Atlantic Hearts 292 - Flourish Thinking of You

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch 292! 

Although it is the holiday season, my Christmas cards are all finished and even written and ready for mailing... Don't be jealous - I spent many hours working on them so that I would be finished in plenty of time! So, I am working on some thinking of you cards for a friend who asked me for some of these. And what better chance to create than to use sketches for that purpose! 

I rotated this week's sketch 90 degrees as it worked better for me in that direction. Since there was no designated spot for a sentiment, I placed a circle in the centre of the card for that purpose. I also chose to forgo the bow as the ribbon I used for the stripe wasn't exactly the best ribbon to create a bow as it is very thick and heavy. 

This time, I remembered in advance to apply Stick-It adhesive to the back of the cardstock before I ran the dies through my Big Shot. It makes such a difference as the adhesive is already on the back of the cuts and it makes it so easy to adhere them afterwards! No more fiddling with glue on the thin lines... 

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 as follows: 

Paper: Pebble Cardstock, Charcoal Cardstock, Sage Cardstock, Bashful Cardstock, Charcoal Cardstock (all CTMH), Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Say it All (CTMH)

Inks: Charcoal (CTMH)

Accessories: Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Bashful Pearls, Grey Enamel Gems, Thin Foam Tape (all CTMH), Brick Wall Embossing Folder, Flourish Thinlets (both SU), unknown Grey Ribbon, Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

Heart 2 Heart - Thankful Heart

Welcome to this week's challenge at Heart 2 Heart! 

The theme this week is Thankful Heart. In the US this is their time of celebrating Thanksgiving - here in Canada, our Thanksgiving weekend was way back in early October. However, it is ALWAYS appropriate to be thankful for what we have. 

I decided to use a theme of thankfulness for friendship. This butterfly is one of my favourites because it can be coloured in whatever colours suit the papers that are being used. In this case, I chose a background paper from the Boutique collection and used similar colours to colour the butterfly. An old sparkle flourish fit perfectly behind the butterfly and the sentiment fit in front. 

The photo below shows the shimmer on the butterfly. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you interpret the theme of Thankful Heart - after all, there truly are so many things for which to be thankful! 

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

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Boutique Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Saffron Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Teal Glitter Paper

Stamps: Grateful Heart - Cardmaking, Falling For You - Cardmaking

Inks: Intense Black, Charcoal

Accessories: ShinHan Markers, Black Sparkle Flourishes, Thin Foam Tape, Mint Shimmer Brush, Sugarplum Shimmer Brush, Gold Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 290 - Bold and Bright Fa-la-la

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch 290!

At first glance, the sketch with the flower pot made me think of a spring like card but remember, the images are simply placeholders and can be changed to whatever suits your fancy. 

I chose to rotate the image 90 degrees to create a vertical card instead of a horizontal one and the flower pot image became the birds on my card. I used some extremely bold patterns so I needed an image that was simple to balance the busy-ness in the patterns. 

Shimmer trim from some time ago matched these patterns quite well so I decided to use that to divide the patterns. I chose to use a whimsical sentiment to go with the birds. The birds were bushed with two shimmer brushes. 

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 are as follows:

Paper: Oh What Fun Paper Pack, Holiday Style PML Cards, Lagoon Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock (all CTMH), Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Festive Trees (CTMH)

Inks: Raspberry (CTMH)

Accessories: White Pearls, Pink, White, Aqua and Teal Shimmer Trim, Clear Shimmer Brush, Mint Shimmer Brush, Scallop Border Punch (all CTMH), Stitched Ovals (GMD), Pink Twine (SU), Foam Tape (other), Teal Sharpie Marker 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Sliding Polar Bear

Wow - this was a challenge - in more ways than one! 

The Double Trouble challenge alone has a lot of elements to meet if you do them all, and then the tic-tac-toe adds another entire element to this! I thought I had everything and then I realized I was missing the hanging component... so, I added some hanging snowflakes from my title. 

I had an additional challenge to cope with while creating this card - I broke my eyeglasses when I hit them against something yesterday. Consequently, I am wearing a pair that is about 4 years old and the prescription has changed significantly since that time. I can't see close up clearly so it is a miracle if the colouring and cutting is accurate... I will have my new lenses in on Monday - we don't realize how dependent we are on things like that until something happens! 

So, my sliding polar bear will be entered into the Double Trouble challenge - all components - as well as Try Stamping on Tuesday's challenge. Here is the info for each challenge and my card. 

