A Sympathy Card

 

Here is one last card for the Heart 2 Heart " Sentimentally Yours" challenge.  Close to My Heart's new Look to the Light stamp set is perfect for a sympathy card.  Thank you for stopping by!  Now please see how others have used a sentiment as a focal point at Heart 2 Heart Challenges.  Until next time, Hansi

 

Materials used, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:

Paper:  Sonoma (retired)

Ink:  Smoky Plum

Stamp:  Look to the Light

Embellishments:  Sonoma Assortment

A Christmas Scene With Heart

The new Always Grateful stamp set from Close to My Heart is a Thanksgiving stamp, but when I first saw it I thought of the fir tree as a Christmas tree with silver along with the new Frosted paper.  As I was working on my last card I thought what if there was a Christmas tree in the window as I looked out at the snow.  Now was my chance to turn a Thanksgiving stamp into a Christmas stamp.  Of course that meant I had to do some fussy cutting...  Gray glitter paper and silver glitter glitz provide sparkle to a peaceful scene.  Once again I used this Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

 



Thank you for stopping by!  Now please go check out the creations at Atlantic Hearts and Heart 2 Heart.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Frosted, White Daisy cardstock, Gray glitter paper
Ink:  Twilight
Stamps:  Always Grateful, Captured Moments (retired), Very Merry Christmas (retired)
Embellishments:  Silver Glitter Glitz
Other:  Snowflakes Cuddlebug embossing folder



A Winter Scene With Heart

The last Heart 2 Heart challenge is to make a scene.  This made me think about the retired Captured Moments stamp set.  Then I saw this week's Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

What if I broke the scene into panels to evoke looking through a picture window?  As I worked I came up with another idea which will be in my next post.  Thank you for stopping by!  Now please go check out the other creations at  Heart 2 Heart and Atlantic Hearts.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Wonderland (retired), White Daisy and Crystal Blue cardstock
Ink:  Twilight
Stamps:  Captured Moments (retired), Very Merry Christmas (retired)
Embellishments:  Cocoa grosgrain ribbon (retired), Mistletoe Assortment (retired)
Other:  Snowflakes Cuddlebug embossing folder

 

Freshly Made With Laughing Lola

 



Freshly Made Sketches is celebrating its 100th challenge by resurrecting their first sketch:

 

 The minute I saw it I knew it was time for a Cathy Larouche flower to compliment the motif on Laughing Lola, one of Close to My Heart's new paper packs.  I made the flower with Laughing Lola Gold and Laughing Lola Purple, sponging the edges lightly in black and using a piece of bling from the Rosewood Mini Medley for the center.  A little bit of Color ready Seam Binding in Crystal Blue lightens it up.  I then stamped the butterfly with black pigment ink and embossed it with Clear Detail powder before coloring it.  I found that a couple layers of dark Cotton Candy over light Gypsy approximates Laughing Lola Purple and that Crystal Blue is a reasonable substitution for Laughing Lola Blue.  This card is for a young lady who is entering her senior year as part of a five year bachelor's/master's degree in education program, so I thought this was an appropriate sentiment:

 

 



Thank you for stopping by!  Now please go check out what others have done with this Freshly Made Sketch  Until next time, Hansi.

 

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:

Paper:  Laughing Lola, Crystal Blue cardstock

Ink:  Black pigment, Black and Crystal Blue dye inks, Crystal Blue, Cotton Candy, Gypsy, and Lagoon alcohol markers

Stamps:  Butterfly by Inkadinkadoo, , Hooray Bouquet

Embellishments:  Color Ready Seam Binding, Rosewood Mini Medley, Clear Sparkles, Clear Detail embossing powder

Other:  Artiste Cricut cartridge

Unscripted Ornaments

When I saw this Unscripted Sketch my mind immediately flipped it and saw hanging ornaments.

I used the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge from Close to My Heart to cut the snowflake (page 27 shift at 1.75 in.) and longer ornament (page 47 shift at 2.75 in.)  The "onion" ornament was cut with the Artiste cartridge (page 79 shift + 3D object at 2 in.)  While playing around with snowflakes I found that the snowflake stamp from Pear and Partridge Scrapbooking Workshop (retired) fits perfectly on the snowflake.  After sponging the edges of the ornaments and snowflake with Champagne followed by Colonial White I made a startling discovery.  When viewed under non incandescent light the edges had a distinct purple cast.  I thought I had cleaned the sponge dauber well, but obviously not well enough.  Maybe it is time for me label my sponge daubers and use separate daubers for separate color families.  I cut silver shimmer trim lengthwise to make the ornament hangers and used a non sticky ribbon from Michael's for the bows.  Of course I finished it of with sparkles.  In this case I used dark gray on the ornaments and light gray on the snowflake.  Thank you for stopping by!  Now please go see what other folks have done with this unscripted sketch.  Until next time,  Hansi

Materials used, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Frosted, Colonial White cardstock
Ink:  Slate, Champagne, Colonial White
Stamps:  Pear and Partridge Scrapbooking Workshop (retired), Heartfelt Christmas (retired)
Embellishments:  Silver Shimmer Trim, silver ribbon by Reflections), Gray Sparkles
Other:  Art Philosophy and Artiste Cricut cartridges

Color My Heart Birthday

Tuesday facebook once again told me that I had missed a friend's birthday.  I really need to make a calendar which alerts me to friends' birthdays a week before, so I can make a card...  Yesterday I put this card in the mail, and hopefully she won't see this post until the card comes.  This stamp is so much fun to color as long as I stamp it with pigment ink and emboss it with clear detail powder first.  Otherwise the alcohol markers make the ink bleed.  I chose the colors based on this week's Color My Heart Dare to use Pear, Lagoon and Buttercup and figured since I had my pigment inks and embossing heater out, I might as well emboss the sentiment as well.  After coloring, I cut out the leaf and flower and used foam tape to pop up the flower.   Thank you for stopping by!  Now please go check out the Color My Heart Color Dare page to see other ways to use these colors.

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  White Daisy and Pear cardstock
Ink:  Black and Lagoon pigment ink, Pear, Buttercup and Lagoon alcohol markers
Stamp:  Fabulous You, A Bunch of Blooms (retired June SOM)
Embellishments:  Black sparkles



Singing for Heart 2 Heart



No, I am not really trying to push Christmas.  As any papercrafter knows, you have to get a head start if you are going to make your cards.  I just got a pack of "Frosted," one of my favorite new papers from Close to My Heart's Autumn/Winter catalog and have been playing with snowflakes.  This week's theme over at Heart 2 Heart is "Sing a Little Song for Me," so how about a Christmas carol?  All the snowflakes were cut using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  See below for the dimensions.  The large one was totally cased from Allisa Chilton.  Rather than cut the bottom most snowflake layer when only a little would be peaking through the openings, I conserved the limited Frosted Gray paper by trimming the little bits left between Cricut cuts and gluing them behind the holes.  The medium and small snowflakes were stamped with Versamark and embossed with silver with the smallest one being stamped with Twilight first.  I sponged the white edges with Champagne.  Of course, to finish them off I had to use some sparkles!  I love the new Rosewood mini medley and only wish that there were some smaller sparkles to co-ordinate.  I ended up using medium gray ones.  Here is the inside:



I used the layout from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, a new one for me.  Last week was the first time I played it.  Check it out if you haven't already.

 

I am not sure if this will be a Christmas card or if I am going to save it for when we get our first snowfall to send to one of my Yankee friends who complain about our lack of snow.   Thank you for stopping by!  Now please go be inspired by the other creations at Heart 2 Heart and Atlantic Hearts.  Until next time, Hansi

 

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:

Paper:  Frosted, Silver Glitter

Ink:  Champagne, Twilight

Stamps:  Snow Flurries (retired), Pear and Partridge Workshop on the Go (retired)

Embellishments:  Rosewood mini medley, Gray sparkles, Silver embossing powder

Other:  Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

 

Cricut cuts:

Large snowflake (page 22 shift+layer) 3.25 inches, (Page 27 shift) 2.5 inches, (page 27 shift+layer) 2.5 inches

Medium snowflake (page 27 shift) 1.75 inches

Small snowflake (page 27 shift) 1.25 inches

Freshly Made Art Deco

This Freshly Made Sketch is so full of possibilities, but I wanted to play with what Close to My Heart calls a "Single Snowflake" but I see as an Art Deco tile. 

 You know I never really got into markers until they started coming out with designs with intricate spaces that allow me to play with color.   I stamped it three times with Slate pigment ink and then heat embossed it with clear detail powder.  My Versamat sure helped me line the images up.  After coloring, I had to bling it up with clear sparkles. 



The paper is from the new Frosted paper pack which I plan to us for my Christmas cards, but as you can see, there are several sheets in the pack that do not scream Christmas or even winter.  Here is the inside:

Thank you for stopping by!  Now please check out what others have done with this sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Frosted, Colonial White
Ink:  Slate pigment and dye, Crystal Blue, Sky, Twilight, and Whisper alcohol markers
Stamp:  Single Snowflake
Embellishments:  Clear Sparkles, Clear Detail embossing powder





My Newest Stamp Set With Heart



I have quite a few religious friends who would be comforted by the sentiments in Close to My Heart's new "Look to the Light" set and I know I will get a lot of use out of it.  Circumstances are such that I need a card in a hurry, so I turned to this layout from the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge:

The symbolism of the navigation charts and anchors along with the lack of embellishments keeps the focus on the sentiment.  I plan to enter this in Heart 2 Heart's "Sentiment-ally Yours" challenge.  Thank you for stopping by!  Now please visit Heart 2 Heart and Atlantic Hearts to see what the others have created.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Tommy, White Daisy cardstock
Ink:  Outdoor Denim
Stamp:  Look to the Light

Laughing Lola Gets Blingy for Heart 2 Heart

 

