Sep 15, 2015

National Stamping Month Australasian Blog Hop


Hello and welcome aboard our Close To My Heart National Stamping Month Australasian Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Mez's Craft Room, 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

Close To My Heart has released not one, not two, but THREE exclusive, limited edition stamp sets to celebrate National Stamping Month in September! Yay! 

These three stamp sets, entitled Hello, Life are available only in September 2015 for $21 each, or purchase all 3 stamp sets for $53 and save! Each of the three sets has been designed with a particular style of paper crafting in mind.  There is a stamp set for pocket scrapbookers, a stamp set for traditional scrapbookers and a set designed for cardmakers.


Today, I would like to share with you a project I have made that features the fun and funky "hello" stamp from the Hello, Life- Cardmaking National Stamping Month stamp set.  I love all of the stamps in the three stamp sets, but I particularly like the "hello" stamp as it reminds me that it's always ok to give a card to someone you may not have spoken to in a while just to say hello!  In our busy world, where we race from one activity to the next, we sometimes forget to reach out to remind our friends and family that we are thinking of them.  This card is perfect for saying hello, how are you, I'm thinking of you!



I created this set of three cards with matching envelopes featuring the Enchantment colours Poppy, Pomegranate and Ruby. I used paper from the gorgeous new Enchantment Paper Fundamentals and decided to feature both the bold printed side as well as the glossy side in my project.  I paired each of these Fundamental papers with its matching Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad to create a fun, simple monochromatic look for each card.



These cards are super quick to make and involve minimal products and techniques.  To create these cards you will need to cut 4 flowers using the Artistry Cricut Cartridge (page 11, F1, 1.5") from the Fundamentals paper of your choice- I used Poppy in the first example below).  (N.B. These particular flowers feature in one of the page layouts made using the Sangria Workshops on the Go Scrapbooking Kit.  That's when I first used them and fell in love! They are currently my favourite flowers to use on cards and pages!)

Each card will need one card base (I used a standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" white card from our Value pack), 3 of the flowers, a piece of Fundamentals paper cut to 4" x 5 1/4", a piece of White Daisy Cardstock cut to 3 3/4" x 5", matching Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad, 3 large (7mm) Clear Sparkles, 3-D Foam Tape and the Hello stamp from the Hello, Life- Cardmaking stamp set.



I started by stamping the sentiment in the bottom right corner of the piece of White Daisy Cardstock in Poppy, mounting this on the Poppy Fundamentals paper and then onto the card base.  I then popped some 3-D Foam Tape behind the centre of the 3 flowers and a Clear Sparkle in the middle of each flower and added them to the card (3/4" from the top of the card).  Yes, that's it! A quick and easy card design that you can whip up in minutes!  And this is what it looks like when it's finished.  Clean, sweet and simple.


And here are the other two cards in Pomegranate and Ruby:


I then created matching envelopes for each of the cards using Fundamentals paper.  

It's so easy to create envelopes for cards using the Close To My Heart Score Board!  Follow the steps below to create your own envelope for our standard cards (4 1/4" x 5 1/2").

Step 1: Cut a piece of paper measuring 8" x 8".


Step 2: Ensure the arm of the Score Board is in the locked position.  Measure one corner down to 4 1/2" and use the scoring tool to score on the outer score line.



Step 3: Rotate the paper 90 degrees and measure down to 3 1/2" and score on the outer score line.

Repeat the above 2 steps, turning and scoring at 4 1/2" and turning and scoring at 3 1/2" until all 4 corners are scored.


Step 4: Now look for where the lines cross over each other.  You should see 4 small triangle shapes.  Use your Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors to cut out the triangles, positioning your scissors on the outside edge of the score lines.


Step 5: Now fold along the score lines, using the CTMH Bone Folder to create crisp folds. 

Step 6: Use the Corner Rounder to round the top and bottom flaps of the envelope if you like that look.


Step 7: Fold in the side flaps and adhere the bottom flap using 3L E-Z Dots Adhesive.


This is what the three envelopes look like at this stage: 


Step 8: Cut any shapes you like using your Cricut or simply use your trimmer to cut rectangles from White Daisy Cardstock to create a space for writing a name and/or address on your envelopes.  Here, I have used the Art Philosophy Cartridge (p. 55, <Rect7>, 2.75") to cut these shapes from White Daisy Cardstock and then adhered them to the front of each envelope using 3L E-Z Dots Adhesive.


Step 9: I am going to hand deliver these cards, so I used the last of the flowers that I cut with the Artistry Cricut Cartridge to decorate the front of each envelope.  I used 3-D Foam Tape to raise each flower and added a large Clear Sparkle to each flower as well.  You may just like to stick the flower down flat and go without bling if you are posting your card and envelope.



So here are the three finished cards being popped into their matching envelopes.  I hope you have fun making these and giving these to your family and friends to say hello!


Thank you for visiting my Blog to check out my special project featuring the National Stamping Month stamp set Hello, Life- Cardmaking.  I would love it if you would leave a comment below before you hop to the next stop on our Australasian Blog HopPassionate About Pages to see how the very talented Shaunna has used the exclusive National Stamping Month stamp sets to create her own projects.

Remember, the National Stamping Month stamp sets are only available throughout September 2015 from your Close To My Heart Independent Consultant for $21 each, or for $53 when you purchase all three exclusive stamp sets.  

Warmest crafting wishes,
Denise :)

Sep 1, 2015

Paper Garden- CTMH September Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop


 

Hello and welcome aboard our Close To My Heart September 2015 Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Lauren's Blog CTMH Craftings, 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 project I have made that features the September Stamp of the Month, Paper Garden.  I think that this stamp set is perfect for creating gorgeous backgrounds or for taking centre-stage on cards, pages, gift bags and other paper crafting projects. This stamp set is available only in September 2015 for $27, or for just $7.50 when you spend $75 or more. 



I was inspired to create my card project when I saw this super-cute card by Susan Raihala.  You can read her blog post about the card here.  I'm constantly saving card ideas that I see on Pinterest to my own Boards, promising myself that I will go back and re-create the projects that I really love.  But I never seem to find the time to do that.  



When I saw this card, I knew that I had to make it right now and I had to make it with the September Stamp of the Month. I thought it would be the perfect stamp set for recreating the blocked design on this card.  And while I love the colours on Susan's card, I have been dying to try out the gorgeous CTMH Enchantment Colour Palette with its SEVEN NEW COLOURS, so I decided to go with a different colour scheme featuring some of those new colours.

Below are the 7 new colours in the Enchantment colour family.  Can you believe how gorgeous and vibrant they are? I think I love the names of the colours as much as I love the colours themselves! Eggplant- Fern- Peacock- Pomegranate- Sapphire- Saffron- Poppy. 



They join existing colours New England Ivy, Goldrush and Ruby to round out the 10 colours in the Enchantment family. I'll take the lot thank you very much! Do you have a favourite colour or two that you just can't wait to try?

So here is my card.  I decided to go with a 6" x 6" card base and I changed the sentiment, but I am very happy with the results.  The September Stamp of the Month, Paper Garden looks fabulous presented in this way and the distressed nature of the stamped image gives the card a little bit of added texture that I really love.


The ingredients used in this project include:

September Stamp of the Month, Paper Garden
D1667 Balloon Wishes stamp set ('Congratulations' sentiment)
12" x 6" White Daisy Cardstock (score at 6" and fold to create the card base)
3 1/2" x 3 1/4" White Daisy Cardstock
1" x 3" White Daisy Cardstock (cut 3 to stamp the flowers in different colours)
3/8" x 4 1/4" White Daisy Cardstock (dovetail the ends and stamp with sentiment)
Ruby Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Fern Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Peacock Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Cocoa Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Sparkles Clear Assortment
Thin 3-D Foam Tape
3-D Foam Tape

And here are two more cards I have made following the same design (because I was having too much fun to stop at just one!):



This card features the colours Sapphire, Pomegranate and Goldrush and one of the sentiments from the Rain or Shine stamp set.



This card features the colours Eggplant, Saffron and Poppy and another one of the sentiments from the Rain or Shine stamp set.

Do you have a special card idea or other projects saved on your Pinterest Boards that you have been meaning to go back to and create?  I challenge you to do it right now! Well finish this Blog Hop first and then go.  Do it! Choose your favourite design and re-create it using your supply of Close To My Heart products. You'll be happy that you did.

Thank you for visiting my Blog to check out my special project featuring the September Stamp of the Month, Paper Garden.  I would love it if you could leave a comment below before you hop to the next stop on our Australasian Blog HopJo's Close to My Heart Craftroom to see more creative ways to use the September Stamp of the Month.



Remember, the September Stamp of the Month, Paper Garden is only available throughout September 2015 from your Close To My Heart Independent Consultant for $27, or for just $7.50 when you spend $75 or more.  

Warmest crafting wishes,
Denise :)