November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Happy November and welcome to Close To My Heart's Stamp of the Month (SOTM) Blog Hop.  If  you are coming from Dawn's blog I Am A Happy Stamper you are in the right place!  Welcome, so glad you could join us!

This month's stamp set is called Cherish the Day and coordinates with the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge.  It is available from now until November 30th for purchase at $17.95 or for only $5 with a $50 purchase.  

 

I have to say this was not my favorite stamp set at first but once I started using it I found so many really fun projects that I can not show them to you all on this one post.  So I'm going to be posting various projects I made using this stamp set throughout the month - come back to see some more ok?

I was browsing the web, particularly pinterest, for different crafting ideas and came across this advent calendar from Shim & Sons.

(I told my husband I love looking at pinterest for ideas and I pin so many things I could never possibly have enough time to make them all - not to mention the fact that I could spend the whole time looking for ways to decorate my home and never actually get my home decorated - can I get an AMEN?)  Anyway, I so fell in love with it and knew immediately that I wanted to use the Cherish the Day stamp set to make my own.

I used the Art Philosophy Cartridge to cut out the mini pillow boxes (cut at 3 inches), folded them as indicated and cut off the tops to make small pockets.  In each of the pockets is a family activity that we will do together ranging from making Christmas cookies for our mailman, to singing Christmas carols for the residents at the retirement community next door, to decorating Daddy as a Christmas Tree (lights and all).  For more great ideas I found this awesome blog post at tickles to giggles.  I have to say I am so excited about doing this I may not be able to wait until December 1st :)

Have a very fun hop today and may all your months be Merry and Bright as you spread the love of Christmas all year long :)

Now hop on over to Jen at Roxybonds and see what beautiful artwork she has for you using this very special stamp set.

Don't forget the super cute stamp set Holiday Wishes only available until November 30th for $5 with a $25 stamp purchase.  **with a $50 purchase you can get two stamp sets worth $35.90 for only $10!!**  Shop Here

For more information about my Thanksgiving Sale see post here.

Linking with: Creations by Kara & The CSI Project

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Some more pumpkins (Make It Monday)

Are you pumpkined out yet?  Is that a word?  I love love love pumpkins and have found so many really cute ideas and tutorials all over the internet.  So I'm going to share with you a bit of a failed attempt at crafting with my kids.  Again, in the effort to be honest with you all some projects say they are kid friendly and start out that way but end up being a Mama only project.

I found these super cute mini pumpkins on craft-a-holics  and immediately fell in love!

She has a great tutorial and for kids older than mine (oldest is 5) it probably would work.  It just did not with my kids.  We used tacky glue instead of a glue gun because I had visions and nightmares of hospital runs with four children (under the age of 5) with 3rd degree burns!

So anyway, first I cut out fourteen 1" circles on my cricut (you could use a circle punch but I have the machine so I might as well use it!).  And 1/2 inch by 3 inch strips of cardstock (9 strips for each pumpkin).  The tutorial said 1/2 inch by 2 1/2 inch I think but I just became a little rebellious here.

My kids (plus one) with their "spiders".  Take one circle and glue the strips out like a sun.

Then glue another circle and bring the strips up to the top to make a pumpkin.  You can add a brown stem and/or leaves if you want.  You can leave them longer and taller or
smash them to make "squishier" pumpkins.

My kids used tacky glue and construction paper.  It just did not work out like I was hoping and they were bored - not enough for them to do.  So I made five of my own out of cardstock to decorate my shelf.

That's it.  Thanks for stopping by :)  Hope your Monday is great with or without a kids project - LOL

Want over $400 worth of crafting materials for only $99?  More information here!

And don't forget about my GIVEAWAY :) 

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Animal Shelter Blog Candy Winner!

Thanks so much for all the kind comments about my card!  It is time to announce the winner of my blog candy!  

Random.org chose #15

JustYolie who said  "Cute picture! Adorable card too!"

Please contact me via e-mail at alwaysdeeper {at} hotmail {dot} com with your mailing address so I can get your beautiful glitz gel and shapes out to you :)

  

Thanks again to everyone who commented!  It really does make my day a little brighter to read your encouraging comments.
For more information about my 11/11/11 SALE and 3-day Thanksgiving Sale see post here.

And don't forget about my GIVEAWAY :)  **we are less than ten followers away from another giveaway!**

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Holiday Wishes & November sales

Close to my Heart is offering this beautiful stamp set for only $5!!!  From now until November 30th you can get this set for $5 with a $25 stamp* purchase.  I'm so excited to get this set myself - I love it!!

This set coordinates with the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (images outlined in red can be cut out on the Cricut) and the exact sizing you need will be printed on the packaging!  To get what you need to make all your beautiful holiday projects click HERE or CONTACT ME to place an order.

I'm also doing a 3-day  Thanksgiving SALE!  Lots of free items (like ink pads, paper packs, and stamp sets - all your choice) with purchases

• $25-50 purchase get a FREE ink pad or marker of your choice (up to $5.25 value)
• $51-$75 purchase get a FREE size A stamp set or cardstock shade pack your choice                   (up to $7.95 value)
• $76-$100 purchase get a FREE size B stamp set or paper pack of your choice (up to $9.95 value)
• $101 - $149 purchase get a FREE size C stamp set or cardstock color pack (up to $15 value)
• $150 or more purchase get $25 in FREE select product and a size D stamp set of your choice 

Some levels include the Holiday Wishes stamp set for FREE and other FREE items
Plus a drawing for a Free How-To Book 

or

Workshop on the Go

This sale is by e-mail invite ONLY so you must contact me to participate :)
To take advantage of these sales and for more information please sign up for my monthly newsletter or e-mail me at alwaysdeeper {at} hotmail {dot} com.

*Stamp of the Month, K-size customized name stamps, Cricut® Art Philosophy collection, and Workshops on the Go™ kits do not count toward a qualifying purchase. Offer valid October 27–30, 2011. Tax and shipping apply. You may buy one Holiday Wishes stamp set for every $25 in qualifying stamp sets you purchase.

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Fabric Pumpkins

I know these have been floating all over the web recently but I wanted to make them anyway and share it with you :).  I found them first I believe on pinterest.  

Danielle's tutorial on the Thompson Family blog was super easy to follow!

Danielle's pumpkins

My pumpkins

The Materials Needed: 

fabric (any colors will do - I got three shades of orange, a green and a brown, each for $.99 at Joanne Fabrics and had enough to make 16 pumpkins)

Thread, needle, scissors

Fiber fill (I got a large bag at Joanne's for $5 and still have 1/4 of a bag left over)

I figured out the total cost was $10 making the cost per pumpkin a whopping 62 cents!

mini pumpkins all lined up in a row :)  I gave one to each of my girlfriends in my Bible Study

Up close mini pumpkin

I added leaves to my pumpkins and made some green "gourds" too.  The leaves were simply cut out of the green fabric in a leaf shape and sewn onto the pumpkin by the stem.

    

Linking with 

Paper Playtime

Want over $400 worth of crafting materials for only $99?  More information here!

And don't forget about my GIVEAWAY :) 

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