Large Flower Slimline Cards

I recently saw a card similar to one of these in a Facebook cardmaking group that I follow. I really wanted to try something similar. I wasn't able to find a link to the artist but the flower design was a digital one, made by Rachel Vass Designs. 

The one that I saw had only the centre flower coloured. I wanted to try that - and also try colouring all three flowers.

I chose a large floral stamp and created a mask for it. The centre flower was stamped first and then masked to stamp the flowers on each side. Before I began, I splattered both papers with the Bluebird Shimmer Brush. I used the same sentiment on both, just die cut in different colours. I also added some coloured Bitty Sparkles around the right side of the card. The single colour flower card was die cut using a stitched slimline die but the other one was just cut on my trimmer. 

Supplies used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock

Stamps: Blended Bloom (SU)

Inks: Intense Black

Accessories: Slim Stitched Rectangles (Pink Fresh Studios), Hello Sunshine Die (Creative Expressions), Bluebird Shimmer Brush, Bitty Sparkles, Tri-Blend Markers, Touch Markers (misc.), Sharpie Markers (misc.) 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Humourous Card Set

As Christmas approaches, I create a lot of card sets. One friend of mine loves cards with humorous sentiments which is the reason for this set. The designs are simple, leaving the focus on the sentiments. 

I hope she enjoys these - there is no doubt in my mind that she will quickly find appropriate recipients for each of these cards! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Bright Stack, White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Carolina Cardstock, Lemonade Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock, Ballerina Cardstock, Clover Cardstock, Peach Cardstock, Bluebird Cardsock, Thistle Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Mint Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: Nursery Days, Little Buddies, Florals and Flutters, Serenity Cardmaking Workshop, Wishing You Everything, The Jubilee Crew, Mondays (Impression Obsession), Successful Adulting (Impression Obsession), Quote Bubbles (Dylusions) 

Inks: Sapphire, Lagoon, Bluebird, Raspberry, Black, Intense Black 

Accessories: Nursery Days Thin Cuts, Florals and Flutters Thin Cuts, Serenity Cardmaking Workshop Thin Cuts, Wishing You Everything Thin Cuts, The Jubilee Crew Thin Cuts, Decorative Borders Thin Cuts, Scalloped Borders Thin Cuts, Border Tab Thin Cuts, Stitched Bracket Thin Cuts, Stitched Fancy Bracket Thin Cuts, Stitched Scalloped Bracket Thin Cuts, Rounded Rectangle Dies (Hero Arts), Pale Pink Shimmer Trim, Blue Shimmer Trim, Teal Shimmer Trim, Silver Shimmer Trim, Black Journaling Pen, Blue Sharpie Marker, Clear Shimmer Brush, Tri-Blend Markers, Green Triangle Gems, Red Sequins, Blue Dot Gems, Clear Sparkles, Turquoise Gems (not CTMH), Flamingo Gems 

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT 485 - Peace Flower

Welcome to Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge #485!

In addition to the sketch, the optional theme is non-traditional Christmas. 

I create a LOT of Christmas cards each year (100+) and mine are already written, addressed and ready to send. This one is a bonus - and I prefer non-traditional colours for Christmas. 

I used a gorgeous paper pack called Serenity for the patterned papers. I stamped the sentiment in Sapphire ink, along with a floral cluster. Both were die cut. The floral cluster was coloured and the flower was brushed with the Gold Shimmer Brush. I added a strip of Sapphire glitter paper - this card came together very easily. 

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: Serenity Paper Pack, French Vanilla Cardstock, Blue Belle Cardstock, Sapphire Glitter Paper

Stamps; Serenity Cardmaking Workshop, Peaceful Boughs (SU)

Inks: Sapphire 

Accessories: Serenity Cardmaking Workshop Thin Cuts, Stitched Fancy Brackets Thin Cuts, Gold Glitter Gems, Gold Shimmer Brush, Tri-Blend Markers, ShinHan Markers (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 396 - Someone Special Shaker

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #396!

It is a horizontal sketch this week but that could certainly be rotated to create a project in portrait mode. 

I have had some Kaisercraft papers here for quite a while and I always forget to check in my extra papers to see what I have... these papers are from the Morning Dew collection and they are just gorgeous! 

The centre section was perfect for a shaker so I cut a section of one of the patterned papers to show a selection of flowers. There was just enough room in the top corner to stamp a sentiment, which I did using Espresso ink. The inner frame was cut using the same colour of cardstock. The outer frame was cut using Lagoon cardstock to coordinate with the outside paper. I cut a similar flower using the Flower Market Cricut collection. Using Mink, Mint and Pewter inks, I shaded and outlined the flower to look like the ones inside the shaker. Three gems were applied in the centre of the flower and I used a stylus on the leaves to create some dimension. 

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: Morning Dew Collection (Kaisercraft), French Vanilla Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Espresso Cardstock, Evergreen Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: Serenity Cardmaking 

Inks: Evergreen, Espresso, Mint, Mink, Pewter

Accessories: Flower Market Cricut Collection, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Silver Loose Sequins, Green Sequins (not CTMH), Stylus, Acetate (not CTMH), Foam Tape, Holly Jolly Dots

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD 421 - One Friend...

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 421!

This week, there is a grid of six colours plus black, white and metallics if desired. You are to select at least three colours from the grid. 

I used Scarlet, Sundance, Sage and Mint. 

The Stitched Floral stamp set is so pretty with the stitched flowers so I decided to use that along with a large sentiment. I embossed a piece of Sage cardstock and the stamped and die cut the sentiment. I wanted the sentiment to hang off the edge of my card. The flowers were stamped and coloured and then die cut. I brushed around the edges of the stitching with the Clear Shimmer Brush and added a few gold gems. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the grid 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: White Daisy Cardstock, Sage Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Stitched Florals, One Friend

Inks: Intense Black 

Accessories: Stitched Florals The Cuts, Stitched Fancy Brackets Thin Cuts, Dot Embossing Folder, Tri-Blend Markers, Gold Glitter Gems, Clear Shimmer Brush, Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

November/December New Product Blog Hop

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

There are so many awesome new products in this catalog - I am sure you will see some terrific artwork on this blog hop. 

You should have arrived here from Krista Hershberger's blog. 

If you get lost along the way, a complete list of participants can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog. 

I think a lot of Makers along this hop will choose to use the Serenity products as that paper is just so beautiful... so I wanted to do something different. I chose to use the Jingle Joy papers but combine them with the Serenity stamps. 

I used the small flower and leaf image from the Serenity cardmaking workshop and I masked it to create a wreath. The images were coloured with the Tri-Blend markers and I added a sentiment along the right side. One piece of patterned paper plus a zip strip and some Silver Shimmer Trim were added at the bottom of the card. It wasn't until I had adhered everything together that I decided I wanted shimmer brush splatters on my card... I always forget to do that at the beginning! So, I covered up the sentiment and the banners and I also lined the edge of the card so only the white piece was showing. I splattered the front using the Raspberry and Evergreen Shimmer Brushes. That's why some of the splatters are on top of the flowers... Silver Glitter Gems were added to the center of the flowers. 

I hope you enjoyed my card. 

The next blog on this hop is Darlys Recker's blog. I am sure she has something awesome to share with you! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Jingle Joy Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock, Evergreen Cardstock 

Stamps: Serenity Cardmaking, Serenity Cardmaking Workshop

Inks: Intense Black, Clover

Accessories: Stitched Simple Brackets Thin Cuts, Silver Shimmer Trim, Raspberry Shimmer Brush, Evergreen Shimmer Brush, Tri-Blend Markers, Foam Tape, Silver Glitter Gems

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Trouble 71 - Thankful for You LONG card

Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge #71!

We have a tic tac toe board this week along with some other factors. Check out the full details on the Double Trouble Challenge Blog. 

Thanksgiving has passed here in Canada - it was in early October. The leaves have fallen off the trees and have been gone for some time. For those reasons, I really didn't want to create a fall card but I wanted to do something else. The tic tac toe board offers a lot of options. My tic tac toe lines are as follows: 

Middle column (leaves, free, digital or stamp) 

Middle row (patterned paper, free, frame)

This card is one I found on the internet along with a terrific tutorial. That tutorial can be found here. The finished card is 36" long - yes - 36" long! It would make a great display piece on a mantle for Christmas!

I used the Serenity paper collection to create this card. The primary colours are French Vanilla, Blue Belle and Sapphire. I cut the base pieces using Blue Belle cardstock and the accent pieces using Sapphire cardstock. The scalloped frames around the inside sections were cut using a Nestabilites die. The square has to be a specific size to allow the inner piece to move freely and that was the only die I had that fit the opening. Gold is an accent colour with this collection so I used gold foil for the letters to spell Thankful and also as a mat layer. The leaves and branches under the letters were stamped and/or die cut in the same colours with some of them being cut using coordinating glitter paper.  The sentiment on the front was masked so it could be stamped in two colours. I added some gold embellishing thread and gold glitter gems as well. There is a place on the back of the card to write a message. This card was so much fun to create - it's the decorating that takes so much time! 

Come and join us at Double Trouble and show us how you interpret this week's challenge. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

I am also linking up my project with the Paper Funday Challenge (requires a thankful or grateful-based project). 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Serenity Paper Pack, French Vanilla Cardstock, Blue Belle Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Gold Foil Paper, Blue Belle Glitter Paper, Sapphire Glitter Paper 

Stamps: With a Thankful Heart, Say it in Style

Inks: Sapphire, Blue Belle

Accessories: Stitched Squares Dies (GMD), Scalloped Squares Dies (Nestabilites), Stitched Fancy Brackets Thin Cuts, Block Alphabet Thin Cuts, Comfort and Joy Scrapbooking Thin Cuts, Gold Embellishing Thread, Gold Glitter Gems, Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

H2H - Card Creations (Slimline)

Welcome to this week's Heart 2 Heart challenge! 

Attention all card makers - this challenge is for YOU! The topic is "Card Creations" and any type of card is fine - just make sure to use some CTMH products in your project. 

I have just started experimenting with slimline cards - and this is one of them. 

The three squares are all shakers and they are embedded in the card front. I used images from The Jubilee Crew stamp set and coloured them with a blue and yellow theme. The background was inked using Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot Distress Oxide inks and then some water droplets were splattered while the ink was still wet. I love the look the added water creates - it lightens the ink. A sentiment was stamped in Sapphire ink, a ribbon was wrapped and tied across the top and some yellow holographic sequins were added. The images were selectively brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush, as was the title. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your card creations! 

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, Lemonade Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock

Inks: Intense Black, Sapphire, Chipped Sapphire DO Ink, Black Soot DO Ink

Stamps: The Jubilee Crew, Beary Christmas Cardmaking

Accessories: Merry Christmas Dies (SU), Stitched Squares (GMD), Stitched Slimline Dies (PinkFresh Studio), Blue Ribbon (misc), Yellow Sequins, Clear Shimmer Brush, Tri-Blend Markers, Acetate (misc), Foam Tape, Snow Filler (misc), Corner Rounder 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Inky Fingers Technique Blog Hop

Welcome to the November Technique Blog Hop! 

This month, the technique is "inky fingers". How many of you have used inks while crafting and had to go out before all the ink washed off? I know my fingers have been all shades of blue, green and everything in between at times. 

You should have arrived here from Katy Taylor's blog. 

I am loving the loving the (new to CTMH) Distress Oxide inks - but they can definitely be messy. I used two colours to create the background on the Lattice Background Thin Cut piece. Peacock Feathers mixed with a little Chipped Sapphire is on the inner section and the Chipped Sapphire is around the outside of the piece. After it was dry, I splattered the Clear Shimmer Brush on top and from the front, it just looks like water droplets but from the side, the shimmer can be seen.  

The gnome and sentiment were stamped and embossed using Sapphire pigment ink and the gnome was coloured using shades of orange and blue. I placed a piece of Paprika cardstock (the light side) under the lattice background and added some Gold Shimmer Trim plus Gold Embellishing Thread to the front of the card. A few Gold Glitter Gems were added and sections of the gnome and the key word in the sentiment were brushed with the Gold Shimmer Brush. 

I hope you enjoyed my project. 

The next stop on this blog hop is Darlys Recker's blog. I am sure she has something terrific to share with you! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Paprika Cardstock

Stamps: Gnome for Christmas

Inks: Sapphire Pigment Ink, Lemonade, Peacock Feathers DO Ink, Chipped Sapphire DO Ink

Accessories: Gnome for Christmas Thin Cuts, Stitched Simple Brackets Thin Cuts, Lattice Background Thin Cuts, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Tri-Blend Markers, Gold Shimmer Trim, Gold Embellishing Thread, Gold Glitter Gems, Gold Shimmer Brush, Clear Shimmer Brush, Thin Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Lovely Roll Up Box

I was recently searching for some interactive paper craft ideas and I came across this awesome roll up box. It isn't as hard to create as it appears but it does use quite a bit of paper. To give you an idea of the size, each inside box is 1 3/4" x 7" so there is lots of room for treats or other gifts. This would make a terrific box for Christmas but I chose to create one with a generic theme. 

One thing to note - directional patterned papers are hard to use as the patterns will be sideways when the box is closed but upright when the boxes are rolled out. It is probably better to use non-directional patterned paper for this project. 

The link to complete instructions and a video is here. 

I chose to use the Lovely paper pack and coordinating cardstock. Since there are six double sided papers in that pack, there are 12 patterns available. 

The top was created using a border die - it is easiest to do if the pattern is one that can be flipped to match the second cut. I had to line up the die and cut it twice to get the 7" piece. Those pieces are held together using velcro dots, therefore holding the package together. 

So... here are some photos. The picture of the inside doesn't show the heart or leaf pattern running in the correct direction as the flap is open, but it is facing the right way up! I stamped a sentiment and added a few little extras at the top of the box. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Lovely Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Ballerina Cardstock, Evergreen Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Sage Cardstock, Blue Belle Cardstock

Stamps: Wishing You Everything

Inks: Blue Belle, Sage, Evergreen

Accessories: Wishing You Everything Thin Cuts, Fancy Borders Thin Cuts, Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Hook and Loop Dots, Tri-Blend Markers, Gold Liquid Pearls

Enjoy,

Alyson