A new beginning....for Fall

As you may or may not know I am finishing up the Artiste in August blog hop...wow was that ever fun! If you were following me each day you may also be wondering where do I go from here...whatever will I do with myself every single day now that I am not sharing a project a day. Well I am super excited to tell you I have rejoined the SOTM Blog Hop. It is one of the things I really missed when I was not a consultant. I know that is only once a month but believe me I will have plenty of other things to share with you. So without furthur adu welcome, welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!!!

This month we are featuring September's SOTM, which is Fall Favorites. This set of 11 is a perfect set for fall and I know that you are going to just love all the projects we have to share. If you have come from Erin Schulte's Blog you are on the right path. The blog hop is a big circle, so if you are just getting here you can always start here and work your way around. If you find yourself getting lost please know that you can always find the full list of participating consultants here. So settle in grab a drink and enjoy the show...this month we have over 60 consultants hopping.

I love fall so this stamp set is a must have for me!  I originally had planned on making something with the scarecrow cause he is just so darn cute. I started flipping through my photos and came across these and I knew just I had to use the pumpkins instead.

I love the new Make it from your Heart book. I used a pattern from there along with the Artiste cartridge to cut the fancy sidebars. Along the top of the photo's I used the stamp "pumpkin patch...pumpkin patch...pumpkin patch". 

Here is a close up of my title. I stamped fall and popped the A and cut FUN from Artiste.





Here you can see my pumpkins and my coloring with our new Alcohol Markers....have I mentioned yet how much I{heart} them!

Supplies:
Cardstock - Colonial White, Goldrush, Black, New England Ivy
Paper Packet: Moonlight
Ink: Black, New England Ivy
Stamps: Fall Favorites
Markers: Autumn Terracotta, Sky, Olive, Tuby,
Other: Artste, Black Brads, Make it From Your Heart, Pop dots


Now "hop" on over to Kim Schnoor's blog to see what she made with the September Stamp of the Month! Don't forget this adorable stamp set Fall Favorites is only avalable until September 30th so contact your CTMH consultant to order, or shop here.

Be sure to check in next week because I have some really exciting news to share with all of you!!!

Artiste - Day 31

Hello everyone I hope you have really enjoyed the Artiste in August blog hop! I am so proud of myself for making it...some days it was a little hard but CTMH makes everything so easy! Thank you for stopping by to visit each day.

If you came from Kathy's blog you are on the right track...if you just arrived here that is ok too.

Please jump on over to Jen's blog.

Thank you so much for joining me each and every day for this fun inspiring challenging Artiste in August blog hop. It really was such a joy to make these projects this month.

Artiste - Day 30

Hello...have you been following along on our Artiste Blog Hop every day? I hope you have enjoyed everyone's projects. If you have come from Kathy's you are on the right path. If not feel free to start right here and hop around until you come back.

Today we are making these sweet little mail boxes! I adore these and plan on making some for Valentines Day.


Hop on over to Jen's blog and see what she has made for us.

I will see you tomorrow for my last project of the month.

I can say for sure I will be using this cartridge on a regular basis and I hope we have inspired you to do the same.

Mini Album Love

Over at Practical Scrappers today we are featuring mini albums. I seriously love making mini albums they are just so fun and cute and often interactive. I decided to make this mini album all about my true love...my grandma. She is one special lady and I just adore her.

I used the Dotty for You paper pack that CTMH had as a special back in May. I hope you like what I came up with.

Artiste - Day 29

Hello everyone welcome to our Artiste blog hop today we are working on Handle Top Boxes....did you like what Kathy did with hers? If you are just getting here that is ok as this is a circular hop and you can hop right around until you end up here again.

I think this little box would be perfect for some cute little gift or a set of cards. It was super easy to put together and only needs a little bit of adhesive to make.

Hop on over to Jen's and see what she made.

I will see you tomorrow. Thank you for stopping by!

