micro-tip Scissors
Z1686 Cricut® Art Philosophy Collection
*4” x 6” black frames from Michael’s

Now “Hop” on over to {Pamela Ellison’s 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 April 30th. Click here to order yours today!

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - March: Choose Happy

Welcome to the March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month’s set is Choose Happy, a set of 14 stamps.

If you have come here from {Carol Taggio’s blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 65 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 begin!

 The Brushed paper packet has a LOT of pink in it. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I am not personally a huge fan of pink. Therefore, when designing my card I wanted to go with less of the pink, or in this case, Pixie. That being said, I chose to focus more on the Canary or yellow. I love this new color. It’s bright, but not too bright.

I ended up choosing a card pattern with a lot of pieces, which allowed me to use a number of different papers and textures. I used tiny pieces of one of the zip strips in the packet, and I added texture to the White Daisy by embossing it with the Diamond Embossing Folder.

This particular stamp set isn’t specifically designed to be used with one of our Cricut cartridges, but I knew we had a shape similar to the frame I wanted to use, so I played around with it until I got the right size. I like how there is plenty of white space around the stamped frame. It helps the Flaxen color of the frame stand out.

I find that it is best to adhere dry embossed pieces with either foam tape or Glue Dots, and as I wrapped the embossed piece with the Extra Thick Twine, the foam tape was most appropriate in this instance.

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

S1503 Choose Happy stamp set

X7190B Brushed Paper Packet

Z2642 Flaxen Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad

Z2165 Juniper Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad

Z3036 Flaxen Extra Thick Twine

Z1807 Pink Glitter Gems

Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape

Z3020 Diamond Embossing Folder

Z1836 Non-Stick Micro-tip Scissors

9042 Make It from Your Heart™ Volume 2 (#29)

Z1906 Cricut® Artbooking Collection

Now “Hop” on over to {Michelle Jones’ 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 March 31st. Click here to order yours today!

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

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - January: This Moment

Welcome to the January Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month’s set is This Moment, a set of 12 stamps.

If you have come here from {Jilena Paskett’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 get started!

My swap group decided to use one of the papers from Seasonal Expressions 1 for this month’s assignment, so I had the Heartstrings paper to use with this valentine-themed stamp set. I knew right away I wanted to do something that didn’t look like a valentine.

I thought it might be nice to have a card for any occasion so I went with the “Hello” sentiment as the focal point for my card. I stamped it in Lagoon ink near the right edge, and then stamped the arrows in Whisper. I added the Hollyhock cardstock for a little pop of color, and I edge-distressed it with scissors to add some other texture. I did the same to the edges of the B&T above and below the sentiment.

I love the Teal Shimmer Trim and thought it was a great way to add a bolder shade of the Lagoon. I pulled the metallic string out of the Slate Baker’s Twine and tied the arrow from the Base & Bling Charms into the knot in the twine.

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

S1501 This Moment stamp set
X7193B Heartstrings Paper Packet
Z2195 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2172 Whisper Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z1918 Teal Shimmer Trim
Z1921 Baker's Twine Neutral Metallic Assortment
Z2024 Base & Bling Signature Charms
Z534 Micro-tip Scissors

Now “Hop” on over to {Lori Brown’s 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 January 31st. Click here to order yours today!

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - November: It's the Little Things

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month we’re featuring the November set It’s the Little Things, a set of 15 stamps. 

If you have come here from {Katy Taylor’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.

Off we go!

Attending a Close to My Heart event is always very inspiring, and my team’s Thriving 30 Celebration in Boise in September was no exception. One of the projects we did while I was there included creating our own background paper. I know how to do this, and I’ve done it in the past, but it had been a while.

When I pulled out this month’s stamp set to start thinking about what I wanted to create, I immediately saw a great opportunity for creating my own background paper. There are plenty of colors in the Pathfinding palette to make a vibrant and interesting pattern.

I wanted a lot of the stamped paper to show so I chose a card pattern that would let it be seen. This let me use smaller pieces of the patterned paper from the kit, but you can see them well, too. I had originally used a plain piece of Barn Red cardstock for contrast, but then I changed it to a piece of the Barn Red from Paper Fundamentals, and I liked that better. If you look closely you can see the embossed design.

