June Joyful Stars Blog Hop Floral Thinking of You Cards

Welcome back to another 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 Debi Brile's blog you are on the right track. (The complete lineup is on Joyce's blog in case you get lost.) Have fun being inspired!  

I have two bright and cheery Thinking of You cards to share with you this month.  The first follows the current Freshly Made Sketch #391 using Craft On patterned paper, Floral Delivery Stamp, Carolina Card Stock, Bluebird Card Stock and Bluebird Ink.

Although you can't see it in the above photo, the floral panel was dipped in Versamark Ink and clear embossed to create a shiny surface. Here is a different view so you can see the glossy effect.

This is the fabulous Freshly Made Sketch that inspired my card layout:

My second card follows Case This Sketch #325 and features Pixie Card Stock, Raspberry Card Stock, Floral Delivery stamps, Raspberry Ink and Black Ink.  The frame was cut with Stitched Rectangular Frames.  The stamped flowers were fussy cut and embellished with White Enamel Dots.

This is the sketch that inspired my second card:

Now it's time to head over to Joyce Hauck's blog --I'm sure you'll be inspired by what she has to share.

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

:) Marie

p.s. If you like what you see on my blog please consider "following" me by email or in your blog roll so you don't miss out on any of my fabulous card making ideas. You can sign up on the right sidebar.

     

Sunday Stamps Sketch #198 with Heartfelt Thank You

When I saw this wonderful Sunday Stamps Sketch I knew I had the perfect new stamp to feature in this challenge.  The "Thank You in Heart" stamp is called Heartfelt Thank You from Close to My Heart.  The pink polka dotted paper is from Heart Happy paper pack (available only until 2/28/19)  I used a Heart Thin Cut to make the background heart from Pixie Card Stock.  The background Card Stock is Raspberry.

Although I don't know the source of the ribbon or twine the jeweled flowers are from the Paper Studio.

This is the fabulous Sunday Stamps Sketch that inspired my card layout:

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

     DL Art Thankful Thursday #240--Pink and/or Red

     Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday--Dies/Punches or                  something with hearts

     Addicted to Stamps and More--CAS

     Unicorn Challenge--Include a Heart

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

:) Marie

p.s. If you like what you see on my blog please consider "following" me by email or in your blog roll so you don't miss out on any of my fabulous card making ideas. You can sign up on the right sidebar.

Heart Happy Elements for Case This Sketch #308

It seems that I can't stop making cards with the cutout page of Heart Happy paper from Close to My Heart!  This is the 4th card in a row that I've made from this fabulous paper packet. (You can see the other cards here).  This week's Case This Sketch challenge was perfect for this display of overlapping hearts.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Heart Happy Paper Packet

     Whimsy Fundamentals Paper Packet (retired)

      Pixie Cardstock

     Card Captions stamp (retired)

     Black Ink

     Clear Shimmer Brush (on hearts--difficult to see in this photo)

Here is a picture of the gorgeous papers you get in the Heart Happy paper pack:

Here is the fabulous Case This Sketch graphic that inspired my card layout:

     

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

      Crafty Gals Corner--Add a Heart

      Double D Challenge--Hearts

      Tuesday Throwdown--Falling Hearts

      Unicorn Challenge--Include a Heart

         Crafty Cardmakers--Love, Love, Love

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

:) Marie

p.s. If you like what you see on my blog please consider "following" me by email or in your blog roll so you don't miss out on any of my fabulous card making ideas. You can sign up on the right sidebar.

Make Waves Paper Meets Sunny Thoughts Stamp for Color Dare #280

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge blog post!  This week we are challenging you to combine these three Close to My Heart colors:  Pixie, Pansy and Emerald.  Black and White Daisy are always FREE to use in our challenges but please do not add any new colors.  Of course, if you don't have these exclusive Close to My Heart colors yet you may substitute similar colors so you can still join in on the fun!

Months ago I seriously considered purchasing a Quilt Block Die from Stampin' Up.  It was pricey and I reluctantly talked myself out of the purchase.  Quilting is also another craft passion of mine so I decided that I could create a similar look in Cricut's Design Space and I did just that.  

Although it is not quite "perfect" I am very pleased with how it came out with these fabulous bright and cheery colors.  Now that I have it in my Design Space files I can replicate, resize and reproduce it in numerous color schemes. What fun I'm going to have with this file*!

Close to My Heart products used:

      White Daisy CS

      Pixie CS

      Pansy CS

      Make Waves Paper (purple and green prints)

      Sunny Thoughts (sentiment and tiny pink flower)

          limited time--February Stamp of the Month

      Ribbon Border Die

      Black Pigment Ink

      Clear Embossing Powder

Other product:

      Waves Next Level Embossing folder by We R                     Memory Keepers 

Here is the Color Dare challenge graphic.  Just click on it to see what the rest of the fabulous Design Team has to inspire you!  Our challenge is open until Thursday evening, March 1 at 9PM CT so you have almost two weeks to link up your creation in our gallery.  We look forward to visiting your blogs and commenting on your artwork.

