Feb SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring February's SOTM, which is "Home Sweet Home", a set of 4 stamps. If you have arrived here from                Lucy Kelleher's blog  you are on the right path! The blog is one great big circle, so you can start here and work your way around. If you get lost along the way, you'll find a complete list of participating consultants at http://bowlofstamps.blogspot.ca/

This month, we have over 45 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's  SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click in the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go! 

The Stamp of the Month looks like this: 

 

My card features the beautiful Chantilly papers and textiles. 

I absolutely adore this paper pack and everything that goes with it. To gather the textiles, I simply stitched a running stitch at the top of the material and gathered it together. The buttercup scallops cover up that part so you don't see that work. The pink button from the Chantilly Assortment was a perfect fit for the center of my flower. 

Products used are listed below: 

Paper: Chantilly Paper Pack, Outdoor Denim Cardstock, Pear Cardstock, Cotton Candy Cardstock, Buttercup Cardstock

Stamps: Home Sweet Home

Inks: White Daisy Pigment Ink

Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Art Philosophy Cartridge, Chantilly Textiles, Chantilly Assortment, Foam Tape, Needle and Thread

Now "HOP" on over to Judy Fay Garner's blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the February SOTM is only available until the last day of February! Contact your CTMH Consultant or click here to see how you can get this beautiful stamp at a fabulous discount!

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Chantilly Cards

These cards are made using the new Chantilly Paper pack. They will be the focus of my first Card Workshop (See details under my Workshops heading above). All have been created using patterns from the Make It From the Heart How-To Book. 

If you want to sign up for this workshop, please see the details under the Workshops section of my blog. If not, just enjoy the cards! I had a lot of fun creating these! 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Chantilly Paper Pack, Pear Cardstock, Buttecup Cardstock, Outdoor Denim Cardstock, Cotton Candy Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Topiary Cardstock

Stamps: Beautiful Friendship, Thanks, Jardin, A Friend Like You, Universal Backgrounds, The Best Things, Card Word Puzzle

Inks: Pear, Cotton Candy, Outdoor Denim, Black, Crystal Blue

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Claire Assortment, Embossing Stylus, Foam Tape, Pink Glitter Gems, Bitty Opaque Adhesive Gems, Clear Sparkles Assortment, Outdoor Denim Chevron Ribbon

Friends Forever Card - My Time Made Easy Challenge

I'm back! I bet you thought I was gone forever! I still have a ton of work to do and I have been away a lot this past week, but I am missing my blog posts and my challenges and I finally had to give in and do something about it! 

This card is for a special lady that I met last Saturday. I went and volunteered my time at my church at an event to feed the homeless and hungry in our community and it was such an amazing experience for me. One of the ladies there and and I were talking and we just hit it off. We were doing the mounds and mounds of dishes drying them as they came out of the dishwasher. She was so friendly and she has been through a lot in her own life. I can't wait to see her this Sunday and give her this card.  

The card is based on the latest sketch from My Time Made Easy. The sketch is shown below the card. 

In addition, this gives you a little sneak peek of some of the new products coming in the new catalogue... 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Chantilly Paper Pack, Buttercup Cardstock, Ruby Cardstock, Cotton Candy Cardstock, Crystal Blue Cardstock

Stamps: Fabulous You

Inks: Black Pigment Ink, Ruby Pigment Ink

Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Alcohol Markers - Ruby, Cotton Candy, Crystal Blue, Sky, Alcohol Blending Marker, Rhinestone Brads, Autumn Lane Assortment, Bling Assortment, Sparkles Clear Flourishes - Small, Sparkles - Clear Assortment, Opaques Adhesive Gems - Licorice, Foam Tape

SO busy!

Good morning, 

Posts on my blog may be inconsistent for the next while. I am starting to work on my application pieces for my submission to teach at Convention in Florida this summer. What I have in mind is going to take me some significant time (and I STILL don't have my new products in hand yet... hopefully by the end of this week) but I can get starting working on some pieces now. 

I will post as often as I can but I just wanted you to know why you will not be seeing as many posts from me as usual in the coming days. I am still here and am still creating - just stuff that I can't share with you yet.

Please be patient - I will be back again soon! Meanwhile, please check out the list of other CTMH blogs I have listed along the right side of my blog - there are other ladies doing wonderful things out there, and try some of the challenge blogs I have listed as well! They are a lot of fun and can give you some great ideas! 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Whoo's Your Valentine - Cards, etc.

The current campaign is just SO awesome! The Whoo's Your Valentine kit has so many possibilities beyond the treat tubes. Here is one more treat tube plus three little cards that you could send to just about anyone who melts your heart. And you have to LOVE that glitter paper, especially knowing that more of it is coming in the new catalogue on February 1st! I can't wait for my order of new products to arrive next week so I can play with all the new stuff :) 

To get your very own Whoo's Your Valentine Kit, all you need to do is place a $35 order from the current catalogue and your can purchase this fun kit for just $10!

Contact me to place your order or go to my shopping site by clicking on the first link on the top left side of my blog!

 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Whoo's Your Valentine Kit (all paper comes with kit)

Stamps: Whoo's Your Valentine (comes with kit)

Inks: Ruby, Hollyhock, Blush

Accessories: Artiste Cartridge

Love Card - Saturday Sketchbook Challenges

I love the Sketchbook Saturday Challenges and this one is no exception. And when I saw the big heart in the middle I knew exactly which stamp I was going to use for my card! This Close To My Heart "Love" stamp is perfect for this challenge! It is such a gorgeous stamp and it fit just perfectly! Lined with our beautiful white pearls, I just fell in love with this card right from the beginning. I love the small pattern on the background paper and the twilight paper as the overall background.

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Products are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Clementine Paper Pack, Sorbet Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock, Creme Brulee Cardstock, Twilight Cardstock
Stamps: Seal - Love, Pemberley WOTG (ret.)
Inks: Twilight Pigment Ink, Twilight Dye Ink
Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Artiste Cartridge, Opaque Pearl Flourishes, Pearl Opaque Adhesive Gems
 

"Peaceful" Layout

This layout took me a while to think through... I wanted to use these photos as they were taken last spring, shortly before I had met my weight loss goal, but I really like the way they turned out. I have very few photos of myself and these are some of the better ones. Unfortunately, when I was colouring in the dimensional elements letters, it wasn't until afterwards that I realized I had used sunset ink instead of sorbet ink... and they were already adhered down at that point. I guess it adds a different touch, so I'll learn to live with it. 

I really like the clusters with the gold flourishes mixed with the Clementine Cottage Assortment pieces and the Creme Brulee flowers and I am happy with the random stitching around the layout and the photo mat as well. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

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

Paper: Clementine Paper Pack, Saddle Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock

Stamps: None

Inks: Sunset, Saddle

Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Dimensional Elements Monograms: A, C, E, F, L,P, U, Sponge Daubers, Sparkles - Brown and Tan Assortment, Bling Assortment, Alcohol Markers - Twilight and Creme Brulee, Foam Tape, Antiqued Gold Mini-Medley Collection, Paradise Paper Flowers, Cottage Assortment, Wooden Buttons, Waxy Flax - Bamboo, Blue Thread and Sewing Machine (not CTMH), CTMH Computer Fonts (ret.) 

Just for You Card - Deconstructed Sketches Challenge

My next three posts will all be Clementine paper based as I have an upcoming party and will be featuring the Clementine paper... I had to get some things done fairly quickly so I spent this weekend working on some projects to try and get ahead of the game. 

This card is from the Deconstructed Sketches website. I really liked their sketch this week but I had to change the oval shape in order to get my tree to fit. 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise noted:

Paper: Clementine Paper Pack, Creme Brulee Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock, Saddle Cardstock
Stamps: A Tree, Crafted with Love
Inks: Saddle Pigment Ink
Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Alcohol Markers - Creme Brulee, Twilight, Sorbet, Bitty Sparkles, Blue Ribbon (not CTMH)

Happiness Card - My Time Made Easy Challenges

Today's card is from a new sketch blog that I have found - My Time Made Easy. I have been collecting their sketches on my Pinterest board as well. For this card, I decided to create my own ribbon using our Colour Ready Seam Binding so it would match the card. I also changed the oval shape to something a little more interesting and masked some of the flowers for interest while still keeping with the colour scheme of the card. I had to take the photo using my IPhone since my camera has disappeared for the day (I think my husband has it at work but I'm not certain of that...)  

Be sure to check the Retiring List Heading at the top of my blog as items are selling out every day. Don't wait until the last minute or some of your favourite items may be gone!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Clementine Paper Pack, Twilight Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock

Stamps: Love Blooms

Inks: Black Pigment Ink, Twilight Pigment Ink, Twilight Dye Ink, Sorbet Dye Ink

Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Boutique Assortment, Colour Ready Seam Binding, Sponge Daubers, Twilight and Sorbet Alcohol Markers, Alcohol Blending Pen, Paradise Assortment Baker's Twine, Liquid Glass

Happy Birthday Card - Freshly Made Sketches

Today's card is much different from those of the past two days. I am finished with the sympathy cards (thank goodness as they are not my strength and I do not enjoy creating cards like that...). So, I decided to pull out some much more cheerful paper for the Freshly Made Sketch Challenge today. I haven't used the Lucy paper pack in ages! 

When I checked out the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop yesterday, one participant had used a corner rounder to create scallops on the shimmer trim. I decided to try that today but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. The rounder doesn't cut through the plastic and it's hard to get it to go through the trim as well. You have to go back afterwards and cut the plastic part off by hand. It does give a nice effect, though. My ribbon is in two pieces - the large piece fit just fine until I realized I needed a smaller piece peeking out below... That took some work to cut, fold and adhere a piece that narrow and make it look like it was attached to the top part! And embossing Cotton Candy ink turns it an orangy colour as I discovered here... The small flower is actually Blush and the large one is Cotton Candy, believe it or not! I learned some new things today!

So, here is the final product: 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Products are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Lucy Paper Pack (ret.), Sweet Leaf Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock

Stamps: Lucy WOTG (ret.), Happy Birthday (ret.)

Inks: Cotton Candy, Blush, Creme Brulee, Sweet Leaf, Versamark

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Artiste Cartridge, Silver Shimmer Trim, Pink Ribbon (not CTMH), Bling Assortment , Prisma Glitter, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Foam Tape, Alcohol Markers - Cotton Candy and Creme Brulee

With Heartfelt Sympathy Card - Waltzing Mouse Challenge

Today's card is the second of the sympathy cards that I am creating for the woman at my church who sends cards to families in need of spiritual uplifting. I used the current Waltzing Mouse sketch for this one. I just happened to read the Waltzing Mouse blog and found out that this is their last sketch and they are shutting down their blog... so I guess this card is kind of a dual sympathy card - for the staff at Waltzing Mouse as well. I just found out about them and now this is the only challenge I ended up doing and they are disappearing on me! How's that for irony? I will certainly continue to use their older sketches, though, as I really like their style. 

So here is my second sympathy card - not too busy, a little understated, but just enough, I think, to get the message across. 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Supplies used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise noted: 

Paper: Avonlea Paper Pack, Slate Cardstock
Stamps: Words of Comfort
Inks: Slate
Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Art Philosophy Cartridge, Green Mesh Ribbon (not CTMH), Slate Mini-Medley Collection, Foam Tape