Friday, December 31, 2010

January Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring January's SOTM, which is Find Your Style, a set of 9 stamps.

If you have come here from Pamela'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 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!

This month I used the stamp set to create my own pattern paper and then used it jazz up a gift bag.  On one side I used the bird, Beautiful and Friend stamps.  I randomly stamped and second generation stamped.
On the other side, I used the butterfly and Beautiful stamp to random stamp and second generation stamp.  I embossed the Friend stamp and the saying stamp.  I also embossed some of the Beautiful stamped images on this side.
 

Supplies Used:
Cardstock - Black, Colonial White
Ink - Black, Gypsy, Pear
Stamp Set - Find Your Style
Techniques - Embossing, Random Stamping, Second Generation Stamping
Embellishments - Black Opaques

Now "Hop" on over to Kristie'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 the 31st! Visit my website or contact me to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

Happy Hopping!
Wendy

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Christmas Gifts

My grandparents are always difficult to shop for during the holidays - they go out and buy whatever they need when they need it. My mother-in-law is another one that is super difficult to buy for.  All of them like to stop at yard sales and at second hand stores and have houses that are full of "stuff". 

This year I thought I would be a little more creative with the gifts that we give them.  About a month ago, I told my husband that I was going to make two albums (one for the grandparents and one for the mother-in-law).  The plan was to include photos that I've taken during the last year - starting with last Christmas.  I know they will all love it and hopefully it will start a tradition for years to come. 

I've gone through our pictures and selected just the right ones.  I've chosen some patterns from the fabulous Close To My Heart How-To books.  Now, I need to get busy and get some scrapping done and put the albums together!  We're celebrating with my grandparents next Saturday!

As I am trying to get inspiration for the next pages, I thought I'd share my just completed Easter layout.  We have Easter at our house every year and invite both sides of our families.  This year, my cousin Heather was visiting from Las Vegas.  This layout is for my grandparents book.



Supplies Used:
Paper - Colonial White CS, Garden Green CS, Veranda B&T
Stamp Set - Baroque Alphabet, The Present
Ink - Cocoa
Other - Mocha Opaques, Designer's Calendar Cricut Cartridge, Cherish - Fab Fifteen

Stay tuned for more layouts to come!
Wendy