Christmas in July Blog Hop

Welcome to the Christmas in July Blog Hop! 

It is exactly FIVE months until Christmas... what better time to start working on Christmas cards? 😳😳😳

Close To My Heart has a Christmas in July campaign happening - the White Pines paper pack and four additional stamp sets have been brought back. You will see a variety of Christmas projects on this blog hop as any other Christmas products that are still available may be used. 

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

I have a hard time thinking of Christmas when it is hot and humid outside. Usually by mid-December, there is snow on the ground and the temperatures are around or below the freezing mark. 

My first card was created using the Bargello technique. I inked a background using Peacock, Lagoon and Mint. Since Peacock and Mint are impossible to blend together, Lagoon was placed in between those colours each time. The strips were cut in the opposite direction and placed on the card front. I added a stitched frame and embossed the sentiment on vellum. The poinsettia was cut from the Comfort and Joy Cricut collection using silver foil, silver glitter paper and vellum. Then - and I believe I am totally crazy for doing this - I individually coloured several white beads using a Tri-Blend marker. I wanted them to match the papers... My fingers were blue for days afterward! The final step was to add silver Stickles around the card. 

My second card was created using a sketch from Make It From Your Heart - Vol.5. I originally stamped and fussy cut a wreath and lots of small elements and then decided that wasn't what I wanted... so it was on to the trees. They were stamped in Evergreen in first, second and third generation. They were fussy cut and the edges were brushed with the Gold Shimmer Brush. The patterned paper is from the Holiday Stack and I drew some stitching lines on each side with a green marker. The background was splattered with two shimmer bushes - Candy Apple and Evergreen. I added a strip of Gold Shimmer Trim to the sentiment and also used some Gold Embellishing Thread . The last step was to add gold Stickles around my card. 

The next stop on this blog hop is Show and Tell with Michelle. I am sure her project will put you in the Christmas spirit! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Holiday Stack, White Daisy Cardstock, French Vanilla Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Peacock Cardstock, Mint Cardstock, Silver Foil, Silver Glitter Paper, Vellum

Stamps: White Pines Cardmaking

Inks: Mint, Lagoon, Peacock, Evergreen, Candy Apple, Toffee, Lemonade, Versamark

Accessories: Comfort and Joy Cricut Collection, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Gold Shimmer Trim, Gold Embellishing Thread, Goldenrod Stickles, Silver Stickles, Bitty Beads, Green Sharpie Marker (not CTMH), Gold Shimmer Brush, Candy Apple Shimmer Brush, Evergreen Shimmer Brush, Tri-Blend Marker, Foam Tape, 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

Slimline Card Blog Hop

Welcome to the Slimline Card Blog Hop! 

Slimline cards have been very popular for some time now - and Close To My Heart offers some products specifically for that card size. 

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

I wanted to create a card for a special friend. The woodgrain paper was a perfect setting for the flowers I used, which are from the stamp set Friendship is a Blessing. I stamped and coloured the flowers and then fussy cut them. The woodgrain background was cut into two stitched rectangles and the cross piece allows the gap there to be covered. I stamped the sentiment in two colours and die cut that piece along with a background using the Stitched Hexagon Thin Cuts. A few Gold Glitter Gems and some Gold Embellishing Thread was added. The last step was to brush the centres of the flowers and the flower lines with the Gold Shimmer Brush. 

I hope you enjoyed my project. 

The next blog on this hop is Show and Tell with Michelle. I'm sure she has something amazing to share with you! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: Lovely Paper Pack, Woodgrain Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Ballerina Cardstock, Ballerina Glitter Paper, Slimline Cards and Envelopes 

Stamps: Friendship is a Blessing

Inks: Intense Black, Green Apple 

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Stitched Hexagon Thin Cuts, Tri-Blend Markers, Gold Glitter Gems, Gold Embellishing Thread, Gold Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

May/June New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the New Product Blog Hop for the May/June catalog! 

There will be several of the new products featured throughout this blog hop. 

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

I have a feeling that the Sunburst Background Thin Cut that I used will be used by a lot of the blog hop participants... it is a great product! It cuts out the border but you are also left with the inner pieces from the sunburst. 

My intention was to create ONE rainbow card but I quickly realized that I had to cut one sunburst for EVERY colour that I wanted to use. Rather than wasting all the remaining inside pieces, I decided to create 12 cards with the rainbow colours going around the card. I had to cut 12 black outlines to insert all the coloured pieces. That process was very time consuming and there are photos below to show the process as I had all the outlines lined up and began sorting the pieces. They weren't adhered until later. 

I stamped 12 sentiments from the Spot-On Sentiments stamp set - one in each of the 12 rainbow colours. Those were adhered to the circles after being die cut with a circle die. I didn't add anything else to these cards - they are busy enough as they are! 

On a side note, I had adhered all the rainbow pieces down and was waiting for the stamp set to arrive... I always have a drink on my desk - and it is always sealed - except this time. Of course, I knocked it over, right on top of the pile of 12 assembled cards! I moved awfully fast to dry them off and no major damage was done. I did have to cut off two fronts and place them on another card base but I was lucky. NO MORE drinks on my desk - ever. 

I hope you enjoyed my project.

The next stop is Michelle Loncar's blog. I know she will share something terrific with you!

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: Black Cardstock, Lemonade Cardstock, Sundance Cardstsock, Nectarine Cardstock, Smoothie Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Flamingo Cardstock, Grape Cardstock, Wisteria Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Clover Cardstock, Avocado Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes 

Stamps: Spot-On Sentiments

Inks: Archival Black 

Accessories: Sunburst Background Thin Cut, Basic Circles Thin Cuts

Enjoy,

Alyson

National Scrapbooking Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the National Scrapbooking Month Blog Hop! 

This hop features the products that are available for the NSM special - You Are Enough. 

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

I used a pattern from the new Make It From Your Heart - Volume 5. I created the same card four times using different papers from the You Are Enough paper pack. The gold-foil patterned cardstock was used for the bottom layer of the V shape, followed by regular cardstock and then patterned paper on top. I used cardstock - some light side, some dark side - for the base of the cards. The sentiments were stamped in coordinating colours and the enamel gems were all coloured using markers. The butterflies were die cut from holographic paper and I added some faux stitching around the bottom of each card. 

I hope you enjoyed my projects! 

The next stop on this hop is Michelle Loncar's blog. I am sure she will wow you with another awesome project. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: You Are Enough Paper Pack, You Are Enough Coordinating Cardstock, Holographic Paper - Twinkles Toes, Oasis and Majestic, White Card Bases 

Stamps: You Are Enough

Inks: Sapphire, Glacier, Sangria, Peach

Accessories: You Are Enough Thin Cuts, Layered Butterfly Thin Cuts, You Are Enough Sequins, Black and White Dots, Tri-Blend Markers, Sharpie Markers, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

Stamptacular Blog Hop

Welcome to the Stamptacular Blog Hop! So many stamps and thin cuts are on sale this month and several Makers will show you a selection of those items in this blog hop. 

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

I haven't used a lot of the background stamps lately but this was a good reason to pull out one of them! The Floral Details and Background stamp s a beautiful stamp that provides a card front. I wanted to do something a little different so I turned it into a full front shaker card. 

The front is a complete shaker that sits over the stamped image. It opens on its own to reveal what can be seen through the acetate. I stamped some images on circles to match up with the inside of the card. A circle on the back of the acetate was required to cover the adhesive. The shaker component was filled with Silver Loose Sequins and Iridescent Flower Confetti. 

The inside has the floral image stamped and coloured with markers. I added some Silver Stickles to parts of the flowers and I brushed all the flower lines with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

Since a spot was needed to write a message, I also decorated the back by stamping and colouring small images and drawing lines to join them together. 

I hope you enjoyed my card. 

The next blog on this hop is Haley Dyer's blog. I'm sure she has something terrific to show you!

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Green Apple Cardsotck, Flamingo Cardstock, Grape Cardstock 

Stamps: Floral Details and Background, Cherry Blossoms 

Inks: Intense Black, Grape, Green Apple 

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Acetate (not CTMH), Tri-Blend Markers, Foam Tape, Clear Shimmer Brush, Silver Stickles, Silver Loose Sequins, Iridescent Flower Sequins, Black Journaling Pen

Enjoy,

Alyson

March - April New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the New Product Blog Hop for the March/April catalog! 

There are so many awesome new products in this catalog - the bloggers along the way will show you some terrific ideas that showcase just some of those products. 

You should have arrived here from Becca Whitham’s blog. If you get lost along the way, there is a list of all participants on Melinda Everitt's blog. 

My favourite new product is the Daisy Meadows Scrapbooking stamp and thin cut combo. I used that along with one of the papers from the Daisy Meadows paper pack and a couple of other stamp sets to create this standing wreath card. 

The card stands on its own and it folds flat for mailing. I had so many images I wanted to use so my card is larger than 6x6 due to the images that hang over the edge. 

The images were all stamped, coloured and die cut before being added around the wreath base. The sentiment was stamped and die cut along with a coordinating background. Once all the images were in place, I used some Liquid Pearls, Stickles and the Gold Shimmer Brush to add some sparkle and shine. The sentiment is mounted on a piece of acetate that runs across the center of the wreath. 

I hope you enjoyed my project. 

The next blog to visit is Brenda Lapp’s blog. I am sure she has something wonderful to share with you! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Daisy Meadows Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Peacock Cardstock, Acetate (not CTMH) 

Stamps: Daisy Meadows Scrapbooking, Florals and Flutters, Sunny Days Ahead

Inks: Intense Black 

Accessories: Daisy Meadows Thin Cuts, Florals and Flutters Thin Cuts, Stitched Bracket Thin Cuts, Tri-Blend Markers, Gold Shimmer Brush, Goldenrod Stickles, Onyx Pearl Liquid Pearls, Sundance Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

In This Together Blog Hop

Welcome to the In This Together blog hop! 

The Makers on this blog hop will be showing different projects using products from the In This Together collection. 

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

Both of these cards are side step cards. The first uses some of the papers, stickers and stamped images from the In This Together collection. 

The circles on the right side were cut using my Cricut. I stamped and coloured the sofa and the We Got This image and used stickers for the remaining images. I purposely kept the card simple to focus on the papers.  

Lemonade and Grape go so well together... For this card, I stamped several images from the gnome set, including some plants, a shovel, a watering can and the gnome himself. Clover cardstock was used to create the grass. The Lemonade striped paper was a perfect background for the front of the card and the heart pattern worked for the back. I brushed the flower petals with the Clear Shimmer Brush and added a few sparkles around the front. 

I hope you enjoyed my projects. 

The next stop on this hop is Gina Brandstetter's blog. I am sure she will share something awesome with you! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: In This Together Paper Pack and Sticker Sheet, White Daisy Cardstock, Grape Cardstock, Clover Cardstock, Nectarine Cardstock

Stamps: In This Together, Garden Gnomes

Inks: Intense Black, Sapphire

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cricut Collection, Garden Gnomes Thin Cuts, Tri-Blend Markers, Clear Sparkles, Bitty Sparkles, Clear Shimmer Brush, In This Together Dots

Enjoy,

Alyson

February Technique Blog Hop

Welcome to the February Technique Blog Hop! 

This month, we are featuring the concept of "faux". Faux can be anything that imitates the original. I chose to use faux stitching for my project. 

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

I started with a lattice background die that has faux stitching in diagonal lines. I backed that with Bluebird Cardstock. The flowers were stamped with Sapphire Pigment Ink and embossed. Those were coloured and fussy cut and the flower centres were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. The sentiment was stamped and I used a dark blue marker to draw faux stitching lines along the edge. I added some Diamond Stickles to the tiny holes in the die and this card was finished! 

I hope you enjoyed my card! 

The next stop on this blog hop is Michelle Johns. 

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

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardsock, Lilac Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock 

Stamps: Every Bit of Wonderful, Sending Well Wishes 

Inks: Sapphire, Sapphire Pigment Ink 

Accessories: Stitched Lattice Background Thin Cut, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Tri-Blend Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush, Blue Sharpie Marker (not CTMH), Diamond Stickles 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Blossom Blog Hop

Welcome to the Blossom Blog Hop!

This blog hop focuses on the products from the Blossom collection - there is a paper pack, two stamp sets (one with thin cuts) and some coordinating cardstock available.  

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

I have two projects to share - the first is a card and the second is a layout. 

This card is very easy to create - it folds over itself and opens up to a 12" length. I used the Shower Flowers stamp set to stamp and fussy cut the flowers and greenery for the front. A sentiment was stamped and added to the front and the back panel was also stamped as part of it is visible when the card is closed. I added a few Stickles dots around the sentiment area and some Silver Glitter Gems that were coloured to match the front. 

This layout is a very different style for me... I rarely use water colours but I pulled those out and created a background using the same colours as in the Blossom paper pack. I simply painted strips of colour along the centre of the cardstock and then splattered some paint around the rest of the layout. That piece was trimmed and placed on an angle on a piece of Lagoon cardstock. I surrounded the photo of my dog with a Lagoon frame and added some of the zip strips along the bottom. I typed the journaling and printed it on one of the Blossom papers. The title was stamped in a Cricut cut banner. The little hearts were stamped - some on patterned paper and some on white cardsock so they could be coloured. They were spread around the layout and some tiny hearts were also stamped. Finally, I added some sparkles that were also coloured. A black journaling pen was used to draw a border around the layout. 

I hope you enjoyed my projects. 

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

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Blossom Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Nectarine Cardstock 

Stamps: Shower Flowers, Happiness Lives Here, Jennifer's Hand, Wishing You Everything 

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

Accessories: Artbooking Cartridge, Artistry Cartridge, Wishing You Everything Thin Cuts, Stitched Fancy Brackets Thin Cuts, Watercolour Paints, Glacier Twine, Silver Glitter Gems, Sparkles, Bitty Sparkles, Tri-Blend Markers, White Shimmer Trim, Mint Stickles, Black Journaling Pen

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

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