Lattice Folds Cards with a Magnet Component

Lattice folds always look so pretty and I really like the one below. Adding patterned paper underneath added a whole new look.

The first card was created using the Stitched Together paper pack and some brightly coloured cardstock. One of the benefits (most of the time) with Close To My Heart cardstock is that a lighter colour is on the reverse so each paper really has two shades. I used the front and the reverse of the cardstock to get varying shades for my flower. 

The flower was assembled and a button was threaded with some thin ribbon and added to the centre. I also brushed the button with the Clear Shimmer Brush. The neat thing about this card is that the entire flower is removable as it is attached with a magnet. The flower can then be attached to the fridge or any other magnetic surface. I have shown that in detail on the second card. 

This card was created for the birthday of a friend of mine. The paper pack goes way back... Blossom. I  used the coordinating stamp set to stamp and fussy cut several flowers and leaves. They were added both to the shaker on the front and inside the card. The shaker contains two colours of sequins as well as tiny silver stars. I stamped a background on the inside shaker piece along with the sentiment.

The magnet is under the top layer of paper on the front of the card and there is as second magnet under the shaker. Tiny magnets can be very strong, as are these ones! 

On the inside of the card, I stamped several sections of dots and the flower sand then added a drawn line to connect those images. Some additional flowers and leaves were added here as well, leaving plenty of room to write a message. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Stitched Together Paper Pack, Blossom Paper Pack, French Vanilla Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Green Apple Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Peach Cardstock, Lemonade Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Smoothie Cardstock

Stamps: Floral Celebration, Shower Flowers, Sentiment Collection (PB), Strokes of an Artist, Celebrating You, Card Captions

Inks: Sapphire, Lagoon, Glacier, Smoothie, Sweet Leaf, Sorbet

Accessories: Circuit Flower Market, Cricut Basic Shapes, Shaker Window and Thin Cuts, Shaker Foam and Acetate, White and Gold Skinny Ribbon, Wood Buttons, Blue and Green Sequins (not CTMH), Silver Star Confetti, Sharpie Marker, Black Marker, Clear Shimmer Brush, Magnets (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT 461 - Holographic Flowers

Welcome to Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge 461! 

This week, there is a choice. You can use the sketch or the inspiration photo - or both! 

I chose to use the sketch for my card. 

I needed a flower that would fit nicely in an oval so I selected these roses from A Million Little Things by Close To My Heart. They were heat embossed in silver and then coloured. I also did the same with the leaves above and below the oval. I die cut a background oval and then embossed some holographic paper with a stitched circle embossing folder. Holographic paper is so difficult to photograph as it shines and often shows light and dark spots. I added some pink twine and adhered it behind the card front and finally added a stitched rectangle border. The flowers were lightly brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

Come and join us at TSOT and show us how you use either the sketch or the inspiration photo 

(or both) 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, Pewter Cardstock, Willow Cardstock, Dreamy Holographic Paper, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: A Million Little Things, Springtime Wishes, Word Up (Reverse Confetti)

Inks: Versamark, Willow, Pewter

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Springtime Wishes Thin Cuts, Oval Dies (Nestabilities), Oval Open Scallop Dies (Nestabilities), Tri-Blend Markers, Stitched Circles Embossing Folder, Pink Twine (misc.), Clear Shimmer Brush, Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Atlantic Hearts 372 - Paper Pieced Globe

Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #372! 

The images on a sketch are there more to mark the location than to be used exactly (the car and road images on this sketch, for example). I used a globe image on my card. 

I have done paper piecing before - but not like this! I can honestly say that I won't attempt this again. The piecing of the locations in the globe took me well over 2 hours to complete. To put it in perspective, the globe circle is approx. 1.75 " across so that gives you an idea of the size of some of those pieces! However, I love the way it turned out. 

Two stitched rectangle frames were cut and the smaller one was placed under the edge of the larger one. I stamped a few clouds (some are on the inside of the card), coloured them with a light grey marker to add some dimension and placed them under and over the sentiment. The sentiment was mounted with thin foam tape as was the globe. Finally I added a few green enamel dots. 

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: Blue Skies Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Green Apple Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Pixie Cardstock, Lagoon Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Beautiful Day, Aurora Cardmaking Workshop 

Inks: Sapphire, Green Apple

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Aurora Cardmaking Workshop Thin Cuts, Beautiful Day Thin Cuts, Holly Jolly Dots, Tri-Blend Marker, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

Colour Dare 397 - Dandelion Hello

Welcome to Colour Dare 397! 

This week we have an inspiration photo for you. How cute is this scene? 

Choose any colours from the photo - back, white and all other neutrals are free to use. 

I created a very simple card for this challenge. I began with two stamps sets and white cardstock.  The images were stamped using versamark ink and then embossed with white embossing powder. Using three ink colours, I sponged over the embossing until the white images were revealed. I used Lagoon, Glacier and Raspberry inks for this step. Finally, two stitched rectangle frames were cut to surround the sponged section and that centre section was the inner part of a stitched rectangle die. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the inspiration photo 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, Lagoon Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Dandelion Wishes (SU), Kind Soul (W plus 9)

Inks: Lagoon, Glacier, Raspberry, Versamark

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Dies (GMD), White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Sponges, Flamingo Dots 

Enjoy,

Alyson

June Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the June Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! 

This month, the featured stamp set is called Garden Tags. It is a set with four gorgeous tags, a coordinating flower and a few other small elements. There is also a set of tag thin cuts available that coordinate with this stamp set. 

You should have arrived here from Brenda Lapp's blog.

