TSOT #421 - Birthday Wishes

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

I stayed true to the sketch again this week - only pulling my long strips all the way to the left side as I thought my card looked more finished that way than with them sort of hanging in the centre. 

I chose to use a Close To My Heart paper pack called True Love - the background paper is very busy so the other patterns I chose were more subtle in nature. I backed all the patterned paper with cardstock to help set it apart from each other. The sentiment was stamped on a patterned piece of paper that is very light so it shows up well. I used two stamp pads - Eggplant and Sapphire - and rocked and rolled the sentiment so both colours would appear on the image. Some twine was added along with gems that were coloured to match the papers. 

I am also entering my card in the Double Trouble challenge this week. The main challenge is a recipe challenge: to use at least 3 colours, 2 design papers and 1 sentiment. 

I used more than 3 colours, more than 2 design papers but just the one sentiment. 

Come and join us at Try Stampin' on Tuesday and show us how you interpret the sketch shown above. 

You have until Sunday, August 25 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: True Love Paper Pack, Sage Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Eggplant Cardstock, White Daisy Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: Card Captions

Inks: Sapphire, Eggplant

Accessories: Sapphire Crochet Thread, Black and White Dots, Basic Circle Tag Thin Cuts, Foam Tape, Touch Marker (not CTMH), Stitched Circle Dies (not CTMH) 

Enjoy,

Alyson

H2H - Adventure Awaits

Welcome to this week's challenge at Heart 2 Heart! 

The theme this week is Adventure Awaits. Since summer is here in Canada, all sorts of adventures are possible, along with the adventures that can occur during vacations. 

I chose to create a card using the Close To My Heart Multi-Circle Window die. I love that I was able to place all sorts of elements related to adventures in the windows. 

Adventure to me makes me think of outdoor activities - camping, hiking, trail-walking, exploring, etc. I chose everything from a mountain to a tent, a marshmallow on a stick, leaves, flowers, evergreen trees, a tree background... all outdoor-related items. I coloured some of them and others just needed to be stamped and that was it. The background piece is from the Into the Wild paper pack and was mounted on White and then New England Ivy Cardstock. The sentiment "Live in the Moment" is so true - if we don't do things now, we never seem to get around to them! 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you interpret the theme of Adventure Awaits. You have until the end of August 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: Into the Wild Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock

Stamps: Lifetime of Happiness, Grateful Heart Cardmaking, Bunches of Joy, Camping Life

Inks: Ruby, New England Ivy, Toffee, Black, Pewter, Sage

Accessories: Multi-Circle Window Thin Cut, Touch Markers (not all CTMH), Sharpie Markers (not CTMH) 

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD 355 - Stitched Flower Birthday

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge #355!

This week, we have a colour palette taken from the Love of Colour Book. Please note the neutrals that are included on the palette plus Black and White are also allowed. 

I decided to pull out some old Fundamental paper since it had the Espresso background on it. I coloured in the remaining parts using markers in four of the colours from the palette - Candy Apple, Goldrush, Fern and Glacier. 

Using a background of Candy Apple and Glacier, I cut apart the coloured background and placed it on the Glacier checkered paper. Then it was time to create the flower. This was an idea that a fellow Design Team member did a couple of weeks ago. Miss Carrie's Creations showed how to create these gorgeous multi-stacked flowers using vellum and a fringe at the top. I added a small sentiment and bow that finished off my card. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the colour palette shown above. 

You have two weeks to enter your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: Basic Fundamentals, Central Park Paper Pack, Candy Apple Cardstock, Goldrush Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Fern Cardstock (all CTMH), Vellum (Misc.), Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Short and Sweet (CTMH)

Inks: Goldrush, Espresso, Fern

Accessories: Stitched Flowers Thin Cuts, Decorative Border Thin Cuts, Glacier Twine, Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Clear Shimmer Brush (all CTMH), Touch Markers, Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 328 - Life is Better with Friends

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch #328!

This is an interesting sketch with a lot of possibilities. 

The image can be whatever you want it to be so I chose a partial shaker and some leaves 

coming from the shaker. 

I used a standard circle shaker and cut it off at the 3/4 point - easier said than done as additional foam tape had to be added and the edge had to be cut evenly which isn't easy when taping is involved. I stamped the leaf images inside the shaker as well. The leaves are from an Altenew stamp set called Leaf Canopy - involves two step stamping. I took it one step future and added some darker ink on the edges of the leaves. 

I chose a border from the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge and placed silver glitter paper underneath as I wanted to emboss the sentiment in silver so it would be a good match. I used some silver glitter gems and silver embellishing thread to add some extra detail to my card. 

