Feel Better Soon for Nacho Average Challenges #131

I've been playing with my paper stash lately and made this card for a sick aunt using the Nacho Average Challenge sketch #131.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Orchid Bouquet CS (retired)

     Dutch Blue Fleurs des Jardines  (retired)

     Moonstruck Ink  (retired)

     Say it in Style message stamp  (retired)

     Your Own Kind of Wonderful butterfly stamp

     Harvest Bouquet Kaleidacolor Ink  (retired)

     Blue Sparkles  (retired)

     Rub and Remove Eraser

The "smudged" effect on the words was made by using the Rub and Remove Eraser over the inked

greeting.

Here is the Nacho Average Challenge Sketch #131 that I followed:

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

:) Marie

Watercoloring with Stamp Pads for Color My Heart Color Dare #84

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare post!  This week we have 3 wonderful Close To My Heart colors for you to combine:  Sky, Topiary and Sweet Leaf.  (Of course, if you don't have Close To My Heart colors you may substitute similar colors).

How did I achieve this watercolored look?  I spritzed watercolored paper with water and used a Waterbrush and my CTMH inkpads.  With the lids closed I squeezed the top onto the inkpad to make a small pool of ink on the lid.  From left to right on my card are Topiary, Sweet Leaf and Sky inks.  The greeting was cut from the watercolored paper with the Artiste cartridge (page 65 accent 1) at 1.25".  Before I cut it out I experimented with a piece of scrap CS so I could center it the way I wanted.  (From the landscape orientation on my cricut machine I moved the cutting dial down .25" and 1.25" to the left).  The top layer was raised with 3D Foam Tape.

After I photographed this card I decided to embellish it with some flowers and sparkles.  I'm not really sure which I like better.  I would love to read your preference in the comments below.

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

     Hiding in My Craft Room--spring colors

     Cut It Up--green for St. Patrick's Day or spring

Check out what our Guest Designer Lauren and the rest of the fabulous Color My Heart Color Dare Design Team B has to inspire you:  Gretchen, Michelle, Hansi and Sarah.  You have until Thursday, March 13 9PM CT to enter your papercrafted creation here.  We look forward to visiting your blogs and seeing what you create with the colors Sky, Topiary, and Sweet Leaf.

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

:) Marie

Words of Comfort Card for Atlantic Hearts Sketch #2

Last week I participated in the first Atlantic Hearts Sketch challenge and my card was selected as one of the top three!  I was very excited and honored to receive this distinction--check out the blue heart button on my sidebar--very nice award!  This week I needed to make some sympathy cards and I decided to use Atlantic Hearts Sketch #2.  I can't decide which card I like better.  All products used are from Close to My Heart (although some have been retired!)

Card #1--Bliss paper, Whisper CS,  True Teal CS, Words of Comfort stamp set, True Teal ink, Just Blooms, Art Philosophy cut oval2 at 1.75", Cuttlebug embossing folder with distressing to reveal white cardstock, Blue and Green Sparkles.

Card #2--Avonlea paper, Whisper CS, True Teal CS, Colonial White CS, Words of Comfort stamp set, True Teal ink, Art Philosophy cut oval2 at 1.75", Silver Glitz Glitter Gel for flower centers and 3D Foam Tape.

Here is the sketch I followed:

 

If you like challenges with Close to My Heart products then I encourage you to check out the latest Color My Heart Color Dare #42 using Blush, Cotton Candy and Hollyhock.  You can see my Design Team submission here.

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

:) Marie

Freshly Made Sketches #45 with a Recycled Item

Here is my entry for FMS45. I was inspired to enter this challenge by a card made by Alisa Chilton, a fellow CTMH consultant and DT member. I used Close To My Heart Outdoor Denim CS and Cranberry CS. The stamps are from Beautiful Friendship B1400 and 4 My Friend D1510. The stamp images were embossed with CTMH White Embossing Powder. A Blue Sparkle was applied to the medallion center.

Here is the sketch:

Where do you think I got the patterned paper from? It's not from a paper pack--it is the printed pattern from a security envelope that one of my bills came in!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my card. I enjoy reading your comments.

My Rock the Block Challenge--Day 4

Today's card features 3 of the stamps from the Close To My Heart Rock the Block January promotion which can be seen here. The paisley stamp and red circles stamps were applied over Elemental paper. A one inch Cranberry stripe was glued over the bottom of the card and then the greeting was placed over that. The "You Rock the Block" greeting was stamped twice with the inner portion done in red and lifted by using foam tape while the scalloped square was stamped in Pacifica. A Blue Sparkle was placed over the o in the word you. This was a really simple card to make. I'll be back tomorrow with yet another Rock the Block card. Thanks for joining me!

November Constant Campaign--Holiday Wishes and Clean and Simple Sketch Challenge

Close To My Heart is offering a fantastic holiday stamp set called "Holiday Wishes" for just $5.00 (valued at $17.95) with a purchase of $25 in acrylic stamps during November 2011. I received mine yesterday and had a blast making these cards today. There are coordinating Art Philosophy cricut cuts to match these stamps. These are the stamps that come in the set and I managed to use every one of them in these 4 cards. All products used are from Close To My Heart.

This first card is based on the Clean and Simple Stamping Sketch FTL164 which can be found here.It features "Believe" paper, Topiary and Holiday Red CS and Topiary Ink. Lines were embossed on the Holiday Red CS and then distressed with a sanding block. The star and banner were cut on the cricut with CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge.

The next card features "Wonderland" paper, Twilight CS, and Blue and Green Sparkles. After stamping with Twilight Ink, the images were stamped in Versamark and then clear embossed with Polysparkle Tinsel Embossing Powder (CTMH retired).

The tree in this card was stamped in Sweet Leaf Ink on Sweet Leaf CS. The birds were colored with a Tulip marker. The same image was then stamped in Versamark and embossed with Polysparkle Tinsel and then Topiary Ink was rubbed across the tree. The background paper is CTMH "Mistletoe" (retired).

The final card features Vineyard Berry CS and Ink. Bronze glitter gel was applied at the top of each stocking and Stardust glitter gel was used on the angel halos and wings.

Sensational 60th Birthday Card for H2H and Card Patterns 137 Sketch Challenges

Here is a very special card that I made for a very special friend. The challenge at H2H is to use a number on the card and the sketch for card patterns is at the end of this post. The card is 5" x 6.5" and all the supplies used to make this card are from Close To My Heart.

The Art Philosophy cricut cartridge was used to cut the banner, scalloped oval, oval, numbers and dragonflies. (I LOVE all the things we can cut with this cartridge!) Elemental, White Daisy, Pacifica and (retired) Metallic cardstock papers were used. The white paper was distressed with Pacifica ink and sponged with Bamboo ink. Friendship alphabet was used to stamp the word "sensational" with 2nd generation Pacifica ink and then clear embossed. Blue and Green Sparkles embellish the numbers. I'm sure that Arlene will appreciate this one of a kind card--she's a great friend and avid stamper. Thanks for stopping by to check out this card--if you want to know any more details please comment below.