Amore (December SOTM Blog Hop)

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop which features the Amore stamp set from Close To My Heart.  When the Holidays are over, use this set of elegant images to create something special for your Valentine.  

 

Beautiful papers from the new Olivia My Reflections kit are used on this card which features two of the newest CTMH colors - Sunset and Pear.  The sentiment in the center of the heart is from the new Circle of Love stamp set which also includes a beautiful peacock.  If you look closely at the ornate 'Amore' image in the Amore stamp set, you can see that the end of the image just past the 'e' was used to stamp in the lower corners on the main area of the card.  

 

If you have come here from Jody's 'Cre8n' Memories' blog, you are on the right path! With over 60 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs, you should be able to find lots of great creative ideas to use for your own projects.  Blog 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! 

Now "Hop" on over to 'Jen's Jewel Box' blog to see her work!  Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas!  Remember, the Amore stamp set is only available until the end of December.  Let me know if you would like to find out how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free.


If you get lost on the Blog Hop or find links that aren't working, there is a complete list of all participating blogs on Helen's 'Hooked on Stamping' blog.

Knitted Scarf - Keyboard illusion

Just finished a fun knitted scarf.  The pattern is actually an illusion - from an angle, it looks like a piano keyboard, but when you look at it straight on, it just looks like black and white stripes.  It was really easy, just have to follow a chart for the knits and purls.    

The pattern is named Counterpoint and was found at Jennifer Crawford's Knit One, Purr Too blog.   Looks as though she is no longer updating that blog, but there is a link to her Counterpoint pattern, available on Raverly. 

Treasure Life

Even though I really like the flowers in the Treasure Life stamp set, I do not seem to use them enough.  So, decided to create a 5x7 card using new colors Lagoon, Pear, and Pacifica, with Brown Bag.   A couple of the flowers have matching colored Sparkles in the center, and the three pearlized dots are self-adhesive Mocha Opaques.

Room: A Novel

Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Room is a wonderful story, told from the point of view of a 5 year old boy as he is introduced to the "real" world. His first five years were spent in an 11x11 foot room with his mother. His entire existence consisted of the items in the room and what his mother taught him. They did have some books to read, and watched some television. But, he did not realize all of those things he read about - trees, mountains, boys and girls, animals, friends, etc - were actually REAL. The only person he has ever seen besides his mother is Old Nick, and he has only seen him through the slats of Wardrobe where he hides when Old Nick visits.

His mother was abducted and has been held in the room for seven years. When they finally escape their confinement, there is a lot of adjustment for Jack and Ma. Jack tells their story in such a sweet, innocent way. Your heart just about breaks with some of his observations as he learns that Outside is much different than his life in Room.

I listened to this story on CD, and the different characters in the story are actually read by different people, so it is more like listening to a play than just a book. It was so refreshing to hear the voice of Jack, as it sounds just like a five year old.



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Magnifique Birthdays!

Just a couple of quick birthday cards using some of the fabulous patterned papers from the Magnifique kit.   These papers are so great to work with - the colors are awesome, and the patterns are so versatile.

One of my favorite stamp sets, Treetops is used along with a sentiment from the Happy Birthday stamp set.

A simple card using a birthday sentiment from the lovely Gracious Greetings stamp set.  This stamp set is an 'oldie,' but definitely a 'goodie.'   The font is so elegant, and adds such a nice touch to a card.  The small flower is from the new Unity set. 

A Pink Polka-Dotted Elephant!

A pink polka-dotted elephant - reminds me of Dumbo, which was my son's favorite movie as a toddler.  The card is supposed to be "girly" which is the Heart 2 Heart Challenge for this week.  And the card is designed using this week's sketch on the Mojo Monday blog (MOJO165).

The elephant from the Life's A Jungle stamp set was stamped using Chocolate ink on Baby Pink cardstock.  Then, the dotted stamp from Spot On Backgrounds was stamped on top of the elephant before it was cut out.  The Spot On Backgrounds dots were also used on some Baby Pink and Cotton Candy cardstock.  The largest piece of Cotton Candy cardstock was embossed using the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder.  For a finishing touch, some bright pink Sparkles were added to the punched border.

The pink & brown dotted ribbon was actually my 'starting point' for the card.  From that point, I just decided to added dots to everything.  There are certainly a lot of different dots on the card.

All stamps, inks, and cardstock used are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).   

One Sketch - Three Cards

Using a Mojo Monday sketch, I created three cards with different papers and stamps.  All three use the same vertical sentiment from the Happy Birthday stamp set.   

This is definitely my favorite of the three - the little boy and his yo-yo from the Childhood Portrait stamp set goes great with the paper from the Magnifique kit.

Veranda papers are used with the sweet little girl from the same Childhood Portrait set.

And for more of an Autumn feel, the bird from A Tweet stamp set is used with one of the gorgeous papers from the Olivia kit.   

Christmas Card Workshop

The month of November - that means Christmas is next month.  Have you created enough Christmas cards to send out this year?  If not, this month's Christmas Card Workshop is the perfect time for you to complete a dozen cards.  Classes will be offered on Thursday evening, November 18 and also on Saturday afternoon, November 20. 

A whimsical tree from the Tannenbaum stamp set is used with two of the new colors introduced this year by Close To My Heart - Cotton Candy and Pear.

Two more of the new colors introduced by CTMH this year - Sky and Pacifica.  The beautiful Snow Flurries stamp image is embossed on Sky cardstock using Silver Pearl, and then Pacific ink is sponged on top to highlight the image.  A few Sparkles are added to highlight some snowflakes and a sentiment from Peace on Earth completes the card.   

The 'traditional' Christmas colors and papers are used to create this quick and elegant card.  Noel image is from the new Father Christmas stamp set and the diagonal stripe paper is from the Mistletoe paper packet. 

           

Another elegant card using the window image from the Father Christmas stamp set.  Colored pencils are used to add a bit of color to the window, and Liquid Applique is added to the gathering of snow at the bottom of each window pane.  The background paper is from the Vernanda kit. 

The Christmas Card Workshop will be offered on Thursday evening, November 18 (starting at 7 pm), and also on  Saturday afternoon, November 20 (starting at 1 pm).  You will create three of each of the four projects (total 12 cards) for a workshop fee of $10.  Allow approximately two to complete your projects.  Please be sure to bring your favorite adhesive.  All other supplies are provided with the workshop fee.  All stamps and papers used are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

As an added bonus, place a $50+ order from the Close To My Heart  Spring, Summer, or Autumn/Winter Idea Book - and your workshop fee is waived.  Depending on total orders received, there will be a drawing for Hostess Rewards - so you could earn $25 or more in FREE product from CTMH.

Also, remember you can earn TWO stamp sets for FREE with a $100 order through the CTMH  "A Little MORE Thanks" promotion.  During the month of November, Close To My Heart is expressing their gratitude to you by helping you earn two fabulous My Acrylix® stamp sets for FREE!  When you place a minimum order of $100, you will not only receive the November Stamp of the Month set, A Little Thanks, for FREE, you will also receive one stamp set of your choosing from the 2010 Autumn/Winter Idea Book for FREE*!  This means you can increase the value of your purchase by up to $45.90—that’s almost 50 percent more in value! It’s just their way of imparting "A Little MORE Thanks" to you for being a great customer.

Please let me know if you would like to attend one of the Christmas Card Workshops in this month.  Feel free to leave me a comment on this blog, send an email to sheilabennett@comcast.net, or call 913-485-4355.

A Little Thanks - 3 More Times

UPDATE:  For Thanksgiving week, the Heart 2 Heart Challenge is to share 'Thank You' cards, so here are three made with the the November stamp-of-the-month, A Little Thanks.

A piece of White Daisy cardstock was embossing using the Houndstooth Cuttlebug folder,  and then brayering the raised portion with Black ink so that the pattern is clearly visible. 

The bright green of the Pear cardstock is such a nice complement to the papers from the Olivia kit.  Added a corner detail using a stamp from The Present.

Using the large 'Thanks" stamp, I 'inked' it up with a Glue Pad and then put some bright yellow 'A La Mode' glitter on the image.  The yellow glitter on top of the Black cardstock actually looks more green, and goes with the bright patterned paper from the Hooligans kit.

Just a reminder - the CTMH "A Little MORE Thanks" special this month is that you receive this A Little Thanks stamp-of-the-month with any $100 order, and you also receive an ADDITIONAL stamp set for FREE with your $100 order.  Contact me if you would like a copy of the Autumn/Winter Idea Book.   

I Believe ... in Santa

Even though the colors are certainly a non-traditional choice for Christmas, I like the down-to-earth feel of the card.  The silhouette Santa image from the I Believe set is inked in Sunset and then 'rolled' in Brown Bag for some dimension at the edges.  Sparkles added to the snowflakes on Santa's bag are actually blue to match the Indian Corn Blue background. 

Once again, I combined the Mojo Monday sketch (MOJO163) with the Heart 2 Heart Challenge  for the week, which is to use the colors Sunset, Indian Corn Blue, and Brown Bag. 

Heart 2 Heart color challenge

MOJO163

All stamp images and papers used are from Close To My Heart (CTMH).

A Little MORE Thanks!

During the month of November, Close To My Heart is expressing their gratitude to you by helping you earn two fabulous My Acrylix® stamp sets for FREE!  When you place a minimum order of $100, you will not only receive the November Stamp of the Month set, A Little Thanks, for FREE, you will also receive one stamp set of your choosing from the 2010 Autumn/Winter Idea Book for FREE*!  This means you can increase the value of your purchase by up to $45.90—that’s almost 50 percent more in value! It’s just their way of imparting "A Little MORE Thanks" to you for being a great customer.

*Free stamp sets include A-D size sets. Stamps that are not available as the free set include Workshops
on the Go,™ Stamp of the Month retail, E-size, and customizable K-size. Tax and shipping/handling may apply. Offer good November 1–30, 2010.