Sneek Peak at New Spring 2010 Idea Book - Caboodle

This new kit is overflowing with fun, and funky patterns with a soft, yet playful color palette.  Sorbet, Crystal Blue, Buttercup and Sweet Leaf, along with neutral Vanilla Cream, make this kit perfect for many projects.  Beginning tomorrow, New Year's Day - you'll be able to order any of these gorgeous kits, along with featured products to compliment any of their styles in our brand new CTMH Spring 2010 Idea Book.  Happy New Year!!

Sneek Peak at New Spring 2010 Idea Book - Veranda

This new kit, Veranda, showcases the beauty and softness of spring, complimented by bold neutrals.  It features Garden Green, Creme Brulee, Cocoa, Juniper and Vanilla Cream.  One last sneek peak tomorrow!

Sneek Peak at New Spring 2010 Idea Book - You Rock

I LOVE this kit!! It is called You Rock and uses a great and versatile color combination of Outdoor Denim, Goldrush, Olive, White Daisy, with a little bit of Petal and Sunflower thrown in.  Check back tomorrow for more!

Sneek Peak at New Spring 2010 Idea Book - Topstitch

I'll be giving you a little preview of some artwork from each of the four new My Reflections paper kits in the brand new 2010 Spring CTMH Idea Book for each of the last four days of 2009.  So, for today it is Topstitch - this whimsical kit uses the fun and playful color combination of Chocolate, Heavenly Blue, Baby Pink and Vineyard Berry.  Check back tomorrow for another peek!

Special Card

My husband Tony and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary last weekend and I made this special card for him.  I took Jeanette's color combination from last week for my inspiration again from her blog and it was just fun to start with those colors and "play" while making this.  It was a refreshing short break from all of my Christmas projects!  I used the Card Chatter-Christmas and Boutique Borders stamp sets, B&T papers from the Twitterpated kit, Outdoor Denim ribbon, Sorbet and Antiqued Copper brads, and the bracket stamp is from the brand new January 2010 stamp of the month - True Friends from the new Spring 2010 idea book.  I also used some old chipboard hearts from a promotion last year. 

Holiday Treats!

 

I just finished these treat bags for my kids to give to their teachers and friends to celebrate the season!  We made Specalatzi cookies this past weekend, a family tradition this time of year!  I bagged up five cookies each, and made these bag toppers and tags for each gift.  I used the All Decked Out stamp set - my son has been wanting to stamp with me using this set for awhile now, and this project was a perfect use for it!  He had so much fun helping me stamp the hats and scarves for the snowmen.  I just random stamped for the bag toppers using a color combination I found on Jeanette's Color Me Monday challenge on her blog.  Jeanette Lynton is the founder and CEO of Close To My Heart, and her blog features fabulous artwork and color combos.  This one is Sorbet, Cocoa, Outdoor Denim and Crystal Blue.  This is a fun little project to get the kids involved in and share some love during this special season!

Here's my family recipe for Specalatzi sugar cookies:

1/2 lb butter

2 cups sugar

4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

rind of 1 small lemon

3 eggs

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar together in mixer on low.  Add eggs, one at a time and lemon rind.  Add cinnamon, baking powder and flour, gradually until well mixed.  Roll out thin on a well floured surface adding more flour to dough as needed.  Cut, decorate and bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes. 

Sneak Peek - Felicity Collection!

 

 

Here's a sneak peek of some artwork I made using the gorgeous new Felicity Collection from Close To My Heart.  This set features more than one versatile and beautiful color combinations in its B&T Duo papers, unique die-cut papers, which can be used full-sized for dramatic effect, or cut down to fit on cards and smaller projects for emphasis and flair, and a full, D-sized stamp set including an alphabet!  I love "playing" with this new set - you'll want to get your own as well!  Here are full details on the entire campaign - it begins next week!

Celebrate National Papercrafting Month with the stunning Felicity Collection! The collection features decorative die-cut paper, three gorgeous color schemes, and a D-size stamp set that include flowers, flourishes, argyle patterns, birds, and an entire alphabet! Your papercrafting possibilities are endless!

There are three ways to get the Felicity collection:
• Purchase it at full retail price for $34.95.
• Place an order of $60/$70 or more in full-retail priced stamp sets (A , B, C, D, and E-size) and receive one collection FREE!  Excludes: Stamp of the Month, Art & Soul, Workshop on the Go, and customizable (K) stamp sets.
• Place an order of $125 or more in full-retail priced Close To My Heart products and receive one collection FREE!   
The campaign also has enticing opportunities for hostesses and new Consultants. Hostesses get the collection FREE with a Home Gathering sales total of $400 or more, and new Consultants who join Close To My Heart between January 1–31 will receive the collection FREE in their New Consultant Kit.

Campaign Dates:
Customers and Hostesses: December 15, 2009—January 31, 2010
New Consultants:    January 1–31, 2010
Limit of one FREE kit per order,.

Quick and Easy Christmas Cards

 

 

 

In less than an hour, I finished these four cards tonight!  I put them together as samples for a group I'm part of at church and we wanted them to be quick and easy to put together, using just adhesive.  So, these are what I came up with.  I sat down with my wonderful Wishes book, chose 4 card designs, cut all the papers, did all the stamping and put them together in less than an hour.  I really am happy with they turned out.  Sometimes, less is more!  I'll try to remember that as we enter into this hectic, busy season. 

December Scrap Club Layouts

 

 

Here are my layouts for December Scrap Club - they were so fun to make!  I just love these new Jingle papers.  Honestly, I am usually a very traditional Christmas person, but I really love how CTMH made this new kit both whimsical but also with a touch of tradition in there. 

For the first layout, I used papers from the Jingle kit, along with White Daisy and Tulip cardstock.  I used the new Twinkle Brads in Jolly, and stamped using the Holiday Trinkets stamp set.  I used Olive, Juniper, Tulip and White Daisy inks.

For the second layout, I used papers from the Jingle Creative Basics kit - love the candy cane diagonal striped paper from that one!  I also used White Daisy and Tulip cardstock in this layout, along with the Twinkle Brads in Jolly again.  I backed some of our clear buttons with Tulip cardstock using Liquid Glass as my adhesive, and tied on a Clear Slide (retired) with some White Daisy Ric Rac.  I used the Holiday Trinkets stamp set again for my stamped accents with Tulip and Juniper inks. 

Holiday Crop - Open House

Holiday Open House & Crop!

- Prizes - Holiday Shopping - Clearance Sale
- Exclusive Specials - Working On Projects

Do any of those sound good to you? Sign up to attend my Holiday Open House and Crop night and you’ll get exclusive specials available only to attendees, be eligible to win prizes, get some holiday shopping wrapped up, and catch up on your scrapbooking and card making projects!

If you’ve purchased products and haven’t taken the time to use them yet, this the perfect evening to just come and work! I’m offering some pre-made workshop packets for you to work on, or bring your own projects!

WHEN/WHERE:     
Saturday, November 28th at my home in Keizer
TIME:                       
6:00pm-Midnight - come when it is convenient for you!
WHAT:                   
- Space and time to have fun, chat with friends and catch up on your                             scrapbooking/card making projects
- Raffle Drawing with great prizes from Autumn/Winter Idea Book
- Exclusive Specials - including 20 cents per sheet for ANY of my in stock cardstock and/or background & texture papers – ½ off!!! I’ll also have lots of gently used stamp sets for sale and other clearance sale items.

COST: $5.00 – please bring a snack to share

***I only have 12 spots available, so sign up today to reserve your spot. ***

OPTIONAL WORKSHOP PACKETS AVAILABLE:
- A. 48 Photo Christmas Cards workshop - all 48 cards are the same style and hold a 2.75x3.75 photo. These cards have a space for a stamped sentiment and a stamped, cut out image of your choice (Christmas tree, snowman, etc.) Cost is $40.00 and all materials will be pre-cut for your convenience. Includes envelopes and card bases. Cards measure 4.25x5.5 size. You choose the paper kit.

B. 48 Christmas Cards workshop - You will make 8 different designs of cards, 6 of each design. These cards have simple designs with minimal stamping. Cost is $40.00 and all materials will be pre-cut for your convenience. Includes envelopes and card bases. Cards measure 4.25x5.5 size. You choose the paper kit.

C. Scrapbooking Workshop - 5 double page layouts - can choose up to 5 kits and mix-n-match. Paper is also pre-cut and stickease included. Cost is $30.

Allison Grice, Independent Consultant, Close To My Heart
pchyblrina@msn.com
http://allisong.myctmh.com/
http://creativebliss-allison.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keizer-OR/Allison-Grice-CTMH-Scrapbooking-and-Stamping/132515782352?ref=ts
http://creative-escape-allison.blogspot.com/

November Scrap Club Layouts

 

 

Better late than never!  Here are my layouts for Scrap Club for November.  I used the Sweet Home papers, with the Neighborhood stamp set.  The colors in the paper kit are Buttercup, Indian Corn Blue, Heavenly Blue and Garnet with some White Daisy.  I used Autumn and Winter soft chalks to color in the houses - fun!  I also used up some old retired Vineyard Berry organdy ribbon and some White Daisy Bigger Brads. 

Stampaganza and Block Sale!

Buy two My Acrylix decorative stamp sets and select a third stamp set of your choice FREE!

Whether you're a long-time fan of stamps or are just venturing into this fun hobby, November is the perfect time to grab some My Acrylix stamp sets! From November 3-30, 2009, when you purchase any two stamp sets (sizes A, B, C, D and/or E only) at full retail price, you will receive a third stamp set of your choice FREE (of equal or lesser value) - a savings of up to $22.95! Choose from any stamp set offered in any 2009 Idea Book or the current Product Review. All of these stamp sets are available to view on my website at www.allisong.myctmh.com and go "shop online". It's the perfect time to add to your own stamp stash or get some Holiday shopping finished!

In addition, from November 3-30, 2009, I will be having a block sale! Take 20% off all CTMH My Acrylix blocks when you order through me.

Shipping and Handling apply. Stamp sets available as the FREE set include A, B, C and D-size sets only. E-size, customizable (K), Art and Soul and Stamp of the Month are not available as the free set. Stamps that count toward the qualifying purchase include full-priced A, B, C, D and E-size sets only. Stamps that do not count toward a qualifying purchase include Stamp of the Month, Art and Soul, Workshops on the Go (KOTM), and customized (K) stamps.

A Big Thank You

My son Alex started kindergarten this fall, and his school had a jog-a-thon last Friday.  I made up these thank you notes for him to send to family who donated to support him in the jog-a-thon.  I used Family Ties - Children, Everyday Celebration and Thank You stamp sets.  The color combination is White Daisy, Key Lime and Moonstruck and I used the Blending Pen to color in the boy stamp.

Here are a few photos of Alex during the jog-a-thon - he completed 7 laps in 10 minutes!

Special Invitation

My daughter's third birthday is coming up very early in November, and she has loved Thomas the Tank Engine for the past year - she most definitely wanted to have a Thomas theme for her party, and I had the perfect stamp set to make her invites!  I used the Childhood stamp set, along with my own color combination - Hollyhock, Crystal Blue, White Daisy and Outdoor Denim.  The perfect combo for Ava's personality - a little bit girly, a little bit classic, a little bit adventurous and a lot of fun! 

October KOTM Projects

Here are the projects we'll be doing this month for my Kit of the Month Club.  Members get a kit each month and get to choose if they'd like to make the 2-page scrapbook layout or 6 cards at our club meeting.  Then, they have an exclusive B-sized stamp set, full accessory and most of the Level 2 Paper Packet to take home with them after club to make the other project, bonus projects included on the instructional flier that comes with the kit, and still have product leftover!  All that, plus $25 in free product from the catalog one of the months you are in the club (6 month commitment for the club).

So, for October, the kit is Twitterpated and the projects are gorgeous!  Take a look:

Three 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 cards (you'll make 2 of each for a total of 6)

Scrapbook layout

Contact me today - there's still time to join in on this month's club meeting - it's coming up in Keizer on Monday October 19th at 6:30pm and in Rainier on Sunday October 25th at 2:00pm.

October Scrapbooking Club Layouts

 

These are the scrapbooking layouts that my Scrap Club ladies will be working on in October.  Our meeting for Scrap Club in Keizer is on Monday, October 5th at 6:30pm.

These layouts feature papers from the Twitterpated kit, along with the Flourished Blessings stamp set.  I also used Chocolate grosgrain ribbon, Antiqued Copper brads and Sweet Leaf, Chocolate, Crystal Blue and Colonial White cardstocks. 

These are perfect for all of those fun fall photos!  Contact me today if you're interested in joining my Scrap Club!

Fun, Fall Card

I made this card for a swap I participate in with some awesome CTMH consultants.  I used the Twitterpated paper pack, Sorbet ribbon, Sweet Leaf, Colonial White and Chocolate cardstock and Antiqued Copper Bitty Brads.  The stamp I used for the mushroom, vines, sentiment and background on the sentiment piece (2nd generation stamping) is the exclusive B-sized stamp set you can get only from the October Twitterpated Kit of the Month!  I also used a bit of Liquid Glass on the mushroom dots. 

More Treasures

Here are more pieces of wonderful artwork using the September Stamp of the Month - Treasures - enjoy!

Little Treasures

 

I made these little gems with the new September Stamp of the Month - Treasures.  I LOVE this stamp set.  It has wonderful sayings and words, along with peaceful and beautiful images of dandelions and wispy flowers.  It is good for so many uses.  These 3x3 enclosure cards were made using background and texture papers from the Perfect Day kit and the new Creative Basics Jingle Collection.   I used first and second generation stamping techniques with Juniper, Sorbet and Tulip inks and added some Pewter Brads to finish them off.  Using patterns from the CTMH Wishes How-To Program saved me tons of time on the card designs!  

Big Day!

Today's the day!  You can start ordering beautiful and versatile products from the brand new Close To My Heart Autumn/Winter 2009 Idea Book!  Click on the link I've placed over to the right to go directly to my website and place your order.  Or, contact me at e-mail - pchyblrina@msn.com if you would like your very own copy.  It's full of gorgeous papers, fun stamp sets and brand new accessories. 

CTMH is Buzzing - Studio J

What's all the buzz about? With the release of the new Autumn/Winter 2009 Idea Book to consultants, corporate CTMH released information about a very exciting and innovative new concept that will revolutionize your CTMH scrapbooking! Studio J is CTMH founder and CEO Jeanette Lynton's newest creation!

Visit Studio J online to find out what all the excitement is about! Coming to consultants in Fall 2009 and customers in Spring 2010!

Club Cat - New Idea Book Coming Soon!

With the brand new CTMH Autumn/Winter 09 Idea Book going live on September 1st, now is the perfect time to join my Club Cat.

What is club cat?
Club Cat is a purchasing club for those who would like to receive the new catalog each and every time it comes out (that is 3 times a year), while also getting $25 in FREE PRODUCTS twice per year.

How does it work? It’s so simple!
To join Club Cat and receive all the free benefits:
• 3 free catalogs per year (you get them a month early)
• $25 in FREE product of your choice TWO times per year
• Connections Club Rewards
All you have to do is place a $10 order with me once a month for a 12-month period!

When does it start?
You may join at anytime, and your orders will continue on a rolling 12-month basis. Orders due on the 10th of each month.

This program works so well for those who:
• Don’t have time to host or attend gatherings
• Can’t commit to a monthly hands-on club due to their schedules
• Want to slowly build their scrapbooking and/or stamping supplies with a minimal investment each month
• Love earning FREE Products of their choice totaling $53.98 after shipping and handling!
• Are already in one of my $25.00 or $29.95 per month scrapbooking/paper-crafting clubs and always order at least $35.00 or $40.00 each month. This way, you can get additional free product for that extra order amount!

How can you place your orders:
• Call me with your order and mail your check to me
• E-mail me at pchyblrina@msn.com with your order and mail your check to me

Sign up now! Call me at (503) 393-9146 or e-mail at pchyblrina@msn.com

Everyday Celebration Card Kit Available Now!

To celebrate National Stamping Month in September, we're giving you 3 ways to get a FREE Everyday Celebration card kit for making 16 beautiful cards!

* Purchase a minimum of $60 in stamp sets (includes A, B, C, D and E-size) between August 18-September 30, 2009.
* Host a Home Gathering with minimum sales of $400 between September 1-30.
* Sign up as a new Consultant between September 1-30.

You can also purchase as many card kits as you'd like for the full price of $39.95 per kit. Each kit includes 1 - D-size Everyday Celebration stamp set, card bases and envelopes, cardstock and coordinating background & texture papers, distressing inks, ribbon, mini-medley accents, 3-D foam squares, sponge and a full-color, step by step instructional brochure.

Featured colors - Dutch Blue, Chocolate, Colonial White, Sweet Leaf

And there's more fun! Place any order between September 1-30 and you'll automatically be entered into CTMH's daily drawing for a FREE card kit. Winners will be announced on my CTMH website and closetomyheart.com. Express your passion for stamping with this pretty new card kit today!

Brand New Club Starting - Kit of the Month (KOTM)

September KOTM Layout

September KOTM Cards

**Join my new Kit of the Month Club!**

This new club provides a fabulous way for you to get beautiful scrapbook pages and/or handmade card sets completed quickly, have products leftover, get a fabulous discount on the product kit, get your hands on an exclusive stamp set, get FREE products from the idea book, have fun and be creative!

What: Each month, we’ll complete a project from the selected kit (Autumn/Winter Kits: September/Grace, October/Twitterpated, November/Sweet Home, December/Jingle). Each kit includes a Level 2 Paper Packet, a full accessory pack, an exclusive B-size stamp set (not available anywhere else) and a full-color instructional brochure. At our club meeting, we’ll go through the cutting guide for the featured project together – you can choose either a 2-page 12x12 scrapbooking layout or a set of 6 cards from that month’s featured kit.

When: Third Monday of the Month at my home in Keizer – 6:30-8:30pm – starting September 21, 2009

Cost: $29.95 per month (products in kit retail at $35.00) plus shipping/handling cost.

Commitment: Six-months of participation in the club. This club makes it very easy to do your packet “to go” for any of the months you cannot make it to the club meeting since it includes the full-color instructional brochure right in your packet. You’ll receive the cutting guide, blueprint, instructions and everything you need. If there is a month you don’t like the kit we’re doing, you can just order $29.95 in your choice of products from the idea book.

Benefits: - Hostess one of the six months ($25 in free product from the idea book).
- Simplicity of ordering (all you are required to order for the month is pre-ordering your kit for the following month for $29.95 plus s/h).
- You’ll receive instruction on making a beautiful 2-page 12x12 scrapbook layout or 6 versatile cards (2 each of 3 designs).
- Provides flexibility of making either cards or scrapbook pages in the same club from month to month.
- Instructional brochure has info on both scrapbook and card project, as well as bonus layout and card projects so you can complete more at home with your leftover products!

Sign up now! Call me at (503) 393-9146 or e-mail at pchyblrina@msn.com

September Scrap Club Layouts

Here are the layouts for my September scrap club ladies. I loved making these using the new stamps and papers from the gorgeous Grace kit in the brand new Autumn/Winter 09 CTMH Idea Book! The stamp set I used is Childhood Portrait and I just love the little child silhouettes, they are so fun to create with! On the first layout, I used heat embossing with these stamps, inspired by the layout on page 17 of the brand new book.

Scrap Club Layouts for Autumn/Winter:
September - Grace, October - Twitterpated, November - Sweet Home, December - Jingle

**Now is a great time to sign up for one of my clubs! Here are the details on the monthly scrapbooking club - look for details on my other clubs in the days to come**

- Would you like to have a designated time, once a month for you to get caught up on your scrapbooking?
- Have you ever wanted to start scrapbooking but feel a bit overwhelmed?
- Do you feel like you are just too far behind to even get started?
- Do you currently love to scrapbook and want to expand your knowledge in techniques & layout design?
- Do you like to scrapbook but never seem to find the time and have pictures piling up?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then THIS is the class for you. Come and learn how fun, creative and quick scrapbooking can be. I will teach you several different techniques and tips and you will go home each month with 2-4 ready to go TWO-PAGE scrapbook layouts!

When: 1st Monday evening of the month. – 6:30-8:30pm

What: Come and experience HANDS-ON how easy scrapbooking really is. You’ll receive a packet of pre-cut paper and embellishments you need to complete your layouts, and have access to my stamps and ink pads. All you have to do is bring your adhesive and your photos if you’d like. You will have your choice to do the featured layout that I’ve made, or your choice of themes and colors to be sure that you are making pages you can use with your pictures. I will have those choices available to you the month before the class.
***If you need to miss a class, you can make it up!***

Cost: The class is actually free! The commitment however is to a $25 purchase of Close To My Heart products each month (before S&H). The fun part is that you are guaranteed to be the “hostess” one of the months that we meet. On that month, you will receive $25 in FREE product of YOUR CHOICE. If you’d like to complete an additional 2-page layout above the one included, you can add one additional 2-page layout for only $2.00.

Commitment: The commitment is for a full 6-months. You can join the class during any month! If, for some reason, you are unable to attend one of the classes, all you need to do is give me a call with your class order. I will save your packet and you can do it the following month or attend one of my make up classes.
Call me at (503) 393-9146 or e-mail me at pchyblrina@msn.com to join!

Christmas Is Coming!

With the fabulous new Jingle kit, you know that Christmas is on it's way! The great thing about it, along with its super fun patterns and colors, is that it's so versatile you could use papers from this kit for other holidays and occasions too!

Amazing Grace

Of all the new and wonderful papers in the latest book, I can say for sure that Grace is definitely my favorite. I love the rich colors and the gorgeous florals. I will be using this on many paper-crafting projects to come! Grace is available starting September 1st when the new Autumn/Winter 2009 CTMH Idea Book goes live!

Get Twitterpated!

With this fun and colorful new kit in the new Autumn/Winter 2009 CTMH Idea Book, you'll be ready for Fall and all of the new adventures it brings. Order yours beginning September 1st!

Beautiful New Papers

I promised you some fun updates in my last post, so here goes! Each day, I'll be posting a preview of one of the new Paper Packets featured in the Autumn/Winter 2009 CTMH Idea Book which goes live to customers on September 1st! I'll be posting a photo from one new paper pack per day.

This first photo features the new Sweet Home papers. I love the rich color combination and versatile patterns on these gorgeous papers. Check back tomorrow for another preview!

2010 Retired List

Well, we're back from a great California vacation and we've had lots of family time these past few weeks! I've been a busy bee with all of the new updates that have come from CTMH corporate recently as well! Lots of fun stuff. I'll be posting many updates here and on my new Facebook business page. Look for the link on the right side of my blog to go to my Facebook business page and join as a fan. You'll want to keep checking back to see what the latest info is!

Here's the first update - the CTMH Retired List for 2010. Click here to check out the entire list.

On this list are products that the company is no longer producing. As of right now, they are available only while supplies last, so if you want something on the list, contact me to order it soon! As of January 1, 2010, these products won't be available to order anymore, they will be officially retired. Although many of the products are well loved by you and I and it is sad to see them go, their departure makes room for many new and wonderful products in the CTMH line. Something to be excited about! More info to come soon....

Upcoming August SOTM

I know it's not August yet, but I couldn't wait to share a preview of the August Stamp of the Month from Close To My Heart! This set, "It's Your Day" is perfect for birthdays, parties and special occasions of all types. The versatile words and images will help you create invitations, cards and scrapbook pages for all of those special times! This set is only available from August 1-31, 2009 and with a minimum qualifying purchase, you can get your Stamp of the Month at a great discount or FREE! Contact me to get your set!

Park Layout

This spring, one of my favorite activities to do with my kids was to head over to one of our local parks. We are so blessed to have many parks to choose from within walking distance from our home, and many other great parks to drive to if we want.

This layout utilizes papers and stickease from the Unforgettable kit. It is a good example of a great layout using no stamping, and it came together so fast with the fabulous coordinating papers and stickease from CTMH. Our stickease are cardstock weight stickers in all sizes that make your artwork flawless and super easy. The colors and design are perfect for the photos of my swinging and park-going kiddos!

Emporium Easter Layout

Here's another layout I finished on my scrapbooking getaway. I originally did not create this layout for use with my family Easter photos, but with the birds and the colors, it worked perfectly. Emporium is one of my most favorite kits of all time from CTMH. I paired the Emporium background and texture papers with some stamps I made with the Bird Basics set and branches from the Aspiration set. This layout is from the Cherish book and I added an Edge Anchor with some Vineyard Berry Organdy ribbon for that finishing touch.

Super Bowl Layout

So, a couple of weeks ago I went on a fabulous scrapbooking getaway to the Oregon Coast in Lincoln City. It was a ton of fun and I got lots of pages completed and in my scrapbooks! I'll be posting lots of layouts in the next few weeks that I finished on this trip.

This first layout showcases a couple of my favorite techniques - one I've used for a long time (random stamping) and another that I've only started using fairly recently (stamp kissing).

I custom designed this entire layout to fit these special photos from this winter when my husband's favorite NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl again! I knew I wanted a layout in the bold Steeler team colors of black, yellow, white and gray, but I didn't have any patterned paper to match, so I created my own using the random stamping technique and my favorite football stamp set - Touchdown. I used Black, Grey Wool, Sunny Yellow and White Daisy carstock and ink pads, along with my handy Imagine book. To make the title, I stamped the letters using the Headline Alphabet stamp set and then "kissed" off some of the ink using the stamp from Touchdown with the field markers and lines on it. The result is a super-cool football themed effect on my letters!

I also used Black Bigger Brads and the wonderful new Foam Tape on this layout.

It is a great example of how you can use random stamping with a color combination to coordinate with your photos to make your own wonderful personalized patterned paper!