Heart 2 Heart - My Favourite Papers with Lots of Layers

Welcome back to another challenge at Heart 2 Heart! 

This week, the title of the challenge is "Everything except the kitchen sink". That can be interpreted in several ways... it can be a kitchen or cooking theme, it can be a very busy card with lots of layers or embellishments or both, or it can be something else that you can justify, as long as you let us know. Make sure you explain in your comments, though, and don't leave us wondering! 

I chose to create a card with several layers and some embellishments - and I chose to use my favourite current papers - Chelsea Gardens. 

Counting the layers (excluding the foam tape), I came up with 19 in total. The ribbon counts for two layers because the bow is attached separately. I didn't count stamping or colouring as layers, nor the shimmer brush. If those are added, that makes 22 layers. 

I chose not to put a sentiment on this card - partly because it was already very busy - and I can always add it on the inside later. The second photo shows the gold shimmer on the flowers -it really is spectacular in person. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you interpret "Everything except the kitchen sink". This challenge ONLY runs until March 3rd. All other February challenges close on February 28th. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Chelsea Gardens Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Charcoal Cardstock

Stamps: Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking, Chelsea Gardens Scrapbooking

Inks: Charcoal, Lagoon, Glacier

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Gold Glitter Gems, ShinHan Marker, Chelsea Gardens Dots and Gems, Gold Shimmer Brush, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Chelsea Gardens Thin Cuts, Whimsy Ribbon Pack

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 281 - Tic Tac Toe and a Ton of Layers!

Welcome to another Colour Dare Challenge! Since it is the last week in February, it is time for another Tic Tac Toe board! This one is based on the colours from the Make Waves paper pack and there are a LOT of available colours in that package. 

If you are using that paper pack, the one paper that contains ALL of them is the mermaid paper. Some of the other papers have many of them - but not all. 

Here is the tic tac toe board. I usually post the colours at the bottom but this time, I think it is easier if you see it first. 

First - I used the the top line, the left line and the bottom line. I also added both Black and White. 

The only colours I did not include were Sorbet and Canary. 

I chose to step WAY out of my comfort zone for this challenge. My card has a ton of layers... the last time I counted, I was up to 22 layers! That doesn't include the foam tape between the layers. This is not my normal style but I wanted to try something different. 

The Emerald background was embossed and sanded only here and there. I hand stitched along two sections using black embroidery floss. There is a layer of vellum on top of some of the floral paper, just to soften the boldness of that paper and the vellum has been slightly torn to rough the edges. Using various Cricut images, I layered them until I had what I wanted with the flower and leaves on top. Some of the Make Waves flower embellishments form a sort of waterfall on the left side. A button with a gem holds the twine in place on top of the flower, which was brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. The Hello sentiment was stamped on a piece of Bashful patterned paper and again three times below on a banner. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use this Tic Tac Toe board to create a project. The possibilities are ENDLESS! 

You have 2 weeks to link up your project as the due date is Thursday, March 8 at 10pm EST. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Make Waves Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Emerald Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Bashful Cardstock, Pansy Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock

Stamps: Sending Smiles, Have a Happy Day (ret.)

Inks: Emerald, Pixie, Willow, Glacier

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Artiste Cartridge (ret.), Artbooking Cartridge, You Are Here Cartridge, Dots Embossing Folder (ret.), Sanding Kit (ret.), Black Embroidery Floss and Needle (not CTMH), Turquoise Twine (not CTMH), White Button (ret.), Make Waves Sequins and Gems, Clear Shimmer Brush, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

Think Pink Blog Hop

Welcome to the Think Pink blog hop. This blog hop features all PINK products by Close To My Heart, to go along with the February PINK campaign. You will see cardstock, glitter paper, patterned paper, inks, stamps, embellishments and possibly even more pink items along the way! Enjoy the tour!

You should have arrived here from Haley Dyer's blog.

If you get lost, a complete list of participating bloggers can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog. 

I chose to create a card using primarily the Gimme Some Sugar paper pack. Although it isn't entirely pink, the majority of it is pink. I wanted the flowers from that paper pack so the best idea was to simply cut them out from the hero paper and use them right on my card. I liked the tangerine ones so I wanted to include three of those as well. All the flowers were brushed with either the Bashful Shimmer Brush or the Clear Shimmer Brush - that can be seen better in the bottom photo. The ribbon was gathered and the scallop border was cut using the border die. The banner was purposely offset for interest, as were the pages. 

I worked on this card when several of the CTMH Cricut cartridges were down in Design Space so I had to create the pages and the ovals using free and basic shapes and manoeuvre them by slicing and welding until I had what I wanted...

The next blog on this hop is Vickie O'Dell's blog.

I am sure she has something wonderful (and PINK) to share with you.

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: Gimme Some Sugar Paper Pack, Bashful Cardstock, Blossom Cardstock, Peacock Cardstock, Bashful Glitter Paper

Stamps: Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking

Inks: Peacock

Accessories: Cricut Basic Shapes (DS), Peacock Stitched Ribbon, Bashful Pearls, Scallop Border Die, Foam Tape, Bashful Shimmer Brush, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 252 - Lavender Birthday Greetings

Welcome to another Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge! 

I have a lot of friends' birthdays coning up in March and April... perfect for using these sketch challenges! 

For the focus of my card, I chose to use a stamp that kind of frustrated me a little... it is actually a watercolour approach and so it it not designed to fit exactly in the outline, which rather annoys me. I spent some time with a photo editing program erasing some of the sections outside the lines and finally stopped - asking myself WHY I was doing that when it is supposed to have that kind of appearance.... 

Nonetheless, I finished it off with a die cut border and a ribbon with a few sparkles. So simple. I also brushed several of the individual buds with the Gold Shimmer Brush - that can be seen in the second photo below. It really stands out when the card is held on an angle. 

Come and 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: Whimsy Fundamentals, White Daisy Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Eggplant Cardstock

Stamps: Tulip (Altenew), Lots of Lavender (Stampin Up)

Inks: Thistle, Eggplant, Fern, Tuxedo Black Memento Ink

Accessories: White and Gold Striped Ribbon, Little Dreamer Gems (ret.), Stitched Ovals (not CTMH), Gold Shimmer Brush, ShinHan Markers

Enjoy,

Alyson

Heart 2 Heart - True Love

Welcome to another challenge at Heart 2 Heart. The theme this week is True Love. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, the theme is perfect for this time of the year. 

Your True Love may be your significant other, a friend, a relative, a pet, or it may even be an object! For example, I know MANY people cannot get through a day without their coffee! 

I chose to do a generic card that I can give to just about anyone. The sentiment is pretty simple - just "You Make My Heart Happy". I love it because it can be used for any purpose. I dug out an older stamp set for the floral collection at the bottom. It was embossed in silver and coloured using ShinHan markers. The hearts were cut from Silver and Bashful Glitter Paper and entwined with each other. A few Bashful Pearls were added to the coloured flowers and the flowers were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your interpretation of "True Love". Be sure to use some Close To My Heart products in your project - if it isn't obvious, please list your products in your description. 

You have until the end of February to enter this or any of the February challenges. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Bashful Cardstock, Silver Glitter Paper, Bashful Glitter Paper

Stamps: Adore You (ret.), Happy Heart

Inks: Versamark, Raspberry Pigment Ink, Bashful, Raspberry

Accessories: Hearts Thin Cuts (ret.), Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Clear Shimmer Brush, Bashful Pearls, ShinHan Markers

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 279 - Birthday Flower Card

Welcome to another Colour Dare challenge! 

This week, we are challenging you to use the Primary colours - but specific shades of them. They are Pacifica, Cranberry and Canary. Of course, you can always add Black and White and gold is optional but no other colours, please. 

I chose to focus on the blues and yellows with very little red. The black and white were extras but I needed them because using two colours is very difficult, especially when working with multiple layers. 

I cut my flower using my Cricut and then stamped a design on both layers using Canary ink. That's hard to see in the original photo so there is a close-up photo of just the flower further down. I coloured some clear sparkles to create a ring in the centre. The black glitter paper was wrapped with red twine. I always use a small hole punch to keep my twine in place even though I secure it on the back. By punching a half circle in the edge of the paper where the twine will sit, it keeps it in place and no-one ever sees those tiny little half circles because the twine rests perfectly there and it won't slide around :)

I used a Hostess Reward stamp set to stamp the background on the flowers and also to stamp the lines on the tags (which are also Cricut cuts). The birthday greeting is from an old campaign stamp - I also used it to finish the inside of the card. 

This is the inside of the card. 

Here is the close-up of the stamped flower. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use this colour combination! You have two weeks to link up your project as the due date is Thursday, February 22 at 10pm EST. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Adventure Fundamentals, Whimsy Fundamentals, White Daisy Cardstock, Pacifica Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Black Glitter Paper

Stamps: Background Essentials, Happy Everything (ret.)

Inks: Pacifica, Canary

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Artiste Cartridge (ret.), Clear Sparkles, ShinHan Markers, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Red Twine (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Atlantic Hearts 250 - Crafty Friends

Welcome to another challenge at Atlantic Hearts! 

This week's sketch has string, twine, ribbon or perhaps thin strips of paper involved, depending how you interpret those very thin lines... I chose to use twine on my card and braid three pieces of it together. I love the end result! 

I used a stamp set that I have had for a couple of months but just broke out for the first time. The sentiments are so perfect for crafting - all about creative friends! How can you not LOVE this sentiment? The white background is embossed with a dot folder to keep the dotty theme to match the paper that I used from the Make Waves paper pack. And old button provided the perfect centre under the sentiment and I used four coloured twine strands to create a bow, for which I slightly pulled the bows ends apart to create different loop sizes. 

Come and 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: Make Waves Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Emerald Cardstock

Stamps: Crafty Friends (Altenew)

Inks: Emerald, Pansy

Accessories: Nestabilities Dies (not CTMH), Green Twine (Stampin Up), Purple Twine (Stampin Up), White Twine, Dot Embossing Folder (ret.), White Button (ret.), Foam Tape

Enjoy, 

Alyson

February SOTM Blog Hop - Sunny Thoughts

Welcome to February's Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month, we are featuring the stamp set "Sunny Thoughts" - a set of 13 stamps. There are 5 perfectly spring-like sentiments as well as florals and leaves to adorn those sentiments - such a great way to start thinking about spring! 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 Brenda Lapp's blog. 

If you get lost, a list of all participating bloggers can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog.

The stamp set looks like this.

I have seen these gorgeous Start Effect cards in various places over the past month and wanted to try them for myself. They are remarkably simple to create. 
The link is here if you want to try making one.

I used the Gimme Some Sugar paper pack for the decorative background. I learned that the small slit to cut in which to place the front piece needs to be very narrow or the top piece can seem to be top heavy, no matter what is placed on it. 

I varied the front and back papers along with the sentiments. I also brushed the main part of the sentiment using the Bashful Shimmer Brush. The flowers and greenery were all fussy cut and placed around the sentiment. It's tough to photograph light coloured papers without losing the details in the patterns. 
Which do you like better? 

The next blog on this hop is Jean McNulty's blog.
I am sure she has something wonderful to share with you. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Gimme Some Sugar Paper Pack, Juniper Cardstock, Tangerine Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock

Stamps: Sunny Thoughts

Inks: Heather, Juniper, Bashful

Accessories: Artistry Cartridge, Bashful Pearls, Gold Pearls, Bashful Shimmer Brush, Clear Shimmer Brush, ShinHan Markers

Enjoy,

Alyson