The flowers did require a bit of what we like to call “fussy cutting,” but I didn’t mind because the results were worth it. A little piece of 3-D Foam Tape to pop up the center and a few Sparkles were all I needed to finish it off.

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

S1411 It’s the Little Things stamp set
X7186B Pathfinding Paper Packet
Z2031 Paper Fundamentals Enchantment Assortment
Z2104 Barn Red Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2174 Champagne Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2101 Autumn Terracotta Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2137 Olive Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2123 Goldrush Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2195 Lagoon Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2641 Glacier Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z1753 Sparkles Brown & Tan Assortment
Z1151 3-D Foam Tape
Z1836 Non-Stick Micro-tip Scissors

Now “Hop” on over to {Melissa Laverty’s 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 November 30th. Click here to order yours today!

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - September: Family is Forever

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month we’re featuring the September set Family is Forever, a set of 7 stamps. 

If you have come here from {Kami Welter’s blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 70 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.

Off we go!

I don’t know about you, but I am madly in love with the Chalk It Up paper pack! It is definitely one of my favorites from Annual Inspirations.

For September my swap group was given the challenge of using Chalk It Up with all its doodles and stars and such with the Family is Forever Stamp of the Month. My personal assignment was to make a card with said paper and stamps. This took some thinking!

I felt like the flower in the stamp set was too small for the paper I’d decided to use, so I embossed the Flaxen cardstock to give it some texture. To bring a sense of cohesiveness to everything, I sponged the edge of the black scallop circle with White Daisy ink, edge distressed the Lagoon square with the Micro-tip Scissors, very lightly sanded the edge of the dotted B&T (patterned paper), and sanded across all the stripes in the Flaxen cardstock to bring out some of the white core.

Even though I thought the flower stamp was too small to use as a flower on my card, I did think it would make the perfect center for a flower. I cut flower shapes from the Art Philosophy cartridge, stamped the small flower on White Daisy cardstock, and then cut it out before adhering it to the center of the Cricut flowers. I used my embossing tool and push pad to curl the petals to give them some dimension.

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

S1409 Family is Forever stamp set
X7184B Chalk It Up Paper Packet
Z2163 White Daisy Exclusive Inks stamp pad (pigment-based)
Z2012 Sequins Gold Assortment 
Z1988 Black Striped Twill
Z1960 Stripe Embossing Folder
Z1294 Sanding Kit
Z697 Round Sponge
Z1836 Non-Stick Micro-tip Scissors
Z2046 Piercing & Embossing Tool Kit
Z1686 Cricut© Art Philosophy Collection

Now “Hop” on over to {Priscilla Gotham’s 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 September 30th! Click here to order yours today!

Annual Inspirations: New Product Blog Hop

With the release of Close to My Heart’s new Annual Inspirations catalog, the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop group decided to do a special edition Blog Hop.

If you have come here from {Michelle Stewart’s blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 50 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 get started!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, if not my favorite holiday, and I am absolutely in love with our new Scaredy Cat paper packet. That being said, it’s always a good idea to do something other than the obvious, so I wanted to use these papers for something other than Halloween.

The colors in Scaredy Cat are fun and festive, and I felt like several of the patterns leant themselves well to other types of celebrations, especially birthdays. Combine all this with the Build-a-Cake stamp set and you have the perfect birthday card!

Even though there is Black in the patterned paper, I liked how Slate looked less severe and maybe even more elegant. I used Slate for the cake plate and candle and alternated Thistle and Sunset for the cake layers. The candle flame needed a little something extra, so I just traced around it with the Golden Yellow ShinHan Marker.

My favorite new specialty paper is the Purple Glitter Paper, and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to use it, too. It added enough bling that I didn’t need to use any other embellishments.

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

Build-a-Cake

 

Scaredy Cat Paper Packet

Purple Glitter Paper

Thistle Exclusive Inks™ Pad

Sunset Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad

Slate Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad

ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Golden Yellow Marker

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! If you'd like to take a look at all the other goodies in Annual Inspirations, click here. Happy creating!