CTMH September Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

Wow, it is September already! I am excited this month for many reasons, one is this blog hop. This is my first time participating in any kind of blog hop but I love them and I love stamping & scrapbooking so I thought it was time to join in on the fun! This hop will have over 60 participants and will have a continuous loop with each blog directing you to the next blog but if for any reason you click a link that doesn’t work, you can go to Jena De Vries blog and see the entire list.


This month’s stamp of the month set is called Treasures and it has some gorgeous and unique images as you will see if you follow this blog hop! I plan to give the card I made to my daughter who has some difficult & complicated decisions ahead of her so, the verse “Trust your heart” was perfect for the card I wanted to send to her.

When you are ready to move on, the next blogger in the blog hop is Donni Alvarenga so head on over to Donni’s blog for some creative therapy!

My “Trust Your Heart” Card:

Card Recipe:
Papers: Twitterpated (X7118B
Stamp Set: Treasures (D1375)
Inks: Chocolate, Tulip & Sweet Leaf
Embellishments: Pewter Mini Medley (Z1243), Chocolate Waxy Flax (Z1088), Metal Brad Assortment (pewter bitty brads) (ZZ1217)
Template: Enchanting Enclosure (pg. 31) from Wishes (9033)

Recap of Bloghop Links:

     You are here:  Keepsakes with Heart 
     Next Blogger:  Donni's Creative Therapy 
     Previous Blogger:  Awesome Memories
     Entire Blog Hop List:  Live Love Laugh Scrapbook

All a Twitterpated!

Fall is my favorite season of the year. I love the cooler temperatures and nature's vivid display of color so, CTMH's new Twitterpated paper packet was my first purchase from the new catalog. Instead of the traditional orange, golds and browns for fall, this paper has a fun color palette using sorbet, Crystal Blue and Sweet Leaf with Chocoloate. What I love most about the paper packet is that the papers can be used for a variety of layouts other than fall layouts and it will work well in a classy or whimsical way. Got to love that kind of versatility!


Speaking of versatility, I am excited about the change in Close To My Heart’s Workshops on the Go! Beginning with the new catalog, you will be able to purchase a Workshop on the Go kit that includes papers, an exclusive stamp set and some other items to make the project. The kit will also come with a colorful guide to show you how to make the project all at a price discounted below the retail value if items were purchased separately!  Also, because you will be receiving a complete paper packet, you will have enough papers to do both the card and layout project.  There are two kits, a "Basic" kit and a "Best" kit.  The "Best" kit allows you to purchase additional accessory items to "bling up" your project. 

Here’s pictures of the Twitterpated Scrapbook & Card Workshops on the Go. The images on the cards were stamps from the stamp set that is only available in the Twitterpated WOTG kit (order # for Basic Kit is G1000).

Now, for more twitterpated art, here’s a card I made using papers from the Twitterpated paper packet and the Flourished Blessings stamp set.

The recipe for this card:

Papers:  Twitterpated Paper Packet

Inks:  Chocolate & Sorbet

Stamps:  Flourished Blessings

Embellishments:  Chocolate Ribbon

Ms. Gardener

This is another card created for a card challenge. Life is always so busy so I love doing card challenges because the template is already created and I don't have to spend a great deal of time thinking about what I want to do! I chose to use stamps from the CTMH Ms. Gardener set for this card and the papers are from the Perfect Day paper packet ... such gorgeous colors in that packet! When I saw the stamp set, it reminded me of my husband's aunt who would rather work in her gardens than eat! She has the most amazing place where you want to spend all your time outdoors when visiting. I know it is the result of countless backbreaking hours on her property and although I enjoy gardening, that much work for me would be pure torture, but for her, it is her tranquility and for that, all who visit are blessed.

Colors on the card are Tulip, Juniper and Creme Brulee. The water coming out of the hose was accented with liquid glass and prisma glitter.

Bunny Love

I'm finally able to get around pretty good and I took a break from taxes today to make this card. It is for a template challenge using the Cubes & Colors template from the CTMH Originals book. Today I thought I would use a new set I just got called Bunny Love ... the little guys in this set are just too cute! I thought the papers in the Daydream paper kit would look nice as an Easter background. I also used Fancy Cuts botanicals, blush ribbons, blush brads, & buttons. The colors are Blush, Lilac Mist, Sweet Leaf & Cream Brulee.

Erin's Beads

Yep, this is a brand new blog and for those of you who used to visit me at Inked Art, it has gone to blog heaven. It is always fun and exciting to have something new though and I kind of like the look of my new blog :). The other exciting news is that I signed back up with Close to my Heart! I got my kit the last week in December. I have been looking foward to playing with my new stuff ever since it arrived but I've had to finish a digi album I was working on first. Well I finished that project last weekend, so the plan was to create create create this weekend .... you know what they say about the best laid plans! On Thursday, of all things, my back went out. I'm talking lay in the bed and not move an inch out! Every little movement feels like an electric shock up my spine ... ouch! Today, my DH rigged up a way for me to use my laptop so I was able to accomplish a little bit today but until I'm up and around again, my plans for playing with my new stuff will just have to wait.

While catching up on friend's blogs today, I saw that Erin over at Inky Smiles has a wonderful tutorial on making paper beads. Haha, I bet you were wondering why I titled my first blog post the way I did :). Well while checking out her tutorial, I discover that she has a little bonus thrown in there and I'm thinking ... the only blog I can post to is the brand new one that hasn't even made it's debut yet which I wanted to do when I had artwork to share. Well it just so happens I do have a card I made a few years ago with handmade beads on it :)!

So back to the beads, If you have never made these, you should give them a try because they are really fun and easy. In addition to using them for jewelry, you can also use them as elements on cards or scrapbook layouts and even make them long or short ... just play around to get the size and thickness you need for your project.

Another variation is instead of cutting your paper triangular, cut it the same width all the way down and dry emboss just the final end to create a textured look. Try rolling it with the raised embossing up or down to see which way you like it best before you add the UTEE.

Here's the card I made a few years ago. The beads on it were made from paper that was cut the same width all the way down vs. tapering one end. In case you are wondering about the stamp set used on the card, it is a retired set called Out of Africa. Hope you have fun making some beads!