AH 214 - Double Z-Fold Card "It's Your Day"

It's such a beautiful time of year with the flowers blooming and a perfect time for the sketch this week at Atlantic Hearts... little flowers in a centre square. You don't have to use flowers but it's that time of year - in my area, anyway. People are just starting to plant for the summer months now that the last frost overnight (hopefully) is behind us. 

I chose to so something a little different for this sketch. The front of my card is where you see the actual sketch (minus the ribbon). I put the sentiment on the right side of my card as it is a double z-fold card and it fit better there. I wanted the front to be a floral focus. 

The black background is one of the papers from the Live Beautifully Paper Pack and the flowers are from the May Stamp of the Month (Love, Laugh, Love). Both of these products are only available during the month of May so if either of them appeal to you, be sure to place your order THIS MONTH as they will not be available after May 31st! 

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 all Close To My Heart

Paper: Live Beautifully Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sea Glass Glitter Paper

Stamps: Live, Laugh, Love, Sending Smiles, Ink Blot

Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Black

Accessories: ShinHan Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Heart 2 Heart - Ribbon

This week's challenge at Heart 2 Heart is ribbon. That is - simply to use ribbon on your project. I love ribbon - I have lots and lots of it. Strangely enough, lately I haven't used much of it on my projects because I really haven't thought much about it with the other embellishment that have been around and ribbon hasn't been used much in many current blogs and projects either. 

For this challenge, I ended up creating two cards. I wasn't really happy with the first card I created but I did leave it at the bottom of this post, along with the details. This is the second card. 

I really wanted to use the Live Beautifully papers and I had to search through my ribbon stash to find two colours of ribbon that would match the papers. I needed three ribbons that were the same width for weaving purposes. I love the pattern on the purple ribbon - it is so delicate and has beautiful roses, just like those on the paper. The thin white strip that separates the paper and the woven section is just a white ribbon piece, folded over three times. A few bitty sparkles were placed around the sentiment but other than the time spent to create the woven section, this card was pretty easy to create. 

The original card that I created is shown below. I decided to pull out various colours and patterns of ribbon to match one of the papers in the Little Dreamer paper pack. Only one of the ribbons is from Close To My Heart - the others are a variety of ribbons that I have had for a while - they have been sitting in my ribbon drawer for quite some time. I chose 5 colours in total, all of which match the circles in the paper at the top. They are simply layered on top of and beside each other. This card didn't take long but since the ribbon had been wound on cardboard, it had some kinks in it. I read somewhere that the best way to remove those kinks without having to get an iron out was to use a small straightening iron - the same type used to straighten hair. I pulled out my old one and it worked perfectly - and so fast! I will definitely be doing that again! 

So, here is my card - with the nice straight ribbon pieces! 

Join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you use ribbon in your project. You have until May 31st to link up with this project or any of our other May challenges. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Card 1
Paper: Live Beautifully Paper Pack, Black Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock
Stamps: Just Be You (Petite Perks) 
Inks: New England Ivy
Accessories: Various Ribbon (not CTMH), Thin Foam Tape, Foam Tape, Bitty Sparkles, Circle Punches - various sizes (not CTMH)

Card 2

Paper: Little Dreamer Pack Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Thistle Cardstock

Stamps: Hi Friend

Inks: Thistle

Accessories: Whimsy Ribbon Pack, Gold Sequins, Thin Foam Tape, Various Ribbon (not CTMH)

Enjoy, 

Alyson

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Seasonal Expressions 2 New Product Blog Hop

This blog hop features products in the Seasonal Expressions 2 Catalog - that catalog went live as of May 1. It is filled with terrific paper collections, stamps and a few other surprises that you may see on this blog hop. I am sure you will be inspired, amazed and certainly find something that you didn't think you needed to have but now you do as you move along this blog hop! 

You should have arrived here from Darlys Recker's blog. 

If you get lost, a complete list of hoppers on this blog hop can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog. 

