Cross Canada Blog Hop - Grateful Heart

Welcome to the Cross-Canada Blog Hop!

This month, we are featuring the Grateful Heart Paper Pack. 

You should have arrived here from Diana's blog. This blog hops runs from East to West across Canada so if you want to start at the beginning, go to Michelle's blog and she has the entire list of bloggers on her blog. 

I am working on Christmas cards at this time and I love non-traditional colours for Christmas. This was the perfect opportunity to continue with my Christmas cards and showcase the side of Grateful Heart that most people don't see... 

I love the blues in this paper pack. Paired with silver, they make an awesome colour combination. I created a poinsettia and then used the Fancy Tags thin cuts to cut out the sentiment that was stamped from the Wonder of the Season stamp set. I cut another of the tags to go behind it. I love the intensity of this card. The pattern is from MIFYH - Vol 4 (Pattern 9). 

The next bog on this hop is Terry Ann.
I am sure she has something fabulous to share with you!

Be sure to join us again on November 10th when we will feature 'Tis the Season from the Holiday Expressions catalog! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Grateful Heart Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Mink Cardstock, Silver Glitter Paper
Stamps: Wonder of the Season
Inks: Sapphire, Glacier, Heather
Accessories: Flower Market Cartridge, Fancy Tags Thin Cuts, Decorative Border Thin Cuts, Blue Burlap Ribbon, White Pearls, Clear Shimmer Brush, Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

Cross Canada Blog Hop - Central Park

Welcome to the Cross Canada Blog Hop! 

If you have arrived here from Brae Montgomery's blog, you are on the right path. If you want to start at the beginning of the blog hop, then start at Michelle Stewart's blog. 
This blog hop runs from East to West across Canada! 

This month, we are featuring the Central Park Paper Pack. This is a paper pack that is focused on primary colours - red, green, yellow and blue. It also has shades of white and grey and even our Colour of the Year, Bashful. 

I want to show two very different sides of this paper pack for this blog hop. I have not use this paper pack much at all because in all honesty, it is my least favourite paper pack of the ones that are currently available. However, I have used up almost all of just two papers in it - and had just enough of those two paper left to do this first card. It is certainly not what most people would think of when they see the papers in this paper pack. The papers of Central Park are bold and bright and this card is not that style at all. 

For the flowers, I used the Beautiful You stamp set - a triple stamping set. I cut one of the zip strips in half for the border and used Mink cardstock for my card base. The dots are from the Documented Dots collection as they matched perfectly. The flowers and leaf stems were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush - a close up is shown under the card photo. 

My second card is more like the typical Central Park papers - bold and bright. I tried everything to get the twine to lie flat but finally let it go where it wanted... 

I hope these two cards show you that the Central Park Paper Pack has two distinct personalities. 

The next blog on this hop is Brandi Robinson's blog. 

I am sure she has something wonderful to share with you. 

Please join us next month when we will feature projects using the Documented Paper Pack. 

Note: the date will be August 10th instead of the 15th. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Central Park Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Mink Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Bashful Glitter Paper, Pacifica Cardstock, Poppy Cardstock

Stamps: Beautiful You, Birthday Sparkles

Inks: Willow, Raspberry, Blossom, Bashful

Accessories: Documented Dots, Clear Shimmer Brush, Beautiful You Thin Cuts, Oval Thin Cuts, Stitched Oval Thin Cuts, Corner Rounder, Central Park Sequins, Sapphire Burlap Ribbon

Enjoy,

Alyson

Cross-Canada - HE New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the Cross-Canada Bog Hop where we are featuring new products from the Holiday Expressions catalog this month. This awesome catalog went live as of September 1st and there is so much goodness to be had - paper packs and stamps plus accessories to highlight Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas! 

If you have landed here from Brae's blog, you are in the right place. If you want to start at the beginning and follow this blog hop from one side of Canada to the other, then start at Michelle's blog. 

I chose to create a Joy Fold Card. This is a flip sort of card. It is hard to add a lot of dimension to a card like this because if there is much dimension on the inside, it will not close properly. My goal with this card was to feature the Beary Christmas Paper pack and the Beary Christmas - Cardmaking stamp set. I wanted to use every image in the stamp set and I did just that. The stamp set is also available with a set of Thin Cuts, which I also put to use. 

