Paper Garden - September Stamp Of The Month

Hello and welcome to this month's stamp of the month blog hop! I am super excited to share my project with you this month, and practically all you need to make it is cardstock and ink.

First, a little housekeeping: if you've arrived here from Michelle's Handmade World  blog, or if you're just starting out, you're in the right place. Just keep hopping along until you end up back where you started!  This month's stamp set has 10 floral images, perfect for everything from sympathy to celebrations. You can get yours for only $5 with any $50 purchase this month.

I decided to make a two-page layout for this month's project, and I must say that I am in love with the results:

I used colors perfect for a country Fall, and I'm really looking forward to getting some pictures taken for this layout.  I designed this from scratch, so I thought I'd share my process with you. I started by choosing colors, which can be a challenge when you don't have specific pictures in mind. Since the first thing I thought of with these stamps was a country evening, I decided to use Sapphire for the night sky and Ruby for a red barn. I added Fern for the darkening evening's grass, and Safflower for a harvest moon.

One of my favorite things is a big circle crossing both pages of a layout, and strips across the pages to ground everything. I embossed the Ruby strips with the Woodgrain embossing folder, and I stamped the flower silhouette stamps on the Fern strips.  I added a few well-placed stems on the Sapphire base pages, and I random stamped the Safflower circle with individual images from the set.  I added a Peacock banner strip and a thin banner strip of the lightest Brown & Tan Glitter Paper.

Next I cut out several photo mats, and played around with the arrangement until I found what I liked. I ended up covering more of the circle than I planned, but I liked this layout the best.

I cut several flowers and leaves using the coordinating Artiste Cricut cartridge, and also decided to cut some of the leaves from more of the Glitter Paper.

 I added some natural looking dimension to the flowers and stamped leaves by rolling an embossing stylus around the center, then each petal.

I embossed a couple of the leaves from the back side so they curled the other way. I added some 3-D Foam Tape under those, to keep their shape in the protectors.

For the flower centers, I used Durables Artisan Studs for the large flowers, and the Bling Gems Gold Assortment for the smaller flowers.

So, what do you think? Are you ready to make your own layout now?  If you need to shop, a clickable photo list is below. Links open in a new tab so you can continue the hop from here without getting lost.  When you're done here, let's head over to Jacquelin Green's Paper Goodness blog to check out her project this month. I can't wait to see it!

Products used in this project:

September SOTM

Enchantment CS Combo (or individual colors)

Stamp Pads in coordinating colors

Stamping Blocks

Woodgrain Embossing Folder

Artiste Cricut cartridge

Brown & Tan Glitter Paper

Piercing & Embossing Tool Kit

Bling Gems Gold Assortment

Durables Artisan Studs

3-D Foam Tape

Card Workshop With Framed SOTM

Hello and welcome to the August Stamp of the Month blog hop! I'm super excited to see everyone's posts this month because we all have some brand spankin' new products available to use with these versatile stamps.  If you've come  here from  Pam Trostle's blog, or if you're just starting out, you're in the right place. Just hop around the circle until you get back to where you started.

I had a lot of fun with this set of 12 stamps, and I didn't even use all of them. I have a feeling that most of my fellow consultants are using the new Zoe line this month, but I chose to focus on our new Cricut cartridge and one of the gorgeous new colors of cardstock that now comes in the Cricut collection. I used them along with a few existing accessories and the Wishes how-to book to make a beautiful set of 8 cards. I used one of the workshops in the book, but only made one of each card design instead of two.

Isn't that new Peacock cardstock gorgeous? I paired it with Lagoon CS and ink, black ink, and the Quatrefoil embossing folder for this card. I love how beautiful simple cards can be! I used some Thin 3-D Foam Tape on the central design, making it super easy to mail.

NOTE: While the new cardstock colors (8 of them all together!) are available as part of the Cricut Artistry Collection now, they are not available for separate purchase until September 1.  Coordinating ink pads are also not available until September 1.

For this card, I stamped the base with an image from one of the stamp sets that comes in the  Artistry Cricut collection. I used Lagoon ink and second generation stamping. I also added some Silver Shimmer Trim.

For this card, I used the Dot embossing folder and sanded the raised dots with the sanding block.  I used the frame stamp to make a background on my center panel. I used small Aqua Dots in the corners of the center panel.

For this card, I used the Chevron embossing folder. This time, I only lightly sanded the raised lines for a distressed look. The sentiment panel is again popped up on Thin 3-D Foam Tape.

Another card using the Quatrefoil embossing folder and Silver Shimmer Trim.

I again used the Dots embossing folder for this card, and layered Silver Shimmer Trim under the narrow strip of Lagoon CS.

This gorgeous Christmas card is my favorite! I love the alternative color scheme. I used the Damask embossing folder and Silver Shimmer Trim. Definitely a case of less is more.

This card shows you can make a card with impact even with scraps. I used the Chevron embossing folder and Silver Shimmer Trim. I popped the sentiment up with Thin 3-D Foam Tape and added some Aqua Dots for interest.

Click on the pic to see it bigger!

Here they are all together. This would make a fun gift set in any color, or an easy addition to your home card "store". You can make it on your own using the workshop in the Wishes how-to book, or if you live in my service area* I would be happy to teach this to your group!

If you would like to shop, the links below open in a new window so you can continue with the hop right here. Remember, when you spend at least $50 you can get this terrific stamp set for only $5 - don't forget to add it to your cart! When you're ready to move along, let's go see what Carol Horton has created this month.

*My "typical" service area covers most of Chicagoland, as well as the I-55 corridor to Bloomington and the I-80 corridor west to the Quad Cities area. I am also happy to visit NE Indiana, or other areas within approximately 60 miles of the 60442 zip code. Not sure if I can visit you? Just ask!

Framed - August Stamp of the Month

Artistry Cricut Collection

Stamp pads in Lagoon and Black

Sponge Daubers

Silver Shimmer Trim

Aqua Dots

Embossing Folders

Wishes How-To Book

Thin 3-D Foam Tape

What a Hoot! - August Stamp of the Monoth Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the first Stamp of the Month blog hop for our new 2014-15 Annual Inspirations catalog & idea book.  If you've arrived here from Carla Creates, or if you're just starting out, you're in the right place! Just hop along in a circle until you come back to where you started.

This month, our stamp set is What a Hoot - a fun set of 17 owl-icious stamps, especially well-suited for Halloween and Fall projects. I wanted to play with both options, using only cardstock and ink, and here are the results:

Now how cute did those turn out?! The simplicity of cardstock and ink opens up a ton of possibilities for colors and patterns, but I did actually use two of our new paper collections as color inspirations for these.

For this card, I got my color inspiration from the new Scaredy Cat paper - Black, Sunset, Thistle, and Colonial White. I didn't have any Thistle cardstock yet, so I used the Dot Embossing Folder on some Colonial White cardstock, then used a Sponge Dauber to swirl on Thistle ink from the stamp pad. I stamped the owl image directly on a Colonial White panel in Black. I then stamped the swirls directly in the image, using a post-it mask to keep them all inside the lines.  I stamped the image again on Sunset and cut out the "caped" portion, then adhered it directly on top of the original image. I also stamped the mask image on this piece.  I stamped the "bat wings" in black and swirled on Thistle ink. After cutting out the wings, I mounted them with 3-D Foam Tape.

For this card, I got my color inspiration from the new Pathfinding paper line. The pattern paper is random stamped with the flower image in the stamp set and Olive ink. I colored in the images using the Blending Pen and ink from the stamp pads. The card base is Chocolate cardstock run through the Woodgrain Embossing Folder. Everything else is just plain cardstock with sponged edges. I added Bronze Shimmer Trim, some flowers from my stash, and a couple of Gold Assortment Bling Gems.

If you'd like to shop for any of the products I used, there are links underneath each picture below. The links open in a new window so you can continue the hop from right here! Otherwise, if you're ready to hop along, let's head over to Shirley's Mom N Me Scrap and see what she has to share this month!

What a Hoot - Stamp of the Month

Cardstock - in Sunset, Colonial White, Chocolate, Barn Red, Champagne, Lagoon, and Olive

Dot Embossing Folder

Woodgrain Embossing Folder

Non-Stick Micro-Tip Scissors

Sponge Daubers

3-D Foam Tape

Bronze Shimmer Trim

Bling Gems Gold Assortment

Exclusive Inks Stamp Pads in Thistle, Sunset, Black, Chocolate, Barn Red, Lagoon, Olive, Glacier

Blending Pen