October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Very Merry Christmas

I know, it's only October and we're already talking about Christmas.  What are we, a department store?  Well, if you like to make homemade cards, crafts and gifts for Christmas, now IS the time to start.  And what better way to get inspiration than from completing the CTMH SOTM blog hop?!

Thanks for visiting from the talented Susan Brooks' blog.  Close To My Heart is offering Very Merry Christmas, a little gem of a stamp set for October's Stamp of the Month.  I love the sentiments and how the classic images work perfectly with the Artiste Cricut cartridge.  With a qualifying order of $50 or more, you can get this stamp set for just $5!

 

 

Very Merry Christmas inspired me to make two sweet, but simple, Christmas cards.  My first card has rounded corners and Color-Ready Seam Binding Ribbon (Z1732) that I dyed Cocoa, with a few Bitty Sparkles (Z1263) to brighten it up.  I cut out the shapes using my Cricut Artiste cartridge.  The Cashmere cardstock was cut at 3 inches (3D Object, Shift, <%>).  The green B&T paper was cut using the same buttons and functions, but at 3 1/2 inches.  Did you know that the latest My Acrylix Stamp Sets include the CTMH Cricut cartridge the images coordinate with, the size they should be cut at and the page number to find the image?  Love it!!!

 

 

I love adding a sentiment inside the card.  The set comes with "Wishing you a season filled with sweetness."  I only inked the "Wishing you" part of that sentiment in New England Ivy and then stamped "A Very Merry CHRISTMAS" below it in Cranberry ink.  I like how it turned out!

 



The next card I cut out with the Art Philosophy cartridge (Card at 4 inches) using New England Ivy cardstock.  I cut out the mittens with Artiste and then stamped them with cranberry.  To give them a "fuzzy" look, I immediately dabbed them with some flocking powder after I stamped each one.  I added some Sparkles (Z1752) to the center of the mittens and tied them together with some Cranberry Baker's Twine (Z1751).  I cut off the bottom of a 3 1/2 inch circle to stamp the sentiment, Warmest Wishes in New England Ivy.  I curved the stamp to follow the shape of the ornament.  For a video tutorial on how to do that, click here.

 

 

Inside the card, I cut out a 3 1/2 inch circle using Art Philosophy and stamped Christmas Cheer in the center.

 



 

I hope I've inspired you to start working on your Christmas cards.  Now, head on over to my good friend, Scrapi Traci,'s blog to see what fabulous creations she's come up with for you!