Trillium Slimline - Craft Roulette

Friday marked another episode of Craft Roulette and the parameters this week were as follows: 

    - slimline card, black and white plus one other colour, a bouquet and dry embossing 

I had to think about how I was going to add flowers with just one colour - the leaves and the flowers presented a problem. I decided to use trilliums and although their leaves are green, for this purpose, they are black :) 

I cut several trilliums on my Cricut and adhered the pieces together. Since the centre of trilliums (Ontario's provincial flower) are yellow, that was my added colour. I embossed the background piece with a woodgrain embossing folder and then layered the flowers on the left side. I die cut a sentiment from white cardstock three times and stacked it. The centres of the flowers were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

Craft Roulette is every Friday 7:30pm ET at on Facebook or you can catch the reply on You Tube. It's always a fun challenge! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, White Slimline Cards and Envelopes 

Stamps: none

Inks: none

Accessories: Flower Market Cricut Collection, For Someone Special Die (Creative Expressions), Woodgrain Embossing Folder (SU), Clear Shimmer Brush, Black and White Dots

Enjoy,

Alyson

Pull Apart Card - Sweet Safari

Interactive cards - absolutely my favourite type of cards to create. I posted another one of this card style last week and this is the second one. 

My intention was to share this type of card with my Facebook group - the other one was all completed and I just had to cut the papers to be ready for the video... and I accidentally sent the first card to someone. So - I had to make another one as a sample and this is it. This is a very different colour scheme from the first one and the one I am doing live is yet another colour combination. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: Sweet Safari Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Espresso Cardstock, Sundance Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock 

Stamps: Sweet Safari Cardmaking Workshop

Inks: Avocado, Sundance, Espresso, Candy Apple 

Accessories: Sweet Safari Cardmaking Workshop Thin Cuts, Trim-Blend Markers, Black Journaling Pen 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 429 - Hugs to You

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 429!

This week, we have a selection of 6 colours where at least 3 must be used. I chose Ballerina, Candy Apple, Carolina and Mint along with White and Silver. 

The colours in the image are taken from the Perfect Match paper collection. I started by cutting strips of cardstock in various widths. They were attached in random order on a piece of acetate so it makes them look sort of like they are floating. The left side is a piece of patterned paper from the Perfect Match paper pack. I placed a strip of Silver Shimmer Trim between the two sections. 

A sentiment was chosen and the top part was embossing in silver while the bottom part was stamped and then die cut. I added some embellishing thread behind the top sentiment piece and also set that on some thin foam tape. The word HUGS was brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

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

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Perfect Match Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Ballerina Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Mint Cardstock, Carolina Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Howdy Neighbour 

Inks: Carolina, Versamark 

Accessories: Howdy Neighbour Thin Cuts, Stitched Fancy Brackets Thin Cuts, Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Silver Embellishing Thread, Silver Shimmer Trim, Clear Shimmer Brush, Thin Foam Tape, Acetate (not CTMH) 

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT 491 - Piggy Slimline Card

Welcome to this week's Try Stampin' on Tuesday challenge! 

The optional theme, in addition to the sketch shown above, is to create a slimline card. 

I chose to create a slimline card using some pig images and an adorable sentiment. I stamped three different pigs and coloured them. They were die cut using stitched circles. The sentiment was stamped in Lagoon and backed with Teal Glitter Paper. The background of the card was created using three layers of stitched slimline dies. The top layer (Mint) was embossed. I die cut some tiny hearts and added them around the images. 

Come and join us at TSOT and show us how you interpret the sketch shown above. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Mint Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Peacock Cardstock, Teal Glitter Paper, White Slimline Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: Punny Animals, Punny Pals, Little Buddies 

Inks: Intense Black, Lagoon

Accessories: Stitched Circle Dies (GMD), Circle Dies (Nestabilities), Stitched Slimline Dies (Pink and Main), Heart Shaker Window Thin Cuts, Diamond Embossing Folder, Tri-Blend Markers

Enjoy,

Alyson

Perfect Match Blog Hop

Welcome to the Perfect Match blog hop! 

Makers along this hop will be featuring products from the Perfect Match campaign. 

You should have arrived here from Stefani Ewing's blog. If you get lost, a list of all participants can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog. 

The only item I ordered from this campaign was the paper pack so I had to use other stamps to create my projects. 

