Very Merry Christmas: CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to another fantastic Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  If you're following along the path, you've just come from Judy's Blog.  If you've stumbled upon me while surfing, sit back and enjoy the 60+ ideas from some pretty talented CTMH Consultants!

I always love the October SOTM from Close To My Heart.  Why?  Because it is always a Christmas set!
And I love Christmas...just a bit.

So let's have a look at this month's exclusive set, shall we?

Mittens, and ornaments, and sentiments...oh my!  Such a great collection!  I've had fun with this and have lots of ideas swimming around in my head, but for today I'll just share one of my projects...because it was a biggie!

I'm sure by now we've all seen those beautiful ornaments featured on that...other company's mini-catalog.    Well I knew it could easily have been created using this stamp set, even easier because it uses the new Artiste cartridge!  Just take a look.

Stamps: Very Merry Christmas October 2012 SOTM

Inks: Twilight

Papers: Twilight, White Daisy cardstock

Accessories: Sparkles, Slate Satin Polka-dot Ribbon, Bling Assortment,

Silver Glitz Gel, White Embroidery Floss

Tools: Art Philosophy & Artiste Cricut cartridges

 

 

This is a pretty large ornament.  It measures 7.5" long...12" with the ribbon hanger!  I'll have to find a special place for it in the house this season.  Somewhere it can catch the sun, it sure is sparkley!

 

 

Well I hope you've enjoyed my contribution to the hop.  I'll post a tutorial in a couple of days to show you how I made it.

 

Now you should head off to Kim's Blog and see her wonderful creation!  Thanks for stopping by!

 

 



Free CTMH Stamp Set and Monthly Giveaway

The end of the month is quickly coming...have you taken advantage of the National Stamping Month offer from CTMH?  Get the versitle double stamp set, It's Your Day, for only $5 with your $35 order!

 

As an extra bonus to my customers this month, when you place a $50 order through the "September Craft Closet Party" link on my website, not only can you get the SOTM for $5 and the It's Your Day set for $5, but I'll also give you your choice of stamp set (size A-D) for FREE!

Just contact me after you've placed  your order and let me know which stamp set you'd like.



You'll also have your name placed in a drawing for my monthly giveaway!  You can receive $25 in free CTMH product! 

You've still got 2 days to take advantage of these great offers!  Don't miss out!

Clearly the Best: Terrific Two-Tone

Another great video with Monica and Kristine!  This time, they share tricks and tips for using the Base and Shade technique.  This is an awesome technique to use with our My Acrylix stamp sets!



Visit MyCraftChannel for more ideas and stop by my website to get your own My Acrylix stamps for your crafting fun!

Mom Growing Pains

Last night, I experienced a first in my years as a mom...sending my child off on an overnight school trip.  All I could think was    I was hoping I wasn't the only one, but all the other parents seemed okay.  Even Engineer was cool and calm!  So I did the next best thing...I faked it. Not very convincingly though, I'm sure.

Just about now, Bio-Comp and his classmates are reaching the Magic Kingdom at Disneyland.  I know!  Why wasn't I asked to be a chaperone?  

Even though I was am nervous about him being away from home, he totally deserves to have this fun time with his friends.  He's worked really hard his first quarter in middle school.  He's joined lots of clubs, kept his grades up (got on the High Honor Roll even!), and participated on the Cross Country team!

After he was packed, I slipped this card into his suitcase.  I wanted him to know how proud we all are of him! 

 

Stamps: Superhero WOTG

Papers: Superhero Reflections Kit

Inks: Black, Honey

Accessories: Silver Shimmer Trim, Comic Badges

Tools: Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

 

Now I think I'll just spend the day in my room...waiting for the phone to beep with a text from Bio-Comp telling me how much fun he's having... ...without his mom!



 

 

Last Day of Summer

Today we saw farewell to Summer...


Well, maybe not totally around here.  But I'm holding out for those cooler days to come!

As the "technically" last day of Summer dawns, I wanted to share one of the layouts we created for Convention.  Every year when school is out, my family spends a glorious week in the mountains of Ruidoso, NM.  One of our favorite things to do is spend an evening at White Sands.  If you've never been there, imagine a vast white sandy beach...just no ocean!

The boys' favorite thing to do is climb up the huge dunes, take a running start, and hurl themselves over the edge!  I used to be worried about them getting hurt but they don't actually get very far...so I've learned to just deal with it. You can see in the smaller photo in the layout all of them going at once!

