Scrappy Birthday Blog Hop

I’m so happy you are joining us for the very first Scrappy Birthday Blog Hop celebrating my favorite color - GREEN!

If you are starting here, you’re on the right track! We’ve had so much fun doing this hop, and we have a wonderful line up with some oh-so-talented creators. You will see some lovely projects and have a chance to win some blog candy along the way, including a fun grand prize for this hop.

This hop runs all day on April 30th, so you have plenty of time to check out each project! Here is the lineup in case you get lost:

1.     April Nourse http://curlsngrins.blogspot.com/

2.     Mandie Wade http://mandiesscrappin.blogspot.com/

3.     Jennifer Blue Hawkins http://scrapaholicjen.blogspot.com/

4.     Emily Lahham http://www.createserendipity.net/

5.     Deborah Foti http://www.scrappingmamma.net/

6.     Corrine Paul http://celebratingordinarymoments.blogspot.com/

7.     Lisa Tehonica Pontious http://honeybearzdesigns2011.blogspot.com/ - having computer problems.  Please skip. :(

8.     Stephanie Jones http://missprissygraceann.blogspot.com/

9.     Lucy Kelleher http://love2createitall.blogspot.com/

10.   Theresa White http://treasures4lifeby-t.blogspot.com/

11.   Martha Galvez http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/

12.   Lisa Norris http://prettypaperprettyribbons.blogspot.com/

13.   Cherie Pemberton http://www.gracefulcardmakers.blogspot.com 

14.   Jen Rubio http://www.jenrubio.blogspot.com/

15.   Lisa Peters http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/

As for my creation, I couldn't make just one and they didn't end up with as much green as I planned but that's OK, because I'm the birthday girl. :)  I LOVE the Sophia Paper Packet from Close to my Heart because it's full of greens and pinks, so I started with that.  

For my card, I used Pear Cardstock and Sophia papers. The flowers across the top and side (stamped in Hollyhock ink) are from the Around the Block stamp set.  The cupcakes platter (Pear ink) and sentiment (Hollyhock ink) are from the Piece of Cake stamp set.  All are colored in with colored pencils.  Liquid glass was applied to the cupcake platter and papers. The lower left corner is embellished with pink buttons.  The papers are brushed with Hollyhock and Pear inks.  All materials for the card are from Close to my Heart.

For the cake box, I again used the Sophia papers from Close to my Heart.  The box is made of White Daisy card stock covered with Sophia B&T paper.  It is tied closed with pink ribbon. Some flowers are from Iced Got Flowers and some are stamped from the Sophia stamp set (only available with the Sophia Workshop on the Go).  Each flower has a brad, sparkle, or eyelet in the center.  The sparkles are actually gems I found to bling cell phones.  The backs are adhesive and I love them!  Lastly, there is green and pink ribbon under the flowers.

What would a birthday be without gifts? The stamp set used to make the creations below could be yours just for hopping along with us today!  Also, I will throw in some extra goodies from my stash.  There is a grand prize for visiting every page in the hop and you will find blog candy at the other pages as well. The grand prize is sponsored by Curls & Grins Creations and Always Joyful Card-Making & Scrapbooking. In order to be eligible for the grand prize you must leave a comment on every blog in the hop and become a follower of April’s blog.  Come back May 2nd to congratulate the winner or claim your prize if it's you!

Your next blog is Mandie at http://mandiesscrappin.blogspot.com/.
Happy hopping!

National Scrapbooking Month with You & Me

We are celebrating National Scrapbooking Month in May with a fabulous promotion! During May, when you place a minimum order of $50 for any Close To My Heart products, you can grab an exclusive You & Me scrapbooking kit for just $15—that’s more than half off the retail value of the kit! Woo-hoo! You can also purchase the kit outright for $34.95 with or without a minimum purchase. It’s a charming kit you and your customers are sure to love. It features two fully embellished layouts, each with their own unique personality, a D-size stamp set, and an instruction guide to step you through the creation process. As part of our promotion, we’re also offering new Consultants who join Close To My Heart in May one FREE You & Me scrapbooking kit plus 50% off their New Consultant Kit! It's an incredible value just for May!

Bliss Workshop on the Go

Life isn't always blissful, but on May 20th we will have a blissful evening.  We will be using the Bliss papers from Close to my Heart for our May Workshop on the Go.  With this kit, you will be able to create 6 beautiful cards AND a 2 page layout!  Add a little extra cardstock, and you can create 6 more cards AND another 2 page layout!  You can order the kit here.  For a complete materials list, click here for the scrapbooking workshop or here for the card-making workshop.  Remember, the WOTG kit includes the Bliss Workshop Guide, My Acrylix^® Stamp Set, Level 2 Paper Packet, and Irresistibles^™ Villa Chipboard Die-Cuts.  If you attend the workshop, all other required materials will be available for you to use (including delicious snacks to keep your energy up).

So Blessed

Here are a couple of my creations using Blessed, Close to my Heart's Stamp of the Month for April.  These are beautiful stamps to overlap, such as with the butterfly in this card:

The outline is stamped in Chocolate and the interior is stamped in Sweet Leaf.  The papers used are from the Miracle collection.  The card below uses the same technique for the flower.

You can get the stamp set and papers here.