Sunday, September 30, 2012

Christmas Flower - October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the October stamp of the month blog hop!  If you have arrived here from Sarita Schraeder's blog, or if you are just starting out, you are in the right place!  When you are done here, you'll hop along over to Lalia Harris' blog and check out what she made or us this month.

Very Merry Christmas, this month's stamp of the month, is a set of 11 fun stamps perfect for Christmas crafting.  There are images for tags, cards, ornaments, etc. and most of them coordinate with our Artiste Cricut cartridge. (Or you can of course cut things out by hand if you don't have the cartridge yet.)

I decided to think a little out of the box this month and use one of the stamps a little differently than it was intended:


Using very simple assembly, I used the ornament stamp and coordinating Cricut cut to make a poinsettia type flower.  Each ornament shape was scored in the middle and folded up, then the sides rolled back.  Then I simply inserted a Shimmer Designer brad through the hole of the first 5 ornament shapes, layering them around in a circle.  Then I added the next 5 ornament shapes underneath, moving them so their tips peeked out from between two "petals" on the top layer, and bent over the prongs of the brad.  Finally, I used Glue Dots to adhere the green "leaf" ornament shapes out away from the center so they would show from behind the rest of the flower. You can see the shaping of all of the pieces better in this photo:


For a finishing touch, I used Glitz glitter gel in green and pink in various spots.  This is a beautiful oversized piece, and would be great for a beautiful package topper, an ornament, part of table decor, and more.  I chose to use mine as a topper for the small grapevine tree in my kitchen. An easy way to do this is make a cardstock cone large enough to fit over the tree, then attach the flower to the cone using 3-D Foam Tape:


Finally, a quick word about the colors I chose for this.  To make things easy, I stuck to one color family, Adventure:

So that I could stamp in red and green and have it show up with nice contrast, I chose to use Hollyhock and Pear cardstock for my Cricut shapes and stamped in Cranberry and Topiary.

Here's a list of everything I used to make this project:
I would love to hear your comments before you go!  Then head on over to Lalia Harris' blog for her (awesome, I'm sure!)project.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Back on Track - Creations by AR September Blog Hop

Wow!  Who knew it had been so long since I posted?!  We've been very busy here with Dad out of town for a week, and DD #1 suddenly deciding to join the basketball team.  And we all know what happens when the rest of the family gets busy: Mom gets even busier!  So, today's post should have me back on track (in more ways than one), although I do leave later this morning for Close To My Heart Regional Celebration in St. Louis which will keep me busy for a few days.  (And should also be giving Dad a little payback for a couple of weeks ago!)

So, on to why we're all REALLY here today!  Adela at Creations by AR has created this totally fun Party Train template, and we're sharing our variations with you.  (She also has a Frame It Train Card template to match!)  I have to admit that my first thought for this template was Christmas Train, but since I didn't have "just the right papers", my mind immediately jumped to Circus Train!


So, who else wants to talk their kid into a circus birthday party just so they can make this train? (I do!!)  Can you just see a long line of those little train cars full of bags of treats?!  I'm so in love with this I wish I could have a circus party for myself! Check it out:





I used papers from Imaginisce's Animal Crackers line, and my train engineer is a chipboard Koala Ringmaster.  Since he was self-adhesive, and a bit short, I stuck him to a strip of cardstock that I adhered to the bottom to raise him up a bit. (It's a booster seat, lol!)





I used Versamark ink and the Buttons, Bits, and Bobs stamp set from Close To My Heart to make the designs on the wheels.  Red brads make the centers, then they are adhered with adhesive foam tape.





I added another chipboard sticker to the car, this time a box of popcorn.  Then I popped a bag of popcorn flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans in and tied it closed with coordinating ribbon.  All ready for the circus to come to town! I hope you enjoyed my version of this cute little train.  Be sure to leave a comment by midnight central time on SUNDAY, and you can win your choice of either the party train or 3-D train card template!  Now, be sure to check out all the other designers' projects, and you can have a chance to win on each blog!


Adela Rossol:   http://cbyar.blogspot.com/
Amy Park:   http://tethered2home.com/ 
Lisa Somerville:   http://www.lisasomerville.com/
Lori Brown:  YOU ARE HERE!!
Magdalena Cortez:   http://axesdesigns.blogspot.com/

Friday, September 7, 2012

More "It's Your Day" - and a Giveaway!

