AH 342 - Encouragement Card

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch #342!

Although the sketch is shown in horizontal orientation, I chose to create a card in vertical orientation instead. I used a variety of papers from both Graphic 45 and Bo Bunny to create the strips. The sentiment was stamped in black on Pansy Cardstock and then mounted on Teal Glitter Paper.  I went over the sentiment using the Black Shimmer Brush. A few pieces of twine were added along with some gems. This card came together easily. 

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

You have until Sunday evening 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: Peacock papers (Graphic 45), Teal Patterned papers (Bo Bunny), Back Cardstock, Pansy Cardstock, Teal Glitter Paper

Stamps: Rise Strong

Inks: Black

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Black Shimmer Brush, Turquoise Gems (unknown), Turquoise Twine (unknown), Purple Twine (unknown), Nestabilities Circle Dies, Nestabilities Sharp Circle Dies 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Silent Night Gatefold Card

I found this type of card on Pinterest - my favourite go-to site - and decided to recreate it using a stamp and die combination that I love. The inside of this card is a little different from a standard gatefold card - as you will see in the photos below. 

The only important measurements are the cutting and scoring of the base piece. After that, you can decorate it however you desire. 

I did this one in a 6"x6" format. The base piece for the card is 6"x12" and it is scored at 5-1/2" and 6-3/4" on one side. Flip the base over and score at 3" and 9" on the other side. That should help with the folding process. Beyond that, it is a personal choice for cutting mats for each piece. I also added mats to the reverse side for the purpose of writing a message. A belly band is easy to create and a 1-1/2" x 12" piece fits around this one as long as a larger piece is attached to the front to hold it together. 

The Cedar and Pine paper collection was perfect for what I wanted to do. Since there are some Toffee shades in that pack, it worked really well with the manger as it is a similar colour. I double matted all the front sections and then created the focal piece. The only important factor is that the centre piece cannot be wider than approx. 5-1/2" or the card will not close. I stamped and die cut the stable and manger, along with the dove. They were coloured as close to the colours in the paper pack as possible. I brushed the dove inside and the one on the front with the Clear Shimmer Brush.

I love how this turned out although I photographed it before I had added any embellishments... it was one of those nights - it was late and I was tired. Embellishments were added afterwards. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Cedar and Pine Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock

Stamps: Cedar and Pine Cardmaking Workshop (Holy Night), Hymns of Praise

Inks: Intense Black, Saffron, Evergreen

Accessories: Cedar and Pine Cardmaking (Holy Night) Thin Cuts, Tri-Blend Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

Nov/Dec Catalog New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the New Product Blog Hop for the November/December catalog! 

There are so many fabulous new products in this catalog including two Christmas paper packs, a bunch of new stamp sets and some other goodies. I am sure you will see a little bit of everything as you progress though this blog hop. 

You should have arrived here from Michelle Loncar's blog. 

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

I wanted to do something different for this blog hop. The vast majority of products in the catalog are related to Christmas but I wanted to create at least one project that was not Christmas related. 

This card uses the Birthday Greetings stamp set. There are terrific greetings for birthdays of all ages in this set. I chose one that would also work with candles as a border. I used one of the new SVG images to frame the sentiment - it was ungrouped as it also contains a Christmas sentiment and I only wanted the wreath part. The sentiment was stamped along with a background. The candle bases were coloured using one of the Tri-Blend markers, providing three shades on each candle. The candle tips were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush after they were coloured. 

My second card uses the other SVG file - the ornaments. I decided to create this in shades of blue. The Cricut cutting is very detailed, primarily for the hanging pieces. Merry & Bright is a mini stamp from this catalog and I embossed that using Sapphire Pigment Ink and Clear Detail embossing powder. The insides of the chevrons and the open circles without a Bitty Sparkle were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

I hope you enjoyed my cards. 

The next blog on this blog hop is Michelle Johns' blog. 

I am sure she has something awesome to share with you!

Products used are all Close To My Heart 

Paper: White Cards and Envelopes, White Daisy Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Julep Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Carolina Cardstock 

Stamps: Birthday Greetings, Strokes of an Artist, Mini Merry & Bright

Inks: Canary, Julep, Black, Sapphire Pigment Ink 

Accessories: Christmas Memories Digital Art, Ornaments Digital Art, Julep Velvet Ribbon, Tri-Blend Markers, Foam Tape, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Clear Shimmer Brush, Bitty Sparkles 

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT - Masculine Forest Scene

Welcome to Try Stampin' on Tuesday's Challenge #433! 

This week, there is a choice - use the inspiration photo, the sketch or both!

Since I had to create a masculine birthday card, it made sense for me to combine the two elements. 

I created the nature scene with three different stamps and I masked the deer first. The trees come from two stamp sets and a few were stamped in second generation to make the background look more realistic. I coloured the deer as well. The three elements on the side are set up the same although the bottom one had to be extended so the sentiment would fit. I added a few wood patterned sequins to the ends of each small tab. 

Come and join us at TSOT and show us how you interpret the sketch and/or the inspiration photo. 

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: Falling for You Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Goldrush Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: Nature's Wish, Always Grateful, Beautiful Things 

Inks: Espresso, New England Ivy, Goldrush

Accessories: Tri-Blend Markers, No Worries Sequins

Enjoy,

Alyson

H2H - Spirit of Christmas card

Welcome to this week's Heart 2 Heart challenge! 

It's all about the circle this time... one, two, three or multiples - you just need to use a circle in your project. 

I found a gorgeous card on Pinterest and decided to try the same idea. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to read the watermark to give credit to the original artist...  

I chose a white and silver colour scheme. I love white on white any time but it seemed to fit so well with this card. The pieces were all Cricut cut, including the circle base. However, this card took me a long time to create because I made error after error along the way. I embossed the sentiment on a piece of cardstock that I cut, rather than using the one that was Cricut cut... that meant I had to manually cut the circles from both the white overlay AND the card base. I suppose it would have been easier to just redo the sentiment but I thought it would be faster the other way. I was wrong! 

The holly leaves were cut in white and edged using a silver marker. I added a small die cut along the left side as well. After adding a bow, I then added silver gems where the berries are supposed to go. 

There is a silver foil piece mounted on the inside of the card to provide a backdrop for the open quatrefoil pattern. There is still room under that silver piece to write a message. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us you use circles.

You have until the end of November 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: White Daisy Cardstock, Silver Foil Paper, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Merry and Bright 

Inks: Versamark

Accessories: Cricut Basic Shapes Cartridge (not CTMH), Cricut Paper Lace Image (not CTMH), Cricut - Teresa Collins Dec.25 (not CTMH), Winterberry Sprig Die (Memory Box), Silver Ribbon (not CTMH), Silver Glitter Gems, Silver Embellishing Thread, Foam Tape, Silver Sharpie Marker (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

November SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to the November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! 

This is a circular blog hop so you can follow the links from wherever you begin and when you reach the same blog where you started, you will have finished the hop. If you get lost, a list of all participants can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog. 

You should have arrived here from Michelle Loncar's blog. 

The November SOTM is one with three large sentiments (suited primarily to scrapbooking) and some smaller images.

I chose to use some of the smaller images and one sentiment that really is part of a larger one (grateful) - "for you" - to create my project. 

Believe it or not, I have enough Christmas cards created at this time so I wanted to do something else. I used some non-Christmas patterned papers from the Cedar and Pine paper pack along with the Mix-In paper pack. The flower is a two-step stamp so I stamped the base using Peach and the lines using Smoothie as it was the best colour match. I brushed the lines with the Gold Shimmer Brush. The Saffron strip at the bottom was stamped with one of the border images. The sentiment was rocked and rolled to use two contrasting colours and then mounted on an oval with some gold embellishing thread placed behind. All the flowers and leaves were fussy cut and then edged with appropriate ink to hide the white lines. 

I hope you enjoyed my card!

The next blog on the hop is Krista Hershberger's blog.

I am sure she has something amazing to share with you! 

Products used are all Close to My Heart

Paper: Cedar and Pine Paper Pack, Mix-In Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Saffron Cardstock, Evergreen Cardstock

Stamps: Family Time

Inks: Peach, Smoothie, Saffron, Evergreen

Accessories: Gold Embellishing Thread, Gold Glitter Gems, Basic Oval The Cuts, Stitched Oval Thin Cuts, Gold Shimmer Brush, Sponge Daubers

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD 367 - Birthday Shaker

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 367!

We have a mixed colour palette this week - very autumn-like colours. I don't tend to send autumn cards but a friend has a birthday coming up shortly so this was a good opportunity to create for that purpose. 

I wanted to use an unusual shaped shaker on my card so I went to my Cricut and did some slicing to get the shape I wanted. I had a birthday sentiment in mind that would fit running up and down instead of across. On the photo, you can’t see the end of the word "birthday" as the sequins are covering it up... 

I used my water brush and ink pads to splatter some ink on the card front. The Every Little Thing - Scrapbooking stamp set has a beautiful large floral image that was perfect for my card. I stamped and coloured it and then fussy cut it out. I also used two of the tiny images to stamp inside the shaker as well. The shaker was embedded into the card and the floral image and ribbon were added on top. A few sequins were placed randomly as well. The lines of the flowers were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the colour palette 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: Documented Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Goldrush Cardstock, Peacock Cardstock

Stamps: Happy Birthday, Every Little Thing Scrapbooking 

Inks: Intense Black, Goldrush, Peacock

Accessories: Cricut Artiste Cartridge, Teal Ribbon (unknown), Waterbrushes, Teal, Clear, Green and Orange Sequins (misc.), Acetate (Staples), Foam Tape, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

Heartfelt Sympathy

I don't like when it comes time to create sympathy cards... I don't usually keep any on hand because when I have to create them, I like to make sure they fit the situation.

