Live Out Loud - July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our monthly blog hop!  If you are coming from Haley Dyer's blog, or if you are just starting out, you are in the right place.  When you're done here, you'll hop along to Teresa Scrivens' blog and see what she made for us this month.

This month's stamp set is Live Out Loud, a set of 8 graphic sentiments.  I particularly like this stamp set for scrapbooking, but of course I can see it used for all kinds of other cool projects as well!  Here's the layout I made with these stamps:

I thought these stamps added a fun addition to my layout.  I also cut some additional sentiments from one of the "zip strips" on one of the papers and adhered them to some chipboard hearts I covered using another paper.  I also distressed everything with my Cocoa ink pad, using a direct-to-paper method.

Here's a closeup of the stamp/heart on the left page:

And here's a closeup of the right:

Supplies used to make this layout:

• Live Out Loud, stamp of the month
• Stella paper pack and Complements Canvas Shapes
• Dimensional Elements Hearts (also come in the Stella workshop on the go if you want that cute stamp set!)
• Exclusive Inks Stamp Pads in Cocoa and Lagoon

OK, now don't forget to head over to Teresa's blog!

A Little Birdie Told Me...

that I need to remind you about some great promotions going on this month!  I have a sweet card to share with you first, of course.

I made this fun card using the Stella paper pack and this month's Stamp of the Month, Life is Tweet.  Sometimes stamped cards can feel a little flat if you aren't adding embellishments, so I have a few tricks for you!

1. Stamp your image on the background cardstock AND on a pattern paper.  Cut the main part of the image out of the pattern paper and layer it over the stamped image on the background.
2. Add more dimension by only adhering the centers of things like flowers and use a fingernail to curl them away from the background.
3. Before adhering, use an X-acto knife to cut a portion of an image, like the wing of a bird, and use a fingernail to curl them up slightly.
4. Add some small chipboard elements for added dimension.  (The hearts I used on my card come right in the Stella Workshop on the Go if you go that route.)

Now, want to get the best bargain ever on that sweet stamp set, and a few others as well?  This month is Stampaganza with Close To My Heart, which means that you get a free stamp set for every two that you buy.  Then you can get the Stamp of the Month set for only $5 when you spend $50.  So, here's a great example of the bargain you can get:

Buy 2 "D" size stamp sets for $17.95 each and get another free, buy 2 "B" size stamp sets for $9.95 and get another free, then buy the Stamp of the Month for $5.  You spend a total of  $60.80 (before tax & shipping) and you get $101.65 worth of stamps - pretty awesome, right?  If you're ready to spend a little and save a lot, head on over to the My Acrylix Stamp Sets portion of my website and start shopping! Don't forget to add the Stamp of the Month set to your cart before you check out!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope to see you again soon.

Life is Good - May Spotlight Blog Hop

Welcome to our CTMH product spotlight blog hop!  If you are just starting out, or if you have arrived here from Luisa's blog, you are in the right place.  When you're done here, you'll hop along to Nikka's blog and see what fun project she has for us.

This month we are featuring our metal accessories.  You can find most of them on page 127 of the current Spring/Summer Idea Book.  I thought I would use a few different little bits on a fun 3-D project.

I made this great little house from one of our new Milk Cartons.  I had seen some done up as bird houses, but I thought a real house would make a great gift box for a house warming gift card to Lowe's or someplace similar.  Here's a view from the other direction:

The metal clip on top comes with the box (they come in a set of 2).  Slide it over and the box opens like, you guessed it, a milk carton.  I used the following featured metal accessories:

• Filigree Charms - in the triangle section at the top.  It reminded me of a decorative attic vent.
• Pin Clips - on the left side in the top photo.  I used it to hold a sweet little yard sign.
• Mini-Medley Accents Pewter - on the front door.  I used a standard sized brad for a door knob.

I also used these other fun CTMH products to make this:

• My Creations Milk Carton
• Stella paper pack
• Clear Sparkles (windows)
• 3-D foam adhesive tape
• Treetops stamp set (discontinued)
• A Rainbow stamp set (the little bird in the tree)
• Exclusive Inks stamp pads in Olive, Cocoa, and Lagoon
• Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge - for the little sign in the yard
• Bakers Twine, Paradise Assortment

Other products used:

• Cricut Expression
• Plantin Schoolbook Cricut cartridge (for grass)

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoyed my project idea.  Now don't forget to hop along to Nikka's blog.  I'm sure she has a great project in store for us! Pin It

Tag It Challenge

Today begins a new challenge month at Scrappy Frog's Challenge Blog.  This month's challenge is to use a tag.

I made a 5x7 card that I thought might be fun for Mother's Day.  I used the following supplies from Close To My Heart in my card:

• Stella paper pack
• Friendship Bouquet, May 2012 stamp of the month
• Durables round studs
• White cardstock for card base

I also used these other supplies:

• Copic markers
• ATG adhesive

That's it for today!  If you'd like to play along, be sure to head over to Scrappy Frog's. Thanks for stopping by; hope to see you again soon!

Thoughtful Tidings from Stella - February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the February Stamp of the Month blog hop!  And I'm sharing another of the fabulous new collections from Close To My Heart today as well...  If you've arrived here from Krista's Simply Creating Together blog, or if you're just starting out, you are in the right place.  And once we're done here, you'll move along with Jen Rubio and see what she has created for us.

Now, on to the hop!  Thoughtful Tidings is a set of 11 stamps full of messages greatly suited to all kinds of cards or scrapbook pages, with several suggested coordinating Cricut cuts from the Art Philosophy cartridge.  Check it out! >>>

Here's the first thing I've created with this stamp set:

Now, you MAY have noticed that I used a Cricut cut for my stamped sentiment, but not the one shown on the carrier sheet with this image.  I wanted it to coordinate with the shape of our new Colonial White Die-Cut Cards & Envelopes.  If you want to try a different shape but aren't sure about it, just use some scrap paper, find a cut shape you like, and start with the suggested size on the carrier sheet.  If it doesn't work, just try different sizes and/or shapes until you get a result you like!  I also cut a border with an edge similar to the card flap & Cricut shape I used.  This particular border had some designs in it so it was not a solid border.  Using my Cricut Gypsy, I hid all of those extra cuts so I got only the outline.  I did that because I was using pattern paper and it didn't want it to be too busy.  Don't have a Gypsy or Cricut Craft Room?  Just cut the border from solid cardstock and it would look fine!

I would also like to point out the lovely flower stamp that I paper pieced for this card, and the rope broder image on the card flap.  They are from the stamp set that comes only in the Pemberly Workshop on the Go.  See how great they look with this paper?  Don't feel like those WOTG stamp sets are only good for the papers they come with!  They can be used with all sorts of things.

Finally, please allow me to introduce you to Stella, a colorful beauty who's geared up for all sorts of adventures!  Here's some beautiful artwork created by our Corporate designers:

And that artwork only shows one side of each of the three papers - there are 3 more fabulous designs to choose from!  And that's true of every collection from CTMH - if there happens to be one design you don't care for (and I will tell you that there is one in this collection that I don't care for, a rarity for me), the other side is likely to thrill you!

All of the items I showed are available on my website beginning February 1:

• S1202 Thoughtful Tidings, $17.95 (or only $5 with any $50 purchase) - available only until February 29
• X7147B Stella Paper Packet, $9.95
• G1033 Pemberly Workshop on the Go (stamp set), $29.95
• Z1738 Colonial White Die-Cut Cards & Envelopes, $6.95
• Z1338 Sunset Mini-Medley Accents, $4.95
• Z1686 Art Philosophy exclusive Cricut Collection, $99.00

Thanks for visiting with me today!  Now it's time to hop along and visit with Jen Rubio; let's go find out what she has created for us...