Jubilation - June SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to the June Stamp of the Month blog hop!  This month we have over 50 consultants participating to give you lots of great ideas with this versatile stamp set.  If you've arrived here from Annette's Creative Journey, you're in the right place.  When you're done here, you'll hop along to Fancy Melissa and check out what she made this month.

The 24 stamps in this month's set are so awesome!  I am picturing all kinds of uses for them, but I have to admit that my first thought when I saw this set was Mayberry.  I really really wanted to combine these stamps with the Mayberry papers!  And this is the result:

"Golden Section" pattern, pp 80-81 in Cherish - blank spot for journaling

I just love the way this layout turned out!  It's hard to believe that the not-yet-2yo in those pictures is now TEN.  But I think it's really paid off that I wait until I feel I have just the perfect things to use with my pictures instead of just slapping them on whatever paper I like at the time.  It's hard to tell here, but everything coordinates so well with her clothes in these pictures... I'm a little anal retentive about things like that!

Here's a little tool tip for today:   After stamping the flowers and cutting them out, I flipped them over on top of the back side of my Versamat.  I used the Embossing Stylus to round all of the flower petals, then flipped the flowers back right side up.  Then I pressed the embossing stylus into the center of the flower to push it back down while leaving the petals rounded.

Stamped flower petals rounded with embossing stylus on left; canvas badge button on right

In addition to the stamp of the month and the Mayberry papers, I used the following supplies:

• Exclusive inks in Smoothie and Cocoa
• Canvas Badge Buttons
• Designer Ribbon, Pink Collection
• Sparkles in Red, Pink, & Purple
• Opaques Pearls
• Micro-Tip Scissors
• Bohemian Alphabet
• Chocolate Alphabet Large
• Medium Embossing Stylus
• Cherish

Now make sure you head over to Fancy Melissa's for the next project!

Chairs To You! May Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to another Stamp of the Month blog hop! This month we have over 50 consultants on board to share their fabulous ideas with you. If you're here from Tammy Lea's My Creative Clubhouse, you're in the right place. If you're just starting out, you only need to continue on from here and work your way around until you're back where you started! When you are done here, you'll move along to Carla's Carla Creates blog.

The images in this month's stamp set are a hot trend right now - chairs!  With several styles to choose from, and some great coordinating sentiments, you're sure to find many uses for this set.  For my sample this month, I chose to create a fast & simple card.

The simplicity of this 10 minute card makes it perfect for mass production.  I think these would make terrific thank you cards for bridal shower or wedding gifts.  I started with a 4.25" x 5.5" card base in Olive CS, then added a 2.25" x 5.5" piece of striped paper to the top front.  I cut a .25" x 5.5" strip of Colonial White CS and lightly sponged the top & bottom edges with Desert Sand ink for dimension, then added it to the card.  I stamped the overstuffed chair stamp on the floral paper, cut it out, and popped it up on 3-D foam adhesive tape.  I then stamped the sentiment and heart image (3 times) directly on the card using Cocoa ink.  I used a matching Cocoa marker to color in the 3 hearts so they would show against the stripes.

Additional supplies used to create this card:

• Mayberry paper pack
• Stamp pads in Cocoa and Desert Sand
• Sponge daubers
• 3-D foam tape
• Micro-tip scissors

That was it - super simple!  Now, head on over to Carla Creates and see what she has in store for us today!

2011 Color of the Year

Did you know that Pantone announces a Color of the Year every year?  That's right, the people who are the first AND last word in color have given us what promises to be the most popular color in home and fashion this year.  And we all know how paper crafting follows these trends, right?  So, this year's color is RGB 203-101-134:

I know, that is quite a bright shade of pink!  But you can be sure to find similar shades in many scrapbook lines this year, and boy do they look great.  As an example, let me give you a little sneak peek of some products from Close To My Heart that will be available beginning February 1.

Announcing Sweetheart!  Actually darker than it seems here because of the specific papers used, this paper pack features the colors Baby Pink, Black, Cotton Candy, and Tulip.  Coordinating MyStickease includes loving sentiments and titles, along with hearts, flowers, brackets, and more.  The Sweetheart Workshop Kit contains the paper pack, a sweet exclusive stamp set, a Sweetheart assortment of 32 epoxy stickers in black with white polka dots, and a workshop guide, all at the discounted price of $29.95.

Presenting Sophia!  Named for Close To My Heart founder Jeanette Lynton's new granddaughter, these papers are full of fun flowers, stripes, dots, and phrases.  Featured colors are Blush, Goldrush, Hollyhock, and Pear.  (Hollyhock happens to be one of my favorite CTMH colors; it's the "perfect pink"!)  Coordinating MyStickease contain flowers, borders, and flourishes, and a great title piece.  The Sophia Workshop Kit contains the paper pack, the exclusive Sophia stamp set, a pink button assortment, Colonial White Waxy Flax, and a workshop guide, all for the discounted price of $29.95.

Return to Mayberry!  These pretty paper designs hearken back to a simpler time, including a quilted looking pattern and a slightly aged feel.  Coordinating MyStickease images include a cruiser bike, clouds, a kite, pennants, fruit & more, plus possible titles of Life is beautiful and Life's little Moments.  The Mayberry Workshop Kit includes a paper pack, an exclusive Mayberry stamp set, a package of canvas badge buttons, and a workshop guide, all for the discounted price of $29.95.

Other new products full of pink charm are the Sophia Journaling Spots, Pink Assortment Brads, and Pink Collection Ribbon (featuring the most beautiful flower ribbon EVER).  Be watching as February 1st approaches for more previews of Sweetheart, plus see the prettiest ribbon in the Pink Collection for the first time!

The online catalog is not available until February 1st, so if you NEED to see it sooner be sure to contact me to get your own copy!  While we wait, think PINK, and don't forget about the great January special promotion including the new Wings Workshop Kit.  You can view January's Inspiration brochure here and check it out for yourself.  Ready to order?  Be sure to visit my website for the fastest service, or email me for more information.  Need to see more ideas using January's new products?  You can see my earlier blog posts here and here.