A close friend of mine just lost her father to a stroke - and that is situation to which I can relate as I lost my mom the same way. 

This card was created using the Know That I Care stamp set. I random stamped the background and then stamped the main floral image and the sentiment on white cardstock. The stamp has fill-ins for the flowers and it is designed to look like watercoloring. I tried to colour the leaves the same way. The floral image was mounted with foam tape to accommodate the ribbon underneath. 

I hope this will help to let her know that I am so sorry for her loss...

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Sage Cardstock, Thistle Cardstock

Stamps: Know That I Care

Inks: Pewter, Thistle, Sage

Accessories: Thistle Striped Ribbon, Little Dreamer Sparkles, Neatabilites Ovals, Nestabilites Scalloped Ovals, ShinHan Marker, Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

Folding Snowflake Card

I saw a folding card like this recently and decided to try one myself. There is such a neat effect when the card is opened! 

Since winter is around the corner, along with Christmas, I decided to use a snowflake theme. I love non-traditional colours for Christmas and Lagoon is one of my favourites. 

Using a standard size long-wise oriented white card base (what a mouthful...), a ribbon was centered and wrapped around the outside of the card. The layers were then attached on the front and on the inside. A piece of Lagoon cardstock was mounted on the back, simply to cover the ribbon. The thin Lagoon piece on the inside was folded in half and then in half again to allow for the open effect. It was adhered over the layers but right to the edge of the Lagoon cardstock. 

The squares were sized and adhered and then I cut the snowflakes using my Cricut machine. A very old stamp set, but one of my favourites - "Snow Flurries" - was used to stamp the words "love", "hope", "peace" and "joy" at the bottom of each square. In hindsight, I would stamp BEFORE adhering the squares. I stamped afterward and was lucky I didn't run into any problems. 

The front was decorated using snowflakes and a sentiment from the same stamp set. A few gems were added to the centres of the snowflakes. I didn't add any embellishments inside as it would make the card very difficult to close. 

I can see myself making more of these for various occasions. It is not a difficult card to create but I love the effect!

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Holly Jolly Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Teal Glitter Paper, White Glitter Paper

Stamps: Snow Flurries

Inks: Lagoon

Accessories: Cricut Cartridges: Art Philosophy, Artistry, Flower Market, You are Here, White Pearls, Little Dreamer Glitter Gems, Thin Foam Tape, Ribbon (unknown) 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Spooky Envelope

Welcome back to the Double Trouble Challenge!

This post is for the second week of the current challenge where I am a Guest Designer for the month of October. There are multiple parts to each challenge - Things 1, 2 and 3. Only Thing 1 is required to participate but it is always fun to try to incorporate all the elements of each section into your project. 

Thing 1 - "Don't leave. Come bat. Let's hang out!" All you have to do is choose at least three (3) of the seven (7) colours from my rainbow of All Bat Colours and create a project. In addition, black, white, gold and silver are free to use.

Thing 2 - Link up with the Crafting Happiness challenge. Watch the dates as the requirement for these challenges change each week. We are now on WEEK 2!
Oct. 21-27 - #19 - Halloween Colours - the Halloween colours don't have to be that of a Halloween project, just the colours of the event.

Oct. 28-Nov. 3 - #20 - Halloween - anything Halloween (cards, tags, treat bags, etc.) 

Thing 3 - "Thing 1 has bats in her belfry and is driving me batty!" 

Include something in your project that flies... bats, crows, butterflies, witches, batman, the raven "nevermore", or bat-ever you want. 

Since the link up with Crafting Happiness requires a Halloween card, I had to go to my Cricut as I don't have Halloween stamps. There are some great images there and I chose to create an envelope card with a card that slides out. The "envelope" part has a large cobweb on it and I adhered the word "Spooky" to that. Googly eyes and open mouths were added to each of the 

letter Os.

The inside card base was inked with 3 blue inks. I then added the Cricut images to form a frightful scene. The inside fits perfectly in the cobweb envelope. 

Come and join us at Double Trouble and show us your Halloween projects.

I am also linking up my card with Crafting Happiness as their theme this week is Halloween. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Nectarine Cardstock, Toffee Cardstock, Black Glitter Paper 

Stamps: none

Inks: Carolina, Bluebird, Glacier 

Accessories: Artbooking Cricut Cartridge, Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge, Cricut Basic Shapes, Googly Eyes (not CTMH), Journaling Pen, Black Shimmer Brush, Black Ribbon (not CTMH), Hole Punch

Enjoy,

Alyson