Friday, September 30, 2011

October SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to our CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring October's SOTM called Holiday Magic, which is an wonderfully cheerful set of 18 stamps. I have been dying to bust this on out since July, and it's finally time! I just LOVE Christmas Stamps!

If you have come here from JILL'S BLOG you are on the right path. If you get lost, you may want to go back to Helen's Blog to find the entire list of blog hoppers! This month we have over 60 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing beautifully crafted artistic creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. Hopping is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I saw a window card on Pinterest and it made me think, "Our tree would be so cute for that!" So I whipped out some window diecuts using the new CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (Decorative Layer, Square 1). I made two for the card, and layered between them a bit of page protector that I embossed with snowflakes stamped in White Daisy Ink and then sprayed the window plastic with the spritz pen filled with 10 drops white Daisy Ink and water before carefully embossing with Clear Detail EP so the plastic wouldn't melt. I love that the CTMH heat tool is a lower temp so I can achieve results like this without ruining my project!

I used the Cricut Window diecut as a template for where to cut the hole in my card front and Believe Plaid paper to make the window. Then I realized - with a big window like that, everything I make to embellish my card needs to be 3-D or double sided! I textured my wooden window frames by lightly stamping repeatedly with the striped stocking cuff image in Desert Sand ink...front AND back!

I did a resist embossing technique for the trees, stamping the image onto Sweet Leaf Cardstock with White Daisy ink (to "frost" the tree image) and clear embossing, then inking over with Ponderosa Pine ink to bring out the embossed pattern. I decked my tree out in strings of Bitty sparkles and Red and clear bigger Sparkles (even on the back  -the tree is double sided, remember?). I added one of the cute new Corrugated stars painted with Pearl Paint, and a fabulous Bling button to finish off my card front. Couldn't you just put those on everything?

On the inside I rolled the scripty tree in Sweet Leaf and Ponderosa Pine inks to create my snow scene trees. I stamped the snowflakes in Pearl Paint embossed with Clear EP across the top. I added scrap Desert Sand Cardstock tree stumps, inked direct to paper with my Desert Sand Ink pad. Finally I carefully stamped the second half of the sentiment so it would hide behind the window frame when the card was closed...no peeking!
I've alsodone an adorable Baby Card using the stocking from this set as a baby Bootie. I love to find a non-traditional use for every stamp set!

Now "Hop" on over to KATY'S BLOG to see what adorable thing she's crafted! Be sure to visit all the Consultants in the hop to get some great crafty ideas for more fun projects! Remember, the October SOTM is only available until the last day of the month. Be sure to ask your CTMH Consultant how to get yours for just $5 or click here to shop now and bring this "Holiday Magic" home to you.

This post also added to the Heart 2 Heart Die Cuts Challenge.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Mojo Monday 208

Mojo is back (yea!), and I'm (almost) not sick anymore, so here's my square card for the Mojo Monday 208 sketch found here. If you don't know Mojo, once a week they email you an adorable sketch to fill in however your heart desires. This week my heart belongs to the October SOTM called Holiday Magic. I know - it's not available until Saturday, but I'm jumping the gun! I've been dying to play with this one since July!!

The last week of the month is the round or square challenge. I made another of those 6x6 Kraft cards I've been obsessed with lately. I trimmed off the scalloped flap and used it on the main embellishment panel instead. I used Creme Brulee Cardstock and the Juniper blue/green patterns from the Typeset paper packet.

Instead of using this set to make a Christmas Card as intended, I shortened the stocking a bit by placing the cuff image super low and made baby booties! I stamped the BACK of the stocking image in Creme Brulee ink and trimmed them out. I stamped the front curlie-q from the sleigh runners around the edges of the cut out stocking for. a few sparkles on the tops of the cuffs finished off my baby booties in sparkly style!

The LITTLE ONE sentiment cam from the Polka dot Alphabet, stamped in Black ink onto Creme Brulee CS. I like that one because it's cute but still simple to fussy cut. I grabbed my CTMH piercing ruler and got to poking so I could stitch around the outside with a double strand of Black floss. I popped up the main embellishment panel with 3-D foam tape - boy, do I need to order some more of that...I can't stop popping up everything lately!

More art to come today...gotta get caught up again now that I'm no longer suffering from the plague. It's good to be back!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

I'm back! More Christmas Swap Sneak Peek!

Whew! Am I glad to be back in the stamp room! I got so sick last week...Gabe brought home a slight cold from school, and he was just fine, but I was dying! I was so missing my stamp room - a new stamping friend came over today to visit and I had to show her the room with all my projects from last week spread out everywhere after I had abandoned my work space lickety split. I'm not messy, just creative, right?

Anyhow, I was inspired (and awake enough) to whip out swap card number 3 tonight, inspired by a fab card I saw on Pinterest (where else?) by Glenda. I loved the simplicity of her card, and I knew just what to use to make my own CTMH version - this FAB new stamp set called Fill in the Blank - Holiday! It's all these cute outlines of holiday images (tree, stocking, ornament...) that you stamp onto patterned paper then trim out (or cut them on cricut then stamp!) to create your images. How cool is that?

