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! (

Inspired by....

Hi All! Happy Fall! I've had a few people ask me where I get inspiration for my projects. And honestly, I don't have one particular source. It may be from something I read, or a pin I saw, or a myriad of other people, places and things. So today I'm sharing a card I created that came from multiple sources of inspiration.

Inspiration for the layout came from this week's Mojo Monday card sketch:

The color choices were inspired by the color challenge over at The Card Concept (a new challenge blog for me):

And the stamp choice was inspired by the amazingly talented artist Lynn Darda at From My Bungalow (she was playing along with The Card Concept challenge):

And now, here's my card:

The base of the card is made from Kraft Cardstock and is 4 x 5 1/2 inches. The first layer is Colonial White Cardstock cut a quarter of an inch smaller than the base. The patterned paper was made using my ShinHan Touch markers and the Tim Holtz Marker Spritzer by Ranger. The ShinHan markers don't fit the spritzer, so I improvised. By holding the marker in one hand and placing the nozzle of the the spritzer directly on the chisel tip of the marker, I was able to blow ink off the tip of the marker and onto the White Daisy Cardstock to create a spatter effect. Pretty cool, no?

I stamped the leaves and acorns from the Fall Harvest stamp set using Walnut Stain Distress Ink. (I would have used Chocolate Pigment Ink, but I ran out. Time to reorder, like yesterday!) After the ink dried, I colored the leaves with ShinHan markers so that the images would reflect the colors of the back ground. I fussy cut the images and popped the aspen and oak leaves up with dimensional adhesive. I then tied a double bow in white crochet thread and attached it with a glue dot. 

The sentiment is from the Have A Happy Day stamp set. I stamped it on Cranberry Striped Twill Ribbon using the Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I frayed the edges of the ribbon to add a little texture. (Note: this ribbon does not fray easily, which I actually like; however, with a little effort, you can get the frayed look if you want it.)

Here are some close-ups:

And here's one more look at the card:

So there you have it. The Card Concept folks like to have you own up to the style you used--clean, shabby chic, etc. Since eclectic isn't an option, I'll go with "free style." That seems like the best descriptor for "playing around in my craft room and having some creative fun," which sums up my card pretty well, I think.

I hope you enjoyed this little insight to my inspiration. Now tell me, what inspires YOUR creativity?