Know That I Care Card for Sketch Saturday #550

Today's card features some new products from Close to My Heart.  The focal stamp and greeting are from Know That I Care.  Mix-In patterned paper and Lilac Cardstock and Ink and Fern Ink were also used.  This stamp was the perfect choice for the current Sketch Saturday challenge.

Here is the fabulous Sketch Saturday challenge graphic that inspired my card layout:

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

      Mod Squad Challenge--Floral

      Crafting With An Attitude--Anything Goes

      Creative Playground Challenge--Anything Goes
      Simon Says Wednesday--Typography

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.

May Joyful Stars Blog Hop with Global Design Projects Sketch

Welcome back to the May 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 Betty Locco'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!

The card I am sharing with you today uses some 

beautiful new papers from the May National 

Scrapbooking special called "Live Beautifully" and 

the Flower Market cartridge. The image I chose is 

called Cherry Blossoms and reminds me of the cherry

trees in my backyard that have been dropping most of 

their pink petals.

Here is a slightly different angled photo so you can better see the shiny gold foil backgrounds and gold shimmer on the ribbon.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Live Beautifully paper

     Flower Market Cricut cartridge

     Blossom CS

     Raspberry CS

     Fern CS

     Chocolate CS

     Peacock CS

     Peacock Ink

     Jack Cardmaking Bundle greeting stamp

     Gold Shimmer Brush

     Uptown Fundamentals (gold mat for greeting)

The inspiration for my card layout came from Global Design Project #86:

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

     Die Cuttin Divas--Mother's Day or Feminine

     Heart 2 Heart--Teeny Tiny

     Crafty Cardmakers--Sentiment

     Bitten by the Bug--Happy Mother's Day   

     Always Fun Challenges--For a Female or Mom 

     Cards in Envy--Motherly Love 

Now it's time to hop on over to my friend Jennifer Benner's blog. I'm sure you'll be inspired by what she shares.

     

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. 

Hello Lovely Numbered Birthday Card

It's hard to believe that my niece is now twenty so I had to make her a personalized card.  She has bright red hair which made me think of CTMH Sorbet which coordinates nicely with the Hello Lovely paper pattern I chose.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Happy Birthday Thin Cuts

     Flower Market Cricut Cartridge ("20th" was                    written in Design Space)

     Hello Lovely Paper

     Colonial White CS

     Sorbet CS

     Fern CS

     Clear Shimmer Brush

Other:

     Cricut Gold Pen

I used the Try Stampin' on Tuesday Sketch #312 for my card layout:

I'm also entering this card into:

 Heart 2 Heart challenge to "Use Your Tools".  (My goal is to participate every week in March and so far I'm 2 for 2.)  

Through the Craft Room Door--Anything Goes

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

:) Marie

p.s. I'm giving away some blog candy (craft supplies).  Please visit this blog post for more details.

Color Dare #234 Meets Try Stampin' on Tuesday #312

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge blog post!  This week we are challenging you to "Pick Your Greens" from this assortment of Close to My Heart greens:  New England Ivy, Sweet Leaf, Fern, Willow, Emerald.  You can also use White Daisy and add Gold as an option.  Of course if you don't have these exact CTMH colors yet you may substitute so you can still play along.  My "greens" are Willow, Emerald and Fern.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Adventure Paper Fundamentals

     Way to Go stamps

     Emerald Ink

     Willow Ink

     Fern CS

     Gold Metallic Marker

Here is the Color Dare graphic--please click on it to get to see what the rest of the fabulous Design Team has to inspire you.

My card layout was inspired by this Try Stampin' on Tuesdays sketch:

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 #232 Meets Sketch Saturday #451

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge blog post!  It's a four color challenge this week--use all and only these exclusive Close to My Heart colors:  Fern, Sapphire, White Daisy and Lemon.  As usual if you don't have these CTMH colors yet you may substitute similar colors so you can still join in on the fun!



I really love how these colors look together and ended up with 2 fun cards made with the Happy Birthday Thin Cut.  First I ran a 4.25" x 5.5" piece of White Daisy through my Xyron machine and then placed strips of Fern, Lemon and Sapphire right onto the adhesive.  Next I lined up the Happy Birthday Thin Cuts and used small pieces of washi tape to lightly adhere it to the striped panel before running it through the Big Shot machine.  I also cut the sentiment out of thin craft foam to pop up the sentiment on the first card.  The small confetti stamp from the Wise Guy Birthday card was stamped in Lemon over the white background.  I added some Blue and Green Epoxy Bubbles and White Sequins from Calypso sequins to the card fronts for finishing.

