Ombre Challenge for Heart 2 Heart

Welcome back to another Heart 2 Heart Challenge blog post where we feature Close To My Heart products!  We would love to have you join us in entering the "Ombre" challenge combining several shades of colors.  I chose a very simple yet effective way of doing this (easily repeatable and great for mass card production).

I started with cutting up 1" x 3.75" strips of Buttercup, Creme Brulee, Goldrush, Sunset and Autumn Terracotta.  Next I placed them over a contrasting piece of Barn Red CS and then over a Cashmere card base.  The ovals were cut with the Artiste cartridge (page 36) at 1.25" and 1.5" to coordinate with the greeting from Casual Expressions stamp set.  Happy Birthday was stamped in Barn Red Ink.
Before I adhered the Barn Red piece to the card I wrapped some Sunset Bakers' Twine around and tied a bow.  How did I get the bow to lie flat?--a mini-glue dot!

Now it's your turn to share your papercrafted creations..  Please use a direct link to enter this challenge here.  You don't have to use 100%  Close To My Heart products but we would love it if you did!  (If you don't use any CTMH products your entry will be deleted).  Since this is our last challenge of the month, you have until August 3 to submit your entries for any of the July challenges.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Sunday Stamps #55--Brown, Lavender and Turquoise

Welcome back to another Sunday Stamps Challenge post!  (If you are looking for the Color My Heart Color Dare post please go here).  This biweek we are challenging you to use these 3 colors in your card--Brown, Turquoise and Lavender.  Two of the colors I'm using are retired CTMH--Tropical Blue and Amethyst while the Desert Sand is still available.  It's great to use up your stash, wouldn't you agree?

The greetings are all from Close To My Heart Perfect Fit--Birthday set.  The patterned paper is retired Desert Sand Victorian paper.  The ends of each banner were dotted with white Liquid Pearls. 

Now it is your turn to play along.  Click on the challenge picture below to be taken to the Sunday Stamps Challenge blog where you can use a direct link to link up.  Entries are due by August 9, 2013 at 6PM Eastern.

Please take the time to visit the rest of the Design Team's blogs and leave them some appreciation.
Hayley, Joan, Brenda, Holly Steph and Kathya.

I'm also linking this card up to the current Keep It Simple challenge for birthdays.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Color Dare #53--Gypsy, Blush and Sorbet with Artbooking Overlay

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare post!  We are into our second year of providing this challenge featuring Close To My Heart Colors.  (You may substitute with similar colors if you don't have the challenge colors).  Thanks, Sarah Stone, for your vision and hard work in creating and maintaining this creative outlet for Close To My Heart enthusiasts!

Close To My Heart has a new Idea Book coming out on August 1 and as a consultant I was able to acquire new products earlier.  I'm having so much fun using the new Artbooking cricut cartridge and the Laughing Lola Cardmaking kit!  The lattice overlay was cut from Gypsy CS at  5.5" (page 50 of Artbooking handbook-- Overlay button).  This is layered over Blush CS. The horizontal strip was scallop punched from Sorbet CS with our new Scallop punch. Purple Gems (from the Laughing Lola Cardmaking Kit) were applied within the scalloped edges.

I usually don't purchase the Cardmaking Kits but when I saw the stamp set that comes with this kit, I just had to get it.  I love, love, love the greeting;  "You can never have too much happy"--what an awesome motto to live by!  The Laughing Lola Cardmaking kit includes this stamp set, 15 cards and envelopes, 2 sheets of Laughing Lola paper, 2 sheets White Daisy, 1 sheet Outdoor Denim, 1 sheet Pear, 1 sheet Slate, 1 Whisper, Black & Silver, Baker's Twine (10 yards), 1 package of Purple Gems and Instructional Brochure--priced at $24.95--a great value!) Check out my website on or after August 1 to order these fabulous items.

 

The background rays were stamped in Sorbet ink. Most of the greeting was stamped in Blush ink and the bottom of it was stamped in Gypsy ink and glued over the top. The greeting label (an Artiste cut) was popped up with 3D Foam Tape.

Click on the above photo to be taken to the Color My Heart Color Dare blog to view what the rest of the Design Team and Guest Designer have to inspire you this week.  We hope you will play along with us this week.  There are two prizes to be won--Color Dare Diamond Award for the best entry of the week and a monthly prize (some type of craft supply) to be mailed to one lucky participant which is randomly selected from all the entries of the month.  So the more you play, the better chance you have of winning!

This is also the last call to apply to be on our Design Team--applications are due today, July 26, 2013. Check it out here.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Frosted Snowflakes for CAS(E) This Sketch #37

Today I was inspired to enter the challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch.  The sketch features hexagons and many people used them already so I decided to use a snowflake image instead.  The snowflake comes from the Frosted Cardmaking Kit from Close To My Heart which will be available on August 1 from my website.  The first card uses Crystal Blue CS as a mat and Crystal Blue ink for the snowflakes.  The greeting was stamped in Twilight Ink.

The next card has a reversed color scheme--snowflakes are white embossed.

Which card do you like best?

 

Here is the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch #37:

These cards were really fast and easy to make!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!

:) Marie

Nautical Theme for Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge Feeling Nautical with a Freshly Made Sketch #96

Today as I was commenting on Heart 2 Heart Challenge entries I was drawn to Hansi Brittain's beautiful Guest Designer entry which you can see here.  The theme this week at H2H is "Water, Water, Everywhere" and as I was reading through Hansi's post I learned about another new challenge called Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge whose theme this week is  "Feeling Nautical".  Having many sailors in my family I knew I had to make something for this challenge.  I used Tommy paper from Close to My Heart for both tag and background panel.  "Hello" was cut with the new Artbooking cartridge (available August 1 on my website here) from Outdoor Denim CS.  The tag was matted with Honey CS.  The White Daisy card front was dry embossed with a Cuttlebug folder called "Anchors Aweigh".

Here is the Freshly Made Sketch #96 that I followed:

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity! 

:) Marie

Color Dare #52 Ruby, Twilight and Olive with a Mojo Monday Sketch #303

Have you heard that there is a Design Team call for Color My Heart Color Dare?  This is a challenge blog that features the use of Close To My Heart colors.  Applications are due July 26--go here to check it out.

Although this is my week off from Color Dare Design Team responsibilities I just had to join in using these jewel toned colors: Ruby, Twilight and Olive.  I used the new CTMH Artbooking cricut cartridge which will be available on August 1 here to cut the holly leaves and ornament overlay. The White Daisy background panel was run through the Cuttlebug Machine with a holiday themed embossing folder.  The vertical stripe on the Twilight panel is Silver Shimmer Trim which was colored with a Ruby Alcohol Marker. The ornaments were glitzed up with Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel.

My inspiration for this card came from Mojo Monday #303--although I did change the orientation of the elements! Here is the sketch I loosely followed:

The Artbooking cartridge is so versatile!  Starting on Mondays in August several Close To My Heart consultants will be showcasing different ways to use this new cartridge so you'll have to come back then to check it out. Why not become a follower of my blog so you won't miss out on any fabulous Artbooking ideas?

Now it's your turn to see what you can create with these fun colors.  If you don't have these CTMH colors use something similar. Link up your papercrafted creation (does not have to be a card) by Thursday, July 25 at 9PM CST here.  We look forward to seeing your artwork in our gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Celebrate Ice Cream Theme for Heart 2 Heart Challenge

Welcome back to another Heart 2 Heart Challenge post!  Did you know that in 1984 President Ronald Reagan proclaimed that July 22 is to be Ice Cream Day?  In honor of that proclamation we are challenging you to use "Ice Cream" as your focus on your papercrafted creation.  Please use mostly Close To My Heart products and link up your creation here.  You have until the end of the month to enter this challenge.

This card was made with the Art Philosophy cartridge!  The cone was cut from tree1 and layer on page 31 with the trunk cut off and inverted.   The three scoops were cut from tree3 on page 53 also inverted and with the trunk cut off.  Colors used are Chocolate, Desert Sand, Blush and White Daisy.  The background panel is from Surf's Up with a Colonial White band with Cranberry scalloped border.   The greeting is from Remarkable Wreath.  I certainly feel that "Life is Good" with delicious ice cream cone in my hand!

Check out what the rest of the Design Team has to inspire you:
Brittany, Carol, Kelly and Haley and leave them some well deserved comments.

We look forward to seeing what you can create for this challenge!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Tee-rific Birthday for Sunday Stamps Challenge #54

Welcome back to another Sunday Stamps Challenge post!  This week we are using a sketch designed by Hayley.  Don't you just love it? I do!

 

I used this sketch to make a masculine birthday card.  There are lots of golfers that I send birthday cards to.  

The background paper is Victory (retired Close To My Heart).  The golfer and golf balls are from Tee Time (retired CTMH) which is matted with Avonlea Green (retired CTMH) and Outdoor Denim.  The banner golf balls and tees were stamped in Outdoor Denim ink and placed over a piece of Bakers Twine Neutral Assortment and popped up with 3D Foam Tape.  The "Have a Tee-rific Birthday!" greeting was generated on my computer.  I ran the printed greeting through a cuttlebug folder from the reversed side so the circles appear to be golf ball dimples.  It was pretty quick to make this card and I will be doing more of these for my lady golfer friends too.  

Now  it's your turn to join in on this challenge fun!  You have until Friday,evening, July 26 to link up your creation here.

Please take the time to visit the rest of the Design Team's blogs and leave them some appreciation.
Hayley, Joan, Brenda, Holly Steph and Kathya.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!

:) Marie

Color Dare #51--Desert Sand, Bamboo with Choice of Color

Welcome back to another Color Dare post!

The Color My Heart Color Dare challenge this week is to create a papercrafted item using the Close To My Heart colors Desert Sand and Bamboo as neutrals combined with a color of your choice.  I've had this lovely Quick Cards--Bountiful Season stamp for awhile which hadn't yet been inked so I chose the color Autumn Terracotta to showcase this beautiful stamp.

The paper strip on the left is very old Desert Sand B & T paper. The background panel on the right is Bamboo CS which was dry embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and then swiped with a Desert Sand ink pad to give it some "smudgy" color.  The shimmery stripe is actually Silver Shimmer Trim which was colored with an Autumn Terracotta Alcohol Marker.  (Coloring Silver Shimmer Trim with CTMH alcohol markers gives you so many more shimmery color opportunities!)  Bountiful Season was stamped in Autumn Terracotta ink onto Colonial White CS and then matted onto Autumn Terracotta CS and lifted off the card using 3D Foam Tape.  This card came together very quickly.  Now it's your turn to play along with us.  (You can always substitute similar colors if you don't have Close To My Heart products yet.)  Link up your card here.

Check out what the rest of the Design Team and this week's fabulous Guest Designer Pam has to inspire you:Sarah, Pam, Lela, Becca.

Ombre Shades of Blue for Atlantic Hearts Sketch #11

My FedEx man dropped off a box of new Close To My Heart products yesterday and I just had to break open the box and play.  Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #11 appealed to me so I was inspired to find a way to use some of my new goodies.  New products that I used for this card (available August 1 here) are the inksplatter stamp from the Laughing Lola Cardmaking Workshop on the Go and the new Artbooking cricut cartridge for the Hello.  It might look as if I masked and sponged this card but I used  a stamp instead (and kept my fingers from getting inky).  The colors from top to bottom are 1st generation Outdoor Denim, 1st generation Pacifica, 2nd generation Pacifica, 1st generation Twilight, 2nd generation Twilight, 1st generation Crystal Blue and 2nd generation Crystal Blue.  Hello was cut from Artbooking cartridge (page 39 Title at .75").  I used Bonding Memories Glue Pen to adhere the Hello to the card.  The final touch is a pair of wiggle eyes and a hand drawn smile. 

Here is the sketch I followed:

I don't usually purchase Workshops on the Go kits but I really loved the D sized stamp set that is included so I purchased Laughing Lola.  Here is a photo of these new stamps:

Please stop by tomorrow for the newest Color My Heart Color Dare challenge post!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Sympathy Card for Try Stamping on Tuesday #126

The sketch at TSOT this week lent itself very nicely to this circular digital stamp I acquired from Bugaboo and I was happy to finally use the Sketchy Rose Circle Stamp.  Other products used are: Crayola colored pencils, Small Majestic Butterfly (retired CTMH), Buttercup Fleur Des Jardines paper (retired CTMH), Words of Comfort, Black Ink, Liquid Glass (used on water drops--sorry it did not photograph well), Opaques Licorice Adhesive Gems and Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel.  The mats for the stamped images were cut from the inside of a security envelope as pictured below.

My card:

 

 

Try Stampin' on Tuesday Sketch:

Here are the remnants of my repurposed envelope:

Thanks for stopping by! (Be sure to come back Friday for a new Color My Heart Color Dare post, on Sunday for a new Sunday Stamps sketch challenge post and on Monday for a new Heart 2 Heart challenge theme post.)  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Faux Stitching and Dreamin' for Mojo Monday #300

If you are looking for the Color Dare #50 post go here.  If not, then I'd like to share a fun card I made following the Mojo Monday sketch #300.  Products used are from Close To My Heart--many of which are retired.  The paper pack is Dreamin' which includes Pacifica and Goldrush CS along with patterned paper.  The stamped image is an old wooden CTMH Quick Card stamp called Thinking of You which I stamped in Pacifica pigment ink and embossed with Polysparkle Tinsel.  It was colored with Indian Corn Blue and Goldrush markers.  The final embellishments were dots of Silver Glitz Glitter Gel and a Designer Shimmer Brad.  The stitching around the background panel was created by dry embossing lines and then distressing them to reveal the white core of the paper.  Next you pierce at regular intervals with the Piercing Tool and Ruler.  I learned about this technique from Sarah Stone who explained it here.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!

:) Marie

Color My Heart Color Dare #50--Surf's Up Gold, Surf's Up Teal, Crystal Blue, Sorbet with Ponderosa Pine Option

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare post!  This week's challenge focuses on the Close To My Heart colors from the Surf's Up Paper Pack  (Surf's Up Gold, Surf's Up Teal, Crystal Blue, Sorbet).  The use of Ponderosa Pine is optional and I chose to use it as a solid background.  When I'm asked to combine a lot of different colors I tend to use card layouts that have lots of smaller pieces.  I found my inspiration for this layout on pinterest and you can view it here.  The greeting was stamped with Sorbet Ink from Perfect Fit Birthday and I actually cut the stamp into two unconnected words so I could arrange it like this on the card  The squares were cut at 1.25" and then two of the opposing corners were rounded.  Here are 3 different versions:

 

Next I added some 1/4" hole punched circles from Grey and Black Glitter paper:

Last I added some Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel to all but 3 of the pieces to accent the patterns in the paper.

 

Here's a tip that might make it easier for you to participate in this challenge.  Sarah Stone suggested this tip a while ago--use the B & T sampler pack that consultants often purchase to show customers.  If you are not a consultant or don't have any of these colors you may substitute similar colors but try to limit your color palette to just the 4 or 5 colors listed with neutrals.  Lagoon and Honey would be good substitutions for Surf's Up Gold and Surf's Up Teal that come in the Surf's Up Paper Pack.

We hope you can play along with us this week!  You can link up your papercrafted creation (does not have to be a card) here.  Please use a direct link when you enter the challenge and be sure to provide a link back to Color My Heart Color Dare so your readers will be able to find us.  

Check out what the rest of the Design Team has to inspire you:

Sarah, Pam, Lela, Amie, Caroline, Becca, Marie.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!

:) Marie

Artiste K Key for Rose Blossom Garden #7 Using Atlantic Hearts Sketch #10

My daughter-in-law had a big birthday yesterday so I made her a one of a kind special card.  Following the Atlantic Hearts Sketch #10 in combination with the Artiste K Key challenge from Rose Blossom Gardens #7 was pretty easy to do.  I love playing along with blog challenges that support the use of Close To My Heart products as these two sites do!  It was a great sketch and the Artiste K page had fun elements to work with.  I wanted to highlight her milestone birthday--the big 30 so I cut the numbers at 1.25" using Artiste from a repurposed foil take out lid.  (The silvery metallic lid did not photograph well here).  The frame behind the numbers was cut from Dreamin' paper (retired CTMH) accent 2 pg. 58 at 3.25"--this piece is actually a mini-album page so I turned it so the binding holes were on the bottom and then concealed by the horizontal stripe. The mat for the frame was cut at slightly more than 3.25".  The White Daisy background was dry embossed with the Cuttlebug Anna Griffin Poppy folder.  The flower accents were also from page 58 accent 4 cut at 2.75" and 1.5" from Goldrush CS  and Dreamin' paper.  The greeting is from Perfect Fit--Birthday and was stamped in Indian Corn Blue.  Silver Glitz Glitter Gel was applied to the smaller flower center and the tips of the larger flower.   The three round accents were made with a 3/8" hole punch from the same paper as the blue and white frame and then glitzed with Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel.  The base of the card is Pacifica CS--one of my favorite Close To My Heart colors.  The card was 5" wide by 6.5" tall.  The "30" and "Celebrate" greeting were popped up with 3D Foam Tape.  I really like how this card came out and will probably replicate for other special birthday cards.

Here is the foil lid that I cut the numbers from (I did set the Cricut machine pressure to 5 as it is somewhat thicker than regular CS).

Please consider playing along with these challenges.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!  Be sure to stop back Friday morning to see what I'll be posting for the new Color My Heart Color Dare!
:) Marie 

Chantilly Love and Hugs Card for Freshly Made Sketch #92

I liked this Freshly Made Sketch as soon as I saw it and I promised myself I would use it as soon as I completed all my Design Team responsibilities (Color My Heart Color Dare, Heart 2 Heart Challenges and Sunday Stamps).  There are only 3 hours to go before the linky list closes so I've accomplished my goal!

Here is my card:

Supplies are from Close To My Heart  (Click on the links to view and to order from my website if you so desire):
      Chantilly Paper Packet
      Ruby CS
      White Daisy CS
      Ruby Ink
      Words of Comfort Stamp Set
      Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel (on patterned paper and tiny hearts on greeting panel)
      Blushing Bride pleated ribbon (retired SU)

(The patterned paper that my card is in front of is the flip side of the Chantilly paper--pretty, isn't it?)

Here is the Freshly Made Sketch 92 that was my inspiration:

     
The Freshly Made Design Team and challenge entrants have some remarkable artwork displayed on their blog!  I encourage you to check it out if you have the time.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie


     
   

Masking 101 for Heart 2 Heart Challenge

I'm very excited to be sharing with my Close To My Heart friends in this first post for the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Design Team!  This is a challenge blog run by Close To My Heart consultants and featuring--you guessed it--Close To My Heart products.  Our challenge this first week of July is to share something made using a "Masking" technique so I chose one of my favorite CTMH stamps called "Cozy Cat" to illustrate this technique.  Here is my finished card:

I started with a 5.5" x 4.25" piece of White Daisy CS.  How did I get 3 cats on this piece?   I started with stamping the cat in the center first.

Next I  made a "mask" by stamping  the cat onto a piece of yellow Post-it Note.  I turned the notepad upside down so that the pillow base was over the "sticky" part.

Then I cut the mask out right on the lines.

Next I placed the mask over the stamped image.

I stamped to the right of the cat and onto the mask.

Then I reinked the stamp and placed the cat to the left partially covering the mask.

I then removed the mask and voila--3 cats, 2 appearing to be behind the center cat!

 
After I had my three cats stamped, I used the following Close To My Heart Alcohol markers to color them in: Honey, Ruby, Whisper, Pacifica, and Topiary.  Each marker set comes with a lighter and a darker marker of the same color so it made it really easy to get two tones on each pillow.

The Whisper CS mat was cut at 6" x 4.75" and the Pacifica base is 6.5" x  10" (card folded in half). The sentiment on the Ruby CS panel (1.25" x 6.5")is from Love Life and was embossed with White Embossing Powder.  If you have been following my blog for any length of time you probably know what my favorite embellishment is--Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel which I applied to the cats' collars.

Would you like to join us in this masking challenge?  Create a papercrafted item using mostly Close To My Heart products and use a direct link to link up here.  You must mention Heart 2 Heart Challenges and link back to us in your blogpost if you enter the challenge.  You have until the end of the month to post it here.  We will pick winners at the end of the month for each of the challenges of the month. We look forward to seeing what you create!

Check out what the rest of the Design Team has to inspire you:
Brittany, Carol, Kelly and Haley.


Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie