I Think I'll Go For a Walk Outside Now...

"... the summer sun's callin' my name..."  The cold nasty weather today has me wishing for warmer times, so I thought I would share this warm-weather layout with you.

These pictures are from a LONG time ago, so it was high time they got on a cute layout.  I used a discontinued paper pack from Close To My Heart on this layout.  Even though it was a patriotic theme, the colors fit perfectly, so I worked with it.  I used a sketch from Scrapbook Generation for this layout, and it showed a large circle shape on the background.  To work the circle into my theme more, I opted to use my Cricut to cut out this flower cluster doily shape for my version.

A lot of the sketches from SG show clusters of embellishment groups - this is a great way to carry your theme through your layout when you're using only smaller bits of pattern paper.  To play up the girly factor, I went with flowers - in these bright primary colors, they just shout "Summer!" to me.  I pulled out the main colors from my photos & papers and pulled out flowers and brads & snaps in different materials.  The mix of materials adds even more interest to the layout, so the flowers are a mix of paper, felt, and crochet thread.  And the centers are a mix of basic metal, glitter, and sparkle.

I hope you like today's project!  I'd love to hear your comments.  I have two more coming up quickly, so be sure to stop back and check them out.  As a reminder, today is the last day to enter my giveaway on Facebook - be sure to hop over and enter! Thanks for stopping by.  See you next time!

Multi-purpose Stamps (Mystery Blog Candy)

Do you ever think of buying a set of holiday-specific stamps, then wondering what you would ever use them for? Being a CTMH consultant, I have more than my fair share of holiday stamps, and of course this month's Stamp of the Month is an Easter set. Now, let me tell you, I like Easter, but I don't send cards for it and I already had an Easter egg stamp set for scrapbooking.

However, I found the current set to be very versatile, simply due to the variety of designs included on the eggs. I've even seen these stamps used to make allover texture designs on cardstock. There are 18 patterned eggs and one solid egg, plus a little poem, included in this set, so I could use it for many different styles or feels.

A few ideas for egg stamps include using one end to make scallops, using the pattern to stamp on chipboard letters or small shapes, or punching a small shape from the stamped image. But my hands-down favorite technique for egg stamps is making flowers. Check out this cool card I made using one of the designs in this current set, and a scalloped card template from Jeanette Lynton's Originals book. I simply stamped 5 separate images, cut them out, and adhered them in a circle on another piece of cardstock. I then cut around the whole flower s hape, leaving a small border. I freehand cut the stem, and used circle punches for the flower center and leaves. I sponged on some ink for shading, glued it all down, and stuck a circle Window Charm in the flower center - voila! I also sanded the edges of the scalloped flap, and textured the Juniper green cardstock by scoring it in my paper trimmer and sanding the raised edges.

Do you have alternate ideas for any of your holiday stamps collecting dust at your house? Use your holiday stamp(s) for something other than the holiday for which it was intended. Send me a description of what you did, along with a picture of what you made. I'll randomly choose a winner of a little something from all ideas received by 2/28/09. Just post a link here in a comment so we can all see your creation!