April Stamp-of-the-Month Blog Hop!

I'm back in the SOTM blog hop!  And so happy to be back.  This month we are featuring the set called "Flower Pot".  It is simply adroable!  Perfect for all those spring and summer occasion cards and layouts.  If you've come from Michelle's blog, then you're on the right track. If this is your first stop, be sure to keep clicking until you get back here.  There are 67 consultants participating this time so I'm sure you'll get lots of fabulous inspiration.

Here is the project I created with this sweet stamp set:

The idea for this card came from the title page in our book, Wishes.  I loved the card pictured there, so I set about copying it.  I found the pattern that was used and then used my own supplies.  I changed the colour from blue to Hollyhock and stamped the flowers from Flower Pot instead of using our Just Blooms paper flowers.  I also used Spot on Backgrounds for the dotted background, which has been adhered with 3-D Foam Tape.  The lines on the card front were scored and then sanded.  I stitched, which is still something I'm relatively new at, used a heart punch that I had given to my daughter to play with (guess I'll have to borrow it from her now) and a Dimensional Element for the large heart.  I also used a Foundry Bookplate and Hollyhock Ribbon Rounds.  I used Liquid Glass to attach the flower in the focal point.  I also added some Bitty Sparkles (love those!) and some Pewter brads.  Here is the inside:

I carried the scored and sanded look to a strip here and then stamped a few more flowers (with a few more Bitty Sparkles) and then added the sentiment.  All the stamping was done in Grey Wool ink. 

I plan on giving this to my mom for mother's day.  (I can say that because she's rarely online and doesn't look at my blog.) I am quite proud of how this turned out.  Now I want to make another one!

If you'd like to get this stamp set, just contact me today to find out how you can get it at a discount or even for free.  Only available during the month of April.

And now it's time to hop to the next blog.  Click here to go to Jenna's blog and see what lovely project she has created!

If you get lost along the way just click here to go to Helen's blog.  She's got the whole list of participants.

March Club Layout

Each month my club meets and I get to come up with a layout that is easy enough and yet challenging enough for my fabulous group of ladies.  They let me know what kind of layout they'd like to do next.  In February the discussion about what sort of theme to do in March started with an immediate "Valentine's Day" vote.  But just as quickly, there was a chorus of, "Aw, no."  Some of my members are single or don't really celebrate this holiday with photos.  So we settled on something a bit more generic and vague: celebrating relationships/family/friendship.  What a tough assignment for me!  How was I going to come up with a layout that could be used for Valentine's Day photos but also for any other relationship?
My March/April Creating Keepsakes magazine came to the rescue!  The title on one of the layouts in the magazine gave me a starting place and the sketch for scrapping 4x6 photos gave me the layout.  We had already decided to still go with the pink/red theme.  Here is the finished product:

I used the That's Amore Level 2 paper pack, Playful Flourishes and various alphabet stamp sets.  I also added some craft buttons threaded with embroidery floss and twill ribbon pleated a bit with Glue Dots.

Here are a few more photos:

The flourishes were stamped in Blush ink and then rolled a bit in Tulip.  After I cut them out, I sponged the edges a bit with a dauber.  I also sponged the edges of the buttons; love doing that!  I used the direct-to-paper technique to edge the title and blush papers.  The title spots were random stamped in second generation with both Blush and Tulip.

These photos were all taken at different times, spanning from April 2009 to January of this year.  In order for them to look cohesive on this layout, I changed them all to a sepia, which actually ended up printing almost black and white.  Still love how this turned out!  It's so nice to be able to work with photos in this way.  I hadn't gotten to scrapbooking our trip to the zoo last year and in looking for photos of my kids, I found the one of my son with his hat.  It's now one of my new favourites!

Som of my club members weren't too happy about cutting the flourishes, but they trust me and did it anyway and came away with a layout they were all very pleased with.

Live in the Durham region?  Want to join my club?  New members can join any time!  Just send me an email.  Our next club night is Friday, April 9 at 7pm.

Happy Creating!

A Bevy of Beautiful Cards

My next card workshop is just around the corner, Saturday, March 27 at 7pm.  We'll be using three new paper packs to create six cards, for $10. 

These were all made using stamp sets from our Workshop-on-the-Go kits.  The sentiments can be stamped to suit your purposes.  Sign up today because there's only 8 spots, and a couple are spoken for already.  Last chance to sign up is Saturday, March 20.