April SOTM Blog Hop!

Welcome to our CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring April's SOTM, which is called "You Are..." , a awesome set of 15 cool stamps!

If you have come here from KATY'S BLOG, you are on the right path! This month we have over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's original 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!

This month I created a Lego Wall hanging for my super particular oldest boy. He create all kinds a ..well...hmmm...interesting mini men combos, and gets very upset when his younger siblings (ages 4 and 2...not the gentlest of lego handlers) break his creations.

I used a silver Ikea frame that I bought ages ago for like $10. I used a 5-minute epoxy (pheew!) to adhere the Lego blocks I stole from Gabe's stash to the front of the completed frame. After an overnight cure, the blocks are super sturdy and he can attached and detach his mini-men creations easily!

Here's a close up of the stamping on the mat that came right in the frame. I randomly stamped all the images in the set using his favorite Lego colors: Cranberry, Pacifica, Sunny Yellow, and Pear. Then I overstamped with the grid image (my favorite) in second generation Grey Wool. I went back through and stamped with the actual lego blocks as well, so there are little pear colored Lego logos and block outline shapes as well. Finally I added dots of sparkle with Silver Glitter Glitz.  The lining paper is the backside of some retired Fanfare star print paper that I stamped repeatedly with the line image in Sunny Yellow ink.

And I'm linking this to the Moxie Fab Household Items Challenge - they've got a gob of super fun challenges posted right now! I'm also linking to a fab new blog recommended to me by the awesome Julie from local scrapbook store Whimzee's: Today's Creative Blog Get Your Craft On Linky Party. Really amazing projects - go check it out!

I also wanted to use the April SOTM stamps in a more girlie way - so I made a flower card! I used Sketch 159 from the Card Patterns Blog - they always have the cutest sketches! I chose the Color Throwdown #185 scheme - in this case, Grey Wool, Blush, Pear, and Black. I am a big Sweet Leaf gal, so Pear was a bit of a stretch for me. That why I love color challenges - makes you reach for a pad you are neglecting! Finally, since I am also a super flower loving gal, this set was a little butch for me (says the woman with three boys)...so I took heart from the Moxie Fab DIY Your Own Embellishments Challenge and made some fun 3-D flowers using my Art Philosophy Cartridge! I cut them in three sizes starting at 3/4", curled the petals on each layer, attached them in the centers with white eyelets (remember those? I think I forgot how to use my crop-a-dile, lol) and topped the eyelets with self adhesive sparkles. The ribbon I got with a Groupon at my local scrapbook store, Life's a Scrapbook, so I don't know who makes it - but I loved it enough to buy 5 yards for my stash...in two colors...just in case...

Finally, I did two embossing treatments on the background for the Heart 2 Heart Embossing challenge. I inked my Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder with Powder Puff Black ink I picked up at the Quick Quotes booth at CK this year. Then I debossed the background with the inked folder! For the bottom half I used the cleaned folder to emboss the dots, which I sanded to expose the fabulous white core of our cardstock! There - girlier than I thought possible...and that grid stamp is going to be living on a block on my stamp table for a while!

Now Hop on over to HAYEY'S BLOG to see what wonderful craftiness she's got up her sleeve! Be sure to visit all of the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great SOTM  and other fun ideas!

Remember, the SOTM is only available for one month, so contact your consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set for just $5!


Here are some other projects I have made using the March Stamp of the Month...
You Rock! You Rule! Card (ruler lines)
Monday Motivations Team Card
Spring Floral Card
Super Hero Thank You card

Stamping Rules Monday Motivations Team Card

I had such a fun time at the Monday Motivations team meeting tonight - lots of giggling girls and CTMH shop talk! We also made this CAS card (Clean and Simple) which if you've been following me, you know that CAS may not be my forte...I'm a lumpy bumpy, one more layer can't hurt, where's the glitter kind of gal.

I did do some fun techniques on this simple card though. I pierced a double row of stitches across the bottom using my handy dandy CTMH piercing ruler. I kid you not, this ruler is awesome! I just used the grid printed across the ruler to line up my holes perfectly before piercing across with my piercing tool. Now, I love the thick little mat that comes in our Piercing kit, but for something larger it isn't quite wide enough all the time, so I've taken to using three sheets of fun foam to get my 12" piercing done quickly, like on my Lucy Pages Club kit.

I also did some masking with a Cricut Art Philosophy Shape that I cut at 3 1/2 inches (Layer/Rectangle 5). I used the outer frame of that cut to make a mask (pictured below). I extended the mask with Post-it notes to make sure no stray stamping would appear on my clean white card base. Then I stamped the grid image from the April Stamp of the Month in Sweet Leaf ink and sponged the masked area with Sky Ink.

