Heart 2 Heart - All Creatures Great and Small

The challenge this week at Heart 2 Heart is a dandy - All Creatures Great and Small! There are so many possible interpretation of this theme... cartoons in many forms, real creatures, imaginary creatures... I had something else different in mind until I remembered this photo from a few years ago. 

This photo is not altered in any way - this is absolutely real. While sitting in a camp chair on the sand on a remote, very open island campsite while on a canoe trip in Algonquin Park (reading at the time), this incredibly HUGE bull moose decided to walk right through our campsite. Quickly grabbing the camera, I managed to take this photo of him in front of the tent. The tent is a three person tent that you can comfortable kneel in height-wise so that gives you an idea how big this moose was! He then walked up into the trail you see just to the left of the tent and stayed there for about an hour, just looking around. He wasn't aggressive or anything - he was simply curious. He eventually left but he was kind of nice company for a while. 

I chose to paint the background of this layout using a variety of greens and browns. The details were added later and there are photos below that show those elements closer up. I purposely kept it simple as living outdoors requires a simpler way of life. 

Join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your interpretation of All Creatures Great and Small. You have until the end of April to link up with this challenge or any of the April challenges. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Watercolour Paper, White Daisy Cardstock, Cocoa Cardstock, Desert Sand Cardstock, Fern Cardstock

Stamps: Silly Sayings

Inks: Cocoa, Desert Sand

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Artistry Cartridge, Artbooking Cartridge, Watercolour Paints, Paintbrushes, Enchantment Ribbon Collection, Fern Thick Twine, Misc, Twine (not CTMH), Brown Marker (not CTMH), Foam Tape

Enjoy, 

Alyson

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Colour Dare 240 - The Weird Birds

Well, I am facing a time crunch as I have been fighting off the flu for what seems like forever... it comes and it goes and I haven't felt like doing any creating at all for the last couple of weeks. Now my creative team requirements are catching up to me. I was way ahead, but not any longer. 

The colours this week for Colour Dare are those from the Some Kinda Wonderful Paper Pack - there are several so we are suggesting that you use a minimum of 4 of them but you can certainly use more if you wish. They are: Glacier Lemon, Pacifica, Raspberry, Willow, Whisper, Black and White Daisy. That's quite a list! 

This idea is actually one that I saw a while ago but I can't remember where or whose it was so my sincere apologies to whoever came up with the original, very cute idea. I loved the thought of the birds being different and the saying that went with it! I chose to use a few papers from the Some Kinda Wonderful paper pack - and black as an outline. ShinHan Markers were used to colour in the birds. 

I am also adding this card to the Three Amigos Challenge - they have a challenge going during the month of April so if you happen to be creating using the Some Kinda Wonderful Paper Pack, be sure to enter your project into that challenge as well. 

Join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the Some Kinda Wonderful colour palette (minimum of 4 of the colours shown). You have until Thursday at 10pm EST to link up your project. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Some Kinda Wonderful Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Lemon Cardstock

Inks: Black Pigment Ink, Black

Stamps: Some Kinda Wonderful - Cardmaking, Silly Sayings

Accessories: Cricut Shapes, Artistry Cartridge, ShinHan Markers, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Journaling Pen, Black and White Dots, Some Kinda Wonderful Cardmaking Thin Cuts

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Atlantic Hearts 208 - Sending you Hugs

It's an interesting sketch this week at Atlantic Hearts. There are so many possibilities with this type of sketch... any sketch can be rotated but this one lends itself to many interpretations of those ovals. 

I chose to use a wreath. The original wreath was a circular shape but the wonderful benefits of Cricut Design Space allowed me to alter it into an oval shape which I actually wanted so I could place the tulips inside and still have a bit of room for the stems below. I just happened to find a wreath on the Flower Market cartridge that was created using tulip leaves - how lucky was that??

These tulips are from a gorgeous stamp set from Altenew simply called Tulips. I love that it is a triple stamp set - with images that create so much depth in the flowers simply by stamping. 

I chose to use a border with cut-out sections and and some retired ribbon. Since the ribbon is thick, to avoid actual tying a bow and ending up with a lot of bulk, I formed a bow shape and used glue dots to hold the ribbon together and then wrapped a piece of ribbon around that to hold my bow together. Less bulk and a pretty bow! 

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 Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Dreamin' Big Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Juniper Cardstock, Saffron Cardstock

Stamps: Tulip (not CTMH)

Inks: Black, Lemon, Saffron, Juniper

Accessories: Flower Market Cartridge, Artbooking Cartridge, Tulip Dies (not CTMH), Juniper Ribbon (not CTMH), Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Cardmaking WYW Blog Hop

This blog hop features the stamp sets from the four Cardmaking Workshop Your Way kits... used in different ways other than what the kits indicate to do with them. 

You should have come from Gina Brandstetter's blog.

