Sponging With Heart

It's technique time at Heart 2 Heart, and the featured technique is one of my favorites, sponging.  There are many ways you can use sponging on your project, and I am planning a future post on the subject, but for now I want to highlight my favorite application which is resist embossing.  First you stamp your image using Versamark, sprinkle on some Clear Detail powder and heat it just until the powder melts.  Be very careful not to over heat it because it needs to stay shiny.  Wait a minute!  Where is the image if everything is clear? To make the image appear you sponge over it with water based, preferably dye, ink.  I like to work from the center our so that the color fades into the background.  As you build the color the image appears.  In this case I used the fir tree from a Close to My Heart Thanksgiving stamp set, Always Grateful, on Colonial White cardstock and sponged it with Crystal Blue ink.  I then layered on a little bit of Whisper to mute the blue and give a little bit of color to the edge of the paper.  I dry embossed snowflakes on part of the backing panel to complement  the "snow covered tree" feeling of my completed image.  The Thanksgiving stamp is now a Christmas stamp!

Thank you for stopping by!  Now please check out some other ways to use sponging at Heart 2 Heart Challenges, or better yet, try a sponging technique and enter the challenge!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Frosted, Frosted Gray, Champagne and Colonial White cardstock
Ink:  Crystal Blue, Whisper
Stamp:  Always Grateful
Embellishments:  Gray Sparkles, Snowflakes embossing folder from Cuddlebug

Playing Scrabble wWith Heart 2 Heart

After Thanksgiving or any other family dinner you can pretty much count on my husband or brother in law pulling out a Scrabble board.  Their games are epic with combined scores of over 650 being the norm.  With my brother in law's birthday in a few weeks and the Heart 2 Heart Challenge theme being "Game On," there was no question that I would pull out Close to My Heart's retired paper pack, Cruisin', to make him a card. 

After cutting out my Scrabble letters, I used black ink to hide the white core of the paper so that it would not show against the dark background.  The flourish was cut using the new Artbooking Cricut cartridge (page 65, border at 3.5 inches fit to length).  Using this cartridge to make something other than the project featured on the page can be a little tricky because everything is sized proportionately.  Usually, I make sure to use the "Real Dial Size" key.  In this case, I knew how long I wanted my cut out to be, so I used the "Fit to Length" key.  That way I did not have to guess what the real dial size which is based on height would be.  After I cut it out, I coated it with Liquid Glass to give it shine and dimension. 

Thank you for stopping by!  Now please go over the Heart 2 Heart Challenge Blog to see other projects inspired by games, or better yet, make one yourself and enter the challenge.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Cruizin (retired), White Daisy, Black, Cranberry, and Juniper cardstock (all included in the Cruisin' pack)
Ink:  Black
Embellishments:  Liquid Glass

A Snowflake for Atlantic Hearts

 

 

 

Life has been a bit crazy lately, keeping me out of my craft room (breakfast room, actually) just at the time when I most needed some paper therapy.  Here is a quick card for this Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge.

 

For the snowflake, I went back to Close to My Heart's first Cricut cartridge, Art Philosophy, and paired it with snowflake brads from the retired Mistletoe assortment which was on the "While Supplies Last" list earlier this year.  I sponged the tips of the snowflake with Whisper ink to help it stand out and popped it up with some foam tape.  Thank you for Stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Supplies used, all Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Frosted
Ink:  Whisper
Embellishments:  Mistletoe Assortment (retired)
Other:  Snowflakes embossing folder from Cuddlebug



Seeing Double With Heart 2 Heart

 

In my second week as guest designer at Heart 2 Heart Challenges we are "Seeing Double."  This card with two ornaments, two colors, and  two folds is two, two, two cards in one.

I used last month's Stamp of the Month, Scandinavian Wishes, to stamp the ornaments on shapes cut with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge and backed them with the same shape cut 1/4 of an inch bigger.  I cut the top loops off of the backing shapes because they didn't line up with the loops on the top shapes.  I blinged them up with Blue and Tan Sparkles (retired),"hung" them with strips of Silver Shimmer Trim that had been cut in half lengthwise, and attached them to a 4 x 5 inch piece of cardstock that I scored at a half inch on the long side.  I then attached the cardstock to the back of my card on the opening side to create a wrap around flap:

 

 

Let's return to the front and lift the flap:

 

 

I used Silver Glitter Glitz in the center of each flower on the border to compliment the Shimmer Trim.  For the sentiment I arranged the words on one block as though they were one stamp.  This way I did not have to worry about trying to line up four seperate stamps.  Now, because the Crystal Blue flap is attached to a regular card, you can open the card like any other and see the "second" card:





 

Thank you for stopping by!  Now why don't you head on over to Heart 2 Heart Challenges to see how others are seeing double or, better yet, create something to show us how you "see double."  Until next time, Hansi

 

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

Paper:  Crystal Blue, Cashmere, and Colonial White cardstock

Ink:  Crystal Blue, Cashmere, and Slate

Stamp:  Scandinavian Wishes (retired)

Embellishments:  Silver Glitter Glitz, Silver Shimmer Trim, Blue and Tan Sparkles (retired)



Penguins!

I just love this penguin from the Wintery Wishes stamp set which is available only as a hostess reward.  My nephew has loved penguins ever since he was a baby, so I knew I had to use it to make a card to put in his care package of Christmas goodies to get him through finals at Tech.  Since I was in penguin mode, I went ahead and made cards for the other students I send packages to.  This gave me a chance to experiment with different color schemes and variations on this Freshly Made Sketch:

 

First I used a Topiary alcohol marker to color the ear muffs, scarf and center of the snowflakes.  Then I put a drop of Liquid Glass over the snowflake centers to approximate an epoxy bubble.  Why Topiary?  This week the Color My Heart Color Dare is to used black and white with any shade of green.  For the banner I used a sentiment from a long retired stamp of the month:

 

Next, because I love black and white with a pop of pink, I made the same card in Cotton Candy except that instead of a sentiment, I added a double banner:

 Next I made the card with Silver Shimmer Trim and Silver Glitter Glitz as accents and colored the scarf with a Silver Metallics marker:

Finally, I added one of the sentiments from the Wintery Wishes stamp set which necessitated a larger deviation from the sketch.  I used Crystal Stickles on the snowflakes and snowball.  The shimmer looked bluish in the bottle, but green on the card:

I am not sure which one I like best.  Thank You for stopping by!  Now Please go to Freshly Made Sketches to see what others have done with this layout.  Then go check out some more green with black and white projects at Color My Heart Color Dare.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Black, White Daisy, and Cotton Candy cardstock
Ink:  Black ink, Topiary and Cotton Candy alcohol markers, Silver Metallics marker
Stamps:  Wintery Wishes, Frosted Cardmaking Kit, A Very Merry Christmas (retired), Heartfelt Christmas (retired), Snow Flurries (retired)
Other:  Snowflakes embossing folder from Cuddlebug 



A Grateful Heart

This is my first week as guest designer at Heart 2 Heart Challenges!  I am grateful for my friend, Ginney, who introduced me to Close to My Heart products and introduced me to my consultant, friend,  and now upline, Cheryl.  I am grateful for the advice, encouragement and opportunitiy to learn from the talented ladies at the Heart 2 Heart Challenges and other challenge blogs.  When I saw that the theme is "Gratitude," I knew immediately that I would use this sentiment from the "Always Grateful" stamp set.  I love the whole idea that instead of focusing on what we don't have, we should appreciate and be satisfied with what we do have.  (Except, maybe, for paper.  Yes, I am a paper hoarder...) 

I began by stamping the leaves in Barn Red and Sunset on Crème Brulee paper and then colored over them with Sunset, Honey, Autumn Terracotta and Red Barn alcohol markers.  The acorn is stamped in Chocolate on Cashmere paper and sponged with Cocoa, Desert Sand and Colonial White inks.  When I attached the leaves, I only put adhesive on the stem end, so that they curl up a bit, and I also popped up the acorn with some foam tape to give the focal point some dimension.  With it's lovely fall colors, Huntington paper was the only choice for me.

Thank you for stopping by!  Now please go check out the other expressions of gratitude at Heart 2 Heart Challenges.  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper:  Huntington, Cashmere, Red Bard, Cocoa and Colonial White cardstock
Ink:  Red Barn, Sunset,  Cocoa, Desert Sand, Chocolate and Olive with Red Barn, Autumn Terracotta, Sunset and Honey alcohol markers
Stamps:  Always Grateful, Fall Harvest
Embellishments:  Bronze Shimmer Trim, Brown Opaques