Create a Christmas, holiday or winter project - DONE

Link up with the Try Stamping on Tuesday Tic-Tac-Toe challenge - DONE 

Add a hanging element to your project - DONE

I chose to use the middle line - Glitter, Trees, Winter 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, White Glitter Paper (both CTMH) 

Stamps: Oh What Fun Cardmaking, Polar Bear Holiday (both CTMH), Winter Trees (SU)

Inks: Carolina, New England Ivy, Black, Lemon (all CTMH)

Accessories: Fancy Borders Thin Cuts (CTMH), Sharpie Markers, Foam Tape, Sponge Daubers

Enjoy,

Alyson

Heart 2 Heart - Inspired by Nature

Welcome to Heart 2 Heart's latest challenge! 

This week, the theme is Inspired by Nature. Since it is getting closer and closer to Christmas, I chose to create a Christmas card. I used a poinsettia theme ands poinsettias are most certainly nature related! There are also snowflakes and pine cones on my card that represent nature. 

The main top piece is from the Picture My Life card collection that coordinates with the 'Tis the Seasons paper pack from Close To My Heart. The remaining papers are all from the 'Tis the Season paper pack. The stamp set is the M-size Hand-Lettered Christmas. I chose it because it was the closest sentiment I could find that fit into the circle size that I wanted... I stamped the sentiment using both Candy Apple and New England Ivy ink. The bow was double tied and then slightly spread apart. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your project that is inspired by nature. You have until the end of November to enter this or any of the November challenges. 

Products used are almost all Close to My Heart 

Paper: 'Tis the Season Paper Pack, 'Tis the Season PML Cards, White Daisy Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Hand Lettered Christmas

Inks: Candy Apple, New England Ivy

Accessories: Gold Striped Skinny Ribbon, 'Tis the Seasons Complements, Gold Pearl Gems, Circle Stitched Dies, Basic Circle Dies, Circle Tag Dies, Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

Three Amigos - Gate Fold Card and Vellum Envelope

Welcome to November's challenge at Three Amigos! 

I love this month's challenge - it is all about interactive projects! I went looking for something interesting to do when I was asked to be the Guest Designer this month. This challenge is open to SO many possible interpretations. 

I found a gate fold card and then decided to expand on it, creating a hidden pocket in the back, allowing somewhere to write a message, and these kinds of cards usually don't stay closed very well, so a band is often required. Rather than using a band that slides on, I decided to create one that closes using hook and loop dots. 

The flowers and leaves were created using a lot of masking - thanks to a stamping platform, it made that process go much easier as the flowers were also stamped in second generation. 

Finally, I wanted an envelope into which the finished card could be placed but I wanted to card to be able to be seen through the envelope. Had I thought about that first, I would have created the card in a smaller size rather than 6x6 but it was too late for that. I used vellum for the envelope but I had to cover the adhesive along the sides with some patterned paper because I had to make the envelope slightly larger than 6x6 for the card to fit inside. Ah, the life of paper crafters - not mistakes, but opportunities to embellish, right? 

Below, I have included several photos so you can see the entire project in all its parts. 

Here is the entire project opened up. 

Let's back up to the beginning and see what it looks like when it is all closed up...

This is the card removed from the vellum envelope. 

Here you see the band and how it can be attached with the hook and loops dots. 

This shows the opened card with the slide out card in the back for the purpose of writing a message. 

There is a pocket on the back where that piece slides in. 

This is just a close-up of the centre section to show the masking of the flowers and leaves. 

And finally. another picture (the same one) of the complete open project with all the pieces.

Come and join the Three Amigos challenge and share your interactive project with us! 

We can't wait to see what you create :) 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: Live Beautifully Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock, Ballerina Cardstock, Vellum, Gold Foil Paper (all CTMH)

Stamps: Chelsea Garden Cardmaking, Chelsea Garden Scrapbooking, Happy Times, Frame it Up, Have a Happy Day (all CTMH)

Inks: Eggplant, Charcoal, New England Ivy (all CTMH)

Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Art Philosophy Cartridge, Gold Glitter Gems, Stitched Ovals Thin Cuts, Oval Thin Cuts,  Rose Embossing Folder, White and Gold Twine, Thin Foam Tape (All CTMH), Scalloped Squares, Tags, Tags 2 (all Nestabilities)

Enjoy,

Alyson