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

When the Seasonal Expressions 1 Catalog was released, I saw the Cardmaking WYW for Some Kinda Wonderful... it didn't ever closely resemble the paper pack but I loved the stamp set and that is why I chose to purchase the kit. I just wanted the stamp set and I couldn't get it any other way! I love the two-step flowers and the sentiments are some that are not found anywhere else. 

So, for this blog hop, I decided to do something a little different. I kept these cards very simple. 

For the first card, I masked a line off to the left of the card. Using 5 ink colours, I blended them together to create the background. Keeping the masking sheets in place, I used black ink to stamp various images from the stamp set to create a collage of flowers and greenery (although it is black). Once the mask was removed, it left a clean line along each side. I just added a black and gold ribbon and stamped the sentiment at the bottom. 

The sentiment is part of a larger sentiment in this set. I often cut my stamps if I want parts of sentiments. Some people have a hard time doing that - as long as you are careful not to cut over the image, the stamp does not get damaged in any way and can easily be placed together again (as shown in the next card). I have been doing it for many years and have not yet damaged a stamp! 

The second card was created using the emboss resist technique. This card was actually my second attempt and the solid flowers still ended up covered in ink... I worked quickly with a tissue in hand to rub the ink off the flowers but it still didn't help. I even tried with the first card to go back and emboss over them a second time but that was not successful so I did the card a second time. Perhaps my clear embossing powder is old enough that it needs to be replaced (?) Something worth considering... 

Three colours of ink were used to create the background - Glacier, Lagoon and Emerald. It is hard to create something like this because when you are stamping with Versamark, it is very hard to see exactly what has been stamped and where - the final result is kind of a surprise when it is embossed and then inked! 

Be sure to order any or all of the WYW Cardmaking kits before the end of April - that is when the Seasonal Expressions 1 catalog retires, along with all of the terrific stamp sets that go with them! 

Happy shopping! You can visit my Consultant website to shop here. 

The next blog on this hop is Krista Hershberger's blog. 

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

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock

Stamps: Here for You (WYW Cardmaking Kit)

Inks: Lemon, Tangerine, Sorbet, Blossom, Raspberry, Glacier, Lagoon, Emerald, Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Versamark

Accessories: Foam Tape, Heat Tool, Clear Embossing Powder, Sponges, Uptown Ribbon Pack

Enjoy, 

Alyson

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Heart 2 Heart - Whimsy-cal

The theme this week at Heart 2 Heart is Whimsy-cal. There is a reason for spelling the title the way it is... Whimsy is the name of one of the paper collections at Close To my Heart. One could also interpret whimsical in a variety of ways... That is left up to the participant of the challenge. 

I chose to use the Whimsy paper collection. That collection contains soft, pastel-like colours. 

The card that I made is based on an old sketch that I have kept for quite some time. The wreath is from one of the Close To My Heart stamp and die cut combinations. I coloured the leaves using two ShinHan markers. The tiny flowers were actually cut on the Cricut - sized at 1/4"... The embossed card stock was sanded as I wanted the white core of the cardstock to stand out. 

Join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your Whimsy-cal creation. You have until the end of April to link up this challenge or any of the April challenges. 

Be sure to use at least some Close to My Heart products in your project. 

Products used are Close to My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Whimsy Fundamentals, White Daisy Cardstock, Juniper Cardstock

Stamps: Wreath, Say it All (ret.)

Inks: Juniper, Versamark 

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Flower Market Cartridge, Wreath Thin Cut, Embossing Folder (not CTMH), Sanding Kit, White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Whimsy Ribbon Collection, ShinHan Markers, Bitty Sparkles, Sharpie Marker (not CTMH)

Enjoy, 

Alyson

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Colour Dare 238 - Just for You: Masked Roses

This week at Colour Dare, the challenge is to use White Daisy, Willow and Peacock (ALL and ONLY). 

Using just three colours is tough... With one colour being the background - usually white - that leaves just two colours to create the remainder of the card. In this case, I decided to use the adjustment of stamping the sentiment in black, which is allowed. Otherwise, I would have had to stamp the sentiment in one of the two other colours and it would have been lost...

This required a lot of masking - not just the sentiment panel across the top third of the card but all the flowers and much of the greenery as well. I don't mind doing it at all - it is just time consuming. Fortunately, these images are straightforward to cut out - some I have done are not nearly as easy! 

Join us at Colour Dare and be sure to use ALL and ONLY the colours shown above. If you don't have the Close To My Heart colours, use colours as close as you can. 

The challenge ends Thursday, April 13 at 10pm EST so be sure to have your project linked up by that time! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Peacock Cardstock, Willow Cardstock

Stamps: Dreamin' Big - Cardmaking, Hello Lovely - Scrapbooking

Inks: Peacock, Willow, Black

Accessories: Foam Tape

Enjoy, 

Alyson

The Importance of Supporting Others...

Life is all about supporting others. 

Last year's Close To My Heart campaign about acts of kindness -  random or not - really struck a chord with me. At the beginning of this calendar year at my church, each of us was invited to pick a star with a word printed on it and we have been asked to try and live out that word for the remainder of the year. I am not going to share what my word is but I am doing my best to live out that word. 

Below are two cards that I have created this past week that are being sent to people in my life who I feel really need a lift for one reason or another.

Having had so many obligations myself recently, most of them medical-related, I am struggling to keep up with my own creative endeavours and I wish I could claim these as my own designs, but I cannot. I simply put my own spin on the original. Both were found on Pinterest. 

The first card was designed by Jan Brown.

This card was designed by Lisa Pretto.

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Raspberry  Cardstock, Sea Glass Cardstock

Stamps: Smiles (ret.), Paper Bird (ret.) 

Inks: Raspberry, Sea Glass

Accessories: Artistry Cartridge, Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Scalloped Embossing Folder (ret.), Woodgrain Embossing Folder (ret.). Flourish Dies (not CTMH), Twine (ret.), Wood Button (ret.), Pearls (ret.), Pink Sharpie Marker (not CTMH), Foam Tape

Enjoy, 

Alyson

AH 206 - To Be Creative...

Interesting sketch at Atlantic Hearts this week... the shape in the centre can be interpreted as anything you wish, I suppose. 

I chose to use it as a space to place a quote I have been wanting to use for ages. The sentiment spot at the bottom became a place for a floral flourish of sorts. I really wanted a different frame around the quote but the ones I wanted were far too large to fit my card so I ended up using a scalloped oval instead. Space considerations of a standard card size... 

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 Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Some Kinda Wonderful paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Willow Cardstock
Stamps: Ink Blot, Floral Flourish (other), Creative Sentiment (other)
Inks: Raspberry, Willow, Black, Black Pigment Ink
Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Green Shimmer Trim, Black Shimmer Trim, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, ShinHan Markers, Green Triangle Enamel and Glitter Duos

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Hello Beautiful...

I love this card... I don't usually start a blog post by saying that but I really like how this turned out.

This is for a special friend and it is actually a birthday card. I recent purchased a set of stamps from Altenew and they are tulip stamps (it also comes with a set of dies). They are quite difficult to stamp as they are triple stamping stamps. I had to PRACTICE a lot and am still learning the exact placement of some of them. I found this idea on Pinterest (Susi Kelly) and altered it a bit for what I wanted. I love how the tulips and leaves have so much dimension.

The word BEAUTIFUL was stamped over three layers of cardstock already adhered down so a thin black marker helped to fill in the small gaps that were left open. I didn't actually stitch in the holes but left them open for the effect.

I hope my friend loves this card as much as I do. The inside is finished as well in the same style.

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock
Stamps: Tulips (not CTMH), Beloved Bouquet (ret.), Journaling Prompts, Live, Laugh, Love (ret.)
Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Blossom, Raspberry, Fern, New England Ivy
Accessories: Tulip Dies (not CTMH), Stitch Guide, Piercing Tool, Foam Tape, Journaling Pen

Enjoy,
Alyson

April Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Flock Together

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

"Flock Together" - a set of 11 stamps. This is a cute set of stamps - quails (I believe) with a mommy, daddy and three babies plus some great "together" sayings for any time of the year. 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 Jean McNulty'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 a card with a scene using the birds. I was kind of stuck with what to do with these birds to start with... They seemed a little strange to me. I eventually decided to make them into a nesting group. It took me a while to figure out that these were actually quail... It was the attachment on the head that did it. Then came the name of the group - that is a COVEY (it can also be a bevy or a drift of quail). In this case, they shall be a covey of quail. So here, we have a covey of quail, nesting with mom and dad.

The "nest" was created from the twine wrapped up and secured with Liquid Glass under the parents. I did look at the colour of the birds online and they do have blue backs in many cases. Many are also yellow and orange tinted on the front, although not nearly as much as I did here for creative purposes. 

The ribbon was coloured on the backside using the ShinHan markers. The colour does bleed so if you do this, be careful to add colour sparingly and wait until the colour bleeds before adding the next stripe. The markers make the ribbon very hard and it resists regular adhesive - very strong adhesive is needed to adhere the ribbon after adding colour. 

The next blog on the hop is Michelle Loncar'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 April 30th! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Whimsy Fundamentals, White Daisy Cardstock, Pacifica Cardstock

Stamps: Flock Together

Inks: Pacifica, Crystal Blue

Accessories: Cricut, ShinHan Markers, Rustic Home Ribbon Pack, Uptown Ribbon Pack, Thin Foam Tape, Foam Tape

Enjoy, 

Alyson