Fall Birthday Card with TGIF Sketch 285

 My sister's birthday is today so I made her a card with rich fall colors.  Most of the supplies used are retired Close to My Heart products (Small Leaves paper, Vineyard Berry Card Stock, Honey Card Stock, Autumn Terracotta Ink and Salutation Seals stamp).  The heart border diecuts on Almond Card Stock are from Fancy Borders Thin Cut Dies and the Scalloped Circle Thin Cut Dies are still available.

Here is the wonderful TGIF Sketch #285 that inspired my card layout:

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

     Shopping Our Stash--Happy Fall Y'All

     Dare 2B Artzy--Fall

     Stamping Sensations--Autumn Glory

     Catch the Bug--Hello Fall

     Crafty Friends--More than one Die

     Sweet Stampin--Old Stash

     CAS on Friday--Autumn

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.

MFT Sketch Challenge #434 with Party Balloons

When I saw the current MFT sketch I immediately thought of using the balloons from the soon to be released Party Balloons stamp set from Close to my Heart that will be released on Wednesday, May 1.

Close to my Heart products used:
   Something Fierce Paper (retiring April 30)
   Canary Paper
   Candy Apple Ink
   Bluebird Ink
   Sapphire Ink
   Salutations Stamp birthday greeting (retired)

The MFT sketch that inspired my card layout:

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

     Seize the Birthday #164--Texture Optional

     Daring Cardmakers--Use Balloons

     Aud Sentiments--Birthday Sentiment

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.

Feels Like Home #1 With Sunday Stamps #202

Feels Like Home is a lovely patterned paper set with both masculine and feminine designs.  I used a lovely floral pattern following this week's Sunday Stamps Sketch.

The background cardstock is the Close to My Heart color of the year called Sugarplum.  The leaf spray is from the retired Chelsea Garden stamped with Fern ink onto Fern cardstock and colored in with Marvy watercolor pencils.  The focal stamp is from the retired Salutation Seals in Sugarplum ink.  

Here is the fabulous Sunday Stamps sketch that inspired my card layout:

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

     Simon Says Wednesday Mood Board--floral image

       Addicted to Stamps and More #337--Make Your Mark

     Crafty Hazelnuts Patterned Paper Challenge

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.

Bright and Bold Colors for Sunday Stamps #75 with Technostampers Sketch #312

Are you ready for another Sunday Stamps Color Challenge?  Thanks to all the talented ladies who participated in last fortnight's Sketch challenge--we hope you will join us for this color challenge too!

The recommended Stampin Up colors are Black, Melon Mambo and Coastal Cabana.  The closest Close To My Heart colors are Black, Cotton Candy and Lagoon.  

Close To My Heart products used:

     Black CS

     Lagoon CS

     Cotton Candy CS

     For Always paper (retired)

     In The Background stamp set

     Swirls Around stamp set

     Salutation Seals stamp set (retired)

     Lagoon Ink

     Cotton Candy Ink

    3D Foam tape

Other products:

     Liquid Pearls--White Opal

This is the Technostampers Sketch #312 that I followed:

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, May 16 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

     

Pals Paper Arts Colors #194 Meet Freshly Made Sketch #126

Combining stamping challenges is fun for me so I'm using the color palette from this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge along with the current Freshly Made Sketch.  Here is the result:

Close To My Heart Products used:

     Grey Wool CS (retired)

     Petal from Winter Cozy B&T (retired)

     Outdoor Denim CS

     Salutation Seals stamps

     Outdoor Denim Ink

     3D Foam Tape

     Scallop Circle Punch (retired)

     Scallop Border Punch (retired)

Here is the Color Palette from Pals Paper Arts:

Here is the Freshly Made sketch that inspired me:

Since this is a birthday card, I'm linking this up to Seize the Birthday also.

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

:) Marie

Sarita for Atlantic Hearts Sketch #16

It has been awhile since I've played along with Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and I wanted to play with this beautiful new paper pack called Sarita so here I am! 

Materials used are:
Sarita
Lagoon CS
Goldrush CS
Colonial White CS
Frame Flair
Salutation Seals (recently retired CTMH)
Lagoon Ink
Outdoor Denim Ink
Hollyhock Alcohol Marker (don't have Cotton Candy yet!)
3D Foam Tape

Here is the Atlantic Heart Sketch #16:

 

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

:) Marie

Color Dare #32--Lagoon, Pear, Outdoor Denim

Welcome back to my blog!  Today's post features a new challenge from Color My Heart--it is Color Dare #32 and it features the Close To My Heart colors Lagoon, Pear and Outdoor Denim.  These are the focus colors for the new CTMH Paper Packet called Later Sk8r.  This is the first time that I am combining these colors together and I love how they look together!  The Skipping Stone Design Sketch #71 caught my eye on Pinterest and I thought it would work well with these 3 colors.  I made a rosette (sometimes called a yoyo) using the CTMH Artiste cartridge (page 62 Accent 3 Shift cut at 1.25") with the Later Sk8tr patterned paper as a backing for the Salutation Seals greeting (stamped in Outdoor Denim and Lagoon inks and hand cut and layered with 3D Foam Tape).  I used Silver Glitz Glitter Gel for the tiny flower centers and the three dots on the right hand side.  It was really easy to assemble this card using this fabulous sketch.

Overachiever that I sometimes am, I decided to make another card to share with you using these colors.  I was inspired by this card from the For Always Workshop on the Go Kit  which can be found in the top right hand corner of page 37 in the Spring/Summer 2013 Idea Book.  I used several different paper strips from the Later Sk8r Paper Packet cut at 1.25" x 3.75" with opposite corners rounded using the CTMH Corner Rounder.  The Birthday greeting is from Just a Number and was stamped in Outdoor Denim ink.  I cut 4 starbursts using the Art Philosophy cartridge (page 23 decorative layer shift cut at 1.25")  The edges of these four pieces were distressed with Outdoor Denim ink and they were popped up off the card using 3D Foam Tape.  Opaques Mocha Adhesive Gems were placed inside the starburst cutouts.  This was another simple card to make.  (For me making decisions about what shapes and design take much more time--there are so many wonderful options to choose from with the Close To My Heart product line!)

I had a lot of fun meeting this challenge and I hope you will too!  If you don't have Close To My Heart colors you may substitute something similar.  Please post your papercrafted item to the Color My Heart Color Dare blog and link back to your blog post so we can come and leave you some love.

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

:) Marie

Seize the Birthday #6 and Here Come the Boys #46--Lots of Layers

My card features Fanfare paper (retired CTMH) and cricut cuts from the Art Philosophy cartridge.  The circle was cut at 2" (Circle 1 page 21).  The background mats for the circle were cut from Shape 12 on page 38 at 2.5" in Cranberry CS and Pacifica CS.  The birthday greeting is from Salutation Seals and was stamped in Indian Corn Blue ink.  The presents were colored in with Buttercup and Cranberry markers by CTMH.   I used 3D Foam Tape to raise the cranberry mat layer up from the Pacifica mat layer.  This card came together very quickly using the fabulous sketch from Seize the Birthday #6.

 

Here is the sketch:

   

I am also entering this card into the Here Come the Boys Challenge #46 which uses Lots of Layers.

If you like color challenges come join us at Color My Heart Color Dare #30.  We are using Pacifica and Sorbet this week.  Entries are due by Thursday, February 21 at 9PM CST.  Come play along with us!

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

Birthday Card for Paper Players Sketch #130

I made this card for a young lady who is a fan of the color green.  The patterned paper is from "Chantilly" a new release from Close to My Heart which debuts on Friday, February 1.  The card follows the Paper Players Sketch #130 and uses the colors Sweet Leaf and Topiary.  The card base was run through the Cuttlebug machine with the Musical Flourish Embossing folder--one of my favorites.  The greeting is from Salutation Seals and was stamped in Topiary ink.  The scalloped label frame was cut with the Artiste cartridge (pg. 56, accent 3 shift cut at 2.5"). 3D Foam Tape,  3/8" white grosgrain ribbon and Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel were the final embellishments to the card.

Here is the sketch I followed:

I'm also entering this card into Come and Get it Challenges--Tic Tac Toe  (I used from left top to bottom right Glitter (on patterned paper), free and ribbon),
Sunny Challenges and Creations--birthday theme and
Sweet Stampin' Challenge--use ribbon

If you are looking for a good color challenge try using these 3 shades of green at

 

Color My Heart Color Dare:

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

Mojo Monday 261 with Clementine and Friday Favorite Things Linky Party

I made these cards for Mojo Monday 261 and am entering it in Wendy Coffman's Friday Favorite Things Linky Party .  Other than the ribbons above the scalloped circles all supplies are from Close To My Heart.  Card #1 uses Clementine patterned paper, Desert Sand CS, Creme Brulee CS, Twilight CS banner, Sorbet CS for vertical stripe and Silver Shimmer Trim which was colored with a Honey marker (How fun is that to be able to color this ribbon with CTMH alcohol markers?!!!).  The scalloped circles were cut using the Art Philosophy cricut cartridge and the birthday greeting is from Salutation Seals and was stamped in Twilight Ink on Colonial White CS.

 

Here is the sketch from Mojo Monday 261:

 

 

Here is card #2 which uses Chocolate CS and Creme Brulee CS and the zip strip from the Clementine paper over Creme Brulee CS for the vertical stripe.

 

 





 

Which of these two cards do you like better?  Does one look more masculine or feminine than the other?

 

Keep reading my blog--a Giveaway of some sort--details with my next post!

I will be celebrating my 100th post as a blogger with my next post! I am planning some type of giveaway but am open to hearing your suggestions too. What kind of requirements should I have to be eligible to win? Please leave a comment below if you have any suggestions for me. (this is post #99 already!)

 

Here is the link for that 100th blog post!

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

:) Marie



Mojo Monday Sketch 224

I really like the simple sketch from Mojo Monday this week and decided to play along. My card features Bliss and Sweetheart patterned papers from Close To My Heart along with Tulip, White Daisy, Cotton Candy and Black CS. The greeting is from C1461 Salutation Seals set by Close To My Heart (retiring as of 2-1-2012).

Mojo Monday Sketch 224:

Roxie and Card Patterns Sketch 130

Today FedEx delivered some new CTMH paper and I couldn't wait to do this sketch. I love the simplicity of the design. I used Roxie paper which is card stock weight and doubled sided--plaid on one side and floral print on the other and the greeting is from the very versatile Salutation Seals Stamp set. The greetings include Congratulations, Thinking of You, I Love You, Happy Birthday, Celebrate and Thank you. The greeting was stamped in Hollyhock ink on Colonial White paper. The bling on the smaller circles are cream opaque adhesive gems from CTMH. Thanks to Card Patterns for providing wonderful sketch challenges and to all who share their artwork to inspire other. Happy Labor Day weekend! Enjoy!

CTMH Color Dare Challenge #5 using Art Philosophy Cartridge

Have you heard about the new Cricut cartridge called "Art Philosophy" available from Close To My Heart yet? It's just fantastic--I've had the original cricut for years yet only used it once. Now I can't stop playing with it! This special cartridge also comes with 3 coordinating stamp sets and 3 sets of Dimensional Elements. Check it out on page 13 of the new catalog here.

The other day I was just having fun cutting out shapes using the new cricut cartridge and then I thought I could use the shapes in a challenge. As I perused the consultant bulletin board I came across a new challenge series that interested me. It is called "CTMH Color Challenge" and can be found here. I probably would not have chosen to put these colors together yet I enjoyed the challenge. Diana's challenge for this week was to use these CTMH colors: Pansy Purple, Garden Green, Holiday Red, Amethyst, and Black. I liked that I could use as many of these colors as I wanted and did not have to use all of them.

My card was made using all but 1 of the listed colors--I forgot about black when I was designing the card yet it didn't matter. The patterned paper was from very old CTMH Pansy Purple B&T paper which I colored with Garden Green and Amethyst markers. The shapes cut from Art Philosophy were 2 3/4" Garden Green Circle1, 2 1/2" White Circle1, 2 3/4" B&T Circle3 Layer, and 1 1/2" B&T Banner2 Card. The greeting is from the Salutation Seals set and was stamped in Pansy Purple Ink and then clear embossed. the inside circles of the scalloped circle was colored with Pansy Purple Ink and then Liquid Glass dots were applied. I used Garden Green Ink to stamp the swirl stamp from the You and Me stamp set. (That swirl is my new favorite background stamp!) Hope you like it.

There is a special birthday coming up this week so I used the same sketch I came up with in different colors and AP cricut cut numbers. I also used my Cuttlebug embossing folders to texturize the papers. Thanks for stopping by to take a look. Have a great week!