Of all the new paper collections, Prickly Pear is my favourite because of the bold colours. However, living in Canada, we don't see cacti up here, so I decided to do something different with that paper pack and focus on the colours as opposed to the papers. 
I chose to create a folding block card. The background of the last three panels is the Sea Glass striped paper. On the front of the card, although it can be hard to see, is an ombré green sheet that is the background and the lemon patterned sheet is the border. I chose to focus more on the colours within the paper pack for the floral images of the stamp set that I used. 
There was a TON of fussy cutting for this card! I purposely didn't use any foam tape as I wanted the card to sit relatively flat in an envelope for mailing purposes. The shimmer brush didn't show up in the main photos either but a photo at the bottom shows just one flower where it was used. It was used on most of the flowers. 

The first photo shows the card completely open. 

This photo shows the front of the card when it is folded up. 

And the last photo shows just one flower where the Shimmer Brush was used. 

I hope you enjoyed my project. 

The next blog on this hop is Michelle Loncar's blog.

I am sure she has a fabulous project to share with you. 

You can visit my Consultant website to shop here. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Prickly Pear Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Poppy Cardstock
Stamps: Keep Dreaming, Anniversary Cardmaking Kit (WYW), Framework Alphabet

Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink

Accessories: Artbooking Cartridge, Prickly Pear Sequins, Poppy Thick Twine, ShinHan Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,
Alyson

Colour Dare 244 - Sending Hugs card

It's an interesting colour combination this week at Colour Dare... One again, there are quite a few colours involved. The Little Dreamer paper pack has two papers that fit two of the colours - Glacier and Thistle - and I chose to use both of those in my card. 

My big issue was figuring out how to add Juniper to my card - that and Glacier just don't work together for me. However, I did add Juniper but in kind of a sneaky way. It certainly isn't obvious but I stamped the Juniper in second generation - on the white piece where the sentiment is located in the form of a cloud stamp and again on the Canary yellow piece as tiny little hearts. It is there - it just isn't terribly obvious. 

I also dug deep into my stash of supplies and found that the retired purple glitter paper happened to be a Thistle colour - that was a bonus! I chose to use some of that for a couple of the glitter hearts. 

This card will be mailed to a friend of mine who is undergoing day surgery - I am hoping that she will be feeling better pretty quickly but hopefully this will help to cheer her up a least a little bit! 

Please join us at Colour Dare and share your project using the colours shown above (ALL and ONLY - silver is optional). You have until Thursday evening at 10pm EST to link up your project. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Little Dreamer Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Silver Glitter Paper, Purple Glitter Paper (ret.)
Stamps: WYW Anniversary, Sending Love (ret.), Sunshine on a Cloudy Day (ret.)
Inks: Black, Juniper
Accessories: Hearts Thin Cuts, Little Dreamer Glitter Gems, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Atlantic Hearts 212 - Floral Bouquet

The Little Dreamer Paper Pack is all about unicorns and bright colours - I decided to take advantage of the bright colours for the sketch at Atlantic Hearts this week. 

The floral bouquet came from a new stamp set called Keep Dreaming - such a gorgeous set with wonderful flowers and leaves, perfect for colouring. I chose two images and slightly altered the orientation of the stems to fit what I wanted. The three strips down the left side of the sketch become one with the diagonal striped paper and I also grouped the two other lines into one with a piece of ribbon and shimmer trim. 

That shimmer brush never shows up in my photos so below my card, I have a close up that does show at least some of the Gold Shimmer Brush on the flowers! 

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 all Close To My Heart

Paper: Little Dreamer Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Thistle Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock
Stamps: Keep Dreaming, Little Dreamer Cardmaking Workshop, Sunshine on a Cloudy Day (ret.)
Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Thistle, Lagoon, Glacier
Accessories: Glacier Thick Twine (ret.), Gold Shimmer Trim, Whimsy Ribbon Pack, ShinHan Markers, Gold Shimmer Pen

Enjoy, 
Alyson

National Scrapbooking Month Blog Hop

This bog hop features the Close To My Heart May campaign, Live Beautifully. 

There are terrific products available this month - a gorgeous paper pack, a stamp set and a Cut Above kit which is also available as part of an album bundle (both Post Bound and D-ring). Each of these products brings its own unique flavour to this campaign and can be used on its own, paired with the products in this campaign or with our other fabulous products. 