Here are close up pictures so you can see the sparkly Clear Shimmer Brush on the sentiments.

Close to My Heart products used:
     White Daisy CS
     Fern CS
     Lemon CS
     Sapphire CS
     Happy Birthday Thin Cuts
     Wise Guy Birthday stamp set
     Lemon Ink
     Clear Shimmer Brush
     Green and Blue Epoxy Bubbles (retired)
     Calypso Sequins (retired)

Other products:
     Thin White Craft Foam
     White Ric Rac Ribbon

Here is the Color My Heart Color Dare graphic that sparked my color creativity:

     
Stop by the Color Dare challenge blog and check out what the rest of the fabulous Design Team has to inspire you.  You'll be amazed--we all started with the same 4 colors and created such unique cards.

Saturday Sketch challenge was also a big inspiration to creating these cards: 

 

Other challenges:
     Double D challenge--Ric Rac
     Paper Shelter--Masculine 
     Stampin' Royalty--Dies
     Seize the Birthday--Inlay Die-cutting option
     Ooh La La Creations--Die Cuts
     Cut it Up--Birthday

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

Hello Lovely Birthday Card for Color Dare #231

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge blog post!  This week we are challenging you to use all and only the colors from the Close to My Heart "Hello Lovely" paper pack.  (Well if 8 colors is too much of a challenge just use as many as you can.)  Of course if you don't have these exclusive CTMH colors yet just substitute similar colors so you can still join in on the fun.

The focal image flowers were fussy cut from one of the Hello Lovely patterned papers.  Here is a closeup so you can see how sparkly the Clear Shimmer Brush really is:

Close to My Heart products used:

     Hello Lovely paper

     Colonial White CS

     Sea Glass CS

     Sorbet CS

     Sorbet Ink

     Fern CS

     Whisper patterned paper from Sugar Rush paper 

           packet

     3D Foam Tape

     Clear Shimmer Brush

     White and Gold Ribbon

     Happy Birthday stamp from the Artfully Sent                      Cricut collection

Here is the Color Dare challenge graphic.  Just click on it to be inspired by what the rest of the Design Team has to share.  We hope you'll be able to find the time to play along with.

My card layout was inspired by this Try Stampin' on Tuesday sketch.

Other challenges this card is being linked to:

     Seize the Birthday--Inlay Die Cutting Optional

     Between the Folds--Hello Lovely paper packet

     Sunny Day Crafting--Optional Diecuts

     Inspiration Destination #122--Anything Goes

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

:) Marie

      

     

Color Dare #211--Poppy, Fern, Saffron and Colonial White

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge blog post.  This week we have some lovely fall colors for you to play with:  Poppy, Fern, Saffron and Colonial White.  As always if you do not have these exact Close to My Heart colors yet you may substitute similar color so you can still play along.

Close to My Heart products used:
     Colonial White CS
     Saffron CS
     Poppy CS
     Fern CS
     Lovely Leaves stamps
     Poppy Ink
     Saffron Ink
     Fern Ink
     Sponge Daubers

Other
     Cricut Alphabet

Here is the Design Space cutting file if you are interested.

My card layout was inspired by Nacho Average Challenge #180:

 

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

     Stampin' Royalty #346--Fall Theme

     The Three Muses Challenge--Autumn Colours

     Sunny Day Crafting--Anything Goes

Here is the Color Dare Challenge Graphic:

 

Please head on over to the Color My Heart Color Dare blog to be inspired by the rest of the fabulous Design Team.  We hope to see your creations in our gallery this week!

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

:) Marie

Pretty Poinsettias for Freshly Made Sketch #253

There is a great sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week and I just finished my card with 30 minutes to the deadline!

Close to My Heart products used:

     Flower Market cartridge

     White Daisy CS

     Desert Sand CS

     Fern CS

     Canary CS

     Sea Glass Glitter paper

     Oh Deer! paper

     Ruby Ink

     Pretty Poinsettia stamp

     Ruby Ink

     Canary Ink

     3D Foam Tape

Here is the sketch that inspired my card:

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

:) Marie

Color Dare #210 With Try Stampin' on Tuesday Sketch #287

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare blog post!  We are up to challenge #210 already.  This week we are challenging you to use the following Close to My Heart colors:  Eggplant, Fern, Desert Sand, Peacock and Colonial White to create something you like.  (Of course, if you do not have these CTMH colors yet, you may substitute similar colors so you can still join in on the fun!)

