Make Waves Valentine for February Joyful Stars Blog Hop

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 Michelle Loncar'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!  

Valentine's Day is next week so I've been making lots of different valentine cards for special friends and family.  This time I went to the latest Close to My Heart cartridge "You Are Here" and paired it with the gorgeous Make Waves paper.

The oval was cut with the retired Art Philosophy cartridge and the Thistle striped ribbon and purple glitter gems are also from CTMH but retired.  The pink paper is Pixie card stock and the green paper is Emerald.

My card layout was inspired by this lovely Tuesday Morning Sketch:

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

     Watercooler Wednesday--Anything Goes Feminine

     Cut it Up--Layers of Love

Now it's time to hop on over to Joyce Houck's blog. I'm sure you'll be inspired by what she shares.

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 #215 Meets Freshly Made Sketches #258

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge blog post!  This week we are challenging you to combine Close to My Heart pinks Pixie and Cotton Candy with White Daisy.

My card features the new Thankful for You stamp (I'm loving those swans!) and Thin Cuts along with the new Whimsy Fundamentals patterned paper.

Close to My Heart products used:
     White Daisy CS
     Whimsy Fundamentals--Love paper
     Whimsy Fundamentals--Heart pattern (retired)
     Thankful for You stamps
     Cotton Candy CS (retired)
     Cotton Candy Ink (retired)
     Pixie Ink
     White Glitter paper
     3D Foam Tape
     Clear Shimmer Brush

Here is the Color My Heart Color Dare challenge graphic:

Here is the Freshly Made Sketch #258 that inspired my card layout:

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

     Scrappin4Fun Challenge--Anything Goes

     Sunny Days Crafting #18--Always Anything Goes

     Unicorn Challenge #14--Pretty Pinks or Halloween

Now head on over to the Color My Heart Color Dare blog and 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

Fabulous Flamingo

My Florida sister has a birthday this week so I made her this flamingo card:

Close to My Heart products used:
     White Daisy CS
     Tickled Pink stamps and Thin Cut Dies (newly retired)
     Calypso paper (newly retired)
     Black Ink
     Pixie Ink
     Cotton Candy Ink
     Cotton Candy CS
     Clear Shimmer Brush (on wing)
     3D Foam Tape

Here is the Paper Players sketch that inspired my card layout:

I'm also entering this card into the Just Add Ink--"Just Add Wings" challenge.

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

:) Marie

Twin Birthday Cards With Sunday Stamps #134

My twin nieces have a birthday in the end of August.  One loves everything purple and the other loves everything pink.  The inspiration for my cards came from Sunday Stamps #134.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Artbooking cricut cartridge for heart banners

     White Daisy CS

     Ink Blot stamp (background colors)

     Wise Guy Birthday (greeting and cake)

     Ranger Silver Embossing Powder

     Hydrangea Ink (retired)

     Pixie Ink

     Amethyst Marker (retired)

     Shell Pink Marker (retired)

     Friendship Alphabet--15

Other products used:

     Purple Reflective paper by Colorbok

     Pink Glitter paper--unknown source

     Nuvo Crystal Drops--White Blizzard 

Look how sparkly the White Blizzard Crystal Drops look as the cake frosting!

Here is the Sunday Stamps Sketch that I used to make these cards:

The theme for this week's Crafty Creations Challenges is to use a number.  I'm also sharing these cards at Seize the Birthday challenge.

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

Happy Mother's Day Card for Joyful Stars Blog Hop and Other Challenges

Welcome back to our monthly blog hop called "Joyful Stars".  We  are a group of Close To My Heart consultants sharing our love of Close to My Heart products with you. If you are coming from Krista Hershberger's blog you are on the right track.  If you get lost along the way you can find your way back on track by visiting Joyce's blog for a complete lineup.

I followed the Try Stampin' on Tuesday sketch to make my card:

Close to My Heart products used:

     Art Philosophy cricut cartridge for doily

     White Daisy CS

     Black CS

     Brushed paper

     Topiary CS

     Ruby CS

     A Budding Friendship stamp

     Happy to Be Friends greeting

     Black Ink

     Pixie Ink

     Canary Ink

     Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel (retired)

     3D Foam Tape

Challenges entered:

     Try Stampin' on Tuesday sketch

     Friday Mashup--Mother's Day

     Bitten by the Bug--Mother's Day

     Shopping Our Stash--Big, Bold and Beautiful

Now it's time to head on over to see what the very talented Nancy Brown has to share with you!

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