Close To My Heart August Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

It's hard to believe that it is time for a new Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month. And, as is tradition, that means it is time for another Blog Hop! This entry marks my one year participation in the event! :o)


This month, CTMH has selected a very useful My Acrylix stamp set called Something Splendid. The set contains 13 images including flower heads, leaves, stems and sentiments. Just perfect for later summer and early fall projects. Remember, you can purchase the STOM for $22.95 or earn it at reduced rates or even free by making a qualified purchase of other CTMH items. Visit my website for more details.


If you have arrived here from Haley's Blog you are on the right track. There are over 60 participants in this month's Hop.


When I was thinking about what to do for this month's Hop, my thoughts turned to all of you who are beginning to prepare for a return to school. Close To My Heart offers a great alterable Journal (Z1268). What makes this Journal so good is that it has a plastic sleeve to protect your artwork!

The Journal measures 5 x 7 so to start out, I cut a piece of Colonial White to that measure. I edged distressed it with Cocoa. Next, I cut a piece of Grace B/T Duoes to measure 6 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches, sponged the edges with Honey and attached it to the Colonial White. The focal point measures 2 1/4 x 4 inches. I randomly stamped the stems included in the set along the two edges in Cocoa and then randomly stamped a leaf image in Olive along the stems. Next, the flower was randomly stamped over these images in Honey, Twilight and Barn Red. The entire piece was distressed in Bamboo using a stipple brush. The edges were also ink to paper distressed. "Seize the Moment" is stamped in Olive and Glitter Gel was added to the centers of several of the flowers. While the gel was drying, I attached the sponged Twilight and Barn Red mates (each measures 3 x 3) and the buttons. That's Waxy Flax tied in the button centers....love that stuff. The focal image is matted with Cocoa and was popped up with 3D Foam tape when attached (after the gel was dry). Lastly, the ribbons were added to the wires.

For my second project, I completed a 6 x 6 card that also features the Grace Paper Packet. The base is Twilight. The image was heat embossed in Cocoa on 140 pound watercolor paper that had been "stained" with a watercolor wash of Honey, Buttercup and Goldrush re-inkers.

It's now time to hop on over to Laurie's Blog. For the second month in a row, I've not been able to post the list of all participants, so please forgive me. Should you get lost along the way, head back to the beginning with Kathleen's Blog. Thanks for hopping by. For Now, Happy Crafting!