H2H - Copycat for a BIG Thank You!

Welcome to another Heart 2 Heart Challenge! 

This week, we are challenging you to find something in the Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog and make it your own - hence the title of the challenge, which is "Copycat". If you don't have a copy of the catalog, there is a link on the right side of my blog - it is the orange catalog - and you can browse the catalog there for ideas. 

I have been wanting to use one of the two large dies that were just introduced in this catalog - so I chose the A Big Thank You die. The sample project is located on page 69 in the catalog and it looks like this: 

I waned to do my project in a monochromatic theme, using shades of blue-green. I was able to use almost all current papers, except for one. I couldn't find a decent Lagoon pattern. The Adventure Fundamentals had the rose pattern and the watercolour pattern, neither which worked well here. I did use the watercolour pattern for the interior heart. I ended up going to the Calypso paper pack for the Lagoon piece as it looked the best. I found the Glacier papers in the Fresh Air and Central Park paper packs and the Peacock piece in the Documented paper pack. 

I played around with the placement of each piece and surprisingly, I like the Peacock piece on the top the best. I wasn't even going to use that paper as I thought it would be too dark. Sometimes, it takes trying different things to see what it looks like! I also used Black Glitter Paper for the background as it stands out more than just plain black cardstock. I added some black gems to one card and decided that they were too much and left them off the other cards. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us which artwork you decided to copy and then make your own. You have until the end of June to enter this or any of the June challenges. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Documented Paper Pack, Central Park Paper Pack, Fresh Air Paper Pack, Calypso Paper Pack (ret.), Adventure Fundamentals, Black Glitter Paper, White Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: none

Inks: none

Accessories: Black and White Dots, A Big Thanks You Die

Enjoy,

Alyson

SaveSave

With Sympathy

No-one ever likes to have to create sympathy cards - it is probably a good idea to have a handful of them on hand for occasion that call for one. 

This one is for a funeral coming up in a couple of days. I found the idea on Pinterest and it fit the situation perfectly. Simple and straightforward with a message inside the card. The flowers were stamped at varying heights to allow for the sentiment to be placed in the upper corner. Very easy and it came together pretty quickly. 

Hopefully, I won't have another one of these to do for a while... 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Thistle Cardstock, Whimsy Fundamentals (ret.)

Stamps: Flowering Fields (SU), Flourishing Phrases (SU)

Inks: Thistle, New England Ivy

Accessories: ShinHan Markers

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 297 - Just Because

Welcome to another Colour Dare Challenge! 

This week, it's an interesting colour combination... Glacier, Nutmeg and Sorbet. Being honest, two of these aren't my favourite colours and I rarely use them (Sorbet and Nutmeg) but together, they look really good because they both have orange undertones. Glacier has a blue undertone (obviously) and they work remarkably well as a group of three - I was very surprised. 

I embossed a piece of Nutmeg cardstock using a deep woodgrain embossing folder - unfortunately, that barely shows up in the photo. The Glacier piece along the bottom was punched using a border punch that I have had for ages and not used in years! I Cricut cut the doily behind the flower and I brushed the lines of the flower with the Clear Shimmer Brush. This card is so much prettier in real life than in the photo.

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the colours shown above. You have two weeks to link up your project. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Whimsy Fundamentals, White Daisy Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Sorbet Cardstock, Nutmeg Cardstock

Stamps: Say it All (ret.), Keep Dreaming (ret.)

Inks: Glacier, Tuxedo Black Memento Ink

Accessories: Artiste Cartridge (ret.), Woodgrain Embossing Folder (SU), Border Punch (not CTMH), ShinHan Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

Fold Down Card Box - Gimme Some Sugar

I love these fold down card boxes and the Gimme Some Sugar paper pack was one of my favourite paper packs from the previous catalog. I had just a few pieces of it left - just enough to create this box for the card set that I purchased from a friend and wonderfully talented fellow consultant - Brenda Rose. She designed the standard size and 3x4 size cards that are inside. I had to make envelopes to fit the 3x4 cards. Then I made 6 tags to fit in the smallest section. 

The large pink flowers have been brushed with the Bashful Shimmer Brush but it doesn't show in the photos. It is very noticeable in real life. 

I just love giving these sets of cards and tags away - creating them is so enjoyable and people are always so thrilled to receive them :) 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Gimme Some Sugar Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Bashful Cardstock, Juniper Cardstock, Bashful Glitter Paper, White Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: Short and Sweet, For You Darling, Chelsea Gardens - Cardmaking (ret.), Sending Smiles

Inks: Black

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Flower Market Cartridge, Bitty Sparkles, Clear Sparkles, Bashful Shimmer Brush, White Twine, White and Gold Ribbon, Pentel Pen (not CTMH), Stapler, Whimsy Ribbon Collection, Large Hole Punch (not CTMH), Juniper Ribbon (ret.), PML White Frame Overlays (ret.)

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 268 - Be Brave, Be Bold... Single Layer Card

Welcome to Challenge #268 at Atlantic Hearts! 

It's a very interesting sketch this week... if interpreted exactly, we will have a lot of birds in the challenge but remember - a sketch is a starting point only! 

I chose first to turn the sketch around 90 degrees. Second, I decided to replace the bird with a large sentiment and the pine branches with flowers and leaves that surrounded the sentiment. I still wanted the white space at the bottom and I wanted a small sentiment there as well - accomplished all of those things. I don't create single layer cards very often but the only embellishment on my card are little gems in the centre of the flowers. I also used just two markers - and simply doubled or tripled the colouring to darken some sections. I stamped using regular ink, so I had to be extra careful to try not to touch the lines as I was colouring to avoid bleeding. 

I actually wanted to colour the flowers red but there is that ever present dilemma that red flowers with green leaves will look like Christmas... Anyone else struggle with that? 

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

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock

Stamps: Beautiful You, Be You, Bamboo Roses (Altenew)

Inks: Peacock

Accessories: ShinHan Markers. Aqua Gems (ret.)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Who Needs Patterned Paper?

My card today uses cardstock only - and there are a lot of things that can be done using ONLY cardstock. I actually didn't do much - just dry embossed one piece and cut a few shapes using my Big Shot and did some colouring. It is amazing how much can be done without using patterned paper. 

And what inspired this card? Well, there is a new challenge out there called Double Trouble. This week, the challenge is to use NO patterned paper and the second part of the challenge is to use some sort of die cut on your project. I have done both of those things. There is also a third part and that is to link up with another challenge - Three Amigos - as they are hosting a die cut challenge - and I am doing that as well. Three for three! 

So, here is my card.

This photo shows the shimmer on the flowers. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Blossom Cardstock, Thistle Cardstock

Stamps: Beautiful Friendship - Cardmaking, Documented - Cardmaking

Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Willow

Accessories: Documented Cardmaking Thin Cuts, Spellbinders Decorative Circle Nestabilities (not CTMH), Rose Embossing Folder (Darice), ShinHan Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush, White Twine, Foam Tape, Sharpie Markers (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

H2H - Banner Day

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

It's all about the banners this week - and banners are hot in the paper crafting industry. They can be added in the form of chipboard, stickers, and often they are found on the paper themselves. They can be created using washi tape, or by cutting triangles or banner shapes yourself or using die cutting machines to help create unique ones that can be very sophisticated. They come in all shapes and sizes! 

At Heart 2 Heart, we are asking that you create a project that has some sort of banner. 

I chose to use paper that already had banners printed on it - how easy is that? The Beautiful Friendship paper pack has a few papers with banners printed on them - this is one of the PML cards that I trimmed a little bit to fit my card design. I used a pattern from Make It From Your Heart - Vol. 4. A sentiment can be added inside the card later. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your projects with banners. You have the entire month of June to enter this or any of the upcoming June challenges. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Beautiful Friendship Paper Pack, Silver Glitter Paper, Canary Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock

Stamps: Sweet Baby

Inks: Charcoal, Heather, Smoothie

Accessories: Grey Enamel Dots, Adventure Ribbon Collection, Thin Foam Tape, Foam Tape, Sweet Baby Thin Cuts

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 266 - Floral Wreath Birthday

Welcome to Week 266 at Atlantic Hearts! 

A wreath can be used for any occasion - and a birthday is as good an occasion as anything else! The wreath was cut from the Flower Market cartridge - twice for layering purposes. The flowers and leaves all come from the Beautiful Friendship - Scrapbooking stamp set and were all fussy cut. I don't very often ink the edges of anything any longer but I did with all the flowers and leaves, just to make them stand out a little bit more. I also brushed the darker lines with the Clear Shimmer Brush but that isn't noticeable in the photo here. Gems were placed in the centre of each flower - either from the Make Waves collection or the Gold Pearls. 

The sentiment is from a retired stamp called Balloon Wishes. 

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. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Adventure Fundamentals, Lemon Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Toffee Cardstock

Stamps: Beautiful Friendship - Scrapbooking, Balloon Wishes (ret.)

Inks: Pansy, Thistle, Lemon, Saffron, Sweet Leaf, Willow

Accessories: Flower Market Cartridge, Clear Shimmer Brush, Make Waves Accessories (ret.), Gold Pearls, Thin Foam Tape, Stitched Rectangle Dies (Gina Marie Designs)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Koala Baby Card

Here is the baby card to match the baby album that will be given as a gift in a couple of weeks. 

I love the koala as the focus. I coloured the koala in a couple of shades of light grey. The papers are from the retired paper pack, Georgie. A few coloured pearls, a yellow button and some retired ribbon finished off the card. The pattern is from Make It From Your Heart, Volume 4. 

Products are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Georgie Paper Pack (ret.), White Daisy Cardstock, Juniper Cardstock
Stamps: Cute Koala (ret.)
Inks: Juniper, Whisper (ret.), London Fog Memento Ink (not CTMH)
Accessories: White Pearls, ShinHan Markers, Yellow Ribbon (ret.), Yellow Button (ret.), Juniper Waxy Flax (ret.), Foam Tape

Enjoy,
Alyson

Heartfelt Thanks Card Kit

I was at a crop last weekend and spent my time creating card kits using one of the new stamps from the SE2 catalog - Heartfelt Thanks. The stamp is primarily a background stamp, designed to fit a standard size card. It didn't take long to stamp the backgrounds - it was the colouring that took much longer. 

I didn't intend to colour the entire background - I would have been there forever - but rather, I chose select flowers and leaves to colour instead. Anything that had a long splay of leaves became my focus. 

I chose to use a Willow coloured marker for all of the leaves and coordinate the flowers with the background cardstock for each card. For the Willow background, I used some of each of the other colours for the flowers. The centre of each flower is coloured with a silver marker. 

The oval dies and oval stitched dies were perfect for the centre - raised on foam tape, they fit just right! 

So, here is a full set (I made two), along with the front of the box. They will make lovely gifts as I give many gift sets of cards throughout the year. 

Finally, the box in which to store all of them... (twine to wrap the box is not shown)

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

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Lemon Cardstock, Tangerine Cardstock, Poppy, Cardstock, Pixie Cardstock, Pansy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Willow Cardstock

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks

Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Lemon, Tangerine, Poppy, Pixie, Pansy, Lagoon, Sapphire, Willow

Accessories: Oval Dies, Stitched Oval Dies, Clear Sparkles, ShinHan Markers, Silver Sharpie Marker (not CTMH), Foam Tape, Thistle Twine (ret. - not shown) 

Enjoy,

Alyson