Monday, May 28, 2018

AH 266 - Floral Wreath Birthday


Welcome to Week 266 at Atlantic Hearts! 

A wreath can be used for any occasion - and a birthday is as good an occasion as anything else! The wreath was cut from the Flower Market cartridge - twice for layering purposes. The flowers and leaves all come from the Beautiful Friendship - Scrapbooking stamp set and were all fussy cut. I don't very often ink the edges of anything any longer but I did with all the flowers and leaves, just to make them stand out a little bit more. I also brushed the darker lines with the Clear Shimmer Brush but that isn't noticeable in the photo here. Gems were placed in the centre of each flower - either from the Make Waves collection or the Gold Pearls. 

The sentiment is from a retired stamp called Balloon Wishes. 



Come and join us at Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret 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: Adventure Fundamentals, Lemon Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Toffee Cardstock
Stamps: Beautiful Friendship - Scrapbooking, Balloon Wishes (ret.)
Inks: Pansy, Thistle, Lemon, Saffron, Sweet Leaf, Willow
Accessories: Flower Market Cartridge, Clear Shimmer Brush, Make Waves Accessories (ret.), Gold Pearls, Thin Foam Tape, Stitched Rectangle Dies (Gina Marie Designs)

Enjoy,
Alyson




Thursday, May 24, 2018

Koala Baby Card

Here is the baby card to match the baby album that will be given as a gift in a couple of weeks. 

I love the koala as the focus. I coloured the koala in a couple of shades of light grey. The papers are from the retired paper pack, Georgie. A few coloured pearls, a yellow button and some retired ribbon finished off the card. The pattern is from Make It From Your Heart, Volume 4. 


Products are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Georgie Paper Pack (ret.), White Daisy Cardstock, Juniper Cardstock
Stamps: Cute Koala (ret.)
Inks: Juniper, Whisper (ret.), London Fog Memento Ink (not CTMH)
Accessories: White Pearls, ShinHan Markers, Yellow Ribbon (ret.), Yellow Button (ret.), Juniper Waxy Flax (ret.), Foam Tape

Enjoy,
Alyson



Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Heartfelt Thanks Card Kit

I was at a crop last weekend and spent my time creating card kits using one of the new stamps from the SE2 catalog - Heartfelt Thanks. The stamp is primarily a background stamp, designed to fit a standard size card. It didn't take long to stamp the backgrounds - it was the colouring that took much longer. 
I didn't intend to colour the entire background - I would have been there forever - but rather, I chose select flowers and leaves to colour instead. Anything that had a long splay of leaves became my focus. 
I chose to use a Willow coloured marker for all of the leaves and coordinate the flowers with the background cardstock for each card. For the Willow background, I used some of each of the other colours for the flowers. The centre of each flower is coloured with a silver marker. 
The oval dies and oval stitched dies were perfect for the centre - raised on foam tape, they fit just right! 

So, here is a full set (I made two), along with the front of the box. They will make lovely gifts as I give many gift sets of cards throughout the year. 









Finally, the box in which to store all of them... (twine to wrap the box is not shown)


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

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Lemon Cardstock, Tangerine Cardstock, Poppy, Cardstock, Pixie Cardstock, Pansy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Willow Cardstock
Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks
Inks: Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, Lemon, Tangerine, Poppy, Pixie, Pansy, Lagoon, Sapphire, Willow
Accessories: Oval Dies, Stitched Oval Dies, Clear Sparkles, ShinHan Markers, Silver Sharpie Marker (not CTMH), Foam Tape, Thistle Twine (ret. - not shown) 

Enjoy,
Alyson



Monday, May 21, 2018

H2H - Triadic Colour Combo - BOLD Colours!


Welcome to another weekly challenge at Heart 2 Heart! 

I LOVE this challenge! The challenge this week is to use a triadic colour combination. If you aren't familiar with what that means, here is the information.

A standard colour wheel is shown below. 


The word TRIAD comes from the word THREE, so that means you want THREE colours. Those colours need to be evenly spaced across the colour wheel. See the colour wheel below for an example. This colour wheel shows ONE example of a triadic colour combination. The equilateral triangle hits three colours evenly spaced on the colour wheel. 


There are really only four possible combinations that can be used. If you want to use specific Close To My Heart colours, this colour wheel shows the CTMH colours used with the standard colour wheel.



I chose to use the combination of Yellow-Orange, Blue-Green and Red-Violet. Initially, I thought that Tangerine and Raspberry would look terrible together - was I ever wrong! Its amazing how this concept really works! I originally had Lagoon as my Blue-Green choice but decided I liked Peacock better as it was darker. 


I love the way my finished card turned out - it is bold and it sure leaves an impression. That's what I like! I will definitely be turning to this idea again. I never thought that some of these colour combinations could work so well together. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us the colours with which you choose to create your project. We can't wait to see what you create! 
You have until the end of May to enter this or any of the other May challenges. 

I am also entering my card in the Three Amigos challenge - May Flowers. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Documented Paper Pack, Some Kind of Wonderful Paper Pack (ret.), White Daisy Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock, Tangerine Cardstock
Stamps: For You Darling, Sending and Wishing (Simon Says Stamp)
Inks: Raspberry, Peacock
Accessories: Artiste Cartridge (ret.), Spellbinders Dies, Diamond Embossing Folder (ret.), White Pearls, Bashful Shimmer Brush (ret.), Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy,
Alyson



Friday, May 18, 2018

CD 293 - Flowers for May


Welcome to this week's Colour Dare challenge! 

This week, the challenge includes just two colours plus silver - I don't really think of silver as a colour, but more of an accessory. Of course, black and white can always be added. 

I chose to use one of the gorgeous papers from the Beautiful Friendship paper pack as the background for my card, splitting it into three panels. The flowers were stamped using just an outline on the reverse side of the old Whimsy Fundamental paper from a couple of years ago (and then die cut) and the sentiment was stamped on the current Whimsy Fundamental paper. Using Silver Glitter paper, the leaves were die cut using an open design. 

I stamped the white cardstock using an old background stamp. My intention was to stamp it using second generation stamping but it was still really dark. Even third generation was dark so this is actually FOURTH generation stamping - and it is still quite dark! I was also going to use this as a background on the inside of my card but it would be far too dark on which to write a message... 



Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use this very interesting palette this week. This challenge will remain open until Thursday, May 31 at 10PM EST

I am also entering this card into the Three Amigos challenge for May - May Flowers. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Beautiful Friendship Paper Pack, Whimsy Fundamentals, Whimsy Fundamentals old stock (ret.), Silver Glitter Paper, Sapphire Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock
Stamps: Friendly Wishes (ret.), Season of Thanks (ret.), Wild Rose (Pretty Pink Posh)
Inks: Sapphire
Accessories: Wild Rose Dies (Pretty Pink Posh), Flourish Dies (Stampin Up), Thin Foam Tape, Clear Sparkles

Enjoy,
Alyson


Wednesday, May 16, 2018

SE2 New Product Blog Hop


Welcome to the Seasonal Expressions 2 New Product Blog Hop. This blog hop features many of the new products that have been introduced in the Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog that went live on May 1! There are SO MANY terrific products to share - four brand new paper collections along with coordinating stamps and embellishments, other new stamp sets, dies, and even some other little surprises! The consultants on this blog hop have chosen their favourites to highlight. Enjoy the tour!

You should have arrived here from Gina Brandstetter's blog

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

I LOVE the new Documented Paper Pack! The colours are deep and intense and the patterns are generic so they can be used for just about any purpose. The Beautiful Friendship collection is my next favourite because the stamps are so perfect for celebrating the friends in your life. I decided to combine the two to create my card. 

The flowers and leaves were stamped using the Beautiful Friendship - Scrapbooking stamp and then fussy cut. The little friendship banner is also from that same stamp set. What you see here is just a small part of the banner. I used the Bashful Shimmer Brush on the dark part of the flowers (not realizing that it retired at the end of the previous catalog - oops!) The Clear Shimmer Brush would give almost the same effect if the flowers were brushed with that brush. A close-up is shown under the card. 
The Documented - Cardmaking stamp also has terrific friend-related sentiments and one of them is used on this card. Another of my favourite new products are our stitched dies - available in circles, ovals and hearts - and they coordinate with our current dies as well! Here, I used one of the stitched circle dies with one of the basic circle dies - LOVE it! 



I hope you enjoyed my project :) 

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

I am linking up my card with the Three Amigos May challenge which is May Flowers.

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: Documented Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Bashful Cardstock
Stamps: Documented - Cardmaking, Beautiful Friendship - Scrapbooking
Inks: New England Ivy, Bashful, Blossom
Accessories: Basic Circles Thin Cuts, Stitched Circles Thin Cuts, Documented Dots, Bashful Shimmer Brush (ret.)

Enjoy,
Alyson

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Labour of Love - Baby Album


In a few weeks, I am attending a baby shower for a beautiful young couple who are expecting their first baby - a little boy. I wouldn't normally go to this much effort to create a gift of this nature but I wanted to do something extra special for them. Needless to say, this album took me an extraordinary amount of time and effort to create. 

The layouts are shown in the order they appear in the album - and what you don't see are all the hidden elements - the tons of flip flaps (because new parents always take TONS of photos!), hidden journaling cards, envelopes that open to reveal more photo options, etc. Often, the photography doesn't catch the little things like the sprayed ink on the background and details like that. 

Each of the layout designs was taken from Close To My Heart's design books - Make It From Your Heart - Vol. 3, Imagine, Magic and Reflections. 

Heart 2 Heart's challenge this week is all about scrapbooking - why not join us and show us how you scrapbook your memories? You have until the end of May to enter this or any of the May challenges. 















Enjoy,
Alyson


Monday, May 14, 2018

AH 264 - Bold Flowers!


Welcome to another sketch at Atlantic Hearts!

This sketch can result in a creation with much open space or it can be enlarged like I did and use more space on your project. Remember - a sketch is a STARTING POINT, not a requirement to do exactly as it is shown. As long as the sketch is recognizable, all is good. 