If you are looking for a guide to create a Joy Fold Card, I used the one from Splitcoast Stampers, found here. 

The front of my card features the wreath and one of the sentiments from the stamp set. The berries and the word Joy have been brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush but that doesn't show in the photos. The Happy Holidays at the bottom actually has a special purpose... It is partly adhered with foam tape and is holding the top layer down so it doesn't open up on its own. 

The next photo shows the card partly opened up. You can see the side panel after the front panel is pulled out from under the Happy Holidays tab. I have placed a tree with a star there - and yes, I fussy cut all of those little red circles from the stamp set! No cheating here. They have all been brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush, as has the star, but that just doesn't show in the photos. 

The final photo shows the card fully open. There is a place to write in the centre and another decorated space as well. I suppose something else could have been placed on the far left panel but I thought the paper was busy enough as it was. 

This card is remarkably simple to do - it looks hard but can be very impressive, depending how far you choose to take your embellishments. 

I hope you enjoyed my project. 

The next blog on the hop is Jessica's blog. I'm sure she has something wonderful to share with you. 

Please plan to join us again next month!

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Beary Christmas Paper Pack, Cranberry Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock

Stamps: Beary Christmas - Cardmaking

Inks: Cranberry, New England Ivy, Canary, Glacier

Accessories: Beary Christmas Thin Cuts, Clear Sparkles, ShinHan Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Piercing Tool

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Cross Canada Blog Hop - Annual Inspirations New Product Showcase

Welcome to our August Blog Hop featuring artwork created from products found in the 2017-2018 Annual Inspirations Catalog. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order.

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop!

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at Michelle S' blog. If you have come from 
Michelle H's blog, then you are in the right place! 

I chose to create a card based primarily on the the Hello Canada digital Cricut cartridge. 

Each province has a flower associated with it and the Ontario flower is the trillium. I love this flower and it grows in abundance in my area. The white trillium is by far the most common but red trilliums are also found, although they are far less common. I based my card on one I found on Pinterest made by Mary Fish. The background panels are embossed with the new Rose embossing folder. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Mink Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Willow Cardstock

Stamps: none

Inks: none

Accessories: Hello Canada Digital Cartridge, Flower Market Cartridge, Whisper Thick Twine, White Pearls, Rose Embossing Folder, Foam Tape, Corner Rounder

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Janet's blog.

I'm sure she has something wonderful to share with you.

If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle S's blog.

Thanks for joining us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. 

We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring projects inspired from the new products from the new Holiday Expressions catalog. 

So mark September 15th on your calendars and join us again at that time.

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Cross Canada Blog Hop - Colour of the Year: Sea Glass

Welcome to our November Blog Hop featuring Close To My Heart's Colour of the Year - Sea Glass! To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop contact your local consultant to place an order. 

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts as we love to get feedback from our visitors. Whether it was something you liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do... by leaving a comment, we get to hear what you like and what you want to see. Now on to our hop! 

If you just hopped on to my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop. If you want to follow us from East to West across Canada, start at Michelle Stewart's blog. If you are traveling in a circle, you should have arrived from Michelle Hughes' blog. 

I chose to create a layout for this blog hop. I create a LOT of cards for design team work and other blog hops but I decided to do something a little different this time around.

Anyone who knows me knows that Mika, my doggie, is my baby. She is 3 years old and I raised her from a tiny puppy. She is a Morkie (Maltese/Yorkie cross) and she weighs in at a hefty 6.5 pounds. She is the friendliest dog imaginable. She is not a barker (thank goodness) but she might just lick you to death! She loves to play fetch and she is a snuggle puppy for sure. 

I covered the background piece with a sheet of plain vellum to tone down the words a little bit. I chose to frame her photo with flowers created from the Flower Market cartridge and "greenery" that was cut in shades of grey. The strip of Sea Glass patterned paper is from the Oh Deer! paper pack - one of my favourites! Detailed photos below the layout show a closer view of each section. 

Your next blog on the Cross Canada hop is Donna Digby's blog and I am sure she has something wonderful to share with you. If you get lost along the way, Michelle Stewart has a list of all the bloggers on the hop along with their links. 

We hope we were able to inspire you with get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques along the way. Please join us again next month when we will be featuring Traditional vs Non-Traditional creations. Mark your calendars for December 15th and hop along with us once again! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Oh Deer! Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sea Glass Cardstock, Juniper Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Whisper Cardstock, Slate Cardstock, Uptown Fundamentals, Plain Vellum (not CTMH) 

Stamps: none

Inks: none

Accessories: Flower Market Cartridge, Foam Tape, Silver Sequin Assortment, Clear Sparkles, ShinHan Markers

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Cross-Canada Blog Hop - Jeepers Creepers (Halloween or Not?)

Welcome to our October Blog Hop featuring Jeepers Creepers creations. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop contact your local consultant to place an order. 

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts as we love to get feedback from our visitors. Whether it was something you liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do... by leaving a comment, we get to hear what you like and what you want to see. Now on to our hop! 

If you just hopped on to my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop. If you want to follow us from East to West across Canada, start at Michelle's blog. If you are traveling in a circle, you should have arrived from Nicky's blog. 

I chose to create two cards for this blog hop. The first is a standard Halloween card since Jeepers Creepers IS a Halloween paper pack. I love the little creatures in the stamp set called Monstrous Halloween and they can be used for so many different occasions! 

The second card I created is one that uses the Jeepers Creepers paper but for a Christmas themed card. I love non-traditional colours for Christmas and focused on the Lagoon and Pansy coloured papers and used some Silver Glitter paper to cut the snowflake die cuts. I like the simplicity of this card. 

Your next blog on the Cross Canada hop is Donna's blog and I am sure she has something wonderful to share with you. If you get lost along the way, Michelle has a list of all the bloggers on the hop along with their links. 

We hope we were able to inspire you with get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques along the way. Please join us again next month when we will be featuring Close To My Heart's Colour of the Year - Sea Glass! Mark your calendars for November 15th and hop along with us once again! 

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

Paper: Jeepers Creepers Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Pansy Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Silver Glitter Paper

Stamps: Monstrous Halloween, Hymns of Praise

Inks: Willow, Tangerine, Pansy, Black

Accessories: Monstrous Halloween Thin Cuts, Snowflake Thin Cuts, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Rustic Home Ribbon Pack, Large and Small Googly Eyes (not CTMH), Silver Sequins 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Cross-Canada Blog Hop - Favourite New Product from Ann. Insp. Catalog

Welcome to our August Blog Hop featuring our favourite new products from the NEW Annual Inspirations catalog. To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order. 

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our visitors... whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that you would like to learn how to do... By leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like and what you want to see. Thanks - now on to the hop! 

If you have just hopped on to my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop but if you want to follow us across Canada, then please start at the beginning and visit Michelle Stewart's blog. If you came from Michelle Hughes' blog, then you are in the right place! 

I have many favourite products from the new Annual Inspirations Catalog but one that is right at the top of my list is the Flower Market Cricut Cartridge - and I am sure I am not alone!I  have been waiting for something like this for ages. This cartridge has dozens of flowers (flat and three dimensional) plus wreaths (one of my favourite crafting items!) and all sorts of items in which to place flowers like containers, baskets, even boots and more! And there are a ton of other images on there as well! 

I had need to create a birthday card for a special friend so I decided to use the Flower Market cartridge as well as another of my favourite products - the Rustic Home Fundamentals. The flowers on my card needed to be reasonably flat for mailing purposes but one great thing about the Flower Market collection is the the stamps that come with the cartridge include two background stamp sets (so 8 different design) plus one set of sentiments. I stamped the flower pieces with one of those background images to give them some depth. The sentiment that I used is from the third stamp set. The sparkles were coloured to complement the flowers before adhering them to the centres. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Whisper Cardstock, Lemon Cardstock, Blossom Cardstock, Raspberry Cardstock, Fern Cardstock, New England Ivy Cardstock, Rustic Home Fundamentals
Stamps: Playful Patterns (from Cricut Bundle), Sending Smiles (from Cricut Bundle)
Inks: Raspberry Pigment Ink, Blossom Pigment Ink
Accessories: Flower Market Cricut Cartridge, Artistry Cricut Cartridge, Clear Sparkles, ShinHan Marker, Enchantment Ribbon Pack, Thin Foam Tape

Your next stop on the Cross Canada hop is Donna Digby's blog. If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle's blog as she has the entire list posted there. 

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. Please join us again next month when we will be featuring projects with a Back to School theme. Mark your calendars for September 15th and hop along with us once again. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson