November Stamp of the Month blog hop

A day late and a dollar short should be my motto these days ... I'm not sure where my post went that was scheduled to show yesterday. I don't even see it in my drafts when I click on edit posts. Ugh. Maybe I tried to post with too little coffee in my system ... Ugh. My apologies especially go to Jamia (and all those listed after her). I halted blog hop traffic with my lack of posting. (Thanks Dawn for letting me know that my post was missing. I wasn't online yesterday to confirm that my scheduled post posted. I now know better!)



Anyhow, I'm trying again ...



Welcome to November’s Stamp of the Month Blog Hop where we will be featuring the Around the Block stamp set from Close to My Heart. If you have come here from Dawn's blog, you are on the right path! 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!



With two houses near me awaiting new owners, I'm thinking this card will accompany a sweet batch of homebaked goodies when new neighbors arrive!



Supplies: All CTMH. Paper - Good times. Stamp - Around the block. Ink - Twilight, Sweet Leaf, Chocolate. Embellishments - ribbon. Tools - Fiskars scallop punch.




Now "Hop" on over to Jamia's blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting and other fun ideas! Remember, the Around the Block stamp set is only available until November 30th!

Contact your CTMH Consultant or email me at maricar@myctmh.com to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!



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NOTE: If you get lost on the hop or find links that aren't working, go to Jena's blog for a complete list of participating blogs.

October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

[If you came by earlier, I apologize for the halt to the hop. I had unexpected technical difficulties. (Are those ever expected?) Anyhow, the picture is a little grainy because I had to take it with my BlackBerry in order to post here. Somehow, I have misplaced my card reader. (If you saw the utter chaos of the craft room, you'd understand.) Anyhow, I was able to clear off just enough room to create one card to share. Enjoy!]

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring October's SOTM, which is "Holiday Warmth", a set of 11 stamps. If you have come here from Traci's blog, you are on the right path!

This month we have a lot of 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's my card:

Supplies: Paper - CTMH Good Times. Stamps - CTMH Holiday Warmth. Tools - Crayola watercolor pencils, CTMH blending pen, CM and SU! punches. Ribbon - Michaels.

Off to see the next card, which is on Pam's blog. Happy hopping!

Every teacher needs a calendar

Finding the perfect calendar.

It's such a daunting task for me.

Not enough space to write. Too much space to write.

Ugly or boring cover.

Too big. Too little.

Too expensive.

AHHHH!

But then I stumbled upon this at the Dollar Tree. So ugly, but for one dollar - even if I mess it up, I wouldn't feel too badly if I gave it to Bekah for doodling paper.

And, so the ugly and boring planner was mine. And, I came home and tried to work some papercrafting magic.

Here's my planner for this academic year:

Supplies: Bazzill cardstock. Doodlebug ribbon. CTMH stamps - Faith. CTMH sparkles.

September Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring Septembers's SOTM, which is Treasures, a set of 13 stamps. If you have come here from Michelle's blog, you are on the right path!

This month we have a lot of 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!

For those of you who don't know me, I returned to the full time work force two weeks ago as a middle school science teacher. After crafting most of the summer, my free time has come to a screeching halt. Disappointingly, that means that my time to craft is severly limited these days. I know that once I get "into the groove" things will be better and I will be able to make time to craft. This is my first post in two weeks. Don't worry - I'll be back!

My card follows a sketch I saw somewhere in Blogland. I tried to find the sketch to link it here, but no such luck. (If someone recognizes it, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!)

Supplies: All CTMH. Stamp set - Treasures. Colors - Topiary, Outdoor denim, Barn red, Cocoa. Embellishments - Chocolate ribbon. Tools - Edge distresser.

Now, hop on over to Antoinette'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 September SOTM is only available until the end of the month! Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount or even free!

If you get lost on the hop or find links that aren't working, click here for a complete list of participating blogs.

Thanks for stopping by!

Attempting (poorly) to juggle

Ugh.
I wish I had something to show you ... but I don't.

Instead of being buried in buttons, ribbon and paper, I am being engulfed by school books and lesson plans. It seems I don't have it "all together" yet, but I am slowly getting there. I hope.

Last week was filled with in service meetings and classroom reorganization. My Cricut came in handy as I created bulletin boards!

Today was the first day back for students, so this week will be incredibly crazy. I'm struggling with juggling - wife, mom, teacher, crafter, cook, maid ... you know the list. I need to determine the "happy balance" and then all will be good again!

So, bear with me -- I will be back.

Felt galore

I received a bunch of felt flowers in a swap long, long ago. As I was cleaning up the other day, these were laying on my workspace, and I saw a card in the making. Here's what I made:

Supplies: Stamps - CTMH Thank You. Everything else is from the stash, unknown source.

Faith

Call me the master of procrastination ... but instead of preparing for my first inservice day, I utilized my spare thirty minutes to blog hop, find a sketch, and create a card. I have to leave for school in 40 minutes, so once I post, it's off to shower, dress, grab a cup of coffee and be on my way. As much as I already miss the idea of leisurely morning cups of coffee on the deck (Did I mention how crisp the air is today? It is so so wonderful outside!), I am looking forward to starting a new school year. A new beginning.

Anyhow, before I get all sentimental, here's my sweet and simple card that follows the sketch on Card Patterns:

Supplies: Paper - unknown (another dinosaur old paper); Stamps - all CTMH, Faith, Hope, Charity and Delight in Everything; Embellishments - all from Michaels, ribbon, rhinestone; Ink - CTMH black

Now, off to start my life as a middle school science teacher. Bring on the day!

Flowers for you

As I was cleaning today, I stumbled across a half (or more than half) used scrapbook kit. Most of it was just scraps and leftover stickease, but I was able to put some pieces together to create this:

Supplies: Stamp set - CTMH Dream Big. Everything else is from the stash.

Shape-ing up at 365 Cards

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.

Life is crazy here. Somehow, the fatigue of the summer caught up with me yesterday. I arrived home at 1pm and immediately rested on the couch. It's 7am now. Uh, yeah. No, I didn't sleep the entire time, but I did little (if anything) productive beside lie there and rest. No laptop. No blackberry. No magazine. Just me and restful quiet. I should feel completely revived now -- but knowing that "real life" starts Monday is causing me some anxiety. (I'm a school teacher, and inservice begins on Monday.)

Anyhow, I meant to post this yesterday.

Here's my card using Wednesday's inspiration at 365 Cards, which was to use a star on the card.

Supplies: Colors - Dutch blue, Autumn terracotta, tulip. Stamp sets - Star struck, Faith.

Inspired x 2

So, I go to 365 Cards on Tuesday and see the challenge - a really funky color scheme. "Do I have any paper with those colors?" I ask myself. Wierd colors. I guess it's another challenge I will pass on. But, I - of course - took the time to click on the links of those who had already completed the challenge. At that point, it was just Chrissie and Hannah. Well, I saw Chrissie's card - and viola! The creative muses hit me and I knew I could complete this challenge. [Sorry it took me so long to post.]

So, here's my take:



So, inspired by Chrissie's take, I was able to use the colors for 365 Cards color challenge. Whew.


Supplies: Stamp sets - CTMH Thank You and Delight in Everything; Ink - black; Embellishments - CTMH waxy flax, CTMH clear sparkles, buttons from stash.