Thursday, October 31, 2013

November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hello there!  I'm so excited that it's November.  October is so hectic for me, November almost feels relaxing!  (I know, I'm backwards.  December is practically a vacation!!)

I'm so excited that you're here for the November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  This month's stamp set is called ILLUMINATE, and has fun lamps and lanterns on it.  You can only get it in November, and it's just $17.95...unless you place a $50 order, then it's just $5.00!!

If you've arrived here from Teresa's blog, welcome!

Here's the stamp set, in case you haven't already seen it.









I know, it's a little basic looking, but it's got some cool things going on.  
(1) Because the stamps are flexible, I curved the lamps
(2) You can see where you're stamping.  (I love this because I am fussy.)  I skipped one of the lights on purpose.
(3) I typed my own sentiment on the computer (using CTMH's retired font disk)
(4) I used the zip strips from the top of our patterned paper (B&T) to make a border-frame.  This one is from the retired paper pack Clementine

Inside I stamped "I miss you." 

I think I might sponge some Sky or Crystal Blue on the white -- it just seems so plain.

Supplies Used:
Illuminate - November Stamp of the Month
Outdoor Denim Stamp Pad
Colonial White Card Stock
Honey Stamp Pad
Bitty Sparkles (for the light bulbs)
CTMH Font Disk #1
Clementine Paper Pack Zip Strips from the top of the paper



I'm not very good with "messy" so I'm not sure how I feel about this one...but I tried to go outside my 'box.'

I love the lamp post and choice of lamps in the stamp set...so I wanted to try using it.  AND I wanted to use the Washi Tape (I have Washi-Tape-Phobia).  My friend said - just stick it on your pictures or whatever.  

I distressed the paper with Saddle Ink and the Edge Distresser.

Supplies Used:
Illuminate - November Stamp of the Month
Card Stock:  Saddle, Chocolate, Colonial White
Patterned Paper (B&T) - Chantilly
Inks:  Saddle, Gypsy, Honey, Black
Embellishments:  Durables Square Studs (Z1705, $3.95), Party Washi Tape 3-pack (Z1908, $14.95)
Other:  Edge Distresser (Z1297, $2.50)


If you want to stop and shop for any of these fun goodies, take a little detour to my CTMH website.  But don't forget to come back, so you can keep on hoppin'!

Now hop on over to Kami's blog to see her beautiful artwork!

Thanks for stopping by!

Lisa

Friday, October 25, 2013

Winter Cards ... Penguins and bears...oh, my!

I LOVE winter stamp sets...penguins...polar bears...snowflakes (and owls, too, if I can winterize them).

Last month we made this card at card class with the new stamp set Polar Bear Holiday (C1557, $13.95).  It's similar to a stamp set that CTMH came out with ages ago, and I loved that one, too.




I stamped the bear in Outdoor Denim and colored it in with Hollyhock and Cranberry markers.  Bitty Opaques give his sweater a little dazzle.  The snowflakes are heat embossed with white embossing powder (which we no longer carry) onto Indian Corn Blue paper for the sky.  The 'hillside' is torn White Daisy card stock.  I cut the bear out and popped him up with foam mounting tape.  Very cute.  Not too hard, but it makes people smile.

The penguin card I made is with the Hostess Exclusive stamp set Wintery Wishes.  Also LOVE this set!  (penguin addiction).  


It's basically the same card as the bear one, just a different background.  For my card classes this month, we're making this card, but gluing a used dryer sheet to the top of the white background, sprinkling it with glitter to make it super cool and snowy looking!  

Here's the upgraded version:


And a close up:


Supplies Needed:
Wintery Wishes - Hostess Exclusive Stamp Set
Card base - My finished cards are 4" x 5 1/2", so cut a piece of paper 8" x 5 1/2" and fold it in half
Pacifica Card Stock (for the card front) 4" x 5 1/2"
White Daisy Card Stock (3 3/4" x 5 1/4") for the background and and extra piece to stamp your penguin)
Bonding Memories Glue Pen
Sky Card Stock 1 1/2" x 4" (trim freehand to make your hillside)
Pacifica Stamp Pad (for the words, snowflakes and penguin)
USED* dryer sheet
Prisma Glitter
Liquid Glass
Foam Mounting Tape
Micro-Tip Scissors
Glitz Glitter Gel (I used silver and/or green) for the snowflakes behind the penguin
Gel Pens for coloring in your penguin's scarf


1.  Stamp the white paper first (using Pacifica) - words and snowflakes (1st and 2nd generation stamping)
2.  Use CTMH's Bonding Memories glue pen (put the glue all over the paper, especially the corners and edges.)  
3.  Quickly stick the USED* dryer sheet on top of the glue.  Turn it over, press down to make sure it's stuck.  Trim the extra dryer sheet off the edges of the paper
4.  Go to your glitter container and sprinkle the glitter on the dryer sheet.  Shake off the excess. Press the glitter that's sticking onto your card.
5.  Cut your snowy hillside. Stamp and cut the penguin out.
6.  Glue your snowy hillside and penguin to your glitter sheet using foam mounting tape.  For extra adhesion, put a drop or two of Liquid Glass on the foam mounting tape (the side that will come in contact with the glitter.)  
7.  Glue it all to the Pacifica card stock; Glue the Pacifica Card stock on to the card base.
8.  Make your friends ooh and ahhhh.  :)


* Make sure your dryer sheet doesn't have any of the fabric softener left on it.  I ended throwing a bunch of the used dryer sheets into a wash bag and washing and drying them to be sure the softener was all gone.

Have fun!

Lisa




Monday, October 14, 2013

Holiday Gift Guide Bloghop - Hooray!

I'm so excited about Close To My Heart's Holiday from the Heart Gift Guide, which starts today, October 15 and goes through December 31!  Haven't seen it yet?  Click on the (red) link to see the the entire Holidays From the Heart Gift Guide.




WINTER SPECIAL:  When you place a $100 order from the Holidays From the Heart Gift Guide and/or Autumn/Winter Idea Book, you get a "starred" item in the Holiday Guide for free!  Yippee!  Just another way Close To My Heart is saying 'Thanks for being a great customer!' (Check out the Guide for the "starred" items.)
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Just like the Stamp of the Month Bloghop, you hop around from blog to blog, checking out what people have done with the 'new stuff.'  If you've arrived here from Jean's blog, you're in the right place!  

If you get lost along the way, here's a link to the complete list of hoppers. (It's on the left hand side of the page.)
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I LOVE owls (and penguins and hedgehogs...).  So I HAD to use this stamp set that comes with the Seasons Tweetings Gift Bag Kit.

The kit includes 6 super cute fabric bags with drawstrings (3 red, 3 green), 6 die cut tags and a super cute stamp set with a wreath, owl, 2 birds, mistletoe, Santa hat, flower and banner (which is a Cricut shape).  All for just $14.95 (and you can buy extra bags if you like).

Here's the stamp set:



And here's the cute bags that come with it (you get 3 of each color):



Here's the card I made with it:



Don't recognize the polkadotted paper?  It's in the Holidays From the Heart Gift Guide, as well.  It's called Sparkle and Shine.  The back side is super cute, too.  Candy cane stripes.

I colored the wreath with Pear markers (both light and dark) and colored the berries with Cranberry markers (both light and dark) and Glitz Glitter Gel, plus Liquid Glass on the white ones.  I cut it out and mounted it with foam mounting tape.

Supplies Used:
Season's Tweetings Gift Bag Kit (Z1913, $14.95)
Sparkle & Shine Paper Packet (X7176B, $9.95)
Card Stock:  Cranberry, White Daisy
Stamp Pad Colors:  Topiary, Cranberry, Pear (for edge distressing)
Markers:  Pear, Cranberry (both light and dark shades)
Glitz Glitter Gel:  Almond, Silver, Pink, Green
Sponge Dauber
Baker's Twine, Harvest Assortment (Z1751, $4.95)
Other:  Foam Mounting Tape



Here's another card I made with the Stamp of the Month, Scandinavian Christmas and the Sparkle and Shine polkadotted paper:


It's a 4x4 card, but I didn't want to cut off the Baker's Twine
So easy to make a lot of these!  I really like the special touch that the red/white Baker's Twine adds.  Grey would be really cute, too.

Supplies Used:
Scandinavian Christmas (October Stamp of the Month) (S1310, $17.95 or just $5 with your $50 order)
Countdown (B1390, $9.95)
Sparkle and Shine Paper Pack (X7176B, $9.95)
Juniper, Cranberry Stamp Pad
White Daisy, Cranberry Card Stock
Sparkle

You could dress it up with some Glitz Glitter Gel or sparkles.

Want to get some goodies so you can start creating?  Click HERE to go to my website to shop.

Ready to hop on over to the next creative consultant?  Hop on over to Wendy's blog to see what fun she has for you to see!

Lisa