July Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

It's that time again and this month, the CTMH Stamp of the Month blog hop. July's STOM is so cute. It is called Happy Forever and it contains 4 cute little figures. Some people have called them hedgehogs, but I think they look like smiling porcupines! :o) It also contains 3 sentiments and a heart and a butterfly. Such a fun stamp that has so many possibilities. If you have been hopping along, you have seen all the ways it is being used. This month we have many participants including one of my new downlines - Nancy.

Without further ado, if you have arrived here from Debra's blog you are on the right track. Each STOM hop, I try to do something a little different. This month, I recycled a pretty jar vase that I got as a favor at the Wedding of a good friend's daughter earlier in June. It is always fun to have there little tokens of remembrance.

I heat embossed the little guy with Cocoa Embossing Powder, cut him out and then colored him with great watercolor pencils that I received as a RAK from a good friend. I attached him using Glue Dots. The butterfly mixed in the flowers is from the Hot Diggity set. I stamped it in Hollyhock, cut it out, added bitty crystals to the antennae and attached him to a silver pipe cleaner. The daisies and Bee Balm are from my garden. :o)

I always have to make a card, too, for the Hop. For this card, I used Caboodle and again colored the litte guy with the watercolor pencils.

It's time to hop on over to Antoinette's blog and check out what she did with this fun Stamp of the Month. Thanks for hopping by and For Now, Happy Crafting!

Getting Ready for the July Close To My Heart Blog Hop

It's that time yet again....hard to believe...The July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop kicks off later today. I just heard on the news that here in Philadelphia we had 15 days of 90 degree heat in June! The report indicated that it has only ever happened one other time....June 1943. WOW...

Anyway, the July STOM is light and airy and just perfect for these hot days. Blogger is not cooperating. My intent was to post all of the participants and it just isn't working. So, if you get lost along the way here is a link to the Helen's blog. She is the kind soul that coordinates this monthly project. For Now, Happy Crafting!

Passages and Paper Piecing

Wow, has it been a long time since I had an opportunity to update my blog! But, just because I haven't updated, don't think that I have been taking it easy. I have been working on plans for my trip to the Close To My Heart Convention including my roommate gifts and my swap cards. I'll post them later. :o)

I wanted to share this card I made using the paperpacket called Passages. This set is new to the Summer Idea Book and has so many possibilities. I also used a stamp set called Beary Busy. I fell it love with it the minute I saw it.

The card is 6 x 6 and the template is from the Originals Card Confidence book. I know I talk about the CTMH template books frequently, but they are just so helpful. The image of the busy bear was heat embossed and then watercolored. If you look closely at the image you will see some paper piecing...

The old style truck just had to be done this way....I restamped the truck on Brown Bag paper and cut out the side panels. I then scored and sanded it and lasted used ink to paper distressing. Voila! A woodie! Ok, I dated myself....for those youngins out there, a woodie was a truck that had the side panels covered in wood. They were quite the rage when my Mom was a child!

I also wanted to share a RAK I received from my good friend Andrew....

Thank you, Andrew....what a beautiful card! For Now, Happy Crafting!

Don't Forget Jackpot June!

Just a reminder that June is a very special month at Close To My Heart! It is JACKPOT JUNE! Check my website daily for all kinds of fun deals. There are even days when you can get a great "Goodie Box." What is a "Goodie Box" you ask? It is a grab bag filled with all kinds of CTMH products usually double the cost of the box. I got one and opened it last night and for $40 I got approximately $90 worth of very useful, very fun product! I even got 2 D size stamp sets. D size sets sell for $22.95 each!

Don't forget to check my website and join in the fun! For Now, Happy Crafting!

Heat Embossing and Ghosting

I have been talking a great deal recently about Operation Write Home. OWH is a great organization that coordinates the distribution of handmade cards to deployed troops in order for them to have cards to mail home to their loved ones. You can find out more here. On the site, you will find a link to a wonderful blog called Operation Write Home Stars and Stamps. This site contains all kinds of sketch challenges, tutorials and information about Operation Write Home. This is a recent sketch challenge posted on the site.

This is a great sketch! To complete my card, I used a technique called "Ghosting." About a year ago, I highlighted this technique in a scrapbook page that I made. You can find my "ghosted" Eiffel Tower on my side bar in the Paris Scrapbook. For this card, I "ghosted" a serene lake scene that is in the Close To My Heart My Acrylix Stamp Set called Beautiful Things.

Ghosted is very simple and provides your cards with a unique look. Follow these easy steps to ghost an image...

1. Heat emboss your selected image in clear embossing powder.

2. When the embossed image is cool, sponge the image with your selected inks. For this image, I sponged both Desert Sand and Sorbet inks.

3. You could stop now and have a lovely textured image, but for the "ghosting" there is one more step. Pull out your iron....yes, I know, an iron. "Iron" is a 4 letter word, but for this, it is worth it! :o) Set the iron to a medium heat as you do not want to scorch your paper. Use a piece of scrap cardstock and place it over the embossed and sponged image. Iron over both layers of cardstock remembering to keep the iron moving. This will remelt the embossing powder and the scrap cardstock will pick up the residue of the embossing powder. When the embossing powder has melted, you are left with the "ghosted" image created by sponging.


If you look closely, you will see the texture of the sponging around the previously embossed image. I purposely did little embellishment on this card, because I wanted to keep the "ghosted" image the primary focal point. All products used for this card are Close To My Heart and they include Crystal Blue, Sorbet and Colonial White Cardstock. B/T Duo Pattern Paper from the Caboodle paper packet and Sorbet ribbon.

"Ghosting" is a fun and easy technique to give your cards a artistic feel. Give it a try and feel free to email me with any questions you may have completing it or about Close To My Heart. For Now, Happy Crafting!

OWH Blog Cand Winners!

I am so sorry everyone that it took me so long to get this announced. I feel terrible, but circumstance just prevented me from even checking my blog and email. As an apology, I randomly selected 2 winners. The winners were selected by each person getting a number (2 if you left a childhood memory) and DH called out 2 numbers.

And, now without further ado, the winners are.....

Cindi (aka iring) and Pat Q.

Congrats and I shall try to reach both winners....Cindi and Pat, if you read this, PM me so that I have your address to mail your goodies.

I was so moved by the responses and memories. Operation Write Home is such a wonderful cause. For Now, Happy Crafting!

OWH Blog Candy

Hi Everyone! I have not forgotten that I have blog candy to announce....I got tangled up at work yesterday and I shall announce as soon as I can! Keep checking back....For Now, Happy Crafting!