A Sweet Little Taste of Summer

Hi All! Welcome to the Rose Blossoms Blog Hop for mid-May! If you just hopped over from the fabulously talented Shelly Nemitz's blog, you are in the right place. If you get lost along the way, I have a list of participating bloggers at the end of this post.

So this hop is celebrating the awesome limited edition "Taste Of Summer" paper pack and stamp set (sold separately) by Close To My Heart. These papers and stamps will only be around through the month of May, so you'll definitely want to order soon.

Let's take a look at today's project:

This is a little waterfall album I put together using this tutorial for inspiration. The paper is all from the Taste Of Summer paper pack. I used White Daisy cardstock to provide contrast. The fruit and sentiment are from the Taste Of Summer stamp set. I stamped the fruit on White Daisy cardstock using the "Rock and Roll" technique of covering the stamp with a lighter color and rolling the edges in a darker shade for added depth to the image. So the orange is stamped in Sorbet and Sunset Exclusive Inks, the lemon is in Canary and Honey, the lime is in Pear and Topiary, and the strawberries are in Cotton Candy and Hollyhock. The sentiment is stamped in Thistle Exclusive Ink. I added Sparkle Flourishes and Bitty Sparkles to the cover and sentiment for a bit of bling. And, for added sparkle, I added Diamond Stickles to the edges of the citrus fruit and the stems of the strawberries.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

And here's a look at the inside:

So here we have a little pocket made from White Daisy cardstock that houses a couple of photo mats made from Sunset and White Daisy cardstocks. I added some White Shimmer Trim along with a bit of Stickles for a bit of sparkle, and a clear Sparkle for bling. I used the same stamping techniques and colors on the citrus fruits here that I did on the cover.

The waterfall section is made from White Daisy cardstock. I added the Shimmer Trim, Stickles and bling to the top cover, along with some Topiary Mini Chevron Ribbon. I also thought the spine needed a little something, so I added some of the Chevron Ribbon to it as well.

Here are some close-ups:

And here's a look at the outside of the spine:

And, finally, one more look at the cover:

I hope you've enjoyed this sweet little taste of summer! Now hop on over and see what the lovely Cathy Arbuckle has for your inspiration. Remember, these papers and stamps are available only through the month of May, so get yours soon!

Now here's a list of the blog hop participants:

Brenda

Lynn

Marg

Shelly

Kim {That's Me!}

Cathy

Amy

Coming TOMORROW to a computer near you....

Stop back by tomorrow for a Taste Of Summer.....

Thankful Thursday

Hi All! Happy May Day!

The sun is shining! Just one of many things to be thankful for on this Thankful Thursday! Today's project combines two special, May-only releases by Close To My Heart.  First, we have the Free To Be paper pack that was just released to celebrate National Scrapbooking Month.

Isn't that an amazing pack??? You get two of each of the double-sided patterned papers and the cardstocks (which have fun patterns in a glossy resist on one side) and one of each of the vellum papers. So throughout the month of may, a $50 order lets you purchase Free To Be for $5 and the Stamp Of The Month: You've Got A Friend also for $5! Speaking of the Stamp Of The Month, take a look at this:

Isn't that a fantastic set?! Check it out on today's project:

This was such a fun and simple card to make. I used a White Daisy card base and layered it with the gold and teal cardstocks from Free To Be. I added a little gold polka dot vellum and a small piece of Free To Be patterned paper. I stamped the sentiment in Sorbet Exclusive Ink using the "second generation" or "stamping off" technique. I layered the sentiment on the patterned paper and popped it up with dimensional adhesive. I then cut out the mustache from the "first generation" stamp and popped it up on the sentiment with a little more dimensional adhesive.

Here are a couple of close-ups:

And here is one more look at the card:

I hope you've enjoyed my little thank you! Have a wonderful and Gratitude-filled day!

Kraft-y Hearts Blog Share: Just sayin'....

Hi All! Welcome to the Kraft-y Hearts April Blog Share. Today's project features the Close To My Heart April Stamp Of The Month: Balloon Talk. (If you are loving the speech bubble trend, this is YOUR stamp set!)

I'm also giving you a little sneak peek at some of next month's goodies that CTMH has created to celebrate National Scrapbooking Month.

Now for the projects! When I first saw the Balloon Talk set, I knew it would make great sentiments for little notes of encouragement for my family and friends. So with that in mind, I came up with this set of 3x3 note cards. Let's take a look at one and then I'll show you all of them.

The card base is cut at 6 x 3 inches from Kraft cardstock. I scored at 3 inches and folded it in half. The gold cardstock and patterned paper are both from the new Free To Be paper pack that is being released next month to celebrate National Scrapbooking month. (Read on to learn how you can get this in your hot little hands early if you'd like!). I layered the gold cardstock (cut at 2 3/4 inches square) with a 2 1/2 inches square of White Daisey. The frame is folded from a 3-inch square piece of pattern paper. (Go here for a great tutorial on how to make the frame.) I added a 1 1/4-inch square of gold cardstock in the middle of the frame and layered it with a 1-inch square piece of White Daisey for the sentiment. I stamped the sentiment in Cashmere Exclusive ink. "Awesomeness" is from the Balloon Talk stamp set. "NOTE" and "THE" are from a retired stamp set. I dug out all my word and font stamp sets just for fun and added to the sentiments.

Here's a look at the other cards:

So is this Free To Be paper pack fabulous or what?!? (And there's even more to it than you see here... I didn't want to completely spoil the surprise!) If you want to get your hands on Free To Be a little early, all you have to do is join my team as a Close To My Heart consultant. One of the perks of being a consultant is getting in on the goodies before they hit the general public. (Gotta admit, I love that!) And this month you can get an even better deal! By joining my Close To My Heart team in April, not only do you get all the fabulous goodness in the consultant kit, BUT you also get your choice of Close To My Heart Cricut Collections! Each collection comes with your cartridge, chipboard elements that match, and THREE matching stamp sets! It's a sweet deal any time, but this month it is yours for FREE when you become a consultant. 

If you want to sign up or are interested in the fantastic Stamp Of The Month (which, remember, is yours for $5 with a $35 purchase, or $17.95 if purchased alone), just stop by and see me here!

Meanwhile, hop on over to the ever-talented Lynn Darda's Bungalow to be inspired by her Kraft-y Hearted Goodness!