Although we still have a few weeks of summer left and public schools do not start until September 2nd, most of the college students will be heading back this weekend which means it is time to think about beginning of the semester care packages and accompanying cards. The theme for this week's challenge at Heart 2 Heart is "Sentiment-ally Yours."  In other words, the sentiment should be the star of the projec.  I knew immediately that this sentiment from the retired Live Out Loud set paired with Close to My Heart's new Laughing Lola paper would be perfect for the college girls I keep in touch with.  I heat embossed the sentiment so that I could color it with alcohol markers without smearing.  I prefer to use black pigment ink and clear detail powder rather than Versamark and black powder because stray particles of clear detail powder don't show.  (Yes, I know that they make static reducing pillows, but they never seem to work for me.)  By the way, Crystal Blue is a decent match for Laughing Lola Blue.  If you don't recognize the shape around the sentiment it is because I trimmed the accent 3 shape on page 33 of the Artiste Cricut cartridge:

 

Because I planned to pop up the sentiment panel with foam tape, I left the backing on the shimmer trim, attaching the trim with glue dots instead.  I then used liquid glass to attach the button from the new Rosewood mini medley which I love.  To approximate the color of the button, I used a Gypsy alcohol marker on gray sparkles.  I think I have made up for the lack of bling on my last card with this one, lol!  For the last detail I added some stitching.  Now, I prefer to stitch layers rather than card bases because otherwise you have to worry about hiding the knots.  Unfortunately this design required stitching the base.  Fortunately I had some scraps:

 

 

Thanks to this being a 6.5 x 5 inch card, I still have plenty of room to write a note of encouragement.  I had planned on entering this into the Color My Heart dare to use Laughing Lola colors, but I forgot that the deadline has been moved up from 10:00 p.m. my time to 1:00 p.m. The card was finished on time, but I thought I could hold off writing this post until this evening.  Oh well!  I will remember next week.  Thank you for stopping by!  Now please head on over to Heart 2 Heart and Color My Heart to check out some more creations.  Until next time, Hansi

 

Materials, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:

Paper:  Laughing Lola

Ink:  Black pigment ink

Stamp:  Live Out Loud (retired)

Embellishments:  Black Shimmer Tape, Rosewood Mini Medley, Gray Sparkles and Black Sparkles, Blue Sparkles, black upholstery thread from Coats and Clark, Clear detail embossing powder







Heart 2 Heart Meets the Rose Blossom Garden for Beach Week


I have missed y'all soooo much.  After my family's Annual Migration to the Beach, I am ready to get inky again!  Yes, everyone in my family except me lives within spitting distance of both bay and ocean beaches, yet once a year we all go invade someone else's hometown, specifically Avon, North Carolina which is on the Outer Banks just north of Cape Hatteras.  I really had to smile when I saw that the theme of the first Heart 2 Heart challenge for August is "Bon Voyage or Good Journey,"  given that I am playing catch up on account of my trip to the beach.  This goes really well with the theme of Summer for the first (and second) challenge over in the Rose Garden.  Wait a minute!  Isn't the Rose Blossom Garden Challenge a Close to My Heart Cricut cartridge themed challenge?  Yes, but there have been changes.  Now the challenge will have a theme with a bonus challenge to use a particular key on a Close to My Heart Cricut cartridge.  You also have all month to complete both challenges which is why I am not scrambling to post this by midnight last night.  This theme change is really good for me right now because the bonus challenge is to use the "T" key on, you guessed it, Close to My Heart's new Artbooking cartridge which I will not be getting until after I host monthly group in late September.

Anyway, my family has been renting houses (the same one for years at a time until we outgrow it) from Outer Beaches Realty for 24 summers.  For the past few years, my aging father has not really been up to making the arrangements but is not ready to put the lease in my name.  The folks at Outer Beaches, Mary in particular, have been very understanding and willing to deal with me even though the lease is still in Daddy's name.  I definitely owe them a thank you card.

I figured it was appropriate to use photo of my daughter and sister taken at the beach.  I used the cut out filter on Photoshop to give it a stylized effect and printed it on card stock..  To make the bottom border, I used the Artiste cartridge to cut four .75 inch flourishes (page 43, shift accent 1) out of Lagoon cardstock and then trimmed off the bottom curl. 

After attaching the "waves" to the "sand" paper from Footloose, I cut along the edge.  Why do I set my self up for this?  You would think I like fussy cutting!  The sun was cut using both accent 1 keys on page 35.  Then I got to get my fingers inky with some sponging both on the front and inside.

I have always loved this sentiment from the retired Summer Breeze set and paired it with an image from the also retired Perfect Day set which I resist embossed.  Can you believe I used no embellishments?  Neither can I!  Everything I tried seemed extraneous.  Maybe I just wanted to keep the focus on my beautiful daughter...  Thank you for stopping by!  Now please head on over to Heart to Heart and the Rose Blossom Garden to see what the others have created.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart Unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Footloose (retired), Claire (retired), Lagoon and White Daisy cardstock
Ink:  Lagoon, Crystal Blue, Cocoa
Stamps:  Summer Breeze (retired), Perfect Day Retired)
Embellishments:  Clear Detail embossing powder