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 as follows: 

Paper: Happy Times Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Silver Glitter Paper, White Cards and Envelopes (all CTMH)

Stamps: Leaf Canopy (Altenew)

Inks: Bluebird, Carolina, Sapphire, Versamark (all CTMH)

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Silver Glitter Gems, Silver Embellishing Thread, Loose Silver Sequins, Shaker Window and Confetti Thin Cuts, Shaker Window Foam and Acetate (all CTMH), Leaf Canopy Dies (Altenew), Blue Sequins (Unknown), Rectangular Stitched Dies (GMD), Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

You & Me Layout

A good friend has a birthday coming up and I wanted to do something special for her. She and her daughter spend a lot of time together and I just adore the two of them. The photo that I chose for this layout is one that was posted on Facebook - and she has no idea that this gift is coming her way! I am hoping that she will hang it in a special place in her home. 

I chose to use the Sweet Girl paper pack from Close To My Heart to create the layout. The papers coordinate perfectly and to avoid any conflict with the photo, I changed it to black and white. I also softened it slightly. 

The flowers were cut from the Flower Market Cricut cartridge, as was the title. Those roses... they take a long time to assemble! They were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush after being edged with Ballerina ink. It's a little difficult to differentiate between the Peach and Ballerina colours in this layout - since I hand stitched all around the edges, the layout didn't lay perfectly flat for me so it was easier to photograph it when it was mounted in the frame. The roses are Ballerina (very light pink) and the daisy tops are Peach, as is the background. 

There is twine running above the banner although that is almost impossible to see as I added silver glitter gems between each piece. I also went way back to find the sparkle flourishes to place beside the flowers as they add such a great finishing touch. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Sweet Girl Paper Pack, Sapphire Cardstock, Peach Cardstock, Ballerina Cardstock, Fern Cardstock, Heather Cardstock

Stamps: none

Inks: Ballerina, Peach, Sapphire, Heather, Fern

Accessories: Flower Market Cricut Cartridge, Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, Cricut Basic Shapes (not CTMH), Silver Glitter Gems, Mink Twine, Silver Sparkle Flourishes, Foam Tape, Clear Shimmer Brush, Blue Embroidery Floss and Needle (not CTMH), Stitching Guide, Sponges, Sponge Daubers, Sharpie Marker (not CTMH) 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Birthday Flowers and a New Design Team

Welcome to Try Stampin' on Tuesday's weekly sketch! 

Yes, I am now a member of the Try Stampin' on Tuesday Design Team and I am 
thrilled about that! 

This week's sketch is all about the squares (or rectangles if you wish...)

I stayed true to the sketch. I chose a retired Close To My Heart paper pack called Happy Times along with the coordinating stamp set for the flowers. I love the colour combination of yellow and turquoise/mint. I did add a sentiment right under the top square. The sequins were coloured to match the flowers and stems and randomly placed to form a ground cover for the flowers. I used a clear shimmer brush on the flowers to add some interest. 

Come and join us at Try Stampin' on Tuesday and show us how you interpret the sketch 
shown above. 

You have until Sunday, August 11th 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, Lemon Cardstock, Mint Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Happy Times, A Bunch of Love

Inks: Lemon, Mint, Lagoon

Accessories: White Sequins, Clear Shimmer Brush, Thin Foam Tape, Sharpie Markers (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson 

Sunburst Floral Card

It's time... time to get back to a couple of challenges. 

This card is based on a card I found on Pinterest because when I saw it, I loved it! The original creator of the design that I found was Melodie Viljoen. I loved the sunburst with the wreath around the main circle. 

I used a template from the Artbooking Cricut cartridge for the sunburst and adjusted it to fit the size of my card. The wreath was created using the Flower Market Cricut cartridge. The papers for the sunburst are from the CTMH Mix-in paper pack. I chose the colours that I did because I am entering the Three Amigos challenge and it was the colours from their mood board (shown below) that inspired my choice of colours for this card. I splattered two colours of paint on the sunburst part to add some interest. 

The flowers were stamped, coloured and die cut. The main flower was brushed with a clear shimmer brush to add some sparkle. A bit of foam tape and some coloured gems finished off the card. 

This close-up shows the shimmer on the main flower. 

This is the mood board for the Three Amigos challenge.

It saddens me that this is the last challenge at Three Amigos - it ends on July 31. So sorry to see good things come to a close, but the three ladies there have done a fabulous job with that challenge! 

I am also entering this card in the Double Trouble challenge - all three components: 

Thing 1: Something, Anything and Everything (use your stuff) 

Thing 2: Link up with any previous challenge with which DT has paired previously 

               (I chose Three Amigos)

Thing 3: Create something with sun (I used a sunburst) 

Products used are all Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Mix-in Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Almond Cardstock, Ballerina Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Floral Delivery, Wordfetti

Inks: Intense Black, Lagoon

Accessories: Artbooking Cartridge, Flower Market Cartridge, Watercolour Paints, Waterbrush, Touch Markers (some CTMH), Sharpie Markers (not CTMH), Clear Shimmer Brush, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Clear Sparkles 

Enjoy,

Alyson

H2H - Borders

Welcome to this week's Heart 2 Heart challenge! 

Borders, borders, borders... they surround things, outline things, separate things. Borders are dividers of something - be it colours, patterns, even countries, provinces or states. 

"On the Border" is this week's theme - and I decided to use a set of rectangular stitched dies to create my card for this challenge. 

I selected some cardstock in rainbow colours and went to work, cutting rectangles with stitched border dies. I wanted Lemon yellow to end up in the centre so I worked backwards from that colour. I had to eliminate some colours as I only had so many rectangles... 

This card came together very quickly as there was no stamping or inking involved - simply die cutting and then gluing the pieces together. I love how the stitching along the rectangles sets each rectangle apart from the next. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you use borders in your project.

You have until the end of July to enter this or any of the other July challenges. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Lemon Cardstock, Nectarine Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Pansy Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, White Daisy Cards and Envelopes (all CTMH)

Stamps: none

Inks: none

Accessories: Stitched Rectangles (SSS), Hugs Die (Calligraphy Pop)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare #353 - Purple Rules!

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge #353 where purple rules! 

Yes, this week it is all about purple so if you are a fan of shades of purple, this is YOUR week (actually 2 weeks since the challenge is open for 2 weeks)!

I waned to try something new so I pulled out my re-inkers and some rubbing alcohol and went to work. So where is it, you ask? Well... the end results weren't as wonderful as I anticipated, although my purple fingers will last for several days, I'm sure. I tried a variety of things but I did learn that some purples have very strong green undertones and since green is not permitted in this challenge, those samples were not usable. 

I decided to switch to watercolours instead. After experimenting with creating my own shades of purple, I used one of those and two that were already in the paint palette. Completely by accident, I put a paper towel on top of some wet paint and I liked the pattern it left behind so I painted a large card piece and while it was very wet, I placed a paper towel over top and then lifted it. That is how the pattern was created! After it dried completely, I cut the piece into 9 equal pieces and adhered them, being very careful to place them in the same pattern so as not to disrupt that flow. 

The die cut is from Memory Box and was cut twice - once in black and again in white - and adhered one on top of the other, slightly misaligned. I brushed the black one with the black shimmer brush first. The sentiment is done in reverse. 

This close-up shows the shimmer on the black foliage die. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you create using this purple palette. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create!

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Watercolour Paper (all CTMH), Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: none

Inks: none

Accessories: Watercolour Paints and Paintbrushes, Black and White Dots, Black Shimmer Brush (all CTMH), Fresh Foliage Die (Memory Box), Kindness Die (Calligraphy Pop)

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 326 - Framed Blooms

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch #326!

I love floral images - stamps and dies - and they are my first choice of images to use on a card if at all possible. I reached for the Love Booms stamp set for this card. There are two large images in that set and I chose one of them, stamped then fussy cut it. I embossed the image in black so the colouring wouldn't bleed plus I wanted a thick border as I didn't want to leave white space around the cut image. 

I chose a colour combination from the Love of Colour book from CTMH - fairly dark shades. The flower was coloured using the Sugarplum Shimmer Brush and a Glacier coloured marker. Using Heather (light side), Eggplant and Peacock cardstock, those sections were either stamped or embossed to add interest. The strip of Glacier cardstock allowed for a lighter background on which to stamp the sentiment. I also die cut two square frames to surround the floral image. 

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 as follows: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Heather Cardstock, Peacock Cardstock, Eggplant Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, White Daisy Cards and Envelopes (all CTMH)

Stamps: Love Blooms, In the Background (both CTMH), First Frost (SU)

Inks: Heather, Peacock, Eggplant, Black Pigment Ink (all CTMH)

Accessories: Artiste Cricut Cartridge, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Sugarplum Shimmer Brush, Sugarplum Glitter Gems (all CTMH), Square Stitched Dies (Gina Marie Designs), Rosy Posey Embossing Folder (Taylored Expressions), Mint Twine, Touch Markers (unknown)

Enjoy,

Alyson