Dreamin' Big Dragonfly for Joyful Stars Blog Hop

Welcome back to the January Joyful Stars Blog Hop!  We are a group of Close to My Heart consultants who share something each month on the 9th and at 9PM EST.  If you are coming from Krista Hersheberger's blog you are on the right track. (The complete lineup is also on Joyce's blog in case you get lost.)  Have fun being inspired!
 

I started this card by creating the center panel with the "smooshing" technique.  Raspberry, Tangerine and Blossom inks were stamped onto a sheet of acetate and spritzed with water and then the paper was placed on the inky acetate.  The results are unpredictable and one of a kind creations.  The Dreamin' Big dragonfly was gold embossed onto Pansy CS.   Tiny pearls were placed onto the top set of wings.  Drops of Silver Glitz Glitter Gel and Pink Glitz Glitter Gel were put on the background panel.  The dragonfly Thin Cut die was used to cut out the butterfly and a piece of thin craft foam to give it some added dimension.



Close to My Heart products used:

      Sugar Rush paper

      Dreamin' Big dragonfly stamp and coordinating Thin Cut Die

      Pansy CS

      Raspberry CS

      Raspberry Ink

      Tangerine Ink

      Blossom Ink

      White and Gold Ribbon

      Pink Glitter Gel (retired)

      Silver Glitz Glitter Gel (retired)

Here is the Sketch Saturday #455 that inspired my card layout:

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

      Happy Little Stampers--Anything Goes with Dies

Now it's time to hop on over to see what my friend Jen Benner has to share.  I'm sure you'll be inspired by her artwork.

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

:) Marie

Ice Cream Dream Meets Atlantic Hearts Sketch #110

If you are looking for the Favorite Cricut Character Fantabulous Cricut Blog post with Blog Candy please go here.

Welcome back to another Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge blog post.  We have a very different and interesting sketch for you to try this week.  My card features a dog from Close to My Heart June Stamp of the Month called "Ice Cream Dream".

Close to My Heart products used:

     Outdoor Denim CS

     Cashmere CS

     Hopscotch paper (retired)

     Ice Cream Dream stamp

     Black Ink

     Outdoor Denim brads

     Pink Glitter Glitz Gel (retired)

     3D foam Tape

     Artfully Sent greeting stamp

Other products:

     Prismacolor pencils (CTMH used to carry these...)

Here is the sketch graphic to inspire you:

     

     

We hope you can find the time this week to try out this unusual sketch.  You can link up your creation here.

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

:) Marie

Hello Sunday Stamps Sketch Challenge!

After spending 1.5 years as a Sunday Stamps Design Team member I'm back as a regular participant. The sketch really appealed to me--great job on it DT!

Close to My Heart products used:

     Hopscotch paper

     Cotton Candy CS

     This Moment stamp set (retired January 2015 stamp of the month)

     Vellum (retired)

     Black Ink

     Polysparkle Tinsel embossing powder (retired)

     Pink Glitter Glitz (retired)

Other products:

     Laser Tape (from Dollar Tree)

     

Here is what my card looked like before the Pink Glitter Glitz was applied:

Here is the Sunday Stamps Sketch that I followed:

The deadline for entering this challenge is Friday evening 6 PM ET.  What will you create with this great sketch?

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

     Crafty Hazelnuts Patterned Paper--Anything Goes

     Crafting From the Heart--Anything Goes

     

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

:) Marie

Sunday Stamps #51 with Dream Pop Papers and Atlantic Hearts Sketch #5

I received a wonderful email from Holly a few days ago inviting me to be on the Design Team for Sunday Stamps and I excitedly joined on!  Sunday Stamps challenges alternate between color challenges like this one and sketch challenges.  From this point on challenges will run every 2 weeks so you have lots more time to play along.  This week's colors are Melon Mambo, Sahara Desert and Daffodil Delight.  Since we are encouraged to substitute similar colors I used papers from the Dream Pop package (May special from Close To My Heart) along with Whisper CS.  

 

 

 The dragonfly frame was cut with the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy cartridge. (page 24 Decorative Layer shift at 2.25" from Banana Dream Pop, also square 6 from Whisper CS at 2.25").  The solid Dream Pop papers have glossy accents on them so I rubbed the wings of the dragonfly with CTMH vintage Watermelon ink and a Q-tip to reveal the texture.  The dragonfly body and head were accented with Pink Glitz Glitter Gel.  The three gems on the left side are CTMH Pink Glitter Gems.  I used 3D Foam Tape to pop up the dragonfly frame from the pretty patterned paper. The greeting is from CTMH For Every Occasion and was stamped in Watermelon ink. The yellow thread outlines were stitched with my sewing machine.

I also followed the Atlantic Hearts Sketch #5--a new challenge blog being offered by Canadian Close To My Heart Consultants.

If you like color challenges I would encourage you try Color My Heart Color Dare this week.  Dream Pop colors are the challenge this week.  You may substitute similar colors if you don't have Dream Pop.

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

:) Marie

Color Dare #42--Blush, Cotton Candy and Hollyhock--Happy Mother's Day!

 Color My Heart Color Dare is a weekly color challenge that features Close To My Heart colors--feel free to substitute similar colors if you don't have these colors yet. Three lovely pinks are the challenge ingredients for week #42.   From left to right these colors are Blush, Cotton Candy and Hollyhock.  Before I glued them to the Black CS I used temporary adhesive to attach them to a piece of scrap paper so I could black emboss the  flourish from the Love Life stamp set.  The #1 Mom medallion was cut from Black and Grey Glitter Paper using the CTMH Artiste cartridge (page 74 shift cut at 1.5").  This piece was then adhered to a square of Black CS and then popped up off of the card using 3D Foam Tape.  The bottom White Daisy stripe was dry embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and then embellished with Pink Glitz Glitter Gel.  The last thing I did to this card was to place Silver Glitz Glitter Gel dots to the ends of the flourish image.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:
Stuck on U Sketches--Use a Diecut for Mom or Mother
Fantabulous Cricut #159--Mother's Day
ABC Challenges #27--Tic Tac Toe--Glitter, Dry Embossing, Pink Cardstock

I was very pleased to have my hexagon card from last week's Color Dare challenge selected as last week's Top Three in the new Atlantic Hearts Challenge blog.  This blog was started by Atlantic Canadian Close to My Heart consultants Darla Haverstock and Michelle Stewart. 

Now it's your turn to see what you can come up with using these three pinks.  Are you up for this challenge?  If so, please link your blog post featuring your papercrafted creation (does not have to be a card) to Color My Heart Color Dare by Thursday, May 16 at 9PM CT.  I look forward to seeing you in our gallery!

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

Seize the Birthday #11--Feminine Card

The challenge at Seize the Birthday #11 this week is a feminine card.  I used the new Close to My Heart Chantilly paper as the focal panel and stamped the greeting from Perfect Fit--Birthday in Ruby ink.  The White Daisy background was run through the Cuttlebug using the Geometric Rings embossing folder.  The finishing touches on the card were easy--drops of Pink Glitz Glitter Gel on the white background and Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel on the Chantilly paper.  The sketch was really simple to follow yet can be interpreted in so many ways!

(The contrasting background in my light box is the reverse side of this beautiful Chantilly paper).

Here is the Seize the Birthday Sketch:

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

:) Marie