You should have arrived here from Gina Brandstetter's blog. 

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

I chose to use the Live Beautifully paper pack and stamp set to create the card below. I have held onto this card pattern for some time as I really like it and have used it a few times. It involves several layers. 

I chose to focus on the purple and black papers in this pack. Something that you can't see on the card is the use of the Shimmer Brush. I outlined all of the flowers (the white sections) using that brush. The bottom photo shows a bit of it but it really stands out in person. The sentiment was stamped in three colours. 

I hope you enjoyed my project. 

The next blog on this blog hop is Michelle Loncar's blog. 

I'm sure she has something wonderful to share with you. 

Any of the Live Beautifully products shown below can be purchased on my Consultant Website. This campaign is while supplies last so be sure to order early!

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Live Beautifully Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock

Stamps: Live Beautifully

Inks: Black, New England Ivy, Eggplant, Pixie, Thistle

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Sponge Daubers, Enamel and Glitter Duos - Purple Hearts, Black Journaling Pen, ShinHan Marker, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy, 

Alyson

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The Live Beautifully Products are shown below: 

CC1212B - Paper Pack   $17.75

CC1212C - Stamp Set   $21.25

CC1212A - Live Beautifully Cut Above Kit    $57.00 
This kit provides everything you need to complete 5 gorgeous layouts (except the journaling pen and adhesive). It also comes with 6 Memory Protectors to hold your completed layouts. 
The layouts are shown below: 

You can add the embellishments before adding your photos by adding adhesive to the parts of the embellishments that don't cover the photos. For the stickers that DO cover the photos, adding baby power to the adhesive sections that cover the photos removes the stickiness so the photos can be slid into place while the sticker remains in place. So simple! 

Post-Bound Album Kit (20% off retail value)   $86.95 (retail value is $111) 
- contains a complete Live Beautifully Cut Above kit (see above)
- adhesive
- journaling pen
- Grey Post-Bound My Legacy Album

D-Ring Album Kit (20% off retail value)   $86.95 (retail value is $111)
- contains a complete Live Beautifully Cut Above Kit (see above) 
- adhesive
- journaling pen
- Grey D-Ring My Legacy Album

Heart 2 Heart - She Believed Card

The challenge this week at Heart 2 Heart is "Coming up Roses" - and I LOVE creating cards with floral components, so this is a terrific challenge for me. 

A friend of mine is about to embark on a fabulous new journey in her life - personally and professionally. I know she will be successful, simply because her work ethic is so strong and she sets goals and works toward achieving those goals. She has met so many of the goals she has set for herself already. This card was designed specifically with her in mind. The word dream on the script paper was cut so that it showed above and below the cross piece. The "She Believed" stamp is one that I have had since Convention 2013 and it fit perfectly for this occasion. The flowers and leaves are from two brand new stamp sets in the Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog and they were coloured using a blending pen with ink from our ink pads.

Join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your favourite flowers - they don't have to be roses - for this challenge. You have the entire month of May to enter this or any of the May challenges. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Live Beautifully Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Pixie Cardstock, Silver Glitter Paper

Stamps: She Believed (ret.), Keep Dreaming, Anniversary

Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Raspberry, Pixie, Sea Glass

Accessories: Clear Sparkles, Blending Pen, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy, 

Alyson

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Colour Dare 242 - Sending Smiles Floral Collection Card

Now that we are in the month of May, you may have noticed that the theme at Colour Dare is a little bit different. Check out the main site to see how the challenges are being developed for each week as the Close To My Heart monthly featured paper pack is driving each of the colour challenges for the month. 

This first challenge has two specific colours from the Little Dreamer colours that also have papers in that paper pack that contain those colours - Blossom and Tangerine. If you so choose, those are papers that could be used for this challenge, However, we understand that this IS a colour challenge site, and that is why other colours were added to each of the challenges in the month so as NOT to limit entrants (and those of us on the design team) to JUST the colours in the featured paper pack! We also understand that not everyone uses Close To My Heart products and to be fair, we wanted to make sure that we were not limiting our entrants to those who only use Close To My Heart products. 

So, you certainly do NOT have to use the papers from the Little Dreamer paper pack... that is simply one option. Use whatever you are most comfortable using. We encourage you to use Close To My Heart products but if you don't have them, use what you have that is closest. 
Please note that it is ALL and ONLY the colours listed (Gold is optional this week).

On with my project... I chose to create a card that DID use the two Little Dreamer papers - and a floral stamp set. I added a few embellishments and I love the way this turned out. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use these gorgeous colours in a project. You have until 10pm EST on Thursday to link up your project. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Little Dreamer Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Desert Sand Cardstock

Stamps: Shower Flowers, Sending Smiles

Inks: Desert Sand, Willow, Lemon, Tangerine, Blossom

Accessories: Gold Shimmer Trim, Gold Glitter Gems, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Little Dreamer Glitter Gems, Clear Sparkles, ShinHan Marker, Whimsy Ribbon Pack

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Atlantic Hearts 210 - Hello Friend with Live Beautifully

The Close To My Heart Live Beautifully Campaign has begun! The papers are simply gorgeous and that is what I chose to use for this week's sketch at Atlantic Hearts. 

I love the greens in this paper pack - the primary green is Sea Glass but Juniper is a great co-ordinating colour as well. I chose to use the main floral paper as my background and then use some of the ombre paper for the arrow down the centre of the sketch, backed with gold glitter paper. The centre piece is back with Juniper cardstock and the the front is a piece of gold embossed cardstock. The rose is from a new stamp set from the Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog that just went live on 

May 1. 

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

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Live Beautifully Paper Pack, Gold Glitter Paper, Juniper Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock
Stamps: Keep Dreaming, Live Beautifully, Hi Friend
Inks: Grey Memento Ink (not CTMH), New England Ivy, Juniper
Accessories: Artiste Cartridge (ret.), ShinHan Markers, Foam Tape, Gold Glitter Gems

Enjoy, 
Alyson

May Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Live, Laugh, Love

Welcome to May's Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month, we are featuring the stamp set 

"Live, Laugh, Love" - a set of 9 stamps. This is a fabulous set of stamps - perfect for so many purposes. Everyone can use it: card makers, scrapbookers, home decor artists - everyone. The images are perfect for colouring and I am certain that you will see a lot of that on this blog hop! The bloggers along this blog hop will certainly show you many ways to use this stamp set, so sit back and enjoy the tour. 

You should have arrived here from Jen Rubio's blog.

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

The stamp set looks like this.

I chose to create two 6 x 6 cards. Due to the size of the words, I had to use that size of card to get the words to fit on the cards and allow for everything else to fit as well. 

For the first card, I wanted to include all three words and have room for some of the flowers. That took a little bit of arranging to make that happen. Placing the largest word in the centre made sense so I could cluster the flowers in the corners. I did this using my favourite colours and a lot of blending with the markers. I love colouring accessories to match my artwork.

I had a terrible time editing this second card to get the colours looking like they actually do on the card ... this isn't what they really look like. This looks rather orange instead of pink and the Peacock colour looks almost black. The Shimmer Trim is NOT the retired pink trim but it is actually the White Shimmer Trim that I used the Raspberry ink pad and a sponge dauber to colour it to create my own pink trim. Be aware that if you do this, be sure to take you finger and and rub it across the trim several times before you adhere it to your project as much of the colour will come off the trim. If you don't do this first, you will end up with bleeding of the colour all over your project... You will end up with coloured fingers but that's a small price to pay rather than ruining your project! You can see how light my trim is after using the very dark Raspberry colour... 

The next blog on the hop is Brenda Lapp's blog. 

I'm sure she has a wonderful project to share with you.

You can get this stamp set for just $6 this month with a $50 purchase. 

Visit my shopping site here. 

Remember this stamp set is only available until May 31st! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Peacock Cardstock

Stamps: Live, Laugh, Love

Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Black Pigment Ink, Peacock Pigment Ink, Peacock, Raspberry

Accessories: Heat Tool, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Clear Sparkles, Black and White Dots, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, ShinHan Markers, Aqua Shimmer Trim, Silver Shimmer Trim, White Shimmer Trim, Sponge Dauber

Enjoy, 

Alyson