The Rose Blossom Blog Hop...Where Being Framed Is A Good Thing....

Hi All! Welcome to the first Rose Blossom Blog Hop for the month of August. (That's right, August! The summer is flying by!) Today we're featuring Close To My Heart's August Stamp of the Month: Framed. (Oh the puns were flying when I was writing this...)

If you just hopped over from Shelly's inspiring blog, Just One Pretty Piece, you're on the right path. If you're just starting with me, I'll have a full list of blog participants at the end of the post. So on with today's project!

"Framed" is a fantastic stamp set for card makers, so today I'm bringing you a little card set that I crafted. Here's a look at the portfolio that is created from Kraft Cardstock. I layered inside and out with Ponderosa Pine cardstock and the coordinating paper from the Paper Fundamentals Enchantment Assortment pack. Then I looped a little hemp twine from my stash and tucked it under the Colonial White cardstock tag that I made from the Framed stamp set. I used Ponderosa Pine and Desert Sand inks for stamping. Finally I added some Gold Sequins layered with brown sparkles for a little extra bling.

Here's a close-up of the embellishment and a look at the portfolio when opened:

This portfolio holds nine cards and 10 envelopes. (Don't know about you, but I always need an extra envelope....) There are three each of three designs, with each card using a different color of paper from the Paper Fundamentals Enchantment Assortment pack that is layered on a Kraft cardstock base. I stamped the frame in matching ink and the sentiments in Dessert Sand on Colonial White cardstock. Let's take a look:

Here are the thank you notes in Smokey Plum, New England Ivy, and Autumn Terracotta. I added a little flag embellishment of matching paper with the mini stapler, as you can see below:

Here are the birthday cards in Outdoor Denim, Olive, and Barn Red. And here's a look at the embellishment:

And here are the thinking of you cards in Indian Corn Blue, Goldrush, and Ruby. As you can see, I couldn't decide how I wanted the extra splash of color to be positioned. Here's the close-up:

And here's one last look at the whole set:

I hope you enjoyed this little project of mine. Now hop on over and see what the amazingly talented Morgan has created for your inspiration at Tweet Scraps. And if you get lost along the way, here is a list of blog participants:

Brenda

Lynn

Marg

Barbara

Shelly

Kim {that's Me!}

Morgan

Cathy

Kristine

Kim S.

And, by way of a heads up, the Enchantment palette is going through an overhaul, so if you love these colors, you'll want to snap them up this month. On September 1st, we will unveil the new Idea Book, and with it, seven (7) new Enchantment colors that will replace seven of the existing ones! (

Easy Birthday Love

Hi All! It's April! Woo HOO!!! Spring is here...or at least it's on its way.... (Have to admit, it's been a little chilly here in the Nation's Capital.) However, nothing brings on that warm sunny feeling like time spent in the craft studio and new products to play with!

Yesterday launched the new Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Book for Close To My Heart.

(To purchase your own paper copy, click here.)

Doesn't it just scream summer fun?! (By the way, the strawberries on the front cover can be made with Close To My Heart's Artiste Cricut Cartridge. Yes, I'll be making some of those cuties in the near future.) 

One of my favorite new products from Seasonal Expression 2 is the Blossom Cardmaking Kit. The whole Blossom Collection is fabulous to begin with, but the stamp set in this kit is FANTASTIC! It's all about birthday cards (can you really ever have to many) and it's fun and easy to use. 

The kit includes everything you need to make 15 birthday cards (5 each of 3 designs), except inks and adhesive. The recommended ink colors are Archival Black, Pear, Honey, and Smoothie.

So let's take a look at those cards:

The first card: 

Love the popsicles!

 Here are some close-ups:

The second card:

I actually changed this one up a bit and cut the kraft background paper 1/8-inch shorter in the length and width than the front of the card so that the white edge of the card peeked out just a little. (I really like kraft and white together...)

 And a close up or two:

And the third card:

This one was my favorite to make, I think. The top two "washi" strips are actually stamps! I gave the bow a little extra panache on the ends by gluing them at an upturn using liquid glass. 

And, of course, some close-ups:

Aren't these great?! And it's a KIT!!! Woo HOO!!! 

Now, in my opinion, great cards deserve a great box to store them in, so tune in tomorrow to see the Blossom Cardbox.

Until then....