It's a Circus In Here! - July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the July stamp of the month blog hop! If you have arrived here from Sheila's blog, or if you are just starting out, you are in the right place. If you get lost anywhere along the way, I have a list of all the hoppers right here. (Click now and it will stay open in its own window while you hop.)

This month we're featuring Circus Alphabet - it's full of fun, doodle-style uppercase letters and a full set of coordinating lowercase letters and numbers. I can see lots of uses for this set, but for today I used it to title a layout about a school music program.

I used a sketch from the Magic how-to book, changing the one 8x6 picture on the left page to two 4x6 pictures.

I decided to split the title into pieces and used all uppercase letters for "music" and the lowercase on the other 2 sections.

To make the letters stand out more against the patterned background, I first stamped with
Lagoon pigment ink.  Once that was dry, I used a white gel pen to fill in the centers.  Because the "C" has doodles in the center, I stamped it again on top of the gel ink once it was dry.

I had several pictures, so I added some Flip-Flaps to get all of the photos included.  I will go back and add a strip of journaling to some pictures so I can list the names or make additional notes.

If you're ready to shop, I have a list below. All links will open in a new window, so you can easily continue our hop!  When you're ready to move along, head on over to Maria's Stamp Momma blog and check out what she made this month.

In addition to the items shown below, I used some leftover large adhesive sparkles from a wall decor kit and a White Signo Uniball gel pen. The green ribbon is from my stash.

Lollydoodle Paper Packet

Sorbet Cardstock

Adventure Pigment Ink Pads

Sorbet Stamp Pad

Pear Stamp Pad

Aqua Dots

Flamingo Dots

Bitty Sparkles

Sparkles Black & Grey Assortment

Circus Alphabet

4x6 FlipFlaps

Rosettes and Vintage Country

Sorry for the lack of posts lately all! I have a new "day" job, and combined with kids out of school I have been sorely lacking in crafty time.  BUT, I have been continuing to play with the Jubilee paper pack and have another 2-page layout today.

Our annual family reunion has been going on for well over 80 years now, and for the last dozen or more we have held it in a little country church. So I thought the designs of Jubilee would be perfect for our indoor picnic-type setting.

Since Jubilee has a ton of country charm, and id already a little vintage looking, I added some paper rosettes with badge and button centers to add to the vintage feel. They are simple to make by scoring strips of paper on a Scor Pal (or on your paper trimmer with a scoring blade or embossing stylus), then fan-folding the paper. Simply adhere the ends and flatten into a circle held in place with a Glue Dot or two.

For my title, I thought the Framework alphabet would make a nice addition. I stamped it in Colonial White pigment ink directly on my Topiary cardstock base, then stamped it again (I used Cranberry) on my pattern paper. I cut out the patterned version inside the stamped lines so that the ink I stamped on my base would show around it.

If you look in my top photo, you can see the picture on the bottom of the left page looks a little odd. That's because I had a couple of extra pictures I wanted to include, but without having all three of them showing on the main page. (They were just a funny aside to the main story, so I stuck them in a Flip Flap. I'll add a strip of journaling inside the flap to explain it.)

When I looked for a sketch to use, I knew I wanted to do this, so I looked for a sketch using 9 pictures instead of the 11 I had.  I ended up with another sketch from Scrapbook Generations, which always make it look like I have mad skills!

If you're interested in any of the products I used, here is a handy shopping list. Don't forget - I will send you a grab bag worth at least $15 for every $30 you order before the end of June! And corporate's discount bundles with any $50 order are a nice deal too so be sure to check them out.

Jubilee Paper Packet

Topiary Cardstock

Jubilee Assortment

Framework Alphabet

Colonial White Ink Pad

4x6 Flip Flaps

Glue Dots

We Love a Parade - SG Blog Hop

Welcome to the Scrapbook Generation Blog Hop for June! If you've come here from Tasha's Creative Juice, or if you're just starting out, you are in the right place. Just be sure to complete the entire circle and leave comments on all blogs for a chance to win a sketch bundle of your choice.

