Beautiful Day

We are celebrating spring this month at Scrap it With a Song.  I got to pick the song this week and the song that came to mind immediately was "Beautiful Day" by U2.  

When I think of that song - - which is one of my favourites - - I can't help but think of my wedding.  It was the song we played at the end of our wedding ceremony as we exited the church and again as we entered the reception hall a few hours later.  The photo in the layout below is a picture of us leaving the church as the song was playing :-) 

I used Creative Scrappers Sketch #198 for this layout and love how it turned out!

Materials Used:
CTMH paper - Simple Pleasures (retired)
CTMH cardstock - Cocoa
CTMH Garden Wood Shapes
CTMH paper flowers including the Petals collection
CTMH Mocha Opaques pearls
CTMH ink: Twilight & Cocoa

Hope you'll join us at Scrap it With a Song this month as we celebrate spring!  You have all month to play along using any of our 'spring' themed song selections!

CTMH January Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the Close to My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop for January! We have dozens of talented consultants participating this month - - which means tons of fabulous artwork ideas to inspire you! This month we are showcasing the "True Friends" stamp set - a set of 11 images! Enjoy!

(Hopping is easy to do, at the end of each post on the Hop there will be a link to the next blog!)

I absolutely love this stamp set - so I have a few projects to share with you today!

The first is a card box to hold A2 sized greeting cards.  I was inspired to make this project by last week's challenge on the Project Tuesday Blog. 

The card box is super easy to make & you can find a link to the template & instructions on the Project Tuesday site. 

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart, except as noted):

True Friends Acrylic Stamp Set - January Stamp of the Month

Simple Pleasures Level 2 Paper Pack

Cocoa Grosgrain Ribbon

Liquid Glass

Cardstock: Desert Sand, Twilight, Bamboo

Ink: Cocoa

Other - velcro for closure piece

My next project is the card that I made to go inside the card box.  The card design is simple - perfect to make a few of to put in the box and give as a gift!  The card design is this week's sketch at Clean & Simple Stamping.

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

True Friends Acrylic Stamp Set - January Stamp of the Month

Felicity Acrylic Stamp Set

Simple Pleasures Level 2 Paper Pack
Cardstock: Cocoa, Twilight, Colonial White

Ink:  Cocoa

Other - Adhesive Pearls (CTMH Promo item - not available to order)

And my third project is a layout featuring one of my favourite photos.  Some of my best friends took me out to dinner for my birthday this past September - we got this great shot to remember our night out!  The layout design is this week's sketch at the Design Dollies Blog. (Sorry about the crooked photography!!)

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart, except as noted):

True Friends Acrylic Stamp Set - January Stamp of the Month

Simple Pleasures Level 2 Paper Pack

Simple Pleasures Level 2 Stickease Pack

Cardstock: Cocoa, Bamboo

Ink: Cocoa

Other - Friendship sticker from my stash

Thanks for stopping by!! 
Now hop on over to LORI's BLOG to see what she has to share! 
If you get lost somewhere along the hop or find a broken link, feel free to refer back to the complete list of January's Hop Participants Here.

CTMH Simple Pleasures You & Me Layout

I used a sketch from the Page Maps Blog for this layout. I am totally LOVING the new Close to My Heart felt die-cuts! (As you can probably tell - as I've used them on my last three projects/posts).

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart, except as noted):

• Simple Pleasures Level 2 Paper Pack
• Simple Pleasures Stickease Assortment
• Frame of Mind Acrylic Stamp Set
• Heartfelt Wonder Die Cuts
• Brads Basic Assortment
• Cardstock: Black, Twilight
• Inks: Desert Sand, Black
• Other: Alphabet Stickers - Thickers

CTMH July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the Close to My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring July's SOTM, which is You've Got Flair, a set of 8 stamps. If you have come here from Jennifer's Blog, you are on the right path! If this is your first stop, you may want to go back to Jena's Blog and start from the beginning!
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This month we have 43 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!

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Both of my cards feature the "Emboss Resist" technique. On this first card, the "You've Got Flair" floral pattern was stamped in Versamark on White Daisy Cardstock and then heat embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. I then went over the images with Bamboo ink using a rubber brayer.