I turned the sketch 90 degrees so I had a vertical card as I prefer most of my cards to be that orientation. I also used a cluster of flowers rather than a circle and the scallop border was flipped around. Those are very minor changes. 

I chose to use one of the papers from the Beautiful Friendship paper pack as the background for my card. The flowers and leaves were stamped and embossed so the markers wouldn't run when colours were blended. The flowers were brushed with the Bashful Shimmer Brush - better seen in the second photo. 




Come and join us at Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret 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: Beautiful Friendship Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Charcoal Cardstock, Pewter Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Bashful Cardstock
Stamps: Beautiful You, Wild Rose (Pretty Pink Posh)
Inks: Charcoal, Black Pigment Ink
Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge (ret.), Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Scallop Borders Thin Cuts, Wild Rose Dies (Pretty Pink Posh), ShinHan Markers, Bashful Shimmer Brush, Pink Gems (not CTMH), Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy,
Alyson




Monday, May 7, 2018

H2H - Mother's Day


Welcome to Heart 2 Heart's weekly challenge. 

This week, the theme is Mother's Day. Since that holiday is coming up before much longer, we decided to make it our theme this week. Many people celebrate mothers other than their own birth mother - grandmothers, in-laws, adoptive mothers, perhaps someone who is a mother figure to them, or maybe even someone else. And of course, there are the moms of fur-babies - they are also mothers! So, bring on the celebration of moms! 

I used a brand new paper pack from the Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog called Documented. It tends to be a darker palette of colours but I pulled a few of the patterns that I really like and used them on my card. I chose Bashful for the base of my card, which helped to lighten it up a bit. 

We also have new stitched dies and they are designed to be paired with the basic dies of the same shape. I used the hearts on this card. I cut them using Bashful Glitter Paper and Gold Foil Paper. The pattern is from Make It From Your Heart - Volume 4. 


Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your Mother's Day project. You have the entire month of May to enter this or any of the upcoming May challenges. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Documented Paper Pack, Bashful Cardstock, Bashful Glitter Paper, Gold Foil Paper
Stamps: Flourishes
Inks: Peacock, Eggplant
Accessories: Basic Hearts Thin Cuts, Stitched Hearts Thin Cuts, Enchantment Ribbon Pack, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy,
Alyson


SaveSave

Friday, May 4, 2018

CD 291 - A BIG Floral Hello!


Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 291! 

This week, the palette is taken from within the Beautiful You colours - a brand new paper pack from the Seasonal Expression 2 catalog at Close To My Heart. 

Smoothie, Sapphire and Heather (plus Black and White if desired) make up this week's palette and Gold is optional. Please do not add any additional colours. 


I wanted to try something that I haven't done before and that was mixing watercolour pencils and blending the colours. I knew I would need to use watercolour paper since the blending would require a thicker paper. I did some experimenting first and the Smoothie colour came fairly easily. Sapphire, however, took me several tries. It wasn't until I added red to my mix that I was able to get the darker blue that I was after. 

The stamp is from Concord and 9th and is called Hello Lovely. I embossed it with gold embossing powder - more for the purpose of not having ink running with the blending process. Most of the colouring was done around the base of the leaves and flowers and then blended toward the outside. I used a regular blending pen for the large flowers and leaves and the Clear Shimmer Brush for the smaller flowers and the small leaves. 

The sentiment was embossed on vellum using Sapphire Pigment Ink and clear detail embossing powder and then wrapped around the front of the card. I added a couple of gold gems, primarily to hold down the sentiment but they also add a nice effect. 



Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the palette shown above. You have 2 weeks to enter this challenge. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Watercolour Paper, Sapphire Cardstock, Vellum
Stamps: Hello Lovely (Concord and 9th)
Inks: Versamark, Sapphire Pigment Ink
Accessories: Watercolour Pencils, Clear Shimmer Brush, Blending Pen (ret), Gold Embossing Powder, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Gold Glitter Gems (ret.)

Enjoy,
Alyson



Tuesday, May 1, 2018

May SOTM Blog Hop - Classic Summer Bash


Welcome to May's Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month, we are featuring the stamp set "Classic Summer Bash" - a set of 25 stamps. This stamp set is filled with everything to do with lemons, lemonade and summer themed images! Hence the title - Classic Summer Bash! 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 Shelly Mendenhall'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 wanted to do something a little different with this stamp set... 
I chose some of the smaller images and used them to create a background for my card. Some were stamped in the colours that fit the images and other images had to be coloured. I just stamped them right across the paper in a line. 
The Documented Complements include 2 sheets of Kraft shapes and that was perfect as I wanted a Kraft background. I backed the sunglasses with Glacier cardstock. Since we have had a VERY LONG winter (and there is still a little bit of snow on the ground as I write this on April 27), I am SO ready for warmer weather!



The next blog on this hop is Vickie O'Dell'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: White Daisy Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Kraft Cardstock

Stamps: Classic Summer Bash
Inks: Willow, Lemon, Lagoon, Tuxedo Black Memento Ink
Accessories: ShinHan Markers, Journaling Marker, Documented Complements, Bitty Sparkles, Foam Tape


Enjoy,
Alyson