CTMH SOTM Blog Hop: You're So...

Hello everyone, we're off on another Stamp-of-the-Month blog hop!  If you've come from Nikka's blog you're on the right track.  If you're starting here, just keep clicking the links in each post until you get back here.  I'm sure you'll be floored by all the wonderful artwork CTMH consultants have made with this fun stamp set.

Here is what it looks like:

I love this stamp set, especially for the words used.  Here is the card I made:

This card pattern is from one of the workshops found in Wishes.  I'll be using it at my upcoming workshop.  I'm really into using grey lately and am completely inspired by Lucy, which is where that strip of paper on the bottom is from.  The flower is cut with the Art Philosophy cartridge as well as the piece that "Amazing" is stamped on.  The pink cardstock is Blush.  The flower is stamped using Hooray Bouquet, inked first in Blush and rolled in Cotton Candy.  The banner and sentiments are stamped in Grey Flannel, with the bottom words in second generation because I didn't want them to take too much of the focus.  I also sponged most of the pieces with Grey Flannel.  I cut out the little banner and popped it in the middle, like the amazing piece.  Here's a close up:

I hope you enjoyed this little card.  It's time to hop on over to Michelle's blog. Happy Hopping!

CTMH: It's Game Time

The Super Bowl wasn't too long ago.  Do you watch the game?  Do you go to or put on big parties for the game?  My brother-in-law, Steve, played football in high school.  We love having him over for the Super Bowl, but also for other sports, too.  It's been a couple of years since we enjoyed the game with him, but I did create a layout a little while ago about one of those visits.

This layout is a pattern from Magic.  (This book is selling out fast so contact me today if you want to get your hands on one!  The paper I used is from an old paper pack called Game On.  I threw in some Cotton Candy cardstock since the layout is really about my daughter's experience.

Here are the pages closer up.  Just click on the photo for an even closer look.

 The two photos on the right page are my husband and his brother, Steve, teaching Arianna how football works with her little people and other toy people and animals.  It was so cute watching them!

Here's a close up of my title pennant banner.

I used the Pennant alphabet for this.  The embellishments are Wooden Designer Buttons and Natural Hemp as well as some flowers from my stash.

What unexpected or slightly different topics do you scrapbook?

Kites and Borders

I thought I would share a layout I made a while ago.  I love how it turned out and it's still one of my favourites.

My son had the biggest yawns as a baby and I was lucky enough to catch it on camera three times.  They're not the best photos, but I think they still really capture those yawns.  The page pattern is from PageMaps, but I have no idea which one any more.  The pattern had a picture of a kite as a suggested embellishment and I thought it fit perfectly!  I popped the centre photo so the kite string would go under it smoothly.  I also popped the clouds and kite in varying heights.  Here's a close up of that little cluster:

Products used: Fanfare Level 2 paper pack, Childhood stamp set, Pacifica and Cranberry inks, Colour-Ready alphabet stickers, embroidery floss, various punches, Pacifica and Cranberry markers, and staples.

Happy Creating!

CTMH: Love Milk Cartons!

I had so much fun creating with our new Milk Cartons.  You saw the one I made for my daughter on the February blog hop.  Now I'm sharing the one I made for my son.

I used the Superhero paper pack and some Cranberry and Moonstruck cardstock.  The star strip is from the zip strip at the top of one of the sheets.  The star is one of our Dimensional Elements, that match a star shape from the Cricut cartridge.  I used the stamp set from the Superhero Workshop-on-the-Go kit for the image and stamped it in Cranberry.  The white twine is from our new Baker's Twine.  All the papers are sponged with black.

I really like how it turned out and even though my son wasn't super excited about it, he did like it and I still think he's a "SUPER Kid".

Happy Creating!

CTMH: March SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to another Stamp-Of-The-Month Blog Hop!  This month we have over 50 CTMH consultants participating.  If you've come from Traci's blog, you're on the right track.  We're creating with the fabulous set called, Potential.  Here's what it looks like:

The inspiration for my card came from this photo I found on Pinterest:

It came from a blog called Simply Stamped.

Here's my card:

And I decided to decorate the inside as well.

