Heart 2 Heart - Hello Sunshine

The challenge this week at Heart 2 Heart is Marker Madness. Pull out your markers and show us the magic that you can create with them! 

I am not a whiz with markers but I do my best... Shading has always been difficult from as I just don't see where it should happen. Some people have a natural ability to visualize things like that and that is most certainly a gift that I do not have. I simply follow the lines in a flower like the one I stamped below. I used 3 shades of pink - primarily the Bashful colour and 2 darker pinks to highlight the lined areas. I also went over the flower with the Clear Shimmer Brush in sections but that can only be seen in person (as usual). 

The ribbon on the card took me forever to do... adhering it down since it didn't have any wire in it was quite a task, especially since it was sheer. I liked the pattern on it and really wanted to use it for this card; same as the twine that I have had forever. 

This is the last challenge for September. You have until the end of the month to link up with this or any other Heart 2 Heart challenges - and you must use at least some Close To My Heart products in your creations. 

Be sure to enter the other challenges this month if you want to be a Heart 2 Heart Sweetheart ❤️

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Bashful Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock, Emerald Cardstock

Stamps: Kind Thoughts, Falling for You - Scrapbooking

Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Raspberry, Emerald

Accessories: Bashful Pearls, ShinHan Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush, Corner Rounder, Rose Embossing Folder, Foam Tape, Organdy Ribbon (not CTMH), Pink Twine (not CTMH), Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy, 

Alyson

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Holiday Expressions New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the New Product blog hop featuring products from the Holiday Expressions catalog. 

This catalog is packed with great products to highlight the fall and winter seasons and to celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I know you will see some fabulous projects on this blog hop, so let's get started. 

You should have arrived here from Janna Gray's blog. If you get lost, this is a circular blog hop and a list of all participants' blogs can be found on Melinda's Everitt's blog. 

I chose to create two Christmas cards using two different paper packs - one traditional and one not so traditional. Let's start with the not so traditional one. 

Cats & Bats is a Halloween themed paper pack. I am not a fan of Halloween so I usually don't even purchase the paper pack but I really liked the green shades in this paper pack and thought I could work with them. This is a Christmas card created with some of the papers from that paper pack, along with a few other products. 

The second card is created using the Beary Christmas paper pack. This is a traditional Christmas paper pack - red, green, white and a few other colours. I focused on the traditional colours with the Glacier patterned paper as my background and added a few gold embellishments. 

I hope you enjoyed my projects. 

The next blog on the hop is Sheila Bennett's blog.

I'm sure she has something wonderful to share with you. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart 

Paper: Cats & Bats Paper Pack, Beary Christmas Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock, Silver Foil Paper, Silver Glitter Paper

Stamps: Merry Christmas, Prince of Peace

Inks: Willow, Cranberry

Accessories: Artistry Cartridge, Artbooking Cartridge, Cats & Bats Dots, Tree Line Border Thin Cut, Basics Ribbon Pack, Foam Tape, Gold Glitter Gems, White and Gold Twine, White Twine

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Atlantic Hearts 230 - Grateful Flowers

Another great sketch at Atlantic Hearts... With autumn starting to turn the leaves to colour in my area, I wanted to do a card with autumn colours and gold is such a perfect fit with the oranges and yellows. I didn't add any red or deep orange to this card as I wanted the focus to be a little more subdued. 

The flowers are triple stamped using a new stamp set called Beautiful You and layered on top of the leaves. I set apart the layer background for the sentiment rather than just piling the pieces on top of each other - I just thought it looked more interesting. The background is created using a SU embossing folder. 

Join us at Atlantic Hearts and show us your interpretation of the sketch shown above. You have until Sunday evening to link up you project. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Saffron Cardstock, Fern Cardstock, Gold Foil Paper
Stamps: Beautiful You, Little Leaves, Treasure Life (ret.)
Inks: Fern, New England Ivy, Canary, Saffron, Goldrush
Accessories: Beautiful You Thin Cuts, Thin Foam Tape, Gold Pearls, Basic Ribbon Pack, White and Gold Ribbon, Hardwood Embossing Folder (not CTMH) 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Cross-Canada - HE New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the Cross-Canada Bog Hop where we are featuring new products from the Holiday Expressions catalog this month. This awesome catalog went live as of September 1st and there is so much goodness to be had - paper packs and stamps plus accessories to highlight Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas! 

If you have landed here from Brae's blog, you are in the right place. If you want to start at the beginning and follow this blog hop from one side of Canada to the other, then start at Michelle's blog. 

I chose to create a Joy Fold Card. This is a flip sort of card. It is hard to add a lot of dimension to a card like this because if there is much dimension on the inside, it will not close properly. My goal with this card was to feature the Beary Christmas Paper pack and the Beary Christmas - Cardmaking stamp set. I wanted to use every image in the stamp set and I did just that. The stamp set is also available with a set of Thin Cuts, which I also put to use. 

If you are looking for a guide to create a Joy Fold Card, I used the one from Splitcoast Stampers, found here. 

The front of my card features the wreath and one of the sentiments from the stamp set. The berries and the word Joy have been brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush but that doesn't show in the photos. The Happy Holidays at the bottom actually has a special purpose... It is partly adhered with foam tape and is holding the top layer down so it doesn't open up on its own. 

The next photo shows the card partly opened up. You can see the side panel after the front panel is pulled out from under the Happy Holidays tab. I have placed a tree with a star there - and yes, I fussy cut all of those little red circles from the stamp set! No cheating here. They have all been brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush, as has the star, but that just doesn't show in the photos. 

The final photo shows the card fully open. There is a place to write in the centre and another decorated space as well. I suppose something else could have been placed on the far left panel but I thought the paper was busy enough as it was. 

This card is remarkably simple to do - it looks hard but can be very impressive, depending how far you choose to take your embellishments. 

I hope you enjoyed my project. 

The next blog on the hop is Jessica's blog. I'm sure she has something wonderful to share with you. 

Please plan to join us again next month!

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Beary Christmas Paper Pack, Cranberry Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock

Stamps: Beary Christmas - Cardmaking

Inks: Cranberry, New England Ivy, Canary, Glacier

Accessories: Beary Christmas Thin Cuts, Clear Sparkles, ShinHan Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Piercing Tool

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Colour Dare 261 - Hidden in the Birch Trees

Welcome to another challenge at Colour Dare - and it's an interesting one! Filled with warm neutrals this week, it sure challenged me! These are definitely not my go-to colours for anyone who knows me but it made me think and I had to do some serious looking around and find a different way to approach this challenge.  

I finally decided on a blending of the three neutrals - which was not as easy as it may seem. Nutmeg is a very dark colour and bending it with anything is difficult. I masked the sun and the clouds (I inked the sun first) and then began the blending process with Almond, Toffee and Nutmeg. The deer was cut from the Artfully Sent cartridge, as were the birch tree pieces. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the colour scheme shown above. Be sure you use ALL and ONLY the colours shown. You have TWO weeks to link up your project. The due date for this challenge is 10pm EST on Sept. 28. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Basics Paper Pack (Almond for the birch trees), White Daisy Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Nutmeg Cardstock
Stamps: Holiday Tags (ret.)
Inks: Almond, Toffee, Nutmeg, Canary
Accessories: Artfully Sent Cartridge (ret.), Nestabilites Oval Dies (not CTMH), Thin Foam Tape, Foam Tape, ShinHan Marker, Sponges

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Heart 2 Heart - Christmas Window Card

The challenge this week at Heart 2 Heart is negative space. For some reason, I really struggled with this challenge. I had various ideas in mind but none of them seemed to work - whether it was my brain just not putting them together properly, I'm not sure. I finally decided to do something very simple and just opted for a window card that can be a beautiful option in itself. 

The flowers and greenery were stamped and fussy cut from a new stamp called Prince of Peace. The window was created on my Cricut and sized to fit the sentiment I wanted to use and then sliced to accommodate that accordingly. The sentiment was stamped on the inside of the card and embossed in silver.

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you create using negative space - there are SO MANY ways to do this! 

This challenge and all September challenges are open until the end of the month!

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Bear Christmas Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock
Stamps: Prince of Peace, Merry Christmas
Inks: New England Ivy, Versamark
Accessories: Cricut - Basic Shapes, Red Enamel Gems, Clear Sparkles, Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, ShinHan Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush, Thin Foam Tape, Foam Tape

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Atlantic Hearts 228 - Thankful Fall Flowers

It is getting to that most beautiful season of the year - autumn in Ontario. The days are cooler and there has already been hints of frost in local areas. Furnaces are starting to come on overnight... I LOVE IT! It's my favourite season of the year. 

One of the new paper packs in the brand new Holiday Expressions catalog is called Falling for You and it is the perfect autumn collection - filled with fall colours and patterns. I chose to use that paper pack and one coordinating stamp set to create my card for the Atlantic Hearts sketch challenge this week. 

I also rotated the sketch 90 degrees and added my sentiment to the bottom. The background was created by inking an embossing folder and then placing a piece of White Daisy cardstock inside and running it through my embossing machine. It produced this gorgeous background. 

 I did brush the flowers with the Gold Shimmer Brush - here is a close up to show that.

And this week's sketch...

Come and join us at Atlantic Hearts and show us your interpretation of this week's sketch. You have until Sunday evening to link up your project. 

Products used are Close To My Heat unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Falling for You Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Fern Cardstock, Goldrush Cardstock

Stamps: Falling For You - Scrapbooking, A Little Thanks (ret.)

Inks: Pewter, New England Ivy, Espresso, Toffee

Accessories: Falling For You Thin Cuts, ShinHan Markers, Gold Shimmer Pen, White and Gold Ribbon, Gold Glitter Dots, Leaf Embossing Folder (not CTMH)

Enjoy, 

Alyson

September Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to September's Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month, we are featuring the stamp set 

"Feel So Blessed" - a set of 26 stamps. This is a wonderful stamp set for this time of the year as our Canadian Thanksgiving holiday is coming up early in October and the leaves will be changing before long, making everyone think about the beauty that surrounds us. The sentiments in this stamp set are all about gratitude - a theme that is always at the top of the list in the autumn season. The bloggers along this blog hop will certainly show you many ways to use this stamp set, so sit back and enjoy the tour. 

You should have arrived here from Corinna Murphy's blog. 

If you get lost, a list of all blogs can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog. 

The stamp set looks like this.

I expect many of the bloggers along with way will choose to use autumn based colours. I chose a completely different route and used softer colours. I used the main sentiment and surrounded it with an image, cut twice, from Flower Market. I stamped the image on vellum and heat embossed it and then turned that into a scroll. Everything is set on top of the silver foil paper that is embossed. It is very hard to photograph that foil paper without getting shadows... I also brushed the flowers with the clear shimmer brush. 

This shows a bit of the shimmer on the flowers. 

I hope you enjoyed my project. 

The next blog on the hop is Brandi Robinson's blog. 
I'm sure she has something wonderful to share with you. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Bashful Cardstock, Silver Foil Paper, Vellum

Stamps: Feel So Blessed

Inks: Willow Pigment Ink

Accessories: Flower Market Cartridge, Bashful Pearls, Clear Shimmer Brush, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Rose Embossing Folder

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Color Dare 259 - Birthday Wreath card

It's a bold and bright week at Colour Dare - also with a new palette appearance! The selected colours this week are ones that are bright and cheery and I wanted to do something a little different. 

I went to the Flower Market cartridge and decided on a wreath and flowers. The hardest part of this was the little purple flowers... I used the new two-sided Pansy cardstock - the back for the flower base and the lighter side for the front. That front piece is very difficult to line up! Gold glitter paper was used behind the Goldrush flowers to show through the holes. 

The optional gold was a perfect touch - a few sprigs of branches and the glitter gems added a nice touch. I had a hard time adding black but it was used on the frame of both the card base and the sentiments. 

Join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the colour palette shown above. 
Isn't it easier to read and interpret than the previous stack of ink pads?
 You now have TWO weeks to link up your project so the due date for this challenge is 
Thursday, September 14 at 10pm EST. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Emerald Cardstock, Pansy Cardstock, Goldrush Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Gold Glitter Paper
Stamps: Tulip (not CTMH)
Inks: Pansy, Emerald
Accessories: Flower Market Cartridge, Gold Glitter Gems, Adventure Ribbon Pack

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Heart 2 Heart - Inspiring Quote

This week at Heart 2 Heart, we are opening the floodgates and giving you all the options in the world because the challenge is "Anything Goes, CTMH Style"! As long as you use some Close To My Heart products in your project, anything is fair game. 

I went back to one of my favourite stamp sets for this challenge. It is a stamp that is retiring in just a few days and I will miss it terribly but that doesn't mean I can't still use it! I only means that it won't be available to purchase after August 31st, so if you want it, make sure you get it before that time! That's the floral set that I used. The sentiment is from a brand new stamp called Inspire and I love that one as well! 

This card design is one I found on Pinterest but I didn't save the card and I couldn't find the pin again so unfortunately, I can't credit the original artist withe the design. I love the double window but it took some very careful measuring to make sure that it was placed exactly in the right spot. 

I did brush the flowers with the Clear Shimmer Brush - those details can be seen in the photo below. 

Join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you use ANY of the Close To My Heart products. This is the week to do just that as this challenge is open to any use of CTMH products. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Pixie Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock
Stamps: Keep Dreaming, Inspire
Inks: Willow, Tuxedo Black Memento Ink
Accessories: ShinHan Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush, Foam Tape, White Pearls

Enjoy, 
Alyson



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