G45 "Twelve Days of Christmas" Cards

Here's a look at my latest obsession.  After moving to Iowa, I signed up for classes at my LSS--mostly as an excuse to get out and meet people.  I took a few classes using G45 papers, and that inspired me to stop hoarding and start using the G45 collections that I already have.  So here's what I made with last year's G45 Christmas line "The Twelve Days of Christmas."  I'd love for you to leave a comment and let me know which is your favorite!  Thanks!

July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hi!  Welcome to the July Stamp of the Month blog hop!  If you have just come from Lala's blog, you are on the right path.  This month we are featuring a fabulous alphabet set called "Circus Alphabet."  Take a look:

If you love the look of doodling, but aren't 100% confident in your own ability to doodle letters and numbers, then this is the set for you!  Take a look at how I used this stamp set on the cover of my art journal:

I stamped the letters with black archival ink on a piece of tissue paper and colored them with Copic markers on the BACK of the tissue paper so that the black ink wouldn't smear.  The journal cover was already painted and stenciled, and I painted with white acrylic paint over the bright colors of the background where I wanted my title to go so that it would show up.  After all the paint was dry, I tore the tissue paper around the image and adhered it to my book with soft gel medium (matte).  Last I doodled and stamped all over the book.  What do you think?  Personally, I'm delighted with the way it turned out!  Leave me some love in the comments, and then hop over to Lala's blog for her SOTM creation.  Happy hopping!

June Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Kaboom!!!

And welcome to the Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month blog hop for June!  If you have just come from Judy's blog, you are on the right track.  This month we have an earth-shattering stamp set called "Kaboom!"  Take a look:

This set has so many images to play with, you hardly need paper!  Here's my card:

It's ALMOST a one-layer card.  The stripes across the bottom are a zip strip from the Jubilee paper pack, and the arrow is actually stamped and cut out--mainly because I added it at the end thinking that I needed something to focus attention on the sentiment in the center.  This was a fun and simple card to make.  Really it only took me about 5 minutes once I had played around on a few scraps to see where I wanted my stamping to go.  Do you like it?  Let me know in the comments before you hop off to Teresa's blog!  And THANKS for hopping with us!

May Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hi, scrappy friends!  Welcome to the Close To My Heart blog hop for the May Stamp of the Month!  If you have just come from Joy's blog, you are on the right path!  Take a look at this cute stamp set:

I had so many ideas of cards and layouts to go with these stamps, it was hard to choose what to do.  But finally, I decided to use the "I love you to the moon and back" stamp with CTMH's gorgeous Balloon Ride paper.  Here's my card:

Isn't that just fabulous???!!!  (If I do say so myself, lol).  I stamped the sentiment in Slate and sponged the edges with a retired pink ink.  Then I added a bit of bling with my Stardust gelly roll pen.  Here's a close-up:

The organdy ribbon is from my stash, and there you go!  I think I love this card to the moon and back!  HA!  Now hop along over to Lucy's blog and check out her amazing creation.  Leave me some love in the comments before you go--I really enjoy hearing from those of you that hop with us!

Washi Tape Blog Hop

Hi, Sticky--um, I mean, Crafty Friends!  Welcome to the Close To My Heart WASHI TAPE Blog Hop!  If you just came from Adeline's blog, you are in the right place.  Did you know that CTMH now carries eight styles of washi tape?  Personally, I have already purchased EVERY style, lol.  (I'm sure this comes as a huge surprise to those of you who know me.  Hee, hee, hee).  I love washi tape; it's one of those things that's just fun!  Ya know?  It just is!  And I had even more fun doodling on top of my washi tape.  Check it out:

For this card I used these washi tapes:  Gold Polka Dot, Ruby Chevron, Honey Triangles, Lagoon Houndstooth, and Gold Polka Dot again.  I left a couple of areas white and did some doodling in those areas.  The doodling was done with Pitt pens and Sharpie pens.  I also drew the frame around the washi tape and colored it with Prismacolor pencils.  This is a fun technique that could be used on a card or layout or even in a mixed media project.

Now it's time for you to hop on over to Judy's blog.  Leave me some love in the comment section if you'd like to before you go.  Have fun hopping!

April Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hi!  Thanks for "hopping" by!  If you have just come from Melissa's blog, you are in the right place.  For my creation this month, I wanted to try Color Blocking, and this is just the stamp set to use.  Here's a look at my card:

To make this card, I attached the stamps backward to my blocks--so that the image was stuck to the block, and I was stamping with the flat backside of the stamp.  I went with neutral ink colors--Saddle, Champagne, and Cashmere.  A word of warning, if you try this--don't hate your colors when you first stamp them!  They will dry much lighter.  The leaf stamp is from the Jubilee Workshop on the Go stamp set.  All of these products are available on my secure website HERE.  And here's a look at the stamp set:

Now, hop on over to Kathi's blog and check out what she made.  Leave me some love in the comments, and have fun hopping!

Emboss It Blog Hop

Hi, friends!  Welcome to the Emboss It Blog Hop!  

