Christmas Ornament Card and some REALLY Green Leaves!

I decided to play late last night and I found some inspiring cards on Pinterest that peaked my interest that I wanted to try. 

The first is a Christmas card that is so clean and simple. I loved the idea and the fact that there are so many possibilities that can be implemented with this type of card - the Christmas ball could be created as a shaker card, it could be backed with the Fundamental Papers for a very interesting look but I chose to use Glitter Paper. I wanted the background paper to match the Glitter paper so I used Thistle cardstock and Purple Glitter Paper. I simply wanted the sentiment of Merry Christmas - that is HARD to find on stamps these days. There are all sorts of other sayings but I had to go back to a retired set called Holiday Wishes to find a reasonably sized "Merry Christmas" to add to this card. 

The original designer is Loll Thompson and you can click on her name to go to her website. 

The second card that I really loved was one with some leaves and just a simple sentiment. The original designer, Bev, did hers in a bluish-grey colour. I loved the shimmer on the leaves and I chose some leaves from the Artistry Cricut cartridge and embossed them. A simple sentiment paired with two Artesian Studs and this card came together really quickly. I rounded two corners and mounted the front on foam tape to set it off a bit from the base. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Thistle Cardstock, Pear Cardstock, Purple Glitter Paper
Stamps: Say it All, Holiday Wishes (ret.), Adornable (ret.)
Inks: Black, Versamark
Accessories: Artistry Cartridge, Art Philosophy Cartridge, Corner Rounder, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Artesian Studs, Foam Tape

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Artfully Sent PML Greeting Cards

I decided to check out some card options on the Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge. I was looking specifically for ones where I could use the Sangria Paper Pack to back images that were cut out. I found two that I really liked and they are below. 

Just because something appears "summery"in nature doesn't mean that it can't be made to look more like an autumn-based card if the colour scheme is changed. And these are the Picture My Life cards - designed to be put inside the PML pages. I just cut them slightly smaller than a card front and used them as cards instead. I didn't want the restriction of using only the cards that were provided on the cartridge so I decided to make my own instead. Both cards open from the side - I find that cards with a top crease often tend to slide open and don't hold their shape very well so I prefer this kind of opening instead. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Sangria Paper Pack, Colonial White Cardstock, Pomegranate Cardstock, Fern Cardstock, Eggplant Cardstock, Fern Fundamental Cardstock, Purple Glitter Paper
Stamps: Say It All
Inks: Versamark
Accessories: Artfully Sent Cartridge, Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Gold Adhesive Gems, Gold Shimmer Trim, Chevron Border Punch, Corner Rounder, Gold Foil Tape

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Heart 2 Heart - Sketch Challenge

Heart 2 Heart's challenge this week is a sketch - my favourite kind of challenge! Almost everything I create is based from a sketch of some sort - cards, layouts, anything. I am so non-creative when left to fend for myself... I find I need something to get myself started and a sketch is the perfect way! 

Sketches are NOT designed to be followed exactly, either. You certainly can do that if you wish, but they can be manipulated in many, many ways, Card sketches can be used for layouts and vice versa. Rotate them, add or delete items (unless you are entering a challenge and it clearly indicates what has to be present...), but make it your own! 

I chose to follow this sketch pretty closely, just because I really liked it and it worked for what I had in mind. The sketch can be seen below the card. 

Join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your interpretation of this gorgeous sketch! You have the entire month of October to enter this and any challenges this month.

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Sangria Paper Pack, Colonial White Cardstock, Fern Cardstock, Pomegranate Cardstock, Poppy Cardstock
Stamps: Just To Say,,, Cricut Collection
Inks: Eggplant
Accessories: Artistry Cricut Cartridge, Artiste Cricut Cartridge, Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, Bronze Shimmer Trim, Gold Foil Tape, Bling Gems Gold Assortment, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy, 
Alyson

October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Twinkle

Welcome to October's Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month, we are featuring the stamp set "Twinkle" - a set of 15 stamps. This is a terrific set of Christmas stamps with awesome potential for so many uses. The bloggers along this blog hop will show you several ideas, so sit back and enjoy the tour. You should have arrived here from Gina Brandstetter's blog
If you get lost, a list of all blogs can be found here 

The stamp set looks like this.

