April SOTM Blog Hop - Bracket Frame

 

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We will be featuring April's SOTM, "Balloon Talk", a set of 24 stamps.  If you have come here from Wendy's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around. A complete list of bloggers can be found here.  

This month we have approximately 55 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and fabulous Close To My Heart products on their blogs. Just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

Here is a picture of the images in this stamp set. 

I had a hard time deciding how to use this stamp set. I knew that if I created a card, that I would only use one, maybe two of the images from this stamp set. Therefore, I would have to create many cards to show off the set. I didn't have a scrapbook page ready to create yet so I decided to go with a bracket frame instead. 
My little puppy, Mika, is now 8 months old. Someone - I am not sure who - recently sent her this gorgeous dress as a gift and I am still trying to figure out who that individual might have been... However, the dress is beautiful on her. I decided to use that photo as my focus for the frame. I used paper from both the Balloon Ride and Lollydoodle Paper Packs as well as our Pink Glitter Paper. 
Unfortunately, my camera did not pick up the print of the stamped images very well. They are stamped on Champagne Cardstock using Sky and Cotton Candy Pigment Ink. They do show up much better in person than in the photos.
Below the frame, I have enlarged the stamped portion so you can better see what I did do with the Stamp of the Month. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Lollydoodle Paper Pack, Balloon Ride Paper Pack, Pink Glitter Paper, Sky Cardstock, Champagne Cardstock

Stamps: Balloon Talk

Inks: Cotton Candy Pigment Ink, Sky Pigment Ink, Topiary Reinker

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Artiste Cartridge, Bracket Frame, Burlap Ribbon, Pink Glitter Gems, Foam Tape

 Now "hop" on over to Dana'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 April SOTM is only available until the last day of April! 

Click here to see how you can get this stamp set for 

just $5 this month!

Enjoy, 

Alyson

More Silent Auction Cards

This is the next installment of cards for my church's upcoming Silent Auction. It is coming up so fast and I am running really far behind in getting these sets of cards made! 

This set is made using the Sarita Paper Pack. I think I was overly ambitious in using the fabric... I wanted to use some of it up since I have so much of it and once I got started, I decided that I wanted to use it for the front of my cards as well. That meant sewing the edges to make them neat and clean as well as creating the ruffle for each card (there are 8 in each set). These took me quite a bit of time to create, to say the least...

The first photo shows the box and one of each of the cards 

(I made 4 of each card).

The second photo shows one of the cards in more detail so you can see what I did with the fabric. I also was able to use my new Cricut Explore to cut the shape for the sentiment and the background (not a big deal, I know, but at least I did get to use it!)

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Sarita Paper Pack, Outdoor Denim Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock, Goldrush Cardstock, Colonial White Card Bases and Envelopes

Stamps: Friend (ret.)

Inks: Goldrush, Outdoor Denim

Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Sarita Textiles, Harvest Baker's Twine Assortment, Paradise Baker's Twine Assortment, Teal Shimmer Trim, Rugged Edge Scallop Punch (not CTMH), Turquoise Ribbon (not CTMH)

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Wreath for my Door

This is not a Close To My Heart post but something I have wanted to create for a while now. I have seen burlap wreaths in various places and I love the way they look. I have always wanted to try one for myself and I finally got up the nerve this weekend. I found this lighter color of burlap at a local craft store and I actually had to return to get a second roll as it took me a lot more than I expected to cover the wreath. It took me a LONG time to cover the wreath itself and the embellishing part took just a few minutes. The bow is supposed to be slightly offside. I like the way it turned out and it is now hanging on my door. 

I hope you like it as much as I do! 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Birthday Card for Special Friend

This card is one that I saw on Pinterest and  I knew I had to create it as a birthday card for a special friend of mine. The original card was created by Hansi Brittain and by clicking HERE, you can see her idea. 

Pinterest is such an awesome resource and I lost my direct pin to that resource a while ago... and have not been able to find a way to get it back! In my "Contact Me" link above, my Pinterest address is there for those of you who wish to follow me. I do update my boards every couple of days. 

I chose to use Sky and Honey as my main colours on this card. It did not take long to create but I love the flourish and the overall effect. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Honey Cardstock, Sky Cardstock
Stamps: Swirls Around, Just a Number
Inks: Sky, Honey, Slate
Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Sponge Daubers, Black Journaling Pens (ret.), Blue Sparkles (ret.), Foam Tape

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Unit Blog Hop - Spring Card Box

Welcome to the Brae-er's Team Blog Hop! If you have arrived from Lucy's blog, you are in the right spot. 

I have seen more and more of these card boxes popping up and I really wanted to try one out for myself. They are fiddly to create but I like the way mine turned out. 

The first photo is a view of the front of the card, 

looking down at it. 

The next two photos are taken from the two sides so you can see some of the details on each side as well. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Lollydoodle Paper Pack, Juniper Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Cotton Candy Cardstock, Sorbet Cardstock, Pear Cardstock
Stamps: None
Inks: None
Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Base and Bling Floral Accents (ret.), Skylark Assortment, Ivy Lane Assortment, Ariana Assortment, Base and Bling Pink Jewels, Rosewood Mini-Medley Accents Collection, Baker's Twine - Neutral Metallic Assortment, Corner Rounder

Now hop on over to Michelle's blog to see the wonderful creation she has made for you. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

CASEd Birthday Card

This birthday card is CASEd from Susie Rostad - I saw her card on a CTMH Board on Facebook and absolutely fell in love with it. I printed out the card and, although I didn't use the same colour scheme or papers, I did copy her wonderful idea. 

I have SO many birthdays of family and friends coming up in March and April... a very busy time for card creating, to say the least! 

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

Paper: For Always Paper Pack (ret.), Black Cardstock, Cotton Candy Cardstock, Topiary Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock

Stamps: Family Love, Happy Birthday (ret,)

Inks: Black, Cotton Candy, Topiary

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Black Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (ret.), Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (not CTMH), Embossing Stylus, Sanding Kit, Sparkles from Frosted Cardmaking Kit (ret.)

 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Silent Auction Cards - Set #1

Once again this year, it is time for me to begin creating card sets for my church's annual Silent Auction. I have had several people ask me if I was planning to make cards this year because they say that is the reason they attend the auction is to bid on my cards - what a nice compliment!

So, I have chosen the patterns I am planning to use and I have completed one set to date. Between that, my unit blog hop and the SOTM blog hop, along with my own projects, I am keeping busy, for sure. 

Here are some photos of the first set. The first photo is a picture of the box and one of the cards inside (all 8 cards are the same).

 

The next two photos show the box - face on and on an angle. 

 

The last photo shows the card. I based it on the sketch shown below the card. I loved the sketch and thought I could do something interesting with the card. 

Supplies used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: For Always Paper Pack (ret.), Lagoon Cardstock, Black Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock

Stamps: Swirls Around, A Friend Like You (ret.)

Inks: Black, Lagoon

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Paradise Assortment Baker's Twine, Scalloped Border Punch, Crochet Flowers (ret.), Lagoon Mini Medley (ret.), other flowers (not CTMH)

Enjoy, 

Alyson