Double Trouble and H2H - Christmas in July

Welcome to Double Trouble and Heart 2 Heart! 

This week, it's Christmas in July! We all need Christmas cards so this is a great opportunity to get started! 

The small graphic for Double Trouble is shown below. Please visit the Double Trouble Challenge Blog for additional information. 

There are three cards shown below and each is slightly different with the placement of the flowers (colour-wise). My inspiration for these cards came from a card created by Tae Eun You for The Ton Stamps. I used a beautiful set of poinsettia stamps that I bought not long ago. These layering stamps create such lifelike flowers and greenery. I stamped the flowers and branches in three colour schemes - purple, teal and blue. The images were all die cut and set aside while I worked on the backgrounds. 

The backgrounds were created using Distress Oxide inks in various colours and then I splattered the Clear Shimmer Brush on them. I die cut a white stitched rectangle to place on top of the background and then added the images. A small Christmas sentiment was stamped in black and added at the bottom right. The last step was to add some Diamond Stickles around the flowers and on the first card, I also added some silver embellishing thread behind one of the flowers.  

Come and join us at Double Trouble and Heart 2 Heart. 

You have two weeks to link up your project at Double Trouble and until the end of July to enter at Heart 2 Heart. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Slimline Cards and Envelopes 

Stamps: Festive Trees, Poinsettia Wishes (The Ton), Berry Branches (The Ton) 

Inks: Green Apple, Clover, Lilac, Pansy, Eggplant, Glacier, Lagoon, Peacock, Carolina, Bluebird, Sapphire, Toffee, Espresso, Archival Black, DO Inks - Peacock Feathers, Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire, Pumice Stone, Tumbled Glass (not CTMH)

Accessories: Poinsettia Wishes Dies (The Ton), Berry Branches Dies (The Ton), Stitched Slimline Dies (Pink and Main), Clear Shimmer Brush, Diamond Stickles, Silver Embellishing Thread, 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

Just Saying Hello Spanner Card Revisited

I posted a spanner card a while back and decided to create a second one using a different set of papers. This one was made using papers from the Hillside Cottage paper pack. 

The card opens to reveal three separate sections. The top panels flip back, followed by the centre and then the larger sentiment is on the inside. 

The floral image was stamped and coloured and the front sentiment was lined with a scalloped piece of cardstock. I added some Ballerina Liquid Pearls to the panels along the side. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Hillside Cottage Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Blue Belle Cardstock, Flamingo Cardstock

Stamps: Happy Heart, Create with Heart, Daisy Meadows Scrapbooking

Inks: Intense Black, New England Ivy

Accessories: Scalloped Border Punch, Acetate (not CTMH), Tri-Blend Markers, Ballerina Liquid Pearls 

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD 453 - Hexagon Birthday

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 453!

The colours on the tic-tac-toe this week are taken from the Wander paper pack.

I started out using just three colours and ended up with a complete tic-tac-toe as I used every colour (plus gold).

The background was embossed with a woodgrain embossing folder on Linen cardstock. I used Linen ink to rub over the raised sections to define the embossing a little more. That piece was then die cut using a stitched rectangle die. Several hexagons were die cut from a variety of papers in the colours on the grid. They were arranged across the centre of the card. The sentiment was die cut from Peacock cardstock and stacked a few times. I added some gold embellishing thread and gold glitter gems around the card. 

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: Mix-In Paper Packs, Holiday Stack, Enchantment Fundamentals, Blue Skies Paper Pack, Fresh Air Paper Pack, Linen Cardstock, Peacock Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: none

Inks: Linen

Accessories: Hexagon Thin Cuts, Stitched Rectangle Dies (GMD), Happy Birthday Die (Creative Expressions), Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Gold Embellishing Thread, Gold Glitter Gems 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Happy Birthday Shaker and Die Cut Smiles

These are the last two rainbow cards for a bit... other projects are keeping me busy! 

The first card is a shaker card and here is the link where this card inspiration can be found. The word HAPPY was die cut into the center of the card. Several balloons were stamped (two step stamping) along with some stars. The shaker components are tiny dark pink beads and blue sequins. I added the stamped BIRTHDAY sentiment at the bottom of the card.

The second card is also a die cut card and a link to that card idea can be found here. The word "smiles" was die cut three times from a piece of white cardstock and mounted on top of the inked background. I mounted the card front on black cardstock and stamped a small sentiment and fussy cut it where it was added at the bottom corner. A few sequins finished off this card. The photo makes it look like the effect of this card is backwards... it looks like the "smiles" sections are inlaid whereas that piece of white cardstock is attached with foam tape on the base. Sometimes photography can really change the appearance of a card! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Green Apple Cardstock, Black Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes 

Stamps: Sweet Baby, Birthday Joy, Wordfetti, Wishing You Everything

Inks: Intense Black, Archival Black, Nectarine, Lemonade, Green Apple, Bluebird, Raspberry, DO Inks - Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron, Salvaged Patina

Accessories: Block Alphabet Thin Cuts, Phrase Builder - Sending Dies (Pink Fresh Studios), Sharpie Markers (not CTMH), Silver Loose Sequins, Blue Sequins (not CTMH), Pink Beads (not CTMH), Foam Tape, Acetate (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Blue Birthday Slimline

I am still working on birthday cards for all the August birthdays on my calendar! 

The colour scheme on this one suprised me - I tend to think of blue as a dark colour but the flowers were a perfect combination with the brighter green shades. 

The flowers were stencilled using a set of layering stencils. There is a coordinating stamp but I didn't use it on this card. I die cut the floral image and also die cut some thin rectangles. The rectangles were adhered to the base, followed by the large floral image. I stamped a sentiment and added some shimmer tape to the bottom before it was die cut. That was placed across the largest flower and cut off the side of the card. The flower centres were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush and some silver Stickles were added around the flowers. 

Products used are as follows: 

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Bluebird Cardstock, Slimline Cards and Envelopes (CTMH), Black Paper (scrapbook.com)

Stamps: You are My Favourite (Pink Fresh Studios), On Your Birthday (CTMH)

Inks: Archival Black (CTMH), Grassy Knoll, Key Lime, Sky Blue, Seaside (all PFS) 

Accessories: Layered Slimline Dies (Pink and Main), Stitched Scalloped Brackets Thin Cuts (CTMH), You are My Favourite Die (PFS), Silver Shimmer Trim, Silver Stickles, Clear Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson

Try Stampin' on Tuesday 515 - Mini Bendi Card

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

You have a choice this week - make a bendi card or use the sketch - or you can do both! I chose to create a bendi card. 

There are several versions of this card and I really liked this one because it folds flat to fit in a standard A2 envelope. 

I pulled out a retired paper pack called Blue Skies and used that along with the coordinating stamp and thin cuts. Several flowers and leaves were stamped and die cut (some were coloured as well). The sentiment was masked to highlight the word "happy". After all the pieces were adhered, I added some Ballerina Liquid Pearls. There are two panels on the back for a place to write a message. 

Come and join us at TSOT and show us how you interpret the challenge above. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create! 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: Blue Skies Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Canary Cardstock 

Stamps: Blue Skies, Sunny Days Ahead

Inks: Sapphire, Candy Apple, Canary

Accessories: Blue Skies Thin Cuts, Ballerina Liquid Pearls, Tri-Blend Markers 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Stencilled Birthday Slimline

I have many birthdays coming up in August so I need to make a LOT of birthday cards. 

The flowers for this one were stencilled first, then stamped and finally die cut. It was very difficult to line up the stencilled section with the stamp - I may try it the other way around next time. A stitched rectangle was die cut for the back and a smaller stitched rectangle was cut to fit inside. The smaller rectangle and the floral image were adhered with foam tape. 

The sentiment was die cut several times and stacked before it was added in the bottom corner. Parts of the flowers were brushed with the Gold Shimmer Brush and some Goldenrod Stickles were added around the card. 

Products used are as follows:

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Slimline Cards and Envelopes (CTMH), Slimline Papers (scrapbook.com) 

Stamps: You are My Favourite (Pink Fresh Studios) 

Inks: Archival Black (CTMH), All following are PFS - Apricot, Clementine, Aquamarine, Tidal Pond

Accessories: Happy Birthday Shadow Die (Creative Expressions), You are My Favourite Layering Stencils and Die (PFS), Stitched Slimline Dies (Pink and Main), Gold Shimmer Brush (CTMH), Goldenrod Stickles (CTMH), Foam Tape

Enjoy,

Alyson

Bargello Technique Cards

I have used the Bargello technique before but I thought it would be fun to try it with Distress Oxide inks and also with paper. 

The first card base was created using six Distress Oxide inks and they were all blended in a specific order and then I splattered water on the paper. That piece was then cut the opposite direction into half inch strips. The strips were placed on a card front and then onto the card base. A stitched rectangle was added around the edge. I stamped the flowers and the hummingbird in various inks (multi-step stamping) and die cut them. They were added to the top of the card and the sentiment, along with a strip of purple shimmer trim, was added at the bottom left. Ballerina Liquid Pearls were added around the card. 

The second card was also created using the Bargello technique but it was done with papers instead of inks. Several designs from the Summer Vibes paper pack were adhered side by side and the strips were cut into two different widths. The were adhered onto a card front with a frame around the outside. A few ice cream cones were stamped and die cut, along with the sentiment. Red Stickles finished off the card. 

Same technique - very different results. Which do you prefer? 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Summer Vibes Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock 

Stamps: Summer Vibes Cardmaking, Colour Layering Hummingbird (Hero Arts)

Inks: Intense Black, Candy Apple, Pixie, Raspberry, Thistle, Eggplant, Willow, Evergreen, DO Inks - Peeled Paint, Bundled Sage, Twisted Citron, Rustic Wilderness, Evergreen Bough, Pine Needles

Accessories: Summer Vibes Cardmaking Thin Cuts, Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts, Colour Layering Hummingbird Dies (Hero Arts), Purple Shimmer Trim, Gold Liquid Pearls, Tri-Blend Markers, Touch Markers (not CTMH), Clear Shimmer Brush, Ballerina Liquid Pearls, Christmas Red Stickles

Enjoy,

Alyson

You are Enough Butterfly Card Set

A friend of mine, Denise Anderson-Turley, posted some great cards using the now retired You are Enough collection. I CASEd her design as I am always looking for cards that will make a pretty gift set. 

I used a variety of papers from the paper pack and stamped a sentiment on each large circle. The smaller circle was stamped with an image from the Every Bit of Wonderful stamp set. The butterflies were die cut in coordinating paper and each was brushed with a shimmer brush, depending on the colour. I added some gems around the image and also stamped a mixed stitched border inside each card. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart: 

Paper: You are Enough Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sangria Cardstock, Ballerina Cardstock, Glacier Cardstock, Blue Belle Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes 

Stamps: You Brighten My Day, Sentiments and Stitches, Create with Heart, Every Bit of Wonderful 

Inks: Sangria, Glacier, Blue Belle, Sapphire

Accessories: Butterfly Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Sapphire Gems, Red Gems, Clear Shimmer Brush, Blue Belle Shimmer Brush, Mint Shimmer Brush, Scarlet Shimmer Brush

Enjoy,

Alyson