AH 376 - Beautiful Friend

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #376!

This week, the sketch is shown as horizontal but I rotated it to make a vertical card instead. I had to go to a 5x7 card size as the image I used was too large for a standard size card. 

The image was stamped with Intense Black ink and coloured using a combination of Touch markers and Tri-Blend markers. I wanted a colour scheme of Eggplant, New England Ivy, Smoothie, Ballerina  and Pebble (or Linen). Every piece on this card was matted and I like the mixed coloured mats vs using the same colour for each of the pieces. I was intending to emboss the brick section but found some paper with a perfect brick pattern that worked well with this card. I also stamped a little corner piece, fussy cut and coloured it. A ribbon was added along with a few holographic sequins. The flowers were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush.

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: Heart Happy Paper Pack, Documented Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock, Eggplant Cardstock, Pewter Cardstock 

Stamps: For My Beautiful Friend

Inks: Intense Black 

Accessories: Oval Dies (Nestabilities), Pink Ribbon (SU), Sequins, Tri-Blend Markers, Touch Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Trouble #61 - Purple Roses

Welcome to this week's edition of Double Trouble! 

This week, Things 1, 2 and 3 are asking a lot of our participants. 

Here is the reduced image to show the requirements - please visit the Double Trouble Blog for additional information. 

Here is the tic-tac-toe board.

My tic-tac-toe is diagonal - I used Emboss (Dry/Hot), Flowers and Colour Green.

I chose to create a card with a set of flowers inside the wreath. The wreath was cut from the Flower Market Cricut cartridge (x2) and offset to make it look full. I then had to trace that outline to cut a piece of white cardstock on which to stamp my flowers as trying to stamp on an embossed background is almost impossible. The flowers were stamped and coloured and then brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. The white background was embossed with a stitched pattern. The sentiment was stamped and gently inked around the edges to set it off from the background. I coloured a few sequins and added them around the wreath.

I am also linking up my card with Cupcake Inspirations.

Come and join us at Double Trouble and show us how you use the elements for this challenge. 

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, Toffee Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: A Million Little Things, Card Captions

Inks: Intense Black, Willow

Accessories: Flower Market Cricut Cartridge, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Butterflies for You Thin Cuts, Stitched Circles Embossing Folder, White Sequins, Tri-Blend Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush, Craft Foam (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 401 - Tulips of Happiness

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge #401!

This week, we have an inspiration collage for you. You can use any colours found in the collage plus black and white are free. 

This collage is very much based on the US Independence Day holiday... I don't live in the US and I wanted to do something different. We celebrated our national holiday on July 1 here in Canada - with red and white - but no-one ever makes celebratory cards for that occasion. Consequently, I was looking for something else to create with these colours. 

Upon looking very closely at the images, there are definitely a few shades of green and also light blue in there. I chose to use those along with red to create my card. 

I started by sponging a blue background onto white cardstock using Distress inks. I stamped two different branch images in related green colours. Using my stamps press, I stamped the tulips and stems and die cut them. They were arranged over the branch images and a bow was added at the bottom. A sentiment was stamped onto the card front and I coloured several bitty sparkles red and added them around the tulips. The card was outlined with a black marker and set on some craft foam to add dimension. The highlighted part of the tulips were brushed with the clear shimmer brush.

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you interpret the collage 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, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Tulip (Altenew), Sentiment Collection (Penny Black), Love So Sweet, Beloved Bouquet 

Inks: Black, Green Apple, Clover, Candy Apple, Ruby

Accessories: Tulip Dies (Altenew), Bitty Sparkles, Clear Shimmer Brush, White and Gold Ribbon, Sharpie Marker, Black Journaling Pen, Craft Foam (not CTMH) 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Sunflower Wishes

This card was created just for fun. One of the new products in the next CTMH catalog is a gorgeous set of sunflowers that also come with thin cuts. 

I wanted to use those flowers on a card and a sketch from Make It From Your Heart Vol. 2 provided a perfect opportunity to do just that. 

I stamped the sunflowers with Intense Black ink and coloured them. They were die cut, as were the two pieces of the stitched rectangle. I used a piece of patterned paper from an old paper pack on the front of the card and the facing side was embossed with the stitch circle embossing folder. 

After that was done, assembly of the card was easy - added a piece of cardstock and a ribbon for the mini banners and placed a piece of ribbon along the side as well. The rectangle was adhered using foam tape to raise it from the base of the card. I found some old gold gems that I added to the front. The sentiment was stamped in the lower left corner using Expresso ink. The sunflowers were brushed with the Gold Shimmer Brush - easier seen in the close up photo.

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Boutique Paper Pack, Espresso Cardstock, Kraft Cardstock, Sage Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Joyful Sunflower

Inks: Intense Black, Espresso 

Accessories: Joyful Sunflower Thin Cuts, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Embossing Folder, Tri-Blend Markers, Gold Shimmer Brush, Gold Gems, Foam Tape, White and Gold Skinny Ribbon, Gold Glitter Ribbon 

Enjoy,

Alyson

July SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to the July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! 

This month the featured stamp set is awesome! There is a main image of a lady holding flowers and so many smaller images and great sentiments reflecting love and friendship.

This is a circular blog hop so you can start anywhere along the way. 

You should have arrived here from Melinda Everitt's blog.

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

(yes, the same consultant listed above).

Here is an image of the stamp set. 

These cards require some explanation... I started with the one at the bottom and had everything ready to go. I added the shaker and adhered everything down and then realized that my flowers were UPSIDE DOWN. I purposely stamped them so they would be facing the correct direction but I adhered the card together with that top stamped piece facing the wrong direction.. So I had to try again but with a different card design this time. 

I started by selecting a white stitched die cut from my collection (I save all of the extra inside and outside pieces when I cut the stitched dies). I stamped and coloured the images and added the centre strip. I went to adhere that piece to the front of the card and... NO! I had selected a stitched rectangle that had accidentally been added to my collection from a different die set and it wasn't the same size as the CTMH ones. At that point, I wasn't about to create a THIRD card for this blog hop, so this is the one that remains. It's only the large white piece that is from a different set of dies. Argh! 

The sentiment was stamped using Candy Apple ink and part of it was brushed with the Gold Shimmer Brush. It was adhered with foam tape and some Gold Embellishing Thread was added underneath. I added a few Gold Glitter Gems above and below the sentiment. 

This is the original card I created with the upside down flowers... 

I hope you enjoyed my projects. 

The next blog on this hop is Brandi Robinson's blog.

I'm sure she has something awesome to share with you! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Summer Vibes Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, CandyApple Cardstock, Black Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: For My Beautiful Friend

Inks: Intense Black, Candy Apple

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Stitched Rectangle Dies (GMD), Tri-Blend Markers, Loose Gold Sequins, Gold Shimmer Brush, Foam Tape, Black Journaling Marker, Gold Embellishing Thread, Gold Glitter Gems, Acetate (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Trouble #60 - Something, Anything and Everything

It's the 5th Monday in the month and that means that there is a one week challenge at Double Trouble - a something, anything, everything challenge. 

If you are so inclined, one of the twists is to use red, white and blue on your project as it is Independence Day in the US. I'm not from the US but still managed to complete this task :) 

We also encourage you to link up up one or more of our previous challenge partners - the entire list with links can be found on the Double Trouble website. 

I chose to create a birthday card that is appropriate for a masculine birthday. It seems like whenever I need one of these cards, I always have to create it at the last minute. 

I began by creating my blue background by taping down a piece of watercolour paper and painting it blue. I then dropped small droplets of rubbing alcohol onto the painted surface. Just before it was dry, I used a paper towel to wipe across the surface, making the circles darker and the background lighter. If I had left it to dry on its own, the result would have been the opposite effect with the circles appearing lighter in colour.

My card design is based on a sketch from Make It From Your Heart - Vol. 4. I rotated the sketch 90 degrees and added my side piece and some banners. The sentiment was stamped on stitched circles and adhered to regular circles of cardstock. The word birthday was stamped and cut as a banner along with a piece of cardstock cut the same size - they were mounted slightly offset. I added 3 acrylic hearts and drew a border around the edge of the card to to finish it. 

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

Complete details can be found on the website. 

This challenge ends on Sunday evening - remember, it is only one week long! 

Check out the partner challenges as well and see if you can link up your project with any of those challenges. 

I am linking up my project with Crafting Happiness as their theme is Anything Goes. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Watercolour Paper, White Daisy Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, I Heart Us Paper Pack, More Magical Paper Pack, Tis the Season Paper Pack, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Birthday Joy

Inks: Bluebird

Accessories: Watercolour Paint, Paintbrushes, Rubbing Alcohol (not CTMH), White Shimmer Trim, Acrylic Hearts, Blue Sharpie Marker, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Basic Circle Thin Cuts

Enjoy,

Alyson

H2H - So Much to Love...

Welcome to this week's Heart 2 Heart challenge!

Since it is right at the end of June, this challenge is being carried over into July so you have all month to link up your projects. 

The theme this week is Family Time.

I created a card that is perfect to show the loved ones in my life how I feel about them. 

I started with a piece of striped paper and a piece of Sapphire cardstock. The right side of the card front is embossed using the Stitched Circles embossing folder. I stamped and die cut several flowers and leaves and coloured a few of the images as needed. They were placed in a cluster and some were adhered using thin foam tape and regular foam tape. The ribbons were adhered under the flowers and I added some gold Stickles to the tiny stamped sections inside each flower centre. The sentiment was stamped and mounted on cardstock and some gold gems were added to finish off the card. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your projects related to family. 

You have until the end of July to link up your project. 

We can’t wait see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Stitched Together Paper Pack, French Vanilla Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Beautiful Day, Artistic Impressions (SU)

Inks: Sapphire, Lagoon, Sweet Leaf, Peach, Lemonade

Accessories: Beautiful Day Thin Cuts, Goldenrod Stickles, Gold Glitter Gems, White and Gold Skinny Ribbon, Stitched Circles Embossing Folder, Tri-Blend Marker, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Child's Mini Album - Teacher Thank You!

A few weeks ago, a good friend asked if I had any ideas for her 5 year old daughter regarding a kindergarten teacher's gift. We looked at some options and decided to do a mini album (there were two teachers so two albums were required). 

The design was very simple - I used my Cricut to cut the same shape in rainbow colours as the class had learned about rainbows during the year. A piece of white cardstock was placed in the middle of each coloured cardstock piece, large enough on which a 5 year old could print. The pieces were attached with a binder ring and some ribbon was added on the ring for decoration. The front of each album was created by layering strips of the same cardstock colours used inside the albums on a piece of white cardstock and then running letter dies on that multi-coloured sheet through my Big Shot. 

I asked my friend if she would photograph the finished album pages for me before they were delivered to the teachers - and what a treat it was to receive these photos! 

Here is one of the albums - each page included. I just love the messages and the drawings! The second album is very similar to the first. 

 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Lemonade Cardstock, Nectarine Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Green Apple Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Thistle Cardstock, Eggplant Cardstock

Stamps: none

Ink Pads: none

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, Artiste Cricut Cartridge, Basic Hearts Thin Cuts, Stitched Hearts Thin Cuts, Block Alphabet Thin Cuts, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Red Shimmer Trim, Binder Ring (not CTMH), Various Ribbon (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 400 - Friendship Flower

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge #400! 

This is a milestone for Colour Dare so several prizes are being given away for this challenge. Be sure to enter before the deadline! 

This week, we have three colours - purple, green and blue - and you can also use black, white and grey. 

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I went back to see when I first entered the Colour Dare challenge - it was Jan 10, 2016 and challenge #175! Here is a picture of the colour scheme and my entry...

Wow - that seems like ages ago now! 

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On to this week's challenge...

I have wanted to use this large protea flower for ages and haven't had the chance until now. I stamped the image and then die cut the flower from sticker paper. That was placed over the stamped image and I used three blue distress inks to create the background by sponging around the mask. Once the mask was removed, I coloured the flower and leaves. I like the white border around the image - I wasn't sure if that would be the case.

The sentiment was stamped on patterned vellum using Staz-On ink. That was adhered around the bottom of the card and the frame was placed on top. I added some Lavender Stickles to the centre of the flower and I brushed the shaded sections with the Clear Shimmer Brush. A few coordinating glitter gems were added. 

My camera is not picking up the colours in the full card photo very well. The close up photo colours are much closer to the actual colours on the card. 

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! 

Product used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Leaf Patterned Vellum, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Blossoming Friendship

Inks: Intense Black, Black Staz-On, Distress Inks - not CTMH (Tumbled Glass, Mermaid Lagoon, Chipped Sapphire)

Accessories: Blossoming Friendship Thin Cuts, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Tri-Blend Markers, Little Dreamer Glitter Gems, Clear Shimmer Brush, Lavender Stickles (not CTMH)

Enjoy, 

Alyson

TSOT 463 - Amazing Swan

Welcome to Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge 463!

The sketch is below and the optional theme (in addition to the sketch) is Make a Splash. 

I stayed very true to the sketch this time - I pulled out an old stamp set called Thankful for You. It has  a couple of swans and some related images so that allowed me to add in the optional theme of Make a Splash. 

The card background was random stamped using three images from the stamp set. I die cut a frame outline from Sapphire cardstock and filled in the triangles with white cardstock. That was placed on a Canary background. The swan, bullrushes, lily pad and flower were stamped and die cut and the waves were stamped directly on the background. Once the scene was together, I built the rest of my card based on the size of that piece. The sentiment was stamped on the same background paper and I added a dotted ribbon underneath. A few enamel dots were added and this card was finished! 

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: Happy Times Paper Pack, Blue Skies Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock
Stamps: Thankful for You, Word Up (Reverse Confetti)
Inks: Pebble, Toffee, Fern, Canary, Sapphire
Accessories: Thankful For You Thin Cuts, Stylish Frame Trio Dies (Memory Box), Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon (SU), Seas the Day Enamel Dots, Corner Rounder, Blue Sharpie Marker

Enjoy,
Alyson