The first card is a 6x6 shaker card. I used the Florals and Flutters stamp set to stamp nine of the jar with flowers image. Those were coloured and then die cut. The jar component was cut off each image and I placed the flowers in a circle to surround the circle shaker size piece and then adhered them down on a piece of paper from the Perfect Match paper pack. That entire piece was die cut using the shaker circle and I used Ballerina cardstock for inside the shaker. I splattered that piece using both Mint and Flamingo Shimmer Brushes and then stamped a sentiment. Iridescent flower sequins and some die cut hearts were added inside. I drew a border around the edge and hand drew some hearts which were coloured. 

The second card is very simple - the Thanks die was cut using Majestic Holographic Paper and mounted on Candy Apple cardstock. I placed a tag behind the sentiment and added a few coloured embellishments. 

I hope you enjoyed my cards. 

The next visit on this hop is Haley Dyer's blog. I'm sure she will amaze you with her project. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Perfect Match Paper Pack, Majestic Holographic Paper, Mint Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Carolina Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock 

Stamps: Florals and Flutters, Hey, Hi, Hello

Inks: Intense Black

Accessories: Florals and Flutters Thin Cuts, Thanks Thin Cut, Shaker Circle Thin Cut, Heart Shaker Thin Cut, Black and White Enamel Gems, Tri-Blend Markers, Iridescent Flower Sequins, Circle Shaker Window Foam and Acetate, Black Journaling Pen, Clear Shimmer Brush, Flamingo Shimmer Brush, Mint Shimmer Brush, Thin Foam Tape, Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Triangle Doggie Layout

I finally created a layout using an idea from a Close To My Heart live crop event. I love the triangles and the effect that is created. 

The background was splattered with Red and Lagoon Shimmer Brushes. The papers are from Sweet Safari and the Mix-In paper packs plus there are two colours of cardstock. Each is cut in a smaller size than the previous piece and then layered together. I chose a black and white photo of my doggie and added some flowers that were stamped and fussy cut. I also masked and stamped the sentiment plus added some stamped hearts and gold gems. The journaling was written using a Charcoal journaling pen so it would be a little lighter than using black. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Sweet Safari Paper Pack, Mix-In Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sundance Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock

Stamps: Every Bit of Wonderful, Hey, Hi, Hello, Wishing You Everything, Howdy Neighbour 

Inks: Candy Apple, Avocado, Lagoon, Espresso Pigment Ink

Accessories: Red Shimmer Brush, Lagoon Shimmer Brush, Sundance Shimmer Brush, Gold Embellishing Thread, Gold Glitter Gems, Charcoal Journaling Pen, Tri-Blend Markers, Heat Tool, Clear Embossing Powder

Enjoy,

Alyson

Pull Apart Interactive Card

Love me some interactive cards! This is a pull apart card and was created using the Blossom paper collection. The Blossom paper pack is a returning paper pack from several years ago and is one of my favourites of all time. I love the colours and the patterns in this paper. 

The card folds down to 6" x 6" and a belly band is used to hold it together. It opens to show several panels with the sentiment in the centre. There is a similar piece on the reverse for a place to write a message. I masked several of the flowers so they would overlap and I also masked the sentiment. The insides of the flowers were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. Since this card is already bulky, I didn't add any additional embellishments. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Blossom Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Green Apple Cardstock 

Stamps: Shower Flowers 

Inks: Nectarine, Lagoon, Smoothie, Green Apple, Glacier 

Accessories: Clear Shimmer Brush, Tri-Blend Marker 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Funny Farm Card Set

I give away a lot of card sets and it was time to create another one. 

These cards are scraplifted from some others that were created by Laura Beacham, a fellow CTMH Maker. I added a few extras and created two of each to make a set of ten cards (2 of each design). 

There are no thin cuts for this stamp set so every image was fussy cut - that took a fair bit of time. The images were coloured and the green backgrounds were die cut using a stitched border die. The circle in each card was die cut, along with a piece for the shaker in the same colour as the background. I love how these turned out and I hope the recipient will enjoy them! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Green Apple Cardstock, Paprika Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Julep Cardstock, Emerald Cardstock, Sangria Cardstock, Peach Cardstock, Sweet Leaf Cardstock, Clover Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes (some cardstock is retired) 

Stamps: From the Funny Farm, With All My Love

Inks: Intense Black, Clover

Accessories: Fancy Borders Thin Cuts, Circle Shaker Window Thin Cuts, Gold Loose Sequins, Silver Loose Sequins, Julep Loose Sequins, Misc. Sequins (not CTMH), Circle Shaker Foam and Acetate, Foam Tape, Tri-Blend Markers, Black Journaling Pen 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Jan/Feb New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the New Product Blog Hop for the Jan/Feb catalog! 

There are so many gorgeous new products available - it was hard to choose just a few products to use! 

You should have arrived here from Maureen O'Sullivan's blog. If you get lost, a list of all participants can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog. 

Brown combined with yellow is not a typical colour scheme for me but I really wanted to use the Mix-In papers for my card. The plaid pattern along with the polka dots worked so well together that the colours were actually a secondary factor. I wanted to stay with just the two colours (plus white). 

My original intention was to create a standard size card but in order to accommodate the heart with a tag behind, there just wasn't enough room and that forced me to move to a 5" x 7" card instead. I prefer shakers to be embedded in the card front so I adhered 6 pieces of paper together and then I had to die cut the heart shape through all of them. That didn't work so well... my die cutting machine cut two layers and I had to manually cut through the remaining four layers using a craft knife. I stamped some heart images inside the shaker and also independently so they could be die cut for the bottom. I also stamped two borders and adhered them together for the bottom of the card. The shaker was assembled and the borders along with some hearts, a small message, gold embellishing thread and sequins were added to the bottom corner. I love how this stamp set allows you to stamp an image around the outside of the heart or inside if desired (I only used the outside stamp). That's such a neat idea!

I hope you enjoyed my card! 

The next blog to visit is Brandi Robinson's blog. I know she has something terrific to share with you! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Jan/Feb Mix-In Paper Pack, Sweet Safari Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Espresso Cardstock

Stamps: Heart Full of Love, Florals and Flutters

Inks: Espresso, Canary

Accessories: Florals and Flutters Thin Cuts, Heart Shaker Window Thin Cut, Heart Shaker Foam and Acetate, Corner Rounder, Gold Embellishing Thread, Gold Loose Sequins, Gold Star Confetti, Iridescent Flower Confetti, Tri-Blend Markers, Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 404 - Big Hug Flowers

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 404!

I stayed true to this week's sketch because it worked so perfectly for what I had in mind. 

Desert Rose has been a colour that I have really struggled with and I wanted to use it on this card. The Love of Colour guide suggested pairing it with Paprika, Peacock and Avocado, which are the colours I used on my card.

I started by stamping three of the same flower along with some leaves and colouring them using Tri-Blend markers. They were mounted on a piece of white cardstock that was lightly edged with Mink ink and then set on Desert Rose Glitter Paper. A woodgrain background was adhered to a Desert Rose base. The sentiment was stamped in Peacock pigment ink and embossed. It was adhered across the flowers with a matching gem at each end. 

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. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:  

Paper: Woodgrain Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Desert Rose Cardstock, Desert Rose Glitter Paper, Vellum, White Cards and Envelopes 

Stamps: Floral Delivery, Word Up (Reverse Confetti) 

Inks: Intense Black, Mink, Peacock Pigment Ink

Accessories: Floral Delivery Thin Cuts, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Blue Gems, Tri-Blend Markers

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Trouble 75 with TSOT - Birthday Ewe

Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 75! 

This week, there are a few challenge options - the small graphic is below. Please visit the Double Trouble website for detailed information.

The music component - I used a music embossing folder for the background and also added 

some hand-drawn music notes to the sentiment piece. 

The zoo animal component - A pair of ewes would like to wish you a happy birthday.

The sketch component - the TSOT sketch was used for the design of my card. 

I began by creating a cloud background and then die cutting some rolling hill pieces in green. The ewes were stamped and die cut and added to the centre rectangle. Some coordinating sequins were placed inside  to create a shaker. The sentiment was stamped along with a couple of hearts and drawn music notes. I added a green ribbon across the bottom of the shaker to meet that part of the sketch. 

Come and join us at Double Trouble and show us how you interpret the components of this challenge! 

