January SOTM Blog Hop

A new year is starting, and with it all we wonder what is in our future.  I know I hope for a healthier New Year.  This past year my family, including myself, has had more than it's share of medical concerns.

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring January's SOTM, which is Crossed Stitched Wishes, a set of 13 stamps.  If you have come here from Teresa Scrivens 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


 This month we have approximately 50 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!

When I saw this set, I couldn't figure out what to use first.  Since next month is Valentines Day, I decided to make an early Valentines card.  This is how it turned out. 

I stamped a banner using the line stamp and row of small hearts.  I curved the line on my block, then curved the row of hearts right under the line.  This I cut out.  Using the Artbooking cartridge, I used the image of a mini album page, cutting off the holes, and placing this on the top of the card.
I then stamped and cut three hearts...one large and two medium size.  I placed them on the bottom of the card, with the large heart in the middle.  I printed out a saying of Happy Valentines day.

Products Used: CTMH cranberry red cardstock cut into 4 1/4 x 5 1/2, White Daisy cardstock, cranberry ink, other stamp sets, Artbooking cartridge,white ribbon

As I said earlier, I couldn't just make one card.  It was so hard to decide which to use, so I made a second card.   Here it is;

 This time I used a piece of cranberry cardstock, cut into 4 1/4 by 5 1/2, the same as before.  I then, using the Artbooking cartridge, I cut a heart within a rectangle, which was the photo 2.  I used real dial, at 4 3/4", and it fit nicely on the card.  In the center of the heart, I stamped, Love and I put an arrow through the heart.  Using a Martha Stewart punch, I punched a decorative edge on the bottom of the card.  I added bling around the heart shape and then I place 3 small pieces of bling in each of the four corners.  

Now "Hop" on over to Elizabeth Mindemann's Blog to see her work! She has some really creative ideas and I am sure you will like what she does with this stamp set.  Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the January SOTM is only available until January 31!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

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