I stamped the banners and the sentiment strip in Black Ink. The Sentiment comes with dots underneath but not on top, so I cleaned my stamp and then inked just the dots to add the string of dots overhead. A Bitty Sparkle between each word finished off my sentiment strip. There are gobs of frames on the Art Philosophy Cartridge - I can't wait to try this with some new shapes!

Don't forget there are only 4 more days to get your Art Philosophy Cricut bundle for FREE by joining my team - that's $450 worth of CTMH goodness for just $99! Check out the Philosophy of FUN for more details - then click on Opportunities to sign up. See ya at the next Monday Motivations!

I got my color combo from the Heart 2 Heart Spring Color Challenge and the inspiration to add Black to my CAS card from the CAS-ual Friday The Bold & the Beautiful Challenge.  Both blogs are awesome - go check them out for even more projects or join the fun and play along!

Creative Club: Stella 5x7 Album

Stella, how much do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. Your bright cheerful color combination with that POP of Lagoon makes my heart happy!

2. The coordinating Canvas StickEase make my artwork rock (and makes me look like a creative genius) without a lick of work!

3. Your adorable bird images sing sweetly - and haven't you heard that great art in Portland is made when you PUT A BIRD ON IT!

OK - maybe a little over the top, but seriously, this Stella kit is beautiful! Join us in making this amazing 5x7 Mini Album project in April, just in time for Mother's day gift giving! 

Each kit includes pre-cut papers, bases, and embellishments including the new Bitty Pearls and Stella Canvas Complements plus full color instructions to make everything pictured - just add adhesive! Best of all, the Creative Club Stella Album kit is just $25!

Please RSVP by April 6th to reserve your kit for the Stella Album workshop. You can contact me via email, or reserve your spot via the Paypal Link below. You don't have to have a Paypal account to use this feature! To Go kits are not limited to quantity, but the April 21st Workshop (which includes a light lunch at no extra charge) is limited to 8 attendees total per session. Bring a friend I haven't met for a free Bonus stamp set!

Workshop and TO GO Kits

(1) Stella 5x7 Album Kit $25.00 USD (2) Stella 5x7 Album Kits $50.00 USD TO GO Stella 5x7 Album Kit (shipped to you) $30.00 USD (2) TO GO Stella Kits (shipped to you) $60.00 USD

Monthly Memories Club: Lucy Pages

I've been crazy busy running in a million directions, but I am so glad that I made some time to work with these Lucy Papers. For Monthly Memories Club we usually start with the 2 pages that CTMH designs, but this month I'm going rogue and made 6 pages with these pretty, sparkly papers and rub-ons.

I made these two for the pics I'll be taking at convention this year. I think these two are my favorite of the six pages. I made the stems of my little flags with just a marker, and added lots of faux stitching on the Pear and Creme Brule CS pieces. Then I added real stitching on the hot air balloons, which I made using a circle and a cupcake liner I cut on my Art Philosophy cartridge! I stitched the strings then topped them off with one of the Lucky Glitter Rub-ons. I was worried about apllying them over something so lumpy bumpy, but they worked like a charm! I got the inspiration for my beautiful balloons from the Heart 2 Heart Photo Inspiration Challenge.

Do you see the new Keepsake felt alphabet stickers too? How much do you love those? The font is just so sweet, and matches the new Keepsake Stamps that I love so much. I used those on my FLY card.

I used the felt alphabet on my 2nd set of pages too - there are a lot of letters in that set! I stamped the background here rolling the dot stamp that comes in the Basic kit in Grey Wool ink. I think that newsprint is my favorite pattern - silly I know, but it's distressed with pink and yellow ever so lightly, just yummy and neutral!

I wanted to get these posted asap, but I've got pics sitting at Costco waiting for these pages. The boys have made a wide variety of paper crowns at preschool and Kindergarten, so I printed them all in black and white and color. I plan to make the pics on the page be black and white, and pop up the crowns in color, fussy cut from the second set of photos! I'll have to post a completed pic once I get to Costco.

 My final 2 pages I distressed heavily with Pearl Paint, and getting a clear pic without reflection front he pain was nigh on impossible for me. How do I fix that? The background Grey Wool CS is heavily sanded and painted - so pretty in real life. The flowers are Glitter Rub-ons, layered on top of Cardstock stems with bitty Color ready Ribbon leaves.

I cut the sun image from the Art Philosophy Cartridge and added swirly glittery vine rub-ons for the rays. I dyed some more ribbon with markers to create the pleated ribbon border, which has each pleat in a different color them a long stretch of Sweet Leaf green running the length of the page. I colored the felt alphabet with my Grey Wool Marker to tone down the pink for this grey, pearly page, where I plan to add pics of my little guys on our annual trip to visit the Tulip Festival.

Want to join us for club next month? Contact me ASAP so I can prep your kit! More details can be found here - kits start at just $15!!

