September Stamp of the Month BLOG HOP and Tuesday Tutorial

Welcome to another Close To My Heart Blog Hop! (I hope you're not sick of these yet; I love 'em!!!) If you came from Laurie's blog, you're hopping right along. This hop is showcasing the beautiful September stamp of the month, Treasures. This set of 13 includes two large and two small flower images (the largest and smallest on my card), a flower stem, a small heart, and seven sentiments The sentiments are You are my sunshine; Make a wish...; thank you; trust your heart; It is when you give of yourself that you truly give; Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves; and the winds of change bring treasures unknown... embrace change. Three of these sentiments are in whimsical shapes. From here, hop on to Carol's blog (but leave me a comment before you go please)!

My card is loosely based on the Wishes sketch "Simple Statement." I just had to use the dandelion stamps and the "Make a wish..." sentiment because when my daughter was little, she called dandelions "wishes." (That still makes me smile.) I used the new Sweet Home paper pack with Heavenly Blue and Garnet inks. The white card base was too stark, so I sponged it with Heavenly Blue, stamped a few of the dandelion "puffs" randomly on the base, and distressed it with the Edge Distresser.

Can you see the sparkle on my focal image? I mixed equal parts white embossing powder and prisma glitter to create a bit of dazzle. Here's how you heat emboss:
1. Stamp image with embossing ink or Versamark ink. (The powder will cover the image completely with these inks; regular ink doesn't hold the embossing powder as well.)
2. Pour embossing powder onto image. (It will stick to the stamped images.) Tap or brush off any excess. (I keep a small watercolor paintbrush with my embossing supplies to brush off any stray powder.)

3. I like to hold my paper with a wooden clothespin to protect my fingers. Be sure you don't touch the powdered image though.

3. Crank up your heat tool and then point it at the powdered image. You can heat from the top or from the bottom. (If I have excess powder, I like to blast the powder from the front.)

4. Watch carefully and like magic the powder will begin to melt. Keep moving that heat tool around so you don't scorch your paper. You'll know when it's done!

I finished off my card with Heavenly Blue ribbon stapled onto the sentiment, a croteched flower from the White Daisy Mini Medley collection attached with a Heavenly Blue brad, and a Heavenly Blue button (from the Spring button collection).

If you've read this far, thanks for sticking with me! LOL Be sure to continue on the September stamp of the month blog hop to Carol's blog. If you get lost or have to hop off, you can always come back here to my earlier post that lists each participant. Thanks again for stopping by and for hopping along with us! Come back tomorrow to see the gorgeous creations my swappers made. Thanks!