Artiste - Day 28

Hi everyone I hope you had a great day! I cannot believe the month is almost over. It just seems to have went so fast.  If you came from Kathy's blog you are on the right path. If now feel free to start right here.

Today I have a little fall for you anyway with a pumpkin box. I found this to be a lot like the strawberries that we made a few weeks ago.

I thought the pumpkin was a little easier mainly because it was a little bit bigger than the strawberries.

Hop on over to Jen's and see what she has done.

I will see you tomorrow!!

Artiste - Day 27

Happy Happy Birthday to my first baby girl! Today we are doing a cupcake box and it could not have fallen on a better day!

If you came from Kathy's blog you are on the right path. If you are just getting here feel free to hop on and enjoy the ride. It is a circular hop so you will end up right back here.

Once I put the box together I wanted to make it something special so I added some sparkle. In the end it turned out even cuter than I even hoped it would. I cannot wait to make more of these.

Tomorrow at lunch I am going to get a special cupcake for my special girl. I hope she loves it.

Please hop on over to Jen's blog and see her project.

If you see my girl...don't forget to wish her a very Happy Birthday!!!

Artiste - Day 26

Hello! Welcome to the Artiste blog hop you have probably arrived from Kathy's blog if not feel free to start right here.

I  thought I would make a cute little mini album, also for my cousin. I kept it pretty plain as I am not sure is she is having girls or boys or both and since each day really will be an adventure...

Anyway I used the chipboard that comes with the Artiste Cartridge and added some bakers twin and ribbon to the jump rings.

I adore mini books. How about you? Do you love them? Do you make them?

Hop on over to Jen's blog and see what she has in store. I will see you tomorrow.

Artiste - Day 25 & A Favorite...Markers!

Hi everyone!!! Are you so excited to be here? I am so happy to see you. Today I have a dual hop going on. The Artiste hop where you probably came from Kathy's blog and something new I will be doing each month...My Favorite {CTMH} Things team blog hop!

Our Playing with Paper team which is run by our fearless leader Jayma Malme will be sharing artwork each month featuring some of our favorite products from CTMH. If you have come here from Norhalma Verzosa's blog, then you are on the right path.

So, what am I featuring from Artiste today and what is my favorite thing (how can I just pick one)? Well...you probably know the answer to that - markers! You know how I love to color!!!

I decided to make a card today it feels like it has been forever and ever so here you go.

 Have you seen this set with the space ships? I cannot help myself I just love it! LOVE it...I do not even have boys but I talked myself into it saying maybe my little one will get invited to boy parties haha! Really I just think it is stinking adorable and I had to have it.

The coolest part of this stamp set is that it coordinates with the Artiste cartridge and can have all of the shape of the stamp can be cut [the rocket, a spaceman, a planet, and a space ship] just to name a few.

Something magical happened with this card. It is totally my design no sketch or anything. I was working a deadline and talking on the phone...while charging the phone. So I was multi-tasking in a major way so I had to stand at my kitchen counter plugged into the wall when I made this and so I had not sketches near by so I just reached deep and this is what came out. I hope you like it.

One thing I love to do with my coloring is blend it. I am pretty familiar with Copic markers and have really been having a great time playing with our new alcohol markers. Another fun trick is to add some layers it makes te coloring just pop right off the page even more.

Now please hop on over to Rachel Rustics blog and see what her favorite thing is.

If you are following the Artiste hop this month then you probably will remember to head on over to Jen's blog and check out her project.

Supplies: 
CTMH unless otherwise noted
Cardstock - White Daisy, Black
Pattern Paper - Clementine
Ink - Black
Stamps - Outta this world
Marker - Olive, Indian Corn Blue, Ruby, Autumn Terracotta
Embelishments - Opaques Licorice Gems

You can find all of those supplies on my web site here

Artiste - Day 24

Hi everyone - Happy Friday!

Did you arrive here from Kathy's blog?  We have been doing a blog hop all month long featuring the great new Cricut Cartridge Artiste from Close to my Heart. It is amazing!!!

If you have just gotten here please feel free to hop through the blog it is circular so you will end up right back here where you started.

This past weekend my cousin came for a visit and I wanted to have a card for her because she is pregnant with twins. I searched hi and low for a cute baby set. I have a few but nothing for twins. Finally I came across this adorable set (which can be your for only $5) that is a special this month and next and saw the enjoy the ride sentiment. Now if you have kids or even just have seen a kid you know that they can be a wild ride...she is going to have two of them I knew right then and there that I wanted to use the bike and sentiment for the card. Speaking of the card it is shaped like a diaper...hello adorable. I am telling you this Artiste cartridge is a must have! I just cannot get enough of it. I have been doing this hop all month long and I am still finding new fun things each day. Grab one for yourself you won't regret it.

Please hop on over to Jen's blog to see what her project is today...it is a free shape day so we all might have something different featured for you to look at.

Artiste - Day 23

Welcome to day 23 of our Artiste Blog hop you have probably arrived from Kathy's blog. If not just keep hopping and you will go around our little circle and get back to here. Today we are featuring the Milk Carton. Since everyone seems to be heading back to school I though a fun little school treat would be nice. Just toss some snacks inside and my little one can enjoy a little treat after a full day of learning and meeting new friends.

Hop on over to Jen's blog to see what she has for you. I will see you back here same blog channel same blog time.

Artiste - Day 22

Hi everyone it is so great to see you! I have been having some computer problems and boy what a pain that was. I hope you have found your way from Kathy's blog. If you have just arrived make sure you hop around and see all of our fantastic Artiste projects. This month we are posting a new project each day. I have to tell you I have been seeing amazing artwork!

I decided to go a little cutesy today with my coffin. I will be making more of these for sure and filling them full of candies.

Please hop on over to Jen's blog and see what spooktacular idea she has.

See you all tomorrow~

Artiste - Day 21

Hi everyone today I have a dual post for my Artiste every day in August so if you are here from Kathy's blog you are in the right spot. As always we are doing a circular blog hop so if you are just arriving feel free to join the hop. Today we are also featuring 10 things you can do with scoreboards with Practical Scrappers. I did backgrounds it is one of the reasons I love the cardstock from Close to my Heart. It has a white core.

We are doing tall boxes today on the Artiste cartridge and I can imagine all sorts of fun things to do. I ended up with a fun little card set. I thought the cards were the perfect size for a little lunch love. Toss these in with a lunch and really make your loved ones whole day!

Hop on over to Jen's blog and see what box design she came up with.

Back to School

Ah...school starts next week and so I have been trying to wrap my head around that. It has not worked yet but with a little nudge from Practical Scrappers I decided to finally work on my pages from the Got Sketch School class I took a while back.

My little one is still in pre-school and my game plan is to work on this album so that each year I just have to add photo's. This will be awesome cause my middle daughter is starting her senior year and I was looking through her school album yesterday and I am still way back in middle school - yikes!!! Better catch that up so I can have it ready for her graduation party which will be here before I know it.

Now I normally would have just shown you the one side since I have all the faces blocked out on the other page but I wanted to show you this fabulous pocket! Isn't that awesome - I can put papers or artwork in there.

Here is a close up of the left page. Her photo from the first day of school. I take one of the last day as well. I also wrote about her favorite things and what she is learning. I still need to have her write her name on the space below.

If you need a nudge to get back into the swing of things or if you just want to get some fun back to school ideas head on over to Practical Scrappers where you can get a whole bunch of great ideas today!

Artiste - Day 20

Hello I hope you are having a great beginning to your week! We are midway through our fun Artiste Blog hop and you have probably found your way here via Kathy's blog. If for some reason you didn't come from her blog stick around and join our hop. It is circular so just keep hopping until you come back here.

Do you remember my strawberries from last week? Well I figured they probably needed a basket to hold on to them.

Enjoy!

Now head on over to Jen's blog.

PS grab some strawberries while they are still in season.

Artiste - Day 19

Welcome welcome welcome - If you have arrived her from Kathy's blog then you are on the right track.

Today I am dreaming of fall and cooler weather. Here in Illinois we had the hottest July ever on record...and let me just mention I do not have central air just a tiny little window unit. It was brutal, August was not much better at first but now it has cooled off and that cool weather has reminded me that fall is right around the corner.

I give to you pumpkins - I am trying to decide what other fun round things I can make in other seasons. I thought these three would be perfect for the table.

Head on over to Jen's blog and see what she has in store for you.

I will see you tomorrow.

Artiste - Day 18

Hello, was it just absolutely beautiful today where you live? I hope you have found your way from Kathy's blog. If not feel free to jump in here and go around our circular hop. We have been featuring fun easy projects all month from the new CTMH Artiste Cricuit Cartridge. Super fun for sure!!!

Today I bring to you a interesting little crazy self closing box. This box is super cute and oh so fun and...it really does self close!

Today is one of our free shape days so hop on over to Jen's blog and see what she has for you.

Enjoy and I will see you soon.

Life is good -

Hi everyone - are you enjoying my crazy adventure this month with the Artiste Blog Hop? I hope so, because I have been having tons of fun making projects each day or if I can manage to stock pile a little so I can get some sleep every couple of days. LOL

Last night I went to our local S.C.R.A.P. guild. It is a local group of crafters two meet each month on the 3rd Thursday to chat and make pretty things. Scrapbookers, Quilters, Card Makers, Cross Stichers...whatever you want to do. We have a small meeting about business and the get our craft on. This was only the second time I managed to go since I joined. I had a wonderful time and ran into a very dear old scrapbooking friend whom I have not seen in at least 5 years if not 10. I was so suprised to see her and so happy. It was fun to catch up and am looking forward to the next meeting.

Old friends are a great way to remind you that even when life is difficult or challenging life is still good. I always make sure to find the joy in the little things so I can get though those big hurdles we all have to go through. This month has lots of big hurdles and so this blog hop has actually been good because I am so busy I have no time to think about those hurdles just jump over them and keep on going.

Ok that is enough about this you came here to see pretty things right? Well do I have something fabulous for you today!

Have you heard of the cute little stamp set that CTMH has for National Stamping Month? It is a double set and can be yours for only $5 with a $35 qualifying purchase.

While I am telling you about specials I wanted to remind you that you can get this bag FREE this month when you sign up to be a consultant. Being a consultant is so fun and amazing. I am always meeting new people and take advantage of the discount on my supplies. There are all kinds of consultants...weather you are a hobbiests or want to build business there is a spot for you on my team!  Join now these bags are going fast!

Here is the current essentials kit...isn't it BEAUTIFUL??? Only $49 - Just fill out this form and it is all yours.

Artiste - Day 17

Hi everyone you probably are arriving from Kathy's blog. Today I decided to give you Friday all wrapped up in a big ole bow! Bows...I don't know about you but I have a hard time with them. Imagine how super happy I was to find out that there are two different bows on the Artiste cartridge. super duper that is how much!

Now head on over to Jen's blog and see what she has today.

See you tomorrow!

Artiste - Day 16

Hello and welcome to my playhouse. You probably are coming from Kathy's blog and I hope you enjoyed her project. Don't forget if you are arriving here this is a circular hop and you can just hop your way around.

Today Hello Kitty wanted to join us and enjoy the tree' - you may be wondering just how Hello Kitty ended up in my photo shoot? Well I messed up my first tree when i was stamping and so I asked my little one if she wanted it for her doll house she was like "yes it is so beautiful" so she ran off with it. Well then she brought her friends out to play at my desk with the tree and saw my new tree and instantly claimed that as her own as well. Haha!

Well off you go to Jen's blog and I will see you tomorrow!

Sketch-n-Scrap #15

Hi everyone are you ready for a little 3D break for some scrapbooking with sketches? Funny story with this one...I was working on this sketch and went to go and load it for August 1st but guess what? Yep wrong sketch. Ahhhh so back to the drawing table I went for the real sketch 14. Lucky for me Lisa makes cute sketches that are easy to work with. Good for me since I needed to do two pages in my scheduled time instead of one. Good thing I work well under pressure. Have you ever mixed up a deadline? Do you schedule creative time? If you feel like sharing I would love to know that I am not the only one.

So are you ready for sketch 15 over at Sketch-n-Scrap?  Here is my take on it

I adore this sketch! I mean you can do tons with it. I might revisit this one soon and stitch the circle or make it into a huge sun.

I used the stella paper pack on this and that title is actually canvas. It feels awesome!

Please head on over to Sketch-n-Scrap and join us on the 1st and the 15th each month. We would love for you to follow the blog and participate in the sketches. Who knows you might even win a fabulous PRIZE from one of our sponsors.

We also have a GUEST DESINER for September!!! Watch for your chance to be our guest DT member on August 20th.

Artiste - Day 15

Hi everyone have you been joining us every day?You probably came from Kathy's blog. I hope you have been having a good time. I cannot believe the month is already half over! Have you heard about the amazing sale CTMH is having? If you love a good sale...and by good I mean absolutely amazing, then go and check out my shop here.

Today I am sharing a cute little pink purse. I used this month stamp of the month and one of my favorite colors. Hollyhock. I hope you enjoy it and are inspired to make one of your own.

Now head on over to Jen's blog and see what she created today.

Have a great day and I will see you tomorrow.

Artiste - Day 14

Hello everyone welcome to today's project. If you are just stopping in we are doing a really fun blog hop this month featuring the newest Cricut cartridge Artiste from Close to my Heart. You probably came from Kathy's Creative Corner and saw what she made. Please remember this is a circular hop so if you are just starting out here that is fine too.

Today we are featuring the cute little tuxedo boxes. I was so happy to see these on our calendar as I have been itching make this to show my daughter. She is getting married next year and is starting to plan, plan, plan. I also made a cute little bride box to match.

She thought they were really cute and now we are planning to make some. We still need to decide what to put inside of them. Let me know if you have any cute ideas.

Now hop on over to Roxybonds blog and I will see you tomorrow.

Happy News

I made the Top 10 for July over at H2H (Heart 2 Heart) I was so happy to hear that I won.

What did I earn that honor for? Well do you remember my 4th of July wreath? You know the one that would be so much easier to make now that we have the Artiste Cartridge to help us make these rosettes.

I am looking forward to makeing another one for Christmas maybe.

If you want to see the original post you can find that here. It has instructions on how I did it and all that good stuff.

Don't forget to join in over at H2H they have some great motivating challenges and it is fun to see what everyone else comes up with too.

Artiste - Day 13

Did you arrive from Kathy's Creative Corner? If so great you are in the right place. If you are just starting out here welcome to the Artiste blog hop. It is a circular hop so just hop on around until you end up here again. Enjoy!

Today we are featuring sweet summer....strawberries! I decided to also add some texture to mine to get the seed look. I just used my big shot and a dot pattern folder.

I hope you like them...and pick some for yourself.

Now hop on over to Roxybonds blog and see what kind of strawberries she picked for you.

I will see you tomorrow.

Artiste - Day 12

Did you make it from Kathy's Creative Corner? If not that is ok, this is a circular hop and you can start here.

Today I have more wedding stuff to share. A cute little sign - all of the cuts on this were made with the Artiste cartridge. I think these signs would also make really adorable signs for doors for my girls. (in different colors)

Hop on over to Roxybonds blog and see what she made for today.

See you tomorrow!

Artiste - Day 11

You are probably coming from Kathy's Creative Corner.

Today we are on our own and I decided to share this cute little card. Now you might remember a while back I made the wreath for the 4th of July and made what feels like a million of these rosettes....well let me tell you how easy this rosette was to make!

Head on over to Roxybonds blog and what cute project she has.

see you tomorrow!

Artiste - Day 10

I am pretty excited about today's post. If you arrived from Kathy's Creative Corner you are on the right path. If you just got here feel free to start here and hop around.

Ok back to the post.  My daughter is getting married next year and wants to put boxes on the table for sage advice to the newlyweds. When I saw these boxes for the advent calenders I knew they would be perfect! I made a quick sample in black and white for now to give her an idea of  what it will look like.

Once she picks a style and finalizes her colors I will make this more colorful and maybe tint the rose.

The possibilities with this box is just endless. Want to see what everyone else came up with?

Well head on over to Roxybonds blog.

See you tomorrow!

Artiste - Day 9

Welcome to my playhouse, you probably came from Kathy's Creative Corner. Tonight we are all working on the Flower Top Box. Now I have to say this box is a little tricky but if you just keep playing with it, you will get it to come together and have adorable results.

The box was a little thinner than I thought it would be so I think it would be perfect for jewelry or even some money. Here is what I came up with.

I hope you are inspired to make a box of your own. Now head on over to Roxybonds blog and see what she came up with.

See you tomorrow!

Artiste - Day 8

Let them eat cake...or pie if you like.

Today we are all showing you how you can have your cake and eat it too. You probably cam from Kathy's Creative Corner and saw what she made. If you didn't that is fine you can get started right here and just click around and round the hope.

I think these cakes are so fun and perfect for any kind of shower. I pointed them out to my daughter as she is getting married next year so who knows I might be making quite a few slices of cake.

I made the doily as well and a flower. I actually intended to make three flowers but my mat and blade were not getting along well today. I recently got new blades but I think I need some new mats since I have been using it so much as I am so in love with Artiste.

Please head on over to Roxybonds blog and enjoy what she has in store for you.

I will see you tomorrow.

Artiste - Day 7

Hello everyone look at all of us we made it a week! I hope you are enjoying hopping with us each day. We have been having fun ourselves...especially with todays project. A ball, now I have seen these used as ornaments but I just didn't have it in me to make a tiny one so I made more of a party size! I set my cuts at 2" I actually plan on making 3 or 4 more of them and hanging them in my window this Christmas.  What? It will be here before we know it and instead of talking about how hot it is we will be talking about how cold it is.

Ok so onto the hop you have probably come from Kathy's Creative Corner but remember you can start anywhere and if you get lost the links are along the side.

Well I hope you have been inspired to make one of these fun little or big balls of your own. If you make one I would love to see it and if you have questions while you are making it I can try to help. Now move on to RoxyBonds blog and see what she came up with.

See you tomorrow!

Artiste - Day 6

Booties...that is what we are posting today. Hopefully you have come from Kathy's Creative Corner if you are starting here that is ok too just hop around until you end up here again and you will know that you have seen all the cute projects.

Ok so back to the booties. I have been seeing these adorable things on line for years. I never had the guts to cut them out by hand and make a pair. I always wanted to and guess what? CTMH has made it possible. I cannot tell you how many adorable 3-D items are on this cartridge and how many of them were on my list of someday. Well today is now and here are my little booties -

I hope you are enjoying our hop and seeing that you to can be an "artiste" and make all of these creations.

Hope on over to RoxyBonds blog and see her adorable project for today. If for some reason you get lost along the way don't forget that all of the hoppers are along the right side of my blog.

See you all tomorrow!

Artiste - Day 5

I am so proud of all of us for making it five days in a row. We are rocking this challenge because the Artiste Cartridge makes it so darn easy!

Hopefully you have made it here from Kathy's Creative Corner and enjoyed her project. I made a Decorative Window Gift Box. Just a few strips of tape and wala adorable little box for a little gift.

I thought I would let you see another angle today just because I popped up the little Eiffel Tower

Well head on over to RoxyBonds blog and see what adorable project she has for you. I am sure it is fabulous.