I chose to create a non-traditional colour Christmas card using blue and silver tones. I wanted to use several of the sentiments in the stamp set and I also wanted to incorporate some stitching on my card so I was able to do both of those with this design. 

Rather than using a paper pack, I opted to use the Paper Fundamentals Cardstock in Sapphire and use heat embossing to add interest to the card. I actually prefer anything other than red and green for Christmas - just a personal choice. 

I hope you enjoyed my project. 

The next blog on the hop is Dana Kessler's blog 

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

You can get this stamp set for just $6 this month with a $50 purchase.

(Please note that the price is shown incorrectly on the image where the stamps are shown 

- the price there is shown in US dollars) 

Visit my shopping site here. 

Remember this stamp set is only available until October 31st! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Crystal Blue Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Sapphire Paper Fundamentals Cardstock

Stamps: Twinkle

Inks: Versamark, Sapphire Pigment Ink, Crystal Blue Pigment Ink

Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Artbooking Cartridge, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Silver Detail Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Silver Shimmer Trim, Bitty Sparkles, Foam Tape, Sewing Machine and White Thread

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Atlantic Hearts Sketch 127

I love the sketch at Atlantic Hearts this week! I decided to play with it and rotate it as well as change the shape of some things as you will see below. With the new Artistry Cricut Cartridge, I just HAD to play with some of the new shapes and this was the perfect opportunity... plus a sketch is meant as a starting point, not as a limitation as to what you can and can't do. 

I have a hard time with colours in the editing process sometimes... I use Pic Monkey and I could not get the thread to turn out in the yellow shade (the same as the center flower) that I used. It looks green for sure! Trust me, it IS yellow. The coloured sequins are yellow and glacier-blue, also to match the papers. I'm not sure how to get around those issues. Someday, when time allows, maybe I will learn to use Photoshop... in the meantime, green thread rules! 

Join us at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and show us your interpretation of this week's sketch. You have until Sunday evening to link up your project. 

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

Paper: Zoe Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sorbet Cardstock, Slate Cardstock, Cranberry Cardstock, Sweet Leaf Cardstock, Canary Cardstock, Glacier Fundamental Cardstock
Stamps: Holiday Tags
Inks: Slate, Sorbet
Accessories: Artistry Cartridge, Artiste Cartridge, Green Triangle Enamel and Glitter Duos, Silver Sequins, Bitty Sparkles, ShinHan Markers (Golden Yellow, Turquoise Blue), Yellow Embroidery Floss (not CTMH)

Enjoy, 
Alyson

H2H Challenge - Doodle Away

The challenge at Heart 2 Heart this week is to doodle on your artwork. Now for me, this is something that I NEVER do! The only exception is that on about 2 layouts, I have drawn a border around my photo mounts - that's it. I cannot draw for the life of me and I had to think a little bit "out of the box" for this challenge. 

I decided to go with more of an outline approach - I chose an old but favourite stamp set and masked the images to create a grouping of flowers. I then outlined everything to create more dimension. My hand was SO unsteady as I was so nervous while doing this... 

Join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you doodle on your artwork. We would love to see your projects.You have until the end of the month to enter any of the September challenges. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Pear Cardstock, Poppy Cardstock
Stamps: Dreams Come True (ret.), Lifetime of Happiness (ret.), Have a Happy Day (ret.)
Inks: Poppy, Pomegranate, Pear
Accessories: Corner Rounder, Black Journaling Pens (ret.) 

Enjoy, 
Alyson

Atlantic Hearts Sketch 125

The sketch at Atlantic Hearts this week is a very straightforward one - it can be just a simple two layer card or it can be extended to be much more than that. I chose to go somewhere in the middle. 

The Zoe paper pack is so awesome because it can be masculine or feminine, depending on the embellishments that are used with the papers. This card looked very masculine before the flowers were added. 

Join us at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge this week and show us your interpretation of the sketch shown above. You have until Sunday night to get your entry submitted. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Zoe Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Slate Cardstock, Sorbet Cardstock, Sweet Leaf Cardstock
Stamps: Lovely Birthday
Inks: Glacier, Sorbet
Accessories: Artiste Cartridge, Coral Shimmer Trim, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Grey Enamel Gems

Enjoy, 
Alyson

H2H - Bring on the Colour!

The challenge this week at Heart 2 Heart is colouring. I am still learning how to shade effectively using the ShinHan markers but I thought I would try something else this week. I used a stamp set that didn't require shading at all - just basic colouring to add interest. I have had this stamp set for a while and there are three long stamps in the set. I had only used one of them before today and it was only greenery. This one made for much more interesting colouring! 

I chose to use a combination of purples and yellows, along with green for the leaves and I like the way this turned out. Foam tape added some dimension, along with an embossing folder. 

Join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us your colouring skills. You have the entire month of September to enter any or all of the challenges this month. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: Sangria Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Eggplant Cardstock, Honey Cardstock, Pear Cardstock

Stamps: Joyful Birthday, Botanical Backgrounds

Inks: Black Pigment Ink

Accessories: Art Philosophy Cartridge, Artiste Cartridge, Scallop Embossing Folder, Thistle Thick Twine, ShinHan Markers (Golden Yellow, Marigold, Peony Purple, Lavender, Leaf Green, Vivid Green), Clear Sparkles, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape

Enjoy, 

Alyson

Gorgeous Card Set using September SOTM

This beautiful set of cards with the matching box is a set for which I cannot take credit. It was designed by a fellow consultant, Julie Carriere, and I just copied her instructions to create this. If you want more information on this set, click here to see Julie's original post where you can order her wonderful instructions so you can also create this set! 

I love the colours and this stamp set as well. "Paper Garden", September's Stamp of the Month, is only available during the month of September, so if you are planning to create this awesome set, be sure to order your stamp set during this month! You can get it for just $6 with a $50 purchase. Click here to shop online or contact me for more information. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Whisper Cardstock
Stamps: Paper Garden, Finding the Words
Inks: Pear, Thistle, Whisper, Slate
Accessories: Julie's cutting guide - Cricut Explore required, Diamond Embossing Folder, Sanding Kit, Foam Tape, Thin Foam Tape, Thistle Striped Ribbon (ret. - could also use Thistle Thick Twine), Sponge Daubers

Enjoy, 
Alyson

September Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - Paper Garden

Welcome to September's Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month, we are featuring the stamp set "Paper Garden" - a set of 10 stamps. This is a gorgeous set of stamps and with so many new products available for purchase now, the bloggers along this blog hop will show you several ideas, so sit back and enjoy the tour. You should have arrived here from Priscilla Gotham's blog .
If you get lost, a list of all blogs can be found here .

The stamp set looks like this.

I chose to create two cards - both using a form of watercolour technique. 

The first is done using our dye (regular) ink pads. It is so simple to do. All I did was use a large acrylic block and ink directly onto the block using three colours (Lagoon, Pear and Fern - a new colour). I lightly dropped a few drops of water on top of the ink until it beaded up and then carefully turned the block over and placed it on top of my white cardstock. The impression under the black images is what I ended up with and I love it! The colours blended together but not so much that you can't tell what they were to begin with. After the cardstock dried, I stamped the images that I wanted and then mounted the card to the base and added my embellishments. 

The second technique is brand new to me and I know I need to practice... 
But, I still wanted to include my project here to show you what I did. 
We now have new watercolour paints. I am NOT a painter by any stretch of the imagination - AT ALL! I simply took various shades of blue and mixed them together on the watercolour paper until I had something I sort of liked. Since this stamp set doesn't have any sentiments, I added a sentiment from another stamp set. 

I hope you enjoyed my projects. 

The next blog on the hop is Haley Dyer's blog 

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

You can get this stamp set for just $6 this month with only a $50 purchase.

(increase in prices in the Canadian catalog - please note that the price is shown incorrectly on the image where the stamps are shown - the price there is shown in US dollars) 

Visit my shopping site here. 

Remember this stamp set is only available until September 30th! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Pear Cardstock, Pacifica Cardstock, Watercolour Paper

Stamps: Paper Garden, Just a Little Note

Inks: Black, Lagoon, Fern, Pear

Accessories: Fern Thick Twine, Glacier Thick Twine, Green Triangle Enamel and Glitter Duos, Watercolour Paints, Paintbrush Set

Enjoy, 

Alyson