It's the Little Things: CTMH November Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our CTMH November Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Patricia Manhire's Creative Corner, then you are in the right place. If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post. 

Today I would like to share with you a special little project which features the November Stamp of the Month, ‘It’s the Little Things’ which is available exclusively throughout November 2014 for $27, or for just $5 when you spend $75. This stamp set is the latest of 12 glorious, exclusive Stamp of the Month stamp sets featured in our brand new CTMH 2014- 2015 Annual Inspirations Idea Book!

Spring has well and truly sprung in our part of the world.  The Jacaranda trees are in full bloom, peppering the streets and footpaths with their lavender coloured petals, also reminding us that that exams are quickly approaching and it’s almost the end of the school year and!  I just love this time of year!  If I had to pick my favourite season, it would absolutely be spring.  I love the regrowth after winter and the blossoming of spring flowers! 

So you can imagine how utterly in love I am with the November Stamp of the Month, ‘It’s the Little Things’ with its gorgeous selection of flowers and leaves.  The perfect set of stamps to honour spring!

I’ve called my little project ‘A Whimsy Bouquet in Spring’ and to create it I have used a variety of the flowers and a sentiment from the November Stamp of the Month.

The first thing I did was to stamp multiple stamps in each of the following Whimsy colours- Thistle, Crystal Blue, Glacier, Canary, Sorbet and Pixie onto White Daisy Cardstock so I would have a selection to work with.  I then cut all of the stamped images out while I watched my favourite TV shows!   Of course the cutting is made all the easier and more precise with the use of my CTMH Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors!

Once I had an assortment of stamped and cut images, it was time to set to work!

Step 1: I created my own template for the base of the card (I'll refer to this in later steps as the "pot").  I started with a 2 3/4” x 12” strip of cardstock, marked out a pot shape approximately in the middle of the strip using my VersaMat to get accurate measurements at the top (3 1/2" wide) and bottom (2" wide) and then carefully cut along those lines. 

Step 2: I discovered that if I flipped the strips from either side of the “pot” shape upside down they created the perfect template for creating the back of the pot.  I wanted to make a holder for the card I was creating, so this template had to wrap around the back and be able to be adhered together to create a little "pocket".

Step 3: I used a couple of pieces of sticky tape to adhere the sides of the template to the pot shape and trimmed the sides down to the measurements shown below.

Step 4: I used the completed template to trace around onto one of the Glacier papers from the Paper Fundamentals Whimsy Assortment because I absolutely loved the design on the front of the paper and I am madly in love with all things Glacier right now!  

Step 5: I carefully cut around the outline using my CTMH Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors.

Step 6: I then scored and folded the paper to create the pot shape and adhered the flaps together securely at the back creating a pocket in which to eventually slide my card.  I used 3L E-Z Dots Adhesive for this.  (NB. I did not adhere the bottom of the pot as the design I created for the card prevented it from sliding out the bottom).

Step 7: I cut a 3/4” x 3 5/8” strip of the Glacier paper, this time featuring the glossy side by adhering the patterned side down to create the “rim” of the pot using 3L E-Z Dots Adhesive.

Step 8: I created the template for the card itself by folding in the flaps of the template and tracing around the pot shape once, right way up and then flipping it upside down and tracing around it again (see picture below) onto White Daisy Cardstock.  I then carefully cut inside the line so it was slightly smaller than the template. 

Step 9: I tested that the card slid nicely into my pot and sat snuggly within it before trimming 1/2” off the top of the card so it would fit inside a standard envelope from our White Value Pack.

Step 10: I started building up some flowers for my card using the pre-stamped and pre-cut images, playing with them until I had colour combinations that I was happy with.  I adhered the layers of the flowers on top of each other with Thin 3-D Foam Tape to create subtle layering and dimension.

Step 11: I built up my bouquet of flowers while the card was sitting inside the pot.  I arranged the flowers and adhered them to the white card using 3-D Foam Tape, covering all of the white card that was above the rim of the pot. (NB. I was really careful not to accidentally stick the flowers to the pot as this would prevent the card from sliding in and out).

Step 12: I completed the card by adding the sentiment, ‘Just for you’ stamped in Cocoa ink on a 2 3/4” x 3/4” strip of White Daisy Cardstock which I dove-tailed at one end and then mounted it on a 3” x 1” strip of Crystal Blue Fundamentals Paper.  

I added a final finishing touch by adorning the flowers with bling including Clear Sparkles, Pink Glitter Gems, Flamingo Dots and Silver Sequins.

Ingredients used to create this project:

November Stamp of the Month, ‘It’s the Little Things’

Paper Fundamentals Whimsy Assortment

White Daisy Cardstock

Thistle Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

Crystal Blue Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

Glacier Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

Canary Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

Sorbet Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

Pixie Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

Sparkles- Clear Assortment

Pink Glitter Gems

Flamingo Dots

Sequins- Silver Assortment

3L E-Z Dots Adhesive

Thin 3-D Foam Tape

3-D Foam Tape

The November Stamp of the Month, ‘It’s the Little Things’ is only available until 30 November 2014 from your CTMH Consultant.  

Thanks so much for dropping by to check out my latest card project.  I'm really interested to hear what you think about it, so I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop on our Australasian Blog Hop, Loretta's Creating Memories.  

Do come and visit me again soon as I have lots of ideas to share with you this month!  

Here's a little look at what's coming up…

Happy crafting,

Denise :)