Thanks a Bunch! - June SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to another month of Stamp of the Month inspiration!  If you have arrived here from Adeline Brill's blog, or if you are just starting out, you are in the right place. This month we are featuring A Flowering Bunch, a set of 10 stamps suitable for any number of stamping techniques. When you're done checking out my ideas, be sure to hop ahead to Shirley Ross' blog for more.

I have lots of ideas spinning in my head for this stamp set, but as usual not enough time, so I limited myself to two of them for now.

The first card is made by embossing with white on black cardstock. Traditionally, you then color on top of the embossing with colored pencils.  I chose to go a different route and used our alcohol markers. (WARNING: using alcohol markers with this technique can damage the markers - the embossing powder transfers to the marker tips and dries in them, damaging them. So, if you choose to use this technique, you must work quickly and with a very light touch.  If you are unsure at all, just use the more traditional colored pencils.)

The individual flowers are popped up with 3-D foam adhesive, and I used the lightest green in the Blue & Green Epoxy Bubbles package.

For my second card, I used Claire papers.  I stamped the flower garden stamp multiple times on the lattice-look paper using Topiary ink, to create a border.  I then used alcohol markers to color in portions of the flowers.  I stamped the sentiment in Blush ink and matted it on Sunset cardstock.

Here's a list of supplies used on each card, all available from Close To My Heart.

Card 1:

• A Flowering Bunch, stamp of the month
• White card base, A2
• Exclusive Inks stamp pad, White Daisy
• Embossing Powder, White
• Alcohol Markers
• Black & White cardstock
• Green & Blue Epoxy Bubbles

 Card 2:

•  A Flowering Bunch, stamp of the month
• Colonial White card base, A2
• Exclusive Inks stamp pads, Topiary & Blush
• Alcohol Markers
• Claire paper pack
• Silver Shimmer Tape

I hope you enjoyed my cards today! I'd love to hear your comments. Now, let's head over to Shirley Ross' blog and see what ideas she has for us this month.

My Sunshine - stamp of the month blog hop

Hello and welcome to the April stamp of the month blog hop! If you've arrived here from Jill Lucas' ScrapWench blog, or if you're just starting out, you are in the right place!  When you're done here, we'll head over to Allisa Chilton's Rocky Mountain Paper Crafts and see what she has for us this month.
This month we have a fun set of 8 stamps, My Sunshine, guaranteed to put you in a happy mood! I have a lot of ideas for this set, but I thought it was just calling out to be used on a scrapbook layout so that's what I did first.  Be sure to check back later in the month for a card idea (and hopefully more if I find time to play!).

I used Claire papers with a Kraft cardstock base and a sheet of Colonial White CS for all of my accents. (Click the photo to see it larger.)

 

Many of the stamps coordinate with the Artiste Cricut cartridge, and this fun sunshine was made with two of them. Cutting one Cricut shape gets both parts, cut separately, so I popped up the center on 3-D foam tape.  I used Sunset and Blush ink on both parts.  On the same page of the Cricut manual is this cute cloud shape, so I cut it in several sizes (from 1" - 2") in Colonial White. I flipped some so they weren't all going the same direction, and I lightly sponged Outdoor Denim ink on the bottom only for a little extra dimension.  I stamped the title in Sunset ink, cut out the letters, and sponged around the edges with Blush ink

 

This fun saying from Bob Marley was a perfect fit for my photos! Notice how I popped up some of the cloud shapes as well as the sun center.

I also made sure to pull the clouds down into the photo area, and up and out off the edges of my pages, trimming the excess. I think this makes the whole thing feel much more like a realistic scene rather than having everything in one little area.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by today! I hope you liked my project, and I would love to hear what you think of it. Now let's head over to Rocky Mountain Paper Crafts and see what other great ideas we can get!

A Tisket, A Tasket - Creations by AR New Release Blog Hop

Welcome to the Creations by AR new release blog hop! Today we are featuring the sweet My Picnic Basket cutting file, available as SVG, DXF, and PDF for those who cut by hand.  You have a chance to win your very own copy of this cute template. How? Simple:

• Leave comments on each blog
• AR FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creations-by-AR/154314751303824
• AR PCP Group: http://www.papercraftplanet.com/group/creationsbyar

Comments accepted until Mar. 24 (12:00 noon EST)
One random winner will be announced Mar. 25:
AR FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creations-by-AR/154314751303824
AR PCP Group: http://www.papercraftplanet.com/group/creationsbyar
AR Blog:  http://cbyar.blogspot.com

So, what to do with this template?  Well, as my post title implies, I had this little song* in my head from the first time I saw it.  But green and yellow just didn't do it for me for some reason, and I wound up with this girly version:

I used Claire papers from Close To My Heart and kept it simple; I didn't feel like it really needed any embellishment. (Although, true to form, I did sponge Sunset ink on ALL of my edges and corners.)

I added bling brads to attach that cute braided handle to the basket - LOVE it!

I really dig the floral pattern on the lid here - I'm loving the idea of putting some sweet little treats in here for my oldest daughter for Easter.

 

Since the paper I used is double-sided, I skipped the liner (piece B) option. I love how everything is matchy-matchy!  You will love how easy this is to put together - it took me longer because I insist on sponging everything in sight with coordinating ink, but this is seriously a 10 minute project once you have the pieces cut out.

I hope you enjoyed my take on this template! Be sure to leave a comment then hop off to visit the rest of the Design Team. I can't wait to see their projects!

• Adela
• Jak
• Julia
• Lisa
• Lori (YOU ARE HERE!!)
• Patti
• Sue K
• Sue M

 *In case you're interested, A Tisket, A Tasket is a nursery rhyme I sang a lot as a child in the '70s. In the 19th century, it was a rhyming game played similarly to Duck, Duck, Goose. If you don't know the lyrics, here they are as I learned them:

A-tisket a-tasket

A green and yellow basket

I wrote a letter to my love

And on the way I dropped it,

I dropped it,

I dropped it,

And on the way I dropped it.

A little boy he picked it up and put it in his pocket.

I even had a green and yellow plastic picnic basket set, which my mom still has and the little kids still play with it!  Thanks for stopping by today! Have a nice time on the hop!