Close to my Heart January 2011 Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring....

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring January 2011's SOTM, Find Your Style.  If you have come here from Vickie's Blog, you are on the right path!  The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants here.

This month we have over 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs.  To view all the great artwork just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

The soft vintage feel of this set and the beautiful sayings really spoke to me.  My mother suffers from early onset alzheimer's disease so the phrase "a friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and will sing it back to you when you forget the words" really choked me up.  What a beautiful sentiment and so perfect for giving to a special friend in your life.  The idea of giving this sent me on a quest to play with a home decor / gift item for my project this month.

Here I've used a 5x7 picture frame that I've literally had for years and done some altering to create a one-of-a-kind gift.  The butterfly was stamped directly on the glass using black Staz-on ink.

The title "beautiful friend" was embossed directly on the background paper and the definition was embossed in black and then matted.  You can see from this shot the dimensionality to this piece - all of the paper and some of the embellishments are below the glass while the flowers and sparkles all are mounted directly on the glass.

I really enjoyed creating this piece and am planning on making more of these darling frames in the future!  Here is the full picture of "Find Your Style" the Jan. 2011 Stamp of the Month:

Materials Used:

Paper:  Jingle Level 2 , Black Cardstock, Olive Cardstock

Stamp:  Find Your Style

Ink:  Black Staz-on, Versamark,  Colonial White Marker (to color the white crocheted flowers to Colonial White)

Other:  Heartfelt Whimsy Collection, Colonial White Ribbon Rounds, Just Blooms Big Pinks, Sparkles, Mini Medley Autumn Garden, Black Embossing Powder

Now "Hop" on over to Nicole'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 January SOTM is only available until 31st.  Click HERE to see how you can get this wonderful set for a discount or for FREE!

Finished my Christmas scrapping with CTMH's Studio J

Okay, I know I've said it before but I LOVE STUDIO J!  I had a couple of free hours yesterday so I sat down to work on my Christmas scrapping.  My goal was to get 4 layouts done (you know, for the free shipping each month) and wound up doing 6 layouts and finishing my Christmas scrapping for 2010.

This one is my favorite - my oldest and youngest making a gingerbread house together.  We found kits at Trader Joe's this year for a simple A frame house that had all the decorating supplies and the royal icing powder included.  I helped Eliza make the icing and showed her how to put it into a pastry bag then she and Devin had a blast putting it all together and decorating it.  On a side note we tried eating a piece after Christmas but the house parts did NOT taste good.  We decided next year to bake gingerbread cookies and just use the kits for decorating fun!

Here are just two of five Christmas morning layouts I did with the Mistletoe kit in Studio J.  The pictures really capture the excitement and joy of Christmas morning - all those wonderful goodies just waiting to be opened! 

Check out the right side of this page - do you see the picture of me on the lower left?  That's me opening up my NEW BIG SHOT PRO!  I was super excited to get one of these machines (at a rockin discount in the Black Friday sales) and several dies for it.  I can't wait to share some fun projects I have planned out for the new year using my new gadget!

Love this shot of my three kids all together!

Studio J is such a great tool for getting caught up - or in my case, staying current with your scrapbooks.  I've done a great job getting all of 2010 scrapped now I just need to start importing more of my older pictures to work on the backlog!  To check out Studio J click here so you can see how inexpensive (just $6.50 for a two page layout for members) and easy (EVERYTHING is included in the price - no nickle and dime costs for paper packs or embellishments) Studio J is!

A little present to share....

The other day I received a nice present from Northridge Media so I thought I'd share!  They are giving away a free electronic look at the January issues of both Cards (one of my all time favorite crafting magazines) as well as Scrapbook Trends and Bead Trends.  Go take a peek and enjoy the inspiration!

http://northridgemedia.net/blogs/create/freebies/merry-christmas-to-all/

There are definitely a couple of cards I'll be casing from the Jan. issue of Cards!  I've been kicking around the idea of getting the electronic versions of the Northridge media magazines but I think I've already spent my "crafting budget" for the next several months - LOL!

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas to All......

Wishing all my blog-ity friends a very Merry Christmas! 

I hope your day was filled with surprises, laughter, family and love and that your New Year is filled with prosperity, peace and joy!

Hugs,

Paige

Keepsake Holiday Ornament Picture Tutorial - Great to make with the kids PLUS how to get a FREE Stamp Set!

I have an easy and inexpensive project that is perfect for you to do with your kids to give to Grandparents, family or to keep for your own tree.  I've put together a quick tutorial for making a set of keepsake holiday ornaments and best of all - with a $20 supply purchase you'll get a D size $22.95 stamp set for FREE!  I'll tell you more about that at the end!

These ornaments are super easy to make!  I've made a picture tutorial for those of us who are more visual learners.

1. Press the top "hanger" part of the ornament on the edge of your Versamark embossing pad, sprinkle on Silver embossing powder and heat set. 

2.  If you want to add embossing to the center simply place the top onto the ornament to figure out spacing and I found you can stamp right through the opening onto the base chipboard piece.

3. Sponge ink onto ornaments (here I used Sky and Pacifica).  You can see, the embossing pops right through the ink!  Ink the pieces to the desired color.

4. Put a dollop of Liquid Glass on a piece of plastic wrap and use a paint brush to apply a light coat of Liquid Glass and then sprinkle with Prisma Glitter.

5. Using the paintbrush, apply a thin coat of Liquid Glass to the back of the top overlay and glue the two pieces together.

5. Embellish as desired - here I've used our Opaques Pearls

6. Run some ribbon through the top to hang!

Don't forget to have your kiddo sign and date the back!  How easy peasy is that?!?

The larger ornaments also make terrific picture ornaments - simply lay the ornament base on top of the picture you want to use, draw around and cut out. Apply the picture to the base and finish assembly as above. What Grandparent wouldn't love that?

Here is the best part - how you can get the supplies PLUS a free gift for yourself! Right now any order of $20 or more on my website paige.myctmh.com will receive a bonus D size recently retired stamp set worth $22.95 all through the month of December!  Close to my Heart will pick one out and send it with your order at no extra charge!  A project for your kids and a gift for you all in one!

Make sure when you visit paige.myctmh.com that you also check out under the SHOP ONLINE button a section called Discounted Products for some rocking deals on retiring products!

To make sure your order will get there in time, place your order by Monday, 13th December!Materials Used:
 Z1337 - Dimensional Elements Ornaments - $4.95

Z134 - Prisma Glitter - $4.25 (one jar will make a ton of these)

Z679 - Liquid Glass - $6.95 (one bottle lasts most people about a year)

Z697 - Sponge - $1.25 (cut into pieces and use binder clips to make them easier to use for kids)

Z1336 - Opaques Pearls - $2.95 (one package has 108 pearls and will make two or three sets of ornaments)
Subtotal: $20.35 PLUS you'll get a FREE D size $22.95 bonus stamp!
Optional Items:

Z2194 - Sky Inkpad - $5.25

Z2192 - Pacifica Inkpad - $5.25

Z669 - Silver Embossing Powder - $3.95 (one jar will last a very long time)

Z891 - Versamark Inkpad (a sticky glue like pad for the embossing powder to stick) - $9.95

Z555 - Craft Heater - $29.95