July SOTM Blog Hop- American Celebration

Welcome to our July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!   

  If you have come here from Jen Patrick's blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants here on Helen's Blog

We have bunches of Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. To keep on hoppin' just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

Here we go!

July's SOTM, is called American Celebration, and it is an awesome set of 12 stamps.

This set is pure Americana but could also be used for almost any celebration. There are just so many great bold images. 

This is my card

I made another interactive card this month.
I seem to be on an interactive card kick lately.
When flat it looks like any standard card.

But pull on the ribbon and you get a great little surprise.

Here is a view that shows what it looks like from the side so you can see the pop up mechanism.

I found the tutorial for this surprise pop up card on Splitcoast stampers here. I love the way it came out.

I was excited to get to this one because way back when this catalog came out I chose which papers I was going to use with each SOTM set. I wanted to challenge myself into thinking outside the box by using the papers in unexpected ways. I picked Sweetheart for this set. Most people see the Sweetheart paper pack for Valentine's or girly stuff but I decided to show how you could use it to make something patriotic.  just by adding Pacifica cardstock to the Cranberry and Black patterns from Sweetheart I created a whole new look.

Products Used:

July SOTM -American Celebration

Sweetheart Level 2 Paper Pack
Pacifica Cardstock

Exclusive Inks in Black, Pacifica and Cranberry
Versamark Ink
Sliver and Cranberry Embossing powders
Cranberry Ribbon
Bitty Sparkles

Thanks for looking. Now "Hop" on over to Susan Brooks' blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants' blogs to see some awesome artwork and fun ideas! Share the love and leave some comments as you go.

Remember, the July SOTM is only available through the month of July! Contact me to see how you can get yours at a discount or even FREE.

June SOTM Blog Hop - Jubilation

Welcome to our June Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!   

  If you have come here from Wendy Coffman's blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants here on Helen's Blog

We have bunches of Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. To keep on hoppin' just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

Here we go!

May's SOTM, is called Jubilation, and it is a beautiful set of 24 stamps.

This set is truly a set for all seasons. There are just so many possibilities! I decided to do a guy friendly celebration card. This could be used for a birthday, graduation, or any other celebration.

This is my card

I made this an interactive card by making the red firework image a spinner. This is such a fun technique. If you are not familiar with how to do it check out the Splitcoast Stampers tutorial HERE. All you need is some foam dots and a penny for a really fun interactive card. I also created my own emboss resist image on the star with versamark ink and clear detail embossing powder.

Products Used:

May SOTM -Jubilation
D1403 Star Power

Fanfare Level 2 Paper Pack

Exclusive Inks in Sunny Yellow, Pacifica and Cranberry
Versamark Ink a Clear Detail Embossing powder
Dimensional Elements- Stars

  Thanks for looking. Now "Hop" on over to Cindy Leek's, blog  to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants' blogs to see some awesome artwork and fun ideas! Share the love and leave some comments as you go.

Remember, the June SOTM is only available through the month of June! Contact me to see how you can get yours at a discount or even FREE.

Mayberry Mom

What mom doesn't dream of having the perfect family, 

and what family doesn't dream of having the coolest mom? 

Well since most of us are no June Cleaver, Claire Huxstable, Carol Brady, or even Mrs. Cunningham we have to live with our own reality. Our families are not perfect and there is no such thing as a mom who is cool ALL the time. Last month I offered the Mayberry Mom workshop in hopes that some of my customers would score some points with the wonderful moms in their lives. 

 This is my version of a workshop that was created at Christmas time by fellow consultant Chris Green. I just reworked it for Mother's Day.  It uses the Mix and Mingle Mini Album to create a four piece gift set. I added a washer necklace to make it a five piece doozy!

Here are some closer pics of each piece

This sweet gift box uses the clear acrylic scalloped pieces as the top and bottom. 

 Stand up display, great for a mantle or desk.

Desktop photo frame. Add your favorite picture or quote. 

The last piece is a cute sticky note holder that could go on a desk or add a magnet and stick on the fridge. 

Products Used:

E1014 Posterboard Alphabet (for MOM) and B1322 Believe in Your Dreams (for flourish)

G1022 Mayberry WOTG Kit

Z1334 My Creations Mix & Mingle Album

Z1367 Bitty Brads Basic Assortment

Z1102 Colonial White Grosgrain 

Z1333 Mocha Opaques

Cocoa, Honey, Olive & Smoothie inks

Liquid Glass or other strong adhesive

Cutting Knife & Mat and/or Finishing Files

Post-It Sticky Notes (3x3)

May SOTM Blog Hop- Chairs to You

Welcome to our May Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!   

  If you have come here from Wendy Fording's blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants here on Helen's Blog.

We have bunches of Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. To keep on hoppin' just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

Here we go!

May's SOTM, is called Chairs To You , and it is a beautiful set of 14 stamps.

Each month I participate in a swap with other consultants using the SOTM sets. We are each assigned a card type and it rotates each month so we all get a nice variety of sizes and styles. This month I was assigned to do a clear card. At first I couldn't imagine how I would do a clear card using this set. I like the chairs but I just couldn't think of how it would work. Then I started thinking of the clear card as a window and my creative juices started flowin'.

I decided to create this homey scene. It makes me just want to grab my book and settle into that comfy chair next to the crackling fire.

This is the front view of my card

I created the curtains using my new Martha Stewart Scoring Board. I love this tool! I used my cropadile to punch a hole in them to thread the hemp "curtain rod" through. The tiebacks are also hemp. I love how it really looks like you are looking through a window.


This is the inside view 

Products Used:

May SOTM -Chairs To You
D1370 Welcome Home

Miracle Level 2 Paper Pack

Exclusive Inks in Chocolate, Crystal Blue, Tulip, Honey
Clear Cards - 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 assortment

Natural Hemp

  Thanks for looking. Now "Hop" on over to Nancy Brown's, blog  to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants' blogs to see some awesome artwork and fun ideas! Share the love and leave some comments as you go.

Remember, the May SOTM is only available through the month of May! Contact me to see how you can get yours at a discount or even FREE.

"Hop" for Japan

I love the Hope for Japan stamp set, even more so because of the meaning behind it. Did you know that CTMH is donating 100% of the proceeds from this set to The American Red Cross for their efforts in Japan? They will produce as many sets as we can sell and they have put no cap on the amount they will donate.
I just think that is awesome!  If you have not yet ordered this set and want one please let me know. It is available through the month of April.

Here are the cards my card club made with this set last night. 

I wanted something bright "springy" so I did this color block one. The hearts are pop dotted so they stand out. Inside it says, "forever in my heart" . The sentiment is from Kanji phrases but I only used the English words because I think the characters are actually Chinese and not Japanese. The colors are Buttercup, Heavenly Blue, Sweet Leaf and Cotton Candy.

This on I created thinking it could be used for someone with breast (or any other kind of) cancer. I think the Hope sentiment and the wings fit that perfectly. Of course it needed to be pink so I used Blush and sponged around the image I stamped in black. I colored the flowers with the blush marker which is just a shade darker. The ruffle is made of paper from the Cherry-O pack and the sentiment is from Chard Chatter-Sympathy.

One of my fellow consultants has family in Japan and we are doing a card drive to send to children and seniors who have been affected by the earthquakes and tsunami. If you would like to donate cards please contact me at dudleychicks@gmail.com.

If you buy the set from me and create 5 cared to donate I will even give you your choice of one item from the catalog at my cost (that's 22% off!) on any order placed in May.

Finally, if you have made cards with this set and would like to join the blog hop to share your creative inspiration click on the Mr. Linky link below.

Hope for Japan

In recent weeks we have all watched the news of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. If you are like me you have felt helpless and wanted to DO SOMETHING! Well Jeanette Lynton and CTMH as a company have come up with a beautiful stamp set to convey our Hope for Japan.

Isn't it beautufil?

You can purchase this beautiful set for just $5.00 (plus tax and shipping) and CTMH will donate 100% of the proceeds (that's right 100%) to The American Red Cross for their continuing efforts in Japan. 

And once you have your set you can do even more...

One of my dear consultant friends has friends and family in Japan so we will be organizing a card drive using this set to send to people living through the crisis. More information on that to come. Stay tuned!

Contact me to get your set today. They are available through the end of April.

Wanna win this?????

Would you like to win this?

Or This???

I am one of the sponsors this month for the H2H Challenges. If you are not familiar with the H2H challenges it is a great blog for lovers of CTMH products. Each week they post challenges to keep your creativity flowin'.

Check it out here

This week's challenge is April showers bring May flowers. 

The challenge is to create something with showers and/or flowers. Link your creation to the challenge blog for a chance to win one of the prizes above. 

Here is a card I made for a swap that fits this week's challenge. 

Now lets see what you can create!