January SOTM Bloghop - Cross-Stitch Wishes

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring January's SOTM, "Cross-Stitch Wishes", a set of 13 stamps.  If you have come here from Krista's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  

This month we have approximately 50 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

Here is a picture of the images in this stamp set. 

 

For my card, I chose to use the retiring For Always paper. It is one of my favourite paper packs because it is so versatile as any colours can be used with it. I chose to add Lagoon and Gypsy (my two favourite colours). I know this stamp set is all about being able to stamp cross stitch patterns without having to cross stitch but I just HAD to cross stitch them anyways (it's that OCD/perfectionistic thing...) I also chose only the words that I wanted for my card. I used our spray pen with Lagoon reinker, rubbing alcohol and water to colour the White Daisy cardstock before I stamped and stitched the words and also to create the medallion. The Silver Shimmer Trim was coloured using a sponge and Gypsy Pigment Ink. The background For Always paper was coloured using our regular Gypsy ink and a sponge. The Lagoon stitching around the edge was created using our regular ruler. I used 3 strands of embroidery floss for that but just one strand of floss for the cross stitching. A few of our Base and Bling pieces helped to finish off the look.  

Supplies used are all Close To My Heart unless otherwise noted:  

Paper: For Always Paper Pack, Black Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Gypsy Cardstock
Stamps: Cross-Stitch Wishes
Inks: Lagoon, Gypsy, Gypsy Pigment Ink, Lagoon Reinker
Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Silver Shimmer Trim, Sponges, Sponge Daubers, CTMH Ruler, Piercing Tool, Lagoon Embroidery Floss (not CTMH), Foam Tape, Spray Pen, Rubbing Alcohol (not CTMH), Black Mini-Medley Accent Collection, Base and Bling Purple Jewels, Base and Bling Teal Jewels

Now "Hop" on over to Sarita's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the January SOTM is only available until the last day of January! Click here to see how you can get this stamp set for just $5 this month! 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Mika's Christmas Greeting

With Christmas almost here, I received a very nice gift from a friend of mine. Actually, the gift wasn't for me, but for my puppy, Mika. She is just over 5 months old (and weighs 4.5 pounds now) and my friend bought her 6 beautiful outfits! Some are for indoors and some are for outside. She is getting used to wearing some clothing but things with hoods are not her favourite. However, bows in her hair have proven to be VERY difficult. Anything with a clip, she can shake out in one try... The groomer she sees gave me a bunch of dental elastic bands and suggested sewing small flowers onto those. That works better as I can wrap them around a small piece of hair several times but Mika hates it! She rolls around on the floor and paws at them, trying to get them out! For this outfit, I used a few of our Ruby Mini- Medley Collection flowers but I need to stiffen them with a fabric stiffener. I think it will just take time for her to get used to them. 

So from Mika and me, 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Alyson

Be Still Card for a Special Friend

This card is for a woman I met recently at a seminar I attended for people who are separated or divorced from their spouses and facing the holidays, most for the first time, in a completely new setting. It is a difficult process for those of you that haven't been in that situation and having someone else to rely on can really be helpful. 

It is also the first time I have done any crafting for a very long time, other than the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop, so that's a good thing for me. Maybe I will finally get my mojo back and get back into creating again. I do really miss it!

 

This card was created using the Sparkle and Shine Paper Pack and Textiles. Product details are below. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Sparkle and Shine Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Juniper Cardstock, Slate Cardstock

Stamps: Be Still

Inks: Juniper Pigment Ink, Ruby Pigment Ink

Accessories: Sparkle and Shine Textiles, Ruby Chevron Ribbon, Sparkles Flourishes, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Leftover Sparkles from Frosted Cardmaking WOTG Kit, Red Flowers (not CTMH)

Enjoy, 

Alyson