Try Stampin' on Tuesday Sketch #306 Birthday Card

Today I'm sharing a card which features Peacock feathered glitter paper and a Happy Birthday sentiment.  The embellishments are actually buttons I cut off from Close to My Heart stamp pouches and drizzled with Grape Sherbert Nuvo Crystal Drops to form purple hearts.  Check out how I removed the buttons here.

My inspiration for this card came from Try Stampin' on Tuesday Sketch #306 which I rotated 90 degrees.

Close to My Heart products used:

      White Daisy CS

       Lagoon CS

       Gypsy CS (retired)

       Birthday Sparkles stamp

       Gypsy Ink

Other products:

       Thin craft foam to pop up sentiment panel

        Nuvo Crystal Drops--Grape Sherbert

        Peacock Feather Glitter paper (Recollections)

I'm also sharing this card at 

       Sunny Day Crafting--Anything Goes

       Seize the Birthday--Optional--Dashing and/or Doodling

       Inspiration Destination--Anything Goes
       NBUS #10--never used items on my card are Grape Sherbert Crystal Drops and Birthday Sparkles stamp 

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

Color Dare #190 Joins Retrosketch #211

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge post!  This week we are challenging you to create something using the following Close to My Heart colors:  Ruby, Gypsy, Honey, Pear and Colonial White.

(If you don't have any of these CTMH colors yet you may substitute with a similar color so you can still join us in our gallery).

Close to My Heart products used:

     Colonial White CS

     Ruby CS

     Kaleidacolor paper

     Your Beautiful Self stamps

     Say it All stamps

     Gypsy Ink

     Ruby Ink

     Honey Ink

     Sponge Daubers

     Hemp Twine (retired)

Before I sponged the background panel I applied a piece of washi tape to mask off the Colonial White background so I could stamp my greeting.

My card was inspired by Retrosketch #211:

Now it's your turn to get creative--how will you use all and only these challenge colors?  Come check out what the rest of the fabulous Color My Heart Color Dare Design Team has to inspire you.

Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity! Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!

:) Marie

Color Dare #186 Meets Sketch Saturday #404

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge blog post.  This week we are challenging you to use all and only the following colors:  Gypsy, Lagoon and White Daisy.

My first card features the Spring Critters frog and the original Adventures Fundamentals pattern.  This adorable stamp set also has a matching Thin Cuts dies to make it so easy to use.  I used a Q-tip and Lagoon ink to "color" the frog and an old Gypsy Alcohol Marker to outline the frog.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Lagoon CS

     White Daisy CS

     Adventures Fundamental Paper (original pattern--retired)

     Spring Critters stamps

     Spring Critters Thin Cuts

     Gypsy Ink

     Lagoon Ink

     Gypsy Alcohol Marker (retired)

     Chalk Marker (to color flowers on the lily pads)

Other products:

     tiny wiggle eyes

     Spring Fling cricut cartridge to cut lily pads

     Violet Cricut pen to outline lily pads

My card was inspired by this sketch from Sketch Saturday #404:

When I was making the frog card I originally thought I would use the Gypsy on top and Lagoon on the bottom but then I changed my mind.  I already had the pieces glued down so I decided to make a second Easter card using the Give a Lift stamp set.  

Head on over to the Color Dare blog to check out what the rest of the fabulous Design Team has to inspire you.

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

:) Marie

     

Glittered Peacock Feathers With Freshly Made Sketch #182

Here is a quick card that I made using Freshly Made Sketch #182.  I love the simplicity of this design!

Although it may appear that the background paper is black, it is actually silver foil reflective paper which is difficult to photograph.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Metallic CS (retired)

     Gypsy CS

     Lagoon CS

     Belated Birthday stamp

    Gypsy Ink

    3D Foam Tape

Other products:

    Peacock Feather Glitter paper by Recollections

Here is the fabulous sketch I followed:

    

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

:) Marie

Color Dare #101--Gypsy, Lagoon, Sunset and Pear

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare blog post!  This week we are challenging you to use all of these Close To My Heart colors:  Gypsy, Lagoon, Sunset and Pear.  (If you don't have these Close To My Heart colors yet you may substitute similar colors and you may also combine these colors with neutrals such as black, white, greys and tans.)

Close To My Heart products used:

     White Daisy CS

     Pear CS

     Sunset CS

     Lagoon Ink

     Gypsy Ink

     Wild About Love stamp set (retired)

     Comforting Thoughts stamp set

     Just Blooms flowers (retired)

     Just Blooms Paradise flowers (retired)

     Purple adhesive gems from Laughing Lola Cardmaking Kit (retired)

Other products:

     Wiggle Eyes

My inspiration for this card came from the Clear It Out sketch:

I'm also entering this card into this week's Stampin' Royalty--Anything Goes challenge.

Check out what the fabulous Color My Heart Color Dare Design Team has to inspire you: You have until Thursday, July 17 9PM CT to enter your papercrafted creation here.  We look forward to visiting your blogs and seeing what you create with the colors Gypsy, Lagoon, Sunset and Pear.

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

:) Marie

     

    

Color Challenge at Sunday Stamps!

Welcome back to another Sunday Stamps Challenge post!  This week we are bringing you some pretty colors to work with:

SU Colors are: Wisteria Wonder, Baked Brown Sugar & Wild Wasabi
CTMH Colors are:  Topiary, Saddle and Gypsy

My card was made following the Tuesday Morning Sketch #239

Close To My Heart Products Used:

          Lifting Spirits stamp set

          Saddle CS

          Gypsy CS

          Topiary B&T paper (retired)

          Gypsy Ink

          3D Foam Tape

          Chalk Marker

          Black Ink

Here is the sketch I used:

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, March 21 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.
Hayley, Joan, Brenda, Holly, Steph and Kathya.

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

:) Marie

Best Witches for Try Stampin' on Tuesday #142 and Use it Tuesdays Challenge #66

Happy Halloween! Here is a card made with all retired products from Close To My Heart.  I just love it when I can use of some of my vast stash! (a requirement for Use It Tuesday is to use your stash!) The stamped cat on the jack o' lantern is from an old wooden set called "Punkin' Patch" and the greeting is from another wooden set called "Best Witches".  Patterned papers are from the Hooligans and Spellbound paper packets.  Coloring was done with Prismacolor pencils (formerly carried by CTMH).  The stars and jack o' lantern mouth and nose were glittered with Glow in the Dark glitter glue.  The focal frames were cut from Art Philosophy--Square 3 at 3" and 3.25" from Black.  I used a steel pan scrubber and Gypsy ink to texturize the White Daisy CS.

This card follows the Try Stampin' on Tuesdays sketch #142 which is pictured here:

I'm also entering this card into the Use it Tuesdays Challenge #62 featuring "Creatures".  Please stop by tomorrow for a new Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge post.

Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!

:) Marie

Use Something Recycled for Black Tie Friday #30

After a long break Black Tie Friday Challenge blog is back!  Hooray!  My patterned paper on the front of this card is actually the inside of a security envelope to meet the challenge requirement of using something recycled.  The stamps are from  Close To My Heart--Happy Autumn and Say it in Style (retired) and were stamped with Gypsy ink.  The mat is Outdoor Denim.  The vertical strip is Gypsy CS with a strip of Black Shimmer Trim (black is optional this week).

Here is a photo of the recycled envelope I used:

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!  Be sure to stop by for tomorrow's new Color My Heart Color Dare challenge post.
:) 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

Color Dare #23--Sky and Gypsy--A Tribute to Toby

This week I have the honor of being a guest designer for Color My Heart Color Dare #23--Sky and Gypsy.  (You can view my winning entry that earned me this spot here.)  Last week my local quilt store closed it's doors forever and I wanted to do something special for it's owner, Toby, who has decided to retire and enjoy her new grandchild.  I have been wanting to make a card with a quilting theme for a long time and thought these colors would work together nicely in this format.  The CTMH patterned paper that I used was from Believe (blue with dots), Hooligans (darker purple--Gypsy and outside lighter purple scalloped edged border) and Magnifique (light blue squares in the center).  I also created my own "fabrics" by stamping images from the Love Life set with Sky and Gypsy inks.  The light purple center squares were made with a sponge and Gypsy ink.  I chose this particular quilt pattern because it was very similar to a pattern made by the quilt store owner called "Namchee Bazaar"--there were even smaller 1/2 square triangles and squares that I eliminated to make it easier to do.   Here is a helpful hint--when assembling these small pieces--glue them on to a piece of grid paper.  (The grid paper I used had 1/2" squares).   After I had all my pieces glued down I used a dry embossing folder by Darice (Plaid) and my Cuttlebug machine to add some texture.  The greeting is from the For Every Occasion set and was stamped in Versamark ink and Gypsy ink and then clear embossed.

This card truly was a labor of love and appreciation for all the wonderful times I spent sharing my love of quilting at Toby's store and all the inspiration I found there with all the people who worked there.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please consider joining in on the challenge this week at Color My Heart.  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!
:) Marie

Color My Heart Color Dare #5-- Rainbow Colors

This was a really fun challenge to do! You can find the details here. The Close To My Heart ink colors that I used are Honey, Sunset, Cranberry, Gypsy, Moonstruck, Topiary and Black. The stamps are from A Blossom and 4 My Friend stamp sets. I also used White Daisy Paper, Black cardstock and Grey Wool cardstock. To add some texture I placed a 2" strip of construction wall tape over the Grey Wool cardstock. For a little extra sparkle I added CTMH Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel to the flower centers. Why don't you join in on this fun challenge?

Wicked--August Stamp of the Month

In my last post I showed a non-Halloween card made using the Close To My Heart August Stamp of the Month called Wicked. Today I'm posting a Halloween card using the greeting from the same set so you can look in the previous post to see what is included in the stamp set. For my design I used a pattern from the Wishes Card Confidence book which was card #2 in the Season's Greetings workshop with CTMH colors Colonial White, Sunset, Gypsy and Black. The greeting stamp fits perfectly into the "Shape 1" pattern from the new CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. I used Gypsy ink for the greeting and Black ink to distress the edges of the card front and greeting. I used a background stamp from the Harvest Happiness (C1436) stamp set which is in the new catalog. The greeting is mounted over some raffia--doesn't it look as if it could have come from a witch's broom? Some of the paper edges were distressed with the distressing tool. This was a really simple card to do. I hope you've enjoyed checking it out and I hope that it inspires you to create cards that are fun for you too. Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Halloween!

These cards were so much fun to make!  I couldn't decide which one to enter in the H2H challenge this week so I'm posting all of my 2010 Halloween cards here. All of these cards were made with Close To My Heart "Thriller" stamp set which was the September Stamp of the Month set.  The first card uses Grey Wool and Vineyard Berry Ink.  The skull was stamped on white with Versamark ink and then chalked with vineyard berry chalk.

The second card has a clear window.  The outside frame was stamped using black Stazon ink on a piece of Xyron laminate.  The inside was stamped in Grey Flannel Ink and the pumpkin colored in with Sunset Marker.  The polka dot print is from the Olivia Level 2 Paper Set. The Happy Haunting greeting was stamped with Gypsy Ink.

The next card features a Clear Card and a bleaching technique to achieve the white skull face.  First a piece of white paper was brayered with Pear Ink and then embossed with Black embossing powder.  I used a Q-tip and some bleach to remove the green color from the skull face.  This element was then sponged with black ink. This is mounted on the outside of the clear card while the randomly stamped images and eyeball ribbon trim are on the inside of the card.  Red sparkles and cream opaques accent the card.

The final card uses Pear, Sunset and Pansy Purple Inks and Pansy Purple embossing powder.  I sponged white photo mounting corners with Pansy Purple Ink to frame the skull.  Pansy Purple and Sunset cardstock paper was used. The green polka dot print is from the Olivia Paper Set.

Wishing you all a spooky and spectacular Halloween filled with lots of fun!