July SOTM - Strong Roots Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring July's SOTM, which is Strong Roots, a set of 11 stamps.  

If you have come here from Heather'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 on Melinda’s Blog. 

This month we have 18 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

 I instantly loved the little cottage, and I have had midwinter Christmas ideas on my mind, and so I decided to make a winter themed card using the cottage.  I created a galaxy circle background on French Vanilla Cardstock and then used a Cricut cut Snowflake stencil for a subtle all over background. 

The title comes from this stamp set too- I stamped the word Home layered in Grape, Sangria and Sapphire ink, and then shaped the rest of the sentence around my galaxy circle (the great thing about our stamps is that they can be manipulated into different lines!) in Sangria ink. The snowflakes were simply sponged onto the cardstock using my Sponge Dauber and Mint Ink. 

For the galaxy spotlight I sponged a circle using Sapphire, Sangria and Grape ink. I then took my Watercolour Paints and flicked some white over the galaxy circle, and left to dry. 

For the house- I stamped the entire house in Versamark and Intense Black ink and then heat embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder so that the colours wouldn't run. Usually with watercolours you can just use Intense Black, but the snow look I created is quite wet and my first attempt didn't work out so I decided to do each step to protect the Black Ink as much as possible. I then coloured the house using Watercolour Pencils, and sponged over the windows with Mustard Seed Distress Oxide ink so that the lights looked like they were glowing inside. I then added a thick layer of Diamond Stickles Glitter Glue to the bushes and roof, to create a snowy look. It is so sparkly and pretty in real life! I fussy cut the house and popped it up on some Thin 3D Foam Tape. 

Isn't this such a cute card? I am really pleased with the way it turned out. I'd love to know which detail is your favourite. 

Now "Hop" on over to Maureen’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 Strong Roots SOTM is only available until the 31st July!  

Happy Day Cloud Background

This week at Heart 2 Heart- the technique set is sponging- and I knew exactly what I wanted to do!

I have been waiting to use this Build A Rainbow Thin Cuts since I first purchased them- so I got to work creating a card with these.

I cut one of the clouds and used that as a template to sponge a piece of White Daisy Cardstock using Glacier Ink and a Sponge Dauber. 

I just kept repeating the sponging process, using the cloud thin cut as a guide, until I had completeted the background. 

To create the completed card- I used a piece of yellow stripe paper from the In This Together Paper Packet and then matted the sponged background onto Grape Cardstock. I then cut the rainbow from Candy Apple, Nectarine, Clover and Lagoon cardstock and added two more clouds, which I also sponged with Glacier ink and popped up on 3D Foam Tape for some extra dimension. 

I stamped the sentiment from the Hillside Cottage Cardmaking Stamp Set using Grape Ink, and my card was done! I would love to know what you think. 

Featured Product- Artistry Cartridge

Hello and welcome to our CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop. This week our featured product is the Close To My Heart Artistry Cartridge for the Cricut.

If you have just joined us you can start here and continue on, as this is a circular hop or if you get lost along the way you can find the complete list at the end of this post.   If you came here from Annette you are in the right place. Now on to my project:

Here are the pieces I cut from the Artistry cartridge. The kite comes in two layers, and I also cut this sweet bird on a branch. I also cut a cloud from the cartridge- colour doesn't matter for what I need it for!



I used the cloud as a stencil for my sponging to create a cloud background. I simply moved it across a piece of 4 x 5 1/4 White Daisy cardstock, sponging with Lagoon ink.



Each layer is slightly different, and I kept moving the cloud across the page and sponging in a left to right movement.



Here is my finished sponged background, complete with the kite, bird and a sentiment.



And here is my completed card! I love the touch of the glitter triangles on the kite to make the bows stand out, and the sentiment is stamped in Desert Sand ink from the For Family stamp set.



Thank you for checking out my project. If you would like to purchase our featured product of the week or any additional supplies you can buy them here. If you enjoyed my project please comment below as we love feedback! Next on our blog hop is Kim from Scrappin With Heart. Make sure to check out her amazing work featuring this same product.

If you get lost, here is the complete line up of hoppers!
1. Lauren Moore
2. Kim Loewen

3. Corinna Murphy
4. Annette Clark