If you're hopping along with us, you have just come from Brae's blog.  Didn't you love her cute Easter card???!!!  The new CTMH embossing folders are so versatile!  Here's a look at two VERY different ways that I used one embossing folder:

For this adorable birthday card, I used my CTMH stamp pads with the "Dot" embossing folder to create my own background paper.  Just ink up the INSIDE of the FRONT cover of the embossing folder with your CTMH stamp pads (apply ink directly from the pad onto the folder).  Insert white paper and emboss.  The flat part of your paper will pick up the ink, while the embossed dots stay white.  How cool is that???!!!  Next I sprayed my paper with a shimmer mist which doesn't show up very well in photos, but I think you can see it a little better here:

The balloons and banner are from one of the stamp sets in the Cricut Artiste collection.  Cute, huh?  On the next card, I went in a totally different direction and left my embossing stark white:

 It's easy to emboss specific areas of your card.  I just slid the paper in part way--3/4" at the bottom and 3 1/2" at the top, leaving an inch without embossing in between.  Then I used my Score Pal to add a line delineating that space.  The embossing dresses up what would otherwise be a boring white background to make this an elegant and sophisticated card.  I love the stark white with only one additional color.  The stamp sets I used were Trim the Tree (A1149) and Yuletide Greetings (D1553).  Add a little bling (which TOTALLY goes with the sentiment), and you're good to go!  Have you started working on YOUR Christmas cards yet???  You can order your products HERE from my website and be ready for Christmas before Thanksgiving!
Now hop over to Keeley's blog and see what she's been embossing.  But first, leave me some love in the comments if you're so inclined.  Thanks for hopping with us!

March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hi, crafty friends!  Welcome to the March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  If you're hopping with us, you have just come from Keeley's blog.  Wasn't her artwork just fantastic???!!!  Today I am sharing a simple layout with you.  I used paper from the Jubilee paper pack because I thought the colors represent the traditional colors of the adorable Matryoshka dolls (Russian nesting dolls) in this month's SOTM.  Here's a look at the stamp set:

Did anyone catch the segment about Matryoshka dolls during the Olympic coverage?  It was very interesting!  Most are handmade in businesses that have been in the same families for years.  I love those little dolls and all the cute sentiments in this set!  I decided I wanted to use the "like mother/like daughter" sentiment with this photo of my bestie and her mom:

This was an amazingly simple layout to create because of our wonderful CTMH paper.  The red background paper (from Jubilee) is already printed with the doily, ticket, and strips of paper/tape that you can barely see behind the Matryoshka dolls.  It also already has the distressing along the edges and the flourishes in the top right corner.  You could totally plop a photo or two on this paper and call it quits (and have a stunning layout), but I added the diamonds and damask with paint, ink, and stencils.  The blue and yellow paper strips are more Jubilee papers; tags are from my stash.  And of course the stamps--don't you love them???!!!  These dolls are fun to color and easy to cut out when you want to use them as an embellishment as I did here.  You can order all of these products on my secure website HERE.  If you like what you see, leave me some love in the comments, please!  To continue on the hop, your next stop is Karen's blog.  Have fun hopping!

B is for Baby

Just a cute and quick baby card--made with Babycakes papers and the B is for Baby stamp set.  This stamp set coordinates with the Cricut Artiste Cartridge. The "baby baby baby" strip is one of the paper edges.  Isn't it cute?

Throwback Thursday--Footloose

For Throwback Thursday, I went back to the 2012 Spring/Summer catalog and used this beachy paper from Footloose.  These pages are based on the LOs in the Footloose Workshop on the Go.  I like to start with a sketch and then change it up to fit the photos I want to use.  I also used stamps from the Footloose WOTG stamp set.  The flourishes and flowers are die-cuts from a CTMH special from years ago--something I HAD to buy, then threw in a drawer and forgot about.  (But none of you know anything about that, right???!!!  LOL!)  I distressed all the edges to make the flowers and flourishes pop more.  This paper is so perfect for this layout about a nautical antique shop called The Sea Hagg--a little place we stumbled upon in Cortez, Florida.  I'm entering this LO in the Heart 2 Heart Flourishes Challenge.  H2H is a great challenge blog for anyone who loves (and uses) Close To My Heart products.  Check it out!

Happy Camper Happy Valentine's Day!

Here is the Valentines card I made for my husband.  Isn't that adorable?  (If I do say so myself!  Humility is not my strong point, lol).  But I must confess that I totally CASEd this card from Amy Moore.  I first spotted her card on the Heart 2 Heart Challenge blog HERE.  The stamp set I used is Camper Crazy--C1578.  My husband and I have an RV, and I think it's the only thing he loves as much as he loves me so this card was perfect!  One of the things I love about papercrafting is that we share ideas.  And of course, I also believe in giving credit where credit is due, so thank you, Amy!

Vintage Valentines--Part Two

Here are the last of the vintage valentines that I made.  The vintage images are from Tweety Jill.

The "postage stamp" stamps are from Club Scrap.  Papers from Club Scrap, Tweety Jill, and my stash.  Hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day!  Love ya!