Colour Dare 457 - Birthday Wishes

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 457!

We have a tic tac toe grid this week - it is based on the colours from the Close To My Heart paper pack called Isabella. 

I used the left column (Evergreen, Mink and Sundance) as well as the bottom row (Sundance, Gold and Sage).

I used a pattern from an old Make It From Your Heart book but reversed the top two panels. The papers are all from the Isabella paper pack. The bottom of the green panel was die cut using a stitched bracket die. The flowers were coloured and die cut. I added some gold Liquid Pearls and Stickles to the berries and a birthday sentiment was placed along the cross piece. Some gold embellishing thread and glitter gems were added around the card and the lines of the flowers were brushed with the gold shimmer brush. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the tic tac toe grid 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: Isabella Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sage Cardstock, Evergreen Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Isabella Scrapbooking Stamp and Thin Cuts, Easy Expressions Stamp and Die (The Ton Stamps) 

Inks: Archival Black, Versamark, Intense Black (SSS)

Accessories: Stitched Brackets Thin Cuts, Gold Shimmer Ribbon, Gold Glitter Gems, Gold Shimmer Brush, Goldenrod Stickles, Gold Liquid Pearls, Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Tri-Blend Markers, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

New Product Blog Hop

 Welcome to the New Product Blog Hop for the July/August catalog! 

There are so many terrific new products - you will see a variety of them along this hop. You should have arrived here from Gina Brandstetter's blog. If you get lost along the way, a list of all participants can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog. 

I made two cards using completely different products. The first uses a stamp set that I think is fabulous! I stamped the woman in Intense Black and coloured her using the same colours as the Isabella papers. The sentiment was stamped in Bluebird ink. I followed a pattern from Make It From Your Heart Vol. 1 and added a mat to each piece. A few flowers with coloured Bitty Sparkles inside were added around the card and I drew a border around the two largest pieces. 

The second card uses a new stamp set called Happy Birthday Song plus the waterfall thin cut. The images were all stamped in either Sage or Peacock ink after some detailed masking, and some were coloured. I kept to a minimalist colour theme, using only three colours. A few balloons and hearts were added along the side of the waterfall and I also added some Peacock dots. 

I hope you enjoyed my cards! 

The next stop is Haley Dyer's blog. I am sure she has something terrific to share with you! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Isabella Paper Pack, Mix-In Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Lemonade Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Ballerina Cardstock, Sage Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: Hot in Flashes, Happy Birthday Song, Wishing You Everything, Celebrating You

Inks: Intense Black, Bluebird, Sage, Peacock

Accessories: Wishing You Everything Thin Cuts, Waterfall Thin Cut, Tri-Blend Markers, White Twine (not CMTH), Daisy Meadows Dots, Bitty Sparkles, Springtime Flower Sequins, Black Journaling Pen, Thin Foam Tape 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Baby Congratulations

A friend of mine recently had a baby - always a good occasion to create a card! 

I used the new Make It From Your Heart - Volume 5 for the card pattern. 

I used several retired Mix-In papers for the card and I also hand stitched two lines along the left side. The sentiment was stamped and die cut using basic and stitched circle dies. I pulled out some old stamp sets for this one - Cute Koalas and Ink Blot. The Ink Blot stamp was used on the sentiment piece and also along the right side panel. The koalas (there is one inside the card as well) were stamped, coloured and fussy cut.  I added a few Glacier holographic sequins to finish off the card. 

I hope my friend will like it! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Papers: Mix-In Paper Packs, White Daisy Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Cute Koalas, Ink Blot 

Inks: Intense Black (SSS), Pewter, Mink, Glacier 

Accessories: Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Tri-Blend Markers, Holographic Sequins, Embroidery Floss (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

March SOTM Blog Hop

Welcome to the March SOTM Blog Hop! 

You should have arrived here from Darlys Recker's blog.

If you get lost, a list of all participants can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog. 

The stamp set this month is called Winged Masterpiece and an image of that set is below. 

I chose to use the butterfly and the birthday sentiment. I did not want to fussy cut that butterfly so I stamped it on a piece of White Daisy cardstock so I could trim it after it was coloured. I used some papers from the new Daisy Meadows paper pack and based my colour scheme on that. I had to create a card that was 5 x 61/2 to maintain the same properties as a standard card but allow enough room to mount the butterfly and still have room for the patterned papers to show. 

I added a few of the small flowers around the sentiment to keep the theme across the entire card. A black journaling pen was used to draw around the outside of the card and around the butterfly image. I added some shimmer to the large flowers as well. 

I hope you enjoyed my card. 

The next stop is Gina Brandstetter's blog. 

I am certain she will show you some wonderful ideas using this stamp set. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Daisy Meadows Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Mint Cardstock, Peach Cardstock 

Stamps: Winged Masterpiece

Inks: Intense Black

Accessories: Tri-Blend Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush, Daisy Meadows Dots, Black Journaling Pen 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Baby Album - Little Girl

I just finished a complete baby album for the first year of a little girl. This was a real labour of love - 12 complete layouts plus a front and back page. 

The layouts were photographed outside in the shade but they still tend to be on the light side and often don't reflect the true colours or the vibrant appearance of the layouts... The order they are shown here is the same order they appear in the album. 

Many of the layouts have flip flaps added for additional photos. Some of the flip flaps may also have journaling options included that are not visible here. There is one layout where the journaling area is a slide-in piece.

I hope that the mother-to-be enjoys adding photos of her baby girl throughout the year! 

Products are not listed as the product list is far too extensive to include here. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Trouble 63 - What's Up Dog?

Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge #63!

This week, it's all about embossing (hot/wet or cold/dry) and critters. If you use a critter on your project, we encourage you to link up with the 2 Crafty Critter Crazies challenge as well. That link can also be found on the Double Trouble challenge post. 

I pulled out a stamp set that I love but haven't used often - called Lucky Dog by MFT. I based my card on a sketch from Make It From Your Heart Volume 2. The dog bone papers were combined with a panel of cardstock that was dry embossed using a paw embossing folder. I sanded the embossed panel to bring out the images in white. The dog image was stamped with Pewter embossing ink and heat embossed before being coloured. I added some grass and the sentiment at the bottom and then placed some silver embellishing thread behind the panel before adding it to a mat. A thin strip of silver ribbon was added to the cross piece of Pewter cardstock. Finally, a few blue glitter gems finished off my card.

Come and join us at Double Trouble and show us your embossed projects. Add a critter if desired. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create! 

I am linking my card up to the 2 Crafty Critters Crazies challenge as well. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Friends Fur-ever Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Carolina Cardstock 

Stamps: Lucky Dog (MFT)

Inks: Bluebird, Pewter Pigment Ink

Accessories: Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Paw Embossing Folder (Darice), Silver Ribbon (misc.), Sanding Block, Pewter Journaling Pen, Blue Enamel and Glitter Dots, Tri-Blend Markers, ShinHan Markers, Thin Foam Tape, Silver Embellishing Thread

Enjoy,

Alyson

Sunflower Wishes

This card was created just for fun. One of the new products in the next CTMH catalog is a gorgeous set of sunflowers that also come with thin cuts. 

I wanted to use those flowers on a card and a sketch from Make It From Your Heart Vol. 2 provided a perfect opportunity to do just that. 

I stamped the sunflowers with Intense Black ink and coloured them. They were die cut, as were the two pieces of the stitched rectangle. I used a piece of patterned paper from an old paper pack on the front of the card and the facing side was embossed with the stitch circle embossing folder. 

After that was done, assembly of the card was easy - added a piece of cardstock and a ribbon for the mini banners and placed a piece of ribbon along the side as well. The rectangle was adhered using foam tape to raise it from the base of the card. I found some old gold gems that I added to the front. The sentiment was stamped in the lower left corner using Expresso ink. The sunflowers were brushed with the Gold Shimmer Brush - easier seen in the close up photo.

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Boutique Paper Pack, Espresso Cardstock, Kraft Cardstock, Sage Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Joyful Sunflower

Inks: Intense Black, Espresso 

Accessories: Joyful Sunflower Thin Cuts, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Embossing Folder, Tri-Blend Markers, Gold Shimmer Brush, Gold Gems, Foam Tape, White and Gold Skinny Ribbon, Gold Glitter Ribbon 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Brushed Blog Hop

Welcome to the Brushed Blog Hop!

The Brushed paper pack is a returning paper pack that was retired a few years ago. It has a beautiful mix of colours and patterns.

You should have arrived here from Michelle Loncar's blog.

If you get lost, a complete list of all participants can be found on Melinda Everitt's blog.

My order with the revised paper pack didn't arrive in time so I had to use the older version. The colours in the new pack have been revamped to reflect the current CTMH colours.

I went back in time for a sketch as well - to Make It From Your Heart - Vol. 1. It worked for what I had in mind.

My first step was to stamp the largest flower in Versamark and emboss it in white on Candy Apple cardstock. That piece was used as the background for my card. It was pretty bold when it was done so I placed a piece of vellum over the piece to tone it down. Vellum can be very difficult to adhere if there aren't places to hide the adhesive. In this case, I didn't want the edges lifting so I cut the vellum about 1" larger than the cardstock and scored it to wrap it around the back of the card. That way, no adhesive on the front was needed. A photo of that step is shown below.

I cut the patterned papers and mounted each of them on black cardstock. The scalloped border was cut using Julep cardstock and my Cricut (Art Philosophy) and attached under the long piece. I stamped the flower and some leaves and coloured them with the Tri-Blend markers. I added some shimmer by just going over the lines on the flower petals. Bitty Sparkles were coloured and attached in the centre of the flower. That floral piece is mounted using craft foam. I cut a stitched bracket and stamped the sentiment on the top, attaching the remainder of the bracket under the white cardstock. A striped bow was added along with some black enamel dots.

I went through some old artwork and found this display tray that I created featuring my dog. I used the Brushed paper pack along with several other stamp sets and embellishments from the time Brushed was first available. 

I hope you enjoyed my projects.

The next blog to visit on this hop is Jen Rubio's blog.

I'm sure she has something amazing to share with you!

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated (does not include display tray products): 

Paper: Brushed Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Julep Cardstock, Vellum

Stamps: You Make Me Happy, A Budding Friendship

Inks: Intense Black, Black, Versamark

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, Stitched Bracket Thin Cuts, Black and White Dots, Bitty Sparkles, Craft Foam (not CTMH), Tri-Blend Markers, Striped Ribbon Bows, White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Trouble 58 - Masculine Birthday Card

Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge #58! 

The elements for this challenge are shown in the grid below. The condensed version is to create a masculine project (does not have to be Father's Day related), use a round item and link to Use Your Stuff challenge. 

I am always needing masculine birthday cards... this was the perfect opportunity to create another one as Thing 1 requires a masculine project.

I used an old card pattern from Make It From Your Heart Volume 2. The three panels were cut from Cedar and Pine (Christmas paper) and a retired Mix-In paper pack. I stamped the sentiment - which is a mini stamp that is at least 10 years old - in Intense Black and then coloured it using 4 shades of green, blending them into each other to create an ombre appearance on the letters. The sentiment was die cut with a stitched circle die and the circle background is gold foil paper. I used some black glitter paper for the cross piece and placed a ribbon on top of that. The same ribbon was used to create a bow at the side of the sentiment. I added a few gold gems and mounted the sentiment on foam tape. 

Come and join us at Double Trouble and show us how you interpret this week's theme. 

Remember that you can also enter the 

Use Your Stuff challenge. 

I am linking my card up with that challenge. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Cedar and Pine Paper Pack, Mix-In Paper Pack, Black Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Black Glitter Paper, Gold Foil Paper, White Cards and Envelopes 

Stamps: Heartfelt Birthday Wish

Inks: Intense Black

Accessories: Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Gold Gems, Foam Tape, Tri-Blend Markers, Black and Gold Ribbon

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD 393 - A Meerkat Birthday

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge #393!

It's another tic-tac-toe board this week! The majority of colours on this grid are from the Blue Skies paper pack which is Close To My Heart's National Scrapbooking Month (May) featured paper pack. 

I chose to use one of the multi-coloured sheets, giving me several of the colours on the grid. 

My tic tac toe rows are:

- left column 

- bottom row

I also used Lagoon on my card. 

This meerkat stamp has simply melted my heart - I have always loved them! I stamped the image using Intense Black and then coloured the little dudes. The sentiment was masked three times to stamp it in a long line. The cardstock that goes with the Blue Skies paper pack is textured and patterned cardstock and it is fabulous! I used the red Cardstock on this card. Some red ribbon was folded over itself to create a pleated appearance and an old flower embellishment was added beside the ribbon. I coloured the gem inside the flower with a turquoise marker. I found an old pin and coloured two of the gems on the end. That is used to hold down the stamped paper. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the tic-tac-toe grid shown above. 

Black, white and all neutrals are free. 

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: Blue Skies Paper Pack, Blue Skies Coordinating Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Green Apple Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: The Gang's All Meer (SU)

Inks: Intense Black, Sapphire

Accessories: Touch Markers (not CTMH), Red Ribbon (not CTMH), Decorative Pin (misc.), Flower, Thin Foam Tape, Corner Rounder

Enjoy,

Alyson

H2H - Spring Shaker Card

Welcome to this week's Heart 2 Heart challenge! 

This week, we are inviting you to create a project using your favourite sketch. You don't have to use Close To My Heart sketch resources - any sketch resources are fine. As a design team, we ARE using current Close To My Heart sketch resources so we cannot post the actual sketch for you as they are copyright protected but if you can post the sketch resource for us, that would be terrific! 

I chose to use a card sketch from Make It From Your Heart - Volume 4. I rotated the sketch 180 degrees and used a circle for the focal part instead of a rectangle because I wanted to use a shaker for my main image. The rotation fit my design better due to the sentiment location as well. Remember - sketches are starting points and as long as they can be identified, they do not have to be followed exactly.

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your favourite sketch and how you use it. Remember to use at least some Close To My Heart products. You have until the end of April to link up your project. We can't wait to see what you create!

I am entering this card in the Three Amigos challenge - Springtime - because it's all about SPRING with its bright and spring-like colours! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: So Much Happy Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Mint Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Know that I Care, Well Said (SU)

Inks: Lagoon, Lemon

Accessories: Shaker Window Kit, Shaker Window Foam and Acetate, Loose Sequins - Gold, Gold Sequins, White and Gold Skinny Ribbon, Decorative Borders Thin Cuts, ShinHan Marker (other)

Enjoy,

Alyson

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

Colour Dare 297 - Just Because

Welcome to another Colour Dare Challenge! 

This week, it's an interesting colour combination... Glacier, Nutmeg and Sorbet. Being honest, two of these aren't my favourite colours and I rarely use them (Sorbet and Nutmeg) but together, they look really good because they both have orange undertones. Glacier has a blue undertone (obviously) and they work remarkably well as a group of three - I was very surprised. 

I embossed a piece of Nutmeg cardstock using a deep woodgrain embossing folder - unfortunately, that barely shows up in the photo. The Glacier piece along the bottom was punched using a border punch that I have had for ages and not used in years! I Cricut cut the doily behind the flower and I brushed the lines of the flower with the Clear Shimmer Brush. This card is so much prettier in real life than in the photo.

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. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Whimsy Fundamentals, White Daisy Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Sorbet Cardstock, Nutmeg Cardstock

Stamps: Say it All (ret.), Keep Dreaming (ret.)

Inks: Glacier, Tuxedo Black Memento Ink

Accessories: Artiste Cartridge (ret.), Woodgrain Embossing Folder (SU), Border Punch (not CTMH), ShinHan Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

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