September's Stamp of the Month



Welcome to the Close to My Heart Australasian Blog Hop for September. If you have arrived here from Tracey's Blog then you are in the right place! The link for the next blog will be at the bottom of this post. Our Stamp of the Month is a very sweet set called "Paper Garden". It co-ordinates with images you can cut on your Cricut with the Artiste cartridge.



Paper Garden Stamp of the Month September, $10 / $33

I have seen so many wonderful things done with this set, and I'm sure that the other girls on the blog hop will showcase some very creative projects, but I have chosen to keep mine very very simple.

When I sell my cards at fairs and markets I am often asked for sympathy cards, which I rarely have many of. This stamp set however really appealed to me as the central image for a sympathy card.
I used the colour trio of Juniper, Glacier and Thistle for my cards, but any colour combo would work.

My cards are 4x4", so the base is a Juniper piece 8x4", scored and folded in half.
The next layer is Glacier measuring 3.75x3.75", and the top layer is White Daisy, 3.5x3.5".
I used the "rock n roll" technique for stamping the flower image, first using Glacier and then rolling just the outside edges in the Juniper.
I stamped the sentiment with Thistle.
I tied the ribbon / twine to the White Daisy and Glacier layers before adhering them to the Juniper base.

Look to the Light, Set of 5, $18

For my sentiment, I chose the beautiful sayings from the "Look to the Light" set, which are so appropriate and supportive. However, if you want a less religious feel to the cards, I would recommend "Big Hug", which again is perfect for sympathy cards.



Big Hug Set of 10, $33

Thank you so much for hopping by! Please leave a comment before you head on over to the next blog, which is Leah Cameron's Corner.



March Stamp of the Month

Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop - March Stamp of the Month

This blog hop is full of fantastic ideas for you to make full use of your gorgeous "Happy Place" stamp set. We are a loop, so if you have come here from Jenny's Heart and Craft Corner, you are in the right place. Keep clicking through the new link at the bottom of the blog posts and you will be taken to the next blog, until you come round in a full circle.

The March Stamp of the Month is my favourite for this campaign! We are matryoska mad in our house. I decided to use it as my Mother's Day project this year - I know that's not till May, but I'm getting ahead.
These little folding box cards are very popular at the moment; I've seen them absolutely everywhere! I changed the proportions a little and perhaps they don't work quite so well - I wanted my folded flat card to be 6x4". I am toying with the idea of using a regular photo on the outside cut into sections, I think that would be quite cool.

I also played with the layering section inside the box, first creating steps from a scored piece of card. I then gave up and used the simplest idea - a loop created by scoring a piece of cardstock at intervals which could fit down inside the box and adhere to the edges.
Ingredients: for my card base I used bamboo, my new neutral favourite. I stamped the matryoska on bamboo with black pigment and coloured them with alcohol markers - lagoon, twilight,gypsy, hollyhock, crème brulee.

I used Laughing Lola for the decorative papers. This is an old favourite with many of my ladies - but more importantly my Mum! I snazzied it up a bit with clear sparkles.
I do hope you like this wee project. It was very easy to create. There are video tutorials online for the box, and I intend to make one for the way I create the box and for my proportions, as it will be one of the projects for my classes in March.
Cheers for reading! I'd love you to make a comment before heading along to our next blog on the circuit, Shauna's Blog, Passionate About Pages.
For more information on the Stamp of the Month special, click here.