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

Although I love each of the tags in this set, I selected one that coordinates with the single flower. I chose to colour the flowers in a gold tone to create mini sunflowers. I used two of the Sapphire papers from the Mix-In Paper Pack and I stamped and embossed the tags using Sapphire Pigment Ink. They looked better in dark blue than in black. The tags were coloured and die cut. Three individual flowers were stamped and fussy cut plus I added two flourishes cut from the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. The petals of each flower were brushed with the Gold Shimmer Brush.

The base of the card contains the pocket - the card opens from the top and a sentiment can be written inside later. The pocket was decorated using the Lace Border Thin Cut and I added a thin strip of Sapphire cardstock to the top of that cut. I also cut two stitched rectangles to line the edges.

I hope you enjoyed my project. 

The next stop on this blog hop is Michelle Loncar's blog.

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

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: Mix-In Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock

Stamps: Garden Tags

Inks: Sapphire Pigment Ink, Intense Black

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, Lace Border Thin Cut, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cut, Tri-Blend Markers, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Gold Shimmer Brush, White and Gold Skinny Ribbon, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape 

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

H2H - In Stitches

Welcome to this week's Heart 2 Heart challenge! 

We are looking for creative artists to join our design team - if this interests you, please see the information in the image below. 

The theme this week is In Stitches. Some sort of stitching is required on your project. It can be sewn stitching, stamped stitches, drawn stitches or you can use dies that have a stitched element to them. 

I chose to do the real thing and I dug out my sewing machine to stitch on elements of my card. I used a sketch from Make It From Your Heart - Volume 4 to create my card. 

The stamp set A Million Little Things contains gorgeous floral images. I masked the single flower and stamped it twice on my main piece. It was coloured and the flowers were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. I then stitched two of the pieces with my sewing machine. There are also two stitched dies that are used on this card - the outer rectangle and the inner circle for the sentiment. I added a coordinating bow and a few enamel gems to finish off my card. 

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you add stitching to your project. 

You have until the end of June 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: Stitched Together Paper Pack, French Vanilla Cardstock, Mint Cardstock, Smoothie Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: A Million Little Things, Friendly Wishes

Inks: Intense Black, Smoothie

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Beautiful Friendship Bows, Seas the Day Dots, Thin Foam Tape, Clear Shimmer Brush, Tri-Blend Markers, Sewing Machine and Thread (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Stitched Together Cube Card

I found this cube card on a blog that I follow and there was a link to a tutorial on You Tube. It is surprisingly easy to create! 

The link is here if you want to check it out. 

This card folds down flat to a 5.5 x 5.5 square for mailing purposes so I avoided using any bulky embellishments.

I used the Stitched Together paper pack and the coordinating Cricut images to create this card. The sentiment between the boxes must be adhered before the patterned paper is attached and the video shows how to do that to ensure that it says in place. 

Some flowers, leaves, a butterfly and a few other images were cut using the Stitched Together Cricut collection. I added some shimmer to many of the images but that isn't visible in these photos. An additional sentiment was stamped for one of the top panels. 

I suppose you could decorate the middle panels but I chose to leave them blank so as not to overpower the other images. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Stitched Together Paper Pack, Glacier Cardstock, Green Apple Cardsotck, Lemonade Cardstock, Peach Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Charcoal Cardstock

Stamps: Say it in Style, Time to Celebrate

Inks: Sapphire

Accessories: Stitched Together Cricut Collection, Tri-Blend Markers, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

Rainbow Triangle Cards

This pattern was used for a Mother's Day layout with Close To My Heart. A fellow consultant revised the sizes to fit a standard sized card. 

I used the Blue Skies Cardstock, which is embossed cardstock. It has a beautiful shiny side with a subtle pattern for each colour - I used 5 of the 6 colours here. It is a matter of cutting various size squares and then cutting them diagonally to form the triangles. The squares on the bottom are TINY! One benefit is that by cutting the squares in half, you have a second set of pieces to create a second card! 

The floral arrangement is from a retired stamp set but it fit the front panel perfectly. Rather than use black ink, I used Sapphire pigment ink and embossed the outline. I coloured it using two different different colour schemes. I can’t decide which one I like the best... both turned out so well. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Blue Skies Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Every Little Thing - Scrapbooking

Inks: Sapphire Pigment Ink

Accessories: Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Clear Sparkles, Tri-Blend Markers, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT 459 - Masculine Shaker and Starburst Card

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

The sketch is shown above and the additional theme (if desired) is masculine. 

I have been experimenting with starburst shapes lately and wanted to include one on this card. I created a square starburst using blue (Sapphire) and white patterned papers. That was then turned into a shaker using a stitched square frame for the outline. The background was embossed with a stitched circle embossing folder and splattered using the Sapphire shimmer brush. The Sapphire backing piece was run though my Big Shot using a die that leaves a pattern but doesn't cut through the paper - that's just under the shaker. I also die cut a stitched bracket and used the lower half for the sentiment. 

Come and join us at Try Stampin' on Tuesday and show us how you interpret the sketch (and alternate theme if desired) shown above. 

You have two weeks to enter your project.

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Every Little Thing Paper Pack, Aurora Paper Pack, Mix-In Paper Packs (x2), Blue Skies Paper  Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: So Many Candles

Inks: Sapphire

Accessories: Stitched Square Thin Cuts, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Stitched Bracket Thin Cuts, Decorative Borders Thin Cuts, Stitched Circles Embossing Folder, Sapphire Shimmer Brush, Silver Star Sequins, Loose Silver Sequins, Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson