Stamp of the Month, Kit of the Month

Happy New Year everyone! Technically, as this post is scheduled for 9 p.m. it isn't officially 2013 yet, but I hope you have a happy and safe holiday celebration. As for me, it's low key this year. Staying in with family (sick husband and teenage daughter too young to go to parties yet, thank goodness). We have pot stickers and spring rolls for snacks, along with a bottle of bubbly for me and hubby later. I'm looking forward to a peaceful relaxing evening at home with the two people I love the most. And I hope you are sharing it with those you cherish too.

The Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month Blog Hop begins now with a gorgeous stamp set for Valentines appropriately named "Happy Valentines." You can view all of the images in this great set in the right-hand column of my blog. If you are already hopping through, you came here from Kami Welter's blog. To continue through the hop, just scroll through my post to see where to go to next.

The Stamp of the Month can be yours for only $5.00 when you place a minimum order of $50 with any CTMH consultant. If you need a consultant, simply go here.

I made this card for my mother who seems to love my handmade cards. This one is right up her alley, so feminine and romantic. I think she might just like it.

The card is 5 x 7 inches. The fancy cut behind the stamped flowers is from the Artiste Cricut cartridge, page 71, cut at 3 inches. The hearts and swirls is this doily cut make it perfect for the Valentine theme. The border along the bottom of the card is from an EK Success border punch. All the papers are from the La Belle Vie paper packet.

I stamped the flowers onto Blush cardstock with now-retired (and dearly missed) Vineyard Berry ink, then I used a Sweet Leaf marker to color in the leaves. For added dimension, I also colored some shadows here and there with a Baby Pink marker (also retired).

The sentiment is stamped with Black onto a strip of Bamboo card stock, notched out to resemble ribbon then ink distressed with black ink.

Black Tulle Ribbon makes a nice embellishment here.

The inside of the card is simple. Another cut out flower in the lower right corner, and a few tiny hearts from the remnants of the Cricut cut earlier surround the stamped sentiment.

If you'd like to continue hopping through the Blog Hop, it's time to go to Teresa Scrivens' blog to see what she's created with this beautiful stamp set.

If you're staying with me for a bit, I'd like to share my January Kit of the Month design.

La Belle Vie papers and cardstock stickers make this kit so pretty and easy to put together. With a few added Cricut cuts from both Artiste and Art Philosophy and some added bling gems, you have four beautiful pages for your scrapbook. To learn more about how my Kit of the Month program works, simply go here for details.

Here are a few close-ups of some of the layered embellishments on the pages...