I chose to use a sketch from the 4th of July bundle, creating a layout for (surprise, surprise) a 4th of July parade.

If you're one of my regular readers, you'll recognize many of the same products I used for the Stamp of the Month blog hop the other day. If you want to shop for anything, I'll have links at the bottom of this post.

 The papers are all from the Jubilee paper pack. I used some no-name gel pens for my stitching and my journaling.

 

The fireworks are some of the leftovers from the big stash I stamped and fussy cut last time using the Kaboom stamp set (June stamp of the month).  Remember, don't be intimidated by fussy cutting! It's easy to do while sitting watching TV, talking on the phone, waiting for dinner to finish, etc. I popped some of them up using 3-D Foam Tape. The title is stamped with the Framework alphabet stamp set and a discontinued stamp set called Doodle alphabet.

These star accents were punched using an Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio tool. I added an epoxy bubble to the center star only.


You can find the SG sketches in their books and as downloads in the SG store, and there is a free one every month in case you want to try it out.

Next on the hop is Cicily, leave a comment on each blog and one lucky commenter will receive a free sketch bundle of their choice from the store. The winner will be drawn on Monday, June 9th which leaves you one week to leave a comment.

In case you get lost at any point, here is the list all the blogs
Scrapbook Generation blog - http://scrapbookgeneration.blogspot.com/
Ruth - http://scrapmachine.com/
Steffanie - http://steffanies.blogspot.com/
Devra -  http://mycreativeview.blogspot.com/
Cassie - http://allsmilesandsunshine.blogspot.com/
Stephanie - http://craftyholidaygirl.blogspot.com
Michelle - http://ownerofchanel.blogspot.com
Katy - http://scrappinkaty.blogspot.com
Tina Gale - http://tiggersscrapplace.blogspot.com
Corrina - http://anotherthingoffthelist.blogspot.ca/
Casandra - http://casandra-scrappinbliss.blogspot.com/
Lori - http://loriannie670.blogspot.com
Tasha - http://tashascreativejuice.blogspot.com/
Lori - http://savingmine.blogspot.com/
Cicily - http://pinkdalmatianscrapper.com

4th of July bundle

2.5" x 3.5"

Honey

Kaboom

Jubilee

Desert Sand

Cranberry

Indian Corn Blue

Micro-Tip Scissors

3-D Foam Tape

1" x 1" block

2" x 2" block

3x3 block

Framework Alphabet

Shape Studio Tool

Epoxy Bubbles

Happy Anniversary To Me!! (And You!)

*Update: I forgot to mention - the retail value of each of my grab bags is at least $15.

June is a special month for me AND Close To My Heart. It's my 12th anniversary as a Close To My Heart Consultant and it's our founder and CEO Jeanette Lynton's 30th anniversary in the stamping and scrapbooking industry.

Before I get to our corporate promotion below, I have a special offer for you this month as well.  I have a pretty large stash of discontinued products new in package, so I am making up grab bags to share with all of you. For the month of June only, with every $30 you purchase, I will send you one of my grab bags. (Spend $60, get 2, and so on.) It's a win for both of us!  Also, everyone who places any order in the month of June will receive a free Annual Inspiration Idea Book! (We are returning to an annual idea book cycle, with smaller seasonal booklets as well.)

Now, of course, CTMH has a promotion for us as well. Miss out on some great recent products? Or need more of some products you love? Check it out:

When you place an order totaling $50 during the month of June, you can add your choice of one of six great gift collections to your order for just $30! Each collection has an original retail value of at least $50—some even as high as $65. And as long as you're spending the $50 anyway, you also qualify for the stamp of the month at $5. That brings your total savings up to anywhere from $33.50 to $47.65.

Here are the options for the gift collections (click to see larger):

To get the collection of your choice, just go shopping. When your qualifying order hits $50, a message will appear letting you click through to the choices. Remember to add the stamp of the month while you're there too.  When I receive notification of your order, I will send out the number of grab bags you qualify for. Idea Books will be sent out as soon as I receive them, probably near the end of the month.