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!

April SOTM Blog Hop - Blessed

Welcome to our April Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!   

  If you have come here from Angel Sawyer'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!

April's SOTM, is called Blessed, and it is a beautiful set of 12 stamps,
including two part images.


Perfect for spring, Easter, weddings etc.

I have to admit that when I first saw this set I wasn't in love with it. That's OK,  I don't have to LOVE every set CTMH comes out with (in fact my budget is glad when I don't). Since I participate in both a SOTM swap and this blog hop I knew I needed to play with this set anyway. 

Here is what I made using this set.

I wanted something elegant for a wedding, so I took another look at this set and decided to play around and see what I could come up with. I love the elegance that can be created with embossing so I pulled out the heat gun. The colors of the wedding were pink and silver so I thought the Bliss paper would go well too. I added a scalloped punch flower and just a little bit of bling and ta-da!

In the end I LOVE how simple and elegant this came out.

Here is a closer image of the embossed image.

Usually I would painstakingly brush away all of the extra spots of embossing powder that stuck on the bird image, but in this case I liked the "speckled" effect it gave so I left it. 

Products Used:

April SOTM - Blessed

Bliss Level 2 Paper Pack
Grey Flannel Cardstock
Silver Embossing Powder

Exclusive Inks in Blush
Versamark Ink

Craft Heater

Sparkles - Pink/Red Assortment

  Thanks for looking. Now "Hop" on over to Melissa Laverty'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 April SOTM is only available through the month of April! Contact me to see how you can get yours at a discount or even FREE.

Do you have ribbon chaos????

I love ribbon. It seems to be one of the embellishments I tend to collect. I just love all of the colors and designs that are available. What I don't love is trying to organize my ribbon so it is 

easily accessible, looks pretty and doesn't end up a knotted mess.

I have tried several systems with limited success but still haven't found the PERFECT solution.

Then I saw this

It is a brand new product created by a fellow crafter to solve our ribbon woes. And guess what, you can win one! Find out how by going to THIS POST.

March SOTM Blog Hop - Sensational Season

Welcome to our February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!   

  If you have come here fromTamytha Jenkins' 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!

March's SOTM, which is called Sensational Season, is a beautiful set of 10 stamps. They remind me of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit, soo cute!

 

Here is what I made using this set.

I love paper piecing, it reminds me of playing with paper dolls as a child. I also love coloring (another childhood favorite pastime) so this was a fun card for me. I used the CTMH watercolor pencils and blender pen to color the bunny faces and bodies. I used scraps of different papers to paper piece the clothing. Mama bunny's dress is from Wings and her apron is from Sophia. Bunny boy's jacket is from Magnifique. 

Here is a closer image of the paper piecing.

Products Used:

March SOTM -Sensational Season

Sophia Level 2 Paper Pack
Paper scraps from Wings, Sophia and Magnifique

Exclusive Inks in Archival Black

Watercolor Pencils

Blender Pen

Sparkles - Blue/ Green Assortment
Hollyhock stitched ribbon
White Fun Flocking (for the bunny tail)

Techniques - Paper Piecing, Watercolor pencils w/ blender pen, folded paper ruffles

  Thanks for looking. Now "Hop" on over to Dawn Heuft's blog, Stamp Til Dawn 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 March SOTM is only available through the month of March!