Studio J: Lucky Day Reflection Kit

So do you have any plans for saying goodbye to Summer?

CTMH Clearly The Best: Spanning The Space

Time for another wonderful video from MyCraftChannel!  Watch and learn how Close To My Heart's My Acrylix stamps let you move your creativity outside the box!



You can get all these great stamping products by visiting my website The Craft Closet.

More Table Gifts from Holiday Stamp Camp

I wanted to share the other table gifts that were given out during Stamp Camp.  All these ideas are so cute and easy to make with the new Artiste Cricut cartridge!  Keep your eye out for all the fun things you can make with it!


First up is this coffin treat box made by Di.  She embossed the skull image from the Triller set!  I love this retired set and hope it makes it's way back into the Idea Book sometime.  And I love the "spooky" cut from the Artiste!

 

Trish was really busy with all her treats!  She found these cute bone candies and put them in test tubes for us...then made these cute holders to match!  I love the Moonlight paper with the Sunset cardstock.  She cut the skull with the Artiste cartridge...just make sure you put it on Real Dial or you'll get a teeny tiny head!

 

She also brought these cracker jack boxes.  Two different kinds even!  First this pumpkin using Flirty paper.  (It did have a leaf and tendrils on it, but alas those did not make it during the trip home.  You'll just have to use your imagination I guess!)

And this second version usingpaper from Moonlight.  A Cracker Frank box, perhaps?

And one last gift from Trish.  Told you she worked hard!  These cute little gable boxes with our monograms stamped on it!  What's inside?  Chocolate, of course!  She used paper from the Avonlea collection and Kraft cardstock to make these.

And this last piece.  While not a table gift exactly, but a wonderful thank you card from Janice!  She roomed with us and gave us all these as a gift.  It even has a Starbuck's gift card inside!  How sweet is that?!?  I'll have to try one of their smoothies, or shakes, or pastries...you can tell I've never been to a Starbucks before, right?

Well that should give you a few more ideas for what you can do with the awesome Artiste!  And with Halloween just around the corner you can get a head start on your crafting!

Have a great week!

CTMH Clearly The Best: The Swipe Hype

Time for another great video from MyCraftChannel!



This technique is used in the new Moonlight WOTG.  I can't wait to get my own kit and get started!

Holiday Stamp Camp Gifts

I'm still riding my Stamp Camp high.
And while I'm still up there in the crafting clouds, I thought I'd share with you the gifts I made to take up there with me.



I found these cute little black buckets in the Dollar Spot at Target.  I scooped us as many as they had (sorry for anyone shopping at Old Spanish Trail!) and cut out the CTMH logo in white vinyl.  Everyone got one as a table gift, filled with chocolate!

My next table gift was super simple to make.  I bought an 8 pack of Sprite and had my boys take off the labels.  Then I used the Magic Potions stamp set and Artiste cartridge to make these potions labels.  I cut White Daisy cardstock according to the size on the stamp carrier sheet, then cut another shape just 0.25" larger with Black cardstock.  Taped those two pieces together, then used packing tape to put them on the bottles. 

The boys want to make some for their teachers next month!

 

I had so much fun making these washer necklaces for my Convention roomie gifts, I knew I had to make some for my Stamp Camp friends, too!  I did  stamp the back with "Stamp Camp 2012", but didn't get a shot of it.  Everyone loved theirs (I think!) and wore them all weekend!

 

 

 

These next gifts were made for our gift exchange.  We all brought 3 gifts and randomly got to choose from them throughout the weekend. 

 

These little jack o'lanterns were made with two glass candle holders I found at JoAnn's.  Buy 1 get one 50%...not a bad deal!  I used some acrylic paint and Elmer's glue, mixed together, to paint the inside of the holders.  Then I cut the pumpkin faces with black vinyl and the Artiste cartridge.  Put in some battery operated candles...no fire hazzard!

 

 

I love this next gift!  I saw a similar saying on a seamstress's wall...somewhere in the blogosphere.  I adapted it for scrappers and cut it out with vinyl.  I put a sheet of Florentine paper in the frame, but it can easily be swapped out for a different look.

 

This gift was my favorite though.  For obvious reasons!!  I'm going to have to go back to JoAnn's and get me a box of my own to decorate!



And I got some pretty great things in return as table gifts and exchanges!  I'll have to share those soon!