Are you ready for Summer?

Close to My Heart is celebrating National Scrapbooking Month by offering a special paper pack just for May. This paper pack is just so bright and summery, I love it. The zip strips are cute too, you can't see them in this picture. And it's a real value at only $8.95 for the pack.

It's one of those sets that I almost don't want to cut into, just hoard. But you can't make cards without cutting... 

There are twelve! pieces of paper in six double sided patterns in the Taste of Summer paper set. It's available only for May (National Scrapbooking Month). And there's a coordinating stamp set that is really cute (mine hasn't arrived yet). This D set of stamps is $17.95 and also only available in May.

Here are the four cards I made - so far. I wanted to use big pieces of the paper and really show off these bright gorgeous papers. I added in a sheet of Sunset, Hollyhock and Topiary cardstock for accent pieces. I cut circles, the citrus inserts (flowers), and speech bubbles with the Cricut Artiste cartridge. I doodled a little bit in the orange slices just because they looked a little bare. I like the way they turned out, don't you?

Both butterflies on this card are stamped on a piece of scrap cardstock and cut out. The multi-colored one is popped up with foam tape. I used an easy trick for the sun burst card, cutting four pieces of paper at once. Now, I have pieces to make four different sunburst style cards. I'll match the bottom strip to the piece in the middle on each one. But I am going to wait to make the rest of my cards until I have the coordinating stamp set.

Materials used in the above cards:

Taste of Summer Paper Pack - CC1038 - $8.95 (May 2015 ONLY)

Exclusive Inks - Thistle - Z2640 - $5.95

Exclusive Inks - Sorbet - Z2164 - $5.95

Exclusive Inks - Black - Z2105 - $5.95

Exclusive Cardstock - White Daisy - 1385 $9.50 (24 pk)

Exclusive Cardstock - Adventure Combo pack - X5935 $14.50 (contains Sunset, Topiary, Hollyhock plus seven other colors - 2 sheets of each color)

Silver Shimmer Trim - Z1799 - $4.95

Coral Reef Sequins - $3.95

Bright Silver Sequins (non CTMH - just some I had on hand)

Stamps used:

'You + Me' stamp from May Stamp of the Month set "Just Sayin" - S1505 - $5.00 (w/ $50.00 order*)

'Hi' speech bubble stamp from Cricut Artiste Bundle - Z1790 - $99.00

'You Mean the World to Me' stamp from set of same name - B1467 - $9.95

Butterflies and sayings on Butterfly card from "Your Own Kind of Wonderful" Set - D1627 - $17.95

You can order any of these items on my OBA by clicking here. If you have any questions about the above cards, please leave me a comment. I'll answer as soon as I can. 

*(Remember the Just Sayin' Stamp of the Month is only available for May. You can pick up your own for only $5 with a $50 purchase! (Or for $17.95 on it's own) Be sure to contact your Close To My Heart Independent Consultant before the end of May.  If you don't already have a consultant, I'd love to be yours.  You can find details on the "Stamp of the Month" by clicking on the "Stamp of the Month" at top of the page on the right or purchase your SOTM here. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.)

May is National Scrapbooking Month!

May is National Scrap-booking Month.

As you know, I haven't been actively scrapping. This month’s Stamp Of The Month (Just Sayin') is designed for scrap-booking, so I felt I should create a photo layout.

 
I needed some inspiration, so I took a Blog Hop tour. If you've never been on a blog hop, they are a great way to be inspired! (the way it works is you start with one blog, and it will link you to the next one in the hop. And they are all using the same stamp or papers for that "hop"). Here’s where I usually start: If you Bling It.   

I also love to blog hop to see how others are using the stamp set. They’ll look at the same stamps in TOTALLY different ways! For example; I had never thought of flipping the stamp over and sticking it ‘design side’ to the acrylic block. (though it was a totally “duh” moment as soon as I read it). You’ll get the same shape as a stamp, without the design… a couple of the bloggers did that in their designs. BRILLIANT! And not something you can do with wood-block stamps. And of course, it only works with symmetrical stamps (like many of the shapes in this stamp set). I love new techniques!

This month's stamp set: These are not only great images for photo layouts. They are great on cards, adding a little extra to a set of pocket pages, gift bags, all those little things that we paper crafters come up with. As every month, the Stamp of the Month set is $17.95 or $5 with a $50 purchase. 

Anyway, you're probably wanting to see the full pictures of my project... and here I have been keeping you waiting. Well, I got SO much inspiration, I created a photo layout page with leftover Blossom paper from the pages I worked on before. Then I made a card, definitely getting inspiration from several of the cards I saw along the blog hop (thank you ladies!). I used my Cricut to cut out a slew of 1 inch triangles and 1 inch circles, and then stamped them up using Pear, Honey, and Smoothie Exclusive Inks. I ended up using some of the circles on the photo layout, and the triangles on the card. (I have a bunch of each left, still un-stamped, for other projects).

Once I started stamping elements to use on this layout, I really went crazy, I stamped all of them in several colors and then chose the one that I liked best. I have lots left that I can use on other projects.

Something I saw done on one layout (by Angela White of www.luvz2scrapbook.com) was to use the Liquid Glass over the stamped elements to make your own enamel look pieces for your layouts. Angela had made quite a few for her page, and it was really stunning. The other idea I saw was on jd designs blog, to use the 1 inch clear epoxy done stickers (that are meant for finishing off DIY bottlecap embellishments) on the circles to make your own "flair". Either way it's done, they look great! I recommend a to visit their blogs!

After I was done with my photo layout, I was still full of ideas from the Blog Hop, so I went ahead and made this card:

I purposely left the exact sentiment of the card blank. It could be a birthday, baby congrats, thank you, promotion, graduation, anything. I used the "This Day" stamp from the February SOTM "Choose Happy", but there are many small sayings in the catalog that would fit.

Here's a complete list of the materials used in the projects above:

Both:

May SoTM  - Just Sayin' S1505 - $17.95 (or $5 with a $50 order)

Exclusive Inks, Pear, Honey, Smoothie - $5.95 each

Daisy White Cardstock 1388 - $9.50 (24 sheet pack)

Sequin embellishments - Coral Reef- Z3042 - $3.95

Marvey Uchida Journaling Pen Z1979 - $3.25

'You & Me' Scrap-book Layout:

Blossom Paper pack - X7196 - $9.95

Kraft Cardstock Z1375 - $9.50 (24 sheet pack)

Han Shin Touch Alcohol Marker - Sap Green - Z2463 - $5.95

'This Day' Card:

Pear Cardstock - X5935 $14.50 (Adventure Paper pack - 2 ea of 10 colors)

Gold Shimmer Trim - Z1985 - $4.95

Pick up your own Stamp of the Month for only $17.95 OR get it for only $5 with a $50 purchase! Be sure to contact your Close To My Heart Independent Consultant before the end of May.  If you don't already have a consultant, I'd love to be yours.  You can find details on the "Stamp of the Month" by clicking on the "Stamp of the Month" at top of the page on the right or purchase your SOTM here. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Coming up next will be The Taste of Summer papers - a very Special Paper pack only being offered by CTMH this month! They are perfect for creating layouts to memorialize those sweet summer memories. Or to create some bright and cheerful cards to send off to make someone's day!



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