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

     Hiding in My Scrap Room--Super Scraps

     Seize the Birthday--Option--Coffee or Tea

     Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--Anything Goes

     World Wide Open Design Team--Anything Goes

     Simon Says Wednesday--Add a Die Cut

     As You Like it Challenge--Favorite Way to Add a             Sentiment and Why (Stamping because I have             lots of sentiment stamps)

* Would you like a copy of my Design Space file?  If so, please become a follower of my blog AND leave a comment on this blog post that you are following (through blogger or email) and I will email you a link.

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

:) Marie

PRIZE WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT FROM ATLANTIC HEARTS SKETCH CHALLENGE #250 CELEBRATION:

Random Number Generator helped me pick entry #2

Ginadapooh at https://ginadapooh.com/2018/02/05/bike-love/

Congratulations!  Contact me so I can get your prize to you!

     

     

Baby Card for Twins With Your Next Stamp Sketch #63

A coworker recently had twins--a boy and a girl which inspired me to create this card.  I went through my paper stash and found the cheery colors of the retired Calypso paper pack to use.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Calypso Paper Pack (retired)

     Some Kinda Wonderful Cardmaking Bundle                         stamps and Thin Cuts (still available on                         CTMH website under going soon)

     And they came two by two stamp (retired)

     Memento Black Ink

     Crystal Blue CS

     Pixie CS

     Whimsy Paper Fundamentals--retired patterns

My card layout was inspired by this fabulous Your Next Stamp challenge sketch:

I'm also submitting my card to the following challenges:

     Happy Little Stampers--Anything Goes with Dies

     Addicted to Stamps and More--Anything Goes

     Cute Card Thursday--Dies and Punches

     City Crafter Challenge--Arrivals

If you would like a chance to win a new Cricut Explore please visit my blog post here for more details.  

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

:) Marie

p.s. If you like what you see on my blog please consider "following" me by email or in your blog roll so you don't miss out on any of my fabulous card making ideas. You can sign up on the right sidebar. 

    

Color Dare #230 Meets Mojo Monday #483

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge blog post!  This week we are challenging you to create something using all and only the following exclusive Close to My Heart colors:  Pixie, Saffron, Whisper and White Daisy.  (Of course if you don't have these CTMH colors yet you may substitute similar colors so you can still join in on the fun!)  I must admit that I struggled with this challenge as Saffron is my least favorite CTMH yellow, but I minimized its presence on my card which I am satisfied with.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Pixie CS

     White Daisy CS

     Whisper CS

     Flower Market Cricut cartridge--typewriter and                 circles

     Charming Cascades stamps

     Saffron Ink

     Typed Note stamp set--retired (Happy Birthday)

     Vine Embossing folder

     White and Gold Ribbon

     Whimsy Paper Fundamentals--Dotted pattern

     3D Foam Tape

My card layout was inspired by this Mojo Monday sketch:

     

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

     Between the Folds--use Ribbon

     Seize the Birthday--optional--Felt

     As You Like it Challenge--Ribbon or Lace (I much           prefer Ribbon--it's easier to attach)

Now head on over to the Color My Heart Color Dare blog to check out what the rest of the awesome Design Team has to inspire you.  Just click on the Color Dare graphic to get there.

We hope you will take the Color Dare challenge this week.  We look forward to visiting your blogs (or Facebook or Pinterest posts) to be inspired by your creativity!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week!

:) Marie

Artbooking Overlay for Color Dare #178--Thistle, Pixie, Glacier and White Daisy

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge post!  We have another beautiful color combination for you to work with this week.  My challenge was to combine all and only these 4 colors:  Thistle, Pixie, Glacier and White Daisy.  (If you don't have these fabulous Close to My Heart colors yet you can substitute similar colors so you can still play along).

Although I usually like to follow a card sketch (and enter it into a challenge) I decided to be inspired by my own creative impulses with this card.

My background panel was created by stacking the three featured colors on top of each other and slicing them on my paper cutter.  (I have 2 remaining panels for future card making).  The arrow overlay is from the CTMH Artbooking.  The sentiment stamp is from Holiday Tags.  The circles are layered with 3D Foam Tape.

Close to My Heart products used:

     White Daisy CS

     Glacier CS

     Thistle CS

     Pixie CS

     Artbooking Cartridge

     Glacier Ink

     3D Foam Tape

Please check out what the rest of the awesome Design Team has to inspire you with this challenge here.  We hope you will find the time to create something and share it with us on the Color Dare blog or on our Facebook page. (As always if you don't have the exact colors you may substitute something similar.)

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

:) Marie

Color Dare #168 Meets Global Design Project Sketch #10

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge blog post!  This week we are featuring the Close to My Heart colors from the La Vie En Rose color scheme:

The other Design Team members have used the beautiful La Vie En Rose papers to create their projects but I dare to be different and used just the cardstock colors.  

Close to My Heart products used:

     White Daisy CS

     Ruby CS

     Poppy CS

     Pomegranate CS

     Hollyhock CS

     Black CS

     Pixie CS

     Dizzy Circles stamp set

     Black Ink

     Liquid Glass (on Ruby top layer of circle sandwich)

     Itty Bitty Pearl

     3D Foam Tape

Here is the Global Design Project sketch that I followed:

Now it's your turn to create something with these challenge colors.  If you don't have the exact colors listed you may substitute similar colors so you can still join in on the fun.  Please go here to find the challenge blog linky and check out what the rest of the fabulous Design Team has created.

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

:) Marie

Personalized Birthday Gift Cards for Joyful Hearts Blog Hop

It's an exciting time to be a Close to My Heart consultant and be able to share some wonderful new products from the new Annual Inspirations catalog!  Joyful Stars is a group of CTMH consultants who share in a monthly blog hop.  If you are coming from Crystal Davis' blog you are on the right track.  (If you get "lost" along the way visit Joyce's blog for the complete lineup.)

My twin nieces turned 14 last week so I made them similar cards in their favorite colors.  I used the Artiste cartridge to make the basic gift card holders and the new Artistry cartridge for the Happy Birthday decoration. I programmed my Cricut Explore to draw the Artistry Happy Birthday image instead of cutting it.  The names were written with the Art Philosophy font and then colored in with markers.

Here is what the gift card looks like inside:

Close to My Heart products used:

     Pixie CS

     Pixie Ink

     Thistle CS

     White Daisy CS

     Artiste Cartridge

     Artistry Cartridge

     Card Chatter--Birthday (retired)

     Happy Everything (retired)

     Silver Metallic paper (retired)

Other products:

    Cricut Explore Silver Metallic Marker

    Cricut Explore Pink Crystal Marker

    Cricut Explore Black Marker

    Purple Metallic paper from recycled gift bag

Next on our blog hop tour is Helen Gullett.  I'm sure you will like what she has to share!  Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week filled with fun and creativity!

:) Marie

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #252--With a Sketch

I'm so excited to share with you that I've been selected to join the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog Design Team!  I've been following this blog for years and playing along on occasion and am delighted that I will be getting to share more Cricut inspired challenges with you.  This week's challenge is sponsored by Bugaboo stamps and features the use of an old Retrosketch Challenge from July 2012.

Close to My Heart products used:
     Artbooking cartridge pg. 53--Photo Mat 2
     Brushed Paper
     Ruby CS
     Pixie CS
     Black CS
     For Every Occasion stamp-Hi--retired
     Finding the Words--tiny heart stamp
     Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel--retired

Other products:
     Baby Flower Pot image by Bugaboo stamps
     Prismacolor pencils

Here is the Retrosketch graphic that we are asking you to use for this challenge:

So head on over to the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog to see what the other fabulous Design Team members have to inspire your creativity.  We hope you can play along with us.  The challenge ends Sunday evening, June 7.

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

:) Marie

Artfully Sent Card for Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #250 "Celebrate Mom"

Here is another Mother's Day card made with the Artfully Sent cricut cartridge.  I'm entering this into Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #250--Celebrate Mom

Close to My Heart products used:
      Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge  
      Goldrush CS
     White Daisy CS
     Pixie CS
     Hollyhock CS
     Canary CS
     Happy to Be Friends stamp
     Chocolate ink
     Bronze Shimmer Trim
     Brown and Tan Glitter paper

First I cut the pocket card from page 17 in the Artfully Sent cricut booklet in the 5 cardstock colors and then placed the assorted flowers into the negative spaces of the Goldrush CS.  I taped them on the back to secure them before attaching it to a white folded card.  I used various sized hole punches to cut the glittery flower centers.  (I know I could have used the Cricut to do it but it I was trying to use up small remnants of my glitter papers so as not to waste anything.)

Here is another version of the same card design that I posted 2 weeks ago:

Which do you like better?

I'm also entering this card into the Heart2Heart Challenge--Anything Goes.

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

:) Marie

   

Typed Note Meets Color Dare #136

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge post.  This week we are featuring the Close to My Heart colors Pixie, Slate, Colonial White and Silver.  My card features the April Stamp of the Month called Typed Note.

Don't you just love the vintage typewriter?  The stamp set includes a pointing index finger and 17 sentiments that fit on the typed sheet--a very versatile set.  You can find it here.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Colonial White CS

     Slate CS

     Pixie CS

     Slate Ink

     Pixie Ink

     Silver Geometric Washi Tape

There is something really fun going on in April at Close to My Heart--for the first time ever they are offering "grab bags" with current and retired merchandise--a different package everyday.  Just order any regular priced item through a consultant's Online Business Website and you will become eligible to purchase a mystery grab bag with up to double the price of the grab bag.   Read more about it here.

Now head on over to Color My Heart Color Dare to see what the rest of the Design Team has to share with you.  Then we hope you will be inspired to participate in our weekly challenge.

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

:) Marie