Close to My Heart products used:

     Colonial White CS

     Enchantment Fundamentals Peacock patterned paper

     Fern CS

     Eggplant CS

     Way to Go stamp set

     Peacock CS

     Eggplant Ink

     Desert Sand Ink

My inspiration for my card layout came from Try Stampin' on Tuesday #287:

http://trystampinontuesday.blogspot.com/2016/09/challenge-287.html

I really love this sketch and will be using it again soon!

Here is the Color Dare challenge graphic:

     

The back panel of my card was random stamped with the Way to Go ribbon stamps so I can also enter it into Between the Folds challenge.  (This is another challenge blog featuring Close to My Heart products).

Please head on over to the Color My Heart Color Dare blog to be inspired by the rest of the fabulous Design Team.  We hope to see your creations in our gallery this week!

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

:) Marie

Flower Market Calla Lilies Sympathy Card

Close to My Heart has a new cricut cartridge called Flower Market and I used it to create these sympathy cards:

All the flowers were cut from Recollections Shimmer cardstock White Gold and Champagne.  I just love how shiny and pretty these papers are!  Of course I could have used CTMH White Daisy and Colonial White papers and added the new Clear Shimmer Brush to get the same effect but it hadn't yet arrived for me to use.  The leaves and stems were cut from Fern CS and the flower centers are Saffron CS. The sympathy greeting comes from the retired stamp set called Sincere Expressions.

Card #1:  

The above card has the new Whimsy Fundamentals Sweet Leaf patterned paper, White Daisy CS,  Peacock CS and Peacock Ink.

Card #2:

This card uses Peacock CS and Fern Ink.

Card #3:

This card uses Whimsy Fundamentals Crystal Blue patterned paper, Peacock CS and Crystal Blue Ink.

Which card do you like best?

These cards were inspired by the Freshly Made Sketch #248:

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

:) Marie

Color Dare #192 Meets Mojo Monday #446

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge blog post.  May is National Scrapbooking Month and Close to My Heart is celebrating with a special offering of a fabulous paper pack called Happy Times (FREE with $60 purchase) and a coordinating stamp set called Happy Times only available in May.  Here is a picture of the beautiful papers:  

Color Dare #192 is to use all and only the colors from the Happy Times paper packet plus gold:  Fern, Canary, Cotton Candy, Glacier, White Daisy and Gold. (If you don't have these exact CTMH colors yet, feel free to substitute similar colors so you can still join in on the fun.)

My card features a brand new stamp set called "A Bunch of Love" that has coordinating dies called Thin Cuts.  The shiny gold mat was cut from the large striped gold and white paper from the Happy Times set.

Close to My Heart products used:

     Happy Times paper

     White Daisy CS

      A Bunch of Love stamp

     Artfully Sent Just to Say stamp greeting

     Fern CS

     Fern Ink

     Cotton Candy CS

     Cotton Candy Ink

     Tender Pink Shin Han Touch Marker

     Golden Yellow Shin Han Touch Marker

     Sap Green Shin Han Touch Marker

Other products:

     Heart punches

The inspiration for my card layout came from Mojo Monday #446:

Now it's your turn to get creative--how will you use all and only these fabulous Happy Times colors?  Come check out what the rest of the awesome Color My Heart Color Dare Design Team has to inspire you.

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

:) Marie

Case This Sketch #167 in Yellows

This card was inspired by Case This Sketch #167.  I really liked this sketch and made several cards which will be posted separately.

The banner colors from top to bottom are Canary, Honey and Saffron.  The floral accents were stamped in Versamark ink and clear embossed on Canary, Honey and Saffron cardstocks.  A sponge dauber was used to apply Fern ink to give the flowers some definition and then they were fussy cut with microtip scissors.  A dot of White Opal Liquid Pearls was applied to create the flower centers.

Close to My Heart products used:

     White Daisy CS

     Fern CS

     Saffron CS

     Honey CS

     Canary CS

     Fern Ink

     Canary Ink

     Honey Ink

     Saffron Ink

     Sending Love stamp (greeting)

     Laughing Lola Cardmaking kit stamp--banner (retired)

     Hello Paradise flower (retired)

     Sponge Dauber

     Versamark Ink

     Ranger Fine Detail Clear Embossing Powder

Other products used:

    Liquid Pearls--White Opal

Here is the Case This Sketch #167 graphic that inspired me:

     

I'm also entering this into Seize the Birthday floral theme, CAS on Sunday floral theme and Double D challenge--Yellow is a Happy Place to be theme.

