July 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

It's hopping time again!  If you just arrived from Melissa's blog, you are on the right path.  If you are just starting here, no worries.  Our hop is a round-robin, so you can jump in anywhere and still see EVERYTHING!

This month we are featuring the July Stamp of the Month Happy Forever, a set of nine stamps.  This set features the most ADORABLE little hedgehogs, along with a few sentiments.  These cute critters are sure to be great for a variety of projects for many occasions. 

This is only my second crafting project since I've arrived in Okinawa a month ago.  I'm still getting settled in, and haven't had much time for crafting.  I made this card following this sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday.  I used the Cherry-O Creative Basics paper pack, which includes that adorable Cranberry velvet ribbon.  Other challenges include Xtra Dimension at The ABC Challenge Blog, Paper Cutz Challenge #47, and Stampin' B's Challenge #64.  This is intended to accompany a gift for a friend.  But anyone who knows me knows I have postal issues, so this will definitely be posted before I actually get it postal!

Papers: CTMH Crystal Blue, Sweet Leaf, Tulip and White Daisy cardstock, CTMH Cherry-O Creative Basics

Inks: CTMH Chocolate, Crystal Blue, and Tulip, CTMH markers in Tulip (kite bows) and Chocolate (accents in hedgie's scruff), CTMH Re-inker in Blush (large flower)

Tools and Techniques: Paper piecing (kite), crosshatching, direct-to-paper edge distressing, CTMH button, CTMH Just Blooms, CTMH ribbon, CTMH Watercolor Pencils, Waterbrush, 3-D Mounting Foam
Stamp Sets: CTMH Happy Forever


Directions for coloring your paper flowers with re-inkers follows below.  Remember that Happy Forever is only available July 1st-31st 2010.  Contact your CTMH consultant, or click here, to find out how to get this stamp set for a discount or even for FREE!

Now hop on over to Debra's blog to check out her creation!! 

Coloring paper flowers with re-inker is fairly simple.  I recommend a shallow container with a mostly-flat surface (a shallow bowl or plate is perfect), tweezers (like these reverse-action tweezers from CTMH), and rubbing alcohol.  Simply drip some re-inker into your container, add a little bit of alcohol, and mix.  Paper towels are a quick way to get an indication of your color.  Simply dip a small piece of paper towel into the mixture.  If it is too dark, add a little more alcohol.  Too light, add more re-inker.  Once you've found your desired shade, grasp the edge of your paper flower petal with the tweezer and quickly dip in the mixture.  The flower will absorb the mixture quickly, so be prepared to move it quickly to achieve complete coverage, and then get it out of the mixture as quickly as possible and put it on a paper towel to dry.  If you leave the paper flower in the mixture for too long, some of the "texture" or dimension of your flower may be lost.  So work QUICKLY!!!!  You can probably also do this with water instead of alcohol, but the alcohol dries much faster.  This technique will give you flowers perfectly matched to your project!

For the teacher...

My friend B is at the end of her first year as a teacher, and her birthday is also this week.  So, my first scrapping project in Okinawa (this time) is a name placard shadow box for her classroom.  She loves butterflies, and the colors pink and green, so I wanted to incorporate all of those into the shadow box.  The box is 8X10, and I got it at JoAnn.

Papers: CTMH Blush cardstock, CTMH Emporium

Inks: CTMH Blush

Tools and Techniques: Sponge edge distressing, Silhouette Machine (words and butterflies), CTMH Big Pinks flower, CTMH adhesive pearls, Zva Creative crystal flourish, Karen Foster Scrapper's Floss, Making Memories button, 3-D Mounting Foam, Xyron Adhesive


The butterflies were cut out with my Silhouette machine.  I adhered one completely onto the base, and the second one was mounted using 3-D mounting foam only on the center.  The edges of the wings were rolled slightly to give it dimension.  A row of adhesive pearls defines the butterfly's body, and a piece of floss attached to the underside are his antenna.  The crystal flourish was applied before the top butterfly. 

A piece of floss was tied through the button, which was then attached to the flower with glue dots.  The flower was attached to the background using glue dots as well.  Letters and mats were cut with the Silhouette.  The mats were sponged with Blush ink around the edges.  Letters were run through the Xyron to attach to the mats, then the mats were run through the Xyron to attach to background.  The "W" was instead mounted using a double stack of 3-D Mounting Foam (two pieces stacked on top of each other--remember to remove the paper backing before sticking the pieces together) in order to raise it up enough to clear the flower.