I apologize for the picture quality - I can't remember where I left the camera from last week, so I had to use my cell phone. I stamped the ornament image onto three of the pretty B&T patterns from the new Believe papers and trimmed them out carefully. Then I pierced the ornament strings using my favorite new CTMH ruler. Added the sentiment block in the bottom corner using 4 different sets - I wanted the "merry" to be in three different fonts, plus I added the December block from the November SOTM (another sneak peek - shh...don't tell!) in Sky behind the Cranberry Merry sentiments for more depth. A bit of Silver Glitter Glitz and some Pearl Opaques and Card number 3 is done!

I've got scrap pages and one more Christmas card to post this week...soon as I find that camera...

Monday, September 12, 2011

More Christmas Card Swap Sneak Peek with Cricut!

I'm back in the groove... My fabulous hubby let me while the hours away in my scrap room today and I did not waste my (suddenly) free time! I whipped out the Elemental club pages (adorable...will post shortly...) and the second of my 4 Christmas cards I need to get done this week. Eight down, eight to go!

I did this one on the new 6x6 Kraft cards. You know I loves me some standard size cards, but the little die cut scalloped edge on these is too fab to pass up. I cut out the snowflake background and the embellishment snowflakes with my new Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge. It was so easy!

I so badly wanted to glitterize that snowflake background, but I was also loving the clean vibe of the white against the blue background, so I decided
to get my glitter on with the striped paper on the left. I got out my old friend, the Xyron machine. You know, that little purple guy gathering dust in the back of your closet? Then I cut and sanded a bunch of 1/4 inch strips of CS. Ran my strip of Crystal Blue CS through my trusty Xyron, flipped it so that the adhesive was facing up, and adhered the strips of CS to make the stripes. Then I dipped the whole concoction into my other old friend, Prisma Glitter to fill in the rest of the adhesive areas. Glittery, stripey coordinating paper...brilliant! Finihsed it off with some layered Cricut cut snowflakes embellished with Pearl Opaques and Silver Glitter Glitz Gel.

I did a fun marbling technique on the main sentiment stamp, from the new December 25 stamp set. First, I inked the stamp with Crystal Blue (my lighter color). Then I took my Twilight (darker) pad and pressed it here and there about the stamp.

Then I held the stamp away from my work area and spritzed it lightly with...I should say water, but being rather comfy in my chair, I used my cleaning spritz that was sitting right there on the table. Anyhow, dampen the image with a spritz of liquid... and the ink will bead up a bit like the image on the right. Then stamp it down onto your cardstock, give it a bit of a press, and let it sit for a few moments. You want all the misted ink to have a chance to really sink into the paper.

When you're done stamping you'll have a lovely marbled color to your image. Just make sure you work from lightest ink color to darkest or you'll ruin your pad!

When I was done stamping my sentiment, I trimmed out the center of the marbled label and mounted it with 3-D Foam tape onto one I stamped in Grey Wool onto the tag I cut with my Cricut. This marbling technique works great with solid flower type stamps too - soft and almost watercolor-ish.

I'm planning to make this a photo card. I put a bit of velcro dot under the front flap to hold it closed, and that gives me 6 x 12" of space on the inside for photos of the boys and a holiday letter....perhaps I've found my Christmas card this year?

Anyhow, only two more Christmas card designs to go this week, plus Club pages will be up soon. Happy stamping!

Linked to Heart 2 Heart Challenges Die Cuts Challenge...lots of cricut art there!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Sneak Peek: Christmas Card Swap

Ooh - Mojo Monday took the week off and I guess I lost my mojo! Between Gabe's freakouts over Kindergarten and getting everyone settled into the new routines, my poor stamp pad upstairs was super neglected this week. I did get to hang with my scrapbook club gals on Friday and that invigorated me into getting started on the 1st of four cards I'm doing for my friend Tina Lovell's swap this month. I love it when the scrappers are here!

The card itself was inspired by a circle card I saw on Pinterest done by a talented gal named Shari Carroll. Her lovely scattering of circles down one side of the card made me think of the new Countdown set that was already sitting on my desktop (since I'm working on a adorable Advent Calendar box...coming soon!). I cut out all the circles and that scalloped/punched border with my new Cricut and CTMH's awesome Art Philosophy Cartridge. I added some extra bits of the new Believe papers that weren't in the original design and a lot of the new red Glitter Glitz gel plus BLING! I used pearls, 2 kinds of Sparkles, and one of the fabulous new Bling Buttons, which I love more than chocolate. OK, not more than chocolate, but it's a pretty tight race.

More cards and artwork is coming - I feel the creativity wheels a-turnin' again!

Also linked to Running With Glitter's cool Linky party - check out the fun!
H2H Challenges Virtual Holiday Card Swap

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...