May Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

May is here and that means a new Stamp of the Month from Close To My Heart. This month's stamp set is called "Friendship Bouquet" and features several big sunflower images and some sweet friendship phrases. You can view all the images in this set in the right-hand column of my blog.

If you're in need of inspiration, the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop is the place to get it. Over 50 CTMH consultants are participating this month which guarantees plenty of great ideas. If you're already hopping, you came here from Mary Eisen's blog. Keep scrolling through my post to the end to see where to hop to next.

Meanwhile, check out what I created with this pretty stamp set. It's a tent card that I plan to fill with sunflower seeds.

Here's a tutorial to show how this came together...

It starts with a 6 x 6 inch Kraft Die-Cut Card.

I scored on each side of the card fold at 3/4 inches.

To strengthen the base, I cut two pieces of Kraft card stock at 1 9/16 x 6 inches...

 and glued one to the inside and one to the outside.

Now it stands up on its own and can be filled with a clear bag 

of goodies or some seed packets.

On a piece of watercolor paper cut to 3 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches, I random-stamped some sunflower and leaf images with an archival dark brown ink, masking along the way (post-it-note) to get the leaves close to the flowers.

To watercolor my images, I filled several little cups with re-inkers. Shades of yellow and gold plus green.

Using a waterbrush, I dipped it into the color I wanted, brushed off a little on my mat, then started painting. 

I started with the lightest color and painted the outer petals. In this case, Sunflower yellow.

Then I quickly painted in with Goldrush and blended the two together by squeezing water from the waterbrush gently.

I finished the inner part with Autumn Terracotta.

On the large piece with all the stamped images I felt that the colors were a little bright so I sanded over the  surface to distress it.

Then I blended in some Bamboo ink with a sponge dauber in the white spaces.

I distressed the edges of the paper with scissors and then ink-distressed with Cocoa.

Then adhere this to a piece of B&T paper.

For added interest, I used a basic hole punch and punched some circles in the scallops of the die-cut card.

I glued a velcro circle to the flap to help keep the card closed...

and lined the inside of the card so it wasn't so plain. Here is where I will attach some sunflower seeds.

Here's another look at the finished tent card...

Thanks for scrolling all the way through. Now continue on the Blog Hop and let's see what Allisa Chilton has created.

Week in the Life - Saturday & Sunday

My "Week in the Life" project has come to a close as of tonight, so this week I'll be finishing up my album and will share it with you as soon as it's done. Be sure to check out Ali Edwards' blog with her beautiful photos as she shares her life with us too. She's so inspiring.

When I don't have a class or crop, our weekends are usually pretty casual and lazy around here. Heck, I was still in my PJs at 11:00 yesterday morning. We are pretty busy during the week, so weekends are about just hanging out together and doing a whole lot of nothing.

Saturday was spent mostly at home with a few hours spent running around to look at plants and garden benches for the front yard while Jamie thrift-shopped with a friend. She came home with a huge loot of great things. We came home with nothing. I didn't take many photos at all since laying on the couch watching TV wasn't that exciting to share.

Today was the regular Sunday routine. Breakfast, grocery shopping, visiting with Paul's dad, then family time at home. The only exception was a stop at the AT&T store to set up a new family phone plan and get Jamie her first cell phone. (At 14 1/2 years old, she's probably the last kid she knows to get one). We got unlimited text, so we've been texting each other all evening.

I combined our Saturday and Sunday photos today to wrap things up. I notice that food and drink seem to be a big part of our lives...

SATURDAY:

morning grind

cereal and TV

lunch

Asian grocery store

refreshing

snuggle

a sign of the times

SUNDAY:

everyone in one bed

killing time

breakfast

grocery

Grandpa

A good son

Goofing around with Mom's camera

taking a drive

first cell phone

family time

my new phone

This past week started off as a fun exercise in self-awareness, then it became a little harder to muster up the enthusiasm to take photos each day, but as the week came to a close I found myself truly appreciating the effort I made to follow through and the lasting results it will produce. I learned that every day we live, whether exciting or not, is precious in its own way. And to take the time to stop and photograph it, write about it, and preserve it is the best way to remember that. I know after this project, I will certainly be scrapbooking in a whole different way. Not just the family trips and momentous occasions, but the little joys in everyday life as well. 

So thank you, Ali, for your inspiration.

Week in the Life - Friday

Another day in the "Week in the Life" project and it's becoming more and more of a habit around here to have my camera in hand everywhere I go. Be sure to visit Ali Edwards' blog for a glimpse into her wonderful ability to capture her everyday moments. Truly inspiring.

Here's how my Friday looked...

mom/dog run

more babies

yum

(smile)

Rick the barber

old fashioned shave

leftovers

yum

newcomer

working

playing

goodnight