August 2014 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

I must have missed an important announcement or email, because I haven't received my new stamps!  Whether you started here or {Theresa} sent you this way, keep on hopping to see what {Brae} has created.

June 2014 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the June 2014 Stamp of the Month blog hop featuring Kaboom, a set of 16 stamps.  Join me and 50 other Close To My Heart consultants as we share our projects featuring this set.  Whether you've arrived from {Alyson's} blog or are just getting started, just click on the link at the end of each post to go to the next post in the hop.

This explosive set is perfect for summer festivities, and would work great for scrapbook layouts, cards, and party invitations.  Another great feature is that several of the stamps coordinate with the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.  My card is a 3 1/2" square card which I cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge.  It would work as a standalone card, but would also be great tied to a thank you gift (like a bottle of wine), announcing to the recipient, "you're the bomb."

Remember, Kaboom is only available June 1-30, 2014.  Contact your consultant, or click here, to get one for yourself.

Now hop on over to {Joy's} blog to get blown away by her creation!

May 2014 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the May 2014 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring You've Got a Friend, a set of 5 stamps.  Whether you've come here from {Wendy's} blog or are just getting started, just click on the link at the end of each post to go to the next post in the hop.  I mustache you, are you ready to see what more than 50 Close To My Heart consultants have created with this set?

I've made a card following the Mojo Monday sketch 342.  I wanted to combine the quirkiness of the moustache with the formality of the damask pattern.  This card has a quirky, formal, and sparkle all combined to make a cute "thank you" card.

Remember, You've Got a Friend is available during May 2014.  Contact your consultant, or click {here} to get one for yourself (or for a friend).  

Now hop on over to {Mary's} blog to see her creation.

April 2014 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the April 2014 Stamp of the Month blog hop, featuring artwork from over 50 Close To My Heart consultants using Balloon Talk, a set of 24 stamps.  Whether you've arrived here from {Sarita's} blog or are just getting started, simply click on the link at the end of each post to go to the next blog in the hop.

So I know what you're thinking.  A bubble text stamp set is PERFECT for creating scrapbook layouts.  It absolutely is.  But, I found another cool use.  I LOVE to read, and between fun reading, school reading, and work reading, I often find myself looking for another bookmark.  Sometimes, I'll grab a Post-it note when I can't find a bookmark, and those things are boring and expensive.  This bookmark makes perfect use of the "START HERE" bubble, providing a perfect little pointer right to the line you want.  By using magnets, this bookmark will stay on the page and can be placed wherever it needs to be in order to point at your next sentence (photos were taken before laminating in order to reduce glare).  I did the 'emboss resist" technique of loading the stamp with Versamark and then my color of choice, then covered with Clear Detail embossing powder and heated with my heat gun.  Then I sponged the white text with Pear ink.  This allowed me to get two colors, and to keep them both true.  I cut a patterned piece of paper to the width of the text balloon and scored the middle, and then cut Blush cardstock to allow a 1/8th inch border.  I mixed Blush Re-inker with Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint, and brushed it onto the Blush cardstock.  After everything was dry, I assembled the pieces, adding magnets to the inside to allow the bookmark to grip the page, though it would also work without the magnets.  Laminating the bookmark after applying the magnets will ensure they stay attached to your bookmark.

Papers: CTMH Blush cardstock, CTMH Chantilly

Inks: CTMH Pear and Twilight, Versamark Watermark

Tools and Techniques: CTMH Clear Detail embossing Powder, sponging, CTMH Create-a-Shade Pearl Paint, CTMH Blush Re-inker, Basic Grey Magnets
Stamp Sets: CTMH Balloon Talk

Remember, Balloon Talk is only available April 1-30, 2014.  Contact your consultant, or click here to get one for yourself.  Now hop on over to {Lucy's} blog to see what she is talking about!

March 2014 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the March 2014 Stamp of the Month blog hop featuring Happy Place, a set of 7 stamps.  This month there are more than 50 Close To My Heart consultants participating in the hop.  Whether this is your starting point or you've arrived here from {Nancy's blog}, just click on the link at the end of each post to hop along to the next blog.

I couldn't resist the matryoshka dolls, and I was inspired to try to replicate the nesting.  I stamped the images in different colors of ink, and then colored them in with colored pencils.  The dolls were cut out, with the largest mounted on Blush cardstock (which was sponged with Ruby ink) and then mounted on Pear cardstock.  The main paper, coordinating cardstock, ribbons, and buttons were attached to the card front, and the large doll was mounted, centered on the front of the card.

Papers: CTMH White Daisy, Blush, Crystal Blue, and Pear cardstock, CTMH Sophia
Inks: CTMH Outdoor Denim, Ruby, and Sunset
Tools and Techniques: CTMH Cotton Candy and Colonial White ribbon, CTMH buttons, sponging, 3-D Mounting Foam, CTMH colored pencils, Terrifically Tacky Tape, 3M Write-on Transparency Film

For the inside of the card, I made another card from an overhead projector transparency film, and mounted one side of it to the back of the cardstock card front using Terrifically Tacky Tape (a must-have for adhering anything to the overhead transparency film).  Now the card has a front cover, a clear middle page, and a back cover.

I put a piece of patterned paper on the inside back and mounted the smallest doll.  The medium doll was mounted on the center of the clear page (using Terrifically Tacky Tape), and another piece of patterned paper was placed on the inside of the card front to provide a clean look.  Another tip when using transparency film:  because the material is thick, it won't lie flat when folded.  When scoring for the fold I find that perforating the score line allows the fold to lie flat.

Remember, Happy Place is only available March 1-31, 2014.  Contact your consultant, or click {here} to purchase one for yourself.

Now hop on over to {Beth's blog} to see her happy creation.

If you find any broken links along the way, the complete list of blogs can be found here.

February 2014 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Whether you just started here or landed here from {Krista's} blog, I hope you're enjoying the February 2014 Stamp of the Month blog hop featuring Wild About Love.

Sorry for no new artwork, but between a major inspection at work this week and losing 25% of our crew to pre-deployment training I've been working extended hours all week.  Semper Gumby.  Hop on over to {Pamela's} blog to see her project.

Studio J Layouts

I am horribly behind on my scrapbooking, but I actually managed to get this year's Christmas photos scrapped before New Year's Eve using Studio J.  There are SO many advantages to using Studio J, and the price is hard to beat.  You can choose from current papers or retired papers, and there are tons of layout options to accommodate your photos.  Plus, the embellishments and Stickease are available for every pack and color, making it possible to embellish your pages without spending a bundle.

Here are my Christmas 2013 Layouts.

Oh yeah, did I mention the free jpg files you get when you order Studio J layouts?

Visit my {website} and look under "Products" to find out how to get started with Studio J.

2013 Crafting Totals

Well, another year has flown by.  I didn't realize how quickly it passed until I went into my garage in December to get my Christmas tree, and realized that I never did get it put away on the top shelf of the garage when I took it down last year.

I wasn't very productive in terms of crafting, but I did accomplish a lot at work, completed my junior year of college (and made the Dean's List in the spring and fall), and did a little bit of volunteer work.

I remember that there were a few occasions when I had trouble updating the count gadget, but these numbers are fairly close.

Pages complete: 1

Cards complete: 7

Altered Items: 5

Digital Pages complete: 20

Sewing Items: 0

Crochet Items: 4 (one VERY INVOLVED in progress, about 75% complete)

Miscellaneous Items: 2 (a shadow box for a co-worker's retirement that I really must blog, a super cool geeky Christmas tree decoration that I also must really blog)

Once again, my expenditures far exceeded my production for the year, but I plan to do a better job of scheduling craft time into my schedule in 2014.  What are your crafting goals for 2014?