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

:) Marie

Use Your Stash Blog Hop Cricut Craze

The theme for our Use Your Stash Blog Hop this month is "Cricut Craze".   As Close to My Heart enthusiasts we have 5 wonderful cricut cartridges to choose from--over 3500 images!  If you are coming from Michelle Loncar's blog you are on the right track.

My project started with a tag with a shamrock on it from the Art Philosophy cartridge.  I attached it to a rectangle in Design Space and then separated the shamrock out and made several different sizes of it.  I am freely sharing the Design Space cut file here.  The inspiration for using this color came from the Heart 2 Heart challenge to use the color Fern.

My card uses Art Philosophy cartridge, White Daisy CS, Fern CS, Fern Ink and Holiday Tags stamp set.

The inspiration for my card came from the Sunday Stamps Sketch #122:

When I cut my card on the cricut I cut two pieces--one to be used on the card and the second to be used as a stencil.  Here I used Topiary Ink and a Sponge Dauber to create the second card.  I was inspired by the CAS on Sunday Challenge #79 to Stencil it.

I've been playing with my Close to My Heart Watercolor Paints lately so I decided to paint the shamrocks that came out of my stencil piece and glue them to a card.  I masked off the inner piece with large post it notes so I could paint the outside border the same color as the shamrocks.  I used Clear Embossing Powder and Versamark Ink to stamp the greeting before I painted over it in green.  Soon after painting I used a soft cloth to rub the paint off the embossed letters.

Before you run off to see Wendy Kessler's project please leave me a comment and let me know which card you like best.  Will it be the shade of green that you prefer, the technique used or something else?

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

:) Marie

Monochromatic Colors for Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #270

Welcome back to another Fantabulous Cricut Challenge blog post!  This is challenge #270 and we are inviting you to create something (doesn't have to be a card) in Monochromatic colors.  Please stop by the FCCB blog for challenge guidelines and prize announcement.

My card features Cricut cuts from Cindy Loo (bird image) and Artiste (banner).  I chose green because I'm tired of cold and snow and green makes me think about spring!

Close to My Heart products used:

     New England Ivy CS

     Whimsy Paper Fundamentals (original patterns)

     Fern CS

     Sweet Leaf CS

     Say it All stamp

     New England Ivy Ink

     Sponge Dauber

     Sweet Leaf Ink

     3D Foam Tape

The inspiration for my card layout came from Freshly Made Sketch #223:

We hope you can find the time to play along with our challenge this week!

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

:) Marie

Beloved Bouquet for Case This Sketch #156 and Inkspirational Challenges #100

My favorite new stamp set has to be Beloved Bouquet (Close to My Heart January 2016 Stamp of the Month) and I just can't stop using it!  Today's lovely card uses the Baby's Breath stamp in "shades of green" for the Inkspirational Challenge #100 called "Blast from the Past".

Close to My Heart Products used:

     White Daisy CS

     Peacock CS

     Fern CS

     Beloved Bouquet stamp

     Balloon Animals (February stamp of the month) frame

     Just a Number (birthday stamp--retired)

     Peacock Ink

     Fern Ink

     3D Foam Tape

My inspiration for the card layout came from Case This Sketch #156:

Since it is a birthday card I am also linking this to the Seize the Birthday Clean and Simple challenge.

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

:) Marie

p.s.  If you are looking for a great color challenge this week check out Color My Heart Color Dare.  

    

Color Dare #172 Meets Mojo Monday Sketch #427

Welcome back to another Color My Heart Color Dare challenge post!  This week our challenge colors are from the Close to My Heart White Pines paper pack:  Glacier, Fern, Cranberry, Champagne, Chocolate and Colonial White.

Here's my card:

Close to My Heart products used:

     White Pines Paper

     Cranberry CS

     Glacier CS

     Fern CS

     Chocolate CS

     Cranberry Ink

     Holly Jolly Christmas

     Artistry cartridge

     Leaf Green Shin Han Touch Marker

     Glitter Gems

     Opaque Adhesive Gem

     

Other products:

     Liquid Pearls 

My inspiration for this card came from Mojo Monday #247:

I'm also entering this card into the Heart 2 Heart challenge for using ideas from the Holiday Expressions catalog.

You can play along at the Color Dare Challenge here.

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

:) Marie