A Little Thanks November 2010 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the November 2010 CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, featuring A Little Thanks, a set of 16 Stamps.  This month we have over 60 Close To My Heart consultants participating in our hop.  If you've just arrived here from {Kristie's} blog, you are on the right track.  If you are just starting here, our round-robin hop can still be enjoyed in it's entirety.  Just follow the links at the end of each post, and eventually you'll end up right back here!

I am on a mission to use up my paper stash, so I went through my baskets of paper and decided on Boom-di-ada for my Thank You card.  Since I was watching a movie on my computer at the time I made this card, I pulled out Wishes, and made this card following the directions for "Down the Middle" (which happened to be the first page I opened the book to).

Papers: CTMH cardstock in Buttercup and Hollyhock, CTMH Boom-di-ada
Inks: CTMH Hollyhock and Sweet Leaf, Versamark
Tools and Techniques: Emboss resist, CTMH embossing powder in Clear Detail, CTMH ribbon, CTMH Buttons, Fiskar's Threading Water punch
Stamp Sets: CTMH A Little Thanks


I used the emboss resist technique for the stamping.  I stamped the image on Buttercup cardstock in Versamark ink, then heat embossed with CTMH Clear Detail embossing powder.  After that, I direct-to-paper ink distressed the edges in Hollyhock, then sponged Sweet Leaf over the cardstock.  I chose not to go for a dark/solid coverage with the Sweet Leaf, so I didn't remove the clear embossing powder.  Had I gone for a solid coverage with the Sweet Leaf, I would have put a spare piece of paper over the top of the sponged panel, and then ironed it to remove the embossing powder.  With the subtle color difference, I opted to leave the embossing powder to ensure the sentiment stands out.  All of the pieces (except the punched edge) were DTP edge-distressed with Hollyhock ink.

A punched edge, some buttons, and a piece of ribbon finish off this cheery card.

Remember, A Little Thanks is only available during the month of November 2010.  Ask your consultant, or click here, to find out how to get this stamp for a discount or possibly even FREE!

Now hop on over to {Mary's} blog to find some more inspiration. 

If you find any broken links along the way, Helen has the complete list of participants {here}.
 

October 2010 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop

Welcome to the October 2010 CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop.  This month we are featuring Christmas Projects.  If you've just arrived from {Nikka's} blog, you are on the right path.  If you are just starting here, simply click on the link at the end of the post to go to the next blog on our circular hop.

My project is a My Creations Memory Keeper inspired by the talented Lisa Stenz.   You could make a box like this to keep the holiday cards and pictures you receive from family and friends this year, or make dividers from cardstock and use it to house special ornaments or decorations, or you can do like me and use it to store the Christmas cards that you make throughout the year (because we have all been so diligently working on our Christmas cards since January).  This box was decorated with cardstock and the lovely Evensong Creative Basics paper (which, I'm sad to say, is retired).  For the top of the box, I covered some chipboard letters in Evensong papers, and then used the Finishing Files to clean up the edges before using white paint along the edges of the letters (because unlike the wonderful CTMH Dimensional Elements letters, which are white, the chipboard I used was that oh-so-attractive blah gray-brown color).  For the letters that were stacked, I used 3-D Foam Squares (which I cut in half through the height so they wouldn't pop up too much).  I added snowflake brads to the corners, and now I have a great place to keep the Christmas cards I make throughout the year.  (No, really.  I really DO start my Christmas cards in January.  Last year I even had them finished by early December.  Mailing them, however, was a different story.)  I've had a box like this for a while, and one thing I would do different is use glue instead of adhesive runners to attach the papers, especially to the top of the box.  After some time, the papers on the top of the box that I used adhesive runners on isn't as smooth as I would like.  This is a project that you can make multiples of:  one for Christmas cards, one for Birthday cards, one for Thank You cards, one for gift card holders, the possibilities are limitless.  These would also make great memory boxes for newlyweds, new parents, or grandparents.  Heck, you can make one to give as a gift and one to keep for yourself.  Those are the BEST kind of projects!

Now hop on over to {Traci's} blog for some more Christmas project inspiration.

Let your paper do the work

These cards are from my scrap weekend a little while back.  These are for me to send out to the guys in Afghanistan so they will have some cards to send home to family and friends.  I decided to let my paper do the work.  The papers are from the DCWV Holiday Collection The Christmas Stack.  I used the patterned papers, adorned with sparkles or Stickles, a big decorative brad here or there, and minimal stamping.