Double Trouble 86 - Floral Cluster

Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 86!

The small graphic for this challenge is below - please check the Double Trouble Challenge Blog for additional information. 

I decided to create a birthday card - after all, that is a celebration! Our partner challenge this week is If You Give a Crafter a Cookie challenge and their inspiration photo is shown above. I used a layering daisy stamp set and created a cluster of flowers in the corner. I used the corner of a mandala stencil to create a little interest by mixing texture paste with some drops of clear shimmer and applying that to the lower right corner of the card. I also splattered the front with the Gold Shimmer Brush. After the flowers were adhered, I added a few dots around the blooms using Antique Gold Liquid Pearls. The sentiment was masked and stamped in both black and versamark and then heat embossed.

Come and join us at Double Trouble and show us how you interpret this challenge. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

I am also linking up my card with If You Give a Crafter a Cookie challenge. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock, Black Cardstock 

Stamps: Sending Smiles, To a Wild Rose (SU), Beloved Daisies (Altenew) 

Inks: Archival Black, Versamark, Various Pink Fresh Studio inks 

Accessories: Believed Daisy Dies (Altenew), Wild Rose Dies (SU), Frosted Bouquet Dies (SU), Madala Stencil, Opaque Matte Texture Paste, Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Antique Gold Liquid Pearls, Gold Shimmer Brush, Clear Shimmer Brush 

Enjoy,

Alyson

H2H - Get Inky!

Welcome to this week's Heart 2 Heart challenge! 

The theme this week is to get inky - pull out those ink pads and show us some interesting ways to use them! 

I used Distress Oxide inks to create the background for my card. I used four colours - Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers, Mustard Seed and Mowed Lawn - and created small sections of each, blending them at the edges. I then placed a stencil on top and spread Moondust Glitter Gel over top of the coloured layer. That took some time to dry. 

Meanwhile, the butterfly and circles were die cut. I stamped a sentiment and when the background was dry, it was all adhered together. The final step was to add a few blue gems.

Come and join us at Heart 2 Heart and show us how you get inky! 

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: Blue Skies Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Pixie Cardstock, Sundance Cardstock, Green Apple Cardstock, Vellum, Teal Glitter Paper, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Friendship is a Blessing

Inks: Lagoon, DO Inks - Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed

Accessories: Stencil Pack, Moondust Glitter Gel, Butterfly Thin Cuts, Basic Circle Thin Cuts, Stitched Circle Thin Cuts, Teal Gems 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Dearest Friend...

I love to just play around and see what happens... this card is a result of one of those play sessions.

It was easy to make - I simply stamped the two floral images at the top and bottom of the card. I used a stamp platform and a grid to assist with placement. The sentiment was aligned the same way and stamped in Archival Black ink. I coloured the flowers and then trimmed down the card front so I could add a coloured liner and then place it on the card base. The last step was to add a few blue glitter gems. Easy!

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Neenah Solar White Cardstock, Blue Cardstock (scrapbook.com) 

Stamps: Floral Borders and Sentiment, Dearest Friend (Altenew)

Inks: Intense Black, Archival Black

Accessories: Tri-Blend Markers, Blue Glitter Gems

Enjoy,

Alyson

Clean and Simple Butterfly

A fellow Maker, Jessica Ballas, posted a video how to create this awesome clean and simple card. It didn't take much time at all but the effect is fabulous! 

The butterfly outline was cut from the front panel of the card base and that piece was then used to cut out the detailed butterfly. The background was inked on a separate piece of cardstock using Distress Oxide inks. That inked piece was adhered to the back of the front card flap and the centre of the butterfly was then adhered within the opening. The sentiment was stamped at the bottom. Easy - but I love it! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: You Are Enough

Inks: Archival Black, DO Inks - Mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry, Peacock Fathers, Seedless Preserves

Accessories: Layered Butterfly Thin Cuts 

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD 447 - You Matter!

Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 447! 

We have a tic tac toe grid for you this week. You need to select at least three colours to make a line across, down or diagonally. You can use other colours PROVIDING they are on the grid. A few neutrals are free. 

I used the left column (Carolina, Smoothie and New England Ivy) and also the top row (Carolina, Sage and Sapphire). 

I die cut a stitched rectangle for the base of the card and splattered it with the Sapphire Shimmer Brush. Two pieces of patterned paper were aligned in an L shape and the wreath was placed over those pieces. I die cut a second wreath from Carolina cardstock so I had the center circle (which isn't quite a circle) and stamped the sentiment there. Some sequins were added and the flowers were brushed with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the 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: Hawthorn Paper Pack, Crafty Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, Sapphire Cardstock, Carolina Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Stamps: Take Pride (Pink Fresh Studio) 

Inks: Intense Black, Sage, Carolina, Archival Black 

Accessories: Take Pride Die (Pink Fresh Studio), Stitched Rectangle Dies (GMD), Crafty Sequins, Sapphire Shimmer Brush, Clear Shimmer Brush, Tri-Blend Markers, Touch Markers (not CMTH) 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Triple Panel Card with Little Birdy

A friend led me to this video that shows how to create this gorgeous little card! It was originally done in a mini slimline size but I altered the dimensions to make it fit a standard A2 card size. 

This card doesn't look like much when it is closed and sitting flat - the magic happens when the pieces are placed into their "holders". I supposed this card would need to be sent with instructions so the recipient would understand what to do with it! 

I used papers from the Lovely paper pack and the oh, so adorable stamp called So Tweet. There are three bird images in the set and I chose the one where the bird is holding the balloon. I also stamped some other images including a floral bouquet, balloons and some hearts. The placement of these items is very important as you will see when you view the photo of the card when it is set up. I stamped a birthday sentiment inside the card as well. 

This is the card laying flat (as flat as I could get it after having it assembled...) 

And this is the assembled card...

This is just SO cute... who wouldn't love to receive this little birdy card? 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated:

Paper: Lovely Paper Pack, White Daisy Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes

Stamps: So Tweet, Wishing You Everything

Inks: Intense Black 

Accessories: So Tweet Thin Cuts, Wishing You Everything Thin Cuts, Foam Tape, Tri-Blend Markers, Copic Markers (not CTMH), Touch Markers (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Top Fold Card with You are Enough

I recently watched a video by Tina Zinck for this type of card - I call it a Top Fold card. It is not difficult to create but the impact can be amazing! 

I used the You are Enough collection from Close To My Heart to create my card. The patterned papers and rose gold embossed cardstock are fabulous! 

The card base was prepared and I adhered all the panels. This card can close in two different ways - one is to fold the side flaps in and then close down the top. That does not require a belly band. The other way is to close the top, then fold over the side panels - and in that case, a belly band is needed to keep the card closed. I stamped the inside panel for a place to write. The inside top piece has three die cut butterflies and I also drew some flight lines with a black marker. The front fold over piece is where I placed the sentiment pieces and the large butterfly, which is a three layer die cut. I didn't add any embellishments to the folded parts of the card to allow them to fold flat both ways.

The belly band was wrapped with Rose Gold Foil and I stamped the wreath image and die cut it. The small butterfly was also die cut and I added a few coloured (clear) sparkles to the center of the butterfly. I also brushed the top image with the Clear Shimmer Brush. 

Products used are all Close To My Heart:

Paper: You are Enough Paper Pack, You are Enough Coordinating Cardstock, Blue Belle Glitter Paper, Ballerina Glitter Paper 

Stamps: You are Enough

Inks: Sapphire, Sapphire Pigment Ink

Accessories: Layering Butterfly Thin Cuts, You are Enough Thin Cuts, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Clear Shimmer Brush, Clear Sparkles, Tri-Blend Marker, Rose Gold Foil, Black Journaling Pen

Enjoy,

Alyson

TSOT 509 - Squeaking By To Say Hi

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

The optional theme in addition to the sketch is "masculine".

Every now and then, I do need a masculine card so this was a good opportunity to create one! I stayed true to the sketch (rotated it ninety degrees) and used a retired paper pack called Hawthorne. The mouse was stamped, coloured and then die cut using a stitched circle die. I did mount a couple of other pieces with cardstock just to set the patterns apart. A piece of yellow twine was tied into a bow and added under the mouse and a few gold glitter gems finished off the card. 

Come and join us at TSOT and show us how you interpret the sketch 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: Hawthorn Paper Pack, Sage Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock, Charcoal Cardstock, Neenah Solar White Cardstock 

Stamps: Little Spring Mouse, Little Mouse Greetings

Inks: Intense Black

Accessories: Stitched Circle Dies (GMD), Circle Dies (Nestabilities), Gold Glitter Gems, Tri-Blend Markers, Yellow Twine (misc.)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Double Trouble and Atlantic Hearts - Woofing You a Happy Birthday

Welcome to both the Double Trouble Challenge and Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge! 

The graphic for Double Trouble is below (please visit the site for detailed information) - and I am also playing along at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge as I am a Design Team member, even though this isn't my "on" week. 

I chose to create a card with a dog theme to accommodate the yo-yo challenge element at Double Trouble. That would be the "Walk the Dog" yo-yo element. 

I stamped three dogs and masked the poodle in the middle so the others would appear behind her. They were coloured and I used coordinating colours for their collars and bows. I chose a colour scheme of red, yellow and blue and die cut the doggie images using an oval die. I pulled out some old papers for this card and they all worked well together. I added some gold embellishing thread behind the main image and I also stamped some dog prints to add along the sides of my card.

Come and join us at both Double Trouble and Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret this week's challenge. 

You only have ONE WEEK to link up your project (until Sunday evening).

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Central Park Paper Pack, Friends Fur-ever Paper Pack, Paper Fundamentals Collection, White Daisy Cardstock, White Cards and Envelopes 

Stamps: Lucky Dog (MFT)

Inks: Archival Black 

Accessories: Oval Dies (Nestabilities), Scalloped Ovals (Nestabilities), Gold Embellishing Thread, Tri-Blend Markers, Sharpie Markers (not CTMH)

Enjoy,

Alyson

Miss You Layered Flower Card

Once again, I joined a sketch challenge posted by a friend of mine on her Facebook page. I stayed fairly true to the sketch except I did change the bottom section slightly by adding a sentiment instead of placing my image on a shaped background. 

The background was created using some alcohol inks. I did that a long time ago... this piece had been waiting to be used! I used a turquoise foil background and some pink glitter paper on which I placed the alcohol inked sections. I kept them in the same order so as to continue the pattern down the card. 

The flowers and leaves were die cut and the flower petals were shaped. I added some seed beads in the center of the flower and then stamped the sentiment in two pieces. The last step was to add some dots using Liquid Pearls. 

Products used are Close To My Heart unless otherwise indicated: 

Paper: Ballerina Cardstock, Pixie Cardstock, Emerald Cardstock, Pink Glitter Paper, Nobel Peacock Foil Paper (SU), Neenah Solar White Cardstock, Vellum

Stamps: Happiness Lives Here Cardmaking

Inks: Alcohol Inks (misc.), Lagoon, Emerald 

Accessories: 3-D Flower Thin Cuts, Petal Palette Dies (SU), Seed Beads, Ballerina Liquid Pearls

Enjoy,

Alyson