Oops, this is what happens when you forget to hit "publish"!  Here's the layout I was going to share Tuesday:

Today I have a layout to share with you, showing how Close To My Heart stays up on trends AND works great with other brands you have in your stash.  I LOVE my CTMH, but obviously most of us use multiple brands of supplies.  The great thing is that Jeanette is always developing things at the forefront of trends so our products are sure to coordinate not just with each other, but with the other new products on the market!


I used the It's Your Day stamp set with Echo Park Paper's "So Happy Together" collection.  I combined their collection with CTMH cardstock & inks - duplicating the trendy hexagon shapes.  The stamps fit great inside the hexagons too.

Here are a few closeups:




Remember that you can get your stamp set for only $5 with any $35 purchase on my website!

Now for the giveaway!  Just go like my Facebook page and look for the giveaway photo for details.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Contest Layout!

I was going to post a layout today using the It's Your Day stamp set again, but I've had a change of plans!  I forgot that voting begins today on the Fiskars Fuse contest I entered, so I want to show you what I made for that!


I used my Cricut to cut more circle shapes, and used round embellishments, to repeat the shapes that Fiskars supplied.  I used some purple CS and ribbon edge anchors from my stash, and everything else is from Pink Paislee's Vintage Vogue collection!



If you feel so inclined, I would be honored if you would vote for my entry!  You can do so here:
https://www.facebook.com/fiskars/app_416658965052303?view_entry=2383720&app_data=view_entry:::2383720

Thanks for stopping by today. I'll try to have that promised layout up tomorrow!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

It's Your Day! National Stamping Month Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our National Stamping Month Blog Hop!  Here at Close to My Heart, we want to celebrate the everyday moments in our lives.  Close to My Heart is doing that by offering an amazing exclusive double-stamp set called “It’s Your Day”.  This is two D-size stamp sets in one!

This amazing set has nearly 50 images designed to inspire you to capture your life one day at a time.   There are trendy chevron backgrounds, classic images as well as versatile phrases.  You can get your own stamp set through September 30 for only $5 with a qualifying order of $35.  This stamp set has a value of $35.90!

We also are happy to announce that one of our consultants, Maria Woodworth, of Maria's Paper Craft Place is offering blog candy. To be eligible to win, please be sure to leave a comment on each blog post and become a follower of her blog. Thanks so much Maria!


We're so excited to be doing this hop and we have a fabulous lineup with some very talented ladies. There will be lots of fun projects.

If you are just starting out at this blog, you should start at the beginning at Lucy's blog - http://www.love2createitall.com
. I made two cards for today's hop, each with a different look.  (I also used them on a layout I'll post Monday.) Both cards are 5" x 7".



I thought the chevron design stamp would make a great rainbow design.  One tip: it is WAY easier to stamp on the cardstock strips rather than directly on the card (which was my first idea).  I had trouble trying to get the spacing even and the design straight, so I tried this.  And I totally LOVED it!  Adding the bike & sentiment in black made a nice contrast & I love that this design is easy to replicate and super for any number of occasions.


I went more simple with this card, stamping the solid butterfly repeatedly using Versamark ink.  I then stamped the chevron butterfly in Lagoon on White Daisy CS, cut it out, and mounted it on the card front.  I popped up the wings using pieces of 3-D foam tape.  I also stamped the sentiment in Lagoon, directly on the card.

Supplies used for the first card:
Supplies used for the second card:
 The next stop on your blog hop fun is Amie KigerBe sure to leave a comment, then head on over and see what she made for us!

 Here's the entire blog hop lineup in case you get lost along the way:
  1. Lucy ~ http://www.love2createitall.com
     
  2. Darla ~ http://www.stampingunderdoctorsorders.blogspot.com/ 
  3. Lori B ~ http://savingmine.blogspot.com/   <<>>   
  4. Amie Kiger~http://www.mimimyselfandibykigz.blogspot.com/
  5. Deanne J - http://deannestamps.blogspot.com
  6. Jennifer Kramerhttp://4heartsscrapbooking.blogspot.com/ 
  7. Carolyn ~ http://www.nuts4scrappin.blogspot.com 
  8. Bethany - http://stampingathome.blogspot.com
  9. Eva Friesen ~ http://loveofcreating.blogspot.com
  10. Maria Woodworth ~ http://mariawoodworth.blogspot.com
  11. Julia Hammondhttp://youcancreatectmh.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for stopping by!  We hope you have enjoyed all of our projects.
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