I made the base out of Kraft cardstock.  All the patterned paper is from the Pemberly Level 2 paper pack.  The flowers were cut with the Cricut and the stamped images come only from this month's set.  I discovered that the Tapestry Velvet Rub-Ons match these stamps exactly!  There are more images in the rub-ons, but all the stamp ones are there.  How fun!  I used the Dark Chocolate rub-ons for the flourishes under the flowers.  The brads are from the Copper Designer Brads set.  Initially I had stamped the sentiment on the front with Chocolate, but I didn't really like it, so I over-stamped with Desert Sand and am now happy with the result.  The edges are all sponged with Desert Sand and the inside image is stamped in the same colour.  I hand-stitched around the outside with embroidery floss, using CTMH's fabulous ruler to get perfect spacing, and then tied some Colour-Ready Seam binding Ribbon around before attaching it to the base.  I think this is my new favourite ribbon!

Now you're ready to move on to the next blog and see what wonderful things Gina has created for you.

Happy Creating!

Guatemala: Wrap Up

Things have been pretty busy and it was hard to get posts done the last couple of days in Guatemala.  I apologize for not getting something up until today.  Yesterday I was so tired, I did absolutely nothing.

I am extremely grateful for all of you who have been keeping our team in your prayers.  We had an amazing last couple of days, despite having some sick team members.  On Friday we saw 832 in medical and 145 in dental and on Saturday, we smashed our record with 954 patients seeing a doctor and getting meds, and 155 people getting dental work done!  This was with a number of team members under the weather and some even needing to take breaks in the bus.

Thursday was such a neat day.  We were in Parramos, where another Canadian organization called Loving Arms, is working.  It was further out of the city and we saw a lot more traditional dress.  Here are a few photos from this site.

The view out our pharmacy door, a play area, and on the other side of the fence, a playground!

This little cutie gave me big smiles after my camera went away and 

when I saw him later in the day we played peek-a-boo.

Chris counselling with a grandma and her granddaughter.  She had lots of questions.

Friday we were back in the same slum as on Monday, except we were on the other side.  The area is split into two and no one crosses over.  The church we connected with on Monday, with Pastor Gorge (pronounced Hor-hay), hadn't been successful getting into this side of the slum.  Our clinic was a huge stepping stone for them.  It was also a more dangerous area at night.  We were safe in the school, but were warned not to venture too far away.  Again, it struck me that these beautiful people live with such fear and hardship.  It really doesn't seem fair that as I write this from the comfort of my home here in Canada, that the faces we saw will shut their eyes tight and pray that the bullets won't fly tonight.  I am also grateful that we were able to give them vitamins, parasite meds, blood pressure and diabetic medications along with so much more, even melatonin for sleep.  At least we could address that.  Pastor Gorge said that they only know "gringos" who come to do business with the drug lords and the fact that we would be there just for them, serving them, was such a huge step forward.  I am grateful also that our clinic will help his church to reach out the people of this slum.  That will have much longer lasting effects than the medications we handed out!  Here are some photos from this area:

The view from the second floor of the school.

Even when you're poor, you still want your home to look nice.

Chris and I took this photo on the roof of our hotel on Saturday morning.  Guatemala City in the background.  Clouds were low so they covered the tops of the volcanoes.

If you would like to see more and get more of an understanding of what happens on our trips, as well as see some incredibly photographs, you have to go see what Tim has written and posted on the Speroway blog.

Thank you again for all your support and prayers as we served in Guatemala last week.  We felt them each day and know it was because of them that we were able to see close to 5000 patients.  Love you all!

Guatemala: Days Two and Three in Photos

Here are a few photos from the past two days.

The view from our Pharmacy room on Day 2.

This is how lots of people here keep out unwanted guests, broken glass.

Houses perched on the edge of a cliff, a very normal sight.

This was the sight that greeted us on Day 3.  Hundreds of people already waiting for us.

A little cutie, all too eager to smile for me.

How some of our patients got home.  They crammed as many people as possible in that truck, 

even at least one more after I took the photo.

Today was fabulous, just resting and relaxing and having fun together.  Tomorrow we head out for another clinic, and now it's time for me to go to sleep!

If you want more great stories and amazing photos, check out the Speroway blog that Tim is writing.

Until next time.