H2H - Cut it Out!

Welcome to another challenge at Heart 2 Heart! 

This week, the title of the challenge is "Cut it Out". It's all about cutting - using Thin Cuts (dies), Cricut cuts or fussy cutting (old-fashioned scissor cuts), we want to see your cut designs in your project! 

Considering that the March promotion at Close To My Heart is all about the sale of Thin Cuts (our die cut line) this is a very timely challenge! 

I chose to create a card using a sketch that I have had in my Pinterest file for some time - and I stayed true to the sketch as you will see as I posted the sketch under my card. I love the sketch design and I found that it worked really well as I was deciding what I wanted to do so I didn't have any need to change it at all. I was able to find a flourish on the Artbooking Cricut cartridge where I just trimmed off the ends to fit on the right side. I actually built my card in Design Space to make sure the everything fit perfectly first (except the leaves and flowers). 

The size of the card is 6x6 inches. The flowers are from the Beautiful You stamp set and the leaves are from Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking. Both have coordinating Thin Cuts. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you cut your way to happiness! You have until the end of March to enter this challenge or any of the other March challenges. Be sure to use some Close To My Heart products in your project. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Adventure Fundamentals, Blossom Paper Pack (ret.), White Daisy Cardstock, Pewter Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock, 

Stamps: Beautiful You, Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking, Create Kindness - Special (ret.)

Inks: Peacock, Lagoon, Eggplant, Pansy, Raspberry, Blossom, Pixie

Accessories: Artbooking Cartridge, Whimsy Ribbon Pack, Thin Foam Tape, Clear Shimmer Brush, Sharpie Markers (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 285 - All About Pink!

Welcome to another Colour Dare Challenge! 

This week's palette is about pink - lots and lots of pink (well, a little bit of light grey thrown in for good measure, and of course black and white if you desire). 

I decided to go back to a retired stamp - A Budding Friendship, for my flowers. I love the two-step stamping process and the ability to use second generation stamping to make the inside of the flowers a lighter shade. This set is terrific in that the inner stamp makes the flowers look quite realistic because it doesn't completely fill them in with colour - it has some bare spots and I really like that look. I fussy cut the flowers and stamped the centres using Pebble ink. 

I used Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking for the "greenery", which I coloured in using a marker that is the same colour as the grey shade, Pebble. 

The arrangement is set on a background of black glitter paper and then on Raspberry cardstock and finally on a white card base. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the palette shown above. 

Use all and only the colours shown - you may also add Black and White if desired but do not add any other colours. 

You have until April 5 at 10PM EST to link up your project. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock, Black Glitter Paper

Stamps: Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking, A Budding Friendship (ret.)

Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Raspberry, Bashful, Pebble

Accessories: Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking Thin Cuts (ret.), ShinHan Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush, Pink Gems (ret.), Flamingo Dots (ret.)

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 256 - An Extra Special Friend Card

Welcome to another sketch at Atlantic Hearts! 

This week, I decided to play around with the orientation of the sketch (rotated it 90 degrees) and also added a few elements to it. It is still obviously the same sketch, just enhanced a little bit. That's what I love about sketches - there is so much you can do with them! 

I used all Close To My Heart cardstock and inks but other stamps, dies and embossing folders for this card. On the embossing folder, I sanded ONLY the leaves to provide some added interest. That can be seen in the detail photo under the main photo, along with the shimmer on the flowers. Since I needed fairly tall flowers, some of them didn't reach very high so I stamped and cut out clusters of circles to cover the "ground". I love the sentiment - and I split it into two sections - part at the top and part at the bottom. The ribbon just seems to add a nice finishing touch.

Come and join us at Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret the sketch shown above. You have until Sunday night to link up your project. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock, Bashful Cardstock

Stamps: Extra Special (Altenew), Artsy Flower Parts (Simon Says Stamp)

Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Raspberry, Willow

Accessories: ShinHan Markers, Sanding Kit (ret.), Clear Shimmer Brush, Embossing Folder (not CTMH), Artsy Flower Parts Dies (Simon Says Stamp), White Grosgrain Ribbon (ret.), Stitched Border Dies (Gina Marie Designs), Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

HAPPY Eclipse card

I started creating this evening with a completely different intention in mind - and then ended up with this. 

I have seen many eclipse cards and have always wanted to try one, so here is mine. I used a retired stamp set to stamp the flowers - Adore You - and after I had everything cut out, I decided to emboss it. That was a lesson in itself... trying to keep all the pieces together in the folder was quite a task! 

I think perhaps the card looks like it has the measles... but I still like it. I did stamp and decorate the inside as well as it is intended to be a birthday card, so happy birthday is stamped on the inside as well as a few floral images. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock

Stamps: Adore You (ret.), Birthday Sparkles

Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink

Accessories: Block Alphabet Thin Cuts, Cascading Dots Embossing Folder (ret.), ShinHan Markers, Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

Layered Thinking of You Card

A friend of mine recently suffered a medical issue and I wanted to create a special card for him. Masculine cards are always a challenge for me so I went searching on Pinterest. When I saw the card on which I based mine, I KNEW I had made the right choice! The inspiration for my card came from Wendy Lee's website at creativeleeyours.com. She provided complete instructions as to how to create this card and I used her gorgeous design except I chose a different stamp and different colours. 

I chose a Sapphire Blue background and embossed it using a leaf embossing folder. I used 4 inks on the panels - Sapphire and Peacock at the bottom and Crystal Blue and Glacier at the top. The image and the sentiment were stamped in Sapphire to match the background. The butterflies were Cricut cut in 2 sizes and had some Bitty Sparkles added to them. 

The inside of the card also had some of the branches stamped and a butterfly added as well.

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Sapphire Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock
Stamps: Sending Love (ret.), Inspired by Nature (Stampin Up)
Inks: Sapphire, Peacock, Crystal Blue, Glacier
Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Bitty Sparkles, Leaf Embossing Folder (not CTMH)

Enjoy,
Alyson

H2H - It's All About Green!

Welcome to another challenge at Heart 2 Heart! This week, we have a colour challenge for you. With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner (March 17th), it is time to show off your GREENS. Anything using green is this week's challenge. It certainly doesn't have to be related to St. Patrick's Day, but it can be if you want. 

I went back to my favourite paper pack - Chelsea Gardens - which is full of green shades. There are the following greens in this paper pack alone: 

                                               - Fern

                                               - Sweet Leaf

                                               - Juniper

I suppose some people might consider Glacier to be a shade of green although that might be pushing it a little... 

I used a Juniper base for my card and one of the B&T papers that contains all of the colours. The greys in this pack are also so versatile as they are greenish greys. I used Heather cardstock but stamped my images using a darker grey - Charcoal.

Since I didn't want green flowers, I coloured them in using a Glacier coloured marker. They were also brushed with the Shimmer Brush - better seen in the second photo. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you use green on your project. You have until the end of March to link up with this or any of the other March challenges. 

I am also linking up my card with the March Viva La Verve sketch challenge - the first time I have entered a challenge in many years :) 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Chelsea gardens Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Heather Cardstock, Sweet Leaf Cardstock

Stamps: Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking

Inks: Charcoal

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking Thin Cuts, ShinHan Markers, Chelsea Gardens Dots and Gems (ret.), White Twine, Clear Sparkles, Journaling Marker, Foam Tape, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 283 - Big Circle Birthday

Welcome back to another Colour Dare challenge! 

This week, it's an interesting combination of colours... at least, I thought so. These are not colours that I normally choose to create with, so this was a definite challenge for me. I had to pull out some retired papers (Cats and Bats and the retired Enchantment Fundamentals) for the Eggplant and Goldrush patterns. 

I chose to use a pattern from the new Make it From Your Heart guide - it is Pattern #10. I also layered some of the large circles which is an idea that Close To My Heart just recently showed on their blog. 

The sentiment is actually stamped in both Eggplant and Black although that is hard to see - it looks more Eggplant than anything else. Just the edges were rolled in Black ink. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use these colours on a project of your choice. You have until Thursday, March 22 at 10pm EST to link up your project. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Pewter Cardstock, Enchantment Fundamentals (ret.), Cats and Bats Paper Pack (ret.)

Stamps: Birthday Blooms (SU)

Inks: Eggplant, Black

Accessories: White Grosgrain Ribbon (ret.), Black and White Dots, Scallop Border Die, Circle Dies (Nestabilities)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Die-Namite Blog Hop

Welcome to the Die-Namite blog hop. This blog hop features the dies and die and stamp combinations that are on sale during the month of March. There are several available and the consultants on this blog hop have chosen their favourites to highlight. Enjoy the tour!

You should have arrived here from Vickie O'Dell'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 that focused on hearts. Laying out the hearts and then sewing them to the base page was the most difficult part - especially considering I got to the last row and my sewing machine decided to break down right at that time. I also have to mention that I NEVER leave projects to the last minute but due to some difficult news last week, I haven't been in a creative mood and left this until the very last minute (the evening of this blog hop...) So, I had to hand stitch the last row! 

The open hearts were created by die cutting a basic heart and then placing the smaller heart inside the larger one and cutting it out. 

The next blog on this hop is Darlys Recker'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, White Daisy Cardstock, Juniper Cardstock, Bashful Glitter Paper

Stamps: none

Inks: none

Accessories: Basic Hearts Thin Cuts, Thanks for You Thin Cut, White and Gold Ribbon, Sewing Machine and Thread (not CTMH), Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 254 - Happy Wishes with Gimme Some Sugar

Welcome to this week's Atlantic Hearts challenge! 

With so many birthdays coming up on my calendar, I really need birthday cards and it is such a great opportunity to be able to combine design team challenges and cards for occasions together! 

I decided rotate the sketch 90 degrees. I used the Gimme Some Sugar paper pack for my card - LOVE that wood grain paper for the background. Everything else was kept pretty much as the sketch shows except I kept the sentiment and the embellishments together at the bottom. I used a Stampin Up set for the flowers and coloured them using watercolour pencils and a blending pen. The Bashful background paper does have a diamond pattern on it but it is so faint that my camera barely picked it up. The sentiment was stamped on vellum using Juniper pigment ink and embossed using clear embossing powder.

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: Gimme Some Sugar Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Vellum

Stamps: Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking, Sending Smiles, Amazing You (Stampin Up)

Inks: Charcoal, Juniper Pigment Ink

Accessories: Chelsea Gardens Thin Cuts (ret.), Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Bashful Pearls, Watercolour Pencils, Blending Pen (ret.), Chelsea Gardens Dots and Gems (ret.), ShinHan Markers, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

March SOTM Blog Hop - Birthday Time

Welcome to March's Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month, we are featuring the stamp set "Birthday Time" - a set of 26 stamps. This is a perfect birthday stamp set for all ages, including the standard happy birthday sentiments, a well as an invitation component, each of the numbers from 0-9,  the st, nd, rd, and th (that follow numbers) that are often missing from sets like this... This set has it ALL! 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 Michelle Loncar'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 chose to create a simple birthday card using the Gimme Some Sugar papers. I used the new Make It From Your Heart - Volume 4 (Pattern 1). 

For my dividing line where the tags begin, I originally had just the grey ribbon but I felt something else was needed so I added a strip of Bashful Glitter Paper on top of the ribbon. After adding the bow, it really needed the glitter paper on it as well. That was difficult to do... I had to add foam tape inside the bows to keep them apart and Liquid Glass to adhere the paper to the ribbon but glitter paper doesn't bend nearly as easily as ribbon does! Needless to say, that is a pretty stiff bow!
The stitching around the edge was done using a light pink thread. 

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

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

Paper: Gimme Some Sugar Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Heather Cardstock, Bashful Glitter Paper
Stamps: Birthday Time
Inks: Versamark 
Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Light Grey Ribbon, White Gems, ShinHan Marker, Foam Tape, sewing machine and pink thread (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson