Illuminate November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

 Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring November's SOTM,

which is Illuminate, a set of 15 stamps.  If you have come here from Heather'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 at Melinda's Blog.

This month we have 54 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!

This is a little card I put together to mail to a friend.  The saying in the top says, "Let your light shine through".  I decided to use some of the paper from our new paper pack, Sparkle and Shine.  I had to decide where to place my lamp post....hmmmm  front or back of the page?  I decided in the front.   I stamped a lamp light, colored it using my honey alcohol marker, cut it out and hung on a lamp post.   There is  a candle inside it  that I colored, then stamped, using my Juniper alcohol marker.  After this all dried, I put a little bit of glitter around the light to give it a shimmer, like you see around a light at night.  I used 2 sentiments from this card set.  On the bottom sentiment, I put it on a piece of ribbon.

Thanks for looking.  Now "Hop" on over to Terri Ann'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 November SOTM is only available until November 30, 2013!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

Had a group of friends over tonight and we had a cardmaking class using the Frosted paper.  I really enjoyed making these cards and showing everyone how to make their own.  I will be writing up the cutting instructions soon.  Here are the cards:

striped Winter Wishes

Glitter snowflakes

Peaceful forest

ribbon Holly Jolly

Tri-banner Holly Jolly

Snowflake Holly Jolly

Penguin Ornament

Subway art 

3 color winter wishes

Glitter snowflake Holly Jolly

Merry and Bright

If you would like the cutting directions and stamp sets and paper, send me an email and I will sent them to you.  Thanks for looking.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Welcome to the Holidays From the Heart Blog Hop featuring the NEW items from CTMH's Holiday Guide.  Once you've checked out my project, you will see a whole BUNCH of lovely project links below...go check each and every one out and leave some love!

Season's Greetings will soon be heard on a regular basis.  Christmas will be coming soon,  Shortly after Thanksgiving, I will start addressing and mailing my Christmas cards.  I have started early this year, so hopefully I will not have any last minute panics to make more cards.

In the Holiday Catalog, Close To My Heart has several Christmas stamp sets.  The 2 stamps I used come from the set Santa Claus, on page 5 in the Holiday catalog.  Here is the card I made.

On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of white cardstock, I made my own background paper, using ruby ink  and stamping with the saying, "Santa Claus is coming to Town", all over, then took a small snowflake stamp from the same set and stamped with Outdoor Denim in the white spaces.  

I stamped my Santa Claus twice; once on 1 3/4" x 2 1/2" piece of white cardstock with outdoor denim, then on a scrap piece of Ruby cardstock with Ruby ink.  I cut the hat off the Ruby Santa, and glued the hat onto the white cardstock Santa. I mounted this on a 2" x 2 3/4" ruby cardstock, then mounted it again on a 2 1/4" x 3" piece of Outdoor Denim cardstock.  

 I finally stamped the Ho! Ho! Ho! stamp in Outdoor Denim on three pieces of 1" x 1" square white paper in outdoor denim ink, which I then mounted on a 1 1/4" square of Outdoor Denim cardstock.  

After I put the card together, I mounted the entire card on a piece of 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" Outdoor Denim cardstock.   

This was a lot of fun.  I haven't made my own background paper in a while.  I think this is one card that will be sent to some of those people on my Christmas card list.  I hope you enjoyed the card.  If you would like to purchase this stamp set, or any of our other stamp sets, you can purchase it here, at my website, www.ConnieCreates.ctmh.com

Scrap-booking and card making get Together is on for Saturday!!!!  Come down and see what fun you can have with us.   Bring your pictures, papers, stamps, inks, whatever you need to work.  It will be fun.  At 4:00, I will be teaching a class for a scrapbook layout using our newest Cricut cartridge, Artbooking.  It is really a cute layout, 2 pages, with Grateful and Give Thanks are titles I have for it, but you can change it if you want.  Dinner will be turkey meatball sandwiches, chips, and salad.  After dinner, around 6 or 6:30, I will give you a lesson on using the alcohol markers.  Yes, those of you who ordered the first set of markers…they are in!  We will make a card exclusively for you alcohol marker purchasers. 

I will be placing my next order after you leave on Saturday, so if there is anything you want to order, get your order in right away.  I have gotten many of the new stamps from the Christmas catalog, and they are cute!

There is a new Stamp of the Month for October called Scandinavian Wishes.  If you place an order of $50, you can get this stamp set for only $5.  Now, those of you in the marker buy, that means you need to only order an additional $23.80 

Our next get together will be October 26, and we  will be starting classes to make Christmas cards.  I have a set of cards made for you to look over, to see if you want to take this class.  

You have two options:

Option 1:  You take the class, creating 10 cards.  You will receive 10 blank cards and envelops, the paper needed for the cards, use of my ink and my stamp set, and I will provide any embellishments needed.  Cost to you…$15.00

Option 2: Purchase the Workshop on the Go Frosted for $24.95.  With this kit, you have the ability to make 15 cards, plus you get your own "D" size stamp set (valued at $19.95), and embellishments for the cards.

Next month, we will be making more Christmas cards, using the new Sparkle and Shine set from the Holiday Catalog.  You will have the same choice of options for that also….so think ahead.  

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING THE CARD CLASS, BUT CANNOT ATTEND, DUE TO DISTANCE OR OTHER COMMITMENTS,  LET ME KNOW.  I CAN MAIL THE KIT TO YOU, ALONG WITH DIRECTIONS AND PICTURES, SHOWING YOU HOW TO PUT IT TOGETHER.  JUST LET ME KNOW.

Artbooking Layout

October's My Cricut Craft Room's Blog Hop 

You should have started at http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/ if not please start at the beginning

Welcome to My Cricut Craft Room's October's Blog Hop 

Collectively the design team and guest designers have made some amazing and special projects to share with you... over 60 projects are on this hop, but it is in less than 20 stops. .  

I have made this great project to share with you today. 

I just love the new Artbooking Cartridge!  There are so many things you can do with it.  It is ideal if you are going to create a layout.  All you do is find the layout you are interested in making, follow the directions for the size to make your layout, and put ONE button to cut it all out!

Here is what I created.

On this side, I cut the overlay at 11", the 5x7 picture photo mat and the title with its shadow at 11"

When cutting the packages diecut, I wanted it to be larger, so I switched to the Real Dial size and cut them out at 6"

I then assembled them  I mounted the packages on white paper, mounted the overlay on the base cardstock of pink Bazzill, put the shadow under the title and  I glued them all down.  After that I glued a white sheet under the 5x7 photo mat

On this side of the layout, I cut the small overlay at 11", a 6"x12" strip of paper, the photo mat trios at ll", 2 small photo mats with a cupcake corner, and the border at 11".  I put some white cardstock in the photo openings so you could see where the photos go.  Then I glued the small overlay on the left and the glued the strip of cardstock on the left side.  Next I glued the 2 small photo mats on the overlay, the tri-photo holder on the cardstock, and the border.

I love how these layout come together.  Just look at those photo mats.  I really like how they are related to the theme.  

Next you should go to Tracey's Blog 

http://www.thecroppingcanuck.blogspot.com/ 

If you get lost along the way here is the entire line up

1. Start http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/ 
2.  Vivi J http://www.vivijdesigns.blogspot.com/ 
3.  Cindy M http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/ 
4. Shawn Mosch - http://craftychicsblog.blogspot.com/ 
5. Liliana Umpierre - http://www.likidesigns.com/blog 
6. Leslie Wrege McGrath - http://scrapnlifeaway.blogspot.com/ 
7. Roberta Swisher - http://queenbeepapercrafts.blogspot.com/ 
8.  April Nourse www.curlsandgrins.blogspot.com 
9. Brenda Knapik -  http://www.disneygirlcrafts.com/ 
10. Lourdes - http://creativecraftsniche.blogspot.com/  
11. Vicki Glenn - http://www.vickiscraftroom.blogspot.com/       
12. Erica http://EricasProjects.blogspot.com/ 
13. Connie Walsh - http://www.ConnieCreates2.blogspot.com/ 
14. Tracey  http://www.thecroppingcanuck.blogspot.com/ 
15. Oh Kissa http://www.ohkissa.com/ 
16. Sandy- http://www.scrapbookblessings.blogspot.com/ 
17. Kris Dietz -- http://http://kreationsbykrisdietz.blogspot.com/ 
18. Mayra- http://mayrasdesigns.blogspot.com/ 
19. Cheryl www.Cricutobessed.blogspot.com 
20. Crafting Blog Events http://craftingblogevents.blogspot.com/ 

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