Don't forget that there are only 7 more days to get your FREE Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge by joining my team! It's $99 to join and you'll get over $450 in CTMH awesomeness, plus the opportunity to build your own stamping and scrapping empire while getting your CTMH fix at an awesome discount. What do you have to lose? Click here to learn more about this amazing special!

Idea books and new clearance items are going fast!

Oh my - It makes my heart a bit sad to write this. The Close To My Heart How-To Books that are available only while supplies last are going FAST!  Golly I L-O-V-E these books! My favorite scrapbooking one is Magic, which focuses on interactive scrapbook pages. The Reflections book is already sold out and Originals is available in VERY limited quantities. The rest are flying off the shelves as well. If they have been on your wish list for a while, get them now - they will be gone for good very, very soon!


There's also a new selection of fun items in the While Supplies Last section of my website - awesome products at deep discounts! I mean, Colonial White Mini-medleys for $!? 


Check out my new and improved website (including a streamlines shopping cart!) and let me know what you think! Did you know that CTMH provides a free website just like mine for every consultant? Sweet! Just one more reason I love being a part of CTMH!


Tomorrow we'll be back to our regularly scheduled art posts! Thanks for visiting me here at Stamping Rules!

Florentine Card #2

One last swap card to post - this one might be my favorite! So simple - a few layers of sanded/inked paper, a Cricut Art Philosophy sentiment frame, and some sponge daubed white baker's twine.  I accented the flower centers on the Florentine B&T with dabs of glitter glitz and that's about it.

Lucy pages coming soon - have a fun weekend!

TCP #201: Florentine Swap

OK - Here's yet another swap card I whipped out for Tina's swap - this time with the Florentine paper and this lovely blue green and lemon color palette from The Cat's Pajamas challenge 201.

I stamped the heart from the WOTG set repeatedly in my color palette. Then I handstitched a line across each row of hearts (Thank you, Piercing Ruler!). The ruler makes all the difference in the stitching - see my close up below? I never used to get such nice results before! And I stitched it at the play park while keeping an eye on two of my young hooligans gentlemen while balancing a cuppa coffee on my knee.

I hand dyed a bit of the Color Ready ribbon - it looks streaky in the photo, but it's so pretty in real life. I layered 4 of the Just Blooms with a bitty brad to make my carnation, then topped the brad with a medium sparkle. My lighting must have been off, because that blue is so blue here, and it's really a more teal tint to it (Twilight, to be all CTMH about it), and the colors are all so dark here. Dear hubby assistant, I need another lamp!

The sentiment frame I cut using my Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and I layered it with 3-D foam tape for more pop!

Stella Card Swap #2 + another Liebster award!

Good morning! Here's the second of my Stella card swap cards from my CK stamping marathon. In this one I kept the stamping simplete, with just Cocoa ink on the big flower petals...then I added some Lagoon detail with my waterbrush. 


Have you done that? Just squeeze your pad to make a puddle of ink in the top of the pad. Then use a damp waterbrish to grab the ink and paint it on like a watercolor - simple, fast, fab!


I paper pieced the Tulip/Sunset center disc...and there may be a sprinkling of staples and bitty sparkles too, but that's it! 2 down, 2 more to come this week!


In other good news, sweet Gina Brandsetter nominated me for the Liebster award again! I'm honored that Gina likes my blog, especially as I think her blog is outstanding! Go check her out at http://gmbscrapper.blogspot.com/ and see what I mean!
                                                               
So what Is this Liebster Blog Award?  This award is for bloggers with less than 200 followers, to bring attention to their blog, and increase their following!  

Here are some of the blogs I subscribe to. I love to check up on them weekly (Sometimes daily!) to see what awesome creations they are sharing.  I'm sharing this award with them!  Please stop by to visit them, and become a Follower.

1. Handmade by G3 - Gayatri Murali - I can't believe Gayatri is not showing more than 200 followers. Her creations are simply beautiful!

2. Scrapi Traci - Traci Pasqualone, such a bright, cheerful blog!

3. Creatively Artsy Cards - Nancy Brown - the name says it all!

4. Reflections of my Art & Soul - Pamela O-Connor - love her scrapbook pages!

5. Simply Creating - Krista Ritskes, fun projects, inspiring writing about her trip to Guatemala!

Here are the Rules for the Liebster Blog Award:
1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them. (Thank you, Gina!) 
2. Reveal your five picks for the award and let them know. 
3. Post the award on your blog. 
4. Bask in the love from the supportive people out there in Blog Land! 5. Finally and the best rule of all..........have fun and spread the love!  

Stella Swap Card #1

Well, I meant to post more pics from CK, but I only got them to the Facebook page. Anyone who saw me at the expo had the distinct pleasure of watching me hack out a lung and growl at them in a raspy, eventually completely gone voice - just the impression you want to make, right?


At least I got my swap cards all stamped up while I was resting at the crop tables in the afternoon. Here's my favorite of the four - a bright, happy Stella Card!


