August Stamp of the Month Art #17

Art by Lynn Como

Notice the pretty flowers on this card. They are stamped several times on cardstock, then sections are cut out, slightly pinched or "crumpled" to give them raised texture. Then layered together to form a very dimensional look. The flowers are from C1511 "Love Blooms," found on age 51 of the Autumn/Winter Idea Book. The Stamp of the month provides the scrolled leaf look in the background, and is stamped in first and second generation.

August Stamp of the Month Art #16

Art by Lynn Como

This card features our Avonlea papers, and our brand new Monogram stamps! The very cool thing about these stamps is that you can purchase them individually, for only $2.95 apiece! So order your own initials, or make a gift of initials for someone special. Consider for a bridal shower gift . . . give the bride her new initials, along with ink and some cut supplies to make her own thank-you cards! Monogram stamps are also a perfect gift for book lovers. This makes an easy way to put their "name" on the inside of books before they are loaned out.

August Stamp of the Month Art #15

Art by Tina Dupin

Had you thought you could use an August Stamp of the Month set for a Christmas card? Now, that's thinking outside the box! :-) Here it provides a rich background for a Nativity image, in a unique color for the holiday.

August Stamp of the Month Art #14

Art by Tracey Pierce

It's a celebration! The combination of color and design here just shout that it was "a job well done!" It's big excitement in a small bundle!

August Stamp of the Month Art #13

Art by Renee Valenti

Stamp images like those in the August Stamp of the Month Set have enough inking surface that the "rock & roll" technique works very well. Ink once in the lighter ink, then roll the edges of the image in a darker ink for a beautiful look.

August Stamp of the Month Art #12

Art by Julie Reynolds

Are you lucky enough to still have some of our "Roxie" paper in your stash? Love that paper! And it blings up so well! A single clear sparkle is added here down in the corner, and up top is a portion of one of our Sparkle Flourishes. You can use these flourishes singly, for a giant sweep of glitz, or you can cut them apart, like I did here, for smaller areas such as this 3 x 3 card.

August Stamp of the Month Art #11

Art by Shannon Law

I love the little cut-out section of this card! And it's not hard to do . . . just stamp the corner image on a piece of BT duo. Use our Cutting Knife (ours is the best!!) and just cut out the little areas you see.

Glue that piece onto your card front. Stamp and mat the sentiment image. Now just slip the edges underneath those little cut-out sections before sticking down.

August Stamp of the Month Art #10

Art by Renee Valenti

Making a layered flower is easy with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. The green "leaf" comes from the August Stamp of the Month set and makes great foliage!

August Stamp of the Month Art #9

Art by Maggie Cameron

Create your own background texture paper, using the stamps from this set! Grey on grey is always a pretty combination. Add a bright mat of any color for some punch! Two of our new ribbons are featured here: Slate Satin Polka-Dot Ribbon (so soft and pretty to tie!) and our Silver Shimmer Trim, which is adhesive backed and so easy to apply! And once again, our Pearl Badge Button (Wrangler Assortment) makes an appearance.

August Stamp of the Month Art #8

Art by Karen Pedersen

Karen makes a bold statement with this card by embossing images in Daisy, over our Black cardstock. A bright heart finishes it off with a splash of color.

August Stamp of the Month Art #7

Art by Julie Reynolds

This little card uses our new Avonlea paper. Ink distressed and sanded, it has a soft, burnished appeal. Embellishments include our Baker's Twine and Filigree Charms.

August Stamp of the Month Art #6

Art by Debi Gardner

These two bold colors work so well, when they are distressed. It softens both of them to create a more blended overall look. The Barn Red is distressed with Barn Red ink, and the Pacific paper is distressed by sanding. The pearl badge buttons are from our "Wrangler Assortment" of embellishments.

Are You Curious About Using a Cricut?

We have TWO fantastic cartridges, now, to use with the Cricut. But I know some of you may never have tried this and think it may be difficult! Here is a great video, shared by another Close To My Heart Consultant, that shows how EASY it is to know how to size things. Watch and see . . .

August Stamp of the Month Art #5

Art by Darlys Recker

Darlys is never afraid of the details! The image stamped in green is tenderly trimmed by hand to create this lovely bouquet. The same image stamped in complementing color to the left and the right bring a nice balance to this 3 x 6 card.

August Stamp of the Month Art #4

Art by Cathy Stai

These folded-circle flowers look like they are just growing right out of the background images! Our Partridge and Pear papers are used here, with an embellishment of Natural Hemp.

August Stamp of the Month Art #3

Art by Becky Mackenstadt

This card is also cut using our Artiste cartridge. It's so simple to add the accompanying band and shape for the stamp, when everything is sized to automatically work together!

August Stamp of the Month Art #2

Art by Mary Thompson

Our new Artiste Cricut Cartridge is used to make this simple gift card holder. Wouldn't you love to make this, yourself, with just the touch of a button?

August Stamp of the Month Art #1

Art by Pam Jarrett

Aren't these cards classy? Tones of grey, with just a touch of green. Add some texture with our ribbon rosettes, and they're just lovely.

We Be Jammin'!

During the past few weeks, my husband and I have canned dozens of strawberry, raspberry and blueberry jam. We really enjoy doing this together. I think Joe's main reason is because he loves to make BIG batches of things with BIG bowls and end up with BIG areas of the counter tops covered with LOTS of filled jars!

I like it because we work well together. We enjoy accomplishing things together as a team. (I'm sure Joe would like to refer to us as a well-oiled machine.)

I like thinking about my Grandma Sarah, and my Great Grandma Amanda - and how they did this same thing for years, to fill their pantries for their families. I like using the same mixing spoons that they once held in their own hands to stir their own batches of jam.

It makes me feel connected to my husband, and it makes me feel connected to the generations of women before me.

I'm going to create a scrapbook page this year, but it's not going to be about the whole process of jam making. It will have a couple of pictures - but my main focus will be telling the story of why I like to can. Why it holds a special place, close to my heart.