The card layout is "Medallion" from the Close to My Heart Card Confidence Program book Wishes.

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

• Simple Pleasures Level 2 Paper Pack
• Bella Level 2 Paper Pack
• July Stamp of the Month "You've Got Flair"
• Thank You Acrylic Stamp Set
• Inks: Versamark, Cocoa
• Other: Chipboard Flower from the Dimensional Elements Perennials Collection, Hollyhock Twill Ribbon from the Hollyhock Designer Ribbon Rounds Collection, Hollyhock Buttons from the Autumn Craft Button Collection, White Daisy Button from the Holiday Craft Button Collection, Cocoa Thread from a shredded piece of Cocoa Grosgrain Ribbon, Clear Embossing Powder, Glue Dots, Foam Squares.

On this second card - the "You've Got Flair" images were stamped in Versamark on the Bamboo Cardstock card base. I then heat embossed the images using Clear Embossing Powder. Next I sponged over the images using cocoa and juniper inks.

The card Layout is "Cubed Collage" from the Close to My Heart Card Confidence Program book Wishes.

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

• Perfect Day Level 2 Paper Pack
• July Stamp of the Month "You've Got Flair"
• For Every Occasion Acrylic Stamp Set
• Simple Stitches Acrylic Stamp Set
• Inks: Cocoa, Juniper, Versamark
• Cardstock not included in Level 2 kit: Bamboo
• Other: Cocoa Grosgrain Ribbon, Clear Embossing Powder

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Now "Hop" on over to Jody'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 July SOTM is only available until July 31st! Contact your CTMH Consultant or visit My Website to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

And before you go - here is one more project I've done with "You've Got Flair":

My family and I travelled Europe back in 2006 and Amsterdam was one of my favourite stops! Here I used the stamps to help embellish my layout. The images were stamped, then cut out and then coloured using my blending pen and ink from my stamp pads.

The layout design is"Double Take" from the Close to My Heart Scrapbooking Layout book Imagine.

Materials Used (all Close to My Heart):

• Simple Pleasures Level 2 Paper Pack
• July Stamp of the Month "You've Got Flair"
• Inks: Desert Sand, Bamboo, Twilight
• Other: Pewter Brads, Basic Assortment Bigger Brads, Liquid Glass, Hodge Podge Color Ready Alphabets, Dimensional Elements Framed Fun
• And: Dazzling Die-Cuts Basic and Winter Assortments (no longer available to order)

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If you happen to get lost along your way during the hop or if you find a link that isn't working - you can refer to this complete list of participants and their blog addresses to get back on your way!

Jena Devries
Wendy Kessler
Sherry Thompson
Dawn Heuft
Brae Montgomery
Melissa Laverty
Karen Norman
Deb Young
Adeline E Brill
Tammy Lea Pinchard
Jen Rubio
Cibele Glazer
Laurie R Newton
Kami Welter
Helen Onulak
Sarita Schraeder
Chris Shouse
Paige Dolecki
Dawn Ross
Jamia Bankhead
Nona Davenport
Haley Dyer
Misty Jackson
Jennifer Patrick
Carla Ironside
Jody Gustafson
Heather Painchaud
Julia Menssen
Lori Miller
Pamela O'Connor
Reba Poquette
Anne Beck
Shallon Pelletier
Caren Goldsein
Jan Moxey
Kristie Horness-Herdener
Alanna Moses
Leslie Markland
Barbara Otten
Traci Godbee
Jill Lucas
Amy McVey
Laurie Levnik

CTMH Simple Pleasures & Mojo Monday #91

Another great sketch over at Mojo Monday this week!

Sketch #91:

My card:

Materials Used (All Close to My Heart):

• Simple Pleasures Level 2 Paper Pack
• Treasure Life Acrylic Stamp Set (September 2008 Stamp of the Month)
• Inks: Desert Sand, Cocoa, Twilight
• Other: Cocoa Grosgrain Ribbon, Twilight Brad from the Winter Cozy Assortment of Brads