Card Captions Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our first blog hop for the year.
Did you arrive here from Shaunna's Blog?  Whether you are new here or a seasoned scrapper please enjoy hopping along to all of our blogs to see what we've been creating.  We love it when you leave us a comment too!

January's Stamp of the Month is an absolute must have.  I recommend a sentiments stamp like this one for every beginner scrapper/cardmaker.  It is a perfect addition to your "toolbox"

Confession time: I woke up super early this morning and rather than toss and turn got up and played while the rest of the house was asleep.  My daughter shares a bookcase partition with my scrapping room so I had to scrap on a corner of the kitchen table.  I crept in and grabbed a couple of blocks and my black ink and little tool caddy and the "Something Fierce" Workshop Your Way without waking her.
You may notice that all of my examples this month use only black ink and two blocks (a 1" block and a 1x3 1/2" block)  Most of my cutting was done just using my microtip scissors.  I know that this stamp set would work beautifully with any of the papers in our range but I wanted to keep to using Something Fierce.

I think I have mentioned before that I am big on teaching my kids gratitude.  We generally have a basket full of thank you cards easily accessible for them to write thank yous.  My son has recently lamented that "there are only girly cards left"  (meaning too many butterflies and flowers!) so these are to restock the basket.

Don't throw that sticker sheet away until you have thought about the bits that are left - the little zig zag borders are the bit left over after the stickers were removed.

Stamping directly onto the PML cutouts or pre-made journalling dies is a great way to add extra dimension to your work.

This stamp set is not just for sentiments - how cute is that little star?  I have been using "leftovers" from my Craft with Heart subscription as they coordinate perfectly with the feature paper pack for the month.

This one was made especially for a dear brave little girl who has an extended stay in hospital.  Paired with a set of our watercolours and a visual art diary it will be a perfect recovery present.

Sometimes it is great to have a couple of generic cards on hand.  This is perfect for a new job, new house, promotion, graduation, or any job well done!  I love the little dots to make an effective border.

Part of my strategy to get organised this year is to make Birthday cards for my friends and family and put them in a 12 month file under the month of their birthday.  If I mark in my diary the week I need to send cards (and to whom) then it should all work perfectly.  I will have two nieces turning three this year and one of them (Tiana) is sometimes affectionately known as Ti-Rex.

This is part of my strategy to send cards "just because"  All of my really best friends live interstate.  Catch ups are rare so when they do happen I want to be able to send a photo of that moment afterwards just so they know I am missing them!  Can you see the little scraps of cream paper under the dinosaurs? They are bits that are cut away from the sticker carrier sheet so that I can still stick my photo under the dinosaurs.

And I couldn't let you go without pointing out that this stamp set is not just for cardmakers!  Look at that border!? With sentiments like "hello" and "love you" it is also perfect for adding to your layouts.

So what do you think?  Hugely versatile and lots of fun.  The other thing I LOVE about this set is how easy Close To My Heart have made it for you to obtain it.  We have a brand new Seasonal Expression packed full of gorgeous new product.  Choose any of your favourite things up to $82.50 and this stamp is yours for only $8.50.  That is money well spent!

Happy New Year to you.
May your scrapping bring you joy this year!
Now click on this link to Doris' Blog to see what clever ideas she has been creating!
Keep smiling,
Nell