I am on the design team for Try Stampin' on Tuesday so my card will appear in the design team section on that website. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Carsdstock, Pebble Cardstock, Pewter Cardstock, Clover Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Ewe are the Best (MFT), Doodled Borders

Inks: Intense Black, Tumbled Glass DO Inks (not CTMH)

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Fancy Border Thin Cuts, Ewe are the Best Dies (MFT), Music Embossing Folder (not CTMH), Cloud Stencil (created in Cricut Design Space), Silver Loose Sequins, Blue Sequins (not CTMH), Green Sequins (not CTMH), Tri-Blend Markers, Green Ribbon (not CTMH), Acetate (not CTMH), Foam Tape, Black Journaling Pen

Enjoy,

Alyson

H2H - Slimline Shaker

Welcome to the second H2H challenge in the month of January!

The theme this week is slimline cards. 

I have created a few slimline cards and really like the longer size, whether it is used vertically or horizontally. I chose to create my card horizontally. 

I started by cutting a card front from white cardstock and I spread Moon Dust Glitter Gel on it. That had to dry overnight. In the meantime, I used four distress oxides inks and blended them together on another piece of white cardstock. I used a new slimline thin cut from CTMH to cut out the diagonal pattern. Once the glitter gel was dry, I separated sections of the die with foam tape and added sequins behind to create a shaker. The sentiment was masked and stamped in three coordinating colours. The flower was stamped, coloured and fussy cut. Parts of the flower were brushed with the Gold Shimmer Brush and I added a few loose sequins and some gold embellishing thread around the sentiment. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your slimline card creations.

You have until the end of January to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Sundance Cardstock

Stamps: Hey, Hi, Hello, Every Bit of Wonderful

Inks: Intense Black, Green Apple, Smoothie, Sundance, Distress Oxide Inks: Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feathers

Accessories: Diagonal Stripe Slimline Thin Cut, Pennant Thin Cuts, Moon Dust Glitter Gel, Tri-Blend Markers, Loose Gold Sequins, Iridescent Flower Confetti, Foam Tape, Gold Shimmer Brush, Gold Embellishing Thread

Enjoy,

Alyson

January Technique Blog Hop

Welcome to the January Technique Blog Hop! 

The theme this month is striped borders. 

You should have arrived here from Lauren Moore's blog. 

I chose to create a card similar to the one on the left side of the badge above. I used the Happiness Lives Here Cardmaking stamp for the floral and straight line borders, alternating the two of them for six rows (working up). The last row was stamped using a tiny Hello stamp and the same colour scheme. I didn't want to use Distress Oxide inks at the top so I opted for the regular dye inks and some sponge daubers to create the multi-coloured background. The sentiment was stamped in black and an additional border was stamped around the sentiment. I coloured a bunch of Bitty Sparkles in red, yellow and blue and placed them on the tiny flowers between the coloured flowers on the borders. The card front was adhered to black cardstock and then mounted on foam tape on top of a patterned piece of paper from the Sweet Safari paper pack. 

I hope you enjoyed my project. 

The next visit on this hop is Michelle Johns' blog. I am sure she has something terrific to share with you! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Sweet Safari Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Happiness Lives Here Cardmaking, Hey, Hi, Hello

Inks: Intense Black, Archival Black, Acocado, Bluebird, Candy Apple, Sundance

Accessories: Tri-Blend Markers, Bitty Sparkles, Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 427 - Special Friend Circles

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge #427! 

We have a tic-tac-toe board for you this week - based on the colours from the Happiness Lives Here paper pack. 

I used all colours except Toffee and Glacier. 

The Canary background was splattered using the Paprika and Blue Belle Shimmer Brushes. I die cut the rectangle using the Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts. The insides of the circles are all patterned papers from the Happiness Lives Here paper pack and I used the Basic Circles and Stitched Circle Thin Cuts to cut each of the circles. An old stamp set was used to stamp the flowers and sentiment and that die cut piece was adhered using thin foam tape. A gold hoop was placed over the medium circle and some gold embellishing thread was added behind the flowers. I also brushed parts of the flowers with the Gold Shimmer Brush. The card front was adhered using craft foam and then a straight black line was drawn around the edge. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us your project using the grid above. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Happiness Lives Here Paper Pack, Mix-In Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Paprika Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: A Bunch of Love 

Inks: Intense Black, Smoothie

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, A Bunch of Love Thin Cuts, Blue Belle Shimmer Brush, Paprika Shimmer Brush, Gold Shimmer Brush, Gold Embellishing Thread, Black Journaling Pen, Tri-Blend Markers, Gold Hoops (SU), Craft Foam (not CTMH) 

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT 489 - Birthday Circles

Welcome to Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge #489! 

For this challenge, you can use the sketch, the technique or both! 

It's a new year and that means birthdays... lots and lots of birthdays. I make quite a few birthday cards to send thoughout the year and it's always handy to have some on hand. 

I used a few die cuts on my card. The scalloped border, the stitched circle for the sentiment and the open circle are all cut from dies. I used some Desert Rose glitter paper to bring some interest to my card - and I also embossed the background with a dotted embossing folder. The sentiment was stamped in two of the colours used on the card - Lagoon and Desert Rose. I added a few glitter gems to finish it off. 

Come and join us at Try Stampin' on Tuesday and show us how you interpret the sketch shown above. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Craft On Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Ballerina Cardstock, Desert Rose Glitter Paper, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Joyful Birthday

Inks: Lagoon, Desert Rose

Accessories: Scalloped Borders Thin Cuts, Stitched Circles Dies (GMD), Painted Label Dies (SU), Dot Embossing Folder, Little Dreamer Glitter Gems

Enjoy,

Alyson

My Favourite Human - Craft Roulette

I have been watching Craft Roulette most Friday evenings and the challenge this week was one that really interested me. The expectation for each episode is to create a project using the four parameters that are provided. This weekend, those parameters were as follows: 

- circle(s)

- Kraft or tan paper

- something that makes you happy

- bright pink + two other colours

I knew right away that I wanted to use flowers as I love creating with flowers and they do make me happy. Regarding a circle, I figured I could manage a circle shaker and pink is a great colour for flowers. Kraft... not my favourite, but I could make it work. 

I started by creating a wreath using Gina K. Designs Wreath Builder stamp and template. Once that was complete, I die cut the centre from the wreath and splattered the outside with Raspberry and Green Apple Shimmer Brushes. I mounted the wreath piece along with a piece of green paper on a Kraft background. Some ribbon was added along with a couple of strips of coordinating paper. The shaker was stamped and cut into the card front. I added some tiny pearls that I coloured to the centres of the flowers and a few sequins to finish off the card. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Bright Stack Paper Collection, White Daisy Cardstock, Kraft Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Wreath Builder (Gina K. Designs)

Inks: Raspberry, Pixie, Clover, Green Apple 

Accessories: Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Raspberry Shimmer Brush, Green Apple Shimmer Brush, Bitty Pearls, Pink Sharpie Marker (not CTMH), Various Sequins (not CTMH), Foam Tape, Pink Ribbon (misc.), Acetate (not CTMH) 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Triangle Layer Cards

Some of the challenges for which I am a design team member have changed their posting dates - it means that at times, there may be as many as four posts for various challenges on the same day. As a result, it appears longer between my posts - so I decided to do some extra creating and make sure that my blog is staying active regularly. 

These cards are taken from a design that Close To My Heart released about a year ago. The original design was for a scrapbook page but Amanda Wesley redid it to fit a standard size card. 

Each of the triangle pieces begins with a squares that are cut diagonally, creating two triangles. I used the sets of triangles to create two cards - very different in appearance. 

The first card was splattered with the Lagoon Shimmer Brush first and then the triangles were added. I stamped a floral bouquet, coloured and die cut it and added it to the centre. A small sentiment was added along the left side and a handful of Bitty Sparkles were coloured and added around the image.

The second card used the exact same set of coloured triangles but I mounted them on a black base this time. I think the colours looks so striking against the black background. I used a baby stamp set and stamped the title plus the two animals. The animals were coloured and all pieces were die cut. I added a few red pearls along one edge of each triangle. On this card, I also brushed the red triangle pieces with the Red Shimmer Brush, just to add a little more interest. 

Which is your favourite? 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Lemonade Cardstock, Green Apple Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: Nursery Bash, Stitched Florals 

Inks: Intense Black, Lagoon, Bluebird

Accessories: Stitched Florals Thin Cuts, Nursery Bash Thin Cuts, Lagoon Shimmer Brush, Candy Apple Shimmer Brush, Bitty Sparkles, Red Pearls, Tri-Blend Markers

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 402 - Kind Soul Daisies

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #402!

I stayed true to the sketch this time, right down to the sentiment. 

Some retired CTMH paper (Beautiful Friendship) drove the colours for my card. I wanted to focus on the yellows and pinks. Sapphire is also a dominant colour in this paper pack and I used that for the border, sentiment and even the leaves (I didn't want green to compete with the other colours). The flowers are from a layering stamp set from Altenew and each flower has three stamped layers plus three additional layers for the inside. The flowers were die cut along with the leaves, the tag and the scalloped border. I added a piece of blue twine to the top of the tag and brushed parts of the flowers with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

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. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Beautiful Friendship Paper Pack, French Vanilla Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock

Stamps: Beloved Daisy (Altenew), Kind Soul (W Plus 9)

Inks: Sapphire, Lemonade, Canary, Sundance, Nectarine, Goldrush, Ballerina, Flamingo, Raspberry

Accessories: Beloved Daisy Dies (Altenew), Scalloped Border Thin Cuts, Fancy Tags Thin Cuts, Blue Dots, Blue Twine (misc), Thin Foam Tape, Clear Shimmer Brush 

Enjoy,

Alyson

H2H - Out with the Old...

Welcome to 2021 and a new year at Heart 2 Heart! 

We are making some changes for this challenge with the start of the new year. There will be two posts each month - the first and third Monday of the month. All design team members will participate in all challenges as well. 

The first challenge of the year is "Out with the Old and In with the New". 

I chose to focus on new products for this challenge - products that are "in with the new" as of January 1. 

The Sweet Safari paper collection is geared toward childhood animals and trips to the zoo... but it can certainly be used for other purposes. I chose to use a few of the papers to create this adorable elephant love card. The elephant was coloured blue to match the papers (who says you can’t have a blue elephant?) I added a tiny envelope with a message inside and the elephant is holding the envelope with his trunk. I coloured a few acrylic hearts to embellish the card. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you interpret this challenge. 

You have until the end of January to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Sweet Safari Paper Pack, Blue Skies Cardstock (red), Espresso Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Sundance Cardstock, White Daisy Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: Oh, Hay There

Inks: Intense Black, Avocado, Candy Apple

Accessoires: White Acrylic Hearts, Tri-Blend Markers, Foam Tape, Mini Envelope Thin Cut

Enjoy,

Alyson

Kind Soul Half Front Card

I love playing with floral stamps - they are definitely one of my favourite types of stamps. 

This one is from W Plus 9 and has been out for quite a while. It is long enough that it completely crosses a standard size card (5 1/2") with parts of the image still hanging over the edge. I stamped and coloured the image and then die cit it. The card base opens from the left side. I cut away slightly more than half of the front panel so I could adhere the floral die cut there instead. The background was inked using Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink and I lightly splattered it with the Clear Shimmer Brush. A few Bitty Sparkles were added as well. The flower centres are all gems that have been coloured to go with the flowers. The sections around the floral centres were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock 

Stamps: Kind Soul (W Plus 9)

Inks: Intense Black, Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide Ink (not CTMH)

Accessories: Kind Soul Die (W Plus 9), Tri-Blend Markers, Sharpie Markers (not CTMH), Bitty Sparkles, Clear Shimmer Brush 

Enjoy,

Alyson

January SOTM Blog Hop - Every Thank You

Welcome to the January Stamp of the Month blog hop. 

This month, the featured stamp set is called Every Thank You and it contains tons of ways to say thanks! 

You should have arrived here from Maureen O'Sullivan's blog. If you get lost along the way, a list of all participants can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog. 

My first thought for this stamp was a colourful thank you card. I measured the card front and separated it into seven even sections. The same image was stamped in seven different ink colours. The word YOU at the bottom was stamped in Mink and then the lined design was stamped over in Pewter. A few hearts were stamped on the right side and I used the Pewter Journaling Pen to outline the front. Clean and simple! 

The second card is totally different... I die cut the Olive Branches Background and then inked it using Peacock Feathers and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide inks. The sentiment was stamped and embossed in white. I added some Oasis Holographic paper on the card base and then decided to turn it into a shaker. There is foam tape across the middle so the shaker components live in half a card area only. 

I hope you enjoyed my cards. 

The next blog to visit on this hop is Brandi Robinson's blog. I'm sure she has something amazing to share with you!

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Pewter Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Oasis Holographic Paper 

Stamps: Every Thank You

Inks: Candy Apple, Flamingo, Grape, Bluebird, Lagoon, Clover, Nectarine, Mink, Pewter, Versamark, Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide, Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide

Accessories: Olive Branches Background Thin Cut, White Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Loose Silver Sequins, Silver Confetti, Pewter Journaling Pen, Foam Tape, Acetate (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson