New Year's Card with Freshly Made Sketch 167

Although I sent out many hand stamped Christmas cards I have more yet to send.  The message from the Snowhaven Cardmaking Kit has just the right message for an after Christmas thought card.  I paired it with the current Freshly Made Sketch #167 and used up some very old Close To My Heart papers and colors.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Snowhaven Cardmaking Kit stamp

     Holiday Red CS (retired)

     Holiday Red Ink (retired)

     Dutch Blue Ink (retired)

     Dutch Blue CS (retired)

     Dutch Blue B & T paper (retired)

     Black CS

Other products:

     Stampin Up ticket punch

     Snowman paper by Frances Meyer

Here is the Freshly Made Sketch that I followed:

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

:) Marie

Artiste Popcorn Boxes as Personalized Ornament Holder Table Placeholders

I love coming up with new ideas for decorating for Christmas!  When I feel inspired I make unique personalized name placeholders for my Christmas party table. This year I made glittered ornaments and used a red paint pen to personalize them.  They needed something to keep them upright so I made popcorn boxes from Artiste in Ruby CS and used paint pens to make them look like Santa.  To keep them more stable I put some chocolate coins in the bottom of the box.  Guests get to keep the personalized ornaments also.

The backside of the ornaments were also personalized with the year.

Here is a photo of them on my table:

Close To My Heart products used:

     Ruby CS

     Artiste cartridge

     Prisma Glitter

Other products:

     Red picot ribbon

     Craftsmart Red and Black paint pens

     Marvy DecoColor Silver paint pen

I'm entering this project into the following challenges:

    A Crafty Mess--Anything goes with traditional Christmas colors

    Milkcoffee Challenge--Make it Sparkle

    Shopping Our Stash--Red Alert

    Deep Ocean--Christmas is all around

    Pile it On Challenges--Anything Goes--Christmas/Holidays

You can check out my tealight snowman placeholders here.

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

:) Marie

Use Your Stash Blog Hop--Remember True Teal and Vineyard Berry?

Welcome to the Use Your Stash Blog Hop!  This is the first time I'm participating and I'm happy to be joining this awesome group of Close To My Heart consultants.  If you are coming from Shirley Ross's blog you are on the right track.  We are trying to use up some favorite items that have been discontinued from Close To My Heart. We are going with a Christmas theme this month.

My card features retired colors True Teal and Vineyard Berry.

I adapted the idea for this card from this card that I found on Pinterest.

Close to My Heart products used:'

      Artiste cut mittens at 1"

     Teal CS (retired)

      Vineyard Berry CS (retired)

     White Daisy CS

     Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel (retired)

     Bakers Twine Neutrals Assortment

     Twinkle Brads (retired)

      Wonderful Season stamps (retired)

      Sponge Daubers

      Vineyard Berry Ink

      Teal Ink

Other products:

      Cuttlebug Pinking Stitches embossing folder

      Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder

Your next stop on this blog hop is Sheila Bennett's.  Have fun remembering all those great CTMH products as you move through this blog hop!

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

:) Marie

     

One Layer Card for Color Dare #123 and Stampin' Royalty #259

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge post.  This is the final one for 2014 and you'll have two weeks to post your creation.  The challenge colors are New England Ivy and Ruby--it makes me think "holiday card" so that's what I made:

 

I challenged myself to make a one layer card (this is NOT my usual style!) to meet the Stampin' Royalty challenge also.  The To You and Yours stamp set images were inked with New England Ivy ink and then "smudge colored" with Q-tips and New England Ivy ink and Ruby ink as these are the challenge for the Color Dare.  To get the ink to color with the Q-tips I stamped ink onto an acrylic block and spritzed with water.   A retired Whisper Alcohol Marker was used to outline all the stamped images and White Wink of Stella was applied to create the leaf veins and highlight the berries and cardinal feathers.  I love the gentle shimmer that this brush pen creates.  There is a drop of Liquid Glass on the cardinal's eye.  The background was stamped with Whisper Ink and a very old CTMH wood stamp called "Stoneware Texture".

Close To My Heart products used:

     White Daisy CS

     To You and Yours stamp set

     New England Ivy Ink

     Ruby Ink

     Liquid Glass

     Whisper Ink

     Stoneware Texture stamp (retired)

     

Other products:

     White Wink of Stella Glitter pen

Card challenges entered:

     Stampin' Royalty #259--One Layer Card

     The Male Room--Christmas theme
     Addicted to Stamps Challenge--anything goes
     

Now it's your turn to play with these fun holiday colors!  If you don't have these exact colors you may substitute similar colors and you may also combine them with neutrals such as black, white, tans, and greys.  Please visit our the Color My Heart Color Dare blog to see what the rest of the Design Team has created and then link up your papercrafted creation with a direct link here.  Hope to see you in our gallery!   The deadline is Thursday evening, January 1, 2015 at 9PM CT.

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

:) Marie

     

Final Post as a Sunday Stamps Designer

It has been my great pleasure to serve on the Sunday Stamps Design Team since June of 2013. Thank you, Holly, for inviting me to join you and thanks to all the other wonderful Sunday Stamps designers who inspired me so often.  I will miss being a part of this creative team.  Our last challenge for the year will last for 3 weeks:  Yellow, Teal and Brown.  

Feather cards are quite popular now so my card is following the trend.

Close To My Heart products used:

     White Daisy CS

     Chocolate CS

     Canary CS

     Lagoon CS

     Lagoon Ink

     Sponge Dauber

     Gold Metallic Writer

     Artiste Cricut cartridge to cut feathers

     Say it in Style stamp (retired)

     Paradise Assortment Baker's Twine

Other products:

    Ranger Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls spray

My inspiration came from Case This Sketch #103:

We can't wait to see what you create using these colors!   Please use a direct link to join us here and include a link back to us in your blog post.  (Feel free to post our color graphic too to let your readers know about our challenge.)  You have until Friday, January 2 at 6PM EST to enter this challenge.

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

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

:) Marie

Let it Snow with a Freshly Made Sketch #166

If you are looking for the Joyful Stars December Blog Hop please go here.

Here is a quick card I made to satisfy two challenges--sketch by Freshly Made Sketches #166 and Dots theme for Addicted To CAS.

Close To My Heart products used:

     White Daisy CS

     Crystal Blue CS

     Be Jolly stamp set

     Sanding Kit

     Crystal Blue Ink

     Versamark Ink

     Polysparkle Tinsel Embossing Powder (retired)

     Metallic paper (retired)

     

Other

     Dots folder by Sizzix for Stampin Up

     Martha Stewart Punch (Drippy Goo)

     Holiday Time ribbon

Here is the Freshly Made Sketches sketch:
   

Here is the theme graphic for Addicted to CAS:

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

A Little Note for Joyful Stars December Blog Hop

I'm so excited to be joining the Joyful Stars Blog Hop this month!  It is being led by Joyce Hauck, a fellow Close To My Heart consultant, whom I've recently reconnected with. 

If you've come from Betty Locco's blog you are on the right track. If you get lost on the hop you can check the list from Joyce's blog.

My card features a new stamp set from the newly released Seasonal Expressions catalog from Close To My Heart.

Close To My Heart Products used:

     White Daisy CS

     Canary CS

     A Little Note stamp set (from Seasonal Expressions)

     Your Own Kind of Wonderful (butterfly stamp)

     Black Ink

     Thistle Ink

     Shin Han touch Markers--Vivid Green, Marigold and Golden Yellow

The sketch at Case This Sketch was my inspiration to make this card:

Please continue on to Nancy Brown's blog.      

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

:) Marie

Color Dare #121 Meets Freshly Made Sketch #165

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare blog post.  This week we are challenging you to use Cranberry and New England Ivy.  It was just so easy to make a Christmas card with these two colors!

Cranberry and New England Ivy

I followed the Freshly Made Sketch #165 for my card layout:

Close To My Heart products used:

     Cranberry CS

     White Daisy CS

     Holiday Magic tree stamp (retired)

     Cranberry Ink

     New England Ivy Ink

     Ink splatter stamp from Laughing Lola Cardmaking Kit

     Holiday Tags greeting stamp

     Woodgrain Washi Tape (retired)

     Silver Geometric Washi Tape

Now it's your turn to play with these fun colors.  If you don't have these exact colors you may substitute similar colors and you may also combine them with neutrals such as black, white, tans, greys.  Please visit our challenge blog to see what the rest of the Design Team has created and then link up your papercrafted creation with a direct link  here. Hope to see you in our gallery!  The deadline is Thursday evening, December 11 at 9PM CT.

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

:) Marie

What's the Weather?--the Friday Mashup #187

Last week's Friday Mashup is all about the weather.  Apparently I couldn't pick one weather type so I have two contrasting weather items going on in my card:

Another challenge in the mashup is to use something "metallic".  Instead of using a brad or grommet I used metallic paper which is very challenging to photograph!

Here is another photo so you can see the focal panel better:

Can you see the reflection of my hair in this photo? LOL

Here is the graphic from the Friday Mashup:

Close To My Heart products used:

     White Daisy CS

      Metallic paper (retired)

     Sky CS (retired)

     April Calendar Cutie greeting (retired)

     Tropical Blue Ink (retired)

     Sunlight (retired)

     Shin Han Touch Markers (Cerulean Blue Light, Turquoise Blue and Golden Yellow)

Other:

   Raindrops and Umbrella--Darice embossing folder

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

:) Marie

Cyber Monday Offer from Close To My Heart!

Please tell Santa!

Cyber Monday Only: 20% Off All Cricut®Collections! For the first time ever, Close To My Heart is offering a Cyber Monday Sale on Monday, December 1, 2014. There has never been a better time to buy Close To My Heart’s exclusive Cricut® Collections for 20% off the retail price. Whether you love scrapbooking, cardmaking, or creating 3-D projects, our four exclusive Cricut® collections make the perfect addition to any craft room! Sale starts at midnight (MST) on December 1 and ends at 11:59 pm Monday night. Make sure you share the news about this sale with all your customers, friends, and family , too! You and your customers will be able to take advantage of this special deal on your Online Business Address (OBA) as well as in Order Entry. Orders placed in Order Entry and on your OBA must be submitted between 12:00 am and 11:59 pm (MST) on Monday, December 1 in order to get the discount on your selected Cricut® collections. Enjoy extra savings on Close To My Heart's exclusive Cricut® collections this Cyber Monday! Here are some things about each of the Close To My Heart Cricut collections: Art Philosophy--Over 700 images with card layers (comes with 3 stamp sets and 3 sheets of dimensional elements) Artiste--this features many 3D items such as boxes in various shapes and themes and swing cards       (comes with 3 stamp sets and 3 sheets of dimensional elements) Artbooking--this features many things that go with scrapbooking such as beautiful page overlays and mini        album pages  (comes with 3 stamp sets and 3 sheets of dimensional elements) Artfully Sent--this features pop-up card insides and envelopes (comes with 3 stamp sets and 25 sheets of      12 x 12 white paper) You can reach my shopping site here. (If you place an order please join it to the Marie's Cyber Monday Cricut Special Gathering located under the big picture on the home page.) I hope you can take advantage of this one day only sale! Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity! :) Marie

Musical Banners for Sunday Stamps #90

Welcome back to another Sunday Stamps challenge post.  This card was made for my son's birthday so I went with a music theme.  He is quite a proficient musician and plays violin, keyboard and guitar and I'm very proud of him.

Here is the Sunday Stamps sketch I followed:

  

Close To My Heart products used:

     Yuletide Paper

     White Daisy CS

     Saddle CS

     Black CS

     Black Marker to draw in violin neck and pegs

Other products:

     Quarter Note cricut cartridge

     Black Tie Glitter paper by Core'dinations

     Computer printing of greeting

 

I'm also entering this card into the Seize the Birthday challenge.

We can't wait to see what you create using this sketch!   Please use a direct link to join us here and include a link back to us in your blog post.  (Feel free to post our sketch graphic too to let your readers know about our challenge.)  You have until Friday, December 12 at 6PM EST to enter this challenge.

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

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

:) Marie

Please check out this post including a special offer Cyber Monday only offer from Close To My Heart!

Happy Thanksgiving with Addicted to CAS Sketch

Happy Thanksgiving to you!  I was inspired to make some cards using the Addicted to CAS Sketch:

Close To My Heart products used:

     Pathfinding Paper

     Barn Red CS

     Chocolate CS

     Sunset CS

     Sunset Ink

     Holiday Tags stamp

Other:

     Gold Sparkles

Close To My Heart products used:

     Huntington paper (retired)

     Autumn Terracotta CS

     Barn Red CS

     Autumn Terracotta CS

     Holiday Tags

Both of these Close to My Heart patterned papers are so beautiful--I can't decide which card I like better?  Which one do you prefer?

Here is the Addicted to CAS sketch:

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

:) Marie

Christmas Cards Using Case This Sketch #100

The Case This Sketch challenge this week inspired me to make these two cards using different techniques.  The one on the left was paper pieced and the one of the right was masked and sprayed with Gold Perfect Pearls Mist.

The first card uses the following Close To My Heart products: White Daisy CS, Mistletoe paper (retired), Whisper CS, Cranberry ink, All the Best stamp (retired), PolysparkleTinsel Embossing powder (retired), Holiday Tags stamp, Metallics Markers--silver.

The second card uses the following Close To My Heart products:  White Daisy CS, Christmas Love (retired), Cranberry Ink.  The background was created by masking the bottom triangle and spraying the card with Gold Perfect Pearls Mist.

I'm not sure which card I like better--which one do you like best?  Both of these cards went together very quickly using this fabulous sketch:

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

:) Marie

Sunday Stamps Color Challenge #89

Welcome back to another Sunday Stamps challenge post.  This fortnight we are challenging you to use these colors:  Plum, Lavender & Vanilla.  (Close To My Heart would be Gypsy, Smokey Plum and Colonial White;  SU would be Perfect Plum, Wisteria Wonder and Very Vanilla).

Close To My Heart products used:
     Gypsy CS
     Colonial White CS
     Black CS
     Smokey Plum Fleurs des Jardines paper (retired)
     Smokey Plum Ink
     Gypsy Ink
     Sponge Daubers

Other products:
      Feathers Embossing Folder by Elizabeth Craft Design
      Flower by Recollections

I followed the Freshly Made Sketch #162.

We can't wait to see what you create using these colors!   Please use a direct link to join us here and include a link back to us in your blog post.  (Feel free to post our color graphic too to let your readers know about our challenge.)  You have until Friday, November 28 at 6PM EST to enter this challenge.

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

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

:) Marie

Aged to Perfection for Friday Mashup #186

If you are looking for the Color My Heart Color Dare challenge post please go here.

There is always an interesting challenge at the Friday Mashup and I play along whenever I have the chance.  This week we are asked to follow the sketch, or use an "unexpected element" or "mash it up" and combine both.  I went with "mash it up" and I must admit that I've never seen my "unexpected element" (cork slices) on a card before and who knows, maybe I'll start a new trend!

This card was made for a wine loving friend and has a greeting similar to one of my all time favorite sayings "Like fine wine, improving with age."

Close To My Heart products used:

     Smokey Plum CS

     White Daisy CS

     Black Ink

     3D Foam Tape

     Shin Han Touch Markers--Lavender, Sap Green and Pastel Peach

     White Embossing Powder (retired)

Other products:

     Aged to Perfection stamp set by Fiskars

     Used Cork--sliced

Let me know what you think of my new embellishment idea.

This is the challenge graphic from the Friday Mashup:

This was a really fun sketch to work with!  Many thanks to Holly and the Design Team for providing such fun challenges!  I would love to be part of this Design Team.

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

:) Marie

Silver Ornaments and Blue for Merry Monday Christmas Challenge #134

If you are looking for the Color My Heart Color Dare challenge post please go here.

This Christmas card was inspired by this week's Merry Monday Christmas Challenge #134.  The challenge is to use Blue, Ornaments and Silver/Grey.

This card came together very quickly using the Artbooking cartridge!

Close To My Heart products used:

     Pacifica CS

     Holiday Tags

     Pacifica Ink

     Artbooking Cricut Cartridge (pg. 75 overlay shift cut at 5.5")

     Silver Metallic paper (retired)

     3D Foam Tape

Here is the Merry Monday challenge graphic:

I strongly encourage you to check out this challenge--the Design Team did an awesome job and the work of the challenge participants is outstanding!  You will be inspired!

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

:) Marie

Artfully Sent Card for Color My Heart Color Dare #119 and Stampin' Royalty #254

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge post!  This week we invite you to use the Close To My Heart colors  Smokey Plum, Hollyhock and Olive.  (if you don't have these exact colors you may substitute similar colors along with adding neutrals such as black, white, beiges, greys).

Close To My Heart products used:
     Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge
     Champagne CS
     Hollyhock CS
     Olive CS
     Smokey Plum Fleurs des Jardines paper (retired)
     Casual Expressions stamp

I'm also entering this card into the Stampin' Royalty "Be Thankful" challenge and The Paper Plunge "Grateful" challenge.

Now it's your turn to play with these fun colors.   Please visit our challenge blog to see what the rest of the Design Team has created and then link up your papercrafted creation with a direct link here.  Hope to see you in our gallery!
   

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

:) Marie

Feel Better Soon for Just Add Ink #238

There is a wonderful sketch at Just Add Ink that I just had to try.  The recipient of this card is a fan of the color purple.

Close To My Heart products used:

      Amethyst CS (retired)

      Summer Carnival B & T paper (retired)

      Hydrangea Ink (retired)

      Artiste cartridge to cut the mat for the greeting

      

Other

    Feel Better Soon stamp from Studio G

Here is the sketch:

     

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

:) Marie