Aurora Card Kit

One of the paper collections in the current Close To My Heart catalog is Aurora. These papers are perfect for outdoor activities, camping, etc. Of course, they can also be used for other purposes. 

There is also a card kit that uses these papers. These cards are created using that card kit. I did them exactly as per the instructions as I wanted to see how much paper, etc. was left over. There is a coordinating set of thin cuts for the stamp set as well. This kit makes 4 of each card design shown below. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Aurora Card Kit (includes Aurora patterned paper, White Daisy Cardstock, Glacier Cardsotck, Sapphire Cardstock, Sage Cardstock), White Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: Aurora Cardmaking Kit

Inks: Charcoal, Peacock, Glacier 

Accessories: Aurora Cardmaking Kit Thin Cuts, Mint Shimmer Brush, Thin Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

DIY Home Wreath

Part of the National Scrapbooking Month options with Close To My Heart is a beautiful wreath - this one with the centre word "Home". There is even a heart to replace the letter o in the word home. Everything to create this wreath is included in the package except adhesive.

There are 4 possible background patterns - I chose the most basic and lightest one as it goes best with my decor. The flowers and leaves as well as the bow come on punch out sheets, making is so easy to add them - no stamping, die cutting, etc. I outlined my flowers using a turquoise marker and added some Silver Stickles in the centres. I also painted the wreath using the Charcoal Shimmer Brush (it comes in wood form). The heart was traced so I could add some patterned paper on top of it. This wreath was easy to do and I had it all together in a couple of hours. It now hangs on my entrance door. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: Home Wreath Kit, Chelsea Gardens Paper Pack

Stamps: none

Inks: Charcoal

Accessories: Charcoal Shimmer Brush, Sliver Stickles, Tri-Blend Marker

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD #395 - Easel Birthday Card

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge #395! 

It's another tic-tac-toe board this week! The colours are taken from the CTMH Aurora paper pack but you can use any products, as long as the colours are a very close match. 

My tic-tac-toe runs two ways

- the centre row using Peacock, Evergreen and Silver 

- the diagonal of Sage, Evergreen and Sapphire 

I also used gold.

An easel card is not difficult to create - there are lots of tutorials online. I wanted a circular shape rather than the standard square, so I used scalloped circle dies to create mine. 

Since the colours in this palette are on the dark side, I decided to emboss the main sentiment in white so it would show up. The smaller images in front were stamped, coloured and fussy cut. They are adhered using foam tape to provide a stopper for the top section of the card. I coloured the tops of the cupcakes with a gold Wink of Stella pen - it added a bit of shimmer and interest. Some silver embellishing thread and silver gems were added to the top section of the card.

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the tic-tac-toe grid shown above. 

You have 2 weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Aurora Paper Pack, Sage Cardstock, Evergreen Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock 

Stamps: Birthday Joy, Birthday Hugs and Kisses

Inks: Intense Black, Versamark

Accessories: Nestabilites Scalloped Circle Dies, Nestabilites Circle Dies, Silver Embellishing Thread, Silver Glitter Gems, Silver Ribbon (misc.), White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Tri-Blend Markers, Gold Wink of Stella Pen (not CTMH), Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Stamped Floral Cards

I recently watched another video by Jennifer McGuire - this one showed how to stamp and die cut floral images to cross the centre of a card fold and then cut through the flowers. Each side can then be used on a separate card. 

I chose to use a three step stamped flower (and leaves) to do this. The images were stamped and die cut and then placed along the centre fold line. They were cut down the middle and then I added a thin strip of black cardstock. A sentiment was added to each, along with some enamel gems. These cards aren't difficult to create - it just takes time to stamp multiple layered images. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: To A Wild Rose (SU), Rooted in Nature (SU), Greetings Mix 1 (SSS), Peachy (Kaisercraft), 

Inks: Black, Pixie, Raspberry, Lilac, Pansy, Green Apple, Clover

Accessories: Wild Rose Thinlets, Black and White Dots

Enjoy,

Alyson

Blue Skies Card Collection

National Scrapbooking Month has so many opportunities to create - it seems that every creative company is putting out some product or theme for this paper crafting event. 

Close To My Heart has a beautiful package out called Blue Skies. There is patterned paper, embossed cardstock, stamp sets and dies and all sorts of guides to create scrapbook pages, mini albums or cards. The following photos are from the card workshop. There are a few other cards not pictured here but this is the majority of them. The colours are so bold and intense - I am in love with this collection! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Blue Skies Paper Pack, Blue Skies Coordinating Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: Beautiful Day, Say It In Style

Inks: Intense Black, Lagoon, Sapphire, Pixie, Candy Apple, Green Apple, Canary

Accessories: Beautiful Day Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Gold Glitter Gems, Gold Embellishing Thread, Thin Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Quilt Embossing Card

There is a really neat embossing folder put out by Close To My Heart - it has 6 different embossed patterns on it, forming a quilt. 

I decided to emboss 6 different cardstock colours and piece together a quilted card with various colours. I chose bold colours for my card. I used a stitched frame to outline each of the sections and stamped a circular sentiment and image for the front. Aside from cutting the embossed cardstock into smaller pieces, this card came together very quickly. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Lemonade Cardstock, Nectarine Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Green Apple Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Hello Friend 

Inks: Raspberry

Accessories: Multi-Square Window Thin Cut, Stitched Circle Dies (GMD), Quilt Embossing Folder, Tri-Blend Markers, White Pearls, Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Trouble 57 - Kraft and Kids

Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge #57!

It's a "krafty" challenge this time around - the main theme is to use Kraft cardstock in your project. Please see the image below for further information - and if you require any clarification, the complete description is on the Double Trouble challenge site.

Our partner challenge (Crafting Happiness) runs one week challenges so there are two weeks of entries possible. Week 1 is a kids theme and Week 2 is a red theme. This post is for WEEK ONE. 

Kids theme plus Kraft (week 1)

I never have occasion to create cards for kids so this was a challenge for me. I decided to use a punny stamp set with ewes - there are lots of ewe images and puns that go with them. This is the 

birthday one...

I layered 4 pieces of Sapphire patterned paper on a Kraft stitched background. The ewe was stamped, coloured and die cut. The sentiment was heat embossed for some added interest. After placing the centre rectangle straight, I decided I liked it better on an angle. The corners of the the sentiment were rounded and I added a few white dots. 

Come and join us at Double Trouble and show us how you interpret the challenge listed above. 

I am linking my cards to the Crafting Happiness challenge as well.

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Aurora Paper Pack, Mix-In Paper Pack (2 different ones), White Daisy Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Kraft Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Ewe are the Best (MFT)

Inks: Intense Black, Sapphire Pigment Ink

Accessories: Ewe are the Best Dies (MFT), Black and White Dots, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Tri-Blend Markers, Stitched Rectangles (GMD), Corner Rounder

Enjoy,

Alyson

H2H - National Scrapbook Month with a Bold Shaker Card

Welcome to Heart 2 Heart's weekly challenge! 

This week, since it is National Scrapbooking Month (NSM), Heart 2 Heart is having a National Scrapbooking Month challenge! National Scrapbooking Day was actually on May 2 but the entire month is dedicated to paper crafting. 

You do not have to create a scrapbook page - NSM is all about paper crafting and your project does not have to be a layout. I chose to create a card instead. Close To My Heart has a gorgeous paper pack, coordinating textured cardstock and stamps with thin cuts especially designed for this celebration! 

I chose to use the CTMH line of products (Blue Skies) to create my card. The paper pack has such bold and intense colours - I love it! 

I began by creating a shaker. I didn't want a standard circle or square so I chose a shape from the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. I needed enough room for the hot air balloon, the sun and some clouds. The sun and the balloon were stamped first and then masked to sponge the clouds. I created a cloud stencil a while ago (also using my Cricut) - it's so helpful! I chose a few sequins each of several coordinating colours for inside the shaker. The balloon was also brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush.

The NSM stamp set has lots of images including the flowers and leaves that I used on my card. I stamped and die cut what I needed, including extras for inside the card. The sentiment was stamped using two colours - Lagoon and Sapphire. The pieces were adhered and a few dots and sequins were added to the flower centres. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your project for National Scrapbooking Month. 

You have until the end of May to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Blue Skies Paper Pack, Blue Skies Co-ordinating Cardstock (Sapphire, Green Apple, Candy Apple), White Daisy Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock

Stamps: Beautiful Day, Blossoming Friendship 

Inks: Sapphire, Lagoon, Canary, Candy Apple, Green Apple, Intense Black 

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, Beautiful Day Thin Cuts, Tri-Blend Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush, Foam Tape, Seas the Day Dots, Silver Loose Sequins, Various Sequins (misc.)

Enjoy,

Alyson

May Technique Blog Hop

Welcome to the May Technique Blog Hop! 

This month, the technique is to use stencils. This can be done in several ways - I chose to create a background using a stencil and texture paste as well as a second card using a stencil with inks. 

You should have arrived here from Lauren Moore's blog.

I originally had a different card ready for this blog hop and changed my mind a few days ago. The other card is posted along with details below.

I mixed some texture paste with the Lagoon Shimmer Brush until I had a colour that I liked. Using a stencil I cut from the Artbooking cartridge, the paste was applied over the stencil. While that dried, I stamped the two little sentiment pieces and mounted them. The word "happy" and two stitched rectangles were die cut. One rectangle was offset and the sentiment follows that line. I added a few black dots to finish off the card.  

Here is my original card for this blog hop...

I began by cutting a pattern from the Artooking Cricut cartridge on a stencil sheet. That was adhered to my white cardstock and I used two shades of purple - Lilac and Thistle - to create the background. I blended the colours together using sponges. Once that was finished, I random stamped floral and splotch images onto a piece of Green Apple cardstock. The flowers and leaves were coloured and the piece was cut on an angle. The hummingbird and flowers were stamped, coloured and die cut. I added shimmer to the flowers as well as stickles in the centres. Some ribbon and a few gold gems and this card was finished! 

I hope you enjoyed my cards. 

The next blog on this hop is Judy Faye Garner's blog. 

I'm sure she has something amazing to share with you! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Green Apple Cardstock, Lilac Cardstock, Thistle Cardstock

Stamps: Stitched Together Cardmaking, Sweet Hummingbird, A Million Little Things 

Inks: Intense Black, Black, Lilac, Thistle, Green Apple

Accessories: Artbooking Cricut Cartridge, Stencil Sheets, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Stitched Together Cardmaking Thin Cuts, Texture Paste, Sponges, Sweet Hummingbird Thin Cuts, Tri-Blend Markers, Gold Skinny Ribbon, Gold Glitter Gems, Clear Shimmer Brush, Lagoon Shimmer Brush, Golden Rod Stickles, Black and White Dots

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT #457 - You're Awesome

Welcome to this week's Try Stampin' on Tuesday challenge! 

The additional theme this week is dots and stripes as well as using the sketch. 

I went back to a retired paper pack to create my card - I wanted to use a colour scheme with just two colours as well as white. There were some striped and dot patterns in this paper pack so I was able to create a card and apply the extra theme. 

Most of this is pretty straightforward - just paper trimmer cuts with the exception of the circles. Those were die cut from Nestabilites dies. I chose to mount each section on cardstock for more emphasis. Three sequins were added to the finished card and that was it! 

Come and join us at TSOT and show us how you interpret the sketch shown above. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Happy Times Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Greetings Mix 1 (SSS)

Inks: Glacier 

Accessories: Circle Dies (Nestabilites), Scalloped Circle Dies (Nestabiliteis), I Heart Us Sequins, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson