Feb. Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

"Home Sweet Home" is the name of Close To My Heart's February Stamp of the Month. You can view the images in this set in the right-hand column of my blog. I think it's a perfect one for scrapbooking, but card makers will enjoy it too.

It's also time for the new Spring/Summer 2013 Idea Book! Tons of great new papers, embellishments and stamps that I can't wait to share with you. You can get your Idea Book from your CTMH consultant or view it online at any consultants' website. If you don't have a consultant, simply click on the "Shop With Me" button in the right-hand column of my blog then hit the "Products" tab to find the Idea Book.

Now back to the Blog Hop. We have over 60 consultants participating in this month's Stamp of the Month blog hop, so you're sure to get LOTS of inspiration. If you're already hopping, you came here from Melissa Laverty's blog. To see where to hop to next, just keep reading and I'll kindly direct you. But don't forget to leave me some love before you go. (wink & smile)

As much as I wanted to do a scrapbook page of my home, I just didn't have time. (Someday!) So I opted to make a card. My idea was to create a card for potential new neighbors. Always good to have those on hand.

The card measures 5 x 7 inches and I used the new Buzz & Bumble papers from Close To My Heart. (A personal favorite, for sure. Just love those bees!) I typed on my computer "Welcome to the Neighborhood" and cut the strip and inked the edges.

The ribbon is color-ready seam binding which I colored using 8 parts rubbing alcohol to one part Creme Brûlée re-inker. The "Home Sweet Home" sentiment along with the flourishes above and below are all one stamp. To achieve two colors like I did, you can create a mask...

...like this. I used regular printer paper. Or you can do what I actually did which was cut my stamp apart. I do it all the time. Doesn't bother me a bit. That's the beauty of CTMH stamps.

This cute little wooden flower comes in the new Buzz & Bumble Assortment pack along with some little bees and some faux wax seals. Really cute! I added a brown sparkle gem to the center of my flower.

So, here's a little challenge for you. These two cards are identical is every way minus one small thing. Can you tell what it is? (you may want to click on the photo to see it larger)

The card on the left is the same one in my first photo in this post. The card on the right is for a swap I'm in. Since I didn't have a lot of those little wooden flowers yet, here's what I did...

I created a similar flower embellishment by cutting a flower from the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge at 3/4" (Pg. 50, Flower8). I cut one from the B&T paper that matches the print in the actual wooden flower (Buzz & Bumble), then I cut 5 more flowers from dark brown solid core card stock, then layered them all up, inked the outer edges of the top, and added the sparkle gem and VOILA! Hard to tell the difference.

The Stamp of the Month can be yours for only $5 when you place a qualifying purchase with your consultant of at least $50 before shipping and tax, or you can simply purchase the set at full retail value.

Now it's time to continue through the Blog Hop and go see what Wendy Coffman has created. Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great day!