Atlantic Hearts Sketch 127

I love the sketch at Atlantic Hearts this week! I decided to play with it and rotate it as well as change the shape of some things as you will see below. With the new Artistry Cricut Cartridge, I just HAD to play with some of the new shapes and this was the perfect opportunity... plus a sketch is meant as a starting point, not as a limitation as to what you can and can't do. 

I have a hard time with colours in the editing process sometimes... I use Pic Monkey and I could not get the thread to turn out in the yellow shade (the same as the center flower) that I used. It looks green for sure! Trust me, it IS yellow. The coloured sequins are yellow and glacier-blue, also to match the papers. I'm not sure how to get around those issues. Someday, when time allows, maybe I will learn to use Photoshop... in the meantime, green thread rules! 

Join us at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and show us your interpretation of this week's sketch. You have until Sunday evening to link up your project. 

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

Paper: Zoe Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sorbet Cardstock, Slate Cardstock, Cranberry Cardstock, Sweet Leaf Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Glacier Fundamental Cardstock
Stamps: Holiday Tags
Inks: Slate, Sorbet
Accessories: Artistry Cartridge, Artiste Cartridge, Green Triangle Enamel and Glitter Duos, Silver Sequins, Bitty Sparkles, ShinHan Markers (Golden Yellow, Turquoise Blue), Yellow Embroidery Floss (not CTMH)

Enjoy, 
Alyson

H2H Challenge - Doodle Away

The challenge at Heart 2 Heart this week is to doodle on your artwork. Now for me, this is something that I NEVER do! The only exception is that on about 2 layouts, I have drawn a border around my photo mounts - that's it. I cannot draw for the life of me and I had to think a little bit "out of the box" for this challenge. 

I decided to go with more of an outline approach - I chose an old but favourite stamp set and masked the images to create a grouping of flowers. I then outlined everything to create more dimension. My hand was SO unsteady as I was so nervous while doing this... 

Join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you doodle on your artwork. We would love to see your projects.You have until the end of the month to enter any of the September challenges. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Pear Cardstock, Poppy Cardstock
Stamps: Dreams Come True (ret.), Lifetime of Happiness (ret.), Have a Happy Day (ret.)
Inks: Poppy, Pomegranate, Pear
Accessories: Corner Rounder, Black Journaling Pens (ret.) 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Atlantic Hearts Sketch 125

The sketch at Atlantic Hearts this week is a very straightforward one - it can be just a simple two layer card or it can be extended to be much more than that. I chose to go somewhere in the middle. 

The Zoe paper pack is so awesome because it can be masculine or feminine, depending on the embellishments that are used with the papers. This card looked very masculine before the flowers were added. 

Join us at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge this week and show us your interpretation of the sketch shown above. You have until Sunday night to get your entry submitted. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Zoe Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Slate Cardstock, Sorbet Cardstock, Sweet Leaf Cardstock
Stamps: Lovely Birthday
Inks: Glacier, Sorbet
Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Coral Shimmer Trim, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Grey Enamel Gems

Enjoy, 
Alyson

H2H - Bring on the Colour!

The challenge this week at Heart 2 Heart is colouring. I am still learning how to shade effectively using the ShinHan markers but I thought I would try something else this week. I used a stamp set that didn't require shading at all - just basic colouring to add interest. I have had this stamp set for a while and there are three long stamps in the set. I had only used one of them before today and it was only greenery. This one made for much more interesting colouring! 

I chose to use a combination of purples and yellows, along with green for the leaves and I like the way this turned out. Foam tape added some dimension, along with an embossing folder. 

Join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your colouring skills. You have the entire month of September to enter any or all of the challenges this month. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Sangria Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Eggplant Cardstock, Honey Cardstock, Pear Cardstock

Stamps: Joyful Birthday, Botanical Backgrounds

Inks: Black Pigment Ink

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Artiste Cartridge, Scallop Embossing Folder, Thistle Thick Twine, ShinHan Markers (Golden Yellow, Marigold, Peony Purple, Lavender, Leaf Green, Vivid Green), Clear Sparkles, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Gorgeous Card Set using September SOTM

This beautiful set of cards with the matching box is a set for which I cannot take credit. It was designed by a fellow consultant, Julie Carriere, and I just copied her instructions to create this. If you want more information on this set, click here to see Julie's original post where you can order her wonderful instructions so you can also create this set! 

I love the colours and this stamp set as well. "Paper Garden", September's Stamp of the Month, is only available during the month of September, so if you are planning to create this awesome set, be sure to order your stamp set during this month! You can get it for just $6 with a $50 purchase. Click here to shop online or contact me for more information. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Whisper Cardstock
Stamps: Paper Garden, Finding the Words
Inks: Pear, Thistle, Whisper, Slate
Accessories: Julie's cutting guide - Cricut Explore required, Diamond Embossing Folder, Sanding Kit, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Thistle Striped Ribbon (ret. - could also use Thistle Thick Twine), Sponge Daubers

Enjoy, 
Alyson

September Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Paper Garden

Welcome to September's Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month, we are featuring the stamp set "Paper Garden" - a set of 10 stamps. This is a gorgeous set of stamps and with so many new products available for purchase now, the bloggers along this blog hop will show you several ideas, so sit back and enjoy the tour. You should have arrived here from Priscilla Gotham's blog .
If you get lost, a list of all blogs can be found here .

The stamp set looks like this.

I chose to create two cards - both using a form of watercolour technique. 

The first is done using our dye (regular) ink pads. It is so simple to do. All I did was use a large acrylic block and ink directly onto the block using three colours (Lagoon, Pear and Fern - a new colour). I lightly dropped a few drops of water on top of the ink until it beaded up and then carefully turned the block over and placed it on top of my white cardstock. The impression under the black images is what I ended up with and I love it! The colours blended together but not so much that you can't tell what they were to begin with. After the cardstock dried, I stamped the images that I wanted and then mounted the card to the base and added my embellishments. 

The second technique is brand new to me and I know I need to practice... 
But, I still wanted to include my project here to show you what I did. 
We now have new watercolour paints. I am NOT a painter by any stretch of the imagination - AT ALL! I simply took various shades of blue and mixed them together on the watercolour paper until I had something I sort of liked. Since this stamp set doesn't have any sentiments, I added a sentiment from another stamp set. 

I hope you enjoyed my projects. 

The next blog on the hop is Haley Dyer's blog 

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

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

(increase in prices in the Canadian catalog - please note that the price is shown incorrectly on the image where the stamps are shown - the price there is shown in US dollars) 

Visit my shopping site here. 

Remember this stamp set is only available until September 30th! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Pear Cardstock, Pacifica Cardstock, Watercolour Paper

Stamps: Paper Garden, Just a Little Note

Inks: Black, Lagoon, Fern, Pear

Accessories: Fern Thick Twine, Glacier Thick Twine, Green Triangle Enamel and Glitter Duos, Watercolour Paints, Paintbrush Set

Enjoy, 

Alyson