How much do you love the Lagoon color? Paired with the Tulip and Sunset, it just makes my heart happy!


I did a lot of rolling on the stamping for this card - mostly Sunset rolled with Tulip, but sometimes a bit of Cocoa on the edges too. The Lagoon flowers in the circle centers are paper pieced to really POP.

The big flower I trimmed into individual petals and scored down the center of each petal to add dimension. Then I cut a second flower at 1 1/2" on my Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, stamped with Lagoon ink, and trimmed/scored those petals too. It really gives the flower a lot of texture!


CK made me bring a stapler to all of my classes as part of the bring list...which I never used in actual class. But I did use it on my sentiment strip on this card!


I'm linking this card to the awesome Color Throwdown Challenge #183. 




Finally, don't forget how to get your Cricut Art Philosophy Bundle for FREE this month only!

Get over $450 in products for only $99!!!

From March 1st – March 31st,  ANYONE who joins my Close To My Heart TEAM will automatically receive the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut BUNDLE for FREE!! 

AND…if you already own the Cricut Bundle – YOU will get to chose $100 in Select Product Credit in place of the Cricut Bundle for FREE!!!

I'm off to CK!

I'm all packed and ready to roll off to the scrapbook expo in the morning! And, of course, I'm bringing goodies for my stamping friends. Come and find me at the show and nab your adorably cute (and completely unavailable) bitty ink pad!

Haven't seen me in a while? Look for my crazy flower basket - I Liquid Glassed (can I make that a verb?) a wide variety of Cricut flowers all over a dollar store daisy bucket (along with a generous amount of bling). Best part? They were all leftovers from various workshops! I can't help myself - I always cut a couple extra just in case...but now my Cricut just-in-case bucket overfloweth, so it was time to clear the decks! It's different from every side- I need a 360 photo to share the flowery goodness.
I love my new sparkly, flowery new bucket to haul around my pads and pens!

Make sure you've liked STAMPING RULES on Facebook this weekend...I'll be posting about the show in the evenings (after the crop of course) and if we hit 50 followers, there will be a prize drawing!

Lucky U!

Y'all know how much I love my Art Philosophy Cartridge - I use it on practically everything now...it's almost as ubiquitous as glitter glitz, lol. This week I found another fun use for it. I had cut out a bunch of diamond shaped banner flags for my Pemberly club page packs. I took the leftover base page and laid it over some Colonial White CS and spritzed it with a water/Sweet Leaf Reinker Combo using my spritz pen! Then I sprayed it over with some straight up glitter spray I have in my stash from Joanns.

That darling little rose is from the Bouquet Assortment. I painted one of the white ones with some Liquid Glass mixed with Tulip reinker to get a multi-colored rose. The Medallion stamp is from the March Stamp of the month.

I'm linking this card the Heart 2 Heart Lucky/Green challenge and to a fun blog I just found called the Hybrid Chick. They are having a Lucky Green Card Caravan Challenge!

Hope you have a SUPER birthday!

We went to a SUPER fun birthday party yesterday at Bullwinkles. This was Gabe's first Kindergarten school birthday party, and he had a blast playing mini golf, laser tag, and bring silly with his friends.

I put together this card Friday night at my club meeting using the Superhero papers and the coordinating Super Powers stamp set.  I used the sketch from Mojo Monday, which is a square or round challenge this week, so this card is 6x6. Instead of flowers like the sketch indicated, I used the star images from the coordinating Superhero rub-ons.  I embossed lines at 1/4 inch apart across the Black CS band, then trimmed it with my big fat heavy Pinking shears.

Other embellishments include ribbon and buttons from the Pacifica Assortment and Pearl Opaques that I colored with  a red sharpie to match my papers.

I colored my super hero image using a waterbrush and alcohol to make my own alcohol inks! I just put some 91% alcohol into a little craft jar and dipped my pen tip into the alcohol, then picked up a little ink from the lid of my coordinating ink pads. This allowed me more freedom with blending the colors and shading the ink.

I used "A Typeset" and my favorite Polka Dot Alphabet to make the sentiment (and the "G" logo on the superhero). I stamped the SUPER letters in Pacifica, then used my Cranberry marker to fill in the dots. Then I finished off the letters by outlining them with a .02 fine tipped marker pen and fussy cutting. That frame is another of the Superhero rub-ons that I applied to the Red pop art print form the paper packet and cut out.

I decorated the inside with more Superhero papers and a big blank panel, which my little guy filled in with a handdrawn sentiment and a picture of himself and the birthday boy playing ninjas. We added one more grouping of rub-ons to the back where I gave Gabe credit for the creation, since he was delivering the card to his friend.

I love having a sketch to start from - the whole card, including the coloring took about 20 minutes to whip up! Go check out the Mojo Monday sketch blog and play along too!