An Early Christmas

I'm preparing a Christmas card workshop so I've been experimenting with a few different cards. I don't have tutorials yet because my business is very busy this week but I'll get some up soon. In the meantime, here are some cards I might make! This first one is so simple, random stamping makes the base of the card with a simple strip of paper across the bottom third for sentiment stamping. Brads complete the look. The stamp set is Gratitude.


This is a 6 x 6 card, my new favorite size to make. The colors are juniper, creme brulee and cranberry, the stamp set is Vintage Christmas. I highlighted the circle with a window charm.

Back to a 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 card, the colors are creme brulee, juniper, olive, and tulip, the stamp set is Christmas Melodies and the paper is......a secret. Find out when the new catalog comes out in September! The dove is sparkled with Prisma Glitter. The patterns for card two and three are from the incredible Wishes book, you have to buy this book, I can't even properly explain how much I love it!

Interest Poll

I've attached a poll down at the bottom of the page. Please let me know what types of posts you'd like to see more of on my blog, thanks!!

Blog Candy again!

Last month I offered a bunch of blog candy (handmade goodies, many from the tutorials themselves)for one person whose name I drew from all of my followers. Well, I'm doing it again. I've been already collecting some great items and I would love to give them to one of you! All you have to do to qualify for the drawing is to sign on as a follower (or already be one). I made it to 101 followers in June so I'm shooting for 150 in total for July! Thanks so much to all of you who are viewing my blog!

July Blog Hop!

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring July's Stamp of the Month, which is "You've Got Flair," a set of 8 stamps. If you have come here from Leslie Markland's Blog, you are on the right path! If this is your first stop, you may want to go back to Jena's Blog and start from the beginning!

This month we have 43 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's Stamp of the Month and other great Close to my Heart products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

Today, for my participation in this neat idea, I will be showing you how to make a cd cover and cd label. First of all you will need self adhesive cd labels. You can buy them at Staples or Best Buy. They are a nice paper to stamp on, I didn't have any trouble. You also need stamp inks, I used hydrangea, watermelon and ocean. And, of course, you need the wonderful You've Got Flair stamp set and stamp blocks that it, a distressing sponge, a trimmer, and adhesive.

Put your sponge from the stamp set under the label paper and stamp one of the stamps randomly in hydrangea. If you've been reading my past blogs you know that you need to think in triangles when doing this.

Stamp a 5" by 4 3/4" piece of white cardstock also. Some cds may runner larger than this or smaller so measure yours first!

Squeeze the ocean stamp pad together pressing the top down onto the ink. This is the way to get a light coating of ink on the cover for use with a blending pen.

Pick up some of that ink on your blending pen and begin to color in the paisley shapes. You can color them anyway you want, there are lots of options as these designs have lots of coloring room! I started with ocean.

Use your watermelon to color in more of the design.

Use your hydrangea to fill in even more. I left some white showing but that's up to you.

Distress the edges of the white cardstock and, if you can, the sticky label (it's tricky). Carefully line up the label to your cd and stick it down.

Make a label, mine runs about 3 inches by 1 1/2 inches. Stamp the name of your cd. You can also make a label for your cd if you like, I recommend you use excess sticky paper from the cd labels set, it needs to be very tight against the cd so that it won't give your player problems. Slide the cardstock into the case, if it doesn't fit, trim it.

Here's the cd in it's case. I found this idea on Jeanette Lynton's site (she's the owner of Close to my Heart) and she even put little sparkles inside her cd case. You can too!

Now "Hop" on over to Traci Godbee's 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 July Stamp of the Month is only available until July 31st! Contact your Close to my Heart Consultant (or ME if you don't have one) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

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Here is another project I have made using this Stamp of the Month...
(click here)

Here are all the participants of the blog hop in case you miss one!

Jena Devries
Wendy Kessler
Sherry Thompson
Dawn Heuft
Brae Montgomery
Melissa Laverty
Karen Norman
Deb Young
Adeline E. Brill
Tammy Lea Pinchard
Jen Rubio
Cibele Glazer
Laurie R Newton
Kami Welter
Helen Onulak
Sarita Schraeder
Chris Shouse
Paige Dolecki
Dawn Ross
Jamia Bankhead
Nona Davenport
Haley Dyer
Misty Jackson
Jennifer Patrick
Carla Ironside
Jody Gustafson
Heather Painchaud
Julia Menssen
Lori Miller
Pamela O'Connor
Reba Poquette
Anne Beck
Shannon Pelletier
Caren Goldsein
Jan Moxey
Kristie Horness-Herdener
Alanna Moses
Leslie Markland
Barbra Otten
Traci Godbee
Jill Lucas
Amy McVey
Laurie Levnik

Mini-box with buttons

This is a fun project and so simple that you can really do it in about a half hour. I found these little necklace boxes at Michael's $3.00 for six, yep, that's right, 50 cents a piece. They even come with some cotton inside! These particular boxes are pretty shiny on the outside so after experimenting I found it wasn't good to stamp directly on them. Instead I cut a 3.5" by 3.5" inch piece of white cardstock to fit the top. I used the ink colors below, clover meadow, honey, Dutch blue and holiday red for my decorating.

Here's the cute stamp set I used, Robot Power! Isn't it adorable? The small stamps are really great for random stamping too.

Take the little dog stamp and, using Dutch Blue, stamp randomly around the whole page. It's okay to let the dog go off the page.

Stamp the red rotor randomly in holiday red filling in the white spaces between the dogs.

Now do the same stamp but in a different color, clover meadow. Then take that small fan like stamp in the set and stamp in the white spaces with the honey ink.

Using a couple of circle punches or your circle cutter, punch out a 2 inch circle in white cardstock and a bigger one in honey.

Now distress the edges of all three paper with the holiday red ink if you like.

Attach the cardstock square to the top of the box with Tombow. Glue the smaller circle on the larger one and then attach to the center of the box. Now add a window charm circle. These are so cool and make your stickers or embellishments look like epoxy stickers.

Now find a bunch of buttons that play up the colors that you've used. I skipped the waxy flax this time so they would lie very flat. Attach them around the edge of the top of the box with glue dots and you're done!!

Now I know this is the last day of June which means the 30 days of projects is over but that doesn't mean I won't still be giving ideas on lots of projects in July and so forth, just not every day. During July I am going to be sharing some organizational tips and also am participating in a blog hop that starts tomorrow using the new July stamp of the month. You don't want to miss it.

Gift bag - so easy!

Here's a quick and easy way to brighten up a plain white paper bag. I bought a package of small gift bags at the store and knew right away that they would look better stamped. All you need is a stamp set (I used Endless Friendship), some inks (sweet leaft, crystal blue and blush), a sponge, a wiry sponge, the bag and some stamp blocks.

With a stamp of your choice do some random stamping, remembering the triangle rule (see random stamping posts from previously).

Stamp the center of the flowers, I love this particular center in this set, so goofy!!

Add leaves and then take the wiry sponge (I have no better name for it) and stamp little blush colored specks all over the whole bag. Make sure you stamp on both sides. I leave the sides of the bag white.

Distress the edges of both sides of the bag and add some little spiral stamps to the white spaces.

In about five minutes you'll be done. Find a matching piece of tissue paper and put it in the bag along with your gift. Easy!

Perfect Day cards

I'm having a home gathering (party) on June 27th in Battle Creek, Michigan and I made invitations to send out to all of my guests. If you live close to Battle Creek and would like to attend, contact me at caldreamin05@comcast.net. In the meantime, here's how to make these cards. You will need Perfect Day Level Two paper, a trimmer, popdots, adhesive, scissors, a dry embosser, a sanding block, Tulip, Sorbet, Juniper and Cocoa ink, a corner rounder, sponge, the Aspiration stamp set, the blocks to go with it, a square punch (1 inch), sparkles and pop dots. Cut the off-white paper in the paper set 8 1/2" by 5 1/2" to make a card base, score it at the 4 1/4" line and fold. Cut a piece of tulip paper 5 1/2" by 4 1/4". Find one of the other papers in the set that you like, cut it 5 1/4" by 4" and use your corner rounders on the corners. Distress if you like with the cocoa ink and sponge.

Attach rounded corner piece to the tulip cardstock. Now cut a 4 1/4" by 3" piece of paper, another one you choose from your stock. I chose the juniper colored dotted piece. Glue it about a 1/2" from the top.

Cut a 2 1/2" by 2 1/2" piece of tulip cardstock and dry emboss lines in it by placing it on your trimmer and using your dry embossing tool to press down into the groove about every 1/8" on the paper.

Now turn the piece over and sand it so that the white core of our cardstock shows through.

Now cut off the corners and distress with the sponge.

Glue the piece to your card about an inch or so from the bottom.

Now on a piece of off white cardstock, stamp flowers. I have several because I made more than one card, you'll only need two. First stamp them in sorbet then roll the edge in tulip. Don't forget to use the sponge from your stamp set under your paper and also remember to never do this rock and roll technique going from dark to light ink colors or you will ruin your lighter color stamp pads.

Use the outline stamp (this is called two step stamping), line it up on the flowers and stamp in cocoa ink.

Dab a little cocoa on the dots on the flower using a cocoa pen and stamp one of the centers on the stamp set in the middle of the flower with juniper.

Using your two flowers, glue one directly the card as shown and then use a pop dot on the second one turning it slightly so the bottom flower shows through. Punch out three squares from the paper of your choice (a good way to use up your scraps) and glue them on as shown.

Put on two of our self-adhesive sparkles on the left side of your card and you are done!

Don't forget to check out the deal of the day at 11:00 Eastern time today.